DAILY GK 16-18 FEB

DAILY GK 16-18 FEB

 1.       BOEING LAUNCHES ITS 1ST GLOBAL SUPPORT CENTER IN INDIA

·         The Boeing Company, an aerospace company based in the United States of America(USA), launched its first Global Support Center (GSC) in India at Gurugram, Haryana,

·         It will also transfer knowledge to enhance safety and efficiency for airline partners in India.

·         President and Chief Executive Officer(The Boeing Company)– David L. Calhoun

 

2.       INDIA’S 1ST SOLID WASTE TO HYDROGEN PLANT TO SETUP IN PUNE

·         Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), has partnered with TheGreenBillions Limited(TGBL), to set up India’s first solid waste-to-hydrogen plant in Hadapsar Industrial Estate in Pune, Maharashtra, at an investment of Rs 350 crore.

·         Bhabha Atomic Research Institute and the Indian Institute of Science(IISc), Bengaluru, Karnataka, offer technological support to the plant.

·         This is India’s first attempt to extract hydrogen from waste.

·         The entire plant is set to be completed by November 2024 and the 1st 10-tonne reactor will be installed by November 2023.

·         The refuse-derived fuel(RDF) from the waste will be used to generate hydrogen using plasma gasification technology.

 

3.       GLOBAL SEA LEVEL ROSE BY 4.5 MM PER YEAR -WMO

·         According to the World Meteorological Department (WMO), Global mean sea level rose by 4.5 millimeters (mm) per year during the period 2013-22. WMO stated that Human influence played a major role in the increases in sea levels since 1971.

·         Global mean sea level increased by 0.20 m between 1901 and 2018 and the average rate of sea level rise was 1.3 mm per year between 1901 and 1971, 1.9 mm per year between 1971 and 2006, and 3.7 mm per year between 2006 and 2018

·         Over the next 2000 years, if the warming is limited to 1.5 degrees, the global mean sea level will rise by about 2 to 3 meters and 2 to 6 meters, if the warming is limited to 2-degree celsius and 19 to 22 meters with 5 degrees of warming.

·         The increasing sea level threatens the low-lying small islands across the globe. It also poses a major threat to countries like India, China, Netherlands and Bangladesh which has a large coastal population.

·         The 2015 Paris Agreement aims to limit global warming to less than 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

·         WMOis a specialized agency of the United Nations(UN),Headquarters– Geneva, Switzerland

 

4.       RBI ANNOUNCES 2ND GLOBAL HACKATHON

·         The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) launched its 2nd global hackathon ‘HARBINGER 2023 – Innovation for Transformation’ on the theme ‘Inclusive Digital Services’.

·         The hackathon is owned and sponsored by RBI and is hosted on Application Programming Interface Exchange (APIX) platform.

 

5.       UPI TRANSACTIONS FOR FOREIGN NATIONALS

·         EbixCash World Money Limited, a subsidiary of US-based EbixInc, became the first company in India to launch the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions for foreign nationals visiting India.

·         In February 2023, under its Monetary policy, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) proposed to permit all inbound travellers to India to use UPI for their merchant payments (P2M) while they are in India.

·         In January 2023, the NPCI approved UPI transactions for non-resident bank accounts such as Non-Resident External (NRE) and Non-Resident Ordinary (NRO) linked to international mobile numbers.

·         Initially, transactions from mobile numbers of Non-resident Indians (NRIs) from 10 countries would be allowed: Singapore, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Oman, Qatar, the United States of America (USA), Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and the United Kingdom (UK).

 

6.       SURAJ – SOLARPOWERED DRONE

·         Drone startup Garuda Aerospace Private Limited unveiled its  “SURAJ”, a solar-powered unmanned reconnaissance J-Glider, at Aero India 2023, which is being held at the Air Force Station, Yelahanka, Bengaluru, Karnataka.

·         SURAJ, an Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR)high-altitude drone, is designed specifically for surveillance operations, providing high command real-time data and protecting jawans on the ground.

·         The 1:1 prototype of SURAJ will be ready to fly by August 2023.

