Current Affairs in Short: 18 January 2021

Indian art form 'Kolam' part of Biden-Harris inauguration ceremony

• Kolam, an Indian art form was a part of the virtual kick-off ceremony of the inauguration of US President-elect Joe Biden and Vice-President-elect Kamala Harris on January 16, 2021. 
• The art form, which is a  traditional art form from Tamil Nadu in South India, comprises geometric patterns consisting of dots and lines as a symbol of welcome.
• The art form is generally drawn on the floors outside houses using powered rice.  Thousands of such tiles were made as a tribute to the soon-to-be first female and first Indian-origin Vice President of the United States, Kamala Harris. 

Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan passes away at 89

• Legendary Indian classical musician Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan passed away on January 17, 2021 at his residence in Mumbai. He was 89.
• He was a receiver of several prestigious awards including the coveted Padma Shri in 1991, Padma Bhushan in 2006 and Padma Vibhushan in 2018.
• Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan was an Indian classical musician in the Hindustani classical music tradition. He belonged to Rampur-Sahaswan Gharana.
• The late musician had a brain stroke in October 2019 and his right side had got paralysed. 

Brazilian health regulator declines emergency use of Russia's Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine

• The Brazil National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) has declined to give emergency use approval to Russia's Sputnik V vaccine for COVID-19 vaccination in Brazil.
• The request has reportedly been declined as it did not comply with the minimum criteria required for this task, in particular, due to lack of permission for the third phase of clinical trials.
• This comes after, Uniao Quimica, a partner of Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) contacted the Brazilian health regulator in December 2019 to request for permission to conduct the phase III clinical trials of Sputnik V vaccine in Brazil.

DRDO, CRPF launches bike ambulance 'RAKSHITA'

• The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) on January 18, 2021 launched a specially developed bike ambulance 'RAKSHITA'.
• The bike ambulance has been launched to attend to urgent evacuation needs of the security force personnel in the event of a medical emergency or battle injury in Naxal affected areas.
• The bikes will give assistance to CRPF jawans and paramedics in case of any injuries during encounters. 
• The bikes will be useful in areas including Dantewada, Sukma and Bijapur, as it is tough for the force to take big vehicles or ambulances inside the jungle.

India supplies 2 Mobile Harbour Cranes to Iran’s Chabahar port

• India has supplied a consignment comprising two Mobile Harbour Cranes (MHCs) to Iran’s Chabahar port with a total contract value of over 25 Million Dollars. Under the contract agreement, India will be supplying a total of six Mobile Harbour Cranes.
• The consignment, which arrived from Marghera port in Italy has been unloaded successfully at Chabahar port.
• The Mobile Harbour Cranes are fitted with multi-purpose equipment and have a lifting capacity of 40 Metric Tonnes. • The cranes will enable India Ports Global Limited to provide seamless services for Container, Bulk and General Cargo at Shahid Beheshti Port of Chabahar.