NATIONAL UPDATES:
1. Tourism Ministry to organize first
Global Tourism Investors' Summit: Minister of Tourism, G Kishan Reddy has announced that the Tourism
Ministry will organize the first Global Tourism Investors' Summit from 17
to 19 May 2023 in New Delhi. Agenda: To showcase opportunities in the
Tourism and hospitality sector. This Summit will deliberate on potential
opportunities for investment across tourism segments including hotels and
restaurants and other related sectors.
He also informed that the govt is working to promote the Tourism sector.
2. Pratiksha Trust, IISc and CBR sign
MoU: The Pratiksha Trust has signed an MoU with the Indian
Institute of Science (IISc) and Centre for Brain Research (CBR) for research,
innovation, and translation in deep science. Aim: To support the
fundamental and translational research on neurodegenerative diseases of the
elderly population. For this research, Pratiksha Trust commit over 450
crore rupees over the next 10 years. Pratiksha Trust: It was established by
Kris Gopalakrishnan and Sudha Gopalakrishnan.
3. National level Hackathon
‘KAVACH-2023’ launched: A national-level hackathon, KAVACH-2023 was launched in New
Delhi to identify innovative ideas and technological solutions for
addressing the cybersecurity and cybercrime challenges of the 21st
century. A 36-hour long event participated by youth from educational
institutions and registered start-ups. AICTE, the Bureau of Police Research and
Development, and the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre jointly conducted
this Hackathon. Chairman, AICTE: T G Sitharam
4. Sixth phase of Sujalam-Sufalam Jal
Abhiyan begins: The sixth phase of Sujalam-Sufalam Jal Abhiyan has been
started in Gujarat on 17th February 2023. The state-wide campaign was
launched by the Gujarat CM, Bhupendra Patel at Khoraj in Gandhinagar. Aim: To
raise the groundwater level and maximize the use of rainwater. This phase will
be held for 104 days and continue till 31st May 2023 Developmental
works like the deepening of lakes, delisting works of check dams and
reservoirs, and cleaning of canals will be carried out
5. IIT Kanpur develops energy-efficient
system to transport coal, minerals: The IIT Kanpur has developed an energy-efficient
compressed air-based pipeline system. Reason: For transporting coal and
minerals, offering round-the-clock monitoring with considerable savings in time
and costs Professor, Bishakh Bhattacharya, and research scientists, Kanhaiya
Lal Chaurasia and Yashasvi Sinha, developed the cargo-based hyperloop system. It
will address challenges such as material loss, uncertainty in delivery
time, and air pollution.
6. Ministry of Sports, NIPER, and FSSAI
sign MoU: The Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports, FSSAI, and the National
Institute of Pharmaceutical Education & Research, Hyderabad (NIPER
Hyderabad) signed a tripartite MoU to create nutritional supplement
testing capacity in India. This will provide information & build
awareness about the risks associated with the use of nutritional
supplements. It also increases the research opportunities in the clean sport
& anti-doping domain.
7. UIDAI launches new AI chatbot
Aadhaar Mitra: The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has launched
a chatbot named Aadhaar Mitra to help people get an answer to
their queries related to the Aadhaar card. The Artificial Intelligence/Machine
Learning (AI/ML)-based chatbot can answer queries related to enrolment
number, PVC Card order status, and complaint status. It is available
in both English and Hindi languages. It also shows videos to help the
users understand its features and how to use them.
8. India’s industrial production index
grows 4.3% in December 2022: As per the Ministry
of Statistics and Programme Implementation data, India’s Industrial
Production (IIP) index grew by 4.3 percent in December 2022. It grew by 5.4%
during April to December of the current fiscal 2022-23. The manufacturing
sector’s output grew by 2.6 percent in December 2022, while the mining output
rose by 9.8 percent and electricity production increased by 10.4 percent during
the month. For the month of December 2022, the Quick Estimates of IIP with base
2011-12 stands at 144.7.
