Daily Current Affairs February 21 2023 | Latest News | Download PDF

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CURRENT AFFAIRS: BANKING & FINANCE

RBI updates rules for foreign donations via NEFT, RTGS systems

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) introduced Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) related transaction code in National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) and Real Time Gross Settlement System (RTGS) systems.
• The instructions will be effective from March 15, 2023.
• These instructions are issued under Section 10 (2) read with Section 18 of the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007 (Act 51 of 2007).

Key Highlights :

• Originating banks are required to select 2 mandatory fields of NEFT/RTGS systems while remitting foreign donations to the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) account at SBI.
• Further, originating banks are required to pass on donor details relating to “transaction without Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) details” as part of ‘Sender to remitter information’ in NEFT and RTGS.
• Under the FCRA, 2010 (amended as on September 28, 2020), foreign contributions must be received only in the “FCRA account” of SBI, New Delhi Main Branch (NDMB), Delhi.
• The contributions to the FCRA account are received directly from foreign banks through SWIFT and from Indian intermediary banks through NEFT and RTGS systems.
• In terms of extant requirements of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), the Indian government, the donor details such as name, address, country of origin, amount, currency, and purpose of remittance are required to be captured in such transactions and SBI is required to report the same to MHA on daily basis.

About RBI :

• Established: 1 April 1935
• Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
• Governor : Shaktikanta Das
• Deputy governors: Mahesh Kumar Jain, M. Rajeshwar Rao Michael Patra, and T. Rabi Shankar

20 Russian banks open rupee vostro accounts to settle foreign trade in rupees

• 20 Russian banks, including Gazprom, Rosbank, Tinkoff Bank, Centro Credit Bank, and Credit Bank of Moscow, have opened rupee vostro accounts with authorized dealer banks in India to enable rupee trade between the two countries.
• The Indian banks that are part of the process include UCO Bank, IndusInd Bank Ltd., Union Bank of India Ltd., Canara Bank Ltd., HDFC Bank Ltd., Yes Bank Ltd., State Bank of India, IDBI Bank Ltd., Indian Bank, Punjab National Bank, Bank of Baroda Ltd. and Axis Bank Ltd.
• All Indian banks have been asked to appoint nodal officers to sort out issues faced by exporters in carrying out rupee trade with Russia, Director-General of Foreign Trade.
• In July 2022, the RBI allowed international trade in rupees, creating the possibility of doing business with Russia in rupees and, in the process, bypassing the sanctions imposed by the West on Moscow.
• The sanctions were imposed following Russia’s attack on Ukraine in February 2022.
• India’s imports from Russia in April-January 2022-23 increased 383.88% to $37.31 billion, due mainly to its purchase of crude.

What is a Vostro Account?

• Vostro word is a Latin word that means, yours.
• A Vostro account is an account that a domestic bank holds for a foreign bank in the domestic bank’s currency which, in the case of India, is the rupee.
• In the case of trade with Russia, payments in rupee for the export and import of goods will go to these Vostro accounts.

What is a Nostro account?

• ‘Vostro’ is a Latin word that means, ours.
• The account opened by the Indian bank in the foreign country (US) will be a Nostro account for the Indian bank, while for the US bank, the account will be considered a Vostro account.

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.

About ‘ABSLI Anmol Suraksha Kawach’ :

• 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.

Key features :

• 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.
• Varied Sum Assured Option: Policyholders can choose from varied sum assured options (From 50L to 2cr in steps of 25 Lakhs).
• Protection till 60 years of age: Policyholders will be eligible for a maximum cover ceasing age of 60 years

About ABSLI :

• Incorporation: 2000 (Commenced Operations 2001)
• MD & CEO : Kamlesh Rao
• As of December 31, 2022, the total Assets under Management (AUM) of ABSLI stood at 679,890 million with a 15 increase on a year-on-year basis.

RBI Issued Draft Guidelines For Minimum Capital Requirements For Market Risk

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has issued draft guidelines on minimum capital requirements for market risk as a part of the convergence of banking regulations with Basel III standards.
• The central bank has sought feedback on the norms by April 15, 2023, and has proposed that the final norms will come into effect from April 1, 2024.

