Current Affairs in Short: 4 January 2021

Britain becomes first country to roll out low-cost Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine

•Britain became the first nation in the world on January 4, 2020 to roll out the low-cost and easily transportable Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.
•An 82-year-old man, dialysis patient Brian Pinker, became the first in the world on January 4th to receive the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. He received his first vaccine dose at Oxford's Churchill Hospital.
•The British Health Secretary Matt Hancock said that 530,000 doses of the vaccine are currently ready for use. The British government hopes to deliver tens of millions of doses within months.

51st International Film Festival of India to be held in Goa from January 16

•The 51st International Film Festival of India (IFFI) will be held in the Indian state of Goa from January 16-24, 2021. The festival will open with Indian premiere 'Another Round' by Thomas Vinterberg. 
•The festival will showcase many star-studded movies including the movie starring Cannes Best Actor Award winner Mads Mikkelsen. His 2012 film ‘The Hunt’ was also Denmark's official entry to the Oscars.
•Besides this, the festival will also witness the World Premiere of 'Mehrunisa'- the film by Sandeep Kumar starring formidable actor Farrukh Jaffar. 
•The Japanese historical drama ‘Wife of a Spy’ by Kiyoshi Kurosawa will also have its India premiere during the festival.
•The 51st IFFI will be organised for the first time in a hybrid mode and will comprise both online and in-person experiences. A total of 224 films from across the globe will be screened at the festival.

PM Narendra Modi to inaugurate Kochi-Mangaluru Natural Gas Pipeline on January 5

•Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the Kochi-Mangaluru Natural Gas Pipeline at 11 am on January 5, 2021 through video conferencing.
•The pipeline will supply affordable and environment-friendly fuel to households and Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) to the transportation sector.
•The event marks an major milestone towards the creation of 'One Nation One Gas Grid'.  The Chief Ministers and Governors of Kerala and Karnataka will also be present on the occasion along with Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas.

Bharat Biotech recruits 23,000 volunteers for COVAXIN's Phase III clinical trial

•Bharat Biotech has so far recruited 23,000 volunteers for Covaxin's Phase III clinical trials, making significant progress towards achieving the goal of 26,000 trial participants. 
•COVAXIN, which is India's first indigenous COVID-19 vaccine, has been developed by Bharat Biotech in collaboration with ICMR (Indian Council of Medical Research). 
•The phase III human clinical trials of COVAXIN had begun in mid-November and the target was to involve 26,000 volunteers. 
•This is the largest phase III efficacy trial ever conducted for any vaccine in India.

Reliance Jio to file plea at Punjab & Haryana HC to stop illegal acts of vandalism

•Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) has decided to move the Punjab and Haryana High Court, seeking urgent intervention by the authorities to put a stop to illegal acts of vandalism.
•The company in its plea stated that the acts of violence have endangered the lives of thousands of its employees. It said that the act has also caused damage and disruption to the vital communications infrastructure, sales and service outlets run by the company’s subsidiaries in the two states.
•The company alleged that the miscreants have been instigated by its business rivals, who while taking advantage of the ongoing farmers' agitation near the national capital, have launched an incessant, malicious and motivated vilification campaign against Reliance.