Daily Current Affairs 16th February 2023 Daily GK Update
Daily current affairs are extremely important for competitive exams because they help candidates stay updated on the latest events and developments in the world. This knowledge is essential for answering questions in the general awareness or current affairs section of the exam, which is often included in many competitive exams such as UPSC, SSC, Bank Exams, etc. Additionally, having a good understanding of current affairs can also help candidates in other sections of the exam, such as reasoning, English, and quantitative aptitude. In short, staying updated on current affairs is crucial for performing well in competitive exams and increasing the chances of success.
National News
Ladakh to host India’s first frozen-lake marathon at Pangong Tso
- India’s first “Frozen-Lake Marathon” at Ladakh’s Pangong Tso at a height of 13,862 feet will be held on 20 February 2023.
- The Indian army and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police have been roped in to implement a “proper action plan” for the event.
- The 21-kilometer marathon will be started from Lukung and ended at Maan village.
- The event will be participated by 75 selected athletes from India and abroad.
- The marathon is being called the “Last Run” to highlight the issue of climate change
First Meeting of the Working Group held in Indore
- The first Agriculture Representatives Meeting (ADM) of the Agriculture Working Group (AWG) under the G20 chairmanship of India was held in Indore.
- Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia launched it.
- The presentations were made on the Issue Note for AWG, covering the four key themes of food security and nutrition, sustainable agriculture with a climate-smart approach, inclusive agricultural value chains and food systems, and digitalization for agricultural transformation.
- G20 member states and guest countries also held bilateral meetings focusing on the G20 agriculture agenda.
G20 in News (Note – All Meetings are Under the Presidency of G20 by India)
- Digital economy working group meeting – Lucknow (13 February 2023)
- Inception Meeting of G-20 empower group of Women & Child Development Ministry – Agra (11-12 February 2023)
- G20 Cyber Security Exercise and Drill inaugurated – MeitY Secretary Alkesh Kumar Sharma
- India’s first Model G-20 Summit inaugurated by- India’s G-20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant
- Secretariat for Science 20 (S20) Meeting – IISc Bengaluru
- G20 Foreign Ministers Meeting – New Delhi (March 2023)
Government launched ‘Khanan Prahari’ and CMSMS to curb unauthorized mining
- The government has launched a mobile app ‘Khanan Prahari‘ and a web app Coal Mine Surveillance and Management System (CMSMS).
- It has been launched to report unauthorized coal mining activities so that monitoring and appropriate action can be taken by the concerned law and order enforcing authority.
- CMSMS has been developed to take transparent action to curb illegal mining and use of space technology as an e-governance initiative of the Government of India.
- 462 cases have been reported on the Apps till January this year.
Egyptian President presented Global Best M-GOV Awards on IIT Indore students
- Students of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Indore have won an award of AED (Emirates Dirham) 1 million along with a gold medal at the World Government Summit in Dubai.
- Niyati Totala and Neil Kalpeshkumar Parikh who are students of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Indore were awarded this prestigious medal by the President of Egypt, Abel Fattah El-Sisi.
- These students are the makers of the ‘Blockbill’ app. BlockBill is a blockchain-based receipt generation app that generates digital receipts for all its users’ transactions.
- Silver Award – ‘Don’t Waste’ team (Uzbekistan)
- Bronze Award – ‘Farmit’ team (Serbia)
PM Modi inaugurated national Aadi Mahotsa in New Delhi
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated the national Aadi Mahotsav at Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium, New Delhi.
- The festival is scheduled between 16 to 27 February 2023 and it will celebrate the tribal spirit including its culture, crafts, cuisine, commerce and traditional art.
- Around 1000 tribal artisans will participate in the Mahotsav. In line with the International Year of Millets celebration, a special focus in the Mahotsav will be on showcasing Shree Anna grown by the tribals.
PM Modi in News
- PM Modi inaugurated the 14th edition of the Aero India show in Bengaluru, Karnataka
- PM Modi inaugurated the first phase of the 1,400 kilometres long Delhi-Mumbai expressway in Rajasthan’s Dausa.
- PM Modi inaugurated first phase of Delhi-Mumbai Expressway
- PM Modi inaugurated Dayanand Saraswati’s 200th birth anniversary eventin New Delhi.
- PM Modi flagged off 2 Vande Bharat Express trains from Mumbai
Health Ministry organised ‘Cycle for Health’ cyclathon at New Delhi
- The Union Health Ministry has organised a cyclathon ‘Cycle for Health, at Lady Hardinge Medical College in New Delhi.
- The main objective of organising this rally is to promote physical and mental health and to provide information about environment-friendly transport to the citizens.
- It was organized as part of the ongoing ‘Swastha Mann, Swastha Ghar’ year-long campaign launched in November 2022 which aims to promote and enhance awareness surrounding healthy living.
- Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya also participated in the event.
India’s first electric AC double-decker bus inaugurated in Mumbai
- The Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport Undertaking (BEST) has inaugurated the country’s first electric air-conditioned (AC) double-decker bus in Mumbai.
