Daily Current Affairs and GK | 3 February 2023

Topic: State News/ Kerala

1. Kerala's economy registered a strong recovery in FY 2021-22.

• According to the State Economic Review for 2021-22, Kerala's economy has grown by 12.01 per cent in 2021-22 from (-) 8.43 per cent in 2020-21.
• Kerala's economy has grown the fastest since 2012-13.
• In 2021-22(Q), primary, secondary and tertiary sectors grew by 4.16 per cent, 3.9 per cent and 17.3 per cent respectively as compared to 2020-21.
• Agriculture and allied activities has increased from 0.24 per cent in 2020-21 to 4.64 per cent in 2021-22.
• Fishing and Aquaculture and Crop sectors registered a positive growth of 30.1 per cent and 3.63 per cent respectively in 2021-22.
• In 2021-22 (Q), the Industry sector has grown by 3.9 per cent as compared to (-) 2.82 per cent.
• Manufacturing (3.63%) and construction (2.4%) showed positive growth in 2021-22.
• The service sector registered a growth of 17.3 per cent in 2021-22 (Q).
• At the end of 2021-22, the outstanding public debt of the state was Rs.219974.54 crore.
• The Kerala government has decided to celebrate 2022-23 as a "Year of Enterprises". Its main aim is to encourage Micro, Small and Medium level entrepreneurs in the State.
• The government has emphasised improving the quality of school infrastructure.
• The Kerala government has launched the Aardram Mission programme for the development of health infrastructure.
• The State Government is setting up a Textile Processing Centre at Nadukani.
• The government of Kerala has launched many initiatives to increase academic standards and the enrolment ratio.

Topic: State News/ Uttarakhand

2. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh announced that the state will be drug-free by the year 2025.

• Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami inaugurated the de-addiction workshop on 'Mission Drugs Free Devbhoomi'.
• He said that it is our resolution that by 2025 not even a single person of Devbhoomi should be addicted to drugs.
• The government, society, youth, NGOs, celebrities, successful people and various social-educational institutions will have to work together for the accomplishment of this resolution.
• Chief Minister also announced that the name of the Prisons Department would be changed to "Prison Administration and Correctional Service".
• Awareness regarding drug-free will be also brought in all the prisons of the state.
• The Uttarakhand government will celebrate its Silver jubilee of the establishment in 2025.

Topic: Personality in News

3. Renowned filmmaker K. Vishwanath passed away at the age of 92.

• K. Viswanath, a legendary filmmaker and Dadasaheb Phalke awardee, has passed away at a private hospital in Hyderabad. 
• Viswanath, also popularly known as Kalatapasvi, was born in Andhra Pradesh in 1930 and gained popularity in Telugu, Tamil and Hindi films.
• He made 50 films from 1965 and was a renowned film producer.
• In 2016, he received the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, the highest award in Indian cinema.
• He debuted as a director with a film titled Atma Govaram and won the state government's prestigious Nandi Award for Best Feature Film.
• In 1992, he received the Padma Shri, five National Awards and 20 Nandi Awards besides 10 Filmfare trophies, including the Lifetime Achievement Award.

(Source: News on Air)

Topic: Awards and Prizes

4. VK Pandian, Odisha CM's secretary, received the FIH President award.

• Tayyab Ikram, President of the International Hockey Federation, gave the FIH President's Award to VK Pandian, Secretary to the Chief Minister of Odisha, for his remarkable contribution to hockey.
• The award was presented to Pandian at a function organised on the eve of the FIH Odisha Hockey Men's World Cup 2023 Bhubaneswar-Rourkela Final.
• VK Pandian and CM Naveen Patnaik played a crucial role in hosting the spectacular Hockey World Cup.
• The FIH President's Award honours individuals, National Associations, or other organisations for valuable services to hockey, whether direct or indirect, or initiatives that have had a significant impact on international hockey.

Topic: State News/ New Delhi

5. WhatsApp chatbot launched by DCPCR to make governance citizen-friendly.

• The Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights launched its WhatsApp chatbot, describing it as an important initiative to make governance citizen-friendly.
• The chatbot has been named "Bal Mitra," which is an effort to enable two-way communication between people and the child rights panel. 
• The chatbot will help citizens and the commission interact more effectively.
• Some of the features of the chatbot include complaint registration, information search and complaint status tracking, and information seeking on admission.
• The chatbot will provide authentic information on various issues related to children and their rights, while also ensuring confidentiality of the cases reported through it.
• Earlier, the commission had introduced the 'Early Warning System', which has helped the education department bring back over 50,000 students to schools and reduce the dropout rate.

