January 2022 Daily News Current Affairs

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Jan 31, 2022
1. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented Economic Survey FY 22 (2021-22), which details state of economy ahead of Budget for next fiscal. Economic Survey is Authored by Chief Economic Adviser (V . Anantha Nageswaran currently). Highlights -
  1. Central theme of Economic Survey FY 22 (2021-22) is Agile approach.
  2. Growth -
    1. GDP Growth Official Data (2019-20 to 2022-23) -
      1. 2019-20 => 4 %
      2. 2020-21 => -7.3 % (Contraction) (Provisional Eestimates)
      3. 2021-22 => 9.2 % (1st Advance Estimates)
      4. 2022-23 => 8 to 8.5 % (Projected)
    2. Agriculture and allied sectors expected to grow by 3.9 %, industry by 11.8 % and services sector by 8.2 % in 2021-22.
    3. Forecasts by notable Global agencies -
      1. World Bank - 8.3 % in FY 22 (2021-22) & 8.7 % in FY 23 (2022-23).
      2. Asian Development Bank - 7.5 % in FY 23 (2022-23).
      3. IMF - 9 % in 2021-22 and 2022-23, and 7.1 percent in 2023-2024. This projects India as fastest growing major economy, in all these three years.
  3. Key Economic Parameters -
    1. With enhanced borrowings on account of COVID-19, Govt debt went up from 49.1 % of GDP in 2019-20 to 59.3 % of GDP in 2020-21.
    2. Consumption is estimated to have grown by 7 % in FY (2021-22), with government consumption remaining biggest contributor.
    3. Investment, as measured by Gross Fixed Capital Formation (GFCF), is to see growth of 15 % in 2021-22. Investment of GDP ratio is to rise to 29.6 % in 2021-22.
      1. 89066 crores raised via 75 IPO issues in April- November 2021, higher than any year in last decade.
    4. Forex Reserves-
      1. Foreign Exchange Reserves crossed US$ 600 billion in first half of 2021-22. India remains 5th largest forex reserves holder, after China, Japan, Switzerland, and Russia.
      2. Forex Reserves at end of last 4 Finalcial Years -
        2018-19 - 411.9
        
        2019-20 - 477.8
        
        2020-21 - 577
        
        2021-22 - 633.6
    5. Fiscal deficit for April-November 2021 remained at 46.2 % of Budget Estimates for FY 22 (2021-22).
      1. Fiscal Deficit as Percentage of GDP in last 4 Financial Years -
        2018-19 - 3.4
        
        2019-20 - 4.6
        
        2020-21 - 9.2
        
        2021-22 - 6.8
    6. Export /Import -
      1. Exports (goods and services) remained strong in 2021-22, with Merchandise exports being above US$30 billion for eight consecutive months in 2021-22.
        India’s total exports are expected to grow by 16.5 % in 2021-22.
        
        Imports are expected to grow by 29.4 % in 2021-22.
        
        Current account deficit is expected to remain within manageable limits.
    7. Banking -
      1. YoY Bank credit growth accelerated gradually in 2021-22 from 5.3 % in April 2021 to 9.2 % as on 31st December 2021.
      2. Gross Non-Performing Advances ratio of Scheduled Commercial Banks declined from 11.2 % at end of 2017-18 to 6.9 % at end of September 2021. Net Non-Performing Advances ratio declined from 6 to 2.2 % during same period.
      3. Capital to risk-weighted asset ratio of SCBs continued to increase from 13 % in 2013-14 to 16.54 % at end of September 2021.
    8. Prices and Inflation -
      1. Average CPI-Combined inflation moderated to 5.2 % in 2021-22 (April-December) from 6.6 % in corresponding period of 2020-21. Food inflation averaged at low 2.9 % in 2021-22 (April to December) as against 9.1 % in corresponding period last year.
      2. Wholesale inflation based on Wholesale Price Index (WPI) rose to 12.5 % during 2021-22 (April to December).
    9. Sustainable Development and Climate Change -
      1. India’s overall score on the NITI Aayog SDG India Index and Dashboard improved to 66 in 2020-21 from 60 in 2019-20 and 57 in 2018-19.
      2. Number of Front Runners (scoring 65-99) increased to 22 States and UTs in 2020-21 from 10 in 2019-20.
      3. India has tenth largest forest area in the world. In 2020, forests covered 24% of India’s total geographical, accounting for 2% of world’s total forest area.
      4. India committed to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2070.
    10. Agriculture and Food Management -
      1. Agriculture sector experienced good growth in past two years, accounting for 18.8% (2021-22) in Gross Value Added (GVA) of country, registering growth of 3.6% in 2020-21 and 3.9% in 2021-22.
      2. Livestock sector grew at CAGR of 8.15% over last five years ending 2019-20.
      3. Foodgrains Production Over Years (Million Tonnes) -
        2017-18 - 285
        
