Daily Current Affairs Quiz: Feb 28, 2023

Army Chief General Manoj Pande released a book ‘Savdhaan: A chronicle of Central Command’ in Delhi.

The book, authored by Lt Gen Vivek Kashyap, chief of staff Central Command, and Vikram D Souza documents the proud heritage and defining transitions which have shaped the
evolution of Central Command, also known as Surya Command. The book has been designed and produced by Times of India Group.

General Pande complimented the Central Command for the excellent compilation with deep research and a creative presentation.

Lt Gen Yogendra Dimri, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Central Command, described the chronicle as a tribute to the gallant warriors of the Surya Command, past and present, who have contributed to its glory and current stature as a
deeply revered and professional fighting force.

Pfizer Limited announced that its Board of Directors has appointed Meenakshi Nevatia as an Additional Director and the Managing Director for a period of five years with effect from 3rd April 2023. She succeeds S.Sridhar, who announced his early retirement in August 2022.

Meenakshi is a seasoned leader with nearly 30 years of business leadership and consulting experience with top companies such as Mckinsey and Co., Novartis Pharmaceuticals and more recently with Stryker Corporation. Meenakshi has worked in over 8 countries (developed and emerging) and
has held several General Management roles across multiple markets such as Thailand, Spain (Iberia) and India.

Meenakshi received her Bachelor’s in Science (Economics) from Presidency College, Kolkata, and completed her Post Graduate Diploma in Management from the highly acclaimed Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA).

Dr K Govindaraj has been nominated as FIBA (Fédération Internationale de Basketball) Asia president, becoming the first Indian to attain the post. He is currently president of the Basketball Federation of India and member of the Karnataka Legislative Council.

He is expected to take over as FIBA Asia president in a few weeks. The decision was taken unanimously by the 44 federations under FIBA Asia.

Dr Govindaraj said it is an honour to take over the post. He has been working in the field of basketball since the last 50 years, making efforts to ensure that basketball as a sport is given the importance it deserves in India.

Speaker Lok Sabha, Shri Om Birla, arrived here at the premises of Sikkim Legislative Assembly to inaugurate the 19th Annual Conference of Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CCPA).

The Speaker was accorded a warm welcome by Chief Minister, Shri Prem Singh Tamang , Sikkim Legislative Assembly (SLA) Speaker, Shri Arun Upreti and SLA Deputy Speaker, Shri Sangay Lepcha. Speaker Lok Sabha was accorded a Guard of Honour
from SAP guards in the precinct of Sikkim Legislative Assembly at Nam Nang.

The CPA India Region has membership of 31 Legislatures throughout India. In addition, the CPA is divided into four zones and Sikkim comes under Zone 3 which comprises of Legislatures from Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura.

Edelweiss General Insurance has rebranded itself as Zuno General Insurance Limited (Zuno GI), which, it says, is a new age digital insurer with an aspiration to reimagine and redefine Insurance to make it easy, friendly, and transparent.

“The name brings alive the company’s passion, enthusiasm, and singular focus on providing customers with the most convenient and hassle-free experience powered by tech that’s responsive and intuitive. The name and identity represents the young, innovative, approachable, digital native and upbeat
personality of the brand and resonates with the Millennial and GenZ audience.

Prolific Kannada writer, Dr. KV Tirumalesh passed away in Hyderabad.

Noted Kannada writer KV Tirumalesh (82) passed away on Monday in Hyderabad. He was suffering from age related ailments. He is regarded as one of the most versatile writers across genres and is known to be a man of eclectic interests.

Although primarily recognized as a poet and awarded the Sahitya Akademi Award for his innovative works renewable poetry – “a tall tale without story or purpose” as he described it – he wrote widely in all genres, including plays, short stories, novels, translations and criticism.

Born in 1940 at Karadaka village in Kasaragod district (presently in Kerala), he was a linguist who trained and taught at the English and Foreign Languages ​​University (EFLU), Hyderabad. He also taught for a short time at the University of Iowa, United States and in Yemen.

