NATIONAL NEWS

National Tribal Festival Aadi Mahotsav Inaugurated

President Droupadi Murmu inaugurated National Tribal Festival Aadi Mahotsav 2024, at Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium in New Delhi.

Every year TRIFED under the aegis of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs organizes the National Tribal Festival Aadi Mahotsav.

Aadi Mahotsav is an attempt to represent tribal culture on the national stage.

It celebrates the spirit of tribal culture, cuisine, commerce, crafts, and traditional art.

The festival features over 300 stalls, offering a varied display of Tribal art, natural product, handicrafts and delectable tribal cuisine.

Along with this, one thousand artisans from across the country will also participate and showcase their performances in Aadi Mahotsav 2024.

A separate Food Court representing Tribal cuisines from different parts of the country has also been set up.

Maharashtra Signed MoU with Google

Google, a Tech giant, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government of Maharashtra to provide artificial intelligence (AI)-led solutions.

AI based services will be provided in sectors like agriculture, sustainability,healthcare, education and startups.

Also Google will launch a state-of-the-art AI Centre of Excellence at the Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT), Nagpur.

Maharashtra has pledged to develop its economy using artificial intelligence (AI) and has partnered with Google to achieve this goal.

This collaboration is a significant milestone in the journey of Maharashtra towards AI-driven development.

The partnership aims to provide citizens with future-ready skills, revolutionize critical sectors such as healthcare and agriculture and create a thriving environment for AI startups in Maharashtra through the AI Center of Excellence at IIIT Nagpur.

The company will train 500 government IT professionals with conversational AI skills through Google Cloud.

 

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

2024 World Governments Summit

India, Türkiye, and Qatar have been declared the guests of honour at the 2024 World Governments Summit which is set to take place in Dubai from February 12-14.

The summit, themed 'Shaping Future Governments,' will see the participation of over 25 government and state heads worldwide.

The delegations from Türkiye, India, and Qatar will be led by their respective leaders: President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani.

The guest countries will showcase their successful government experiences and best developmental practices during the summit, bringing together thought leaders, experts, and representatives of over 85 international and regional organisations with 120 governmental delegations, and 4,000 attendees.

The event is expected to draw over 4,000 attendees, including representatives from 85 international and regional organizations.

 

BANKING

GOI and ADB Signed $200 Million Loan

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Government of India have agreed to provide a $200 million loan to bolster flood and riverbank erosion risk management measures along the 650 km long main stem of the Brahmaputra river situated in the state of Assam.

The project is built upon the success and lessons learned from the Assam Integrated Flood and Riverbank Erosion Risk Management Investment Programme, which was financed by ADB and implemented during 2010–2020 in Assam, India and similar investments made in Bangladesh.

The objective of the project is to address recurrent flooding and riverbank erosion of the Brahmaputra river using ADB's cost-effective, adaptive and systematic river stabilization approach.

The project will also improve the capacity of state agencies and affected communities to manage flood and riverbank erosion risks.

The project interventions include stabilizing 60 km of riverbanks, installing 32 km of pro-siltation measures, and building 4 km of climate-resilient flood embankments in five high-priority districts: Dibrugarh, Goalpara, Kamrup Rural, Morigaon, and Tinsukia.

The project will secure living spaces, support livelihoods, create employment opportunities, and ultimately enhance the navigability of the river.

Federal Bank Introduces RuPay-Backed NCMC Wallet Debit Cards

Federal Bank launched National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) integrated debit cards.

NCMC is a feature introduced on RuPay Contactless Debit Card which allows cardholders to make payments across NCMC-enabled terminals at metro stations, buses, etc in an offline mode, just by tapping the card on the card reader.

The initiative aims to streamline travel experiences by digitizing payments, offering convenience to cardholders.

Cardholders need to activate the NCMC functionality by enabling the "contactless feature" through mobile banking, internet banking, or IVR.

Users can visit customer care desks at metro stations to activate and load money onto the card, either through cash or their existing savings account, with a maximum top-up limit of ₹2,000.

The upper limit for offline payment transactions is ₹200, subject to potential changes based on guidelines.

