Current Affair of February 2023

National

1. Finance Minister Smt Nirmala Sitaraman presented the Union Budget in Parliament on 1^st February 2023. Following the union budget the state governments too presented their budget for the financial year 2023 - 24 in their respective legislative assemblies.

2. The National Mental Health Survey conducted in 2015 - 16 says that there are 150 million Indians suffering from mental illness. The numbers are so high because of a lack of awareness about mental illness symptoms. To increase awareness among the public, the Ministry of Culture launched Har Ghar Dhyan Campaign.

3. The GIFT city, Gujarat International Finance Tech City is under construction. It is the first greenfield smart city in India. Today, the city is one of the major international IT and finance hubs. To boost its development, Finance Minister Smt Nirmala Sitaraman announced several measures in the Budget 2023.

4. The Government of India recently issued advisory guidelines to the private satellite TV channels in the country. According to the guidelines, private TV channels shall broadcast programs of social relevance and national importance for 30 minutes. This does not include the ad breaks. The program should not be broadcasted between 12 AM (midnight) and 6 AM.

5. The Jharkhand Government passed the Domicile Bill and the bill was sent to the governor for his assent. The governor refused to sign the bill. According to the Governor, the bill fails to provide equal employment opportunities to all the people in the state of Jharkhand. The bill says that only local persons can be appointed in Class 3 and Class 4 state government positions.

6. In June 2022, the Central Ground Water Board reported the groundwater (in the first 100 m reach) of Punjab will be exhausted by 2029. In 2039, the groundwater (in 300 m reach) will be exhausted. Following this Punjab Water Regulation and Development Authority notified directions.

7. The Government of Delhi constituted the Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR) under the Commission for Protection of Child Rights (CPCR) Act, 2005. Since its constitution, the DCPCR launched several technological interventions to establish a good communication link between the government and the people.

8. An estranged wife, a US citizen, filed a domestic violence case in the Madras High court. She filed the complaint to a Mahila Court under the Domestic Violence Act, 2005. To counter her case, the husband filed a petition to dismiss her case. To this, the Madras High Court Judge pronounced that foreigners can invoke the Domestic Violence Act before the Indian Courts and refused to strike down the wife's case.

9. The Section 56(2) (vii b) in the Income Tax Act is referred to as Angel tax. During Union Budget 2023, Finance Minister Smt Nirmala Sita Raman proposed to amend the Angel tax. Now, the equity amount received by the startups will be subjected to income taxes and not angel taxes.

10. Deoghar Mart is an e-commerce website selling local arts and crafts. It was launched by Mr. Manjunath Bhanjantri. He is basically from a bamboo artisan community. His village has more than 34 different artisan families. Manjunath has taken his community skills to the reach of the people through DEOGHAR MART.

11. The issue is related to the 2002 riots that happened in Gujarat. It is also called 2002 violence. A train was burnt in Godhra and more than 58 Hindu pilgrims died. The pilgrims were all returning from Ayodhya. This incident instigated the three-day intense riots in Gujarat.

12. During the State Budget Presentation, the Kerala Finance Minister announced that his government is to establish "Green Hydrogen Hubs". The State Government is allocating Rs 200 crores for this. The hubs are to be set up in Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram. The project is to be implemented along with the private partner India Hydrogen Alliance.

13. The post of Chairman of the Competition Commission of India has been vacant since the retirement of Mr. Ashok Kumar Gupta in October 2022. Also, currently, there are only 2 members in the CCI. There are many mergers and acquisitions pending before the commission waiting for its approval.

14. The Constitution of India says Supreme Court shall have a maximum of 34 judges including the Chief Justice. Recently, five new judges were appointed by the President of India. With this, the strength of judges in the apex court increased to 32. The newly appointed judges were Panjaj Mithal (Chief Justice of Rajasthan HC), Manoj Misra (Judge of Allahabad HC), Ahasanudin Amanullah (Judge of Bihar HC), PV Sanjay Kumar (Chief Justice of Manipur HC) and Sanjay Karol (Chief Justice of Bihar HC).

15. Floating restaurants are built on large steel barges. The first floating restaurant of India was built in Sirhind of Punjab. It was built in a small canal near a village. The Bihar State Tourism Development Corporation recently built MV Ganga Vihar, a floating restaurant at the NI Ghat. The restaurant is on the Ganges.

16. The Kerala Police recently arrested 2,507 gangsters under OPERATION AAG. It was launched throughout the state. The operation aimed on arresting the fugitives listed under the Kerala anti-Social Activities Prevention Act (KAAPA). The primary targets in the list were those who returned to the state after being deported.

17. The IRCTC is serving at least fifty thousand meals a day to the passengers on board. Lately, there have been issues rising around unauthorized food delivery. To enhance its services and to provide authorized safe food to its customers, IRCTC launched WhatsApp Food Delivery Facility. The WHATSAPP NUMBER is +91 - 8750001323.

18. The development in the northeastern states has always been slow as compared to the Indian mainland. This is mainly because the states are covered with forests and the percentage of the tribal population is high. Also, natural factors hinder the development of the region.

19. The Government of India is to inaugurate Integrative Medicine Centres. These centres will operate at Government hospitals. The centres will mainly focus on Ayurvedic medicines and will use modern technologies. The first Integrative Medicine Centre was inaugurated at the Safdarjang Hospital in Delhi.

20. As the old Industrial Policy has come to an end, the Punjab Government is launching a new Industrial Policy. This is the first industrial policy the ruling government is launching since it came to power. The new Industrial policy will focus on MSME, infrastructure and power.

21. Keeladi is a hamlet located near Madurai city in Tamil Nadu. It is along the banks of River Vaigai. The ASI started its excavations in Keeladi in 2014. Evidence was found that the civilization at Keeladi, that is, the Sangam Age civilization is older than thought before. Earlier it was believed that Sangam Era was 300 BCE.

22. The RBI constructed the Digital Payments Index to learn about digital payments in the country. The index is calculated based on five parameters namely Payment Enablers, Consumer centricity, payment infrastructure on the demand side, and payment infrastructure on the supply side.

23. The Food Price Index tells the "monthly" price changes in world food prices. In January 2023, the World Food Price Index was 131.2. This is 0.8% less as compared to that of the food prices in December 2022. The major price decrease was in sugar and meat. The prices of vegetable oil fell by 2.9%. Prices of cereals remained unchanged.

24. Advocate Vishal Tiwari recently filed a Public Interest Litigation to the Supreme court to take up the case of the Adani-Hidenburg row. The apex court has agreed and will hear the case on 10^th Feb 2023. The PIL requests the Chief Justice of India to handle the case.

25. The Geological Survey of India has found lithium reserves in Jammu and Kashmir. They have been found in the Reasi district. Today India is importing Lithium from countries from Argentina and Australia. In 2021 alone, the price of lithium increased by 400% for several reasons. One of them was an increase in digital growth and electric batteries during COVID.

26. The Government of India recently shared its data on the pending court cases in the country. Data was shared in Rajya Sabha. According to the data, the numbers have reached 4.32 crores. Around 69,000 cases are pending in Supreme Court. 59 lakh cases are pending in 25 High Courts in the country.

27. In 2021, India proposed the LiFE Initiative at COP26 held in Glasgow. The initiative was proposed during the 50^th celebrations of World Environment Day. The mission aims to involve the common public in the conservation of the Environment.

28. The Supreme Court took up a PIL filed on the Adani-Hinderburg issue on 10^th February 2023. The SC asked the Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta to bring up solutions for protecting the investors in the country. The apex court brought this up as many investors lost their money due to the stock manipulation of Adani and its group.

29. The Governor of Uttarakhand recently issued an ordinance to control unfair recruitment in the state. In accordance with the ordinance, the State Government can impose fines of up to 10 crores of rupees against unfair practices in exams and in recruitment. Since 2016, there were multiple paper leaks in the state.

30. The Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy is a think tank that does legal research. The organization recently released a report on the popularity of software applications in India. The title of the report is "Making the Digital Ecosystem Disabled Friendly". The organization has found that WhatsApp is the most accessible app for disabled persons.

31. State Budget was recently presented at the Rajasthan State Assembly. During the budget presentation, it was announced that the State Government of Rajasthan has allocated Rs. 19,000 crores as an inflation relief package. This has been done to relieve the people of Rajasthan from the burden of increasing prices.

32. The Supreme Court had asked the GoI to set up an expert panel and check on the safety of the investors in situations like Adani Stock Manipulation. The Government of India prepared suggestions on what can be done during such cases and what existing provisions led to the issue.

33. The International Energy Agency recently released its annual report. The other two major reports released by the organization are the World Energy Outlook and the Net Zero by 2050 report. According to the annual report released by the Agency, the Asian continent is to consume half the electricity produced in the world by 2025.

