Daily GK Update: 7th February 2023

 Sports

1. Women's Premier League to be held in Mumbai from 4th to 26th March

• The inaugural season of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2023 will be held in Mumbai (Maharashtra) from 4 - 26 March.
• All the tournament matches will be held in the Brabourne Stadium and the DY Patil Stadium.
• The auction of WPL players will take place on February 13 in Mumbai.
• IPL team owners: Mumbai Indians, RCB, Delhi Capitals, Capri Global Holdings (Lucknow), and Adani Sportsline
• IPL chairman: Arun Dhumal
• BCCI Secretary: Jay Shah 

 Science & Technology

2. Google introduces AI chatbot 'Bard'

• Google launched its conversational artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot named ‘Bard’.
• It will be directly competing with Microsoft-backed firm OpenAI's ChatGPT.
• It will combine the world's knowledge with the power, intelligence, and creativity of language models.
• Bard is based on LaMDA, the firm's Language Model for the Dialogue Applications system.
• It helps to draw information from the web to provide high-quality responses.
• Google CEO: Sundar Pichai

 Honours & Awards

3. Manappuram Finance MD, VP Nandakumar receives Hurun India award 2022

• VP Nandakumar (MD & CEO, Manappuram Finance Ltd) has received the Hurun India’s award 2022 for his remarkable achievements in the world of business.
• He was honored with the Hurun Industry Achievement Award 2022 in Mumbai.
• Adi Godrej (Chairman, Godrej Group), Cyrus S. Poonawalla (MD, Serum Institute of India Ltd), Kris Gopalakrishnan (co-founder, Infosys), and Sanjiv Goenka (RPG Group) were the earlier recipients of this award.

 Obituaries

4. Popular artist B.K.S. Verma passes away

• Veteran Indian painter, BKS Varma passed away at the age of 74 in Bangalore, Karnataka.
• The subject of his paintings was mainly environmental and social issues presented in a surreal form.
• He was trained in art by the legendary art teacher A.N. Subbarao at the art and culture institution.
• He was honoured with the Karnataka Rajya Puruskar (2001), Rajyothsava award (2001), and Honorary Doctorate by Bangalore University (2011).

 National Affairs

5. Yuva Sangam registration portal launched

• Union Minister of Education, Skill Development, and Entrepreneurship Dharmendra Pradhan has launched the Yuva Sangam registration portal in New Delhi.
• Aim: To build close ties between the youth of the North East Region (NER) and the rest of India under the spirit of Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat.
• It aims to provide an immersive, multidimensional experience of various facets-under four broad areas - Paryatan, Parampara, Pragati, and Paraspar Sampark.

 Agreement

6. Agri ministry signs MoU with Digital Green

• Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare signed an MoU with Digital Green under public-private partnership framework.
• Reason: To build a national-level digital extension platform
• It will host a digital library of curated multi-format multi-lingual content, deliver curated content to farmers, and help extension workers to access it.
• It also upskills the vast network of extension workers for agriculture, horticulture, fisheries, and rural livelihood missions.

 Sports

7. Australia's Aaron Finch announces retirement from International Cricket

• Australia's T20 captain, Aaron Finch has announced his retirement from international cricket.
• Earlier, the opening batsman had announced retirement from the 50-over format in September 2022.
• He made his international cricket debut in a T20I against England in 2011.
• He made his ODI debut against Sri Lanka in 2013 and his Test debut against Pakistan in 2018.
• He retires as Australia's leading run-getter in the format, having scored 3120 runs at an average of 34.28.

 National Affairs

8. IEA Report: India’s ‘LiFE’ initiative can save $440 bn globally in 2030

• According to a report by the International Energy Agency (IEA), the 'LiFE' (Lifestyle for Environment) initiative of India for the adoption of energy-efficient behavior can save the world $440 billion in 2030.
• About 1/5th of the emission cut is required by 2030 to put the world on a pathway to net zero emissions.
• PM Modi introduced the LiFE initiative at COP26 in Glasgow in Nov 2021.
• Aim: To tackle the challenges of environmental degradation and climate change.

 National Affairs

9. Hillary Clinton announced USD 50-million Climate Resilience Fund

• Former US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton announced a Global Climate Resilience Fund of 50 million dollars for women to fight climate change.
• This fund will also help to provide new livelihood resources and education.
• She addressed the salt pan workers near Kuda village in Gujarat's Surendranagar district.
• She also attended a programme in Ahmedabad to mark 50 years of SEWA (Self Employed Women's Association) as a trade union.
• SEWA was founded in 1972.

 Science & Technology

10. ISRO plans to develop astronaut training module with IIT Madras

• Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Madras.
• Reason: To build training modules for Indian Spaceflight Program, using augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and mixed reality (MR) technologies.
• The modules will be built at IIT Madras’ Experiential Technology Innovation Centre (XTIC).
• It will also be used to train engineers at Isro’s Human Space Flight Centre (HSFC).

 Banking & Finance

11. Sebi notifies stronger framework for green bonds

• SEBI strengthened the framework for green bonds by introducing the concept of 'blue' and 'yellow' bonds as new modes of sustainable finance.
• Blue bonds: related to water management, and marine sector
• Yellow bonds: pertaining to solar energy
• For this, SEBI amended norms governing the issue and listing of non-convertible securities.
• Green Debt Securities: Debt securities are issued for raising funds that are to be utilized for projects falling under certain categories.

 Honours & Awards

12. UNESCO soon declare Visva-Bharati world’s first living heritage university

• Visva-Bharati University will soon receive the ‘heritage’ tag from UNESCO to take the distinction of world’s first living heritage university.
• This university was founded by Rabindranath Tagore in 1921.
• It is one of India's major Central Government funded autonomous universities.
• The institution was given the status of a Central University in 1951 through a central Act.
• The Vice-chancellor of the University is appointed by the President of India.

 State Affairs

13. CM Yogi inaugurates VFS Global’s visa centre in Lucknow

• Uttar Pradesh CM, Yogi Adityanath inaugurated the VFS Global Visa Application Centre in Lucknow.
• Aim: To enable citizens of the state to complete the formalities related to the visa application process for 10 countries with ease.
• 10 Countries: Austria, Netherlands, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Estonia, Hungary, Portugal, Germany, Italy, and Saudi Arabia
• VFS Global (Visa Facilitation Services Global) was launched in Mumbai in 2001.
• VFS Global HQ: Dubai, UAE