        2018-19 - 285.2
        
        2019-20 - 297.5
        
        2020-21 - 308.6 (4th Advance Estimates)
    11. Industry and Infrastructure -
      1. Industrial sector rebounded from contraction of 7 % in 2020-21 to expansion of 11.8 % in FY 22 (2021-22). Share of industry in GVA is estimated at 28.2 %.
      2. Index of Industrial Production (IIP) grew at 17.4 % (YoY) during April-November 2021, compared to contraction of 15.3 % in April-November 2020.
      3. Capital expenditure for railways increased to 155181 crores in 2020-21, from average annual of 45980 crores during 2009-14. It is budgeted to increase to 215058 crores in 2021-22.
      4. Road construction per day increased in 2020-21 to 36.5 Kms per day, from 28 Kms per day in 2019-20.
    12. Services -
      1. Services Sector contributed over 50% to India’s GDP. Overall, Services Sector grew by 10.8% Year on Year (YoY) in first half (H1) 2021-22.
      2. Overall service Sector GVA is expected to grow by 8.2 % in 2021-22, compared to 8.4 % contraction in FY 21 (2020-21).
      3. India remained among top ten services exporter countries in 2020, with its share in world commercial services exports increasing to 4.1% in 2020 from 3.4% in 2019.
      4. During first half of 2021-22, service sector received over US$ 16.7 billion FDI, accounting for 54 % of total FDI inflows into India During first half of 2021-22 (Approx 31.1 Billion USD).
      5. IT-BPM services revenue reached US$ 194 billion in 2020-21.
      6. India became 3rd largest start-up ecosystem after US and China. Number of new recognized start-ups increased to over 14000 in 2021-22 from 733 in 2016-17.
    13. Social Infrastructure and Employment -
      1. Expenditure on social services by Centre and States as a proportion of GDP increased from 6.2 % in 2014-15 to 8.6% in 2021-22.
      2. Total Fertility Rate came down to 2 in 2019-21 from 2.2 in 2015-16.
      3. Under Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM), 83 districts have become ‘Har Ghar Jal’ districts. Also, over 5.5 crore households have been provided with tap water supply since start of Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) in August 2019.
2. General News / Conferences (Jan 21-31, 2022)
  1. India paid USD 29.9 million in UN regular budget assessments for 2022.
  2. PM Narendra Modi launched Pandit Jasraj Cultural Foudation, on occasion of His birth Anniversary (Jan 28).
  3. PM Narendra Modi attended first India-Central Asia Summit held virtually, attended by Presidents of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
  4. Global Center of Excellence in Affordable and Clean Energy (GCoE-ACE) has been launched at Indian Institute of Technology, Dharwad (IITDh), Karnataka.
  5. Telangana stood first in country, in terms of highest number of open defecation free (ODF Plus) villages under Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen) Phase-II.
  6. Tata Power Renewable Energy commissioned 2 Solar Power Projects in Uttar Pradesh, worth 100MW (50MW each),in Prayagraj and Banda regions.
  7. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla launched official mobile application of Parliament named ‘Digital Sansad App’, to allow citizens to access live proceedings of The House.
  8. 1st State-level bird atlas in India, has been created in Kerala, with baseline data about distribution of bird species across all major habitats.
3. Indian-Israel Diplocatic Ties completed 30 years, that had began with India opening embassy in Tel Aviv in January 1992.
  1. Govt announced to convert 150 villages into Villages of Excellence in 12 states, with technical assistance from Israel.
  2. Israel has already established 29 Centre of Excellence (CoEs) in 12 states. 150 villages located around these CoEs, will be converted into Villages of Excellence.
4. Visits to India (Jan 2022) -
  1. UK Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan Visited India, to launch Free Trade Agreement negotiations between India and UK, to facilitate doubling bilateral trade between India and UK by 2030.
5. Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) released a five-year roadmap and vision document for electronics sector, titled $300 bn Sustainable Electronics Manufacturing & Exports by 2026. It aims at Mobile manufacturing to cross US $100 billion annual production, up from current US $30 billion.
Jan 30, 2022
1. 2022 Australian Open Grand Slam Tennis (110th edition) -
  1. Men's singles - Rafael Nadal (Spain), defeated Daniil Medvedev (Russia).
    1. It was his 21st grand slam and 2nd Australian Open Title. With this, Nadal became most successful male tennis player in history, winning record-breaking 21st Men's Grand Slam singles titles. Roger Federer (Switzerland) and Novak Djokovic (Serbia) are jointly at 2nd place with 20 Grand slam singles Titles.
  2. Women's singles - Ashleigh Barty (Australia), defeated Danielle Collins (USA).
    1. It was her 3rd grand slam and 1st Australian Open Title.
  3. Men's doubles - Australia's Nick Kyrgios AND Thanasi Kokkinakis
  4. Women's doubles - Czech Republic's Barbora Krejčíková AND Kateřina Siniaková
  5. Mixed doubles - Kristina Mladenovic (France) AND Ivan Dodig (Croatia)
  6. Boys' singles - Bruno Kuzuhara (United States)
  7. Girls' singles - Petra Marčinko (Croatia)
2. Jan 30 is observed as Martyr's Day, marking death anniversary of M K Gandhi. He was killed on this day in 1948, by Nathuram Godse.
  1. Jan 30 is also observed as World neglected tropical diseases Day, being observed since 2020.
  2. Jan 30, 2022 is also observed as World Leprosy Day, observed globally on last Sunday of January.
3. Himachal Pradesh and Haryana State govts signed MoU for construction of Adi Badri Dam, to come upon 77 acres in Himachal Pradesh near Adi Badri area of Yamuna Nagar district of Haryana. It aims at rejuvenation of Saraswati river, with estimated cost 215 crores.
  1. The Dam will get 224-hectare metre water from Himachal Pradesh’s Somb River that falls in Yamuna near Adi Badri in Yamuna Nagar district.
  2. Adi Badri, also called Sri Sarasvati Udgam Tirath, is located in foothills of Sivalik Hills in Bhabar area.
4. Beijing Based Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) committed to invest USD 150 million, for development of data centres to mostly serve emerging Asia.
  1. The fund is focussed on strategic investments in the fast-growing data center sector with a focus on Asia Pacific.
5. Assam Govt conferred its highest civilian award ‘Assam Baibhav’ on Noted Industrialist Ratan Tata, for his contribution to setting up cancer treatment facilities in Assam.
  1. Notably, Assam Saurav award was conferred on Lovlina Borgohain (2020 Olympics bronze medal winning boxer), Dipak Chand Jain, Kamalendu Deb Krori, Lakshmanan S, and Neel Pawan Baruah.
  2. Assam Gaurav award was conferred on 13 Recepients.
6. Apple retained its position as most valuable brand in 2022, as per Brand Finance 2022 Global 500 report, with Apple's Brand valuation at $355 billion in 2022. Top 10 -
  1. Apple, Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Walmart, Samsung, Facebook, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Huawei, Verizon.
7. As per Corruption Perception Index 2021 by Transparency Internatonal -
  1. India ranks 85th.
  2. Top 5 - Denmark, Finland, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore.
  3. Bottom 3 - South Sudan (180), Syria (179), Somalia (178).
  4. Neighbors - China (66), Pakistan (140), Bangladesh (147), Sri Lanka (102)
8. Russia delivered contracted 70000 AK-203 Kalashnikov assault rifles to Indian Armed Forces, under an order for 670000 rifles, costing 5124 crores. Under it, 70000 rifles were to be procured From Russia and remaining 600000 rifles will be manufactured by an Indo-Russian joint venture (Indo-Russia Rifles Private Limited), at Amethi (Uttar Pradesh).
Jan 29, 2022
1. SBI issued $300 million Formosa bonds and listed issuance on India INX GIFT IFSC, as first such issuance by any Indian Bank in Formosa Bond market.
  1. Formosa bond is a bond issued in Taiwan, dominated by currencies other than new Taiwan Dollar.
2. 2022 Women's Hockey Asia Cup (Muscat (Oman)) -
  1. Japan won the Title (their third), defeating South Korea in final.
3. Book Fearless Governance, authored by Kiran Bedi, has been released.
4. World’s largest canal lock has been inaugurated at port city Ijmuiden (Amsterdam, The Netherlands), as 500-meter long and 70-meter wide.
  1. Costing over $350 million, Ijmuiden lock was designed to allow large, modern cargo ships to reach port of Amsterdam.
  2. The structure is deep enough to let ships enter canal without waiting for a favourable water level.
5. Govt named Pushp Kumar Joshi as new CMD of Maharatna PSU Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL).
6. Bharti Airtel and Google announced a long-term partnership, to accelerate growth of India’s digital ecosystem. It will comprise Google investing USD 1 billion in Airtel.
  1. Google will invest USD 700 million to acquire a 1.28 % stake in Bharti Airtel Ltd. Remaining USD 300 million will go towards multi-year commercial agreements.
  2. This is part of Google’s USD 10 billion ‘Google for India Digitization Fund’, launched in 2020.
  3. Earlier, Google had paid Approx 33737 Crores INR, for 7.73 % Stake in Reliance JIO Platforms.
7. First Book by former finance secretary of India, Subhash Chandra Garg, named The $10 Trillion Dream, will be released in February 2022.
8. New book A Little Book of India: Celebrating 75 years of Independence, authored by Ruskin Bond, has been released.
9. India's largest electric vehicle (EV) charging station with a capacity of 100 charging points for 4 wheelers, has been opened at Delhi-Jaipur National Highway in Gurugram (Haryana), developed by tech-piloting company Alektrify Private Limited.
  1. Previously, India's largest EV charging station was situated in Navi Mumbai with 16 AC & 4 DC charging ports for EVs.
10. India’s first innovation centre for graphene will be set up in Kerala by Digital University Kerala (DUK) and Centre for Materials for Electronics Technology (C-MET) in Thrissur, at cost 86 crores, with Tata Steel as industrial partner.
  1. Graphene is known for its excellent electrical and electronic properties, and can replace indium and thereby bring down cost of OLED (organic light-emitting diode) screens in smartphones.
Jan 28, 2022
1. Jan 28 is Birth Anniversary of Noted Freedom Activist Lala Lajpat Rai, also known as “Punjab Kesari” and “Lion of Punjab”.
2. Govt Completed strategic disinvestment of Air India, handling it over to Tata Group.
  1. It consisted of Govt. receiving 2700 crore from Talace Pvt Ltd (Tata Sons Subsidiary), and retaining Air India's debt of 15300 by Strategic Partner (Talace Pvt Ltd ).
  2. Also, Tata Group has chosen State Bank of India, Bank of Baroda and HDFC Bank as preferred banks for Financing Air India Debt.
  3. Background -
    1. Air India was founded by JRD Tata as Tata Airlines in 1932. After World War II, it became a public limited company and was renamed as Air India.
    2. Now, after Approx 69 Years, Air India is again brought back under Onwership of Tata Sons.
    3. As part of the deal, Government also handed over Air India Express and a 50% stake in the ground handling arm of Air India SATS.
    4. With this, Air India will be the third airline brand under Tata Sons, as it holds majority stake in AirAsia India and Vistara.
3. Govt Sanctioned and notified draft scheme for amalgamation of Troubled Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank, with Unity Small Finance Bank (SFB).
  1. It Notably Includes start of payouts for depositors with over Rs 5 lakh in balance within one year, as against two years in draft scheme.
  2. wef Jan 25, 2022, All branches of PMC Bank started functioning as branches of Unity Small Finance Bank.
4. Fecebook parent Meta partnered with Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) to support five lakh women-led small businesses across India, under Meta's #SheMeansBusiness programme, in partnership with FICCI’s Empowering the Greater 50%’ initiative.
5. Argentina won Both Men's and Women’s Pan American Cup hockey championship 2022, defeating Chile in Both Finals. It was hosted in Santiago (Chile).
Jan 27, 2022
1. Jan 27 - International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust, Proclaimed by UN in 2005.
  1. The Holocaust was World War II genocide of European Jews. Between 1941 and 1945. Germany murdered over 60 lakh Jews, around two-thirds of Europe's Jewish population.
2. National Statistical Office (Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation) released 1st Revised Estimates of National Income, Consumption Expenditure, Saving and Capital Formation for FY 21 (2020-21), 2nd Revised Estimates for FY 20 (2019-20) & 3rd Revised Estimates for FY 19 (2018-19).
  1. Nominal GDP (GDP at current prices for 2020-21) estimated at ₹198.01 lakh crores, showing contraction of 1.4 % over 2019.20.
  2. Real GDP (GDP at constant (2011-12) prices) for 2020-21 stands at 135.58 lakh crores, showing contraction of 6.6 % over 2019-20.
3. Xiomara Castro has been named First Female president of Honduras (Central America).
4. Andhra Pradesh government announced formation of 13 new districts, bringing number of districts in state to 26.
  1. 13 new districts will be named and operationalized on Occasion of Ugadi 2022 (Beginning April 2).
Jan 26, 2022
1. Jan 26, 2022 observed as 73rd Republic day of India. It marks enactment of Indian constitution on Jan 26, 1950.
  1. Chief Guest -
    1. Like 2021, Republic day parade did not have any Chief guest in 2022 too, due t0 Ongoing Covid-19 Pandemic.
      1. Earlier in 1966, No Invitation was Made by India to any international dignitary, to be chief guest at Republic day Parade. It was when Indira Gandhi had just recently taken charge after demise of Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri, just before Republic Day parade.
  2. Awards -
    1. President Ram Nath kovind approved conferment of Jeevan Raksha Padak Series Awards 2021 on 51 persons, which includes Sarvottam Jeevan Raksha Padak to 6, Uttam Jeevan Raksha Padak to 16 and Jeevan Raksha Padak to 29 persons.
    2. Pradhan Mantri conferred Rashtriya Bal Puraskar 2021 & 2022 to 61 children (32 for 2021 and 29 for 2022) under various categories (age group 5-18 years).
      1. PM Narendra Modi conferred digital certificates to winners of Rashtriya Bal Puraskar 2021 and 2022, using a block chain-driven technology developed by IIT Kanpur under National Blockchain Project.
    3. President approved 384 Gallantry and other Defence decorations to Armed Forces personnel (Army - 273, Navy - 35, Air Force - 66, MHA - 6, BRO - 4). Awards Include 12 Shaurya Chakras.
      1. Wartime Decorations -
        No Paramvir Chakra Awardees This year.
        
        No Mahavir Chakra Awardees This year.
        
        No Vir Chakra Awardees This year.
      2. Peacetime Decorations -
        No Ashoka Chakra Awardees This year.
        
        No Kirti Chakra Awardees This year.
        
        Shaurya Chakra -
        Sreejith M (Army)
        
        Anil Kumar Tomar (Army)
        
        Kashiray Bammanalli (Army)
        
        Pinku Kumar (Army)
        
        Maruprolu Jaswanth Kumar Reddy (Army)
        
        Rakesh Sharma (Army)
        
        Dilip Malik (CRPF)
        
        Anirudh Pratap Singh ( CRPF)
        
        Ajeet Singh (CRPF)
        
        Vikas Kumar (CRPF)
        
        Purnanand (CRPF)
        
        Kuldeep Kumar Urawan (CRPF)
      3. About -
        India's Top Peacetime Gallantary Awards are - Ashoka Chakra > Kirti Chakra > Shaurya Chakra.
        
        India's Top Wartime Gallantary Awards are - Param Vir Chakra > Maha Vir Chakra > Vir Chakra.
      4. Other Gallantary Medals Announced on Republic Day 2022 -
        29 Param Vishisht Seva Medals
        Notably, Indian Army's Javelin Thrower and Olympic Gold Medalist Neeraj Chopra honoured with Param Vishisht Seva Medal.
        
