CURRENT EVENTS AND ANALYSIS - (January 2021) SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY MISCELLANEOUS - : RCReddy IAS Study Circle
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CURRENT EVENTS
AND
ANALYSIS
(January 2021)
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
MISCELLANEOUS
Editor
R.C. R eddy
R.C. REDDY IAS STUDY CIRCLE
H.No. 3-6-275, Opp. Telangana Tourism Development Corporation,
Near Telugu Academy, Himayatnagar, Hyderabad - 500 029.
Phone No. : 040-23228513; 040-27668513; 040-27612673;
9346882593; 9573462587
Email : rcreddyiasstudycircle1989@gmail.comCURRENT EVENTS AND ANALYSIS
CONTENTS
JANUARY 2021 CURRENT AFFAIRS:
Science & Technology and Miscellaneous
Index PageNo:
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Procurement of 83 Light Combat Aircrafts (LCA) 'Tejas' Approved 1
New Generation Akash Missile Successfully Test-fired 2
Centre for Wetland Conservation and Management Set up 2
Scientists Find Way to Improve Nitrogen Use Efficiency in Paddy 3
Great Green Wall Gets US $ 14 Billion Funding From France 4
Green Tax To Be Imposed on Older Vehicles 6
India Gives Approval to Two COVID Vaccines 7
NASA Approves Two Heliophysics Missions 9
40th Indian Scientific Expedition to Antarctica Launched 10
MISCELLANEOUS
National Persons 12
International Persons 14
National Awards 14
Sports 20SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Procurement of 83 Light Combat Aircrafts (LCA) 'Tejas' Approved
- On January 13, 2021, the Union Government approved procurement of
- 73 Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas Mk-1A fighter aircrafts, and
- 10 LCA Tejas Mk-1 Trainer aircrafts.
- The total cost of the aircrafts is Rs. 45,696 crore.
Light Combat Aircraft Tejas Mk-1A:
- Light Combat Aircraft Tejas Mk-1A variant is an indigenously designed, developed and
manufactured state-of-the-art modern 4+ generation fighter aircraft.
- Aircrafts are categorised into First Generation, Second Generation, etc based on technological
advancements in the aircrafts. 4+ generation fighter aircraft (also called 4.5 Generation)
is an improvement over Fourth Generation aircraft. A 4.5 Generation aircraft has upgraded
facilities like increased level of control and improved level of performance due to introduction
of stealth feature.
- Tejas Mk-1A aircraft is equipped with critical operational capabilities of Active Electronically
Scanned Array (AESA) Radar, Beyond Visual Range (BVR) Missile, Electronic Warfare
(EW) Suite, and Air to Air Refuelling (AAR) would be a potent platform to meet the operational
requirements of Indian Air Force, IAF.
- It is the first "Buy (Indian-Indigenously Designed, Developed and Manufactured)"
category procurement of combat aircrafts with an indigenous content of 50% which will
progressively reach 60% by the end of the programme.
Manufactured by HAL:
- These aircrafts are manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, (HAL), Bangalore.
- The manufacturing of Light Combat Aircraft by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, HAL will give
a further push to Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative and boost indigenisation of defence production
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and the defence industry in the country.
- About 500 Indian companies including MSMEs in the design and manufacturing sectors will
be working with HAL in this procurement. The programme would act as a catalyst for
transforming the Indian aerospace manufacturing ecosystem into a vibrant Atmanirbhar-self-
sustaining ecosystem.
Additional Information:
- What is "Buy (Indian-Indigenously Designed, Developed and Manufactured)" category?
- India is spending huge sums in procurement of defence equipment.
R.C. Reddy IAS Study Circle 1- To promote self reliance and indigenisation in defence industry, the Union Government
introduced a new category of procurement called 'Buy -Indian-IDDM (Indigenously Designed,
Developed and Manufactured)' in the Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP)-2016.
- This category has been accorded top most priority for procurement of capital equipment.
- Besides this, preference is being given to 'Buy (Indian)' and 'Buy and Make (Indian)' categories
of capital acquisition over 'Buy (Global)' &'Buy & Make (Global)' categories.
- The Government has preliminarily approved defence purchases of Rs 4 lakh crores 'Buy
(Indian-IDDM)', 'Buy (Indian)', 'Buy and Make (Indian)', 'Buy and make',
- In all the above categories, Indian Industry including Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) and
private sector would be engaged in defence manufacturing either directly or in collaboration
with foreign Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs).
- Besides, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is contributing
immensely towards indigenous R&D and technology capability building and has a strong
partnership with about 1800 private sector industries.
New Generation Akash Missile Successfully Test-fired
- On January 25, 2021, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO)
successfully test fired Akash-NG (New Generation) missile. It weighs only half of the existing
Akash missile and requires fewer ground systems.
- It is a surface-to-air missile for the use of Indian Air Force (IAF).
- It is meant for intercepting high manoeuvring aerial threats.
- The existing Akash missile has a range of 25 km, while the upgraded variant (NG) can strike
targets at a distance of 30 km.
- The missile was launched from Integrated Test Range, Chandipur, Odisha.