34. The Rajasthan State Government recently announced the WESCE plan. The French Government is to fund this project for a period of eight years. The total cost is estimated to be around Rs. 1200 crores. The WESCE is a zoo that will be launched within the World Heritage site, Keoladeo National Park.

35. PM Modi recently inaugurated the Global Investor Summit in Lucknow. It was a three-day-long summit. Invest UP 2.0 was launched during the summit. Also, Global Trade Show was conducted. More than 18,605 Memorandum of Understanding were signed during the summit. The state received Rs. 33.5 lakh crores of investment.

36. The Global Quality Index Infrastructure was released for 184 world economies based on the quality of their infrastructure. India was ranked fifth. The overall good infrastructure quality of India is being maintained by the Quality Council of India and therefore, the council takes pride in bringing India to the top of the ranking.

37. The White Shield is a policy advisory firm. The company released the Global Labour Resilience Index during World Government Summit. The index measures the capacity of the economy to withstand employment fluctuations and the ability to fight back. The index is the first of its kind. India ranked 65^th on that list.

38. President Murmu recently appointed six new governors and reshuffled seven others. In all, the president made 13 appointments. 12 were made in the states and one in the UT. Of these 13, 2 states Nagaland and Meghalaya are election-bound.

39. The NASSCOM report recently said that there are more than 27,000 startups in India. Of these, tech startups count to 1,300. The report further said that India is the third largest tech startup holder in the world. The US is the first largest tech startup holder and China is in second place.

40. The Tipra Motha Party was founded by Pradyot Bikram Manikya Deb Barma. The core demand of the party is "Greater Tipraland". Tipraland is a proposed region for the Tripuris. They are now a part of Tripura state. They demand 68% of Tripura state. Also, the party wants to add the Tripuris living outside the region to be added.

41. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development recently released the Services Trade Restrictiveness Index. India ranked 47^th. Last year, India was in the 46^th position. Unfortunately, India remains among the bottom five countries in the ranking. Russia was in the 48^th position due to its war with Ukraine.

42. The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change released the E-Waste Management Rules in 2022. It is expected to come into effect in 2023. CPCB was appointed as the regulatory body to implement the rules. The rules target companies in the consumer goods field. Recently the ministry amended some of the rules.

43. The State Cabinet of MP recently approved a New Liquor policy. According to the policy, the areas for drinking alcohol will be closed. These are areas that are usually attached to bars. The new policy is called the "NEW EXCISE POLICY". The policy was launched after the BJP leader Uma Bharati's demand.

44. The Cross Dependency Initiative is a business consultant that specializes in climate risk. It released a report on "Gross Domestic Climate Risk". According to the report, the top 50 provinces facing climate risks are China, the US, and India. It says nine Indian states are most vulnerable to climate risks.

45. The neem trees in the state of Telangana are affected by a fungus. The fungus is invisible to the human eye and has been identified as Phomopsis azadirachtae. The trees are not dying. However, the fungus is disturbing the capability of the trees to produce healthy fruit.

46. NEET is the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test. The National Testing Agency conducts the NEET-UG and the National Board of Examinations conducts the NEET-PG. NEET-UG is for MBBS and NEET-PG is for MD. The recent issue on the NEET exam is around the postponement of the exam. Few medical students have appealed to the SC asking for the postponement of NEET.

47. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation releases reports on all Indian carriers on monthly basis. According to the recently released report of January 2023, air traffic has increased significantly. As compared to 2022, the growth of air traffic has increased by 95%. More than 12.5 million passengers travelled in January 2023.

48. BIMARU is an acronym for the states BI: Bihar; MA: MP, R: Rajasthan and U: UP. The acronym was formed by Ashish Bose, an economist from the 1980s. BIMARU (Bimar) in Hindi means sick. The economist framed the acronym to stress the fact that the poor economic conditions of these four states are affecting the overall GDP growth of India.

49. The Delhi Mayor elections were postponed thrice due to the State Government - Central Government tussle. The Municipal elections were held in January 2023. The meeting of the Municipal house was adjourned thrice without electing a mayor. The mayor election couldn't happen in the house due to AAP - BJP tussles. Shelly Oberoi won the election.

50. The State Finance Minister of West Bengal Chandrima Bhattacharya recently presented the state budget for the financial year 2023 - 24 at the assembly hall. Mamata-led government is to focus on start-ups, rural connectivity and the manufacturing industry in 2023 - 24. The finance minister presented a 3.39 lakh crore rupees of budget.

51. A Public Interest Litigation was filed with the Supreme Court on Menstrual leave. The apex court first agreed to take up the PIL and said "will hear it in a week". However, recently the SC refused to take the PIL. According to SC, creating laws or passing judgement on such leaves will become a deterrent to women's employment.

52. The S&P Global commodity insights recently released the ranking of the top 250 independent energy producers in the world. The energy producers were ranked based on four criteria such as return on investment, revenue generation, total assets and profits gained. NTPC (National Thermal Power Corporation) topped the ranking.

53. According to the Geological Survey of India, a Geo-heritage site is a place that provides insights into the evolution of the earth. Also, the place should be culturally significant. The Mawmluh Cave of Meghalaya was the first geo-heritage site of India. The Ministry of Mines recently notified a bill on geo-heritage sites of India.

54. The tech giant Google recently announced that it is to block news content to at least 4% of Canadians. Google is doing this as a response to a new Canadian Law. However, Google has announced that it will be temporary. The testing is to happen only for four to five weeks.

55. The Government of India is to set up the first waste-to-hydrogen plant at a cost of Rs 430 crores in Pune. The plant will be built by a private company Green Billion Limited. The company has signed an agreement with the Pune Municipal Corporation for 30 years. The objective of the plant is to treat 350 tonnes of solid waste daily.

56. The biggest challenge of Indian elections is citizen participation. 81% of the state population cast their votes in the recent Tripura Elections conducted by ECI. The voter turnout was higher than in the 2018 polls. BJP is the current ruler in the state.

57. The Government of India has been making several changes in the broadcasting sector. The intention is to increase its imprint among the public and gain their trust. For instance, the broadcasting infrastructure and network development scheme was launched to support Prasar Bharati. Now, the GoI is planning on launching an OTT platform and a Direct to Mobile TV.

58. The Gujarat Forest Department, BCSG (Bird Conservation Society of Gujarat), and the Adams Nature Retreat Resort together organized the bird survey in Dharoi Gujarat. It is a wetland and is spread over 107 square kilometres. The wetland is located in the trijunction of the Mehsana, Banaskantha and Sabarkantha districts.

59. The State of Karnataka is entering elections in May 2023. The Interim budget for 2023 - 24 was presented by the State CM Basavaraj Bommai. The Government of Karnataka is to set up a startup park near Bengaluru Airport; provide free bus passes to students, toilets in government schools; etc. The total budget outlay was Rs. 9,698 crores

60. The President of India Droupadi Murmu has been visiting the states of UP, Odisha and Tamil Nadu. She is now to visit Arunachal Pradesh and will participate in the 37^th Statehood Day celebrations of Arunachal Pradesh.

61. The State of Arunachal Pradesh celebrated its statehood day on 20^th February. President Murmu attended the state celebrations. The statehood was granted in 1987. It was the 24^th state in the country.

62. The National Education Policy 2020 envisaged play-based learning teaching material. In accordance with the policy, Union Minister Shri Dharmendra Pradhan recently launched the "JADUI PITARA". It is a play-based learning material for children between the age of 3 to 8 years. It is available in 13 different Indian languages.

63. The Haryana Governor recently addressed the Budget session of the state. During the address, he said that the State Government is very stubborn in implementing the SYL Canal project. It is a canal between Sutlej and Yamuna rivers. The canal is a river-sharing mechanism between Punjab and Haryana.

64. In 2023, the winter rains were above normal only in the Himalayan regions. The rest of the Indian states, the major wheat-producing states received no winter rains at all. Winter rains occurring due to western disturbances caused over the Mediterranean Sea are essential for growing wheat crops in winter.

65. The Finance Minister of Uttar Pradesh Suresh Kumar Khanna recently presented the Budget of the State in the UP legislative Assembly. The state has focused on youth in this year's budget. And a total of Rs. 6,90,000 crores have been allocated. The Budget aims to build a self-reliant UP and make UP a 1 trillion USD economy.

66. The Government of India recently issued an order to boost sustainable agriculture in Jammu and Kashmir. According to the order, a project called "Innovative Extension Approaches for Revitalising Agriculture in J&K" will be implemented in the Union Territory. The project is to be implemented in five years.

67. The Chief Minister of Haryana Lal Khattar presented the state budget for the year 2023 - 24. No new taxes were introduced in the budget. The state government is to focus on rural welfare, healthcare, environment and education sectors in the year 2023 - 24. The total funds in the budget are Rs. 1.83 lakh cores.

