DAILY GK 21-22-23 FEB
1.
16TH
NATIONAL YOUTH PARLIAMENT COMPETITION WINNERS
·
Ministry of Parliamentary
Affairs(MPA) honoured the winners of
the 16th National Youth Parliament
Competition for Universities/Colleges (2019-20) during the Prize
Distribution ceremony held at GMC Balayogi Auditorium, Parliament House
Complex, in New Delhi, Delhi.
·
The students of the Central University of Punjab (Bathinda,
Punjab) received the running shield and trophy for standing 1st at the National Level.
·
DAV College (Jalandhar,
Punjab) won Merit Trophies For Standing First In Group II
·
Jadavpur University
(Kolkata, West Bengal) won Merit Trophies For Standing First In Group
III
·
University of Mumbai
(Mumbai, Maharashtra) won Merit
Trophies For Standing First In Group IV
2.
58TH
JNANPITH AWARD
·
58th
Jnanpith Award (2023) has been awarded to Two
personalities – Legendary Indian poet and lyricist Sampooran Singh Kalra (popularly known as Gulzar) for Urdu and
Indian spiritual leader and scholar Jagadguru
Rambhadracharya for Sanskrit.
·
The award is being given
for the 2nd time for Sanskrit language
and for the 5th time for Urdu language.
·
Jnanpith Award, India’s highest literary honour, has
been annually presented by the Bharatiya
Jnanpith since 1965.
·
The award recognizes the
outstanding contribution towards literature in English and other Indian
languages.
·
The award carries a cash prize of Rs 11 lakhs, a bronze statue of Vagdevi (Hindu Goddess
Saraswati) and a citation.
·
Gulzar was born on August
18, 1934, in the village of Dina in the Jhelum district of Punjab, British
India (now in Pakistan).
·
He wrote his first song ‘Mora Gora Ang Lai Le..’ for Bimal Roy’s
film Bandini (1963).
3.
PRESIDENT
OF AZERBAIJAN
·
Ilham
Heydar oglu Aliyev (Ilham Aliyev) has been re-elected
as the President of Azerbaijan for the fifth consecutive term following
his win in the presidential election with 92 percent of the votes.
·
Nagorno-Karabakh is
a disputed region between Azerbaijan and
Armenia due to the ethnic Armenian majority in the region.
·
Azerbaijan got its
independence from the former Soviet Union after its dissolution in 1991.
·
Capital
– Baku
·
Currency –
Azerbaijani Manat
4.
BENGALURU
OPEN TENNIS
·
The Indian tennis pair Saketh Myneni and Ramkumar Ramanathan won
the men’s doubles title by defeating
Constantin Bittoun Kouzmine and Maxime
Janvier of France in the finals of the Bengaluru Open 2024.
·
Stefano
Napolitano (Italy) won the men’s singles title
by defeating Seongchan Hong (South Korea) in the finals.
·
Bengaluru
Open is played
on a hard surface, and the total prize money was USD 133,250.
5.
WORLD
DAY OF SOCIAL JUSTICE 2024- FEBRUARY 20
·
The United Nations (UN)’s World Day of Social Justice is annually observed across the
globe on 20 February to
raise awareness about the need for social justice
·
The theme of World Day of Social
Justice 2024 is “Global Coalition for
Social Justice: Bridging Gaps, Building Alliances”.
·
International
Labor Organization (ILO): Director-General- Gilbert
Fossoun Houngbo (Togo)
·
Headquarters- Geneva,
Switzerland
·
Established
in- 1919
6.
MILAN24:
INDIA’S MULTILATERAL NAVAL EXERCISE
·
The 12th edition of the Multilateral
Naval Exercise-2024 “MILAN24”,hosted
by India, commenced on 19th February 2024 in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh (AP).
·
The
theme of MILAN 2024 is ‘Camaraderie, Cohesion, Collaboration’.
·
Chief
of the Naval Staff (CNS) – Admiral
Radhakrishnan Hari Kumar
·
Headquarters
– New Delhi, Delhi
7.
HENLEY
PASSPORT INDEX FEB 2024
·
According to the monthly
update (February 2024) of the Henley
Passport Index 2024, India’s ranking dropped from 80th to 85th between January 2024 and
February 2024.
·
6 countries namely France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Japan, and Singapore continue
to dominate the top spot with the most powerful passports in the world.
·
These 6 countries enabled
their citizens visa-free entry to 194 out of 227 global destinations,
marking a record-breaking achievement.
·
Finland, Netherlands,
South Korea, and Sweden ranked 2nd with
visa-free travel to 193 destinations
8.
INDIA
CONTRIBUTED USD 1 MILLION TO THE IBSA FUND
·
India
has presented its annual contribution
of USD 1 million to
the India, Brazil and South Africa
Facility for Poverty and Hunger Alleviation (IBSA Fund).
