1. Cabinet approves Air Services Agreement between India and Guyana
Tags: National National News
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Union Cabinet on 22 February approved the signing of the Air Services Agreement between the Government of India and Guyana.
An overview of the news
The Air Services Agreement will come into force after the exchange of Diplomacy Notes.
The Diplomacy Notes shall confirm that both sides have completed the necessary internal procedures for the entry into force of this Agreement.
The signing of the Air Services Agreement with Guyana will create a framework for the provision of air services between the two countries.
The agreement will give a boost to the aviation market and aviation sector in India.
To strengthen international air connectivity, India has so far signed air service agreements with many countries.
India and Guyana are signatories to the Convention on International Civil Aviation (Chicago Convention).
There is a significant Indian presence in Guyana and according to the 2012 census Indians constitute about 40% of the population.
What is an Air Services Agreement?
Air Services Agreement (ASA) provides the legal framework for air operations between two countries.
It is based on the sovereignty of the nations, the nationality of the carriers and the commercial opportunity for each side's designated airlines.
Prior to this there was no Air Services Agreement between the Government of India and the Government of Guyana.
About Guyana
Prime Minister: Mark Phillips
President: Mohamed Irfaan Ali
Capital: Georgetown
Currency : Guyanese dollar (G$)
2. Nitin Gadkari lays Foundation Stone of the world's largest and unique Divyang Park
Tags: National National News
Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari on 20 February laid the Foundation Stone of the world's largest and unique Divyang Park - Anubhuti Inclusive Park in Nagpur, Maharashtra.
An overview of the news
This park is being developed keeping in mind the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to build an inclusive society.
Instead of sympathy, this park will show empathy, hence this park has been named Anubhuti Divyang Park.
In 2016, the central government passed the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act for the rights of persons with disabilities.
This law gives the disabled the right to live with dignity.
About Anubhuti Inclusive Park
This park is being built for disabled children and common citizens in Pardi campus of Nagpur.
Its purpose is to give the message of inclusion in the country and the whole world.
It is the world's first inclusive disabled park.
Nodal Ministry - Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India.
The park will have adapted facilities for all 21 types of disabilities, including touch and smell gardens, hydrotherapy units, water therapy, independent rooms for mentally challenged children, etc.
3. BAFTA Awards for 2023 announced
Tags: Awards
The 76th British Academy Film Awards, BAFTA (the British Academy of Film and Television Arts) Awards, were announced at an event held in London’s Royal Festival Hall on 19 February.
An overview of the news
A German anti-war drama ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’, a screen adaptation of the 1928 novel by Erich Maria Remarque, won the most, including Best Picture and Best Director, with seven.
‘The Banshees of Inisherin’ and ‘Elvis’ both movies won four BAFTA awards.
BAFTA 2023 Winners List
Best film
“All Quiet on the Western Front” -WINNER
“The Banshees of Inisherin”
“Everything Everywhere All At Once”
“Elvis”
“‘TÁR”
Outstanding British film
“Aftersun”
“The Banshees of Inisherin” -WINNER
“Brian and Charles”
“Empire of Light”
“Good Luck to You, Leo Grande”
“Living”
“Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical”
“See How They Run”
“The Swimmers”
“The Wonder”
Best documentary
“All That Breathes”
“All the Beauty and the Bloodshed”
“Fire of Love”
“Moonage Daydream”
“Navalny” *WINNER
Best animated film
“Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio” *WINNER
“Marcel the Shell with Shoes On”
“Puss in Boots: The Last Wish”
“Turning Red”
Best lead actress
Ana de Armas, “Blonde”
Cate Blanchett, “TÁR” *WINNER
Viola Davis, “The Woman King”
Danielle Deadwyler, “Till”
Emma Thompson, “Good Luck to You, Leo Grande”
Michelle Yeoh, “Everything Everywhere All At Once”
Best lead actor
Austin Butler, “Elvis” *WINNER
Brendan Fraser, “The Whale”
Colin Farrell, “The Banshees of Inisherin”
Daryl McCormack, “Good Luck to You, Leo Grande”
Paul Mescal, “Aftersun”
Bill Nighy, “Living”
4. Khajuraho Dance Festival begin in Madhya Pradesh
Tags: Festivals State News
The 49th Khajuraho Dance Festival began on February 20 in Khajuraho.
An overview of the news
Madhya Pradesh Governor Mangubhai Patel inaugurated 'Khajuraho Dance Festival-2023'. The festival will end on February 26.