68. A flight was diverted to the Kerala capital Thiruvananthapuram due to a hydraulic failure. The tail of the Air India Express hit the runway during takeoff. There were 182 passengers in the plane and it was flying from Calicut to Dammam. The flight requested an emergency landing in Thiruvananthapuram.

69. The Finance Minister of Gujarat Kanubhai Desai presented a State Budget of Rs. 3.01 lakh crores recently in the legislative assembly. This is 23% higher than the previous year's budget. No new taxes were introduced, Several schemes were announced during the budget and the schemes were part of the 2022 election promises made by the BJP.

70. The Odisha State Finance Minister Niranjan Pujari presented a budget of Rs. 2.3 lakh crores in the assembly. According to the minister, Odisha is one of the few states in the county to become revenue surplus in 2023 - 24. The Government is to keep Rs. 94,000 crores under its control.

71. Dense fog affects visibility. Daily life disrupts due to fog and results in economic losses. To give an early warning about fog in the country, the Bihar Government approved 50,000 USD. The funds will be used to develop the warning system. The system is to be developed in collaboration with the US National Center for Atmospheric Research.

72. The Municipal Corporation is a local body. A region with a population of more than one million is categorized as Municipality. There were three Municipal corporations in Delhi, the East Delhi Municipal Corporation, South Delhi Municipal Corporation and the North Delhi Municipal corporation.

International

1. The revenue from the tourism industry was 250 billion USD in 2018. Due to the COVID pandemic, the tourism industry suffered huge losses. The revenue fell to 122 billion USD in 2020 due to the pandemic. India has huge tourism potential because of its varied topography and beautiful landscapes. It is expected that Indian tourism will grow to 512 billion USD by 2028.

2. The meeting first Sustainable Finance Working Group of G20 was recently held in Guwahati, Assam. A hundred delegates from 95 different foreign countries attended the meeting. The G20 meeting was inaugurated by Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal.

3. The United States Government has built more than 750 military bases all over the world. And more than 120 military bases in Asia alone. However, the military presence between Australia and South Korea is very little. To counter the Chinese moves in the South China sea and to increase its presence in the region, the US has now signed a deal with the Philippines to gain access to four of the Philippines bases.

4. The Government of India has been bringing tremendous changes in the defense sector in the recent past. The changes made the defense ministry, the largest buyer of MSME goods in 2022 amongst all other ministries. India is also pushing startups to participate in defense modernization. Only 293 startups in India are registered in the defense sector.

5. UAE is a Muslim country conservative about its religion. The laws of the UAE are in sync with its religion. In recent times, due to harsh punishments businessmen are turning away from the country. The country is losing its international trade markets. For instance, foreigners have been jailed in UAE for kissing in public.

6. Former British colonies are deciding on their constitutional ties with Britain. For instance, India renamed the Rajpath to Kartavya Path. Similarly, Australia is to remove the face of the British Monarch from its currency bills. The changes are being made to the five dollar bills of Australia. The coins will still hold the face of the monarch.

7. NISAR is an earth-observing satellite planned to be launched in 2024. It stands for NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar. SAR creates two-dimensional and three-dimensional reconstructions of landscapes. NISAR is jointly developed by NASA and ISRO. Recently, NISAR left the Jet Propulsion Laboratory of NASA located in California to India.

8. Morning Consult is a US-based tracker. According to the recent reports of the tracker on the popular leaders of the world, our prime minister Shri Narendra Modi topped the list of popular leaders in the world. He received 78% of the approval. In the second position was the Mexican President with 69% of approval and the Swiss president was in the third position.

9. The US military spotted a Chinese spy balloon near Alaska by the end of January 2023. The balloon was flying at an altitude of 60,000 feet. The balloon stopped in Montana. In the opinion of International relations expert, the stop is significant as the Malmstrom Air Force of the US military is here. Following this, the US military shot the balloon with its F-22 fighter jets.

10. During the G20 meeting, India is to launch the International Biofuel Alliance just like the International Solar Alliance. To this, the USA and Brazil have agreed to back India. India has been taking lead in several such emission reduction initiatives. The country allocated 4.3 billion USD during the 2023 - 24 Budget to accomplish its net-zero targets.

11. The Russia - Ukraine crisis intensified as Ukrainians wanted their government to join European Union. Though the issue revolved around the Crimean peninsula and its annexation by Russia, the issue exploded with Ukraine's plan to join the EU. Recently, the EU banned the import of Russian oil to into its member countries.

12. In recent times, India has been increasing its bilateral trade with UAE. With CEPA and the Golden Visa program (extension) of UAE, business relations have increased exponentially. On the other hand, India has strong defence relations with France. From fighter jets to drones, the Indian military is using French-made goods.

13. Hybrid Warfare is a strategy used in the military. It includes the techniques of conventional warfare, cyber warfare, and irregular warfare. Today hybrid warfare techniques are increasing. Countries are using political influences to disrupt the governance of their enemy state, causing cyber troubles to the enemy state, and using other indirect measures to counter their enemies.

14. Hillary Clinton was in Ahmedabad, Gujarat attending the 50^th-anniversary celebration of SEWA. SEWA is Self Employed Women Association. It was founded by the late activist Ela Bhatt. During the function, Mrs Clinton announced 50 million USD for women in the region. The fund is to be used to fight against climate change.

15. The United Nations released a confidential report on North Korea. Confidential means it is not for public viewing and will not be put on the UN website. According to the report, North Korea is stealing cryptocurrencies. The country is using the stolen currency to fund its defence companies.

16. A 7.8 Ritcher earthquake hit Turkey - Syria. More than thousands died. The earthquake is the biggest of the earthquakes recorded so far in the region. Five tremors were felt and more than 60 aftershocks were recorded. The epicentre was 23 km east of Nurdagi. It is located in the Gaziantep province. The depth of the epicentre was 24.1 km.

17. The recent Turkey Earthquake damaged the Gaziantep Castle. The magnitude of the earthquake was 7.8 Ritcher and is one of the most disastrous earthquakes in the history of Turkey. The castle is in the province of Gaziantep in western Turkey. The castle was built during the era of the Hittite Empire. Later the Byzantine emperor expanded the castle.

18. The Sangwol Society of South Korea is organizing a walking pilgrimage in India. Under this, 108 Buddhists will walk and cover 1,100 km in India. The pilgrimage will visit places in the states of UP and Bihar and will span for 43 days. Buddhism is the official religion of South Korea. It reached South Korea from India.

19. Myanmar was an independent republic operating under the 2008 constitution. In 2021, the military of the country came to power in a coup. Recently, the military-led Myanmar government and the Russian Government signed a nuclear agreement. According to the MoU, the countries will work together on nuclear energy.

20. The Growth Triangle Joint Business Council was created by Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia in 1993. The main objective of the council is to boost private investments in MSMEs. During the G20 Energy Transitions Working Group meeting held in Bengaluru, India signed an MoU with the Growth Triangle Joint Business Council.

21. Microsoft launched Chat-GPT in November 2022. Technologists believe that Chat GPT is well advanced and might kill Google's business. In just five days, the number of ChatGPT users increased to one million. To counter the chat GPT, Google recently launched "BARD". Working of the BARD is very much similar to Chat GPT, the conversational style.

22. Turkey was hit by a 7.8 Ritcher earthquake recently. The earthquake caused severe damage to the people and was catastrophic. To help the people of Turkey, India launched Operation Dost. Dost in Hindi means friend. Turkey welcomed India's moves. The C17 Globemaster aircraft of the Indian Air Force has been deployed in the operation.

23. The QUAD Countries India, Australia, the US and Japan recently launched the Quad Cyber Challenge. The main objective is to improve cyber security in the four countries. It is basically a competition. Any internet user from the Indo-Pacific region can participate in the challenge.

24. YouGov is an international data analytics firm. It is based in the UK. The org recently released a report on disposable income. The income that remains with the citizens after deducting taxes is called disposable income. The YouGov report says that more than one-third of urban Indian citizens claim that their disposable income has decreased.

25. India and European Union recently established a new Trade and Technology Council. The council will work to provide security and prosperity. Under the council, the countries will focus on green technologies, connectivity and resilient supply chains. The countries have created three working groups under the council.

26. The India-ASEAN Digital Ministers Meeting was recently held in New Delhi. It was held virtually. The theme of the meeting was "Synergy towards a Sustainable Digital Future". The main objective of the meeting was to enhance the strength between India and ASEAN in the field of IT. To achieve this, the ministers launched a Digital Work Plan.

27. The International Monetary Fund says that the potential growth of China is falling. The country is in need of comprehensive economic reforms. The international organization has made this call because Chinese investments are diminishing. Also, the growth model of china completely depends on State-owned enterprises.

