Current Affairs, February 2024

29th February-2024, Current Affairs:

• India's gross domestic product (GDP) for the third quarter of the ongoing financial year accelerated to 8.4 per cent year-on-year.
• The Government has approved a scheme providing assistance of up to ₹ 78,000 to 1 crore families to set up rooftop solar systems, which will enable them to get free electricity up to 300 units per month.
• The number of leopards has increased by more than one thousand during the period of 2018 to 2022 in the country. According to a report released by the Environment, Forest and Climate Change Ministry, the number of leopards in the country has now reached 13 thousand 874, which was 12 thousand 852 in the year 2018.

28th February-2024, Current Affairs:

• Bharti Enterprises founder and chairman, Sunil Bharti Mittal, has become the first Indian citizen to receive an Honorary Knighthood. The award was conferred by King Charles III, granting Mittal the title of Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (KBE), recognising his contributions to fostering stronger business ties between India and the UK. The KBE is one of the top honours granted by the British Sovereign to civilians, given as an honorary recognition to individuals from other countries.
• National Science Day is celebrated across the country today. The theme of this year's Science day is Indigenous Technologies for Viksit Bharat, emphasizing the importance of home-grown Technologies in shaping the future of India.

27th February-2024, Current Affairs:

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi today visited the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala and inaugurated three important space infrastructure projects worth about 1,800 crore rupees. Prime Minister also revealed the names of 4 astronaut-designates selected for the Gaganyaan mission. They are Group Captain Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair, Group Captain Ajit Krishnan, Group Captain Angad Pratap and Wing Commander Shubhanshu Shukla.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi ceremonially laid the foundation stone for Sikkim’s inaugural railway station in Rangpo.

25th February-2024, Current Affairs:

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Sudarshan Setu, a four-lane cable-stayed bridge connecting Okha to Beyt Dwarka island in Gujarat. It is India's Longest Cable-Stayed Bridge.
• Prime Minister also laid the foundation stone and dedicated to the nation more than 200 Health Care Infrastructure Projects worth more than ₹11,500 crore across 23 States /UTs. PM Modi dedicated to the nation five All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) at Rajkot (Gujarat), Bathinda (Punjab), Rae Bareli (Uttar Pradesh), Kalyani (West Bengal) and Mangalagiri (Andhra Pradesh).

24th February-2024, Current Affairs:

• The three new criminal laws will come into effect from July 1. The Bharatiya Nyaya (Second) Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha (Second) Sanhita, and the Bharatiya Sakshya (Second) Bill will replace the Indian Penal Code of 1860, Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) of 1973, and Indian Evidence Act, of 1872.
• A spacecraft built and flown by Texas-based company Intuitive Machines landed near the moon's south pole on Friday. It is the first U.S. touchdown on the lunar surface in more than half a century and the first ever achieved by the private sector.

22nd February-2024, Current Affairs:

• Renowned Urdu poet, filmmaker and lyricist Gulzar and Sanskrit scholar Jagadguru Rambhadracharya have been named the recipients of the prestigious 58th Jnanpith Award.
• French authorities awarded Indian Member of Parliament and author Shashi Tharoor the distinction of ‘Chevalier de la Legion d’Honneur’ (Knight of the Legion of Honour), the highest French civilian honour.
• Lieutenant General Upendra Dwivedi assumed the appointment of the Vice Chief of the Army Staff after Lt Gen MV Suchindra Kumar. Lt Gen Dwivedi was accorded the Guard of Honour at the South Block Lawns.

19th February-2024, Current Affairs:

• France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Singapore and Spain have the world's most powerful passports. Allowing visa-free entry to 194 global destinations, these nations have occupied the top slot on the latest Henley Passport Index. With visa-free access to 62 nations, India stands at 85th position on the index, which ranks 199 passports based on their strengths.
• The 12th edition of the MILAN exercise is scheduled to take place from today to the 27th of this month in Visakhapatnam, with the participation of more than 50 nations.

18th February-2024, Current Affairs:

• The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) on Saturday successfully launched the INSAT-3DS mission into space aboard the heavy-lift Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mk-II (GSLV-MkII).
• India women's badminton team scripted history in Selangor Malaysia as they won the Badminton Asia Team Championships crown, beating Thailand 3-2 in a hard-fought final. This is the first time India have won the prestigious continental team championships title in the history of the sport.
• India bundled out England for 122 as the hosts registered a victory by 434 runs in the third Test. This was India's biggest win against any opponent in terms of runs. With this win, India have taken 2-1 lead in the five-match series.
• Yashasvi Jaiswal became only the 3rd Indian after Vinod Kambli and Virat Kohli to hit double hundreds in successive Tests. He also hit 12 sixes in the second innings in Rajkot, the joint-most in Test cricket history.

