February

• AU Small Finance Bank (SFB)


  Appointed Harun Rasid Khan as part-time chairman
• Raj Vikash Verma has completed his tenure on 29 January, 2024 and will cease to be a part time chairman and independent director of the bank with immediate effect
• Harun Rasid Khan


  Independent Director (Non-Executive), assumed the position of Part Time Chairman of the Bank w.e.f. January 30, 2024 till completion of his 1st tenure as Independent Director of the Bank i.e. December 27, 2024
• The Ministry of Culture announced that India is nominating the 'Maratha Military Landscape' for inclusion in the UNESCO World Heritage List for the 2024-25 cycle, with a total of 12 components included in this nomination
• Suvarnadurg Fort is a part of the historic 'Maratha Military Landscape'
• 'Maratha Military Landscapes'


  • Represents extraordinary fortification and military system envisioned by the Maratha rulers, showcasing the vibrant history of India
  • Twelve components of this nomination are -- Salher fort, Shivneri fort, Lohgad, Khanderi fort, Raigad, Rajgad, Pratapgad, Suvarnadurg, Panhala fort, Vijay durg, and Sindhudurg in Maharashtra, and Gingee fort in Tamil Nadu
  • These twelve components are distributed across diverse geographical and physiographic regions and they shocase the strategic military powers of the Maratha rule in ancient India
• The government has appointed four members of the Sixteenth Finance Commission, with the approval of the President of India
• Former Secretary Ajay Narayan Jha, former Special Secretary, Expenditure Annie George Mathew, Executive Director, Artha Global Dr Niranjan Rajadhyaksha


  Appointed as full-time members
• Group Chief Economic Advisor of State Bank of India, Dr. Soumya Kanti Ghosh


  Appointed as part-time member
• The Sixteenth Finance Commission was constituted on 31st December with Arvind Panagariya, former Vice-Chairman, NITI Aayog as its Chairman
• The Sixteenth Finance Commission has been requested to make its recommendations available by October 31, 2025, covering an award period of 5 years commencing 1st of April, 2026
• Bangladesh has slipped by two positions in the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) 2023 of Berlin-based Transparency International (TI) to become the 10th most corrupt country in the world
• In the last decade, this is the worst performance of Bangladesh
• Bangladesh received a score of 24 out of 100 in the Corruption Perception Index 2023
• According to the CPI, Bangladesh's score fell from 25 in 2022 to 24 in 2023, which means the public sector is perceived to be more corrupt than it was a year ago
• The findings placed Denmark on top of the list as the least corrupt country with a score of 90 out of 100
• Finland is in second place with 87 and New Zealand is third with a score of 85
• Meanwhile, Somalia topped the list of corrupt countries with the lowest score of 11
• The ICG Day or Indian Coast Guard Day is celebrated on 01st February every year
• The Indian Coast Guard


  • A multi-mission organization, conducting round-the-year real-life operations at sea
  • The Nagchaudhuri Committee was formed with the participation of the Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force to analyze the problem
  • On the 18th of August,1978 the Indian Coast Guard was established officially and was declared by the Parliament of India by the Coast Guard Act, 1978
  • To provide non-military maritime services to the nation, the Indian Coast was created based on the ideas of the Indian Navy
• The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval for signing and ratification of the Bilateral Investment Treaty between the Government of the Republic of India and the Government of the United Arab Emirates
• Bilateral Investment Treaty


  Expected to improve the confidence of the investors, especially large investors, increasing Foreign Investments and Overseas Direct Investment (ODI) opportunities and this may have a positive impact on employment generation
• The approval is expected to increase investments in India and is likely to help in realizing the goal of Atmanirbhar Bharat by encouraging domestic manufacturing, reducing import dependence, increasing exports etc
• The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narender Modi approved extension of scheme of sugar subsidy for Antyodya Anna Yojna (AAY) families distributed through the Public Distribution Scheme (PDS) for two more years i.e. 31 March 2026
• Sugar subsidy scheme for AAY families

