1) Person in News
Irwin Allan Sealy’s pens new novel “ASOCA”
The prize-winning writer Irwin Allan Sealy has written a new Novel “ASOCA: A Sutra, an imagined memoir of Ashoka The Great.
The book is about Ashoka, an Indian emperor of the Maurya Dynasty who ruled almost all the Indian subcontinent.
The book is to be published by Penguin Random House’s Viking imprint and will be released in July 2021.
Quick Fact: Jnanpith Award, highest literary award in India, is given annually for the best creative literary writing to writers in India.
2) Science and Technology
HCL Technologies signs an MoU with IIT- Kanpur to build up competence in cybersecurity
Hindustan Computers Limited (HCL) Technologies signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Indian Institute of Technology- Kanpur to collaborate in the field of cybersecurity.
HCL will also work with the C3iHub, a specialized cybersecurity research center off IIT-Kharagpur.
Under this MoU, the teams will develop a security framework and solutions for cybersecurity issues in present and future operational technologies as one of the areas of interest.
Quick Fact: The Chief Executive officer of HCL Technologies is C Vijaykumar.
3) Environment
FAO and Arbor Day Foundation recognizes Hyderabad as ‘Tree City of the World 2020’
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the Arbor Day Foundation have recently recognized Hyderabad as the Tree City of the World 2020.
Hyderabad was selected for its commitment to grow and maintain the urban forests.
Other cities which were recognized by the organizations include 120 cities across 63 countries.
Quick Fact: FAO is a specialized agency of the United Nations that works internationally, aims at defeating hunger and improving nutrition security as well as food security.
4) Sports
Manika Batra wins National Table Tennis Championship
Manika Batra has won the 82nd Senior National Table tennis Championship.
Batra will now compete with two table tennis contenders, which will be followed by World Olympic qualifiers and Asian Olympic qualifiers in Doha.
She is a top-ranked female table tennis player and has won a silver medal in the under-21 category of the Chile Open in 2011.
Quick Fact: In table tennis, India’s Women’s team ranks 22nd in the world, as of 2019.
5) Science and Technology
Nasa’s Perseverance Rover lands on Mars
The science rover Perseverance of NASA landed on the red planet, Mars, on 18th February 2021.
The rover sailed through space for nearly seven months and covered a distance of 472 million km before entering into the Martian atmosphere.
The rover is advanced in astrobiology and aims to search the traces of microbial life on the planet Mars.
Quick Fact: Mars appears to be red in color because of the effect of iron oxide prevalent on its surface.
6) Science and Technology
Hyundai designs a Walking Car Concept Robot
The Hyundai Motors Group has designed a walking car concept robot.
It is named ‘TIGER’ which stands for Transforming Intelligent Ground Excursion Robot.
The robot possesses wheels that have the capability to adapt and navigate in challenging terrain.
Quick Fact: Hyundai Motor Company is a South Korean multinational automotive manufacturer.
7) International Affairs
ISA to launch World Solar Bank
The International Solar Alliance (ISA) has planned to launch the World Solar Bank (WSB) at the United Nations Climate Change Conference scheduled for November 2021.
The development of the World Solar Bank will support India’s attempt to secure its leadership in the climate arena.
The development of the bank is significant because green finance will be one of the priority themes at the climate meet called COP-26.
Quick Fact: The ISA was co-founded by India.
8) Science and Technology
Oldest DNA discovery from Teeth of Siberian Mammoths
Scientists have recovered the oldest DNA on record from the teeth of Siberian Mammoths.
These mammoths were found in north-eastern Siberia from around 1.2 million years ago.
The remains of the mammoth were discovered in the early 1970s and new scientific methods were developed to extract their DNA
Quick Fact: Mammoth is from a species called elephantid of genus Mammuthus, which is now extinct.
