22nd-23rd February, 2023

1. President Droupadi Murmu inaugurated the International Engineering and Technology Fair (IETF) 2023, organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), in New Delhi.
2. Union Minister of Tourism has launched the Best Tourism Village Competition Portal and Rural Tourism Portal.
3. The first edition of the 3-day Agriculture Deputies Minister’s meeting of the Agriculture Working Group of G20 was organized in Indore.
4. Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology Jitendra Singh launched a ‘Capacity Building Programme for Senior Scientists in Effective Leadership and Creativity’ at the Administrative Staff College of India (ASCI), Hyderabad.
5. Ministry of External Affairs has launched the “mPassport Police” app to fast-track the passport verification and issuance process.
6. Delhi Metro launched India’s first ever indigenously developed Train Control & Supervision System, the i-ATS (Indigenous – Automatic Train Supervision) for operations on its first corridor, Red Line (Rithala to Shaheed Sthal).
7. India’s first hybrid-sounding rocket has been developed under the Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Satellite Launch Vehicle Mission- 2023.
8. ISRO has conducted the electro-magnetic interference/ electro-magnetic compatibility test for the Chandrayaan-3 at the UR Rao Satellite Centre.
9. Nepal and India have signed an agreement to increase the power import and export capacity through the Dhalkebar-Muzaffarpur transmission line from 600 megawatts to 800 megawatts.
10. Union Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba will chair the Panel on Mission Karamyogi for training of government employees.
11. India will host the Permanent Mission Roundtables at United Nation Head Quarter as Chair of G- 20 and ahead of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Summit this year to be held in New York.
12. First G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) meeting under the G20 Indian Presidency will begin in
13. Ministry of Railways is set to launch Guru Kripa Yatra from 5th April 2023 from Lucknow with its exclusive Bharat Gaurav Tourist Train.
14. Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has announced to launch an Over-the-Top (OTT) platform for Prasar Bharati in this year to increase its footprint in the rapidly changing broadcasting industry.
15. The Crown Prince of Denmark Frederik Andre Henrik Christian and Crown Princess, Mary Elizabeth will be on a five-day visit to India from February 26 – March 02, 2023
16. IIT Madras is partnering with the General Insurance Corporation of India to develop a urine-based tuberculosis diagnosis or screening.
17. Asia Economic Dialogue (External Affairs Ministry’s annual flagship event on Geoeconomics) was held in Pune, Maharashtra.
18. India and the UAE are exploring creating a virtual trade corridor to facilitate quicker clearance of shipments.
19. Cross Dependency Initiative (business consultant that specializes in climate risk) has released “Gross Domestic Climate Risk”
20. Vedanta Group and the Foxconn of Taiwan have come together to build the first semiconductor manufacturing unit in Dholera of Gujarat.
21. According to the agreement, they will invest Rs 1,54,000 crores in this project.
22. Mastercard and Access Development Services have partnered to launch the “Mainstreaming Agriculture through Networks and Development Initiatives (MANDI)” in Assam.
23. Jammu and Kashmir govt has approved a Rs 30.40 crore project “Sensor-based Smart Agriculture” for integration of agriculture with technology driven by Artificial Intelligence and IoT for automation of practices, enhanced resource use efficiency and profitability.
24. Wadhwani Institute for Artificial Intelligence has signed an MoU with the Government of Karnataka to promote the welfare of farmers across the state.
25. 49th edition of the International Khajuraho Dance Festival-2023 was held in Khujaraho, Madhya Pradesh (UNESCO World Heritage site).
26. T-Hub (a start-up ecosystem enabler of Telangana) and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) have partnered to support start-ups in the aerospace and defence composite markets.
27. Uttar Pradesh Finance Minister Suresh Kumar Khanna has presented the biggest budget 2023-24 of Rs 6.9 lakh crore in the history of the state.
28. Jammu and Kashmir has approved a 5-year project on “Innovative Extension Approaches for Revitalising Agriculture in J&K”.
