PM Modi Addressed ‘Viksit Bharat Viksit Chhattisgarh’: Launched Projects Worth Over Rs 34,400 Cr in ChhattisgarhOn 24th February 2024, Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi virtually addressed the ‘Viksit Bharat Viksit Chhattisgarh’ programme. During the event, He inaugurated, dedicated to the nation and laid the foundation stone of several development projects worth Rs 34,400 crore in Chhattisgarh.

• Major sectors that benefited from the projects include power, coal, roads, railroads, and solar energy.

i.PM Modi dedicated the Lara Super Thermal Power Project, Stage-I (2×800 MW(megawatt)) of NTPC Limited (formerly known as National Thermal Power Corporation) in Raigarh district of Chhattisgarh, to the nation.
ii.PM Modi inaugurated three key First Mile Connectivity (FMC) projects of South Eastern Coalfields Limited(SECL) built at a total cost of more than Rs 600 crores.
iii.Solar Energy Corporation of India Limited (SECI) has commissioned India’s largest Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) that stores energy using solar energy in Rajnandgaon, Chhattisgarh.

• PM Modi inaugurated SECI’s 100MW(megawatts) Alternating current (AC) Solar photovoltaic (PV) project with 40 MW/ 120MWh (megawatt hours) BESS on 24th February 2024.

About Chhattisgarh:
Chief Minister– Vishnu Deo Sai
Governor– Biswabhusan Harichandan
National Park– Indravati (Kutru) National Park; Kanger Valley National Park
Wildlife Sanctuary– Badalkhol Wildlife Sanctuary; Barnawapara Wildlife Sanctuary

Overview of Maharashtra MSME Defense Expo 2024 held in PuneMaharashtra MSME (Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises) Defence Expo 2024 was held at the Pune International Exhibition and Convention Center (PIECC) in Pune, Maharashtra from 24th to 26th February 2024.

• The theme of the 2024 expo is “Inspire : Learn : Engage”.
• Organisers: Government of Maharashtra and Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC).

Highlights:
i.During the MSME defence Expo 2024, DRDO handed over 23 Licensing Agreements for Transfer of Technology (LATOT) to 22 industries in various domains such as electronics, laser technology, combat vehicles, naval systems, and aeronautics.
ii.During the 2024 expo, the MoUs were signed between the Maharashtra Govt and Max Aerospace and Aviation Pvt Ltd, SBL Energy Ltd, as well as collaboration between Nibe Ltd and Munitions India Limited.
About Munitions India Limited (MIL):
Chairman & Managing Director– Ravi Kant (Maheshwari)
Headquarters– Pune, Maharashtra
Establishment– 2021

Highlights of PM Modi’s Visit to Jammu and Kashmir on 20th February 2024Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi visited Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) on 20th February 2024. During his visit, he inaugurated, dedicated to the nation and laid the foundation stone of projects worth Rs 32,000 crore during the event held at Maulana Azad Stadium in Jammu(J&K).

• The project related to several sectors including health, education, rail, road, aviation, petroleum, and civic infrastructure, among others.

Highlights: 
i.PM Modi Inaugurated All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Vijaypur (Samba), Jammu (J&K).
ii.He dedicated to the nation the campuses of various education institutes.
iii.He laid the foundation stone of the new terminal building of Jammu Airport.
iv.He also laid the foundation stone of various road and rail projects in J&K.
About Jammu and Kashmir(J&K):
Lieutenant Governor- Manoj Sinha
National Park– City forest (Salim Ali) National Park
Wildlife Sanctuary– Lachipora Wildlife Sanctuary; Limber Wildlife Sanctuary

PM Modi Inaugurated & Laid Foundation Stone for Over 2000 Railway Infra Projects Worth Around Rs 41,000 CrPrime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi virtually inaugurated, laid the foundation stone and dedicated to the nation over 2000 railway infrastructure projects worth around Rs 41,000 crores.
i.PM laid the foundation stone for the redevelopment of 553 railway stations spread across 27 States and Union Territories (UTs) under the Amrit Bharat scheme.
ii.PM Modi laid the foundation stone, inaugurated and dedicated to the nation 1500 Road Over Bridges and Underpasses spread across 24 States and UTs.
About Ministry of Railways:
Union Minister– Ashwini Vaishnaw (Rajya Sabha- Odisha)
Ministers of State– Danve Raosaheb Dadarao (Constituency- Jalna, Maharashtra); Darshana Vikram Jardosh (Constituency: Surat, Gujarat)

