Current Affairs February 23rd 2023| Current Affairs News

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CURRENT AFFAIRS : BANKING & FINANCE

India & Singapore launch joint digital payment mechanism enabling easy and faster cross-border transactions         

• The Prime Minister (PM) of India Shri Narendra Modi and his Singapore counterpart Lee Hsien Loong launched cross-border connectivity between the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) of India and PayNow of Singapore through video conferencing.
• The launch was done by RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das and Ravi Menon, Managing Director, Monetary Authority of Singapore.

Advantages : 

• The linkage of UPI and PayNow will make it possible for citizens of both nations to send remittances across borders more quickly and affordably.
• A quick and inexpensive money transfer from Singapore to India will benefit the Indian community in Singapore, particularly migrant workers and students.
• This allows apps’ users to use their Indian bank accounts to pay at merchant outlets in the UAE, Singapore, Mauritius, Nepal and Bhutan.

Key Highlights : 

• Initially, Indian users can remit up to Rs 60,000 (approximately 1,000 Singapore dollars) a day.
• The RBI, the Monetary Authority of Singapore, the NPCI International Payments Ltd, Banking Computer Services Pte Ltd, participating banks as well as non-bank financial institutions worked together to create the linkage.
• Private transfer receipts primarily represent remittances by Indians employed overseas.
• To begin with, State Bank of India, Indian Overseas Bank, Indian Bank, and ICICI Bank will facilitate the remittances both inward and outward while Axis Bank and DBS India will facilitate the inward remittances.
• Users in Singapore can avail of the service through DBS-Singapore and Liquid Group, which is a non-bank financial institution.

About Singapore : 

• Prime Minister : Lee Hsien Loong
• Capital : Singapore
• Currency : Singapore dollar

BoM Leads Public Sector Lenders In Loan Growth & Asset Quality                            

• According to a review of the latest financial data of public sector banks (PSBs), the Bank of Maharashtra (BoM),Pune, Maharashtra has emerged as the top performer among state-owned lenders in terms of loan growth percentage during the third quarter of 2022–23.
• The lender recorded a 21.67% increase in gross advances on a year-on-year basis
• BoM was followed by the Union Bank of India with 19.80% growth.
• Country’s largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) stood at 4th spot with 16.91% rise in advances growth.
• However, SBI’s total loans were about 17 times higher at Rs 26,47,205 crore as compared to Rs 1,56,962 crore of BoM in absolute terms.

Key Highlights : 

• PSBs have logged a robust profit growth of 65% at Rs 29,175 crore during the third quarter ended December 2022, with Bank of Maharashtra emerging as the top performer in terms of percentage growth in profit.
• It recorded a 139% jump in profit at Rs 775 crore at the end of December 2022
• BoM was followed by Kolkata-based UCO Bank which posted a profit of Rs 653 crore, 110% higher than its earnings in Q3FY22.
• In terms of Retail-Agriculture-MSME loans, BoM has recorded the highest growth of 19.18%, followed by Punjab & Sind Bank with 19.07% and Bank of Baroda with 18.85% on an annual basis.
• Gross NPAs reported by BoM and SBI were 2.94% and 3.14% of their total advances, respectively, as on Dec. 31, 2022.
• Net NPAs for these two banks came down to 0.47% and 0.77%, respectively.
• As far as deposit growth was concerned, Bank of Baroda earned the top slot with 14.50% growth followed by Union Bank of India with 13.48% rise on an annual basis.
• In terms of total business growth, Union Bank of India recorded the highest growth of 16.07% during the third quarter & it was followed by BoM with 15.77% rise on an annual basis and Bank of Baroda clinched third position with 15.23%.
• With regard to Capital Adequacy Ratio, BoM recorded 17.53%, the highest among PSBs, followed by Canara Bank at 16.72% and Indian Bank at 15.74% as on Dec. 31, 2022.

Exim Bank’s GOI-supported LOC for USD 100 million to GO-MDV

• Export-Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) has entered into an agreement dated October 02, 2022 with the Government of the Republic of Maldives, for making available to the latter, Government of India supported Line of Credit (LoC) of USD 100 million for financing new developmental projects and to meet spillover costs from developmental projects in Maldives already included under Lines of credit extended to GO-MDV by Exim Bank.
• Out of the total credit by Exim Bank under the agreement, goods, works and services of the value of at least 75% of the contract price shall be supplied by the seller from India, and the remaining 25% of goods and services may be procured by the seller for the purpose of the eligible contract from outside India.

