PM Modi launches Rs 1,000-crore ‘Startup India Seed Fund’

1. No foreign leader to attend as chief guest on Republic Day 2021 due to Covid-19 situation

• According to the latest notification of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), it has been decided that there will be no foreign head of state or government as the Chief Guest for the Republic Day event on January 26, 2021, keeping in view, the global COVID 19 situation
• It will be for the first time in over five decades that India will not have a chief guest at the event.
• Earlier, United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson was invited to attend the Republic Day event as the chief guest. However, he cancelled his visit after the spread of the new contagious mutant strain of the novel coronavirus in UK.
• Following this, it was said that Indian-origin President of Republic of Suriname, Chandrikapersad Santokhi, would be invited as the chief guest at India’s Republic Day parade for 2021.

2. PM Modi launches Rs 1,000-crore ‘Startup India Seed Fund’

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched Rs 1,000-crore ‘Startup India Seed Fund’ on 16 January 2021, while addressing the ‘Prarambh: Startup India International Summit’ 2021.
• The Startup India Seed Fund would support startups in need of initial capital to start and grow their business and help budding entrepreneurs pursue innovative ideas.
• This initiative will help in setting up new startups and promote their growth.

3. Petroleum Ministry launches ‘SAKSHAM’ campaign to spread awareness about ‘Green and Clean Energy’

• The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has launched a month long mass awareness campaign titled ‘SAKSHAM’ to spread awareness about green and clean energy.
• The campaign has been organised by the Petroleum Conservation Research Association (PCRA), to motivate consumers to switch to cleaner fuels and bring in behavioral change to use fossil fuel intelligently.
• SAKSHAM stands for Sanrakshan Kshamata Mahotsav.
• The pan-India campaign would include various activities such as cyclothon, farmer workshops, seminars, painting competition, CNG vehicle driving contest, etc to spread awareness among masses about the advantages of using clean fuels.

4. Yes Bank Joins Hand with Aditya Birla Financial Services to launch wellness-themed credit cards

• Private sector lender YES BANK has launched ‘YES BANK Wellness’ and ‘YES BANK Wellness Plus’ credit cards in partnership with Aditya Birla Wellness Private Limited, for holistic health, self-care and wellness of consumers.
• The credit cardholders will be able to enjoy the complimentary health benefits by simply registering on the Aditya Birla Multiply App.
• This will allow consumers to avail complimentary benefits such as annual health check-up, round the clock doctor or counsellor helpline, in-studio or home-based workout sessions, personalized diet plans, among others.

5. Indian entrepreneur Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw among three new Vice-Chairs of US-India Business Council

• The US-India Business Council (USIBC) has selected three top corporate leaders as the Vice- Chairs of 2021 Global Board of Directors of USIBC with immediate effect on 14 January 2021.
• The three newly appointed VCs are

1. Biocon Executive Chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw
2. Amway CEO Milind Pant
3. Vice-chair at Nasdaq, Edward Knight

• The three new appointees will now work with USIBC President Nisha Biswal and the Council’s policy directors, for strengthening US-India commercial relationship for the future.

6. Human Rights Council Elects Fiji’s Nazhat Shameem as its President for 2021

• Nazhat Shameem Khan, the Permanent Representative of Fiji to the United Nations Office at Geneva, has been elected by the UN Human Rights Council as its President for 2021.
• Ambassador Khan was elected during the Council’s 15th annual meeting on 15 January 2021, through a secret ballot process, where she won 29 votes from among 47 members council.
• She replaces Australian lawyer Elisabeth Tichy-Fisslberger, who was serving as the President of the  Geneva-based human rights body  for 2020.

7. Google Doodle honours Basketball inventor Dr James Naismith

• On January 15, 2021, Google Doodle honoured the illustrious legacy of Dr James Naismith, the inventor of the game of Basketball.
• The Canadian-American Dr James Naismith was indulged in many professions at the same time. He was a professor, sports coach, a doctor, a physical educator and a Christian Chaplain as well.
• 130 years ago, in 1891, Dr Naismith invented the game of Basketball and wrote its original 13 rules in the pages of a Springfield College newspaper, ‘The Triangle’.
• The game was introduced on December 21, 1891.
• In 1959, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame was introduced in Springfield, Massachusetts, in his honor, and he was an inaugural inductee.