Current affairs FEB 2023

 'NISAR' satellite launched from India September

 NTPC bags ‘ATD Best Awards 2023’ for 6th

consecutive year

 S Raju appointed new MD & CEO of Canara Bank

 Indore becomes the first civic body in the

country to launch green bonds

 Visva-Bharati University to get the status of

world's first "Living Heritage University“

 World Cancer Day - 4 February

 Earthquake devastation in Turkiye

• India launched ‘Operation Dost’ to extend assistance to

Turkey as well as Syria following Monday’s devastating quake
that killed over 11,000 people in the two countries.
• On 6 February a major earthquake struck Turkey and Syria, killing more
than 15,000 people.

• The Indian Army has set up a field hospital in Iskenderun, Hatay province
of Turkey. The field hospital will treat people affected by the earthquake.

• Three earthquakes measuring 7.8, 7.6 and 6.0 on the Richter scale hit
different regions of Turkey and neighbouring Syria.

• It is the most powerful earthquake to shake the region in more than 100
years.
Earthquake

• In simple words, earthquake refers to the vibration of the earth.

• The instruments used to measure earthquakes are called seismographs.

• The place below the Earth's surface where the epicenter of an earthquake
is located is called the hypocenter.

• The place above the surface of the earth where the seismic waves first
reach is called the epicenter.

• It is measured in the Richter scale.

 'NISAR' satellite made by ISRO-NASA to be launched
from India in September
• An Earth-observation satellite jointly developed by National
Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and ISRO will
be sent to India in late February 2023 for a possible launch in
September.

• Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) Chairman S

Somnath recently visited NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory
(JPL) in California to oversee the final power test of the NASA-
ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) satellite before it is
sent to India.
• The mission will help study Earth's land and ice surfaces in greater detail
than ever before.

'NISAR' satellite
• ISRO and NASA had tied up in 2014 to build a satellite weighing 2,800 kg.
• This is an important step in better understanding the Earth and the
changing climate.
• It will provide important information on the Earth's crust, ice sheets and
ecosystems.
• The NISAR spacecraft will be integrated into the satellite bus at the UR
Rao Satellite Center for launch.
NTPC bags ‘ATD Best Awards 2023’ for 6th consecutive
year
• Country's largest power generation company NTPC Limited has
been conferred with 'ATD Best Awards 2023' by Association for
Talent Development (ATD), USA.

• NTPC Limited has won this award for the sixth time for
showcasing enterprise success in the area of talent
development.

• The award includes small and large private, public and non-
profit organizations from around the world.
• Association for Talent Development, USA is the world's largest association
in the field of talent development and ATD's Best of Award is considered
the most prestigious award in learning and development.

NTPC
• The NTPC which was earlier known as National Thermal Power
Corporation of India is owned by the Government of India. It was set up
in 1975.
• It is a coal-based power plant owned and operated by NTPC.
• Headquarters: New Delhi
• Chairman and Managing Director: Gurdeep Singh
Reserve Bank increased the repo rate by 0.25 percent
to 6.5 percent
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has increased the policy repo
rate by 0.25 percent in the bi-monthly monetary policy review
with the aim of bringing inflation under control.

• After which the new repo rate has increased to 6.50 percent.
• The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth forecast for the
current financial year 2022-23 has been increased by RBI from
6.8 percent to 7 percent.
• At the same time, in the next financial year 2023-24, the
growth rate in gross domestic product (GDP) has been
estimated to be 6.4 percent.
• RBI has estimated retail inflation to be 6.5 per cent in the
current financial year and 5.3 per cent in the next financial
year.

Repo rate:
• Repo rate is the interest rate at which commercial banks
borrow money from the central bank to meet their immediate
needs.
• An increase in this means that borrowing from banks and
financial institutions will be costlier and the monthly
instalment (EMI) of existing loans will increase.
Indian-American student named as 'World's Brightest'
student for second time
• Indian-American schoolgirl Natasha Periyanayagam has been
named in the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth's list of
"world's most talented" students for the second year in a row.

Who is Natasha Perianayagam?

• Natasha Periyanayagam is 13 years old and studying at
Florence M Gaudiner Middle School in New Jersey, United
States.
• She took the John Hopkins Center for Talented Youth (CTY)
exam in 2021. At that time she was a fifth grader.
• Natasha's performance in the Verbal and Quantitative
Aptitude Test was equivalent to achieving a 90 percentile in
grade eight, earning her a place on that year's honours list.