        04 UttamYudhSeva Medals
        
        53 Ati Vishisht Seva Medals
        
        13 Yudh Seva Medals
        
        03 Bar to Vishisht Seva Medals
        
        122 Vishisht Seva Medals
        
        03 Bar to Sena Medals (Gallantry)
        
        81 Sena Medals (Gallantry)
        
        02 Vayu Sena Medals (Gallantry)
        Chinmaya Patro
        
        Suraj Nair
        
        40Sena Medals (Devotion to Duty)
        
        08 Nao Sena Medals (Devotion to Duty)
        
        14 Vayu Sena Medals (Devotion to Duty).
        
        President Also approved gallantary Decorations to Coast Guard Personnel, which includes 1 Tatrakshak Medal (Distinguished Service) - Maneesh Vishal Pathak, 3 Tatrakshak Medal (Gallantry) and 2 Tatrakshak Medal (Meritorious Service).
  3. Other Highlights -
    1. Border Security Force (BSF) launched “Operation Sard Hawa” on western border at Rajasthan, to check infiltration due to dense fog cover in region.
    2. Govt. merged flame of the Amar Jawan Jyoti at Delhi’s India Gate with the flame at the adjoining National War Memorial, ahead of Republic Day.
    3. 2015 film Bajrangi Bhaijaan fame actress, Harshaali Malhotra has been awarded the 12th Bharat Ratna Dr Ambedkar Award 2022.
    4. Recently Decommissioned INS Khukri, was handed over to Diu Administration. It was lead ship of Indian Navy’s Khukri class corvettes and an indigenous surface-to-surface missile fitted vessel that served as part of both, Western and Eastern Fleets.
    5. Notably, Jammu and Kashmir Police won 115 Police Medals for Gallantry (most among states), out of total 189 awarded this year, followed by CRPF (30), Chhattisgarh (10).
2. Jan 26 is observed as International Customs Day.
3. Antonio Costa has been re-appointed as Prime Minister of Portugal, for his 3rd consecutive term.
4. Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI) notified Scheme on Enhancement of Competitiveness in Indian Capital Goods Sector- Phase-II, for providing assistance to Common Technology Development and Services Infrastructure.
  1. It has outlay of 1207 crores, with Budgetary support of 975 crores and Industry Contribution of 232 crores.
  2. Objective of Phase II is to expand impact created by Phase I pilot scheme, providing greater impetus through creation of a strong and globally competitive capital goods sector, that contributes over 25% to manufacturing sector.
5. Govt named V. Anantha Nageswaran as New Chief Economic Advisor (CEA). He succeeded Krishnamurthy Subramanian, who resgined in Dec 2021.

Jan 25, 2022

Joint maritime exercise Paschim Lehar (XPL-2022) conducted by Indian Navy off the West Coast, to validate operational plans of Western Naval Command and enhance Inter-Service synergy among Indian Navy, IAF, Army and Coast Guard.
Jan 25 is observed in India as National Voters’ Day, with 2022 Theme Making Elections Inclusive, Accessible and Participative. It marks Foundation day of Election Commission of India (ECI), which was established on 25th January 1950. It is observed Since 2011.
1. Jan 25 is also statehood day of Himachal Pradesh, formed in 1971.
2. Jan 25 is also observed as National Tourism Day in India. Note that World Tourism day is observed on Sep 27.
Indigenous Developed HAL Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) MK III aircraft has been formally inducted onboard INS Utkrosh, at tri services Andaman and Nicobar Command.

Padma Awards 2022 (Highest Civil Awards in India) -

This year, President approved conferment of 128 Padma Awards (4 Padma Vibhushan, 17 Padma Bhushan, 107 Padma Shri Awards). 34 awardees are women, 10 are in category of Foreigners/NRI/PIO/OCI and 13 Posthumous awardees.

Awardees -

Padma Vibhushan (4) -

SN	Name	Field	State/Country
	Ms. Prabha Atre	Art	Maharashtra
	Radheyshyam Khemka (Posthumous)	Literature and Education	Uttar Pradesh
	General Bipin Rawat (Posthumous)	Civil Service	Uttarakhand
	Kalyan Singh (Posthumous)	Public Affairs	Uttar Pradesh

Padma Bhushan (17) -

Ghulam Nabi Azad	Public Affairs	Jammu and Kashmir
Victor Banerjee	Art	West Bengal
Ms. Gurmeet Bawa (Posthumous)	Art	Punjab
Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee	Public Affairs	West Bengal
Natarajan Chandrasekaran	Trade and Industry	Maharashtra
Krishna Ella and Smt. Suchitra Ella* (Duo)	Trade and Industry	Telangana
Ms. Madhur Jaffery	Others-Culinary	United States of America
Devendra Jhajharia	Sports ( Paralympic javelin thrower)	Rajasthan
Rashid Khan	Art	Uttar Pradesh
Rajiv Mehrishi	Civil Service	Rajasthan
Satya Narayana Nadella	Trade and Industry	United States of America
Sundararajan Pichai	Trade and Industry	United States of America
Cyrus Poonawalla	Trade and Industry	Maharashtra
Sanjaya Rajaram (Posthumous)	Science and Engineering	Mexico
Ms. Pratibha Ray	Literature and Education	Odisha
Swami Sachidanand	Literature and Education	Gujarat
Vashishth Tripathi	Literature and Education	Uttar Pradesh

Padma Shri (107) -

Prahlad Rai Agarwala	Trade and Industry	West Bengal
Prof. Najma Akhtar	Literature and Education	Delhi
Sumit Antil	Sports - Paralympian and Javelin thrower	Haryana
T Senka Ao	Literature and Education	Nagaland
Ms. Kamalini Asthana and Ms. Nalini Asthana* (Duo)	Art	Uttar Pradesh
Subbanna Ayyappan	Science and Engineering	Karnataka
J K Bajaj	Literature and Education	Delhi
Sirpi Balasubramaniam	Literature and Education	Tamil Nadu
Srimad Baba Balia	Social Work	Odisha
Ms. Sanghamitra Bandyopadhyay	Science and Engineering	West Bengal
Ms. Madhuri Barthwal	Art	Uttarakhand
Akhone Asgar Ali Basharat	Literature and Education	Ladakh
Dr. Himmatrao Bawaskar	Medicine	Maharashtra
Harmohinder Singh Bedi	Literature and Education	Punjab
Pramod Bhagat	Sports (Para badminton)	Odisha
S Ballesh Bhajantri	Art	Tamil Nadu
Khandu Wangchuk Bhutia	Art	Sikkim
Maria Christopher Byrski	Literature and Education	Poland
Acharya Chandanaji	Social Work	Bihar
Ms. Sulochana Chavan	Art	Maharashtra
Neeraj Chopra	Sports (Javelin Throw)	Haryana
Ms. Shakuntala Choudhary	Social Work	Assam
Sankaranarayana Menon Chundayil	Sports (Kalaripayattu, the ancient martial arts form of Kerala)	Kerala
S Damodaran	Social Work	Tamil Nadu
Faisal Ali Dar	Sports (sports enthusiast, and first person to receive Padma Shri Award in sports from Jammu and Kashmir)	Jammu and Kashmir
Jagjit Singh Dardi	Trade and Industry	Chandigarh
Dr. Prokar Dasgupta	Medicine	United Kingdom
Aditya Prasad Dash	Science and Engineering	Odisha
Dr. Lata Desai	Medicine	Gujarat
Malji bhai Desai	Public Affairs	Gujarat
Ms. Basanti Devi	Social Work	Uttarakhand
Ms. Lourembam Bino Devi	Art	Manipur
Ms. Muktamani Devi	Trade and Industry	Manipur
Ms. Shyamamani Devi	Art	Odisha
Khalil Dhantejvi (Posthumous)	Literature and Education	Gujarat
Savaji Bhai Dholakia	Social Work	Gujarat
Arjun Singh Dhurve	Art	Madhya Pradesh
Dr. Vijaykumar Vinayak Dongre	Medicine	Maharashtra
Chandraprakash Dwivedi	Art	Rajasthan
Dhaneswar Engti	Literature and Education	Assam
Om Prakash Gandhi	Social Work	Haryana
Narasimha Rao Garikapati	Literature and Education	Andhra Pradesh
Girdhari Ram Ghonju (Posthumous)	Literature and Education	Jharkhand
Shaibal Gupta (Posthumous)	Literature and Education	Bihar
Narasingha Prasad Guru	Literature and Education	Odisha
Gosaveedu Shaik Hassan (Posthumous)	Art	Andhra Pradesh
Ryuko Hira	Trade and Industry	Japan
Ms. Sosamma Iype	Others - Animal Husbandry	Kerala
Avadh Kishore Jadia	Literature and Education	Madhya Pradesh
Ms. Sowcar Janaki	Art	Tamil Nadu
Ms. Tara Jauhar	Literature and Education	Delhi
Ms. Vandana Kataria	Sports (Hockey)	Uttarakhand
H R Keshavamurthy	Art	Karnataka
Rutger Kortenhorst	Literature and Education	Ireland
P Narayana Kurup	Literature and Education	Kerala
Ms. Avani Lekhara	Sports (Para rifle shooter)	Rajasthan
Moti Lal Madan	Science and Engineering	Haryana
Shivnath Mishra	Art	Uttar Pradesh
Dr. Narendra Prasad Misra (Posthumous)	Medicine	Madhya Pradesh
Darshanam Mogilaiah	Art	Telangana
Guruprasad Mohapatra (Posthumous)	Civil Service	Delhi
Thavil Kongampattu A V Murugaiyan	Art	Puducherry
Ms. R Muthukannammal	Art	Tamil Nadu
Abdul Khader Nadakattin	Others - Grassroots Innovation	Karnataka
Amai Mahalinga Naik	Others - Agriculture	Karnataka
Tsering Namgyal	Art	Ladakh
A K C Natarajan	Art	Tamil Nadu
V L Nghaka	Literature and Education	Mizoram
Sonu Nigam	Art	Maharashtra
Ram Sahay Panday	Art	Madhya Pradesh
Chirapat Prapandavidya	Literature and Education	Thailand
Ms. K V Rabiya	Social Work	Kerala
Anil Kumar Rajvanshi	Science and Engineering	Maharashtra
Sheesh Ram	Art	Uttar Pradesh
Ramachandraiah	Art	Telangana
Dr. Sunkara Venkata Adinarayana Rao	Medicine	Andhra Pradesh
Ms. Gamit Ramilaben Raysingbhai	Social Work	Gujarat
Ms. Padmaja Reddy	Art	Telangana
Guru Tulku Rinpoche	Others - Spiritualism	Arunachal Pradesh
Brahmanand Sankhwalkar	Sports (Football)	Goa
Vidyanand Sarek	Literature and Education	Himachal Pradesh
Kali Pada Saren	Literature and Education	West Bengal
Dr. Veeraswamy Seshiah	Medicine	Tamil Nadu
Ms. Prabhaben Shah	Social Work	Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu
Dilip Shahani	Literature and Education	Delhi
Ram Dayal Sharma	Art	Rajasthan
Vishwamurti Shastri	Literature and Education	Jammu and Kashmir
Ms. Tatiana Lvovna Shaumyan	Literature and Education	Russia
Siddhalingaiah (Posthumous)	Literature and Education	Karnataka
Kaajee Singh	Art	West Bengal
Konsam Ibomcha Singh	Art	Manipur
Prem Singh	Social Work	Punjab
Seth Pal Singh	Others - Agriculture	Uttar Pradesh
Ms. Vidya Vindu Singh	Literature and Education	Uttar Pradesh
Baba Iqbal Singh Ji	Social Work	Punjab
Dr. Bhimsen Singhal	Medicine	Maharashtra
Sivananda	Others - Yoga	Uttar Pradesh
Ajay Kumar Sonkar	Science and Engineering	Uttar Pradesh
Ms. Ajita Srivastava	Art	Uttar Pradesh
Sadguru Brahmeshanand Acharya Swami	Others - Spiritualism	Goa
Dr. Balaji Tambe (Posthumous)	Medicine	Maharashtra
Raghuvendra Tanwar	Literature and Education	Haryana
Dr. Kamlakar Tripathi	Medicine	Uttar Pradesh
Ms. Lalita Vakil	Art	Himachal Pradesh
Ms. Durga Bai Vyam	Art	Madhya Pradesh
Jyantkumar Maganlal Vyas	Science and Engineering	Gujarat
Ms. Badaplin War	Literature and Education	Meghalaya

