09th-10th February, 2023

1. IIT-Guwahati will host the first Youth-20 (Y20) Inception Meeting 2023 from February 6-8 under G20 to provide an opportunity to the students to voice up their opinions for the audience worldwide.
2. IIT-Madras will be provided a grant of Rs 242 Crore over a period of five years to undertake research on Lab Grown Diamonds (LGD).
3. The first three-day Tourism Working Group Meeting under India’s G20 Presidency began at Dhordo in Kutch, Gujarat.
4. Supreme Court of India hosted the 73rd anniversary of its establishment.
5. Bangladesh will start receiving electricity from the Godda power plant (of Adani Group) in Jharkhand from the first week of March.
6. Ministry of Minority Affairs announced that, for the first time, Haj package costs have been reduced by around Rs 50,000 under the new Haj Policy.
7. Ministry of Corporate Affairs has set up a Committee on Digital Competition Law (CDCL) to examine the need for a separate law on competition in digital markets.
8. Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya inaugurated the Department of Integrative Medicine at Safdarjung Hospital in New Delhi.
9. Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) has crossed the landmark of 20 crores digitally linked health records.
10. Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of South India’s 1st Industrial Corridor Project to be implemented at Tumakuru, near Bengaluru in Karnataka which is spread over 8500 Acre of land under the Chennai Bengaluru Industrial Corridor.
11. Yuva Sangam registration portal was launched in New Delhi to build close ties between the youth of the North East Region and rest of India under the spirit of Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat.
12. Minister for Electronics & Information Technology, Communications and Railways, Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw launched the ‘Digital Payments Utsav’, a comprehensive campaign aimed at promoting digital payments across India in Delhi.
13. Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, Shri Som Parkash replied to a parliamentary question that, under the ODOP- Districts as Export Hubs initiative, products with export potential have been identified from all 765 districts of the country.
14. Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister Giriraj Singh have launched Mission Antyodaya Survey 2022-23, including launching of its portal and mobile application.
15. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Uttar Pradesh Global Investors Summit 2023 in Lucknow.
16. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin launched phase 2 of the ‘Pudumai Penn’ scheme, a scholarship scheme.