About the draft guidelines :

• The guidelines apply to all commercial banks, excluding local area banks, payments banks, regional rural banks small finance banks, and all types of co-operative banks-urban, state, and central co-operative banks
• The norms draw a boundary between the banking book and the trading book and list out the instruments that can be included in the trading book, which are subject to market risk capital requirements; and those to be included in the banking book which is subject to credit risk capital requirements.
• The capital requirement for both specific risk and general market risk will be 9% of each of the core capital of the bank and the exposure to the specified instruments.
• The draft guidelines outline separate classifications for securities included in banks’ trading and banking books, which are subject to market risk and credit risk capital requirements, respectively.
• The central bank has mandated that banks must include only those financial instruments on the foreign exchange (FX) in the trading book that are not legally restricted from being sold or fully hedged.
• As per the draft norms, banks will be required to classify any instrument held for at least one year as a trading book instrument under the following categories – short-term resale, profiting from short-term price movements, locking in arbitrage profits, or hedging risks that arise from the previous 3 categories.
• In case a bank needs to deviate from the presumptive list, it will have to seek the prior approval of the central bank, and document any deviations.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL NEWS

Government to increase the number of airports, heliports, and water aerodromes to boost connectivity

• The Civil Aviation Minister recently stated that the country has effective international to-domestic connectivity as well as domestic Tier-I to Tier-II connectivity.
• He further said that the Centre is currently focusing on last-mile connectivity in the country under the UDAN 4.2 scheme.
• The Ministry of Civil Aviation’s flagship program Regional Connectivity Scheme UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik) was initiated in 2016 with the objective of an enhanced aviation infrastructure and air connectivity in Tier II and Tier III cities.
• To fulfill the aspirations of the common citizen, the scheme was formulated based on the review of The National Civil Aviation Policy (NCAP)-2016.
• The scheme, which was planned to remain in force for 10 years, has a self-financing mechanism with the development of the Regional Connectivity Fund (RCF).
• According to the Ministry, 132 routes (16 are helicopters, 50 are seaplanes and 66 are fixed-wing routes) have been awarded under this.
• In the last 5 years, UDAN has significantly increased the regional air connectivity in the country, with the number of operational airports increasing from 74 in 2014 to 141 now.
• 68 underserved/unserved destinations which include 58 Airports, 8 Heliports, and 2 Water Aerodromes have been connected under the UDAN scheme.
• UDAN framework led to the formulation of Lifeline UDAN (for transportation of medical cargo during the pandemic) initiated in 2020.
• Krishi UDAN (value realization of agriculture products especially in North-eastern Region {NER} and tribal districts).
• International UDAN routes for NER to explore International Connectivity from or to Guwahati and Imphal.

About UDAN:

• UDAN 1.0: 36 new airports commissioned. 128 flight routes for 70 airports were awarded to 5 airline companies.
• UDAN 2.0: It added a helipad for the first time. In 2018, 73 unserved airports were announced.
• UDAN 3.0: This included tourist routes, seaplanes to connect water aerodromes, and routes under ‘UDAN’ in the North-East region.
• UDAN 4.0: 78 new routes approved in 2020. In this phase, the Kavaratti, Agatti, and Minicoy islands of Lakshadweep will also be connected by new routes.
• UDAN 4.1: Its focus is on connecting small airports, and special helicopter and seaplane routes under UDAN. New routes have also been proposed under Sagarmala seaplane services.
• UDAN 4.2: Under this, a small aircraft scheme dedicated to less than 20-seater aircraft, to ensure last-mile connectivity, has been launched.

India sets $14 billion marine product export target by 2025

• India has set a target of achieving $14 billion in exports of marine products by 2025 and efforts are being made to achieve the target.
• The seafood export sector is showing a positive trend during this year as well, showing a growth of 3 percent.
• Last year, the Indian seafood industry exported 1.36 million tonnes of seafood and achieved a record-high income of $7.76 billion.
• It has become one of the major seafood baskets of the world, particularly for shrimp.
• Pointing out that India is among the top 5 seafood exporting nations supplying quality seafood to over 100 countries.
• India is the third-largest fish producer, the second-largest aquaculture producer, and the fourth-largest seafood exporter in the world.
• About 17 percent of India’s agricultural exports are fish and fishery products. During 2021-22, shrimp production in India crossed 10 lakh tonnes and India occupied second in shrimp production globally.
• A “Fish Food Festival” will be organized in New Delhi, inviting Ambassadors from the top 20 markets of marine products, including G20 countries in the current year.

