DAILY GK 26 - 28 FEB

 DAILY GK 26 - 28 FEB

1.       NSSO’S 5TH ANNUAL PLFS REPORT 2021-22

·         The National Sample Survey Office (NSSO), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) released the 5th ‘Annual Report Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS)- July 2021 – June 2022’ stating Unemployment rate (UR) at 5-year low of 4.1% in 2021-22. It was 4.2% in July 2020-June 2021.

·         The pan-India UR for male was 4.4% and for women was 3.3% in July, 2021 – June, 2022.

·         The UR in both rural and urban areas declined to 3.2% and 6.3%, respectively from 3.3% and 6.7% respectively, in July 2020-June 2021.

 

2.       MHA APPROVES RENAMING OF AURANGABAD AND OSMANABAD

·         The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) approved the renaming of Aurangabad city as “Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar” and Osmanabad city as “Dharashiv” in Osmanabad district, Maharashtra.

·         Aurangabad derives its name from the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, while Osmanabad was named for a 20th-century ruler of the princely state of Hyderabad.

·         The new name of Aurangabad – ‘Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar’, is derived from Chhatrapati Sambhaji, the eldest son of Maratha king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and 2nd ruler of the Maratha state(1681-1689). Sambhaji Maharaj was executed on Aurangzeb’s orders in 1689.

·         ‘Dharashiv‘, a new name for Osmanabad, is derived from the name of a cave complex near Osmanabad city. According to researchers, Dharashiv dates back to the 8th century.

 

3.       INTERNATIONAL INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS INDEX 2023

·         According to the International Intellectual Property Rights Index 2023 (11th edition) released by the United States (US) Chamber of Commerce, India ranks 42nd with an overall index score of 38.64% (i.e.,19.32 out of 50) among 55 major global economies across 50 unique indicators.

·         i.The annual international IP index assesses the protection of intellectual property rights (IPR) in 55 of the world’s largest economies, which account for around 90% of global GDP.

·         Intellectual Property (IP) refers to creations of the mind, such as inventions, literary and artistic works, symbols, names, and images used in commerce.

·         India is a member of the World Trade Organisation and committed to the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPS Agreement).

·         Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion is the nodal agency for regulating intellectual property rights in India.

 

4.       FATF SUSPENDS RUSSIA’S MEMBERSHIP

·         The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the Global financial crime watchdog suspended Russia’s membership stating that Russia’s war in Ukraine violated the FATF’s principles to promote security, safety, and the integrity of the global financial system.

·         FATF has also added South Africa and Nigeria to its “grey list“, a list of countries that are failing to combat money laundering and terrorism financing.

·         FATF has removed Cambodia and Morocco from the grey list.

·         Paris (France) based FATF is an inter-governmental organisation established to combat money laundering and terrorism financing.

·         FATF members include 39 countries, which includes, the United States of America(USA), India, China, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom(UK), Germany, and France. Ukraine is not a member of FATF.

·         Countries under the FATF blacklist: Democratic People’s Republic of Korea(North  Korea), Iran, Myanmar

 

5.       NSE LAUNCHES INDIA’S 1ST MUNICIPAL BOND INDEX

·         India’s first ever municipal bond index namely ‘Nifty India Municipal Bond Index’ has been launched by NSE Indices Limited, a subsidiary of National Stock Exchange (NSE). It has a base date of January 1, 2021, and a base value of 1,000.

·         This index will track the performance of municipal bonds issued by Indian municipal corporations across maturities and having investment grade credit rating.

·         Presently, the index has 28 municipal bonds issued by 10 issuers all having credit rating in the AA category.

·          NSE Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra

 

6.       PRESIDENT OF INTERNATIONAL BASKETBALL FEDERATION ASIA

·         Govindaraj Kempareddy (K Govindaraj), President of the Basketball Federation of India (BFI), was unanimously nominated as the President of FIBA Asia, a zone within the International Basketball Federation (FIBA – Federation Internationale de Basketball Amateur) which contains all 44 Asian FIBA federations.

·         He becomes the 1st Indian to be elected as FIBA Asia President.

·         FIBA Asia is one of the five regional zones of FIBA: the other 4 zones are FIBA Africa, FIBA Americas, FIBA Europe and FIBA Oceania.

·         FIBA Asia Headquarters- Beirut, Lebanon

 

7.       FIRST MCA BARGE LAUNCHED BY INDIAN NAVY

·         The first Missile cum Ammunition (MCA) Barge, Yard 75 (LSAM 7) was launched by Rear Admiral Sandeep Mehta at Guttenedevi, the launch site of SECON, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh.

