Daily Current Affairs for Competitive Examinations: February 20, 2023
Competitive exams like UPPSC, UGC NET, SBI, MPPSC and so on include a current affairs section in the question papers. Most candidates fail to clear the exam as they face difficulty in attempting this section of the question paper. However, scoring well in this section becomes easy if the candidates keep themselves updated with the news around the world.
Our Embibe specialists have curated the latest events from around the world and are included in this article.
Current Affairs: National
Four pilgrim centres selected under PRASHAD Scheme
The Union Government has identified four pilgrim centres for development under the Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Heritage Augmentation Drive (PRASHAD) Scheme.
The four Pilgrim Centers selected for the PRASHAD Scheme are:
Chamundeshwari temple in Mysuru,
Sri Madhwa Vana in Kunjaragiri in Udupi district,
Papnash temple in Bidar district and
Sri Renuka Yellamma Temple in Saundatti in Belagavi district.
What is PRASHAD Scheme?
This Scheme was launched by the Government of India in the year 2014-2015 under the Ministry of Tourism.
The full form of the PRASAD scheme is the ‘Pilgrimage Rejuvenation And Spiritual Augmentation Drive’.
It focuses on developing and identifying pilgrimage sites across India to enrich the religious tourism experience.
This Scheme aims to integrate the pilgrimage destinations in a prioritised, planned, and sustainable manner to provide a complete religious tourism experience.
Question: 1
Which of the following is not a city recently selected under PRASHAD Scheme by the Union Government?
A. Chamundeshwari temple Mysuru
B. Sri Madhwa Vana in Kunjaragiri Udupi
C. Papnash temple Bidar
D. Mahakal temple Ujjain
Answer: D
Check out the Highlights of the Economic Survey 2022-23 by clicking on the link given below: Economic Survey 2022-23
Current Affairs: National
AICTE and BPRD jointly launch KAVACH-2023 to tackle cyber threats
Advancing India’s cyber-preparedness, KAVACH-2023, a national-level hackathon, was launched recently with the aim to identify innovative ideas and technological solutions for addressing the cyber security and cybercrime challenges of the 21st century.
Details:
This is launched to boost cyber-preparedness in the country.
It would identify innovative ideas and technological solutions for addressing the cyber security and cybercrime challenges of the 21st century.
This will help not only our Law enforcement agency but also the common citizens.
It would be inviting students from educational institutions across the country and registered startups.
According to officials, this would find robust, secure, and effective technological solutions for cyber security by using technical expertise and innovative skills.
The participants will get total price money worth ₹20 lakhs which would boost the cyber wall of the country
About hackathon:
The hackathon will be a 36-hour-long event, during which youth from educational institutions across the country and registered startups will participate to find robust, secure and effective technological solutions for cyber security by using their technical expertise and innovative skills.
It will advance the blockage of cyber security crimes with robust system monitoring and safety provisions.
About AICTE and BPR&D:
The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) is a statutory body and a national-level technical education council under the Department of Higher Education. It was established in 1945, with its headquarters in New Delhi. Presently, it is chaired by TS Sitharam
Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D), under the Ministry of Home Affairs, to promote a speedy and systematic study of police problems. It is headed by the Director General of Police, who is an IPS-level officer.
Current Affairs: National
First G20 Culture Group (CWG) meet to be organised in Khajuraho, Madhya Pradesh
The first G20 Culture Group (CWG) meeting is set to take place in Madhya Pradesh’s Khajuraho from 22 to 25 February.
Being organised by the Ministry of Culture, the Culture Group meeting will take forward the idea of ‘Culture for LiFE’- an environmentally conscious lifestyle as a campaign for sustainable living.
Moreover, the Ministry of Culture has developed a robust programme of cultural projects inspired by India’s G20 theme of “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam”.
Details of the Meeting:
The Culture Working group will have four meetings to be held in Khajuraho, Bhubaneshwar, and Hampi
The venue of the fourth and final meeting is yet to be decided
Meanwhile, Khajuraho will be hosting the meeting on the theme- “Protection and Restitution of Cultural Property”
The delegates will also visit the Western Group of Temples, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. They will also be taken to Panna Tiger Reserve. Further, over 125 delegates will be attending the meeting.
