11th-13th February, 2023

1. ISRO has conducted the recovery trials for the Gaganyaan Mission in a private pool, in collaboration with Indian Navy.
2. Skye Air (a drone delivering startup) has launched India’s first Traffic Management System for drones to allow drone operators to choose their routes.
3. Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has successfully launched the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV-D2) from Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh, with EOS-07, Azadi SAT-2, and Janus-1 satellites
4. Minister for Communications, Electronics & Information Technology and Railways, Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw will inaugurate the National Philatelic Exhibition – AMRITPEX 2023 at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi.
5. India and European Union have established a new Trade and Technology Council to focus on green technologies, connectivity, and resilient supply chains.
6. The 3rd ASEAN Digital Ministers (ADGMIN) meeting with India was conducted virtually on the theme of “Synergy Towards a Sustainable Digital Future”.
7. India has partnered with Morocco to secure fertilizers after China suspended the export of ammonium phosphate, a key component in the manufacturing of fertilizer.
8. Shri Bhupender Yadav, Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change launched the ‘Save Wetlands Campaign’, structured on a “whole of society” approach for wetlands conservation.
9. Rajasthan govt has announced an inflation relief package of Rs 19,000 crores in its state budget.
10. Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) and the National Forensic Sciences University (NFSU) have signed an MoU for setting up digital forensic laboratories along with exchange of information and knowledge, technological advancement and skill development in the field of digital forensics to nab tax offenders.
11. According to the “Making the Digital Ecosystem Disabled Friendly” report by Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy (think tank), WhatsApp is the most accessible app for disabled persons.
12. YouGov (an international data analytics firm based in the UK) has released a report on disposable income.
13. According to the International Energy Agency (HQ – Paris), Asian continent will consume half of the electricity produced in the world by 2025.
14. MMTC (a PSU of Metals and Minerals Trading) and PAMP (Switzerland based company) have launched Digital Silver (just like the digital gold).
15. RBI has expanded the scope of the Trade Receivable Discounting System (TReDS) platform.
16. Samsung Semiconductor India Research (SSIR) and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) have announced a partnership to promote research and development in an on-chip electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection.
17. MobiKwik and Paytm will now allow users to link their Rupay credit cards to UPI (Unified Payments Interface) for all merchant payments.
18. RBI has allowed DSP Investment Managers to hike its stake in DCB Bank to 99% as part of investment through different mutual fund schemes.
19. SEBI has introduced Blue and the Yellow bonds as sub-categories of green bonds.
20. Economics professor and researcher Shamika Ravi has been appointed as a member of the Economic Advisory Council to Prime Minister (EAC-PM).
21. February 6 – International Day of Zero Tolerance for Genital Mutilation; Theme – “Partnership with Men and Boys to Transform Social and Gender Norms to End Female Genital Mutilation”
22. February 10 – World Pulses Day; Theme – Pulses for a Sustainable future
23. February 11 – World Unani Day (birth anniversary of social reformer and Unani scholar Hakim Ajmal Khan); Theme – Unani Medicine for Public Health
24. Veteran Journalist Dr A.B.K. Prasad has been chosen for the prestigious “Raja Ram Mohan Roy National Award” for excellence in Journalism-2020 for his outstanding contribution towards journalism by the Press Council of India.
25. R Vishnu Prasad (founder and Chief Scientist of the Vishnu Prasad Research Centre) has won The Most Distinguished Scientist of the Year 2022 at the Indian Achievers Awards 2022.
26. Jean Eric Vergne of DS Penske (French race car driver) won India’s first edition of Hyderabad E-Prix.

National News

1. ISRO has conducted the recovery trials for the Gaganyaan Mission in a private pool, in collaboration with Indian Navy.
   • The trials were conducted at the Water Survival Test Facility of the Indian Navy, Kochi. The crew module will splash down in the ocean after re-entering Earth’s atmosphere from space.
   • The recovery mission will be carried out in Indian waters and led by the Navy.

2. Skye Air (a drone delivering startup) has launched India’s first Traffic Management System for drones to allow drone operators to choose their routes.
3. Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has successfully launched the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV-D2) from Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh, with EOS-07, Azadi SAT-2, and Janus-1 satellites
   • It is the second development flight of the SSLV. The first one was not successful in August 2022.
   • Azadi-Sat 2 – Developed by SpaceKidz India (who mentored 750 girl students to prepare the satellite)
   • Janus-1 – It is a technology demonstration satellite, developed by Antaris (USA), XDLinx’s software, and Ananth Technologies (from India). The satellite has been developed in collaboration with seven countries

4. Minister for Communications, Electronics & Information Technology and Railways, Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw will inaugurate the National Philatelic Exhibition – AMRITPEX 2023 at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi.
   • Organizers – Department of Posts under the Ministry of Communications

   India and European Union have established a new Trade and Technology Council to focus on green technologies, connectivity, and resilient supply chains.

   • They are Strategic Technology, Digital Connectivity, and Digital Governance working group; Green and Clean Energy technologies; Trade, investment, and resilient value working group.

5. The 3rd ASEAN Digital Ministers (ADGMIN) meeting with India was conducted virtually on the theme of “Synergy Towards a Sustainable Digital Future”.
   