·         In February 2021, a contract for the construction of 8 Missile Cum Ammunition (MCA) barges has been concluded with an MSME (Micro, Small & Medium Enterprise) SECON, Visakhapatnam.

·         The MCA Barges included in Indian Navy to perform the mission needs for embarking/ disembarking Missile, Gunnery and ASW Ammunition.

 

8.       1ST G20 FMCBG MEETINGS IN BENGALURU

·         As part of the G20 (Group of Twenty) Indian Presidency, the 1st G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) Meeting was held in Bengaluru, Karnataka

·         The meeting was co-chaired by Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Ministry of Finance (MoF) and Dr. Shaktikanta Das, Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

·         G20 Members: It has 20 members, including 19 countries: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Türkiye, United Kingdom (UK), United States (US), and the European Union (EU).

 

9.       SANGEET NATAK AKADEMI FELLOWSHIPS AND AWARDS

·         Droupadi Murmu, President of India, presented the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship (Akademi Ratna) and Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards (Akademi Puraskar) for the year 2019, 2020 and 2021 in New Delhi, Delhi.

·         9 eminent personalities were given Akademi Ratna in the field of performing arts and a total of 128 artists from the field of music, dance, theatre, traditional, folk, and puppetry were given the Akademi Puraskar.

·         Sangeet Natak Akademi is the apex body in the field of performing arts in India.

·         Chairman– Dr Sandhya Purecha

 

10.    HOLLYWOOD CRITICS ASSOCIATION (HCA) FILM AWARDS 2023

·         The 6th Annual Hollywood Critics Association (HCA) Film Awards 2023, held at the Beverly Wilshire in Los Angeles, United States (US), has acknowledged “RRR,” directed by SS Rajamouli, on a global scale and honoured it with 5 awards.

·         The film ‘RRR’ gained recognition for Best Action Film, Best International Film, Best Original Song, and Best Stunts, while the cast/crew of RRR earned an honorary HCA Spotlight Award.

·         Recently Naatu Naatu won the ‘Best Song’ at the 80th Golden Globe Awards in Los Angeles (US) in 2023.

·         RRR has also been nominated for “Best Original Song” at the 2023 Oscars for Naatu Naatu.

 

11.    ICC WOMEN’S T20 WORLD CUP 2023

·         The Australian women‘s national cricket team captained by Meg Lanning won the 8th edition of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Women’s Twenty20 International (T20I) World Cup 2023 by defeating South Africa women’s team captained by Sune Luus by 19 runs in the finals held in the Newlands Cricket Ground in Cape Town, South Africa.

·         This marks the 6th and third consecutive ICC Women’s T20I World Cup title of Australia. Australia previously won the title in 2010, 2012, 2014, 2018 and 2020.

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DAILY GK 23-25 FEB

 DAILY GK 23-25 FEB

1.        ‘JAADUI PITARA’: LEARNING-TEACHING MATERIAL FOR FOUNDATIONAL YEARS

·         Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan launched “Jaadui Pitara,” a play-based learning and teaching material for the foundational stage children in the age group of 3 to 8 years as envisioned by the National Education Policy 2020 (NEP 2020).

·         “Jaadui Pitara” (magic collection) was created in accordance with the National Curriculum Framework (NCF) and is available in 13 Indian languages.

·         The NEP 2020 envisions a 5+3+3+4 curriculum pedagogical structure.

·         The NCF will have four stages – foundation or early childhood care, and education for preparatory,middle and secondary levels.

 

2.       FIRST GREEN BONDS listed on NSE

·         The Indore Municipal Corporation’s (IMC) Green Bonds have been listed on the National Stock Exchange (NSE), marking the first-ever green bond issue by a municipal corporation in India.

·         The Green bonds are debt securities designated to finance environment-friendly projects.

·         National Stock Exchange (NSE):Headquartered– Mumbai, Maharashtra

·         Establishment– 1992 (commenced operations as a stock exchange- 1994)

 

3.       DPIFF AWARDS 2023

·         India’s only independent international film festival, Dadahaheb Phalke International Film Festival (DPIFF) 2023, held in Mumbai, Maharashtra.

·         Bollywood actors Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt received awards in the Best Actor and Best Actress category for their performances in movies ‘Brahmastra: Part 1‘ and ‘Gangubai Kathiawadi.

