24th-26th February, 2023

1. Minister of Education, Dharmendra Pradhan, has launched the “Jaadui Pitara” for learning at the foundational stage under the new National Education Policy (NEP).
2. Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Dharmendra Pradhan, has informed that India is setting up a Digital University to drastically reduce the cost of higher education and skill education.
3. India and China held the 26th meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination meeting.
4. Namami Gange Executive Committee has recently approved nine projects worth Rs 1,200 crores for reducing pollution in Ganga.
5. India has joined Agriculture Innovation Mission for Climate (AIM4C), launched by US and UAE in November 2021 to accelerate investment and support for climate-smart agriculture and food systems innovation.
6. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has visited India to hold bilateral discussions.
7. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will release the 13th instalment of financial benefits worth Rs 16,800 crore to over 8 crore eligible farmers under the flagship PM-KISAN scheme ahead of Holi and rabi harvesting.
8. Chairman of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) Dr Bibek Debroy has released the 2^nd edition of the Foundational Literacy and Numeracy report to highlights the focus on language as a critical foundational skill and its importance in acquiring early literacy.
9. 31^st edition of the New Delhi World Book Fair (NDWBF) officially began at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi.
10. W20 (Women 20) inception meeting as part of India’s presidency of the G20 forum will take place in Aurangabad in
11. Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council organized the first of its kind Pangong Tso Marathon. The marathon was held on the frozen Pangong Tso lake.
12. Kerala government has launched robotic scavenger named Bandicoot to clean sewages in the temple town of Guruvayur.
13. Bihar Cabinet has approved USD 50,000 for developing an early warning system for dense fog and cold wave conditions in collaboration with the US National Center for Atmospheric Research (US-NCAR).
14. Shivamogga Airport, a domestic airport, also known as Kuvempu Airport, has been inaugurated in Shivmogga, Karnataka.
15. For the first time in Indian history, the Shree Krishna temple in Kerala introduced a mechanical elephant named Raman to perform the temple rituals.
16. Kerala State Government has signed an agreement with the UN Women to increase the role of women in the tourist industry of the state.
17. International Bio-resource Conclave & Ethno-pharmacology Congress 2023 started at City Convention Centre in Imphal, Manipur.
18. Prime Minister inaugurated ‘Barisu Kannada Dim Dimava’ cultural festival at Talkatora Stadium in Delhi.
19. The Government of Maharashtra immediately issued the notification to change the name of Aurangabad city to Chatrapati Sambhajinagar and Osmnabad city to Dharashiv.
20. Three-days Ellora-Ajantha International Festival was organized at historical Soneri mahal situated at campus of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University (BAMU), after a gap of 7 years.
21. Karnataka will get India’s 1st Marina in the Udupi district.
22. Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has released Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Second Amendment Regulations, 2023.
23. For the first time, an Indian submarine named INS Shindukesari docked in Indonesia to strengthen bilateral relations as part of diplomatic-military outreach to ASEAN countries.
24. Indian Air Force contingent (comprising of 110 Air Warriors) reached at Al Dahfra airbase of United Arab Emirates for participating in Exercise Desert Flag VIII.