28. Every year the World Government Summit is held in Dubai, UAE. During the summit, world leaders discuss policies and governmental processes. More than 4,000 foreign delegates from at least 100 countries attend the summit. The summit acts as a knowledge exchange hub.

29. India signed an agreement with Mauritius in January 2022 to export the ALH Mk3 helicopters to the country. In accordance with the agreement, HAL recently delivered an ALH Mk3 chopper. The helicopter is to be used by Mauritian Police Force. In future, HAL will provide technical and maintenance support for the helicopters.

30. New Zealand announced red heavy rain with Cyclone Gabrielle hitting its shore. Red Heavy rain means the downpours cause an emergency. The rain pour is greater than 30 millimetres and it occurs within one hour! In India, a red alert is issued when the pour is greater than 20 cm within 24 hours.

31. The United States Military has been shooting down unidentified objects for the last two days. It all began with the US Military shooting down a Chinese Spy Ballon. The US Air Force used its F-22 fighter jets to shoot a Chinese surveillance balloon near the South Carolina coast. The next day it shot another object near Alaska Air Space.

32. The Chinese Government is planning to build a new railway line in the Aksai Chin region. The line will run till Pangong Lake. It will run very close to the Line of Actual control. Phase one of the railway line will be completed by 2025. During this phase, China will lay a railway line between Xiagtse and Pakhutso.

33. Velupillai Prabhakaran was the founder of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. The militant organization was responsible for killing Rajiv Gandhi in 1991. LTTE wants a separate land for the Tamils in Sri Lanka. The Sri Lankan Army killed the LTTE chief in 2009 and the war ended. However, a Tamil Political leader Nedumaran recently claimed that Prabhakaran is still alive and healthy.

34. A report recently released by the Government of Russia states that the country supplied 13 billion USD worth of arms to India in the last five years. Apart from this, India has placed 10 billion USD worth of military equipment orders with Russia. With this, India becomes the biggest defence buyer of Russia.

35. India and USA military recently conducted the TARKASHA exercise. It was held in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. The Special Operation Forces of the US and the National Security Guard of India participated in the exercise. Usually, military exercises focus on enhancing the skills and weapon usage of the soldiers.

36. The World Health Organization recently confirmed the Marburg disease outbreak in Equatorial Guinea. Patients suffering from the disease experience diarrhoea, vomiting and stomach pain. Also, there is bleeding in severe cases. An e-bola-related virus is causing the disease. The Spread of the disease is epidemic; meaning the disease is widespread.

37. Rayyana Barnawi, the legendary woman is to make history. She will be the first Arab woman to enter space. This is a historical moment for the country that had centuries of restrictions against Muslim women! Rayyana is to travel to the International Space Station along with Ali Al-Qarni, a fighter jet pilot.

38. Cyclone Gabrielle hit the New Zealand coast and caused severe damage. Heavy rains, floods, and landslides forced the New Zealand government to declare an emergency. It was a Category 3 cyclone. PM of NZ announced a 7.3 million USD relief package. Winds reached a speed of 140 km/hr. Auckland was badly hit.

39. Ukraine is one of the largest exporters of food grains such as rapeseed, maize, wheat, and sunflower oil. The country has good access to the Black sea ports. Ukrainian ports in the Black sea are the lifelines of the country's trade with Europe and middle-east. Unfortunately, the Ukraine - Russia war blockaded the ports.

40. The Knesset (Parliament of Israel) recently proposed a series of judicial reforms. Israelis believe that the new changes will curb the power of the country's judicial system to question lawmakers. The reforms empower the Knesset to make judicial appointments at will.

41. After Cyclone Gabrielle, New Zealand faced yet another disastrous natural calamity. An earthquake of 6.1 Ritcher shook the country. The epicentre was at a depth of 57.4 km and 50 km from Paraparaumu. According to the US Geological Survey, the epicentre was right at the Cook Strait.

42. The European Union recently planned to ban the sale of gas and diesel cars. The ban will come into effect in 2035. The decision was made to increase the use of Electric Vehicles. The main objective is to achieve zero emissions. To execute the plan successfully, the European Commission will prepare a report on the progress every two years starting from 2025.

43. Russia invaded Ukraine on 24^th February, 2022. To mark the one-year anniversary, the European Union circulated a draft ceasefire resolution in European Union. The main objective of the resolution is to gather international support. It calls the UN members to refrain from the use of force against the political independence of a state.

44. The Israeli Government has been making a series of changes recently. While the Judicial reforms proposed are creating a ruckus in the country, Knesset recently approved a new law against the Arabs involved in nationalistic attacks. According to the new law, the Israel Government is to deport the Arabs who are convicted of attacks and receive financial support from the Palestinian Government.

45. The US senate recently passed a resolution condemning China. According to the resolution, China is changing the status of LAC using its military force. Also, the resolution lauded India for the country's steps to defend itself against Chinese aggression at the border.

46. India and Japan recently conducted the Dharma Guardian Exercise. The exercise was held at Camp Imazu of Shiga province in Japan. Middle Army's Infantry Regiment and the Garhwal Rifle regiment of the Indian Army participated in the exercise. The exercise will boost the friendship between the armies.

47. The Government of Spain recently passed a Menstrual Paid Leave Law. According to the law, women in the country can take paid leave during their periods. Usually, employees in the country need to submit a medical certificate to take three days long leave. With this, Spain has become the first country in Europe to pass the law.

48. The Bharat Electronics Limited operating under the defence ministry recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) at the Aero India Air Show. According to the agreement, BEL and IAI will establish a joint venture. The JV will provide support to the missile defence system of the country.

49. In November 2022, Qatar detected Vibrio Cholera in Indian consignments. Following this, the country banned seafood from India. This was done just before the FIFA world cup. Qatar hosted the 2022 FIFA and testing laboratories were occupied with FIFA-related assignments. Due to a lack of testing laboratories, Qatar banned seafood from India.

50. India and UAE signed the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement in 2022. In 2023, the countries celebrated one year of signing the agreement recently. CEPA is a Free Trade Agreement. With UAE, India signed CEPA on agriculture, taxation, customs valuation, trade in goods, import licensing, export subsidies, non-tariff measures, etc.

51. India and Uzbekistan conducted the fourth edition of the DUSTLIK 2023 military exercise in Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand. During the exercise, the countries trained their troops in multi-domain operations and shared their skills. India's GARHWAL Rifles from the Western Command participated in the exercise.

52. The residence by investment programmes allows a foreigner to get a permanent residence. The foreigner shall obtain this by making an investment. He may invest in a business or purchase a property. They are sometimes called Gold Visa Programmes but are not the same. A recent study says that Indians choose to go abroad for work. The common countries where Indians choose such programmes today are USA, Greece, Australia, Portugal and Malta.

53. The HWASONG-15 is one of the three major ICBM (Intercontinental Ballistic Missile) of North Korea. All the ICBMs of North Korea use liquid propellants. North Korean missiles are of big trouble and great concern to the west for this reason. The liquid fuels used in the ICBMs of North Korean missiles can stay stable only under controlled conditions.

54. US President Joe Biden made a surprise visit to Kyiv, Ukraine's capital. Tensions between Ukraine and Russia are still strong with the first anniversary of the Russian Invasion fast approaching. Russia invaded Ukraine on 24^th February 2022.

55. INS Sumedha participated in the Naval Defence Exhibition called the NAVDEX and International Defence Exhibition called the IDEX conducted in Abu Dhabi recently. The Naval Ship showcased the indigenous ship-building skills of India at the exhibitions.

56. UPI is the mobile payment method in India. Similarly, PAYNOW is a mobile payment method in Singapore. The countries have planned to link these two mobile payment methods. The linking was done virtually inaugurated by the RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das and the MD of the Monetary Authority of Singapore Ravi Menon.

57. I2U2 is a joint initiative of India, Israel, the USA and the UAE. I2 stands for Israel and India. U2 stands for USA and UAE. The main objective of the initiative is security cooperation, technological hubs, food security, and other different energy fields. The UAE recently hosted the vice-ministerial meeting of I2U2. It was held in Abu Dabi.

58. The State of Nation Address is the speech delivered by the Chief Executive of a country. During the address, the chief talks about the agenda of the government and other plans to solve troublesome situations. After Joe Biden's surprising visit to Ukraine, the Russian President recently delivered his State of the Nation Address in Moscow.

59. The START is a bilateral treaty signed between the US and the Soviet Union in 1991. It came into force in 1994. Under the treaty, the countries agreed to bar 6,000 nuclear warheads and 1m600 ICBMs. The treaty expired in 2009. THE NEW START Treaty was signed in 2010. This new treaty applies till 2026. Russia has now withdrawn from the treaty.

60. Caste discrimination does not exist in the US by law. However, the tech sector in the country has been facing caste discrimination. A group of Dalit female engineering from tech big giants like Apple, Microsoft, and Google passed a resolution against caste discrimination in the country. Protests against the issue have increased in the US in recent times.