·         Filmmaker SS Rajamouli’s Telugu Movie, ‘RRR’ received the Film of the year award and Filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri’s Hindi Movie ‘The Kashmir Files’ won the Best Film award.

 

4.       13TH SANSAD RATNA AWARDS

·         The Jury Committee chaired by Arjun Ram Meghwal, Union Minister of State (MoS) for Parliamentary Affairs nominated 13 members of Parliament (MP) : 5 from Rajya Sabha and 8 from Lok Sabha for the 13th Sansad Ratna Awards (2023).

·         T K Rangarajan, Former Member of Parliament – Rajya Sabha for two terms  and a Senior Communist Party of India (Marxist)(CPI-M) Leader has been nominated for the Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Lifetime Achievement Award.

 

5.       ASSOCHAM NEW VICE-PRESIDENT

·         Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (ASSOCHAM), a non-governmental trade association, announced the appointment of Sanjay Nayar, a global financial markets expert, as its new Vice-President.

·         Sanjay Nayar is a prominent finance professional in the banking landscape in India and private equity sectors with almost 40 years of experience in both the domestic and international financial markets.

 

6.       BOOK “MODI: SHAPING A GLOBAL ORDER IN FLUX”

·         The book was edited by Sujan Chinoy, Vijay Chauthaiwale, and Uttam Kumar Sinha; and the foreword was written by Dr S Jaishankar, Minister of External Affairs, Government of India.

 

7.       WORLD THINKING DAY 2023 – FEBRUARY 22

·         World Thinking Day (WTD) is annually observed across the globe on February 22 by Girl Scouts and Girl Guides in the 152 member organisations across the world.

·         The day is annually observed and organised by the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS).

·         The theme “Our World, Our Peaceful Future: The environment, peace, and security”.

 

8.       UK OVERTAKES INDIA AS WORLD’S 6TH-BIGGEST STOCK MARKET

·         As per the data of Bloomberg, the United Kingdom (UK) became the world’s 6th-largest equity market surpassing India for the first time in almost 9 months (Since May 2022).

·         India’s stock market remains behind the UK due to a weaker rupee and falling share prices of companies in the Adani Group amid allegations of stock manipulation and accounting fraud by US-based short-seller Hindenburg Research.

 

9.       NEW DRUG CONTROLLER GENERAL OF INDIA

·         Dr Rajeev Raghuvanshi is appointed as new Drug Controller General of India(DCGI), head of Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO)

·         The appointment is made at “Level 14 of the Pay Matrix”, on a “short-term contract basis”.

 

10.    18TH UIC WORLD SECURITY CONGRESS

·         The 18th UIC World Security Congress, a 3-day Conference, was held in Jaipur, Rajasthan

·         It was jointly organised by the International Union of Railways (UIC – Union International Des Chemins) and the Railway Protection Force (RPF), India.

·         The theme of Congress is “Railway Security Strategy: Responses and Vision for Future”.

·         The 18th UIC World Security Congress concluded with the adoption of the Jaipur Declaration for rail safety and security by the attendees.

 

11.    NEW EXTERNAL AUDITOR OF ILO

·         Girish Chandra Murmu (G.C. Murmu), Comptroller and Auditor General(CAG) of India, has been selected as External Auditor of the International LabourOrganisation (ILO) in Geneva, Switzerland, for a 4-year term (2024-2027).

·         ILO Director-General- Gilbert Fossoun Houngbo,Headquarters- Geneva, Switzerland

·         Establishment- 1919,Members- 187 Member States

 

12.    I2U2 BUSINESS FORUM’S INAUGURAL MEETING HOSTED BY UAE

·         The inaugural I2U2 (a grouping of Israel, India, the UAE (United Arab Emirates), and the United States) Business Forum was hosted by the UAE in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

·         I2U2 Business Forum discussed building integrated agricultural facilities across India.

·          As a part of the forum’s initiative, the UAE is committed to a $2-billion investment for integrated agricultural facilities across India and the development of a 300-MW wind and solar power plant in Gujarat.

·         At the forum, India was represented by Dammu Ravi, secretary (economic relations) of the external affairs ministry.

·         On the sidelines of the I2U2 Business Forum, in Abu Dhabi, UAE, India became the latest member of the Agriculture Innovation Mission for Climate (AIM4C), which was launched by the UAE and the US at COP26 in November 2021.

