Daily Current Affairs 14th February 2023

Current Affairs 14th February 2023 are incorporated with the important news that made the current affairs headlines for banking or other competitive exams. Daily Current Affairs is the complete bag of important news that is held all day long. One should have complete knowledge about banking terms, current affairs news, etc. So, here is the GK update for 14th February 2023 to help you prepare the Current affairs part. After reading this section, you can successfully attempt Current Affairs Quiz. 

Here is the Current Affairs 14th February 2023 covering the following news headlines: AC Double Decker Electric Bus, Sarojini Naidu Birth Anniversary, Cyclone Gabrielle, Woman Astronaut from Saudi Arabia, President of Bangladesh.

Top 20 Daily Current Affairs: National & International News:

Here is providing below the top 20 important Daily General Knowledge 2022 updates with national & international news.

National News

1. India’s First AC Double Decker Electric Bus Introduced in Mumbai

• India’s first air-conditioned double-decker electric bus was inducted into the fleet of BEST- the civic transport public body in Mumbai.
• The wet-leased e-bus will be registered at the Regional Transport Office before it hits the road for the public. This air-conditioned double-decker electric bus is likely to ply on the routes in suburbs where conventional double-decker buses that run on diesel are currently operated.
• Lokesh Chandra, general manager of the Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST)
• Undertaking, informed that they are scheduled to receive 4-5 more double-decker air-conditioned e-buses in the next 8-10 days and a total of 20 such buses before March end from Switch Mobility, a subsidiary of automobile manufacture Ashok Leyland. The number of double-decker e-buses will reach 200 by this year-end.

2. Sarojini Naidu Birth Anniversary: Why is February 13 celebrated as National Women’s Day?

• Every year on February 13, the nation commemorates Sarojini Naidu’s birth anniversary. The 144th anniversary of Sarojini Naidu’s birth is this year.
• She was well-known in India as a poet, politician, and administrator. She was one of the well-known female figures of the 20th century and was born on February 13th, 1879 in Hyderabad. Because of her poetry, she was often referred to as the “Nightingale of India.” She was a key figure in the Indian National Movement, which fought for the nation’s independence.

                                       International News 

3. Cyclone Gabrielle strikes Auckland, Houses evacuated, Power cuts and flights cancelled

• As Cyclone Gabrielle approaches the coast of the nation, residents of Auckland, the largest city in New Zealand, and the surrounding area are being warned to prepare for more intense rain, flooding, and gale-force winds. Some homes are also being evacuated.
• Currently 200 kilometres (125 miles) northeast of Auckland, Gabrielle is expected to travel in close proximity to the east coast over the next 24 hours.
• This cyclone is the second significant weather event to recently affect Auckland and the upper North Island.

4. First-Ever Woman Astronaut from Saudi Arabia to go on Space Mission in 2023

• The first-ever woman astronaut of Saudi Arabia will go to space this year, Saudi woman astronaut Rayyana Barnawi will join fellow Saudi Ali Al-Qarni on a 10-day mission to the International Space Station (ISS) this year.
• Barnawi and Al-Qarni will fly to the ISS aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft as part of a mission by the private space company Axiom Space.
• The Ax-2 will be launched by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
• Axiom Space carried out its first private astronaut mission to the ISS in April 2022 under which four private astronauts spent 17 days in orbit.
• In 2019, Saudi’s neighbor the United Arab Emirates became the first Arab country to send one of its citizens into space.

5. Nikos Christodoulides Elected as New President of Cyprus with 51.9 % Votes

• Nikos Christodoulides was elected as the President of Cyprus after a second and final round of voting. Christodoulides, 49, took 51.9% of the vote, compared with runoff rival Andreas Mavroyiannis, 66, taking 48.1%. Christodoulides ran as an independent with the backing of centrist and right-of-center parties.
• The new President also happens to be the former Foreign Minister of the country and he comes with plenty of experience as far as governance is concerned. Although Cyprus is a small country with a small voting population, its importance could be seen from a geopolitical point of view.

6. Mohammad Shahabuddin elected as 22nd President of Bangladesh

• A former judge and freedom fighter, Mohammad Shahabuddin Chuppu, was elected unopposed as Bangladesh’s 22nd President.
• A gazette was issued on the appointment of the new Bangladesh President by the Chief Election Commissioner. According to the country’s Chief Election Commission, 74-year-old Chuppu will replace President Mohammad Abdul Hamid.
• The tenure of incumbent Hamid, the longest-serving president of Bangladesh, will end on April 23, and according to the Constitution, he cannot hold a third term.

