Daily Current Affairs and GK | 24 February 2024

Topic: Summits/ Conferences/ Meetings

1. Mobile World Congress 2024 is scheduled to begin on February 26 in Barcelona, Spain.

• Mobile World Congress 2024 (MWC) will be hosted by GSMA in Barcelona, Spain.
• Every year, this event is hosted to bring people from different companies that deal in mobile and wireless technologies into one place.
• Various companies will showcase their latest products and innovations at the event.
• The theme of this year’s Mobile World Congress is "Future First". Most discussions will be around this topic.
• The event is also divided into six sub-themes: Humanising AI, 5G and Beyond, Connecting Everything, Manufacturing DX, Game Changers, and Our Digital DNA.
• OnePlus is likely to announce its first OnePlus Watch 2 at the Mobile World Congress.

Topic: State News/ Haryana

2. CM Manohar Lal Khattar presented a Rs 1.89 lakh crore budget for the financial year 2024-25.

• The proposed budget for the financial year 2024-25 is 11% higher than the previous fiscal.
• This includes Rs 1,34,456.36 crore as revenue expenditure and Rs. 55,420.25 crore as capital expenditure.
• Haryana's Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) at the constant price has recorded a compound annual growth rate of 6.1 per cent between 2014–15 and 2023–24.
• Haryana’s share in national GDP has increased from 3.5 per cent in 2014-15 to 3.7 per cent in 2023-24.
• Haryana GSDP witnessed year-on-year growth at constant prices of 8.0 percent in 2023–24.
• The share of the secondary sector has been estimated at 29.3 percent in the GSDP, while the share of the territory sector and primary sector is estimated at 52.6 percent and 18.1 percent, respectively.
• The fiscal deficit was 2.80 percent of GSDP in RE 2023-24. The fiscal deficit is projected to be 2.77% of GSDP in the current fiscal year.
• The CM also announced the Haryana Antyodya Parivar Parivahan Yojana (HAPPY) to benefit poor families to avail of free travel, up to 100km every year in Haryana Roadways buses.
• The CM proposed a start-up fund of Rs 10 crore to promote drone manufacturing in Haryana.
• The government also proposed to establish an aviation college in Hisar for higher education.
• The government will also provide land at Pipli for constructing the Sikh Museum.

Topic: Government Schemes and Initiatives

3. On February 24, several key initiatives for the cooperative sector were inaugurated and the foundation stone laid by PM Modi in New Delhi.

• The pilot project of the world's largest grain storage scheme in the cooperative sector was inaugurated by PM Modi and is being implemented in 11 primary agricultural credit society PACS of 11 states.
• Under this initiative, the foundation stone of an additional 500 PACS across the country was also laid by PM Modi for the construction of warehouses and other agricultural infrastructure.
• The objective of this initiative is to seamlessly integrate PACS warehouses with the food grain supply chain, strengthening food security.
• Furthermore, the aim is to promote economic growth in the country with a collaborative effort supported by NABARD and led by the National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC).
• The project for the computerization of 18 thousands of PACS across the country was inaugurated by the Prime Minister, which is in line with the government's vision of prosperity through cooperation.
• It aims to rejuvenate the cooperative sector and empower small and marginal farmers.

Topic: Agriculture and Allied Sector

4. The compensation given to fishermen in case of accidental death has been increased from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 5 lakh by the Central Government.

• On 23 February, this was announced by Union Fisheries, Animal Husbandry, and Dairy Minister Parshottam Rupala at the inaugural program of the 13th Indian Fisheries & Aquaculture Forum at New Town Kolkata.
• Fostering Indian Fisheries and Aquaculture for Attaining Sustainable Development Goals is the theme of the two-day conference.
• On 25th February, this conference will end.
• The government has taken the initiative to launch various insurance schemes for the fishermen of the country.
• A credit card like the Kisan Credit Card was also introduced by the government for fishermen.
• There are 3 crore fishermen families in the country and 8 thousand kilometers long coastline.
• The total value of fish and fisheries exports now stands at Rs 60,000 crore and the government aims to increase it to Rs 1 lakh crore.
• The Central Government has allocated Rs 38,000 crore for fisheries and allied sectors since 2014, while the total allocation to this sector after independence before 2014 is Rs 3 lakh 680 crore.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: International News