16th February-2024, Current Affairs:

• The Supreme Court on Friday struck down the electoral bonds scheme, which provides blanket anonymity to financial contributions to political parties, and amendments made to the law allowing rich corporations to make unlimited political donations “unconstitutional and manifestly arbitrary”. The apex court ordered the State of Bank of India to stop issuance of electoral bonds herewith.
• India's veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin became the fastest to claim 500 Test wickets for the country, as he dismissed England's Zak Crawley on Day 2 of the third Test in Rajkot today. R Ashwin became the ninth man, and only the second Indian, to the landmark of 500 Test wickets. He is also the second-fastest to achieve the feat, getting there in his 98th Test.

14th February-2024, Current Affairs:

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) temple, the first-ever Hindu temple in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
• Vasant Panchami and Saraswati Puja are being celebrated in different parts of the country today with religious fervor and traditional gaiety.
• The United Arab Emirates has launched the Falcon Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing open-source generative AI models.
• Dubai has inked agreements at the World Government Summit 2024 to launch the world's first air taxi service. The agreements pave the way for Dubai to pioneer the deployment of a city-wide electric aerial taxi service and vertiport network.

12th February-2024, Current Affairs:

• India's Unified Payment Interface (UPI) services has been rolled out in Sri Lanka and Mauritius. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President of Sri Lanka Ranil Wickremesinghe and Prime Minister of Mauritius Pravind Jugnauth witnessed the launch of UPI services in the island nations.
• Australia have won the Under 19 Men's ODI World Cup beating India by 79 runs in the final at Benoni in South Africa.

9th February-2024, Current Affairs:

• The Union Government today conferred India's highest civilian award Bharat Ratna on former Prime Ministers Chaudhary Charan Singh and PV Narasimha Rao and agricultural scientist MS Swaminathan, who is known for his leading role in India's 'Green Revolution', posthumously. Earlier, the government had announced Bharat Ratna for veteran BJP politician LK Advani and socialist icon and former Bihar Chief Minister Karpoori Thakur.
• Lok Sabha has passed the Finance Bill, 2024 by voice vote.
• Reserve Bank of India has kept repo rate unchanged at 6.5 percent for the sixth time in a row.

7th February-2024, Current Affairs:

• Uttarakhand has become the first state to pass the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) bill. UCC refers to a common set of laws that are applicable to all Indian citizens, and is not based on religion in dealing with marriage, divorce, inheritance, and adoption, among other personal matters.
• The Rajya Sabha has passed the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Amendment Bill, 2024. The Bill seeks to amend the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974.

6th February-2024, Current Affairs:

• The Lok Sabha has cleared the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Bill, 2024, which aims to address malpractices and irregularities in government recruitment exams by imposing strict penalties, including a maximum jail term of 10 years and a fine of up to Rs 1 crore.
• The Uttarakhand government introduced legislation on the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in the state Assembly today.

5th February-2024, Current Affairs:

• Varun Ghosh made history by becoming the first Indian-origin member of the Australian Senate. He is representing Western Australia for the Labor Party.
• Prominent Indian musicians Shankar Mahadevan and Zakir Hussain's fusion band Shakti bagged the prestigious Grammy award today. They clinched the award in Best Global Music Album category. Zakir Hussain also bagged the Grammy in Best Global Music Performance category for his contribution to Pashto alongside Bela Fleck and Edgar Meyer, featuring Rakesh Chaurasia.

3rd February-2024, Current Affairs:

• BJP leader LK Advani will be honoured with the Bharat Ratna, the country's highest civilian award. Mr LK Advani was first the Home Minister and later, the Deputy Prime Minister in the former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's cabinet from 1999 to 2004.
• Yashasvi Jaiswal became the third youngest Indian to hit double century in Test cricket. Jaiswal, who was unbeaten at 179, completed his feat in 277 balls on Day 2 in Vizag.

2nd February-2024, Current Affairs:

• Senior JMM leader Champai Soren was sworn in as the new Chief Minister of Jharkhand today. State Governor CP Radhakrishnan administered the oath of office and secrecy to Mr Champai Soren at Raj Bhawan in Ranchi.
• Indian Coast Guard celebrated its 48th Raising Day in New Delhi.

1st February-2024, Current Affairs:

• The Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister Smt Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Interim Union Budget for 2024-2025 in Parliament today. The fiscal deficit in 2024-25 is estimated to be 5.1 percent of GDP. This is in adherence to the path of fiscal consolidation to reduce the fiscal deficit below 4.5 percent by 2025-26.
• Former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren is arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on money laundering charges. He has been sent to judicial custody for one day.