Correct Answer :   Jammu and Kashmir

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The Jammu and Kashmir government initiated a vital programme to support its farmers and promote sustainable agriculture in the Union Territory.

* The government is investing in a project that will "boost organic food production" and increase economic returns for farmers in the UT.

* This is a part of the government’s larger efforts to create a safer, cleaner and more sustainable environment for agriculture and food production in the region.

* The government has kept a budget of Rs 84 crore to support the program over the next five years. This initiative is part of a larger effort to promote sustainable agriculture, commercial agriculture and healthy food production.

* The project envisages the creation of over 12600 jobs and 300 enterprises in the organic agri-sector.

* The project aims : To create six to seven organic clusters per district, covering a total of 2000 hectares of land. Additionally, it aims to convert another 2,000 hectares into organic production, including niche crops and default organic areas.

* The program will also provide training to 10,000 farmer families in organic farming and establish 200 commercial and 3000 low-cost vermicompost units and 100 Integrated Organic Farming System Units.

* Besides, two Bio-Input Production Units will also be set up to supply organic inputs for the production clusters...

Source : The Print

Correct Answer :   Uttar Pradesh

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India Health Link signed the MoU with the Uttar Pradesh government under their InvestUP programme.

* The Uttar Pradesh government to set up health ATMs providing screening of various health parameters at more than 4,600 community and primary health care centres in the state.

* Swadeep Srivastava, Co-Founder & President of India Health Link (IHL) said the health ATM, 'hPod', offers a non-invasive digitally-integrated ecosystem that enables Primary, Preventive and Predictive Healthcare.

* This is a self-service, walk-in Health ATM wherein individuals can get their screening done for 20+ health vital parameters including BP, weight, pulse, temperature, and ECG within 10 minutes followed by an instant report.

* India Health Link (IHL) has committed through signing an MoU of up to Rs 1,000 crore investment and opening significant employment opportunities in UP over the next five years by establishing a manufacturing plant in the state's first Medical Device Park, said Srivastava...

Source : Business Standard

Correct Answer :   Samsung Semiconductor India Research

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The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and Samsung Semiconductor India Research (SSIR) have joined hands to promote research and development in the field of on-chip electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection.

* The partnership seeks to build cutting-edge ESD device solutions to protect ultra-high-speed serial interfaces in advanced integrated circuits (ICs) and system-on-chip (SoC) products.

* Prof. Mayank Shrivastava’s group will conduct the related research at the Department of Electronic Systems Engineering, IISc.

* Samsung India announced that it will hire around 1000 engineers for its R&D institutes, including its Samsung Semiconductor India Research in Bengaluru 2022.

* The research agreement was exchanged by Balajee Sowrirajan, CVP & MD at Samsung Semiconductor India Research, Bengaluru, and Prof Govindan Rangarajan, Director, Indian Institute of Science (IISc), in the presence of delegates from Samsung and IISc.

* Prof Govindan Rangarajan, Director, IISc informed that they are excited to collaborate with Samsung Semiconductor India Research in the crucial area of advanced nanoelectronics device research.

* The partnership reinforces the commitment to strengthen industry-academia engagements that can make a significant impact in the coming years....

Source : The Hindu

Correct Answer :   Ashwini Vaishnaw

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Electronics and Information Technology and Communications Minister "Ashwini Vaishnaw" will launch the ‘Digital Payments Utsav’ in New Delhi on 9th February 2023.

* A comprehensive month-long campaign “Digital Payments Utsav" has been planned from 9th February 2023 for the promotion of Digital Payments across the country, with particular focus on G-20 Digital Economy Working Group event cities, namely Lucknow, Hyderabad, Pune and Bengaluru.

* The event will have the release of a G-20 co-branded QR code and a Coffee Table Book showcasing India’s journey to global leadership in Digital Payments and digital inclusion.

* It will also witness the flagging off of Digital Payment Sandesh Yatra.

* Aim : To make citizens aware of various digital payments solutions and sensitise them about the security and safety of digital payments.

* DigiDhan awards for top-performing banks in the digital payments space will also be presented in the event...

Source : AIR

Correct Answer :   MobiKwik

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MobiKwik, India’s leading fintech, has become the first fintech apps to support RuPay Credit Cards on UPI.

* The development brings a new level of convenience to the millions of Indians who use UPI for their daily transactions.

* Nearly 50 million users possessing one or more credit cards, this is a significant milestone in India’s drive towards a cashless economy.

Chandan Joshi, Co-founder & CEO, Consumer Payments, MobiKwik, said the company wants to make financial services accessible to all Indians and lead the way to financial inclusion.

* RuPay Credit Cards now linked directly to UPI IDs, MobiKwik’s customers can easily make payments to merchants by scanning the UPI QR code and using UPI PIN for payment authentication.