5. India and Oman agreed to cooperate in the field of archives.

• India and Oman have decided to cooperate in the field of archives and a draft Executive Program for Cooperation (EPC) has been agreed upon.
• On 21 and 22 February, a delegation from the National Archives of India, New Delhi, visited the National Records and Archives Authority of Oman.
• The objective of the visit was to explore areas of bilateral cooperation in the archival field.
• The Indian delegation handed over a list of 70 selected documents related to Oman as a gesture of goodwill, which are available in the National Archives of India in New Delhi.
• Along with the list, the NRAA President was also handed copies of 523 pages of records that covered many important topics.
• These documents cover the period from 1793 to 1953 and relate to a wide range of subjects.
• These documents include the change of the Omani flag from red to white in 1868 and the succession of Sayyid Faisal bin Turki as ruler of Oman after the death of Sultan Sayyid Turki in 1888.
• This also includes the official visit of the Viceroy to Muscat and the Sultan of Oman to India in 1937.
• In addition, the Treaty of Friendship, Commerce, and Navigation between the Republic of India and the Sultan of Muscat and Oman, signed at Muscat on March 15, 1953, is also part of the document set.       

Topic: Important Days

6. Central Excise Day 2024: 24 February

• Every year on 24 February, Central Excise Day is celebrated across India.
• The main objective of this day is to honour the efforts, services, and contributions of the ‘Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs'.
• Central Excise Day is observed to mark the enactment of the ‘Central Excise and Salt Act’ on 24 February 1944.
• This Act was a combination of 11 Acts relating to excise and was passed to make changes in the law relating to salt and central duties.
• Later, in 1966, the Act was renamed the Central Excise Act, 1944.
• The day encourages the employees of the Excise Department to perform their duties.
• Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC):
  • It was established on 1 January 1964.
  • It is a part of the Department of Revenue under the Ministry of Finance.
  • It formulates and implements policies for Central GST, Central Excise Duty, and Custom/Import Duty.
  • Sanjay Kumar Agarwal is the chairman of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs.

Topic: National News

7. Centre has amended Surrogacy (Regulation) Rules, 2022.

• It has permitted couples with medical conditions to use donor gametes.
• It has been notified that if a couple is verified to have a medical issue, then none of the gametes needs to be from a married pair.
• The most recent amendment states that the couple may use surrogacy to conceive a child, but they will need to have at least one gamete from the intended partner.
• According to the notification, single women (widows or divorcees) undergoing surrogacy must use donor sperm and self-eggs.
• Couples undergoing surrogacy were required by previous regulations to obtain both of the intended couple's gametes.
• The District Medical Board will certify if either husband or wife suffers from medical condition that requires use of donor gamete.
• A lady with a rare congenital condition was previously permitted to use donor eggs for surrogacy by the Supreme Court.
• In March 2023, the Centre issued a notification that prohibited donor gametes for couples intending to undergo surrogacy.
• In surrogacy, a woman carries a foetus and gives birth to a baby for someone else. The woman does so without having any parental rights on the child.

Topic: Defence

8. The purchase of more than 200 BrahMos Extended Range (ER) supersonic cruise missiles has received approval from the CCS.

• These BrahMos Extended Range (ER) supersonic cruise missiles will be installed on Indian Navy vessels.
• Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) approved the ₹19,000 crore agreement during its meeting on February 21, 2024.
• An agreement between BrahMos Aerospace and the Ministry of Defence to begin the process of introducing the weapons into the Indian Navy is expected to be formally signed early next month.
• On November 1, 2023, the Indian Navy successfully launched a supersonic cruise missile from a Rajput class frigate in the Bay of Bengal.
• This supersonic cruise missile has an extended range between 400 and 500 km.
• The Navy currently possesses the earlier BrahMoS variant, which has a range of around 300 km.
• The ER variant can fire more precisely in addition to covering a greater distance.
• 200 BrahMos missiles were ordered by the Navy in March 2023 as part of a $2.5 billion agreement.
• In 2012, the Indian Air Force (IAF) placed the first order for the same number of the world's fastest missiles.
• The Army possesses five BrahMos regiments. Since last October, all three of the enhanced versions of BrahMos have been successfully test fired from ships, aircraft, land, and submarines.

Topic: Infrastructure and Energy

9. India’s first Gati Shakti Research Chair has been established at IIM Shillong.

• To set up India’s first ‘Gati Shakti Research Chair’, the Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways (MoPSW) signed a MoU with IIM Shillong.
• This chair will contribute to high-quality academic research on multimodal logistics with a focus on the Northeast.
• It will focus on building knowledge on multimodal logistics development strategies and practice, and innovation for logistical capacity building in the North-Eastern region.
• The main aim of the chair is to improve collaboration with global experts in creating and developing knowledge and expertise.
• The chair will support the PM Gati Shakti Masterplan for improving the East and North-East Region’s logistical capacity.
• A Strategic Round Table was also organised to discuss the multimodal logistics development strategy for connecting the North Eastern Region (NER) to the national and international regions.

