NATIONAL NEWS

Shinku La Tunnel Construction Approved by Union Cabinet

• Shinku La Tunnel construction was approved by Union Cabinet to provide all-weather connectivity in Ladakh.

• Anurag Singh Thakur stated that this 1-kilometer-long tunnel would be completed by December 2025.

• The estimated cost of this project will be around 1,681 crore rupees.

• The tunnel will lead to the all-around development of the region and encourage tourism, health and education sectors.

• This project is also important from the point of view of strategic and national security.

First State-Level ‘Shrimp Mela’

• Punjab's first state level 'Prawn Fair' began at Enakheda village in Muktsar district.

• This mela is an effort of the state government to create more awareness about shrimp farming.

• This fair is being organised to make farmers aware of various schemes for fish farming and to encourage more and more people to participate in it.

• In this, experts will help farmers understand about aquaculture.

Uttar Pradesh Sports Inks MoUs with HCL Foundation

• Uttar Pradesh Sports Inks MoUs with HCL Foundation To Strengthen The Grassroots Sports Ecosystem And Infrastructure And Build High-Performance Centre.

• The sports-focused session titled ‘Harnessing opportunities in the sports sector in Uttar Pradesh’ at the Invest UP Summit saw MoUs being signed to strengthen the grassroots sports ecosystem of the state and create synergies with corporates and organizations to work on the PPP model to empower athlete training in the state.

• HCL Foundation intends to work with 5,000 underserved children and youth and persons with a disability to identify and nurture talent in multiple sports with the vision of mainstreaming them in the existing sports ecosystem of India.

• The proposed project will be implemented in the Lucknow, Gautam Buddha Nagar and Hardoi districts of Uttar Pradesh.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

UAE Chapter of the Business Council

• The UAE and India launched the UAE India Business Council - UAE Chapter (UIBCUC) to strengthen economic ties and enhance bilateral trade and investment.

• The UIBCUC aims to increase bilateral trade to $100 billion and attract investments of $75 billion from the UAE to India.

• The council will bring together key partners and stakeholders from both countries and encourage innovative collaboration between Emirati and Indian businesses.

• The Council will play a key role in supporting the two governments in their joint mission to promote bilateral trade and investment.

• It will operate under the supervision of the Federation of UAE Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

• It is registered with the Dubai Chamber of Commerce as a legal and financial entity.

BANKING

Paytm Payments Bank Becomes First to Launch UPI LITE Feature

• Paytm Payments Banks Limited (PPBL) has launched the Unified Payments Interface (UPI LITE), enabled by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) for multiple small-value UPI transactions.

• The PPBL is the first payments bank to launch such a UPI LITE feature.

• The UPI LITE feature enables faster real-time transactions with a single click through Paytm as the bank aims to drive the adoption of digital payments across the country.

• UPI LITE is a new payment solution that leverages the trusted NPCI Common Library (CL) application to process low-value transactions that have been set at below ₹ 200.
• A maximum of Rs 2,000 can be added twice a day to UPI LITE, making the cumulative daily usage up to Rs 4,000.
• Additionally, with UPI LITE, users can carry out a large number of small-value UPI payments in a superfast manner without worrying about the cap on the number of bank transactions.

SEBI Introduces ISD for Filing IPO Papers in XBRL Format

• The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) introduced the issue summary document (ISD) for filing papers about Initial Public Offer (IPO) and for further issue of securities in XBRL (Extensible Business Reporting Language) format, a move that will help provide data to stakeholders in a structured manner.
• The rollout of the ISD will be done in a phased manner starting 01 March 2023.
• XBRL is a language for the electronic communication of business and financial data used for business reporting around the world.
• It provides major benefits in the preparation, analysis and communication of business information.
• As per the circular, the ISD should be filed in 2 stages.
• In the 1st stage, the ISD will be filed with pre-issue fields
• In the 2nd stage, the ISD will be filled with post-issue fields after allotment is completed.

European Investment Bank Joins India Hydrogen Alliance

• The European Investment Bank (EIB), the bank of the European Union, formally agreed to join the India Hydrogen Alliance (IH2A) and expand support for large-scale green hydrogen hubs and projects across India with indicative funding of €1 billion

• However, the funding will be subject to approval from the Indian government and EIB clearances.

• The new memorandum of agreement (MoU) with IH2A will enable the EIB to further promote clean energy investment and boost the growth of green hydrogen in India as a longstanding partner for renewable energy in India and the largest climate financier in the world.

• The India Hydrogen Alliance is an industry coalition of global and Indian companies committed to the creation of a hydrogen value-chain and economy in India.

AWARDS & PRIZES

Akbar Kakkattil Award

• A renowned writer Subhash Chandran bagged the Akbar Kakkattil award for his novel ‘Samudrasila‘.

• Samudrashila was published by Mathrubhumi.

• The award will be presented by writer M. Mukundan at an event on February 17.

• Samudrasila has been picked by a jury comprising writer Sethu, Dr. Mini Prasad and KC Narayanan.
• Subhash Chandran is a two-time recipient of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award.
• Akbar Kakkattil Award was started by a trust in memory of the short story writer and novelist from Kozhikode.
• The award comprises a cash prize of ₹50,000 and a sculpture.
• Novels released in the last five years are eligible for this award.

National Geographic's 'Pictures of the Year' Contest

• Indian-origin engineer and photographer Karthik Subramaniam's beautiful photo has topped National Geographic's 'Photo of the Year' contest 2023.

• His photograph, titled "Dance of the Eagles", was taken at the Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve in Alaska.

• The award was presented to him for a striking picture of an eagle struggling to settle on a tree branch.

• The title of the picture is inspired by RRR Martin's popular novel 'A Dance with Dragons'.

• His 'Dance of the Eagles' will be the cover page of the May edition of National Geographic.

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS

National Ambassador for Child Rights

• Bollywood actor Ayushmann Khurrana was appointed as the National Ambassador of Child Rights for UNICEF India.

• The 38-year-old actor has previously worked as a 'celebrity advocate' for UNICEF-India.

• Ayushmann was appointed as UNICEF India's Celebrity Advocate in September 2020 to advocate on ending violence against children and promoting child rights.

• As a national ambassador, Khurran will help UNICEF ensure the rights of all children.

• Recently, he focused on inclusiveness and non-discrimination through gender inclusive sports on World Children's Day 2022, along with Sachin Tendulkar, UNICEF South Asia Regional Ambassador.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

BEL and IISc Bengaluru Signed an MoU

• Navratna Defence PSU Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) and Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru signed an MoU.

• They have signed up to work together in Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML) and other emerging technologies.

• The MoU has been signed on the sidelines of the ongoing Aero India 2023 and aims to leverage the complementary strengths and capabilities of BEL and IISc.

• The agreement will enable BEL and IISc to create a variety of products and services with AI incorporated and integrated.

• IISc will provide specialized services in AI and ML for BEL to undertake various projects in terms of R&D solutions, development of algorithms and training of BEL engineers.