61. Vivek Ramaswamy is an Indian American. He is a republican (Joe Biden and Barack Obama are all from the Democratic Political party) and an anti-environment activist. Anti-environmentalists are those people who believe that environmental regulation is unnecessary. He established a company to ban environmental governance initiatives.

62. India and China recently held the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination meeting. This is the 26^th meeting and the first since the Galwan standoff, and the 14^th physical WMCC meeting. A virtual WMCC meeting was held during the Ladakh standoff in 2020. The countries discussed the issues along the LAC on the western border.

63. The tech giant Google recently announced that it is to block news content to at least 4% of Canadians. Google is doing this as a response to a new Canadian Law. However, Google has announced that it will be temporary. The testing is to happen only for four to five weeks.

64. The FBI recently released its annual compilation of nationwide incidents. According to the report, Sikhs and Jews are the most targeted in hate crimes. There were 1005 religion-related hate crimes in the US in 2021. Of these, anti-Sikhs were 21.3% and Anti-Jews were 21.3%.

65. An earthquake of 7.2 Ritcher recently hit Tajikistan. The epicentre of the earthquake was just 82 km away from China border. The quake was felt in the western part of the Xinjiang region. The earthquake was first reported by the Chinese.

66. Brazil is the largest beef exporter in the world. And China is one of the largest beef consumers in the world. Brazil recently suspended its beef exports to China due to mad cow disease. The disease is also called Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy.

67. China and Japan held a security dialogue for the first time in four years. It was held in Tokyo. During the meeting, the countries agreed to strengthen their security relations and communication. They will work to gain mutual trust. Also, they agreed to bring upon a framework of maritime and air liaison.

68. The United Nations recently voted in a resolution of peace in Ukraine. According to the resolution, the members wanted Russia to withdraw its troops. The number of member countries in the United Nations is 193. Of these, 141 members voted in favour of the resolution. However, India and China abstained from voting.

69. The Agriculture Innovation Mission for Climate is a joint initiative of the US. It was started by UAE and USA. The main objective of the initiative is to address hunger and climate change. This is to be achieved by inviting countries and other private organizations to invest in innovative and climate-smart agricultural systems.

70. China recently launched the Zhongxing-26 satellite at a cost of 333 million USD. It was launched on Long March 3B rocket. The main objective of the satellite is to provide broadband connectivity for aviation and ship-related operations. The satellite was launched by the China Academy of Space Technology.

71. After traversing the Sunda Strait, the Indian submarine INS Sindhukesari docked in Indonesia. This is the first time an Indian submarine is docking in Indonesia. With this, INS Sindhukesari makes history in India - Indonesia relations.

72. Onion shortages are increasing all over the world. From Morocco to the Philippines, the governments are protecting their onion supplies. Morocco, Turkey and Kazakhstan have stopped exporting onions due to their increasing demand and soaring prices in their homeland.

73. The National Center for Seismology said that an earthquake of magnitude 6.2 hit Indonesia. The epicentre was at a depth of 99 km. The quake was powerful and fortunately, no casualties were reported. No tsunami warnings were issued. This is because the epicentre was deep under the sea bed.

74. The International Monetary Fund recently unveiled a Crypto Action plan to safeguard monetary sovereignty in the world. The action plan will help countries to frame their crypto policies.

75. The foreign exchange reserves of Pakistan fell to 2.9 billion USD. It is now slowly rising to 4 billion USD. China stepped in offering 700 million USD to help its "all-weather" friend. Pakistan was also asking for help from the IMF. Unfortunately, the talks ended in failure. IMF is planning on sending 1.1 billion USD but no decision has been made yet.

76. ChatGPT is a popular search engine that uses artificial intelligence and natural language processing to provide mostly accurate and relevant results to users. However, the Chinese government has decided to block this search engine in the country, citing concerns about propaganda and censorship.

77. The Inter-Governmental Consultation mechanism was established between India and Germany in 2011. After IGC, this is the first visit of a German Chancellor to India. Also, this was the first visit of Olaz Scholz as a chancellor. He visited India to discuss the Ukraine crisis and trade, China's actions in the Indo-Pacific, the green transition, etc.

78. The Crew-6 mission is to be launched on February 27 from the Kenedy Space Centre of NASA located in Cape Canaveral. It is a joint operation of both NASA and SpaceX. The Crew Dragon capsule will be carried by the Falcon 9 rocket of SpaceX. The capsule is being sent to the International Space Station.

79. The FSSAI recently released standards for millets; GoI is to promote millets in the brand name "Shree Anna"; millet production is to be boosted in the country, 2023 was made the International Millets Year by UN. More and more plans are coming up in promoting millet. One such is the recent MoU signed by APEDA with the LULU group.

80. The exercise Desert Flag VIII was held in the UAE air base Al Dhafra. Indian Air Force participated in the exercise. The other countries that participated were the USA, Korea, Spain, Morocco, Bahrain, the UK, Australia, Kuwait, France, and UAE. For the first time, LCA Tejas of India is participating in a military exercise that was held outside the country.

81. The Cobra Warrior Exercise is to be held at Waddington Air Force Base in the UK in March 2023. It is a multinational exercise. Countries like Singapore, Finland, the USA, South Africa, and Sweden will participate in the exercise. India is also participating in the exercise.

82. The smartphone giant NOKIA recently changed its brand identity for the first time in 60 years. The telecom equipment maker is now focusing on growth. The iconic blue colour of NOKIA was dropped. And a new logo has been adopted. The new logo has five different shapes.

83. The German Chancellor Olaf Scholz visited India recently. During his visit, the chancellor announced that Germany will ease the visa for Indians. This is being done to make Germany an attractive spot for IT investors and software developers.

84. French President Emmanuel Macron recently unveiled a new economic and military strategy for Africa. According to the new strategy, the French Government is to reduce its troops in the African region. Dropping the military approach, France is to boost its economic influence in the region.

85. The United Nations Maternal Mortality Estimation Inter–Agency Group, called the MMEIG recently released a report on the maternal mortality rate. The report shows the maternal mortality rates between 2000 and 2020. The MMEIG comprises of World Health Organization, UNFPA, UNICEF, and the World Bank.

Defence

1. Air Officer A. P. Singh was recently appointed the Vice Chief of the Indian Air Force. Currently, Vivek Chaudhari is the Chief of the Indian Air Force. His predecessor Mr. Sandeep Singh demitted from his office (meaning resigned). Sandeep served for 39 years. He received a ceremonial guard of honor while he handed over the office.

2. The Government of India has been bringing tremendous changes in the defense sector in the recent past. The changes made the defense ministry, the largest buyer of MSME goods in 2022 amongst all other ministries. India is also pushing startups to participate in defense modernization.

3. The Indian Defense Forces conducted firepower exercises called the "TRISHAKTI PRAHAR" to synergize the firepower assets and to orchestrate a battle. The exercise is important to keep the forces ready for battle. The exercise was conducted by the Indian Air Force, CAPF, and the Indian Army. It was a firepower exercise.

4. PM Modi laid the foundation stone for the largest helicopter manufacturing unit in Tumakuru, Karnataka in 2016. The unit is now ready to start its operation. The unit will produce more than a thousand helicopters and make India self-reliant on helicopters.

5. Pulwama district is in Jammu and Kashmir. The Pulwama Attack killed more than 40 CPRF personnel. It occurred on 14^th February 2019. The Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist group claimed responsibility for the attack. The attack was conducted by a vehicle-borne suicide bomber. The UN and several other countries condemned the attack.

6. Bandhan Ceremony was conducted at the AERO INDIA air show. During the ceremony, the Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) and technology transfer agreements were signed by DRDO. Also, private defence companies launched their products and made key announcements. Defence Minister Shri Rajnath Singh was the chief guest of the ceremony.

7. The Indian Air Force has developed a solution for its fighter pilots to deal with bad weather. The innovative solution developed is a new data link communication called VAYULINK. It will provide uninterrupted communication even during bad weather. Above all the communication link is jammer-proof.

8. On Prime Minister Modi's directions, the Indian Army Chief recently initiated the process to end Colonial practices such as buggies, pipe bands and functional ceremonies on retirement. Also, the English names of some of the units are to be changed.

9. The Director General of Civil Aviation recently granted permission to HAL to build Hindustan 228 variant aircraft. The Hindustan-228-201W is a 19-seater. Take off weight of the aircraft is 5695 kg. The variant requires fewer pilot requirements. Any pilot with a commercial pilot license can fly the aircraft.

Business, Economy & Banking

1. The Reserve Bank of India decided to expand the scope of the Trade Receivable Discounting System or the TReDS platform allowing the use of insurance facilities, permitting entities eligible to undertake factoring business to participate as financiers on TReDS and allowing secondary market operations on the platform.