Madhya Pradesh State Rupankar Art Award will be given at the function and an exhibition of artefacts has also been organised at the venue.
Under the Department of Culture, this festival is being organised with the joint efforts of Ustad Alladin Khan Academy of Music and Arts, Department of Tourism, Archaeological Survey of India, World Dance Alliance and Chhatarpur District Administration.
The first meeting of the Culture Working Group under the chairmanship of India in G-20 is also being held in Khajuraho from 23 to 25 February.
Other festivals of Madhya Pradesh
Lokrang Festival, Bhopal
Akhil Bhartiya Kalidas Samaroh, Ujjain
Bhagoria Haat Festival, West Nimar (Khargon) and Jhabua
Ujjain Kumbh Mela, Ujjain
Malwa Utsav, Indore & Ujjain
Chethiyagiri Vihara Festival, Sanchi
Tansen Sangeet Samaroh, Gwalior
5. Saurashtra beat Bengal by 9 wickets to bag second Ranji Trophy title
Tags: Sports Sports News
Saurashtra won the Ranji Trophy 2022-23 title by defeating Bengal by 9 wickets in the final match played on February 19, thanks to the superb bowling of team captain and left arm pacer Jaydev Unadkat.
An overview of the news
Saurashtra won their second Ranji Trophy title at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Saurashtra won the Ranji Trophy title for the first time in 2019-20.
Saurashtra needed 14 runs to win, which they achieved at the loss of 1 wicket in 2.4 overs.
This is the second title win of the Saurashtra team in the last three seasons.
Jaydev Unadkat and Chetan Sakariya, who were the heroes of Saurashtra's victory, together broke the back of Bengal's batting, and the team could only manage 241 runs in the second innings.
Unadkat took 9 wickets, while Chetan Sakaria took 6 wickets.
Saurashtra won the toss in the match and decided to bowl first.
Bengal could score only 174 runs in the first innings while batting.
Unadkat took three wickets while Chetan Sakaria also took three wickets. Chirag Jani and DA Jadeja got two wickets each.
Saurashtra then took a huge lead over Bengal by scoring 404 runs in the first innings.
The second innings was also poor for Bengal and the team could only manage 241 runs. In such a situation, he could get a slight lead of 11 runs over Saurashtra.
Saurashtra captain Unadkat was adjudged man of the match for his nine-wicket haul in the match, while teammate Arpit Vasavada was adjudged player of the Ranji season.
Brief Scores
Bengal - 174 and 241 in 70.4 overs (Manoj Tiwary 68, Anustup Majumdar 61; Jaydev Unadkat 6/85, Chetan Sakariya 3/76).
Saurashtra - 404 and 14/1 in 2.4 overs.
Ranji Trophy Tournament
The Ranji Trophy tournament has been played since 1934.
The first match was played between Madras and Mysore at the Chepauk Ground from 4 November 1934.
Mumbai has won this tournament 41 times.
For the first time in 86 years, the 2020/21 season Ranji Trophy had to be cancelled due to Corona.
Ranji Trophy is named after Maharaja Ranjit Singh.
Number of teams- 37
Most runs - Wasim Jaffer (10665)
Most wickets - Rajinder Goyal (640)
6. Ben Stokes breaks world record for smashing most sixes in Test cricket history
Tags: Sports Sports News
England Test captain Ben Stokes on 18 February became the player to hit the most number of sixes in the history of Test cricket, surpassing England coach and former New Zealand cricketer Brendon McCullum in the match against New Zealand.
An overview of the news
Stokes holds the world record for hitting two sixes in the second innings of the first Test between England and New Zealand at Mount Maunganui (New Zealand).
Stokes played an innings of 31 runs in 33 balls, which included three fours and two sixes.
Wicket-keeper Tom Blundell stumped him off the bowling of all-rounder Michael Bracewell.
In 90 Test matches, Stokes scored a total of 5,652 runs at an average of 36.00 with 109 sixes and 12 centuries and 28 fifties.
His individual best score in Tests is 258.
McCullum has 107 sixes in 101 Tests. He scored 6,453 runs at an average of 38.64. He has 12 centuries and 31 fifties in Tests with a best score of 302.
Batsman who hit most sixes in test cricket
Australia's Adam Gilchrist is third after Stokes (109) and McCullum (107) to hit 100 sixes in Test cricket.
Chris Gayle of West Indies is fourth in the list with 98 sixes and Jacques Kallis of South Africa is fifth with 97 sixes.