India’s coal-based power generation likely to fall to 69% in 2025: IEA

• 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.

About IEA:

• Headquarters: 9, rue de la Fédération, Paris, France
• Founded: November 1974
• Executive director: Fatih Birol

Indian Railways imparts training to more than 15000 Candidates under Rail Kaushal Vikas Yojana

• To empower youth by providing them entry-level skill training in Railway Training Institutes, “Rail Kaushal Vikas Yojana” (RKVY) has been notified on Indian Railways.
• Banaras Loco Works, Varanasi has been nominated as the nodal PU for coordinating/organizing the skill development program under RKVY.
• The training commenced in September 2021 on the pan- India basis.
• So far, 23,181 candidates have been enrolled under RKVY and 15,665 candidates have completed their training successfully.
• Under this scheme, the training is imparted in fourteen (14) industry-relevant technical trades such as Electrician, Welder, Machinist, Fitter, etc. at 94 training locations which are generally spread across more than one State/ Union Territory including remote locations spread over Indian Railways.

Govt’s Bhashini initiative to use AI for beneficiaries of welfare schemes

• Under the Bhasini initiative, the Ministry of Electronics and IT is building a WhatsApp-based chatbot that relies on information generated by ChatGPT.
• BHASHINI (BHASHa INterface for India) is India’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) led language translation platform.
• The majority of those who will use this chatbot would not know English, for which the Government’s Bhasha Daan Initiative will be used.

About Bhasha Daan

• Bhasha Daan is an initiative to crowdsource language inputs for multiple Indian languages as part of Project BHASHINI.
• It calls upon citizens to help build an open repository of data to digitally enrich his/her language.

About ChatGPT

• ChatGPT (Chat Generative Pre-Trained Transformer) is a chatbot developed by OpenAI.
• Chatbot is a computer program that simulates human conversation either by voice or text communication and is designed to help solve a problem.

About Bhashini initiative:

• It is a local language translation mission that aims to break the barrier between various Indian tongues by using available technology.
• It will that relies on information generated by ChatGPT to return appropriate responses to queries.
• WhatsApp chatbot powered by ChatGPT supports 12 languages, including English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, Kannada, Assamese, Bengali, and Odia.

Shri Parshottam Rupala launches Sagar Parikrama Phase-III from Hazira Port in Gujarat

• The Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairy, Phase-III, “Sagar Parikrama,” will start from Surat, Gujarat’s Hazira Port.
• It is an initiative of the Government of India, aiming to resolve the issues of the fishers and other stakeholders and facilitate their economic upliftment through various fisheries schemes and programs being implemented by the Government of India such as PMMSY.
• Sagar Parikrama is an evolutionary journey envisaged in the sea across the coastal belt demonstrating solidarity with all fisherfolk, fish farmers, and concerned stakeholders as a spirit of 75th Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav.
• Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying.
• The Parikrama shall be accompanied by the State Fisheries officials, Fishermen representatives, Fish-Farmers entrepreneurs, stakeholders, professionals, officials, and Scientists from across the nation.
• Phase III program of ‘Sagar Parikrama’ will cover mainly the coastal areas of Maharashtra and Gujrat.
• The Phase –I and Phase- II programs of ‘Sagar Parikrama’ has been organized in March 2022 and September 2022 respectively.

IIT Delhi builds ‘Time Capsule’ to lock in letters and postcards for 2047

• 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.
• the activity was part of an event organized by the Government of India that planned a “Time Capsule: Share Your Vision of India @ 2047” concept for the five-day National Philately Exhibition AMRITPEX 2023.
• The event concluded, at New Delhi’s Pragati Maidan.
• 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.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Indian-American Republican Leader Nikki Haley Launches 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 November 5, 2024.

