Correct Answer :   Narendra Modi

---

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated Shivamogga airport in Karnataka on 27 February 2023. The airport has been built on 663 acres of land with an investment of ₹449.22 crore.

* Apart from this, the prime minister will inaugurate several other development projects in the poll-bound state.

* “Shivamogga airport is grand & beautiful. At this airport, one can see the combination of Karnataka's tradition and technology. This is not just an airport. it is the drive for a new journey of the dreams of the youth of this area," PM Modi said while addressing the inaugural ceremony of Shivamogga airport.

* Days ahead of his visit to Shivamogga, PM Modi said that the facility will boost commerce, connectivity and enhance tourism in the region.

About Shivamogga airport :

* Shivamogga airport is being built on 663 acres of land with an investment of ₹449.22 crore and the foundation was laid in June 2020 by former CM B S Yediyurappa.

* The Passenger Terminal Building of the airport can handle 300 passengers per hour.

* As per the government statement, the airport will improve connectivity and accessibility of Shivamogga and other neighbouring areas in the Malnad region.

* This is the 9th domestic airport in Karnataka. Currently the state's domestic airports are located at Bengaluru, Mysuru, Ballari, Bidar, Hubballi, Kalaburagi, Belagavi and Mangaluru.

* Bengaluru and Mangaluru airports are the two international airports in the state.

* The airport have the longest runway of 3,200 metres after Kempe Gowda International airport, Bengaluru and is designed to operate Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 type aircraft and can handle about 200 peak-hour passengers..

Source : Mint

Correct Answer :   Lt Gen RS Reen

---

Lt Gen RS Reen took over as Director General Quality Assurance on February 24, 2023. A 1986-batch officer, Lt Gen Reen is an alumnus of Indian Military Academy, Dehradun.

* The Officer had completed his BE (Electrical) from National Institute of Technology, Srinagar, Specialisation in Radio Engineering and post-graduation in Communication Engineering from MC EME, Secunderabad. He was a senior faculty at Defence Institute of Quality Assurance, Bengaluru.

* In addition, the Officer is a certified Six Sigma Black Belt from Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata.

* He has done certification in Reliability Engineering from IIT, Kharagpur and is Qualified Lead Auditor in Quality Management System & Integrated Management System from Bureau Veritas, Bengaluru.

* The Officer has headed a Senior Quality Assurance Estt., Brig at Headquarters, Directorate General of Quality Assurance (DGQA) and was Controller (Missile System) in Secunderabad. The Officer headed the DQA(L) as Additional Director General (Electronics) at HQ DGQA, New Delhi.

* The DGQA is an Inter-Service Organisation functioning under the Department of Defence Production in the Ministry of Defence.

* It is responsible for second party Quality Assurance of all defence stores and equipment, both imported as well as indigenous, for the Indian Army, Indian Navy (excluding Naval Armaments) and common user items for the Indian Air Force procured from private sector and public sector undertakings...

Source : PIB

Correct Answer :   Maharaja Sayajirao University

---

The Youth 20 India Summit will be held at the Maharaja Sayajirao University Vadodara in Gujarat which was attended by more than 600 delegates from 62 countries.

The international conference of The Youth 20 India Summit was inaugurated by Bhupendra Patel, Chief Minister of Gujarat, 25th Feb 2023.

The Youth 20 India Summit is organized by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India to mark the celebration of India’s G20 Presidency, the focus would be on ‘Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction: Making sustainability a Way of Life’.

Key Points :

* In the Youth 20 India Summit conference, there were 167 delegates from G20 nations, 8 international scholars, 12 national scholars, 25 international delegates, 25 national delegates, 25 representatives of Youth Ministry, 50 start-ups working on the environment, 15 Shodh scholars, 10 NSS members and 250 students of different Universities studying subjects on urban planning, climate change, and environment studies participated.

* Different plenary sessions were organized at this international conference. The first plenary session was on ‘Role of Youth and Opportunities in the field of Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction’ in which Dr.Tuomo Kauranne, President of Arbonaut OY Ltd., Finland; Ana Loboguerrero, Director, Alliance BI, and ITA, Columbia, and several dignitaries were present.