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17. Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Parshottam Rupala informed Lok Sabha that India is the highest milk producer in the world contributing 24% of global milk production in the year 2021-22.
18. India has launched “Operation Dost” to help Turkey and Syria in the deadly earthquake situation.
19. 14th edition of the biennial Aero India event will be held in Bengaluru, Karnataka between 13th-17th February on the theme of “Aerospace and Defence Technologies – Way Forward”.
20. India has signed an MOU with Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle Joint Business Council (IMT-GT JBC), Malaysia to further promote the adoption of energy efficiency and sustainable practices in the region.
21. Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare has signed an MOU with Digital Green (global development organization) under public private partnership framework to build a national level digital extension platform.
22. Bangladesh’s GDP growth rate was recorded at 7.10% for the Financial Year (FY) 2022-23.
23. Myanmar’s military-led government, working with Russian State Atomic Energy Corp., or Rosatom, has inaugurated a nuclear power information centre as a step toward developing atomic power to fulfil its energy requirements.
24. South Korea’s Sangwol Society has announced to cover the sites related to Buddha’s life by walking through India and Nepal.
25. The Quad countries (India, Japan, Australia, and the USA) have launched a public campaign, Quad Cyber Challenge, to encourage internet users across the Indo-Pacific and beyond to adopt safe and responsible cyber habits.
26. Qualcomm Technologies has introduced the world’s first satellite-based two-way capable messaging solution for premium smartphones, called Snapdragon Satellite, at the CES 2023.
27. Global Quality Infrastructure Index (GQII) 2021 is released by consulting firms Mesopartner and Analyticar to research and disseminate data on Quality Infrastructure.
28. The Central Government is planning to launch the initial public offering (IPO) of the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Limited (IREDA) and state-owned engineering consultancy firm WAPCOS in the 2023-24.
29. The Central Government is planning to increase dearness allowance (DA) for its employees and pensioners by four percentage points to 42% from existing 38%.
30. Bengaluru-based micro-savings fintech startup Siply has acquired the Telangana-based new-age chit platform myPaisaa for $7.5 Million.
31. Microsoft has announced the third phase of its long-term partnership with OpenAI (creator of ChatGPT) through a multiyear, multibillion dollar investment to accelerate AI breakthrough.
32. Union Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has announced that the government will consider a review of the 28% Goods and Services Tax (GST) levied on cement.
33. RBI has released the Monetary Policy Committee’s reports.
34. Lendingkart, a digital lending platform for MSMEs, has acquired personal loan provider Upwards in a cash-and-stock deal worth Rs 100 – Rs 120 crore.
35. Microsoft has announced that its video-conferencing platform Teams Free (classic) version will no longer be available from April 12.
36. On February 8, Sebi came out with a list of 39 entities, including Nirmal Bang Securities, NJ Indiainvest and Muthoot Securities, that can use e-KYC Aadhaar authentication services in the securities market as sub-KYC user agency.
37. Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has issued norms for processing returns filed by digital economy firms that are liable to equalization levy, streamlining the administration of India’s digital economy tax.
38. Google has launched “BARD”, its own AI-chatbot similar to ChatGPT.
39. PhonePe has launched cross-border transaction facility to allow Indian travellers make UPI transactions to foreign merchants using PhonePe platform.
40. RBI Governor Shaktikant Das has announced to set up QR code-based coin vending machines (QCVM) in 12 cities.
41. NASA has appointed Joe Acaba as its chief of the Astronaut Office.
42. 65th Grammy Awards 2023 (US’s top most awards in the field of music) have been announced.
43. Titas Sadhu, female Indian cricketer, won the ‘Emerging Hero’ award at Sportstar East Sports Conclave 2023 in Kolkata.
44. Indian high jumper Tejaswin Shankar has won the top position in the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix in Boston, USA.
45. Ashu won the 67kg bronze medal for India in the Greco Roman category on the concluding day of the Zagreb Open Ranking Series.
46. Australia’s T20 World Cup-winning captain Aaron Finch announced retirement from International Cricket.
47. 5th Khelo India Youth Games has been won by
48. ICC T-20 Women’s World Cup has started in South Africa.
49. Gaziantep Castle is located in Turkey. A deadly earthquake has hit Turkey and Syria.
50. According to the Archaeological Survey of India’s new report, the Sangam Age is expected to start from 800 BCE to 300 CE.

National News

1. IIT-Guwahati will host the first Youth-20 (Y20) Inception Meeting 2023 from February 6-8 under G20 to provide an opportunity to the students to voice up their opinions for the audience worldwide.
   • Union minister of youth affairs and sports, Anurag Singh Thakur will hold a ‘Youth dialogue’ with Y20 delegates followed by the launch of white paper on various themes.
   • The Y20 themes are
   • Future of Work: Industry 4.0, Innovation and 21st century;
   • Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction: Making Sustainability as a Way of Life;
   • Peace Building and Reconciliation: Ushering in an Era of No War;
   • Shared Future: Youth in Democracy and Governance;
   • Health, Wellbeing & Sports: Agenda for Youth.

2. IIT-Madras will be provided a grant of Rs 242 Crore over a period of five years to undertake research on Lab Grown Diamonds (LGD).
   • Lab grown Diamonds (LGD) is a technology and innovation-driven emerging sector with high employment potential. These environment-friendly diamonds have optically and chemically the same properties as natural diamonds.
3. The first three-day Tourism Working Group Meeting under India’s G20 Presidency began at Dhordo in Kutch, Gujarat.
4. Supreme Court of India hosted the 73rd anniversary of its establishment.
   • This year’s event was aired on social media platforms and saw Singapore’s Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon, who is of Indian origin, as the chief guest.

5. Bangladesh will start receiving electricity from the Godda power plant (of Adani Group) in Jharkhand from the first week of March.
6. Ministry of Minority Affairs announced that, for the first time, Haj package costs have been reduced by around Rs 50,000 under the new Haj Policy.
   • The new Haj Policy will run from 2018-22.
   • Under the policy, Indian authorities have abolished the VIP quota for pilgrims and allowed single women to apply as well.
   • P. Abdullakutty is the chairman of the Haj Committee of India, a statutory body of the Indian government that organizes Islamic pilgrimages to Saudi Arabia.
7. Ministry of Corporate Affairs has set up a Committee on Digital Competition Law (CDCL) to examine the need for a separate law on competition in digital markets.
   • Chair of the Committee – Secretary, Ministry of Corporate Affairs (incumbent: Dr Manoj Govil)
8. Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya inaugurated the Department of Integrative Medicine at Safdarjung Hospital in New Delhi.
   • Department of Integrative Medicine will further collaborations between traditional and modern systems of medicine to better serve the citizens.
   • Central government has decided to open Integrative Medicine Centers at all government medical establishments, especially all AIIMS in the country.
9. Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) has crossed the landmark of 20 crores digitally linked health records.
   • Under the ABDM, citizens can create their ABHA (Ayushman Bharat Health Account) numbers, to which their digital health records get linked.
   • It was launched in September 2021.

10. Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of South India’s 1st Industrial Corridor Project to be implemented at Tumakuru, near Bengaluru in Karnataka which is spread over 8500 Acre of land under the Chennai Bengaluru Industrial Corridor.
    • Tumakuru Industrial Township has been planned with holistic and integrated approach in line with the principles of PM-Gati Shakti to address the issue of last mile multi-modal connectivity to the economic zone.

11. Yuva Sangam registration portal was launched in New Delhi to build close ties between the youth of the North East Region and rest of India under the spirit of Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat.
    • Through the Yuva Sangam initiative, youths in the region will travel across different parts of the country and learn about different cultures in India.
12. Minister for Electronics & Information Technology, Communications and Railways, Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw launched the ‘Digital Payments Utsav’, a comprehensive campaign aimed at promoting digital payments across India in Delhi.
    • The “Digital Payments Utsav” is an extraordinary campaign that will showcase India’s journey of digital transformation, with a series of events and initiatives to be held from 9th February to 9th October 2023.
    • The focus of the campaign will be on promoting digital payments in the country, especially in the cities of Lucknow, Pune, Hyderabad, and Bengaluru, as part of the G20 Digital Economy Working Group (DEWG)
    • The Minister informed that the Mission Bhashini – National Language Translation Mission and Digital Payments have made UPI 123 Pay available in local language.
    • During the event, DigiDhan Awards were presented to 28 top-performing banks, bankers, and fintech companies in different categories for their outstanding performance in the digital payments space.
    • A Digital Payment Sandesh Yatra will also be organized to tour the country to educate citizens about digital payments and its security.
13. Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, Shri Som Parkash replied to a parliamentary question that, under the ODOP- Districts as Export Hubs initiative, products with export potential have been identified from all 765 districts of the country.
    • ODOP has been merged with ‘Districts as Export Hubs Initiative’ being run by the Department of Commerce for fostering balanced regional development across all districts of the country.
    • ODOP-Districts as Export Hubs initiative is working with manufacturers/producers across districts along verticals like design, production, manufacturing, packaging, and market creation to boost sales both in the domestic as well as international market.
    • As ODOP-Districts as Export Hubs is not a scheme, there is no financial assistance provided.
14. Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister Giriraj Singh have launched Mission Antyodaya Survey 2022-23, including launching of its portal and mobile application.
    • The Survey-2022 questionnaire has 183 indicators and 216 data points covering 21 areas.
    • Mission Antyodaya Survey – 2022-23 will be conducted in all 2,69,253 Gram Panchayats and equivalent, whose profile has been created on e-Gram Swaraj.
    • The questionnaire has been translated into 13 regional languages.

State News

1. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Uttar Pradesh Global Investors Summit 2023 in Lucknow.
2. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin launched phase 2 of the ‘Pudumai Penn’ scheme, a scholarship scheme.
   • The scheme involves the distribution of a scholarship amount of ₹1,000 per month to girl students pursuing their higher studies after completing their schooling at a government school. The scholarship is provided through the Social Welfare Department.
   • Tamil Nadu Government is planning to build a memorial for the late DMK leader and former CM of TN M Karunanidhi.
   • The state government is already working on a proposal for a 42-metre-tall pen monument on the sea, at a distance of 360 metres into the Bay of Bengal, at an estimated cost of ₹80 crore.