Ministry of AYUSH & MoWCD Signed MoU for Nutritional Improvement in Adolescent Girls through Ayurveda InterventionsOn February 26, 2024, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Ministry of Ayush and Ministry of Women and Child Development (MoWCD) for the nutritional improvement in adolescent girls through Ayurveda Interventions.
Key People:
i.The MoU was signed in the presence of Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, Ministry of Ayush and Union Minister Smriti Irani, MoWCD during the event held at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi, Delhi.
ii.Prof. Ravi Narayan Acharya, Director General, CCRAS; Dr Rajeev Bahl, DG ICMR; among others were present during the event.
Note: Ayush is an acronym for Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy
About MoU:
Implementation:
i.This Joint Public Health Initiative aims to combat anaemia among adolescent girls (14-18 years)  in five districts under Mission Utkarsh, using Ayurveda interventions.
ii.The 5 districts are Assam–Dhubri, Chhattisgarh- Bastar, Jharkhand – Paschimi Singhbhum, Maharashtra – Gadchiroli, and Rajasthan – Dhaulpur.

• Notably, anaemia prevalence is around 69.5% in these districts.

iii.Coordianting agency: Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences (CCRAS).
iv.The project will be executed by Central Ayurveda Research Institute (CARI), Guwahati, Assam; All India Institute for Ayurveda (AIIA), New Delhi; CARI, Bhubaneshwar, Odisha; Regional Ayurveda Research Institute, Nagpur, Maharashtra; and National Institute Ayurveda (NIA), Jaipur, Rajasthan.

• The Public Health Foundation of India’s IIPH (Indian Institute of Public Health), Delhi, will assess project outcomes.

v.The project is jointly funded by Ministry of AYUSH and MoWCD.
Note: Mission Utkarsh was launched in 2022 with an aim to achieve the national average of the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) in the aspirational districts.
Benefits:
i.This will benefit over 94,000 adolescent girls registered at 10,000 Anganwadi Centres over 12 months.
ii.Ayurvedic medicines (Drakshavaleha and Punarnavadi mandoor) will be provided for 3 months to improve nutrition and health of anaemic girls.
Additional info:
WCD will also take up a joint venture with Ministry of Ayush and Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), for effective interventions like Yoga in Polycystic Ovarian Disease (PCOD) among adolescent girls.
About Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR):
ICMR is the apex body in India for the formulation, coordination and promotion of biomedical research.
Government of India established the Indian Research Fund Association (IRFA) in 1911 which was redesignated as the ICMR in 1949.
Director General– Dr Rajiv Bahl
Headquarters– New Delhi, Delhi

ECI signed MoU with IBA & DoP for Electoral Awareness ahead of Lok Sabha PollsOn February 26, 2024, the Election Commission of India (ECI) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) and the Department of Posts (DoP) under the Ministry of Communications to boost voter outreach before the upcoming Lok Sabha (LS) polls.
This initiative extends ECI’s ongoing efforts to enhance electoral awareness nationwide.
Key People:
The MoU was signed in the presence of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar and Election Commissioner (EC) Arun Goel; Vineet Pandey Secretary, DoP;  Sunil Mehta, Chief Executive, IBA, among others.
What is in the MoU?
i.Under this MoU, the members and affiliated institutions of IBA and DoP will support the promotion of voter education and employ various interventions to empower citizens with knowledge about their electoral rights.
ii.Voter education messages will be displayed on websites and through various channels like social media.
iii.Posters, flex, and hoardings with Voter education messages will be displayed at office premises.
iv.Voter Awareness Fora will be established at all member institutions under IBA and DoP to engage employees and customers in discussions related to voter education.
v.Training on Systematic Voters’ Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP), flagship program of the Election Commission of India (ECI) for voter education, will be integrated into regular orientation programs of employees of IBA & DoP.
vi.DoP will use special cancellation stamp (bearing voter education messages) on the postal articles.
About Indian Banks’ Association (IBA):
IBA, established on 26th September 1946,  is an association of Indian banks and financial institutions.
Chief Executive– Sunil Mehta
Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra

MoPSW & IIM Shillong Partners to Set Up India’s First ‘Gati Shakti Research Chair’
The Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways (MoPSW) and the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Shillong has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to set up India’s first ‘Gati Shakti Research Chair’ in Shillong, Meghalaya.