Key Highlights : 

• The agreement under the LoC is effective from January 19, 2023 and the terminal utilisation period is 48 months from the scheduled completion date of the project.
• Shipments under the LoC shall be declared in the Export Declaration Form/Shipping Bill as per instructions issued by the Reserve Bank from time to time.
• No agency commission is payable for export under the above LoC.
• Further, the exporter may use his own resources or utilise balances in his Exchange Earners’ Foreign Currency Account for payment of commission in free foreign exchange, if required.
• The directions contained in this circular have been issued under section 10(4) and 11(1) of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), 1999 (42 of 1999) and are without prejudice to permissions/ approvals, if any, required under any other law.

About Exim Bank : 

• Established : 1982
• Headquarters : Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
• Managing Director : Ms. Harsha Bangari

‘Nirman Se Shakti’ initiative presented by the ESIC to modernize ESIS hospital infrastructure

• Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) presented an initiative named ‘Nirman Se Shakti’ to modernise infrastructure.

About ‘Nirman Se Shakti’ : 

• The ‘Nirman Se Shakti’ initiative includes upgradation/modernization of ESI Scheme (ESIS) hospitals and dispensaries in a phased manner, formulation of standard design for 100/200/500 bedded hospitals with better modern facilities, online real-time dashboard for project monitoring/supervision, adoption of new building technologies to ensure quality of construction, elimination of delays, cost overrun, digitization of land/property documents etc.
• The Employees’ State Insurance Scheme (ESI) is an integrated measure of social Insurance for the worker population and immediate dependent or family embodied in the Employees’ State Insurance Act, 1948.

About ESIC : 

• Founded : 24 February 1952
• Headquarters : New Delhi, Delhi, India
• Director General : Dr. Rajendra Kumar
• ESIC is one of the two main statutory social security bodies under the ownership of the Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India (GoI), the other being the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation.

About Ministry of Labour & Employment : 

• Cabinet Minister : Bhupender Yadav
• Minister of State : Rameswar Tel

CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL NEWS

Panel led by Cabinet Secy Rajiv Gauba to oversee Mission Karmayogi programme

• Government has set up a panel to monitor the implementation of the Mission Karmayogi programme.
• The panel will be headed by Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba.
• The panel comprises a senior official from the Prime Minister’s Office, seven secretaries, and others.
• The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Karmayogi Bharat and secretary of the Capacity Building Commission will be permanent invitees to this 12-member panel.
• Additional Secretary/Joint Secretary (Training), Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) will be the Member Secretary.
• Recently, the government has given approval to setting up of a Cabinet Secretariat Coordination Unit (CSCU) as part of the institutional framework under the National Programme for Civil Services Capacity Building (NPCSCB) or Mission Karmayogi.
• The members of CSCU will be a nominee of Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), secretary (Coordination), cabinet secretariat, DoPT secretary, home secretary, expenditure secretary, Environment, Forest & Climate Change secretary, Higher Education secretary and revenue secretary.
• The implementation of NPCSCB will be monitored by CSCU. CSCU will oversee the formulation of the National Capacity Building Plan (NCBP) and place it before Prime Minister’s Human Resource Council (PMHRC) for approval.

‘Jaadui Pitara’: Education minister launches learning-teaching material for foundational years

• Learning-Teaching Material called ‘Jaadui Pitara’ has been launched for Foundational Stages as envisaged under National Education Policy 2020 in New Delhi by Dharmendra Pradhan.
• This unique initiative of the government will help foundational stage students to learn easily through play-way method under the National Curriculum Framework for Foundational Stage – 2022.
• It is launched by the Union Ministry of Education.
• It has been designed on the motto of ”learning through play”, as envisaged in the new National Education Policy (NEP).
• ‘Jadui Pitara’ is a play-based teaching-learning material designed for children in the age group of 3-8 years.
• The ‘Jadui Pitara’ includes playbooks, activity books, flash cards, posters depicting different stories, games, puzzles, puppets and many more items.
• Developed under the National Curriculum Framework, the ‘Jadui Pitara’ is available in 13 Indian languages.
• The minister urged NCERT to leverage technology to translate the content in the ‘Jadui Pitara’ in all Indian languages.
• These resources would be made available digitally on the DIKSHA platform – portal and mobile app.
• Initially, this initiative will be started as a pilot project in only 50 Central schools, but later, for the next academic session, it will be launched in 1200 Central schools across the country.

