Jan 2023 Daily News Current Affairs

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Jan 31, 2023
1. Indian Railways News (Jan 2023) -
  1. Varanasi Cantt Railway Station (Uttar Pradesh) has been awarded a 5- star Eat Right Station certification by FSSAI, for providing high-quality, nutritious food to passengers. Other stations with Star certification include -
    1. Anand Vihar Terminal Railway Station (Delhi) - 5 Star
    2. Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (Mumbai) - 5 Star
    3. Vadodara Railway Station (Gujarat) - 5 Star
    4. Chandigarh Railway Station - 5 Star
    5. Kanpur Central Railway Station - 5 Star
    6. Bhopal Railway Station (MP) - 4 Star
    7. Mumbai Central Railway Station (Mumbai) - 4 Star
    8. Bhubwneswar Railway Station (Odisha) - 4 Star
  2. Ghaziabad-Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyay section (762 KM) became longest fully automatic block signalling section of Indian Railways, ained at increasing line capacity and efficiency.
  3. Visakhapatnam railway station (East Coast Railway) has been awarded Green Railway Station Certification with highest rating of Platinum, by Indian Green Building Council (IGBC), for adopting green concepts and reducing adverse environmental impact.
2. Ministry of Information and Broadcasting organized Shanghai Cooperation Organization Film Festival 2023 in Mumbai (Maharashtra), to mark India’s Presidency of SCO in 2023.
  1. Notable Awardees -
    1. Best Film - Marathi Film Godavari (directed by Nikhil Mahajan).
    2. Best director - Rao Xiaozhi for Chinese film Homecoming.
    3. Best Actor (male) - Kazakh actor Askar Ilyasov for Paralympian.
    4. Best Actor (female) - Uzbekistan's Rano Shodiyeva for The Fate of a Woman.
3. General News / Events (Jan 21-31, 2023) -
  1. Home Minister Amit Shah laid foundation stone of Karnataka campus of National Forensic Science University at Dharwad.
  2. Election Commission of India (ECI) hosted 2nd International Conference on Use of Technology and Elections Integrity at New Delhi.
  3. Odisha govt organized International Craft Summit in Jajpur, as first-of-its-kind craft summit to feature pioneer craftspersons, culture, and art enthusiasts.
  4. First India Stack Developer Conference organized in New Delhi.
  5. Khadi Fest- 23 held at KVIC Headquarters in Mumbai.
  6. Woxsen University (Telangana) launched Project Aspirations for girls of Classes IX-XII of Telangana Model School & Junior College, to help them develop Goals & learn to work towards achieving them.
  7. 3rd edition of Orange Festival organized in Nagaland’s Rusoma village, to mark harvest of organic oranges in district.
4. Visits to India (Jan 2023) -
  1. Csaba Korosi (Hungary), President of 77th Session of UN General Assembly, visited India.
5. Visits from India (Jan 2023) -
  1. Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal visited USA, to participate in India - US Trade Policy Forum meet in Washington DC.
    1. Notably, Ministers launched a new working group on Resilient Trade, to deepen bilateral dialogue on a range of issues that can enhance resiliency and sustainability of trade relationship.
6. Petr Pavel has been named as new President of Czech Republic (Central Europe). He earlier served as Chairman of NATO Military Committee.
7. A P Singh has been named new Vice Chief of Indian Air Force.
8. India-born British economist Meghnad Desai 's new book The Poverty Of Political Economy: How Economics Abandoned the Poor.
Jan 30, 2023
1. English translation of Lata: Sur-Gatha has been released as Lata: A Life in Music, dedicated to legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar.
  1. Originally written in Hindi by Yatindra Mishra, it has been translated in English by Ira Pande.
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.
3. As per IMF World Economy Outlook January 2023 Update -
  1. Globally -
    1. Growth is projected to fall from 3.4 % in 2022 to 2.9 % in 2023, then rise to 3.1 % in 2024.
    2. Inflation is expected to fall from 8.8 % in 2022 to 6.6 % in 2023 and 4.3 % in 2024, still above pre-pandemic (2017–19) levels of 3.5 %.
  2. India -
    1. Growth in India is set to decline from 6.8 % in 2022 to 6.1 % in 2023, before picking up to 6.8 % in 2024, with resilient domestic demand despite external headwinds.
4. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented Economic Survey FY 23 (2022-23), 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. Key Parameters -
    1. GDP Growth -
      1. Survey has estimated real GDP growth in 2023-24 (FY 24) at 6.5%. It observed that actual growth rate would lie in range 6-6.8%.
      2. GDP Growth Official Data for Past 5 years -
        2022-23 => 7 %
        
        2021-22 => 9.1 %
        
        2020-21 => -7.3 % (Contraction)
        
