10th-11th January, 2023

1. International Kite Festival 2023 has begun in Ahmedabad, Gujarat on the Sabarmati River front.
2. India’s first coal-gasification based Talcher Fertilizer Plant will be ready for commissioning by October 2024 at Angul, Odisha.
3. The National Health Authority (NHA) is introducing a new system under its flagship scheme Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY) to measure and grade hospital performance.
4. Renew Power has installed India’s First 3X Platform Wind Turbine Generators at Gadag, Karnataka.
5. Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh has unveiled the theme for National Science Day 2023, titled Global Science for Global Wellbeing.
6. Central Government has allocated a total financial outlay of the New India Literacy Programme (NILP) for five years (from 2022-23 to 2026-27) to be 1037.90 crore.
7. First Education Group of G-20 countries will meet from the 31st of January to the 2nd of February in Chennai.
8. All India Presiding Officers (Assembly Speakers) Conference will be held in Jaipur.
9. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will virtually inaugurate the 7th edition of ‘Invest Madhya Pradesh-Global Investors Summit’, a flagship event of the state government, in Indore.
10. Pune-based Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) has developed a unique molecular sponge-like material named as macro/microporous ionic organic framework that can effectively clean polluted water.
11. Osmanabad District Court has become the first court in Maharashtra to introduce an e-system of functioning.
12. Uttar Pradesh govt has launched UP Global City campaign to make the urban local bodies in the state on par with the global standards.
13. Kerala has become the first state in India to fully digitalise its banking services.
14. West Bengal CM Mamta Banerjee has launched the “Vehicle Location Control Centre and App” to enhance the security of women in the state.
15. Tamil Nadu govt has launched the tamilangels.fund portal to urge the Tamil diaspora to invest in startups in the state.
16. Bhitarkanika National Park in Odisha has seen an increase in its bird population in 2022, according to Odisha’s forest department.
17. Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has successfully carried out a training launch of a Short-Range Ballistic Missile, Prithvi-II from the Integrated Test Range, Chandipur off the Odisha coast.
18. Indian Navy has collaborated with Sagar Defence Engineering Pvt Ltd for the development of armed autonomous boat swarms as part of its “SPRINT” initiative.
19. India is planning to deploy female peacekeepers to the United Nations Interim Security Force in Abyei (UNISFA) on the border of Sudan and South Sudan
20. Garuda Aerospace signed an MOU with Rallis India (a subsidiary of Tata Chemicals) to boost agriculture by leveraging technology.
21. Indian Institute of Science (IISC) has signed an MOU with Axis Bank to establish the “Centre for Mathematics and Computing”.
22. As per official data compiled by Munich Re, insured losses from natural disasters hit about $120 billion in 2022.
23. Henley and Passport has released the Henley Passport Index for the year 2023, based on exclusive data provided by the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
24. According to a Nikkei Asia’s Report, India has surpassed Japan to become the world’s 3rd largest automobile market in 2022.
25. Kotak Mahindra General Insurance Company Limited has partnered with Clootrack, a Kochi-based start-up, for customer experience analytics.
26. HDFC Capital has received $376 million funding for its HDFC Capital Affordable Real Estate Fund-3 (H-CARE) to provide long-term and flexible funding across affordable and mid-income housing projects including early-stage funding.
27. South Indian Bank has launched an online portal to provide instant loans of up to Rs 1 crore to MSMEs.
28. PayRup (https://payrup.com) India’s fastest payment app has been launched to provide advanced digital payment experience with outstanding user experience.
29. ICRA has released the “Indian Banking Sector” report, according to which, the bond issuance by banks has reached a record-high of Rs 91,500 crores during April-December 2022.
30. RBI has released a list of domestic credit rating agencies. Banks are advised to use this list for risk weighting their claims about capital adequacy.
31. BharatPe (Fintech firm) has received in-principle approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to operate as a payment aggregator.
32. Export Import Bank of India (EXIM) Bank has raised $1 billion from investors across the globe.
33. SEBI has relaxed certain norms related to the Offer for Sale (OFS).
34. World Bank has released its “Global Economic Prospects” report.
35. Herbalife International has appointed Smriti Mandhana as the brand ambassador.
36. January 9 – Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas
37. January 10 – World Hindi Diwas
38. Ministry of Road Transport and Highways will observe Road Safety Week from 11th to 17th of January.
39. Adar Poonawalla has won the 1st Dr Patangrao Kadam Memorial Award for his contribution in fighting against the Covid-19 pandemic.
40. Telugu movie RRR created history by winning a Golden Globe – a first for the country.
41. Odisha has won the World Habitat Award 2023 for its Jaga Mission – world’s largest slum upgradation program.
42. Tallon Griekspoor (from Netherlands) has won the men’s singles at the Tata Open (ATP men’s tennis tournament) in Maharashtra.
43. The anthem, mascot and a ‘smart torch’ for the fifth edition of the Khelo India Youth Games have been unveiled by the Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Chouhan.
44. Suryakumar Yadav has become the fastest player to reach 1,500 runs in T20 International cricket in terms of balls faced.
45. Khelo India Senior Women National Kho Kho league is set to take place at Chandigarh University, Punjab from January 10 to January 13.
46. A 122-foot-tall statue of a polo player astride a Manipur Pony was unveiled in Imphal, Manipur.
47. MS Dhoni has released the autobiography of Prof. KK Abdul Gaffar (techno-educationalist) titled as ‘Njaan Sakshi’ (meaning ‘me as the witness’).
48. “Father of Laparoscopic Surgery” – Dr Tehemton E Udwadia has passed away.
49. Kashmir’s 1st Jnanpith Awardee Abdur Rehman “Rahi” has passed away.

