2nd & 3rd Week of Feb - Current Affairs bytes...

TS Vijayan appointed as Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) new chairman. Asoke Kumar Mukerji was appointed as the next Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations. Kalyan Kumar Chakravarty appointed as new chairman of Lalit Kala Akademi. Additional Solicitor General Mohan Parasaran was appointed as the country's new Solicitor General. His tenure will be for three years. Tunisia's prime minister Hamadi Jebali resigns Australia has defeated West Indies by 114 runs to win the ICC Womens World Cup for the 6th time. 21 Feb: International Mother Language Day Radhakishan Malviya, the former Union Minister and Rajya Sabha Member from Madhya Pradesh died on 19 February 2013 Ecuador's President Rafael Correa was re-elected for a third term Noted social worker Ela Ramesh Bhatt was conferred 2011 Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development by President Pranab Mukherjee. The India-U.S.Joint Working Group on UN Peacekeeping held its 10th meeting in Washington on 13 February 2013. Victoria Azarenka Defeats Serena Williams to Win 2013 Qatar Open. 18 February - British PM David Cameron arrives in Mumbai on a three-day India visit. SEBI allowed mutual funds to park 20% in gold deposit schemes. Financial ministers from the G20 Countries are meeting on 15 February in the Russian capital Moscow. 15 February- 14th Meeting of the Environment Ministers of BASIC countries begins at Chennai. Nigeria has won the Africa Cup of Nations Football tournament beating Burkina Faso Tripura records highest ever polling of 93 per cent in the country. Iran test fired Ghader a surface-to-surface cruise missile in the international waters near the Strait of Hormuz.

 Justice Yarabati Bhaskar Rao was sworn in as the new Lokayukta of Karnataka. Naseer Ahmed is the new Director of Syndicate Bank. Punjab National Bank which is Indias second-largest bank has acquired a 30% stake in the Indian subsidiary of the biggest US life insurer MetLife at an unrevealed amount. 13 February: World Radio day was observed to increase awareness about the importance of Radio. Delhi has become the first state in the country to introduce e-court fee in all its district courts. Pakistan on 11 February 2013 successfully test fired short range surface-to-surface missile Hatf IX (NASR). The United States launched its latest Earth observation satellite on 13 February atop an Atlas V rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. International Olympic Committee (IOC) drops wrestling from 2020 Olympics. Ministry of Civil Aviation released Shubh Yatra, an exclusive monthly bi-lingual (Hindi & English) inflight magazine of Air India. 16th National Conference on e-Governance will begin in Jaipur. Theme of this years conference is towards an open Government. Madhya Pradesh has been conferred upon the prestigious National e-Governance Gold Award for 2012-13, for its 'Sparsh Abhiyan' aimed towards the disabled and the aged. Indian Govt and the World Bank signed a USD 60 million credit agreement for the Karnataka Watershed Development Project II (KWDP II). Param Yuva II - India's fastest supercomputer and the 62nd fastest supercomputer in the world - has recently been launched by Government of India's Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DeitY). Pope Benedict XVI to step down on Feb 28, first pontiff to do so in nearly 600 years Rest of India claims Irani Cup for eighth consecutive time. Conference of South Asian Autism Network begins in New Delhi. '' Childs Pose'' (Poziia Copilului) by Romanian director Clin Peter Netzer was awarded the Golden Bear at the 63rd Berlin International Film Festival.

 Best Director Award was given to David Gordon Green for Prince Avalanche. India-based documentary Salma by British filmmaker Kim Longinotto bagged the second place in Panorama Audience awards at Berlinale. Angelo Mathews appointed as captain of Sri Lankan cricket team American philosopher and law expert Ronald Dworkin passed away Newly discovered Asteroid 2012 DA14 fly-by closest to Earth.

March 08: International Women's Day. This years theme- A promise is a promise: Time for action to end violence against women President of India Released the Commemorative Postage Stamp on Sahir Ludhianvi (Urdu Poet). Deborah from India Won a Bronze Medal in Asian Cycling Championship 2013 India Ranked Third on the List of Spam Spewing Nation in the World Manik Sarkar assumed office as Tripura chief minister for a record fourth successive term at the head of India's only Communist government. Mukul Sangma has been sworn in as the Chief Minister of Meghalaya for the second time in a row. Naga People's Front leader Neiphiu Rio is the first politician in Nagaland to be elected the state's chief minister for three consecutive terms. European Union Slapped 731 Million US Dollars Fine on Microsoft Corp. President of India Conferred With the Liberation War Honour Award by Bangladesh Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley, veteran Congress leader Karan Singh and Janata Dal (United) president Sharad Yadav have been selected for the Outstanding Parliamentarian Award. Union Minister Kapil Sibal on 6 March 2013 launched the Electronics Project Proposal System (e-PPS), developed by the Department of Electronics and Information Technology. The Finance Ministry has approved Malaysian airline AirAsias proposal to enter India through a joint venture with Tata Group and Arun Bhatias Telestra Tradeplace. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez died at 58 due to Cancer India successfully tested indigenously-built multi-barrel rocket launcher 'Pinaka' from a defence base in

Odisha on 28th Feb. Indian-origin writer Anil Ananthaswamy wins British Physics journalism prize President Pranab Mukherjee will be Chief Guest at the 45th Mauritius Independence Day celebrations on the 12th of this month. Okhla Compost Plant (New Delhi) Became First In India to Receive Carbon Credits Worth 25 Lakh Rupees. Rajasthani author Hariram Meena was selected for the Bihari Puraskar for 2012 for Hindi novel Dhooni Tape Teer. Mukesh Ambani titled Indias richest person for 6th year in a row in Forbes list. John Kerry Sworn-In As the 68th Secretary of State of the United States Rafael Nadal Defeated David Ferrer to Win ATP Mexican Open 2013 Tennis Tournament. World Number one Novak Djokovic won the ATP Dubai Open Tennis title 2013. Rajeev Shahare Appointed As the New High Commissioner of India to Maldives. SK Varma, the former news editor of The Indian Express died. Services defeat Kerala to win 67th Santosh Trophy, the Indian Football Tournament. The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain David Cameron was on an official visit to India from 18 to 20 February 2013. Ministry of New and Renewable Energy Sanctioned Remote Village Electrification for 6033 Villages Sahmim Khan won the PGTI Players Championship Title 2013. India hosted the second meeting of India-Afghanistan-US trilateral dialogue in New Delhi on 19 February 2013. "Walking with Lions: Tales from a Diplomatic Past" a book by Natwar Singh released by Vice President Vice Admiral Anurag G Thapliyal is the New Director General of Indian Coast Guard. National Science Day was observed on 28 February 2013. The theme of 2013 was "Genetically Modified Crops and Food Security". International Women of Courage Award to Delhi victim

The National Capital of India, Delhi emerged as worst place in terms of key parameters of environment in the Environmental Performance Index (EPI).