About Nikki Haley :

• Nikki Haley was born in Bamberg, South Carolina.
• She served as the 116th governor of South Carolina from 2011 to 2017 & she is the first female governor of South Carolina
• She then served as the 29th United States ambassador to the United Nations from January 2017 to December 2018

CURRENT AFFAIRS: APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS

RBI appoints Shri Vikramaditya Singh Khichi as a member of the Advisory Committee of Reliance Cap

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has appointed Shri Vikramaditya Singh Khichi, former Executive Director (ED) of Bank of Baroda, as a member of the Advisory Committee on Reliance Capital.
• The move follows the resignation of former Axis Bank Deputy MD Srinivasan Varadarajan.
• The Advisory Committee will now comprise of following members:

1. Shri Sanjeev Nautiyal, ex-DMD, State Bank of India
2. Shri Praveen P Kadle, ex-MD & CEO, Tata Capital Limited
3. Shri Vikramaditya Singh Khichi, ex-ED, Bank of Baroda

• The Advisory Committee shall advise the Administrator in the operations of Reliance Capital Ltd during the corporate insolvency resolution process.

AU SFB board appoints Ms. Kavita Venugopal as Non-Executive Independent Director

• The Board of Directors AU Small Finance Bank (SFB) has appointed Kavita Venugopal as Non-Executive Independent Director (Additional Director) on the bank’s Board with effect from March 29, 2023, for 3 years.
• She was Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, India from May 2012 to December 2014

About AU SFB :

• Founded: 1996
• Headquarters: Jaipur, Rajasthan, India
• Chairman: Raj Vikash Verma.
• MD & CEO: Mr. Sanjay Agarwal

World Bank Chief Mr. David Malpass to Resign before his Tenure end

• 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.

About Mr. David Malpass :

• Mr. David Malpass was selected as the 13th President of the World Bank Group by its Board of Executive Directors on April 5, 2019.
• Previously, Mr. Malpass served as Under Secretary of the Treasury for international affairs in the US Administration.

About World Bank :

• Founded: 1944.
• Headquarters: Washington DC, USA

CURRENT AFFAIRS: DEFENCE NEWS

IAF develops indigenous ‘Vayulink’ platform for jammer-proof communication

• The Indian Air Force (IAF) has developed an innovative indigenous platform ‘Vayulink’ that would help pilots in dealing with bad weather and also provide jammer-proof uninterrupted communication with the base station.

About ‘Vayulink’ :

• Vayulink is an ad-hoc data link communication system.
• It uses the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) that is also known as NAVIC, to send radio communication to the base station when the signals are low
• Vayulink, when installed in an aircraft, gives the position of other aircraft close by encrypted traffic data over a secure channel.

Advantages :

• The platform helps to prevent fratricide or friendly fire, i.e., it helps us to know where the friendly forces are present.
• It can also give the pilots data on the weather.
• It helps plan real-time basis where multiple teams can get together and go towards the target coming from different areas.
• The Vayulink system also prevents aircraft collision and provides better combat teaming.

About IAF :

• Established: 8 October 1932
• Headquarters: New Delhi, Delhi, India
• Chief of Defence Staff: General Anil Chauhan
• Chief of the Air Staff: Air Chief Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari

CURRENT AFFAIRS: SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

NASA developed heartbeat-detecting tech to help with Turkey’s earthquake relief effort

• The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has developed a technology that can remotely detect the tiniest motions of the body that will be used by disaster relief teams in earthquake-stricken Turkey.
• The devices, called FINDERs( Finding Individuals for Disaster Emergency Response),

About FINDERs :

• The FINDER technology was developed by a team from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California following the devastating 2010 earthquake in Haiti and was later commercialized by Florida-based SpecOps Group.
• It uses microwave radar sensors to find survivors underneath rubble or in avalanches by remotely detecting their heartbeat and respiration.
• It was designed to detect a human heartbeat buried beneath 30 feet of rubble.
• The radar illuminates the rubble pile and receives reflections back from a disaster site, including the victim.
• FINDER looks for changes in the reflection that indicate movement and then checks to see if those movements can be attributed to human heartbeats and respirations.
• It can distinguish human respiration from animals or mechanical movements.

