Current Affairs in English – February 25, 26 2023

February 25-26, 2023

National Events:

PM-KISAN:

• The Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana (PM-KISAN) completed 4 years on 24 February 2023. It Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana or PM-KISAN Yojana was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 24 February 2019 to meet the financial needs of land-holding farmers.
• Under the PM Kisan Yojana, financial assistance of Rs 6,000 per year is provided in three equal installments every year in the bank accounts of crores of farmers in the country.

RRR:

• SS Rajamouli’s directorial, ‘RRR’ has bagged the ‘Best International Film’ award at the Hollywood Critics Association Film Awards. The film director Rajamouli and actor Ram Charan accepted the award with joy and pride.
• It has also won three more awards at the HCA film awards. Before bagging the ‘Best International Film’ award, ‘RRR’ won three awards at HCA – ‘Best Action Film’, ‘Best Stunts’, and ‘Best Original Song’.
• RRR is a fictional story based on the lives of two Telugu freedom fighters, Alluri Seetharama Raju and Komaram Bheem. Ram Charan and Jr NTR played lead roles, respectively. The film collected over ₹1,200 crore worldwide. Alia Bhatt, Ajay Devgn and Shriya Saran also starred in the film.

INS Sindhukesari:

• In line with the expanding military cooperation with South East Asian nations, an Indian Navy Kilo class conventional submarine, INS Sindhukesari, docked in Jakarta, Indonesia, for the first time. The submarine, which was on operational deployment, travelled through the Sunda Strait and undertook the maiden docking in Indonesia for Operational Turnaround (OTR).
• Naval ships regularly make port calls to countries in the region. The OTR in Jakarta, over 2,000 nautical miles away from its home base in Visakhapatnam, significantly expands the area operational reach of the submarine arm near crucial shipping lanes and the strategic Malacca Strait. In the past, Indonesia gave access to its Sabang port to Indian Naval ships for operational turnaround.

Tawazun Council:

• The Tawazun Council signed 11 deals, worth Dhs5.8bn ($1.579bn), on the third day of the International Defence Exhibition (IDEX) and the Naval Defence Exhibition (NAVDEX) 2023.
• A total of nine deals were inked with local and international companies on behalf of the Ministry of Defence, and two contracts worth Dhs134m were sealed on behalf of Abu Dhabi Police.
• The contracts signed on the behalf of the defense ministry were awarded to four local companies, with a total value of Dhs5.05bn. On the other hand, five contracts, worth Dhs694m were signed with international companies.

Uttarakhand government:

• The Uttarakhand government has signed a contract to construct a 3.38 km ropeway from Janki Chatti in Kharsali to Yamunotri Dham. To be built at a cost of Rs 166.82 crore, the ropeway will cut down the travel time from the current 2-3 hours to just 20 minutes. At present pilgrims have to trek for 5.5 km to reach Yamunotri Dham from Kharsali.
• The contract was signed by Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board with two private construction company, namely SRM Engineering Solutions Pvt. Ltd. and FIL Industries Pvt. Ltd. in the presence of Chief Minister Shri Pushkar Singh Dhami.

Kerala government:

• The Kerala government has launched robotic scavenger, “Bandicoot”, to clean sewages in the temple town of Guruvayur, becoming the first state in the country to use robotic technology to clean all its commissioned manholes.
• Water Resources Minister, Roshi Augustine, launched Bandicoot under the Guruvayur Sewerage Project in Thrissur district by the Kerala Water Authority (KWA), as part of the 100-day action plan of the state government.

CICT:

• Tolkappiyam is the oldest book in Tamil, Central Classical Tamil Research Institute has launched a mobile application to know the special features of this book through mobile phones.
• CICT has released this app on Google Android Play Store under the character authority named Tolkappiyam Character. It is reported that this app is very useful for the visually impaired.

National statistics:

• List of states with the highest incidence of diabetes in India based on national statistics

Kerala state is ranked first (27.4%)

Tamil Nadu ranked second (22.3%)

Andhra Pradesh ranked third (21.1%)

Ranking of Union Territories

Goa ranked first (22.7%),

Puducherry ranked second (22 %)

Lakshadweep ranked third place (21.9%)

‘G20 Aurangabad’:

• Aurangabad district administration has developed a special mobile app ‘G20 Aurangabad’ for the convenience of delegates arriving for the G-20 inception meeting scheduled in the city on 27th and 28th of February, 2023.
• The App will provide information to the delegates about the Names of the organizing committee office-bearers with their contact numbers and helpline numbers and the arrangements made for them in Aurangabad city.

Lt Gen RS Reen:

• Lt Gen RS Reen was appointed as Director General Quality Assurance on February 24, 2023; He was working as a senior faculty at Defense Institute of Quality Assurance, Bengaluru. He is a 1986-batch officer; Lt Gen Reen is an alumnus of the Indian Military Academy.
• The DGQA is an Inter-Service Organization functioning under the Department of Defence Production in the Ministry of Defense.