29. NDDB Mrida Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), signed an agreement with Sistema.bio, India’s leading biogas company.
30. Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Shri Narendra Singh Tomar chaired the National Conference on Agriculture for Zaid (Summer) Campaign-2023 in New Delhi.
31. Union Minister for Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Textiles, Piyush Goyal has approved the Quality Control Order (QCO) for mandatory certification of cotton bales under specification No. IS12171: 2019-Cotton Bales.
32. Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has developed a new wheat variety called HD-3385.
33. Rolls-Royce Division has signed an MoU with Kalyani Strategic Service (Pune-based Bharat Forge subsidiary) for naval marine propulsion technology for the Indian Navy.
34. INS Sumedha arrived at Abu Dhabi, UAE to participate in NAVDEX 23 (Naval Defence Exhibition) and IDEX 23 (International Defence Exhibition), scheduled from 20 to 24 February 2023.
35. BEML Ltd has signed an MOU with Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC)-led special purpose vehicle (SPV) for supplying metro rolling stock for Bahrain Metro Rail Project Phase-1.
36. US President Joe Biden will announce $500 million in aid to Ukraine.
37. Russian President Vladimir Putin was suspending its participation in the New Start treaty with the United States.
38. G7 Summit in 2023 (49^th edition) will be hosted by Japan.
39. The inaugural I2U2 (India-Israel-USA-UAE) Business Forum was held at Abu Dhabi, UAE.
40. International Monetary Fund (IMF) has announced that India and China will contribute more than 50% of the global growth in 2023.
41. According to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 2022-23 report, India is ranked 4^th out of the 51 countries in high-quality entrepreneurial ecosystem.
42. World Bank has released the “Collapse and Recovery: How the COVID-19 Pandemic Eroded Human Capital and What to Do about It” report.
43. Philips Domestic Appliances has been renamed as Versuni. This comes after Royal Philips sold its domestic appliance business to Hillhouse Capital in September 2021.
44. Bank of Maharashtra (BoM) has emerged as the top performer among state-owned lenders in terms of loan growth percentage during the third quarter of 2022-23.
45. RBI has released final guidelines on Interest Rate Risk in Banking Book (IRRBB).
46. Mobility service provider Uber has signed an MOU with Tata Motors to bring 25,000 electric cars onto its platform.
47. The Income Tax Department released a “tax calculator” tool on its website to help an assessee compare savings under the new tax regime provisions and the old regime.
48. RBI has introduced a facility to enable all in-bound travellers visiting India to make local payments using Unified Payments Interface (UPI) while they are in India.
49. India’s UPI and Singapore’s PayNow have been officially integrated to allow “real-time cross-border payment transfers”.
50. Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has released new guidelines for employees and pensioners to allow them to opt for higher pension.
51. Lt. Gen. M.V. Suchindra Kumar has been promoted to the rank of Army Commander and appointed the next Vice-Chief of Army Staff.
52. Neal Mohan (Indian- American business executive) has been appointed as the new CEO of YouTube.
53. RBI has appointed Vikramaditya Singh Khichi in the Advisory Panel of Reliance Capital.
    • Former commerce secretary BVR Subrahmanyam has been appointed as the chief executive officer of NITI Aayog.
    • Actor Ayushmann Khurrana has been appointed as National Ambassador of UNICEF India.
54. February 20 – World Day of Social Justice; Theme – Overcoming Barriers and Unleashing Opportunities for Social Justice
55. February 21 – International Mother Language Day; Theme – Multilingual Education – A Necessity to Transform Education
56. 76^th edition of the British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA) has been announced by UK.
57. Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival Awards 2023 have been announced.
58. Badminton Asia Mixed Team Championship 2023 was held in Dubai, UAE.
59. 76th National Football Championship for the Hero Santosh Trophy was held in Bhubaneswar.
60. Indian teen Tilottama Sen has won bronze medal in the women’s 10m Air Rifle at ISSF World Cup at Cairo in Egypt.
61. Balipa Narayana Bhagavatha (famous Yakshagana singer and screenwriter) has passed away.