• The list is compiled based on the results of upper-grade-level

tests of more than 15,000 students from 76 countries.

• Natatha's parents are from Chennai, she loves doodling and

reading JRR Tolkien novels in her spare time.
 Satyanarayana Raju appointed as the new MD & CEO
of Canara Bank
• The Central Government has appointed K Satyanarayana Raju
as the new Managing Director and CEO of the state-
owned Canara Bank.

• He will replace LV Prabhakar, who resigned from his post on

December 31, 2022.

• He was working as Executive Director in Canara Bank since

March, 2021.
Canara Bank:.

• It was established in 1906, by Sri Ammembal Subba Rao Pai.

• Syndicate Bank was merged with Canara Bank on 1 April 2020.

After this merger, Canara Bank has become the fourth largest
bank in the country.

• Headquarters Bangalore, India

Indore becomes the first civic body in the country to
launch green bonds
• Indore Municipal Corporation has become the first civic body in the
country to issue green bonds.

• The corporation plans to raise Rs 244 crore through green bonds.

• This amount will be used to set up a 60 MW solar plant at Juladh
Pumping Station in Hum Samraj and Ashukhedi villages on the banks of
river Narmada falling in Khargone district with an investment of about Rs
305 crore.

• This bond of Indore Municipal Corporation will open between 10-14

February 2023. And later it will be listed on the National Stock Exchange.
What is Green Bond?
• Green bonds are a means of obtaining debt through which funds are
raised for 'green' projects, mainly related to renewable energy, clean
transportation, sustainable water management, etc.
• A green bond is issued by an organisation for the purpose of financing or
refinancing projects that make a positive contribution to the environment
and/or climate.
• Green bonds were first announced by Union Finance Minister Nirmala
Sitharaman while presenting the budget for the financial year 2022-23.
 Visva-Bharati University to get the status of world's
first "Living Heritage University"
• Visva-Bharati University is expected to get the status of the
world's first "Living Heritage University" from UNESCO by
April-May 2023.

• Usually the heritage tag is given by UNESCO to the intangible

monument. But for the first time in the world, a tangible
university will be given the legacy tag.
Visva-Bharati University:

• It was established in the year 1921 by Rabindranath Tagore.

It is located in Santiniketan, West Bengal.

• The institute was granted the status of a Central University

in the year 1951 through a Central Act.

• It is the only university whose Vice-Chancellor is the Prime

Minister.
UNESCO:
• The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO)
• Headquarters:- Paris, France
• Director General: -Audrey Azoulay
• Founded - 16 November 1945 in London, United Kingdom
• The organisation has -193 members and 11 associate
members.
Dr Peggy Mohan wins 'Mathrubhumi Book of the Year'
award
• Author Dr Peggy Mohan has won the 'Mathrubhumi Book of the Year'
award during the 4th edition of Mathrubhumi International Festival of
Letters (MBIFL 2023).

• He has been given this award for his book 'Wanderers, Kings and
Merchants', which portrays the development of language as a result of
migration.

• In this award, he was given a statuette and two lakh rupees as a cash
prize.

• The award was presented to Dr Peggy Mohan by Nobel Laureate

Abdulrazak Gurnah at the closing ceremony of MBIFL 2023.
Dr Peggy Mohan:
• She is a Trinidadian-born writer and a linguist.
• He holds a PhD in Linguistics from the University of Michigan, USA.
• He worked as Professor of Language Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University and
Jamia Millia University, New Delhi.

Mathrubhumi International Festival of Letters (MBIFL):

• Mathrubhumi International Festival of Letters was started in the year 2018.
• MBIFL 2023 was inaugurated by Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
• This was the 4th edition of MBIFL with the theme "Shadows of History, Light of
the Future ''
 Kala Ghoda Art Festival 2023
• Kala Ghoda Arts Festival 2023 is being organised in Mumbai
(Maharashtra) from 4 -12 February.

• In the Kala Ghoda Festival, dance, art and music, architecture,

food, handicrafts, graphics, and many other types of art
exhibitions are seen.

