NEWS 07-02-2024. News For 9th-Feb (Friday) Summary of January *International* 1.India is likely to resume Iran crude oil imports due to Houthi threat. Houthis are allies of Iran & therefore not likely to attack Iranian cargo. 2. China is requesting India to lift investment curbs, because of which China has incurred a loss of $8 billion. In response, India has stated that, *"India could ease its heightened scrutiny of Chinese investments if the two countries' border remained peaceful"*. 3. The Indian govt has supported Afghans in tackling *locusts problem*, by providing 40,000 liters of Malathion, an eco-friendly pesticide. 4. Switzerland and India have finalized a free trade agreement (FTA) after 16 years of negotiations. The agreement is expected to create jobs both in India & Switzerland. 5.American Aerospace firm Boeing announced the inauguration of its maiden Distribution Centre in Khurja, UP India. 6. India and Argentina have signed an agreement for India to acquire five lithium blocks in Argentina. 7. India and Saudi Arabia have signed a bilateral agreement under which New Delhi has been allocated a quota of 1 lakh 75 thousand pilgrims for the annual Haj pilgrimage in 2024. 8. Sri Lanka prohibited Chinese research vessel from docking at its ports or operating within its exclusive economic zone (EEZ) for a duration of one year. 9. BRICS membership has expanded to 10 countries.Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. *National* 1. The Govt has announced the *‘PM Suryodaya Yojana,’* targeting the installation of rooftop solar panels on one crore households. 2. *Ram Mandir* was inaugurated in Ayodhya on 22nd Jan. The event was attended by 7000 dignitaries. 3.*Karpoori Thakur,* a prominent Gandhian socialist leader and former Bihar chief minister was awarded the *‘Bharat Ratna’* posthumously. 4.According to NITI Ayog, almost 25 Crore people in India have escaped poverty in the last nine years. 5. PM Narendra Modi inaugurated *21.8 Km long, Atal Setu,* on 12th Jan, India’s longest bridge and a major infrastructure project for Mumbai. 6. ISRO successfully entered its Aditya L1 satellite into final orbit known as Halo Orbit at Lagrange point on 6th Jan 2024. 7. ONGC began its 'First Oil Production' from Deep-Water Block in Krishna-Godavari Basin on 7th Jan 2024. 8. Indore was ranked as India’s cleanest city for the 7th year in a row, in Swachh Survekshan Awards 2023. 9. The 10th Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit (VGGS) took place from January 10–12, 2024 in Gandhinagar, Gujarat. *Sports* 1. ICC declared Rohit sharma as *Captain of ODI team of the year.* 2. India’s Man Singh claimed the gold medal at the Asian Marathon Championships 2024 with a personal best timing of two hours 14 minutes and 19 seconds in Hong Kong. 3. India Chess Wizard Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa defeated World Chess Champion Ding Liren in the Tata Steel Masters in Netherlands. 4. India won the Cricket T20 series against Afganistan 3-0. 5. Cricketer Mohammed Shami, Chess player R Vaishali, Archers Ojas Pravin & Aditi Gopichand, Golfer Diksha Dagar, Kabaddi players Pawan Kumar and Ritu Negi received the Arjuna Award. The Arjuna Award is the second-highest sporting honour of India, the highest being the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award. 6. Indian men's hockey team midfielder Hardik Singh and women's Savita, won the FIH Player of the Year and Goalkeeper of the Year (women) awards respectively. *Defence* 1.Airbus of France & Tata Group, are Jointly going to Manufacture H125 Helicopters in India. 2.India is set to export the BrahMos missile systems to the Philippines, marking its largest-ever defense contract with a foreign nation. 3. Indian Navy received the first indigenous Hermes-900 UAV from Adani Defence and Aerospace. The Hermes 900 is a medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) drone manufactured by Adani in collaboration with Elbit Systems of Israel. 4. IISc has developed a CO2-Powered Cooling System for Ships and Submarines. This will reduce the Navy's environmental footprint. 5. DRDO has unveiled its *"Ugram"* rifle, which has been indigenously built in 100 days and has a 7.62mm caliber. Ugram is more powerful than India's current INSAS rifle. 6. Joint military exercise between India & UAE, *'Desert Cyclone'* was conducted in Rajasthan from Jan 02 to 15, 2024. 7. First all-girls Sainik School has been inaugurated at Vrindavan.Uttar Pradesh. 8. The financial year 2023 witnessed India's defence production crossing the historic 1 lakh crore threshold, reflecting a commendable surge in manufacturing output. < < Back