Current Affairs 2 March 2024

We are here for you to provide the important Recent and Latest Current Affairs 2 March 2024, which have unique updates of Latest Current Affairs 2024 events from all newspapers such as The Hindu, The Economic Times, PIB, Times of India, PTI, Indian Express, Business Standard and all Government official websites.

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NATIONAL AFFAIRS

Union Minister Smriti Zubin Irani Launched Logo & Website of Alliance for Global Good – Gender Equity and EqualityOn 28 February 2024, Union Minister Smriti Zubin Irani, Ministry of Women and Child Development (MoWCD), launched the logo and website for the Alliance for Global Good – Gender Equity and Equality in an event held in New Delhi, Delhi.
Key People: The event witnessed the presence of notable dignitaries including Bill Gates, Co-Chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General (DG) of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).
About the Logo:
i.The logo forms the alphabet “e” symbolising Equality and Equity.
ii.The parallel strokes depict collective action by Governments, industry, and institutions to empower women globally.
iii.Tricolours signify Alliance values: Saffron for strength and courage; White for truth; and Green for growth and the red dot symbolises prosperity.
iv.The logo is inspired by Lord Ganesha, representing intellect, wisdom, and understanding.
About Alliance for Global Good – Gender Equity and Equality:
i.Alliance for Global Good – Gender Equity and Equality was launched by India on the sidelines of the 54th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF 2024) held Davos, Switzerland in January 2024.
ii.The Alliance, aligning with India’s vision on women-led development, represents a setp towards the gender equality.
iii.The Alliance aims to consolidate global practices, encourage knowledge sharing, and attract investments in women’s health, education, and enterprise in line with several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Note: The Alliance is supported by GoI, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; anchored by the CII Centre for Women Leadership; with the WEF as a Network partner; and Invest India as an Institutional partner.

12 Indigenous Products from Arunachal Pradesh get GI tagChennai, Tamil Nadu (TN)- based Geographical Indication(GI) Registry has awarded the GI tag to 12 distinctive products from Arunachal Pradesh including Apatani Textile Product, Dao (broadsword), Adlay Millet, among others.
With this, the total number of GI products from Arunachal Pradesh has become 20.
About Arunachal Pradesh:
Chief Minister– Pema Khandu
Governor- Lt Gen Kaiwalya Trivikram Parnaik
National parks– Mouling National Park, Namdapha National Park
Wildlife Sanctuaries– Talle Wildlife Sanctuary, Eagle Nest Wildlife Sanctuary
>> Read Full News

MoE & MIB Jointly launches nationwide awareness campaign “Mera pehla vote desh ke liye”The Ministry of Education (MoE) and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) have jointly launched a nationwide awareness campaign “Mera pehla vote desh ke liye (my first vote for the country)” to encourage the first-time voters to participate in the 2024 Lok Sabha election.

• Union Minister Anurag Thakur, MIB & Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (MoYAS) launched a Campaign Anthem video to create awareness among first-time voters. 

About the Awareness Campaign:
i.Under this Campaign, various events will be organised in universities, colleges, and higher education institutions.
ii.The campaign activities involve both on-ground physical events and online competitions on the MyGov platform.
iii.The activities such as competitions on blog writing, podcasts, debate, essay writing, quizzes, extempore, and battle of bands will be conducted to show student creativity in content creation.
iv.Interactive workshops and seminars emphasizing the value of voting, and understanding the electoral process will also be organised at the institutions,
v.It encourages youth to take the voter’s pledge on the official website ecisveep.nic.in for their commitment to the electoral process.
vi.It also encourages to download the voter helpline app.
Key Facts about lok sabha:
i.The maximum sanctioned strength of the Lok Sabha (House of the People) by the constitution was 552 (530 representing states, 20 representing Union Territories (UT), and 2 representing the Anglo-Indian community).

• The two seats for Anglo-Indians were removed by the 104th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2019.

ii.The term of the LS is 5 years with effect from date of appointment.
Note: The 17th Lok Sabha(the current LS) has 543 seats filled by elected representatives (530 from states & 13 from Union Territories(UTs). The tenure of the current LS ends on 16th June 2024.
About Rajya Sabha:
i.The maximum sanctioned strength of the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) by the constitution was 250 (238 representatives of the States and UTs, 12 members nominated by the President).
ii.The present strength of the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) is 245, with 233 members representing the States and UTs and 12 members nominated by the President.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

US Chamber’s International IP Index 2024: India retained 42nd rank; The USA tops According to the 12th edition of the International Intellectual Property (IP) Index (2024) by the United States (US) Chamber of Commerce, India has retained the 42nd rank with an overall score of 38.64%.

