• Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga  has  said that over 24,000 nationals from Myanmar have taken refuge in Mizoram following a military coup in the neighbouring country. According to government records, there are 24,289 Myanmarese people who have taken shelter in Mizoram as on February 12 this year, the chief minister informed the Assembly.

• The number of Myanmar nationals fleeing to the northeastern state has swollen recently due to renewed clash in the neighbouring country, especially in Chin state.

• Zoramthanga said that the Myanmarese nationals are provided with food, shelter and other forms of assistance by the state government, NGOs, churches, student bodies and village authorities on humanitarian grounds.

• He said that the state government has urged the Centre to help the displaced nationals but it was not possible for the Central government to do so directly because India is not a signatory to the UN Convention on Refugees.

• taking The Myanmar nationals shelter in Mizoram are mostly from Chin state, who share ethnic ties with the Mizos.

• The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has directed FM radio channels not to air vulgar and objectionable content, failing which stern action will be taken against them. The ministry said airing such content is in gross violation of the Grant of Permission Agreement (GOPA).

• It said clause 7.6 of Grant of Permission Agreement (GOPA) provides that the permission holder shall ensure that no content, messages, advertisement or communication, transmitted on its broadcast channel is objectionable, obscene, unauthorised or inconsistent with the laws of India.

• Airing such type of content is in gross violation of GOPA, which also provides that the permission holder shall follow the same program and advertisement code as followed by the All India Radio (AIR), the ministry said.

• Pressure mounted on Pakistan as heads of various foreign missions in the country have  urged it to condemn "Russia's aggression against Ukraine" in the ongoing emergency special session of the UN General Assembly, which has been convened to vote for a resolution against Moscow.

• In a joint statement, the heads of mission of leading EU nations like Germany, France, Italy and others, including Japan, the UK, Canada and Australia, pointed out that Russia launched an "unprovoked attack and invaded a peaceful neighbouring country".

• The 193-member UN General Assembly convened the rare and unprecedented emergency special session on Russia's aggression against Ukraine after the 15-nation Security Council voted  on a resolution to refer the crisis to the most representative body of the world organisation.

• India had abstained on the resolution, along with China and the UAE, while Russia voted against and 11 Council members in favour.

• The statement noted that Russia launched an unprovoked action against Ukraine that posed no threat to it.

• The envoys said the international community must work in solidarity and support and uphold the rules-based international order "in these extreme times".

• The other envoys who signed the letter include Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Greece, Hungary, Portugal, Poland, Romania, Spain, Sweden, The Netherlands, Norway and Switzerland as well as the head of the Delegation of the European Union to Pakistan.

• The high commissioners of Canada, the United Kingdom and the Charge d'Affaires of Australia to Pakistan are also signatories to the letter.

• The envoys also said in the letter that a draft resolution brought in the UN Security Council on February 25 was vetoed by Russia.

• Eleven members voted in its favour but three members, including China, India and UAE, abstained.

• The statement comes ahead of the vote in the UN General Assembly on a draft resolution condemning Russia's action as well as seeking an end to its aggression.

• According to diplomatic sources, Pakistan might abstain from voting in the UN General Assembly session in order to avoid taking sides in the conflict.

• Pakistan became conspicuous in the Ukraine crisis as Prime Minister Imran Khan was visiting Moscow when the attack was ordered by President Vladimir Putin.

• Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said at a press briefing that it was a bilateral visit planned well ahead of the eruption of the conflict.

• While a UNSC resolution condemning Russian invasion of Ukraine would have been legally binding and General Assembly resolutions are not, voting in the 193-member UN body is symbolic of world opinion on the crisis and carries political weight as they represent the will of the entire UN membership.

• The UK government is open to removing Russia as one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council following the invasion of Ukraine, Prime Minister Boris Johnson's spokesman said.

• "What is right to say is that we want to see Russia isolated diplomatically, and we will consider all options to achieve that."  Britain is also one of the five permanent members alongside Russia, the United States, China, and France.

• The five are meant to guarantee international peace and security, but Russia stands accused of trashing the UN rulebook with its offensive on Ukraine.

• As Russia stepped up its military offensive in Ukraine, China on  March 1  said that Moscow's "legitimate security demands" ought to be taken seriously and properly addressed for a political settlement to resolve the Ukrainian crisis.