National News

1. International Kite Festival 2023 has begun in Ahmedabad, Gujarat on the Sabarmati River front.
   • The festival is being organized on the G20 theme of “One Earth, One Family, One Future”.
2. India’s first coal-gasification based Talcher Fertilizer Plant will be ready for commissioning by October 2024 at Angul, Odisha.
   • Talcher Fertilizers Ltd. (TFL) is a company promoted by GAIL (India) Ltd. (GAIL), Rashtriya Chemicals & Fertilizers Ltd. (RCF), Coal India Ltd. (CIL) and Fertilizers Corporation of India Ltd. (FCIL).
   • The project promotes coal gasification, it shall also aid in meeting the stated aim of gasifying 100 MT of coal by 2030.

3. The National Health Authority (NHA) is introducing a new system under its flagship scheme Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY) to measure and grade hospital performance.
   • The new initiative will introduce the concept of ‘value-based care’, where payment will be outcome-based and providers will be rewarded according to the quality of the treatment delivered.
   • Under the new model, the providers will be rewarded for helping the patients improve their health, which consequently will reduce the effects of the disease in the population in the long term.
   • The performance of AB PM-JAY empanelled hospitals will be measured based on five performance indicators, such as beneficiary satisfaction, hospital readmission rate, extent of out-of-pocket expenditure, confirmed grievances, and improvement in patients’ health-related quality of life.
4. Renew Power has installed India’s First 3X Platform Wind Turbine Generators at Gadag, Karnataka.
   • Purpose – to ensure 24X7 supply of renewable energy
5. Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh has unveiled the theme for National Science Day 2023, titled Global Science for Global Wellbeing.
   • February 28 – National Science Day (to commemorate the discovery of “Raman Effect” by CV Raman)
6. Central Government has allocated a total financial outlay of the New India Literacy Programme (NILP) for five years (from 2022-23 to 2026-27) to be 1037.90 crore.
   • The Ministry of Education approved the NILP in 2022 to include all aspects of adult education in line with the new National Education Policy, for the following five years.
   • The ministry has replaced the phrase “Adult Education” with “Education for All” because the former did not accurately describe all non-literates in the age bracket of 15 and older.

7. First Education Group of G-20 countries will meet from the 31st of January to the 2nd of February in Chennai.
8. All India Presiding Officers (Assembly Speakers) Conference will be held in Jaipur.
9. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will virtually inaugurate the 7th edition of ‘Invest Madhya Pradesh-Global Investors Summit’, a flagship event of the state government, in Indore.
   • Theme of the Summit – ‘Madhya Pradesh-The Future Ready State’
10. Pune-based Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) has developed a unique molecular sponge-like material named as macro/microporous ionic organic framework that can effectively clean polluted water.

State News

1. Osmanabad District Court has become the first court in Maharashtra to introduce an e-system of functioning.
2. Uttar Pradesh govt has launched UP Global City campaign to make the urban local bodies in the state on par with the global standards.
3. Kerala has become the first state in India to fully digitalise its banking services.
   • In July 2022, Kerala had also become the first and only state in the country to have its own internet service.
   • The ambitious Kerala Fibre Optic Network (K-FON) project of the state government, which was almost 90% completed, will reduce the digital divide.
   • Kerala is also the only state to declare the right to internet as the basic human right.
   • Kerala has also won three Digital India Awards in 2022 for Ksheerashree portal (silver medal), platinum award for Digital Workforce Management System and gold medal for District Administration of Kottayam.
4. West Bengal CM Mamta Banerjee has launched the “Vehicle Location Control Centre and App” to enhance the security of women in the state.
5. Tamil Nadu govt has launched the tamilangels.fund portal to urge the Tamil diaspora to invest in startups in the state.
6. Bhitarkanika National Park in Odisha has seen an increase in its bird population in 2022, according to Odisha’s forest department.