Following are the main points of the ‘Jadui Pitara’:-

• CORE transformative aspect of NCF-FS – ‘learn through Play’
• Research from fields as diverse as Neurosciences to Education
• Applies to Class 1 & 2 also (age 6-8) – huge shift – children will learn through play, have fun, and FLN will be addressed.
• Learning and Development in 5 domains: Physical Development, Soc io-emotional and Ethical Development, Cognitive Development, Language and Literacy Development, Aesthetic and Cultural Development, Positive Learning Habits has been included as another domain of development at this stage.
• A wide range of resources to be used for learning and teaching NOT only books.
• Flexibility to accommodate variety and local resources.

National Curriculum Framework for Foundational Stage (NCF-FS) :

• It is one of the four National Curriculum Frameworks (NCFs).
• It is India’s first-ever integrated Curriculum Framework for children between ages 3-8.
• It is a direct outcome of the 5+3+3+4 ‘curricular and pedagogical’ structure that NEP 2020 has recommended for School Education.
• NCF-FS has been developed by NCERT through an extensive consultative process with States & Union Territories up to grass root level and various institutions and organizations.

Shri Nitin Gadkari lays Foundation Stone of the world’s largest and unique Divyang Park

• Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari laid the foundation stone for the world’s largest Divyang Park — Anubhuti Inclusive Park — in Nagpur.
• The park will have adapted facilities for all 21 types of disabilities like touch and smell garden, hydrotherapy unit, water therapy, independent room for mentally challenged children, mother.
• In 2016, the Central government had passed the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act.
• World’s first inclusive disabled park has been made from a provision of about Rs 12 crore by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment tobuilt this park in an area of 90 thousand square feet.

Govt panel to assess impact of higher temperatures on wheat crop

• India has set up a panel of officials to assess the impact of rising temperatures on the wheat crop, government said as the weather office warned that above normal temperatures would prevail in key producing states.
• India the world’s second biggest wheat producer production is likely to rise 4.1% to a record 112.2 million tonnes.
• India, also the world’s second-biggest consumer of wheat, banned exports in May 2022 after a sharp, sudden rise in temperatures clipped output, even as export demand picked up to meet the global shortfall triggered by the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
• India’s agriculture commissioner Suresh Malhotra will head the committee, and officials from the country’s key wheat growing states and government scientists will also be on the panel.
• Maximum temperatures in some states this week jumped to 39 degrees Celsius, which is up to 9 degrees Celsius above normal, India Meteor ological Department (IMD).
• Maximum temperatures are likely to remain 5 to 7 degrees Celsius above normal over many parts of northwest India during the next three days.
• The country grows only one wheat crop in a year, with planting in October and November, and harvesting from March.
• For the current crop year (2022-23), the government has estimated a record wheat harvest of 112.18 million tonnes (MT).
• Total area under wheat crop has risen by only 0.13 million hectares (MH) to 34.32 MH in current crop year from the year-ago period.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : INTERNATIONAL NEWS

UAE to host first I2U2 vice-ministerial meeting in Abu Dhabi           

• The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is set to host the first vice-ministerial meeting of the I2U2 in Abu Dhabi from 20-26 February 2023.
• Senior officials from India, Israel, the United States, and the UAE will attend the meeting.
• It is the first vice-ministerial meeting since the grouping (I2U2) was jointly announced by President Joe Biden, Israeli Prime Minister Lapid, UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
• Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment Jose W. Fernandez will lead the U.S. delegation at the meeting.

About the I2U2 Vice-Ministerial meeting : 

• During the meeting, opportunities to advance regional cooperation will be discussed.
• Investment opportunities to build partnerships addressing the region’s most pressing issues, including management of the energy crisis and food insecurity will also be discussed.
• The I2U2 grouping was conceptualised during the meeting of the foreign ministers of the four countries held on October 18, 2021.

About I2U2 Group : 

• The I2U2 Group is a grouping of India, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States. 
• The group’s first joint statement, released on July 14, 2022.

Aim : 

• To cooperate on “joint investments and new initiatives in water, energy, transportation, space, health, and food security.”

CURRENT AFFAIRS : STATE NEWS

Odisha Launched India’s First AI-Chatbot – Ama KrushAI for Farmers                         

• Governor of Odisha Shri Ganeshi Lal launched India’s first artificial intelligence (AI) driven ChatBot for agriculture named Ama KrushAI in Bhubaneswar at the annual Krushi Odisha event 2023.

Aim : 

• To provide farmers with the best agronomic practices, government schemes, and loan products from over 40 commercial and cooperative banks.

