12 - 14 February 2023 CURRENT AFFAIRS.pptx

CURRENT AFFAIRS
12 – 14 2023
DR.A.PRABAHARAN
RESEARCH DIRECTOR, PUBLIC ACTION
www.indopraba.blogspot.com

• The Sohna-Dausa stretch in the Delhi-Mumbai
expressway was recently inaugurated by PM Modi.
• With this, the travel time between Sohna in Haryana and
Dausa in Rajasthan will be reduced to 2.5 hours.
• Earlier it was 5 hours. The distance between Sohna and
Dausa is 246 km.
• This stretch is an alternate for the Delhi-Jaipur
Expressway.
• It will pass through Gurugram, Palwal, and Nuh
districtirs.
• The stretch will cover more than 11 major villages of
Guru gram; 47 villages in Nuh, and 7 villages in Palwal.
• It will be connected with Mumbai – Delhi expressway.
DELHI-MUMBAI EXPRESSWAY: PM INAUGURATES FIRST STRETCH

STARSHIP STATIC FIRE TEST OF SPACEX
•
The Starship is a reusable rocket developed by SpaceX. The
company has huge plans for the rocket.
• NASA will use Starship rockets to land its astronauts on the
moon during the Artemis III mission.
• SpaceX recently completed the static fire test successfully.
• During the test, the engines of the rockets are fired to their
fullest thrust.
• And launch mount holds the launch vehicle firmly. Scientists
measure the pressure, propellant flow gradients, and
temperature during the test.
• It is a wet dress rehearsal. Meaning, the liquid propellants
are loaded during the test.

HAL EXPORTS ALH MK3 HELICOPTERS TO MAURITIUS
•
India signed an agreement with Mauritius in January 2022 to
export the ALH Mk3 helicopters to the country.
• In accordance with the agreement, HAL recently delivered an
ALH Mk3 chopper.
• The helicopter is to be used by Mauritian Police Force.
• In future, HAL will provide technical and maintenance support for
the helicopters.
• It is a multi-role helicopter.
• The chopper had proven its roles in several life-saving missions
and also during natural calamities.
• To date, India had produced more than 335 such helicopters. ALH
stands for Advanced Light Helicopter.

DIRECT TAX COLLECTIONS OF FY 2022-23
• The CBDT operating under the Finance Ministry recently released the
Revised Estimates of the Direction of Tax collection of the country.
• In accordance with the report released, the direct tax collection of
India has increased by 24% in 2022-23 as compared to that of the
previous year.
• In 2022-23, the total direct taxes collected were Rs 15.67 lakh crores.
• The budget estimates of the direct tax revenues were Rs 14.2 lakh
crores.
• However, the collected amount is higher than this. The figures
provided are up to February 10, 2023.

PROJECT CHEETAH: INDIA GETS 12 CHEETAHS FROM SOUTH AFRICA
• India and South Africa signed an agreement on Project Cheetah
in January 2023. According to the agreement, India will get 12
Cheetahs from South Africa.
• These cheetahs will be dropped at the Kuno National Park in
Madhya Pradesh.
• In September 2022, eight Cheetahs were introduced in the
park.
• These eight were brought from Namibia. Namibia gifted them
to India.
• This was the first inter-continental transfer of Cheetahs in the
world.
• Cheetahs became extinct in India in 1952.
• Project Cheetah, also called Action plan for the introduction of
Cheetah in India was launched to reintroduce the big cats in the
country.

RAYYANA BARNAWI MAKES HISTORY, BECOMES FIRST
WOMAN ASTRONAUT FROM SAUDI ARABIA TO VISIT SPACE
STATION
• Saudi Arabia will be sending its first female Astronaut on a Space Mission this year.
• Also, Saudi Arabia is currently in a changing phase and sets an example by launching the
first-ever woman astronaut from the country.
• Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has contributed to improving the
conservative image of the country.
• Saudi Arabia will set history by sending its first woman Astronaut, Rayyana Barnawi to
the Space Station this year.
• The country takes its first-ever move by trying to change its conservative image.
• The first-ever woman astronaut from Saudi Arabia will be going to space this year. It can
be seen as a symbol of ameliorating the old conventional system of beliefs.
• Rayyana Barnawi is the first female astronaut from Saudi Arabia who will be sent to the
International Space Station.
• She will join fellow Saudi Ali Al-Qarni on a 10-day mission to the International Space
Station (ISS) in the current year.