About NASA :

• Founded: July 29, 1958
• Headquarters: Washington, D.C, United States of America
• Administrator: Bill Nelson

AIIMS Rishikesh conducts a trial of delivering TB medicines to patients using drones

• The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Rishikesh conducted the first successful trial for transporting anti-tuberculosis (TB) drugs with the help of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) to the district hospital in Tehri Garhwal in Uttarakhand.
• TB is one of the most ancient and highly contagious diseases caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Key Highlights :

• TechEagle’s Vertiplane X3 drone made its first delivery in Uttarakhand, transporting 3kg of TB medicines from AIIMS Rishikesh to New Tehri PHC, covering a distance of 36 non-stop and an elevation gain of 2 km in 29 minutes.
• It is 6 times faster than by road as it can take up to 3 hours to cover the 72 km.
• This initiative is part of the Pradhan Mantri TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan, launched by the government in 2022.
• TechEagle’s end-to-end drone technology stack has the potential to improve healthcare access in remote and under-served communities in Uttarakhand.
• It can transport up to 5kg over a distance of 100km, making it the fastest and longest-range hybrid drone in the country.
• In addition, it can also land in small areas of just 5m x 5m, making it ideal for delivering essential supplies to remote or hard-to-reach areas.
• In Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), the Indian Army used drones to supply booster doses of Covid vaccine to forward troops in snow-bound areas.
• Drones were used in Maharashtra as well to deliver vaccines to remote villages.

About AIIMS Rishikesh :

• Founded: 2012
• Location: Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, India
• President : Samiran Nundy
• Director: Meenu Singh
• The institute operates autonomously under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BUSINESS NEWS

India setting up a $4 billion fund to backstop the corporate debt market

• India is setting up a fund worth Rs33000 crore ($4 billion) to provide liquidity to its corporate debt market during bouts of stress, to help stem panic selling and ease redemption pressures.
• The government will contribute 90 percent of the fund’s funding, with the remainder coming from other asset managers.
• SBI Mutual Fund, a subsidiary of India’s largest state-owned lender, State Bank of India, has been tasked with overseeing the backstop fund, which was first proposed by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) in 2020 in the aftermath of high-profile defaults in the domestic debt market.
• The need for a buyer and seller of last resort for corporate bonds was highlighted by Franklin Templeton India’s move to stop redemptions from six debt funds in April 2020 as investors withdrew money and the fund house was unable to sell debt investments in the market.
• The fund will be operational within three months, the fund is small relative to the Rs 39 trillion ($471 billion) Indian corporate bond market, but its size could be increased later.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: AWARDS AND HONOURS

Shri G. Kishan Reddy presents Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar 2019, 2020, and 2021 to102 artists:

• Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar 2019, 2020, and 2021 presented to 102 artists in India.
• The Union Minister for Culture, Tourism, and DoNER, Shri G. Kishan Reddy, presented the Puraskar in New Delhi.
• The program was presided over by Sandhya Purecha, President of Sangeet Natak Akademi.
• The Sangeet Natak Akademi is the national academy of music, dance, and drama and the apex body of the performing arts in the country.
• 102 artists (including three joint awardees) from India were selected for the Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar 2019, 2020, and 2021 in its General Council meeting held on November 8, 2022, in New Delhi.
• Artists were selected in their respective fields based on their performing arts.
• From 14 to 17 February, a four-day festival of music, dance, and drama was organized in New Delhi.
• In this, the recipients of the Ustad Bismillah Khan Youth Award for the year 2019 showcased their art.
• The Puraskar was instituted in the year 2006.
• It is awarded to artists up to the age of 40 years.
• The Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar carries Rs 25,000, an Angavastram, and a plaque.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: RANKING AND INDEX

IDBI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and Patanjali Foods added to the FTSE All-World index

• FTSE Russell, the global index service provider added 10 Indian listed companies to its Global large-cap index.
• IDBI, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Patanjali were added to the FTSE global index, which is widely tracked by foreign portfolio investors (FPIs).
• FTSE announced the changes in its semi-annual index review.
• Hence, any addition and removal of stocks from the indices have an impact on investor sentiments.
• The stocks that were added are likely to attract more investment from those investors who have based their holdings on FTSE indices.
• ACC, Canara Bank, Yes Bank, Union Bank of India, Indian Hotels, Jindal Steel and Power, Sriram Finance, Trent, and Tube Investments were also added.

