Current Affairs Quiz - February, 2024

Notes:
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced the launch of Mission Basundhara 4.0, focusing on surveying land within riverine areas. The government aims to settle land in mission mode, terming it as Basundhara. Basundhara 3.0 will commence after Lok Sabha elections, focusing on comprehensive land management and reserving revenue villages with 100% ST and SC communities. Mission Basundhara 2.0, launched in November 2022, addressed indigenous peoples land rights, settling over 3 lakh bigha in Brahmaputra Valley and 1 thousand bigha in Barak Valley. Mission Basundhara 3.0 will bring reforms, waiving the ‘three-generation’ requirement for tea, Adivasi, Gorkha, ST, and SC communities. Sunsali and Tea Garden Grant areas residents get a one-time opportunity under Mission Basundhara 3.0 for land patta applications.

Notes:
India and Colombia signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to share India’s open-sourced digital public infrastructure (DPI). The MoU is for cooperation in digital transformation, including sharing successful digital solutions that have been implemented at population scale. India has developed some of the world’s best digital public goods infrastructure, including delivering services to the public during the COVID pandemic.

Notes:
NASA and Japan’s space agency, JAXA, are planning to launch the world’s first wooden satellite, LignoSat, in 2024. The satellite is designed to reduce space debris and is made of biodegradable magnolia wood, known as Hoonoki in Japanese. The satellite is being developed by scientists at Kyoto University. First tests have been performed in space-simulating laboratories, and wood samples found no signs of damage, decomposition, or mass changes. The initiative aims to make spaceflight operations more sustainable and pave the way for a more sustainable future in orbit.

Notes:
External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar is attending the 60th Munich Security Conference in Germany, engaging in discussions with global leaders to address bilateral cooperation and global concerns. The three-day conference serves as a platform for high-level debates on pressing security challenges, fostering international dialogue and cooperation.

Notes:
The ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA) Joint Committee met in New Delhi from February 16-19, 2024, marking its 3rd meeting since the agreement’s signing in 2009. Initiated in September 2022 for a comprehensive review, eight sub-committees were established to enhance the agreement’s trade facilitation and mutual benefits. The recent meeting assessed negotiation progress, identified focus areas for further deliberations, and updated the work program, directing sub-committees for continued negotiations.

Notes:
Himachal Pradesh’s 2024-25 annual budget prioritizes environmental concerns, unveiling the Mukhya Mantri Harit Vikas Chhattravriti Yojana for postgraduate researchers. Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu, in the February 17 presentation, emphasized climate change threats and outlined action plans at district and Panchayat levels. The state aims to collaborate with the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change and the German development agency GIZ to address climate change’s impact on agriculture and horticulture, conducting a need assessment study for effective mitigation.

Notes:
Four bone fragments of Lord Buddha, known as Kapilvastu Relics, discovered by William Claxton Peppé in 1898 at Piprahwa, Uttar Pradesh, will be taken to Thailand after 30 years. The relics were excavated from the ancient city of Kapilavastu. According to Buddhist beliefs, Buddha attained salvation in Uttar Pradesh’s Kushinagar at the age of 80, and his relics were divided among different communities to erect stupas, with Ashoka later enshrining them in numerous stupas to spread Buddhism.

Notes:
The 50th Khajuraho Dance Festival, 2024, commenced on February 20, inaugurated by Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav. Scheduled until the 26th, the festival features diverse classical dance styles performed by over 1500 Kathak artistes. Originating in 1975, the festival is organized by the Ustad Alauddin Khan Academy of Music and Arts, promoting various dance forms and drawing renowned artists like Padmashree Ranjana Gauhar and Pandit Rajendra Gangani, aiming to boost tourism in Madhya Pradesh.

Notes:
Reliance Industries, in collaboration with top Indian engineering schools, is launching BharatGPT, a ChatGPT-style AI model named Hanooman. Backed by Reliance Jio, Hanooman aims to advance India’s AI in healthcare, governance, finance, and education, operating in 11 local languages with speech-to-text capabilities. Reliance Jio is concurrently developing Jio Brain for its 450 million subscribers. Other startups like Sarvam and Krutrim, supported by Lightspeed Venture Partners and Vinod Khosla’s fund, are also contributing open-sourced AI models for India’s growth.

Notes:
The CBI conducted raids related to alleged corruption in awarding a contract for the Kiru Hydel Project in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kishtwar district, focusing on the former Governor. The Kiru Hydel Power Project is a run-of-the-river scheme over the Chenab River, developed by Chenab Valley Power Projects (CVPP), a joint venture between NHPC, JKSPDC, and PTC. The project aims to benefit several states and union territories in Northern India, with a 49%, 49%, and 2% shareholding, respectively.