Current Affairs in Short: 11 February 2021

Assam government to appoint sprinter Hima Das as DSP

•Assam Chief Minister Sarbanand Sonwal announced during a meeting Council of Ministers (CoM) at Janata Bhawan, Guwahati on February 10, 2021 that the state government has decided to appoint sprinter Hima Das as a Deputy Superintendent of Police.
•The Assam cabinet also amended the integrated sports policy of the state for the appointment of medal winners of Olympics, Asian Games, CWG (Class 1) and medal winners of World Championships senior (Class 2) officers in different departments of the state government.
•Union Youth Affairs and Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju hailed the Assam cabinet's decision to appoint Hima Das as DSP. Das had become the first Indian woman and the first-ever Indian athlete to win a gold medal in any format of a global track event at the IAAF World U20 Championships.

Haryana to grant financial assistance worth Rs 5 lakh to Olympic qualifiers

•The Haryana Cabinet has decided to provide financial assistance worth Rs 5 lakhs as 'preparation money' to the sportspersons who have qualified for Olympic Games. 
•This was informed by State Minister Kanwar Pal Gujjar on February 10, 2021. The decision was taken during the state Cabinet meeting.
•The state cabinet has also decided to create a separate cadre under which 50 posts of deputy directors in group-A, 100 posts of senior coaches and 150 posts of coaches in group-B and 250 posts of junior coaches in group-C have been sanctioned. This effort is aimed at promoting sports in the state. 

US President imposes sanctions on Myanmar military leaders

•US President Joe Biden on February 10, 2021 signed an executive order imposing sanctions on the military leaders who directed the coup in Myanmar, their business interests and their family members.
•Biden announced a series of actions such as taking steps to prevent the Myanmar generals from improperly having access to the 1 billion dollars in Burmese (Myanmar) government funds held in the United States.
•Biden said that the US will identify the first round of targets this week and will also impose strong export controls, along with freezing US assets that benefit the Myanmar government while maintaining support for healthcare, civil society groups and other areas benefitting the people of Myanmar directly.
•The US President condemned violence against demonstrators protesting against the coup and called it 'unacceptable'. •He said that the US is ready to impose additional measures and will work with its international partners to urge other nations to join them in these efforts.

CCEA approves grant worth Rs 100 crore to Brahmaputra Valley Fertilizer Corporation

•The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on February 10, 2021 granted approval to the proposal of the Department of Fertilizers for grant-in-aid of Rs 100 crore.
•The grant will be provided to Brahmaputra Valley Fertilizers Corporation Limited (BVFCL), Namrup, in Assam to sustain operations of its urea manufacturing units.
•The Brahmaputra Valley Fertilizers Corporation Limited is a public sector undertaking under the administrative control of the Department of Fertilizers (DoF).
•The company is currently operating two vintage plants - Namrup-ll and Namrup-lll in the premises of BVFCL in Namrup, Assam.

India, China agree for disengagement in North and South banks of Pangong Lake: Defence Minister

•Defence Minister Rajnath Singh informed the Parliament on February 11, 2021 that India and China have agreed for disengagement in the North and South bank of Pangong Lake in Eastern Ladakh. 
•While stating in the Rajya Sabha, Singh assured that the nation’s approach and strategy for negotiations with the Chinese side has been guided at the highest level with the resolve that India will not give even an inch of its territory. 
•The Minister said that the tenacity and approach of the country during talks have yielded results.
•While highlighting the details of the agreement, Singh informed that both sides will cease their forward deployments in a phased, coordinated and verified manner.