NATIONAL:
1. Girish Chandra Murmu
Why in news - Comptroller and Auditor General of India (Girish Chandra Murmu) has been selected as external auditor of the International Labour Organization (ILO).
Key Points –
• Duration – 4 year term (2024 to 2027).
• CAG succeeded the Supreme Audit Institution of Philippines.
• CAG of India is currently the external auditor of WHO (2020-2023), FAO (2020-2025), IAEA (2022-2027), Organization for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (2021-2023) and Inter Parliamentary Union (2020-2022).
• ILO headquarter - Geneva, Switzerland.
About CAG –
• Chapter V under Part V of Indian constitution.
• Head of the Indian Audit and Accounts Department.
• Guardian of the public purse.
• Act as a guide, friend and philosopher of the Public Accounts Committee of the Parliament.
2. Kanak Rele
Why in news - Mohiniyattam exponent Kanak Rele died in Mumbai.
Key Points –
• She also propagated female roles in Kathakali.
• She was conferred with the Padma Bhushan in 2013.
• She created the Nalanda Dance Research Centre in 1966, and the Nalanda Nritya Kala Mahavidyalay in 1972.
• Mohiniyattam was banned under the colonial rule (from 1931 to 1938). By 1940, the ban was partially lifted.
About Mohiniyattam (Classical Dance of Kerala) –
• Lasya style - Graceful, swaying body movements with no abrupt jerks or sudden leaps.
• Instruments - Kuzhitalam (cymbals), Veena, Idakka and Mridangam.
• Exponents - Vallathol Narayana Menon, Vijayalakshmi; Gopika Varma etc.
3. 'Kol Janjati Mahakumbh'
Why in news - Amit Shah addressed the 'Kol Janjati Mahakumbh' at Satna, Madhya Pradesh.
Key Points –
• Shabri Mata is known as the "mother of the Kol."
• Kol population - Madhya Pradesh, Orissa and Maharashtra.
• Kol Revolt (1831) - Buddhu Bhagat, Joa Bhagat, Jhindrai Manki and Madara Mahato.
INTERNATIONAL:
1. Anopheles Stephensi
Why in news - Transmitter Anopheles Stephensi was detected in Kenya.
Key Points –
• It is a deadly malaria vector from Asia.
• Kenya is now the sixth and latest country in Africa to report an invasion of the deadly malaria species.
About Malaria -
• Caused by plasmodium parasites.
• Spread - Bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes.
• Parasites initially multiply in liver cells and then attack the Red Blood Cells (RBCs).
• Greatest threat - Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax.
• RTS, S vaccine acts against Plasmodium falciparum, the deadliest malaria parasite globally.
SCIENCE – TECH:
1. Zhongxing-26 Satellite
Why in news – Recently, China launched the Zhongxing-26 satellite.
Key Points –
• It was launched on Long March 3B rocket.
• Objective - To provide broadband connectivity for aviation and ship-related operations.
• China’s space station – Tiangong.
• 3 modules of Tiangong –
A. Tianhe, core module (heavenly river)
B. Wentian (quest for heavens)
C. Mengtian (dreaming of heaven).
SECURITY:
1. Exercise Desert Flag VIII
Why in news - An IAF contingent arrived at Al Dhafra airbase of UAE for participating in Exercise Desert Flag VIII.
Key Points –
• From IAF – 5 LCA Tejas and two C-17 Globemaster III aircraft
• This is the first occasion when the LCA Tejas shall participate in an international flying exercise outside India.
• Other participants - UAE, France, Kuwait, Australia, UK, Bahrain etc.
• India has been in talks with Argentina and Egypt to export LCA Tejas.
AWARDS & HONOURS:
1. Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards
Why in news - President Murmu presented the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship and Sangeet Natak Akademi awards for the years 2019, 2020 and 2021.
Key Points –
• They are given in the field of performing arts like music, dance, theatre, traditional, folk and puppetry.
• Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship – 8 personalities.
• Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards - 128 artistes.
2. EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2022
Why in news - Sajjan Jindal was awarded as the EY Entrepreneur of the Year (EOY) 2022.
Key Points –
• He is the chairman and managing director of JSW Group.
• Startup category winner - Mahesh Pratapneni (co-founder and group CEO of MedGenom).
3. Marconi Prize 2023
Why in news - Hari Balakrishnan has been awarded the 2023 Marconi Prize.
Key Points –
• Reason - “for fundamental contributions to wired and wireless networking, mobile sensing, and distributed systems”.
• It is often referred to as the “Nobel Prize of Telecommunications.”
STATES/UTs:
1. 'Chintamanrao Deshmukh Station'
Why in news - The Churchgate railway station in Mumbai would soon be called as 'Chintamanrao Deshmukh station'.
Key Points –
• It is named after the first governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) CD Deshmukh (1943-49).
• He was a founder of the India International Centre in 1959, where he served for lifetime as a President.
2. Gender-Inclusive Tourism
Why in news – An MoU was signed by Kerala Tourism and UN Women India.
Key Points –
• Purpose - To work towards promoting gender-inclusive tourism sites in the State.
• To be implemented by the Responsible Tourism Mission.
• The first-ever Global Responsible Tourism Summit country held in Kumarakom, Kerala on Feb 25-28, 2023.
BIHAR:
1. GI tag to Rohu Fish
Why in news – Animal Husbandry Department has formed a district-level committee to give GI tag to Rohu fish of Bihar.
Key Points –
• Rohu fish is basically considered to be a species of Mithila region.
• Rohu fish of Mithila region is known for its taste especially in Darbhanga and Madhubani districts.
• If it gets GI tag then it would be the sixth edible product of Bihar to get GI tag.
• Other 5 products - Zardalu Mango (Bhagalpur), Katrani rice, Magahi Paan (Nawada), Shahi Litchi (Muzaffarpur) and Mithila Makhana.
• According to the GI registry portal, 15 products and logos have the GI tag in Bihar.
POINTERS:
• What is the name of small team at MeitY that is testing the WhatsApp chatbot powered by OpenAI's ChatGPT to help farmers and India's agrarian population - Bhashini.
• Which international initiative will be launched by the Government of India to focus research activities on millets and increase their productivity - Millet International Initiative for Research and Awareness (MIIRA).
• Where was the India International Seafood Show 2023, Asia's largest seafood product event held – Kolkata.
• Who became the first batsman to score 1000 runs in the history of Women's T20 World Cup - Suzie Bates, New Zealand.
• By what name was the country's first artificial intelligence based indigenous chatGPT (Generative Pretrained Transformer) launched by Velocity, a Bengaluru financial company – Lexi.
• By which year the Indian government has set a target of US $ 14 billion of marine product exports – 2025.
• Government of India has approved the plan to set up how many Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS), Dairy and Fisheries Cooperative Societies in the country in the next five years to strengthen the cooperative movement - 2 lakh.
• Which Union Minister has inaugurated the SEMICON India Conference of Electronics Manufacturing Supply Chain Ecosystem in New Delhi - Ashwini Vaishnav.
• Which country as the Chair of G20 will host the Permanent Mission Round Table at the UN Headquarters - India.
• Which country is hosting the first Vice-Ministerial meeting of I2U2 - United Arab Emirates.