Centre for Wetland Conservation and Management Set up
- As a part of its commitment towards conservation, restoration and management of
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India's wetlands, the Union Government announced the establishment of a 'Centre for
Wetland Conservation and Management (CWCM)'. It would be set up as a part of the
National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management (NCSCM), Chennai, on February 2,
2021.
- February 2nd of every year is celebrated as World Wetlands Day.
- Ramsar Convention on Wetlands was signed on February 2, 1971 in Ramsar, Iran. Since
then, February 2nd of every year is celebrated annually as World Wetlands Day.
- The year 2021 also commemorates the 50th anniversary of the signing of Ramsar Convention.
2 R.C. Reddy IAS Study CircleWhat are Wetlands?
- The Ramsar Convention uses a broad definition of wetlands.
- It includes all lakes and rivers, underground aquifers, swamps and marshes, wet grasslands,
peatlands, oases, estuaries, deltas and tidal flats, mangroves and other coastal areas, coral
reefs, and all human-made sites such as fish ponds, rice paddies, reservoirs and salt pans.
- What is the Significance of Wetlands?
- Wetlands are vital for human survival. They provide range of ecosystem services to humanity,
ranging from freshwater supply, food and building materials, flood control, groundwater
recharge, and climate change mitigation.
- They are among the world's most productive environments and cradles of biological diversity.
- Countless species of plants and animals depend on wetlands for their survival.
Wetlands in India:
- India has nearly 4.6% of its land as wetlands, covering an area of 15.26 million hectares.
- It has 42 sites designated as Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar Sites), with a
surface area of 1.08 million hectares.
Centre for Wetland Conservation and Management (CWCM):
The Centre for Wetland Conservation and Management (CWCM) will
- help in building partnership and networks with relevant national and international agencies,
- serve as a knowledge hub and enable exchange between State/ UT Wetland Authorities,
wetland users, managers, researchers, policy-makers and practitioners, and
- assist the national and State/ UT Governments in the design and implementation of policy
and regulatory frameworks, management planning, monitoring and targeted research for
wetlands conservation.
Scientists Find Way to Improve Nitrogen Use Efficiency in Paddy
- Crops take only about 30 per cent of the N-fertiliser added and the rest gets washed away to
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water bodies leading to pollution, ill-health and also contributes to climate change.
- Improving this poor 'nitrogen use efficiency' (NUE) is a major global challenge for decades,
as there were no simple visual cues or genetic means to differentiate between high and low
NUE cultivars in any crop.
- A group of Indian scientists have found a way to reduce wastage of nitrogen fertilisers applied
to them.
- They were able to identify 25 phenotypes (observable characteristics, such as height,
biomass, leaf shape, etc) that determine the efficiency with which cultivars (plant varieties)
use nitrogen.
R.C. Reddy IAS Study Circle 3- Paddy consumes the most nitrogen fertiliser in India, any improvement in its NUE will be a
significant gain.
Study of the Scientists:
- For the study, an inter-disciplinary team led by Nandula Raghuram from New Delhi's Guru
Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, compared 3 high Nitrogen Use Efficiency (NUE) and
3 low Nitrogen Use Efficiency (NUE) cultivars (plant varieties) of rice with normal or low dose
of nitrate or urea as the sole source of nitrogen (N).
- The scientists found that Nitrogen-use-efficient (NUE) cultivars (plant varieties)
a) tend to be slow in germination and flowering,
b) grow tall and deep with higher biomass, and
c) take longer duration to harvest but yield more with lesser Nitrogen input.
- They also reported 34 genes associated with NUE for potential crop improvement.
- Their findings have been published in international journal 'Frontiers in Plant Science'.
- So far, most of the studies for crop improvement of yield is focused on reducing crop
duration and biomass to maximise grain output.
- The study concluded that unless scientists bring Nitrogen Use Efficiency (NUE) traits together
with yield traits through breeding, we may be gaining yield at the cost of NUE.
Role of Nitrogen in Global Warming:
- Agriculture accounts for over 70% of all nitrous oxide emission in the Indian environment,
out of which 77% is contributed by fertilisers,mostly urea.
- Nitrous oxide is a greenhouse gas (GHG) that is 300 times more powerful than carbon
dioxide.
- It has replaced methaneas the second largest GHG emissionfrom Indian agriculture
over the last 15 years.
- Cereals account for over 69% of the total consumption of Nitrogen fertilisers in India,
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with rice topping the list at 37%, followed by wheat (24%).
- Hence, cereals are target crop for Nitrogen Use Efficiency (NUE) in India and in many parts
of the world.
Great Green Wall Gets US $ 14 Billion Funding From France
- At the virtual 'One Planet Summit' for biodiversity held on January 11, 2021 in Paris, France
President Emmanuel Macron announced US $14 billion to scale up work of Great Green Wall
in the Sahel region of Africa. The amount is nearly 42 per cent of $33 billion needed to complete
the Great Green Walls initiative by 2030.
- The funding will fast track efforts to restore degrading land in the Sahel region.
4 R.C. Reddy IAS Study CircleAbout The Great Green Wall:
- The Great Green Wall Initiative was started by the African Union in 2007.
