Correct Answer :   Vivek Ramaswamy

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Indian-American tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy has launched his 2024 presidential bid.

* He is the second Indian-American to enter the Republican presidential primary.

Correct Answer :   Singapore

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Hsien Loong inaugurated the virtual launch of cross-border connectivity between the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and PayNow in Singapore on February 21, 2023.

* The facility was jointly launched by Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das and Managing Director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore Ravi Menon on 21st Feb 2023.

* Terming this launch a gift for the residents of both the countries, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, this will add a new chapter in fintech connectivity. He said, now people can transfer money with their mobile phones in a cost effective, swift and faster manner.

* Highlighting India's growth in the digital and fintech space, the Prime Minister said, Digital India has facilitated Ease of Living and Ease of Doing Business in the country. He said, this has also helped in improving governance and public service delivery mechanisms.

* He said, money was transferred directly in the bank accounts of the citizens during the Covid pandemic. He said, India has become a leading country in the digital payment sector now and UPI has emerged as the favourite payment option in the country. He said, over 7 thousand 400 crore UPI transactions worth 126 lakh crore rupees were made during the past year (2022)...

Source : AIR

Correct Answer :   February 21

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Every year, International Mother Language Day is observed on February 21 to highlight the cultural and linguistic diversity in the country.

UNESCO recognised the importance of this day at the General Assembly in 1999. The idea behind this day is to focus on the importance of cultural and linguistic diversity for sustainable communities all over the map.

It is a part of the peace mandate to try and maintain the cultural and linguistic variations that developed the act of tolerance and respect for other individuals.

International Mother Language Day 2023 Theme : This year (2023) marks the 24th edition of International Mother Language Day. The theme focuses on ‘multilingual education - a necessity to transform education.’

International Mother Language Day History : Bangladesh is the first country to initiate the celebration of International Mother Language Day, which was accepted at the 1999 UNESCO General Conference. Later, the day has been commemorated worldwide since 2000.UNESCO gave high signs of the global extinction of languages. As a result, UNESCO decided to celebrate this day as a day to understand the value of the mother tongue.

International Mother Language Day 2023 Significance : Linguistic diversity is in peril. There is a significant reduction in the number of languages over the years. Some have already become extinct. Worldwide, 40 percent of the population lacks access to education in the language that they speak. Yet, there is a rise in the requirement for the necessity of multilingual education, particularly in early childhood education. This will further boost commitments to better public life growth..

Source : India Today

Correct Answer :   20th Feb 2023

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Former Gujarat Governor and Rajya Sabha MP "Om Prakash Kohli" passed away after a brief illness in Noida on Monday (20th Feb 2023). He was 87 years old.

* Kohli, a former president of the party’s Delhi unit, was unwell for the past two to three months. His last rites will be performed at the Nigam Bodh Ghat on Tuesday (21st Feb 2023).

* Kohli was the 19th Governor of Gujarat between 2014 and 2019 during the term of chief ministers Anandiben Patel and Vijay Rupani.

* He also held the additional charge as Governor of Madhya Pradesh from 2016 to 2018 until Anandiben succeeded him. He also held the additional charge as the Goa governor for three weeks in 2014.

* Kohli entered the political arena in January 1991 and took over as the president of the Delhi BJP. He held the post for three terms and represented Delhi in Rajya Sabha. He was a member of the BJP’s national executive.

* “Late Om Prakash Kohliji’s simplicity and dedication to the country will always be remembered,” stated Gujarat Governor Acharya Devvrat.

* Kohli was a lecturer at Hansraj College and Deshbandhu College in Delhi..

Born : 9 August 1935 Delhi, British India.

Died : 20 February 2023 (aged 87)

Source : Indian Express

Correct Answer :   Ministry of Rural Development

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The Ministry of Rural Development and Meesho signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Thursday (16th Feb 2023) to drive digital inclusion of all women registered under State Rural Livelihood Missions (SRLMs) and enable them to sell online, according to a statement.