* The second plenary session was on ‘Research, Innovation, and Start-up related to Climate Change’ in which Bruce Campbell, Director, CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security, Rome, and many more.

* The third plenary session was on ‘Experience Sharing, Best Practices related to Climate Change and Disaster-Risk Reduction’ in which Mr. Amgad Elmahdi, International Water and Natural Resources Management Specialist; Arun Govind, Consultant Red Deer, Canada Chairman, and many more.

* In the fourth plenary session, was a panel discussion on ‘Making Sustainability A way of Life’ in which Mr. Philippe Ciais, LSCE, The Climate Change Research Unit, IPSL, Paris; Prof. Charlotte Clarke, Executive Dean, Faculty of Social Science & Health, Durham University; Ms. Aarya Chavda, Young Environment Crusader; Hardeep Desai, Head of Farm Operations at Cotton Connect South Asia Pvt. Ltd and many more participated..

Source : PIB

Correct Answer :   Om Birla

---

The 19th annual Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA), India Zone-3 conference, will be inaugurated by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, on 23rd February 2023 at Gangtok, Sikkim.

* Governor of Sikkim, Lakshman Prasad Acharya, Chief Minister of Sikkim, Prem Singh Tamang, Deputy Chairman, Rajya Sabha, Harivansh, Presiding Officers of Legislative Bodies in India, Members of Parliament, Members of Sikkim Legislature and other dignitaries are scheduled to participate in the event.

* The two-day Conference will deliberate on many issues ranging from making parliament and assembly more accessible to the public. Drug abuse and the way forward and Cyber Bullying are the core issues, which will be discussed in this conference.

About Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) and CPA Zone-III :

It is pertinent to note that till now, 18 Zonal Conferences have been held in the North Eastern States that include the Events of North East Region of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (NERCPA) and CPA Zone-III.

* The CPA Zone-III comprises of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura.

* As CPA Zone-III, two Conferences have been held, i.e. Guwahati, Assam on 8 October 2018 and Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh on 12 and 13 May 2022.

* The CPA India Region comprises a total of 31 Legislatures, from Assam in the East to Gujarat in the West.

* After the Africa Region, India has the largest number of member branches of the CPA.

Om Birla: CPA India Regional Chairperson :

* The executive committee of the CPA India Region consists of the CPA India Regional Chairperson and six members. Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla is its current Regional Chairperson.

Administratively, the CPA India Region is divided into 4 zones :


Zone -1 : Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Jharkhand, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh Uttaranchal, West Bengal (8 Branches),

Zone -2 : Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Puducherry (UT), Tamil Nadu, Telangana (8 Branches),

Zone- 3 : Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura (8 Branches) and

Zone- 4 : Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan (7 Branches)...

Source : The Print

Correct Answer :   Karnataka

---

The Karnataka Government will build the country's first Marina or a boat basin offering dockage, at Byndoor in Udupi district to promote coastal tourism in Karnataka, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai has said.

* The government will also seek permission from the Centre for the relaxation of Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) to take up beach tourism in coastal areas and pilgrim tourism, he said, speaking at a function to unveil the Seven Wonders of Karnataka, organised by the Karnataka Tourism Department, on Saturday (25th Feb 2023).

* The government will collect the history of the greatest dynasties such as Ganga, Kadamba, Rashtrakoota, Chalukya, and Hoysala from the Department of Archaeology and develop the history of tourism in the state. This will not only help the development of tourism but also help people understand the rich history of the state.

* The government, Bommai said, has proposed to build a corridor of the ancient temples including Madhukeshwara in Banavasi and Dattatreya in Ganagapura and promote `Yatra tourism'.

* The government will develop the Benakal area while Anjanadri Hill is under development. There is also a scheme to pay a monthly honorarium of Rs 5000 to the recognized tourist guides.

* Karnataka is blessed with nature's bounty. It has a 350-km coastal area, 10 different weather zones, 400-km of the Western Ghats, a rich biodiversity with sunshine for 300 days, and several rivers..

Source : India Times

Correct Answer :   Rs 16,800 Crores

---

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will release the 13th instalment of financial benefits worth Rs 16,800 crore to over eight crore eligible farmers under the flagship PM-KISAN scheme on Monday(27th Feb 2023) ahead of Holi and rabi harvesting.