Jan 24, 2022
1. Jan 24 is observed as National Girl Child Day in India, initiated in 2008 by Ministry of Women and Child Development.
2. Jan 24 is observed globally as International Day of Education, with 2022 theme ‘Changing Course, Transforming Education’. It was celebrated for first time in 2019 by UNESCO.
3. Jan 24 is foundation day of Uttar Pradesh, which was formed on Jan 24, 1950.
4. ICC Cricket Awards 2021 -
  1. Men's Cricketer of the Year (Garfield Sobers Trophy) - Shaheen Afridi (Pakistan)
  2. Men's Test Cricketer of the Year - Joe Root (England)
  3. Men's ODI Cricketer of the Year - Babar Azam (Pakistan)
  4. Men's T20I Cricketer of the Year - Mohammad Rizwan (Pakistan)
  5. Men's Emerging Cricketer of the Year - Janneman Malan (South Africa)
  6. Men's Associate Cricketer of the Year - Zeeshan Maqsood (Oman)
  7. Women’s Cricketer of the Year - Smriti Mandhana (India)
  8. Women’s ODI Cricketer of the Year - Lizelle Lee (South Africa)
  9. Women’s T20I Cricketer of the Year - Tammy Beaumont (England)
  10. Women’s Emerging Cricketer of the Year - Fatima Sana (Pakistan)
  11. Women's Associate Women's Cricketer of the Year - Andrea-Mae Zepeda (Austria)
  12. Spirit of Cricket - Daryl Mitchell (New Zealand)
  13. Umpire of the Year (David Shepherd Trophy) - Marais Erasmus (South Africa)
Jan 23, 2022
1. Jan 23, 2022 is 125th Birth Anniversary of Great Freedom Fighter Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose (Born 1897).
  1. In 2021, Govt had announced to celebrate January 23rd every year as 'Parakram Diwas', to commemorate birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.
  2. On this occasion -
    1. Government announced to install a grand statue of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose at India Gate.
    2. Former Japan PM Shinzo Abe has been conferred with Netaji Award 2022, by Netaji Research Bureau.
    3. Govt announced winners of Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar 2022 -
      1. For 2022, Gujarat Institute of Disaster Management (GIDM) (in institutional category) and Professor Vinod Sharma (at Indian Institute of Public Administration) (in Individual category) have been selected for Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar.
      2. About -
        Govt instituted annual Subhas Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar to honour invaluable contribution and selfless service rendered by individuals and organisations in field of disaster management.
        
