Daily Current Affairs and GK | 28 February 2023

Topic: State News/ Karnataka

1. Shivamogga airport in Karnataka was inaugurated by PM Modi.

• Along with the airport, PM Modi also inaugurated various development projects that cost over Rs 3,600 crore in Shivamogga, Karnataka on 27 February 2023.
• The newly constructed airport is designed like a lotus flower. It is developed at a cost of around Rs 450 crore.
• It is suitable for A-320-type aircraft. Its passenger terminal building can handle 300 passengers per hour.
• Minister of Civil Aviation Shri Jyotiraditya M Scindia said there were only 74 airports in the country until 2014.
• After the inauguration of the Shivamogga airport, the number of airports doubled to 148.
• He said there has been a 100% increase in the number of airports in the last 9 years.
• The PM also laid the foundation for two railway projects. These projects are the Shivamogga – Shikaripura – Ranebennur new Railway line and Koteganguru Railway coaching depot.
• The PM also launched multi-village schemes worth over Rs 950 crore under the Jal Jeevan Mission.
• He also inaugurated 44 Smart City Projects worth over Rs 895 crore in Shivamogga city.
• Shivamogga city is located on the banks of the Tunga River. It is popularly nicknamed the "Gateway of Malnad".

Topic: State News/ Uttar Pradesh

2. Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari inaugurated seven national highway projects in Uttar Pradesh.

• He inaugurated projects with an investment of Rs 6500 crores in Chitbada village, Ballia, Uttar Pradesh.
• He said with the construction of the Ballia Link Expressway, people can reach Patna from Lucknow through Purvanchal Expressway in just four and a half hours.
• He said eastern Uttar Pradesh will get better connectivity with Chhapra, Patna, and Buxar in Bihar with the construction of the highway.
• Greenfield road from Chandauli to Mohania is being constructed at a cost of Rs 130 crore.
• It will provide connectivity to Chandauli in Uttar Pradesh and the Kaimur district of Bihar via the Delhi-Kolkata GT Road.
• With the construction of Saidpur to Mardah road, there will be direct connectivity from Mau to Varanasi via Saidpur.
• He also announced the new connectivity route between Ballia-Ara via 28 km Greenfield spur road at a cost of 1500 crores.

Topic: State News/ Jammu and Kashmir

3. Ministry of Tourism organized the 1st Snow Marathon in Bhaderwah, Jammu on 26 February 2023.

• 1st Snow Marathon was organised in association with Real Sports India along with the local administration, Amazing Bhaderwah Tourism Association (ABTA).
• Vishesh Mahajan, Deputy Commissioner/DM, DODA flagged off 1st Jammu Snow Run Safari.
• He said that there is a lot of potential for activities like Snow Run Safari at Guldanda (Bhaderwah).
• This first-ever grand snow marathon event is organised to celebrate 75 years of India’s Independence, G20 India Presidency, Dekho Apna Desh, and Fit India Movement.
• More than 130 runners took part in the marathon from across the country. The marathon started from Guldanda.

Topic: International News

4. “Maitri Cultural Partnerships” launched to promote collaboration in creative industries of India and Australia.

• Recently, the launch of ‘Maitri Cultural Partnerships” have been announced by Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Senator Penny Wong.
• He stated that the "Maitri - friendship - will underpin a range of partnerships and grants to help our creative sector collaborate with India's thriving cultural industries."
• The partnership aims to promote increased exchange and collaboration between the Australian and Indian creative industries.
• Maitri Cultural Partnership Grant Round is divided into three programs:
  • With funding up to $250,000, the Maitri Cultural Partnerships Major Collaboration Grant will support major Australian cultural organisation collaboration to engage Indian partners.
  • With funding up to $250,000, the Maitri Cultural Partnerships Visual and Performing Arts Grants for cultural collaboration that supports First Nations participation.
  • With funding up to $70,000, Maitri Cultural Partnerships Collaboration Grants will back small to medium-sized Australian cultural organisations and community groups collaboration.
• In 2022, both countries also signed a Free Trade Agreement (FTA), which was a significant step in strengthening the trade and commerce ties between the two countries.

