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.
