Current Affairs One - Liner : 7th February 2024

• National:
• The Election Commission of India has declared the faction led by Ajit Pawar as the “real” Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and has allotted the NCP symbol ‘Wall Clock’ to this group. This decision ended months of speculation over the factional fight with his party founder and uncle, Sharad Pawar.

• The EdCIL Vidyanjali Scholarship Programme was launched by Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan for students from Navodaya Vidyalayas. It aims to ensure that financial constraints do not hinder the educational aspirations of India’s youth. The programme is aligned with the National Education Policy 2020 and emphasizes corporate social responsibility (CSR) and philanthropy.
• The Government of India launched ‘Bharat Rice’ at a subsidized rate of Rs 29 per kg on February 6, 2024. This initiative was taken in response to a 15% increase in retail rice prices over the past year. It’s available in 5 kg and 10 kg packs through NAFED, NCCF, and Kendriya Bhandar.
• The ‘Deenbandhu Chhotu Ram Thermal Power Plant’ in Yamunanagar, with a capacity of 800MW, was approved by the Haryana government on February 6, 2024. The project, costing 6,900 crore rupees, is expected to be completed in 57 months. It will have an ultra-supercritical unit for efficient power generation and pollution control devices.
• The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Amendment Bill, 2024, passed by the Rajya Sabha on February 6, 2024, amends the 1974 Act. It decriminalizes several violations, imposes penalties, and allows certain exemptions. It also changes the rules for the appointment of the chairman of State Pollution Control Boards and introduces penalties for tampering with monitoring devices.
• India’s first digital National Museum of Epigraphy was inaugurated in Hyderabad on February 5, 2024. The museum, housed in the Salar Jung Museum, will display over one lakh inscriptions preserved by the Archaeological Survey of India. It aims to shed light on India’s history and culture through these inscriptions.
• The “Dhami against drugs campaign” was officially launched by Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami. This campaign was run by Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha Metropolitan Dehradun from February 5 to February 10. On the occasion of the launch, the Chief Minister also released T-shirts and posters related to the campaign.
• International:
• The Iranian government has implemented a visa-free policy for Indian tourists from February 4, 2024. This allows Indian nationals with ordinary passports to enter Iran without a visa for tourism purposes, once every six months, for a maximum stay of 15 days. The policy applies only to air border entries.
• Science & Technology:
• A new species of frog, named Sphaerotheca Varshaabhu, has been discovered in the urban landscape of Bengaluru, Karnataka. The name ‘Varshaabhu’ signifies a genus of frog that welcomes rain, which is attributed to its behavior of emerging from burrows during the early showers. This newly discovered amphibian exhibits distinctive characteristics that set it apart from known frog species.
• NASA! discovered a "super-Earth," aptly named TOI-715 b, lurking 137 light-years away. This rocky giant, about 1.5 times Earth's size, orbits within the sweet spot of its star's habitable zone, where temperatures could allow liquid water to exist on its surface – a key ingredient for life as we know it. While TOI-715 b circles a cooler, smaller red dwarf star compared to our Sun, the closer proximity within the habitable zone still offers promise.
• IIT Kanpur developed and tested India’s first Hypervelocity Expansion Tunnel Test Facility, named S2 or ‘Jigarthanda’, on February 5, 2024. This facility can simulate hypersonic conditions for various applications, including ISRO and DRDO missions.
• Defence:
• On 5th February 2024, IIT Madras and Munitions India Limited partnered to develop India’s first indigenous 155mm guided smart ammunition. The aim is to improve the accuracy and range of existing artillery gun shells, with a target Circular Error Probable (CEP) of 10m. The smart ammunition will be designed for use on 39 and 45-caliber 155mm artillery guns and will utilize advanced technologies such as miniaturized electronics, sensors, and mechanical structures.
• Appointments:
• Mio Oka was appointed as the new Country Director for India by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on 5th February 2024. She will lead the implementation of ADB’s country partnership strategy for 2023–2027. Ms. Oka has almost three decades of professional experience, including over 18 years with ADB.
• Olzhas Bektenov was appointed as the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on February 6, 2024. He previously served as the head of the President’s Executive Office and led the country’s anti-corruption agency. His appointment followed the dismissal of the previous cabinet due to their failure to control inflation and improve infrastructure.
• Shri Vivek Kumar Gupta, an IRSE officer, took over as the Managing Director of the National High-Speed Rail Corporation Ltd (NHSRCL) on February 5th, 2024. He previously served as the Principal Executive Director/Gati-Shakti at the Railway Board and as Chief Engineer at Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation (MRVC).
• Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak, who has served as the former Yemeni ambassador to the US and is widely viewed as a fierce opponent of the Houthi rebels, has been appointed as the new Prime Minister of Yemen. He replaced Maeen Abdulmalik Saeed, who was Yemen’s premier since 2018.
• Obituaries:
• Farooq Nazki, a renowned Kashmiri poet and broadcaster, passed away at the age of 83. He was battling several health issues, including lung and kidney complications.

Questions:

Q.1 What is the name of the “super-Earth” discovered by NASA?
a. TOI-715 a
b. TOI-715 b
c. TOI-715 c
d. TOI-715 d
Q.2 Who was appointed as the new Country Director for India by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on 5th February 2024?
a. Mio Oka
b. John Doe
c. Jane Smith
d. Satoshi Nakamoto