25. Indian Air Force (IAF) will participate in multilateral air exercise ‘Exercise Cobra Warrior’ at the RAF’s Waddington Air Force Base in the UK from March 6 to 24.
26. Union Cabinet has recently approved the Air Service Agreement signed between India and Guyana.
27. The Information Fusion Centre – Indian Ocean Region of India and the Regional Coordination Operations Centre (RCOC) of Seychelles have signed an MOU on maritime cooperation to improve safety in the Indian Ocean Region.
28. Brazil has suspended its beef exports to China after a case of mad cow disease, also known as Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy.
29. China has launched the Zhongxing-26 satellite on Long March 3B rocket at a cost of $333 million.
30. Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has suspended Russia’s membership over the Ukraine war.
31. Bangladesh govt has signed an agreement with the International Solar Alliance (ISA) to increase the use of solar energy in the country.
32. According to the data shared by private market intelligence platform Tracxn, the proportion of funds allocated to women-led start-ups in India saw an increase in 2022 as compared to 2021.
33. US Chamber of Commerce Global Innovation Policy Center has released the International Intellectual Property Index 2023.
34. META has launched its new chatbot called LLaMA (Large Language Model Meta AI).
35. GST revenues hit ₹1.59 lakh crore in January 2023, which is the second highest monthly collections on record.
36. India’s first ever municipal bond index named as India Municipal Bond Index (IBMX) has been unveiled by the National Stock Exchange (NSE).
37. India has tasked the International Monetary Fund and the Financial Stability Board (FSB) with jointly preparing a technical paper on crypto assets.
38. According to the data from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, services exports are expected to cross USD 300 billion in 2022-23.
39. Total transfers through the direct benefit transfer (DBT) reached about Rs 5.5 trillion so far in the current financial year.
40. Shiv Sena party of Maharashtra has elected the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Eknath Shinde, as its new Chief.
41. Shelly Oberoi from Aam Aadmi Party has become the Mayor of Delhi Municipal Corporation.
42. US Joe Biden has nominated Ajay Banga (former Mastercard CEO) as the new President of World Bank.
43. Comptroller and Auditor General, Girish Chandra Murmu has been selected as External Auditor of the International Labour Organization in Geneva for a four-year term from 2024 to 2027.
44. February 15 – Sant Sevalal Maharaj Jayanti
45. February 24 – Central Excise Day in India
46. S&P Global has released the ranking of the top 250 independent energy producers in the world.
47. Computer scientist Hari Balakrishnan has won the 2023 Marconi Prize for fundamental contributions to wired and wireless networking, mobile sensing, and distributed systems.
48. Sergio Ramos Garcia (Spanish Football player) has announced retirement from international cricket.
49. Australia has won the ICC Women T20 World Cup 2023.
50. Manchester United Football Club has won the Carabao Cup (aka EFL Cup).
51. Three-day All-India Taekwondo Championship has been inaugurated in New Delhi.
52. Bengaluru Open 2023 (ATP men’s tennis tournament) has been won by Max Purcell (Australian) in men’s singles.
53. Indian Greco Roman wrestler Ankit Gulia won Bronze Medal in Ibrahim Moustafa ranking series in Egypt.
54. Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic breaks Steffi Graf’s record of being at the Number 1 rank for 377 weeks.
55. According to new research published in Nature Communications, scientists have discovered a fifth layer in Earth – core within Earth’s core.

