NATIONAL NEWS

Northern India’s First Nuclear Plant

• North India's first nuclear power plant is being set up in Gorakhpur, Haryana.

• The Center has approved the setting up of 10 nuclear reactors to increase India's nuclear capacity.

• The Department of Atomic Energy has also been permitted to form joint ventures with Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) for resources to set up nuclear power plants.

• Gorakhpur Haryana Anu Vidyut Project (GHAVP) consists of two units of 700 MW each.

• Each of these has indigenously designed Pressurized Heavy Water Reactors (PHWR).

• It is under implementation near Gorakhpur village of Fatehabad district in Haryana.

• An amount of Rs 4,906 crore has been spent out of the total allocated amount of Rs 20,594 crore.

India’s Coal-Based Power Generation Likely to Fall to 69% in 2025

• As renewable energy sources gain prominence in India’s power generation, the share of coal is projected to decline to 69 percent by 2025 from 74 percent at present.

• Because of higher coal-fired generation, total power generation CO2 emissions are likely to rise by 8 percent from 2022 levels by 2025, despite falling CO2 intensity.

• At present, coal accounts for 50 percent of India’s total installed power capacity of 410 gigawatts (GW).

• Overall, the thermal power generation capacity is around 236 GW.

• Besides, 52 GW is from hydro, 115 GW is from RE, and 6.8 GW is from nuclear power plants.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

India and Singapore Launch Joint Digital Payment Mechanism

• India and Singapore on 21 February 2023 launched a joint digital payment mechanism to enable residents of both countries to make easier and faster cross-border transactions.

• The facility was jointly launched by Shaktikanta Das, Governor of the Reserve Bank of India and Ravi Menon, Managing Director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

• India's Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and Singapore's PayNow have entered into an agreement in this regard to facilitate these transactions.

• This will add a new chapter in fintech connectivity. People can make cost effective and fast money transfers from their mobile phones.

• This real-time payment system will help the Indian diaspora in Singapore, especially migrant workers and students.

U.S. Presidential Campaign for 2024

• Indian-origin Republican leader Nikki Haley formally launched her S. Presidential Campaign for 2024.

• She has become the first Republican to challenge former US President Donald Trump to become her party’s nominee for the White House in 2024.

• If she wins the Republican presidential nomination in 2024, she will be the first woman and first Asian-American at the top of the GOP ticket.

• The next US presidential election is scheduled to be held on 05 November 2024.

• Nikki Haley served as the 116th governor of South Carolina from 2011 to 2017 and she is the first female governor of South Carolina.

BANKING

Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance Launches ‘Anmol Suraksha Kawach’

• Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance (ABSLI), the life insurance subsidiary of Aditya Birla Capital Limited (ABCL), has launched ‘ABSLI Anmol Suraksha Kawach’, to address the short-term protection needs of the policyholders.

• It is a non-linked, non-participating individual, life, pure risk premium, term insurance solution for policyholders’ short-term protection needs offering a life cover for up to 5 years.

• The plan offers a protection solution for people aged between 25-55 years.

• Short-term protection- Policyholders will be eligible to avail of a short-term policy term between 2 to 5 years.

• Choice of premium payment term- Policyholders get the flexibility to choose between making a one-time payment or paying for the entire policy term.

AWARDS & PRIZES

Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival Awards

• The Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival awards were announced on 20 February.

• The Kashmir Files won the Best Film award.

• Alia Bhatt won the Best Actress award for Gangubai Kathiawadi and husband Ranbir Kapoor won the Best Actor award for Brahmastra.

• Anupam Kher received the Most Versatile Actor of the Year award for The Kashmir Files.

• Actor-filmmaker Rishab Shetty won the Most Promising Actor award for his Kannada film Kantara.

• Varun Dhawan also won the Critics Best Actor Award for his film Bhediya.
• In the television category, Rupali Ganguly-starrer Anupama won the Television Series of the Year award.

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS

CEO of NITI Aayog

• The government approved the appointment of BVR Subrahmanyam as the CEO of NITI Aayog.

• He will be the fourth CEO of NITI Aayog.

• Subrahmanyam will replace Parameswaran Iyer, who has been appointed as the Executive Director of the World Bank for a period of two years.

• Prior to this, he was the former Commerce Secretary to the Government of India.

• Subramaniam, a 1987 batch IAS officer of Chhattisgarh cadre, was appointed as the chairman and managing director of ITPO on a two-year contract after his superannuation on September 30.

• Subramaniam has also been the personal secretary of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

World Bank Chief Mr. David Malpass to Resign

• Mr. David Malpass would step down from the post of World Bank (WB) President by the end of June 2023, before his five-year term expires.

• His five-year term was due to end in April 2024.

• The United States (US), the World Bank’s largest shareholder has always traditionally nominated a citizen of the United States to serve as the president of the World Bank.

• Mr. David Malpass was selected as the 13th President of the World Bank Group by its Board of Executive Directors on 05 April 2019.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

IIT Delhi Builds ‘Time Capsule’

• The researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)- Delhi have designed and developed a time capsule that is scheduled to be opened in 2047.

• The time capsule is meant to store written letters or postcards by the people on their vision for India in 2047.

• IIT-D claims that the structure of Time Capsule is made of stainless steel, which weighs around 75 Kg and has 100 cm of height and 70 cm of base diameter.

• People can store letters or postcards of over 750 words.

• The Time Capsule has been designed as futuristic, mechanically superior, and protective of environmental degradation.

• It will capture what the people of India think today about the country’s future.
• The capsule will be opened in 2047, which will also mark the 100th year of Independence, to see how things have turned out.
• The technology will help match what people think today about the country’s future.

IMPORTANT DAYS

International Mother Language Day

• International Mother Language Day is celebrated every year on 21 February.

• It is to spread awareness of linguistic and cultural diversity, and to promote multilingualism.

• India is home to hundreds of languages and thousands of dialects, making its linguistic and cultural diversity one of the most unique in the world.

• The theme for 2023 International Mother Language Day is ‘Multilingual Education – a necessity to transform education’.
• This theme is in line with recommendations made during the Transforming Education Summit.
• UNESCO announced this day on 17 November 1999 and since 2000, this day has been celebrated all over the world.

OBITUTARY

Former Gujarat Governor O P Kohli

• Former Gujarat governor and veteran Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Om Prakash Kohli passed away. He was at the age of 87.

• He held the responsibility of many posts including the President of Delhi Pradesh BJP.

• Apart from being a Rajya Sabha member, he was the 19th Governor of Gujarat from 2014 to 2019.

• Kohli began his political career as a volunteer of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and held various positions with the ABVP, the Delhi University Students' Union and the Delhi University Teachers' Association.

MISCELLANEOUS

World's Highest Frozen Lake Marathon

• The Frozen Lake Marathon at Pangong Tso Lake in the Union Territory of Ladakh has been included in the Guinness Book of World Records as the Highest Frozen Lake Marathon for the first time.

• It was organised on 20 February at the world-famous Pangong Lake, situated at an altitude of 4,350 metres above sea level.

• The Frozen Lake Marathon is being organised for the first time in the country and is considered to be one of the toughest because of the high altitude and cold.

• The theme of this marathon is 'The Last Run' and it is organised with the aim of creating awareness about climate change in Ladakh and promoting border tourism.
• It was organised under the Vibrant Village Program to accelerate the pace of development in border villages.
• The 21 km long marathon that started at Luking village was organised by the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council in association with the Adventure Sports Foundation of Ladakh.