National & International Appointments
1. Aam Aadmi Party's Shelly Oberoi wins Delhi Mayor elections
- Aam Aadmi Party's Shelly Oberoi has defeated BJP candidate Rekha Gupta to become the new Delhi Mayor.
- She received 150 votes while Rekha Gupta got 116 seats.
- She also becomes Delhi's first woman mayor in 10 years.
- The election was held after the Supreme Court ruled out the possibility of nominated members participating in the voting process.
- In Delhi MCD polls, the AAP had bagged 134 seats, BJP got 104 seats, and Congress bagged nine seats.
Banking & Finance
2. HDFC Bank, Lulu Exchange sign to enhance cross-border payments
- HDFC Bank has signed an MoU with the UAE-based Lulu Exchange to strengthen the cross-border payments between India and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region.
- In the beginning, the expertise and regulatory framework of Lulu Exchange would be utilized to launch a digital inward remittance service - 'RemitNow2India'.
- It will allow UAE individuals resident to send money to any bank account in India via IMPS and NEFT through HDFC digital banking channels.
Agreement
3. Cabinet approves Air Services agreement between India and Guyana
- Union Cabinet has approved the signing Air Services Agreement between India and Guyana.
- This agreement will come into force after the exchange of diplomatic notes between parties.
- Aim: To enable a framework for the provision of air services between the two countries
- Indians have a sizeable presence in Guyana and are the largest ethnic group comprising about 40% of the population.
- It will provide an enabling environment for enhanced and seamless connectivity.
Science & Technology
4. University of Auckland, Tata Memorial Hospital sign MoU for cancer care
- Tata Memorial Hospital (TMH) and Waipapa Taumata Rau (Auckland University) signed an MoU to engage in long-term cooperation in cancer care.
- TMH is the most renowned cancer care hospital and research center in India.
- Initial projects envisaged for the partnership include a digital platform:
- For clinical trials to track study-related activities for patients, investigators, and regulators
- To make outpatient clinics more efficient
- To enhance prescription medicine safety
National Affairs
5. ICAR develops wheat variety to beat the heat
- Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has developed a new wheat variety called HD-3385.
- It can overcome the challenges arising out due to changes in weather patterns and rising heat levels.
- It is amenable to early sowing, escaping the impact of heat spikes, and can be harvested before March's end.
- Recently, the Centre announced to set up of a committee to monitor the situation arising from the increase in temperatures and its impact on the current wheat crop.
National Affairs
6. Kerala HC becomes first to publish judgements in regional language
- The Kerala High Court has become the first high court in the country to publish judgments in the regional language.
- On February 21 (International Mother Language Day), Kerala published two of its recent judgments in Malayalam.
- The judgments in Malayalam were uploaded on the court's website just below the English version.
- The Kerala High Court made use of SUVAS (Supreme Court Vidhik Anuwad Software ) tool to translate the judgments.
- CJ of Kerala HC: S. Manikumar
National Affairs
7. Namami Gange Executive Committee approves 9 projects
- The Namami Gange Executive Committee, headed by NMCG Director General G. Asok Kumar, has approved nine Projects, worth over 1,200 crore rupees for Pollution abatement in Ganga Basin and Ghat Development.
- Out of these projects, seven pertain to the abatement of pollution in the Ganga Basin and two to ghat development.
- The decision was taken during the 47th meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG).
Summits & Conferences
8. Asia Economic Dialogue 2023 begins in Pune
- An annual flagship event of the External Affairs Ministry on Geo-economics, Asia Economic Dialogue is being conducted in Pune, Maharashtra from 23 -25 February 2023.
- This event is being co-hosted in collaboration with Pune International Centre.
- Theme 2023: Asia and the Emerging World Order
- The Dialogue also discusses themes such as Global Growth Prospects, How the Global South Will Shape the G20 Agenda and the Metaverse.
Sports
9. Aishwary Pratap wins gold in men's 50m rifle 3 positions competition, ISSF
- Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar has secured the gold medal in the men's individual 50m rifle 3 positions competition at the ISSF World Cup in Cairo, Egypt.
- In the event, he defeated Alexander Schmirl from Austria by 16-6.
- With this gold, India topped the medal tally with four gold and Hungary at second.
- 10m air rifle mixed team: Rudrankksh Balasaheb Patil and R Narmada Nithin
- 10m air pistol mixed team: Varun Tomar and Rhythm Sangwan
- Men's 10m air rifle: Rudrankksh Patil
Banking & Finance
10. SBI allows Bhim-based real-time payment with Singapore
- The State Bank of India has partnered with PayNow (Singapore Payment System) for cross-border payments.
- The facility is offered through SBI's Bhim SBIPay mobile application.
- This partnership will allow fund transfers from India to Singapore through registered mobile numbers, and from Singapore to India using the UPI ID.
- This initiative will boost the digitization initiatives, providing an easy, seamless cross-border payment facility to users.
- SBI chairman: Dinesh Khara
Books & Authors
11. JP Nadda launches book 'Modi: Shaping a Global order in flux'
- BJP national president, JP Nadda has launched a book "Modi: Shaping a Global Order in Flux" in Chanakyapuri, New Delhi.
- The book is forewarded by S. Jaishankar ( Union External Affairs Minister) and edited by Sujan Chinoy, Vijay Chauthaiwala, and Uttam Kumar Sinha.
- Over 23 chapters, the book features write-ups by the likes of Amitabh Kant (former CEO of NITI Aayog), Chauthaiwale, Chinoy, Anurag Saxena, Amish Tripathi, and D.B. Venkatesh Varma (former diplomat).
Honours & Awards
12. INS Nireekshak awarded on-the-spot Navy chief Unit Citation for salvage ops
- In a first for the Indian Navy, Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral R Harikumar awarded an ‘on the spot’ Unit Citation to INS Nireekshak in Kochi.
- Reason: For deep sea diving and undertaking salvage operations under the most challenging circumstances
- He also awarded commendations to the crew involved in the salvage operation.
- INS Nireekshak:
- It is a Dive Support and Submarine Rescue Vessel of the Indian Navy.
- It was built in 1985 by Mazgaon Shipbuilders.
Honours & Awards
13. Veteran CPI-M Leader TK Rangarajan receives Lifetime Achievement Award
- A veteran CPI-M leader, T K Rangarajan has been honored with the Sansad Ratna Lifetime Achievement Award 2023.
- Thirteen MPs were nominated for the Sansad Ratna Awards 2023.
- The 13th edition of the award ceremony will be held on March 25 in New Delhi.
- Sansad Ratna Awards:
- It was instituted in 2010 and inspired by the teachings of former President APJ Abdul Kalam.
- It recognizes and felicitates the top-performing MPs based on their work in the apex legislative body
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