Daily Current Affairs 24th 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
PM Narendra Modi chaired the 41st edition PRAGATI Interaction meeting
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi has chaired the meeting of the 41st edition of the Pro-Active Governance and Timely Implementation (PRAGATI) Interaction.
- PRAGATI is the ICT-based multi-modal platform for Pro-Active Governance and Timely Implementation, involving Centre and State governments.
- In the meeting, 9 key infrastructure projects were reviewed and PM Modi also reviewed ‘Mission Amrit Sarovar’.
- Among the nine projects, three projects were from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, and two projects were from the Ministry of Railways.
- These nine projects have a cumulative cost of over 41 thousand 500 crore rupees and relate to 13 States.
- PRAGATI Interaction was launched on 25th March 2015 by PM Modi as a part of the Digital India program.
PM Modi in News
- PM Modi virtually inaugurated the Jal Jan Abhiyan in Abu Road in Sirohi district of Rajasthan.
- PM Modi inaugurated national 15th edition of Aadi Mahotsa in New Delhi
- 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
Mumbai’s Churchgate station to be renamed after first RBI Governor
- The Churchgate railway station in Mumbai will be called as ‘Chintamanrao Deshmukh station’, named after the first governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) CD Deshmukh.
- The first national executive meeting of Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena faction, which was declared the original Shiv Sena by the Election Commission.
- The meeting passed a resolution to rename the ‘Churchgate railway station’ after the former RBI governor and Union Finance Minister Chintaman Dwarkanath Deshmukh.
- In August 1943, CD Deshmukh was appointed as Governor of the RBI and served in that position till 1949.
India & Sri Lanka hold 7th annual defence dialogue
- The 7th Annual Defence Dialogue between India and Sri Lanka was held in New Delhi.
- The meeting was chaired by Defence Secretary, Giridhar Armane and his Sri Lankan counterpart General Kamal Gunaratne.
- This Annual Defence Dialogue is the highest institutionalised interactive mechanism between both the countries. Its significance in chartering the future course of the relations between the Armed Forces of India and Sri Lanka was highlighted by the importance given to the talks by both sides.
- The ongoing defence cooperation activities between the two countries were reviewed during the meeting.
About Sri Lanka
- Legislative capital – Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte
- Executive and Judicial capital – Colombo
- Currency – Sri Lankan rupee
- President – Ranil Wickremesinghe
- Prime Minister – Dinesh Gunawardena
PM Modi inaugurated ‘Barisu Kannada Dim Dimava’ festival
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated ‘Barisu Kannada Dim Dimava’ cultural festival at Talkatora Stadium, New Delhi.
- Barisu Kannada Dim Dimava’ cultural festival is being organized to celebrate Karnataka’s culture, traditions and history.
- It is in line with the Prime Minister’s vision of ‘Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat’.
- The festival, being held under the aegis of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, will provide an opportunity to hundreds of artists to showcase Karnataka cultural heritage through dance, music, drama, and poetry etc.
PM Modi in News
- PM Modi inaugurated Dayanand Saraswati’s 200th birth anniversary eventin New Delhi.
- PM Modi flagged off 2 Vande Bharat Express trains from Mumbai
- PM Modi inaugurated Arabic Academy in Mumbai
- PM Modi inaugurated a three-day India Energy Week in Bengaluru
- PM Modi released special Rs 75 coin to mark 75 successful years of NCC
Narendra Singh Tomar inaugurated National Horticulture Fair in Bengaluru
- Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Narendra Singh Tomar has inaugurated the four-day National Horticulture Fair in Bengaluru, Karnataka.
- The fair is organized to showcase the latest technologies developed by the Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, Bengaluru, under the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), for the benefit of productive farmers.
- Horticulture production has increased 13 times from 25 million tonnes in 1950-51 to 331 million tonnes during 2020-21, which is more than the food grain production. Constituting 18% of the area, this sector contributes about 33% of the gross value to the agricultural GDP.
- The sector is being considered as a driver of economic growth and is gradually turning into an organized industry linked to seed trading, value addition and exports.
Recent Inauguration by Jitendra Singh
- Narendra Singh Tomar inaugurated National Horticulture Fair in Bengaluru
- Narendra Singh Tomar inaugurated the three-day ‘North East Krishi Kumbha-2023’ in Meghalaya
- Narendra Singh Tomar inaugurated National Conference on Soil Health
- Narendra Singh Tomar chaired the 32nd meeting of the Board of Directors of the National Horticulture Board (NHB) in New Delhi.
International News
7-year-old Prince becomes first digital citizen of Bhutan
- Seven-year-old Prince Jigme Namgyel Wangchuck has become the first digital citizen of Bhutan.
- Prince Jigme is the mountainous country’s first citizen to receive the National Digital Identity (NDI) mobile wallet.
- The launch of Bhutan’s National Digital Identity based on the Self-Sovereign Identity model, is a major step forward in transforming the way services are delivered in both the public and private sectors.
- This flagship initiative of GovTech will provide secure and verifiable digital identities to citizens, laying a strong foundation for our digital future.
- Bhutan NDI uses cutting-edge technology to provide citizens with secure and verifiable identity credentials, ensuring the privacy and protection of their personal information.
Banking and Financial
UK surpassed India as the world’s sixth-biggest equity market
- The United Kingdom has surpassed India as the sixth-largest equity market in the world for the first time since May 2022.