   • Co-Chairs – India and Philippines
   • India-ASEAN Digital Work Plan 2023 was also adopted at the meeting.
   • Chair of ASEAN and East Asia Summit in 2023 – Indonesia
   • Theme of ASEAN Summit 2023 – ‘ASEAN Matters: Epicentrum of Growth’

7. India has partnered with Morocco to secure fertilizers after China suspended the export of ammonium phosphate, a key component in the manufacturing of fertilizer.
   • Morocco’s phosphate giant OCP Group will supply 1.7 million metric tonnes of phosphate-based fertilizer to India over the coming 12 months.
   • Under the deal, OCP Group will supply India with 7,00,000 tonnes of fertilizer.
8. Shri Bhupender Yadav, Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change launched the ‘Save Wetlands Campaign’, structured on a “whole of society” approach for wetlands conservation.
   • The campaign was launched at the Nanda Lake, Goa during the World Wetlands Day’s celebration.

State News

1. Rajasthan govt has announced an inflation relief package of Rs 19,000 crores in its state budget.
   • In the package, free food packets will be given to families below the poverty line under the NFSA.
   • LPG cylinders at subsidised rates under Ujjwala Scheme and 100 units of free electricity per month will be given.
   • Chiranjeevi Swasthya Bima Yojana was launched in 2021 to provide free treatment to the people of Rajasthan. Under the new relief package, the coverage amount has been increased to Rs 25 lakh from Rs 10 lakh.

Memorandum of Understanding

1. Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) and the National Forensic Sciences University (NFSU) have signed an MoU for setting up digital forensic laboratories along with exchange of information and knowledge, technological advancement and skill development in the field of digital forensics to nab tax offenders.

Reports and Indices

1. According to the “Making the Digital Ecosystem Disabled Friendly” report by Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy (think tank), WhatsApp is the most accessible app for disabled persons.
   • The organization evaluated applications in different categories such as e-commerce, online payments, transport, food delivery, etc.
   • OLA, UBER, TELEGRAM, FLIPKART, AMAZON, ZOMATO, SWIGGY, PAYTM, PHONE PE, etc. apps were also audited by the Vidhi Centre.
   • After auditing, the apps were categorized as “highly accessible”, “moderately accessible”, and “less accessible”. WhatsApp was highly accessible.
2. YouGov (an international data analytics firm based in the UK) has released a report on disposable income.
   • As per the report, one-third of urban Indian feel that their disposable income has decreased.
   • The Urban Indians intend to increase their savings in the next 12 months.
   • Their major expenses are around buying health insurance (26% of income), savings (33%) and investments for the future (21%).
3. According to the International Energy Agency (HQ – Paris), Asian continent will consume half of the electricity produced in the world by 2025.
   • On the contrary, Africa will only use 3% of the world’s electricity by 2025, despite having 1/5^th of the world’s population.

Banking and Economy

1. MMTC (a PSU of Metals and Minerals Trading) and PAMP (Switzerland based company) have launched Digital Silver (just like the digital gold).
   • Digital Silver is an investment option allowing investors to invest in this digital security which is backed by silver.

2. RBI has expanded the scope of the Trade Receivable Discounting System (TReDS) platform.
   • Now, insurance facilities can now use the TReDS platform.
   • It also permitted eligible entities to undertake factoring business on TReDS and also allowed secondary market operations on the platform.
3. Samsung Semiconductor India Research (SSIR) and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) have announced a partnership to promote research and development in an on-chip electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection.
   • Samsung Semiconductor India Research, a subsidiary of Samsung Electronics, is the technology hub. It enables innovation in both hardware development and software-powered solutions in semiconductor technologies.
4. MobiKwik and Paytm will now allow users to link their Rupay credit cards to UPI (Unified Payments Interface) for all merchant payments.
   • To start with, only Rupay credit card has been enabled for payments.

5. RBI has allowed DSP Investment Managers to hike its stake in DCB Bank to 99% as part of investment through different mutual fund schemes.
6. SEBI has introduced Blue and the Yellow bonds as sub-categories of green bonds.
   • Blue bonds relate to water management and marine sector, while yellow bonds pertain to solar energy.

Appointments

1. Economics professor and researcher Shamika Ravi has been appointed as a member of the Economic Advisory Council to Prime Minister (EAC-PM).

Important Days

1. February 6 – International Day of Zero Tolerance for Genital Mutilation; Theme – “Partnership with Men and Boys to Transform Social and Gender Norms to End Female Genital Mutilation”
2. February 10 – World Pulses Day; Theme – Pulses for a Sustainable future
3. February 11 – World Unani Day (birth anniversary of social reformer and Unani scholar Hakim Ajmal Khan); Theme – Unani Medicine for Public Health
   • Mohammad Ajmal Khan (11 February 1868 – 29 December 1927), better known as Hakim Ajmal Khan, was a physician in Delhi, India, and one of the founders of the Jamia Millia Islamia University.

Awards

1. Veteran Journalist Dr A.B.K. Prasad has been chosen for the prestigious “Raja Ram Mohan Roy National Award” for excellence in Journalism-2020 for his outstanding contribution towards journalism by the Press Council of India.
2. R Vishnu Prasad (founder and Chief Scientist of the Vishnu Prasad Research Centre) has won The Most Distinguished Scientist of the Year 2022 at the Indian Achievers Awards 2022.
   • The award was presented by Anurag Singh Thakur, Minister of Information and Broadcasting.

Sports

1. Jean Eric Vergne of DS Penske (French race car driver) won India’s first edition of Hyderabad E-Prix.

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