About Ama KrushAI : 

• Ama KrushAI , which will run under a pilot project with above 10,000 farmers and will be implemented in full fledged in next 2 months.
• It is created using Bhashini, a language interpretation platform developed by Indian Institute of Technology IIT Madras.
• This initiative is a game changer in terms of providing farmers with cutting-edge agricultural technologies and innovations.

About Krushi Odisha 2023 : 

• The Krushi Odisha 2023 (3 day event) was organised by Odisha government’s Department of Agriculture & Farmers’ Empowerment jointly with Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).
• Theme : Emerging Technology in Agriculture

About Odisha : 

• Chief minister: Naveen Patnaik
• Governor: Ganeshi Lal
• Capital : Bhubaneswar
• National Park : Simlipal National Park, Bhitarkanika National Park
• Wildlife Sanctuaries : Sunabeda Wildlife Sanctuary, Kotagarh Wildlife Sanctuary, Hadagarh Wildlife Sanctuary

J&K govt approves Rs 30.40 cr ‘Sensor-based Smart Agriculture’ project                

• The government of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) has approved a Rs 30.40 crore project “Sensor-based Smart Agriculture” for integration of agriculture with technology driven by Artificial Insemination (AI) and IoT (Internet of Things) for automation of practices, enhanced resource use efficiency and profitability.

About the project : 

• Under the project, a sensor-based pilot study will be conducted on high-density apple orchards, protected cultivation and smart livestock farming.
• The project would enable the use of Hi-tech poly houses for the cultivation of cash crops around the year with the application of IoT and automation for monitoring the microclimatic parameters of plants.
• The greenhouse technology will result in increased yields and make possible off-season availability of vegetables as early production or late availability as compared to open field conditions
• In J&K, over 70% of the economy is based on agriculture, making it an important area for improving livelihoods through the adoption of digital agriculture for increasing input use efficiency, production, productivity, and profitability.
• “The objective is to increase the use of resources and improve efficiency by up to 80% and automate agricultural operations with precision in HDPs of Apple, vegetables, and livestock. 
• The use of AI-based detection of pests and diseases using handheld sensor devices can significantly reduce the drudgery and cost of cultivation by 20%.
• “The real-time detection and variable rate spray using robotics and drones will reduce the production cost by 80%.

About J&K :

• Lieutenant Governor : Manoj Sinha
• Capital : Srinagar, Jammu
• National Park : Kishtwar High Altitude National Park, Kaziranga National Park, Dachigam National Park
• Wildlife Sanctuaries : Ramnagar Wildlife Sanctuary, Gulmarg Wildlife Sanctuary

CURRENT AFFAIRS : APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS

GoI set up 16-member panel to draft Digital Competition Act

• The Government of India (GoI) has appointed a 16-member committee of union secretaries, law experts, and industry stakeholders to study the requirements of the digital competition law and give suggestions regarding competition norms within 3 months.
• The panel will be headed by Manoj Govil, secretary of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA).
• The committee will include the chairperson of the Competition Commission of India (CCI), Sangeeta Verma joint secretary (Competition) of the MCA, Dr Saurabh Srivastava; the cofounder of industry body NASSCOM, and experts from leading law firms.

About the Committee : 

• It will study if existing provisions in Competition Act, 2002 and related regulations were sufficient to deal with the challenges in the digital economy.
• The CCI will provide secretarial and research assistance and logistic support to the panel.
• It will study best international practices on regulation in digital markets, other regulatory regimes, institutional mechanisms or government policies regarding competition in digital markets.

About MCA : 

• Union Minister : Nirmala Sitharaman
• Minister of State : Rao Inderjit Singh

Lieutenant General MV Suchindra Kumar appointed as new Army Vice Chief               

• Lieutenant general MV Suchindra Kumar has been appointed as the new Vice Chief of Army Staff.
• He succeeds Lt Gen B S Raju as the Vice Chief of Army Staff.
• At present, Suchindra Kumar is serving as Deputy Chief of Staff (Strategic) at the Army Headquarters.