National News

1. President Droupadi Murmu inaugurated the International Engineering and Technology Fair (IETF) 2023, organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), in New Delhi.
2. Union Minister of Tourism has launched the Best Tourism Village Competition Portal and Rural Tourism
   • The Ministry will organize Global Tourism Investors Summit in May 2023 under the G20 presidency.
3. The first edition of the 3-day Agriculture Deputies Minister’s meeting of the Agriculture Working Group of G20 was organized in Indore.
   • The Agriculture Working Group (AWG) was established in the year 2011 in the sixth meeting of G20 during Cannes Summit, France.
4. Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology Jitendra Singh launched a ‘Capacity Building Programme for Senior Scientists in Effective Leadership and Creativity’ at the Administrative Staff College of India (ASCI), Hyderabad.
   • Purpose – to impart creative thinking skills to participating scientists, enabling them to develop competencies necessary for effective leadership
5. Ministry of External Affairs has launched the “mPassport Police” app to fast-track the passport verification and issuance process.
6. Delhi Metro launched India’s first ever indigenously developed Train Control & Supervision System, the i-ATS (Indigenous – Automatic Train Supervision) for operations on its first corridor, Red Line (Rithala to Shaheed Sthal).
   • It has been jointly developed by Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) and Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) under the ‘AatmaNirbhar Bharat’ initiative for the Metro Rail Transit System.
   • With this milestone, India joins the elite club of five nations which have their own ATS products, after France, Germany, Japan, Canada, and China.
7. India’s first hybrid-sounding rocket has been developed under the Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Satellite Launch Vehicle Mission- 2023.
   • Martin Foundation, in association with Dr APJ Abdul Kalam International Foundation and Space Zone India, launched the Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Satellite Launch Vehicle Mission- 2023.
   • The reusable rocket was made by the selected top 100 students, while the rest made the satellites.
   • The rocket can be used for research in weather, atmospheric conditions and radiations.
8. ISRO has conducted the electro-magnetic interference/ electro-magnetic compatibility test for the Chandrayaan-3 at the UR Rao Satellite Centre.
9. Nepal and India have signed an agreement to increase the power import and export capacity through the Dhalkebar-Muzaffarpur transmission line from 600 megawatts to 800 megawatts.
   • The agreement was reached at the Energy Secretary-level Joint Steering Committee (JSC) meeting in Mount Abu, Rajasthan.
   • Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his then Nepalese counterpart KP Sharma Oli had launched the 140 km Muzaffarpur-Dalkebar power transmission line in 2016.
10. Union Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba will chair the Panel on Mission Karamyogi for training of government employees.
    • A ‘Karmayogi Talks Series’ was also launched by Karmayogi Bharat.
11. India will host the Permanent Mission Roundtables at United Nation Head Quarter as Chair of G- 20 and ahead of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Summit this year to be held in New York.
    • On February 2023, a roundtable titled ‘Gandhian Trusteeship: A panel discussion on Sustainable Lifestyles and Enduring Pace’ will be held.
12. First G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) meeting under the G20 Indian Presidency will begin in
    • The meeting will be covering issues such as strengthening multilateral development banks to address shared global challenges of the 21st century, financing for resilient, inclusive and sustainable ‘cities of tomorrow’, leveraging Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) for advancing financial inclusion.
13. Ministry of Railways is set to launch Guru Kripa Yatra from 5th April 2023 from Lucknow with its exclusive Bharat Gaurav Tourist Train.
    • The train will visit all the holy Sikh shrines.
14. Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has announced to launch an Over-the-Top (OTT) platform for Prasar Bharati in this year to increase its footprint in the rapidly changing broadcasting industry.
    • It also aims to take FM radio to Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities with more auctions for new FM radio stations this year.
    • The announcement was made during the Broadcast Engineering Society (BES) Expo 2023 in New Delhi.
    • Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Singh Thakur has informed that as many as 50 community radio stations were set up in 2022.
15. The Crown Prince of Denmark Frederik Andre Henrik Christian and Crown Princess, Mary Elizabeth will be on a five-day visit to India from February 26 – March 02, 2023
    • His Royal Highness, the Crown Prince had last visited India in 2003.
16. IIT Madras is partnering with the General Insurance Corporation of India to develop a urine-based tuberculosis diagnosis or screening.
    • India will eliminate TB by 2025.
17. Asia Economic Dialogue (External Affairs Ministry’s annual flagship event on Geoeconomics) was held in Pune, Maharashtra.
    • Theme – ‘Asia and the Emerging World Order’
18. India and the UAE are exploring creating a virtual trade corridor to facilitate quicker clearance of shipments.
    • Under the proposal, approvals and clearances related to customs will be given online on both sides.
    • The two countries estimate non-oil trade to touch $100 billion over the five-year period post implementation of the free trade agreement on 1 May 2022.
19. Cross Dependency Initiative (business consultant that specializes in climate risk) has released “Gross Domestic Climate Risk”
    • 9 Indian states (Punjab, UP, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Kerala, and Assam) are the most vulnerable to climate risks. Mumbai has the highest risk of all.
    • 26 provinces in China, 9 in India, and 5 in the US are the most vulnerable of all.
20. Vedanta Group and the Foxconn of Taiwan have come together to build the first semiconductor manufacturing unit in Dholera of Gujarat.
    • According to the agreement, they will invest Rs 1,54,000 crores in this project.
    • The project is being implemented under the Gujarat Semiconductor Policy 2022-27.