        2019-20 => 4 %
        
        2018-19 => 6.1 %
    2. Inflation -
      1. In 2022-23, retail inflation is estimated at 6.8%, higher than 2021-22 (5.5%), driven by international crude oil prices and food inflation.
      2. Survey expects inflation in 2023-24 to be lower than 2022-23 on back of less economic uncertainties.
    3. Current Account Deficit (CAD) -
      1. India's CAD declined to US$ 18.2 billion (or 2.2 % of GDP), in Q3 of FY 23 (Oct - Dec 2022), from US$ 36 billion (or 4.4 % of GDP), in Q2 of FY 23 (Jul - Sep 2022), due to narrowing merchandise trade deficit and robust services and private transfer receipts.
    4. Debt -
      1. Total liabilities of central government are estimated to decline from 59.2% of GDP in 2020-21 to 56.7% of GDP in 2021-22.
      2. At end-March 2022, India’s external debt was US$ 620.7 billion, with increase of US$ 47.1 billion over its level at end-March 2021.
      3. External debt to GDP ratio declined to 19.9 % at end-March 2022, from 21.2 % at end-March 2021.
  2. Agriculture and allied activities -
    1. Agriculture sector grown at an average annual rate of 4.6% during last six years. In 2021-22, it grew by 3%, lower than 2020-21 (3.3%).
    2. India remained net exporter of agricultural products with exports reaching all-time high of USD 50.2 billion in 2021-22.
    3. There has been consistent increase in institutional agricultural credit. In 2021-22, agricultural credit was 13% higher than target of 16.5 lakh crores. Target for agricultural credit for 2022-23 is 18.5 lakh crores.
  3. Industry -
    1. Industry accounts for 31% of India’s GDP and employs over 12 crore people. In 2022-23, industrial sector grew by 6.7%.
    2. India aims to achieve USD 300 billion in electronics manufacturing with USD 120 billion in exports by 2025-26.
  4. Services sector -
    1. In 2021-22, services sector grew by 8.4% as compared to a contraction of 7.8% in 2020-21 due to pandemic.
    2. In 2022-23, services sector is estimated to grow by 9.1%, and is is likely to be growth driver in 2023-24.
  5. Infrastructure -
    1. Capital expenditure in 2022-23 is targeted at 7.5 lakh crores, 35.4% higher than 2021-22.
    2. To sustain investment drive, National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP) has provided a forward-looking roadmap of investible projects of around Rs 111 lakh crore between 2019-20 and 2024-2025. Currently, NIP has approx 9000 projects with investment over 108 lakh crores, with transport sector having more than half of these projects.
  6. Employment -
    1. Unemployment rate decreased from 5.8% in 2018-19 to 4.2% in 2020-21.
    2. Number of works done under MGNREGS has steadily increased over years with 85 lakh completed works in 2021-22 and 70.6 lakh completed works in 2022-23 as of end-Dec 2022.
  7. Insurance and pension -
    1. Insurance penetration (insurance premiums to GDP ratio) in India increased from 2.7% in 2000 to 4.2% in 2021.
    2. Life insurance penetration in India was 3.2% in 2021. However, most life-insurance products sold in India are savings-linked with only a small protection component. Hence, households remain exposed to a significant financing gap in event of premature death of primary breadwinner.
    3. India’s pension sector has expanded since introduction of National Pension Scheme (NPS) and Atal Pension Yojana (APY). The coverage of population under NPS and APY as a share of total population increased from 1.2% in 2016-17 to 3.7% in 2021-22.
5. RBI Digital Payments Index (RBI-DPI) for September 2022 stands at 377.46, against 349.30 for March 2022, showing growth in Digital payments spcae.
  1. RBI has been publishing DPI data since January 1, 2021 with March 2018 as base (100), to capture extent of digitisation of payments across country.
6. Best marching contingents & tableaux of Republic Day Parade 2023 -
  1. Panel Results -
    1. Best three Tableaux (States/UTs) -
      1. First - Uttarakhand (Manaskhand)
      2. Second - Maharashtra (Sade Tin Shaktipithe & Nari Shakti)
      3. Third - Uttar Pradesh (Ayodhya Deepotsav)
    2. Ministries/Departments - Ministry of Tribal Affairs (Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRSs)).
    3. Best Marching Contingent among three services - Punjab Regiment Centre Contingent.
    4. Best Marching Contingent among CAPF/other auxiliary forces - CRPF.
  2. Online Poll (on MyGov) -
    1. Best Marching Contingent among three services - Indian Air Force
    2. Best Marching Contingent among CAPF/other auxiliary forces - CRPF
    3. Best three Tableaux (States/UTs):
      1. First - Gujarat (Clean-Green energy efficient Gujarat)
      2. Second - Uttar Pradesh (Ayodhya Deepotsava)
      3. Third - Maharashtra (Sade tin Shaktipeeth and Nari Shakti)
    4. Best Tableau (Central Ministries/Departments) - CAPF (Ministry of Home Affairs)
Jan 29, 2023
1. 2023 Australian Open Grand Slam Tennis (111th edition, hosted in Melbourne) -
  1. Men's singles - Novak Djokovic (Serbia). He defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas (Greece) in final. It was novak's 10th Australian Open title and overall his 22nd grand slam title, equalling Rafael Nadal's record of 22 grand slam singles titles.
  2. Women's singles - Aryna Sabalenka (Belarus)
  3. Men's doubles - Australia's Rinky Hijikata & Jason Kubler
  4. Women's doubles - Czech Republic's Barbora Krejčíková & Kateřina Siniaková
  5. Mixed doubles - Brazil's Luisa Stefani & Rafael Matos
  6. Boys' singles - Alexander Blockx (Belgium)
  7. Girls' singles - Alina Korneeva (Russia)
2. 2023 Men's Hockey World Cup (Hosted by Odisha in Bhubaneswar, Rourkela) -
  1. Germany won the title (their 3rd), defeating Belgium in Final. Netherlands stood at 3rd place.
  2. Notable Players -
    1. Top scorer - Jeremy Hayward (Australia)
    2. Best player - Niklas Wellen (Germany)
  3. Notable Points -
    1. It was held at Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar and Newly launched Birsa Munda International Hockey Stadium in Rourkela. Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium is officially recognised by Guinness World Records as largest fully seated hockey arena in world, with seating capacity of 20000.
    2. Before Hockey World Cup 2023, Hockey India became first National Sports Federation to enter world of metaverse, by launching Hockeyverse.
    3. FIH President Tayyab Ikram presented FIH President's Award to V.K Pandian (Odisha CM Secretary (5T)), for his contribution to hockey.
3. India and Japan Air Forces held first Joint exercise called Veer Guardian 23, at Hyakuri air base and Iruma air base in Japan.
4. ICC Under-19 Women's T20 World Cup 2023 (Hosted in South Africa) -
  1. India won the title (their 1st title), defeating England in final.
5. As per All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) 2020-2021 released by Ministry of Education, depcting state of Enrollment in higher education across country -
  1. Student Enrollment -
    1. Enrollment in higher education increased to 4.14 crore in 2020-21 from 3.85 crore in 2019-20.
    2. Percentage of female enrolment to total enrolment has increased from 45% in 2014-15 to around 49% in 2020-21.
    3. Female GER has overtaken Male GER since 2017-18. Gender Parity Index (GPI), the ratio of female GER to male GER, has increased from 1 in 2017-18 to 1.05 in 2020-21.
    4. Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Rajasthan are the top 6 States in terms of number of student enrolled.
    5. Among Disciplines at undergraduate level, enrollment is highest in Arts (33.5%), followed by Science (15.5%), Commerce (13.9%) and Engineering & Technology (11.9%).
  2. Institutes -
    1. Number of Universities / University like institutions registered is 1113, Colleges 43796 and Standalone Institutions 11296. Institutes of National Importance (INIs) have doubled from 75 in 2014-15 to 149 in 2020-21.
    2. Highest number of Universities is in Rajasthan (92), Uttar Pradesh (84) and Gujarat (83).
    3. Top States with Highest college density (number of colleges per lakh eligible population) - Karnataka (62), Telangana (53), Kerala (50).
    4. 43% universities and 61.4% colleges are located in Rural Areas.
    5. Female per 100 male faculty improved to 75 in 2020-21 from 74 in 2019-20 and 63 in 2014-15.
  3. About -
    1. AISHE is being conducted since 2011. For the first time, in AISHE 2020-21, Higher education institutes have filled data using entirely online data collection platform through Web Data Capture Format developed by National Informatics Centre (NIC).
6. Atal Innovation Mission (NITI Aayog) inaugurated ACIC-CBIT centre in Hyderabad, aiming to build a community innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem to nurture innovators and startups of unserved and underserved regions.
7. Iconic Mughal Gardens at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi have been renamed as Amrit Udyan, in line with celebrations for Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav to commemorate 75th anniversary of India's independence.
Jan 28, 2023
1. Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri re-dedicated Oil and Natural Gas Corporation’s (ONGC) iconic drilling rig Sagar Samrat as a Mobile Offshore Production Unit, located approx 140 kilometres west of Mumbai.
  1. Originally Commissioned in 1973, Sagar Samrat drilled almost 125 wells and has been involved with 14 key offshore oil and gas discoveries in India. Initially a jack-up drilling rig, Sagar Samrat has now been converted into a Mobile Offshore Production Unit (MOPU).
  2. It has been designed to handle 20,000 barrels per day of crude oil and has a maximum export gas capacity of 2.36 million cubic meters per day. It will add 6000 bbls/day of oil to India’s production.
  3. Notably, India intends to increase exploration acreage to 0.5 million sq. km. by 2025 and 1.0 million sq. km. by 2030.
2. Jan 28 is observed globally as Data Privacy Day.
3. India became second country (After China) to complete transition to trade-plus-one (T+1) settlement cycle in top listed securities, to bring operational efficiency, faster fund remittances for stock market participants.
  1. T+1 (trade plus one) means that trade-related settlements will be cleared within a day of actual transactions. Earlier, trades on Indian exchanges were settled in two working days after transaction took place(T+2).
4. PepsiCo Foundation and NGO CARE India launched She Feeds the World program, to strengthen role of small-scale women producers through sustainable training and economic support. It will initially be implemented in Alipurduar and Cooch Behar districts of West Bengal.
5. Luminous Power Technologies announced to build India's first green energy-based solar panel manufacturing facility in Rudrapur (Uttarakhand).
  1. It will enable solar production capacity of 500 MW per annum, expandable up to 1 GW, producing solar panels with power output of 40W to 600W.
Jan 27, 2023
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. Northern India’s largest floating solar power project of 2000kWp (2 MW) has been inaugurated at Chandigarh.
  1. Notably, World's largest floating solar power plant is in Madhya Pradesh's Khandwa, with 600 MW capacity.
3. RBI announced to issue maiden Sovereign Green Bonds (SGrBs) in two tranches, for an amount of 16000 crores (8000 crores in each tranche).
  1. Proceeds will be utilised for funding public sector projects seeking to reduce carbon emissions.
  2. First auction was done on January 25, while second to be on February 9, 2023.
  3. Earlier in Nov 2022, Govt had approved final framework for Sovereign Green Bonds, as promised in Budget 2022-23.
  4. Also, RBI stated that sovereign green bonds issued by govt will not have any restrictions on foreign investment.
4. Ports & Shipping Minister Sarbananda Sonowal inaugurated The National Logistics Portal (marine), as one-stop platform aimed at connecting stakeholders of logistics community, to improve efficiency and transparency by reducing costs and time delays.
  1. NLP will be a single window for all trade processes of logistics sector spread across country, covering all modes of transport.
5. Govt invited bids for a mega International Container Transhipment Port (ICTP) be set up at Galathea Bay of Great Nicobar Island of Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
  1. Proposed facility is envisaged to be developed in four phases. Phase 1 is proposed to be commissioned in 2028 with handling capacity of 4 Million TEUs (Twenty Equipment Unit), increasing to 16 Million TEUs in the ultimate stage of development
  2. Phase 1 will cost 18000 crores, while total project cost is 41000 crores.
  3. Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port Kolkata (SMPK) is nodal agency for implementation of this project, on behalf of Ministry of Ports,Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW).
Jan 26, 2023
1. Jan 26, 2023 observed as 74th Republic day of India. It marks enactment of Indian constitution on Jan 26, 1950.
  1. Chief Guest -
    1. President of Egypt, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi was Chief Guest at Republic Day 2023 celebrations.
      1. Notably, India and Egypt signed MOU To strengthen cultural ties, during visit of President of Egypt Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.
    2. Notably, Republic day parade did not have any Chief guest in earlier 2 years (2021 & 2022), due t0 Covid-19 Pandemic.
  2. Awards -
    1. President Ram Nath kovind approved conferment of Jeevan Raksha Padak Series Awards 2022 on 43 persons, which includes Sarvottam Jeevan Raksha Padak to 7, Uttam Jeevan Raksha Padak to 8 and Jeevan Raksha Padak to 28 persons.
    2. President Draupadi Murmu Conferred Rashtriya Bal Puraskar 2023 to 11 children under various categories (age group 5-18 years).
    3. President approved 412 Gallantry and other Defence decorations to Armed Forces personnel (Army - 285, Navy - 40, Air Force - 75, MHA - 7, BRDB - 4, Coast Guard - 1). Awards Include 6 Kirti Chakras, 15 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.
        
        Kirti Chakra -
        Major Shubhang (Army)
        
        Jitendra Singh (Army)
        
        Rohit Kumar (J&k Police)
        
        Deepak Bhardwaj (MHA)
        
        Sodhi Narayan (MHA)
        
        Shrawan Kashyap (MHA)
        
        Shaurya Chakra -
        Aditya Bhadauria (Army)
        
        Arun Kumar (Army)
        
        Yudhvir Singh (Army)
        
        Rakesh T R (Army)
        
        Jasbir Singh (Army)
        
        Vikas Choudhary (Army)
        
        Mudasir Ahmad Sheikh (Army)
        
        Yogeshwar Krishnarao Kandalkar (Air Force)
        
        Tejpal (Air Force)
        
        Sandeep Kumar Jhajhria (Air Force)
        
        Anand Singh (Air Force)
        
        Sunil Kumar (Air Force)
        
        Satendra Singh (MHA)
        
        Vikki Kumar Pandey (MHA)
        
        Vijay Oraon (MHA)
      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 Notable Gallantary Medals Announced on Republic Day 2023 -
        29 Param Vishisht Seva Medals
        
        3 UttamYudhSeva Medals
        
        1 Bar to Ati Vishisht Seva Medal
        
        52 Ati Vishisht Seva Medals
        
        10 Yudh Seva Medals
        
        4 Bar to Sena Medals (Devotion to Duty)
        
        36 Sena Medals (Devotion to Duty)
        
        2 Bar to Nao Sena Medal (Devotion to Duty)
        
        11 Nao Sena Medals (Devotion to Duty)
        
        14 Vayu Sena Medals (Devotion to Duty)
        
        2 Bar to Vishisht Seva Medal
        
        126 Vishisht Seva Medals.
        
        President Also approved gallantary Decorations to Coast Guard Personnel, which includes 1 Tatrakshak Medal (Distinguished Service) - Anand Prakash Badola, 3 Tatrakshak Medal (Gallantry) and 2 Tatrakshak Medal (Meritorious Service).
  3. Other Highlights -
    1. Govt named 21 islands in Andaman and Nicobar Islands after 21 recipients of Param Vir Chakra, India's highest wartime gallantry award.
    2. Bharat Parv has been organized by Ministry of Tourism, near Red Fort (Delhi).
    3. Garud Special Forces of Indian Air Force participated for the first time in the Republic Day parade.
    4. Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) displayed a tableau during Republic Day parade for the first time, titled Nasha Mukt Bharat.
2. Jan 26 is observed as International Customs Day.
3. Vocalist Prabha Atre has been conferred with Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia Lifetime Achievement Award by Maharashtra Govt.
4. India is named among top 3 countries in terms of expansion of area under organic agriculture in 2020.
  1. Total increase under organic cultivation globally in 2020 was 3 million hectares, out of which Argentina accounted for 781000 hectares, followed by Uruguay (589000 hectares) and India (359000 hectares).
  2. Also, of world’s total 74.9 mh under organic farming, Australia has highest at 35.7 mh, while India has 2.8 mh.
5. US Space agency NASA will build a spacecraft engine powered with nuclear fission by 2027, under project called Demonstration Rocket for Agile Cislunar Operations (DRACO).
  1. This will help enhance spacecraft speeds, to facilitate long-haul missions such as including a manned journey to Mars.