        It is announced every year on 23rd January, carrying cash prize of 51 lakh for an institution and 5 lakh for an individual.
2. 2022 Syed Modi International Badminton Title 2022 (Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh) -
  1. Men's singles - Not awarded
  2. Women's singles - P. V. Sindhu (India)
  3. Men's doubles - Malaysia' Man Wei Chong AND Tee Kai Wun
  4. Women's doubles - Malaysia's Anna Cheong AND Teoh Mei Xing
3. To promote precision farming in India, Ministry of Agriculture issued revised guidelines of Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanization, to make drone technology affordable.
  1. It envisages granting upto 100% of cost of agriculture drone or 10 lakhs,whichever is less, as grant for purchase of drones by Farm Machinery Training & Testing Institutes, ICAR institutes, Krishi Vigyan Kendras and State Agriculture Universities, for demonstrations of this technology to farmers.
Jan 22, 2022
1. Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari released book The Legend of Birsa Munda, authored by Tuhin A Sinha and Ankita Verma. It is story of tribal hero Birsa Munda, who courageously fought against oppressive British Raj for rights of his tribal community.
2. As per UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Investment Trends Monitor -
  1. Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) flows to India fell by 26 % in 2021, compared to 2020, mainly because large M&A deals recorded in 2020 were not repeated in 2021.
  2. Global FDI flows showed rebound in 2021, growing 77 % to USD 1.65 trillion, from USD 929 billion in 2020.
3. Mia Mottley has been appointed as Prime Minister of Caribbean Nation Barbados, for his second term.
4. Home Minister Amit Shah released India’s First District Good Governance Index for 20 districts of Jammu and Kashmir.
  1. Top 5 districts - Jammu, Doda, Samba, Pulwama and Srinagar.
Jan 21, 2022
1. Jan 21 is statehood day of Northeastern States of Tripura, Manipur and Meghalaya (Formed in 1972).
2. Indonesia approved to relocate country’s capital from Jakarta to Nusantara, to be built on Borneo Island, in the forested province of East Kalimantan.
  1. The decision has been taken amid growing concerns over long-term sustainability of Jakarta amid climate change, as it is rapidly sinking and is very prone to flooding.
3. Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) launched Saa₹thi mobile app, to empower investors with accurate knowledge about the securities market.
4. American IT Firm Microsoft acquired American video game holding company Activision Blizzard, in an all-cash transaction valued at $68.7 billion, as Microsoft's biggest acquisition ever.
5. Misc. MOUs (Jan 2022) -
  1. Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode’s (IIMK) Business incubator Laboratory for Innovation Venturing and Entrepreneurship (LIVE), signed MoU with Indian Bank, to financially support early-stage startups, with loans up to 50 Crores.
  2. MoU signed between CSIR (India) and Institut Pasteur (France), for boosting S&T Cooperation in Health between India and France.
6. United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and Odisha Government partnered to improve food security of small and marginal farmers in India by strengthening their resilience to climate change.
7. Govt named Vikram Dev Dutt as CMD of Air India.
  1. Earlier in 2021, Govt had accepted Tata Son’s bid of 18000 crores to acquire debt-laden Air India.
Jan 20, 2022
1. Indian PM Narendra Modi and Mauritius PM Pravind Kumar Jugnauth virtually inaugurated Several Developmental Projects in Mauritius -
  1. India-assisted Social Housing Units project.
  2. Civil Service College and 8MW Solar PV Farm projects in Mauritius, being undertaken under India’s development support.
  3. Agreement on extending a US$ 190 mn Line of Credit from India to Mauritius for Metro Express Project and other infrastructure projects, and MoU on implementation of Small Development Projects has also been exchanged.
2. General Conferences (Jan 11-20, 2022) -
  1. 1st meeting of India-Central Asia Summit, with participation of the Presidents of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, held virtually.
  2. India & Denmark agreed to initiate joint research and development on green fuels including green hydrogen, while adopting Green Strategic Partnership – Action Plan 2020-2025.
  3. Kerala’s Kumbalanghi became India’s first sanitary napkin-free Village, as part of Avalkayi initiative.
  4. Railways renamed Kevadiya railway station in Narmada district of Gujarat, as Ekta Nagar railway station.
  5. Railway Protection Force (RPF) Western Railways zone launched initiative Mission Amanat, to make it easier for railway passengers to get back their lost belongings.
  6. Haryana Govt announced to develop India’s 1st heli-hub with all aviation facilities, in Gurugram.
  7. North East on Wheels Expedition organized in New Delhi to promote Culture of Northeastern States.
  8. Jahnavi Dangeti (from Andhra Pradesh) became first Indian to complete NASA’s International Air and Space Program, as part of group of 20 students globally.
  9. PM Narendra Modi Virtually attended World Economic Forum’s (WEF’s) Annual Davos Agenda Summit 2022, held with theme The State of the World.
  10. Govt released a commemorative postal stamp on Covid-19 vaccination, to mark first anniversary of national immunization programme against COVID-19.
  11. Karnataka Govt launched India’s first AVGC Center of Excellence (CoE) (Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, and Comics) in Mahadevapura, Bengaluru.
3. Book Bose: The Untold Story of An Inconvenient Nationalist, authored by Chandrachur Ghose, will be released in February 2022.
4. As per International Labour Organisation (ILO)'s World Employment and Social Outlook – Trends 2022 -
  1. ILO downgraded its forecast for labour market recovery in 2022, with global unemployment level in 2022 to stay at 207 million, compared to 186 million in 2019.
5. American pharma Firm Pfizer's Chairman and CEO, Albert Bourla, has been awarded with Genesis Prize 2022, for his efforts in leading development of a Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.
  1. It carries cash prize of $1 million, awarded annually to Jewish people who have achieved significant professional success, referred to as Jewish Nobel Prize.
  2. The prize was founded in 2012, under administration of Genesis Prize Foundation, in partnership with Jewish Agency for Israel.
Jan 19, 2022
1. Cabinet Approvals (Jan 19, 2022) -
  1. CCEA -
    1. Approved equity infusion of 1500 crore in Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Limited (IREDA), to help employment generation of approximately 10200 jobs-year and CO2 equivalent emission reduction of approximately 7.49 Million Tonnes CO2/year.
  2. General -
    1. Approved payment of ex-gratia amount of 974 crores pertaining to remaining claims submitted by Lending Institutions (LIs) under Scheme for grant of ex-gratia payment of difference between compound interest and simple interest for six months to borrowers in specified loan accounts (1-3-2020 to 31-8-2020).
    2. Approved extension of tenure of National Commission for Safai Karamcharis (NCSK) for three years beyond 31-3-2022, with total implication approx 44 crores.
2. Osman Hussein is named as acting prime minister of Sudan, after resignation of earlier PM Abdalla Hamdok.
3. Roberta Metsola (Malta) has been named as President of the European Parliament, after earlier President David Sassoli passed away.
  1. Also, France assumed rotating presidency of Council of the European Union, for 6 Months, wef January 2022.
4. 2022 India Open Badminton (New Delhi) -
  1. Men's singles - Lakshya Sen (India)
  2. Women's singles - Busanan Ongbamrungphan (Thailand)
  3. Men's doubles - India's Satwiksairaj Rankireddy AND Chirag Shetty
  4. Women's doubles - Thailan's Benyapa Aimsaard AND Nuntakarn Aimsaard
5. Dubai (UAE) publically opened its Iconic Infinity Bridge, for the first time.
  1. Its design resembles a mathematical sign for infinity (∞). It is 300 meters long and 22 meters wide, and improves link between Deira and Bur Dubai.
6. Jan 19 is observed as Kokborok Day (Tripuri language Day), celebrated in Tripura.
Jan 18, 2022
1. Government Appointed Manoj Pande as New Vice Chief of Indian Army, to succeed CP Mohanty.
2. Best FIFA Football Awards 2021 -
  1. Men’s Player - Robert Lewandowski (Poland)
  2. Women’s Player - Alexia Putellas (Spain)
  3. Puskas Award - Erik Lamela (Argentina)
  4. Men’s Goalkeeper - Edouard Mendy
3. 2022 Sydney International Tennis (Australia) -
  1. Men's singles - Aslan Karatsev (Russia). He defeated Andy Murray (UK).
  2. Women's singles - Paula Badosa (Spain). She defeated Barbora Krejčíková (Czech Republic)
  3. Men's doubles - John Peers (Australia ) AND Filip Polášek (Slovakia)
  4. Women's doubles - Anna Danilina (Kazakhstan) AND Beatriz Haddad Maia (Brazil)
4. US Treasury minted coins featuring poet Maya Angelou, first black woman ever featured on the US 25-cent coin known as a quarter.
  1. She was first black woman to write and perform a poem at a presidential inauguration. In 2010, she was given a Presidential Medal of Freedom, highest US civilian award.
5. South Africa launched its first satellite constellation developed entirely in African continent, known as Maritime Domain Awareness Satellite (MDASat) constellation. It was launched onboard SpaceX’s Transporter-3 mission, in US.
Jan 17, 2022
1. Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) organized first-ever Startup India Innovation Week between 10th -16th January, 2022. Also, on this occasion -
  1. Govt declared 16th January to be observed as National Start-up Day.
  2. 46 Startups announced winners of the National Startup Awards 2021 along with 1 incubator and 1 accelerator.
2. Philippines became first foreign country to place order for purchase of India'a BrahMos Shore-Based cruise Missile System for its navy, with cost $375 million.
3. As per Henley Passport Index ranking for first quarter of 2022 -
  1. India’s passport ranks 83rd, compared to 90th rank last year. India’s passport shares this ranking with Sao Tome and Principe (Central Africa).
  2. Japan and Singapore passports again emerged as world’s most powerful passports in 2022, while Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan have been ranked as weakest passports.
4. Bajrangi Bhaijaan Firm actress Harshaali Malhotra has been awarded 12th Bharat Ratna Dr Ambedkar Award 2022 by Maharashtra Govt, for her contribution in field of Cinema.
Jan 16, 2022
1. Daniel Ortega has been re-elected as president of Nicargua (Central America), for his 5th term (4th consecutive).
2. Autobiography of Arundhati Bhattacharya, first-ever Female Chairperson of State Bank of India, has been released. It has been titled Book Indomitable: A Working Woman’s Notes on Life, Work and Leadership.
3. Misc. Science News / Events (Jan 2022) -
  1. Facebook parent company Meta announced to build AI Research SuperCluster (RSC), as fastest supercomputer in world, to be launched by mid 2022.
  2. ISRO successfully conducted qualification test of Cryogenic Engine for Gaganyaan programme, along with High Thrust Vikas Rocket Engine, at ISRO Propulsion Complex in Mahendragiri (Tamil Nadu).
    1. Vikas engine variants are used to power second stage of Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), boosters and second stage of Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) Mark I and II and also core stage of GSLV Mark III.
    2. Gaganyaan is an Indian crewed orbital spacecraft intended to be formative spacecraft of Indian Human Spaceflight Programme, being designed to carry 3 people. In its First crewed mission, the capsule will orbit Earth at 400 km altitude for up to 7 days, planned for 2023.
  3. A new species of rainfrog, discovered in the Panama jungle, has been named after Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg, as Pristimantis gretathunbergae.
4. Tasnim Mir became first Indian to get World no 1 in Under-19 (U-19) Girls Singles category, in latest Badminton World Federation (BWF) Junior rankings.
  1. Notably, World No.1 position in Boy’s Singles is shared by Lakshya Sen, Siril Verma and Aditya Joshi.
Jan 15, 2022
1. Jan 15 is observed as Indian Army Day. 2022 Theme is In Stride with the Future .
  1. On this occasion -
    1. Indian Army unveiled a Monumental National Flag of size 225 feet by 150 feet at Jaisalmer Military Station, as world’s largest national flag made of Khadi fabric.
  2. It marks taking over of Lt Gen K M Cariappa (later Field Marshal) as commander-in-chief of the Indian Army in 1949 from General Francis Butcher, the last British commander-in-chief of India.
  3. General Cariappa retired on January 14, 1953. His retirement day is being celebrated as Armed Forces Veterans Day every year since 2017.
  4. Jan 15 is also observed as Thiruvalluvar Day, marking birth anniversary of Noted Tamil poet and philosopher Thiruvalluvar (commonly known as Valluvar).
2. Raghuvendra Tanwar (Kurukshetra University) has been appointed as chairman of Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR).
3. 2022 India Open Badminton (New Delhi) -
  1. Men's singles - Lakshya Sen (India). He defeated World Champion Loh Kean Yew (Singapore).