National News

1. Minister of Education, Dharmendra Pradhan, has launched the “Jaadui Pitara” for learning at the foundational stage under the new National Education Policy (NEP).
   • Jadui Pitara comprises of playbooks, toys, puzzles, posters, flash cards, storybooks, worksheets, reflecting the local culture, social context and languages to pique curiosity and accommodate the diverse needs of learners at the foundational stage.
   • The pitara is available in 13 Indian languages under the National Curriculum Framework (NCF).
   • These resources will be made digitally available on the DIKSHA platform — the portal and the mobile app. All foundational learning material will be in the mother tongue.
2. Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Dharmendra Pradhan, has informed that India is setting up a Digital University to drastically reduce the cost of higher education and skill education.
3. India and China held the 26th meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination meeting.
   • Purpose – To bring back normalcy in the bilateral relations and to restore peace along the Line of Actual Control
4. Namami Gange Executive Committee has recently approved nine projects worth Rs 1,200 crores for reducing pollution in Ganga.
   • The projects will be executed in Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal.
   • Atal Ghat Manjhi in Bihar will be developed at Rs 10 crores, as part of these nine projects.
5. India has joined Agriculture Innovation Mission for Climate (AIM4C), launched by US and UAE in November 2021 to accelerate investment and support for climate-smart agriculture and food systems innovation.
   • India joined the AIM4C on the margins of the I2U2 – Israel, India, the United States and the United Arab Emirates – Business Forum in Abu Dhabi.
   • Diversity, gender equity, and inclusion are the focus areas of the mission.
6. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has visited India to hold bilateral discussions.
   • It is Scholz’s first visit to India after he became the German chancellor in December 2021.
   • Inter-Governmental Consultation mechanism was established between India and Germany in 2011.
7. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will release the 13th instalment of financial benefits worth Rs 16,800 crore to over 8 crore eligible farmers under the flagship PM-KISAN scheme ahead of Holi and rabi harvesting.
   • Under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN), eligible farmers are provided with a financial benefit of Rs 6,000 per year in three equal instalments of Rs 2,000 every four months.
   • The fund is directly transferred to the bank accounts of the beneficiaries.
8. Chairman of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) Dr Bibek Debroy has released the 2nd edition of the Foundational Literacy and Numeracy report to highlights the focus on language as a critical foundational skill and its importance in acquiring early literacy.
   • The report recognizes Haryana Government’s Initiative – Saksham Haryana – as best practice.
   • The second edition of the report was released at the India Dialogue Conference organised by Institute for Competitiveness and US-Asia Technology Management Center, Stanford University.
9. 31st edition of the New Delhi World Book Fair (NDWBF) officially began at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi.
   • Organizers – National Book Trust (NBT) and India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO)
10. W20 (Women 20) inception meeting as part of India’s presidency of the G20 forum will take place in Aurangabad in
    • The W20 is an official engagement group under G20 and was established during the Turkish presidency in 2015.
    • W20 India took over the presidency from W20 Indonesia on December 12, 2022.

State News

1. Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council organized the first of its kind Pangong Tso Marathon. The marathon was held on the frozen Pangong Tso lake.
2. Kerala government has launched robotic scavenger named Bandicoot to clean sewages in the temple town of Guruvayur.
   • Thus, Kerala has become the first state in the country to use robotic technology to clean all its commissioned manholes.
3. Bihar Cabinet has approved USD 50,000 for developing an early warning system for dense fog and cold wave conditions in collaboration with the US National Center for Atmospheric Research (US-NCAR).
4. Shivamogga Airport, a domestic airport, also known as Kuvempu Airport, has been inaugurated in Shivmogga, Karnataka.
   • The airport has been named after Kuppali Venkatappa Puttappa, known by his pen name, Kuvempu, who is one of the greatest Kannada poets of the 20th century.
5. For the first time in Indian history, the Shree Krishna temple in Kerala introduced a mechanical elephant named Raman to perform the temple rituals.
6. Kerala State Government has signed an agreement with the UN Women to increase the role of women in the tourist industry of the state.
   • Under the agreement, the Responsible Tourism Mission is to be implemented in the state. It will be a gender-inclusive mission. The mission will promote women-friendly tourist spots.
7. International Bio-resource Conclave & Ethno-pharmacology Congress 2023 started at City Convention Centre in Imphal, Manipur.
8. Prime Minister inaugurated ‘Barisu Kannada Dim Dimava’ cultural festival at Talkatora Stadium in Delhi.
9. The Government of Maharashtra immediately issued the notification to change the name of Aurangabad city to Chatrapati Sambhajinagar and Osmnabad city to Dharashiv.
10. Three-days Ellora-Ajantha International Festival was organized at historical Soneri mahal situated at campus of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University (BAMU), after a gap of 7 years.
11. Karnataka will get India’s 1st Marina in the Udupi district.
    • Marina means a small area of water (a harbour) designed for pleasure boats.

Agriculture and Rural Development

1. Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has released Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Second Amendment Regulations, 2023.
   • The regulations will be enforced w.e.f., September 1, 2023.
   • These regulations specify a comprehensive group standard for millets.
   • The group standard applies to the following millets –

• Central Govt will promote millets in the brand name “Shree Anna”.
• Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), under the Ministry of Commerce, has signed an MoU with Lulu Hypermarket LLC (a UAE-based organization) to promote millets in the Gulf Cooperation Council’s region.

