Daily Current Affairs and GK | 11 February 2023

Topic: Government Schemes and Initiatives

1. Ministry of Health launched a nationwide campaign to combat filariasis.

• Union Health Ministry Mansukh Mandaviya has launched a nationwide mass drug administration (MDA) campaign.
• Its main aim is to end filariasis disease transmission through the door-to-door distribution of anti-filarial drugs, especially in 10 affected states.
• Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Karnataka, etc. have jointly launched this campaign.
• Recently, the government announced elimination of filariasis by 2027, three years ahead of the global target.
• The Government has also released a renewed five-pronged strategy for the elimination of filariasis.
• Uttar Pradesh government has launched a D2C (direct-to-consumer) campaign to reach out to 80 lakh families with the message of the importance of MDA drugs.
• Lymphatic filariasis (LF):
  • Filariasis is a parasitic disease. This disease is caused by nematode worms.
  • It is also known as elephantiasis.
  • It is transmitted by infected mosquitoes and can cause acute and chronic symptoms.
  • It is a common disease in tropical Africa and Asia region.
  • Eight types of filarial nematodes are known that target humans.

Topic: Space and IT

2. Qualcomm Technologies launched the world’s first satellite-based two-way capable messaging solution.

• Qualcomm Technologies launched Snapdragon Satellite. It is the world’s first ‘satellite-based, two-way capable messaging solution’ for smartphones.
• It has been developed by Qualcomm in association with Iridium Inc. The technology was introduced at Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2023.
• It has been developed to bring satellite-based connectivity to the next-generation premium Android smartphones.
• Devices based on the flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 mobile platform will be the first to get this technology.
• It will be supported by an operational Iridium satellite constellation and powered by Snapdragon 5G Modem-RF Systems.
• The Snapdragon Satellite will offer global connectivity using mobile messaging from around the world.
• Snapdragon Satellite service can be further expanded to other devices such as tablets, vehicles, laptops and IoT.

Topic: National News

3. National Philatelic Exhibition- AMRITPEX 2023 inaugurated by Ashwini Vaishnaw.

• On 11 February, the National Philatelic Exhibition – AMRITPEX 2023 was inaugurated by Union Minister of Communications Ashwini Vaishnav at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi.
• The event will be held from 11-15 February 2023 at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi.
• The five-day event has been organized by the Department of Posts under the Ministry of Communications.
• It will showcase India's rich culture, heritage and history through postage stamps.
• As part of the Amrit Mahotsav celebrations of Independence, AMRITPEX 2023 is one of the biggest initiatives to comprehensively document and showcase the story of India from various aspects.
• It will be an exciting and engaging celebration of Indian culture, arts, freedom movement and rich heritage.
• The exhibition on the transformational journey of India Post will showcase the emerging role of post offices in digitizing the postal system and enriching the lives of citizens till the last mile.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Summits/ Conferences/ Meetings

4. World Government Summit 2023 will start on February 13 in Dubai.

• The theme of the Summit is "Shaping Future Governments."
• It will bring together global thought leaders, global experts and decision-makers for developing tools, policies and models important in shaping future governments.
• The summit will be attended by 20 presidents, including the President of Egypt- Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, President of the Republic of Türkiye- Recep Tayyip Erdogan, President of Senegal and Chairman of the African Union-Macky Sall, among others.
• More than 80 international, regional and governmental organizations will take part in sessions and forums.
• World Government Summit:
  • It is a global forum held annually in Dubai.
  • It brings together leaders from government, business, technology and civil society to discuss issues facing humanity and shape the future of governments around the world.
  • The summit aims to drive positive change and foster innovation in the public sector by exploring new ideas, technologies and best practices in governance.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Sports

5. Ravichandran Ashwin became the second fastest bowler to take 450 Test wickets.

• After dismissing Alex Carey in the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy on February 9, Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin became the second fastest bowler to reach 450 Test wickets.
• Ashwin reached this milestone in 89 Tests, while Sri Lankan player Muthaiah Murlidaran did so in 80 tests.
• Ashwin also broke the fastest Indian record to take 450 wickets, which was earlier held by Anil Kumble.
• The former India captain Kumble reach the landmark of 450 wickets in 93 tests.
• In terms of balls bowled, Ashwin is also the second fastest to take 450 Test wickets.
• The Indian spinner bowled a total of 23635 balls on his way to 450 wickets, while the fastest was Australian Glenn McGrath (23474).

