Correct Answer :   New Delhi

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The 49th GST Council Meeting was held on 18th February 2023 in New Delhi under the Chairmanship of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

This meeting is being conducted within a span of three weeks from the Union Budget 2023. Soon after the 48th  meeting, while addressing the media, Finance Minister mentioned that the next meeting will be held in January 2023.

Key decisions of the 48th GST Council Meeting which required amendments to the GST Act were incorporated in the Finance Bill 2023.

Meeting : 49th GST Council Meeting
Date : 18th February 2023
Chairperson : Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman
Venue : Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi
Attendees : Finance Ministers of all the states

Source : F T L

Correct Answer :   Haryana

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North India’s first nuclear power plant is coming up in Gorakhpur, Haryana, about 150 km north of the national capital, said Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Saturday (18th Feb 2023).

* Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s regime, one of the major achievements would be the installation of nuclear/ atomic energy plants in other parts of the country, which were earlier confined mostly to the southern states like Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh or in the west in Maharashtra.

* The minister said that this was keeping in line the focus on increasing India’s nuclear capacity. He added that a bulk approval of installation of 10 nuclear reactors came under the Modi government.

* The minister said that the Department of Atomic Energy has also been given permission to set up joint ventures with PSUs for resources to open atomic energy plants, having the potential to fulfill India’s energy needs in times to come.

* According to Department of Atomic Energy, Gorakhpur Haryana Anu Vidyut Pariyojana’s(GHAVP) having two units of 700 MWe capacity each of Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR) indigenous design is under implementation near Gorakhpur village in Fatehabad district in Haryana.

* Till date, an amount of ₹4,906 crore has been spent out of total allocated funds 20,594 crore.

* Construction of other Main Plant buildings/structures viz. Fire Water Pump House (FWPH), Safety Related Pump House (SRPH), Fuel Oil storage area-1&2 (FOSA-1&2), Ventilation stack, overhead tank (OHT), Switchyard Control Building, Safety related & Non-safety related Tunnel & Trenches, Retaining walls and Garland Drain is progressing well. Ground improvement in Turbine Building -1 & 2, 220 kV Switchyard and IDCT-1A is completed..

Source : Mint

Correct Answer :   Odisha

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The National Tiger Conservation Authority of Central Government has approved the Odisha Government’s proposal to declare Debrigarh Wildlife Sanctuary in Sambalpur district a tiger reserve.

The proposal was submitted by the Odisha Government to Central Government for approval by National Tiger Conservation Authority during 2018. It got approval this month (February 2023).

The State Government will soon notify Debrigarh as tiger reserve. After Simlipal and Satkosia, Debrigarh will be the third tiger reserve of Odisha.

With this, Debrigarh will find place in entire Country map as a Tiger Reserve which will increase tourist footfall. Adjoining districts will have more hotels, travel agencies and job opportunities will increase..

Source : News Room Odisha

Correct Answer :   Karnataka

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi complimented the staff of Karnataka’s Bandipur Tiger Reserve on Saturday (18th Feb 2023) for saving an elephant that came in contact with an electric fence.

A 25-year-old female elephant was injured after it came in contact with a barbed-wire fence of a farm near the tiger reserve’s Omkara range on Tuesday (14th feb 2023). The staff and veterinarians of the reserve treated the elephant and saved its life.

In a statement released Saturday (18th Feb 2023), the reserve said the farm’s owner, Puthanapura Raju, had erected a 2-ft-high electrical fence to protect his land.

About Bandipur Tiger Reserve :

* It was established in the 1930s as a wildlife sanctuary, which became a tiger reserve in 1973 under Project tiger.

* It is situated in two contiguous districts (Mysore and Chamarajanagar) of Karnataka and located at the tri-junction area of the States of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

Bandipur Tiger Reserve is surrounded by :

* Nagarahole Tiger Reserve (Tamil Nadu) in the North West (Kabini Reservoir separates the two).

* Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (Tamil Nadu) in the South.

* Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary (Kerala) in the South West.

* This area has the River Kabini in its north and River Moyar in its south. Along with River Nugu, that flows across it.

Flora : It comprises diverse vegetation of dry deciduous to tropical mixed deciduous forests. It include rosewood, Indian kino tree, sandalwood, Indian laurel, clumping bamboo and giant clumping bamboo etc.

Fauna : It is a shelter for the largest population of wild Asian elephants in South Asia. It comprises other mammals such as Bengal tiger, gaur, sloth bear, golden jackal, dhole and four-horned antelope etc.

Source : Indian Express

Correct Answer :   2 only

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Sanctions-hit Russia, which is going for import substitution in a big way, has proposed to manufacture its Sukhoi Superjet civil aircraft in India and the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) is in talks with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).

The plan is to manufacture the Superjet in Russia with Russian components and in India, set up manufacturing of Sukhoi Superjet international with foreign components, said "Yury B. Slyusar", director general of UAC.

About Sukhoi Superjet 100 (SSJ100) :

* It is a twin-engined regional aircraft with a capacity of maximum 98 passengers.

* It is developed by the Russian manufacturer Sukhoi JSC.

* It had its maiden flight in 2008 and its first commercial service three years later.

* It has maximum cruise speed of Mach 0.81 and maximum altitude of 12,500m.

* The SSJ100 is available in basic (95B) and long range (95LR) variants, serving short to medium range routes between 3,279-4,620 km.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

Sanctions-hit Russia pitches manufacture of its civil jet in India.