Defence News

1. For the first time, an Indian submarine named INS Shindukesari docked in Indonesia to strengthen bilateral relations as part of diplomatic-military outreach to ASEAN countries.
2. Indian Air Force contingent (comprising of 110 Air Warriors) reached at Al Dahfra airbase of United Arab Emirates for participating in Exercise Desert Flag VIII.
   • Exercise Desert Flag is a multilateral air exercise in which Air Forces from UAE, France, Kuwait, Australia, UK, Bahrain, Morocco, Spain, Republic of Korea, and USA would also be participating.
   • The exercise is scheduled from 27th of February to 17th of March.
3. Indian Air Force (IAF) will participate in multilateral air exercise ‘Exercise Cobra Warrior’ at the RAF’s Waddington Air Force Base in the UK from March 6 to 24.
   • This year, the IAF is participating in the exercise with five Mirage 2000 fighters, two C-17 Globemaster III and an IL-78 mid-air refueller aircraft.

Memorandum Of Understanding

1. Union Cabinet has recently approved the Air Service Agreement signed between India and Guyana.
   • A total of 40% of Guyana’s population is Indians. The agreement will allow the countries to enable provisions of air services between them.
2. The Information Fusion Centre – Indian Ocean Region of India and the Regional Coordination Operations Centre (RCOC) of Seychelles have signed an MOU on maritime cooperation to improve safety in the Indian Ocean Region.
   • The safety provisions will be based on the SAGAR – Security and Growth for All in the Region – initiative.
   • India has a military base on the Assumption Island of Seychelles. It was built in 1990 and was extended in 2016.

International News

1. Brazil has suspended its beef exports to China after a case of mad cow disease, also known as Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy.
   • Brazil is the largest beef exporter in the world and China is one of the largest beef consumers in the world.

2. China has launched the Zhongxing-26 satellite on Long March 3B rocket at a cost of $333 million.
   • Separately, China has blocked ChatGPT (AI software).
3. Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has suspended Russia’s membership over the Ukraine war.
   • Reason – Russian Federation’s actions unacceptably run counter to the FATF core principles aiming to promote security, safety, and the integrity of the global financial system.

4. Bangladesh govt has signed an agreement with the International Solar Alliance (ISA) to increase the use of solar energy in the country.
   • The agreement is to be implemented by December 2026.
   • The agreement was signed between the ISA Director General Ajay Mathur and the Bangladesh Power Division Secretary Md. Habibur Rahman.
   • The Bangladesh government has set up a target of generating 40% of its total energy through renewable sources by 2041.

Reports and Indices

1. According to the data shared by private market intelligence platform Tracxn, the proportion of funds allocated to women-led start-ups in India saw an increase in 2022 as compared to 2021.
   • Early-stage start-ups raised $8.2 billion in funding in equity rounds in 2022 as compared to $7.1 billion raised in the previous year.
   • Out of this, early-stage funding into women-led start-ups nearly doubled from $550.5 million in 2021 to $1.1 billion in 2022.
2. US Chamber of Commerce Global Innovation Policy Center has released the International Intellectual Property Index 2023.
   • Total – 55 countries
   • Top – USA (score 95.48%)
   • India – 42nd (score 38.64%)
   • Bottom – Venezuela (score 14.10%)
   • Parameters –
   • Patents, Related Rights, and Limitations
   • Copyrights, Related Rights, and Limitations
   • Trademarks, Related Rights, and Limitations
   • Design Rights, Related Rights, and Limitations
   • Trade Secrets and the Protection of Confidential Information
   • Commercialization of IP Assets and Market Access
   • Enforcement
   • Systemic Efficiency

Banking and Economy

1. META has launched its new chatbot called LLaMA (Large Language Model Meta AI).
   • Google is all set to launch ‘Bard’, a new conversational AI chatbot.
   • Both the companies aim at challenging OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which is backed by Microsoft.

