15th February, 2023

1. Shri K. Rajaraman (Chairman of Digital Communications Commission) launched the ‘IEEE C-DOT Certified Telecom Expert Program’ (ICCTEP) to bring learning in the areas of Telecom including 5G, Cyber Security and Quantum Communication to bridge the skill gap.
2. Ministry of Electronics and IT and Meta have launched the G20 Stay Safe Online Campaign to increase awareness on online safety.
3. European Investment Bank (EIB) has formally agreed to join the India Hydrogen Alliance (IH2A) and increase support for green hydrogen projects across India with indicative funding of €1 billion, subject to Indian government and EIB approvals.
4. Pawan Hans Ltd. launched its helicopter services on six routes in the state of Assam under the RCS UDAN scheme to provide connectivity on the “Dibrugarh-Jorhat-Tezpur-Guwahati-Tezpur-Jorhat-Dibrugarh” network.
5. Russia’s key gas producer PAO NOVATEK and Deepak Fertilisers and Petrochemicals Corporation Ltd. have signed an MOU for the supply of LNG and low-carbon ammonia.
6. India’s first new mobility-focused cluster – Telangana Mobility Valley (TMV) has been launched to attract investments of around Rs 50,000 crore and generate more than 4 lakh jobs in the next five years in the state.
7. Uttar Pradesh has inaugurated first VFS Global Joint Visa Application Centre (JVAC) and the VFS Global Academy in Lucknow.
8. J&K administration has launched the “Alternate Agriculture System for Sustainability” project to promote organic farming.
9. The Department of Collegiate and Technical Education (DCTE), Karnataka and Samsung Semiconductor India Research (SSIR) have signed an MOU to set up ‘Industrial Internet of Things Labs’ (IoT Innovation Labs) in 35 Government Polytechnics across the State.
10. Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a USD 130 million loan to increase agricultural productivity and promote horticulture agribusinesses to raise farmers’ income in Himachal Pradesh.
11. Ministry of Agriculture has approved commercial release of nano-diammonium phosphate (nano-DAP), which is expected to reduce subsidy and the import dependence on the fertiliser variety.
12. Ministry of Defence has signed a ₹2,585-crore contract with Larsen & Toubro (L&T) for procuring 41 sets of modular bridges for the Army’s Corps of Engineers.
13. ISRO and IIT Madras have signed an MOU for collaboration on the application of Extended Reality (XR) and other technologies in Indian Human Spaceflight Programme.
14. India Health Link has signed an MoU with the Uttar Pradesh government for the InvestUP programme to set up health ATMs across the state to check health vital parameters including BP, weight, pulse, temperature, and ECG within 10 minutes followed by an instant report.
15. Switzerland is the first WTO member to ratify the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies.
16. Asian Development Bank (ADB) has released the Asian Economic Integration Report 2023 report.
17. strong>CloudSEK has released the “Global Threat Landscape Report 2021-2022″ report.
18. Centre for Policy Analysis (CPA) has released the “Global Minority Report”.
19. National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) has released its White Paper on the “Making India A Global Power House on Farm Machinery Industry” by Hon’ble Ms. Shobha Karandlaje, Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare.
20. Reliance Jio and global mobile network operators’ organisation GSMA (Global System for Mobile Communications) have rolled out their digital skills programme to train rural women in India.
21. Department of Financial Services under the Ministry of Finance has approved the Indian Bank to have four executive directors instead of three.
22. Airtel Payments Bank announced the availability of its current account, BizKhata across the nation for fast activation and limitless transactions.
23. South Indian Bank has launched the “SIB Wealth”, a wealth management platform, in partnership with Geojit Financial Services.
24. Ascenda, the world leader in powering global rewards card and payment value propositions for financial brands, has partnered with Axis Bank, India’s third largest private sector bank, to power their innovative new rewards program.
25. Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance has launched the Sustainable Equity Fund to offer investors an opportunity to invest in companies that are socially responsible and have been evaluated on relevant environment, social, and governance (ESG) factors.
26. Kotak Banking & Financial Services Fund, an open-ended equity fund investing in the banking and financial services sectors, has been introduced by Kotak Mahindra Asset Management Company Ltd.
27. South Indian Bank has partnered with Telangana State Treasury (Cyber Treasury) for enabling online payments.
28. Tata Consultancy Services has expanded its long-standing partnership with Phoenix Group, UK’s largest long-term savings and retirements provider.
29. Edelweiss General Insurance has rebranded itself as Zuno General Insurance Limited.
30. Bajaj Finance has launched Insurance Mall for its customers to ensure an Easy-buy experience.
31. Ujjivan Small Finance Bank launched “Hello Ujjivan”, India’s first mobile banking application with 3 V’s – voice, visual, vernacular-enabled features.
32. Alibaba has sold its entire stake of 16% in One97 Communication, parent of Paytm, for Rs 13,600 crores.
33. Myntra has appointed Ranbir Kapoor as its brand ambassador.
34. K. Satyanarayana Raju has been appointed as the new MD and CEO of Canara Bank.
35. Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services has appointed Raul Robello as its new MD and CEO with immediate effect.
36. Pfizer India has appointed Meenakshi Nevatia as its new CEO and Managing Director, effective from 3 April, 2023.
37. February 10 – National Deworming Day
38. VP Nandakumar (MD and CEO of Manappuram Finance Ltd) has won The Hurun Industry Achievement Award 2022 for his remarkable achievements in the world of business.
39. NTPC Limited won the ‘ATD Best Awards 2023’ by the Association for Talent Development (ATD), USA.
40. Zagreb Open Wrestling Championship 2023 concluded in Zagreb, Croatia.
41. Elena Fanchini (Italian alpine ski racer) has passed away.
42. Army chief General Manoj Pande has released ‘Savdhaan: A Chronicle of Central Command’ book.
43. Burt Bacharach (Oscar and Grammy awards winner and American composer) has passed away.