  Facilitates access of sugar to the poorest of the poor and adds energy to their diet so that their health improves<|>The Central Government gives subsidy of Rs.18.50 per kg per month of sugar to AAY families of participating States<|>The approval is expected to extend benefits of more than Rs.1850 crore during period of 15th Finance Commission (2020-21 to 2025-26)<|>The scheme is expected to benefit about 1.89 crores AAY families of the country
• Government of India is already giving free ration under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojna (PM-GKAY)
• Union Minister of Coal, Mines and Parliamentary Affairs Shri Pralhad Joshi launched a web portal of CMPFO namely C- CARES developed and designed by the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), an R&D organization under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology on 31st January, 2024
• Coal Mines Provident Fund Organization (CMPFO)


  • An autonomous organization under the aegis of the Ministry of Coal established in the year 1948 for administering Provident Fund and Pension schemes for the purpose of providing social security to the coal sector workers
  • The Organization is presently rendering services to about 3.3 lakh Provident Fund subscribers and 6.1 lakh pensioners of coal sector
• Union Minister of Coal, Mines and Parliamentary Affairs, Shri Pralhad Joshi inaugurated three initiatives being undertaken as Corporate Social Responsibility of Coal India Limited (CIL) in collaboration with Educational Consultants Limited (EDCIL), National Skill Development Corporation and TATA STRIVE on 31st January,2024
• The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between Coal India Limited (CIL) and Educational Consultants India Limited (EDCIL)aims to provide digital education through smart classrooms and computer laboratory up to 12th standard schools in Coal Bearing States
• The Interim Union Budget for the financial year 2024-25 was tabled in the Parliament by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman
• Budget 2024


  • Focused on fiscal consolidation, infra, agri, green growth, and railways
  • No changes were made in the tax rates, which was a disappointment to salaried individuals
  • The Fiscal Deficit target for FY25 was set at 5.1 percent of the GDP, better than expected, while the FY24 target was also revised down to 5.8 percent
  • The capex target of FY25 was increased by 11.1 percent to ₹11.1 lakh crore
  • Key features of the budget are a focus on infrastructure, tourism, logistics, and innovation in research
  • All these measures will bring continuous sustainable growth to the economy
  • This shows the continued commitment of the existing government to move towards bringing fiscal prudence and reaching the targeted fiscal deficit of 4.5 percent of GDP by FY26
• The fourth Foreign Office Consultations between India and Portugal was held in New Delhi, with a focus on political relations, deepening of trade and investment, cooperation in defence, science and technology, and energy
• External Affairs Ministry said both sides stressed on early implementation of the pilot project on the Recruitment of Indian Citizens to work in the Portuguese Republic, as well as the holding of the first India - Portugal Consular Dialogue
• Discussions were also held on the joint commemoration of the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations in 2025
• Both sides reviewed the ongoing cooperation between India and Portugal on the development of the Maritime Heritage Complex in Gujarat's Lothal
• The Consultations were co-chaired by Secretary (West) in the Ministry of External Affairs, Sanjay Verma and the Director General for Foreign Policy, in the Portuguese Foreign Affairs Ministry, Ambassador Rui Vinhas
• Defence Secretary Giridhar Aramane co-chaired the 12th Joint Military Cooperation Committee meeting with the Secretary-General, Ministry of Defence, Oman Mohammed Bin Naseer Bin Ali Al Zaabi in Muscat
• India-Oman defence cooperation


  • Both sides reviewed and appreciated the robust defence cooperation between India and Oman
  • The meeting delved into many new areas of cooperation in the fields of training, Joint exercise, Information sharing, Oceanography, and Ship Building that would build mutual trust and interoperability between militaries of both nations
  • They also exchanged views on regional and global issues of shared interest
  • Both sides discussed effective and practical initiatives to further boost bilateral defence engagements with a focus on defence industry collaboration
• World Wetlands Day is celebrated on 2nd February every year