Current Affairs Quiz - February, 2023

Notes:
The Centre has initiated the process to block 138 betting and 94 loan-lending Chinese apps on an emergency basis.
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has issued blocking orders based on emergency request by the Nodal officer of Ministry of Home Affairs. The move was taken after confirming that these apps contain material that is prejudicial to sovereignty of India under Section 69 of IT Act.

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:
In the Union Budget 2023, Finance Minister announced Mahila Samman Bachat Patra, a one-time new small savings scheme, for a two-year period up to March 2025.
This initiative will avail a deposit facility for a woman up to Rs 2 lakh for two-year period at a fixed interest rate of 7.5% with partial withdrawal option. Maximum deposit limit of Senior Citizens’ Saving Scheme was increased from ₹15 lakh to ₹30 lakh.

Notes:
Finance Minister stated that the Pradhan Mantri PVTG Development Mission will be launched, to  improve socio-economic conditions of the particularly vulnerable tribal groups (PVTGs).
Rs.15,000 crore will be made available to implement the Mission in the next three years under the Development Action Plan for the Scheduled Tribes.

Notes:
A set of new family laws, referred to as ‘Federal Personal Status Laws’, for non-Muslims residing in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) came into force.
These laws will apply to non-Muslim expatriates or foreigners living in UAE and cover various aspects of family law like marriage, divorce, child custody, inheritance, wills, and paternity. The new reforms to UAE’s judicial systems originate from Abu Dhabi’s Civil Family Court System, which allows non-Muslim couples to divorce or marry without following the Sharia laws.

Notes:
The First G-20 Energy Transition Working Group meeting was recently inaugurated in Bengaluru in the presence of Union Minister of Power and New and Renewable Energy R K Singh and Union Minister of Coal and Mines Prahlad Joshi.
India stands committed to reduce emissions intensity of GDP by 45 percent by 2030 from 2005 level. The country also aims to achieve close to 50 percent cumulative electric power installed capacity from non-fossil fuel-based energy resources by 2030.

Notes:
Reliance Retail has become the first Indian retailer to introduce Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), also known as digital rupee.
The company has piloted the use of Digital Rupee in one store in Mumbai, and is planning to make this facility available in all its stores in Mumbai within the next three to four months, in accordance with Reserve Bank of India (RBI) norms.

Notes:
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the earthquake that hit Gaziantep in southern Turkey was the country’s worst disaster since 1939 Erzincan earthquake.
The 1939 Erzincan earthquake resulted in the deaths of around 33,000 individuals. It was caused by the movement of the North Anatolian Fault Zone, which resulted in a quake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale. This earthquake caused damage to the Erzincan Plain and the Kelkit River Valley.

Notes:
Kiruna is a town in northern Sweden that houses over 18,000 individuals and a tonne wooden church.
This town is currently under threat of being consumed by the world’s largest iron ore mine that is under the control of the Swedish state-owned company LKAB. This entire town is currently being relocated and it is considered as one of the significant relocations happened in the world.

Notes:
The India-EU Trade and Technology Council was jointly established by the European Union and India.
Under this new council, three working groups have been set up with the focus on strategic technologies, digital governance, and digital connectivity; green and clean energy technologies; and trade, investment, and resilient value chains. The working groups will be responsible for preparing for the TTC meeting, which is set to take place before the next bilateral India-EU summit.