National News

1. Shri K. Rajaraman (Chairman of Digital Communications Commission) launched the ‘IEEE C-DOT Certified Telecom Expert Program’ (ICCTEP) to bring learning in the areas of Telecom including 5G, Cyber Security and Quantum Communication to bridge the skill gap.
   • The program was launched by Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT).
   • This program was launched during the IEEE Standards Association (IEEE SA) Workshop centred on “Next Generation Connectivity”.

2. Ministry of Electronics and IT and Meta have launched the G20 Stay Safe Online Campaign to increase awareness on online safety.
• The first edition of G20 Employment Working Group was organized in Jodhpur, Rajasthan.
3. European Investment Bank (EIB) has formally agreed to join the India Hydrogen Alliance (IH2A) and increase support for green hydrogen projects across India with indicative funding of €1 billion, subject to Indian government and EIB approvals.

4. Pawan Hans Ltd. launched its helicopter services on six routes in the state of Assam under the RCS UDAN scheme to provide connectivity on the “Dibrugarh-Jorhat-Tezpur-Guwahati-Tezpur-Jorhat-Dibrugarh” network.
5. Russia’s key gas producer PAO NOVATEK and Deepak Fertilisers and Petrochemicals Corporation Ltd. have signed an MOU for the supply of LNG and low-carbon ammonia.
• PAO NOVATEK is the largest independent natural gas producer in Russia, and in 2017, entered the global LNG market by successfully launching the Yamal LNG project.