- It aims at providing solutions to multiple and complex environmental threats, such as land
degradation, desertification, drought, climate change, biodiversity loss, poverty and
food insecurity, simultaneously.
- The project aims at restoring 100 million hectares of degraded land by 2030 by growing an
8,000-kilometre-long and 15-km-wide mosaic of trees, grasslands, vegetation and plants.
- Restoring degraded lands also provides decent livelihoods for millions of people in the Sahel
region.
- It will transform the lives of 100 million people in the Sahel region.
- It will lead to sequestering 250 million tonnes of carbon dioxide.
What is Sahel Region?
- Sahel is a semi arid region of western and north-central Africa extending from Senegal eastward
to Sudan.
- It forms a transitional zone between the arid Sahara (desert) to the north and the belt of
humid savannas to the south.
- At least eight months of the year are dry, and rainconfined to a short season, with average
rains of 100-200 mm, mostly in June, July, and August.
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- Only modest crops of millet and peanuts (groundnuts) can be raised in many areas.
Countries in the Sahel Region:
- The Sahel region stretched from Senegal in the West to Djibouti in the East and includes 11
countries.
- The 11 countries are: Burkina Faso, Chad, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Mali, Mauritania,
Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, and Sudan.
Resources Needed for Great Green Wall:
- To complete the GGW, it is estimated that US $ 33 billion US dollars of investment will be
needed.
- More than 13 years after the Great Green Wall (GGW) initiative was started, the project had
faced problems due to funds crunch.
- The project aims to restore 100 million hectares of degraded land by 2030.
- But only four million hectares had been restored between 2007 and 2019.
R.C. Reddy IAS Study Circle 5Green Tax To Be Imposed on Older Vehicles
- On January 15, 2021, the Union Government approved a proposal to levy a "Green Tax"
on old vehicles which are polluting the environment.
- The older fleet, typically manufactured before the year 2000 constitute less that 1 % of the
total fleet but contributes around 15% of total vehicular pollution.
- These older vehicles pollute 10-25 times more than modern vehicles.
- The proposal will now go to the states for consultation before it is formally notified.
Objectives of the Green Tax are
- To dissuade people from using vehicles which damage the environment, and
- motivate them to switch to newer, less polluting vehicles.
- Green tax will lead to reduction of the pollution level, and make the polluter pay for pollution.
Details:
- Transport vehicles older than 8 years would be charged Green Tax at the time of renewal
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of fitness certificate, at the rate of 10 to 25 % of road tax.
- It is estimated that commercial vehicles, which constitute about 5% of the total vehicle fleet,
contribute about 65-70% of total vehicular pollution.
- Personal vehicles would be charged Green Tax at the time of renewal of Registration
Certification after 15 years.
- Public transport vehicles, such as city buses would be charged lower Green tax.
- Higher Green tax (50% of Road Tax) would be for vehicles being registered in highly polluted
cities
6 R.C. Reddy IAS Study Circle- Differential tax, depending on fuel (petrol/diesel) and type of vehicle;
Exemptions:
- Hybrid vehicles (vehicles that run on prtrol/dieasel as well as electric energy), electric vehicles
and those running on alternate fuels like CNG, ethanol, LPG etc would be exempted.
- Vehicles used in farming, such as tractor, harvester, tiller, etc will be exempted.
Utilisation of Revenue:
- Revenue collected from the Green Tax would be used for tackling pollution, and setting up
state of-art facilities for emission monitoring in the States.
Scrapping of Old vehicles:
- The Union Government also approved the policy of deregistration and scrapping of vehicles
owned by Government department and Public Sector Undertakings (PSU), which are above
15 years in age. It will come into effect from 1st April, 2022.
India Gives Approval to Two COVID Vaccines
- In the first week of January 2021, the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) formally
approved Bharat Biotech's 'Covaxin' and the Serum Institute of India's 'Covishield' for
emergency use in the country.
- The approval by the DCGI was given on the basis of recommendations submitted by a COVID-
19 Subject Expert Committee (SEC) of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation
(CDSCO).
Technology:
- Unlike the global frontrunners, Pfizer and Moderna, which rely on an mRNA technology, both
the Indian vaccines are based traditional approach.
Covishield:
- It makes use of a viral vector made using a weakened strain of the common cold virus
(adenovirus) that causes infections in chimpanzees and contains the genetic material of the
SARS-CoV-2 virus spike protein. Upon administration of the vaccine, the body's defences
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recognise the spike protein and prepare antibodies to evade out the infection.
Covaxin:
- It is made using an inactive version of the virus. They contain dead virus, incapable of infecting
people but still able to instruct the immune system to mount a defensive reaction against an
infection.
- Inactive vaccines have been used by a lot of vaccine makers and have been used for years
to fight out viruses and pathogens. Example: Seasonal Influenza, Polio, Pertussis, Rabies,
and Japanese Encephalitis
R.C. Reddy IAS Study Circle 7Made in India Vaccines:
- Both Covishield and Covaxin are 'Made in India' vaccines.