(Source: DD News)

Topic: Summits/ Conferences/ Meetings

10. 11^th bilateral Consular Dialogue between India and the US took place in New Delhi.

• Dr. K J Srinivasa led the Indian delegation, while the US delegation was led by Rena Bitter.
• India and the US have discussed ways of enhancing cooperation on various issues such as extradition, mobility of students and professionals, safe and legal migration, and protection of vulnerable women and children.
• The dialogue will improve people-to-people ties and cooperation between both countries.
• Both sides also welcome the launch of a pilot in the US to adjudicate domestic renewals.
• Both countries also agreed to hold the next Consular Dialogue in the US next year. 

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Government Schemes and Initiatives

11. Various online portals for RNI and CBC were launched by Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur.

• On 22 February, four portals of the Ministry, including the Press Sewa Portal, Central Bureau of Communication Portal and Website, NaViGate Bharat Portal, and National Register for Local Cable Operators, were launched.
• The aim of launching these portals is to bring transparency to the system and ease of doing business.
• This will also reduce human intervention and make the functioning of departments under the ministry more efficient and transparent.
• Recently, Parliament passed the Registration of Press and Periodicals Bill 2023, abolishing the colonial-era law.
• With this decision, journalists will get registration of newspapers or magazines within 2 months instead of 2 years.
• Under the PRP Act 2023, the Press Seva Portal has been designed by the Press Registrar General of India (PRGI - erstwhile RNI).
• It aims to simplify the cumbersome registration procedures prevalent under the colonial PRB Act, of 1867.
• The Information and Broadcasting ministry is launching transparent panels, media planning, and an e-billing system for the Central Communications Bureau.
• The National Video Gateway of Bharat (NaViGate Bharat) portal is developed by the New Media Wing of the Ministry.
• It is an integrated bilingual platform that hosts videos on the entire gamut of development-related and citizen welfare-oriented measures of the government.
• The National Register for Local Cable Operators (LCOs) is the first step to bring the registration of LCOs currently spread across the country under a centralized registration system.
• A web form has been designed to collect information from local cable operators for the National Register.

Topic: Art and Culture

12. In Colombo, the three-day International Gita Mahotsav will begin from March 1.

• This was announced by Vidur Wickramanayake, Minister of Buddhist Administration, Religious and Cultural Affairs of Sri Lanka.
• The three-day International Geeta Mahotsav will be organized at Nelum Pokuna Theater Complex with the financial support of the Kurukshetra Development Board, Haryana.
• Thousands of delegates from across the world are expected to attend the festival.
• There will be Geeta Yagya, Geeta chanting, Shobha Yatra, seminar on many topics of contemporary interest and many competitions.
• A copy of Srimad Bhagavad Gita will be presented in the Parliament of Sri Lanka on March 4.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Defense

13. Trilateral Coast Guard Exercise 'Dosti 16' started in Maldives.

• Amid Security Concerns, Indian and Sri Lankan ships reached the Maldives to take part in the trilateral coast guard exercise ‘Dosti 16’.
• The two ships of the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) – ICGS Samarth and ICGS Abhinav are taking part in this exercise.
• Sri Lanka sent SLNS Samudra to participate in the biennial trilateral exercise.
• The main aim of the exercise is to fortify the friendship, enhance mutual operational capability, and exercise interoperability.
• It will enhance cooperation between the Coast Guards of India, Sri Lanka and the Maldives.
• Exercise ‘Dosti 16’ will be conducted from February 22 to 25.
• Exercise Dosti was first conducted in 1991 between the Indian and Maldives Coast Guards. Sri Lanka joined the exercise for the first time in 2012.
• After pro-China Mohamed Muizzu assumed office as President, ties between India and the Maldives have been on the downswing.

Topic: Awards and Prizes

14. Shah Rukh Khan won the Best Actor award at the Dadasaheb Phalke Awards 2024.

• The prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival Awards have been presented in Mumbai.
• Shah Rukh Khan received the Best Actor award for Jawan at the Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival Awards (DPIFF) 2024.
• Vicky Kaushal has been named Best Actor (Critics) for his role in the war biopic ‘Sam Bahadur’.
• Bobby Deol picked up the award for Best Actor in a Negative Role for his film ‘Animal’.
• Sandeep Reddy Vanga has received the Best Director award, while Rani Mukerji and Nayanthara have won the Best Actress award.

List of Important Awards: