Top News Today…

1. Petrol and diesel prices will not be cut as Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman ignored calls for a reduction in excise duty rates to help bring down prices from historic high levels.

2. Ujjwala scheme of providing free cooking gas to poor women will be extended to 1 crore more beneficiaries.

3. The Centre has allocated Rs 73,000 crore to the rural employment guarantee programme Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act for the next fiscal 2021-22, substantially lower than the actual expenditure of Rs 1.11 lakh crore in the current fiscal which included an additional Rs 40,000 crore for the scheme given by the government in the wake of the pandemic’s impact on the economy.

4. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced an expanded focus on Health, allocating 2.83 lakh crore in this year’s Union Budget – a 137% increase in Health budget.

5. Farm unions announce ‘Chakka Jam’ on February 6, they would block national and state highways for three hours in protest against the internet ban in areas near their agitation sites, harassment allegedly meted out to them by authorities and other issues between 12 pm to 3 pm.

6. The Delhi Police on Monday arrested a protester who allegedly attacked and injured a Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel during violence at the Red Fort on Republic Day. The accused has been identified as Akash Preet, a resident of Rampur in Uttar Pradesh.

7. Rashtrapati Bhavan is set to re-open for public viewing from February 6 (Saturday). The visit to Rashtrapati Bhavan was closed due to COVID-19 since March 13, 2020.

8. Pune airport to stay shut for 14 days due to runway resurfacing work in April-May

9. Air India disinvestment to be completed in 2021-22; Rs 3,224 cr allotted to aviation ministry: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in her budget speech on Monday and allocated as Rs 2,268 crore for a special purpose vehicle set up as part of financial restructuring of the debt-laden national carrier.

10. Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Kavadekar announced that they are ‘soon’ going to make a major announcement regarding the ‘functioning’ of OTT platforms in India. The announcement comes days after Amazon Prime Video shows Mirzapur and Tandav created controversies for allegedly ‘hurting the religious sentiments.

11. CBSE Board Exam Date Sheet 2021: The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) will be releasing CBSE Class 10 and CBSE class 12 timetables today The candidates who are preparing for the examination must note that the exam will be held in the offline mode from May 4 to June 10

12. Indian Navy Recruitment 2021: JEE Main 2020 candidates can apply @ joinindiannavy.gov.in: The Indian Navy has invited all the candidates to join the prestigious Indian Naval Academy, Ezhimala, Kerala for a four-year BTech degree course under the 10+2 (BTech) Cadet Entry Scheme. The selected candidates will be distributed among the Education, Executive and Technical Branches of Indian Navy on completion of their course at INA. 9 Feb 2021 Last date to apply.

13. A joint operation by Indian Army and Jammu and Kashmir Police led to the recovery of a large cache of weapons and ammunition from a dense forest area of Rajouri district

14. Lt. Gen. Chandi Prasad Mohanty takes over as Vice Chief of Indian Army

15. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to inaugurate HAL’s second LCA production line on Tuesday

16. Defence Budget 2021-22: Nirmala Sitharaman allocates Rs 4.78 lakh crores for the defence ministry
India spent Rs 20,776 crore on emergency, unbudgeted defence expenses given China challenge in the last year as the armed forces went on a global hunt for equipment and stores to respond to the China challenge on the Ladakh border.

17. PM Narendra Modi greets Indian Coast Guard personnel on foundation day: The Indian Coast Guard was incepted on February 1, 1977. True to its motto “Vayam Rakshamah” meaning `We protect`, the service has to its credit saving over 10,000 lives and apprehending around 14,000 miscreants since its inception in 1977.

18. Coronavirus Cases:
10,767,159
Deaths: 154,521
Recovered: 10,447,359

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

1. India keeps a close watch as Myanmar military detains political leaders including Suu Kyi: India is closely watching the evolving situation in neighbouring Myanmar where it has huge stakes following the detention of political leaders by the country’s all-powerful military.

2. India has stepped up engagements with its extended neighbour Iran by handing over cranes for the strategically-located Chabahar Port within days of the Biden administration taking charge.

3. India extends UK air travel restrictions till Feb 14 The limited flight connectivity between India and the UK will continue till February 14 and the India-bound flights from the UK would be allowed only in five international airports such as Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad, according to a directive issued on Saturday.

