Daily & Latest Current Affairs in 2026

Correct Answer :   Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR)

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* Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has developed a new wheat variety which can overcome the challenges arising out due to changes in weather patterns and rising heat levels.

* This new wheat variety called HD-3385 is amenable to early sowing, escaping the impact of heat spikes and can be harvested before March end.

* ICAR Principal Scientist Rajbir Yadav explained the merits of this new variety and how the farmers can get good production by sowing this wheat variety.

* Recently, in the wake of rising temperatures, the Centre's  announced to  set up of a committee to monitor the situation arising from the increase in temperatures and its impact  on the current wheat crop..

Source : AIR

Correct Answer :   Ministry of External Affairs

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* External Affairs Ministry's annual flagship event on Geoeconomics, Asia Economic Dialogue will begin in Pune, Maharashtra from 23 -25 February 2023.

* Three-day event  is being co-hosted in collaboration with Pune International Centre.

* Theme : The principal theme for the Dialogue is ‘Asia and the Emerging World Order’. The Dialogue will also discuss themes such as Global Growth Prospects, How the Global South Will Shape the G20 Agenda and the Metaverse.  

* The Inaugural Session of the Dialogue would be a conversation between External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar, Bhutan Finance Minister Lyonpo Namgay Tshering and Maldives Finance Minister Ibrahim Ameer.

* Our correspondent reports that more than 44 speakers from various countries including Brazil, the US, the UK, South Africa, Bhutan, Maldives, Switzerland, Singapore and Mexico will be participating in this Dialogue.

* A large number of participants would be joining the conversations through the AED’s website and digital platforms...

Source : AIR

Correct Answer :   Kerala

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The Kerala High Court has published two of its recent judgments in Malayalam on February 21, 2023, which was also observed as International Mother Language Day.

Becoming the first high court in the country to publish judgments in the regional language.

The judgments in Malayalam were uploaded on the court's website the English version. Two judgments passed by the division bench comprising Chief Justice S Manikumar and Justice Shaji P Chaly.

Key Points :

* The news comes a day after the Supreme Court began testing a live transcription service to record its hearings and then translate them into text using artificial intelligence (AI) and NLP-based technology.

* The facility was used in Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud‘s courtroom, when he presided over a Constitution bench hearing the Maharashtra constitutional crisis.

* In order to translate rulings from English to regional languages, the Supreme Court established an artificial intelligence team to create the SUVAS (Supreme Court Vidhik Anuwad Software), an open-source judicial domain language translation tool.

* This tool was used by the Kerala High Court to translate the rulings.

* Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud said in January of this year that the Supreme Court’s decisions would be translated into four languages: Hindi, Gujarati, Odia, and Tamil after noting that 99.9% of Indian population could not understand the English language in its “legal incarnation.”..

Source : India Today

Correct Answer :   21st February 2023

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* TCA Ramanujam, Retired Chief Commissioner of Income Tax; Advocate, an erudite Sanskrit scholar and a columnist with businessline, passed away on Tuesday (21st February 2023). He was 88. He is survived by his son, Arvind Rangarajan, and daughter, TCA Sangeetha.

* Ramanujam retired in 1992 as Chief Commissioner of Income Tax and served as a member of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal for a year. He resumed practice as an advocate and represented the Income Tax department as a senior standing counsel in 2002.

* He had a degree in MA Economics from the Vivekananda College, a law degree from the Madras Law College, and later served in Indian Revenue Service.

* He began his journey as a tax columnist in the Indian Express in 1992 and later in businessline in 1995. An erudite tax jurist, he began the journal section in the Income Tax reporter, along with his daughter Sangeetha, an advocate in the Madras High Court, who has co-authored many articles along with her father.

* A versatile scholar and economist, his interests varied from cricket to music, dance to literature (English and Tamil) to the Divya Prabandham, Vedas, religion and temples..

Source : The Hindu Businessline

Correct Answer :   Rajeev Singh Raghuvanshi

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Rajeev Singh Raghuvanshi has been appointed as the new Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI), Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) by the Appointment Committee of the Cabinet led by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday (22nd Feb 2023).

* Raghuvanshi will be replacing PBN Prasad, who was given an interim charge of DCGI. The Union Health Ministry had appointed P B N Prasad as interim DCGI on February 16 till February 28, 2023.

* Prasad had replaced V G Somani, whose three-year tenure had expired in August 2022. He was, however, not given more extension beyond the two he received in August and November in the year 2022.

* Lately, the Union Government, in an official statement said, “The Appointment Committee of the Cabinet has approved the proposal for appointment of Dr Rajeev Singh Raghuvanshi, Secretary-cum-Scientific Director, Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission to the post of Drugs Controller (India), Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) in level 14 of the Pay Matrix, on short term contract basis, with effect from the date of his assumption of charge of the post till his attainting the age of superannuation on 28.2.2025, or until further orders, whichever is earlier."

* The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) held interviews for the appointment of the DCGI in January. On 6 February that the UPSC panel had recommended the name of Raghuvanshi for the country’s top drug regulators’ post. The top contenders for the post were Somani himself, Raghuvanshi and Jai Prakash. On January 30, the UPSC communicated its decision to the Health Ministry and recommended Raghuvanshi for the post of the country's apex drug regulator.

* The role of DCGI holds significance as the occupant of the post is the head of CDSCO, which is the agency in charge of ensuring the quality of medicines, new drugs and vaccines, and monitoring related-clinical trials.

* Raghuvanshi, who has worked in various roles at some of India's leading pharmaceutical companies is a Masters from IIT-BHU, and PhD from the National Institute of Immunology, New Delhi...

