National

Bharat Rice

• Government has decided to sell subsidised Bharat Rice at ₹29 per kg in the retail market from next week to control prices and check inflationary trends in the food economy.
• Bharat Rice will be available in 5 kg and 10 kg packs through the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd (NAFED), the National Cooperative Consumers' Federation of India Ltd (NCCF), and the retail chain Kendriya Bhandar.

CLEA General Conference

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Commonwealth Legal Education Association (CLEA) - Commonwealth Attorneys and Solicitors General Conference in New Delhi.
• The theme of the conference is Cross-Border Challenges in Justice Delivery.

International

UPI in Paris, France

• India launched Unified Payments Interface (UPI) at Eiffel Tower in Paris, France.
• The UPI was formally launched at the Republic Day reception held in France.
• UPI is India's mobile-based payment system developed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPIL) in 2016.

Sports

Oldest pace bowler to play a Test in India

• England’s James Anderson (41 years and 187 days) has become the oldest pace bowler to play a Test in India.
• Anderson broke Lala Amarnath’s record (41 years and 92 days old).

Defence

Exercise Vayu Shakti-2024

• Indian Air Force will be conducting Exercise Vayu Shakti-24 on 17 February 2024 at the Pokhran Air to Ground Range, near Jaisalmer.

Awards & Honours

Bharat Ratna

• Lal Krishna Advani will be conferred Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award.

Person in News

Ranveer Singh

• Bollywood actor Ranveer Singh has invested an undisclosed amount in boAt, and is also signed on as the brand ambassador of the company.

Miscellaneous

Talabira Thermal Power Project

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation stone of Talabira Thermal Power Project of Neyveli Lignite Corporation India Limited, under the Coal Ministry in Odisha.

World Wetlands Day 2024

• World Wetlands Day is celebrated every year on 2 February.
• It is an international day dedicated to promoting the conservation and sustainable management of wetlands.
• Ramsar Convention, an international treaty for the conservation of wetlands was signed on 2 February 1971.

World Cancer Day

• World Cancer Day is an international day marked on 4 February to raise awareness of cancer and to encourage its prevention, detection, and treatment.
• World Cancer Day was first observed on February 4, 2000, at the World Summit Against Cancer for the New Millennium in Paris.