• Refusing to criticise Russia's military action, which has entered a decisive phase with thousands of Russian troops massed on the outskirts of Ukraine's capital Kyiv, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin called for a "political settlement that accommodates both sides' legitimate security concerns, achieves common security in Europe and promotes Europe's lasting peace and stability".

• Asked to elaborate, Wang said: "China believes that the security of one country should not come at the expense of the security of other countries, still less should regional security be guaranteed by strengthening or even expanding military blocs".

• Wang said the Cold War mentality should be discarded completely.

• On the mounting casualties in Ukraine as a result of Russia's offensive, Wang said that the Ukraine issue has complex historical context and realistic factors.

• On the US and EU sanctions against Russia, Wang reiterated that sanctions are not an effective solution to solve problems.

• Meanwhile, China has started emergency evacuation of its over 6,000 students from Ukraine.

• About 1,000 Chinese citizens in Ukraine have by far safely relocated, he said.

• Ashneer Grover, who had lost an arbitration that he filed against BharatPe, on March 1 resigned from the fintech firm as managing director of the company.

• Grover had filed an arbitration with the Singapore International Arbitration Centre challenging BharatPe's decision to conduct a governance review.

• Grover's resignation comes days after the company's board sacked his wife Madhuri Jain Grover over alleged financial irregularities. She called the ongoing governance review an "eyewash and means to an end".

• Grover took a voluntary leave of absence from the company on January 19, and soon after that, the Board appointed an independent audit of the firm's internal process.

• Also, Grover has been accused of financial fraud and the fintech board has initiated a complete audit of the governance processes.

• Earlier, an audio clip, allegedly of Grover abusing and threatening a Kotak Mahindra Bank employee for missing out on Nykaa's IPO went viral on social media. Grover has been maintaining that the audio clip was fake.

• BharatPe was co-founded by Ashneer Grover and Shashvat Nakrani in 2018, and the company has been the biggest growth story in the fintech sector.

• The company’s list of marquee investors includes Tiger Global, Dragoneer Investment Group, Steadfast Capital, Coatue Management, Ribbit Capital, Insight Partners, Steadview Capital, Beenext, Amplo and Sequoia Capital.

• The production of India’s eight core industries, which comprise 40.27% of total industries, grew by 3.7% in January, compared to the same period a year ago. As per the data released by the Department of Industry and Internal Trade, the growth rate from April to January 2021-22 was 11.6% as compared to the corresponding period of the last fiscal year. The output in core sector industries had grown by 4.1% in December 2021 from a year ago.

• The eight core industries measures combined and individual performance of production in selected eight core industries viz. Coal, Crude Oil, Natural Gas, Refinery Products, Fertilizers, Steel, Cement and Electricity. These industries comprise 40.27% of the weight of items included in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP).

• The factory production of coal, natural gas, refinery products, steel, cement and electricity witnessed a growth in January 2022, while crude oil and fertilizer reported negative growth for the same period. The coal production increased by 8.2% in January, compared to the same period last year. Natural Gas production increased by 11.7%, steel production increased by 2.8%, cement production increased by 13.6%, electricity generation increased by 0.5% in January 2022 over January 2021. However, crude oil production and Fertilizers production witnessed a decline in their production by 2.4% and by 2.0% respectively in January.

Weight of items

• The eight core industries or sectors measure combined and individual performance of production in selected eight core industries, which include, Coal, Crude Oil, Natural Gas, Refinery Products, Fertilizers, Steel, Cement and Electricity. These industries comprise about 40.27% of the weight of items included in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP)

• Ilker Ayci, who was all set to steer the newly privatised Air India, has declined the offer of Tata Sons to be the airline's MD and Chief executive officer (CEO). Since his name was announced by the Tata Group, there were wide speculations that the Indian government would go through a rigorous process to give Ayci, former chairman of Turkish Airlines, necessary clearances owing to his close ties with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

• He added, "My appointment at Air India within Tata Group was announced earlier in February, with a start date of April 1st. Since the announcement, I have been carefully following news in some sections of the Indian media attempting to color my appointment with undesirable colors."

• Tata Sons on February 14 had announced the appointment of Ilker Ayci as the CEO and Managing Director (MD) of Air India. He was supposed to assume his responsibilities on or before April 1, 2022.

• Known as a close aide of President Erdoğan, Ayci served Turkish Airlines as its chairman from 2015 to 2022. He was often credited for turning around Turkish Airlines and making it a global brand.