2. The State Bank of India (SBI) announced a cooperation with PayNow, the city state's online payment system, for cross-border payments, one day after a real-time payments system linkage was formed between India and Singapore utilising the UPI platform.

3. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) in order to help India fulfil its most pressing development requirements, pledged up to $25 billion over the course of the next five years to support social development, climate change, and infrastructure development in India under the PM Gati Shakti project.

4. Karnataka Bank was awarded with 'Prathista Puraskar' under 'Digidhan Awards 2021-22' by Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), government of India for achieving target with highest percentage in BHIM-UPI transactions in private sector bank category.

5. ICICI Bank and BNP Paribas have signed an initial pact to cater to the banking requirements of European corporates operating in India and Indian companies in the European Union. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two entities establishes a framework of a partnership between the two banks for providing financial services to corporate customers operating in the India, Europe corridor, private sector lender ICICI Bank said in a statement.

Science & Technology

1. The Indian Journal of Medical Research that India is developing the highest resistance to anti-microbial drugs in the rest of the world. In India, antimicrobial resistance is increasing in food, animals, and humans as well. In 2020, the AMU of India was 43% more than the global average. By 2030, this is to increase by 40%.

2. In August 2022, the Indian Space Research Organization launched the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV). It carried two satellites and both satellites were rendered unusable. The mission was declared a failure. ISRO recently released a report detailing the reasons for the failure of the mission. ISRO investigation concluded that vibration disturbances were the major reason for the mission failure.

3. Squids like cuttlefish change colors. Inspired by these organisms and their color-changing mechanism Toronto University developed a fluidic system called Liquid Windows. The main objective of the system is to reduce energy costs. It targets decreasing the energy consumed during certain processes like lighting the buildings, heating and cooling.

4. In 2021, the Aviation Ministry permitted the CMPDI (Central Mine Planning and Design Institute) to use drone technology in the coal fields of India. Following the order, the Mahanadi coal fields in Odisha operating under the coal ministry recently introduced drones in their fields. The drone system and its portal have been named VIHANGAM.

5. NISAR is an earth-observing satellite planned to be launched in 2024. It stands for NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar. SAR creates two-dimensional and three-dimensional reconstructions of landscapes. NISAR is jointly developed by NASA and ISRO. Recently, NISAR left the Jet Propulsion Laboratory of NASA located in California to India.

6. The fact "Water is an abundant element on the earth" is becoming history. The scarcity of water is bringing in new research and leading to new discoveries. One such is the "Amorphous Ice". Researchers from the University of Cambridge recently created a new form of water. It is called Amorphous ice.

7. Deepfakes is the process of mimicking the voice of a person. Talking in their tone and style; like a mimicry. However, here the mimicry is done using the software. Therefore, the deep fake is the process of mimicking a person's voice using an online tool.

8. Jupiter is the biggest planet in the sun's family. 82 moons have been discovered around Saturn so far. On the other hand, it was believed that Jupiter had 80 moons. However, the latest discovery revealed Jupiter has 12 more moons. With this, the count of Jupiter's moons increased to 92. Today Jupiter has the maximum number of moons.

9. The James Webb Telescope is an infrared space telescope orbiting the sun. The telescope was jointly developed by European Space Agency, NASA, and Canadian Space Agency. It is the successor of the Hubble telescope. Recently, the James Webb Telescope won the space Space Foundation Award.

10. Researchers recently found that CAR T-Cell therapy is a good cure for Ovarian cancer. The therapy was tested on mice and found to be effective. Immuno suppressive nature of cancer cells in the ovary was a major hurdle for scientists. The recently discovered CAR T-Cell therapy has won this challenge. The therapy works by mutating the CD3 chain.

11. In December 2022, the deputy chief of NASA Drew Feustel became the chief. However, his services recently ended and he was succeeded by the new chief Joe Acaba. The chief of NASA manages the resources of the organization, creates assignments, fixes deadlines, designs crew operation concepts, etc.

12. Qualcomm launched the first satellite-based two-way messaging. It is called Snapdragon Satellite. This means this you can use SMS just like WhatsApp. In two-way messaging like Whatsapp, both participants can send or receive messages simultaneously. But in one-way messaging apps offering SMS services, only one operation is possible.

13. The Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy is a think tank that does legal research. The organization recently released a report on the popularity of software applications in India. The title of the report is "Making the Digital Ecosystem Disabled Friendly". The organization has found that WhatsApp is the most accessible app for disabled persons.

14. The Gaganyaan is a crewed space mission of ISRO. It is expected to be launched in 2024. Indian astronauts received their training from Russia's ROSCOSMOS to fly to space in the mission. HAL designed and built the crew module. DRDO is to provide food for the astronauts, parachutes, and a fire suppression system and will monitor the health of the crew while they are in space.

15. Skye Air is a startup delivering drones in different parts of India. The startup recently launched a Traffic Management System for drones. It is software and will allow drone operators to choose their routes. Just like flight traffic management, the need for drone traffic management is increasing.

16. Electrostatic Discharge Protection is protecting the equipment from electromagnetic waves. It is the most essential part of Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC). Every electronic piece of equipment has to pass the EMC test to get certified as electromagnetically safe. It means it is neither affected by EM waves nor emits EM waves (that may affect other devices).

17. The Indian Space Research Organization successfully launched the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV). It was launched from Sriharikota. The SSLV-D2 dropped EOS-07, Azaadi SAT-2, and Janus-1 satellites. The satellites were dropped at an altitude of 450 km from the earth within 15 minutes of the launch.

18. The Starship is a reusable rocket developed by SpaceX. The company has huge plans for the rocket. NASA will use Starship rockets to land its astronauts on the moon during the Artemis III mission. SpaceX recently completed the static fire test successfully.

19. The Locusts have very good smelling power. Israeli researchers have used the antennae of the locusts to create sniffing robots. The bot is bio-hybrid and therefore its sniffing powers are higher than the electronic sniffers. With Machine learning, the bot has been taught to identify different smells.

20. Italian researchers have discovered a Black Galaxy or Invisible Galaxy using ALMA. ALMA is Atacama Large Millimtre Array (Atacama Desert is in South America). The galaxy discovered is compact. It is young and has interstellar dust. The galaxy is forming new stars at the rate of 1000 times the Milky Way.

21. The smartphone giant APPLE is shifting towards micro LED. The micro LEDs are self-illuminating diodes. Their colour production and illumination are brighter than organic LEDs. Their energy consumption is less compared to normal LEDs. Apple is planning to use micro LEDs in its future watch models.

22. A US scientist recently discovered quasicrystals. The major difference between an ordinary crystal and a quasi-crystal is that the atomic patterns in quasi-crystals do not repeat themselves as that of an ordinary crystal. They are rare to occur naturally. However, can be created artificially

23. After childbirth, mothers experience mood swings, anxiety, and crying spells. They are generally referred to as "Baby Blues" and are technically called postpartum depression. It occurs in every mom irrespective of their income level, support system, family, friends, etc. It may last for two to three days or even for weeks.

24. IIT - Kanpur has developed a compressed air-based mineral transport system. The project was presented at the Global Investors Summit, in 2023. It received good feedback for its less material loss, reduced air pollution, and efficiency to reduce travel time to a great extent. The main objective of the system is to transport coal and slurry.

25. The Ministry of Health recently conducted a trial of delivering TB medicines in a drone. The trials were conducted in Rishikesh. Traversing through the Himalayas, especially during rainy seasons and winter seasons is challenging and time-consuming. Drones can deliver medicines to hilly regions quickly even during harsh weather conditions.

26. The Chandrayaan 3 is the third lunar mission of India. Indian Space Research Organization recently announced that the EMI-EMC test of the lander part was successful. The EMI-EMC are Electromagnetic tests. During the test, the lander is checked if its operation is creating EM interference in the nearby environment.

27. Skywatchers and astronomy enthusiasts have something to look forward to in February 2024. On 22^nd February the Moon, Venus and Jupiter will align in the sky, creating a stunning celestial display. This rare conjunction will be visible to the naked eye and promises to be a breathtaking sight for all who witness it.

28. In recent times, India has been facing several issues with the wheat crop. Production of wheat was affected due to high temperatures and scanty winter rainfall. Prices shot up. People faced a shortage of wheat all over the country this season. The main reason behind the chaos is climate change.

29. Roscosmos recently launched an empty SOYUZ spacecraft to bring back the stranded astronauts in space. Three astronauts were stranded in space as the Soyuz MS-22 capsule started leaking coolant. The astronauts were to return to the earth in the capsule. Now, with the leak, the astronauts will return only by September.

30. Kerala uses a BANDICOOT robot to clean sewage. With this, it has become the first state to launch robotic scavengers. BANDICOOT was launched in the temple town Guruvayur. Genrobotics developed the robot. The main objective of developing the robot is to eliminate manual scavenging. The robot has been in use since 2018.

