Correct Answer :   Reliance Retail

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Reliance Retail has become the first Indian retailer to introduce Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), also known as digital rupee.

* The company has piloted the use of Digital Rupee in one store in Mumbai, and plans to make this facility available in all its stores in Mumbai within the next three to four months, in accordance with Reserve Bank of India (RBI) norms.

* The launch of this facility was in collaboration with Innoviti Technologies, ICICI Bank, and Kotak Mahindra Bank. At the launch event, V Subramaniam, Director of Reliance Retail Ltd , stated that just like the use of Unified Payments Interface (UPI), digital currency will also become a part of India’s payment ecosystem.

* “This historic initiative of pioneering digital currency acceptance in our stores aligns with our strategic vision of offering choice to Indian consumers. As more Indians shift towards digital transactions, this initiative will provide a secure and efficient alternative payment method for customers,” said Subramaniam.

* Protective layer : Reliance Retail has 17,000 stores spread across 7,000 cities in India. Subramaniam noted that around 70 per cent of transactions at the company’s stores are digital, with over 30 per cent of these being through UPI and 30 per cent through credit cards.

* “The technology behind this is more advanced than UPI, providing customers with a better protective layer for their transactions. Additionally, these transactions will be anonymous, making the adoption rate faster in my view,” said Subramaniam...

Source : The Hindu Businessline

Correct Answer :   RailTel Corporation

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RailTel Corporation informed on Thursday (2nd Feb 2023), that the company has received a Work Order from the State Bank of India (SBI) for providing 4G LTE connectivity to 15,000 offsite ATMs across the country.

The mini-ratna Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) under the Ministry of Railways will also take care of the operation and maintenance of the entire network for a period of five years.

“Besides last mile connectivity, the project also includes the establishment of Network Operations Centre (NOC), backhaul connectivity to the Data center & Disaster Recovery center (DC-DR) of SBI, live dashboard for SLA monitoring, 24X7 helpdesk, etc".

This SBI project is one of the largest projects in providing last-mile connectivity on 4G LTE technology in India.

RailTel has been selected through competitive bidding and the total cost of the project is estimated at ₹253.35 Crores (excluding taxes)...

Source : Mint

Correct Answer :   Mahindra Finance

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Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services Ltd's Board of Directors appointed Raul Rebello as Managing director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) designate.

He will replace Ramesh Iyer, who will be retiring on April 29, 2023.

Currently, he is serving as the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the company.

Before to joining Mahindra Financial, he worked as the executive vice president and head of rural lending and financial inclusion at Axis Bank Ltd...

Source : BQ Prime

Correct Answer :   Droupadi Murmu

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Five judges were elevated to the Supreme Court after the Centre cleared the proposal made by the Collegium. The strength of judges in the top court rose to 32 with President Droupadi Murmu's approval on Saturday (4th February 2023).

The names of the five judges were recommended by the Collegium in December 2022 and three more names have been sent to the Centre on January 31, 2023.

The sanctioned strength of the number of judges in the Apex Court is 34. Currently, the Supreme Court is functioning with 27 judges, including the Chief Justice of India.

Five appointed judges are :

(1) Pankaj Mithal (CJ of Rajasthan)
(2) Sanjay Karol, (CJ of Patna)
(3) PV Sanjay Kumar, (CJ of Manipur)
(4) Ahsanuddin Amanullah (judge, Patna HC)
(5) Manoj Misra (judge, Allahabad HC)

Justice Pankaj Mithal :

* Presently, he is the Chief Justice of the Rajasthan High Court. Prior to this, he was the Chief Justice of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court. Before his elevation as Chief Justice, he was a judge of the Allahabad High Court.

* Justice Mithal was enrolled in the Bar Council of Uttar Pradesh in the year 1985 and started practising in the high court as an advocate.

Justice Sanjay Karol :

* Sanjay Karol has been the Chief Justice of Patna High Court since November 2019. Prior to this, he was appointed as the Chief Justice of the High Court of Tripura. He was appointed as acting Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court.

* Justice Karol enrolled as an advocate in the year 1986 and started his practice in the high court and supreme court as well.

