current affairs 26 August 2021 (In English)

Javelin thrower "Tek Chand" will be India's flag bearer for the opening ceremony at the Tokyo Paralympics 2020.

• Mariyappan Thangavelu is in quarantine after possible exposure to COVID-19.
• On his flight to Tokyo, Mariyappan came in close contact with a COVID positive passenger.
• Asian Games gold medalist Tekchand will be the new flag bearer of India.

New Delhi is ranked 48th while Copenhagen tops the EIU's Index of Safe Cities 2021.

• Denmark's capital Copenhagen has been named as the safest city in the world out of 60 global cities in the Safe Cities Index 2021 released by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).
• New Delhi is ranked 48th, while Mumbai is at 50th.
• Yangon is at the bottom of the index as the least safe city.
• The EIU's Safe Cities Index is a global, policy benchmarking tool developed to measure global urban safety. The index was 1st released in 2015.
• In 2021, cities are ranked on the basis of 76 indicators of security across five broad pillars, which are digital, health, infrastructure, personal and environmental.
• Environment protection is a new addition to the list of safety standards for the year 2021.

India will host the 2nd UNWGIC in 2022.

• India will host the 2nd United Nations World Geospatial Information Congress (UNWGIC) in Hyderabad in October 2022,
• And the theme set for next year is Towards Geo-Enabling Global Villages.
• The UNWGIC is organized every four years by the United Nations Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM).
• It aims to enhance international cooperation between Member States and relevant stakeholders in geospatial information management and capabilities.
• The 1st UNWGIC was organized by China in 2018.

IIT Madras developed India's first indigenous motorized wheelchair vehicle.

• Motorized wheelchair vehicle that can be used not only on roads but also in uneven terrain.
• The wheelchair named as NeoBolt has a maximum speed of 25 kmph and is powered by a lithium-ion battery that helps 25 kms for every charge.
• NeoBolt was developed by IIT-M researchers in consultation with organizations and hospitals working among people with locomotor disability.
• Neobolt has been commercialized through a startup called Neomotion, founded by Srinivasan and IIT Madras alumnus Swastik Saurav Dash.

Madhya Pradesh govt launched a massive talent search drive in the field of sports.

• These are communication satellites supported by the Indian telecom company Bharti.
• The satellites were carried into space by an Arianespace Soyuz rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in southern Kazakhstan.
• The latest launch brings the company's total to 288 satellites in orbit.
• OneWeb is on track to launch the service this year and serve it globally in 2022.
• The satellites will be part of OneWeb's 648 LEO satellite fleet that aims to provide high-speed, low-latency global connectivity.
• OneWeb is well on its way to global service delivery, meeting the growing demand from telecom providers, ISPs and governments around the world.