 

13.    24TH EY ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR AWARDS

·         Sajjan Jindal, Chairman and Managing Director(CMD) of Mumbai (Maharashtra)-based JSW Group, has been named the EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2022 India at the 24th EY Entrepreneur of the Year™ Awards ceremony held in New Delhi, Delhi.

·         K P Singh, Chairman Emeritus, DLF Group was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award for his pioneering work in architecting the real-estate landscape of India.

 

14.    CENTRAL EXCISE DAY 2023 – FEBRUARY 24

·         The Central Excise Day is annually observed across India on 24th February to recognise and acknowledge the efforts and contributions of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) towards the development of India.

·         CBIC Chairman– VivekJohri,Headquarters– New Delhi, Delhi

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DAILY GK 21,22 FEB

 DAILY GK 21,22 FEB

1.       AERO INDIA 2023

·         The 14th edition event took place at Air Force Station Yehlanka in Bengaluru, Karnataka

·         The theme of the event was “The runway to a billion opportunities.”

 

2.       12 CHEETAHS FROM SOUTH AFRICA AT KUNO NATIONAL PARK

·         Madhya Pradesh (MP) Chief Minister (CM) Shivraj Singh Chouhan released 12 cheetahs into the Kuno National Park (KNP) in Sheopur, MP. The cheetahs include 7 males and 5 females from South Africa (SA).

·         Now, the total number of Cheetahs in KNP has increased to 20.

·         KNP is situated on the northern side of the Vidhyachal mountains and is spread across more than 700 square km.

·         The Cheetah, Acinonyx jubatus, is the world’s fastest mammal. The average life span of a South African cheetah was 8-10 years.

·         This move comes after five months (September 17, 2022) when the first batch of 8 cheetahs arrived in KNP from Namibia.

 

3.       NORTH INDIA’S 1ST NUCLEAR PLANT TO BE SET UP IN HARYANA

·         North India’s 1st Nuclear Plant ‘Gorakhpur Haryana Anu Vidyut Pariyojana’ (GHAVP) will be set up near Gorakhpur village in Fatehabad, Haryana.

·         In June 2017 approval was granted for the construction of 10 indigenously developed Pressurised Heavy-Water Reactors (PHWRs) of 700 MegaWatts (MW) each with a total cost of Rs 1.05 Lakh crore.

·         Kaiga Atomic Power Plant, Karnataka, Gorakhpur Haryana Anu Vidyut Praiyonjan, Chutka Madhya Pradesh Atomic Power Project, Mahi Banswara Rajasthan Atomic Power Projects were planned for construction.

 

4.       WORLD’S HIGHEST WEATHER STATION REBUILT ON MOUNT EVEREST

·         The World’s Highest Weather Station, which was installed by the National Geographic Society (NatGeo), has been rebuilt on Mount Everest after it was destroyed due to hurricane-force winds on Mt Everest.

·         It was installed to automatically measure various meteorological phenomena.

 

5.       BANK OF MAHARASHTRA TOPS LIST OF PSBS IN LOAN GROWTH

·         As per an analysis of the latest financial results of Public Sector Banks (PSBs), Pune (Maharashtra) based Bank of Maharashtra (BoM) tops the list of PSBs in terms of loan growth percentage for the third quarter of FY23 (Q3 FY23).

·         It shows a growth of 21.67% in gross advances year-on-year (y-o-y) in Q3FY23.

·         BoM is followed by Union Bank with a growth rate of 19.80% in advances.

·         PSBs had a robust profit growth of 65% at Rs 29,175 crore during Q3FY23, with BoM emerging as the top performer in terms of percentage growth in profit. It recorded a 139% jump in profit at Rs 775 crore.

·         In value terms, SBI’s total loan book is at Rs 26,47,205 crore, which is more than 17 times higher than BOM’s lending book of Rs 1,56,962 crore.

·         In terms of asset quality, BoM and SBI were in the lowest quartile w.r.t. non-performing assets (NPAs) and net NPAs.

·         With regard to deposit growth, BoB topped the charts among PSBs with a growth rate of 14.50%,

·         In terms of total business growth, Union Bank of India recorded the highest growth of 16.07% during Q3FY23.

·         With regard to Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR), BoM recorded 17.53%, the highest among PSBs

 

6.       UNICEF INDIA NATIONAL AMBASSADOR

·         United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) India announced the appointment of Ayushmann Khurrana, a National Award-winning Bollywood Actor, as a National Ambassador.

·         In 2020, he was appointed UNICEF India’s Celebrity Advocate to advocate for ending violence against children and the broader child rights agenda.