·
The IBSA Fund was
established in 2004 and became operational in 2006.
·
IBSA
fund is managed by the Special Unit for
South-South Cooperation (SU-SSC) hosted
by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
·
The amount was presented
by Ruchira Kamboj, the
Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations (UN)
9.
GD
BIRLA AWARD FOR SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH
·
Professor Aditi Sen De has been awarded the 33rd Ghanshyam Das (GD) Birla Award for
Scientific Research 2023 for her outstanding contributions to the field of
Physics.
·
Aditi Sen De is the first female scientist to receive this
award.
·
Her research is based on
the manipulation of quantum states and
their non classical applications.
·
GD
Birla Award was institutionalized in 1991.
·
It recognizes eminent
Indian scientists below the age of 50 years for their original and outstanding
contributions to any branch of science.
·
The award consists of a
cash prize of Rs 5 lakh.
10.
ASIAN
INDOOR ATHLETICS CHAMPIONSHIPS 2024
·
India
finished fifth in the medal tally with four medals (3 gold and 1 silver) in the 11th
edition of the Asian Indoor Athletics
Championships (2024), held in Tehran, Iran.
·
China
tops the medal tally with 16 medals (8 gold, 6 silver, 2 bronze), Japan with 9 medals (4
gold, 4 silver, 1 bronze), and Kazakhstan with 12 medals (4 gold, 2 silver, 6
bronze) in second and third place, respectively.
·
Indian
Gold Medal Winners: Jyothi Yarraji , Women’s 60m
hurdles, Tajinderpal Singh Toor,
Men’s shot put, Harmilan Bains,
Women’s 1500m.
·
Indian
Gold Medal Winners: Ankita Dhyani, Women’s
3000m, Silver
·
India’s Gulveer Singh lost his men’s 3000m
gold medal after being disqualified for ‘lane
violation’.
11.
JURIST
FALI SAM NARIMAN PASSED AWAY
·
Fali
Sam Nariman, a renowned Indian jurist and Padma
Awardee, passed away at the age of 95 in New Delhi
·
He was born on 10th
January 1929 in Myanmar (Rangoon – then British India)
·
The Government of
India (GoI) honoured him
with the Padma Bhushan (Field: Public Affairs) in 1991 and Padma Vibhushan (Field:
Public Affairs) in 2007 in
recognition of his exceptional and distinguished services in the field of
Public Affairs.
·
He has authored several books like ‘Before Memory Fades: An Autobiography
& Supreme Whispers: Supreme Court Judges’; ‘India’s Legal System (R/J): Can
it Be Saved?’; ‘The State of the Nation’; ‘God Save the Hon’ble Supreme Court’.
·
He has also wrote “The
Arbitration Series” titled “Harmony amidst Disharmony”.
12.
INTERNATIONAL
MOTHER LANGUAGE DAY 2024- FEBRUARY 21
·
The United Nations (UN) International Mother Language Day (IMLD) is annually observed across the
globe on 21 February to
raise awareness about the significance of the mother language.
·
The 2024 theme of IMLD is, “Multilingual education is a pillar of
intergenerational learning”.
·
UNESCO
Director-General– Audrey Azoulay
·
Headquarters–
Paris, France
·
Established
in– 1945
13.
‘STATE
ICON’ OF PUNJAB
·
Indian cricketer Shubman Gill was named as
the ‘State Icon’ of Punjab
by the Chief Electoral Officer of Punjab for the 2024 Parliamentary election.
·
The move aims to increase
voter awareness thereby ensuring a voting percentage of 70% in the upcoming
election.
14.
WORLD
GOVERNMENTS SUMMIT 2024
·
The 11th edition of the
World Governments Summit (WGS 2024)
was held in Dubai, the United Arab
Emirates (UAE).
·
WGS 2024 was held under the theme of “Shaping Future Governments”.
·
Mohammad
Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs (UAE) is the
chairman of the World Governments Summit
(WGS) organization.
·
India,
Türkiye and Qatar were named the Guests of honour at the WGS 2024
held in Dubai, UAE.
·
India’s
iRASTE (Intelligent Solutions for Road
Safety through Technology and Engineering) project won the 9th Gov Tech Prize under the “AI-Powered Government Services” category.
·
Road
and Transport Authority (RTA) of Dubai has signed an agreement
with Joby Aviation to
launch the world’s 1st electric Air taxi service in Dubai, UAE by 2026.
·
UAE is a federation of 6
emirates: Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al-Quwain, and Fujairah.
·
Capital–
Abu Dhabi
·
President–
Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahayan
·
Currency–
United Arab Emirates Dirham
15.
MALTA
JOIN INTERNATIONAL SOLAR ALLIANCE
·
Malta
became the 119th Signatory Country to
join the International Solar Alliance (ISA)
·
The
ISA was established in Paris, France in
2015 as a joint effort by India and France to mobilize efforts against
climate change through the deployment of solar energy solutions.