- Covaxin is India's first fully-developed and produced COVID-19 vaccine, made by Hyderabad-
based Bharat Biotech.
- It was developed by Bharat Biotech in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research
(ICMR)-National Institute of Virology (NIV).
- Covishield was originally developed by Oxford University-Astrazeneca.
- Serum Institute of India (SII) has an exclusive license from AstraZeneca-Oxford University
to manufacture and distribute the vaccine in India and other low- and middle-income countries.
Safety:
- The vaccines have been certified 100% safe; however, some side effects like mild fever,
pain and allergy are common for every vaccine.
- Both the vaccines need to be given in two doses with a gap of 28 days.
- The vaccines can be stored at 2C to 8C.
Why Vaccines are Given in Two Doses?
- Inactivated vaccines needto be given in two doses.
- The first dose does not provide as much immunity as possible. So, more than one dose is
needed to build more complete immunity.
Controversy Over Approval to Covaxin:
- Bharat Biotech's vaccine has been given approval for restricted use in emergency situations
in the public interest in clinical trial mode, which means consent has to be taken from the
vaccine recipient. The recipients will be monitored after receiving Covaxin shots. This
permission for restricted use is because Bharat Biotech is yet to publish efficacy data from
its phase-3 trials.
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- On the other hand, Covishield manufactured by SII produced phase III trial data from Brazil
and United Kingdom.
- A vaccine is given approval for general public use only after phase-3 trials which are conducted
on large number of candidates, mostly in thousands, to know the safety and efficacy of the
vaccine candidate. Safety data concerns with any side effects of the vaccine while efficacy
is concerned with generation of antibodies which provide protection against the virus.
- Some experts questioned how a Covaxin vaccine was cleared for emergency use by millions
of vulnerable people when its trials were still underway.
8 R.C. Reddy IAS Study Circle- But, Bharat Biotech defended the approval, stating that Indian clinical trial laws allowed
"accelerated" authorisation for use of drugs after the second phase of trials for "unmet
medical needs of serious and life-threatening diseases in the country".
- It stated that Covaxin has been evaluated in approximately 1,000 subjects in phase I and
phase II clinical trials, with promising safety and immunogenicity (antibodies production) results,
with acceptance in international peer reviewed scientific journals.
- Phase-III human clinical trials of Covaxin began in mid-November 2020, and targeted 26,000
volunteers across the country.
NASA Approves Two Heliophysics Missions
- NASA approved two heliophysics missions to explore the Sun and the system that drives
space weather near Earth on December 30, 2020.
What is Heliophysics?
- Heliophysics is the science of understanding the Sun and its interactions with Earth and the
solar system, including space weather.
Two Heliophysics Missions:
- The two heliophysics missions announced by NASA are
1. Extreme Ultraviolet High-Throughput Spectroscopic Telescope Epsilon Mission
(EUVST), and
2. Electrojet Zeeman Imaging Explorer (EZIE).
Both the missions will help us understand the Sun and Earth as an interconnected system.
Details of the Missions:
Electrojet Zeeman Imaging Explorer (EZIE).
- The Electrojet Zeeman Imaging Explorer (EZIE) is an investigation comprising a trio of CubeSats
that will study the source of and changes in the auroral electrojet, an electric current circling
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through Earth's atmosphere around 60-90 miles above the surface and extending into the
Earth's magnetosphere.
- The Auroral Electrojet (AE) index is a common measure of geomagnetic activity levels, even
though the details of the structure of these currents is not understood.
- EZIE will launch no earlier than June 2024.
- The total budget for the EZIE mission is $53.3 million.
- The principal investigator for the mission is Jeng-Hwa (Sam) Yee at the Johns Hopkins
University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland.
R.C. Reddy IAS Study Circle 9Extreme Ultraviolet High-Throughput Spectroscopic Telescope Epsilon Mission (EUVST):
- EUVST is a solar telescope that will study how the solar atmosphere releases solar wind and
drives eruptions of solar material.
- It is targeted for launch in 2026.
- EUVST will take comprehensive Ultra Violet (UV) spectroscopy measurements of the solar
atmosphere at the highest level of detail to date, which will allow scientists to tease out how
different magnetic and plasma processes drive coronal heating and energy release.
- The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) leads the Extreme Ultraviolet High-
Throughput Spectroscopic Telescope (EUVST) Epsilon Mission (Solar-C EUVST Mission),
along with other international partners.
- These phenomena propagate out from the Sun and influence the space radiation environment
throughout the solar system.
- NASA support to this mission is in the form of hardware contributions. It will provide an intensified
UV detector and support electronics, spectrograph components, a guide telescope, software,
and a slit-jaw imaging system for the spectrographic measurement.
- The budget for NASA contributions to EUVST is $55 million.
- The principal investigator for the NASA contribution to EUVST is Harry Warren at the U.S.
Naval Research Laboratory in Washington.
About NASA:
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is an independent agency of the
U.S. federal government responsible for the civilian space program, as well as aeronautics
and space research. NASA was established in 1958.
40th Indian Scientific Expedition to Antarctica Launched
- On January 5, 2021, India launched the 40th scientific expedition to Antarctica.