4. Russia to feature over 200 weapon systems at Aero India air show
Russia’s state hi-tech corporation Rostec will feature over 200 weapon systems that will run in the Indian city of Bangalore in February.

5. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday thanked his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi for his government’s efforts to protect Israeli representatives following the terrorist incident near the country’s embassy in New Delhi last week.

6. A BSF troop on patrolling duties on the International Border in Border Outpost Bir Singh under Belonia at Tripura South district were attacked by trans-border miscreants on Monday (February 1, 2021). At 10.55 am on Monday, the BSF party observed 7 to 8 people trying to damage the IBB fence with the intention to smuggle cattle to Bangladesh.

7. India will be providing financial assistance in form of grants and loans worth Rs 6251.65 cr to 10 countries in the region, budget documents have announced. The highest assistance goes to Bhutan on expected lines, with New Delhi announcing Rs 2884.65 cr to the country–2052.37 in form of a grant and 832.28 cr in form of a loan.

WORLD NEWS

1. Myanmar’s military staged a coup on Monday, detaining de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi and declaring it had taken control of the country for one year under a state of emergency.

2. Taiwan says Chinese fighters, US aircraft both entered defence zone
Six Chinese fighter aircraft and a US reconnaissance aircraft entered the southwestern corner of Taiwan’s air defence identification zone on Sunday, the island’s defence ministry said, in an unusual admission of US military activity.

3. China has deployed me to crush Baloch movement: Pak general Ayman Bilal
Major General Ayman Bilal of the Pakistan Army has confessed to China’s role and support in his deployment in Balochistan, Bangladeshi newspaper Daily Sun has reported. “China has deployed me to crush the Baloch movement and has given me a six-month task,” Maj Gen Bilal said.

4. Calling the military’s seizure of power in Myanmar a ‘direct assault’ on its transition to democracy, United States President Joe Biden on Monday threatened to slap new sanctions on the country after the junta detained State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, President U Win Myint and other political leaders. According to media reports, an announcer on Myanmar’s military-owned Myawaddy TV declared on Monday morning that the military had taken control of the country for one year.

5. Why is the military taking control of Myanmar and why has it detained govt leaders?

Army chief Min Aung Hlaing, who has acquired the power of the nation now, had claimed that civilian government was making “unacceptable mistakes”. the military alleged that the elections were full of ‘irregularities’ and questioned the veracity of at least 9 million votes cast in November 2020 even though the country’s election commission rejected the claims of fraud.

Article 417 of Myanmar Consitution’s that allows the army to take over during the times of emergency. The moderator also said that the COVID-19 pandemic along with civilian government’s failure to postpone the November general elections was the reason for emergency. It was the military that drafted the constitution in 2008.

Suu Kyi’s party won the November elections and bagged 396 out of 476 seats in the combined lower and upper houses of Parliament, the military refused to accept the results and cited ‘irregularities’ in 314 townships that could have let voters cast multiple ballots or commit “voting malpractice”. However, the country’s Myanmar’s election commission has confirmed the victory and rejected the army’s claims that were floated without any proof.

Now, the Myanmar military has informed that general elections will be held after a one-year state of emergency declared earlier in the day. The military said that during the emergency period, the Union Election Commission will be reformed and the parliamentary elections held in November 2020 will be reviewed.

the state power in Myanmar has been handed over to Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services Min Aung Hlaing, while the nation’s first Vice President Myint Swe will be serving as the acting president of the country.

6. NASA, SpaceX to launch four astronauts to the International Space Station on April 20

SPORTS

1. Union Minister of Youth Affairs & Sports, Kiren Rijiju has launched a breakthrough Reference Material for use in chemical testing in the field of anti-doping. A reference material jointly synthesised by the National Dope Testing Laboratory (NDTL) and National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER), Guwahati.

2. Chennai Super Kings captain MS Dhoni will become the first-ever cricketer in the Indian Premier league’s history to cross the ₹150 crore salary mark after his IPL 2021 compensation.

The cricketer will draw a salary of ’15 crore in the upcoming edition of the Indian T20 extravaganza, which will take his total compensation over ‘152 crore. MS Dhoni is also the highest-paid cricketer overall in the league

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