Daily Current Affairs and GK | 26 February 2022

Topic: Awards and Prizes

1. C-DOT bagged three awards at 12th Annual Aegis Graham Bell Awards.

• Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT) has won three awards for indigenously designed & developed innovative Telecom solutions in various categories at Annual Aegis Graham Bell Awards.
• CDOT has won the award in Tech for Social Good, Preventive measures to combat COVID 19, and Innovation in Lockdown Management categories.
• CDOT has won the award in the “Tech for Social Good” category for its Early Warning Platform for Disaster Management & Preparedness based on ITU’s Common Alerting Protocol.
• C-DOT SAMVAD has won the award in the “Innovative in Lockdown Management” category.
• C-DOT Quarantine Alert System (CQAS) has won the first prize in the “Preventive measures to combat Covid 19” category.
• Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT) is a government owned telecommunications technology development center. It was established in 1984.
• Aegis Graham Bell Award:
  • It is the largest innovation award given by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
  • It has been named after the father of telephony and great innovator, Alexander Graham Bell.
  • It was started by the Aegis School of Business, Data Science, and Cyber Security to promote innovation and to recognize innovators.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Appointments

2. K.N. Raghavan has been elected as new Chairman of International Rubber Study Group (IRSG).

• KN Raghavan will be the Chairman of IRSG for the next two years.
• He is head of Indian delegation to IRSG, and Executive Director of Indian Rubber Board.
• On March 31, he will preside over a meeting of the heads of delegation in Singapore.
• India has been elected for the chairmanship of IRSG.
• The position of IRSG chairman became vacant because Cote’d Ivoire (a country on the southern coast of West Africa) had completed its term as chairman.
• International Rubber Study Group (IRSG):
  • It is an inter-governmental organization of natural rubber and synthetic rubber producing and consuming countries.
  • IRSG was formed in the year 1944. It is headquartered in Singapore.
  • It is the only international commodity body that has been approved by Common Fund for Commodities for development financing in rubber sector.

Topic: State News/Mizoram

3. Mizoram CM Zoramthanga presented state budget for financial year 2022-23 with a total outlay of Rs 14,008 crore.

• He also tabled the supplementary demands for grants for the fiscal year 2021-22, totaling to Rs 6,025.44 crore.
• He said that state is facing major financial problems because of inadequate release of the share of taxes from the Centre.
• In the budget, there is no proposal for levying new taxes or increasing existing tax rates.
• Out of total outlay of Rs 14,008 crore, 28.57% has been kept for capital expenditure. CM said that the aim is to keep a revenue surplus of Rs 1,419.69 crore.
• The government will explore all possible avenues to augment the revenue income with the formation of Mizoram Resource Mobilization Committee.
• CM said that Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) for 2022-23 is estimated to be Rs 39,458.50 crore.
• The funds for implementation of Mizoram government's flagship Socio-Economic Development Policy (SEDP) has been increased from Rs 400 crore in the previous budget to Rs 700 crore for 2022-2023 fiscal.
• Mizoram:
  • It is a state in northeast India that shares its border with Assam, Manipur, Tripura, Bangladesh and Myanmar.
  • Its capital is Aizawl. Its governor is Hari Babu Kambhampati.
  • The highest peak in Mizoram is the Blue Mountain (Phawngpui).
  • It has one Lok Sabha seat and one Rajya Sabha seat.
  • It is one of the four northeast states mentioned in the sixth schedule of the Indian Constitution.

Topic: Sports

4. Carlos Alcaraz Garfia has won Rio Open title after defeating Diego Schwartzman of Argentina.

• Alcaraz has also become the youngest ATP 500 champion since the category was created in 2009.
• It is the second tour-level title of his career after his victory in Umag, Croatia last year.
• Two years after winning his first tour-level match in Rio de Janeiro, he became the youngest to win an ATP 500 title at the same event on 20th February 2022.
• He entered into the top 20 in the singles rankings on 21 February 2022. He had won NextGen ATP Finals in 2021.

Topic: National News

5. President inaugurated the 400^th birth anniversary commemorations of Lachit Borphukan.

• President Ram Nath Kovind inaugurated a year-long celebration in Guwahati to commemorate the 400^th birth anniversary of the legendary Ahom general Lachit Borphukan.
• He laid the foundation for a 150-foot bronze statue of the great commander.
• He laid the foundation stone for the redevelopment project of the General's Memorial in the Jorhat district.
• Shri Kovind also laid the foundation stone of Alaboi War Memorial at Dodora in Kamrup district.
• Lachit Borphukan:
  • Lachit Borphukan was a renowned army commander of Ahom kingdom.
  • The Battle of Alaboi was fought between the Ahoms and the Mughals on August 5, 1669, in which the Ahoms suffered devastating defeat and hundreds of their troops were killed.
  • After a humiliating defeat at Alaboi, Lachit Borphukan defeated the Mughals in 1671 and took back Assam.
  • He is known for his leadership in the 1671 Battle of Saraighat.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: State News / New Delhi  

6. India's first e-waste eco-park will be built in Delhi.

• Delhi Government will establish the "country's first e-waste eco-park” in New Delhi to handle the growing e-waste.
• The park would be developed on a 20-acre plot of land. Every year, Delhi produces 2 lakh tonnes of e-waste.
• In the country's first e-waste eco-park, recycling and re-manufacturing work will be done in a safe and scientific manner.
• The government will also formulate the Delhi Film Policy 2022 with an aim to promote tourism in the national capital.
• A 50 crore film fund will be set up to help film producers. This would be India's most progressive film policy, aimed at boosting the economy and creating jobs.
• Every year, the International Film Festival and an award function will also be organized in Delhi to honor the effort of skilled and semi-skilled labourers.

Topic: Government Schemes and Initiatives

7. Bhasha Certificate Selfie Campaign has been launched by Ministry of Education.

• The campaign has been launched to encourage cultural diversity and promote multilingualism and to foster the spirit of Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat.
• It aims to promote Bhasha Sangam mobile app, which is an initiative of the Ministry of Education and MyGov India. The app is developed by a startup named Multibhashi. 
• People can learn 100+ sentences of daily use in as many as 22 scheduled Indian languages with the help of Bhasha Sangam mobile app.
• As part of ‘Bhasha Certificate Selfie’ initiative, people are being encouraged to upload their selfie with the certificate from their social media accounts.
• Ek Bharat, Shrestha Bharat:
  • It was launched on 31 October 2015 on the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.
  • It aims to celebrate the unity in diversity and showcase the rich cultural heritage, traditions and customs of either State.

Topic: Appointments

8. Appointment Committee of Cabinet has approved appointment of several additional secretary and joint secretary-level officers.

• Geetha Meetina has been appointed as Joint Secretary, Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare for a period of five years.
• Rajbir S Panwar has been appointed as Managing Director (JS level), National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd. (NAFED), Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare. 
• Satyendra Singh has been appointed as Managing Director (JS level), National Horticulture Board (NHB), Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare.
• Chaitanya Murti has been appointed as Joint Secretary, Department of Biotechnology.
• Srikant Nagulapalli has been appointed as Joint Secretary, Cabinet Secretariat.
• Puneet Kansal has also been appointed as Joint Secretary, Cabinet Secretariat.

Topic: Government Schemes and Initiatives

9. Government has approved continuation of IVFRT scheme for next five years with an outlay of 1364.88 crores.

• The government has approved the continuation of the Immigration Visa Foreigners Registration Tracking (IVFRT) scheme till 31 March 2026.
• The main objective of the IVFRT scheme is to modernize and upgrade Immigration and Visa services.
• The average visa processing time has been reduced from 15-30 days to maximum of 72 hours in e-visas. 95 percent of e-visas were issued within 24hrs.
• The number of Visa and Overseas Citizen of India's cards has increased at a Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 7.7 percent.
• The number of issued cards has increased from 44.43 lakh in 2014 to 64.59 lakh in 2019.
• Immigration Visa Foreigners Registration Tracking (IVFRT) scheme:
  • It is administered by the Ministry of Home Affairs.
  • It aims is to interlink and optimize functions related to immigration, visa issuance, registration of foreigners, and tracking of their movements in India.
  • It provides a secure and integrated service delivery framework that facilitates legitimate travellers while strengthening national security.

