current affairs 17 february 2021

1. Theodore Baskaran wins Sanctuary Lifetime Service Award 2020

Sanctuary Nature Foundation honours conservation hero S Theodore Baskaran with Sanctuary Lifetime Service Award 2020 for his role in wildlife conservation and his continuing legacy of writings in Tamil and English to the conservation discourse
The Sanctuary Wildlife Awards were instituted in the year 2000 to recognise and draw national attention to the contribution of individuals working for the protection of wildlife and natural habitats in India.

With Kerala Fibre Optic Network (KFON), free internet connectivity will be provided to 20 lakh BPL families. It will also cover villages in all 14 districts
To bridge the digital divide by providing high-speed, affordable internet connectivity to every household, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday launched the KFON (Kerala Fibre Optic Network) in the state.
KFON is a joint venture of Kerala State IT Infrastructure Limited and Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB). A consortium led by Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) was selected to implement the project in March 2019

E-Chhawani project aims to provide online municipal services to more than 20 lakh citizens across 62 Cantonment Boards through a multi-tenancy central platform. Through this portal, online application for renewal of leases, online registration of births and deaths and online application for water and sewerage connection will be very simpler

A project to connect the islands around the city using state-of-the-art boats
Kochi Metro Rail Ltd (KMRL), which is implementing the Rs 747-crore Water Metro project, it will be the largest organised water transport system in the world. There will be 78 boats and 38 jetties in the first phase and more will b developed in future
The Panamkutty Bridge connecting Petta and Tripunithura across the Poorna River, was constructed as part of the preparatory works of Phase-I extension of Kochi Metro

This scheme aims at providing quality guidance and teaching to all aspirants coming from diverse backgrounds like rural areas, poor families, and marginalised sections, who are not able to afford and avail private coaching services.
Students who are living in far off parts of the states will also be able to seek free coaching classes through this scheme. These students will be able to attend the classes online for free and prepare for their respective competitive exams.