Current Affairs Quiz - February, 2023

Notes:
Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in her Budget speech that the per capita income in India has more than doubled to ₹ 1.97 lakh over the past nine years.
The EPFO membership has more than doubled to 27 crore. She also announced that the government made cash transfer of ₹2.2 lakh crore under the PM-KISAN scheme.

Notes:
The state government of Punjab notify a policy to meter and charge groundwater extraction by industries and other establishments.
Anyone with an existing bore-well or digging afresh will have to take permission from Punjab Water Regulation and Development Authority (PWRDA). There will be exemptions including farmers using water for agriculture purposes, places of worship, drinking and domestic Water Supply Scheme of Government, among others.

Notes:
The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) designated the first seven days of February as World Interfaith Harmony Week in 2010.
The idea of World Interfaith Harmony Week was first proposed at the United Nations in 2010 by Jordan’s King Abdullah II. UNGA encourages all countries to voluntarily disseminate the message of interfaith tolerance and goodwill in accordance with their religious traditions.

Notes:
NAMASTE is a Central Sector Scheme of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (MoSJE) as a joint initiative of the MoSJE and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA).
NAMASTE stands for National Action Plan for Mechanised Sanitation Ecosystem). This year’s Union Budget has allotted Rs 100 crore to the scheme. Finance Minister announced that the government is looking to enable 100% mechanical de-sludging of septic tanks and sewers in all cities and towns.

Notes:
Google has invested nearly USD 400 million in artificial intelligence start-up Anthropic AI. The two companies announced a partnership that will see the AI start-up use Google’s cloud computing services.
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei announced that they would use Google Cloud to build reliable, interpretable, and steerable AI systems and to create a robust AI platform.

Notes:
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between Ministry of Cooperation, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, NABARD and CSC e-Governance Services India Limited.
It aims to enable Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) to provide services offered by Common Service Centers. Over 300 services will be made available to the rural population including 13 crore farmer members of PACS.

Notes:
The Indian military forces concluded a joint training exercise named ‘Trishakti Prahar, which began in North Bengal.
As per defence sources, the aim of the exercise was to practice battle preparedness of the security forces, using latest weapons and equipment in a networked, integrated environment, involving the Army, the Indian Air Force and CAPFs.

Notes:
The Budget presented by Kerala announced a road map for setting up green hydrogen hubs in Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram in the next two years.
A scheme of ₹200 crore has been announced for viability gap funding/grant/equity support to set up the green hydrogen hubs. An amount of ₹20 crore is earmarked additionally for the purpose in the Budget.

Notes:
The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs signed a MoU with Engineers India Limited to develop Waste to Energy and bio-methanation projects in cities with a population of million plus.
It was signed as a part of furthering the ‘Green Growth’ agenda. There are 59 million plus cities in India and EIL will assist them in developing such projects for larger quantum of waste integrating circularity in waste management.

 

Notes:
Experts at the 5th International Marine Protected Areas Congress in Canada have recommended the setting up of Marine Protected Areas.
Marine protected areas are regions in the ocean where human activities are regulated by the government. These protected areas are set up to address issues such as pollution, litter, overfishing, and climate change.