                                            States News

7. Strict Anti-Copying Law comes into force in Uttarakhand: Know all the details

• The country’s strictest Anti-Copying Law has come into force in Uttarakhand. Governor Lieutenant General Gurmeet Singh has approved the Uttarakhand Competitive Examination (Measures for Prevention and Prevention of Unfair Means in Recruitment) Ordinance 2023.
• In view of this, the Anti-Copying Law is being described as the biggest anti-copying law in the country. This comes after the UKPSC paper leak which led to cancellation of exam for around 1.4 lakh government job aspirants.
• Under this Anti-Copying Law, a provision to impose a fine of 10 crores rupees along with life imprisonment or 10 years in jail for the copycat mafia. Apart from this, there is also a provision to attach the property of the copying mafia.

                                       Economy News

8. India’s WPI inflation eases to 24-month low of 4.73% in January

• India’s wholesale price index (WPI)-based inflation eased to 4.73 per cent in January on an annual basis from 4.95 per cent in December, stated provisional data from the Commerce Ministry.
• The month-on-month change in WPI index for January witnessed an increase of 0.13 per cent as against a contraction of 1.12 per cent in the preceding month.
• The WPI captures prices at the level of production or manufacturing, taking into account goods traded between companies, as against the CPI that measures prices at the retail consumer level. Food items, which constitute a major part of the CPI, drive retail inflation, while for the WPI, it’s manufactured goods.

9. Retail inflation surges to 3-month high of 6.5%

• India’s consumer inflation hit a three-month high in January at 6.5%, reversing its downtrend because of higher food prices.
• The year-on-year increase in the consumer price index (CPI) breached the central bank’s upper tolerance limit of 6%, after keeping within targeted range in November and December, according to the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI).
• Food inflation –which accounts for 40% of the CPI basket – rose to 5.94% year on year in January 2023 from 4.19% in the previous month, the data show.

10. Around 39 crore loans extended under Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana till Jan 27

• The Centre said that around 39 crore loans have been extended under Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana till 27th of January 2023. The scheme was introduced in 2015.
• In a written reply in the Lok Sabha today, Minister of State for Finance, Dr Bhagawat Karad said out of this, over 26 crore loans have been extended to women entrepreneurs and about 20 crore loans to SC, ST and OBC category of borrowers. He said the scheme has helped in generating one crore 12 lakh net additional employment in the country from 2015 to 2018.

                                             Banking News

11. Govt to set up Bima Sugam Portal to address existing protection gap across General Insurance Business

• The government has said that it proposes to set up a Bima Sugam portal to address the existing protection gap across life, health and general insurance businesses in the country.
• Replying to a question in the Lok Sabha, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India(IRDAI) has informed that the portal will be an insurance market infrastructure, where insurers, distribution networks and the policy holders would virtually meet across a seamless digital platform.
• She said the portal is expected to improve accessibility and ease of insurance purchase to policyholders. This will also serve as a readymade digital platform for insurers and distribution networks. The initiatives taken by the Government to protect the interest of General Insurance Agents and Life Insurance Agents when this new policy is implemented in insurance sector.

                                         Important Days

12. RBI’s financial literacy week starts from 13 to 17 February, 2023

• RBI’s ‘Financial Literacy Week’ started on 13th and will last till February 17, 2023. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has been conducting this every year since 2016 to propagate financial education messages on a particular theme among members of public across the country.
• Last year, RBI observed ‘financial literacy week’ from February 14 to February 18, 2022. The central bank held an event to propagate financial education messages on the theme of “Go Digital Go Secure”.
• The theme selected for current year Financial Literacy Week (FLW) is “Good Financial Behaviour – Your Saviour”.
• The theme aligns with the overall strategic objectives of the National Strategy for Financial Education: 2020-2025 which aims at building financial resilience and well-being while creating awareness among members of public. Focus will be on creating awareness about savings, planning and budgeting, and prudent use of digital financial services.

                               Appointment News

13. ICAI named Aniket Sunil Talati as new President

• The Council of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) elected its new president and vice president.
• For the 2023-24 term, Aniket Sunil Talati will serve as the president of ICAI, while Ranjeet Kumar Agarwal will be the accounting body’s vice president.
• At the helm of the ICAI’s council, Talati and Agarwal will be responsible for organising the three-tiered CA exam and looking after all administrative affairs.

14. Hyundai Motors India signs two more women cricketers as ambassadors

• Hyundai Motor India Ltd has signed on two more women cricketers named Yastika Bhatia and Renuka Singh Thakur, to its roster of brand ambassadors.
• Bhatia and Thakur will join Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma and Jemimah Rodrigues. The company recognises these women as rising sport stars and that they will be a catalyst in this women’s cricket calendar of 2023.
• For this, it has announced the next edition of its ‘The Drive Within’ campaign with the five women cricketers.
• It celebrates world-renowned women cricketers and is a testament to years of gruelling training and hardships. The five individual stories will demonstrate their motivation and serve as a platform for encouraging budding sports talent in the country to win more accolades for India.

