1.Person in News
Padma Shri awardee Pritam Singh passes away
Pritam Singh was a former director of Indian Institute of Management Lucknow
He contributed to higher education by chairing a subcommittee on Higher Education for the 12th Planning Commission
He was a member of the Ministry of Home Affairs Committee for capacity building of IPS officers.
Quick Fact: Padma Shri is the fourth highest civilian award in India
2.Miscellaneous
Ramon Magsaysay Award 2020 cancelled due to coronavirus fears
This award is considered the highest honor in Asia
It is awarded to individuals or organizations from Asia for outstanding altruistic and philanthropic service.
The Award was initiated in 1957 in the memory of the third President of Philippines, Ramon Magsaysay.
Quick Fact: Ramon Magsaysay Award is also known as the Nobel Prize of Asia
3.Miscellaneous
India ranks 56th on COVID-19 Regional Safety Assessment Report
The Deep Knowledge Group has assessed COVID-19 related safety of 200 countries and categorised them into four groups.
The first group is the safest, while the fourth is the riskiest
India features in the third group
Switzerland, with rank 1, has been assessed to be the safest place during the ongoing pandemic.
4.Sports
FIFA ranks India at 108th rank
FIFA stands for Federation Internationale de Football Association.
It is the international governing body of association football.
It awards ranks to national teams based on performance in matches played
The top 5 teams are Belgium, France, Brazil, England and Uruguay.
Quick Fact: The headquarters of FIFA are located at Zurich
5.National Affairs
NIRF Ranking released by MHRD
Ministry of Human Resource Development has released the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF)
It assesses and promotes competition among Indian educational institutions
The first three institutes are IIT-M, IISc Bangalore and IIT-D
Quick Fact: The NIRF ranking system was launched in 2015
6.Science and Technology
Nature Index released by Nature Research
Nature Research is a division of the popular academic publishing company Springer Nature
The index is created based on the author affiliation database collected from research articles published in high-quality science journals
India has scored 12th rank in the index, while USA has topped it
CSIR and IISc have been rated high by the index.
7.Environment
Guidelines for Import of Exotic Species issued by MOEFCC
Due to global concerns on wildlife trade in the backdrop of Coronavirus, the ministry has issued revised guidelines.
“Exotic Live Species” will mean only those under CITES (Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species) appendices I, II and III
The guidelines say that:
- For species under Appendix I, no trade is allowed
- For species under Appendix II, trade with permissions is allowed
- For species under Appendix III, large number of birds and animals can be traded
- Importer needs an NOC from Chief Wildlife Warden of the state
Quick Fact: Exotic Live Species are plant or animal species that are introduced to a new habitat from their original one.
8.Miscellaneous
International Religious Freedom Report released by US Government
The report has allegeddiscrimination and persecution of religious minorities in India.
Some highlighted concerns were related to the scrapping of special status of JnK, Citizen Amendment Act, incidents of mob lynching, etc.
India has raised its concerns over the report.