  2. Women's singles - Busanan Ongbamrungphan (Thailand)
  3. Men's doubles - India's Satwiksairaj Rankireddy AND Chirag Shetty
  4. Women's doubles -Thailand's Benyapa Aimsaard AND Nuntakarn Aimsaard
Jan 14, 2022
1. 2022 Melbourne Summer Set 1 Tennis (one of two tournaments of the Melbourne Summer Set, Australia)-
  1. Men's singles - Rafael Nadal (Spain)
  2. Women's singles - Simona Halep (Romania)
2. 2022 Adelaide International 1 Tennis (Australia) -
  1. Men's singles - Gaël Monfils (France)
  2. Women's singles - Ashleigh Barty (Australia)
  3. Men's doubles - India's Rohan Bopanna AND Ramkumar Ramanathan
  4. Women's doubles- Australia's Ashleigh Barty AND Storm Sanders
3. Alikhan Smailov has been named New Prime Minister of Kazakhstan.
4. Kochi (Kerala) became India’s first city to have a Water Metro Project, after launch of its first boat namd Muziris, built by Cochin Shipyard Limited.
  1. With outlay of 819 crores, Kochi Water Metro Ltd is majorly financed under Indo-German Financial Cooperation, with 85 million Euros assistance from German funding agency KfW (Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau).
Jan 13, 2022
1. S Somanath has been appointed as new Chief of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), succeeding K Sivan.
2. Andhra Pradesh Government increased retirement age of its State Government Employees to 62 years.
3. As per India State of Forest Report 2021, prepared by Forest Survey of India (FSI) -
  1. Total forest and tree cover in Indai is 80.9 million hectare, which is 24.62 % of geographical area. As compared to 2019, there is an increase of 2261 sq km in total forest and tree cover.
  2. Top three states showing increase in forest cover are Andhra Pradesh (647 sq km), Telangana (632 sq km), and Odisha (537 sq km).
  3. In Terms of Area, Madhya Pradesh has largest forest cover in country, followed by Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Maharashtra.
  4. In terms of forest cover as percentage of geographical area, Top five States - Mizoram (84.53%), Arunachal Pradesh (79.33%), Meghalaya (76.00%), Manipur (74.34%) and Nagaland (73.90%).
  5. Total mangrove cover in country is 4992 sq km, with increase of 17 sq Km in mangrove cover over 2019.
  6. Total carbon stock in country’s forest is estimated to be 7204 million tonnes, with increase of 79.4 million tonnes over 2019.
4. Supreme Court constituted a five-member committee to probe the security breach during the recent visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Punjab, headed by former SC judge Indu Malhotra.
Jan 12, 2022
1. January 12 is observed as National youth Day in india, to commemorate birth anniversary of Legendary Philiosopher Shri Swami Vivekananda.
  1. Day was declared by Government in 1984. Theme for National Youth Day 2022 is It’s all in the mind.
  2. On the occasion, PM Narendra Modi inaugurated 25th National Youth Festival, with Puducherry picked as host.
    1. PM also inaugurated an MSME Technology Centre in Puducherry, to function under MSME Ministry, with focus on Electronic System Design and Manufacturing (ESDM) Sector.
  3. Note that International Youth Day is celebrated on August 12 by United Nations, celebrated since 2000.
2. PSU Power Grid Corporation of India (POWERGRID) signed Joint Development Agreement with Africa50, the pan-African infrastructure investment platform, to develop Kenya Transmission Project on a public-private partnership basis.
  1. It Includeds development, financing, construction, and operation of 400kV Lessos – Loosuk and 220kV Kisumu – Musaga transmission lines.
  2. Once completed, it will be first Independent Power Transmission (IPT) in Kenya and will set a reference point in Africa as first financing of transmission lines on a PPP basis.
3. International Monetary Fund appointed Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas (France) as its New Chief Economist, succeding Gita Gopinath, who has been named as First Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund.
4. Former RBI Governor Urjit Patel has been appointed as Vice President of Beijing Based Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), to serve as one of 5 Vice Presidents of AIIB.
5. Uttar Pradesh Govt declared four villages near Nepal border as revenue villages, named Bhavanipur, Tedhia, Dhakia and Bichhia, in Mihinpurwa tehsil of Bahraich district.
  1. These villages comprise of Vantangiya community, who are people brought from Myanmar during colonial rule to plant trees.
  2. A revenue village is a small administrative region with defined borders.
Jan 11, 2022
1. Vodafone Idea opted for converting interest on spectrum and adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues into government equity, which will make Central government single largest shareholder in Vodafone Idea, with 35.8% Stake.
2. Tata replaced Chinese Smartphone Maker Vivo as title sponsor of Indian Prelimer League Cricket Title, from 2022 Onwards.
  1. Also, two new teams have been Included in IPL from 2022 Onwards, CVC Capital's Ahmedabad Team and Sanjiv Goenka's RPSG Group for Lucknow Franchise.
3. Former West Indies Cricketer Clive Lloyd (Guyana) received Knighthood from Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge, for his services towards the game of cricket.
  1. Also, England’s world cup-winning captain Eoin Morgan was awarded with CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire).
4. Jan 11 is observed as National Human Trafficking Awareness Day.
5. Noted Industrialist Ratan Tata's authorized biography will be released by November 2022, written by retired bureaucrat Thomas Matthew
Jan 10, 2022
1. Jan 10 is observed as World Hindi day, being celebrated world wide since 2006. The language is spoken by ovrer 43 core people globally.
  1. On this occaison, UNESCO's World Heritage Centre announced to publish Hindi descriptions of India's UNESCO World Heritage Sites on WHC website.
  2. Note that National Hindi Day is different from World Hindi Day. September 14 has been named as National Hindi Day, marking adoption of Hindi in Devanagari script as an official language in different Hindi speaking states. On 50th birthday of Beohar Rajendra Simha on 14th September 1949, Hindi was adopted as an official language.
2. Mark Rutte has been re-appointed as The Netherlands' (Dutch) Prime minister, for his 4th term, after four parties agreed to form a coalition government.
3. General News / Events (Jan 1-10, 2022) -
  1. Kerala High Court became India’s first paperless court, with inauguration of its smart courtrooms.
  2. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated Kalpana Chawla Centre for Research in Space Science and Technology at Chandigarh University.
  3. Ayush Minister Sarbananda Sonowal laid foundation stone of Heartfulness International Yoga Academy in Hyderabad (Telangana).
  4. Sikkim Governor Ganga Prasad named a new road Narendra Modi Marg, built as an alternative to Jawahar Lal Nehru Marg, under Kabi Lungchok from Kyongsala, 4th mile. It has reduced distance between Gangtok and Tsomgo lake by 15 km.
  5. China announced 5 year roadmap to achieve its goal of becoming a global robotics innovation hub by 2025.
  6. 15 day long Losar Festival held in Ladakh, on onset of New Year in traditional schedule of Tibetan Buddhism.
  7. Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan launched National Educational Alliance for Technology (NEAT 3.0), which aims to provide best-developed ed-tech solutions and courses to students on a single platform.
  8. Indian-origin British Sikh Army officer Harpreet Chandi became first woman of colour to complete a solo unsupported trek to South Pole, after travelling 700 miles in 40 Days.
  9. Losoong (Namsoong) Festival celebrated across Sikkim, which marks beginning of harvest season. It begins on 1st day of new moon phase Kurneet Lovo, as per Lepcha lunisolar Calendar known as Dungkit Karchu.
4. Japan and Australia signed landmark defence agreement to allow closer cooperation between their militaries, to counter China’s growing assertiveness in Indo-Pacific region. Called Reciprocal Access Agreement, it is first such defence pact signed by Japan with any country other than US.
Jan 09, 2022
1. Jan 9 is observed as Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, established in 2003. It marks contribution of overseas Indian community in development of India. It commemorates return of M K Gandhi from South Africa to India on 9 January 1915. 2021-2022 Theme is Contributing to Atma Nirbhar Bharat.
  1. This day came into effect in 2003, but in 2015 it was revised and was decided to be celebrated every two years.
  2. Since 2017, Government doubled number of awardees each year to 30, after a decision to grant the award once every two years. It was last awarded in 2021.
2. On occasion of Parkash Purab of Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji, Govt announced that starting 2022, 26th December shall be observed as Veer Baal Diwas, to mark martyrdom of Sahibzada Zorawar Singh Ji and Sahibzada Fateh Singh Ji.
3. 79th Golden Globe Awards (honors best in film and American television) -
  1. Best Motion Picture -
    1. Drama - The Power of the Dog
    2. Musical / Comedy - West Side Story
  2. Best Performance in a Motion Picture (Drama) -
    1. Actor - Will Smith (King Richard)
    2. Actress - Nicole Kidman (Being the Ricardos)
  3. Best Performance in a Motion Picture (Musical or Comedy) -
    1. Actor - Andrew Garfield (tick, tick... BOOM!)
    2. Actress - Rachel Zegler (West Side Story)
  4. Best Supporting Performance in a Motion Picture -
    1. Supporting Actor - Kodi Smit-McPhee (The Power of the Dog)
    2. Supporting Actress - Ariana DeBose (West Side Story)
  5. Best Director - Jane Campion (The Power of the Dog)
  6. Best Foreign Language Film - Drive My Car (Japan)
  7. Best Animated Feature Film - Encanto
  8. Best Television Series -
    1. Drama - Succession (HBO)
    2. Musical or Comedy - Hacks (HBO Max)
4. RBI increased threshold limit for deposits and other extensions of funds made by non-financial small business customers from 5 to 7.5 crores for maintenance of Liquidity Coverage Ratio of banks.
  1. It has been done to better align guidelines with Basel Committee on Banking Supervision standard and enabling banks to manage liquidity risk more effectively.
5. RBI issued eligibility criteria for entities that harness data from credit information companies / credit bureaus, requiring company’s net worth to be at least 2 crores, and owned and controlled by resident Indian citizens.
6. Misc. / Industrial Awards (Jan 2022) -
  1. Kasturba Medical College's Dr Satish Adiga has been selected by Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) for Dr Subhas Mukherjee Award, for his contribution to field of in-vitro fertilization (IVF).
  2. Kovalam based Kerala Arts and Crafts Village Organization (KACV) received International Craft Award for 2021 for best craft village in world, by World Crafts Council International.
  3. HDFC Bank has been named Best Private Bank in India at Global Private Banking Awards 2021, organised by Professional Wealth Management.
  4. Shaylyn Ford (US) won Mrs World 2022 Title.
  5. Bollywood actress Sushmita Sen has been conferred with International Association of Working Women Award at Washington DC South Asian Film Festival 2021.
  6. Indian Youtuber Prajakta Koli has been named youth climate champion by United Nations Development Programme India. She is known for her channel Mostlysane.
  7. Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve (Erode, Tamil Nadu) has been honored with TX2 award, after its tiger numbers doubled to 80 since 2010. Also, Bardia National Park in Nepal won TX2 award for doubling population of wild tigers.
7. Election Commission of India increased existing election expenditure limit for candidates in Parliamentary and Assembly constituencies.
  1. Previous major revision in election expenditure limit was done in 2014, followed by a further increase of 10% in 2020.
  2. Ceiling on parliamentary poll expenditure has been raised from 70 to 95 lakh rupees in bigger states (Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Karnataka) and 54 to 75 lakhs in smaller states (Goa, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh and UTs).
  3. Ceiling on poll expenditure in UT of Jammu and Kashmir has been raised to 95 lakhs.
  4. For Assembly constituencies, expenditure limits have been enhanced from 28 to 40 lakh rupees in bigger states and 20 to 28 lakhs in smaller states.
8. Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) appointed Kuwait's Haitham Al Ghais as its new secretary-general.
9. Book Gandhi’s Assassin: The Making of Nathuram Godse and His Idea of India , authored by Dhirendra K. Jha, has been released.
10. Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat declared winners of 3rd National Water Awards for 2020 -
  1. Uttar Pradesh adjudged as Best State in water conservation efforts, followed by Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu.
  2. Best Districts -
    1. Muzaffarnagar (Uttar Pradesh) - North Zone
    2. Thiruvanathapuram (Kerala) - South Zone
    3. East Champaran (Bihar) - East Zone
    4. Indore (Madhya Pradesh) - West Zone
    5. Goalpara (Assam) - North-East Zone