15. Chief Justices Appointed To 4 High Courts; Justice N Kotiswar Singh Made Chief Justice of High Court of J&K and Ladakh

• Four judges, including two who will retire later this month, were appointed as chief justices of high courts. Justice Sonia Giridhar Gokani, senior-most judge of the Gujarat High Court, was appointed its chief justice.
• Once she takes oath, she will be the only woman chief justice of a high court. India has 25 high courts. Justice Sabina is functioning as the acting chief justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court.
• However, Justice Gokani will demit office on February 25 upon attaining the age of 62. Justice Gokani is drawn from the judicial service of Gujarat. “Besides being the senior-most judge, the appointment of Justice Gokani as Chief Justice will bring a sense of inclusion and facilitate a representation for judges drawn from the services in the office of Chief Justice,” the SC Collegium had said while recommending her name.

                                  Schemes News

16. Centre forms committee for making coastal shipping guidelines

• The Shipping Ministry has formed a committee to draft revised Guidelines for operationalization of Roll on-Roll off (Ro-Ro) and Roll on-Passenger (Ro-Pax) ferry service.
• This committee, headed by the Chairman, Deendayal Port Authority, would also draft the Model Concession Agreement for Ro-Ro or Ro-Pax Terminal Operator and Model License Agreement for Operation of the ferry services in the country.
• This move is in line with efforts to promote coastal shipping through the Public Private Partnership (PPP) route spelled out in the union budget 2023-24.
• An official statement said the Committee shall delve into the ground realities such as safety standards of vessels, control mechanism on excess boarding of passengers/cargo, online ticketing system, revenue accounting and revenue sharing mechanism among others.

                                          Sports News

17. 5th Khelo India Youth Games 2022: Maharashtra topped the medal tally

• The fifth edition of the Khelo India Youth Games conclude on February 11.
• In the Khelo India Youth Games – 2022, Maharashtra was the overall champion by securing a total of 161 medals including 56 gold, 55 silver and 50 bronze medals.
• On the other hand, Haryana has been at the second position by getting a total of 128 medals including 41 gold, 32 silver and 55 bronze. Host Madhya Pradesh finished third with 96 medals including 39 gold.
• The Games were hosted in Madhya Pradesh from 31 January 2023 to 11 February 2023. For the first time water sports namely Kayaking Canoeing, Canoe Salam and Fencing were part of this edition of Khelo India Games. It was organized in eight different cities of the state.
• These eight host cities are Bhopal, Indore, Jabalpur, Gwalior, Ujjain, Maheshwar, Mandla and Balaghat.

18. Smriti Mandhana Becomes Most Expensive Player in WPL with ₹3.4 crore Bid by RCB

• Indian batter Smriti Mandhana was the most expensive buy at the inaugural Women’s Premier League auction in Mumbai. Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) snapped her up for INR 3.4 crore deal.
• After bagging a whopping amount paid by the RCB in the WPL auction, Mandhana is set to earn double the Pakistan Super League (PSL) highest-paid players.
• Babar, who played for the Peshawar Zalmi side, under the Platinum category, was traded at the season salary of $1,50,000 or PKR 3,60,00000 (3 Crore 60 lakh).
• Mandhana was also the first player to come up for bidding at the auction, having a base price of INR 50 lakh.
• RCB and Mumbai Indians were locked in an intense battle for her services, before the former managed to acquire her services, offering an opening as well as a captaincy option.

19. England’s World Cup-winning captain, Eoin Morgan announces retirement from Cricket

• Eoin Morgan, who led England to their first-ever ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup title in 2019, has announced his retirement from professional cricket with immediate effect.
• Morgan’s last appearance came for the Paarl Royals in the semi-final of the recently concluded SA20 League. Following a 16-year-long career that had begun with Ireland, before he moved to England. He continued to play in various global franchise leagues across the world thereafter.
• Morgan aggregated 5,042 runs in first-class cricket, 11,654 in List A and 7,780 in T20s in a professional career that had started back in 2006. One of England’s white-ball greats, Morgan remains England’s leading run-scorer – 6957 runs in 225 ODIs with 13 hundreds – and the most successful captain in ODIs, with 76 wins from 126 matches he led in.

20. Jean-Eric Vergne Won Formula E-Prix Hyderabad, India

• DS Penske’s Jean-Eric Vergne won Formula E’s first race in India as Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein extended his championship lead with fourth place in Hyderabad.
• The win was Vergne’s 11th in Formula E but first in two years and the double champion needed an energy-saving defensive drive to hold off New Zealander Cassidy in the closing laps near the Hussain Sagar Lake.
• Nick Cassidy was second for Envision Racing with Porsche’s Antonio Felix da Costa promoted to third in his 100th race after Envision’s Sebastien Buemi was handed a 17-second post-race penalty for an overpower infringement.
• The first-ever Formula E race in India was hosted in Hyderabad, the race that also happens to be the first FIA-organised event in India in a decade.
• The Hyderabad E-Prix is the fourth race in the Formula E 2023 calendar, being preceded by Season 9 opener in Mexico City and two races in Diriyah (Saudi Arabia).

Important Current Affairs of 14th  February 2023