(Source: NIC)

Topic: Personality in News

10. Odisha’s first tribal CM Hemananda Biswal passed away.

• Former Odisha Chief Minister and prominent tribal leader Hemananda Biswal died at the age of 82.
• He was the first tribal Chief Minister of Odisha. He was elected as Chief Minister from 7 December 1989 to 5 March 1990 and again from 6 December 1999 to 5 March 2000.
• He represented Sundergarh Constituency in the Lok Sabha and was a six-time MLA from Jharsuguda district.
• He started his political career from panchayat politics. He became MLA for the first time in 1974.
• Note:
  • Harekrushna Mahatab is the first Chief Minister of Odisha. Nandini Satpathy is the first woman Chief Minister of Odisha.
  • Naveen Patnaik is the current Chief Minister of Odisha. He is the 14^th Chief Minister of Odisha.

Topic: MoUs/Agreements

11. Defence Ministry signed an MoU to onboard pension services under SPARSH scheme.

• Defence Ministry has inked an MoU to provide pension services under the System for Pension Administration (Raksha) (SPARSH) initiative at four lakh Common Service Centres (CSCs).
• The MoU will help in providing last-mile connectivity to pensioners. The Service Centres will act as an interface for ‘SPARSH’.
• Kotak Mahindra Bank and Defence Ministry have also signed an MoU for setting up service centers in areas with high ex-servicemen density.
• The MoU will promote ease of living and resolve pension-related issues in a time-bound manner.
• System for Pension Administration (RAKSHA) (SPARSH):
  • It is an initiative of the Ministry of Defense.
  • It provides a single-window for the pensioners to avail pension related services.
  • It is administered by DAD through the Principal Controller of Defence Accounts (Pensions), Prayagraj.

Topic: National News

12. National War Memorial celebrated its third anniversary.

• On this occasion, the Chiefs of the Indian Army, the Indian Navy, and the Indian Air Force laid wreaths at the National War Memorial.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi had inaugurated the National War Memorial on 25th February 2019.
• After its inauguration, all homage ceremonies are conducted only at the National War Memorial.
• The National War Memorial is built to honour the soldiers who were martyred during the Sino-Indian war in 1962, the Indo-Pak wars of 1947, 1965 and 1971, Indian Peace Keeping Force operations in Sri Lanka and the Kargil Conflict in 1999.
• Since Independence, more than 26,000 soldiers of the Indian Armed Forces have given their lives to defend the sovereignty and integrity of the country.
• The Memorial has four concentric circles and a central obelisk, at the bottom. The concentric circles have been designed as a Chakravyuh.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Defence

13. India and Japan to hold joint military exercise in Karnataka.

• India and Japan will participate in a joint military exercise ‘EX DHARMA GUARDIAN-2022’ in Karnataka from 27^th February to 10^th of March.
• ‘Exercise DHARMA GUARDIAN’ is an annual military exercise between India and Japan. It is being conducted since 2018.
• This joint exercise includes house interventions drills, raids on terrorist hideouts in semi-urban terrain, combat first aid, unarmed combat, etc.
• Platoon level joint training on operations in the jungle and urban terrain will be also part of this exercise.
• The 15^th Battalion the MARATHA LIGHT INFANTRY Regiment of the Indian Army and 30th Infantry Regiment of Japanese Ground Self Defence Forces will participate in this exercise.
• Exercise Dharma Guardian will strengthen the defense cooperation between the Indian Army and Japanese Ground Self Defence Forces.

Topic: Miscellaneous

14. ‘World’s most beautiful building’ opened in Dubai.

• ‘Museum of the Future’ has been opened in Dubai. It is considered as the world's most beautiful building.
• It is seven-storey circular building and is spread across 30,000 square meters.
• It is designed by architect Shaun Killa of Killa Design. It is made of stainless steel.
• The structure of the museum is dedicated to the future. It will exhibit design and technology innovations and take the visitors on a “journey to the year 2071”.
• It will be a global center for inspiration, innovation, and the development of solutions to challenges and opportunities in human development.