Jan 25, 2023

Chris Hipkins has been named new prime minister of New Zealand.
Atal Innovation Mission (NITI Aayog), Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and Intel India collaborated to upgrade education by embedding future skills such as AI and Tinkering in formal curriculum.
1. Aim is to align NEP 2020’s guidance to increase pace of tech integration for youth, the need to bridge future skills gap and optimize current infrastructure towards making India AI-ready.
IIT Madras researchers developed BharOS, as first Made in India mobile operating system, aimed at bosting self reliance in Digital space.
1. It has been developed by JandK Operations Private Limited, established by IIT Madras Pravartak Technologies Foundation.
2. Notable BharOS Features -
  1. BharOS provides access to trusted apps from organization-specific Private App Store Services (PASS), esuring secure access to tested and trusted Apps.
  2. BharOS comes with No Default Apps features, to allow users to have more control over which apps to use.
Petroleum Minister Hardeep S. Puri inaugurated demo run of an Inland Water Vessel powered by Methanol blended Diesel (MD15), in Guwahati.
1. Vessel will operate on MD-15 (15% methanol blended HSD). Methanol is a low carbon hydrogen carrier fuel produced from high ash coal, agricultural residue, CO2 from thermal power plants and natural gas.
After successful rollout of Co-WIN platform, govt has set up an electronic registry for routine vaccinations, Named U-WIN.
1. It aims to digitise India’s Universal Immunisation Programme (UIP), and has been launched in a pilot mode in two districts of each state / UT.
Jan 25 is observed in India as National Voters’ Day, with 2023 Theme Nothing Like Voting, I Vote for Sure. 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.

Padma Awards 2023 (Highest Civil Awards in India) -

President approved conferment of 106 Padma, comprising 6 Padma Vibhushan, 9 Padma Bhushan and 91 Padma Shri Awards. 19 awardees are women and the list also includes 2 persons from category of Foreigners/NRI/PIO/OCI and 7 Posthumous awardees.

Padma Vibhushan (6) -

SN	Name	Field	State/Country
	Shri Balkrishna Doshi (Posthumous)	Others - Architecture	Gujarat
	Shri Zakir Hussain	Art	Maharashtra
	Shri S M Krishna	Public Affairs	Karnataka
	Shri Dilip Mahalanabis (Posthumous)	Medicine	West Bengal
	Shri Srinivas Varadhan	Science & Engineering	United States of America
	Shri Mulayam Singh Yadav (Posthumous)	Public Affairs	Uttar Pradesh

Padma Bhushan (9) -

SN	Name	Field	State/Country
	Shri S L Bhyrappa	Literature & Education	Karnataka
	Shri Kumar Mangalam Birla	Trade & Industry	Maharashtra
	Shri Deepak Dhar	Science & Engineering	Maharashtra
	Ms. Vani Jairam	Art	Tamil Nadu
	Swami Chinna Jeeyar	Others - Spiritualism	Telangana
	Ms. Suman Kalyanpur	Art	Maharashtra
	Shri Kapil Kapoor	Literature & Education	Delhi
	Ms. Sudha Murty	Social Work	Karnataka
	Shri Kamlesh D Patel	Others - Spiritualism	Telangana

Padma Shri -

SN	Name	Field	State/Country
16	Dr. Sukama Acharya	Others - Spiritualism	Haryana
17	Ms. Jodhaiyabai Baiga	Art	Madhya Pradesh
18	Premjit Baria	Art	Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu
19	Ms. Usha Barle	Art	Chhattisgarh
20	Munishwar Chanddawar	Medicine	Madhya Pradesh
21	Hemant Chauhan	Art	Gujarat
22	Bhanubhai Chitara	Art	Gujarat
23	Ms. Hemoprova Chutia	Art	Assam
24	Narendra Chandra Debbarma (Posthumous)	Public Affairs	Tripura
25	Ms. Subhadra Devi	Art	Bihar
26	Khadar Valli Dudekula	Science & Engineering	Karnataka
27	Hem Chandra Goswami	Art	Assam
28	Ms. Pritikana Goswami	Art	West Bengal
29	Radha Charan Gupta	Literature & Education	Uttar Pradesh
30	Modadugu Vijay Gupta	Science & Engineering	Telangana
31	Ahmed Hussain & Mohd Hussain *(Duo)	Art	Rajasthan
32	Dilshad Hussain	Art	Uttar Pradesh
33	Bhiku Ramji Idate	Social Work	Maharashtra
34	C I Issac	Literature & Education	Kerala
35	Rattan Singh Jaggi	Literature & Education	Punjab
36	Bikram Bahadur Jamatia	Social Work	Tripura
37	Ramkuiwangbe Jene	Social Work	Assam
38	Rakesh Radheshyam Jhunjhunwala (Posthumous)	Trade & Industry	Maharashtra
39	Ratan Chandra Kar	Medicine	Andaman & Nicobar Islands
40	Mahipat Kavi	Art	Gujarat
41	M M Keeravaani	Art	Andhra Pradesh
42	Areez Khambatta (Posthumous)	Trade & Industry	Gujarat
43	Parshuram Komaji Khune	Art	Maharashtra
44	Ganesh Nagappa Krishnarajanagara	Science & Engineering	Andhra Pradesh
45	Maguni Charan Kuanr	Art	Odisha
46	Anand Kumar	Literature & Education	Bihar
47	Arvind Kumar	Science & Engineering	Uttar Pradesh
48	Domar Singh Kunvar	Art	Chhattisgarh
49	Risingbor Kurkalang	Art	Meghalaya
50	Ms. Hirabai Lobi	Social Work	Gujarat
51	Moolchand Lodha	Social Work	Rajasthan
52	Ms. Rani Machaiah	Art	Karnataka
53	Ajay Kumar Mandavi	Art	Chhattisgarh
54	Prabhakar Bhanudas Mande	Literature & Education	Maharashtra
55	Gajanan Jagannath Mane	Social Work	Maharashtra
56	Antaryami Mishra	Literature & Education	Odisha
57	Nadoja Pindipapanahalli Munivenkatappa	Art	Karnataka
58	Prof. (Dr.) Mahendra Pal	Science & Engineering	Gujarat
59	Uma Shankar Pandey	Social Work	Uttar Pradesh
60	Ramesh Parmar & Ms. Shanti Parmar *(Duo)	Art	Madhya Pradesh
61	Dr. Nalini Parthasarathi	Medicine	Puducherry
62	Hanumantha Rao Pasupuleti	Medicine	Telangana
63	Ramesh Patange	Literature & Education	Maharashtra
64	Ms. Krishna Patel	Art	Odisha
65	K Kalyanasundaram Pillai	Art	Tamil Nadu
66	V P Appukuttan Poduval	Social Work	Kerala
67	Kapil Dev Prasad	Art	Bihar
68	S R D Prasad	Sports - Kalaripayattu	Kerala
69	Shah Rasheed Ahmed Quadri	Art	Karnataka
70	C V Raju	Art	Andhra Pradesh
71	Bakshi Ram	Science & Engineering	Haryana
72	Cheruvayal K Raman	Others - Agriculture	Kerala
73	Ms. Sujatha Ramdorai	Science & Engineering	Canada
74	Abbareddy Nageswara Rao	Science & Engineering	Andhra Pradesh
75	Pareshbhai Rathwa	Art	Gujarat
76	B Ramakrishna Reddy	Literature & Education	Telangana
77	Mangala Kanti Roy	Art	West Bengal
78	Ms. K C Runremsangi	Art	Mizoram
79	Vadivel Gopal & Masi Sadaiyan *(Duo)	Social Work	Tamil Nadu
80	Manoranjan Sahu	Medicine	Uttar Pradesh
81	Patayat Sahu	Others - Agriculture	Odisha
82	Ritwik Sanyal	Art	Uttar Pradesh
83	Kota Satchidananda Sastry	Art	Andhra Pradesh
84	Sankurathri Chandra Sekhar	Social Work	Andhra Pradesh
85	K Shanathoiba Sharma	Sports- Thang-Ta	Manipur
86	Nekram Sharma	Others - Agriculture	Himachal Pradesh
87	Gurcharan Singh	Sports- Cricket	Delhi
88	Laxman Singh	Social Work	Rajasthan
89	Mohan Singh	Literature & Education	Jammu & Kashmir
90	Thounaojam Chaoba Singh	Public Affairs	Manipur
91	Prakash Chandra Sood	Literature & Education	Andhra Pradesh
92	Ms. Neihunuo Sorhie	Art	Nagaland
93	Dr. Janum Singh Soy	Literature & Education	Jharkhand
94	Kushok Thiksey Nawang Chamba Stanzin	Others - Spiritualism	Ladakh
95	S Subbaraman	Others - Archaeology	Karnataka
96	Moa Subong	Art	Nagaland
97	Palam Kalyana Sundaram	Social Work	Tamil Nadu
98	Ms. Raveena Ravi Tandon	Art	Maharashtra
99	Vishwanath Prasad Tiwari	Literature & Education	Uttar Pradesh
100	Dhaniram Toto	Literature & Education	West Bengal
101	Tula Ram Upreti	Others - Agriculture	Sikkim
102	Dr. Gopalsamy Veluchamy	Medicine	Tamil Nadu
103	Dr. Ishwar Chander Verma	Medicine	Delhi
104	Ms. Coomi Nariman Wadia	Art	Maharashtra
105	Karma Wangchu (Posthumous)	Social Work	Arunachal Pradesh
106	Ghulam Muhammad Zaz	Art	Jammu & Kashmir