Agriculture and Rural Development

1. Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Parshottam Rupala informed Lok Sabha that India is the highest milk producer in the world contributing 24% of global milk production in the year 2021-22.
   • The above statement has been cited from the production data of Food and Agriculture Organization Corporate Statistical Database (FAOSTAT).
   • Milk production of India has registered a 51% increase during 2014-15 to 2021-22 and increased to 22 crore tonne in the year 2021-22 from 14.6 crore tonnes in 2014-15.
   • The value of the output of milk is more than Rs. 9.32 lakh crore during 2021-22.
   • On the other hand, egg production has also increased from 78.48 billion in 2014-15 to 129.53 billion in 2021-22, at a growth rate of 8%.

Defence News

1. India has launched “Operation Dost” to help Turkey and Syria in the deadly earthquake situation.
   • Indian Air Force’s C17 Globemaster aircraft flew off from the Hindon Airbase in Ghaziabad to help earthquake victims in Turkey.
   • DOST is the word in Hindi and Turkish which means friends.
2. 14th edition of the biennial Aero India event will be held in Bengaluru, Karnataka between 13th-17th February on the theme of “Aerospace and Defence Technologies – Way Forward”.
   • Organizers – Centre for Airborne Systems or CABS (a laboratory of DRDO) and Aeronautical Society of India

Memorandum of Understanding

1. India has signed an MOU with Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle Joint Business Council (IMT-GT JBC), Malaysia to further promote the adoption of energy efficiency and sustainable practices in the region.
   • Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), a PSU under the Ministry of Power, signed the MoU.
2. Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare has signed an MOU with Digital Green (global development organization) under public private partnership framework to build a national level digital extension platform.
   • The platform will host a digital library to help extension workers access and deliver curated content to farmers on time and upskill the vast network of extension workers for agriculture, horticulture, fisheries, livestock and rural livelihood missions through certified online courses.

International News

1. Bangladesh’s GDP growth rate was recorded at 7.10% for the Financial Year (FY) 2022-23.
   • The Per Capita GDP income of Bangladesh is at USD 2,793.
   • In 2021, India’s per capital income stood at USD 2,256.6.
2. Myanmar’s military-led government, working with Russian State Atomic Energy Corp., or Rosatom, has inaugurated a nuclear power information centre as a step toward developing atomic power to fulfil its energy requirements.
   • Russia has been promoting cooperation on nuclear power with several Southeast Asian nations including Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines.

3. South Korea’s Sangwol Society has announced to cover the sites related to Buddha’s life by walking through India and Nepal.
   • Under this, 108 Buddhists will walk and cover 1,100 km in India.
   • Buddhist Circuit is one of the fifteen thematic circuits identified for development under the Swadesh Darshan- Integrated Development of Theme-Based Tourism Circuits Scheme of Ministry of Tourism.
4. The Quad countries (India, Japan, Australia, and the USA) have launched a public campaign, Quad Cyber Challenge, to encourage internet users across the Indo-Pacific and beyond to adopt safe and responsible cyber habits.
5. Qualcomm Technologies has introduced the world’s first satellite-based two-way capable messaging solution for premium smartphones, called Snapdragon Satellite, at the CES 2023.
   • Snapdragon Satellite will offer global connectivity using mobile messaging from around the world.
   • The latest two-way messaging service is powered by Snapdragon 5G Modem-RF Systems.

Reports and Indices

1. Global Quality Infrastructure Index (GQII) 2021 is released by consulting firms Mesopartner and Analyticar to research and disseminate data on Quality Infrastructure.
   • Total countries – 184
   • Top – Germany
   • India’s rank – 10th Overall
   • Accreditation – 5th (as regulated by Quality Council of India)
   • Standardization – 9th (as regulated by BIS)
   • Metrology – 21st (as regulated by National Physical Laboratory -CSIR)
   • Parameters – Quality Infrastructure (QI): Accreditation, Standardization, and Metrology
   • QI is the technical backbone for international trade, with metrology, standardization, accreditation and conformity assessment services providing reliability and trust between trading partners.

Banking and Economy

1. The Central Government is planning to launch the initial public offering (IPO) of the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Limited (IREDA) and state-owned engineering consultancy firm WAPCOS in the 2023-24.
   • DIPAM Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey has been given the official responsibility of carrying out divestment process of CPSEs.

2. The Central Government is planning to increase dearness allowance (DA) for its employees and pensioners by four percentage points to 42% from existing 38%.
   • The proposal will be presented to the Union Cabinet.
   • If passed, the DA hike will be effective from January 1, 2023.

