Current Affairs 2021

K Madhavan named president of The Walt Disney Company India and Star India [14 Apr 2021]

The Walt Disney Company on Wednesday named K Madhavan as the president of The Walt Disney Company India and Star India with immediate effect. The move comes following the departure of Uday Shankar who had stepped down last year. In his new role, Madhavan will drive the strategy and growth of the media giant in India, with responsibility for the Disney, Star and Hotstar businesses and operations spanning across entertainment, sports and regional channels, and direct-to-consumer.

Sushil Chandra appointed next Chief Election Commissioner [13 Apr 2021]

Sushil Chandra was appointed as the next Chief Election Commissioner, the Law Ministry said. He will assume charge on April 13, a day after incumbent CEC Sunil Arora demits office. A former CBDT Chairman, Chandra was appointed as an election commissioner on February 14, 2019, ahead of the Lok Sabha election. He would demit office on May 14, 2022.

Sputnik V has got Indian regulatory approval [13 Apr 2021]

India’s top drug regulatory body gave the Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine developed by a Moscow laboratory permission for use in an emergency situation. The decision came hours after an expert panel of the regulator recommended emergency licensure to the vaccine. Sputnik V is now the third vaccine to be given such an approval in India after Serum Institute of India’s Covishield and Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin.

CRMNEXT Wins the 2021 "Dream Company to Work For" Award Presented by Times Ascent [10 Apr 2021]

CRMNEXT is a leading global banking and insurance digital transformation and customer experience platform. It has to its credit the largest banking CRM implementation globally with over a million bankers and a billion customers managed on its platform. The award is a testament to CRMNEXT's exceptional working environment that empowers employees to push their boundaries with a holistic care and work enablement ecosystem, innovative technology stack and continuous learning model to meet the evolving needs of its customers. Times Ascent World HRD Congress is the largest HR event in the world, with over 1800 professionals across 133 countries in attendance this year. The awards highlight outstanding business achievements in categories such as HR Technology, Workplace Innovation and Diversity Inclusion, among others.

Copyright (Amendment) Rules, 2021 notified [08 Apr 2021]

The Government of India has notified Copyright (Amendment) Rules, 2021 vide Gazette notification under reference G.S.R. 225(E) dated 30th March, 2021. In India, the copyright regime is governed by the Copyright Act, 1957 and the Copyright Rules, 2013. The Copyright Rules, 2013 were last amended in the year 2016. The amendments have been introduced with the objective of bringing the existing rules in parity with other relevant legislations. It aims to ensure smooth and flawless compliance in the light of the technological advancement in digital era by adopting electronic means as primary mode of communication and working in the Copyright Office. A new provision regarding publication of a copyrights journal has been incorporated, thereby eliminating the requirement of publication in the Official Gazette. The said journal would be available at the website of the Copyright Office. In order to encourage accountability and transparency, new provisions have been introduced, to deal with the undistributed royalty amounts and use of electronic and traceable payment methods while collection and distribution of royalties. To reinforce transparency in working of copyright societies a new rule has been introduced, whereby the copyright societies will be required to draw up and make public an Annual Transparency Report for each financial year. The amendments have harmonised the Copyright Rules with the provisions of Finance Act, 2017 whereby the Copyright Board has been merged with Appellate Board. The compliance requirements for registration of software works have been largely reduced, as now the applicant has the liberty to file the first 10 and last 10 pages of source code, or the entire source code if less than 20 pages, with no blocked out or redacted portions.

ReNew Power commissions 110 MW solar capacity in Rajasthan [07 Apr 2021]

ReNew Power has commissioned a 110 megawatt (MW) solar generation facility in Rajasthan. As part of the project, ReNew has signed a power purchase agreement with Solar Energy Corporation of India at a tariff of Rs 2.49/kWh and will provide clean energy to the state. The solar project in Jaisalmer district is a part of an eventual 2300 MW of solar capacity that ReNew is bringing in Rajasthan.

DRDO develops Advanced Chaff Technology to safeguard naval ships from missile attack [06 Apr 2021]

Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has developed an Advanced Chaff Technology to safeguard the naval ships against enemy missile attack. Defence Laboratory Jodhpur (DLJ), a DRDO laboratory, has indigenously developed three variants of this critical technology namely Short Range Chaff Rocket (SRCR), Medium Range Chaff Rocket (MRCR) and Long Range Chaff Rocket (LRCR) meeting Indian Navy’s qualitative requirements. The successful development of Advanced Chaff Technology by DLJ is another step towards Atmanirbhar Bharat. Recently, Indian Navy conducted trials of all three variants in the Arabian Sea on Indian Naval Ship and found the performance satisfactory. Chaff is a passive expendable electronic countermeasure technology used worldwide to protect naval ships from enemy’s radar and Radio Frequency (RF) missile seekers. The importance of this development lies in the fact that very less quantity of chaff material deployed in the air acts as decoy to deflect enemy’s missiles for safety of the ships.

Rebecca Welch becomes 1st woman to referee in English men’s pro league [06 Apr 2021]

Rebecca Welch became the first female referee to officiate an English men’s professional league game, and the managers of the teams involved were full of praise for her performance. The 37-year-old Welch took charge of Port Vale’s 2-0 win over Harrogate in the fourth tier. She is on FIFA’s international list and has twice been referee for the Women’s FA Cup final, in 2017 and 2020. She took up refereeing 11 years ago.

Indian Navy Ships and Aircraft to participate in exercise La Perouse [05 Apr 2021]

Indian Navy Ships INS Satpura (with an integral helicopter embarked) and INS Kiltan alongwith P8I Long Range Maritime Patrol Aircraft are participating, for the first time; in multi-lateral maritime exercise La Pérouse, being conducted in the Eastern Indian Ocean Region from 05 to 07 Apr 2021. The Indian Navy ships and aircraft will exercise at sea with ships and aircraft of French Navy (FN), Royal Australian Navy (RAN), Japan Maritime Self Defence Force (JMSDF) and United States Navy (USN) during the three day exercise at sea. The exercise La Pérouse, led by French Navy, has participation by FN Ships Tonnerre, an amphibious assault ship and frigate Surcouf. United States Navy is represented in the exercise by amphibious transport dock ship Somerset. Her Majesty’s Australian Ships (HMAS) Anzac, a frigate and tanker Sirius have been deployed by RAN for participation in the exercise while Japan Maritime Self Defence Ship (JMSDF) is represented by the destroyer Akebono. In addition to the ships, integral helicopters embarked onboard ships will also participate in the exercise.

DRDO lab develops light weight Bullet Proof Jacket [01 Apr 2021]

Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) lab Defence Materials and Stores Research and Development Establishment (DMSRDE), Kanpur has developed light weight Bullet Proof Jacket (BPJ) weighing 9.0 kilogrammes, meeting the qualitative requirements of Indian Army. The Front Hard Armour Panel (FHAP) jacket was tested at Terminal Ballistics Research Laboratory (TBRL), Chandigarh and met relevant BIS standards. The importance of this vital development lies in the fact that each gram of BPJ weight reduction is crucial in enhancing soldier comfort while ensuring the survivability. This technology reduces the weight of the medium sized BPJ from 10.4 to 9.0 kilogrammes. Very specific materials and processing technologies have been developed in the laboratories for the purpose.