Topic: National News

5. Under Operation Sadhbhavna, Air Force airlifted 393 Ladakhi passengers stranded in Jammu.

• On 26 February, the Indian Air Force arranged three flights to evacuate stranded passengers from Jammu to Leh and Chandigarh to Nubra under the Operation Sadbhavna programme.
• The Indian Air Force used its IL-76 aircraft for this operation.
• A total of 393 passengers were taken from Jammu to Leh in two flights.
• Similarly, in another flight, 221 passengers were brought from Chandigarh to Nubra.
• Since air fare has risen up to 70 thousand rupees, the new Lieutenant Governor Brigadier Dr. BD Mishra came to the rescue by arranging the aircraft in collaboration with the Indian Air Force.
• With all routes to Ladakh closed due to snowfall, flights are the only means of movement for all from Leh to other parts of the country, with four routes of flight operations via Delhi, Chandigarh, Jammu and Srinagar.
• Other operations of IAF:

Topic: Important Days

6. National Science Day 2023: 28 February

• National Science Day or Rashtriya Vigyan Divas is celebrated in India every year on 28 February.
• The day is celebrated to remember the discovery of the Raman Effect by Sir C V Raman on 28 February 1928.
• The theme of National Science Day 2023 is 'Global Science for Global Wellbeing'.
• In 1930, he had won the Nobel Prize in Physics for the discovery of the Raman Effect.
• In 1954, he also received Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award.
• In 1986, the Government of India declared 28 February as National Science Day.
• The first National Science Day was celebrated on 28 February 1987.
• The National Council for Science and Technology Communication (NCSTC) of the Department of Science and Technology is the nodal agency for the coordination of National Science Day celebrations.
• National Awards for the Popularization of Science are given every year on National Science Day.
• In February 1987, DST instituted these awards.
• Raman Effect: When light passes through a transparent material, the wavelength and amplitude of some deflected light change. This is called Raman scattering and is a consequence of the Raman Effect.

Topic: Personality in News

7. Banjara Dharmaguru Santh Sevalal Maharaj Jayanti was celebrated by the government for the first time.

• For the first time, the Ministry of Culture is organizing a year-long festival to commemorate the 284th birth anniversary of Sant Sewalal Maharaj, the spiritual and religious guru of the Banjara community.
• This jubilee year program has been started from February 26, 2023, under the Amrit Mahotsav of Independence.
• Under this, a two-day program was organized as a part of the 284th birth anniversary celebrations on February 26-27, 2023 at Dr. Ambedkar International Center in New Delhi.
• Home Minister Shri Amit Shah was the chief guest of this program and Shri Sanjay Rathod, Minister of Food and Drug Administration, Government of Maharashtra was the guest of honor of this program.
• For the last 3 years, New Delhi based Sant Sewalal Maharaj Charitable Trust has been celebrating it in Delhi.
• It is believed that the population of Banjara community in the whole country is 10 to 12 crores.
• Sant Sevalal Maharaj:
  • He was born on February 15, 1739 at Suragondankoppa in Shivamogga district of Karnataka.
  • He is considered a social reformer and spiritual leader of the Banjara community.
  • He travelled across the country with his LaDenia troupe, especially to serve the forest dwellers and nomadic tribes.
  • Due to his extraordinary knowledge, excellent skills and spiritual background in Ayurveda and Naturopathy, he was able to dispel the myths and superstitions prevalent in the tribal communities and improve their lives.
  • He is the revered icon of every Banjara family in states like Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh
  • The Samadhi Sthal of Sant Sewalal Ji is situated at Pohradevi in Manora Taluka of Washim District of Maharashtra, which is also known as Banjara Kashi.

Topic: Awards and Prizes

8. Hari Balakrishnan, an MIT professor, has been awarded the 2023 Marconi Award.

• Dr. Balakrishnan is Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
• Dr. Balakrishnan has been awarded “for fundamental contributions to wired and wireless networking, mobile sensing, and distributed systems”.
• He graduated with a BTech in Computer Science from IIT Madras in 1993 and received his PhD from the University of California, Berkeley in 1998.
• Previously, Dr. Balakrishnan has won the Infosys Prize (2020) and the IEEE Koji Kobayashi Computer and Communications Award (2021).
• The Marconi Prize is a prestigious award given to computer scientists by the U.S.-based Marconi Foundation.
• It is given to those who have "made a significant contribution to enhancing digital inclusion through advanced information and communication technology."
• Sir Tim Berners-Lee, Google cofounder Sergey Brin, and sci-fi author Arthur C. Clarke are the previous winners of the Marconi Prize.

