Daily GK Update- 14th Feb, 2023

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Centre forms committee for making coastal shipping guidelines: The Ministry of Shipping has formed a committee to draft revised Guidelines for the operationalization of Roll-on-Roll off (Ro-Ro) and Roll-on-Passenger (Ro-Pax) ferry service. Headed by: Chairman of the Deendayal Port Authority Aim: To promote coastal shipping through the PPP route Other purposes: It would also draft the Model Concession Agreement for Ro-Ro or Ro-Pax Terminal Operator. Model License Agreement for the Operation of the ferry services in the country.

 

2. Govt launches 'Khanan Prahari' app to curb unauthorized mining: The government has launched a 'Khanan Prahari' mobile application and 'Coal Mine Surveillance and Management System (CMSMS)' a web app. Aim: To report the unauthorized coal mining activities CMSMS has been developed to curb illegal mining and take transparent action as an e-Governance initiative of the government on the use of Space Technology. Minister of Coal, Pralhad Joshi informed in Rajya Sabha, that 462 cases have been reported on the Apps till January 2023.

 

3. Aniket Sunil Talati takes over as ICAI President: Aniket Sunil Talati has been elected as the new President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) for the 2023-24 tenure, with effect from February 12, 2023. While Ranjeet Kumar Agarwal has been elected as Vice President of the institute. Prior to this role, Aniket Sunil Talati worked as the Director of ICAI ARF, Indian Institute of Insolvency Professionals of India (IIIPI), and Extensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) India.

 

4. Government appoints Chief Justice of four High Courts: The Ministry of Law and Justice has cleared the appointment of four chief justices of high courts including - Justice Sonia G Gokani, Justice Sandeep Mehta, Justice Jaswant Singh, and Justice N Kotiswar Singh. Justice Gokani has been appointed as the acting chief justice of the Gujarat High Court. Chief justice of the Gauhati HC: Justice Sandeep Mehta Chief justice of Tripura HC: Justice Jaswant Singh Chief justice J&K and Ladakh HC: Justice N Kotiswar Singh

 

5. Ladakh to host India's first frozen-lake marathon at Pangong Tso: India's first "frozen-lake marathon" will be organized at the Pangong Tso, Ladakh on February 20, 2023. The Indian army and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police have been roped in to implement a "proper action plan" for the event. The 21-kilometer marathon will be started from Lukung and ended at Maan village.

The event will be participated by 75 selected athletes from India and abroad. The marathon is being called the "Last Run" to highlight the issue of climate change

 

6. PM Modi to inaugurate 'Aadi Mahotsav' in Delhi on February 16: Union Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda informed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate a 15-day 'Aadi Mahotsav' at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium, New Delhi on February 16, 2023. TRIFED, an organization of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, will organize the “Aadi Mahotsav – National Tribal Festival”. Aim: To provide direct market access to the tribal master craftsmen and women in large metros and State capitals.

 

7. President Murmu inaugurated 2nd Indian Rice Congress: President Droupadi Murmu has inaugurated the second Indian Rice Congress at National Rice Research Center Institute (NRRI) in Cuttack, Odisha. She underlined the importance of bio-fortified rice as rice is the only source of nutrition for a large number of poor people. The government has started a pilot project to distribute bio-fortified rice through the PDS and provision has been made in the budget for the same. Under the Aatmanirbhar package, the government has approved Rs 1.5 lakh crore for the development of the agriculture sector. It was focused on the global food crisis and the recent scientific developments that will help in increasing the production and yield of paddy crops.

 

8. India jumped to 55th place in ICAO Aviation Safety Oversight Ranking: According to the DGCA, India’s aviation safety oversight ranking has jumped to 55th position from 112th place in the country’s score under the ICAO’s coordinated validation mission. Under the Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme (USOAP) Continuous Monitoring Approach, an ICAO Coordinated Validation Mission was conducted in India in November 2022. The Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme (USOAP) is based on eight critical elements (CE) of a safety oversight system, which are measured by a set of protocol questions (PQs)

 

9. PM Modi inaugurated first phase of Delhi-Mumbai Expressway: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated the first phase of the 1,400 kilometres long Delhi-Mumbai expressway in Rajasthan’s Dausa. The 246-kilometre Delhi-Dausa-Lalsot stretch of the expressway will cut down the travel time from Delhi to Jaipur from five hours to around three and a half hours. It is also expected to boost economic opportunities in the entire region. The first leg of India’s longest expressway opened to the public right ahead of a hectic election year. The grand expressway promises to bring down travel time from the national capital to its financial hub, Mumbai, by half, to just 12 hours. Eight-lane-wide and nearly 1,400 kms long, it is being built at a staggering cost of over one lakh crore rupees. It is expandable to accommodate 12 lanes.

