Current Affairs in English – February 14 2023

February 14, 2023

National Events:

Retail inflation:

• India’s retail inflation rises to three-month high level of 6.52%. Retail inflation, based on the consumer price index (CPI), rose to 6.52 percent in January 2023 from December 2022’s one-year low of 5.72 percent.
• As per the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation data, the retail inflation for January stood at a three-month high level. Inflation in January grew mainly due to a rise in food inflation which climbed to 5.94 percent.

Double-decker electric bus:

• India’s first air-conditioned double-decker electric bus was inducted into the fleet of Mumbai’s BEST transport body on 13 Feb 2023.
• The will be registered at the Regional Transport Office before it hits the road for the public. The fare of these buses will be the same which is applicable for single-decker AC buses.

‘Aadi Mahotsav’:

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate a 15-day ‘Aadi Mahotsav’ at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium, Delhi, on February 16, 2023.
• Around 1,000 tribal artisans and artists from 28 states and Union territories will participate in the festival. They include tribal cooks from 19 states and UTS for which 20 food stalls are being set up.

IISS:

• The 23rd edition of the India International Seafood Show (IISS) will be held in Kolkata from February 15 to February 17, 2023. It will showcase the country’s tremendous strides in the seafood sector.
• The Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA), in association with the Seafood Exporters Association of India, will be jointly hosting the event at the Biswa Bangla Mela Prangan.

Paytm:

• Paytm has launched a special G20-theme QR Code to celebrate India’s G20 presidency and the country’s leadership in mobile payments. It was launched by Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw during the ‘Digital Payments Utsav’ 2023.
• The special commemorative QR Code features logos of MeitY’s ‘DigiDhan Mission’, along with those of the G20 2023 and 75th year of India’s independence.

‘Bima Sugam portal’:

• The union government has announced to set up of a ‘Bima Sugam portal’ to address the existing protection gap across life, health, and general insurance businesses in the country.
• It is expected to improve the accessibility and ease of purchasing insurance for policyholders. The portal will provide a platform where insurers, distribution networks, and policyholders can meet virtually.

Pilgrim centers:

• The Union government has identified four pilgrim centers for development under the Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Heritage Augmentation Drive (PRASHAD) Scheme in Karnataka.
• Chamundeshwari temple in Mysuru, Sri Madhwa Vana in Udupi district, Papnash temple in Bidar district, and Sri Renuka Yallamma Temple in Saundatti in Belagavi district have been selected under the scheme.

‘Samudrashila’:

• Writer Subhash Chandran’s novel ‘Samudrashila’ has been chosen for the Akbar Kakkattil Award in February 2023.
• The award consisting of 50,000 and a sculpture will be presented to Subhash Chandran by writer M. Mukundan at an event on February 17. Akbar Kakkattil was an Indian short-story writer and novelist from Kerala state and has received the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award twice.

National Women’s Day:

• The day is celebrated on 13 Feb every year. In recognition of Sarojini Naidu’s contributions to women’s rights and Independence movement, her birthday is celebrated as Women’s Day in India.
• It is celebrated to honour the achievements of women in the country, especially in the field of politics, culture, and economy. Events are organised to encourage more women to take up leadership roles.

Aero India:

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the 14th edition of Aero India on 13 Feb 23. It is being held at Air Force Station, Yelahanka in Bengaluru.
• Theme of Aero India 2023: The Runway to a Billion Opportunities In line with the PM’s vision of ‘Make in India, Make for the World, the event will focus on displaying indigenous technologies and forging partnerships with foreign companies.

JCC:

• The iconic Jaffna Cultural Centre (JCC) in Sri Lanka, which was built with the grant assistance of the Government of India, was dedicated to the people on 11 February 2023.
• The foundation stone for JCC was laid by Prime Minister Modi in May 2015. During the event, India announced a special financial assistance scheme for 100 students from economically weaker families at the University of Jaffna.

DEWG:

• The First DEWG meeting under India G20 Presidency is being held in Lucknow from 13 to 15 February 2023.
• As a precursor to the first DEWG meeting, Ministry of Electronics launched several initiatives: Stay Safe Online campaign: To raise awareness about cyber risks G20 Digital Innovation Alliance: To support startups in this field.

G20:

• The first meeting of G-20 Agriculture Working group is being held in Indore, Madhya Pradesh from 13 to 15 February 2023.
• Around a hundred delegates from G20 member countries, guest countries and International Organizations are participating in the meeting. During the meeting, events will be organised to deliberate over agriculture-related matters.

DGGI & NFSU:

• The Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) and the National Forensic Sciences University (NFSU) on 7 February 2023 signed an MoU for setting up of digital forensic laboratories.
• This MoU will help the DGGI in the field of investigation and digital forensics and will assist the agency for launching effective prosecutions and securing convictions of the guilty.