Topic: Defence

9. Indian Air Force (IAF) will take part in Exercise Desert Flag VIII.

• IAF contingent comprising of 110 Air Warriors has reached at Al Dhafra airbase of UAE for taking part in Exercise Desert Flag VIII.
• Indian Air Force would be taking part with five LCA Tejas and two C-17 Globemaster III aircraft.
• This is the first international exercise outside India for LCA Tejas.
• The exercise is taking place from 27 February 2023 to 17 March 2023.
• The aim of the exercise is to participate in multiple combat programs and learn from the best practices of various air forces.
• Exercise Desert Flag is a multilateral air exercise.
• In this exercise, Air Forces from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), France, Kuwait, Australia, the UK, Bahrain, Morocco, Spain, the Republic of Korea, and the USA would also be taking part.

Topic: Government Schemes and Initiatives

10. Phase 2 of the National Surveillance programme for aquatic animal diseases was launched by Union Minister Purushottam Rupala.

• Union Minister for fisheries and animal husbandry Purushottam Rupala launched phase 2 of the programme in Chennai on 27 February 2023.
• He said that Pradhan Mantri Sampada Yojana was launched to increase fish production by an additional 70 lakh tonnes.
• He also said that Pradhan Mantri Sampada Yojana was launched to increase fish export earnings to one lakh Crore rupees in 2024 -25.
• He said that the National Surveillance programme for aquatic animal diseases was launched with the aim to provide an impetus to the industry. It is being implemented by the central government since 2013.
• He added that 33 Crore rupees were allocated for three years for the implementation of the programme.
• The surveillance programme will help the farmers to identify and report the disease. It will also offer them solutions.
• He also launched a genetic improvement programme for Indian White Shrimp (Penaeus indicus).
• In the next 3 to 5 years, scientists will develop an improved variety of Indian white shrimp to avoid over-dependence on a single species and to develop native shrimps by selective breeding.
• Union Minister also launched a crop insurance scheme for shrimp-growing farmers.
• The insurance scheme has been evolved by the India Council for Agricultural Research and Central Institute of Brackishwater Aquaculture (CIBA) in association with the insurance company.
• Central Institute of Brackishwater Aquaculture is located in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
• India is the third largest fish-producing country having a fish production of 14.73 million metric tonnes.

Topic: Geography

11. A new core of the earth has been discovered by Scientists.

• A pair of seismologists of the Australian National University discovered a new core of the earth.
• Scientists have documented new evidence of a 400-mile-thick solid metallic ball at the centre of Earth’s inner core.
• This new layer has iron-nickel alloy like other parts of the core but it has a different crystal structure.
• Due to the different crystal structure, shock waves from earthquakes pass through the layer at different speeds than the surrounding core.
• Researchers study the inner core for a better understanding of the Earth’s magnetic field.
• Earth’s magnetic field protects us from harmful radiation and makes life possible on earth.
• The inner core has grown by solidification from the outer core as the earth has cooled during the past 4.5 billion years and that solidification and growth are still continuing.
• The inner core of the earth has been discovered by Inge Lehmann in 1936.
• The earth is made up of three different layers: the crust, the mantle and the core.

Topic: State News/ Karnataka

12. Karnataka Government will build India’s first Marina.

• India’s first Marina or a boat basin offering dockage will be constructed at Byndoor in the Udupi district.
• It will be constructed to promote the coastal tourism in Karnataka.
• The Karnataka Government will seek permission from the Centre for the relaxation in coastal regulation zone (CRZ) to promote beach and pilgrim tourism.
• The Government will develop the history of tourism in the state with the help of the Department of Archaeology.
• The government has also proposed to build a corridor for temples including Madhukeshwara in Banavasi and Dattatreya in Ganagapura.
• Karnataka has a rich biodiversity and a 350 km coastal area. 400 km of the Western Ghats are in Karnataka.