Topic: Important Days

6. International Day of Women and Girls in Science 2023: 11 February

• International Day of Women and Girls in Science is observed every year on 11 February.
• It is celebrated to raise awareness about the role of women in achieving the development goals.
• This year 8th edition of International Day of Women and Girls in Science was celebrated across the world.
• The theme of International Day of Women and Girls in Science 2023 is “Innovate. Demonstrate. Elevate. Advance (IDEA): Bringing communities Forward for sustainable and equitable development.”
• In 2015, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) declared 11 February as the International Day of Women and Girls in Science.
• According to UNESCO, there are more girls in school than ever before, but they are still under-represented in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) subjects.
• Only one in three researchers is female, and women make up only 35 percent of graduates in STEM-related disciplines.
• Since 1998, UNESCO and the L'Oréal Foundation is organizing an award ceremony that honours women scientists of exceptional talent from around the world.

Topic: Indian Economy

7. Index of Industrial Production (IIP) increased by 4.3% in December 2022.

• According to the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation data, IIP increased by 5.4% from April to December of the current fiscal.
• The growth in IIP was at 15.3% in the year-ago period. In November 2022, India’s industrial production growth stood at 7.3%.
• The output of the manufacturing sector increased by 2.6% in December 2022.
• The growth of the manufacturing sector’s output stood at 6.4% in November 2022. 
• The mining output increased by 9.8% from 2.6% in December 2021.
• Electricity production grew by 10.4% in December 2022.
• For December 2022, the Quick Estimates of IIP with base 2011-12 stands at 144.7.
• In December 2022, a growth of 7.6% was recorded in the capital goods segment.
• Infrastructure/construction goods recorded a growth of 8.2% in December 2022.
• The output of consumer durables declined by 10.4%. The output of consumer non-durable goods expanded by 7.2%.
• The output of primary goods recorded 8.3% growth in December 2022. The intermediate goods output growth declined to 0.3%. 
• Factory output growth stood at 1% in December 2021. It is measured in terms of the Index of Industrial Production (IIP).

Topic: Space and IT

8. NASA has awarded the ESCAPADE contract to Blue Origin’s New Glenn.

• ESCAPADE is a twin-spacecraft Class D mission. It will study the transfer of solar wind energy through Mars’ unique hybrid magnetosphere.
• The full form of ESCAPADE is Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers.
• ESCAPADE is part of the NASA Small Innovative Missions for Planetary Exploration (SIMPLEx) program.
• ESCAPADE is a task order under the Venture-Class Acquisition of Dedicated and Rideshare (VADR) launch services contract of NASA.
• SIMPLEx program is a dual spacecraft mission to study Mars’ magnetosphere.
• New Glenn is a heavy-lift orbital launch vehicle of Blue Origin.
• Blue Origin is an American privately funded aerospace manufacturer and sub-orbital spaceflight services company. It was founded by Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon.
• Blue Origin is trying to carry astronauts to space on New Shepard, a fully reusable suborbital launch vehicle for space tourism.

Topic: Summits/ Conferences/ Meetings

9. India-ASEAN Digital Work Plan 2023 has been approved at 3^rd ASEAN Digital Ministers (ADGMIN) meeting.

• The 3rd ASEAN Digital Ministers (ADGMIN) meeting was held virtually.
• The meeting has been co-chaired by the Minister of State for Communications (MoSC), Shri Devusinh Chauhan, and Ivan John E. Uy, Secretary, Department of Information and Communication Technology, Philippines.
• India-ASEAN Digital Work Plan 2023 includes capacity building and knowledge sharing in the field of Information and Communication Technologies.
• Various relevant topics related to strengthening regional digital cooperation were discussed in the meeting.
• ASEAN India Friendship Year was celebrated in 2022 to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the establishment of dialogue relations.
•  India is ready to collaborate with the other members of ASEAN in the field of Information and Communication Technologies.
• The undergoing projects in ICTs will strengthen collaboration between India and ASEAN.
• Association of Southeast Asian Countries (ASEAN):
  • It was established on 8 August 1967.
  • Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, Myanmar (Burma), Cambodia, and Laos are members of ASEAN.
  • ASEAN-India relations were upgraded ASEAN-India Strategic Partnership in 2012.