About FTSE Russell

• FTSE Russell is a subsidiary of the London Stock Exchange Group that produces, maintains, licenses, and markets stock market indices.
• The division is notable for FTSE 100 Index, and Russell 2000 Index, among other indices.
• Parent organizations: London Stock Exchange Group, London Stock Exchange Group Holdings Limited
• Headquarters: London, United Kingdom
• Founded: 1995

India Ranks Fourth In Quality Entrepreneurship Ecosystem:

• India has been ranked fourth out of 51 countries in having a quality entrepreneurship ecosystem reflecting the steady rise in the nation’s business environment over the years.
• It’s ranking of India in the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) National Entrepreneurship Context Index (NECI) report is a drastic turnaround following a much lower score in 2021 which was 16th overall.
• India’s latest score of 6.1 reflects a steady increase in the country’s overall entrepreneurial environment over the years.
• India’s NECI score rose from 5.8 in 2019 (ranked 6th among GEM economies) to 6.0 in 2020 (ranked 4th).
• However, there was a dip in 2021, with a score of 5.0 (barely sufficient) and a rank of 16th.
• GEM defines the entrepreneurial context of a particular economy in terms of 13 different characteristics, labeled the Entrepreneurship Framework Conditions (EFCs).
• The NECI results are based on the scores of the framework conditions for each of the participating 51 economies.
• For the second consecutive year, the United Arab Emirates is number one in the GEM National Entrepreneurship Context Index (NECI).
• Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) is a consortium of national country teams, primarily associated with top academic institutions, that carries out survey-based research on entrepreneurship around the world.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: MOUS AND AGREEMENT

Tripartite MoU signed amongst Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports, NIPER Hyderabad, and FSSAI to deal with the problem of doping in sports

• , provide information & build awareness about the risks associated with the use of nutritional supplements, increase research opportunities in the clean sport & anti-doping domain, and provide options for safe and dope-free nutritional supplements for sportspersons.
• This MoU is a form of mutual commitment in compliance with the mandate towards strengthening the field of “Food for Special Dietary Use for Sportspersons”.
• This collaboration will help develop tools for the dissemination of data and information generated by the testing laboratory at NIPER Hyderabad for the benefit of the sports ecosystem and the public in India. In the continuous fight against doping in sports, the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports, Government of India, Food Safety & Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), and National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education & Research, Hyderabad (NIPER Hyderabad) signed a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to create nutritional supplement testing capacity in India
• Previously in 2022, a tripartite MoU was signed amongst the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports, Government of India, Food Safety & Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), and National Forensic Sciences University (NFSU) to create nutritional supplements testing capacity and research in the country.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: SPORTS NEWS

32-year-old Jeje Lalpekhlua announces his retirement

• 32-year-old Jeje Lalpekhlua has announced his retirement.
• Jeje represented seven clubs across 13 years and scored 23 goals from 56 games for the National Team.
• He is a 2-time Indian Super League winner with Chennaiyin FC, lifting the cup in 2015-16 and 2017-18 and winning the 2015 Emerging Player of the League.
• He is the third-highest Indian goalscorer in the ISL.
• In a Blue Tiger shirt, he won the SAFF Championship in 2011 and 2015, and the Intercontinental Cup twice, once in 2017 and then in 2018.

About SAFF

• South Asian Football Federation, founded in 1997, is an association of the football-playing nations in South Asia which is the regional subsidiary of the larger Asian Football Confederation.
• The members of the association are Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.
• Headquarters: Dhaka, Bangladesh
• President: Kazi Salahuddin
• Founded: 1997
• Membership: 7 member associations

CURRENT AFFAIRS: OBITUARIES

Yakshagana artiste Baliga Narayana Bhagawatha passed away

• Veteran Yakshagana playback singer and scriptwriter Balipa Narayana Bhagawatha passed away at the age of 84 in Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka.