* Under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN), eligible farmers are provided with a financial benefit of Rs 6,000 per year in three equal instalments of Rs 2,000 each every four months.

* The fund is directly transferred to the bank accounts of the beneficiaries.

* The scheme was launched in February 2019 but is being implemented with effect from December 2018.

* The Prime Minister will release the 13th instalment at an event to be held at Belagavi, Karnataka, an official statement said on Sunday (26th Feb 2023).

* More than one lakh attendees, comprising PM-KISAN and Jal Jeevan Mission beneficiaries are expected to take part in the event.

* The Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar and Agriculture Secretary Manoj Ahuja will also be present.

* The 11th and 12th instalments under the PM-KISAN scheme were released in May and October 2022. The PM-KISAN scheme has already provided significant benefits to farmers across the country, and this latest instalment will further boost their incomes and contribute to the growth of the agriculture sector.

Source : Outlook India

Correct Answer :   Chhattisgarh

---

The 85th plenary session of the Indian National Congress concluded at Raipur, the state capital of Chhattisgarh on Sunday (26th Feb 2023).

* The three-day Congress summit, attended by nearly 15,000 delegates from various states, discussed socio-political, political economic and international affairs and adopted six resolutions making the party’s stand clear on issues and laying down party roadmap for them.

* In his concluding address, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said the Congress is committed to continuing its fight to preserve and protect the Constitution and called upon the youth to come forward to spread the message of peace, unity and brotherhood.
 
* Congress leader Rahul Gandhi reiterated his party's resolve to continue the struggle against corruption and the policies through which wealth is getting concentrated in the hands of a few.

* The plenary also enacted certain amendments to the Congress constitution including providing 50 per cent reservation for scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, other weaker sections and women in the party’s organisational setups..

Source : AIR

Correct Answer :   October 2024

---

The Appointments Committee of the Union Cabinet, on Wednesday (22nd Feb 2023), approved the extension of Secretary of Department of Defence - Aramane Giridhar. This extension is beyond his age of superannuation.

* Aramane Giridhar was due to retire in June this year (2023) after completing 60 years of superannuation.

* As per the notification, Giridhar will remain in his post until October 31, 2024 or till furtrher order whichever is earlier.

* Giridhar is a 1988-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the Andhra Pradesh cadre. He took over as the defence secretary on November 1 2022..

Source : CNBC

Correct Answer :   Maharashtra

---

People of Maharashtra are observing 26th Feb 2023 the 56th death anniversary of great revolutionary and freedom fighter Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, popularly known as Veer Savarkar.

* The Governor of state Ramesh Bais, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minster Devendra Fadnavis extended their tributes to the great social reformer.

* CM Shinde in his message described Savarkar as a true patriot, a great revolutionary, a brilliant orator, a gifted writer, and a social reformer.

* Mr Fadnavis twitted describing Savarkar as an ardent patriot, a true worshiper of the goddess of freedom, a great revolutionary and a university of Hinduism.

* Uddhav Thackeray faction leader Sanjay Raut described Veer Savarkar as a legend of Maharashtra who is the brave son of the state. Mr Raut urged the Central Government to confer Savarkar with Bharat Ratna..

Source : AIR

Correct Answer :   Kerala

---

* The Kerala government on Sunday(26th Feb 2023) entered into an agreement with the United Nations (UN) Women to boost women-friendly activities in the State's tourism sector.

* A memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed by Kerala Tourism and UN Women India agreed to work towards promoting gender-inclusive tourism sites in the State.

* The MoU was signed by Kerala Tourism Director P B Nooh and UN Women India representative Susan Ferguson and it would be implemented by the Responsible Tourism Mission.

* In addition to offering advice for baseline research, implementing women-friendly tourist destinations, and supporting interventions to change pervasive discriminatory social norms, this will be accomplished by creating modules and building the capacity of relevant stakeholders, according to the press release.

* The four-day summit was officially opened by Kerala’s Minister of Tourism, P A Mohamed Riyas, who stated that the MoU was a continuation of the State government’s increased efforts towards women-friendly tourism since October last year.

* There are 280 delegates and 70 speakers in the conclave..

Source : Business Standard