Daily Current Affairs and GK | 27 February 2024

Topic: Sports

1. Suhas Yathiraj won Gold medal at the Para-Badminton World Championships 2024.

• Suhas Yathiraj along with Pramod Bhagat, and Krishna Nagar won Gold medals at the BWF World Para-Badminton Championships in Pattaya, Thailand.
• Suhas Yathiraj, Pramod Bhagat, and Krishna Nagar won gold medals in the men's singles SL4, SL3 and SH6 categories.
• Suhas Yathiraj is currently the Secretary and Director General of Youth Welfare and Prantiya Rakshak Dal in the UP government.
• Pramod Bhagat defeated England's Daniel Bethell 14-21 21-15 21-14 in the SL3 final.
• Krishna Nagar emerged winner by defeating China's Lin Naili by 22-20, 22-20.
• In singles SU5, Manisha Ramadass won silver medal by defeating China's Yang Qiu Xia by 16-21 and 16-21.

Topic: Summits/ Conferences/ Meetings

2. India advocated for flexibility in existing WTO agreements.

• At the 13th Ministerial Conference of WTO opening day, Comoros and Timor Leste became member of the World Trade Organization.
• The 13th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO) is scheduled to take place from February 26–29, 2024, in Abu Dhabi.
• To address concerns related to developing countries, India emphasized on flexibility within existing WTO agreements.
• India highlighted the need to avoid fragmentation of the multilateral trading system and the importance of remaining focused on the WTO agenda rather than non-trade issues.
• India emphasized that non-trade issues have the potential to encourage trade-distorting subsidies and non-trade barriers.
• India also cautioned members that mixing non-trade topics with WTO rules can lead to greater trade fragmentation.
• The Indian delegation was led by India's Commerce Secretary, Sunil Barthwal.
• The WTO will complete its 30 years of its establishment in 2025.

Topic: Personality in News

3. Pankaj Udhas, a Ghazal singer, passed away at the age of 72 after a prolonged illness.

• On February 26, Pankaj Udhas, renowned ghazal singer and Padma Shri awardee passed away after a prolonged illness.
• Udhas started his career with the ghazal album 'Aahat' in 1980, and followed it with three other successful albums - 'Mukraar', 'Tarannum' and 'Mehfil'.
• He was born in Gujarat and trained in tabla from Sangeet Natak Academy in Rajkot.
• In 2006, the government honored Pankaj Udhas with the Padma Shri, India's fourth-highest civilian award.

Topic: National News

4. The establishment of the CBFC Facilitation Office in Chandigarh announced by the I&B Minister.

• On February 25, the setting up of the Regional Facilitation Office of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) in Chandigarh has been announced by the Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur.
• It aims to promote ease of doing business for filmmakers in the region.
• This was announced at the closing ceremony of the Chitra Bharati Film Festival in Chandigarh.
• Under this, filmmakers from the region will get the facility to screen and submit cuts/revisions of their films, without having to go to Delhi or Mumbai to obtain a CBFC certificate for their films.
• The minister said that every year more than half of the world's 2,500 films are being made in India.
• In addition, the Minister spoke about the initiatives being taken by the government to make film halls more accessible, especially for people with disabilities fans.
• In this regard, the government has already invited comments from stakeholders to formulate a new guideline so that the hearing and visually impaired people get an opportunity to enjoy the film like others.
• Recently, the government has made very meaningful changes in the Cinematograph Act to stop film piracy.
• Now, special nodal officers are being appointed at all our CBFC centers to curb piracy.
• Across the country, 12 nodal officers will receive complaints against piracy and give instructions to remove pirated content on digital platforms.
• Action will be taken within 48 hours of receiving the complaint.
• Every year, the film industry is suffering a loss of Rs 20,000 crore due to piracy, according to reports.

Topic: Personality in News

5. Vijay Shekhar Sharma resigned from the post of Chairman of Paytm Payments Bank.

• Ahead of the March 15 deadline to wind down business, Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma has resigned as part-time non-executive chairman of Paytm Payments Bank Ltd (PPBL).
• PPBL has also reconstituted its board of directors.
• It includes Ex-Central Bank of India Chairman Srinivasan Sridhar, retired IAS officer Debendranath Sarangi, former Executive Director of Bank of Baroda Ashok Kumar Garg, and former IAS officer Rajni Sekhri Sibal.
• In Paytm Payments Bank, Sharma has 51% of the stake, while One97 Communications, as Paytm is formally known, has the rest stake.
• The decision has been taken amid the RBI crackdown on the payments bank over persistent non-compliance and supervisory concerns.
• RBI had ordered the FinTech firm to stop its banking activities after February 29 and later extended the deadline to March 15.
• The Bank will not be permitted to top up any customer account, prepaid devices, wallets, or cards for taking any further deposits carrying out credit transactions, or paying road tolls.
• Paytm is likely to partner with Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, State Bank of India, and Yes Bank for processing transactions through the popular Unified Payments Interface (UPI).