Four Priority Areas:
– Protection and Restitution of Cultural Property;
– Harnessing Living Heritage for a Sustainable Future;
– Promotion of Cultural and Creative Industries and Creative Economy;
– Leveraging Digital Technologies for the Protection and Promotion of Culture
Khajuraho- the ancient Indian city:
Khajuraho is an ancient city known for its majestic temples and elaborate sculptures.
A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Khajuraho Group of Monuments, was constructed by the Chandela Dynasty between 950–1050 AD.
The meeting scheduled in Khajuraho will only further the beauty and significance of the place.
The aesthetic of the Nagara-style architecture, ornamented with intricate and detailed sculptures, acts like a window into the socio-cultural practices of the time.
According to historical records, there were 85 temples in the temple site in Khajuraho, covering 20 square km, in the 12th Century AD.
However, only 25 of these temples- scattered throughout a six square km area- have survived to date.
G20 India Presidency:
India assumed the G20 presidency on 1 December 2022, articulating the theme of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ – ‘One Earth, One Family, One Future’.
The philosophy draws from the Maha Upanishad, an ancient Indian Sanskrit text, affirming the value of all life – human, animal, and plant – and their interconnectedness on the planet Earth and in the wider universe.
‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ aims to foster, celebrate, and incorporate the diversity of cultural traditions amongst the member states while striving towards holistic living and creating a pro-people planet.
India’s CWG will reflect the emergence of Culture as a prominent theme on the global stage. It will adopt ‘Culture’ to renew multilateral and multicultural cooperation at all levels and will aim to forward this ideal and inform future global cultural policies and initiatives.
Question: 2
According to recent news, the first G20 Culture Group (CWG) meeting is set to take place in which of the following cities?
A. Khajuraho
B. Bhubaneshwar
C. Hampi
D. Jaipur
Answer: A
Current Affairs: Defence
Indo-Japan joint military exercise “EX DHARMA GUARDIAN” to commence at Camp Imazu in Shiga Province, Japan
The 4th edition of the joint military exercise, “EX DHARMA GUARDIAN”, between India and Japan is being conducted at Camp Imazu in Shiga province, Japan, from 16 February to 2 March.
Details:
This annual training event with Japan is crucial and significant in terms of security challenges faced by both nations in the backdrop of the current global situation.
The scope of this exercise covers platoon-level joint training on operations in jungle and semi-urban or urban terrain.
Who is participating from both sides:
Troops of the Garhwal Rifles Regiment of the Indian Army and an Infantry Regiment from the Middle Army of the Japan Ground Self Defence Force are participating in the exercise this year to share experiences gained during various operations to enhance interoperability in planning and execution.
What is Exercise Dharma Guardian?
It has been an annual joint military exercise between India and Japan since 2018.
It aims to share experiences gained during various Counter Terrorism Operations in respective Countries.
The exercise assumes immense significance in the context of the security challenges faced by both countries in the backdrop of the current global situation.
The scope of the exercise includes platoon-level joint training on operations in jungle and semi-urban/urban terrain.
About Indo-japan relations:
“Exercise Dharma Guardian” will further enhance the level of defence cooperation between the Indian Army and Japanese Ground Self Defence Forces, furthering the bilateral relations between the two nations.
Question: 3
The recently started 4th edition of the joint military exercise, “EX DHARMA GUARDIAN”, is between India and which of the following countries?
A. Indonesia
B. Mongolia
C. Japan
D. UAE
Answer: C
Check out the Highlights of Union Budget 2023 by clicking on the link given below: Union Budget 2023-24
Current Affairs: Defence
With an eye on China, the Union Cabinet clears 7 ITBP battalions
The Union Cabinet recently approved the raising of seven new ITBP battalions to stop migration and boost tourism in villages bordering China to bolster the social and security framework along the China border.
Details:
This would entail the recruitment of 9,400 personnel for deployment in Arunachal Pradesh, where 47 new border outposts and 12 staging camps are under construction.
The outposts were sanctioned in January 2020. In all, there are 176 outposts of the ITBP along the 3,488-km China border.