Other Appointments : 

• Lt Gen NSR Subramani has been posted as the Central Command chief in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh (UP).
• He is at present serving as the Chief of Staff at the headquarters of the Northern Command in Udhampur.
• Lt Gen BS Raju, the Vice Chief of Army Staff, has been shifted to South Western Army Command where he would be succeeding Lt Gen AS Bhinder who is superannuating on February 28, 2023.
• The appointments will come into effect on March 1, 2023.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BUSINESS NEWS

Remittances for overseas studies fall 42% in first 9 months of FY23

• Overall remittances by resident individuals under LRS have shot up by 40 per cent to $19.35 billion during the nine months ended December 2022 from $13.79 billion a year ago.
• Remittances in 2022-23 are expected to exceed $19.61 billion registered in fiscal 2021-22.
• Funds sent abroad by students under the Reserve Bank of India’s Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) declined by over 42 per cent to $2.57 billion during the nine months ended December 2022 of the current fiscal (2022-23).
• This amount was $ 4.4 billion in the same period of 2021.
• The biggest jump in remittances was in overseas travel by Indians who took out $ 9.94 billion during the nine months ended December 2022 as air travel opened up after the pandemic.
• Travel remittances were $ 6.90 billion during the previous fiscal 2020-21.

About LRS:

• Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) was brought out by the RBI in 2004.
• It allows resident individuals to remit a certain amount of money during a financial year to another country for investment and expenditure.
• According to the prevailing regulations, resident individuals may remit up to $250,000 per financial year.
• The transfer of foreign currency outside India is governed by the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA).
• LRS restricts buying and selling of foreign exchange abroad, or purchase of lottery tickets or sweep stakes, proscribed magazines and so on, or any items that are restricted under Schedule II of Foreign Exchange Management (Current Account Transactions) Rules, 2000.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: AWARDS AND HONOURS

Indian-origin software engineer wins top National Geographic photography contest

• National Geographic has announced the winners of its annual Picture of the Year awards.
• Indian origin Karthik Subramaniam has been declared winner for his photo titled “Dance of the Eagles”.
• The photo was selected from various entries across 4 categories- Nature, People, Places and Animals.
• Karthik’s photo will be featured in the May issue of the National Geographic magazine.
• He clicked the photo during his week-long photography trip in Alaska.
• At Chiklat Bald Eagle Preserve, he witnessed the chaos of bald eagles near the shore.
• He titles the image as “Dance of the Eagles” to pay homage to a dragon war in George R R Martin’s novel A Dance with Dragons.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: MOUS AND AGREEMENT

India and Fiji sign MoU on visa exemption for holders of diplomatic and official passports

• India and Fiji on signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on visa exemption for holders of diplomatic and official passports.
• External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Fiji’s Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka witnessed the MoU exchange.
• The exemption will allow both countries easier access to opportunities for collaboration, discussions and meetings at all levels.
• S Jaishankar also thanked the Fiji government for partnering with India for the 12th World Hindi Conference.
• The external affairs minister is on an official visit to Fiji from February 15-17 to attend the 12th World Hindi Conference in Nadi.
• The main theme of the Conference is ‘Hindi: From Traditional Knowledge to Artificial Intelligence’.

About Fiji:

• Capital: Suva
• Currency: Fijian Dollar

NDDB Mrida Ltd. signs agreement with Sistema.bio & unveils “Gobar Se Samriddhi” programme

• NDDB Mrida Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary company of National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) signed an agreement with Sistema.bio, India’s leading biogas company, to work with smallholder dairy farmers and provide sustainable solutions in waste-to-energy and open avenues of generating additional income for farmers under “Gobar Se Samriddhi” programme.
• NDDB Mrida Ltd. and Sistema.bio will jointly work with dairy cooperatives, dairy federations, milk producer organisations and other farmer-centric institutions to install modern flexi biogas plants for small and medium dairy farmers of India and disseminate knowledge about the same and about manure management and bio slurry applications as well.
• NDDB has first-hand experience of working with Sistema Bio while developing the Zakariyapura Manure Management Model which is part of the Gobardhan Scheme in Gujarat now.

About NDDB Mrida:

• NDDB Mrida Ltd. is a wholly owned subsidiary company of National Dairy Development Board established in 2022 having its head office at Anand.
• The company is working with the mandate of increasing farmers income from cattle manure.

