Launch of 'Innovation Bridge' to Connect US, Indian Defence Start-ups
The United States and India concluded their US-India initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET) meeting and decided to launch a new "Innovation Bridge", which will connect both countries' defence start-ups.
The U.S.-India initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET) meeting was inaugurated by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and his US counterpart Jake Sullivan and was joined from the US side by the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Director of the National Science Foundation, the Executive Secretary of the National Space Council, and senior officials from the Department of State, Department of Commerce, the Department of Defence, and the National Security Council.
iCET was announced in May 2022 by US President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to elevate and expand our strategic technology partnership and defence industrial cooperation between the governments, businesses, and academic institutions of both the countries.
Australia to Replace Queen Elizabeth's Image on A$5 Banknote
Australia will replace the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II from its A$5 currency note with a new design to reflect and honour the history of its indigenous culture.
The decision follows consultation with the federal government, which supported the change. The other side of the note will continue to feature the Australian Parliament.
Queen Elizabeth's death last year has reignited debates in Australia about its future as a constitutional monarchy. Voters narrowly chose to maintain the British monarch as its head of state in a 1999 referendum.
King Charles III, who became British monarch after his mother's death, is the head of state in Australia, New Zealand and 12 other Commonwealth realms outside the United Kingdom, although the role is largely ceremonial.
Australia in September 2022 had said that the image of King Charles would not automatically replace Queen Elizabeth on A$5 notes, and that she might be replaced by Australian figures.
IMF Rejects Pakistan's Revised Circular Debt Management Plan
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) review mission rejected Pakistan's revised Circular Debt Management Plan (CDMP). It called on the Pakistan government to increase the electricity tariff in the range of Pakistani Rupees (PKR) 11-12.50 per unit to restrict the additional subsidy at PKR 335 billion for the current fiscal year.
The International Monetary Fund review mission led by Nathen Porter arrived in Islamabad and both sides will continue to hold talks to complete the pending ninth review under the USD 7 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF).
Circular debt occurs when one entity facing problems with its cash inflows does not make payments to its suppliers and creditors.
FM Announces Savings Scheme for Women with 7.5% Interest Rate
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a 'Mahila Samman Saving Certificate' with a fixed interest rate of 7.5 per cent for two years.
The deposit can be made in the name of a woman or a girl child. The maximum deposit amount has been kept at Rs. 2 lakh and the scheme will have a partial withdrawal facility as well.
FM Announces Savings Scheme for Women with 7.5% Interest Rate
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a 'Mahila Samman Saving Certificate' with a fixed interest rate of 7.5 per cent for two years.
The deposit can be made in the name of a woman or a girl child. The maximum deposit amount has been kept at Rs. 2 lakh and the scheme will have a partial withdrawal facility as well.
Budget 2023: Income Tax Slabs Changed under New Tax Regime
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the new income tax slabs under the new income tax regime in her Budget speech. The tax rebate was raised from Rs. 5 to 7 lakh under the new regime. Moreover, the new tax regime will be default unless the taxpayer chooses to adopt the old regime.
No tax will have to be paid for income up to Rs. 3 lakh. For income between Rs. 3 to Rs. 6 lakh, a tax of 5 per cent will be applicable. The highest tax rate of 30 per cent will be levied on income above Rs. 15 lakh, under new income tax regime.
The introduction of new slabs with fewer tax rates under the new tax regime as well as the announcement of introducing a single simplified common income tax return form in the future, clearly shows the government's objective to simplify the income tax for the common people. Further, no tax is levied up to Rs. 7 Lakh of income, a big relief for millions of salaried individuals.
The highest surcharge rate was slashed from 37 per cent to 25 per cent. The Centre also proposed to cap deductions from capital gains on investments in residential houses to Rs. 10 crore.
DCPCR Launches WhatsApp Chatbot to Make Governance Citizen-friendly
The Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights launched its WhatsApp chatbot with Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, terming it an important initiative to make governance citizen-friendly.
The chatbot, called 'Bal Mitra', is an effort to enable two-way communication between people and the child rights panel. The chatbot will help citizens and the commission to interact more effectively.
Some of the features of the chatbot include complaint registration, searching information and tracking complaint status, and seeking information on admissions, among others.
Along with providing authentic information on various matters related to children and their rights, the chatbot will also ensure the confidentiality of the matters reported through it.
India Record its Biggest Win in T20Is after Beating New Zealand by 168 Runs
India registered its biggest win in T20Is by a margin of runs after beating New Zealand by 168 runs in the third and final T20I at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
India's previous biggest win was against Ireland by a margin of 143 runs at The Village in Dublin back in June 2018. The win against the Kiwis was also India's biggest win in T20Is at home. It was also the third time that India won a T20I by a margin of above 100.
Sports Ministry Gets 700 crore-plus Boost in Union Budget 2023
In a year when the Indian athletes will compete at the Asian Games and prepare for 2024 Paris Olympics, the Sports Ministry has got a fillip with the government allocating Rs. 3,397.32 crore, an increase of Rs. 723.97 crore.