Topic: State News / Kerala

6. On 27 February, ISRO's technical facilities in Kerala inaugurated by PM Modi.

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on a one-day visit to Kerala on 27 February 2024.
• To improve the country's space sector to achieve its full potential, three important space infrastructure projects inaugurated by the PM at Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Thiruvananthapuram.
• These projects include the PSLV Integration Facility (PIF) at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, the new ‘Semi-cryogenics Integrated Engine and Stage Test facility’ at ISRO Propulsion Complex at Mahendragiri, and the ‘Trisonic Wind Tunnel’ at VSSC, Thiruvananthapuram.
• With a cumulative cost of approximately Rs 1800 crore, these three projects have been developed to provide world-class technical facilities for the space sector.
• The PSLV Integration Facility (PIF) at the Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota will help in increasing the frequency of PSLV launches from 6 to 15 per year.
• This state-of-the-art facility can also help in the launch of SSLV and other small launch vehicles designed by private space companies.
• The new 'Semi-Cryogenics Integrated Engine and Stage Test Facility' at IPRC Mahendragiri will enable the development of semi-cryogenic engines and stages and increase the payload capacity of existing launch vehicles.
• The facility is equipped with liquid oxygen and kerosene supply systems to test engines with a capacity of up to 200 tonnes.
• The “Trisonic Wind Tunnel” that is being inaugurated at VSSC is a complex technological system that will meet our future technology development needs.

Topic: International Appointments

7. Feleti Teo is named prime minister of Tuvalu.

• Feleti Teo is former attorney general of Tuvalu. He was the first attorney general of Tuvalu.
• Following a general election that resulted in the removal of the Tuvalu's pro-Taiwan leader, Feleti Teo was named as the new prime minister.
• Teo was the sole candidate nominated by his 15 lawmaker colleagues. He was announced elected without a vote.
• In the election held on January 26, Kausea Natano, his predecessor who supported Taiwan, was defeated.
• Tuvalu is one of just 12 nations that maintain formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan.
• Recently, Nauru, Tuvalu's neighbor, ended diplomatic ties with Taipei in favor of Beijing.
• It is the first time that a prime minister has been selected without opposition, according to Tuvalu lawmaker Simon Kofe.
• Tuvalu is an island country in the Pacific Ocean. It is composed of three reef islands and six atolls. Funafuti is its capital.

Topic: International Appointments

8. Maryam Nawaz has become 1st woman Chief Minister (CM) of West Punjab in Pakistan.

• Maryam Nawaz is the daughter of three-time Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
• She said she would now not only represent a political party. She would be a Wazir-e-Ala of the entire Punjab.
• In the elections, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) won 137 seats in the Punjab Assembly.
• Independents backed by former PM Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) won 113 seats.
• In 2017, she was featured in the BBC's 100 Women list.
• Additionally, she was included in The New York Times list of 11 Powerful Women Around the World for the year 2017.

Topic: Environment and Ecology

9. Germany allowed carbon transport and sub-seabed storage.

• Germany is Europe's biggest economy and aims to become carbon neutral by 2045.
• Germany's government will allow carbon capture and sub-seabed storage technology in certain industries.
• These systems will capture carbon dioxide produced by industrial processes at the point of emission and remove it from the atmosphere.
• Germany is likely to miss its climate goals and is targeting to capture around 34 million and 73 million tons of carbon annually by 2045.
• Under the new law changes, transportation of CO2 and its storage in sub-seabed areas will be allowed except for protected marine zones.
• The government has amended the carbon storage law and created a clear legal framework for developing a CO2 pipeline infrastructure.
• Germany will also sign the London Protocol amendment to make CO2 off-shore exports possible.
• Germany has around 1.5 billion to 8.3 billion tons of CO2 storage capacity under the North Sea. It can annually deposit 20 million tons of CO2.

