Current affairs 22 February 2023

India win two Gold Medals in Shooting at ISSF World Cup, Egypt.

• India has won two gold medals in the 10m Air Rifle Mixed team and 10m Air Pistol Mixed team at the ongoing ISSF Shooting World Cup, Cairo in Egypt.
• Indian 10m Air Rifle Mixed team of Narmada Nithin Raju and Rudrankksh Balasaheb Patil defeated Hungary’s Eszter Denes and Istvan Peni by 16-6 to bag the top spot on the podium.
• While the 10m Air Pistol Mixed team of Rhythm Sangwan and Varun Tomar won gold.

Ladakh sets Guinness world record for 21-km long frozen lake marathon.

• Ladakh has created history by successfully conducting its maiden 21-km trail running event in sub-zero temperature at 13,862 feet high Pangong Tso.
• It was registered in the Guinness world record as the world’s highest frozen lake half marathon.
• The four-hour-long marathon started from Lukung and ended at Maan village.
• Five energy stations, consisting of energy drinks, medical teams, oxygen support, and mobile ambulances were set up along the route.

Government appoints BVR Subrahmanyam as the new CEO of Niti Aayog.

• The government has approved the appointment of an IAS officer of the 1987 batch of the Chhattisgarh cadre, BVR Subrahmanyam as the CEO of NITI Aayog.
• He would succeed Parameswaran Iyer, who has been appointed as executive director of the World Bank for a period of two years.
• Earlier, he served as the chief secretary of Jammu and Kashmir and Additional Chief Secretary (Home) in Chhattisgarh.
• He also served as private secretary to then PM Manmohan Singh from 2004 to 2008.

India to host Permanent Mission Roundtables at UN as G- 20 chair.

• India will host the Permanent Mission Roundtables at United Nations Head Quarter as Chair of G- 20 and ahead of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Summit 2023 to be held in New York.
• A roundtable titled Gandhian Trusteeship: A panel discussion on Sustainable Lifestyles and Enduring Pace will be held on the 23rd of February 2023.
• Focus: India’s growth story and achievements and how these might be scaled for the potential benefit of the global South.

PM Modi, Singapore counterpart launch real-time payment systems linkage.

• Indian PM Narendra Modi and Singapore's PM Lee Hsien Loong witnessed the launch of the cross-border linkage between UPI and PayNow.
• The launch was done by RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das and MD of the Monetary Authority of Singapore Ravi Menon.
• It enables residents of both countries to transfer cross-border remittances faster and more cost-efficient.
• It will also help the Indian diaspora in Singapore to transfer money from Singapore to India and vice-versa.