State News

1. India’s first new mobility-focused cluster – Telangana Mobility Valley (TMV) has been launched to attract investments of around Rs 50,000 crore and generate more than 4 lakh jobs in the next five years in the state.
2. Uttar Pradesh has inaugurated first VFS Global Joint Visa Application Centre (JVAC) and the VFS Global Academy in Lucknow.
   • VFS Global is the world’s largest outsourcing and technology services specialist for governments and diplomatic missions.
3. J&K administration has launched the “Alternate Agriculture System for Sustainability” project to promote organic farming.
   • Purpose – to create six to seven organic clusters per district, covering a total of 2000 hectares of land
   • Additionally, it aims to convert another 2,000 hectares into organic production, including niche crops and default organic areas.
   • The program will also provide training to 10,000 farmer families in organic farming and establish 200 commercial and 3000 low-cost vermicompost units and 100 Integrated Organic Farming System Units.
   • Besides, two Bio-Input Production Units will also be set up to supply organic inputs for the production clusters.
4. The Department of Collegiate and Technical Education (DCTE), Karnataka and Samsung Semiconductor India Research (SSIR) have signed an MOU to set up ‘Industrial Internet of Things Labs’ (IoT Innovation Labs) in 35 Government Polytechnics across the State.
   • The “IoT Innovation Lab” would help foster innovations in solving local problems using IoT.
   • These labs will also be available for students at nearby government institutions to be used, especially for those who are in engineering and first grade colleges.
   • These labs include tools and technologies that can be applied to various STEM experiments, including Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (drones), Automobile, Bio-Medical, AgriTech, BioTech, and other potential STEM applications.
5. Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a USD 130 million loan to increase agricultural productivity and promote horticulture agribusinesses to raise farmers’ income in Himachal Pradesh.
   • Farmers will be organised into cluster-wide Community Horticulture Production and Marketing Associations (CHPMAs) and district-wide CHPMA cooperative societies.

Agricultural and Rural Development

1. Ministry of Agriculture has approved commercial release of nano-diammonium phosphate (nano-DAP), which is expected to reduce subsidy and the import dependence on the fertiliser variety.
   • India already produces nano-urea.
   • Nano-DAP will be manufactured by India Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative (IFFCO) and Coromandel International.
   • Currently, the cost of one bag of conventional DAP is Rs 1,350, while the actual cost of a bag is Rs 4,000. The gap between actual cost and prices paid by the farmers is borne by the government under the fertiliser subsidy head.
   • IFFCO would be selling 500-ml bottles of nano-DAP costing around Rs 600-650.

Defence News

1. Ministry of Defence has signed a ₹2,585-crore contract with Larsen & Toubro (L&T) for procuring 41 sets of modular bridges for the Army’s Corps of Engineers.
   • These bridges have been designed and developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and shall be produced by L&T as DRDO-nominated production agency.

Memorandum of understanding

1. ISRO and IIT Madras have signed an MOU for collaboration on the application of Extended Reality (XR) and other technologies in Indian Human Spaceflight Programme.
   • This training module will be created on the basis of Augmented Reality (AR)/ Virtual Reality (VR) / Mixed Reality (MR).
2. India Health Link has signed an MoU with the Uttar Pradesh government for the InvestUP programme to set up health ATMs across the state to check health vital parameters including BP, weight, pulse, temperature, and ECG within 10 minutes followed by an instant report.
   • India Health Link (IHL) has also developed hPod. The hPod is installed at Sir Gangaram Hospital, New Delhi.

International News

1. Switzerland is the first WTO member to ratify the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies.
   • The Agreement prohibits subsidies to illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, and bans subsidies for fishing overfished stocks and for fishing on the unregulated high seas.

Reports and Indices

1. Asian Development Bank (ADB) has released the Asian Economic Integration Report 2023
2. CloudSEK has released the “Global Threat Landscape Report 2021-2022″ report.
   • As per the report, India is the most targeted country by hackers in Asia in 2021 and 2022.
   • The number of cyberattacks in India increased by 24.3% in 2022.
3. Centre for Policy Analysis (CPA) has released the “Global Minority Report”.
   • India has come out on top on measures of inclusivity towards religious minorities.
   • India has the highest level of religious minorities acceptance, followed by South Korea, Japan, Panama, and the US.
   • Maldives, Afghanistan, and Somalia are at the bottom of the list, with the UK and the UAE coming in at positions 54 and 61, respectively.
   • The report analysed 110 nations.
   • The Centre for Policy Analysis (CPA) is a research institute, having its headquarters in India’s Patna.
4. National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) has released its White Paper on the “Making India A Global Power House on Farm Machinery Industry” by Hon’ble Ms. Shobha Karandlaje, Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare.

