Daily GK Update- 14th Feb, 2024

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Prez Draupadi Murmu addresses 'Lakhpati Didi sammelan' at Beneshwar Dham: President Draupadi Murmu addressed the 'Lakhpati Didi sammelan' at Beneshwar Dham in Dungarpur, Rajasthan This program is being organized by Rajasthan Rural Livelihood Development Council - Rajivika, in which women associated with self-help groups will participate

About 10,000 women from Dungarpur, Banswara, Pratapgarh, Salumber and Udaipur districts will participate in the programme The President will visit the stalls of products prepared by women self help Groups.

 

2. Ranjeet Kumar Agarwal takes over as ICAI President: The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), announced that Ranjeet Kumar Agarwal has been elected as its President for the 2024-25 term. He succeeded Aniket Talati. Agarwal, previously served as Vice President during the 2023-24 term. The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India is India's largest professional accounting body under the administrative control of Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India.

 

3. PM inaugurates projects worth Rs 7300 crores in Madhya Pradesh: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched multiple development projects worth about 7,300 crore rupees in Jhabua, the tribal-dominated district of Madhya Pradesh. The Prime Minister also disbursed monthly installments of Aahar Anudan under Aahar Anudan Yojna to about two lakh women beneficiaries.

Modi distributed 1 lakh 75 thousand records of rights to beneficiaries of the SVAMITVA Scheme.

The Prime Minister also transferred around 55 crore rupees for 559 villages under the Pradhan Mantri Adarsh Gram Yojana.

 

4. Ashok Leyland invests ₹537 cr. in UK subsidiary: Ashok Leyland has made an additional investment of ₹537 crore in its U.K. subsidiary Optare PLC. The investment is primarily to meet the capital expenditure, R&D and operational requirements of Optare PLC and Switch Mobility, both in the UK and India. Consequent to the allotment, the shareholding of ALL in Optare has increased to 92.59% from 92.19% with Hinduja Automotive Ltd., the promoter, holding 6.90%. Optare, which is into the manufacture and sales of commercial vehicles, had reported a consolidated revenue of ₹230 crore for FY23

 

5. Southern Railway appoints first Transwoman TTE: Sindhu Ganapathy’s appointment as the first transwoman Travelling Ticket Examiner (TTE) of Southern Railway marks a significant milestone in the journey towards inclusivity and acceptance in the Indian workforce. At the age of 37, Ms. Ganapathy has not only broken barriers but also set a precedent for the transgender community’s representation in prestigious government positions. Ganapathy’s career with the Railways began in 2003 when she joined as an Assistant.

 

6. PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana: In February 2024, Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled an ambitious program named ‘PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana’ to promote widespread adoption of rooftop solar panels across Indian households through financial incentives. The free electricity scheme was earlier announced by ..

 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. 12 February 2024 – International Epilepsy Day: International Epilepsy Day has been observed on the second Monday of February every year since 2015. In 2024, the world will observe the International Epilepsy Day on February 12. The day provides a platform to educate and create awareness among people. PM Modi’s 2024 India-UAE Visit – Key Agreements:  In February 2024, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the United Arab Emirates. During the important diplomatic visit, India and UAE inked several big agreements to improve future business and technology partnerships. Why Does This Matter? The UAE is currently ..

 

OTHER UPDATES:

DEFENCE

 

1. Navy Chief Inaugurates New Defence System ‘Precision Approach Radar’: Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) Admiral R. Hari Kumar has inaugurated a Precision Approach Radar (PAR) at INS Utkrosh in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, which will enable “highly accurate horizontal and vertical guidance to land an aircraft safely in low visibility conditions, such as heavy rain and fog”. He also inaugurated the IUHDSS (Integrated Underwater Harbour Defence and Surveillance System) at Naval Jetty, Port Blair.

 

BANKING AND FINANCE

 

1. RBI increases ceiling on fees payable to non-executive directors of banks to Rs 30 lakh per year: The RBI has increased the ceiling on fees payable to non-executive directors of banks to 30 lakh rupees per year from the existing level of 20 Lakh rupees. The revision comes two years after RBI came out with new guidelines for directors as a part of corporate governance, where it capped the remuneration for non-executive directors, excluding the chair of the board. It revised the celling in recognition of the vital role of the non-executive operation of bank boards and their various committees. RBI said the banks are required to have suitable criteria for granting fixed remuneration to its NEDs, with the approval of their boards.

 

2. India’s Retail inflation is at 3-mth low to 5.1% in January: India’s retail inflation eased to a three-month low of 5.1% in January from 5.7% a month earlier, with food price rise cooling a bit to 8.3% compared with 9.5% in December 2023. The number has remained within the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) tolerance band of 2-6 per cent. Inflation rate in rural and urban areas stood at 5.34 per cent, 4.92 per cent, down from 5.93 per cent and 5.46 per cent seen in the same month a year ago. The sharp moderation in inflation can be attributed to cooling of food prices. The food inflation for January stood at 8.30 per cent versus 9.53 per cent recorded in December.