Daily Current Affairs Analysis Today : 12 and 13 – February -2023
The importance of being knowledgeable about current affairs cannot be overstated. It not only helps individuals in staying informed about the world around them but also increases their chances of success in competitive exams. Keeping up with current events helps individuals to develop an understanding of the interconnection between different events and their impact on different aspects of society, including politics, economics, and international relations. This knowledge can come in handy while attempting objective-type questions in exams. The daily current affairs analysis provided in this section caters to the needs of students and professionals alike. It provides a comprehensive overview of important events and developments in a concise and easy-to-understand manner. With regular practice and analysis, individuals can not only improve their general knowledge but also their analytical and comprehension skills. The provision of regular tests and quizzes further helps individuals in testing their understanding of current affairs and identify areas that need improvement. In conclusion, the daily current affairs analysis is an essential tool for anyone looking to excel in competitive exams and stay informed about the world around them.
Rachidi banned for life after record 135 match-fixing offences
Ex-Moroccan tennis player Younes Rachidi has been banned from the sport for life after being found guilty of fixing 135 matches.
It’s the highest number of offences by an individual, the International Tennis Integrity Agency said.
Rachidi, who had a highest ATP doubles ranking of 473, is now permanently prohibited from playing in, coaching at or attending any tennis event authorised or sanctioned by the governing bodies of tennis.
The ITIA was established by the sport’s international governing bodies : the ITF, ATP, WTA, and the four Grand Slam tournaments (the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and US Open) to oversee integrity matters.
International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA):
Founded: 2021
Headquarters: London, United Kingdom
CEO: Karen Moorhouse
Younes Rachidi, has been banned from the sport for life after being found guilty of fixing 135 matches, is associated with which sport? Tennis
World Aquatics Championships 2025 Shifted From Russia to Singapore
The 2025 World Aquatics Championships will be held in Singapore, World Aquatics has announced.
Kazan had won the bid to host the 2025 World Championships, but owing to international sanctions against Russia, Singapore will instead host the premier international aquatics event.
With dates to be decided, over 2,500 athletes are expected to participate in the showcase event in 2025, representing World Aquatics’ 209 member federations.
Japan’s Fukuoka will host the 20th World Aquatics Championships this July. This tournament was originally scheduled to be staged in 2021, but was postponed twice due to the Covid-19 pandemic and associated travel restrictions.
The 21st World Championships, originally scheduled for summer 2023, was then rescheduled to take place in Doha in February 2024.
WA (World Aquatics):
World Aquatics, formerly known as FINA (International Swimming Federation), is the international federation recognised by the International Olympic Committee for administering international competitions in water sports.
The federation was officially renamed World Aquatics in January 2023.
Headquarters: Lausanne, Switzerland
Founded: 19 July 1908
President: Husain Al-Musallam
Name the host country of 2025 World Aquatics Championships? Singapore
Kotak Mahindra Bank to acquire Sonata Finance
Kotak Mahindra Bank said it would acquire Sonata Finance Private Limited, a non-banking finance company, for ₹537 crore in an all-cash deal.
The private lender said that it will acquire 2.6 crore equity shares of Sonata, of face value ₹10 each fully paid up.
As on December 31, Sonata Finance had assets under management worth ₹1,903 crore.
The transaction provides the bank with the opportunity to scale up its operations in the rural and semi-urban markets in the northern states of India,
Kotak also stated that it will “leverage Sonata Finance’s network to provide a wider suite of banking products to SFPL’s customer base matching their emerging banking needs.
This is not the first time that Kotak is foraying into the microfinance space. Earlier in 2017, the bank had acquired BSS Microfinance in an all-cash deal for Rs 139 crore.
Kotak Mahindra Bank:
Founded: 1985
Founders: Uday Kotak
Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Chairman, MD & CEO: Uday Kotak
Which Financial services company will acquire Sonata Finance Private Limited, a non-banking finance company, for ₹537 crore? Kotak Mahindra Bank
Australia’s 22-yr-old Murphy breaks 141-year-old record with his 5 wickets
Australia’s 22-year-old Todd Murphy has broken a 141-year-old record with his five-wicket haul against India in the first Test in Nagpur.