India and China’s armies have been in a standoff in Ladakh since 2020.
Rationale:
The decision to raise additional battalions was taken, keeping an eye on the need for effective monitoring in the border areas, and the battalion and sector headquarters would be raised by 2025-26.
New ITBP battalions were last raised in 2011, and the present decision has been in the pipeline since 2014.
How will this benefit?
The decision will increase the strength of the ITBP from the current 88,000 to 97,000, making it the fourth-largest Central Armed Police Force (CAPF).
What is the Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force (ITBPF)?
Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force (ITBPF) is a Central Armed Police Force functioning under the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India.
The ITBP was raised on 24th October 1962 during the India-China War and is a border-guarding police force specialising in high-altitude operations.
Presently ITBP has been guarding the India-China border in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh state from the Karakoram pass in Jammu Kashmir to Jechap La in Arunachal Pradesh.
Question: 4
The Union Cabinet recently approved the raising of seven new battalions in which of the following Central armed forces?
A. ITBP
B. CRPF
C. BSF
D. CISF
Answer: A
Factbook – 17-02-2023
Indian-American Neal Mohan becomes New YouTube CEO
Neal Mohan, an Indian-American, will become the next CEO of Alphabet-owned YouTube following Susan Wojcicki’s announcement that she will be stepping down from her role as the head of the video-sharing platform.
Mohan played a pivotal role in the development of AdSense, a program that enables website owners to display Google ads and earn revenue based on clicks or impressions.
AdSense is now one of the most successful advertising platforms in the world.
YouTube is a global online video-sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California.
It was launched on 14 February 2005 by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim.
It is owned by Google and is the second most visited website after Google Search.
Cabinet approves construction of Shinku La tunnel to provide all-weather connectivity in Ladakh
The Union Cabinet on 15 February approved the construction of the 4.1-km Shinkun La tunnel on the Nimu-Padam-Darcha road link to provide all-weather connectivity to the border areas of Ladakh.
The tunnel will be completed by December 2025 at the cost of ₹1,681 crore.
The Shinku La tunnel will be constructed over the Shinku La Pass at a height of 16,580 feet.
Shinku La is a mountain pass on the border of Ladakh and Himachal Pradesh.
It connects the Zanskar valley of Leh-Ladakh to Lahaul in Himachal Pradesh.
It is situated to the north of Rohtang Pass.
The length of the tunnel will be 4.1 km.
It will be built by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) under Project Yojkar.
Government approves ₹4,800 crore Vibrant Villages Programme
The Cabinet approved the Vibrant Villages Programme (VVP) for the financial years 2022-23 to 2025-26.
The scheme was announced in the 2022-23 Budget.
Type: Centrally sponsored scheme
Allocation: ₹4,800 crore
The objective is to develop villages on the northern border, thus improving the quality of life of people living in identified villages.
The district administration will create vibrant Village Action Plans with the help of gram panchayats, and 100% saturation of Central and State schemes will be ensured.
The scheme will provide funds for the development of essential infrastructure and the creation of livelihood opportunities in 19 districts and 46 border blocks in four States and one Union Territory along the “northern land border of the country”
In the first phase, 663 villages will be covered. In total, 2,966 villages in Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh are proposed to be covered.
Omorgus Khandesh
A new beetle species has been discovered in India, according to a paper published in the New Zealand-based journal Zootaxa.
It is necrophagous, therefore, also called a keratin beetle
It belongs to the Trogidae family.
The beetles of this group are sometimes called hide beetles as they tend to cover their body under the soil and hide.
They are not photogenic; they are usually black or grey and encrusted in the dirt.
Their bumpy appearance is distinct, with short, dense setae all over the body.
The beetle is important for forensic science as it helps detect the time of death of an animal or human.
Lavani Dance
Recently, the State of Maharashtra witnessed a controversy surrounding Lavani dance, where the younger generation of women dancers was accused of vulgarising the traditional folk art form.
Derived from ‘Lavanya’ or beauty, Lavani is a traditional folk art form in which women dancers wearing nine-yard-long sarees in bright colours, make-up, and ghunghroos (ankle bells) perform on dholak beats on a stage before a live audience.