3. Bengaluru-based micro-savings fintech startup Siply has acquired the Telangana-based new-age chit platform myPaisaa for $7.5 Million.
4. Microsoft has announced the third phase of its long-term partnership with OpenAI (creator of ChatGPT) through a multiyear, multibillion dollar investment to accelerate AI breakthrough.
   • Since 2016, Microsoft has committed to building Azure into an AI supercomputer for the world.
5. Union Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has announced that the government will consider a review of the 28% Goods and Services Tax (GST) levied on cement.
6. RBI has released the Monetary Policy Committee’s reports.
   • GDP Forecast for FY24 – 6.4%
   • CPI headline inflation moderated to 5.7% (y-o-y) in December 2022.

7. Lendingkart, a digital lending platform for MSMEs, has acquired personal loan provider Upwards in a cash-and-stock deal worth Rs 100 – Rs 120 crore.
8. Microsoft has announced that its video-conferencing platform Teams Free (classic) version will no longer be available from April 12.
9. On February 8, Sebi came out with a list of 39 entities, including Nirmal Bang Securities, NJ Indiainvest and Muthoot Securities, that can use e-KYC Aadhaar authentication services in the securities market as sub-KYC user agency.
   • In May 2020, SEBI had allowed BSE to undertake Aadhaar Authentication service of UIDAI as KYC user agency (KUA) in the securities market.
   • Further, a KUA can permit Sebi-registered intermediaries to undertake Aadhaar Authentication of their clients as sub-KUA for the purpose of KYC (Know Your Client).
10. Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has issued norms for processing returns filed by digital economy firms that are liable to equalization levy, streamlining the administration of India’s digital economy tax.
    • The Centralized Processing of Equalization Levy Statement Scheme, 2023 sets the modalities for processing the returns filed by these entities.
    • As per this scheme, the Centralised Processing Centre (CPC) of the Income Tax Department which currently processes income-tax returns will also process equalization levy statements electronically and all communication should be on email or on the Income-tax portal.

11. Google has launched “BARD”, its own AI-chatbot similar to ChatGPT.
    • Chinese search engine company BAIDU is also developing products very much similar to Chat GPT.
12. PhonePe has launched cross-border transaction facility to allow Indian travellers make UPI transactions to foreign merchants using PhonePe platform.
    • Cross-border transaction facility by PhonePe to support all international outlets in UAE, Singapore, Nepal, Bhutan and Mauritius having local QR Code.
    • Indians will be able to make payments in foreign currency directly from their banks in the similar way they do with their international debit cards.

13. RBI Governor Shaktikant Das has announced to set up QR code-based coin vending machines (QCVM) in 12 cities.
    • Coin vending machines are automatic machines that dispense coins against bank currency notes. These vending machines will dispense coins against debit to the customer’s account using UPI instead of physical tendering of banknotes.
    • The QCVM is a cashless coin dispenser that dispenses coins in exchange for a debit to the customer’s bank account via the Unified Payments Interface (UPI).

Appointments

1. NASA has appointed Joe Acaba as its chief of the Astronaut Office.

Awards

1. 65th Grammy Awards 2023 (US’s top most awards in the field of music) have been announced.
   • Ricky Kej (Indian music composer and producer) becomes the only living Indian to win Grammy award thrice.
2. Titas Sadhu, female Indian cricketer, won the ‘Emerging Hero’ award at Sportstar East Sports Conclave 2023 in Kolkata.

Sports

1. Indian high jumper Tejaswin Shankar has won the top position in the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix in Boston, USA.
2. Ashu won the 67kg bronze medal for India in the Greco Roman category on the concluding day of the Zagreb Open Ranking Series.
   

   • Ashu is already an Asian Championships bronze medallist.

3. Australia’s T20 World Cup-winning captain Aaron Finch announced retirement from International Cricket.
4. 5th Khelo India Youth Games has been won by
   • Madhya Pradesh is at the 2nd position and Haryana is at the 3rd
5. ICC T-20 Women’s World Cup has started in South Africa.

Miscellaneous

1. Gaziantep Castle is located in Turkey. A deadly earthquake has hit Turkey and Syria.
2. According to the Archaeological Survey of India’s new report, the Sangam Age is expected to start from 800 BCE to 300 CE.
   • Earlier, the Sangam Age started from 600 BCE.

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