Latest Current Affairs For Wednesday 22nd February, 2023

Ladakh sets Guinness world record for 21-km long frozen lake marathon

Ladakh has created history by successfully conducting its maiden 21-km trail running event in sub-zero temperature at 13,862 feet high Pangong Tso.

It was registered in the Guinness world record as the world’s highest frozen lake half marathon.

The four-hour-long marathon started from Lukung and ended at Maan village.

Five energy stations, consisting of energy drinks, medical teams, oxygen support, and mobile ambulances were set up along the route.

India win two Gold Medals in Shooting at ISSF World Cup, Egypt

India has won two gold medals in the 10m Air Rifle Mixed team and 10m Air Pistol Mixed team at the ongoing ISSF Shooting World Cup, Cairo in Egypt.

Indian 10m Air Rifle Mixed team of Narmada Nithin Raju and Rudrankksh Balasaheb Patil defeated Hungary’s Eszter Denes and Istvan Peni by 16-6 to bag the top spot on the podium.

While the 10m Air Pistol Mixed team of Rhythm Sangwan and Varun Tomar won gold.

Aviva India launches Aviva Signature Guaranteed Income Plan

Aviva Life Insurance has launched Aviva Signature Guaranteed Income Plan.

It is a non-linked, non-participating savings life insurance plan, that helps build long-term wealth.

It also helps customers save tax and guarantees a steady income stream in the long run.

It aims to meet the diverse financial needs of policyholders at different phases of their lives.

The options include Signature Moneymaker, Signature Investor, Signature Builder, and Signature Saver.

RBI cancels licence of MP-based Garha Co-operative Bank

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has canceled the license of Garha Co-operative Bank, Guna in Madhya Pradesh.

Reason: The lender does not have adequate capital and earning prospects. 

About 98.4% of the depositors of the bank are entitled to receive the full amount of their deposits from Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (DICGC).

The bank is prohibited from conducting various activities, such as acceptance, and repayment of deposits with immediate effect.

Politician Upendra Kushwaha launches new political party

Senior Janata Dal (United) leader, Upendra Kushwaha has resigned from all party positions and launched a new political party 'Rashtriya Lok Janata Dal (RLJD)'.

He has also resigned from the post of MLC.

He was a key political aide of Nitish Kumar.

He quit the JD(U) in 2013 to float Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP).

He allied with the NDA and won the Lok Sabha polls a year later.

In 2021, Kushwaha merged his RLSP with the JD(U).

Minister Dharmendra Pradhan launches Learning-Teaching Material

Union Education Minister, Dharmendra Pradhan launched a Learning-Teaching Material named Jaadui Pitara.

It was launched for the Foundational Stages of children.

It is a unique initiative of the government that will help students of foundational stages to learn in a play-way method with ease.

The Jaadui Pitara consists of playbooks, activity books, flashcards, posters depicting various stories, games, puzzles, puppets, and many more items.

International Mother Language Day 2023: 21st February

International Mother Language Day is observed on every year February 21 to highlight the cultural and linguistic diversity in the country.

Theme 2023: Multilingual education - a necessity to transform education. 

This day was first initiated by Bangladesh and it was accepted at the UNESCO General Conference held in 1999.

UNESCO decided to observe this day to understand the value of the mother tongue.

INS Sumedha reaches Abu Dhabi to participate in IDEX and NAVDEX

Indian Naval Ship Sumedha has reached Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE) to participate in Naval Defence Exhibition (NAVDEX) 2023 and International Defence Exhibition(IDEX) 2023.

Agenda: To showcase the strengths of India's indigenous shipbuilding and underscore the vision of Aatma Nirbhar Bharat.

INS Sumedha:

It is the third ship of the indigenously built Saryu class Naval Offshore Patrol Vessels.

It was commissioned into the Indian Navy in 2014.

Former Gujarat governor O P Kohli passes away

गुजरात के पूर्व राज्यपाल और राज्यसभा सांसद, ओम प्रकाश कोहली का नोएडा में 87 वर्ष की आयु में निधन हो गया।

वह जनवरी 1991 में राजनीतिक क्षेत्र में शामिल हुए।

वह मुख्यमंत्रियों आनंदीबेन पटेल और विजय रूपाणी के कार्यकाल के दौरान 2014 और 2019 के बीच गुजरात के 19वें राज्यपाल थे।

उन्होंने 2016 से 2018 तक मध्य प्रदेश के राज्यपाल और 2014 में तीन सप्ताह के लिए गोवा के राज्यपाल के रूप में अतिरिक्त प्रभार भी संभाला।

वह दिल्ली के हंसराज कॉलेज और देशबंधु कॉलेज में लेक्चरर थे।

India to host Permanent Mission Roundtables at UN as G- 20 chair

India will host the Permanent Mission Roundtables at United Nations Head Quarter as Chair of G- 20 and ahead of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Summit 2023 to be held in New York.

A roundtable titled 'Gandhian Trusteeship: A panel discussion on Sustainable Lifestyles and Enduring Pace' will be held on the 23rd of February 2023.

Focus: India’s growth story and achievements and how these might be scaled for the potential benefit of the global South. 

PM Modi, Singapore counterpart launch real-time payment systems linkage

Indian PM Narendra Modi and Singapore's PM Lee Hsien Loong witnessed the launch of the cross-border linkage between UPI and PayNow.

The launch was done by RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das and MD of the Monetary Authority of Singapore Ravi Menon.

It enables residents of both countries to transfer cross-border remittances faster and more cost-efficient.

It will also help the Indian diaspora in Singapore to transfer money from Singapore to India and vice-versa.