Jan 24, 2023
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 2023 theme to invest in people, prioritize 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. 2022 ICC Awards Winners -
  1. Men's Awards -
    1. Cricketer of the Year (Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy) - Babar Azam (Pakistan)
    2. Test Cricketer of the Year - Ben Stokes (England)
    3. ODI Cricketer of the Year - Babar Azam (Pakistan)
    4. T20I Cricketer of the Year - Suryakumar Yadav (India)
    5. Emerging Cricketer of the Year - Marco Jansen (South Africa)
    6. Associate Cricketer of the Year - Gerhard Erasmus (Namibia)
  2. Women's Awards -
    1. Cricketer of the Year - Nat Sciver (England)
    2. ODI Cricketer of the Year - Nat Sciver (England)
    3. T20I Cricketer of the Year - Tahlia McGrath (Australia)
    4. Emerging Cricketer of the Year - Renuka Singh (India)
    5. Associate Cricketer of the Year - Esha Oza (UAE)
  3. Umpire of the Year - Richard Illingworth (England)
  4. Spirit of Cricket - Aasif Sheikh (Nepal)
5. Two Indian films won awards at 21st Dhaka International Film Festival (Bangladesh) -
  1. Best script writing - Aparajito (The Undefeated)
  2. Best actress - Ketaki Narayan (for Prappeda)
6. Jeff Zients has been named new White House Chief of Staff (US), who acts as head of the Executive Office of the President of the United States.
Jan 23, 2023
1. Indian Navy's 5th Kalveri class submarine INS Vagir has been commissioned into Naval service, under Project P-75.
  1. 6 Submarines under this project are (built by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders) - INS Kalvari, INS Khanderi, INS Karanj, INS Vela, INS Vagir and INS Vagsheer.
  2. Out of these, INS Kalvari, INS Khanderi, INS Karanj, INS Vela and now INS Vagir have been commissioned into Naval service. INS Vagsheer was launched in Apr 2022 and is awaiting commissioning (Expected in March 2024).
  3. Kalvari class is a class of diesel-electric attack submarines based on Scorpène-class submarine being built for Indian Navy.
2. Jan 23 is 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. Ladakh MP Jamyang Tsering Namgyal launched Main Bhi Subhash campaign from Leh.
    2. A Military Tattoo & Tribal Dance Festival Aadi Shaurya - Parv Parakram Ka held at Jawaharlal Nehru stadium New Delhi.
    3. Govt announced winners of Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar 2023 -
      1. Odisha State Disaster Management Authority (OSDMA) and Mizoram's Lunglei Fire Station (LFS) are selected (in institutional category) for Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar 2023.
      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.
3. Digital payments firm PhonePe raised $350 million funds from global private equity firms, reaching valuation of $12 billion, making it most valuable privately held Indian fintech firm.
4. Govt named Vikram Dev Dutt as new director general in Directorate of General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
5. Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann launched School of Eminence project, with budget 200 crores.
  1. It aims at improving quality of education through 5 pillars - state-of-the-art infrastructure, academics, human resource management, sports, co-curricular activities, and community engagement.
6. Himachal Pradesh announced its plans to become first green energy state of India by end of 2025, by harnessing hydro, hydrogen and solar energy and switching to green products.
  1. Total harnessable hydro power potential of state is 23750 MW, out of which, 10782 MW has been harnessed.
7. 3 new sites have been added to UNESCO World Heritage sites list -
  1. Landmarks of Ancient Kingdom of Saba, Marib (Yemen)
  2. Rachid Karami International Fair-Tripoli (Lebanon)
  3. The Historic Centre of Odesa (Ukraine)
  4. Notably, India also recently recommended Assam’s Charaideo moidams burial sites for addition to UNESCO World Heritage Sites list.
Jan 22, 2023
1. India International Science Festival (IISF) 2022 held at Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology Bhopal (MANIT), as initiative of Ministry of Science & Technology and Ministry of Earth Sciences, in association with Vijnana Bharati as Knowledge Partner.
  1. 2022 is 8th edition of IISF, being held since 2015. 2022 theme is Marching towards Amrit Kaal with Science, Technology and Innovation.
  2. Notable inclusions in IISF 2022 were VIGYANIKA – Science Literature Festival & Students' Innovation Festival (SIF).
2. American India Foundation (AIF) inaugurated India's first STEM Innovation and Learning Center (SILC) at Government Higher Secondary School (Chennai), under Vanavil Mandram scheme.
  1. Launched in Nov 2022, Vanavil Mandram (Rainbow forum) is a unique initiative to foster scientific interest among school students, by promoting interest among students of standards 6 to 8 to learn Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).
3. Book India’s Knowledge Supremacy: The New Dawn Written by Ashwin Fernandes has been released.
4. 2023 India Open Badminton -
  1. Men's singles - Kunlavut Vitidsarn (Thailand)
  2. Women's singles - An Se-young (South Korea)
  3. Men's doubles - China's Liang Weikeng & Wang Chang
  4. Women's doubles - Japan's Nami Matsuyama & Chiharu Shida
  5. Mixed doubles - Japa's Yuta Watanabe & Arisa Higashino
5. Indian Navy conducted biennial tri-services amphibious exercise AMPHEX 2023, along with Indian Army and Indian Air Force, near Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh.
Jan 21, 2023
1. Justice Sabina has been named Acting Chief Justice of Himachal Pradesh High Court.
2. Jan 21 is statehood day of Northeastern States of Tripura, Manipur and Meghalaya (Formed in 1972).
3. Book Coaching Beyond: My Days with the Indian Cricket Team, authored byR. Sridhar (Assisted by R. Kaushik) has been released.
4. Canara Bank sold its stake in Russian Joint Venture (JV) Commercial Indo Bank LLC (CIBL) to other venture partner State Bank of India (SBI), for about Rs 114 crores.
  1. CIBL (incorporated in 2003) is a joint venture in Russia between SBI (60 %) and Canara Bank (40 %).
5. Kerala’s Wayanad became first district in country to provide basic documents and facilities (such as Aadhaar, ration cards, birth/death certificates, election ID cards, bank accounts and health insurance) to all its tribes population.
Jan 20, 2023
1. 21st Edition of Bilateral Naval Exercise between India and France – Exercise Varuna, held on Western Seaboard.
2. India has been elected as Vice-Chair of Intergovernmental Technical Working Group (ITWG) on Animal Genetic Resources (AnGR).
  1. The Working Group, established by the FAO’s Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (CGRFA), functions to review technical issues, advise and make recommendations to Commission and further implement Commission's programme related to AnGR at global level.
3. General News / Events (Jan 11-20, 2023) -
  1. Australian government approved to introduce Punjabi language in public schools curriculum in Western Australia.
  2. Mongeet musical festival has been organized in Majuli (Assam).
  3. International Tourism Fair FITUR 2023 held in Madrid (Spain), as 2nd most important tourism fair in world.
4. Himalayan Cataract Project Co-Founder Sanduk Ruit (Nepal Born Indian ophthalmologist) won ISA Award for Service to Humanity, a top civilian award of Bahrain. It carries a cash prize of USD 1 million.
5. During Annual World Economic Forum Meet in Davos (Switzerland) -
  1. WEF launched Giving to Amplify Earth Action (GAEA), as a global initiative to fund and grow public, private and philanthropic partnerships (PPPPs) to help unlock $3 trillion of annual financing needed to reach net zero, reverse nature loss and restore biodiversity by 2050.
    1. Over next year, supported by McKinsey Sustainability as a knowledge partner, GAEA will work to build momentum around 3 objectives -
      1. Convene leaders from public, private and philanthropic sectors to identify and target climate solutions.
      2. Pilot and refine funding models that can support PPPP interventions.
      3. Scale up and replicate successful approaches to new sectors, regions and actors.
  2. Announced to create sole centre in India with a focus on healthcare and life sciences, in Hyderabad, as World Economic Forum Centre for Fourth Industrial Revolution (C4IR Telangana).
  3. Telecom Firm Bharti Airtel announced to invest 2000 crores for setting up a large hyperscale data centre in Hyderabad.
  4. As per report India@100 released by Ernst & Young, Indian economy GDP size will reach US$26 trillion by 2047.
6. Praveen Sharma has been named as Director of National Health Authority (Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission) under Ministry of Health & Family Welfare.
7. United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution co-sponsored by India titled Education for Democracy, that reaffirms right to education for everyone.
Jan 19, 2023
1. Jan 19 is observed as Kokborok Day (Tripuri language Day), celebrated in Tripura.
2. Notable Points from PM Narendra Modi's visit to Karnataka and Maharashtra -
  1. Karnataka -
    1. Laid foundation stone of Yadgir multi-village drinking water supply scheme under Jal Jeevan Mission, at Kodekal (Yadgiri District). Under this, a water treatment Plant of 117 MLD will be built.
    2. Inaugurated Narayanpur Left Bank Canal - Extension Renovation and Modernisation Project (NLBC – ERM) with cost 4700 crores, benefitting over 3 lakh farmers in Kalaburgi, Yadagir and Vijaypur districts.
    3. Declared 1475 unrecorded habitations as New Revenue villages in five districts - Kalaburagi, Yadgiri, Raichur, Bidar and Vijayapura.
  2. Maharashtra -
    1. Launched Mumbai Metro Rail Lines 2A & 7, worth around 12600 crores.
      1. 2A connects Dahisar E and DN Nagar, while line 7 connects Andheri E - Dahisar E (red line).
    2. Launched MUMBAI 1 Mobile App and National Common Mobility Card (Mumbai 1), to facilitate ease of travel by eliminating need to carry cash/card.
      1. NCMC (Mumbai 1) will later be extended to other modes of public transit.
    3. Laid foundation of seven sewage treatment plants to be built at cost 17200 crores, with capacity of 2460 MLD.
    4. Inaugurated 20 Hinduhridaysamrat Balasaheb Thackeray Aapla Dawakhana, to strengthen health care infrastructure in Mumbai by providing essential medical services free of cost.
    5. Laid foundation for redevelopment of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, at cost 1800 crores.
3. As per Global 500 brands report by UK-based consultancy Brand Finance -
  1. Amazon reclaimed position as world’s most valuable brand, followed by Apple, Google, Microsoft and Walmart.
  2. Also, Reliance Jio has been named strongest brand in India, and 9th among world's strongest brands.
4. As per IT Services 25 list by UK-based consultancy Brand Finance -
  1. India's Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Infosys retained their positions as 2nd and 3rd most valuable IT services brands globally.
  2. Accenture is named world’s most valuable and strongest IT services brand.
5. As per Brand Guardianship Index 2023 by UK-based consultancy Brand Finance -
  1. India's Mukesh Ambani has been ranked No.1 among Indians and second globally on the list.
  2. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang is at top globally, followed by Mukesh Ambani and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.
6. As per govt data on sugar season 2021-22 -
  1. During the season, record over 5000 Lakh Metric Tons (LMT) sugarcane was produced in country, out of which 3574 LMT of sugarcane was crushed by sugar mills to produce 394 Lakh MT of sugar. 36 lakh MT sugar was diverted to ethanol production.
  2. With this, India stayed world’s largest producer and consumer of sugar, and 2nd largest exporter of sugar after Brazil.
  3. Annual domestic sugar consumption in India stays 260-280 LMT. Govt has been encouraging sugar mills to divert surplus sugar for ethanol production and exports. With success in both the measures, Sugar sector is now self-sufficient with no subsidy for the sector since sugar season 2021-22.
7. Jammu & Kashmir became first Indian union territory to completely switch to digital methods of governance, with all govt services in UT now only offered digitally.
8. As per 2023 Military Strength Ranking by Global Fire Power -
  1. Top 5 Strongest militaries globally -
    1. USA
    2. Russia
    3. China
    4. India
    5. UK
9. Global Payments Firm Mastercard announced expansion of its Girls4Tech, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) education program in India. It aims to reach up to 1 lakh female students across country by 2024, to encourage them to take up STEM Education.
Jan 18, 2023
1. Writer K Venu has been named winner of first Federal Bank Literary Award 2022, for his autobiography Oranweshananthinte Katha.
2. 8th Ajanta Ellora International Film Festival 2023 organized in Aurangabad (Maharashtra).
  1. Notably, Rajasthani film Naanera won Golden Kailasha award for best movie, at 8th Ajanta-Ellora film festival.
3. Book Come! Let’s Run by Tamil Nadu Health Minister Ma Subramanian has been released.
4. Archeological Survey of India (ASI) researshers discovered two 1200-year-old miniature votive stupas during landscaping activities near Sarai Tila mound, within premises of 'Nalanda Mahavihara', a world heritage site in Nalanda district.
5. Ministry of Minority Affairs discontinued Padho Pardesh scheme which enabled Students belonging to minority communities to avail interest subsidies on education loans to study abroad.
6. Pankaj Kumar Singh (Former BSF Chief) has been named new Deputy National Security Adviser (NSA).
7. Kerala's Kollam became first constitution literate district in country, on successful implementation of 7 month campaign launched to educate citizens about constitutional laws, rights and duties.
8. National Council for Education Research and Training (NCERT) released India’s first national assessment regulator PARAKH (Performance Assessment, Review, and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development), which will work on setting norms and standards for student assessment and evaluation for all recognized school boards in country.
  1. It aims to help remove disparities in scores of students enrolled with different state boards.
  2. NCERT selected Educational Testing Service (ETS) for establishing PARAKH.
    1. US-Based ETS is world's largest private nonprofit educational testing and assessment organization.
Jan 17, 2023
1. Ministry of Road Transport and Highways annually observes Road Safety Week between Jan 11-17, 2023.
2. Environment Ministry listed Neelakurinji under Schedule III of Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972, including it on list of protected plants. Under it, uprooting or destroying the plant will attract fine of 25000 and 3 years imprisonment. Also, cultivation and possession of Neelakurinji will not be permitted.
  1. Neelakurinji is a shrub found in Western Ghats in the Shola forests in the Southern India. It blooms only once in 12 years.
3. As per RBI's annual State Finances Report -
  1. Fiscal health of Indian states is set to improve in 2022-23, with consolidated gross fiscal deficit to GDP ratio falling to 3.4 % from 4.1 % for previous year.
4. As per World of Statistics -
  1. Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan has been named richest actor in Asia and fourth richest actor across world, with 770 Million USD Net worth.
  2. Top 5 -
    1. Jerry Seinfeld (US) - $1 Billion
    2. Tyler Perry (US) - $1 Billion
    3. Dwayne Johnson (US) - $800 million
    4. Shah Rukh Khan (India) : $770 million
    5. Tom Cruise (US)- $620 million
5. In 2022, China's population fell for the first time in six decades (since China's Great Famine of 1961).
  1. China's population dropped by 850,000 to 1.41175 billion at end of 2022.
Jan 16, 2023
1. Jan 16 is observed as National Startup Day, since 2022. Also, Startup India Innovation Week is observed between Jan 10-16. On this occasion -
  1. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal launched MAARG platform (Mentorship, Advisory, Assistance, Resilience, and Growth), which will facilitate mentorship between startups and entrepreneurs across sectors, stages, and functions.
  2. National Startup Awards 2022 were conferred.
2. Home Minister Amit Shah Released Book Revolutionaries – The Other Story of How India Won Its Freedom, authored by Sanjeev Sanyal (Noted economist and a member of Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister).
3. Book Braving A Viral Storm: India’s Covid-19 Vaccine Story, authored by Aashish Chandorkar, has been released.
4. R'Bonney Gabriel (US) won Miss universe 2022 (71st edition) beauty pageant.
  1. India's Harnaaz Sandhu (Winner of Miss Universe 2021 title), crowned R'Bonney Gabriel as Miss Universe 2022.
5. Notable Winners at 28th Critics' Choice Awards (Hosted in Los Angeles (USA)) -
  1. Best Picture - Everything Everywhere All at Once
  2. Best Director - Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (for Everything Everywhere All at Once)
  3. Best Actor - Brendan Fraser (for The Whale)
  4. Best Actress - Cate Blanchett (for Tár)
  5. Best Supporting Actor - Ke Huy Quan (for Everything Everywhere All at Once)
  6. Best Supporting Actress - Angela Bassett ( for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever)
  7. Indian film RRR won 2 awards at 28th Critics' Choice Awards - Best Song (for Naatu Naatu) and Best foreign Language Film.
    1. Notably, RRR's song Naatu Naatu had also won award for Best Original Song at recently announced Golden Globe Awards 2023. It has been composed by M. M. Keeravani and penned by Chandrabose.
Jan 15, 2023
1. Jan 15 is observed as Indian Army Day.
  1. 2023 marks 75th observance of Indian Army Day, with main event held in Bengaluru.
  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. Rajasthan govt implemented blindness control policy called Right to Sight, as first such initiative across country. It aims to bring down prevalence rate of blindness to .3 % ( from 1.1 %).
  1. Under it, State govt will run Keratoplasty Centres and Eye Banks at all government medical colleges.
  2. Also, Efforts to eliminate visual impairment would be made in districts in collaboration with voluntary organisations, trusts, hospitals and other charitable institutions.
3. European Union inaugurated EU's first mainland orbital launch complex at Esrange Space Center near city of Kiruna in Arctic Sweden, to boost its ability to launch small satellites.
4. India’s first Centre of Excellence in Online Gaming will be set up at Shillong (Meghalaya), by Digital India Startup Hub through Software Technology Parks of India (STPI).
5. Inflation and Trade Data for December 2022 -
  1. Wholesale price Index Based (WPI) -
    1. WPI based inflation remained at 4.95 % in December 2022, which is lowest in 22 months.
    2. WPI Inflation in last 12 months -
      1. November 2022 - 5.85 %
      2. October 2022 - 8.39 %
      3. September 2022 - 10.07 %
      4. August 2022 - 12.41 %
      5. July 2022 - 13.93 %
      6. June 2022 - 15.18 %
      7. May 2022 - 15.88 % (30 Year High)
      8. April 2022 - 15.08 %
      9. March 2022 - 14.55 %
      10. Feb 2022 - 13.11 %
      11. Jan 2022 - 12.96 %
      12. Dec 2021 - 13.56 %
  2. Consumer Price Index (CPI) Based (retail inflation) -
    1. CPI-based inflation rate for December 2022 fell to 5.72 % (lowest in one year).
    2. CPI Inflation in Last 12 Months -
      1. November 2022 - 5.88 %
      2. October 2022 - 6.77 %
      3. September 2022 - 7.41 %
      4. August 2022 - 7.01 %
      5. July 2022 - 6.71 %
      6. June 2022 - 7.01 %
      7. May 2022 - 7.04%
      8. April 2022 - 7.79 % (8 Year High)
      9. March 2022 - 6.95 %
      10. Feb 2022 - 6.07 %
      11. Jan 2022 - 6.01 %
      12. Dec 2021 - 5.66 %
  3. Trade -
    1. Overall Trade in December 2022 (Merchandise + Services) -
      1. Overall Imports - 73.80
      2. Overall Exports - 61.82
      3. Overall Trade Deficit - 11.98 Billion USD
      4. Compared to Last Month (November 2022)
        Overall Imports - 69.33
        