Source : The Hindu

Correct Answer :   Agra Fort

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Correct Answer :   February 19

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India celebrates Soil Health Card Day on February 19 every year to remember the beginning of the Soil Health Card (SHC) Scheme and to raise awareness of its advantages. The seventh year from the SHC Scheme’s inception is 2022.

Every two years, all farmers are to receive soil health cards as part of the programme. The Soil Health Card (SHC) Scheme was introduced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 19, 2015, at Suratgarh, Rajasthan.

Aim : The scheme aims at issuing soil health cards to farmers every two years so as to provide a basis to address nutritional deficiencies in soil. The scheme ensures additional income to farmers by increase in yields and it also promotes sustainable farming.

Launching the scheme, Prime Minister Modi said, the farmers should know the health status of soil. He said, if soil will not be healthy, the farm production will not increase.
 
Agriculture Secretary "Sanjay Agarwal" termed it a very important scheme and said that in the last five years crop production is continuously increasing due to this initiative.
 
The scheme has been introduced to assist State Governments to issue Soil Health Cards to all farmers in the country. It provides information to farmers on nutrient status of their soil along with recommendations on the appropriate dosage of nutrients to be applied for improving soil health and its fertility.

During Cycle-I (2015 to 17), 10.74 crore Soil Health Cards and during Cycle-II (2017 to 19), 11.74 crore Soil Health Cards have been distributed to farmers. The Government has spent more than 700 crore rupees on the SHC scheme.

Nagaland will be observing Soil Health Card Day ON Wednesday in all the 11 districts of the state in coordination with Krishi Vigyan Kendras. The day is being celebrated to create awareness, importance, values and benefits of the scheme.

Source : DD News

Correct Answer :   AIIMS-Rishikesh

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The All India Institute of Medical Sciences-Rishikesh on Thursday (16th February 2023) conducted a trial to test the feasibility of drones supplying medicines to primary health centres or smaller hospitals in cases of emergency.

* A Vertiplane X3 drone was used to deliver 2kg package of anti-tubercular drugs to a district hospital in Tehri Garhwal during the trial.

* The aerial distance of nearly 40 kilometres between the helipad at AIIMS and the hospital was covered in 30 minutes.

* The project will calculate the cost of effectiveness of delivering not only medicines but sputum samples to laboratories to support the country’s programme to eliminate TB by 2025.

* Union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya said, “A successful trial of drones delivering medicine was carried out today. Delivery with drones will be especially helpful in hilly areas where a distance of 40 kilometers would have taken 2 hours.”

* In future, the technology might also be used to transport organs between hospitals with time being of essence in such cases.

* Mandaviya added that a similar trial will also be carried out to transport supplies between AIIMS-Delhi and the National Cancer Centre associated with it located almost 50 km away in Jhajjar..

Source : Indian Express

Correct Answer :   47th

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India stood at 47th position in Services Trade Restrictiveness Index(STRI) conducted by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) for the year 2022. However, there was an improvement from last year's ranking by one position.

Due to Russia-Ukraine war, Russia slipped to 48th position in the index.

The report highlighted the privatisation of Air India, elimination of pricing guidelines for transfers of shares between residents and non residents, and restriction of foreign participation in certain services sectors.

A total of 38 OECD member countries and 12 non OECD members including Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Peru, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, Thailand and Vietnam. The index include sectors like air transport, road freight cover, government regulations, etc.

Top 5 : Japan (1), UK, Netherlands, Czech Republic, and Chile (5)

Bottom : Indonesia (50), Thailand(49), and Russia (48)

Source : Mint

Correct Answer :   Third Saturday

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World Pangolin Day is observed annually on the third Saturday in February and takes place on February 18 this year (2023).

Aim : The day aims to celebrate pangolins, raise awareness and recommit international N.G.O.s to the fight against the global capturing of pangolins in Africa and Asia.

An estimated one million of these wonderful animals have been, and continue to be, harvested from the wild in African and Asian countries to meet the high demands for their scale, skin, blood, and even fetuses that are believed to have several different uses both in fashion, traditional medicine, and cooking.

World Pangolin Day  History : Each year, World Pangolin Day is observed annually to raise awareness and recommit international organizations to the fight against the global harvesting of pangolins. The only truly scaly mammals in the world.

* The day is an opportunity for pangolin enthusiasts and the wider human community to join hands in raising awareness about the plight of these unique mammals — pangolin numbers are rapidly declining in Asia and Africa.

* Pangolins are a highly prized commodity, often illegally trapped, trafficked, and killed for its scale by organized crime networks on a large scale to serve the need of the traditional medicine market in Asia where pangolin scales are unfortunately believed to be a cure-all of sorts and pangolin flesh is considered a delicacy.

* In Vietnam and Central and the southern parts of West Africa, pangolins are often offered at restaurants catering to wealthy clients who consider their meat rare and a statement of status.

* When frightened, a pangolin will curl up into a tight ball to protect its tender underside, making it a prime target for illegal poachers.

* From 2016 to 2019, an estimated 206.4 tonnes of pangolin scales or an equivalent of about 360,000 pangolins were intercepted and confiscated from 52 seizures according to a report by the Wildlife Justice Commission — an international foundation set up in the Netherlands with the mission to disrupt and help dismantle organized transnational criminal wildlife trading networks...

Source : National Today