Vedanta-Foxconn JV selects Dholera SIR for first semiconductor facility in India

• A joint venture of Indian conglomerate Vedanta and electronics manufacturing giant Foxconn has finalised the Dholera Special Investment Region near Ahmedabad city of Gujarat for setting up their semiconductor and display manufacturing facility.
• In the biggest ever corporate investment in the history of independent India, a joint venture of Vedanta and Foxconn in September last year signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Gujarat government to invest Rs 1,54,000 crore to set up the plant in the state.
• This will be the first manufacturing facility for semiconductors in India.
• The MoU was signed in September last year in Gandhinagar in the presence of Minister for Railways, Communications, Electronics & Information Technology, Ashwini Vaishnaw.
• This project is likely to get huge subsidies and incentives, like zero stamp duty on land purchase and subsidised wa ter and electricity, under the ‘Gujarat Semiconductor Policy 2022-27’ announced by the state government in July last year.
• Gujarat became the first state in the country to have such a dedicated policy for the semiconductor and display fabrication sector.
• Under this policy, eligible projects will be given 75 per cent subsidy on the purchase of the first 200 acres of land for setting up manufacturing units.
• The eligible projects will be provided good quality water at the rate of Rs 12 per cubic metre for the first five years.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: SPORTS NEWS

Indian team settle for Bronze at Badminton Asia Mixed Team Championship in Dubai

• Indian team led by V. Sindhu won the bronze medal at Badminton Asia Mixed Team Championship.
• Indian Team faced a 2-3 defeat against China in the semifinals.
• Prannoy and Sindhu lost their respective singles contest.
• Men’s doubles pair Dhruv Kapila and Chirag Shetty won their contest.
• Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand also won their match in Women’s Doubles.
• Ishaan Bhatnagar and Tanisha Crasto faced defeat in the Mixed Doubles event.
• China wins the Gold medal while the Silver medal was won by the South Korean team.
• The third edition of the Badminton Asia Mixed Team Championship was held from 14-19 February 2023.

About BWF:

• Founded: 5 July 1934
• President: Poul-Erik Høyer Larsen
• Headquarters: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Daily CA One-Liner: Feb 23

• Government has set up a panel to monitor the implementation of the Mission Karmayogi programme
• Learning-Teaching Material called ‘Jaadui Pitara’ has been launched for Foundational Stages as envisaged under National Education Policy 2020 in New Delhi by Dharmendra Pradhan
• Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari laid the foundation stone for the world’s largest Divyang Park — Anubhuti Inclusive Park — in Nagpur
• India has set up a panel of officials to assess the impact of rising temperatures on the wheat crop, government said as the weather office warned that above normal temperatures would prevail in key producing states.
• Overall remittances by resident individuals under LRS have shot up by 40 per cent to $19.35 billion during the nine months ended December 2022 from $13.79 billion a year ago
• National Geographic has announced the winners of its annual Picture of the Year awards
• India and Fiji on signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on visa exemption for holders of diplomatic and official passports
• NDDB Mrida Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary company of National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) signed an agreement with Sistema.bio, India’s leading biogas company, to work with smallholder dairy farmers and provide sustainable solutions in waste-to-energy and open avenues of generating additional income for farmers under “Gobar Se Samriddhi” programme
• A joint venture of Indian conglomerate Vedanta and electronics manufacturing giant Foxconn has finalised the Dholera Special Investment Region near Ahmedabad city of Gujarat for setting up their semiconductor and display manufacturing facility.
• Indian team led by V. Sindhu won the bronze medal at Badminton Asia Mixed Team Championship
• The Prime Minister (PM) of India Shri Narendra Modi and his Singapore counterpart Lee Hsien Loong launched cross-border connectivity between the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) of India and PayNow of Singapore through video conferencing.
• According to a review of the latest financial data of public sector banks (PSBs), the Bank of Maharashtra (BoM),Pune, Maharashtra has emerged as the top performer among state-owned lenders in terms of loan growth percentage during the third quarter of 2022–23.
• Export-Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) has entered into an agreement dated October 02, 2022 with the Government of the Republic of Maldives, for making available to the latter, Government of India supported Line of Credit (LoC) of USD 100 million for financing new developmental projects
• Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) presented an initiative named ‘Nirman Se Shakti’ to modernise infrastructure.
• The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is set to host the first vice-ministerial meeting of the I2U2 in Abu Dhabi from 20-26 February 2023.
• Governor of Odisha Shri Ganeshi Lal launched India’s first artificial intelligence (AI) driven ChatBot for agriculture named Ama KrushAI in Bhubaneswar at the annual Krushi Odisha event 2023.
• The government of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) has approved a Rs 30.40 crore project “Sensor-based Smart Agriculture” for integration of agriculture with technology driven by Artificial Insemination (AI) and IoT (Internet of Things) for automation of practices, enhanced resource use efficiency and profitability.
• The Government of India (GoI) has appointed a 16-member committee of union secretaries, law experts, and industry stakeholders to study the requirements of the digital competition law and give suggestions regarding competition norms within 3 months.
• Lieutenant general MV Suchindra Kumar has been appointed as the new Vice Chief of Army Staff.