• The United States of America (USA) has topped the list with an overall score of 95.48% followed by the United Kingdom (UK) in the 2nd place with 94.12% and France in the 3rd with 93.12%.

About International IP Index:
i.It provides a blueprint for economies aiming to bolster innovation and creativity through robust intellectual property (IP) standards.
ii.The Index assesses IP frameworks of 55 economies using 50 unique criteria related to patents, copyrights, enforcement, and more.
Note: Previously, Inida was ranked 42nd in 2023 and 43rd in 2022.
Top 5 on International IP Index 2024:

India’s IP Strengths:
i.The report highlights India’s commendable efforts, citing the Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill 2023, which includes new language and criminal sanctions on film piracy.
ii.Strong initiatives include dynamic injunction orders against copyright piracy, incentives for Research and Development (R&D), and IP-based tax.
Challenges and Weaknesses of India’s IP:
i.The report expresses concerns about India’s IP regime, emphasising issues such as the dissolution of the Intellectual Property Appellate Board in 2021.
ii.India faces challenges with an under-resourced judiciary, impacting rights holders’ ability to enforce IP rights and resolve IP-related disputes.
iii.Limited protection for biopharmaceutical IP rights is also noted.
Key Highlights:
i.The index reveals notable improvements in 20 nations, signaling optimism for global IP policies.

• Notable Gains: Saudi Arabia (+6.04%); Brazil (+4.50%); and Nigeria (+3.00%) emerging as top-gainers showcasing policy-driven innovation investments.

ii.27 economies maintained scores (including India), while 8 witnessed declines, notably Ecuador (-1%) due to inadequate border control against IP infringement.
iii.Lack of progress in top-ranked economies necessitates a renewed push from the US and European Union (EU) in asserting IP policy leadership.

ECONOMY & BUSINESS

India’s GDP grows at 8.4% in Q3FY24; Economy to expand at 7.6% in FY24: NSOi.On February 29, 2024, the National Statistical Office (NSO) under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) released the Second Advance Estimates (SAE) of National Income, Financial Year 2023-24 (FY24); Quarterly Estimates of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for October-December quarter of FY24 (Q3FY24).
ii.Also, the NSO decided to consider the Second Revised Estimates (SRE) as Final Estimates. Accordingly, the practice of bringing out Third Revised Estimates (TRE) would be discontinued.
iii.Real GDP in Q3FY24 is estimated at Rs 43.72 lakh crore, against Rs 40.35 lakh crore in Q3 of FY23, showing a growth rate of 8.4%.
About Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI):
Minister of State (Independent Charge)– Rao Inderjit Singh (Constituency- Gurugram, Haryana)
Secretary– DR. G P Samanta
>> Read Full News

AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS

Sunil Bharti Mittal to be Conferred With Honorary Knighthood by King Charles III of UKSunil Bharti Mittal, Founder and Chairman of Bharti Enterprises became the 1st Indian citizen to be conferred the title of Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (KBE) under King Charles III reign, recognising his contributions “for services to United Kingdom (UK) and India business relations”.

• The KBE is one of the highest honours conferred by the British Sovereign to civilians, granted to foreign nationals in recognition of their outstanding contributions.

Note: The honour recognises Bharti Enterprises’ work within the India-UK space, including with the UK government in the field of satellites.
Honorary Knighthood:
i.KBE is a distinguished recognition for pre-eminent contributions in any field of activity and is conferred in an honorary capacity to foreign nationals.
ii.While the Knighthood conferred on UK nationals gives them the titles “Sir” or “Dame.”

• The non-UK nationals awarded the honour add KBE (or Dame Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (DBE) for women) after the recipient’s name.

About Sunil Bharti Mittal:
i.In 1976, he founded Bharti Enterprises, which started its telecom services business by launching mobile services in Delhi in 1995.
ii.Bharti Airtel, the flagship company of Bharti Enterprises, has emerged as one of the top telecom companies in the world.
ii.He is the Co-Chairman of Eutelsat Group, a global leader in satellite communications.
iii.He also served as the Chairman of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and the Chairman of the Groupe Speciale Mobile Association (GSMA) concurrently from 2016 to 2018.

• He was the 1st Indian to be elected as Chair of the GSMA.

iv.He was the President of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in 2007-08.
Awards/Honours:
i.In 2007, he was awarded the Padma Bhushan for Trade and Industry.
ii.He was also awarded the Harvard Business School’s Alumni Achievement Honour, the highest honour accorded by the institute to its alumni.
Notable Predecessors:
Previous Indian recipients of the Honorary KBE include Ratan Tata (2009), Ravi Shankar (2001), and Jamshed Irani (1997), all honoured by the late Queen Elizabeth II.

