NATIONAL NEWS

Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link Project

• The Northern Railways has achieved the connection of the longest 12.758 km tunnel named T49 between Sumber and Arpinchala station on the Katra-Banihal section under the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) project.

• The USBRL project is planned for 345 km aims to provide reliable transportation system to Jammu & Kashmir.

• T49 has become the longest tunnel of the Indian Railways surpassing the 11.2 km-long Pir Panjal tunnel constructed by USBRL on the Banihal-Qazigund section.
• The designed speed of the tunnel is 100 kmph. The main tunnel and escape tunnel are the two tubes of the T49 tunnel, which has been constructed by New Austrian Tunneling Method and the cross section of the tunnel is modified as horseshoe shaped.

NCB organises Darkathon -2022

• Director-General SN Pradhan, Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), is organising the Darkathon -2022 in New Delhi.

• Darkathon-2022 is to find solutions to combat drug trafficking through darknet across the globe.

• The initiative aims at involving students, youth and technical experts to find effective solutions to identify the facelessness of darknet markets.
• The winner of Darkathon will be awarded with cash of 2.5 Lakh rupees. First Runner-up will receive 2 lakh rupees while third runner-up will be given 1.5 lakh ruppes.

MoU Signed Between Ministry of Tourism and Alliance Air Aviation Limited

• On 17 February 2022, Ms. Rupinder Brar, Additional Director General, Ministry of Tourism and Mr. Vineet Sood, Chief Executive Office M/s Alliance Air Aviation Limited jointly signed the MoU in New Delhi.
• The objective of the MoU is to position India as a preferred tourism destination in the tourism and to promote an integrated marketing of Domestic Indian Tourism
• Alliance Air plays a vital role in promoting “Regional Connectivity Scheme" (RCS) of Government of India which is being promoted under the Prime Minister’s UDAN- (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik) scheme.

Additional Railway Lines in Maharashtra

• On 18 February 2022, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced to construct two additional railway lines connecting Thane and Diva in Maharashtra. He will also flag off two suburban trains of the Mumbai Suburban Railway.

• The two additional railway lines connecting Thane and Diva have been built at a cost of 620 crore rupees. It has 1.4 km long rail flyover, 3 major bridges and 21 minor bridges.

• These lines will significantly remove the interference of long-distance train’s traffic with suburban train’s traffic in Mumbai.
• These lines will also enable the introduction of 36 new suburban trains in the city.

Green Hydrogen Policy for Production of Green Hydrogen

• Ministry of Power, New and Renewable Energy R K Singh, has announced Green Hydrogen/Green Ammonia Policy for production of Green Hydrogen or Green Ammonia using renewable sources of energy.
• Hydrogen and Ammonia are envisaged to be the future fuels to replace fossil fuels.
• The government is taking various measures to facilitate the transition from fossil fuel and fossil fuel-based feed stocks to green hydrogen and green ammonia.
• National Hydrogen Mission launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on India’s 75th Independence Day to aid the government in meeting its climate targets and making India a green hydrogen hub.
• This will help in meeting the target of production of 5 million tonnes of Green hydrogen by 2030 and the related development of renewable energy capacity.

New Biotechnology Policy for 2022-27

• Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel has announced New Biotechnology Policy for the year 2022-27. The strategic projects and mega and large projects are eligible for special packages.

• According to this new policy, the MSMEs with a capital investment of less than 200 crore rupees will be given maximum assistance of 40 crore rupees.

• Similarly, the mega and large projects with a capital investment of more than 200 crore rupees will be assisted up to 25 percent of the total capital expenditure up to a maximum limit of 200 crore rupees.
• This policy is aimed to achieve Aatmanirbhar Bharat, the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement

• On 18 February 2022, Prime Minister Narendra Modi India and Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of UAE Armed Forces Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed al Nahyan signed an agreement on Economic Partnership.

• As India is celebrating 75 years of its Independence as Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav and UAE is celebrating the 50th anniversary of its foundation both the leaders agreed to lay out their vision of the historic and friendly relations between the two countries.

• UAE is India’s third largest trade partner and bilateral trade and investment ties are expected to see significant enhancements.
• Ministry of Economic Affairs MEA Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said both countries have made substantial progress on some aspects of the free trade agreement.
• India and the UAE have deepened and transformed their bilateral ties significantly over the past few years.
• India is participating with one of the largest pavilions in the Dubai Expo 2020.

BANKING NEWS

RBI Extends Timeline for NBFCS to Meet New NPA Recognition Norms

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) extended the timeline by six months for Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFC) to meet to the new Non- Performing Assets (NPA) recognition norms which was issued in November 2021 extended to September 2022.

• Earlier, the deadline to meet norms was March 2022.

• The RBI also clarified that loans classified as NPA will be upgraded to standard category only if all dues are paid.

Twitter Tie-up Paytm

• Twitter announced that it has partnered with Paytm for ‘Tips’ feature in India.

• Twitter users will be able to use the Payment digital wallet, Paytm postpaid, debit and credit cards and net banking.
• Users who are above 18 years of age, are eligible to use it on iOS and Android devices.

SPORTS

Senior National Volleyball Championship

• Haryana Men’s Team defeated the Indian Railway 3-0 to win the Men’s title in senior National Volleyball Championship 2021-2022.

• Kerala Women’s Team defeated the Indian Railway 3-1 in the Women’s Category.
• This is the 70^th edition that was held at the Biju Patnaik Indoor Stadium, Bhubaneswar.

Chelsea Wins 2021 FIFA Club World Cup Champions

• For the first time, English Club, Chelsea has defeated Brazilian Club Palmeiras 2-1 in FIFA Club World Cup Champions.

• The final was held at Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi.

BOOKS & AUTHORS

Humane: How the United States Abandoned Peace and Reinvented War

• Professor, a Yale historian and law professor Samuel Moyn authored a book titled “Humane: How the United States Abandoned Peace and Reinvented War”.
• The book is published by Farrar, Straus & Giroux, New York (USA)’.
• The book highlights the USA strategy on fighting wars and how armed combat was transformed from an imperfect tool for resolving disputes into an integral component of the modern condition.

OBITUTARY

Kannada Writer and Poet Chennaveera Kanavi

• Noted Kannada Writer and poet Chennaveera Kanavi, who was popularly known as Kannada Samanvaya Kavihas passed away. He was 93.

• He was born 18 June 1928, at Hombal Village in Gadag District, Karnataka.

• He received Sahitya Akademi Award for Jeeva Dhwani in 1981, Karnataka Sahitya Akademi Honorary Award for Lifetime Achievement