State News

1. Mastercard and Access Development Services have partnered to launch the “Mainstreaming Agriculture through Networks and Development Initiatives (MANDI)” in Assam.
   • Purpose – developing FPOs and enhancing financial literacy among farmers by training them in best agricultural practices, improving their access to market linkages and digital tools and generating awareness about financial services along with the available government schemes
2. Jammu and Kashmir govt has approved a Rs 30.40 crore project “Sensor-based Smart Agriculture” for integration of agriculture with technology driven by Artificial Intelligence and IoT for automation of practices, enhanced resource use efficiency and profitability.
   • In Jammu and Kashmir, 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.
3. Wadhwani Institute for Artificial Intelligence has signed an MoU with the Government of Karnataka to promote the welfare of farmers across the state.
   • Both entities will explore opportunities for the scaled deployment of the AI-powered early pest warning and advisory solution – developed by Wadhwani AI – for cotton and other crops.
4. 49th edition of the International Khajuraho Dance Festival-2023 was held in Khujaraho, Madhya Pradesh (UNESCO World Heritage site).
   • Padam Shri Nek Ram known as the Millet Man of India is invited in the festival to celebrate the International Year of Millets-2023.
   • Khujaraho is hosting the first G20 Culture Working Group Meeting.
5. T-Hub (a start-up ecosystem enabler of Telangana) and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) have partnered to support start-ups in the aerospace and defence composite markets.
6. Uttar Pradesh Finance Minister Suresh Kumar Khanna has presented the biggest budget 2023-24 of Rs 6.9 lakh crore in the history of the state.
   • Uttar Pradesh govt allocated ₹1,050 crore under the “Chief Minister Kanya Sumangala Yojana”, ₹600 crore for the “Samuhik Vivah” scheme for the marriage of girls of all classes.
7. Jammu and Kashmir has approved a 5-year project on “Innovative Extension Approaches for Revitalising Agriculture in J&K”.
   • Purpose – empowering farmers and educated youth through technology driven and inclusive agri-extension services.
   • Budget – Rs 463 crore
   • The project will also establish business orientation centres at Sher-E- Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (SKUAST) and facilitate real-time problem redressal through cyber extension including RS-GIS-driven agro-advisories and ICT-based virtual contacts and communication systems.
   • The project will also create a strong MIS system to maintain transparency and accountability in service delivery and information sharing with parent departments and administration.

Agriculture and Rural Development

1. NDDB Mrida Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), signed an agreement with bio, India’s leading biogas company.
   • Purpose – to work with smallholder dairy farmers and provide sustainable solutions in waste-to-energy and open avenues of generating additional income for farmers
2. Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Shri Narendra Singh Tomar chaired the National Conference on Agriculture for Zaid (Summer) Campaign-2023 in New Delhi.
3. Union Minister for Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Textiles, Piyush Goyal has approved the Quality Control Order (QCO) for mandatory certification of cotton bales under specification IS12171: 2019-Cotton Bales.
   • The government will approve Quality Control Order (QCO) for mandatory certification of cotton bales and issue notification on it soon.
   • The minister also presided over the fifth interactive meeting with the Textile Advisory Group (TAG) in New Delhi to review progress of initiatives for cotton value chain.

4. Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has developed a new wheat variety called HD-3385.
   • This variety can overcome the challenges arising out due to changes in weather patterns and rising heat levels.
   • This new wheat variety called HD-3385 is amenable to early sowing, escaping the impact of heat spikes and can be harvested before March end.