31. In the world of artificial intelligence, chatbots have become a ubiquitous tool for communication. Companies have been striving to create their own chatbots to cater to the needs of their customers. After the success of OpenAI's ChatGPT, several companies have launched their own versions of chatbots to grab a share of the market.

32. The Crew-6 mission is to be launched on 27^th February from the Kenedy Space Centre of NASA located in Cape Canaveral. It is a joint operation of both NASA and SpaceX. The Crew Dragon capsule will be carried by the Falcon 9 rocket of SpaceX. The capsule is being sent to the International Space Station.

33. The recent frequent earthquakes have helped scientists discover a new core. This fifth inner core is a solid ball of nickel and iron and is the innermost layer. So far scientists believed that there are only four layers in the earth.

34. For the first time in Indian history, the Shree Krishna temple in Kerala introduced a mechanical elephant. The mechanical elephant will perform temple rituals here. It was presented by PETA India. The name of the elephant was Raman. It weighed 800 kg in weight and can carry 4 people. The parts of the elephant, that is, the eyes, ears and mouth worked on electricity.

35. India celebrates National Science Day on 28^th February. National Science Day is celebrated in the country to mark the discovery of the Raman Effect. Raman discovered the Raman Effect on 28^th February, 1928, and received Nobel Prize for his discovery in 1930.

Government Schemes

1. Every year, the National Capital suffers from intense air pollution from late October due to stubble burning, seasonal factors, etc. The pollution is due to haze, Particulate Matter and smoke. The weather improves and the pollution levels decrease by March - April.

2. The government has declared green growth as one of its major priorities for the 2023 - 24 financial year. In its effort to make India a cleaner and greener nation, the government has allocated Rs. 5,172 lakh crores for the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid &) Electric Vehicles (FAME) Scheme.

3. The Mangroves cover 0.15% of the total Indian Geographical area. This is around 4,975 square kilometers. The state of West Bengal alone has 42.45% of India's mangroves. Indian mangroves are facing limitations such as an increase in salinity, lack of oxygen, and diurnal tidal inundations.

4. The Indian horticulture sector contributes 33% of the GVA of the country. The industry is labor intensive and therefore, a small push will increase employment opportunities exponentially. Today, only 10% of the Indian land is under horticultural use.

5. India lost 30% of its wetlands in the past three decades. Of all Mumbai lost the maximum wetlands. 71% of wetlands in Mumbai were lost between 1970 and 2014. 57% lost in Ahmedabad, 56% in Bengaluru, 55% in Hyderabad, 38% in Delhi, and lots more in other major cities. The loss of wetlands is mainly due to anthropogenic activities and illegal constructions.

6. Data governance is managing data usage, data security, data availability, and data integrity. During the Union Budget 2023 presentation, the finance minister Smt Nirmala Sitaraman announced that GoI is to launch National Governance Policy. The policy will create an Indian Data Management Office.

7. Article 336 of the constitution allows GoI to make special arrangements for certain communities. Using this provision, the Government created the category of ST. However, some of the tribes in the country prefer to live isolated and remain secluded. Such tribes do not receive social benefits from the schemes launched by GoI.

8. The Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana runs under Skill Development Ministry and is implemented by the National Skill Development Corporation. The main objective of the program is to train the youths in areas where there are requirements for Indian industries.

9. Sickle Cell Anaemia affects the RBCs in the human body. When a person suffers from the disease his RBCs (usually rod-shaped) deform. Their shapes are affected. The primary function of RBC is to carry oxygen to different parts of the body. In a person with sickle cell anemia, the oxygen-carrying capacity of RBCs is affected.

10. Mahila Samman Savings Certificate is a new small savings scheme introduced by the Indian government in the budget 2023, aimed at empowering women and girls. The scheme offers a deposit security of up to INR 2 lakhs for a tenure of 2 years, with an interest rate of 7.5%.

11. The Artisans and Craftsmen in India have been disappearing since British times. The Government of India is trying to boost its economic status and keep the age-old arts and traditional crafts alive by different means. The Pradhan Mantri Vishwakarma Kaushal Samman is one such initiative. The scheme was announced by Finance Minister Smt Nirmala Sitaraman during the Budget presentation.

12. According to the National Statistical Commission, the literacy rate in India is 73%. However, the financial literacy rate is very less, around 24%. Compared to the other emerging economies of the world, the financial literacy rate of India is very low.

13. In the Union Budget 2023, the Government of India allocated Rs. 100 crores for the NAMASTE scheme. With this, the GoI aims to mechanize septic tank cleaning and sewer cleaning in towns and cities. The scheme aims to provide an alternate livelihood to sanitation workers. In addition, NAMASTE will strive to bring behavioral changes to them.

14. FAME is the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles. It was launched in 2015 to increase the sale of electric vehicles in the country. The scheme was launched under the National Electric Mobility Mission. During the Union Budget 2023, the GoI allocated Rs. 5,172 crores for the fiscal year 2024.

15. The Broadcasting Infrastructure and Network Development scheme was recently launched to provide financial support to Prasar Bharati, the public broadcaster of India. It aims to boost the infrastructure of public sector broadcasters in the country such as Doordarshan, All India Radio, etc. A Revamp to Prasar Bharati.

16. The Digital India Mobile Van was launched by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. The main objective of the mobile van is to spread awareness of Digital India initiatives and also to spread the word about the G20 Digital Economy Working Group. Lucknow was the first destination of the mobile van where the G20 DEWG's first meet is held.

17. The textile industries of India account for 4% of world trade and 5% of world GDP. However, textile waste from India accounts for 8.5% of global textile waste. Over 7800-kilo tonnes of textiles wastes are accumulated in India annually. The numbers are big and to reduce them India launched the enhancing circularity and sustainability project.

18. The Scheme was launched by the Madhya Pradesh Government. Under the scheme, the senior citizens will be taken on a spiritual tour free of cost. They will be taken to pilgrimage sites that are located outside the state. One or two pilgrimage sites will be visited by them. The scheme is funded by the Government of Madhya Pradesh.

19. The development in the northeastern states has always been slow as compared to the Indian mainland. This is mainly because the states are covered with forests and the percentage of the tribal population is high. Also, natural factors hinder the development of the region. For instance, Brahmaputra is called Sorrow of Assam.

20. In 2021, PM Modi launched the Gati Shakti Scheme. The main objective of the scheme is to implement an infrastructure pipeline in the country. Under this, the GoI planned on developing 11 industrial corridors and two defence corridors. Accordingly, PM Modi recently launched the first industrial corridor of the scheme called Tumarkuru Industrial Township.

21. The Scheme was launched by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. K. Stalin in 2022. The scheme will pay thousands of rupees to government school students. Beneficiaries of the scheme are students studying in Class V to Class XII. Only girl students are included in the scheme.

22. The Antyodaya mission was launched to aid people in rural areas. It aims to eliminate poverty. The Ministry of rural development recently launched Mission Antyodaya Survey 2022 - 23. The survey is to be conducted in two lakh sixtynine thousand gram panchayats in the country.

23. The Smart Cities Mission was launched in 2015 to provide clean mobility, air, public safety, etc. The latest update on Smart Cities Mission released by GoI says that 22 cities will complete their missions by March 2023. Agra, Chennai, Pune, Varanasi and Ahmedabad are some of them.

24. The Chief Minister of Kerala recently launched the Stipend scheme for lawyers in the state. The scheme is to be implemented by the Bar Council of the state. The council will be joined by the Advocates Welfare Trust. Under the scheme, the junior lawyers in the state will be paid three thousand rupees every month.

25. The Jal Jan Abhiyan will be implemented by the Ministry of Jal Shakti and the Brahma Kumaris organization. The main objective of the campaign is water conservation. During the campaign, the volunteers from the organization will conduct public awareness campaign on preserving water.

26. The Vibrant Villages Programme focuses on developing the rural areas in the northern border states and union territories. More than 663 villages will be developed under the programme. It is to be implemented for two years, that is, between 2022 - 23 and 2025 - 26.

27. The Government of India recently approved nine ethanol blending projects. These projects are to be implemented under the Ethanol Interest Subvention Scheme. The newly added projects are expected to produce 35 crore litres of ethanol. Around Rs. 1,034 crores of investments are expected on these projects. Also, the projects will create hundreds of employment opportunities.

28. The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority recently reduced the turnaround time of the National Pension Scheme to T+2 years. Earlier, it was T+4 years. T is the date, the request was made. T+2 means, "after two days of the request" and T+4 means, "after four days of the request".

29. The Employee Provident Fund Organization recently issued new instructions on how employees should apply for pensions. Earlier the amount contributed towards the scheme was capped at Rs. 15,000. Now EPFO says the employees can contribute more than this. That is, the capping has been removed and there is no limit to the contribution.