·         It can fly at an altitude of 3,000 feet for 12 hours.

 

7.       KHELO INDIA WINTER GAMES 2023

·         he 3rd edition of Khelo India Winter Games, KIWG 2023, a 1st of a kind multi-sport competition of India, was held in Gulmarg, in Baramulla District of North Kashmir, J&K

·         J&K Topped the Medal Tally with 76 medalswith 26 Golds, 25 silvers and 25 bronze

 

8.       KHELO INDIA YOUTH GAMES

·         The 5th edition of Khelo India Youth Games (KIYG 2022) is hosted by Madhya Pradesh

·         Maharashtra won the overall championship and topped the medal tally of the Khelo India Youth Games 2022 with 161 medals (56 gold, 55 silver, and 50 bronze).

·         Haryana (40 golds) and Madhya Pradesh (39 golds), were ranked 2nd and 3rd, respectively.

 

9.       2026 FIFA WORLD CUP

·         The Men’s National Football team of USA,Mexico and Canada, qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

·         The tournament is set to expand from 32 teams to 48 in 2026.

·         FIFA has given host nations the right to play in the World Cup without going through the usual qualification tournaments.

·         Saudi Arabia has been named the host of the FIFA Club World Cup 2023, scheduled to take place in December 2023.

 

10.    INTERNATIONAL CHILDHOOD CANCER DAY 2023 – FEBRUARY 15

·         International Childhood Cancer Day (ICCD) is annually observed across the globe on February 15 to raise awareness about childhood cancer and to express support for children and adolescents who have the disease, the survivors, and their families.

·         The primary message or theme of International Childhood Cancer Day 2023 is ‘Better Survival’ is achievable #throughtheirhands.

·         The international awareness symbol for Childhood Cancer is the gold ribbon.

·         ICCD, a global campaign, was established in 2002 by Childhood Cancer International(CCI), a global network of 183 parent organizations, childhood cancer survivor associations, childhood cancer support groups, and cancer societies,  in over 94 countries, across 5 continents.

·         World Health Organisation (WHO):Headquarters- Geneva, Switzerland,Establishment- 1948

 

11.    NEW AI/ML CHATBOT “AADHAAR MITRA” BY UIDAI

·         The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has launched an AI/ML (Artificial intelligence and machine learning)-based new Chatbot called “AadhaarMitra” to help people get answers to their queries related to the Aadhaar card.

·         Consumers can connect to the AadhaarMitrachatbot by scanning a unique QR code that has been provided by UIDAI.

 

12.    2ND ANNUAL ANTHEM AWARDS

·         The ‘Don’t Choose Extinction’ campaign of the United Nations Development Programme(UNDP) won 2 awards – a gold and silver, under Awareness & Media Categories (Nonprofit), at the 2nd Annual Anthem Awards.

·         Gold winner: under Sustainability, Environment & Climate – Non-Profit Campaign category

·         Silver Winner: under Sustainability, Environment & Climate – Global Awareness Campaign category

·         The winners of the 2nd annual Anthem Awards were announced by the International Academy of Digital Arts & Science (IADAS).

·         The ‘Don’t Choose Extinction’ campaign was launched in October 2021 by UNDP as a response to raising awareness about the climate emergency. The film highlights the negative impact of fossil fuel subsidies on the planet.

·         The Don’t Choose Extinction’ film features “Frankie the Dino”, a computer-generated Utharaptor dinosaur that urges the members of the UN to avoid the fate of extension by tackling climate change.

 

13.    DAVID MALPASS TO STEP DOWN AS WORLD BANK PRESIDENT

·         World Bank President David Malpass (66) announced that he will step down on June 1, 2023 (nearly a year early than his term) after more than 4 years.

·         He was appointed by then United States (US) President Donald Trump in April 2019. His five-year term was due to end in April 2024.

 

14.    FIRST G20 DIGITAL ECONOMY WORKING GROUP MEETING

·         Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) hosted the first Digital Economy Working Group (DEWG) meeting in India, as a part of  India’s Presidency of the G20(Group of Twenty) in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh(UP).