AIM4C:

• India recently joined AIM4C on the margins of the I2U2 Business Forum held in Abu Dhabi. AIM4C is a global platform launched by the US and the UAE with an aim to accelerate investment and support for climate-smart agriculture and food systems innovation.
• It was launched in November 2021. The main objective of the initiative is to address hunger and climate change.

Ellora Ajanta International Festival 2023:

• In Maharashtra, a three-day Ellora Ajanta International Festival 2023 began on 25 Feb’23 in Aurangabad. The festival is a celebration of the cultural heritage and diversity of the region and promises to be a feast for the senses.
• Classical Singer Padambhushan Rashid Khan, Shankar Mahadevan, Tabla player Vijay Ghate, Flute player Pandit Rakesh Chaoursiya etc. will perform during the event.

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and Dharashiv:

• Maharashtra’s Aurangabad and Osmanabad have been renamed as Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and Dharashiv respectively. The decision to rename the cities was taken by the Maharashtra government On July 16, 2022.
• The Ministry of Home Affairs on 24 February 2023 approved the proposal. Osmanabad derives its name from the last ruler of Hyderabad, Mir Osman Ali Khan.

IREDA:

• Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) announced to establish an office in Gujarat’s GIFT City to finance Renewable Energy projects in foreign currency.
• The office at Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City), Gandhinagar, will be classified as an overseas office, allowing the IREDA to avoid foreign exchange hedging cost.

Mega book fair:

• The 9-day mega book fair will be held from 25th February to 5th March, 2023 at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi.
• It is being organised by National Book Trust, an autonomous organization of the Government of India under the Ministry of Education, in collaboration with India Trade Promotion Organization. The book display will also include titles on topics such as history, art and culture.

Tamil Nadu Events:

 ‘Smart Agri’:

• ‘Smart Agri’ project launched at Coonoor Upasi Arena, Nilgiris district to improve tea farming with modern technology.
• On behalf of the Tea Board, this scheme is being implemented to benefit more than 10 thousand farmers in 193 villages in the Nilgiri district. Through this scheme, it has been started to provide farmers with insight into soil quality, pest management and all other factors.

International Events:

Infosys:

• Infosys, a next generation digital services and consulting, announced that it will expand its collaboration with Microsoft, to help accelerate enterprise cloud transformation journeys worldwide, via an exchange filing.
• According to the Infosys cloud radar, enterprises can add up to $414 billion in net new profits, annually, through effective cloud adoption.

Germany & India:

• German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s visit to India on February 25–26 will focus on advancing a $5.2 billion agreement between Germany and India to jointly construct six conventional submarines in India.
• The naval project is a Western military manufacturing power’s most recent effort to wean New Delhi off of its reliance on Russian military hardware.

HedgewithCrypto:

• According to HedgewithCrypto research, India emerged as 7th biggest nation ready to adopt crypto in 2023. Australia is the biggest country when it comes to the adoption of cryptocurrency in 2023 with a score of 7.37 out of 10.
• The sale of cryptocurrency and other digital assets is legal and regulated in Australia. Following this, USA ranks as the second biggest country in crypto adoption with a score of 7.07 out of 10.

Chinese archaeologists:

• Chinese archaeologists found a 2,400-year-old toilet box and pipe were discovered at an archaeological site in the Chinese city of Xi’an. Researchers believe it dates back to the Warring States period (424 BC) and the Qin Dynasty (221 BC to 206 BC).

Evidence of brain surgery:

• Archeologists found evidence of brain surgery in the skeleton of a person discovered buried beneath the floor of a Bronze-era building. The brothers lived between 1550 BC and 1450 BC and their remains were found during an excavation of a tomb in the ancient city of Tel Megiddo.
• The surgery was done by trephination method, a surgical procedure of creating a hole in the skull without affecting underlying tissue.

FATF:

• The Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an international standard-setting body on illicit finance, has suspended Russia from its membership.
• It is the first time a country has been removed in FATF’s 34-year history for its “illegal, unprovoked and unjustified” full-scale military invasion of Ukraine.

Zhongxing-26:

• China on 23 Feb’23 launched the communication satellite Zhongxing-26 at a cost of 333 million USD. It was launched on Long March 3B rocket.
• The main objective of the satellite is to provide broadband connectivity for aviation and ship-related operations. It is China’s first satellite to provide more than 100 Gbps speed. It was launched by the China Academy of Space Technology.

Pakistan & Afghanistan:

• Taliban government in Afghanistan on 23 February reopened the Torkham border crossing with Pakistan after four days of closure. Pakistan and Afghanistan share a 2,600 km-long border.
• The Taliban had shut the Torkham crossing after Pakistan denied Afghan migrants entry into Pakistan for medical care. The Torkham border crossing is located in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.