TODAY ON February 17, 2023|
GK News Headlines 

States must contribute to MGNREGS wages, says Union Minister Giriraj Singh
The financial burden of wages to the beneficiaries of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) should also be shouldered by State governments, in order to make them more proactive in controlling corruption, Union Rural Development Minister Giriraj Singh said on Thursday, in response to a query from  The Hindu.

Centre unlikely to make overtures to protesting Ladakhi leaders
With the Centre unlikely to make overtures to civil society groups in Ladakh, who have been demanding Statehood and constitutional safeguards, the leaders said on Thursday that the path to agitation will continue.

Dalit student death | IIT-Bombay admits to conducting surveys to end ‘culture of exclusion’
Two days after it said “discrimination by students, if at all it occurs, is an exception”, the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay on Thursday admitted that it had conducted two campus-wide surveys that documented different kinds of caste discrimination faced by Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe students and the consequent mental health issues they were facing, as reported by The Hindu on Wednesday.

IAF’s 114 fighter tender to move in 3-4 months, part of over 500 jet procurement
The delayed process for the procurement of 114 multi-role fighter jets (MRFA) is set to take off soon and along with three different indigenous fighter development programmes, will result in a mega 500-fighter aircraft acquisition process for the armed forces. This would arrest the dwindling fighter strength of the Indian Air Force and enable it reach the sanctioned strength of 42 squadrons.

India accounts for 52% of world’s new leprosy patients, says Health Minister
With a renewed focus to tackle the scourge, the Union Health Ministry has devised a strategic roadmap for achieving zero cases of leprosy by 2030. Despite India being declared “Leprosy Eliminated” in 2005, the country still accounts for over half (52%) of the world’s new leprosy patients, said Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya in a written message of the National Strategic Plan and Roadmap for Leprosy 2023-2027. Leprosy is a chronic bacterial infection which affects skin, nerves, lungs and eyes.

Supreme Court reserves judgment on whether a Speaker under notice can disqualify others
The Supreme Court on Thursday reserved judgment on the question of whether a seven-judge Bench should re-examine its 2016 decision that a Speaker under a cloud should first clear his name before hearing disqualification petitions against legislators under the anti-defection law.

Govt. likely to place reverse charging of GST on scrap before Council
The government will consider and then place industry’s demand to shift the GST levy on purchase of scrap metal to a reverse charge mechanism before the GST Council, in view of the operational difficulties and legal disputes arising from non-compliance by informal sector scrap dealers who often fail to deposit GST dues collected from larger buyers.

IOC contradicts Adani over terms of port use agreement for LPG imports
Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) on Thursday took to Twitter to clarify on its initial pact for hiring Adani Group’s port at Gangavaram in Andhra Pradesh for LPG imports in addition to existing pacts with nearby ports, saying there is no take-or-pay agreement.

YouTube CEO Wojcicki steps down to focus on other projects
YouTube Chief Executive Officer Susan Wojcicki will be stepping down after nine years at the helm of the world’s largest online video platform, she said in a blog post on Thursday.

Biden wants ‘sharper rules’ on unknown aerial objects
President Joe Biden said Thursday that the U.S. is developing “sharper rules” to track, monitor and potentially shoot down unknown aerial objects, following three weeks of high-stakes drama sparked by the discovery of a suspected Chinese spy balloon transiting much of the country.

India looks comfortably poised to retain the trophy with a win at the Kotla
Riddled with self-doubt, injuries and lack of skill-sets in dealing with spin-friendly surfaces, Australia faces a cautious and upbeat India in its bid to prevent the host from retaining the Border-Gavaskar Trophy with two Tests to spare.