• The chair aims to drive high-quality academic research in the field of multimodal logistics, with a special emphasis on the development of the North-Eastern Region (NER) of India.
• The chair also aims to promote collaboration with global experts and supports multimodal logistics research activities.
• The MoU signing ceremony was attended by Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, MoPSW.

MoF recognised Akasa Air as A Designated Indian Carrier
The Ministry of Finance (MoF) has recognised Mumbai (Maharashtra) based SNV Aviation Private Limited (Akasa Air) as a ‘designated Indian carrier’, facilitating the carrier’s international flights.

• The recognition was granted in the exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (5) of section 5 of the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956.
• The recognition allows Akasa Air to purchase tax-free aviation turbine fuel for its international flights.
• Akasa Air announced its first international flight between Mumbai and Doha from March 28, 2024. Making the first Indian airline to take to global skies within 19 months of commencing its operations (August 2022).

RBI imposed Penalty of Rs.3 Cr of SBI, CUB, Canara Bank & Ocean Capital Market
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed penalties of over Rs 3 crore on the State Bank of India (SBI), Canara Bank, City Union Bank Limited (CUB) and Ocean Capital Market Limited for violation of regulatory norms.

• Mumbai (Maharashtra) based SBI was fined Rs 2 crore for contravening certain norms related to the Depositor Education and Awareness Fund Scheme, 2014.
• A penalty of Rs 16 lakh was imposed on Rourkela (Odisha) based Ocean Capital Market for breaching certain provisions related to Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs).
• Bengaluru (Karnataka) based Canara Bank was penalized Rs 32.30 lakh for non-compliance with specific directions issued by the RBI.
• Kumbakonam (Tamil Nadu) headquartered CUB was fined Rs 66 lakh for non-compliance with RBI’s directions on income recognition, asset classification, and provisioning pertaining to advances, and Know Your Customer (KYC) norms.

Vijay Shekhar Sharma resigns as Paytm Payments Bank Chairman: PPBL’s Board RejigsVijay Shekhar Sharma, the founder and Chief Executive Officer(CEO) of Paytm Payments Bank Limited (PPBL), resigned as part-time non-executive chairman and board member of PPBL.
i.The resignation is in line with PPBL’s aim of making a Board with only independent directors (ID) and executive directors (ED).
ii.Thereby OCL also withdrew its nominee from the PPBL.
Reason for the Reshuffle:
The Board of PPBL, a subsidiary of One 97 Communications Limited (OCL), underwent major changes in an attempt to prevent its liquidation on account of continuous non-compliance with regulatory norms.

• The move is the aftermath of a series of measures imposed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), including an order for PPBL to wind down operations by 15th March 2024.

Appointments:
PPBL has reconstituted its Board of Directors (BoD) with the appointment of four new IDs namely,
i.Srinivasan Sridhar: 

• He served as Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of the Central Bank of India (CBI) in 2011.
• He is currently serving as an ID on the boards of various companies including DCB Bank Ltd. and Binani Cements Ltd.

ii.Ashok Kumar Garg: He is a retired ED of the Bank of Baroda(2018).
iii.Debendranath Sarangi: 

• He is a retired Indian Administrative Service (IAS – 1977 batch) officer of the Tamil Nadu cadre.
• He is currently serving as an ID on the boards of several companies

iv.Rajni Sekhri Sibal: 

• Rajni Sekhri Sibal is also a retired IAS officer of the Haryana cadre (1986 batch).
• She currently serves as an Independent External Monitor in the public sector and as an independent director in corporations.

Additional Info:
i.The BoD is a group of individuals elected by the shareholders of a company to oversee the company’s management and to provide a strategic direction.
ii.PPBL board already consists of Arvind Kumar Jain (Independent Director), former ED of Punjab & Sind Bank and Surinder Chawla is serving PPBL as Managing Director (MD) & CEO.