Murphy has become the youngest Australian spinner to take a five-wicket haul in Test cricket aged 22 years and 87 days.
The previous record (22 years and 360 days) was set in 1882 by George Palmer.
Murphy bagged crucial wickets of KL Rahul (20), Cheteshwar Pujara (7), Virat Kohli (12), Srikar Bharat (8) and Ravichandran Ashwin (23) in the 1st Test of the four-match series.
ICC:
Headquarters: Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Founded: 15 June 1909
Chairman: Greg Barclay
General Manager: Wasim Khan
Subsidiary: Asian Cricket Council
Recently, Australia’s 22-year-old Todd Murphy broke whose 141-year-old record by taking 5 wickets against India? George Palmer
Moldovan PM Natalia Gavrilita resigns
Moldovan Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilita stepped down from her position, citing a lack of support in the former Soviet Republic.
The pro-Western government had been in power for just 18 months.
President Maia Sandu accepted Prime Minister’s Natalia Gavrilita’s resignation and nominated 48-year-old presidential aide and former interior minister Dorin Recean to replace her.
Gavrilita became prime minister in August 2021.
Moldova:
Capital: Chișinău
President: Maia Sandu
Currency: Moldovan leu
Name the Moldovan Prime Minister, who recently stepped down from her position? Natalia Gavrilita
PM Modi to inaugurate India’s longest expressway
PM Narendra Modi will inaugurate the first completed section of the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway.
with the new stretch set to reduce the travel time from the national capital to Jaipur from five hours to around three and a half hours.
Developed at a cost of more than Rs 12,150 crore, this first completed section of the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway will provide a major boost to the economic development of the entire region.
The Delhi-Mumbai Expressway will be the India’s longest with the length of 1,386 km.
It will reduce travel distance between Delhi and Mumbai by 12 per cent, from 1,424 km to 1,242 km, while the travel time will be cut by 50 per cent, from the current 24 hours to 12 hours
The expressway will pass through six states of Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra and connect major cities like Kota, Indore, Jaipur, Bhopal, Vadodara and Surat.
It will also serve 93 PM Gati Shakti Economic Nodes, 13 ports, eight major airports and eight multi-modal logistics parks (MMLPs) along with spurs to new upcoming greenfield airports such as Jewar Airport, Navi Mumbai Airport and JNPT port.
Modi will launch road development projects worth more than Rs 18,100 crore from Dausa and will visit Karnataka to inaugurate the 14th edition of Aero India 2023 at the Air Force Station, Yelahanka in Bengaluru.
Note: The theme of Aero India 2023 is “The Runway to a Billion Opportunities”
What is the length of India’s longest Delhi-Mumbai Expressway? 1,386 km
₹20 lakh fine on AirAsia as DGCA finds lapses in pilots’ training
The DGCA has imposed ₹20 lakh penalty on AirAsia India for violating norms related to the training of the airline’s pilots.
During an inspection in November last year, the DGCA found that AirAsia didn’t conduct a few mandatory exercises of the pilots during Pilot Proficiency Check or Instrument Rating test.
It also suspended AirAsia’s Head of Training for three months.
The DGCA has taken these enforcement actions to ensure the safety of air travel and to ensure that all airlines comply with the regulatory requirements set by the DGCA and the ICAO.
Note: India jumped from rank 112 to 55 in the oversight safety audit programme of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). The improvement in rank came after the ICAO Coordinated Validation Mission in India submitted its final report. The mission was conducted in India between November 9 and November 16, 2022.
Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA):
Headquarters: New Delhi
Minister: Jyotiraditya Scindia, Minister of Civil Aviation
Deputy Ministers: V.K. Singh
Director General: Arun Kumar
Director of Operations: R.S. Jamwal
International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO):
Headquarters: Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Secretary General: Juan Carlos Salazar Gómez
Council President: Salvatore Sciacchitano
DGCA has imposed a fine of ₹20 lakh on AirAsia India for violating norms related to___. training of the airline’s pilots
Delhi Capitals announce Jonathan Batty as head coach for WPL
Jonathan Batty has been appointed as head coach of Delhi Capitals for inaugural Women’s Premier League (WPL).
Batty coached the Oval Invincibles women’s team to The Hundred titles in 2021 and 2022 and has also coached Melbourne Stars in Women’s Big Bash League and Surrey Women’s side.
DC also appointed ex-cricketers Hemlata Kala and Lisa Keightley as team’s assistant coaches.
Women’s Premier League (WPL):
The Women’s Premier League (WPL) is an upcoming women’s Twenty20 cricket franchise league in India.
It is owned and operated by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).[2]
The first season will be played in 2023 in Mumbai and Navi Mumbai with five franchises taking part.
BCCI members:
President: Roger Binny
CEO: Hemang Amin
Vice president: Rajeev Shukla
Secretary: Jay Shah
Men’s coach: Rahul Dravid
Women’s coach: Ramesh Powar
Other key staff:
Chetan Sharma (chief national selector)
Ashish Shelar (treasurer)
Devajit Saikia (joint-secretary)
Abey Kuruvilla (general manager)
Shabir Hussein (head, anti-corruption unit)
Arun Dhumal (chairman, IPL)
Jonathan Batty has been appointed as the head coach of which team for the inaugural Women’s Premier League (WPL)? Delhi Capitals
₹127 cr released for Kisan Drone promotion: Agriculture Minister
Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said nearly ₹127 crore has been released for Kisan Drone promotion based on the proposals received so far.
This includes Rs 52.5 crore released to the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) for the purchase of 300 Kisan Drones and their demonstrations on farmers’ fields in 75,000 hectares through 100 Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs), 75 ICAR institutions, and 25 State Agriculture Universities (SAUs).
It also includes funds released to various state governments for the supply of more than 300 Kisan Drones to farmers on subsidy and the establishment of more than 1,500 Kisan Drone Community Health Centres to provide drone services to farmers.
The use of Kisan Drones has the potential to provide ample employment opportunities to people in rural areas. Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), which provide concise instructions for effective and safe operations of drones for pesticide and nutrient application, have also been released.
Financial assistance has also provided under the Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanisation (SMAM).This includes:
(i) Financial assistance at 100% of the cost of the drone, up to a maximum of Rs 10 lakh per drone, has been provided for purchase of drones by institutes under the ICAR, KVKs, SAUs, state and other central government agricultural institutions and departments, and public sector undertakings (PSUs) of the Government of India engaged in agricultural activities.
Farmers Producers Organisations (FPOs) are provided grants for up to 75% of the cost of agriculture drones for demonstrations on farmers’ fields. A contingency expenditure of Rs 6,000 per hectare is provided to implementing agencies that do not want to purchase drones but will hire them for demonstrations from Custom Hiring Centres (CHCs), hi-tech hubs, drone manufacturers, and startups.
The contingent expenditure for implementing agencies that purchase drones for demonstrations is limited to Rs 3,000 per hectare.
(ii) To make available drone services to farmers on a rental basis, financial assistance at 40% up to a maximum of Rs 4 lakh is provided for the purchase of drones by CHCs under the Cooperative Society of Farmers, FPOs, and Rural Entrepreneurs. Agriculture graduates establishing CHCs are eligible to receive financial assistance at 50% of the cost of the drone, up to a maximum of Rs 5 lakh per drone.
(iii) For individual purchases of drones, small and marginal, scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, women, and North Eastern State farmers will receive financial assistance at 50% of the cost up to a maximum of Rs 5 lakh and other farmers at 40% up to a maximum of Rs 4 lakh.
As per Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, approximately how much amount has been released for the promotion of Kisan Drone? Rs 127 crore
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