        Overall Exports - 58.22
        
        Overall Trade Deficit - 11.11 Billion USD
Jan 14, 2023
1. 1st joint exercise between special forces of Indian Army and Egyptian Army named Exercise Cyclone-I began at Jaisalmer (Rajasthan).
2. Book Irrfan Khan: A Life in Movies, authored by film critic Shubhra Gupta has been released, as biography of noted Late actor Irrfan Khan.
3. A Santhi Kumari has been appointed as new Chief Secretary of Telangana, becoming first women Chief Secretary of State.
4. Indian Coast Guard's Fast Patrol Vessel (FPV) ship Kamla Devi has been commissioned into service.
  1. Built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE), it is 5th and last vessel of FPV series.
5. Tripura govt introduced Saharsh special education programme, aimed at empowering children to learn with happiness, by encouraging social and emotional learning.
  1. Saharsh was launched in August 2022 in 40 schools of state on a pilot basis, it has now been extended to all government and aided schools of state.
Jan 13, 2023
1. PM Narendra Modi flagged off Ganga Vilas Cruise at Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh), as world’s Longest River Cruise.
  1. MV Ganga Vilas will begin its journey from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh and travel around 3200 km in 51 days to reach Dibrugarh in Assam via Bangladesh. It has capacity of 36 tourists, with all luxury amenities.
  2. Notably, PM also inaugurated Haldia Multi-Modal Terminal in West Bengal, Developed under Jal Marg Vikas Project, with cargo handling capacity of over 3 Million Metric Tonne Per Annum (MMTPA).
2. India hosted special virtual Summit Voice of Global South Summit under theme Unity of Voice, Unity of Purpose. It aims to shape a positive G20 agenda through consultation with G20 countries and members of global south.
3. Govt passed an order to convert adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues of telecom services provider Vodafone Idea into equities, for approx 16133 crores.
  1. This conversion will make govt the largest shareholder in loss-making telecom services provider Vodafone Idea, with 33 % stake.
4. SBI launched e-Bank Guarantee (e-BG) facility in association with National e-Governance Services Limited (NeSL).
  1. NeSL's Digital Document Execution (DDE) technology offers e-Stamp and e-Sign features, making e-Bank Guarantee issuance prcess easier.
  2. An Electronic Bank Guarantee (e-BG) eliminates physical documentation associated with issuance of Bank Guarantees, reducing turn-around time of BG delivery from 3-4 days to a few minutes.
5. China's Alibaba Group sold its 3.1% stake in Indian digital payments firm Paytm, for $125 million through a block deal.
Jan 12, 2023
1. January 12 is observed as National youth Day in india, to commemorate birth anniversary of Legendary Philiosopher Shri Swami Vivekananda. Also, Jan 12-16 is observed annually as National Youth Week.
  1. Day was declared by Government in 1984. Theme for National Youth Day 2023 is Viksit Yuva-Viksit Bharat.
  2. On the occasion, PM Narendra Modi inaugurated 26th National Youth Festival in Hubbali (Karnataka).
  3. Notably, International Youth Day is celebrated on August 12 by United Nations, celebrated since 2000.
2. Swedish mining firm LKAB identified over 1 million tonnes of rare earth oxides in Kiruna area in far north of Sweden, as largest known such deposits in Europe.
  1. Rare earth minerals are essential in several manufacturing processes and are used in electric vehicles, wind turbines, portable electronics, microphones and speakers.
3. England's royal family member Prince Harry (Duke of Sussex) released his memoir titled Spare, written with assistance from American novelist J R Moehringer.
4. Book Jadunama, authored by Arvind Mandloi has been released, based on life of noted writer-lyricist Javed Akhtar.
5. Indian-American aerospace expert AC Charania has been named as US Space Agency NASA's new chief technologist, to serve as principal advisor to Administrator Bill Nelson on technology policy and programmes.
Jan 11, 2023
1. Jan 11 is observed as National Human Trafficking Awareness Day.
2. MSME Minister Narayan Rane inaugurated Udyam Assist Platform (UAP), aimed at bringing informal micro enterprises into formal fold and enable them for priority sector lending. For operationalisation of the platform, Ministry has signed MOU with Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI).
3. RBI released a list of 6 domestic credit rating agencies that banks are advised to use, for risk weighting their claims about capital adequacy.
  1. List includes Acuite Ratings & Research, Credit Analysis and Research (CARE), CRISIL Ratings, ICRA, India Ratings and Research, and INFOMERICS Valuation and Rating.
4. Axis Bank partnered with Bengaluru based Indian Institute of Science (IISc), to establish India’s first comprehensive Academic Research Centre on Mathematics and Computing at the institute.
5. Cabinet Approvals (Jan 11, 2023)-
  1. General -
    1. Approved renaming of National Centre for Drinking Water, Sanitation and Quality (Joka, Kolkata) as Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee National Institute of Water and Sanitation (SPM-NIWAS).
    2. Approved new integrated food security scheme for providing free foodgrains to Antodaya Ann Yojna (AAY) & Primary Household (PHH) beneficiaries, to be rolled out from 1st January 2023.
      1. New scheme has been named as Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana (PMGKAY), to benefit over 80 crore people.
    3. Approved incentive scheme for promotion of RuPay Debit Cards and low-value BHIM-UPI transactions (person-to-merchant), for 1 year from April 2022, with outlay 2600 crores.
      1. Under it, acquiring banks will be provided financial incentive, for promoting Point-of-Sale (PoS) and e-commerce transactions using RuPay Debit Cards and low-value BHIM-UPI transactions (P2M).
    4. Approved setting up and promoting a National Level multistate cooperative export society under Multi State Cooperative Societies (MSCS) Act 2002, with support from relevant Ministries, for undertaking exports of all goods and services produced by cooperatives and related entities.
      1. It will provide thrust to exports from cooperative sector by acting as an umbrella organisation for carrying out and promoting exports, to unlock export potential of Indian cooperatives in global markets.
    5. Approved to set up and promote a national level multi-state seed cooperative society under Multi State Cooperative Societies (MSCS) Act 2002, with support from relevant Ministries, to act as apex organization for -
      1. Production, procurement, processing, branding, labelling, packaging, storage, marketing and distribution of quality seeds strategic research; and to develop a system for preservation and promotion of indigenous natural seeds.
    6. Approved setting up and promoting a national level cooperative society for organic products under Multi State Cooperative Societies (MSCS) Act 2002, to act as an umbrella organization or aggregation, procurement, certification, testing, branding and marketing of organic products.
Jan 10, 2023
1. General News / Events (Jan 1-10, 2023) -
  1. India’s first-of-its-kind inclusivity festival Purple Fest: Celebrating Diversity held in Goa, aimed at bringing people together and espacially, Divyangjans.
  2. Handloom Festival VIRAASAT has been organized by Ministry of Tourism, at Handloom Haat (New Delhi).
  3. Odisha govt announced to provide 5 KG rice per month free of cost to beneficiaries of State Food Security Scheme (SFSS), for 1 year.
  4. Imoinu Day observed in Manipur as part of Meitei Cultural ritual. This traditional festival is celebrated on 12th day of Meitei Lunar Month of Wakching.
  5. Kolkata Metro will launch its East-West Metro Corridor project by December 2023, as India's first underwater metro. The 16.6km stretch will link Sector V with Howrah Maidan on other side of Hooghly river.
  6. 1st States’ Ministers Conference On WaterVision@2047 held in Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh).
  7. Octave 2023 organized in Thanjavur (Tamil Nadu), to showcase indigenous art and culture of Northeast India.
  8. World’s First Palm-Leaf Manuscript Museum has been inaugurated in Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala).
  9. North East Krishi Kumbha 2023 organized at ICAR NEH in Umiam (Meghalaya).
  10. International Kite Festival 2023 held in Ahmedabad (Gujarat).
  11. Parshuram Kund Festival 2023 observed in Arunachal Pradesh.
  12. Traditional Cherchera festival observed at Dudhadhari Math in Chhattisgarh capital Raipur.
  13. Shipping Minister Sarbananda Sonowal inaugurated School of Logistics, Waterways and Communication in Agartala (Tripura), to enhance skills in transportation and logistics sector.
2. PM Narendra Modi launched Aspirational Block Programme (ABP), aimed at improving performance of blocks lagging on various development parameters.
  1. It has been launched is on the lines of Aspirational District Programme that was launched in 2018 and covers 112 districts across country.
3. Jan 10 is observed as World Hindi day, being celebrated world wide since 2006. The language is spoken by over 45 crore people globally.
  1. Note that National Hindi Day (Hindi Diwas) 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.
4. 2023 Malaysia Open badminton -
  1. Men's singles - Viktor Axelsen (Denmark)
  2. Women's singles - Akane Yamaguchi (Japan)
  3. Men's doubles - Indonesia's Fajar Alfian & Muhammad Rian Ardianto
  4. Women's doubles - China's Chen Qingchen & Jia Yifan
  5. Mixed doubles - China's Zheng Siwei & Huang Yaqiong
5. 80th Golden Globe Awards 2023 (hosted in California, USA)
  1. Best Motion Picture -
    1. Drama - The Fabelmans
    2. Musical / Comedy - The Banshees of Inisherin
    3. Animated - Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio
    4. Non-English - Argentina, 1985
  2. Best Performance in a Motion Picture (Drama) -
    1. Actor - Austin Butler for Elvis
    2. Actress - Cate Blanchett for Tár
  3. Best Performance in a Motion Picture (Musical or Comedy) -
    1. Actor - Colin Farrell for The Banshees of Inisherin
    2. Actress - Michelle Yeoh for Everything Everywhere All at Once
  4. Best Supporting Performance in a Motion Picture -
    1. Supporting Actor - Ke Huy Quan for Everything Everywhere All at Once
    2. Supporting Actress - Angela Bassett for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
  5. Best Director - Steven Spielberg for The Fabelmans
  6. The Banshees of Inisherin received most nominations (8), and also won most awards (3).
  7. Best Television Series -
    1. Drama - House of the Dragon (HBO)
    2. Musical or Comedy - Abbott Elementary (ABC)
  8. Notably, Indian Movie RRR's song Naatu Naatu, won award for Best Original Song at Golden Globe Awards 2023. It has been composed by M. M. Keeravani and penned by Chandrabose.
Jan 09, 2023
1. Kerala Cabinet approved a scheme to ensure those employed under Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme(MGNREGS) to get benefits like pension and medical assistance.
  1. With this, Kerala became first state to have a welfare board for beneficiaries of employment guarantee programmes.
2. Govt constituted a Committee to discuss measures to protect Ladakh's unique culture, language and employment. It will be headed by of Minister of State for Home Affairs (Nityanand Rai).
3. Govt extended tenure of RBI deputy governor Michael Patra for 1 year.
  1. Other 3 RBI Deputy Governors - T Rabi Sankar, M Rajeshwar Rao, M K Jain.
4. Book Roller Coaster: An Affair with Banking, authored by Journalist Tamal Bandyopadhyay has been released.
5. Techno-educationalist K.K. Abdul Gaffar’s autobiography, Njaan Sakshi (me as the witness), has been released, by cricketer M S Dhoni.
6. 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.
  1. This day came into effect in 2003, but in 2015 it was revised and since then, PBD Convention has been organised once every 2 years.
  2. 17th PBD Convention has been held during Jan 8-10, 2023 in Indore (Madhya Pradesh), with theme Diaspora: Reliable Partners for India's Progress in Amrit Kaal.
    1. On this occasion -
      1. Govt. issued list of 27 awardees of Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award 2023.
      2. A Commemorative Postal Stamp ‘Surakshit Jaayen, Prashikshit Jaayen’ was released to underline importance of safe, legal, orderly and skilled migration.
      3. MP Tourism Board signed MoUs with chapters of eight countries of Global Organisation of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO).
    2. Guyana President Mohamed Irfaan Ali was chief guest at 17th PBD Convention.
Jan 08, 2023
1. India took over leadership of Bangkok (Thailand) based Asian Pacific Postal Union (APPU), an intergovernmental organization of 32-member countries of Asia-Pacific region. APPU is only Restricted Union of Universal Postal Union (UPU) in the region, which is a specialized agency of United Nations.
2. Book Breaking Barriers: the Story of a Dalit Chief Secretary, authored by Former IAS Kaki Madhava Rao has been released.
3. RBI released 5th volume of RBI history, covering 1997 - 2008. It has been prepared under guidance of an Advisory Committee chaired by Narendra Jadhav (former RBI Chief Economist).
4. Book Chief Minister’s Diary No.1, containing events of 1st year of Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma has been released.
5. 2023 Adelaide International 1 Tennis -
  1. Men's singles - Novak Djokovic (Serbia)
  2. Women's singles - Aryna Sabalenka (Belarus)
  3. Men's doubles - Lloyd Glasspool (UK) & Harri Heliövaara (Finland)
  4. Women's doubles - US's Asia Muhammad & Taylor Townsend
6. Himachal Pradesh Govt has set up CM's Sukhashraya Sahayata Kosh for destitutes in state, with outlay 101 crores.
  1. Approx 6000 destitute children shall be helped by the fund, for pursing their higher education. Govt will also provide 4000 monthly aid to children.
Jan 07, 2023
1. Kerala has been declared as first state in country to go fully digital in its banking services.
2. India surpassed Japan to become 3rd largest auto market after USA and China, as per Nikkei Asia report.
  1. India's sales of new vehicles totalled over 4.25 million units in 2022, against 4.2 million sold in Japan.
3. President Droupadi Murmu presented 7th edition of Digital India Awards 2022. Notable Winners (Platinum) -
  1. Empowerment of Citizens - e-NAM (Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare)
  2. Initiatives at Grassroots Level - e-Vivechna App (Madhya Pradesh)
  3. Ease of Doing Business - Mine Mitra (Uttar Pradesh)
  4. Public Platforms -
    1. States - Duare Sarkar (West Bengal)
    2. Central - ICEGATE Portal (Ministry of Finance, Department of Revenue)
4. 108th session of Indian Science Congress hosted by Nagpur based Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University (RTMNU), with theme Science and Technology for Sustainable Development with Women Empowerment.
5. Book Revolutionaries: The Other Story of How India Won Its Freedom, authored by noted economist and historian Sanjeev Sanyal, has been released.
Jan 06, 2023
1. 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.
2. Notable Points from Home Minister Amit Shah's visit to Manipur -
  1. Inaugurated Marjing Polo Statue built at cost 39 crores. It is world's tallest statue of a polo player (120 feet), built to commemorate game of modern polo, being originated from Kangleipak (Manipur).
  2. Unveiled 165-feet tall tricolor at historic Azad Hind Fauj Headquarters at Moirang, as tallest national flag in North East region.
  3. Inaugurated Historic Kangla Nongpok Thong (eastern gate of Kangla Fort).
  4. Notably, India's first Sports University is being built in Manipur, at cost 825 crores and spread over 325 acres.
3. As per First Advance Estimates of National Income for FY 23 (2022-23), released by National Statistical Office (NSO) -
  1. Real GDP (GDP at Constant (2011-12) Prices) in FY 23 (2022-23) is estimated at 157.60 lakh crores, showing growth of 7 % over FY 22 (2021-22).
  2. Nominal GDP (GDP at Current (2022-23) Prices) in FY 23 (2022-23) is estimated at 273 lakh crores, showing growth of 15.4 % over FY 22 (2021-22).
  3. About -
    1. First Advance Estimates of GDP were introduced in 2016-17, to serve as essential inputs to the Budget exercise. It is based on limited data and compiled using Benchmark-Indicator Method.
4. Jan 6 is observed as World Day of War Orphans.
Jan 05, 2023
1. Odisha Govt's Jaga Mission has been honored in UN-Habitat’s World Habitat Awards 2023.
  1. Jaga mission is land titling and slum upgrading program that aims at empowering lives of slum dwellers. Odisha Govt also aims to make state slum-free by end of 2023.
  2. Jaga mission is among 10 programmes honored among UN-Habitat’s World Habitat Awards 2023.
2. Writer Ambikasuthan Mangad has been selected for Odakuzhal Award 2022 for his collection of short stories Pranavayu.
  1. Instituted by Guruvayurappan Trust, this award consists of INR 30000 grant, and is given for best collection of short stories in Malayalam.
3. Madhya Pradesh govt launched Chief Minister's Residential Land Rights scheme (Mukhyamantri Awasiya Bhu Adhikar Yojana), to provide free plots to poor living in rural areas, for building their houses.
4. Election Commission named Folk singer Maithili Thakur as state icon for Bihar, tasked with creating awareness among voters for their participation in electoral process.
Jan 04, 2023
1. 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.
2. Cabinet Approvals (Jan 04, 2023) -
  1. General -
    1. Approved National Green Hydrogen Mission with initial outlay 19744 crores, including 17490 crore for Strategic Interventions for Green Hydrogen Transition Programme (SIGHT) programme. MNRE will formulate scheme guidelines for implementation of respective components.
      1. Missions objectives -
        Development of annual green hydrogen production capacity of 5 MMT (Million Metric Tonne), with associated renewable energy capacity of 125 GW.
        