·
It was conceptualized on
the sidelines of the 21st Conference of
Parties (COP21) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change (UNFCCC) held in Paris in 2015.
·
ISA’s ‘Towards 1000’ strategy targets
mobilizing USD 1 trillion investments in
solar energy by 2030, providing clean energy access to 1 billion people,
and installing 1 terawatt (TW)/1000 Giga Watt (GW) of solar energy capacity.
·
Director
General– Dr Ajay Mathur
·
Headquarters–
Gurugram, Haryana
·
Member
Countries– 97 (As of February 22, 2024)
·
Romania became the 118th
Signatory Country to join ISA in 2023
16.
US
& NEPAL PEACEKEEPING EXERCISE
·
‘Shanti
Prayas IV’, the largest multinational
peacekeeping exercise, commenced at the Birendra Peace Operations Training
Centre (BPOTC) in Panchkhal, Nepal.
·
The exercise was
co-hosted by the Nepali Army and
the United States(US) Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM).
·
USINDOPACOM
is a unified combatant command for the
Indo-Pacific region of the armed forces of the United States of America(USA)
·
Shanti
Prayas IV objective is to improve the
interoperability and peacekeeping skills of the forces at various levels before
their deployment to the United Nations (UN) peacekeeping missions; Global Participation: over 1,100
military personnel from 17 nations are
participating the exercise.
·
The
17 countries are: Australia, Bangladesh,
Canada, Fiji, Ghana, India,
Indonesia, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, South Korea, Sri
Lanka, Thailand, Uruguay, and Vietnam.
17.
HIGHEST
CIVILIAN AWARD OF FRANCE
·
Member of Parliament (MP) and prolific author Shashi Tharoor was conferred with
“Chevalier de la Légiond’Honneur”
(Knight of the Legion Honour), the highest
French civilian award, by French Senate President Gerard Larcher at the
event in the French Embassy in New Delhi, Delhi.
·
He was recognized for his
tireless efforts to deepen Indo-French
ties, his commitment to international peace and cooperation, and as a
long-standing friend of France.
·
Shashi
Tharoor: is a former international diplomat,
politician(Member of Indian National Congress), writer, and public
intellectual, serving as a Member of Parliament (MP) for Thiruvananthapuram,
Kerala, since 2009.
·
In
2010, the King of Spain honoured Shashi Tharoor
with the Encomienda de la Real Order
Espanola de Carlos III’, Spain’s highest civilian award.
·
In January 1998, Mr. Tharoor was named by the World Economic
Forum in Davos, Switzerland, as a “Global
Leader of Tomorrow”.
·
The
Légiond’ Honneur (Legion of Honour) was instituted in 1802 by Napoleon Bonaparte in
France as the highest civilian award given by the French Republic for outstanding
service to France, regardless of the
nationality of the recipients.
18.
8TH
PRESIDENT OF INDONESIA
·
Prabowo
Subianto Djojohadi kusumo, Defence Minister
of the Republic of Indonesia, is set to be sworn in as the 8th President of Indonesia.
·
He belongs to a political
party called the ‘Gerindra Party’.
·
He will replace Joko
Widodo (Jokowi), a member
of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P)
·
Republic
of Indonesia: Capital – Jakarta
·
Currency
– Indonesian Rupiah
19.
LEGENDARY
RADIO PRESENTER AMEEN SAYANI PASSED AWAY
·
Renowned Radio presenter and Padma Shri Awardee Ameen Sayani passed away at
the age of 91 in Mumbai, Maharashtra.
·
He was born on December
21, 1932, in Mumbai.
·
He was most known for his
program Binaca Geetmala (now
Cibaca Geetmala) on Radio Ceylon.
20.
BOOK
“NEERAJ CHOPRA: THE MAN WHO MADE HISTORY”
·
Renowned
sports journalist Norris Pritam has written a new
book “Neeraj Chopra: The Man Who
Made History” which describes the journey of the javelin thrower
Neeraj Chopra’s life from early background to Olympics.
·
Neeraj Chopra was the first Indian to win a gold medal in
athletics in the Olympics when he clinched it in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
·
Neeraj Chopra was
recently(in Feb’24) honoured by Swiss
tourism with a commemorative plaque at Ice Palace in Jungfraujoch, known as
the ‘Top of Europe’, in Switzerland.
21.
WORLD
THINKING DAY 2024- FEBRUARY 22
·
World Thinking Day (WTD) is annually observed across the
globe on 22 February by
Girl Scouts and Girl Guides in over 150 countries around the world.
·
The theme of WTD 2024 is “Our World, Our Thriving Future: The
Environment and Global Poverty”.
·
World
Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS)
was formed in 1928 at the 5th International Conference in Hungary.
·
Headquarters–
London, United Kingdom