Jeff Bezos to step down as Amazon CEO in Q3, Andy Jassy to take over
Amazon announced on February 2, 2021 that founder Jeff Bezos will step down as CEO of the company during the third quarter of 2021.
Bezos will transition to the role of Executive Chair of Amazon’s board, while Amazon Web Services CEO Andy Jassy will succeed him as the new Amazon CEO in Q3.
Aatmanirbharta named Oxford Hindi Word of the Year 2020
Aatmanirbharta has been named Oxford Hindi word of 2020 after PM Modi’s clarion call to make India self-reliant as a country, economy and as individuals to battle against the unprecedented coronavirus crisis.
PM Aatmanirbhar Swasth Bharat Yojana
The Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on February 1, 2021, announced a centrally sponsored scheme- Pradhan Mantri Aatmanirbhar Swasth Bharat Yojana under Union Budget 2021. The scheme is with an outlay of Rs. 64,180 crores over the period of six years.
• The scheme will provide support for 17,788 rural and 11,024 Urban health and wellness centres
• Establishing integrated public health labs in all the districts and setting up 3,382 public health units in 11 states
• Setting up critical care hospital blocks in 12 central institutions and 602 districts
• Strengthening the National Centre for Disease Control, its 5 regional branches as well as 20 metropolitan health surveillance units
• The scheme will expand the Integrated Health Information Portal to all the UTs and states to connect all public health labs
Vehicle scrapping policy
Under the vehicle scrapping policy, personal vehicles will undergo fitness tests in automated centres after 20 years while commercial vehicles will undergo the test after 15 years.
•According to Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari, 51 lakhs of light motor vehicles that are more than 20 years old will be scrapped under the scrapping policy.
Yudh Abhyas: Indo-US joint military exercise begins in Rajasthan
The 16th edition of ‘Yudh Abhyas’, India-US joint military exercise has begun in Rajasthan and will be held from February 8 to February 21, 2021. The drill has come days after the air forces of France and India held a 5-day joint exercise in Rajasthan in January 2021.
Reliance gets world’s first ‘carbon-neutral’ oil from US
The transaction is a first step in the creation of a new market for climate-differentiated crude oil.
Reliance has sourced the world’s first consignment of ‘carbon-neutral oil’ from the United States. The move comes as the company looks to become a net zero-carbon company 2035.
The US supplier said in a statement that Reliance got 2 million barrels of consignment. The Oxy Low Carbon Ventures (OLCV), which is a division of US oil major Occidental had delivered the carbon-neutral oil to Reliance.
Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance operates the world’s largest single-location oil refining complex at Jamnagar in Gujarat with a capacity of 68.2 million tonnes a year.
Aero India 2021: India hosts Indian Ocean Region Defence Ministers’ Conclave
The theme of the Indian Ocean Region Defence Ministers’ Conclave is ‘Enhanced Peace, Security, and Cooperation in the Indian Ocean’.
India will host the Indian Ocean Region- IOR Defence Ministers’ Conclave on February 4, 2021. The event will take place on the sidelines of Aero India 2021, the largest Aero show of Asia which is being held at Bengaluru from February 3 to 5.
According to the release Defence Ministry, the theme of the Indian Ocean Region Defence Ministers’ Conclave is ‘Enhanced Peace, Security, and Cooperation in the Indian Ocean’.
India Justice Report 2020
Uttar Pradesh remains last in delivering justice and Maharashtra once again at the top of the 18 Large and Mid-sized states (with a population of over one crore each) in the 2nd Edition of the India Justice Report.
Important Personalities in February
- The Governor of Telangana who has been given the additional charge as Lt Governor of Puducherry following resignation of Ms Kiran Bedi – Tamilisai Soundararajan
- The contestant from Telangana who has been declared the winner of VLCC Femina Miss India World 2020 – Manasi Varanasi
- The Nigerian-American economist who has been chosen to be the next and first woman and first African Director General of WTO – Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
International affairs
- The country which has emerged as India’s largest trade partner in the year 2020 there replacing United States in the top position – China
- The country which has rejoined the Paris Climate Agreement two years after it had withdrawn from it in 2019 – USA
EIU Democracy Index 2020
Released Economic Intelligence Unit
This index is topped Norway.
India ranked at 53rd position.
Australian Open 2021
Men’s Singles Winner: Novak Djokovic (Serbia)
Women’s Singles Winner: Naomi Osaka (Japan)
Books And Authors
- The Little Book of Encouragement: Dalai Lama
- By Many a Happy Accident: Recollections of Life: Mohammad Hamid Ansari
- Unfinished: Priyanka Chopra Jonas