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS

President Appoints New Chairman & Members of Lokpal; Justice AM Khanwilkar as ChairmanOn 27th February 2024, Droupadi Murmu, President of India, has appointed the new Chairman and Members of Lokpal, the anti-corruption authority in India. Former Supreme Court judge Ajay Manikrao Khanwilkar was appointed as the chairperson of Lokpal.

• He will be the second regular chairperson of the Lokpal.

Note:

• The Lokpal has been working without its regular chairperson since the retirement of Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose,1st Chairperson of Lokpal,  on 27th May 2022.
• Justice Pradip Kumar Mohanty, a judicial member of the Lokpal, has been serving as the acting chairperson of lokpal since 28th May 2022.

About Justice A M Khanwilkar:
i.Justice A. M. Khanwilkar was born on 30th July 1957, in Pune, Maharashtra.
ii.He was appointed as Additional Judge of the Bombay High Court in March 2000 and confirmed as permanent Judge in April 2002.
iii.He served as the CJ of the Himachal Pradesh HC from April to November 2013 and as CJ of the Madhya Pradesh HC from November 2013 to May 2016.
iv.Khanwilkar served as a judge of the Supreme Court from May 2016 to July 2022.
New Members of Lokpal:
President Droupadi Murmu has appointed six members to Lokpal including three judicial and three non-judicial.
Judicial Members:
i.Justice Lingappa Narayana Swamy, former Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court
ii.Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi, former chief justice of the Karnataka High Court.
iii.Justice Sanjay Yadav, former chief justice of Allahabad High Court.
Non-Judicial Members:
i.Sushil Chandra, former Chief Election Commissioner.
ii.Pankaj Kumar, former Gujarat chief secretary.
iii.Ajay Tirkey, former secretary of the Department of Land Resources (DoLR), Government of India.
Note:
i.As of 29th Feb’24,  Ritu Raj Awasthi is serving as the chairperson of the law commission, and he will resign from that post before taking over as a member of Lokpal.
ii.The above appointments will take effect on the dates they assume charge of their respective offices.
About the Lokpal:
i.The Lokpal inquires and investigates the allegations of corruption against public functionaries.
ii.It is the first institution of its kind in independent India, established under the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act 2013.
iii.It consists of a chairperson and 8 members, of whom 50% are judicial members.
iv.Term of office:The chairperson and other members hold office for a term of 5 years from the date on which they enter upon the office or until they attain the age of 70 years, whichever is earlier.
v.Jurisdiction: It can inquire into allegations of corruption against anyone who is or has been Prime Minister, or a Minister in the Union government, or a Member of Parliament, as well as officials of the Union Government under Groups A, B, C and D.

Ajay Kanwal Re-appointed as MD & CEO of Jana Small Finance Bank 
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has approved the re-appointment of Ajay Kanwal as the Managing Director(MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Jana Small Finance Bank (Jana SFB) for three years, from 21st March 2024 to 20th March 2027.

• Ajay Kanwal has been working as MD and CEO of Bengaluru – Karnataka headquartered Jana SFB since 2018.
• He has a vast experience of 32 years in banking, including 24 years at Standard Chartered Bank, rising to the rank of regional CEO of ASEAN and South Asia.
• He also worked as a Senior Advisor for TPG Global(United States of America (USA)based asset management firm) and Mastercard.

MS Kamath appointed as MD of Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited
According to the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoP&NG), the Competent Authority has approved the appointment of Mundkur Shyamprasad Kamath as Managing Director (MD) on the Board of Mangaluru (Karnataka) based Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL).

• He will be serving the post until the date of his superannuation on 30th November 2027 or until further notice, whichever comes earlier.
• Prior to the appointment, he had been serving as the Executive Director of MRPL since 2022.
• He will succeed Sanjay Varma who served as MD (Additional Charge) & Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of MRPL.

Note: MRPL is Category 1 schedule ‘A’ Miniratna, Central Public Sector Enterprise (CPSE) functioning under the MoP&NG.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

DRDO Conducts Successful Flight Test of VSHORADS Missile in Chandipur, OdishaThe Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully conducted the flight test of the Very Short-Range Air Defence System (VSHORADS) missile, a Man Portable Air Defence System(MANPADS) , off the coast of Odisha on 28th and 29th February 2024.

• The missile was tested from a ground-based portable launcher from the Integrated Test Range in Chandipur, Balasore, Odisha.