* The partnership will give impetus to Meesho’s ongoing efforts to onboard rural women entrepreneurs in various states and enable them to launch and grow their businesses online.

* Over the last few months, Meesho has tied up with several government-run self-help groups (SHGs), such as Sanjeevini – Karnataka State Rural Livelihood Mission and UMEED – Jammu and Kashmir Rural Livelihoods Mission.

* Rural Development Minister Giriraj Singh informed that when Prime Minister Narendra Modi took charge, there were 2.35 crore SHG members, but with a focused approach to empower rural poor women in the last 9 years, the number of SHG members has expanded to more than 9 crores and will touch 10 crores by 2024.

* The agreement was signed in the presence of Giriraj Singh as well as the secretary, Rural Development, Shailesh Kumar Singh, Additional Secretary Charanjit Singh, and Meesho co-founder and chief technology officer Sanjeev Barnwal.

* The minister informed that the cumulative loan to SHGs was about Rs 80,000 crore before 2014 and now the bank linkage has crossed over 6.25 lakh crore in the last 9 years, with an NPA of just 2.08 percent.

* The minister noted that each woman beneficiary must save at least Rs 1 lakh per annum through the sale of local products, which is the vision of the prime minister.

* He also expressed confidence that within a few years, he will be able to achieve the target of 10 lacks ‘lakhpati didis’ and added that the day is not far away when “some of the lakhpati didis will become crorepati didi”.

* The minister informed that the rural development ministry has been undertaking several efforts in supporting businesses run by rural SHG women engaged in producing food products, handicrafts, and hand-loom, etc...

Source : The Print

Correct Answer :   Dharmendra Pradhan

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Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan launched a Learning-Teaching Material called 'Jaadui Pitara' for Foundational Stages in New Delhi on Monday (20th Feb 2023).

* Under the National Curriculum Framework for foundational stage - 2022, this unique initiative of the government will help students of foundational stages learn in a play-way method with ease.

* The Jaadui Pitara' comprises of playbooks, activity books, flash cards, posters depicting various stories, games, puzzles, puppets and many more items.

* Speaking on this occasion, Mr Pradhan described this day as historic for the National Education Policy. He informed that initially this initiative will be kicked off in a pilot project manner in only 50 Central schools, but later, for next academic session, 1200 central schools across the country will receive this box for students in foundational stage.

* The Minister said, Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself laid a great emphasis on how to teach students of primary level and this initiative after being a part of the National Education Policy 2020 will help realize his vision.

* On the occasion, Mr Pradhan also called upon NCERT to publish all its books for primary to secondary level in other Indian languages along with Hindi, English and Urdu.

Source : AIR

Correct Answer :   Ladakh

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The Union Territory of Ladakh has created history by successfully conducting its maiden 21-km trail running event in sub-zero temperature at 13,862 feet high Pangong Tso, which was registered in Guinness world record as the world’s highest frozen lake half marathon.

* Spread across the border of India and China, the 700-square kilometer Pangong Lake records a temperature of minus 30 degrees Celsius during winter, making the salt water lake frozen with ice.

* The four-hour long marathon started from Lukung and ended at Maan village on Monday (20th Feb 2023) with no injury reported to any of the 75 participants, Leh District Development Commissioner Shrikant Balasaheb Suse.

* The run was flagged off by Chief Executive Councillor, LAHDC (Leh) Tashi Gyalson. Five energy stations were set up along the route, consisting of energy drinks, medical teams and oxygen support, along with mobile ambulances.

* The district development commissioner said all the participants underwent six-day acclimatisation — four days in Leh and two in Pangong — in accordance with the SOPs decided by the district administration. The participants were also subjected to medical examination to ensure that they were fit for running..

Source : The Print

Correct Answer :   Mount Everest

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The world's highest altitude was destroyed due to hurricane-force winds on Mount Everest, a team of scientists and Sherpa have again placed its new version atop Mount Everest. The group has been led by a 31-year-old electrician and mountain guide Tenzing Gyalzen Sherpa.