India's Virender Sehwag is in sixth place, he has hit 91 sixes. Sehwag is the Indian to hit the most sixes in Tests.
7. Qatar lifts ban on frozen seafood from India
Tags: International News
Marine Products Exports Development Authority (MPEDA) has said that Qatar partially lifted a ban imposed last year on the import of frozen seafood from India on 18 February.
An overview of the news
The ban will continue on exports of chilled seafood, which accounts for about a third of the West Asian country's total seafood exports in 2021-22 with the worth of Rs 143 crore.
Frozen seafood is stored at minus 20 degrees, while chilled seafood is stored at 3-4 degrees Celsius.
In the current financial year, India's seafood exports to the West Asian country stood at around Rs 90 crore, with prawns taking the number one spot.
China has also lifted the suspension of shipments from 99 Indian seafood processing and export units.
Now seafood exports are expected to cross USD 8 billion in the current fiscal.
Why was the ban imposed?
This ban was imposed in November 2022.
Vibrio cholerae, the bacteria that causes cholera infection, was reportedly detected in consignments exported from India to Qatar ahead of the FIFA World Cup. After this these food products were banned.
8. Khalistan Tiger Force and Jammu and Kashmir Ghaznavi Force declared as terrorist organisations
Tags: National National News
The central government on 17 February declared Khalistan Tiger Force, and Jammu and Kashmir Ghaznavi Force as terrorist organisations under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
An overview of the news
Apart from this, Punjab resident Harvinder Singh Sandhu alias Rinda, the mastermind of the 2021 attack on the intelligence headquarters of Punjab Police, has been declared a terrorist.
The government has so far designated 54 individuals as terrorists and 44 organisations as terrorist organisations.
Khalistan Tiger Force
It came into existence in 2011 as an offshoot of terrorist organization Babbar Khalsa International.
It is a banned organisation under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).
It is a militant organization whose aim is to revive militancy in Punjab.
This organisation is promoting various acts of terrorism including targeted killings in Punjab.
Its agenda is the formation of a separate state of Khalistan.
Jammu and Kashmir Ghaznavi Force (JKGF)
It has been formed with cadres of terrorist organisations like Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed.
It has been found involved in infiltration attempts, smuggling of narcotics and arms and carrying out terrorist attacks in Jammu and Kashmir.
It draws its cadres from Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed, Tehreek-ul-Mujahideen, Harkat-ul-Jihad-e-Islami and various banned terrorist organisations.
Harvinder Singh Sandhu alias Rinda
He hails from Lahore and is associated with the banned Babbar Khalsa International (BKI), a terrorist-designated group.
He is accused of masterminding the attack on the intelligence headquarters of the Punjab Police in 2021.
He has direct links with Pakistan-based terrorist groups and is also involved in large-scale smuggling of drugs, arms, ammunition and militant hardware.
He has been involved in various crimes like murder, attempt to murder, contract killing, dacoity and extortion in Punjab, Maharashtra, Haryana, West Bengal, Himachal Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
He is the 54th person to be declared a terrorist by the government.
9. AICTE and BPRD Jointly Launch KAVACH-2023
Tags: National National News
A national level hackathon KAVACH-2023 was launched on 16 February to identify innovative ideas and technological solutions to address India's 21st century cyber security and cybercrime challenges.
An overview of the news
KAVACH-2023 is a one-of-a-kind national hackathon jointly developed by AICTE, Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPRD) and Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre.
It identifies innovative ideas and technological solutions to address 21st century cyber security and cybercrime challenges faced by law enforcement agencies and common citizens.
KAVACH-2023 will be organised in two phases.
In the first phase, topics related to Fake News/Social Media, Dark Web, Women Safety, Phishing Detection, Video Analytics/CCTV, Obscene Content Detection, Spam Alerts, and Malware Analysis/Digital Forensics will be covered.
10. President of India inaugurates International Engineering and Technology Fair 2023
Tags: Festivals National News
President Droupadi Murmu on 16 February inaugurated the International Engineering and Technology Fair (IETF) 2023 in New Delhi.
An overview of the news
This event is being organised from 16 to 18 February at Pragati Maidan.
The International Engineering and Technology Fair is organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).
The event is not only a celebration of India's growth story in engineering and manufacturing sectors, but also a testimony to collaboration with other countries in the best advanced technologies in the world.
IETF-2023 covers 11 areas of emerging technologies that will have a profound impact on the economy and society.
IETF-2023 is a determined effort to showcase engineering and technologies that promote harmony between nature and science.
