One Liners of the Day, 20 January 2022

Economy

• State-owned Non-Banking Financial Companies, Power Finance Corporation and REC Limited ((formerly Rural Electrification Corporation Limited) ) have further reduced their lending rates across all types of loans by 40 Bps.
• Power Secretary reviews status of Biomass utilisation in Thermal Power Plants in the country: SAMARTH (Sustainable Agrarian Mission on use of Agro Residue in Thermal Power Plants)

National Affairs

NECBDC sponsored a training programme on "Bamboo Shoot Processing and Preservation", conducted by the NECBDC empanelled cluster M/s Delicacies food processing Center, Meghalaya, the same venue from 13th to 17th, December 2021.

• ICAAP and NCDC Jointly Release a Handbook on Global Good Practices for Cooperatives. The Handbook is a Compendium of Guidelines, Resources, Methodologies, Key Learning, and Case Studies of the Best Performing Cooperatives in India and abroad.
• MoHUA announces winners of the Streets for People and Nurturing Neighbourhoods Challenge. The Top 11 Awardees of the pilot stage of the Streets4People Challenge, in alphabetical order, are:

1. AURANGABAD for building early consensus with all public agencies and other stakeholders
2. BENGALURU for creating public spaces in residential areas with the involvement of RWA
3. GURUGRAM for Pedestrianizing markets and school zones by involving the citizens
4. KOCHI for integrating multiple ongoing initiatives to transform a neighbourhood
5. KOHIMA for transforming parking into vibrant community spaces
6. NAGPUR for re-imagining busy market streets into pedestrian havens
7. PIMPRI CHINCHWAD for creating a city-wide strategy for healthy streets
8. PUNE for activating dead spaces and making them experience zones
9. UDAIPUR for transforming the transit experience
10. UJJAIN for making giant leaps towards permanent pedestrianisation
11. VIJAYAWADA for involving the community at every step

• Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship signs an MoU with IGNOU to link vocational education and training with higher education. The initiative will benefit the trainees attached to National Skill Training Institutes, Industrial Training Institutes, Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Kendras and Jan Shikshan Sansthans.
• E-commerce firm Flipkart on Monday announced 'Leap Ahead' and 'Leap Innovation Network', two new programmes for start-ups.
• The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs initiated Open Data Week, which takes place between 17- 21 January. 
• Dip in the eastern swamp deer population in Kaziranga. Officials attributed the decrease from 907 individuals in 2018 to 868 during the Eastern Swamp Deer Estimation on January 10 and 11 to two high floods in 2019 and 2020.
• DGCA extends the ban on international flights till 28th February 2022. Restrictions will, however, not apply to international all-cargo operations flights approved by Director General Civil Aviation.
• Five hardcore Maoists were killed in separate encounters with security forces in the Chhattisgarh-Telangana border area on 19th January 2022.

International Current Affairs

• 'Major discovery' beneath Antarctic seas: A giant icefish breeding colony. Researchers find breeding colonies of about 60 million active icefish nests in Antarctica's southern Weddell Sea.
• China will not sell tickets for Beijing Winter Olympics Games due to the spread of the Omicron variant.

Person in News

• Roberta Metsola becomes EU Parliament's new president.
• Australian Open: Andy Murray, Daniil Medvedev sail into the second round.

Sports

• India set to host football AFC Women's Asian Cup India 2022 from 20th January 2022. 

State Current Affairs

• Govt starts awareness drive for growers on cultivation, processing of aromatic plants in J-K to enhance the employment opportunities of the youth of Jammu and Kashmir.
• The Telangana Government launched the Mana Ooru Mana Badi programme. The programme will create school infrastructure in the state. It is to be implemented at the cost of Rs 7,289 crores. More than 19.84 lakh children are to benefit from the programme.
• The Collarwali tigress died recently in India's Pench Tiger Reserve. It died as a result of old age. The State of Madhya Pradesh's Forest Department performed the last rites. The tigress died when she was 16 years old.