Justice PV Sanjay Kumar :

* He has been the Chief Justice of the Manipur High Court since 2021. Previously, he was a judge at the Punjab and Haryana High Court. He has also served as a judge at the Andhra Pradesh High court.

* Justice Kumar was enrolled as a member of the Bar Council of Andhra Pradesh in August 1988.

Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah :

* Presently, Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah is a judge of the Patna High Court. Elevated as judge of the Patna High Court in 2011, he was then transferred to Andhra Pradesh High Court in 2021. Thereafter, he was re-transferred to the Patna High Court in June 2022.

* Justice Amanullah was enrolled with the Bihar State Bar Council in September 1991.

Justice Manoj Misra :

* Presently, Manoj Sinha is the judge of the Allahabad High Court. He took an oath as a judge in 2011.

* Justice Misra was enrolled as an advocate on December 12, 1988, and practised in the civil, revenue, criminal and constitutional sides of the Allahabad High Court.

Source : India Today

Correct Answer :   Jharkhand

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Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday (4th Feb 2023) laid the foundation stone of a ₹ 450-crore "Nano Urea" plant and township of the Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative (IFFCO) in Jharkhand's Deoghar.

* This will be India's fifth nano urea plant. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the world's first nano urea plant in Gujarat last year (2022), according to IFFCO.

* Nano urea improves crop productivity, soil health, and nutritional quality of produce and aims to address the imbalanced and excessive use of conventional urea.

* IFFCO Managing Director US Awasthi said that the plant is scheduled to be commissioned in December next year.

* Mr Awasthi said the plant will be constructed at a cost of ₹ 300 crore and the township at a cost of ₹ 150 crore.

* Jharkhand Industrial Area Development Authority (JIADA) has allotted 20 acres of land to IFFCO for the complex in Jasidih area in Deoghar district..

Source : NDTV

Correct Answer :   Sri Lanka

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Sri Lanka celebrated its 75 years of Independence from British rule on Saturday (4th February 2023).

Theme : Namo Namo Matha - A step towards a century.

* The main ceremony of the National Independence Day Celebrations was held on 4th Feb 2023 morning at 8.30 am at Galle Face Green in Colombo.

* A special cultural arts festival Lankaralanka was held on Friday at Independence square in Colombo.

* The Jaffna cultural centre which was built under an Indian grant will also be opened next week.

* Union Minister of State for External Affairs, V. Muraleedharan who had reached Colombo last night participated in the Independence Day celebrations held 4th Feb 2023.

* He also interacted with Indian Diaspora in Sri Lanka. Addressing the representatives of Indian community, he said that now the whole world has started to recognise India as one of the strongest economies in the world.

* He added that the world looks at India with hope and expectations. Speaking on the relations India has with the diaspora he said that there is a huge change in the Indian approach...


Source : AIR

Correct Answer :   Narendra Modi

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi will dedicate to the nation a helicopter manufacturing plant of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in Tumakuru on February 6, 2023.

* Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh and senior officials of the Ministry of Defence will be present on this occasion.

* The Greenfield Helicopter factory,  spread across 615 acres, will manufacture the Light Utility Helicopters.

* It has Heli-runway, flight hangar, final assembly hangar, structure assembly hangar, air traffic control and support services.

* It complies fully with Industry 4.0 standard tools and techniques for its operations.

* Symbolic of Atmanirbhar Bharath, this plant is to become India’s largest helicopter manufacturing facility offering one-stop solutions for helicopter repair and maintenance in the days to come.

* The Light Utility helicopter designed in India is a three-ton class, single-engine, multipurpose utility helicopter with unique features.

* The HAL plant in Tumakuru will initially manufacture 30 helicopters per annum, which will be enhanced to 60 helicopters and 90 helicopters in a phased manner.

* In the days to come the unit will also take up maintenance, repair and overhaul of indigenous platforms like Light Combat Helicopter, Light Utility Helicopter, Civil Advanced Light Helicopters and Indian Multi-role Helicopter.

* The facility in Tumakuru will generate direct and indirect employment and boost the economy and industry in the surrounding areas. The Prime Minister laid the foundation stone for this plant in 2016.