About Antarctica:
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- Antarctica is the southernmost continent of the earth.
- It is the fifth in size among the world's continents.
- Its landmass is almost wholly covered by a vast ice sheet.
- It is the coldest, windiest, and driest continent.
- It contains 90 percent of all of the ice on Earth in an area of around 1.5 times the size of the
United States.
- But there are no human settlements in Antarctica. There are only scientific bases set up by
various countries. Some tourists visit Antarctica in summer.
10 R.C. Reddy IAS Study CircleDetails of 40th Expedition:
- The 40th expedition journey was flagged off from Goa with 43 members onboard on a chartered
vessel MV Vasiliy Golovnin from Russia.
- The objective of the expedition is to support the ongoing scientific projects on climate
change, geology, ocean observations, electric and magnetic flux measurements,
environmental monitoring.
- Polar regions are crucially important in answering key questions about global climate
change, its contribution towards global sea-level rise, the background aerosol properties,
variability in the sea ice cover and phenomena like Antarctic haze and ozone concentrations.
- After leaving behind a team of 43 members, it would return to India in April 2021 and bring
back 48 members who have been on the continent for 15 months.
Indian Antarctic Expeditions Began in 1981:
- The Indian Antarctic expeditions began in 1981.
- The first trip comprised of a team of 21 scientists led by Dr SZ Qasim.
- After a humble beginning, the Indian Antarctic programme has now credited to have built
three permanent research base stations in Antarctica - named Dakshin Gangotri, Maitri, and
Bharati.
- At present, India has two operational research stations in Antarctica named Maitri and Bharati.
- The National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR), Goa, manages the entire
Indian Antarctic program.
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R.C. Reddy IAS Study Circle 11Miscellaneous
NATIONAL PERSONS
Dr. V. Shanta (93), a pioneer in cancer care in the country, and the chairperson of the Adyar
Cancer Institute, passed away in Chennai on January 18, 2021.
A crusader for cancer research and making cancer care affordable for all, she joined Adyar
Cancer Institute in 1955, a year after it was founded by Dr Muthulakshmi Reddy, one of the first
women graduates of medicine in India and a legislator.
Dr. Shanta and Dr. Dr Muthulakshmi Reddy's son Dr S Krishnamurthi built the Cancer Institute
in Chennai from a cottage hospital of 12 beds into a 500-plus bedded institution, offering state-
of-the-art care to people across the income spectrum. Only 40% are paying beds and the
remaining are general beds where patients are boarded and lodged free of cost.
Shanta received several national and international awards, including the Padma Shri, Padma
Bhushan, Padma Vibushan and Ramon Magsaysay awards for her contribution to the
advancement in management and control of cancer.
Ved Mehta (86), celebrated Indian-American author who overcame blindness and became widely
known as the 20th century writer most responsible for introducing American readers to India,
died in the U.S. on January 10, 2021.
He worked for the 'New Yorker magazine', as a staff writer for 33 years
Mehta was born in pre-Partition Lahore into a well-off Punjabi family in 1934. He lost his eyesight
at the age of three from meningitis. He did not let this challenge get in the way of a flourishing
career or stop him from showcasing his literary prowess to the world.
Mehta went to the United States when he was 15 years old, and attended the Arkansas School
for the Blindin Little Rock. After studying at Oxford University, he began to flourish in his working
life as a writer.
He is best known for his 12-volume memoir, which focused on the troubled modern history of
India and his early struggles with blindness.
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Mehta brought out 24 books that included volumes of reportage on India, among them Walking
the Indian Streets (1960),Portrait of India (1970) and Mahatma Gandhi and His Apostles (1977),
as well as explorations of philosophy, theology and linguistics.
Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan (89), renowned Indian classical musician, passed away in Mumbai
on January 17, 2021.
He was awarded the Padma Shri in 1991, followed by Padma Bhushan in 2006 and Padma
Vibhushan in 2018. In 2003, he was honoured with the Sangeet Natak Akademi award, the
highest Indian recognition given to practicing artistes.
12 R.C. Reddy IAS Study CircleBorn on March 3, 1931 in Badaun in Uttar Pradesh, Khan got his basic classical music training
from his father and later studied music under his cousin, Ustad Nissar Hussain Khan.
He was awarded the Padma Shri in 1991, followed by Padma Bhusan in 2006 and Padma
Vibhushan in 2018. In 2003 he was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi award, the highest
Indian recognition given to practicing artistes.
His father, Ustad Waris Hussain Khan was the son of celebrated musician Ustad Murred Baksh,
while his mother, Sabri Begum, was the daughter of Ustad Inayat Husain Khan, credited as the
founder of the Rampur-Sahaswan gharana of music.
Mr. Buta Singh (86), senior Congress party leader and former Union Minister, passed away on
January 2, 2021.
An eight-time Lok Sabha MP, he entered Parliament in 1962 from the Moga Lok Sabha
constituency in Punjab. In 1974, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi elevated him to the post of Deputy
Minister for Railways.
Under Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao, Mr. Singh held the portfolio of Union Minister of Civil
Supplies, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution from 1995 to 1996.