- According to Bloomberg, the combined market capitalization of primary listings in the UK, excluding ‘exchanged-traded funds’ ETFs and ‘American depositary receipts’ ADR reached about $3.11 trillion in February 2023.
- The MSCI India Index has dropped 6.1% this year, while the group of companies owned by Gautam Adani — among Asia’s richest men — has lost about $142 billion in market capitalization since the Hindenburg report was published on Jan 24.
- Adani has repeatedly denied the claims and has also cut expenses and repaid debt as he seeks to calm traders concerned about the group’s access to financing.
About United Kingdom (UK)
- Capital – London
- Currency – Pound sterling
- Prime Minister – Rishi Sunak
Appointment and Resignation
Anusuiya Uikey sworn in as 18th Governor of Manipur
- Anusuiya Uikey was sworn in as the 18th Governor of Manipur in Imphal.
- Justice MV Muralidaran, Acting Chief Justice of the High Court of Manipur administered the oath of office to Uikey at Darbar Hall in Raj Bhawan.
- Anusuiya Uikey was the governor of Chattisgarh from 29th July 2019 to 12th February 2023.
- She became a member of the Rajya Sabha from Madhya Pradesh in 2006.
About Manipur
- Capital – Imphal
- Chief Minister – Biren Singh
- Governor – Anusuiya Uikey
Recent Appointment
- Governor of Bihar – Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar (41st)
- Governor of Meghalaya – Phagu Chauhan
- Governor of Arunachal Pradesh – Lt Gen Kaiwalya Trivikram Parnaik (20th)
- Governor of Ladakh – Dr. B D Mishra
- Governor of Jharkhand – C.P. Radhakrishnan (11th)
- Governor of Maharashtra – Ramesh Bais (22nd)
Ajay Banga appointed as President of World Bank
- US President Joe Biden has nominated former Mastercard CEO Ajay Banga for the position of World Bank president as Donald Trump appointee David Malpass will step down from his role this June before completing his tenure in April 2024.
- Ajay Banga is currently appointed as the vice chairman at private equity firm General Atlantic.
- He has more than 30 years of business experience in handling different roles at
- Mastercard and on the boards of the American Red Cross, Kraft Foods, and Dow Inc.
About World Bank
- Founded – 1944
- Headquarters – Washington Dc
- President – Ajay Banga
- MD & CFO – Anshula Kant
- Chief Economist – Carman Reinhart
- Executive Director – Rajesh Khullar
- Member Countries -189
- World Bank Group – 5 (IBRD, IDA, IFC, MIGA and ICSID)
Recent Appointment
- Post of US Air Force brigadier general – Raja Chari (Indian-American astronaut)
- North Korea human rights envoy by US President – Julie Turner
- Maryland’s first Indian-American Lt. Governor – Aruna Miller
- Firrst Indian American woman president of Harvard Law Review – Apsara A Iyer
- First LGBTQ woman of colour city council in the US state of California – Janani Ramachandran s
Awards
Prem Kumar Mallick received for the Sangeet natak Akademi Award 2019
- Noted classical singer, Pt Prem Kumar Mallick has been honured with the prestigious Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards for 2019.
- He received the award from President Droupadi Murmu for his contributions in the field of music (Hindustani Vocal) at a ceremony to be held at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi.
- He is a professor in the department of music and performing arts at Allahabad University.
Recent Awards
- Kerala’s Akbar Kakkattil award – Subhash Chandran (for Samudrasila novel)
- UNESCO Peace Prize in Ivory Coast – Angela Merkel
- Raja Ram Mohan Roy National Award – Journalist A.B.K. Prasad
- Golden Book Awards 2023 – Rakhi Kapoor (For – Now You Breathe)
- Hurun India award 2023 – VP Nandakumar (MD & CEO of Manappuram Finance Ltd.)
Sports
Anurag Thakur inaugurated the All India Taekwondo Championship in Delhi
- Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Anurag Singh Thakur has inaugurated the three-day All-India Taekwondo Championship in New Delhi.
- The Championship is being organized to mark 50 years of Korea-India diplomatic relations.
- The Korean Cultural Centre, India is co-hosting this Championship with the Sports Authority of India under the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports of India and Korea National Sports University in celebration of the 50th anniversary of Korea-India diplomatic relations in 2023.
- In the opening ceremony, an MoU was signed between the two countries in the field of sports exchange and special performances, Korean dance, Taekwondo performances.
Aishwary won gold in men’s individual 50m rifle 3 positions event
- In Shooting, India’s Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar has claimed the gold medal in the men’s individual 50m rifle 3 positions competition at the ISSF World Cup in Cairo.
- The 22-year-old Tomar, who had also won a gold in the Chagwon World Cup last year, won 16-6 in the gold medal contest to comfortably beat Austria’s Alexander Schmirl.
- Earlier, India’s Tilottama Sen had won a bronze medal in the women’s 10m Air Rifle
- India is on top of the medal tally with four gold and Hungary is in second position with two gold medals.
Important day
24 February- Central Excise Day
- Central Excise Day is celebrated in India every year on February 24 to commemorate the establishment of the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC).
- The day is observed to recognise the efforts of the Central Excise and Customs officials who work tirelessly to safeguard the country’s economy.
- The Central Excise Day is also observed to commemorate the Central Excise Act, which was passed on February 24, 1944.
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