LTTE CHIEF PRABHAKARAN IS ALIVE
• Velupillai Prabhakaran was the founder of the Liberation Tigers of
Tamil Eelam.
• The militant organization was responsible for killing Rajiv Gandhi in
1991.
• LTTE wants a separate land for the Tamils in Sri Lanka.
• They waged a war against Sri Lanka 25 years ago. The Sri Lankan
Army killed the LTTE chief in 2009 and the war ended.
• However, a Tamil Political leader Nedumaran recently claimed that
Prabhakaran is still alive and healthy

ADANI ROW: SC TO FORM PANEL
• he Supreme Court took up a PIL filed on the Adani-Hinderburg issue on February
10, 2023.
• The SC asked the Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta to bring up solutions for
protecting the investors in the country.
• The apex court brought this up as many investors lost their money due to the
stock manipulation of Adani and its group.
• Two days’ time was given; to this Mr Tushar who represented SEBI and GoI
replied that the current provisions are enough to keep the investors safe.
• However, the GoI has no objections to SC forming a committee to look into the
requirements; to check if they are sufficient to protect the investors.

RUSSIA SUPPLIED 13 BILLION USD WORTH ARMS TO INDIA IN
LAST 5 YEARS
• A report recently released by the Government of Russia states that the
country supplied 13 billion USD worth of arms to India in the last five
years.
• Apart from this, India has placed 10 billion USD worth of military
equipment orders with Russia.
• With this, India becomes the biggest defence buyer of Russia.
• India accounts for 20% of Russia’s defence trade.
• During the Aero India 2023 recently held in Bengaluru, Russia showcased
more than 200 of its weapon samples.

DEMAND FOR A GREATER TIPRALAND
• The Tipra Motha Party was founded by Pradyot Bikram Manikya Deb Barma.
• The core demand of the party is “Greater Tipraland”. Tipraland is a
proposed region for the Tripuris.
• They are now a part of Tripura state.
• They demand 68% of Tripura state.
• Also, the party wants to add the Tripuris living outside the region to be
added.
• The ECI is to conduct Tripura state elections in February 2023.
• Tripuris are the major tribes in the state.
• They constitute more than 50% of the Tripura state population as of the
2011 census.
• Therefore, the party gaining their trust has a greater chance to win the
elections.

WHAT ARE MICRO LED DISPLAYS?
• The smartphone giant APPLE is shifting towards micro LED.
• The micro LEDs are self-illuminating diodes.
• Their colour production and illumination are brighter than organic LEDs.
• Their energy consumption is less compared to normal LEDs.
• Apple is planning to use micro LEDs in its future watch models.
• It is a flat-panel display.
• Its pixel elements are made of microscopic LEDs.
• The main advantage of micro-LED display is greater control of pixel-level light
control
• The lifetime of micro LEDs is greater than the OLED (Organic LED)
• Higher brightness at reduced risk of screen burning

EASTERN RAJASTHAN CANAL PROJECT
• The Rajasthan State Government (Congress) allocated Rs 13,000 crores
to the Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project.
• The budget was presented by the CM of Rajasthan Ashok Gehlot.
• He also holds the finance portfolio of the state. Gehlot Government
wants the centre to share the cost of the canal.
• The canal is to run through 13 districts of the state.
• The canal will bring water to the water-scarce south-eastern districts of
Rajasthan.
• It will fulfil the drinking and irrigation needs of the people here.
• It is expected that the canal will fulfil the water demands of the region
by 2051.
• The canal will bring water from rivers in the southern part of Rajasthan.
This includes Chambal, Parvati, Kunnu, Kalisindh, etc.

KHANAN PRAHARI APPLICATION
• Illegal mining is increasing in India.
• While the illegal mining of minor minerals is common in states like AP,
Telangana, and TN; illegal mining of major minerals like coal is common in
northeastern states like Assam and Meghalaya.
• To curb illegal mining in the country, the GoI recently launched a mobile
application and a surveillance system.
• The mobile app launched is called KHANAN PRAHARI.
• The surveillance system is CMSMS, that is, Coal Mine Surveillance and
Management System.