About Balipa Narayana Bhagawatha :

• He was born on March 19, 1938, in Padre village in Kasaragod of Kerala.
• His grandfather Balipa Narayana Bhagavatha was also a famous Bhagawatha who had first popularised the Balipa style of singing.
• He entered the Yakshagana field at the age of 13.
• He was popularly known as ‘Balipajja’.
• He has mastered a unique style of singing, which fans have named ‘Balipa style’.
• He has written more than 30 Yakshagana ‘Prasanga’ (scripts).
• He was the chief Bhagwat of Kateel Durgaparameshwari Prasadita Yakshagana Mandali (Kateel Mela)

Awards & Honors :

• He is a recipient of awards, including the Karnataka Rajyotsava award, Samaga award, Karnataka Folk and Yakshagana Academy’s Jnana award, Sheni award, Parthisubba award, and Nudi Siri award among others.
• His achievement and stature in Yakshagana earned Bhagavata the title of ‘Bheeshma of Thenkuthittu’ of Yakshagana, the ‘grand old man’ of the southern school.

Daily CA One-Liner: Feb 21

• The Civil Aviation Minister recently stated that the country has effective international to-domestic connectivity as well as domestic Tier-I to Tier-II connectivity
• India has set a target of achieving $14 billion in exports of marine products by 2025 and efforts are being made to achieve the target
• 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
• To empower youth by providing them entry-level skill training in Railway Training Institutes, “Rail Kaushal Vikas Yojana” (RKVY) has been notified on Indian Railways
• Under the Bhasini initiative, the Ministry of Electronics and IT is building a WhatsApp-based chatbot that relies on information generated by ChatGPT
• The Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairy, Phase-III, “Sagar Parikrama,” will start from Surat, Gujarat’s Hazira Port
• 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
• India is setting up a fund worth Rs33000 crore ($4 billion) to provide liquidity to its corporate debt market during bouts of stress, to help stem panic selling and ease redemption pressures
• Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar 2019, 2020, and 2021 presented to 102 artists in India
• FTSE Russell, the global index service provider added 10 Indian-listed companies to its Global large-cap index
• India has been ranked fourth out of 51 countries in having a quality entrepreneurship ecosystem reflecting the steady rise in the nation’s business environment over the years
• In the continuous fight against doping in sports, the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports, Government of India, Food Safety & Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), and National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education & Research, Hyderabad (NIPER Hyderabad) signed a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to create nutritional supplement testing capacity in India
• 32-year-old Jeje Lalpekhlua has announced his retirement
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) introduced Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) related transaction code in National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) and Real Time Gross Settlement System (RTGS) systems.
• 20 Russian banks, including Gazprom, Rosbank, Tinkoff Bank, Centro Credit Bank, and Credit Bank of Moscow, have opened rupee vostro accounts with authorized dealer banks in India to enable rupee trade between the two countries.
• 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.
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has issued draft guidelines on minimum capital requirements for market risk as a part of the convergence of banking regulations with Basel III standards.
• Indian-origin Republican leader Nikki Haley formally launched her S. Presidential Campaign for 2024.
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has appointed Shri Vikramaditya Singh Khichi, former Executive Director (ED) of Bank of Baroda, as a member of the Advisory Committee on Reliance Capital.
• The Board of Directors AU Small Finance Bank (SFB) has appointed Kavita Venugopal as Non-Executive Independent Director (Additional Director) on the bank’s Board with effect from March 29, 2023, for 3 years.
• 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.
• The Indian Air Force (IAF) has developed an innovative indigenous platform ‘Vayulink’ that would help pilots in dealing with bad weather and also provide jammer-proof uninterrupted communication with the base station.
• The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has developed a technology that can remotely detect the tiniest motions of the body that will be used by disaster relief teams in earthquake-stricken Turkey.
• The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Rishikesh conducted the first successful trial for transporting anti-tuberculosis (TB) drugs with the help of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) to the district hospital in Tehri Garhwal in Uttarakhand.
• Veteran Yakshagana playback singer and scriptwriter Balipa Narayana Bhagawatha passed away at the age of 84 in the Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka.