1. *The human spaceflight module of Gaganyaan will be launched after the second unmanned mission planned in 2022-23,* Union minister Jitendra Singh said.
2. *60 passenger coaches have been equipped with solar panel for meeting their light and fan power requirements, Railway Minister Piyush Goyal informed.*
3. *JDS Will Not Contest Upcoming Bypolls In Karnataka* “: JD(S) patriarch HD Deve Gowda said. While by-polls to Belgaum Lok Sabha and Basavakalyan Assembly seats are necessitated following the death of Union Minister Suresh Angadi and MLA B Narayan Rao respectively due to COVID-19 in September last year.
4. *Attacking the Centre over the new farm laws, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra told a rally in western Uttar Pradesh that if voted to power her party would scrap them.*
5. *Union Minister Jitendra Singh said that Rs 900 crore was allocated to the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) for the financial year 2020-21* for developing capacity for the launching of satellites. India Launched 328 Satellites From 33 Countries So Far.
6. *The AAP has fielded 154 candidates for the elections to Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC), which will go to polls along with five other civic bodies on February 21*
7. The BJP has finalized candidates for February 28 polls to local bodies in Gujarat, including 81 municipalities, 31 district panchayats and 231 taluka panchayats.
8. *The Punjab and Haryana High Court has held that a Muslim girl who is less than 18 years old but has attained puberty is free to marry anyone as per the Muslim Personal Law.*
9. *Violence, Arson Reported Along Assam-Mizoram Border, Security Tightened*: prompting the authorities to impose prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) in the district.
10. *Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, who will soon retire as Rajya Sabha member, said people will see him at many places as he is ”free now” and has no wish to be an MP, minister or hold any position in the party.*
11. *Thirteen maoists, three of them carrying cash rewards on their heads, surrendered before the police in Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh on Wednesday, Two women maoists were among those who surrendered before the police*.
12. *A group of workers, who were declared as “missing” as their families could not contact them for 3 days after the flash flood washed away parts of Tapovan Chamoli, Uttarkhand following the glacier burst, were found stranded at a temporary helipad in Raini village which is disconnected now with the city.*
13. *The Haryana govt on Wednesday decided to grant exemption in motor vehicle tax to auto rickshaws and taxis operating within the Delhi-national capital region (NCR)* .
14. *Farmers protesting against the Centre’s farm laws at the border of Delhi have decided to step up their protest with a four-point programme. The last of these is a plan to block railways across the country on February 18*. Farmers have also planned a candle-light march on February 14.
15. *After Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, farmers protesting the agriculture laws will now hold a mahapanchayat in Punjab – at Jagraon in Ludhiana district on Thursday* .
16. *Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra may face a privilege motion over her remarks in parliament on a former Chief Justice of India*
17. *Important To Differentiate Between Andolankari, Andolanjivi: PM Modi said* While “Andolankari” means an agitator, and “Andolanjivi” refer to those who jump from one protest to another to serve their personal interests.
18. *PM Modi also said.* “I consider the Kisan Andolan to be “pavitra” (pure). But, when Andolanjivis hijack a “pavitra andolan”, showcase photos of those jailed for serious offences…,” He also wondered how not allowing toll plazas to work and destruction of telecom towers can serve a “pure movement”.
19. *The “Major Ports Authorities Bill, 2020” was passed in the Rajya Sabha on February 10.* The bill was passed using the ballot votes. 84 votes were in favour while 44 votes were against it. The bill was passed in the Lok Sabha in September 2020: The bill also boost port land usage and it will amplify competition in port tariffs.
20. The newly designed third AC coaches of the Indian Railways was on Wednesday rolled out from the rail coach factory at Kapurthala to RDSO Lucknow for the upcoming trial. This Linke Hofmann Busch (LHB) three-tier coach was conceived by RCF Kapurthala and work on its design started in October 2020 with the approval of the Ministry of Railways
21. *Amid the ongoing controversy with the micro-blogging platform Twitter, several Central government officials have started shifting towards the homegrown alternative – the Koo app.* Union Ministers including Ravi Shankar Prasad, Piyush Goyal and Smriti Irani have already joined the Koo platform.
22. *Benefits of Jan Dhan account* : The benefits of government schemes directly come into the account.- Free mobile banking facility is also provided with the account.- Overseas facility after 6 months of opening of Jhan Dhan account- Accidental insurance cover up to Rs. 2 lakhs- Life cover up to Rs. 30,000- The account holder is given a RuPay Debit Card from which he can withdraw money from the account or make a purchase.- Interest is received on deposit.- Money transfer facility across the country- Easy to buy insurance, pension products through accounts.- If there is a Jhan Dhan account, then accounts will be opened for pension in schemes like PM Kisan and Shramayogi Maandhan. Any Indian citizen, whose age is 10 years or more, can open a Jan Dhan account.
23. *The Indian Navy is carrying out a mega war game involving almost all operational assets like warships, submarines and aircraft over a vast geographical expanse in the Indian Ocean Region to test the force’s combat readiness in a complex multi-dimensional scenario* :The biennial ”Theatre Level Operational Readiness Exercise (TROPEX)” aims to validate the Navy’s offensive as well as defence capabilities and safeguard national interests in the maritime domain.
24. *Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will make a statement in Rajya Sabha on the current situation in eastern Ladakh today*.
25. *Coronavirus Cases:*
10,870,501
Deaths:155,375
Recovered:10,571,059
*✈INTERNATIONAL NEWS*
1. *India and China have begun “synchronised and organised disengagement” from the north and south banks of Pangong Lake, a Chinese defence ministry spokesperson said Wednesday afternoon.*
2. *Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama has written to Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat, expressing his condolences to the families of the people killed in a glacier disaster in Chamoli district of the state.*
3. *A Bangladeshi citizen, Sheikh Kausar , one of the prime accused in Bengal blast case of 2014, was sentenced to consecutive terms of imprisonment totalling 29 years for offences* including waging war against any Asiatic power which is in alliance with the government of India.
4. *India To Do Its Best To Provide Vaccines To Canada: PM Modi To Justin Trudeau* : PM Modi assured his Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau that India would do its best to facilitate supplies of COVID vaccines sought by Canada. PM Trudeau, who made a telephone call to the prime minister.
5. *AgustaWestland Case: Custody Of Anoop Gupta Extended Till February 12* : The AgustaWestland case is being probed by CBI and ED. It has been alleged that bribes were paid during the UPA regime to “middlemen”, perhaps even politicians, when India agreed to buy 12 AgustaWestland helicopters built by Italian defence manufacturing Company Finmeccanica at an estimated cost of Rs 3,600 crore. Later in 2014, the said deal was scrapped by NDA Government.
6. *Nepal on Wednesday revoked the Everest summit certificates of two Indian climbers for faking their 2016 ascent, and banned them and their team leader from mountaineering in the country for six years*
7. *India and China on Tuesday held bilateral consultations on issues on the agenda of the United Nations Security Council via video conferencing.* The two sides also agreed to continue their engagement on key issues on the Security Council’s agenda. India began a two-year stint as a non-permanent member of the Security Council earlier this month.
8. *India and Afghanistan signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the construction of the Shatoot dam to provide drinking water to Kabul.*
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