Jan 07, 2022

National Statistical Office (Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation) released First Advance Estimates of National Income for FY 22 (2021-22), at both Constant (2011-12) and Current Prices -

Real GDP (GDP at Constant Prices (2011-12) ) in 2021-22 is estimated at 147.54 lakh crores, against Estimated 135.13 lakh crores for 2020-21, showing growth of 9.2 %.
Nominal GDP (GDP at Current Prices in 2021-22) is estimated at 232.15 lakh crores, against Estimated 197.46 lakh crores in 2020-21, with growth 17.6 %.

Per Capita Income -

	2019-20	2020-21 (PE)	2021-22 (1st AE)
GDP	151760	145680	169625
GNI	150320	144320	168340

NSO also estimated India’s GDP to grow at 9.2 % in FY 22 (2021-22).

Book Mamata: Beyond 2021, authored by political journalist Jayanta Ghosal, has been released.
Noted Indian numerologist JC Chaudhry achieved first-ever Guinness World Record in Numerology and first world record of 2022, by educating about ancient science to around 6000 participants from US, UK, Middle East, and India.
United Nations’ World Food Programme (WFP) partnered with Akshaya Patra Foundation, to enhance effectiveness of Pradhan Mantri – Poshan Shakti Nirman (PM POSHAN) scheme (earlier National Programme for Mid-Day Meal in Schools).
1. It aims to enhance food safety and hygiene, capacity building of cooks-cum-helpers and nutritional quality of school meals.
Bank of Baroda signed cricketer Shafali Verma as its brand endorser.
India participated in multinational exercise Sea Dragon 2022 at Guam in Western Pacific, along with US, Australia, Canada, Japan and South Korea.
Gujarat CM Bhupendra Patel launched Student Start-ups and Innovation Policy 2.0 (SSIP-2.0), for next five years, with provisions for establishment of active innovation and incubation centres in all universities in state.
1. It aims to cover 50 lakh students across 1,000 higher education institutes and 10,000 schools of innovation and entrepreneurship.
Caribbean nations Antigua and Barbuda joined India-led global green energy initiative International Solar Alliance (ISA) as its 102nd member.
China’s Zhang Ming took charge as new Secretary-General of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), which has 8 members - (China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan).

