CURRENT AFFAIRS OF 22nd FEBRUARY, 2023

CURRENT AFFAIRS OF  22^nd FEBRUARY, 2023

1. Every year on 22 February World Thinking Day is observed by the World Organization of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS). The theme of World Thinking Day 2023 is “Our World, Our Peaceful Future”. 
2. World Scout Day is observed annually on 22 February by millions of Boy Scouts worldwide to honour the loyalty and enthusiasm portrayed by the scouts.
3. The Taj Mahotsav was officially launched on 20 February, 2023 in Agra by Yogendra Upadhyay, Minister of Higher Education for the state of Uttar Pradesh.
4. India’s first Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) Framework was launched in Puducherry as a part of a pact under the Indo-Norway Integrated Ocean Initiative to balance development with sustainable management of marine resources and coastal environment protection.  
5. The 49^th edition of International Khajuraho Dance Festival 2023 for seven-days began on 20 February 2023, at the world-famous tourist destination of Khajuraho in Madhya Pradesh.
6. Bank of Maharashtra (BoM) has emerged as the top performer among state-owned lenders in terms of loan growth percentage during the third quarter of 2022-23, an analysis of the latest financial results of public sector banks showed.
7. According to a latest report by specialist in geolocation technologies TomTom, Bengaluru’s traffic has made it the second slowest place to drive through in the world in 2022.
8. The Central Water Commission (CWC), Department of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation, Ministry of Jal Shakti entered into a Memorandum of Agreement for development of International Centre of Excellence for Dams (ICED) under externally funded Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project Phase II and Phase III.  
9. The first nuclear power plant in North India will be built in Gorakhpur, Fatehabad district, Haryana, according to Union Minister Jitendra Singh.
10. India’s lunar mission, Chandrayaan-3 has successfully underwent EMI-EMC (Electro-Magnetic Interference/ Electro-Magnetic Compatibility) test.
11. Ranbir Kapoor for ‘Brahmastra Part One: Shiva’ and Alia Bhatt for ‘Gangubhai Khathiawadi’ won the Best Actor and Best Actress awards respectively at the Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival Awards 2023.
12. One of the major teaching hospitals in the UK, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, has named Professor Meghana Pandit, a renowned physician of Indian descent, as its CEO.
13. The Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC)’s green bonds have been listed on the National Stock Exchange (NSE), marking the first-ever green bond issued by a municipal corporation in India.
14. The Delhi Government has issued an order banning the use of bike taxi services, including those offered by popular applications like Ola, Uber, and Rapido.
15. Philips Domestic Appliances has announced the change of its company name to Versuni, after Royal Philips sold its domestic appliance business to Hillhouse Capital in September 2021.
16. On 20 February 2023, former Governor of Gujarat and veteran Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Om Prakash Kohli passed away in Noida, Uttar Pradesh at the age of 87.