Juspay, Zoho, and Decentro Receive RBI Approval for Payment Aggregator

Fintech startups Juspay and Decentro have secured the final license to operate as payment aggregators, joining the ranks of established players like Razorpay, Cashfree, etc.

Juspay previously functioned as a payment gateway specializing in ecommerce transactions, while Decentro focuses on enabling ecommerce and consumer-facing businesses to provide financial services like lending and KYC verification.

Zoho, a software-as-a-service (SaaS) startup, also obtained the payment aggregator license on February 2, marking its entry into the payment services sector and becoming the first enterprise SaaS player to receive such approval from the RBI.

RBI issued guidelines for payment aggregator licenses in March 2020, with Razorpay, Cashfree, and Open being among the initial recipients of regulatory approval in December of the same year.

A payment aggregator is a third-party service provider that enables customers to make and businesses to accept payments online.

 

SPORTS

India clinched the SAFF U-19 Women's Championship by Befeating Bangladesh

India has won the South Asian Football Federation's (SAFF) U-19 Women's Championship beating defending champion Bangladesh in the final of the four-nation tournament in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

The winner of the match was decided by a toss after a lengthy penalty shootout.

All eleven players from each side converted their penalties in the shootout after the contest ended 1-1 at full time.

Sibani Devi gave India the lead in the eighth minute but Bangladesh striker Sagorika scored the equalizer in the last minutes of the game to take it to penalties.

In the group stage, India won comfortably against Bhutan and Nepal but lost to Bangladesh.

India entered the final as the second-place finishers in the group.

Bangladesh reached the final as top finisher by winning all the league matches.

 

AWARDS & PRIZES

NIMHANS Receives WHO Nelson Mandela Award

National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS) has been awarded the 2024 Nelson Mandela Award (NMA) by the World Health Organization (WHO) for Health Promotion.

NIMHANS stated the award acknowledges its dedication and outstanding contribution to mental health and well-being.

NIMHANS has been at the forefront of mental health and neuroscience.

NIMHANS supports innovative approaches to research, education and patient care.

This institute has been recognized for integrating mental health care into general health care. Globally recognized for community-based strategies and digital health innovations.

The World Health Organization started giving the Nelson Mandela Award in the year 2019.

The NMA recognizes contributions in health promotion by individuals, institutions and organizations.

 

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

C-DOT and IIT-K signed an Agreement for Developing Prototypes

C-DOT has signed an agreement with Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur (IIT-K) for the purpose of developing prototypes for a 10-gigabit-capable symmetric Passive Optical Network (XGS-PON) Optical Line Terminal (OLT) and Optical Network Unit (ONU).

The Telecom Technology Development Fund (TTDF) scheme of the Department of Telecommunications, Government of India has signed an agreement to provide funding support to domestic companies and institutions that are involved in the technology design, development and commercialization of telecommunications products and solutions.

This is aimed at enabling affordable broadband and mobile services in rural and remote areas.

As part of this initiative, IIT Kharagpur will be developing prototypes for 10-Gigabit-capable symmetric passive optical network (XGS-PON) optical line terminal (OLT) and optical network unit (ONU).

The project aims to create a state-of-the-art 10 Gbps upstream and downstream access network technology solution. It is expected that this will lead to the development and commercialization of new designs, leading to growth in affordable broadband and mobile services in India.

The Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF), which operates under the Department of Telecommunications, has officially launched the Telecom Technology Development Fund (TTDF) Scheme on October 1st, 2022.

This scheme is in line with Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi's goal of including Jan Anusandhaan in the new phase of Amrit Kaal.

 

IMPORTANT DAYS

World Pulses Day

World Pulses Day 2024 is observed on the 10th of February 2024.

Building on the success and momentum of the I.Y.P., and recognizing the potential of pulses to further achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, Burkina Faso, a landlocked West African nation, proposed the global observance of World Pulses Day.

On December 20, 2018, the General Assembly of the United Nations proclaimed February 10 as World Pulses Day through resolution (A/RES/73/251), and the day has been celebrated as a global event since 2019 and supported by many member nations.

According to the U.N., pulses remain influential in mitigating the global challenges of poverty, food security and nutrition, human health, and soil health.