        Over 8 lakh crore in total investments, along with Creation of over 6 lakh jobs.
        
        Abatement of 50 MMT of annual greenhouse gas emissions.
      2. Under SIGHT, two distinct financial incentive mechanisms - targeting domestic manufacturing of electrolysers and production of Green Hydrogen, will be provided.
      3. An enabling policy framework will be developed to support establishment of Green Hydrogen ecosystem along with a public-private partnership framework for R&D (Strategic Hydrogen Innovation Partnership – SHIP).
    2. Approved naming of Greenfield International Airport Mopa Goa as Manohar International Airport - Mopa, as a of tribute to Late Shri Manohar Parrikar, Ex-Defence Minister and Four-time Goa Chief Minister.
    3. Approved continuation of Schemes of Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region, with outlay of 12882 crores, for balance period of 15th Finance Commission (2022-23 to 2025-26). These Include -
      1. North East Special Infrastructure Scheme (NESIDS) - 8139 crores
      2. Schemes of NEC - 3203 crores
      3. Special Packages for BTC, DHATC and KAATC in Assam - 1540 crores
      4. Prime Minister’s Development initiative for the north eastern region - PM-Devine - 6600 crores (New scheme).
  2. CCEA (Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs) -
    1. Approved proposal of Ministry of Information and Broadcasting regarding Central Sector Scheme Broadcasting Infrastructure and Network Development (BIND), at cost 2540 crores for infrastructure development of Prasar Bharati i.e. All India Radio (AIR) and Doordarshan (DD).
      1. At present, Doordarshan operates 36 TV channels including 28 regional channels and All India Radio operates over 500 broadcasting centres. BIND scheme will increase coverage of AIR FM transmitters in country to 66% by geographical area and 80% by population up from 59% and 68% respectively.
      2. Scheme also envisages free distribution of over 8 lakh DD Free Dish STBs to people living in remote, tribal, LWE and border areas.
    2. Approved investment for 382 MW Sunni Dam Hydro Electric Project in Himachal Pradesh by SJVN Limited, at estimated cost 2614 crores.
3. President Draupadi Murmu laid foundation stone for 1000 MW Bikaner Solar Power Project in Rajasthan.
  1. She also launched National Campaign on RISE-Rising India through Spiritual Empowerment, organized by Brahma Kumaris.
4. Uttarakhand government announced to abolish revenue policing system in state, bringing 1800 revenue villages under regular policing system.
  1. About -
    1. Revenue police system in Uttarakhand came into existence in 1800s when rulers of Tehri lost their territories to Gurkhas and requested British to oust Gurkhas from Garhwal in exchange for payment. Rulers were unable to pay and in exchange, the British kept the western part of Garhwal.
    2. To collect revenues from natural resources, British put in place a revenue system with posts similar to Mughal administration. No special police were deployed in hill parts of Uttarakhand.
    3. Issue with revenue policing is that revenue officials are given additional task of policing with minimal or no training. This results in their inability to effectively prevent criminal activities or collect intelligence.
Jan 03, 2023
1. Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved $350 million loan for India, to build new lines and improve connectivity of metro rail system in Chennai (Tamil Nadu).
  1. It is part of $780 million multi-tranche financing facility (MFF) for project approved by ADB in Dec 2022.
2. Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved $300 million loan for India, to upgrade over 300 kilometres of state highways and major district roads in Assam.
3. Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved $220 million loan for India, to improve energy security, quality of supply, efficiency, and resilience of power sector in Tripura.
4. Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved $350 million loan for India, to improve connectivity of key economic areas in Maharashtra.
5. Croatia switched to euro and entered Europe's passport-free zone, bidding farewell to its kuna currency and becoming 20th member of eurozone.
  1. It is now 27th nation in passport-free Schengen zone, which enables people to move freely around its members.
Jan 02, 2023
1. As per RBI, State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, and HDFC Bank continue to be identified as Domestic Systemically Important Banks (D-SIBs).
  1. D-SIBs are those interconnected entities whose failure can impact financial system and create instability.
  2. In addition to usual capital conservation buffer, D-SIBs will need to maintain additional Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1). SBI will have to maintain an additional 0.6 % CET1 as a percentage of its risk-weighted assets. Also, ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank need to maintain additional 0.2 % each.
2. National Commission for Indian System of Medicine (NCISM) and Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences (CCRAS) jointly launched SMART (Scope for Mainstreaming Ayurveda Research in Teaching Professionals), to boost scientific research in priority healthcare research areas through Ayurveda institutions.
3. Ajay Kumar Srivastava has been named as MD & CEO of Indian Overseas Bank (IOB).
4. Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva took over as Brazil’s president, for his 3rd term.
5. Indiam Chess Player Koneru Humpy (Former World rapid champion) won India’s first-ever silver medal at World blitz chess championships, at 2022 edition held in Almaty (Kazakhstan).
  1. Humpy is second Indian to win a medal at World Blitz, after Viswanathan Anand.
  2. Men’s section was won by Norway's Magnus Carlsen. He became first player to hold Classical chess world championship, Rapid world championship and Blitz world Championship at the same time.
Jan 01, 2023
1. Misc. Financial News / Events (Jan 2023) -
  1. Indian GDP Growth Forecasts -
    1. World Bank - 6.9% in FY 23 (2022-23).
    2. UN World Economic Situation and Prospects 2023 (UN WESP) - 5.8 % in FY 2023 (2022-23).
      1. As per UN WESP, Global GDP growth is projected to decelerate from 3 % in 2022 to 1.9 % in 2023, and pick up to 2.7 % later in 2024.
  2. Tata Motors completed acquisition of Ford India's manufacturing plant at Sanand (Gujarat) through its subsidiary Tata Passenger Electric Mobility (TPEML), for 726 crores.
  3. HDFC Bank partnered with IT Giant Microsoft, for its next phase of digital transformation journey.
  4. RBI allowed SBI Funds Management Ltd to acquire up to 9.99% stake in Equitas Small Finance Bank.
    1. Earlier, Franklin Templeton Mutual Fund and DSP Mutual Fund also received RBI’s approval to buy 9.99% stake each in Equitas bank.
  5. Zerodha-backed GoldenPi Technologies became first online bond platform provider to receive a debt brokerage license from SEBI.
  6. Asis Bank partnered with OPEN Financial Technologies to provide a fully native digital current account journey for its customers.
  7. Fintech platform BharatPe received in-principle authorisation from RBI to operate as an online payment aggregator (PA).
  8. Kerala government’s Year of Enterprises project has been recognized for enabling setting up of over 1 lakh enterprises in 8 months.
  9. National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) approved merger of multiplex chain INOX with PVR.
  10. SEBI allowed alternative investment funds (AIFs) to participate in Credit Default Swaps (CDS) market as protection buyers and sellers, to facilitate deepening of domestic corporate bond segment. It allows business entities to hedge risks associated with bonds market.
    1. CDS is a specific kind of counter-party agreement which allows transfer of third party credit risk from one party to another.
  11. Paytm Payments Bank received final RBI approval to operate as a Bharat Bill Payment Operating Unit (BBPOU) Under Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS).
  12. SBI raised 9718 crores through its second infrastructure bond issuance at a coupon rate of 7.70 % per annum for 15-year money, as 2nd fund-raising since Dec 2022. Funds will be utilised for enhancing long-term resources for funding infrastructure and affordable housing.
  13. PNB launched credit cards against Fixed Deposit to customers who don’t meet eligibility criteria for regular credit cards.
  14. LIC launched its new Jeevan scheme, as limited period premium payment plan that offers financial support for family in case of death of assured during policy term, along with guaranteed base sum-assured amount on maturity.
  15. NTPC commcnced Commercial Operations of first unit of 660 MW capacity of North Karanpura Super Thermal Power Station (3x660 MW), in Jharkhand.
    1. With this, total installed capacity of NTPC grew to 71544 MW.
  16. Banks transferred 9234 crores Jaypee Infratech stressed loans to newly constituted National Asset Reconstruction Company (NARCL), as first acquisition by government-promoted bad loans bank.
  17. AU Small Finance Bank launched SwipeUp, as first-of-its-kind platform in credit card space. It will enable other bank Credit Card holders to upgrade their card to one of AU Credit Cards.
  18. Employees’ Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) launched Outreach Progarmme across all Districts in country, through Nidhi Aapke Nikat 2.0 programme.
2. Misc. Appointments (Jan 2023) -
  1. Paytm Payments Bank named Surinder Chawla as its new MD & CEO.
  2. Pankaj Mohan Sinha has been named chief of Indian Air Force’s Western Command.
  3. Indian-origin Manpreet Monica Singh became first female Sikh judge in US, after she was sworn in as a Harris county judge.
  4. Chetan Sharma has been retained by BCCI as chairman of new cricket selection committee.
  5. Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), which operates under brand name Amul, has appointed Shamalbhai B Patel as its chairman and Valamjibhai Humbal as vice chairman.
    1. Also, Jayen Mehta has been named new (Interim) MD of Amul.
  6. Anurag Kumar has been named CMD of PSU Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL).
  7. Alain Claude Bilie By Nze has been named new Prime Minister of Central African Nation Gabon.
  8. US Based IT firm Cognizant named India's Ravi Kumar as its new CEO.
  9. UK's Clare Lombardelli has been named new Chief Economist of Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
  10. Philanthropic arm of the Tata group, Tata Trusts named Siddharth Sharma as its CEO.
  11. US Govt nominated Julie Turner as special envoy for human rights in North Korea, filling a post vacant since 2017, amid efforts to counter North Korea’s nuclear weapons programme.
  12. Naresh Lalwani has been named new General Manager of Central Railway.
  13. PSU NMDC signed Nikhat Zareen (World Boxing Champion and gold medal winner of Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games) as its brand ambassador.
