Latest Current Affairs For Tuesday 28th February, 2023

Kerala, UN Women sign pact to boost women-friendly activities in tourism

The Kerala government signed an agreement with the UN Women to boost women-friendly activities in the State's tourism sector.

The MoU was signed by Kerala Tourism Director P B Nooh and UN Women India representative Susan Ferguson.

Both parties agreed to work towards promoting gender-inclusive tourism sites in the State.

It would be implemented by the Responsible Tourism Mission.

It will be done by creating modules and capacity-building of relevant stakeholders.

MIT professor Hari Balakrishnan wins 2023 Marconi Prize

Computer scientist, Hari Balakrishnan has been awarded the 2023 Marconi Prize.

He is a professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The Marconi Prize is a top honor for computer scientists and is awarded by the U.S.-based Marconi Foundation.

It is given to those who have made a significant contribution to increasing digital inclusivity through advanced information and communications technology.

Madhya Pradesh women's team wins maiden national hockey title 2023

Madhya Pradesh women's hockey team won the 13th Hockey India Senior Women National Championship 2023 held in Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh.

MP defeated Hockey Maharashtra by 5-1 in the final.

MP's Pratibha Arya was adjudged the best defender of the championship.

She was also awarded the player of the match title.

The team of Hockey Jharkhand secured third place after defeating Hockey Haryana in the third-place match.

Defence Secretary Aramane Giridhar gets extension till October 2024

The Appointments Committee of the Union Cabinet approved the extension of the Secretary of the Department of Defence - Aramane Giridhar.

He will remain in his post until October 31, 2024, or till further order whichever is earlier.

This extension is beyond his age of superannuation.

He was due to retire in June 2023, after completing 60 years of superannuation.

He is a 1988-batch IAS officer of the Andhra Pradesh cadre.

85th plenary session of the Indian National Congress concludes at Raipur

The 85th plenary session of the Indian National Congress has been concluded at Raipur, Chhattisgarh.

The three-day Congress summit was attended by nearly 15,000 delegates from various states and discussed socio-political, political economic, and international affairs.

During the meeting, they also adopted six resolutions making the party’s stand clear on issues and laying down a party roadmap for them.

Congress president: Mallikarjun Kharge

PM Modi to release 13th installment of Rs 16,800 crore under PM-KISAN

PM Narendra Modi has released the 13th installment of financial benefits worth Rs 16,800 crore to over eight crore eligible farmers under the flagship PM-KISAN scheme.

PM-KISAN refers to Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi.

Under this scheme, eligible farmers are provided with a financial benefit of Rs 6,000 per year in three equal installments of Rs 2,000 each every four months.

The fund is directly transferred to the bank accounts of the beneficiaries.

Indian wrestler Ankit Gulia bags Bronze in Ibrahim Moustafa ranking series

Indian Greco-Roman wrestler Ankit Gulia (19) won a bronze medal in the men’s 72 kg division of the  Ibrahim Moustafa ranking series in Alexandria, Egypt.

He lost to Otar Abuladze (Georgia) and got the better of Nurzhigit Keneshbek Uulu (Kyrgyzstan) in the repechage round.

The Indian grappler won the medal after Iranian 67kg Olympic champion Mohammadreza Abdolhamid Geraei withdrew from the bronze medal match due to an injury.

Manchester United win the Carabao Cup title 2023

Manchester United defeated Newcastle to win the Carabao Cup title in 2023 after six years.

Newcastle is a Saudi Arabia-backed club.

The Carabao cup is also known as the EFL cup, a major football trophy played in England.

The competition was open to all clubs participating in the Premier League and the English Football League.

Liverpool is the most successful club in the competition and has won more than nine championships.

PM Modi to inaugurate Shivamogga airport in Karnataka

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated Shivamogga airport in Karnataka on 27 February 2023.

The airport has been built on 663 acres of land with an investment of ₹449.22 crore.

Apart from this, the prime minister has also inaugurated several other development projects in the poll-bound state.

The Passenger Terminal Building of the airport can handle 300 passengers per hour.

The foundation was laid in June 2020 by former CM B S Yediyurappa.

Australia beat South Africa to lift ICC Women's T20 World Cup Trophy 2023

Australian women's cricket team has defeated South Africa by 9 runs to lift the ICC T20 World Cup Trophy 2023 at Newlands, Cricket Ground in Cape Town, South Africa.

Australian women's cricket team has won this title for the sixth time.

They have completed a ‘three-peat’ under the captaincy of Meg Lanning, winning in 2018, 2020, and 2023.

Player of the series: Australia Ashleigh Gardner

Most runs: South Africa Laura Wolvaardt (230)

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.