He was appointed the chairman of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) in
2007. He held that post till 2010.
Anil Panachooran (55), Malayalam poet and lyricist, passed away due to COVID on January
3, 2021. Panachooran is known for his famous lyrics in movies like ''Arabikadha'', ''Kadha
Parayumbol'', ''Madambi'', ''Marykkundoru Kunjaadu'', ''Velipadinte Pusthakam'' among many
others.
Satya Paul (78), well-known fashion designer who ran a fashion brand in his own name, died on
January 6, 2021.
In 1980, he launched the first 'saree boutique' in India, L'Affaire, and founded the fashion clothing
brand in his own name in 1986.
Madhavsinh Solanki (93), veteran Congress leader who served as the Chief Minister of Gujarat
four times and also as a Union Minister, passed away in Gandhinagar on January 6, 2021.
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He served as a Union Minister in the Rajiv Gandhi and the P.V. Narsimha Rao governments at
the Centre. He was External Affairs Minister from June 1991 to March 1992.
In 1985, he had to resign as Chief Minister of Gujarat following the anti-reservation riots in the
State.
Burgula Narsing Rao (89), veteran communist leader and an active participant of Telangana
Armed Struggle passed away in Hyderabad on January 18, 2021.
Narsing Rao was born in a family of freedom-fighters like Burgula Ramakrishna Rao, the first
Chief Minister of erstwhile Hyderabad State, who were all involved in the struggle for self-rule in
Hyderabad State and the Independence struggle.
R.C. Reddy IAS Study Circle 13Narendra Luther (88), well known poet, historian, author and retired bureaucrat, passed away
on January 18, 2021.
Narendra Luther's family moved from Rawalpindi to Hoshiarpur in Punjab in the aftermath of
Partition. He studied in University College of Hoshiarpur where former Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh was his junior.
After getting selected in the the Indian Administrative Service, he was allotted Andhra Pradesh
cadre. He began his stint in Kurnool in 1956 and was later posted to Hyderabad in 1959.
INTERNATIONAL PERSONS
Indian-American Raj Iyer took over as the first Chief Information Officer (CIO) of the U.S. Army
on January 6, 2021.
Equivalent in rank to a three-star General, Mr. Iyer will supervise an annual budget of $16 billion
for the US Army's IT operations. Over 15,000 civilians and military personnel posted across
100 countries work under him.
Dr. Raj Iyer who holds a PhD. in Electrical Engineering is originally a native of Tiruchirappalli in
Tamil Nadu. He grew up in Bengaluru and completed his undergraduate studies at National
Institute of Technology Trichy before moving to the U.S.A.
Larry King (87), one of the most recognisable figures on U.S. television and iconic host of the
'Larry King Live Show', passed away on January 24, 2021.
King hosted "Larry King Live" on CNN for over 25 years from 1985 to 2010, interviewing
presidential candidates, celebrities, athletes, movie stars and everyday people. He retired in
2010 after taping more than 6,000 episodes of the show.
NATIONAL AWARDS
Padma Awards 2021:
- Padma Awards, highest civilian Awards of the country, were announced on January 25,
2021.
- Padma Awards are conferred in three categories, namely, Padma Vibhushan, Padma
Bhushan and Padma Shri.
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- The Awards are given in various disciplines/ fields of activities, viz.- art, social work, public
affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature and education, sports,
civil service, etc.
- Padma Vibhushan is awarded for exceptional and distinguished service;
- Padma Bhushan is awarded for distinguished service of high order and
- Padma Shri is awarded for distinguished service in any field.
- The awards are announced on the occasion of Republic Day every year.
- These awards are conferred by the President of India at ceremonial functions which are held
at Rashtrapati Bhawan usually around March/ April every year.
14 R.C. Reddy IAS Study Circle- For 2021, President has approved conferment of 119 Padma Awards including 1 duo case
(in a duo case, the Award is counted as one) as per list below.
- The list comprises 7 Padma Vibhushan, 10 Padma Bhushan and 102 Padma Shri Awards.
- 29 of the awardees are women and the list also includes 10 persons from the category of
Foreigners/NRI/PIO/OCI, 16 posthumous awardees and 1 transgender awardee.