Defence News

1. Rolls-Royce Division has signed an MoU with Kalyani Strategic Service (Pune-based Bharat Forge subsidiary) for naval marine propulsion technology for the Indian Navy.
2. INS Sumedha arrived at Abu Dhabi, UAE to participate in NAVDEX 23 (Naval Defence Exhibition) and IDEX 23 (International Defence Exhibition), scheduled from 20 to 24 February 2023.
   • This indigenously built Saryu class Naval Offshore Patrol Vessels (NOPV) is third of the series and was commissioned into the Indian Navy in March 2014. This ship has been built at Goa Shipyard Ltd (GSL).
   • Naval ships and vessels from eight countries including UAE, China, Pakistan, Bahrain, Italy, Britain and Kuwait are taking part in NAVDEX.
   • EDGE (one of the world’s leading advanced technology and defence groups in UAE) signed an MOU with Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) to explore the areas of cooperation that include joint design and development of missile systems and UAVs at IDEX-2023.

Memorandum Of Understanding

1. BEML Ltd has signed an MOU with Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC)-led special purpose vehicle (SPV) for supplying metro rolling stock for Bahrain Metro Rail Project Phase-1.
   • BEML is a multi-technology schedule ‘A’ company under the Ministry of Defence.
   • It operates under three major business verticals viz., defence & aerospace, mining & construction, and rail & metro.

International News

1. US President Joe Biden will announce $500 million in aid to Ukraine.
2. Russian President Vladimir Putin was suspending its participation in the New Start treaty with the United States.
   • The New Start treaty is the last remaining nuclear arms deal between Moscow and Washington, and it was extended for five years in 2021.

3. G7 Summit in 2023 (49^th edition) will be hosted by Japan.
4. The inaugural I2U2 (India-Israel-USA-UAE) Business Forum was held at Abu Dhabi, UAE.
   • It was the first event of this kind to take place since the official launch of the I2U2 Group during the I2U2 Leaders’ Summit in July last year.
5. International Monetary Fund (IMF) has announced that India and China will contribute more than 50% of the global growth in 2023.
   • Asia is expected to grow by 7% in 2023 and by 4.5% in 2024.

Reports and Indices

1. According to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 2022-23 report, India is ranked 4^th out of the 51 countries in high-quality entrepreneurial ecosystem.

2. World Bank has released the “Collapse and Recovery: How the COVID-19 Pandemic Eroded Human Capital and What to Do about It”

Banking and Economy

1. Philips Domestic Appliances has been renamed as Versuni. This comes after Royal Philips sold its domestic appliance business to Hillhouse Capital in September 2021.
2. Bank of Maharashtra (BoM) has emerged as the top performer among state-owned lenders in terms of loan growth percentage during the third quarter of 2022-23.
   • The BoM recorded a 21.67% increase in gross advances on a year-on-year basis.
   • BoM was followed by the Union Bank of India with 19.8% growth.
   • In terms of Retail-Agriculture-MSME (RAM) 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.
3. RBI has released final guidelines on Interest Rate Risk in Banking Book (IRRBB).
   • IRRBB refers to the current or future risk to banks’ capital and earnings from adverse fluctuations in the interest rates.
   • Excessive IRRBB can pose a significant risk to banks’ current capital base and/or future earnings. These guidelines require banks to measure, monitor, and disclose their exposure to IRRBB.
   • These guidelines are applicable to all commercial banks (other than Regional Rural Banks, Small Finance Banks, Payments Banks and Local Area Banks).

Note: The guidelines are technical in nature. Hence, its chances of being asked in the exam are miniscule.