Banking and Economy

1. Reliance Jio and global mobile network operators’ organisation GSMA (Global System for Mobile Communications) have rolled out their digital skills programme to train rural women in India.
   • The programme aims to provide need-based training to rural women and individuals from marginalised/low-income groups to help them make meaningful use of digital access.
2. Department of Financial Services under the Ministry of Finance has approved the Indian Bank to have four executive directors instead of three.
3. Airtel Payments Bank announced the availability of its current account, BizKhata across the nation for fast activation and limitless transactions.
   • The BizKhata business platform unifies all corporate transactions on a single platform and enables them to keep accurate records while taking advantage of several financial advantages.
4. South Indian Bank has launched the “SIB Wealth”, a wealth management platform, in partnership with Geojit Financial Services.
   • Purpose – to help the bank’s high net worth (HNI) customers in wealth management by investing their money in the best financial instruments available in the market
5. Ascenda, the world leader in powering global rewards card and payment value propositions for financial brands, has partnered with Axis Bank, India’s third largest private sector bank, to power their innovative new rewards program.
6. Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance has launched the Sustainable Equity Fund to offer investors an opportunity to invest in companies that are socially responsible and have been evaluated on relevant environment, social, and governance (ESG) factors.
   • The fund will invest in businesses that have high ESG scores and will concentrate on stocks that are included in the benchmark ESG indices.
7. Kotak Banking & Financial Services Fund, an open-ended equity fund investing in the banking and financial services sectors, has been introduced by Kotak Mahindra Asset Management Company Ltd.
8. South Indian Bank has partnered with Telangana State Treasury (Cyber Treasury) for enabling online payments.
   • ‘SIBerNet’ internet banking platform is a state-of-the-art facility that is focused on providing customer services online.
9. Tata Consultancy Services has expanded its long-standing partnership with Phoenix Group, UK’s largest long-term savings and retirements provider.
   • Purpose – to digitally transform the Phoenix Group’s ReAssure business using the TCS BaNCS™ based platform
10. Edelweiss General Insurance has rebranded itself as Zuno General Insurance Limited.
    • The company has also launched a consumer study titled ‘Usage Based Insurance: Decoding Awareness, Perception and Behaviour’.
11. Bajaj Finance has launched Insurance Mall for its customers to ensure an Easy-buy experience.
    • The new portal offers a plethora of policies and plans in the core insurance segment and also the company’s one-of-its-kind category of Pocket Insurance and Subscription.
12. Ujjivan Small Finance Bank launched “Hello Ujjivan”, India’s first mobile banking application with 3 V’s – voice, visual, vernacular-enabled features.
    • Purpose – to provide banking access to individuals who have limited reading and writing skills
    • The app is designed to instil banking habits in Micro-Banking and Rural customers who are digitally challenged.
    • Hello Ujjivan, co-created with AI, is accessible by voice in eight regional languages, including Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Tamil, Gujarati, Kannada, Oriya, and Assamese.
13. Alibaba has sold its entire stake of 16% in One97 Communication, parent of Paytm, for Rs 13,600 crores.

Appointments

1. Myntra has appointed Ranbir Kapoor as its brand ambassador.
2. Satyanarayana Raju has been appointed as the new MD and CEO of Canara Bank.
3. Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services has appointed Raul Robello as its new MD and CEO with immediate effect.
4. Pfizer India has appointed Meenakshi Nevatia as its new CEO and Managing Director, effective from 3 April, 2023.
   • Nevatia will serve in this role for the next five years.
   • Pfizer CEO and Chairman – Dr Albert Bourla

Important Days

1. February 10 – National Deworming Day
   • The day is celebrated twice a year on Feb 10 and August 10.

Awards

1. VP Nandakumar (MD and CEO of Manappuram Finance Ltd) has won The Hurun Industry Achievement Award 2022 for his remarkable achievements in the world of business.
2. NTPC Limited won the ‘ATD Best Awards 2023’ by the Association for Talent Development (ATD), USA.
   • This is the sixth time that NTPC Limited has won this award for demonstrating enterprise success in the field of talent development.

Sports

1. Zagreb Open Wrestling Championship 2023 concluded in Zagreb, Croatia.

Miscellaneous

1. Elena Fanchini (Italian alpine ski racer) has passed away.
2. Army chief General Manoj Pande has released ‘Savdhaan: A Chronicle of Central Command’
   • The book, authored by Central Command chief Lt Gen Vivek Kashyap and Vikram D Souza, has been designed and produced by the Times Group.
3. Burt Bacharach (Oscar and Grammy awards winner and American composer) has passed away.

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