Topic: National News

6. Railways' earnings in the passenger segment grew by 73%.

• The passenger segment has seen a growth of 73% in the railways' revenue earnings during April-January 2023 as compared to the same period last year.
• From April to January 2023, overall earnings in the passenger category are 54,733 crore rupees, compared to approximately 31,000 crore rupees last year.
• The total estimated number of passengers booked during the same period is 6,590 lakhs as compared to 6,181 lakhs during the same period last year. It shows an increase of 7 percent.
• The income earned from the reserved passenger segment is Rs 42,945 crore from 1 April to 31 January 2023, up from Rs 29,079 crore during the same period last year, showing a 48% increase.
• The approximate total number of passengers booked in the unreserved passenger segment from 1 April to 31 January 2023 is 45,180 lakhs, up from 19,785 lakh during the same period last year, showing a growth of 128%.
• The revenue generated from the unreserved passenger segment is over Rs 11,788 crore as against Rs 2,555 crore in the previous year, showing a growth of 361%.

Topic: MoUs/Agreements

7. Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Engineers India Limited to develop Waste to Energy plants in million-plus cities.

• While presenting the Budget 2023-2024, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman listed the seven priorities.
• In the ‘Green Growth’ segment, 500 new Waste to Wealth plants will be set up under the GOBARdhan scheme.
• These will include 200 compressed biogas plants, 75 in urban areas, 300 community or cluster-based plants, at a total investment of Rs 10,000 Cr.
• MoHUA has taken a decision to establish large-scale solid waste processing facilities in million-plus cities.
• There are 59 million plus cities in India. Million-plus cities are cities with a population of a million plus.
• Bio-methanation plants have been proposed in these million-plus cities for the management of organic/wet fractions of municipal solid waste.
• Waste to Energy plants will produce renewable power by using dry waste fraction of municipal solid waste.
• Asia’s biggest municipal solid waste-based GOBARdhan (Galvanizing Organic Bio Agro Resource Dhan) plant was inaugurated by PM Modi in Indore in February 2022.
• Engineers India Limited is a central public sector undertaking under Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas. Vartika Shukla is its chairman and MD.

Topic: Infrastructure and Energy

8. India's first locally designed and manufactured hydrogen train will run on the historic Kalka-Shimla circuit by December 2023.

• Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw made this announcement recently.
• The hydrogen-powered trains will be known as Vande Metro.
• They will first run on historic, narrow-gauge routes such as Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, the Nilgiri Mountain Railway, the Kalka Shimla Railway, the Matheran Hill Railway, the Kangra Valley, the Bilmora Waghai, and the Marwar-Devgarh Madriya.
• Hydrogen trains use hydrogen fuel cells instead of the traditional diesel engines.
• Hydrogen fuel cells generate electricity by converting hydrogen and oxygen. This electricity is then used to power the motors of trains.
• Hydrogen trains are more environment friendly than diesel trains. They do not emit pollutants like carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, or particulate matter.
• Fuel supply for hydrogen trains is clean and renewable because hydrogen can be produced by using renewable energy sources (wind, solar, or hydro power).
• High cost of hydrogen is a key limitation to widespread use of hydrogen trains.
• Green hydrogen costs nearly Rs 492/kg in India as per rating agency ICRA. As a result, operating cost of hydrogen fuel cell-based engine will be 27% higher than that of a diesel engine.

Topic: Summits/ Conferences/ Meetings

9. EIACP in association with National Museum of Natural History organised a ‘National workshop on LiFE’.

• The Environmental Information, Awareness, Capacity Building and Livelihood Programme (EIACP) in association with the National Museum of Natural History organized a ‘National workshop on LiFE’ at Indira Paryavaran Bhawan.
• The workshop has been organized to align the activities of the Programme Centres with ‘Mission LiFE (Lifestyle for the Environment).
• 160 students from four different schools were sensitised about the Mission LiFE and green skills. Students were encouraged to become ‘Pro-Planet People.
• Students were given LiFE badges and also a copy of the booklet Lexicon of LiFE.
• 'Lifestyle for the Environment’ (LiFE):
  • PM Modi launched a global initiative 'Lifestyle for the Environment (LiFE) Movement' on 5th June 2022.
  • It is a global mass movement to promote individual and community action to preserve the environment.
  • The idea promotes an environmentally conscious lifestyle that focuses on ‘mindful and deliberate utilisation’ instead of ‘mindless and wasteful consumption’.