Source : Medical Dialogues

Correct Answer :   2011

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Russian President "Vladimir Putin" announced on Tuesday (21st Feb 2023) that Russia is suspending the participation in the 'New START treaty', the last major arms control treaty with the US.

* The treaty which is set to expire in 2026 restricts the number of nuclear warheads that Russia and US can deploy.

* The move may exacerbate ongoing tensions between Russia and US as a result of the Ukrainian war, which can also be attributed to US President Joe Biden's unannounced visit on Monday (20th Feb 2023) to Kyiv expressing strong support for Ukraine.

* Putin also stated that Russia should be prepared to resume nuclear weapons tests if the United States does so, effectively ending a global ban on nuclear weapons tests in place since the Cold War.


What is the New START treaty?

* New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty defined as (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty- START) was implemented on February 5, 2011.

* The treaty was signed by then-US President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev in 2010, and it came into force in 2011.

* After US President Joe Biden took office in 2021, the treaty was extended for five years, allowing both US and Russian inspectors to ensure that both sides are in compliance with the treaty.

* According to the agreement, Moscow and Washington agreed to deploy no more than 1,550 strategic nuclear warheads and no more than 700 long-range missiles and bombers as well as the use of land-based and submarine-based missiles and bombers to deliver them..

Source : Hindustan Times

Correct Answer :   Guyana

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* Union Cabinet has approved the signing of the Air Services Agreement between India and Guyana.

* The agreement will come into force after the exchange of diplomatic notes between the parties confirming that each party has completed the necessary internal procedure for entry into force of this Agreement.

* Indians have a sizeable presence in Guyana and are the largest ethnic group comprising about 40 per cent of the population.

* The signing of Air Services Agreement with Guyana will enable a framework for provision of air services between the two countries.

* In view of the growing aviation market and developments such as liberalization of aviation sector in India, air services agreement has been signed with many countries for paving way for International air connectivity.

* The new Air Services Agreement will provide enabling environment for enhanced and seamless connectivity while providing commercial opportunities to the carriers of both sides...

Source : News on Air

Correct Answer :   Assam

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* Gulab Chand Kataria took oath as the 31st governor of Assam on Wednesday (22nd Feb 2023).

* The oath of office was administered by Justice Sandeep Mehta, the Chief Justice of the Gauhati High Court in a ceremony held at the Srimanta Sankardeva Kalakshetra in Guwahati.

* Assam chief minister "Himanta Biswa Sarma" was also present on the occasion.

* On 12 February 2023, Kataria was appointed as the new Governor of Assam replacing Professor Jagdish Mukhi.

* On Tuesday (21st Feb 2023), Kataria was accorded a warm and traditional welcome on his arrival at Raj Bhavan. Along with him, his wife Anita Kataria was also welcomed by the officers and staff of Raj Bhavan.

* Gulab Chand Kataria hails from Udaipur in Rajasthan and is the former Home Minister of the state. He served as the home minister of Rajasthan from 2014 to 2018.

* A senior BJP leader, he is also a part of the party's central working committee..

Source : Pratid In Time

Correct Answer :   IIT Roorkee

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Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee (IIT Roorkee) and Indian Air Force (IAF), signed an MoU intending to promote the development of indigenous technologies and equipment through Research and Development in areas of mutual interest on February 14, 2023, at Bengaluru during Aero India 2023 aiming at self-reliance of Indian Defence system.

* The MoU was signed by Prof K.K. Pant, Director, IIT Roorkee, and Air Vice Marshal SK Jain VSM, Assistant Chief of Air Staff (Maintenance Plans), on behalf of IIT Roorkee and IAF.

* During the event, prof. Akshay Dvivedi, Dean of Sponsored Research and Industrial Consultancy pointed out that with the signing of the MoU, IIT Roorkee will effectively contribute to enhancing the capabilities of the Indian Airforce for Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) and technology development.

* Prof. Pradip K. Maji, Associate Professor, Dept Polymer and Process Engineering, IIT Roorkee coordinated the MoU between IITR and IAF.

* The MoU was released during the seminar at Aero India 2023 in the presence of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Chief of Air Staff, Indian Air Force, Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari, PVSM AVSM VM ADC and other dignitaries of the Ministry of Defence, Govt of India.

* This MoU outlines the collaborative effort between IIT Roorkee to achieve the ‘Make in India, Make for the World’ vision for shared global prosperity and making a step ahead toward Aatmanirbhar Bharat by creating a world-class domestic defence industry through research and development. IAF will also partner with IIT Roorkee, and other agencies designated by IITR..

Source : The Print

Correct Answer :   SEBI

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The SEBI has proposed that the listed entities should take approval from shareholders at least once in 5 years for the appointment of directors to serve on their boards.

Reason : To curb the practice of occupying permanent directorship in a company.

* SEBI also proposed norms, related to special rights granted to certain shareholders; sale, disposal, or lease of assets of a listed entity outside the ‘scheme of arrangement’ framework and on agreements binding listed entities.

* In the interest of good corporate governance at listed entities, all directors appointed to the board of a listed entity need to go through periodic shareholders’ approval process, thereby providing legitimacy to the director to continue to serve on the board.

* Sebi proposed in a consultation paper on strengthening corporate governance at listed entities by empowering shareholders.

* As on March 31, 2024, if there is any director serving on the board of a listed entity without his / her appointment or re-appointment being subject to shareholders’ approval during the last five years i.e., from April 1, 2019, the listed entity shall take shareholders’ approval in the first general meeting to be held after April 1, 2024, for his / her continuation on the board of the listed entity, the markets regulator said..

Source : Indian Express