20th February 2021 Current Affairs

1. Global forecasting firm Oxford Economics revised India’s economic growth projection for 2021 to 10.2 per cent from the earlier 8.8 per cent, citing receding COVID-19 risks and the shift in the monetary policy outlook.
2. Kings XI Punjab has been renamed as ‘Punjab Kings’ as a part of the franchise’s rebranding strategy ahead of the IPL 2021 auction in Chennai.
3. Five Indian-origin personalities, including Twitter’s top lawyer Vijaya Gadde and UK’s finance minister Rishi Sunak, and an Indian activist feature in TIME magazine’s annual list of 100 emerging leaders who are shaping the future”.
4. The Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) has received the Asia Environmental Enforcement Award-2020 awarded by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
5. The National Informatics Centre (NIC) of India has launched an instant messaging app just like WhatsApp for government employees called Sandesh.
6. A team of scientists, nature lovers and doctors have come up with a mobile application ‘Snakepedia’ on snakes in Kerala to help the public as well as doctors to treat snake bites.
7. Theodore Baskaran who is a writer, a historian, a naturalist and an activist has won the Sanctuary Lifetime Service Award, 2020. The award was instituted by the Sanctuary Nature Foundation.
8. India and Nepal signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the reconstruction of six secondary schools in the Himalayan nation.
9. The Central Government launched the Go Electric campaign to boost the adoption of electric mobility vehicles and electric cooking appliances to ensure energy security in the country.