National:
Swachhata Pakhwada organised by NCC:
- Defence Secretary, Dr Ajay Kumar inaugurated Swachhata Pakhwada organised by NCC at India Gate on 18 January 21.
The theme of this Swachhata Pakhwada was “Clean India, Green India, Yeh Hai Mera Dream India”.
During the Swachhata Pakhwada the NCC cadets’ keeped Rajpath clean for the Republic Day Parade – 2021.
The cadets organised in 26 teams also carried out plogging from ‘C hexagon’ of India Gate to Vijay Path from 18 to 29 January 2021 and in doing so, spread awareness about the importance of cleanliness.
Awards:
- The prestigious SKOCH silver award has been awarded to Anantapur district at 70th SKOCH Summit, for the Kisan Rail organised from the district to New Delhi for the benefit of horticulture farmers.
Secretary General of CUTS International, Pradeep S Mehta has been conferred the SKOCH Challenger Award in January 2021, for his contributions to public policy on competition.
India Innovation Index 2020:
- NITI Aayog, along with the Institute for Competitiveness, released the second edition of the India Innovation Index on 20 January 2021. The ‘India Innovation Index 2020’ was released by NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Dr Rajiv Kumar.
Major States category:
In the Major States category, Karnataka continued to occupy the top position, followed by Maharashtra & Tamilnadu on second & third position respectively, while Bihar ranked 17th at the bottom of the index.
UT & City States category:
In the UT & City States category, Delhi retained its first rank, followed by Chandigarh at second place. Lakshadweep has been ranked 9th, at the bottom of index.
North-Eastern/Hill States category:
Under the North-Eastern/Hill States category, Himachal Pradesh emerges as the top ranker this year, followed by Uttarakhand at second place. Meghalaya has been ranked 10th, at the bottom of index.
Complete List of Ranks of States & UTs in the Report of India Innovation Index 2020
Business:
Acquisition of Minority Stake in ABFRL by FIPL:
- The Competition Commission of India (CCI) approves acquisition of 7.8 per cent minority stake in Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Limited (ABFRL) by Flipkart Investments Private Limited (FIPL).
Launch of Communication Platform “WISELY”:
- Cloud communication services provider, Tanla Platforms Limited has partnered with Microsoft to launch a blockchain-enabled Communications Platform-as-a-Service (CPaaS), ‘Wisely’ (WISELY).
The platform is built on Microsoft Azure. A unique marketplace for enterprises and suppliers, ‘Wisely’ offers a global edge-to-edge network that delivers private, secure, and trusted communication experiences.
Important Day:
- Indian State, Tripura celebrated their Statehood Day on 21 January 2021.
- Indian State, Meghalaya celebrated their Statehood Day on 21 January 2021.
- Indian State, Manipur celebrated their Statehood Day on 21 January 2021.
Death:
- Malayalam actor Unnikrishnan Namboothiri passed away on 20 January 2021 in Kannur. He was 98.
He acted in films like Kaliyattam (1997), Pammal K Sambandam (2002), Kalyanaraman (2002), Pokkiri Raja (2010).