NASA announced on Tuesday that it will launch Israel’s first space telescope mission, the Ultraviolet Transient Astronomy Satellite (ULTRASAT). As an ultraviolet observatory with a large field of view, ULTRASAT will investigate the secrets of short-duration events in the universe, such as supernova explosions and mergers of neutron stars.
Led by the Israel Space Agency and Weizmann Institute of Science, ULTRASAT is planned for launch into geostationary orbit around Earth in early 2026.

In addition to providing the launch service, NASA will also participate in the mission’s science program.

Putin announced Tuesday he is suspending Moscow’s participation in New START, a strategic nuclear arms reduction treaty, the last remaining nuclear arms reduction deal between the U.S. and Russia. It limits each side to 1,550 long-range nuclear warheads.

Biden is ending his trip to Ukraine and Poland Wednesday with a final emphasis on the strength of the NATO alliance, which has stood up to Putin.

Former bureaucrat Shailesh Pathak has been appointed as the new secretary-general of Ficci, the industry association said on Monday. Pathak will take charge on March 1.

“In a career spanning 37 years, Pathak has spent time in the government as an IAS Officer as well as helmed large companies in the private sector. His extensive international exposure includes an Eisenhower Fellowship in 2000 as an emerging Indian Leader, an EU Visitor Programme hosted by the
European Commission 2003, and a Chevening scholarship at the University of Oxford in 2011,” Ficci stated.

Meg Lanning’s champion Australian side have won another global crown, successfully defending their women’s T20 World Cup title with an emphatic 19-run victory over hosts South Africa in Cape Town.

The all-conquering Australians again lead the selections in the women’s T20 World Cup team of the tournament with four players achieving the feat.

Beth Mooney’s unbeaten 53-ball 74 did the most to put pressure on the South Africans in their first women’s or men’s World Cup final appearance, as the Australians, after winning the toss and choosing to bat, amassed 6-156 at Newlands.

Player of the tournament Ashleigh Gardner heads the field, while it marks a third successive T20 World Cup team of the tournament selection for Alyssa Healy dating back to the 2018 tournament, while Megan Schutt was also named following the
2020 tournament in Australia.

A robot elephant, Raman, will be offered to the Lord at Sree Krishna Temple near Irinjalakuda in the Thrissur district of Kerela for ‘Nadayiruthal’ ceremony on 26 February, reportedly for the first time in the State.
Elephants are the main vehicle in temple festivals.

It is also customary to bless the devotees who visit the temple with an elephant. Especially in Kerala, due to the large number of elephants, special festivals are held with them.

Nadayiruthal ceremony is the ritual where elephants are offered before the presiding deities of the temples. From that day onwards the elephant becomes the property of that temple.
The robot elephant, which was contributed by a group of devotees of the temple, operates on five motors.

It was manufactured by the four sculptors namely Prashanth, Santo, Jinesh and Robin, natives of Chalakudy. The robotic elephant with the height of 11ft and weight 800kg has been made using an iron frame with rubber coating.
“This elephant has been designed in such a way that it can swing its tails and ears just like the living ones.

Shyam Srinivasan, MD and CEO of the Federal bank, inaugurated the solar facility and
called it an important turning point in the organization’s sustainable path
▪ This programme is in keeping to supporting sustainable energy and decreasing our
carbon footprint.
▪ The bank’s solar plant installations now have a 300 KWp combined capacity, which will
result in a 20% reduction in energy use.

▪The arrangement will leverage Karnataka Bank’s low cost of funds and its end-to-end digital capabilities and Paisalo to help the sourcing, servicing, and recovery of small-ticket
priority sector loans
▪ Mahabaleshwara MS, Managing Director, and Chief Executive Officer of the bank informed that the Co-lending model is one of the innovative avenues of lending to the
priority sector.

▪ It will cover a distance of 3,200 km in over 50 days before reaching Dibrugarh on the 28th
February via Patna Sahib, Bodh Gaya, Vikramshila, Dhaka, the Sunderbans and the
Kaziranga national park.
▪ It is built with a unique design and a futuristic vision, three decks and 18 suites on board
with a capacity of 36 tourists.