Current Affairs in English – February 7 2023

National Events:

LazyPay and Kissht:

Digital loan apps LazyPay and Kissht have been banned by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY’s) on February 5, 2023.
The central government also blocked 232 such apps involved in unauthorized loan services, betting, and gambling. Kissht app is backed by Vertex Growth and Brunei Investment and is valued at over $450 million.

Yuva Sangam registration portal:

Yuva Sangam registration portal was launched in New Delhi on 6 February 2023. Yuva Sangam is an initiative to build close ties between the youth of the North East Region and rest of India under the spirit of Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat.
Under the initiative over 20 thousand youth will travel across the country and gain a unique opportunity of cross-cultural learning.

PM-KUSUM:

The government has extended the PM-KUSUM scheme till March 2026. The decision was taken as the scheme’s implementation was significantly affected due to COVID.
Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan (PM-KUSUM) was launched in 2019. It aimed at adding solar capacity of 30,800 MW by 2022 with the total central financial support of Rs 34,422 crore.

Unemployment rate:

As per data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy, India’s unemployment rate declined to a four-month low of 7.14% in January 2023.
Unemployment rate during Dec 2022 was 8.30%, while it was 8% in Nov’22 and 6.43% in September 2022.
The urban unemployment rate declined to 8.55% in Jan’23 from 10.09% in Dec’22, while the rural unemployment rate slipped to 6.48% from 7.44%, the data showed.

CAG:

Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) on 6 Feb’23 signed two MoUs with Tajikistan and Kazakhstan. It was done on the sidelines of Shanghai Cooperation Organization Supreme Audit Institutions (SCO SAI) Leaders’ meeting in Lucknow.
The MoUs are aimed at strengthening cooperation and facilitating the exchange of expertise including professionals in the field of auditing.

Indore Municipal Corporation:

Indore Municipal Corporation has became country’s first civic body to launch green bonds. It aims to raise Rs 244 cr for a 60-mw solar plant at its water pumping station. The public issues of the green bonds will be open for subscription from 10 to 14 February 2023.
The issue will be listed on National Stock Exchange. Corporation has also ranked top in cleanliness survey for 6 consecutive years.

RIL:

Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) on 6 February 2023, unveiled India’s first Hydrogen Internal Combustion Engine technology solution for heavy duty trucks.
It was flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the India Energy Week in Bangalore. The Hydrogen Internal Combustion Engine (H2ICE) powered trucks will emit near zero emissions and reduce noise.

Zoop:

The Indian Railways has started WhatsApp Communication “Zoop’ for railway passengers to order food through e-catering services to make e-catering services more customer-centric.
Passengers will be able to order food online through WhatsApp while undertaking a journey by using their PNR number. Zoop App assists passengers to order food delivery in trains from restaurants at railway stations.

PMAY-U:

Union Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri announced that the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban (PMAY-U) scheme has been extended up to 2024.
The central government has sanctioned Rs 2 lakh crore under the scheme, out of which Rs 1.36 lakh crore has been released so far. Around 123 lakh houses were sanctioned under the PMAY-U during the financial year 2021-22.

Telangana Mobility Valley:

The Telangana government on 6 Feb 2023, unveiled Telangana Mobility Valley, India’s first new mobility-focused cluster to accelerate the growth of sustainability mobility in the country.
It aims to attract investments of around Rs 50,000 crore and generate more than 4 lakh jobs in the next 5 years.
The government has also set up the Kalam Centre For Automotive Excellence to upskill youth in e-Mobility.

Uttar Pradesh government:

The Uttar Pradesh government has announced to provide up to 50 percent subsidy on setting up solar-powered food processing units.
The government will give a 50 percent subsidy to investors for setting up solar power plants of up to 75 KVA.
The government has also brought the UP Food Processing Industry Policy-23, providing many concessions and subsidies to entrepreneurs in different segments.

Gujarat government & OECD:

The Gujarat government 4 February 2023, signed an agreement with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to conduct the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) test for students of government schools.
It will improve the students’ thinking, problem-solving, and practical communication skills. It is the first Indian state to sign such an agreement.

International Events:

Apsara Iyer:

Indian-American student at Harvard Law School, Apsara lyer has been elected president of the prestigious Harvard Law Review.
She became the first Indian-American woman to be named to the position in the publication’s 136-year history.
She was elected the 137th president of the Harvard Law Review, which was founded in 1887 and is among the oldest student-run legal scholarship publications.

Earthquake:

A powerful magnitude 7.8 earthquake hit Turkey and Syria on 6 February 2023.
It was one of the strongest to hit the region in more than 100 years and struck 23 kilometers east of Nurdagi in Turkey’s Gaziantep province at a depth of 24.1 kilometers.

India & Sri Lanka:

India delivered fifty buses to Sri Lanka under the Economic Assistance Scheme of the Indian government. High Commissioner of India Gopal Baglay handed over the buses to Sri Lanka’s President Ranil Wickremesinghe.
Commercial vehicle maker Ashok Leyland had bagged the contract for supplying 500 buses to Sri Lanka. The order is a part of a Line of Credit extended by the Export-Import Bank of India.

Sports Events:

Monty Desai:

Nepal Cricket Association has appointed former Indian cricketer Monty Desai as head coach of the Nepal national cricket team.
He will replace another former Indian cricketer Manoj Prabhakar, who resigned from his post in December 2022.
He has been the head coach of teams like West Indies, Canada, UAE. He has also served as the head coach of the Rajasthan Royals team in IPL.

Aditi Ashok:

Aditi Ashok clinched the Ladies European Tour Title with a nine-shot win at the Magical Kenya Ladies Open on 5 February 2023.
It was her fourth win on the Ladies European Tour for Aditi. Aditi is an Indian professional golfer from Bangalore. She plays on the Ladies European Tour and LPGA Tour. She made her Olympic Games debut at the 2016 Summer Olympics.

IHAI National Ice Hockey Championship:

ITBP’s central ice hockey team won the12th edition of the 2023 IHAI National Ice Hockey Championship for men in February 2023.
The championship was organized by the Ice Hockey Association of India (IHAI) in Ladakh, Leh. The ITBP team won the title for the third consecutive time by defeating Ladakh Scouts in the final with a score of 1-0.