Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 20 February 2021

SSC CGL Current Affairs

::NATIONAL::

Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan today launched Intensified Mission Indradhanush 3.0, (IMI 3.0) to expand immunization coverage across the country.
It will have two rounds starting from the 22nd of this month and the 22nd of March this year and will be conducted in pre-identified 250 districts and urban areas across 29 States and UTs in the country.
Both rounds will be for 15 days each. A portal of IMI 3.0 has also been launched besides releasing the Operational Guidelines and the awareness material of the campaign.
The focus of the Intensified Mission Indradhanush 3.0 will be the children and pregnant women who have missed their vaccine doses during the COVID-19 pandemic.
They will be identified and vaccinated during the two rounds. Beneficiaries from migration areas and hard to reach areas will be targeted as they may have missed their vaccine doses during COVID19.
The present campaign will target achieving 90 percent Full Immunization Coverage in all districts of the country and sustain the coverage through immunization system strengthening and foster India’s march towards the Sustainable Development Goals. Since its first phase, Mission Indradhanushhas covered 690 districts and vaccinated 37.64 million children and 9.46 million pregnant women.

Pakistan has decided to register Himalayan pink salt as Geographical Indications (GI) to prevent its unauthorised use by other countries.
A GI tag is a sign used on products that have a specific geographical origin and possess origin-based qualities and reputation in the region.
The precious salt is extracted from the Salt Range in Punjab which extends along the south of the Potohar Plateau and the north of the Jhelum River.
The decision was taken in a meeting with the Intellectual Property Organisation (IPO) Pakistan chaired by Commerce Adviser RazakDawood. IPO Chairman Mujeeb Ahmed Khan also attended the meeting, the Dawn newspaper reported.
An official announcement said that during the meeting, GI registration of products from various regions of Pakistan was discussed. The move aims to curb unauthorised use of Pakistan’s GI by other countries.
Pink Himalayan salt is said to be loaded with minerals that are beneficial to health.
Pakistan is fighting a case in the 27-member European Union against India's move to get Basmati rice registered as its product.

• According to the government the cost of the project was Rs. 5,70 crore
• Prime Minister NarendraModi inaugurated the 320 kV 2000 MW Pugalur (Tamil Nadu) – Thrissur (Kerala) HVDC project through video conference on Friday 19 February and also dedicated a 50 MW Kasaragod solar power project to the nation. According to the government the cost of the project is Rs.5,0crores.
• According to RK Singh, Energy Minister, the allocation for Kerala from the Central Region is 2,266 MW, but its peak from the national grid has already touched 3,100 MW, which is the maximum transfer capacity of Kerala. The minister said that with the demand increasing, it is expected to touch 5,000 MW by 2022.
• According to a statement shared by the government, the project will transfer 2,000 MW of additional power to Kerala. Of this, Kerala will be able to use 1,000 MW right now and after strengthening the system will attract the remaining 1,000 MW for which work is in progress.
• The transmission line is a voltage source converter-based high voltage direct current system (HDVC), the most modern system in the world and the first of its kind in India. The system enables safe and fast transmission with little loss and also enables transmission through cables.

India successfully test-fired indigenously-developed anti-tank guided missile systems 'Helina' and 'Dhruvastra' on Friday. This paved way for their induction into the Army and the Indian Air Force respectively, officials said.
As per a report in PTI, the defence ministry described the missiles as one of the most-advanced anti-tank weapons in the world.
"The system has all-weather day-and-night capability and can defeat battle tanks with conventional armour as well as with explosive reactive armour. It is one of the most-advanced anti-tank weapons in the world," the ministry said.
It said five missions were carried out for evaluating the capabilities of the missiles in minimum and maximum range.
"The missiles were fired in hover and max forward flight against realistic static and moving targets. Some missions were carried out with warheads against derelict tanks. A mission was carried out against a moving target from a forward flying helicopter," the ministry said in a statement.
The 'Helina' and 'Dhruvastra' are third-generation anti-tank guided missiles that can engage targets both in direct hit mode as well as top attack mode, reported PTI.

Osaka used a six-game run from 4-all in the opening set Saturday to take control and improve to 4-0 in major finals. She is the first woman to start her career that way since Monica Seles did it 30 years ago.
The trouble for Naomi Osaka at Grand Slam tournaments comes in Week 1. Get beyond that at the hard-court majors, though, and start preparing to etch her name on the trophy.
Osaka won her fourth title in her past eight appearances at a Slam, emerging from what initially was a tight Australian Open final and pulling away by grabbing six consecutive games to beat Jennifer Brady 6-4, 6-3 on Saturday.