Daily GK Update: 4th February 2023

National Affairs

The 36th edition of the Surajkund International Crafts Mela commenced in Faridabad, Haryana on February 3, 2023, and will continue till February 19, 2023.
It was organized by the Surajkund Mela Authority and Haryana Tourism in association with the Ministry of Tourism, Textiles, Culture, and External Affairs.
It was inaugurated by the Vice President of India, Jagdeep Dhankhar.
Theme state 2023: North-East region
Partner nation: Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO)

National Affairs

Union Minister for Environment, Bhupender Yadav launched the ‘Save Wetlands Campaign’ in Goa.
It is structured on a “whole of society” approach to wetlands conservation.
It enables affirmative actions for wetlands conservation at all levels of society and involves all strata of society.
He also released two publications - ‘India’s 75 Amrit Dharohar- India’s Ramsar Sites Factbook’ and ‘Managing Climate Risks in Wetlands – A Practitioner’s Guide.

National Affairs

NTPC will host G20 international seminar on Carbon Capture, Utilisation, and Storage (CCUS) on 5 February 2023 in Bengaluru.
This seminar will be attended by industries, policymakers, scientists, and academicians from different countries.
Focus: Achieving clean energy transition and subsequently moving towards net zero
CCUS is a technology that can capture and make effective use of the high concentrations of carbon dioxide emitted by industrial activities.

Sports

The Sports Minister, Anurag Singh Thakur, and LG of J&K, Manoj Sinha launched the Mascot, Theme Song, and Jersey for the 3rd edition of Khelo India Winter Games in Jammu & Kashmir.
The Winter Games are scheduled to be held from 10-14 February 2023 at Gulmarg, J&K.
It is supported by the Ministry of Sports and organized by the J&K Sports Council and Winter Games Association, J&K.
Mascot: Snow Leopard (depicts the vibrant heritage of the Himalayas)

State Affairs

J&K LG, Manoj Sinha inaugurated the SARAS Aajeevika Mela 2023 at Aquaplex Crown at Bagh-e-Bahu, Jammu.
The fair was participated by the women's Self Help Groups from around 25 States and UTs across the country.
Aim: To provide a platform for the rural SHG women to sell and promote their self-made products
On this platform, the SHG will display handicrafts, handloom, and natural food items from different rural areas across the country.

Important Dates

World Cancer Day is observed on February 4 each year to create awareness about cancer and to encourage its identification, prevention, and treatment.
It is being observed with the slogan "close the care gap" -- a call for equitable access to cancer care.
Blue and Orange are the official colors for world cancer day 2023.
This day originated on 4th February 2000 at the first World Summit Against Cancer, which was held in Paris.

State Affairs

The Kerala government presented announced a road map for setting up green hydrogen hubs in Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram in the coming two years.
The outlay for this scheme: Rs 200 crore
Aim: To build green hydrogen plants that can produce 60 tonnes of hydrogen per day.
It will be established with a 150 MW Electrolyser and storage infrastructure.
The Hydrogen produced through the electrolysis of water is known as green hydrogen.
Kerala's Finance Minister: K.N. Balagopal

National Affairs

Coal India arm, MCL has introduced drone technology through a web-based portal 'VIHANGAM' along with a drone and ground control system in coal mines.
Aim: For environmental monitoring, volume measurement, and photogrammetric mapping of mines for digitalization of the mining process.
It allows an authorized person to access real-time drone video from the mine.
This pilot project is at present operational at Bhubaneswari and Lingraj opencast mines, Talcher Coalfields.

Obituaries

Popular South Indian playback singer, Vani Jayaram passes away at 78 in Chennai.
The Government announced the Padma Bhushan award for the late singer this year.
She did playback for over one thousand Indian movies and recorded over 10 thousand songs.
She sang in Tamil, Kannada, Marathi, Odia, Gujarati, Haryanvi, Assamese, Tulu, and Bengali languages.
She had won National Film Awards three times and also was honoured with a lifetime achievement award by Filmfare (2013).

Science & Technology

Scott Sheppard, Astronomer of Washington's Carnegie Institution for Science has discovered 12 new moons around Jupiter planet.
Now, Jupiter has 92 moons.
Jupiter planet has overtaken Saturn planet, which has 83 moons at present.
The orbits of the 12 hitherto undiscovered moons of Jupiter have been published by the Minor Planet Center (MPC).
Of the 12 new moons, nine are particularly distant.
The MPC estimates that these nine moons have orbits longer than 550 days.