Ranbir Kapoor wins Best Actor at the DPIFF awards 2023

Ranbir Kapoor was awarded the Best Actor award at the Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival (DPIFF) Awards 2023 in Mumbai.

He was awarded for his role in Brahmastra Part One-Shiva.

Alia Bhatt won the Best Actress award for Gangubai Kathiawadi.

Best Film: The Kashmir Files

Film Of The Year: RRR

Most Promising Actor: Rishab Shetty (Kantara)

Critics Best Actor: Varun Dhawan (Bhediya)

Critics Best Actress: Vidya Balan (Jalsa)

Best Director: R Balki (Chup)

सरकार ने बीवीआर सुब्रह्मण्यम को नीति आयोग का नया सीईओ नियुक्त किया

The government has approved the appointment of an IAS officer of the 1987 batch of the Chhattisgarh cadre, BVR Subrahmanyam as the CEO of NITI Aayog.

He would succeed Parameswaran Iyer, who has been appointed as executive director of the World Bank for a period of two years.

Earlier, he served as the chief secretary of Jammu and Kashmir and Additional Chief Secretary (Home) in Chhattisgarh.

He also served as private secretary to then PM Manmohan Singh from 2004 to 2008. 

PM Narendra Modi to be awarded prestigious Lokmanya Tilak Award 2023

The Tilak Smarak Mandir Trust (Hind Swaraj Sangh) would confer the prestigious Lokmanya Tilak National Award 2023 to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Pune on August 1, 2023.

Reason: This award recognizes PM Modi's supreme leadership under which India has climbed the ladder of progress

It is presented annually on the occasion of Lokmanya Tilak's death anniversary.

Other awardees: Indira Gandhi, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Sharad Pawar, Cyrus Poonawalla, and Manmohan Singh. 

J&K Bank wins award for Best Performance in CASA

Jammu & Kashmir Bank has been felicitated for the Best Performance in CASA-India (1st Runner up in Small Bank Category) at ICC Emerging Asia Banking Conclave & Awards 2022.

The event was participated by banks from India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka & Myanmar.

The function was organized by the Indian Chamber of Commerce in Goa.

Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) is a non-governmental trade association and advocacy group headquartered in Calcutta.

India poised to become world’s 2nd-largest economy by 2075: Goldman Sachs

According to the Investment Bank Goldman Sachs, India is poised to become the world’s second-largest economy by 2075.

As per the report, India would cross Japan, Germany, and the US With a population of 1.4 billion people.

India’s GDP is estimated to expand remarkably, reaching 52.5 trillion dollars surpassing the US GDP projection.

The labour force participation set to make India the second-largest economy in the world by 2075.

L&T and Spain's Navantia sign agreement for submarine project

L&T has signed a teaming agreement with Spanish-based Navantia for the submission of a techno-commercial bid for the Indian Navy’s prestigious P75 (India) submarine program.

P75 (India) Submarine Project is expected to be valued at €4.8 billion.

Navantia would carry out the design of P75(I) submarines based on its S80 class of submarines.

The first S80 class submarine was launched in 2021 and is undergoing sea trials prior to its delivery to Spanish Navy. 

India overtakes China as most attractive emerging market for investing

According to a study by Invesco Global Sovereign Asset Management, India has overtaken China to become the most attractive emerging market for investing in sovereign wealth funds this year.

Reason: This is due to its solid demographics, political stability, and proactive regulation. 

Positives for the nation also include the rapidly expanding demography, strong regulatory actions, and a welcoming climate for sovereign investors.

World Population Day 2023: 11 July

World Population Day is observed every year on July 11 in order to raise awareness about global population issues, including population control.

2023 theme: Unleashing the power of gender equality: Uplifting the voices of women and girls to unlock our world’s infinite possibilities. 

It was established by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in 1989, after the day the world approximately reached a population of five billion, which was observed on 11 July 1987.

MoHUA conducts SBM-U 2.0 Planning & Implementation Review-cum-Workshop

The Housing Ministry organized a review-cum-workshop to evaluate and accelerate the planning and implementation of the SBM-Urban 2.0.

PM Modi launched the 2.0 versions of SBM-U and AMRUT on October 1, 2021.

SBM-U 2.0: Achieving 100% waste segregation in all households and premises and 100% door-to-door collection of segregated waste from each. 

AMRUT 2.0: To provide complete coverage of water supply to all households and sewerage and septage in 500 AMRUT cities. 

Gujarat CM launches pilot project of ‘Antyodaya Shramik Suraksha Yojana’

Gujarat CM Bhupendra Patel launched the Antyodaya Shram Suraksha Accident Insurance Scheme from Kheda

All those registered under the e-Shram portal from Nadiad will benefit from the scheme.

It is being implemented through the Indian Postal Department, the IPPB, and the Ministry of Labour and Employment.

Under this scheme, insurance with a premium of Rs. 289 and Rs. 499 per year will be a big support to workers in the event of death or partial disability.

OCA elects Sheikh Talal as the new President

Kuwait’s Sheikh Talal Fahad Al Ahmad Al Sabah has been elected as the new President of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA).

He replaced his older brother Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah, who led the OCA for 30 years until 2021.

The OCA was founded in 1982 by his father Fahad Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, who led it until 1990.

The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) is a governing body of sports in Asia, currently with 45 member National Olympic Committees.

Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance wins Insurer Innovation Award 2023

Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance has won the Insurer Innovation Award 2023 for the APAC region at the 8th World Digital Insurance Awards, hosted by TDI - The Digital Insurer.

Recognition: Bajaj Allianz Life's ground-breaking WhatsApp Conversational Platform - empowering customers to digitally services their policies seamlessly. 

The award entries were shortlisted by industry experts and the winner was selected by the community through pre-voting and live event voting.