2. GST revenues hit ₹1.59 lakh crore in January 2023, which is the second highest monthly collections on record.
3. India’s first ever municipal bond index named as India Municipal Bond Index (IBMX) has been unveiled by the National Stock Exchange (NSE).
   • The IBMX will track the performance of bonds issued by Indian Municipal Corporations.
   • In 2022, fundraising through Municipal Bonds stood at ₹6,252 crore through this route compared to ₹2,342 crore in 2017.
   • The bonds in the index have a credit rating of AA category.
   • The index has a base date of January 1, 2021, and a base value of 1,000.
4. India has tasked the International Monetary Fund and the Financial Stability Board (FSB) with jointly preparing a technical paper on crypto assets.
   • The paper could be used to formulate a coordinated and comprehensive policy to regulate crypto assets.
   • The G20 will create a universally acceptable international framework to regulate crypto assets and said that only a central bank backed monetary unit would qualify as a currency.
   • Recently, IMF has also released a nine-point Crypto Action Plan.
5. According to the data from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, services exports are expected to cross USD 300 billion in 2022-23.
   • India’s services exports would cross the USD 1 trillion target by 2030.
   • IT and ITeS accounts for 40-45% share in the exports. It is followed by travel and tourism, education, and financial services like banking, and accountancy.
6. Total transfers through the direct benefit transfer (DBT) reached about Rs 5.5 trillion so far in the current financial year.
   • The DBT transfers are expected to surpass Rs 6.3 trillion achieved in FY22.

Appointments

1. Shiv Sena party of Maharashtra has elected the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Eknath Shinde, as its new Chief.
2. Shelly Oberoi from Aam Aadmi Party has become the Mayor of Delhi Municipal Corporation.
3. US Joe Biden has nominated Ajay Banga (former Mastercard CEO) as the new President of World Bank.
4. Comptroller and Auditor General, Girish Chandra Murmu has been selected as External Auditor of the International Labour Organization in Geneva for a four-year term from 2024 to 2027.
   • CAG will take over from the incumbent External Auditor of ILO, Supreme Audit Institution of Philippines.

Important Days

1. February 15 – Sant Sevalal Maharaj Jayanti
   • Sevalal Maharaj (15 February 1739 – 4 January 1773) was an Indian socio-religious reformer, community leader, and is now revered by the Kshatriyas Gor Banjara community as a spiritual guru.
2. February 24 – Central Excise Day in India

Awards

1. S&P Global has released the ranking of the top 250 independent energy producers in the world.
   • The energy producers were ranked based on four criteria such as return on investment, revenue generation, total assets, and profits gained.
   • NTPC has topped the ranking.
   • Currently, NTPC produces 24% of India’s electricity. By 2050, the corporation will contribute 50% of the total power production in the country.
2. Computer scientist Hari Balakrishnan has won the 2023 Marconi Prize for fundamental contributions to wired and wireless networking, mobile sensing, and distributed systems.
   • The Marconi Prize is a top honour for computer scientists and is awarded by the U.S.-based Marconi Foundation.

Sports

1. Sergio Ramos Garcia (Spanish Football player) has announced retirement from international cricket.
2. Australia has won the ICC Women T20 World Cup 2023.
3. Manchester United Football Club has won the Carabao Cup (aka EFL Cup).
   • It is a major football trophy played in England.
4. Three-day All-India Taekwondo Championship has been inaugurated in New Delhi.
5. Bengaluru Open 2023 (ATP men’s tennis tournament) has been won by Max Purcell (Australian) in men’s singles.
6. Indian Greco Roman wrestler Ankit Gulia won Bronze Medal in Ibrahim Moustafa ranking series in Egypt.
7. Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic breaks Steffi Graf’s record of being at the Number 1 rank for 377 weeks.

Miscellaneous

1. According to new research published in Nature Communications, scientists have discovered a fifth layer in Earth – core within Earth’s core.
   • Earlier, it was believed that the crust, mantle, outer core, and inner core made up the structure of the Earth.

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