The amount is more than the revised budget of the previous financial year (2022-23) when the ministry received Rs. 2,673.35 crore, as against the actual allocation of Rs. 3,062.60 crore.
BJP Announces Candidates for West Bengal and Arunachal Pradesh Bypoll
The Central Election Committee (CEC) of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) released a list of candidates for the upcoming bye-elections to be held in West Bengal and Arunachal Pradesh.
The party decided to field Tsering Lhamu from Arunachal Pradesh's Lumla (ST) seat and Dilip Saha from West Bengal's Sagardighi seat.
Earlier in January, the Election Commission announced the schedule for the bye-elections to six assembly seats across five states.
Bye-elections to one assembly constituency, each in Arunachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and two assembly constituencies in Maharashtra will be held on February 27. The parliamentary constituency of Lakshadweep will also vote in bypolls on February 27.
The counting of votes to all bypolls will be held on March 2.
First G20 Education Working Group Meeting Held in Chennai
The first G20 Education working group was held in Chennai from Feb 1 to 2, 2023.
Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Dr. L. Murugan inaugurated the session where deliberations took place on carrying forward the resolutions passed during the last summit.
Discussions were on K 12 education, tech-enabled learning and skill development.
Bengaluru to Host First G20 Energy Transition Working Group Meeting under India's Presidency
The first G20 Energy Transition Working Group (ETWG) meeting under India's presidency will be organised in Bengaluru from February 5-7.
The meeting will have over 150 participants including G20 member countries, nine special invitee guest nations – Bangladesh, Egypt, Mauritius, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Oman, Singapore, the UAE and Spain.
In addition, international organizations such as the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), International Energy Agency (IEA), Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), International Solar Alliance (ISA), among others will be part of the meeting.
The United States and the Philippines announced a deal that gives US troops access to another four military bases in the Southeast Asian nation, as the long-time allies seek to deter Chinese aggression in the region.
The agreement to expand cooperation was announced during a visit by US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
China's growing assertiveness on Taiwan and its claims over the disputed South China Sea have given fresh impetus to Washington and Manila to strengthen their partnership.
The two countries have a decades-old security alliance that includes a mutual defense treaty and a 2014 pact, known by the acronym EDCA, which allows US troops to rotate through five Philippine bases, including those near disputed waters.
World Wetlands Day is celebrated annually on February 2 with the aim to create awareness of the vital role wetlands play for people and the planet. The proposal for the convention on wetlands was first made on February 2, 1971, in the Iranian city of Ramsar.
The awareness of World Wetlands Day started off in 1997. However, it was on August 30, 2021, that the United Nations General Assembly approved resolution 75/317 for World Wetlands Day to be celebrated on February 2.
The theme for World Wetlands Day 2023 was 'It's Time for Wetlands Restoration,' which focuses on the urgent need to prioritise wetland restoration.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's budget speech introduced schemes and policies aimed at ecological conservation. Targeting an array of different issues, these schemes come with the promise of preserving India's ecological health.
This is part of a larger "green push" with focus on the environment and climate change.
One of the schemes is the Amrit Dharohar scheme that will be implemented over the next three years to encourage optimal use of wetlands, and enhance bio-diversity, carbon stock, eco-tourism opportunities and income generation for local communities.
Amrit Dharohar will emphasise on the importance of wetlands and their preservation, with an outlook that is inclusive of local communities as caretakers of the ecosystem.
The Indira Gandhi National Open University's (IGNOU) school of Journalism and New Media Studies launched a new Post Graduate (PG) diploma in Journalism and Mass Communication. The diploma is available in the online mode and in three languages — English, Hindi and Tamil.
Bachelor's degree in any discipline is mandatory to be eligible for this diploma programme. The duration of the course is one year.
The South Asia Women Film Festival, in which women-centric films will be screened, began in Patna.
The film festival, which will continue till February 9, was inaugurated by Bihar's Art and Culture Minister Jitendra Kumar Rai.
Apart from Indian movies, several films from Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka will be screened during the festival. Filmmakers from these neighbouring countries are also expected to attend the festival.
The festival is being organised by the Bihar State Film Development and Finance Corporation Limited (BSFDFC) in association with Film Southasia.
Supreme Court Says Only Parliament Can Decide to Bar a Candidate from Contesting from 2 Constituencies
The Supreme Court refused to quash Section 33 (7) of the Representation of Peoples Act 1951 that permitted a candidate to contest from two seats in elections, stating that no judicial interference was required in a matter that fell in the domain of legislative policy.
The Bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) D.Y. Chandrachud, Justice P.S. Narasimha and Justice J.B. Pardiwala dismissed the petition filed by Ashwini Upadhyay, observing that candidates may contest from different seats due to a variety of reasons. Whether this could lead to furthering of political democracy, was solely the Parliament's discretion.
The petition had challenged the constitutional validity of Section 33 (7) of the Representation of Peoples Act 1951 on the grounds that it was unreasonable and arbitrary.
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