TRIFED AADI MAHOTSAV FESTIVAL
• The Tribal Affairs ministry recently launched the Aadi Mahotsav
festival.
• It is a ten-day long festival.
• The festival is to be celebrated in New Delhi. PM Modi will
inaugurate the festival.
• More than thousands of artisans from different parts of India
will take part in the festival.
• The main objective of the Aadi Mahotsav festival is to promote
tribal products.
• TRIFED is hosting the festival on behalf of the tribal ministry.

MARBURG DISEASE OUTBREAK
• The World Health Organization recently confirmed the Marburg disease
outbreak in Equatorial Guinea.
• Patients suffering from the disease experience diarrhoea, vomiting, and
stomach pain.
• Also, there is bleeding in severe cases.
• An e-bola-related virus is causing the disease.
• The Spread of the disease is epidemic; meaning the disease is widespread.
• The virus comes from bats.
• It spreads through close skin contact, bodily fluids, and also through infected
surfaces.
• It causes hemorrhagic fever. Fever affects the organs and they start bleeding.

CBRN TERROR RESPONSE IN TARKASH EXERCISE
• India and USA military recently conducted the TARKASHA
exercise.
• It was held in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
• The Special Operation Forces of the US and the National
Security Guard of India participated in the exercise.
• Usually, military exercises focus on enhancing the skills and
weapon usage of the soldiers.
• In a unique way, this exercise focused on CBRN TERROR
RESPONSE. CBRN means Chemical, Biological, Radiological,
and Nuclear.

SMART CITIES MISSION – UPDATE ON PROGRESS
• The Smart Cities Mission was launched in 2015 to provide clean mobility,
air, public safety, etc.
• The latest update on Smart Cities Mission released by GoI says that 22
cities will complete their missions by March 2023.
• Agra, Chennai, Pune, Varanasi, and Ahmedabad are some of them.
• The other cities are Madurai, Thanjavur, Trichy, Amaravati, Kakinada,
Vizag, Surat, Ranchi, Erode, Udaipur, etc

STATE OF EMERGENCY IN NEW ZEALAND AFTER CYCLONE
GABRIELLE
•
Cyclone Gabrielle hit the New Zealand coast and caused severe
damage.
• Heavy rains, floods, and landslides forced the New Zealand
government to declare an emergency.
• It was a Category 3 cyclone. PM of NZ announced a 7.3 million USD
relief package.
• Winds reached a speed of 140 km/hr. Auckland was badly hit.
• Homes were left powerless. More than 500 flights were cancelled

BIMA SUGAM PORTAL
• The growth rate of the insurance sector in the country is very slow.
Indian insurance sector accounts for less than 1.5% of world
insurance.
• GoI has been taking several measures to increase investment in the
sector.
• The FDI limit was increased to 49% from 26%. LIC was disinvested;
Sampoorna Bima Gram Yojana has launched; Jeevan Jyoti Bima
Yojana; Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana, etc.
• Despite the steps, the sector remains stagnant.
• To create a common platform for insurance buyers and sellers, the
GoI recently launched the Bima Sugam Portal.
• Here, you can find all the insurance companies in the market.
• Also, you can buy insurance schemes here.

WHO IS 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 500 million USD.
• 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!

INCOME TAX SURVEY AT BBC OFFICES
• The Income Tax Department operating under the Finance Ministry
recently launched a massive survey on BBC offices located in
different parts of the country.
• The survey was launched mainly in Delhi and Mumbai.
• Officials seized laptops and mobile phones. According to the legal
experts, the survey is a counter-action to the BBC document on the
2002 riots.
• The document links PM Modi with the riots.

WHAT IS PULWAMA ATTACK?
• Pulwama district is in Jammu and Kashmir.
• The Pulwama Attack killed more than 40 CPRF personnel.
• It occurred on February 14, 2019.
• The Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist group claimed responsibility
for the attack.
• The attack was conducted by a vehicle-borne suicide bomber.
• The UN and several other countries condemned the attack.
• This includes China, Russia, and France, the UK, the US, and
Israel. In 2023, the CPRF marked the fourth anniversary of its
fellowmen.

12 - 14 February 2023 CURRENT AFFAIRS.pptx

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12 - 14 February 2023 CURRENT AFFAIRS.pptx