DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS 02-02-2023

Shankar School of Banking February 2 , 2023 271

NATIONAL NEWS

Tourism Minister G Kishan Reddy launched the Visit India Year-2023 initiative in New Delhi and also unveiled its logo.
The tourism minister also unveiled the logo of the campaign which is inspired by the image of 'Namaste'.
It imbibes the philosophy of 'Atithi Devo Bhava' along with the heritage of India to the art of cooking divine food and our rich wildlife.
The emblem depicts elements of India's heritage and its monuments.
The campaign aims to encourage travel in the country that currently holds the G-20 presidency. It is an initiative of the Ministry of Tourism.
Each foreign representative of the G20 will be a brand ambassador of India's culture, heritage and tourist destinations.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee inaugurated the 46th edition of the International Kolkata Book Fair.
The fair is being organised at Boimela Courtyard, Central Park Fair Ground, Karunamayee, Salt Lake Kolkata.
Mara José Gálvez Salvador from the Spanish Ministry of Culture and Sports and Ambassador of Spain to India, Jose Maria Ridao Domínguez were present at the inauguration.
The fair will be open for visitors from January 31 to February 12.
Spain is the focal country for the second time this year.
Thailand is participating for the first time.
It is the largest book fair in Asia and the most attended book fair by the people.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Foreign Minister of the State of Eritrea Osman Saleh announced that the 15th BRICS summit is set to take place in South Africa’s Durban in August 2023.
South Africa participated in the 3rd BRICS summit in China for the first time in April 2011.
Earlier in 2013, the 5th annual BRICS summit was held in Durban, South Africa,

The country’s largest lender, State Bank of India (SBI) has raised Rs 9,718 crore through its second infrastructure bond issuance at a coupon rate of 7.70% per annum for the 15-year money.
The coupon rate of 7.70% represents a spread of 17 basis points over the corresponding government security yield curve (G-Sec curve) provided by the Financial Benchmarks of India Limited.
Prior to the latest bond sale, SBI had issued 10-year infrastructure bonds worth Rs 10,000 crore at a coupon of 7.51% on 06 December 2022.
The fund proceeds will be utilised for enhancing long-term resources for funding infrastructure and affordable housing.
The coupon is the interest rate periodically paid out to investors.
Government Securities, popularly known as G-Sec Bonds, are debt instruments issued by the Central government to meet its fiscal needs.
The government sells the bonds and uses the funds to pay for daily projects, special infrastructure, or military operations.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor Godwin Emefiele launched a domestic card scheme AfriGo to boost the cashless economy and rival foreign cards like Mastercard and Visa.
In order to enhance its drive to make Africa’s biggest economy a cashless society and save the country foreign transaction fees.
Nigeria was joining China, Russia, India and Turkey with a domestic card scheme.
AfriGo is owned by CBN and Nigerian banks.
AfriGo is meant to provide more options for domestic consumers in a ‘cost-effective and competitive manner’.

RenewBuy has launched its first line of customised health insurance products, the RenewBuy Health Wellness plan with a focus on the large uninsured segment beyond the tier 1 markets.
It is to bridge gap and has introduced multiple benefits in pre-hospitalization and Outpatient Department (OPD) treatment with the newly launched product.
The product offers new-age health insurance benefits, available in three variants- Gold Plan, Silver Plan and Wellness Plan ranging from coverage of 2-5 lakhs.
Up to 70% lower premium is offered for senior citizens, and up to 50% lower premium is offered for those up to 59 years of age, Maternity cover with a significantly shorter waiting period.

The Union Ministry of Education has released the All-India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) 2020-2021.
According to the report Uttar Pradesh has the highest number of colleges in the country, followed by Maharashtra and Karnataka.
The top 10 states in terms of number of colleges in India - Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Telangana and Kerala, each having at least 29 or more colleges per lakh population.
The Ministry of Education has been conducting this survey since 2011, it includes higher educational institutions located in India.
The survey collects information on various parameters such as student enrolment, teacher data, infrastructural, financial etc.
In AISHE 2020-21, for the first-time data collection has been done using a completely online data collection platform developed by the Department of Higher Education through National Informatics Center (NIC).

The Union government conferred Padma Shri on C.V. Raju in the art category.
Shri C.V. Raju is a renowned artist of Etikoppaka Wooden Toy Craft in Andhra Pradesh.
Raju is among the seven persons from Andhra Pradesh who have been selected for the Padma awards announced by the Union Home Ministry.
An agriculturist-turned-craftsman, Raju has his origins in Etikoppaka, a traditional craftsman village in the Visakhapatnam district in coastal Andhra Pradesh.
He is involved in promoting the toy craft and usage of natural dyes for the past few decades.

For the first time in the history of India, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is set to launch a scientific mission to study the sun – Aditya-L1 mission in June or July, 2023.
Aditya L1 is India’s first space-based mission to observe the Sun and the solar corona.
It is to study the sun from a halo orbit around the Sun-Earth system’s Lagrangian point 1 (L 1).
L1 refers to Lagrangian/Lagrange Point 1, one of 5 points in the orbital plane of the Earth-Sun system.
Lagrange Points are positions in space where the gravitational forces of a two-body system like the Sun and the Earth produce enhanced regions of attraction and repulsion.
Aditya L1 will be launched using the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) with 7 payloads (instruments) on board.

The ICG Day or Indian Coast Guard Day is celebrated every year on 01 February.
The Indian Coast Guard is a multi-mission organization, conducting round-the-year real-life operations at sea.
This year Indian Coast Guard celebrates its 45th Raising Day on 01st February 2023.
The Indian Coast Guard was initially established on 01 February 1977 due to an emergency.
The interim of the Indian Coast Guard was created in 1977 to prevent the smuggling of goods on the Sea.

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