2021 List of Padma Awardees:
Padma Vibhushan (7)
SN Name Field State/Country
1 Shri Shinzo Abe Public Affairs Japan
2 Shri S P Balasubramaniam Art Tamil Nadu
(Posthumous)
3 Dr. Belle Monappa Hegde Medicine Karnataka
4 Shri Narinder Singh Kapany Science and United States of
(Posthumous) Engineering America
5 Maulana Wahiduddin Khan Others- Spiritualism Delhi
6 Shri B. B. Lal Others- Archaeology Delhi
7 Shri Sudarshan Sahoo Art Odisha
Padma Bhushan (10)
8 Ms. Krishnan Nair Art Kerala
Shantakumari Chithra
9 Shri Tarun Gogoi Public Affairs Assam
(Posthumous)
10 Shri Chandrashekhar Literature and Karnataka
Kambara Education
11 Ms. Sumitra Mahajan Public Affairs Madhya Pradesh
12
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Nripendra Misra
IAS STUDY
Civil Service
CIRCLE
Uttar Pradesh
13 Shri Ram Vilas Paswan Public Affairs Bihar
(Posthumous)
14 Shri Keshubhai Patel Public Affairs Gujarat
(Posthumous)
15 Shri Kalbe Sadiq Others-Spiritualism Uttar Pradesh
(Posthumous)
16 Shri Rajnikant Devidas Shroff Trade and Industry Maharashtra
17 Shri Tarlochan Singh Public Affairs Haryana
R.C. Reddy IAS Study Circle 15Padma Shri (102)
18 Shri Gulfam Ahmed Art Uttar Pradesh
19 Ms. P. Anitha Sports Tamil Nadu
20 Shri Rama Swamy Annavarapu Art Andhra Pradesh
21 Shri Subbu Arumugam Art Tamil Nadu
22 Shri Prakasarao Asavadi Literature and Andhra Pradesh
Education
23 Ms. Bhuri Bai Art Madhya Pradesh
24 Shri Radhe Shyam Barle Art Chhattisgarh
25 Shri Dharma Narayan Barma Literature and West Bengal
Education
26 Ms. Lakhimi Baruah Social Work Assam
27 Shri Biren Kumar Basak Art West Bengal
28 Ms. Rajni Bector Trade and Industry Punjab
29 Shri Peter Brook Art United Kingdom
30 Ms. Sangkhumi Bualchhuak Social Work Mizoram
31 Shri Gopiram Bargayn Art Assam
Burabhakat
32 Ms. Bijoya Chakravarty Public Affairs Assam
33 Shri Sujit Chattopadhyay Literature and West Bengal
Education
34 Shri Jagdish Chaudhary Social Work Uttar Pradesh
(Posthumous)
35 Shri Tsultrim Chonjor Social Work Ladakh
36 Ms. Mouma Das Sports West Bengal
37
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Shri Srikant Datar
IAS STUDY
Literature and
CIRCLE
United States of America
Education
38 Shri Narayan Debnath Art West Bengal
39 Ms. Chutni Devi Social Work Jharkhand
40 Ms. Dulari Devi Art Bihar
41 Ms. Radhe Devi Art Manipur
42 Ms. Shanti Devi Social Work Odisha
16 R.C. Reddy IAS Study Circle43 Shri Wayan Dibia Art Indonesia
44 Shri Dadudan Gadhavi Literature & Education Gujarat
45 Shri Parshuram Atmaram Art Maharashtra
Gangavane
46 Shri Jai Bhagwan Goyal Literature and Education Haryana
47 Shri Jagadish Chandra Halder Literature and Education West Bengal
48 Shri Mangal Singh Hazowary Literature and Education Assam
49 Ms. Anshu Jamsenpa Sports Arunachal Pradesh
50 Ms. Purnamasi Jani Art Odisha
51 Matha B. Manjamma Jogati Art Karnataka
52 Shri Damodaran Kaithapram Art Kerala
53 Shri Namdeo C Kamble Literature and Education Maharashtra
54 Shri Maheshbhai & Shri Naresh Art Gujarat
bhaiKanodia (Duo)*(Posthumous)
55 Shri Rajat Kumar Kar Literature and Education Odisha
56 Shri Rangasami Literature and Education Karnataka
Lakshminarayana Kashyap
57 Ms. Prakash Kaur Social Work Punjab
58 Shri Nicholas Kazanas Literature and Greece
Education
59 Shri K Kesavasamy Art Puducherry
60 Shri Ghulam Rasool Khan Art Jammu and
Kashmir
61 Shri Lakha Khan Art Rajasthan
62
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Sanjida Khatun
IAS STUDY
Art
CIRCLE
Bangladesh
63 Shri Vinayak Vishnu Khedekar Art Goa
64 Ms. Niru Kumar Social Work Delhi
65 Ms. Lajwanti Art Punjab
66 Shri Rattan Lal Science and United States of
Engineering America
67 Shri Ali Manikfan Others-Grassroots Lakshadweep
Innovation
R.C. Reddy IAS Study Circle 1768 Shri Ramachandra Manjhi Art Bihar
69 Shri Dulal Manki Art Assam
70 Shri Nanadro B Marak Others- Agriculture Meghalaya
71 Shri Rewben Mashangva Art Manipur
72 Shri Chandrakant Mehta Literature and Gujarat
Education
73 Dr. Rattan Lal Mittal Medicine Punjab
74 Shri Madhavan Nambiar Sports Kerala
75 Shri Shyam Sundar Paliwal Social Work Rajasthan
76 Dr. Chandrakant Sambhaji Medicine Delhi
Pandav
77 Dr. J N Pande (Posthumous) Medicine Delhi