Advanced Light Helicopter Mark 3:

• Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) delivered an Advanced Light Helicopter Mark 3 variant to the Government of Mauritius in Feb 2023. HAL signed a contract with the government of Mauritius in January 2022 for the export of one ALH-Mk3.
• It is a multi-role, multi-mission versatile helicopter in the 5.5-tonne category and equipped with advanced RADAR, Electro optical sensors, and Shakti engines.

Meeting of G-20 empower group:

• The inception meeting of G-20 empower group of Ministry of Women and Child development was held in Agra, Uttar Pradesh on 11 and 12 February 2023.
• The theme of the meeting was “Empowering Women to Lead across Sectors: Role of Digital Skilling and Future Skills”. An exhibition “Products and Services by Women at the Grassroots” was also held during the event.

AMRITPEX 2023:

• The Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw inaugurated AMRITPEX 2023 – National Philatelic Exhibition on 11 February 2023.
• The themes of the exhibition include Amrit Mahotsav of Independence and New India, women power, youth power, nature and wildlife, and culture and history of India. The Department of Posts also released a commemorative postage stamp during the event.

Zoo:

• The Rajasthan government has proposed to construct a zoo inside Keoladeo National Park, Bharatpur to display a range of wetland species, including rhinos, water buffaloes, dolphins etc.
• The zoo will be set up under the Wetland ex-situ Conservation Establishment (WESCE) plan. The zoo will have a breeding and re-introduction centre for locally extinct species, such as otters, fishing cats, etc.

India-ASEAN:

• India-ASEAN Digital Work Plan 2023 has been approved at the third ASEAN Digital Ministers meeting in New Delhi on 10 Feb 23.
• The work plan includes capacity building and knowledge sharing in emerging areas in the field of Information and Communication Technologies such as Artificial Intelligence in Cyber Security. Theme of the meeting was- “Synergy towards a Sustainable Digital Future”.

ADB & HP:

• The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $130 million loan for Himachal Pradesh (HP). It will be used to enhance agricultural productivity and farmers’ income and promote horticulture agribusiness in the state.
• It will be used for HP Subtropical Horticulture, Irrigation, and Value Addition Project. Under this, Farmers will be organised into cluster and district-wide associations.

Uttarakhand:

• Uttarakhand Governor approved Uttarakhand Competitive Examination (Measures for Prevention and Prevention of Unfair Means in Recruitment) Ordinance 2023 on 10 Feb’23.
• Under this Law, a provision to impose a fine of 10 crores rupees along with life imprisonment or 10 years in jail for the copycat mafia. Apart from this, there is also a provision to attach the property of the copying mafia.

RBI:

• The Reserve Bank of India announced that it will issue guidelines on broad framework for acceptance of Green Deposits, disclosure framework on Climate-related Financial Risks, and guidance on Climate Scenario Analysis and Stress Testing.
• It will issue the guidelines, which will be based on feedback received on its Discussion Paper (DP) on Climate Risk and Sustainable Finance.

ISRO:

• The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on 10 February 2023, successfully launched the second edition of the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV-D2) at Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.
• SSLV-D2 is 34 metres in length while 2 metres in width. It can fly with a load of about 120 tonnes. ISRO’s smallest new rocket SSLV-D2 works on the technology of launch on demand.

International Events:

IEA:

• In February 2023, the International Energy Agency (IEA) predicted that Asia will for the first time use half of the world’s electricity by 2025.
• Much of Asia’s electricity use will be in China whose share of global consumption will rise from a quarter in 2015 to a third by 2025. While Africa will account for just 3% of global electricity consumption in 2025.

“State of disaster”:

• South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, on 9 February 2023, declared a national “state of disaster” over power shortages in the country.
• South Africa is currently facing several crises, including issues such as a power crisis, unemployment, etc. The President announced that a Minister of Power would be appointed to deal with the matter more effectively and promptly.

Students from IIT Indore:

• Students from IIT Indore won AED 1 mn by winning gold medal at the World Government Summit in Dubai on 13 Feb 2023.
• Niyati Totala and Neel Kalpeshkumar Parikh were awarded by Egyptian President Abel Fattah Al-Sisi. These students were the creators of the ‘Blockbill’ app. Blockbill is a blockchain based receipt generation app that generates digital receipts for all of its users’ transactions.

Rayyana Barnawi:

• Saudi Arabia will send its first ever woman astronaut on a space mission later in 2023.
• Rayyana Barnawi will join fellow Saudi male astronaut Ali Al-Qarni on a mission to the International Space Station (ISS). The astronauts will join the crew of the AX-2 space mission and the space flight will launch from the USA.

International Epilepsy Day:

• International Epilepsy Day was observed on 13 Feb 2023 across the globe to raise awareness of Epilepsy and its impact on individuals & communities around the world.
• An event is organized on this day by the International Bureau for Epilepsy (IBE) and the International League against Epilepsy (ILAE) to raise awareness about epilepsy. Epilepsy is a nervous disorder that affects brain activity.