About the Flight Test: 
i.The VSHORADS missile was tested in several interception scenarios against the high-speed unmanned aerial targets.
ii.During the flight test, the missile achieved various mission objectives.
About VSHORADS Missile:
VSHORADS was designed and developed by the Research Centre Imarat (RCI) in collaboration with other DRDO labs and Indian Industry Partners
Features: 
i.The missile features various novel technologies, like a miniaturized Reaction Control System and integrated avionics, which were successfully proven during the test.
ii.The missile, designed for neutralising low-altitude aerial threats at short ranges, is propelled using a dual-thrust solid motor.
About Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO):
DRDO, formed in 1958, is the Research and Development (R&D) wing of the Ministry of Defence.
Chairman– Dr. Samir Vankatpati Kamat
Headquarters– New Delhi, Delhi

L&T Commissioned First Indigenously Manufactured Hydrogen Electrolyser at Gujarat
Mumbai (Maharashtra) headquartered Larsen & Toubro (L&T) Limited has commissioned its first indigenously built hydrogen electrolyser at the Green Hydrogen Plant in Hazira in Gujarat.

• The electrolyser has a rated power capacity of 1 megawatt (MW), expandable to 2 MW. It can produce 200 Nm3/hour of hydrogen.
• It is a pressurized alkaline electrolyzer, equipped with two stacks and an indigenously manufactured Electrolyzer Processing Unit (EPU) ML400.
• These alkaline electrolysers are manufactured by L&T Electrolysers Limited, a newly incorporated entity of L&T using the technology from McPhy Energy, France.
• L&T Electrolysers has been allocated 300 MW/annum capacity under the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) of the National Green Hydrogen Mission (NGHM).

SPORTS

India Women’s Football Team Finished Runners-up in Turkish Women’s Cup 2024
The Indian women’s football team (nickname: Blue Tigresses) finished runner-up at the Turkish Women’s Cup 2024 after losing to Kosovo in the finals held at the Gold City Sports Complex in Alanya, Türkiye.

• The 8th edition of the Turkish Women’s Cup, also known as the Alanya Gold City Cup, was held from 21st  to 27th February 2024 in Alanya, Türkiye.
• This marks the Indian team’s best performance in the Turkish Women’s cup, among its three appearances (2024, 2021 & 2019).
• India’s Manisha Kalyan was awarded “Best Midfielder of the Tournament” for her exemplary display throughout the competition.

Note:
The annual four-team tournament(held in round-robin format) was first held in 2017.  The 2024 tournament witnessed the participation of 4 countries: India, Hong Kong, Estonia, and Kosovo.

IMPORTANT DAYS

Zero Discrimination Day 2024 – March 1 United Nations (UN)’s Zero Discrimination Day is annually observed across the globe on 1st March to promote equality, inclusion, peace, and diversity while raising awareness about the harmful impact of discrimination worldwide.
i.1 March 2024 marks the observance of the 10th anniversary of Zero Discrimination Day.
ii.The 2024 theme of Zero Discrimination Day is, “To protect everyone’s health, protect everyone’s rights”.
iii.The symbol of Zero Discrimination Day is the “Butterfly”. It represents a symbol of transformation.
About UNAIDS:
It was established by the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and remained the only cosponsored joint program of the UN system.
Executive Director– Winnie Byanyima
Headquarters– Geneva, Switzerland
Started Operations– 1996
>> Read Full News

World Civil Defence Day 2024 – March 1World Civil Defence Day (WCDD), also known as World Civil Protection Day, is annually observed across the globe on 1st March to honour the significance of Civil Defence and the personnel who have sacrificed their lives for it.

• 1st March 2024 marks the observance of 35th WCDD.

Theme & Slogan:
i.The Theme of WCDD 2024 is “Honour Heroes and Promote Safety Skills”.
ii.The slogan for the day is “Innovative Technologies in the Civil Protection Service”.
Background: 
i.WCDD was established by the International Civil Defence Organisation (ICDO), based in Geneva, Switzerland.
ii.The first-ever World Civil Defence Day was observed in 1990 by the United Nations (UN). 
About International Civil Defence Organisation (ICDO):
Secretary-General – Njoupouo YAP Mariatou
Headquarters – Geneva, Switzerland
Established in – 1931
Members – Member States (60); Observer States (16); Affiliated Members (22)
>> Read Full News

48th Civil Accounts Day – March 1, 2024Civil Accounts Day is annually observed across India on 1 March to mark the Foundation Day of the Indian Civil Accounts Service (ICAS), one of the  Civil Services functioning under the Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance (MoF).

• 1 March 2024 marks the observance of the 48th Civil Accounts Day.

Background:
i.In 1976, the Government of India spearheaded a crucial reform in Public Financial Administration, separating Audit and Accounts functions. This led to the establishment of ICAS.

• ICAS was constituted in 1976 and is headed by the Controller General of Accounts (CGA) of India.

About Controller General of Accounts (CGA)
CGA to GoI– S. S. Dubey, ICAS
Headquarters– New Delhi, Delhi
>> Read Full News

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