* According to the Guinness World Records report, the team of mountaineers and scientists has installed a record-breaking weather station at an altitude of 8,810 metres (28,904 ft); just 39 metres (128 ft) below Everest’s summit.

* The team started reinstallation of the world's highest weather station as a part of National Geographic and Rolex's ‘Return to Everest Expedition’ in May 2022.

* During this period, Tenzing, Matthews, and Perry were joined by 12 other Sherpa to install a weather station on the world's highest mountain.

* Previously, the weather station was located on Everest’s Balcony, around 400 metres lower than the new one. Notably, it was the first-ever terrestrial weather station that was placed above 8,000 metres.

* It is said that the rebuilding of the highest weather station was imperative because it was collecting information that could impact the lives of around 1.6 billion people as they rely on freshwater from the region.

* In May 2022, the team started cleaning up the destroyed Balcony's weather station and assembling its upgraded version.

* Carrying different components of the weather station, the team reached Bishop Rock on May 9 in the chilly winter at -40°C (-40°F).

* The Sherpa had heated their hands with batteries, while Matthews had to sit out of the assembly station due to his frostbitten fingers. They took around three hours in the weather station installation, which was later powered up by Tenzing..

Source : Mint

Correct Answer :   Rajesh Rai

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State-owned firm Indian Telephone Industries (ITI) Ltd on Tuesday (21st February 2023) said the government has appointed Rajesh Rai as the Chairman and managing director (CMD) of the company.

* Prior to assuming charge as CMD in ITI, he served as general manager (admin) of Mahanagar Telphone Nigam Ltd (MTNL), Mumbai.

* The appointment is for a period of five years with effect from the date of his assumption of charge of the post (immediately), till the date (21st Feb 2023) of his superannuation, or until further orders, whichever is the earliest.

About Rajesh Rai :

* Rai has more than 30 years of experience in the telecommunication industry. He held the post of chief technology officer of Mahanagar Telephone Mauritius Limited in Mauritius for 12 years, where he was responsible for CDMA, GSM, 3G & 4G network, and customer acquisition.

* He holds a bachelor's degree in engineering in electronics from Madan Mohan Malviya Engineering College, Gorakhpur; M.Tech (computer science) from Jawaharlal Nehru University, and an MBA from FMS, Delhi University..

Source : CNBC

Correct Answer :   India and Egypt

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India and Egypt strongly condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, including cross-border terrorism, during the 3rd meeting of the Joint Working Group on Counter-Terrorism in New Delhi on Thursday (16th Feb 2023).

* During the meeting, both sides also reviewed the threats posed by terrorist groups globally and in their respective countries and regions and shared their respective counter-terrorism priorities and actions taken to counter terrorism, violent extremism conducive to terrorism, radicalization, and terror financing.

* According to information provided by India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), they stressed the need to take concerted action against all the United Nations Security Council (UNSC)-designated terrorist entities.

* They called upon all countries to take immediate, sustained, irreversible, and verifiable actions to ensure that no territory under their control is used as a terrorist safe haven and to bring perpetrators of terrorist attacks to justice.

* They further called upon all countries to work towards rooting out terrorist networks, infrastructure, and financing channels, and preventing the cross-border movement of terrorists.

* The meeting also discussed emerging challenges posed by virtual currencies, unmanned aerial systems, and the misuse of cyberspace by terrorists for propaganda, in the backdrop of the Delhi Declaration adopted in October 2022 during the special meeting of the UNSC Counter-Terrorism Committee and the 3rd No Money for Terror Ministerial Conference on Counter-Terrorism Financing in November 2022 in New Delhi.

* The two sides reaffirmed the need for early finalization and adoption of the UN Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT), which aims to advance and strengthen the global counter-terrorism legal framework.

* India and Egypt agreed to further strengthen bilateral counter-terrorism collaboration, including through training and capacity-building efforts, exchanges of good practices, and information sharing.

* The Joint Working Group also discussed multilateral counter-terrorism cooperation, including at the United Nations and the Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF)...

Source : India News Network