 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Mohammad Shahabuddin Chuppu elected as the 22nd President of Bangladesh: Mohammad Shahabuddin Chuppu has been elected as the 22nd President of Bangladesh. He was nominated for the post by the ruling Awami League. No other party or individual filed a nomination for the post. He will replace President Mohammad Abdul Hamid, whose tenure will be ended on April 23, 2023. Abdul Hamid served as President for two consecutive terms of five years. The Bangladesh constitution does not allow any person to hold the President's post beyond two terms.

2. ISB course ranked India's best in FT Global MBA Ranking 2023: According to the Financial Times (FT) Global MBA Ranking 2023, the Post Graduate Programme (PGP) of the Indian School of Business (ISB) ranked the best in India. It is the only Indian B-school in the top 50 worldwide and has been ranked 39th globally and sixth in Asia. ISB is also ranked best in India in the research category. While IIM Bangalore has been ranked at 52nd position in the rankings. Columbia Business School in the United States topped the global chart.

 

3. UN, Ocean Cleanup partner to reduce marine pollution: The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Ocean Cleanup to eliminate plastic pollution in oceans and rivers around the globe. Goal: To reduce leakages of plastics into marine ecosystems by boosting policies and behavior change, reducing overall plastic pollution. It also aims to accelerate the deployment of interception technologies in rivers to end marine plastic pollution. Ocean Cleanup founder and CEO: Boyan Slat

 

4. 13 February – World Radio Day: World Radio Day is celebrated every year on 13 February.

Objective – To raise awareness about the importance of radio. The day was decided by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on 3 November 2011 during its 36th conference. Theme 2023 – Radio and Peace

 

OTHER UPDATES:

 

SPORTS

 

1. 5th Khelo India Youth Games concluded in Bhopal: In the Fifth Khelo India Youth Games 2022, Maharashtra secured the top position in the medal tally with 161 medals including 56 gold, 55 silver, and 50 bronze medals. Haryana grabbed the second position by winning 128 medals including 41 gold, 32 silver and 55 bronze medals. Host Madhya Pradesh remained at third place with 96 medals including 39 gold, 30 silver and 27 bronze medals. Rajasthan and Delhi have been in the fourth and fifth position respectively. In the fifth edition of the Khelo India Youth Games in Madhya Pradesh, around 6 thousand athletes from 36 States and Union Territories competed in 27 different sports disciplines. The 5th KIYG -2023 was hosted in the eight towns of MP – Bhopal, Indore, Ujjain, Maheshwar, Balaghat, Mandla, Jabalpur, and Gwalior.

 

2. Jean-Eric Vergne won action-packed Formula E in Hyderabad: Jean-Eric Vergne of DS Penske has won an action-packed Formula E in Hyderabad, that marked a successful return of a high-profile motorsport event in India, defeating Nick Cassidy. This marked a successful return of a high-profile motorsport event in India. This is Eric Vergne’s first win of the season. Antonio Felix Da Costa of Porsche secured the final third spot on the podium. Hyderabad ePrix is the single-seater, electrically powered Formula E race, and will be the first Formula E race to be held in the country.

 

 

BANKING AND FINANCE

 

1. RBI’s financial literacy week 2023: 13 to 17 February: The ‘Financial Literacy Week’ of the Reserve Bank of India started on 13 February and continues till February 17, 2023. The theme for the Financial Literacy Week 2023 is “Good Financial Behaviour – Your Saviour”. The theme aligned with the strategic objectives of the National Strategy for Financial Education: 2020-2025. The RBI has been conducting this week every year since 2016 to create financial education awareness.

 

2. HDFC Bank launches pilot for offline digital payments: HDFC Bank has launched a pilot project, 'OfflinePay', to test offline digital payments for merchants and customers enabling payment transactions even when there is no mobile network. HDFC bank claimed that it has launched the first-of-its-kind digital payment solution. This project was launched in partnership with Sweden-based Crunchfish Digital Cash AB. Vision: To boost the adoption of digital payments in smaller towns and rural areas with poor network connectivity

 

AWARDS AND HONOURS

 

1. Egyptian President presents Global Best M-GOV Awards on IIT Indore students: The 'Blockbill' app team, Niyati Totala and Neel Kalpeshkumar Parikh (IIT Indore's Students) were awarded the prestigious Global Best M-GOV Award 2023 at the World Government Summit in Dubai, UAE. Egyptian President Abel Fattah Al-Sisi has presented the award.

Blockbill:

·       It is a blockchain-based receipt generation app.

·       It generates digital receipts for all of its users' transactions.

·       Silver Award: ‘Don’t Waste’ team (Uzbekistan)

·       Bronze Award: ‘Farmit’ team (Serbia)

 

OBITUARIES

 

1. Eminent Indian painter Lalitha Lajmi passes away: Acclaimed Indian painter and printmaker, Lalitha Lajmi passed away at the age of 90 due to age-related ailments. She was born to a poet father and a poly-linguist writer-mother in Kolkata on October 17 in 1932. She was the sister of legendary filmmaker Guru Dutt and mother to director Kalpana Lajmi. Her works are held in the collection of the National Gallery of Modern Art, the British Museum, and CSMVS Museum Bombay.