78 Shri Solomon Pappaiah Literature and Tamil Nadu
Education- Journalism
79 Ms. Pappammal Others- Agriculture Tamil Nadu
80 Dr. Krishna Mohan Pathi Medicine Odisha
81 Ms. Jaswantiben Jamnadas Trade and Industry Maharashtra
Popat
82 Shri Girish Prabhune Social Work Maharashtra
83 Shri Nanda Prusty Literature and Odisha
Education
84 Shri K K Ramachandra Art Kerala
Pulavar
85 Shri Balan Putheri Literature and Education Kerala
86 Ms. Birubala Rabha Social Work Assam
87 Shri Kanaka Raju Art Telangana
88 Ms. Bombay Jayashri Ramnath Art Tamil Nadu
89
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Shri Satyaram Reang
IAS Art
STUDY CIRCLE
Tripura
90 Dr. Dhananjay Diwakar Sagdeo Medicine Kerala
91 Shri Ashok Kumar Sahu Medicine Uttar Pradesh
92 Dr. Bhupendra Kumar Medicine Uttarakhand
Singh Sanjay
93 Ms. Sindhutai Sapkal Social Work Maharashtra
94 Shri Chaman Lal Sapru Literature and Jammu and
(Posthumous) Education Kashmir
18 R.C. Reddy IAS Study Circle95 Shri Roman Sarmah Literature and Assam
Education- Journalism
96 Shri Imran Shah Literature and Education Assam
97 Shri Prem Chand Sharma Others- Agriculture Uttarakhand
98 Shri Arjun Singh Shekhawat Literature and Education Rajasthan
99 Shri Ram Yatna Shukla Literature and Education Uttar Pradesh
100 Shri Jitender Singh Shunty Social Work Delhi
101 Shri Kartar Paras Ram Singh Art Himachal Pradesh
102 Shri Kartar Singh Art Punjab
103 Dr. Dilip Kumar Singh Medicine Bihar
104 Shri Chandra Shekhar Singh Others-Agriculture Uttar Pradesh
105 Ms. Sudha Hari Narayan Singh Sports Uttar Pradesh
106 Shri Virender Singh Sports Haryana
107 Ms. Mridula Sinha Literature and Bihar
(Posthumous) Education
108 Shri K C Sivasankar Art Tamil Nadu
(Posthumous)
109 Guru Maa Kamali Soren Social Work West Bengal
110 Shri Marachi Subburaman Social Work Tamil Nadu
111 Shri P Subramanian Trade and Industry Tamil Nadu
(Posthumous)
112 Ms. Nidumolu Sumathi Art Andhra Pradesh
113 Shri Kapil Tiwari Literature and Education Madhya Pradesh
114 RCFather
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Vallés (Posthumous) CIRCLE
Literature and Education Spain
115 Dr. Thiruvengadam Medicine Tamil Nadu
Veeraraghavan (Posthumous)
116 Shri Sridhar Vembu Trade and Industry Tamil Nadu
117 Shri K Y Venkatesh Sports Karnataka
118 Ms. Usha Yadav Literature and Uttar Pradesh
Education
119 Col Quazi Sajjad Ali Zahir Public Affairs Bangladesh
R.C. Reddy IAS Study Circle 19SPORTS
BADMINTON:
World Tour Final (Bangkok, January 2021)
Men Singles:
Anders Antonsen (Denmark) - Winner
Viktor Axelsen (Denmark) - Runner
Women Singles:
Tai Tzu-ying (Taiwan) - Winner
Carolin Marin (Spain) - Runner
Men Doubles:
Lee Yang , Wang Chi-Lin (Taiwan) - Winners
Mohammad Ahsan , Hendra Setiawan (Indonesia) - Runners
Women Doubles:
Lee So-hee , Shin Seung-chan (South Korea) - Winners
Kim So-yeong, Kong Hee-yong (South Korea) - Runners
Mixed doubles:
Sapsiree Taerattanachai, Dechapol Puavaranukroh (Thailand) - Winners
Seo Seung-jae , Chae Yoo-jung (South Korea) - Runners
Yonex Thailand Open (Bangkok, January 2021)
Men's Singles:
Viktor Axelsen (Denmark) - Winner
NG Ka Long Ang (Hong Kong) - Runner
Women's Singles:
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Carolina Marin (Spain) - Winner
Tai Tzu Ying (Taiwan) - Runner
Men's Doubles:
Lee Yang, Wang Chi-Lin (Taiwan) - Winners
Goh V Shem, Tan Wee Kion (Malaysia) - Runners
Women's Doubles:
Grysia Polii, Apriani Rahayu - Winners
20 R.C. Reddy IAS Study CircleJongkolphan Kititharakul, Rawinda Prajongjai - Runners
Mixed Doubles:
Dechapol Puavaranukorh, Sapsiree Taerattanchai (Thailand)- Winners
Praveen Jordan, Melati Daeva Oktavianti (Indonesia) - Runners
CRICKET :
India, Australia Border-Gavaskar Trophy (Australia, January 2021)
India - Winner
Australia - Runner
India pulled off a record run-chase in a thrilling final session that led to Australia's first defeat at
Brisbane's Gabba ground since 1988 and clinch the four-Test series 2-1.
Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (Ahmedabad, January 2021)
Tamil Nadu - Winner
Baroda- Runner
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R.C. Reddy IAS Study Circle 21You can also read