·         The Chair of G20-DEWG was Alkesh Kumar Sharma, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY)

·         During the 3 day meeting of the working group, the G20 members, guest countries and international organisations discussed on 3 priority areas identified by India:“Digital Public Infrastructure”, “Cybersecurity in the Digital Economy”, and “Digital Skilling”.

·         India holds the Presidency of the G20 from 1 December 2022 to 30 November 2023.Theme– ‘VasudhaivaKutumbakam’ or ‘One Earth · One Family · One Future’

·         G20 Secretariat– New Delhi, Delhi,G20 Sherpa– Amitabh Kant

 

15.    1ST AGRICULTURE DEPUTIES MEETING OF AWG UNDER INDIA’S G20 PRESIDENCY

·         The first Agriculture Deputies Meeting (ADM) of the Agriculture Working Group (AWG) under India’s G20 (Group of Twenty) Presidency, spanning 3 days, was held at Indore, Madhya Pradesh(MP),

·         The 2nd and 3rd Agriculture Deputies Meeting (ADM) will be held in March 2023 in Chandigarh and June 2023 in Hyderabad, Telangana, respectively.

·         Meeting of Agricultural Chief Scientists (MACS) will be held in April 2023 in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh.

 

16.    INDIA RANKS 4TH IN QUALITY ENTREPRENEURSHIP ECOSYSTEM

·         According to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) and National Entrepreneurship Context Index’’s (NECI) report titled ‘Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 2022/2023 Global Report Adapting to a “New Normal” India is ranked 4th out of 51 nations in terms of having a high- quality entrepreneurial ecosystem.

·         This is a significant improvement over the 2021 ranking of 16th overall.

·         The United Arab Emirates (UAE),Saudi Arabia and Taiwan are the top 3 countries in the GEM 2022/2023 Global Report.

·         GEM defines an economy’s entrepreneurial context in terms of 13 distinctive features, called the Entrepreneurship Framework Conditions (EFCs).

 

17.    RBI INTRODUCED FCRA RELATED TRANSACTION CODE IN NEFT, RTGS SYSTEMS

·         The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) introduced Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) related transaction code in National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) and Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) Systems.

·         It will be effective from March 15, 2023.

·         The changes mandate the member banks participating in payment systems to modify their core banking solutions to capture the requisite details while forwarding the foreign donations through NEFT and RTGS systems to State Bank of India(SBI).

·         Originating banks are required to select two mandatory fields of NEFT/RTGS systems while remitting foreign donations to the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) account at SBI.

·         ii.Originating banks are also required to pass on donor details relating to ‘transaction without Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) details’ and ‘transaction without LEI details’ as part of ‘Sender to remitter information’ in NEFT and RTGS.

 

18.    HDFC BANK BECAME 1ST PVT SECTOR BANK TO ENABLE LINKING OF RUPAY CREDIT CARD ON UPI

·         HDFC Bank has become the 1st private sector bank in India to enable its customers to use (link) their RuPay Credit Card on Unified Payments Interface (UPI) with the BHIM (Bharat Interface for Money) App and other UPI-enabled apps.

·         Currently, UPI facilitates transactions by linking Savings / Current Accounts through the Debit Cards of users. Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPIs) also facilitated access to the UPI payment system for making transactions.

·         In order to further deepen the reach and usage, in June 2022, in its Monetary policy, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) allowed the linking of credit cards to UPI.

 

19.    VELOCITY LAUNCHES INDIA’S FIRST CHATGPT-POWERED AI CHATBOT ‘LEXI’

·         Velocity, a Homegrown financial technology firm, launched “Lexi”, India’s 1st Artificial intelligence (AI) Chatbot integrated with OpenAI’sChatGPT, an AI computer program.

·         The company has integrated this latest advancement in AI with its existing analytics tool, ‘Velocity Insights’.

·         Indian eCommerce brands that utilise Velocity Insights receive a daily business report on Whatsapp, which led the company also integrate ChatGPT in the same Whatsapp interface.