4. Mobility service provider Uber has signed an MOU with Tata Motors to bring 25,000 electric cars onto its platform.
   • The collaboration will help Uber electrify its transport services across the Indian metropolises of Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Ahmedabad.
5. The Income Tax Department released a “tax calculator” tool on its website to help an assessee compare savings under the new tax regime provisions and the old regime.
   • A dedicated tax calculator to check Old Tax Regime in comparison to the New Tax Regime for Individual/HUF/AOP/BOI/Artificial Juridical Person (AJP) as per Section 115BAC can now be accessed on the IT Dept website.
6. RBI has introduced a facility to enable all in-bound travellers visiting India to make local payments using Unified Payments Interface (UPI) while they are in India.
   • This measure was announced by the regulator in the Statement on Developmental and Regulatory Policies.
   • Initially, the facility is available to travellers from G-20 countries in Bengaluru, Mumbai and New Delhi.
   • To begin with, ICICI Bank, IDFC First Bank and two non-bank PPI issuers, Pine Labs Private Ltd and Transcorp International Ltd. will issue UPI linked wallets.
7. India’s UPI and Singapore’s PayNow have been officially integrated to allow “real-time cross-border payment transfers”.
   • Singapore has now become the first country with which cross-border Person to Person (P2P) payment facilities have been launched.
   • Mechanism – This will help the Indian diaspora in Singapore, especially migrant workers/students to make low-cost transfer of money from Singapore to India and vice-versa.
   • UPI payments through QR codes are already taking place in Singapore, though at a limited number of outlets.
8. Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has released new guidelines for employees and pensioners to allow them to opt for higher pension.
   • The new guidelines set the procedures and required documents for existing employees and those who have retired after September 1, 2014, to opt for higher pension based on actual salary beyond the earlier prescribed range under Employees’ Pension Scheme (EPS) of 1995.
   • Now, 33% of the employees’ actual basic salary (Basic pay + DA) will be deducted towards the EPS, helping to accumulate larger corpus and receive a higher pension amount.
   • Currently, the EPS contribution from employees is capped at the maximum ₹15,000 for pensionable salary.

Appointments

1. Gen. M.V. Suchindra Kumar has been promoted to the rank of Army Commander and appointed the next Vice-Chief of Army Staff.
   • Vice-Chief of Army Staff (VCOAS) Lieutenant General B. S. Raju has been appointed as the South-Western Army Commander.
2. Neal Mohan (Indian- American business executive) has been appointed as the new CEO of YouTube.
3. RBI has appointed Vikramaditya Singh Khichi in the Advisory Panel of Reliance Capital.
   • The other two members of the advisory committee are Sanjeev Nautiyal (former DMD, State Bank of India) and Praveen P Kadle (former MD & CEO of Tata Capital Limited).
4. Former commerce secretary BVR Subrahmanyam has been appointed as the chief executive officer of NITI Aayog.
   • Iyer has been appointed as the executive director of the World Bank for a period of three years in the place of Rajesh Khullar, a 1988-batch IAS officer, who has been repatriated to his cadre state Haryana.
5. Actor Ayushmann Khurrana has been appointed as National Ambassador of UNICEF India.

Important Days

1. February 20 – World Day of Social Justice; Theme – Overcoming Barriers and Unleashing Opportunities for Social Justice
2. February 21 – International Mother Language Day; Theme – Multilingual Education – A Necessity to Transform Education
   • Indian educationist and social worker for the promotion of indigenous languages in Odisha Dr Mahendra Kumr Mishra was conferred the International Mother Language Award by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in Dhaka.
   • Dr Mishra is the first India to receive this award.
   • The award instituted in 2021 by UNESCO is given in recognition of the extraordinary contribution to the preservation, revitalization and development of mother languages.

Awards

1. 76th edition of the British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA) has been announced by UK.
   • Best Picture – “All Quiet on the Western Front” (total 7 awards)
2. Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival Awards 2023 have been announced.

Sports

1. Badminton Asia Mixed Team Championship 2023 was held in Dubai, UAE.
   • Medal Tally – China (1^st), South Korea (2^nd), India and Thailand (3^rd)
   • It is India’s first medal in the Badminton Asia Mixed Team Championship.
   • H.S. Prannoy and P.V. Sindhu have won the bronze medal.
2. 76th National Football Championship for the Hero Santosh Trophy was held in Bhubaneswar.
3. Indian teen Tilottama Sen has won bronze medal in the women’s 10m Air Rifle at ISSF World Cup at Cairo in Egypt.
   • Great Britain’s Seonaid Mcintosh won gold and Switzerland’s Olympic Champion Nina Christen came second to win silver.
4. Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar has won gold medal in men’s individual 50m rifle competition at ISSF World Cup at Cairo, Egypt.
   • Rudrankksh Balasaheb Patil won the gold medal in the 10m Air Rifle individual event.

Miscellaneous

1. Balipa Narayana Bhagavatha (famous Yakshagana singer and screenwriter) has passed away.

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