TNPSC Current Affairs February 05, 2020

www.tnpsc.academy – TNPSC Current Affairs February 05, 2020 (05/02/2020)

Topic: Latest Historical Diary of Events

Vikram Sarabhai

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) are conducting various events at national level in a year long programme to commemorate the 100th birth anniversary of Dr. Vikram Sarabhai.

Vikram Sarabhai was born on August 12, 1919. Sarabhai was instrumental in forming India’s future in astronomy and setting up the country’s space research facilities.

Topic: International Events

Blue dot network

The first meeting of the Blue Dot Network‘s embryonic steering committee was held recently in Washington, with Australia and Japan as partners.

What is the Blue dot network?

The U.S., Australia and Japan announced the network during the November 4, 2019, Indo-Pacific Business Forum in Bangkok. The initiative aligns with the G20’s Principles for Quality Infrastructure Investment, particularly on governance, environmental standards and transparency.

At present the project is led by the U.S. International Development Finance in partnership with the government-owned Japan Bank for International Cooperation and Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs.

Once fully up and running, the new network will bring together governments, the private sector and other organizations behind a set of high-quality global infrastructure development standards.

Topic: Latest Diary of Events, Profile of States

Maharashtra tops list of States hit by global medical data leak

Greenbone Sustainable Resilience, a German cybersecurity firm, has published a report on medical data leak. This is the second report.

Key facts:

Medical details of over 120 million Indian patients have been leaked and made freely available on the Internet. Leaks include a massive number of records, including images of CT scans, X-rays, MRIs and even pictures of the patients. The report also places Maharashtra at the top of the States affected by the leak. Followed by Karnataka.

Ranking of the countries:

This is the second edition of the report and it classifies countries in the “good”, “bad” and “ugly” categories based on the action taken by their governments after the first report was made public. India ranks second in the “ugly” category, after the U.S.

Topic: Places in News, Latest Diary of Events

Burhi Dihing river

A stretch of the eastern Assam’s Burhi Dihing River was recently on fire for the last two days due to a leakage in the underwater oil pipeline.

Dihing or Burhi Dihing is a large tributary of the Brahmaputra River in Upper Assam. Originates in the Eastern Himalayas (the Patkai Hills) in Arunachal Pradesh and flows through Tinsukia and Dibrugarh Districts in Assam to its confluence with the Brahmaputra at Dihingmukh.

Topic: Welfare Oriented Schemes and their Utilities

nCoV outbreak declared a State calamity in Kerala

Kerala has declared the novel coronavirus (nCoV) infection a State calamity. So far, there have been three confirmed cases. The decision will help ensure that the outbreak is controlled.

Topic: International Events

India Russia sign first ever Term Contract to import crude oil to India

The Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Shri Dharmendra Pradhan and the Chairman of Rosneft (Russia’s largest oil producing company) signed the first ever term contract. According to the contract India will import 2 million metric tonnes of Urals grade crude oil.

Key facts:

The agreement was signed between IOCL and Rosneft. The companies discussed on energy cooperation and hydrocarbon enhancement. Rosneft is the largest oil producing company in Russia. The company is extended over 20 countries in the world. The company is to bid in the disinvestment of BPCL (Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited). On November 20, 2019, the Union cabinet approved to privatize BPCL selling 52.98% of its stakes to private sector.

Topic: Historical Diary of Events, Profile of States

Pink City-Jaipur receives World Heritage Certificate from UNESCO

The Pink City of Rajasthan, Jaipur, received World Heritage Certificate from the UNESCO. The UNESCO Director General Audrey Azoulay visited India to present the certificate.

The World Heritage Certificate was presented to Jaipur for the efforts of the people of the pink city towards preserving its cultural heritage. Jaipur’s Parkota has been listed in the World Heritage sites of UNESCO.

The Project is being implemented by UNESCO in 10 cities of Rajasthan, It includes Barmer, Jodhpur, Bikaner, Jaisalmer, etc.