Topic: State News/ Sikkim

10. Sikkim’s first railway station foundation stone has been laid by PM Modi.

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of Rangpo railway station.
• Sikkim will now be connected with a railway line. The railway will become the third mode of transportation for residents.
• The government will develop this project in three phases. In the first phase, Sevoke to the Rangpo rail project will be developed.
• In the other phase, the railway line from Rangpo to Gangtok; and in the third phase, from Gangtok to Nathula will be developed.
• The design of the Rangpo railway station will be inspired from the rich culture, heritage and architecture of Sikkim.
• The station will be a part of the under-construction 45-km rail line from Sevoke near Siliguri in West Bengal to Rangpo in Sikkim
• The Sevoke-Rangpo section of the Northeast Frontier Railway will have the capacity to handle 25 tons and trains can run at a maximum speed of 110 kmph.

Topic: State News/ Haryana

11. 'Savera' program for early screening and detection of breast cancer launched by the Haryana Chief Minister on 25 February.

• This program has been initiated by the Medanta Foundation in collaboration with the health department in Gurgaon.
• Under the scheme, visually impaired people will conduct the screening for breast cancer.
• The importance of this ability has been understood, tested, and used by people associated with the medical world.
• A normal doctor can detect breast cancer up to one centimeter after examination while visually impaired people can detect it up to half a centimeter. They have a very high sensitivity to touch.
• During its initial phase, the program will be launched in the Civil Hospital of Sector 10, the Polyclinic of Sector 31, and the PHC of Wazirabad.
• Breast cancer is one of those cancer types that mainly occurs in women living in cities.
• Every year around 90,000 women lose their lives due to breast cancer across the country.
• The CM also mentioned the establishment of the National Cancer Institute at AIIMS in Jhajjar district, which has been equipped with 1,000 beds.
• Other initiatives of the government for cancer prevention include the establishment of Atal Cancer Care Center in Ambala district and cancer treatment and research is also being done at PGIMS, Rohtak.

Topic: Important Days

12. World NGO Day 2024: 27 February

• World NGO Day is celebrated annually on 27 February to recognize and honour all non-governmental and non-profit organizations.
• The theme of World NGO Day 2024 is "Building a Sustainable Future: The Role of NGOs in Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)."
• It was first proposed in 2010 by the Baltic Sea NGO Forum. It highlights the work of NGOs around the world.
• In 2014, the UN, EU leaders, and international organizations adopted 27th February as World NGO day.
• It is celebrated in over 89 countries and in more than six continents.
• The Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland hosted the global inaugural event of World NGO Day on 27 February 2014 in Helsinki, Finland.
• India has more than three million non-governmental organizations (NGO). They play important roles as facilitators and partners in different sectors.
• Non-governmental organization (NGO):
  • A non-governmental organization (NGO) is a non-profit group that functions independently.
  • It plays a vital role in international development, improving communities, and philanthropy work.

Topic: International News

13. UAE has been removed from FATF’s ‘grey list’.

• The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has decided to remove UAE from its ‘grey list’.
• UAE was placed under scrutiny in 2022 after FATF highlighted the risk of money laundering and terrorist financing.
• The European Union listed the UAE as a high-risk country for money laundering and terrorist financing.
• Last year, ESMA barred European banks and others from clearing trades with the Dubai Commodities Clearing Corporation.
• The fifth FATF Plenary was held under the Singapore Presidency of T. Raja Kumar in Paris on 21-23 February.
• The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is the body for global money laundering and terrorist financing watchdog. It sets international standards that aim to prevent these illegal activities and the harm they cause to society.

Topic: International News

14. Dubai introduced a 5-year multiple-entry visa for Indian tourists.

• Dubai government has launched five-year multiple-entry visa for Indian tourists.
• The Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) of Dubai has launched this initiative to attract more Indian tourists.
• In 2023, Dubai witnessed a remarkable 25% surge in overnight visitors from India.
• This five-year multiple-entry visa for Indian tourists will deepen the economic collaborations, stimulate tourism, and fortify business relationships.
• This new visa will allow the tourists to enter the UAE multiple times on their sponsorship. A tourist holding this visa can stay for 90 days initially and can stay up to a maximum of 180 days.
• To obtain the visa, applicants must meet certain criteria, including a bank balance of 4,000 USD, valid health insurance for the UAE, a round-trip ticket, and proof of stay in the UAE.