* The feature not only provides a smooth and secure payment experience for MobiKwik’s customers but also opens up new opportunities for Indian merchants to be part of the credit ecosystem with the acceptance of credit cards using asset-lite QR codes without the need for point-of-sale terminals.

* Transaction limit : The new feature will follow the existing UPI standard transaction limits.

* Nalin Bansal, Chief of Corporate and Fintech Relationships and Key Initiatives, said : “The integration will bring a seamless, digitally enabled credit card experience, providing increased ease and opportunity to use their credit cards.”...

Source : The Hindu Businessline

Correct Answer :   K.M. Mammen

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MRF's chairman and managing director KM Mammen has been honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Automotive Tyre Manufacturers' Association (ATMA).

The award was presented by Maruti Suzuki India's managing director and CEO, Hisachi Takeuchi, at ATMA's Annual Conclave 2023 in New Delhi on Wednesday (8th February 2023).   

Mammen was awarded the Lifetime Achievement honour for his exceptional leadership qualities, his contribution to the Indian tyre industry and for being at the forefront for over 20 years.

Mammen, who once held the post of chairman at ATMA, has led MRF through many landmark achievements that made the company cross the milestone of over Rs 19,000 crore turnover, and in its ranking of being one of the top tyre companies in the world. .

Source : Autocar India

Correct Answer :   Bengaluru

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The First G20 Environment and Climate Sustainability Working Group Meeting under India Presidency will begin in Bengaluru from 9th February to 11th February 2023.

The Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change "Richa Sharma" briefed media persons in Bengaluru 8th Feb 2023 that issues concerning biodiversity will be top on the agenda for deliberations.

Theme : LiFE is an "important and cross-cutting"

Focus : Land degradation and biodiversity loss, marine pollution, conservation of mangroves and coral reefs are some of the core areas of deliberations in the three days event.

The delegates will visit Kalkere, Arboretum and Bannerghatta National Park to showcase the forest restoration model adopted in India.

Over 142 delegates from G20 countries and 19 member countries and the European Union, 25 from 10 guest countries and 21 representatives of international organisations are slated to meet and hold global discourse during the meet..

Source : AIR

Correct Answer :   Larsen & Toubro (L&T)

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The Ministry of Defence on Wednesday (8th February 2023) approved the proposal to indigenously manufacture 41 sets of Modular Bridges for the Corps of Engineers of the Indian Army.

* The ministry signed the procurement contract of Modular Bridges with Larsen & Toubro (L&T) on Wednesday (8th Feb 2023) at an estimated cost of ₹2,585 crore.

* The move is seen as a boost to the indigenization of defence equipment under PM Modi.

* The defence ministry called it a game-changing bridge which is designed and developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and shall be produced by Larsen & Toubro (L&T) as a DRDO-nominated production agency.

* “Each set of Modular Bridge shall consist of seven carrier vehicles based on 8x8 Heavy Mobility Vehicles and two launcher vehicles based on 10x10 Heavy Mobility Vehicles.

* Each set shall be capable of mechanically launching a single span fully decked 46-meter assault bridge. The bridge can be employed over various types of obstacles like canals & ditches with quick launching and retrieval capabilities," the defence ministry said in a statement...

Source  : Mint

Correct Answer :   Skye Air Mobility Private Limited

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Skye Air Mobility Private Limited, a Gurugram-based drone solutions provider, on Tuesday (7th Feb 2023) launched traffic management system for drones in India.

* Launched in the presence of Minister of Road Transport and Highways of India "Nitin Gadkari", the software will allow drone operators to plan routes, make flight plans and assess risks before running drone-based operations in the country.

* The solution, called Skye UTM, is a first-of-its-kind for India.

* Unmanned traffic management systems will play a key role in how airspace will be managed, allowing multiple beyond visual line-of-sight (BVLOS) drone operations to be run by different firms at the same time.

* Globally, several companies, such as US-based AirMap and Netherlands-based Airbus, offer such solutions.

* Ankit Kumar, chief executive officer of Skye Air, the software imports data from the government’s Digital Sky platform, which has been created to help drone operators plan flights in Indian airspace.

* The platform was first launched in 2018 and offers operators essential information for running drone missions in the country. It is run by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA)..

Source : Mint

Correct Answer :   Jio-bp

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Jio-bp, the fuel and mobility joint venture between Reliance Industries Limited and bp on Wednesday (8th Feb 2023) announced the initial rollout of E20 petrol.

* A blend of 20 per cent ethanol and 80 per cent fossil-based fuel.

* Jio-bp said it is one of the first fuel retailers in India to make E20 blended petrol available.

* E20 blending in petrol is being introduced in the country by the government of India.

Aim :  to reduce the country's oil import cost, energy security, lower carbon emission, and better air quality, among others.

* The government had advanced the target of E20 fuel from 2030 to 2025..

Source : Economic Times