• Kala Ghoda Kala Mahotsav is an arts festival organised in

Mumbai, which was started in 1999 by Kala Ghoda
Foundation.
• It is named Kala Ghoda because it is held at a place in the South Mumbai area
where there is a statue of a black horse.
Other Festivals of Maharashtra:
• Gudi Padwa
Maharashtrians as Hindu New Year celebrations.

• Pola Festival
Harvest festival

• Elephanta Festival
Elephanta is a small island near Mumbai.

• Kalidas Mahotsav
The Kalidas Samaroh is held annually in the month of November in Nagpur's Ramtek
area, in honour of the famous Sanskrit poet and dramatist Kalidas.
 ITBP won the title of National Ice Hockey Championship 2023
• Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) has won the National Ice
Hockey Championship 2023 title.

• The 12th edition of the competition has been organized in

Ladakh, Leh.

• The championship was organized by the Ice Hockey Association

of India (IHAI).

• The ITBP team won the title for the third consecutive time by
defeating Ladakh Scouts in the final with a score of 1-0.
Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP)

• It was established in 1962, after the Indo-China War of 1962. It

is usually deployed in the Himalayan mountains along the
border with China.

• Motto: Bravery – Perseverance – Dedication

• Headquarters: New Delhi

• Director General: Anish Dayal Singh

 36th Surajkund International Crafts Mela
• Jagdeep Dhankhar, Vice President of India inaugurated the
36th Surajkund International Crafts Mela at Faridabad,
Haryana on 3 February 2023.
• The fair will be organized between 3 -19 February 2023.

• This year the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is the

partner nation for the Surajkund International Crafts Fair.

• The theme state for the year 2023 is North Eastern Region
(NER), while Jammu and Kashmir was the theme state for the
year 2022.
Surajkund International Crafts Mela

• This fair was started in the year 1987 to promote the pool of
skilled artisans.

• The fair was upgraded to an international level fair in the year

2013.

• The fair is organized every year in the month of February by the

Surajkund Mela Authority and Haryana Tourism in collaboration
with the Union Ministries of Tourism, Textiles, Culture and
External Affairs.
 Pakistan's former President Pervez Musharraf passes
away
• Pervez Musharraf, former President of Pakistan, passed away
after a prolonged illness on 5 February at a hospital in Dubai.
He was 79.

• Musharraf was undergoing treatment for a rare disease called

amyloidosis, which is caused by a build-up of abnormal
proteins called amyloid in organs and tissues.
• Musharraf was a four-star general who ruled Pakistan for
nearly a decade after seizing power in a 1999 coup.
• He was declared a proclaimed offender in the former Prime
Minister Benazir Bhutto assassination case and the Lal Masjid
Maulvi murder case.
• Musharraf rose to power following a military takeover of the
government in 1999 and became the tenth President of
Pakistan in June 2001.
• He resigned in August 2008, facing possible impeachment.
• Musharraf was born in New Delhi in 1943, at the age of four
his family moved to Pakistan. His father was employed in the
Ministry of External Affairs, while his mother was a teacher.
• He joined the Pakistan Army in 1961, participated in the Indo-
Pakistani Wars of 1965 and 1971, and was promoted to the
rank of Four Star General.
 World Cancer Day 2023
• World Cancer Day is observed every year on 4 February

• The theme for 2023 is 'Close the Care Gap'

• Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya has appealed for

people's cooperation to strengthen the global fight against
cancer.
• So far, a total of 17 crore 44 lakh oral cancer tests, 8 crore 27
lakh breast cancer tests and 5 crore 66 lakh cervical cancer
tests have been done at these centres.
• World Cancer Day originated in the year 2000 at the first World
Summit against Cancer which was held in Paris (France).

What is cancer?
• Cancer is a disease in which certain cells of the body grow
uncontrollably and spread to other parts of the body.
• Cancer can start in any part of the human body, which is made
up of trillions of cells.
• The disease spreads throughout the body through a process
called cell division.
 World Wetlands Day 2023
• World Wetlands Day is observed across the world on 2 February.

• The Convention on Wetlands was adopted on February 2, 1971 in

Ramsar, a city in Iran.

• With 75 Ramsar sites spread over an area of over 1.3 million

hectares, India has the largest number of wetlands in South Asia.

• The theme of World Wetlands 2023 is "It's time for wetlands

restoration".