9. Andhra Pradesh CM inaugurated
tourist police stations at 20 centres: Andhra
Pradesh Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy has inaugurated Tourist
Police Stations at 20 important religious and tourist places in various
districts of the state. The purpose of this move is to give boost to tourism
security. The tourist police stations would be run by specially trained police
personnel and headed by a Sub Inspector or an ASI rank officer. Linked to local
police stations, each Tourist Police Station would have six police personnel,
including women constables, it said. These security kiosks would work as
additional police stations and exclusively attend to complaints from tourists.
10. Air India signed 470 aircraft deal
with Airbus, Boeing: Tata-owned Air
India has confirmed an agreement to buy a total of 470 wide-body and
narrow-body planes from Airbus and Boeing. Of the 470 new aircraft ordered by
Air India, 250 are from Airbus and 220 from Boeing. The two deals involve the
purchase of 40 Airbus A350, 20 Boeing 787 and 10 Boeing 777-9 wide-body
aircraft, along with 210 Airbus A320 and A321neo and 190 Boeing 737 MAX
single-aisle planes. The first of these new planes will enter service in late
2023, and the bulk will arrive starting mid-2025. At list price the aircraft
deal is valued at over $70 billion. The A350s will be powered by Rolls-Royce
engines. The 777s and 787s will have engines from GE Aerospace, while engines
from CFM International will power all single-aisle aircraft.
INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:
1. Indian-American Neal Mohan appointed
as the new CEO of YouTube: Indian-American, Neal Mohan has been appointed as the new Chief
Executive Officer of YouTube. He will replace the current head, Susan
Wojcicki, who will step down after 25 years. He joined Google in
2008, and later he was appointed chief product officer at YouTube in 2015.
Prior to Google, he worked as a Senior Analyst at Accenture and later joined
Microsoft. He is an MBA from Stanford University’s Graduate School of
Business.
2. Bengaluru city center ranked second
slowest to drive in the world: According to the latest report, released by
TomTom, Bengaluru’s traffic has made it the second slowest place
to drive through in the world in 2022 with about half an hour of
travel time by road to cover 10 km. While London ranks first with an
average of 36 minutes and 20 seconds to travel 10 km in 2022.
Dublin (Ireland), Sapporo (Japan's town), and Milan(Italy) rank third,
fourth, and fifth respectively.
3. India signed MoU with South Africa
for cooperation in the Disability Sector: The
government of India has signed an MoU with the Government of the
Republic of South Africa for cooperation in the Disability Sector. The MoU will
encourage cooperation between the Department of Empowerment of Persons with
Disabilities of India and the Government of South Africa through joint
initiatives in the disability sector. In another decision, the Union Cabinet
has approved the signing of an MoU between India and Chile for cooperation in
the field of Agriculture and Allied sectors. The MoU provides for cooperation
in the field of agriculture and allied sectors. Under the MoU, a Chile-India
Agricultural Working Group is to be constituted which will be responsible for
the supervision, review and assessment of the implementation of this MoU as
well as for establishing frequent communication and coordination.
4. 15 February – International
Childhood Cancer Day (ICCD): International
Childhood Cancer Day (ICCD) is observed on 15 February. Objective –
To raise awareness and show support for children and adolescents suffering from
cancer. Childhood Cancer International, an umbrella organization of various
child cancer support groups created by parents, created the day.
Theme 2023 — Better
Survival Childhood Cancer International was established in 1994. It is the
largest patient-support organisation for childhood cancer in the world.
OTHER UPDATES:
SPORTS
1. Hyundai Motors India signs two more
women cricketers as ambassadors: Hyundai Motor India Ltd has signed two more women cricketers
named Yastika Bhatia and Renuka Singh Thakur, to its roster of brand
ambassadors. Bhatia and Thakur will join Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, and
Jemimah Rodrigues in the list of brand ambassadors for Hyundai. The company
said it recognizes these women as rising sport stars and that they will be a
catalyst in this women’s cricket calendar of 2023. Hyundai Motor India has
announced the next edition of its ‘The Drive Within’ campaign with these five
women cricketers.