Topic: National News

10. Union Minister Dr. Mahendra Nath Pandey will inaugurate an event “Towards Panchamrit” in Manesar.

• Union Minister Dr Mahendra Nath Pandey will inaugurate a mega event “Towards Panchamrit” at International Centre for Automotive Technology (ICAT), Manesar, Haryana on February 4, 2023.
• Union Minister Dr Mahendra Nath Pandey and MoS Shri Krishan Pal will also inaugurate the ICAT Incubation Centre.
• Automotive Industry leaders and Senior Government Officials from NITI Aayog, MNRE, etc will also participate in the event.
• A dedicated interactive session between the automotive industry and MHI officials will be also organized for the implementation of schemes like PLI-Auto, PLI- ACC, FAME and Capital Goods Scheme.
• The main aim of the schemes is to develop an ecosystem of innovation and to reduce carbon footprint.
• Technical sessions will focus on developing technologies for Hydrogen, EVs, Biofuels and Gas fueled vehicles.
• The testing and certification infrastructure available at ICAT will also be demonstrated to the dignitaries.

Topic: Miscellaneous

11. PUMA India has roped in Indian Women's Cricket Team captain Harmanpreet Kaur as its brand ambassador.

• Harmanpreet will promote the brand's footwear, apparel and accessories through multiple activities and campaigns throughout the year.
• Other brand ambassadors in News:

Topic: Indian Economy

12. Bharat Shared Repository of Inscriptions (BharatSHRI), a digital epigraphy museum, will be setup.

• The finance minister announced setting up of BharatSHRI in the budget 2023-24.
• Under this, one lakh ancient inscriptions will be digitized in the first phase.
• The Archaeological Survey of India will set up the BharatSHRI at Hyderabad.
• In addition, out of the total outlay of the annual budget, Rs 1102.83 crore has been allocated to ASI.
• It has been allocated for protection, preservation and conservation of Centrally Protected Monuments/sites and excavations of Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites.
• Amrit Dharohar Yojana will also be implemented in the next three years to encourage optimum use of wetlands and enhance biodiversity.
• India has made remarkable progress in several Sustainable Development Goals.
• In 2015, All United Nations member states adopted the 2030 agenda for sustainable development.
• It provides a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity on the earth.

Topic: State News/ Madhya Pradesh

13. Asia’s first floating festival began on 1 February at Mandsaur, Madhya Pradesh.

• Usha Thakur, Tourism Minister in the Government of Madhya Pradesh, inaugurated the first edition of the Gandhi Sagar Floating Festival at Mandsaur.
• This floating festival commenced with the performances of the “Indian Ocean rock band” on February 1.
• Visitors can enjoy a floating stage, floating market, boat spa, boat safari, and live music in the festival.
• The floating festival will conclude on February 4 while the tent city for tourists will continue for 3 months.
• The tourist will get a chance to enjoy live music concerts and entertainment on a floating stage.
• Gandhisagar Floating Festival is also great festival for adventurers.

Topic: Reports and Indices/Ranking

14. A report by Hindenburg Research accuses the Adani Group of “stock manipulation and accounting malpractices”.

• Hindenburg released a report titled ‘Adani Group: How The World’s 3rd Richest Man Is Pulling The Largest Con In Corporate History’.
• The report states that Adani Group is involved in “stock manipulation and accounting fraud”.
• The report has raised concern about the “substantial debt” of Adani Group.
• The report alleged that Adani Group family members helped in making shell companies in tax heaves countries.
• It has been said in the report that the shares of Adani Group companies are unnecessarily expensive, their actual value is very less.
• Hindenburg Research said that the report has been prepared over a period two of years and involved visits to multiple countries and the mining of documents and data.
• The report has triggered the sell-off the Adani Group’s stocks.
• The Adani Group denied the accusations and is now considering taking legal action against Hindenburg research.
• Adani Group losses have now surpassed $100 billion after the release of the report.
• Adani Enterprises has cancelled its Rs 20,000 crore follow-on public offer (FPO).
• Opposition parties in India demanded a probe of the allegation of accounting fraud and stock manipulation against the Adani Group.
• The Hindenburg Research firm started in 2017, since then it has published reports on the mismanagement in 16 companies.