National:
Startup India Seed Fund:
- During the “Prarambh: Startup India International Summit” organised by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed to BIMSTEC countries on 16 January 2021.
He also said, In order to provide initial capital to startups, the country is launching a Startup India seed fund worth Rs 1,000 crore. This will help to start and grow new startups.
BIMSTEC countries are Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Thailand.
26th Kolkata International Film Festival:
- West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee virtually inaugurated the 26th Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF 2020) on January 08, 2021. 26th Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF 2020) award winners have been announced. The film festival has been concluded on January 15, 2021.
26th Kolkata International Film Festival Award Winners
SKOCH Challenger Award to Ministry of Tribal Affairs:
- The Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA) received the coveted “SKOCH Challenger Award” for “Best Performance in e-Governance” on 16 January 2021.
The Award was received by the Union Minister for Tribal Affairs, Shri Arjun Munda, at the Virtual SKOCH Summit.
The award has been given for IT-led initiatives and other transformational initiatives leading to outcome-based performance improvement.
Other Three Gold Awards:
The Ministry also received 3 Gold Awards for its initiatives namely “Eco-Rehabilitation of tribal villages through Innovative design in water management using Ice-stupa”, “Swasthya: Tribal Health and Nutritional Portal and the Performance Dashboard”, “Empowering Tribals Transforming India”, which were received by Dr Naval Jit Kapoor, Joint Secretary on behalf of the Ministry.
“SKOCH Challenger Award” to Ministry of Panchayati Raj
International:
Agreement between Thales & BDL:
- Defence Company Thales on 14 January 2021 said it and state-run Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) have signed an agreement to work in partnership on an air defence system with the support of the Indian and British governments.
Through the agreement, BDL will become a part of the STARStreak missile system’s global supply chain.
Death:
- Physician, Dr Ramaka Lakshmana Murthy passed away at Ram Nagar in Hanamkonda on 14 January 2021. He was 83. He was popularly known as ‘People’s Doctor’.