It attained popularity in the Peshwa era in the 18th century, with performances held in front of kings and for the entertainment of tired soldiers resting during breaks in fighting.
Lavani dance was generally performed by Dhangars or Shepherds living in and around Solapur – inspired by nature – the dance form contains tales of the birth of Biruba, their deity. Live performances continue to get huge responses from the public in rural Maharashtra.
A Lavani performance can be broadly categorised into two parts—the Nirguni Lavani, which deals with philosophy and Shringari Lavani, which deals with sensuality.
Lexi, India’s first AI-based Chatbot introduced in India
India recently launched its first AI-based chatbot named Lexi, powered by ChatGPT, which is a complex computer machine.
The chatbot was invented by the financial technology firm Velocity. Also, it is integrated into their in-house analytics tool.
This chatbot is designed to provide assistance to e-commerce founders with business insights in a simplified manner.
What are AI chatbots, and how do they function?
A chatbot, to put it simply, is computer software that imitates human conversations. With the use of Artificial intelligence (AI) and Natural Language Processing (NLP), these chatbots decode customers’ questions and generate automated responses.
These intelligent machines have been around for quite some time however lack a ‘human touch’.
ChatGPT has human-like answers, and this feature unlocks tremendous growth, which encouraged Google to create its own AI chatbot, Bard.
Microsoft recently partnered with ChatGPT’s parent company OpenAI to introduce a new version of Bing that has a chat option. The responses are quite similar to what ChatGPT provides.
Vivek Ramaswamy
Vivek Ramaswamy, an Indian American, is the CEO of Anti-Woke Inc.
The Republican is planning to contest in the 2024 US elections.
He is 37 years old, and his worth is USD 500 million.
He has been propagating socially responsible investments and “Wokeism”.
He is into ESG investments, that is, Environmental, Social and Governance investing. He has good connections with Republican politicians, farmers and businessmen.
Vivek was born and brought up in Ohio. His parents are from Kerala. Vivek graduated from Harvard as a biologist.
In 2015, his works on drug development appeared on the front cover of Forbes.
Karnataka Bank gets Digidhan Award
Karnataka Bank has been awarded ‘Prathista Puraskar’ under ‘Digidhan Awards 2021-22’ by the Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology for achieving the target with the highest percentage in the BHIM-UPI transactions in the private sector bank category.
“Labelled as ‘KBL-NxT’, the bank is currently undertaking an accelerated digital drive under its transformation journey ‘KBL VIKAAS 2.0’.
This award is an ideal tribute to the founding fathers of this great institution as Karnataka Bank is stepping into the 100th year of its fruitful existence”.
Subhash Chandran’s Samudrashila gets Akbar Kakkattil Award
Writer Subhash Chandran’s novel Samudrashila has been chosen for the Akbar Kakkattil Award instituted by a trust in the memory of the short story writer and novelist from Kozhikode.
The award consisting of a purse of ₹50,000 and a sculpture, will be presented to Mr Subhash Chandran by writer M. Mukundan at an event on 17 February. M.K. Muneer, MLA, will deliver a commemorative lecture.
Dr Mahendra Kumar Mishra to receive International Mother Language Award 2023
An eminent linguist, Dr Mahendra Kumar Mishra, will be honoured with UNESCO’s International Mother Language Award 2023 for the promotion of the mother language in India.
Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina will present this award to Dr Mahendra Kumar Mishra at the International Mother Language Institute, Dhaka.
He is the first Indian to receive this prestigious award for the promotion of a language. He is also the recipient of the Odisha Sahitya Akademi award.
Paytm launched G20-theme QR Code to celebrate India’s G20 presidency
Paytm has launched a special G20-theme QR Code to celebrate India’s G20 presidency and the country’s leadership in mobile payments.
It was launched by Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw during the ‘Digital Payments Utsav’ 2023.
Under the ‘Digital Payments Utsav’, Paytm is organising a special drive wherein a branded vehicle will cover various localities across Delhi that have a heavy public presence.
The special commemorative QR Code features logos of MeitY’s ‘DigiDhan Mission’, along with those of the G20 2023 and the 75th year of India’s independence.
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