News in Short

• The Palika Bazaar Association objected to the market being mentioned in the notorious market list of the US Trade Representative (USTR) for allegedly selling ‘counterfeit’ products.
• The 2021 Notorious Markets List identified 42 online and 35 physical markets around the world that are reported to engage in or facilitate substantial trademark counterfeiting or copyright piracy.
• Among other names on the list were the popular e-commerce website IndiaMart.com and three markets across the country — Heera Panna in Mumbai, Kidderpore in Kolkata, and Tank Road in Delhi.

• Veteran Kannada actor Rajesh passed away at a private hospital in Bengaluru on February 19. He was 89 and was hospitalised.
• In a career spanning over four decades Rajesh had acted in more than 150 films as a lead actor in the 60s and 70s, and later as a character actor.
• His named changed after his movie ‘NammaOoru’, where the character he played was called Rajesh.

• Karnataka government gave its approval to the Rs 93.40-crore ropeway project at Nandi hills under a public-private-participation (PPP) model.
• Nandi hills has become a tourism hub. The ropeway will be 2.93-km long, have 18 towers and each round-trip will take about 28 minutes.
• The cabinet has approved 50 cabins, each accommodating 10 passengers, for the project.Construction of pillars in the forest is a challenge as it might disrupt the ecosystem of the area.

• Six African countries have been chosen to establish their own mRNA vaccine production, the World Health Organization said.
• Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa and Tunisia were selected as the first recipients of technology from the WHO's global mRNA vaccine hub.
• The WHO set up a global mRNA technology transfer hub in South Africa last year to support manufacturers in low- and middle-income countries to produce their own vaccines.

• India has signed a trade pact with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) that will reduce import duties on the majority of Indian exports to the country.
• While it cuts import duties on a wide range of products, the government expects it to especially boost the export of gems and jewellery, and apparels to the UAE and raise total trade up to $100 billion in the next 5-years.
• UAE is India’s third-largest trade partner globally, after the United States and China. Bilateral trade between both nations stood at $43.3 billion as of 2020-21 and is spread across thousands of traded items.