  14. Rajeev Singh Raghuvanshi has been named as new Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI).
  15. British multinational consumer goods giant Unilever named Hein Schumacher as its new CEO.
3. Gross GST revenue collected during December 2022 stayed at 149507 crores (CGST 26711 crores, SGST 33357 crores, IGST 78434 crores & Cess 11005 crores).
4. Misc. Defence News / Events (Jan 2023) -
  1. Indian Navy’s sailboat INSV Tarini participated in 50th edition of Trans-Atlantic ocean race Cape to Rio 2023, from Cape Town (South Africa) to Rio de Janeiro (Brazil).
  2. DRDO carried out successful training launch of Short-Range Ballistic Missile Prithvi-II, with 250-350 KM Range.
  3. Indian Army deployed its largest so far contingent of women peacekeepers in United Nation mission at Abyei (UNISFA), comprising 27 women soldiers.
5. Obituaries (Jan 2023) -
  1. Sharad Yadav - Former Member of Parliament, Cabinet Minister and first national president of Janata Dal (United).
  2. Siddeshwar Swami - Noted Hindu Lingayat spiritual leader known for his teachings on yoga and spirituality.
  3. Manjula Subramaniam - Noted bureaucrat, and first woman chief secretary of Gujarat.
  4. N C Debbarma - Noted politician from Tripura, and president of Indigenous Peoples Front of Tripura.
  5. Tehemton Erach Udwadia - Noted Padma Bhushan awardee surgeon and gastroenterologist. He recently authored book More than Just Surgery: Life Lessons Bey: Life Lessons Beyond the OT.
  6. R K Krishna Kumar - Noted Padma Shri Awardee Businessperson and director of Tata Sons.
  7. Keshari Nath Tripathi - Former Governor of West Bengal, Bihar, Meghalaya, and Mizoram.
  8. Madhuriben Kotak - Noted journalist, and owner-cum-editor of Chitralekha group of publications.
  9. Balkrishna Vithaldas Doshi - Noted Indian architect, noted for his contributions to evolution of architectural discourse in India.
  10. Santokh Singh Chaudhary - Member of parliament from Punjab.
  11. Naba Kishore Das - Minister under Odisha Govt.
  12. Shanti Bhushan - Noted lawyer and Former Union Minister (Law Minister between 1977 - 1979 in Morarji Desai Govt).
  13. Walter Cunningham - Noted American astronaut, known for NASA’s Apollo 7 mission (Oct 11, 1968), known as first perfect launch into space of a first crewed mission.
    1. Apollo 7 was first crewed flight in NASA's Apollo program, and saw resumption of human spaceflight by NASA after Failed Apollo 1 mission, in which 3 astronauts were killed.
    2. Apollo 7 paved way for Apollo 11 Mission (July 1969), which saw first successful human landing on Moon, led by Neil Armstrong.
  14. Constantine II - Former and last King of Greece. He ruled Greece before It became a republic in 1974.
  15. Ronald Eaton Asher - Noted British linguist (with specialization in Dravidian languages), and an honorary fellow of Sahitya Akademi.
    1. Dravidian languages are a family of languages spoken by 250 million people, mainly in southern India, north-east Sri Lanka, and south-west Pakistan.
  16. Barkat Ali Khan Mukarram Jah Bahadur - Last titular (8th) Nizam of Hyderabad.
  17. Luigia Gina Lollobrigida - Noted Italian actress.
  18. A D Damodaran - Noted Scientist.
  19. David Crosby - Noted American Musician, known as father of American folk-rock.
  20. Nilamani Phookan - Noted Assanese Poet and Jnanpith awardee.
  21. Harjeet Singh Arora - Former Vice Chief of Indian Air Force.
  22. Balkrishna Vithaldas Doshi - Noted architect, and winner of Pritzker Prize and Padma Shri awardee.
  23. J Jamuna - Noted Telugu actor and former parliamentarian.
  24. Sabir Ali - Noted Arjuna awardee Indian decathlete, also called Iron man of India.
6. Misc. Sports News / Events (Jan 2023) -
  1. Hyderabad hosted Hyderabad Circuit of Formula E World Championship (EPrix 2023), as part of 2022-2023 Formula E World Championship.
    1. Formula E, officially ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, is a single-seater motorsport championship for electric cars.
    2. French Racer Jean-Éric Vergne won the Hyderabad EPrix 2023 race.
  2. Australia’s Belinda Clark became first female cricketer to have a honorary statue cast, outside Iconic Sydney Cricket Ground.
  3. Saurashtra’s Jaydev Unadkat became first bowler to take a hat-trick in opening over of a Ranji Trophy Match, achieved against Delhi.
  4. Noted Welsh Footballer Gareth Bale announced retirement from professional football.
  5. French Footballer Hugo Lloris announced his retirement from international football.
  6. South African cricketer Dwaine Pretorius announced retirement from international cricket.
  7. Noted Indian Tennis Player Sania Mirza announced retirement from professional Tennis.
  8. Indian Cricketer Virat Kohli became fifth-highest run-scorer in ODI cricket, overtaking Sri Lanka's Mahela Jayawardene. India's Sachin Tendulkar is at top in the list, Followed by Kumar Sangakkara, Ricky Ponting, Sanath Jayasuriya.
  9. Barcelona FC won Spanish Super Football 2023, defeating Real Madrid in Final.
  10. Rwanda Female Cricketer Geovanis Uwase has been suspended by ICC from bowling in international cricket, for illegal bowling action.
  11. South African Cricketer Hashim Amla announced retirement from all forms of International Cricket.
  12. 2nd phase of Saansad Khel Mahakumbh 2022-23 organized in Basti (Uttar Pradesh).
  13. Indian Cricketer Murali Vijay announced his retirement from all forms of international cricket.
  14. Dutch Chess Player Anish Giri won 85th Tata Steel Chess Tournament, in Wijk aan Zee (the Netherlands).
7. Misc. MOUs (Jan 2023) -
  1. MOU signed between Indian Ports Association (IPA) and Research & Information System for Developing Countries (RIS) for setting up a Centre for Maritime Economy and Connectivity.
  2. To facilitate providing farmers low interest rate loans to farmers, Warehousing Development Regulatory Authority (WDRA) signed MoU with SBI, by promoting awareness about new loan product called Produce Marketing Loan to exclusively fund against e-NWRs (electronic Negotiable Warehouse Receipt).
  3. NTPC Green Energy Ltd (NGEL) signed MoU with Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL), for Development of Renewable Energy based Power Projects to tap Business opportunities in RE and supply of 400 MW round the clock renewable power to HPCL.
  4. NTPC Renewable Energy Ltd (NTPC REL) signed MoU with Government of Tripura, for Development of Floating and Ground Mounted based Renewable Energy Projects in Tripura.
  5. Defence PSU Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) signed MoU with Rolls Royce Solutions (Germany) for manufacturing high-quality marine diesel engines at GRSE's plant in Ranchi.
  6. Taiwan-headquartered electric vehicle and infrastructure company Gogoro & Belrise Industries partnered with Maharashtra government to establish a battery swapping infrastructure in state, with investment of $2.5 billion.
  7. Chinese phone maker OPPO and Govt's Common service Centre (CSC) Academy partnered to train 10000 women in cybersecurity and cyber wellness, under Cyber Sangini programme.
  8. India and Panama signed MoU to enhance cooperation in training of diplomats, during visit of Panama's Foreign Minister Janaina Tewaney Mencomo to India.
8. Misc. /Industrial Awards (Jan 2023) -
  1. ESAF Small Finance Bank won Inclusive Finance India Award 2022 for its work in advancing financial inclusion and inclusive growth.
  2. R Vishnu Prasad has been named most distinguished scientist of the year 2022 at Indian Achievers Awards 2022.
  3. Aska police station in Odisha's Ganjam district has been awarded as best police station across country in 2022.
9. Misc. Science News (Jan 2023) -
  1. ARI Pune researchers discovered a rare low-altitude basalt plateau housing 76 species of plants and shrubs from 24 different families, in Thane region in Western Ghats. It can prove to be a repository of information for species interactions, and can help study effects of climate change on species survival.
  2. 1st nasal vaccination produced in India against Covid-19, the iNCOVACC, has been launched. It has been created by Bharat Biotech.
  3. Union Minister Jitendra Singh inaugurated National Genome Editing & Training Centre at National Agri-food Biotechnology Institute (NABI) Mohali (Punjab), during International Conference on Food and Nutritional Security 2023.
  4. UK Based satellite based broadband services firm OneWeb launched 40 satellites onboard a SpaceX Rocket, taking number of satellites in its low-Earth orbit (LEO) constellation up to 542.
    1. Notably, OneWeb is backed by Indian Firm Bharti Enterprises (Airtel Parent), with 30 % stake.
  5. Astronomers from McGill University (Canada) and Indian Institute of Science Bengaluru (IISc) detected a radio signal originating from atomic hydrogen in an extremely distant galaxy, using data from Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) in Pune.
    1. Astronomical distance over which such a signal has been picked up is the largest so far by a large margin. This is also first confirmed detection of strong lensing of 21 cm emission from a galaxy.
    2. The signal detected was emitted from source galaxy when universe was only 4.9 billion years old. It means that look-back time for this source is 8.8 billion years.
  6. Canada announced a new federal investment of $32 million to build and commercialise world's first photonic-based, fault-tolerant quantum computer.
    1. It will enable Toronto-based quantum computing firm Xanadu Quantum Technologies to develop quantum computer which will have potential to provide world leading capabilities to help solve complex data problems.
  7. Research at Bengaluru based Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR) used scandium nitride (ScN), a semiconducting material with supreme stability and Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor (CMOS) compatibility, to develop brain-like computing.
    1. Traditional computers have separated memory storage and processing units, which makes them take huge energy and time to transfer data between these units during an operation. On the contrary, the human brain is a supreme biological computer that is smaller and more efficient due to presence of a synapse (the connection between two neurons) that plays role of both processor and memory storage unit.
    2. Recent development can provide a new material for stable, CMOS-compatible optoelectronic synaptic functionalities at a lower energy cost and can translate into an industrial product.
  8. Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) handed over Visible Line Emission Coronagraph (VELC) payload for Aditya-L1 mission to ISRO.
    1. VELC aims to collect data for solving how temperature of Sun's corona can reach a million degrees while Sun’s surface stays just over 6000 degrees Centigrade.
    2. Notably, India's first Mission to the Study the Sun, Aditya L1, is planned to launched aboard a PSLV-XL launch vehicle in July 2023.

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