BANKING AND FINANCE
1. RBI makes changes in NEFT, RTGS for
daily reporting of foreign remittances: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has made necessary changes in
NEFT and RTGS systems for Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act
(FCRA) related transactions. Under the FCRA, foreign contributions must be
received only in the "FCRA account" of the State Bank of India
(SBI), New Delhi Main Branch (NDMB). The contributions to the FCRA account are
received directly from foreign banks through SWIFT and from Indian intermediary
banks through NEFT and RTGS systems.
2. ICICI Bank signed MoU with BNP
Paribas for providing financial service: ICICI
Bank has signed an MoU with BNP Paribas to cater to the
banking requirements of European corporates operating in India. It establishes
a framework of the partnership between the two banks for providing financial
services to corporate customers operating in India. BNP Paribas Group has been
in India since 1860 and is among the leading international financial
institutions.
3. Paytm Payments Bank becomes first to
launch UPI LITE feature: Paytm
Payments Banks Limited (PPBL) has launched the UPI LITE feature for
multiple small-value UPI transactions and become the first payments bank
to launch such feature. The UPI LITE feature will help with faster real-time
transactions with a single click through Paytm as the bank aims to drive the
adoption of digital payments across the country. The NPCI designed the feature
which was launched by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in September 2022. The small
value transactions would now only show in the Paytm balance and history
section, and not in the bank passbook. Once loaded, a UPI LITE wallet allows a
user to do instant transactions of up to ₹200, making the entire experience
quick and seamless. A maximum of ₹2,000 can be added twice in a day to UPI
LITE, making the cumulative daily usage up to ₹4,000.
AWARDS AND HONOURS
1. UNDP's Don’t Choose Extinction
climate campaign wins two Anthem Awards: A campaign ‘Don’t Choose
Extinction’, launched by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) has
won Gold and Silver in two different categories at the 2nd
Annual Anthem Awards. The campaign aims to raise awareness about the
climate emergency. This campaign won Gold in Sustainability, Environment
& Climate – Non-Profit Campaign Category, while Silver in Sustainability,
Environment & Climate – Global Awareness Campaign Category.
2. Kollam district won Swaraj Trophy
for Best District Panchayat: Kerala’s Kollam district
panchayat has won the Swaraj Trophy for the best district panchayat
in the State for the 2021-22 financial year. The Kannur district (Kerala)
panchayat stood second in the rankings. The Thiruvananthapuram Corporation
bagged the trophy for the best corporation. The Mulanthuruthy grama panchayat
won the award for the best grama panchayat in the State and Pappinissery and
Marangattupilly grama panchayats won the second and third places.
DEFENCE
1. 4th edition of joint military
Exercise Dharma Guardian-2023 begins: The 4th edition of a joint military
exercise, "EX DHARMA GUARDIAN" between India and
Japan is being started at Camp Imazu in Shiga province of Japan
from 17th February - 2nd March 2023. This exercise covers platoon-level
joint training on operations in jungle and semi-urban or urban terrain. Indian
Army's Garhwal Rifles Regiment troops and Japan's Infantry Regiment troops
participated in the exercise. Aim: To enhance inter-operability in planning and
execution
2. The 6th edition of India-US exercise
TARKASH’ concluded in Chennai: The 6th edition of
the joint exercise TARKASH’ has concluded in Chennai by the National
Security Guard (NSG) and the US Special Operations Force (SOF). “Chemical,
Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) Terror Response” has been included
in this exercise for the first time. An exercise to deal with chemical and
biological attacks by terrorists was also included in the exercise. Chemical
and biological attacks have been made part of the exercise in the backdrop of
the Russia-Ukraine war. Last year, Russia accuses Ukraine of receiving aid from
Western countries and of carrying out a chemical attack in Kharkiv.
OBITUARIES
1. Actor Javed Khan Amrohi passed away: Veteran actor Javed Khan Amrohi passed away at the age of 60. He was known for his work in films such as Once Upon A Time in Mumbai, Chak De India, Lagaan and Andaz Apna Apna. He was best known for his roles in the popular DD serial Nukkad. Amrohi’s other notable titles are the ’90s hit films such as Hum Hain Rahi Pyaar Ke, Laadla, Ishq, and the 1988 TV series Mirza Ghalib.
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