- The seating capacity of the Electric Double Decker Bus is 73. It is equipped with CCTV cameras and automatic doors and can be charged in 80 minutes.
- The tickets will be priced as before — a minimum fare of Rs 6 will be charged for a distance of 5 km.
- Currently, the transport undertaking has 45 electric AC buses of various sizes, and this year 100 more wet-lease buses will be added to its fleet in phases.
Banking and Financial
WPI inflation eased to 24-month low of 4.73% in Jan 2023
- The wholesale price index (WPI)-based inflation rate for January 2023 fell to a two-year low at 73 percent.
- This was on the back of a higher base and easing of pricing pressure for fuel and manufactured products.
- This is the fourth consecutive month that factory-gate inflation saw a single-digit print after remaining in double digits for 18 successive months.
- In December 2022, wholesale price inflation stood at 4.95 percent.
- January WPI Inflation for food articles increased to 2.38%, up from 0.65 percent in December.
Recent WPI-based Wholesale inflation in India
- August 2022 – 12.41%
- September 2022– 07%
- October 2022– 8.39%
- November 2022 – 85%
- December 2022–95%
- January 2023 – 4.73%
HDFC Bank launched a pilot project for offline digital payments
- Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) Bank has launched a pilot project, ‘OfflinePay’, to test offline digital payments for merchants and customers enabling payment transactions even when there is no mobile network.
- HDFC has launched the first-of-its-kind digital payment solution, in partnership with Sweden-based Crunchfish Digital Cash AB.
- Crunchfish Digital Cash AB is a subsidiary of Crunchfish AB, for merchants and customers under the RBI’s Regulatory Sandbox Program.
- The digital payment solution would boost the adoption of digital payments in smaller towns and rural areas with poor network connectivity.
About HDFC Bank
- Founded – August 1994
- Founder – Hasmukhbhai Parekh
- Headquarters – Mumbai, Maharashtra
- MD & CEO – Sashidhar Jagdishan
- Tagline – We understand your world
Bank of Maharashtra launched its own private cloud platform
- Bank of Maharashtra (BoM) has launched its own private cloud platform, ‘MAHABANK NAKSHATRA’, to strengthen its digital infrastructure at the 88th Business Commencement Day.
- It facilitates High-Performance Cloud Capabilities for Digital Infrastructure and hosting applications of the Bank.
- Bank also launched a portal called Suvidha, an automated DCSS (Decease Claim Settlement System) to simplify the deceased claim settlement process and keep customer ease into consideration.
About Bank of Maharashtra
- Founded – 1935
- Headquarters – Pune, Maharashtra
- MD & CEO – A. S. Rajeev
- Tagline – Ek Parivaar, Ek Bank (One Family One Bank)
Appointment and Resignation
Aniket Sunil Talati appointed as new President of ICAI
- Aniket Sunil Talati has been appointed as the new President of the Council of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) for the 2023-24 term.
- While Ranjeet Kumar Agarwal will be the accounting body’s vice president.
- Aniket Sunil Talati also serve as the Director of the ICAI Accounting Research Foundation (ICAI ARF).
- Talati has led various committees of the Branch and Regional Councils of ICAI and has been active as the director of its Indian Institute of Insolvency Professionals of ICAI (IIIPI), Accounting Research Foundation (ICAI ARF), and Extensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) India.
Recent Appointment
- World’s Brightest’ student – Indian-American student Natasha Perianayagam
- Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) – Dr. Rajeev Singh
- First CEO of Gujarat Maritime Cluster – Madhvendra Singh
- New head of Morgan Stanley (India) – Arun Kohli
- Chairman of Amul – Shamalbhai B Patel
- Administrator of Shooting World Cup 2023 – Former SC Judge AK Sikri
Sports
Smriti Mandhana created history, became the most expensive player
- India’s star opener Smriti Mandhana has become the costliest player in the ongoing player auction for the Women’s Premier League (WPL).
- Mandhana joined Royal Challengers Bangalore for Rs 3.4 crore after winning the highest bid in the ongoing Women’s Premier League 2023 auction in Mumbai.
- Australia’s Ashley Gardner was at number two in the list of expensive players. He was bought by Gujarat Giants for Rs 3.20 crore.
- While Natalie Sciver is at number three. She was bought by Mumbai Indians for 3.20 crores.
- India’s all-rounder Deepti Sharma is at number four. Deepti is included in UP Warriors for 2.60 crores.
- Jemima Rodrigues was at number five. He was included in their team by Delhi Capitals for 2.20 crores.
Important day
13 – 17 February 2023 – RBI’s Financial Literacy Week
- Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has been conducting Financial Literacy Week (FLW) every year since 2016 to propagate financial education messages on relevant themes including “MSMEs”, “Credit Discipline and Credit from Formal Institutions” and “Digital Financial Literacy” and so on.
- The theme for this year’s Financial Literacy Week to be observed during 13 – 17 February 2023 is “Good Financial Behaviour, Your Saviour”.
- The theme aligned with the strategic objectives of the National Strategy for Financial Education: 2020-2025.
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