Jan 06, 2022
1. Union Minister Jitendra Singh today inaugurated India’s first unique Rock Museum, at Hyderabad-based CSIR-National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI). It displays around 35 different types of rocks from different parts of India, with ages ranging from 3.3 Billion years to around 55 Million years of Earth’s history.
  1. These rocks also represent deepest part of the earth up to 175 kms of distance from the surface of the earth.
2. PSU NHPC Limited signed Promoters Agreement with Green Energy Development Corporation of Odisha Ltd (GEDCOL), for Development of 500 MW Floating Solar Projects on different water bodies in Odisha, through formation of a JV.
  1. Equity shareholding of NHPC and GEDCOL in the proposed Joint Venture Company shall be in the proportion of 74:26.
  2. In first stage, 300 MW Floating Solar capacity will be installed in the reservoir of Rengali H.E. project.
3. Cabinet Approvals (Jan 06, 2022)
  1. CCEA -
    1. Approved scheme on Green Energy Corridor (GEC) Phase-II for Intra-State Transmission System (InSTS) for addition of approximately 10,750 circuit kilometres (ckm) of transmission lines and approx 27500 Mega Volt-Amperes (MVA) transformation capacity of substations.
      1. It will facilitate grid integration and power evacuation of approximately 20 GW of Renewable Energy (RE) power projects in seven States - Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh.
      2. It is targeted to be set up with estimated cost 12031 crores and Central Assistance 33 %. The transmission systems will be created over a period of five year from Financial Year 2021-22 to 2025-26. It will help achieve target of 450 GW installed RE capacity by 2030.
      3. This scheme is in addition to GEC-Phase-I which is already under implementation in States of Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu for grid integration and power evacuation of 24 GW of RE power, to be completed by 2022. It is for addition of 9700 ckm of transmission lines and 22600 MVA capacity of substations having cost 10142 crores.
  2. MOUs -
    1. Turkmenistan - Cooperation in field of Disaster Management.
    2. Spain - Cooperation and Mutual Assistance in Customs Matters.
    3. Nepal - construction of bridge over Mahakali River at Dharchula (India)- Dharchula (Nepal).
4. Jan 06 is observed as Journalist Day by Maharashtra government, in memory of Balshastri Jambhekar, known as Father of Marathi journalism. He started First newspaper in Marathi, named Darpan.
5. India’s Permanent Representative to United Nations, TS Tirumurti, has been named new Chair of UN Counter-Terrorism Committee.
6. Google acquired Israeli cybersecurity startup Siemplify, for $500 million, to be integrated into Google Cloud’s Chronicle operation.
7. RBI issued a framework To push digital transactions in rural and semi-urban areas, allowing offline payments up 200 per transaction, subject to overall limit of 2000. Under offline mode, payments can be carried out face-to-face (proximity mode) using any channel or instrument like cards, wallets, and mobile devices.
8. Indian-American Atul Keshap has been appointed as President of U.S.-India Business Council (USIBC), by US Chambers of Commerce.
9. Himachal Pradesh became first ‘smoke-free state’ in India, by promoting LPG Usage under welfare schemes like ‘Ujjwala Yojana’ of Centre and ‘Himachal Grihini Suvidha scheme of state government’.
Jan 05, 2022
1. As part of Azadi Ka Amrut Mahotsav celebrations, Smart Cities Mission (MoHUA) launched Smart cities and Academia Towards Action & Research (SAAR) program, a joint initiative of MoHUA, National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA) and leading academic institutions.
  1. Under it, 15 premier architecture & planning institutes will be working with Smart Cities to document landmark projects undertaken by Smart Cities Mission.
  2. Documents will capture the learnings from best practices, provide opportunities for engagement on urban development projects to students, and enable real-time information flow between urban practitioners and academia.
2. PM Narendra Modi laid foundation stones of multiple projects in Ferozepur (Punjab), worth over 42750 crores. It Notably Includes -
  1. Laid Foundation stone of 669 kilometre long Delhi-Amritsar-Katra Expressway, whch will be developed at cost 39500 crores.
    1. It will halve travel time from Delhi to Amritsar and Delhi to Katra.
    2. This Greenfield Expressway will connect key Sikh religious sites at Sultanpur Lodhi, Goindwal Sahib, Khadoor Sahib, Tarn Taran and Hindu shrine of Vaishno Devi in Katra.
  2. Projects also Include four laning of Amritsar – Una section, Mukerian - Talwara New Broad Gauge railway line, PGI Satellite Centre at Ferozepur and two medical colleges at Kapurthala and Hoshiarpur.
3. Alka Mittal has been named Chairperson and Managing Director (CMD) of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), becoming First Women to hold this post.
4. China conducted successful test-run of its artificial sun, named EAST (Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak).
  1. Its fusion reactor ran successfully for almost 20 minutes, achieving 70 million degrees Celsius temparature, which is 5 times that of sun.
  2. It utilizes power of nuclear fusion, a less explored way of harnessing nuclear energy.
Jan 04, 2022
1. PM Narendra Modi inaugurated and Laid Foundations for several projects in Imphal (Manipur) and Tripura-
  1. In Imphal (Manipur) -
    1. 280 crore worth Water Transmission system of Thoubal Multi-purpose project, to provide drinking water supply to Imphal city.
    2. Laid foundation stone of ‘Centre for Invention, Innovation, Incubation and Training (CIIIT)’ to be built in the state at a cost of about Rs 200 crore. It will be biggest PPP initiative in Manipur, aimed at boosting employment opportunities.
    3. Laid foundation stone for construction of the Manipur Institute of Performing Arts at Gurgaon (Haryana).
  2. In Tripura -
    1. Inaugurate New Integrated Terminal Building of Maharaja Bir Bikram (MBB) Airport in Agartala.
    2. Launched Project Mission 100 of Vidyajyoti Schools, aimed to improve the quality of education in state by converting 100 existing High/Higher secondary schools to Vidyajyoti Schools with state of art facilities and quality education.
    3. Launched Mukhyamantri Tripura Gram Samriddhi Yojana, which aims to achieve benchmark standards for service delivery in core development sectors at village level. It will incentivise villages for achieving benchmark standards for service delivery in different sectors.
2. Jan 04 is observed by UN as World Braille Day, proclaimed by UN in 2018, as a means of realizing human rights of visually-impaired and partially-sighted people.
  1. January 4 marks birthday of Louis Braille, the creator of Braille writing system, used by visually impaired people.
3. Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw launched India Semiconductor Mission (ISM), to attract large investments for setting up semiconductor wafer fabrication facilities in India.
  1. Under it, companies interested in developing semiconductors and display manufacturing ecosystem in India, can start applying from January 1st, 2022.
  2. Companies will be able to avail 76000 crores incentives under the mission, that have been earmarked by Centre.
  3. India Semiconductor Mission is a specialised business division created within Digital India Corporation.
4. Power Minister R.K. Singh dedicated Automatic Generation Control (AGC) to the nation, to facilitate achieving target of 500 GW non-fossil fuel-based generation capacity by 2030.
  1. AGC is operated by Power System Operation Corporation (POSOCO) through National Load Despatch Centre. Through AGC, POSOCO sends signals to power plants every 4 seconds to maintain frequency and reliability of the Power System.
Jan 03, 2022
1. Shanghai Metro (China) opened 2 new lines, making it largest Metro network in world, with length extended to 831 km.
2. Misc. Sports News / Events (Jan 2022) -
  1. Pakistan Cricketer Mohammad Hafeez announced his retirement from all forms of international cricket.
  2. Indo-Pakistani Tennis Player Sania Mirza announced her retirement, stating 2022 season to be her last.
  3. South African Cricketer Chris Morris announced retirement from all forms of cricket.
  4. Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Uzbekistan) won World Rapid Chess Championship 2021, defeating Ian Nepomniachtchi (Russia), in Warsaw (Poland).
  5. All India Sports Council of the Deaf got approval from International Committee of Sports for Deaf, to host first World Deaf T20 Cricket Championship in Kerala, in 2023.
  6. Lavni artist from Maharashtra, Sumit Bhale won gold medal at International Folk Art Festival in Dubai.
  7. Indian IT Firm TCS partnered with Canada Running Series, to become title sponsor and technology consulting partner of Toronto Waterfront Marathon and Virtual Race, through November 2026.
  8. India’s first para-badminton academy has been set up in Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh).
  9. Ladakh won 9th National Women’s Ice Hockey Championship, held in Himachal Pradesh.
3. Misc. Corporate News / Events (Jan 2022) -
  1. Insurance regulator IRDAI stated LIC, GIC Re and New India Assurance, will continue to be identified as Domestic Systemically Important Insurers (D-SIIs) for 2021-22.
  2. RBI retained SBI, ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank as Domestic Systemically Important Banks (D-SIBs). SBI is in Bucket 3, while ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank are in Bucket 1.
  3. Indian IT Firm Tech Mahindra acquired 100 % stake in Allyis India and Green Investments, for USD 125 million.
  4. NTPC Subsidiary Vidyut Vyapar Nigam (NVVN) acquired 5 % equity in Power Exchange of India (PXIL), from NSE Investment Ltd.
  5. Nippon Life India Asset Management Limited (NAM India) launched Nippon India Nifty Auto ETF , as India’s first auto sector ETF.
  6. RBI Categorized Airtel Payments Bank as a scheduled bank in 2nd schedule of RBI Act 1934.
  7. RBI Allowed Fino Payments Bank to offer international money transfer service, under Money Transfer Service Scheme.
  8. Apple became first company to scale market cap of $3 trillion.
  9. India exported goods worth US$ 37.29 billion in December 2021, highest ever in a month.
  10. NPCI Bharat BillPay introduced Unified Presentment Management System (UPMS), to enable customers to set up standing instructions for any mode on their recurring bill payments.
  11. RBI cancelled Certificate of Authorisation of Payment System Operators Muthoot Vehicle and Asset Finance and Eko India Financial Services, amid non-compliance with regulatory requirements under Payment and Settlement Systems Act 2007.
  12. Reliance Retail invested $200 million in Bengaluru-based quick commerce startup Dunzo, for 25.8 % stake.
  13. Reliance Industries acquired controlling stake of 73.37% in Mandarin Oriental New York, a premium luxury hotel in midtown Manhattan (US), for $98.15 million.
  14. Ministry of External Affairs signed agreement with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) for second phase of Passport Seva Programme (PSP-V2.0), which envisages rolling out chip-enabled e-passports, increasing data security and ensuring good customer experience.
  15. YES Asset Management has been re-named as WhiteOak Capital Asset Management Limited. Earlier, White Oak Capital Group subsidiary GPL Finance and Investments had acquired mutual fund business of Yes Bank.
  16. RBI has set up a separate internal department for fintech (Financial technology), by subsuming FinTech Division of Department of Payment and Settlement Systems, Central Office. Ajay Kumar Choudhary, who was recently promoted as Executive Director of RBI, has been appointed as head of new FINTECH department.
  17. Buy Now Pay Later solution LazyPay partnered with SBM Bank India, to launch LazyCard, a prepaid payment instrument backed by a credit line, using Visa network.
  18. Adani Group and South Korea’s largest steelmaker POSCO signed MoU, to explore business opportunities, including establishment of an environment-friendly integrated steel mill at Mundra (Gujarat), with cost up to $5 billion.
  19. Payments Firm MobiKwik launched ClickPay, in collaboration with NPCI Bharat BillPay (NBBL), to enable customers to pay recurring online bills with ease.
  20. Reliance Jio Became first Telecom Firm to introduce UPI AUTOPAY, going live with unique e-mandate feature launched by NPCI.
  21. Jio Platforms partnered with University of Oulu (Finland), to accelerate research and standardization in 6G technology.
  22. Paytm Money introduced AI messenger Pops, in partnership with InvestorAi, to enable users to receive specific tips / info about their portfolio and market.
  23. Ujjivan Small Finance Bank launched Platina Fixed Deposit, offering interest of 15 basis points higher than regular term deposits. Platina FD is a non-callable deposit, where partial & premature withdrawal is not applicable.
4. Capital markets regulator SEBI restructured its primary market advisory committee on data, to be headed by former IBBI Chairman S Sahoo. Earlier, this panel was headed by Madhabi Puri Buch.
5. Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Awards 2021 -
  1. Hindi (Print): Anand Choudhary, Dainik Bhaskar
  2. Hindi (Broadcast): Sushil Kumar Mohapatra, NDTV India
  3. Regional Languages (Print): Aniket Vasant Sathe, Loksatta
  4. Regional Languages (Broadcast): Sunil Baby, Media One TV
  5. Business And Economic Journalism (Print): Sumant Banerji, Business Today
  6. Business And Economic Journalism (Broadcast): Ayushi Jindal, India Today TV
  7. Reporting On Politics And Government (Digital): Dheeraj Mishra, The Wire
  8. Reporting On Politics And Government (Broadcast): Seemi Pasha, Thewire.in
  9. Sports journalism (Print): Nihal Koshie, The Indian Express
  10. Sports journalism (Broadcast): Team NewsX
  11. Investigative Reporting (Print): Kaunain Sheriff M, The Indian Express
  12. Investigative Reporting (Broadcast): S Mahesh Kumar, Manorama News
  13. Prakash Kardaley Memorial Award for Civic Journalism: Chaitanya Marpakwar, Mumbai Mirror
  14. Photojournalism: Zishaan A Latif, The Caravan
  15. Books (Non-Fiction): Arun Mohan Sukumar
Jan 02, 2022
1. PM Narendra Modi laid foundation stone of Major Dhyan Chand Sports University in Meerut (Uttar Pradesh), to be established at an cost 700 Crores and will be equipped with modern and state of the art sports infrastructure.
  1. It will have capacity of training 1080 sports persons including 540 female and 540 male sportspersons.
2. Govt named Vinay Kumar Tripathi as new Chairman and CEO of Railway Board, succeeding Suneet Sharma.
3. V.S. Pathania has been appointed as new Director General (DG) of Indian Coast Guard.
Jan 01, 2022
1. Gross GST revenue collected in December 2021 is 129780 crores (CGST 22578 crores, SGST 28658 crores, IGST 69155 crores, and cess 9389 crores).
2. Obituaries (January 2022) -
  1. Sindhutai Sapkal - Noted Padma Shri awardee social worker, known particularly for her work in raising orphaned children (From Maharashtra).
  2. Shanti Devi - Noted Padma Shri Awardee social worker (From Odisha).
  3. Pandit Birju Maharaj - Noted Kathak dancer. He was honored with several awards including Sangeet Natak Akademi Award and Padma Vibhushan (From Uttar Pradesh).
  4. Narayan Debnath - Noted Padma Shri Awardee cartoonist (From West Bengal).
  5. Thiru R. Nagaswamy - Eminent Padma Bhushan Awardee Historian and archaeologist. He was known for his work on temple inscriptions and art history of Tamil Nadu.
  6. K Ayyappan Pillai - Freedom fighter (From Kerala).
  7. Vijay Galani - Bollywood film producer.
  8. Richard Leakey - Noted Kenyan conservationist and fossil hunter, credited for discovery of ‘Turkana Boy’ in 1984 which led to groundbreaking discoveries proving that humankind evolved in Africa. Turkana boy is most complete fossil Skelton of a human ancestor ever found.
  9. Viktor Danilovich Saneyev - Olympic triple jump 3-time gold medalist and former world record holder. He was Georgian who competed internationally for USSR.
  10. Sidney Poitier - Bahamian-American actor, who was First Black man to win an Academy Award for Best Actor (Oscar).
  11. Neil Nongkynrih - Noted Padma Shri Awardee Indian concert pianist and conductor, and founder of Shillong Chamber Choir, which won reality show India's Got Talent in 2010.
  12. Marilyn Bergman - Noted American songwriter, and Oscar Awardee, along with husband Alan Bergman.
  13. Chandrashekhar Patil - Noted Kannada writer, popularly known as Champa.
  14. Toshiki Kaifu - Former Prime Minister of Japan.
  15. Narayan Debnath - Noted Bengali comics artist and writer.
  16. Saoli Mitra - Noted Bengali theatre personality. She was recipient of Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, Padma Shri and Banga Bibhusan.
  17. M K Prasad -Noted environmentalist & ‘Save Silent Valley’ campaigner, which was aimed at saving evergreen tropical rain forests in Kerala’s Silent Valley.
  18. Hari Pal Singh Ahluwalia - Noted mountaineer. He was one of six Indian men (and 21st globally), to climb Mount Everest. He was honored with Padma Bhushan, Padma Shri and Arjuna Award.
  19. Subhas Bhowmick - Former India footballer.
  20. Milena Salvini - Noted Italian-born French exponent and Kathakali dancer. She was honored with Padma Shri, in 2019.
  21. Charanjit Singh - Former Hockey player.
  22. Baba Iqbal Singh - Noted Social Worker / Educationist. He was honored with Padma Shri, in 2022.
  23. Anil Awachat - Noted Marathi author and social activist, known for founding a de-addiction center called Muktangan Rehabilitation Center in Pune.
3. Misc. Appointments (January 2022) -
  1. G Asok Kumar has been named as new Director General for the National Mission for Clean Ganga (Ministry of Jal Shakti).
  2. Narendra Kumar Goenka has been named as Chairman of Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC).
  3. RBI appointed Ajay Kumar Choudhary and Deepak Kumar as Executive Directors.
  4. Baldev Prakash has been appointed as MD & CEO of J&K Bank.
  5. Govt re-appointed Vijay Paul Sharma as chairman of Commission for Agricultural Costs & Prices (CACP).
  6. Ayesha Malik has been named as First Female Supreme Court judge in Pakistan.
  7. RBI approved appointment of Ittira Davis as MD & CEO of Ujjivan Small Finance Bank.
  8. Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative (IFFCO) named Dileep Sanghani as its new Chairman.
  9. Govt named Vinodanand Jha as Chairperson of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) Adjudicating Authority.
4. Misc. Defence News (January 2022) -
  1. DRDO successfully flight tested final deliverable configuration of indigenously developed Man Portable Anti-Tank Guided Missile (MPATGM). MPATGM is an Indian 3rd Generation Fire-and-Forget Anti-Tank Guided Missile derived from Nag ATGM, under development in partnership with Indian Firm VEM Technologies.
  2. Fourth tug in series of 50Ton Bollard Pull Tugs, named Balbir, built by Hindustan Shipyard Ltd, has been delivered to Indian Navy.
  3. Maritime Partnership Exercise held between Indian Navy and Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force, in Bay of Bengal.
  4. Russia successfully test-fired new Tsirkon (Zircon) hypersonic cruise missiles, which are capable of flying at nine times the speed of sound and have a range of 1000 KM.
  5. Israel Successfully Flight Tested Arrow-3, as an exoatmospheric hypersonic anti-ballistic missile with flight range up to 2400 km.
  6. Swedish defence Firm Saab has been selected by Indian Armed Forces, for supply of single-shot anti-armour weapon AT4, to be used by Indian Army and Air Force.
  7. Russia, Chinese and Iranian navies undertook naval exercises CHIRU-2Q22 in Gulf of Oman.

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