Topic: Corporates/Companies

10. GAIL becomes the first PSU to sign APA with the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT).

• GAIL (India) Limited signed an advance pricing agreement (APA) with the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT).
• The APA scheme was launched in 2022 to improve the ease of doing business in India and support the government's goal of promoting a non-adversarial tax system.
• Advance pricing agreement (APA) programmes are operational in many countries like Canada, the USA, Japan and UK.
• The main aim of the APA programme is to provide certainty to taxpayers in respect of the transfer price of cross-border transactions.
• GAIL (India) is dependent on the US for a stable supply of LNG cargoes. 55 per cent of India’s local gas demand is fulfilled through imports.
• An Advance pricing agreement (APA) is a mechanism to minimize any confusion regarding the pricing of international transactions through a mutual agreement between the taxpayer and tax authority.
• APA guidelines are part of the Income Tax Act 1961.
• GAIL (India) Limited:
  • It is a Maharatna Central Public Sector Enterprise.
  • It was established in 1984.
  • It is India's largest gas transporting and marketing company.
  • Sandeep Kumar Gupta is the chairman and Managing Director.

Topic: Science and Technology

11. An advanced drone air traffic management system unveiled by Nitin Gadkari.

• On 8 February, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari has unveiled "Skye UTM", a most cutting-edge unmanned traffic management system in the world.
• It is capable of handling 4,000 flights per hour and 96,000 flights per day.
• Skye UTM is an aerial traffic management system that integrates unmanned air traffic with manned aviation airspace.
• Gurugram-based drone delivery company Skye Air Mobility has developed this unmanned air traffic management system.
• It will provide situational awareness, autonomous navigation and risk assessment to all drones and other air mobility operators.
• More than 300 successful BVLOS (Beyond Visual Line of Sight) drone flights have been supported by Skye UTM so far.
• Sky UTM captures over 255 parameters of UAV movement and stores them in its 'Blackbox'.
• The platform provides the first 3D view of drone airspace. The operations and regulations mapping server displays the latest airspace status, verified paths and real-time UAV movements.

Topic: Personality in News

12. Burt Bacharach, a legendary American pop composer, passed away at the age of 94.

• He was born on May 12, 1928, in Kansas City, Missouri, United States.
• Bacharach had won numerous awards including eight Grammys and three Oscars, two Golden Globes and a Lifetime Achievement Award.
• From the late 1950s until the 1980s, he wrote more than 500 songs.
• He wrote popular songs for many famous artists, including Dionne Warwick and the Carpenters.
• Some of his greatest creations include melodies like 'I’ll Never Fall in Love Again,' 'I Say a Little Prayer,' 'Walk on By,' 'Alfie,' 'Do You Know the Way to San Jose,' and many more.

(Source: News on Air)

Topic: International News

13. Quad countries launched 'Quad Cyber Challenge' for improving cyber security.

• Quad comprising India, United States, Japan and Australia launched a public campaign 'Quad Cyber Challenge'.
• The main aim of the campaign is to improve cyber security in their countries.
• Quad countries have invited Internet users of the Indo-Pacific and beyond to become part of the Challenge.
• 'Quad Cyber Challenge' is part of continuous efforts of Quad countries to increase cyber security awareness and create a more secure and resilient cyber ecosystem.
• The Quad Cyber Challenge will provide basic cybersecurity information and training to all users from corporations, educational institutions, small businesses and individuals.
• The Quad Cyber Challenge will end on 10 April.
• Many cyber-attacks around the world can be stopped with a few early measures.
• The measures include installing security updates, enabling enhanced identity checks through multi-factor authentication, etc.

Topic: Reports and Indices/Ranking

14. India moved to 55th place in ICAO's aviation safety oversight ranking.

• India's aviation safety oversight ranking has improved from 112th place to 55th place, with significant improvement in the score.
• ICAO Coordinated Validation Mission (ICVM) was implemented in India from 9 to 16 November 2022 under the Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme (USOAP).
• ICAO undertake the audit of all contracting states under this programme.
• ICAO Coordinated Validation Mission covered the areas of LEG, ORG, PEL, OPS and AGA on site.
• The ICAO team reviewed the progress in addressing 137 Protocol Questions (PQs).
• LEG is Primary Aviation Legislation and Specific Operating Regulations while ORG is Civil Aviation Organisation.
• PEL is Personnel Licensing and Training and OPS is Aircraft Operations.
• The USOAP audit of the civil aviation system of India was conducted in 2017. It generated an overall EI of 55.15 per cent for the eight critical elements of India's safety oversight system.