30. The Government of India launched the PM-KISAN scheme in 2019 to provide financial support to the farmers in the country. Under the plan, Rs. 6,000 is provided annually. Recently, PM Modi released Rs. 16,800 crores under the scheme. More than 80 million farmers benefited from this. The Prime Minister released the funds from Bellavi, Karnataka.

31. Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently inaugurated the Shivmogga airport in the state of Karnataka. The airport was built for Rs. 450 crores. The Passenger Terminal of the airport's main building is in the form of a lotus. It can accommodate more than 300 passengers.

32. The Government of India is planning to create ten clean plant centres. These centres will focus on increasing fruit crop production. During the Union Budget 2023 - 24, the finance minister Nirmala Sitaraman announced the Atma Nirbhar Clean Plant Program. Under the programme, the Government of India will focus on increasing fruit production in the country.

Awards & Honours

1. Every year the National Indian Students and Alumni Union presents the Lifetime Achievement Honour. The NISAU is a UK organization. It represents Indian students in the UK. This is the first time the NISAU is introducing the India UK achievers Honours. Over 75 highly qualified professionals will be honored with the award.

2. The 65^th Grammy Awards was presented in Los Angeles on 5^th February 2023. The Grammy Awards are presented by the Recording Academy of the US. The awards are presented to recognize the works of the music industry.

3. Yaya Tso is a lake in Ladakh and is known as the Bird's Paradise. The lake is at an altitude of 4,820 kilometres. The lake is a popular breeding site for black-necked cranes. The lake was recently announced as the "Biodiversity Heritage Site". It is the first biodiversity heritage site of Ladakh.

4. The Tamil Nadu Government is planning to build a memorial for the late DMK leader and former CM of TN M Karunanidhi. People of TN call him Kailaignar for his love towards knowledge and his Tamil literature skills. The planned monument is opposed by environmental activists.

5. Raja Ram Mohan Roy lived in the 19^th century. The reformer founded Brahmo Samaj in 1828 and played a major role in abolishing Sati. The Press Council of India presents awards in the name of the legend every year. In 2023, the Raja Ram Mohan Roy National Award is presented to Journalist A. B. K. Prasad for his contributions towards journalism.

6. Abdul Nazeer is a retired Supreme Court Judge. The President of India appointed him the Governor of the State of Andhra Pradesh under the recommendation of the Prime Minister and his council. Nazeer has been a part of the SC benches that pronounced the Triple Talaq verdict, privacy as a fundamental right case, the AGR case and the Ayodhya land case.

7. The Wolf prize is presented by the Wolf Foundation of Israel. It is being awarded since 1978. The Wolf Prizes are presented to scientists and artists. It was founded by a German Ricardo Wolf. He was an ambassador to Israel. The awards are presented in six fields namely arts, physics, agriculture, mathematics, chemistry and medicine.

8. The Shinku La or Shingo La is a mountain pass located on the border between HP and Ladakh. It is at an altitude of 5,091 metres. In 2020, GoI planned to build a 13.5 km tunnel in the pass. The Union Cabinet recently approved the construction of the tunnel.

9. David Robert Malpass is an economist from the USA. He has been serving as the President of the World Bank since 2019. He served as Economic Advisor to former US President Donald Trump. He recently announced that he is resigning. He has not completed his term yet. The term of the president of the world bank is five years.

10. The President Color is the highest award presented to military units, federal forces, and state police forces. The award has an emblem. The award is presented by the President of India, the Supreme Commander of the Indian military.

11. The award is presented by Sangeet Natak Akademi to artists in the field of dance, music and drama. It is presented annually to artists below the age of 40. The Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar is being presented since 2006. The awards were presented by the Union Minister of Culture and Tourism.

12. Saudi Arabia recently announced that it has completed one-fifth construction of its futuristic Mega city called the NEOM. The country is spending 500 billion USD to construct the city. The engineering projects in the future city will be powered by clean energy. There will be no cars in the streets.

13. The National Institution for Transforming India is a public policy think tank. It succeeded Planning Commission in 2015. The council has all the chief ministers of the state and Lieutenant Governors of UTs. Apart from them, there are temporary members such as four ex-officio members, a CEO, and three part-time members.

14. The UNESCO World Heritage site KHAJURAHO located in the state of Madhya Pradesh is hosting the first Culture Working Group Meeting. More than 125 delegates from foreign countries will attend the meeting. Pdam Shri Nek Ram also attended the meeting. He is known as the "Millet man".

15. The Shiv Sena party of Maharashtra recently elected the Maharashtra Chief Minister as its new Chief. The decision was made during the National Executive Meeting of the party.

16. The Indian Railways is to launch the Guru Kripa Yatra with Bharat Gaurav Trains in April 2023. During the Yatra, the tourists will visit the holy sites of Sikhism. The yatra is for 11 days. Totally 678 passengers shall participate in a single yatra.

17. David Malpass, the former World Bank President resigned before his term was completed due to climate-related controversies. After his resignation, US President Joe Biden recently nominated the former Master Card CEO Ajay Banga as the new World Bank President. Ajay has expertise in handling climate change-related economic issues.

18. Sergio Ramos Garcia is a Spanish Football player. He has won four UEFA championship leagues, two UEFA European championships, and also the 2010 FIFA World Cup. He was one of the youngest players to reach 100 caps. Cap is awarded to players appearing in the national team. Till today, Ramos is the most capped player.

19. Manish Sisodia is the Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi holding the education portfolio. He is from the political party AAP. According to the CBI, Manish was involved in providing illegal support to the liquor companies. Eventually, he used the benefits to win the Punjab elections in 2022. CBI arrested him convicting him in Delhi Excise policy.

20. Sevala Maharaj was a spiritual guru and a socio-religious reformer from the Banjara community. He lived between 1739 and 1773. He was against animal sacrifices and baptism. The culture ministry recently announced that the Government of India will launch yearlong celebrations marking the 284^th birth anniversary of the reformer.

21. Marina is a specially designed place of pleasure for small boats and yachts. The Chief Minister of Karnataka recently announced that the first Marina of India will be constructed in Byndoor, Udupi district, Karnataka. He announced this while addressing a function "Seven Wonders of Karnataka" organized by the Tourism department.

Sports

1. The Asian Football Cup is held once in four years. It is organized by the Asian Football Confederation. Around 23 teams participate in the tournament. Teams are chosen by AFC. The host of the tournament is selected through a bidding process. The 2023 host is Qatar. Recently, the 2027 host was selected and it is Saudi Arabia.

2. The Khelo India scheme was launched to increase the sports skills of the youth in the country and also to increase the sports infrastructure. Since the scheme's launch, the Khelo India committee working under the sports ministry has been organizing several games like Khelo India Youth Games, Khelo India Winter Games, etc.

3. Formula E is an electric car race. It is a championship of single-seater electric cars. It was conceived in 2011 in Paris. The championship is hosted by ABB FIA. The first Formula E championship was held in Beijing in 2014. The 2023 Formula E championship is to be held in Hyderabad.

4. The Border Gavaskar Trophy is conducted by the BCCI and Cricket Australia; and is played via ICC. This means the performances of the players in the match will be included in the ICC rankings. It is played between India and Australia. It is a test cricket series. India won the first test of the series.

5. The T20 Women's Cricket World cup is being held in Cape Town, South Africa. As a part of the world cup, the Indian and Pakistani teams played against each other. India won the match. The Richa Gosh and Jemimah partnership helped India win the match.

6. The Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council recently launched Pangong Tso Marathon. It was held on the frozen Pangong Tso lake. The marathon was conducted at an altitude of 4,350 metres. With this, it makes the Guinness record for World's Highest Frozen Lake Marathon. It is the first frozen lake marathon in India.

7. The International Shooting Sport Federation conducts the ISSF World Shooting Championship. It was first held in 1897. The recent 2023 ISSF Shooting World Cup was held in Cairo. India's Rudrankksh Patil and R. Narmada Nithin won gold. This is the first time India wins gold in the competition.

8. ICC is conducting the T20 Women's World Cup in South Africa. India entered the semi-finals after beating Ireland. It played its semi-finals against Australia. India battled under the captainship of Harmanpreet Kaur.

9. The 2023 T20 Women's world cup was held in South Africa. The final battle was between South Africa and Australia. The Australian team won the battle. The Australian woman's team is winning the T20 world cup for the sixth time. India quit losing to the Australian team during the semi-finals. India was the runner-up in the previous women's T20 world cup.

10. The Carabao cup is also called the EFL cup. It is a major football trophy played in England. In 2023, the trophy was won by Manchester United. Winning the Carabao cup is essential to enter the UEFA Champions League. Apart from winning the Carabao cup, the team should also finish the Premier League in the top four.

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References:
jagranjosh.com
gktoday.in
business-standard.com