HDFC Bank receives RBI approval for sale of 90.01% stake in HDFC CredilaReserve Bank of India (RBI), has approved HDFC Bank Limited to sell 90.01% of issued and paid-up share capital in HDFC Credila Financial Services Limited (HDFC Credila), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the HDFC Bank. HDFC Bank will retain a 9.99% stake in HDFC Credila.
Key Points:
i.The move comes after the request made by HDFC Credila in February 2024.
ii.The approval was granted by RBI under Chapter VI of the Master Direction – RBI (Non-Banking Financial Company – Scale Based Regulation) Directions, 2023.
iii.This move aligns with the RBI mandate made in April 2023, which instructs HDFC to reduce its holding in Credila to below 10% within two years of its merger with HDFC Bank.
Note: 
HDFC Credila provides education loans for higher studies in India and abroad.
Background:
i.In June 2023, HDFC Limited, HDFC Bank, and HDFC Credila declared their proposal to sell a substantial stake in HDFC Credila to a consortium of private equity firms including Kopvoorn BV, a part of  BPEA EQT (earlier known as Barings Private Equity Asia) and ChrysCapital at a transaction value of Rs 9,060 crore.
ii.In July 2023, HDFC Ltd was amalgamated with HDFC Bank.
About the Firms:
i.BPEA EQT: BPEA Private Equity Fund VIII managed by EQT AB, is the Netherlands-incorporated company, part of the global EQT investment group.
ii.ChrysCapital : Moss Investments Limited (Moss), Infinity Partners (Infinity), and Defati Investments Holding B.V. (Defati) are collectively known as ChrysCapital Acquirers.

Archery Asia Cup 2024 Stage I: India Wins 14 Medals India Wins 14 Medals Indian archers won 14 medals (9 golds, 4 silvers, and 1 bronze) at stage I of the Archery Asia Cup 2024, held from 20th to 25th February 2024 in Baghdad, Iraq.
Highlights:
i.India clinched the gold medal in all the individual events including recurve(men & women) and compound(men & women) events.
ii.India’s Deepika Kumari won the gold medal by defeating SimranjeetKaur(India) in the women’s individual recurve category.
iii.In the recurve men’s individual event, India’s Dhiraj Bommadevara won the Gold medal by defeating Tarundeep Rai(India) in the finals.
iv.In the men’s compound event, India’s Prathamesh Samadhan Jawkar won the gold medal by defeating Kushal Dalal (India) in the finals.
v.India’s Parneet Kaur clinched the gold medal by defeating Fatemeh Hemmati(Iran) in the finals of the women’s individual compound event.
List of Indian Medal Winners:

‘Fool Bahadur’: First Magahi Novel Translated to English by Abhay K
Lieutenant Governor (LG) of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), Manoj Sinha along with Ajay Singh, Press Secretary to the President of India, Ajay Singh, and Principal Secretary to the Govt. of Bihar, S Siddharth have launched English edition of ‘Fool Bahadur’, the first ever novel to be translated from Magahi language to English.

• The book was translated by Indian poet-diplomat, editor and translator Abhay K.
• The book was published by Penguin Random House India.
• It was initially authored by Jayanath Pati in 1928 in Magahi.
• The book was launched in Patna (Bihar) at the 4th edition of Grand Trunk Road Initiatives (2024).

Note – Previously, Abhay K was awarded the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Literary Award 2013 and the Kalinga Literary Festival (KLF) Poetry Book of the Year Award 2020-2021.

World NGO Day 2024– February 27World Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) Day is annually observed across the globe on 27 February to recognise, celebrate, and honour all non-governmental and nonprofit organisations that contribute to society all year round.

• The Day also acknowledges the selfless contributions of volunteers supporting these organisations and recognises the missions and contributions of such organisations.

The theme for World NGO Day 2024 is “Building a Sustainable Future: The Role of NGOs in Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)”.
Points to note:
i.27 February 2024 marks the observance of the 11th edition of World NGO Day.
ii.The first global inaugural event of World NGO Day was hosted by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland on 27 February 2014 in Helsinki, Finland.
About Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS):
It is an intergovernmental organisation that promotes cooperation and trust among the countries surrounding the Baltic Sea Region (BSR).
Presidency– Finnish Presidency (2023-2024)
Headquarters– Stockholm Sweden
Established in– 1992
Members- Consisting of 11 members: 10 member states plus the EU.

National Protein Day 2024 – February 27National Protein Day is annually observed across the globe on 27 February to raise awareness about the health benefits of protein in our diets.

• The Day also emphasises the importance of protein in our diets for development and promotes the diverse options available to meet protein needs.

The theme of World Protein Day 2024 is “Solve With Protein“.

• 27 February 2024 marks the observance of the 5th National Protein Day in India.