Correct Answer :   Anurag Singh Thakur

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Jammu and Kashmir, the Youth Affairs and Sports Minister Anurag Singh Thakur along with the Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir, Manoj Sinha and other dignitaries 4th February 2023 launched the Mascot, Theme Song and Jersey for the 3rd edition of Khelo India Winter Games at Raj Bhawan, Jammu.

* The event marks the beginning of the biggest sporting extravaganza at the world-famous Ski resorts of Gulmarg in the Baramulla district of Kashmir division from the 10-14 February 2023.

* During the launch ceremony, Anurag Singh Thakur said, Khelo India Winter Games is a part of Khelo India Abhiyaan, a thought of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to encourage youth towards games and make India an emerging soft sports power on the global stage.

* Worth to mention, the 3rd edition of Khelo India Winter Games is scheduled to be held from the 10th to the 14th Febryary 2023 and is supported by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports and is being organised by the Jammu and Kashmir Sports Council as well as the Winter Games Association of Jammu and Kashmir.

* Around one thousand 500 athletes from across the country will take part in the games.   

* The main attractions during the mega event are a snowshoe race, ice skating, ice hockey, skiing, nordic ski, snowboarding, ski mountaineering and ice stock among others during the 5-day mega event.

* Nine sports events will feature in the Winter Games. The 1st edition of the Khelo India Winter Games took place in 2020 and hosts Jammu and Kashmir topped both editions of the games so far. ..

Source : AIR

Correct Answer :   5th February 2023

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Pakistan's former President Pervez Musharraf, a key U.S. ally in the campaign against al Qaeda following the militant group's Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, died in Dubai on Sunday (5th February 2023) after a prolonged illness.

* Pervez Musharraf, who was in Dubai since March 2016, was undergoing treatment for amyloidosis. It is a rare disease that occurs when an abnormal protein, called amyloid, builds up in your organs and interferes with their normal function.

* Pervez Musharraf was the tenth president of the South Asian nation after the successful military coup in 1999 and 7th top general from 1998 to 2007.

* Musharraf, 78, was facing treason charges for suspending the Constitution in 2007 over the imposition of an extra-constitutional emergency, a punishable offence for which he was indicted in 2014.

* Musharraf was born on August 11, 1943, in Delhi and completed his early education at St Patrick’s High School in Karachi.

* The former president pursued higher education at Forman Christian College in Lahore.

* A retired General, Musharraf was a veteran of the 1965 and 1971 Indo-Pakistan wars.

* He assumed power after engineering a successful military takeover of the Pakistani government in 1999.

* In 2002, he won a general election which was widely reported as almost certainly to have been rigged.

* Notably for India, Musharraf made some strides towards solving the Kashmir question and move towards peace. In 2006, he told  that Pakistan could be willing to give up its claim on Kashmir if India agreed to a self-government plan.

* Musharraf, who ruled Pakistan from 1999 to 2008, was declared a fugitive in the Benazir Bhutto murder case and Red Mosque cleric killing case.


Born : 11 August 1943, Old Delhi, Delhi

Died : 5 February 2023, American Hospital Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Source : Reuters

Correct Answer :   Bengaluru

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NTPC will host G20 international seminar on Carbon Capture, Utilisation, and Storage (CCUS) on 5 February 2023 in Bengaluru.

the seminar is likely to be attended by industries, policy makers, scientists and academicians from different countries.

India has assumed the presidency of G20 from 1 December 2022 for a period of one year. In its presidency, the first Energy Transitions Working Group (ETWG) meeting is scheduled to be held from 5th February to 7 February 2023.

“NTPC, India’s largest integrated power utility, on behalf of Ministry of Power, Govt of India, will be hosting a side event in form of an International Seminar on Carbon Capture, Utilization & Storage (CCUS) on 5th February 2023 at Taj Westend, Bengaluru."

This seminar will focus on underlining the importance of CCUS for achieving clean energy transition and subsequently moving towards net zero.

Government has a major focus on CCUS as it aims to achieve net zero carbon emission by 2070 and energy PSUs including NTPC and ONGC are looking at harnessing the potential for the sector in India...

Source : Mint