Mohammad Shahabuddin:

• The Election Commission of Bangladesh on 13 February 2023, announced that the Awami League party nominee, Mohammad Shahabuddin was elected unopposed as the 22nd president of Bangladesh.
• He was the only candidate to file his nomination after the time for nomination and withdrawal was over. He will replace incumbent President Mohammad Abdul Hamid, the longest-serving president of the country.

Nikos Christodoulides:

• Nikos Christodoulides has been elected as the next President of Cyprus on 12 Feb 2023. Christodoulides, defeated fellow diplomat Andreas Mavroyanis in the presedential race.
• Christodoulides is supported by the Democratic Party, the Movement for Social Democracy and the Democratic Alignment. Previously, he was appointed Government Spokesperson in 2014 and Foreign Minister in 2018.

Italian researchers:

• Italian researchers have discovered a Black Galaxy or Invisible Galaxy using ALMA(Advanced Laminated Material Applications).
• The galaxy is termed invisible because the light emitted couldn’t be seen from the earth. The galaxy discovered is compact. It is young and has interstellar dust. The galaxy is forming new stars at the rate of 1000 times the Milky Way.

Sniffing robot:

• Scientists from Israel have developed a sniffing robot which is equipped with a biological sensor. The robot uses the antennae of a locust to diagnose disease and improve security checks.
• It is bio-hybrid and therefore its sniffing powers are higher than the electronic sniffers. It can detect even the tiniest particle or an organism in its surrounding.

Curiosity rover:

• US space agency NASA’s Curiosity rover has found new evidence of an ancient lake in the form of rocks etched with the ripples of waves in the foothills of a Martian mountain.
• The rover has found some of the clearest evidence of ancient waters. The evidences were found at an area called the sulfate-bearing unit. The Curiosity rover has been exploring the Martian surface since 2012.

SpaceX:

• SpaceX performed a “static fire” test in which a Starship first-stage prototype known as Booster 7 ignited 31 of its 33 Raptor engines in Feb 2023.
• Starship prototype called Ship 24 has giant booster called Super Heavy & a upper-stage spacecraft known as Starship. Both Starship and Super Heavy are designed to be fully reusable, and both are powered by SpaceX’s next-generation Raptor engine.

India-Mongolia:

• The 11th meeting of India-Mongolia Joint Working Group was held on 10th Feb 2023 in New Delhi. Both the countries reviewed the progress of various bilateral defense cooperation initiatives and identified measures to further enhance the existing areas of cooperation.
• India established diplomatic relations with Mongolia in 1955 and upgraded relations with Mongolia to a strategic partnership.

International Darwin Day: 12 February

• It is observed every year on 12 February to commemorate the birthday of Charles Darwin. He was born on 12 February 1809 in England.
• The day focuses on the contribution of Charles Darwin to science and also promotes science in general. Darwin was an English naturalist whose scientific theory of evolution by natural selection formed the foundation of modern evolutionary studies.

India & EU:

• India and the European Union (EU), on 6 February 2023, announced the establishment of the three Working Groups under the India-EU Trade and Technology Council (TTC).

Three Working Groups:

Working Group on Strategic Technologies, Digital Governance and Digital Connectivity.

Working Group on Green & Clean Energy Technologies.

Working Group on Trade, Investment & Resilient Value Chains.

Spiny-throated reed frog:

• An international team of researchers discovered a new species of spiny-throated reed frog while conducting an amphibian survey in Tanzania.
• The Ukaguru spiny-throated reed frog does not croak, sing, or ribbit. Found in Tanzania’s Ukaguru Mountains for which it is named, Hyperolius ukaguruensis is among the few frogs around the world that do not vocalize to other frogs.

Sports Events:

WPL:

• Smriti Mandhana secured the highest bid of Rs 3.4 crore at the first-ever Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2023 auction in Mumbai on 13 February 2023. Ten India women’s team cricketers were sold for more than Rs 1 crore.
• Mumbai Indians signed India captain Harmanpreet Kaur for Rs 1.8 crore. The WPL 2023 T20 tournament will be held in Mumbai from March 3 to 26, 2023.

Khelo India Youth Games:

• Khelo India Youth Games-2022 culminated on 11 Feb 2023 in Bhopal. Maharashtra stood first in the medals table by winning 161 medals including 56 gold.
• Haryana came second with 128 medals including 41 gold and hosts Madhya Pradesh came third position with 96 medals including 39 gold. 25 national records were broken in the games and maximum 19 records were broken in weight lifting.

Formula E Championship:

• Union Minister Anurag Thakur flagged off the Formula E Championship in Hyderabad on 11 Feb’23. Hyderabad is hosting India’s first ever Formula E-race.
• Hyderabad is the 27th city in the world to host the race which is the first non-carbon emission event.