 

7.       BADMINTON ASIA MIXED TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP 2023

·         The 3rd edition of Badminton Asia Mixed Team Championships 2023/Tong Yun Kai Cup 2023 was at Dubai Exhibition Centre in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE).

·         The championship was won by China with Gold medal by defeating South Korea with 3-1.

·         The 3rd position or Bronze medal was shared by India and Thailand.

·         India faced a 2-3 defeat against China in the semifinals.

 

8.       WORLD’S LARGEST DIVYANG PARK IN MAHARASHTRA

·         Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari,  laid the Foundation Stone of the world’s largest and unique ‘Divyang Park – Anubhuti Inclusive Park’ in Nagpur, Maharashtra.

·         The park will have facilities for all 21 types of disabilities, like a touch-and-smell garden, hydrotherapy unit, water therapy, and an independent room for mentally challenged children, and mother.

·         This park act as an initiative taken under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 (RPWD Act).

·         Divyang is a Hindi word which means the one with a divine body part.

·         Prior to this persons with disabilities are referred to as viklang. The word viklang is Hindi for someone with non-functional body parts. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, uttered the word divyang and coined a new meaning for it.

·         United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) was formed on the 13th day of December, 2006. India signed the UNCRPD and subsequently ratified the same on 1st October, 2007.

·         RPWD Act was enacted in 2016 and came into force in 2017 to give effect to the UNCRPD. The act replace the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995.

·         As of now 21 types of disabilities were included under the act 

·         UN’s International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPD) is annually observed on December 3.

 

9.       INDIA-UZBEKISTAN JOINT MILITARY EXERCISE

·         Ex-DUSTLIK IV – 2023, the 4th edition of the bilateral joint military exercise between the Indian Army and Uzbekistan Army commenced in Foreign Training Node in Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand.

·         45 soldiers each from Uzbekistan and Indian Army.

·         The Indian contingent will be represented by the 14th Battalion, The GARHWAL RIFLES

·         Uzbekistan Capital– Tashkent,President– Shavkat Mirziyoyev

 

10.    BVR SUBRAHMANYAM APPOINTED AS NITI AAYOG CEO

·         The Government of India (GoI) has approved the appointment of former Commerce Secretary BVR Subrahmanyam (56 years old) as the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of NITI Aayog (National Institution for Transforming India).

·         Subrahmanyam will succeed incumbent CEO Parameswaran Iyer, who will join the World Bank (WB) as Executive Director in Washington, DC, United States (US) for a 3-year term.

·         NITI Aayog Chairperson – Prime Minister of India (Narendra Modi),Vice Chairperson – Suman Bery

·         Establishment – 2015,Headquarters – New Delhi, Delhi

 

11.    RANJI TROPHY 2022-2023:

·         Saurashtra cricket team won the Mastercard Ranji Trophy 2022-2023 defeating Bengal cricket team(West Bengal) by 9 wickets in the finals of held in Eden Gardens in Kolkata, West Bengal.

·         This marks Saurashtra’s 2nd Ranji Trophy Title. Saurashtra won their maiden Ranji Trophy in 2020.

·         Jaydev Unadkat, captain of Saurashtra, was declared Man of the Match (finals)

·         Arpit Vasavada, a batsman for Saurashtra, was adjudged the Player of the Series

·         Ranji Trophy was founded by the Board of Control for Cricket in India(BCCI) in 1935.

·         The Ranji Trophy is named after one of India’s first test cricketers, Ranjit sinh ji, who played for England and Sussex.

·         Mumbai (Bombay) dominates the Ranji Trophy by winning the tournament 41 times.

 

12.    INDIA’S 80TH CHESS GRANDMASTER

·         Indian Chess Player N.R. Vignesh (25-year-old), from Chennai, Tamil Nadu (TN), became India’s 80th Grandmaster (GM) after defeating International Master (IM) Ilja Schneider of Germany at Nord West Cup 2023 in Germany

·         He became the Grandmaster after crossing 2500 in the live ratings.

 

13.    INTERNATIONAL MOTHER LANGUAGE DAY 2023 – FEBRUARY 21

·         United Nations (UN)’s International Mother Language Day (IMLD) is annually observed across the globe on February 21 to promote linguistic and cultural diversity, as well as multilingualism.

·         The theme of International Mother Language Day 2023 is “Multilingual education – a necessity to transform education”.

·         International Mother Language Day was established on the initiative of Bangladesh.

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