Defence News

1. Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has successfully carried out a training launch of a Short-Range Ballistic Missile, Prithvi-II from the Integrated Test Range, Chandipur off the Odisha coast.
2. Indian Navy has collaborated with Sagar Defence Engineering Pvt Ltd for the development of armed autonomous boat swarms as part of its “SPRINT” initiative.
   • SPRINT (Supporting Pole-Vaulting in R&D through Innovations for Defence Excellence) initiative was launched in 2022 to promote the development and usage of indigenous defense technologies.
   • The task of developing this technology is one of the 75 challenges introduced by the Indian Navy under the “Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav” celebrations.
   • Sagar Defence Engineering will develop India’s first armed autonomous unmanned boat with swarming capabilities.
3. India is planning to deploy female peacekeepers to the United Nations Interim Security Force in Abyei (UNISFA) on the border of Sudan and South Sudan
   • This marks the largest single unit of women peacekeepers in a UN mission since India deployed the first all-female contingent in Liberia in 2007.

Memorandum of Understanding

1. Garuda Aerospace signed an MOU with Rallis India (a subsidiary of Tata Chemicals) to boost agriculture by leveraging technology.
2. Indian Institute of Science (IISC) has signed an MOU with Axis Bank to establish the “Centre for Mathematics and Computing”.

Reports and Indices

1. As per official data compiled by Munich Re, insured losses from natural disasters hit about $120 billion in 2022.
   • The total cost of storms, droughts, earthquakes and fires last year was $270 billion, including uninsured losses.
   • The insurance industry is struggling to adapt to a new normal in which losses fuelled by climate change are now regularly exceeding $100 billion a year.
2. Henley and Passport has released the Henley Passport Index for the year 2023, based on exclusive data provided by the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
   • Total – 199 passports and 227 travel destinations
   • 1st position – Japan (visa-free entry in 193 countries)
   • 2nd position – Singapore and South Korea (192 countries)
   • India – 85^th (visa-free entry in 59 countries)

Banking and Economy

1. According to a Nikkei Asia’s Report, India has surpassed Japan to become the world’s 3rd largest automobile market in 2022.
   • China is at the 1st place in automobile sales, followed by US at the 2nd position.
   • India’s new vehicle sales stands at 4.25 million units in 2022.
2. Kotak Mahindra General Insurance Company Limited has partnered with Clootrack, a Kochi-based start-up, for customer experience analytics.
3. HDFC Capital has received $376 million funding for its HDFC Capital Affordable Real Estate Fund-3 (H-CARE) to provide long-term and flexible funding across affordable and mid-income housing projects including early-stage funding.
   • The primary investor in H-CARE 1 and 2 schemes is Abu Dhabi Investment Authority.
4. South Indian Bank has launched an online portal to provide instant loans of up to Rs 1 crore to MSMEs.

5. PayRup (https://payrup.com) India’s fastest payment app has been launched to provide advanced digital payment experience with outstanding user experience.
   • It is built by cutting-edge technology of web 3.0.
   • PayRup users can pay utility bills and landline bills, recharge their mobile, broadband, DTH, and purchase Gift Cards.
6. ICRA has released the “Indian Banking Sector” report, according to which, the bond issuance by banks has reached a record-high of Rs 91,500 crores during April-December 2022.
7. RBI has released a list of domestic credit rating agencies. Banks are advised to use this list for risk weighting their claims about capital adequacy.
   • The central bank listed Acuite Ratings & Research Limited, Credit Analysis and Research Limited (CARE), CRISIL Ratings Limited, ICRA Limited, India Ratings and Research Private Limited, and INFOMERICS Valuation and Rating Pvt Ltd.
8. BharatPe (Fintech firm) has received in-principle approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to operate as a payment aggregator.
   • The company will operate the platform through its subsidiary Resilient Payments.
   • Payment aggregators are companies enabling e-commerce sites and merchants to accept various payment instruments from the customers without the need for merchants to create a separate payment integration system.
9. Export Import Bank of India (EXIM) Bank has raised $1 billion from investors across the globe.
   • EXIM’s Long-Term rating is driven by its Government Support Rating (GSR) of ‘bbb-‘, and is the same as India’s sovereign rating (BBB-/Stable).
10. SEBI has relaxed certain norms related to the Offer for Sale (OFS).
    • Offer For Sale – When a promoter or promoter group sells its shares to public. It is done either through intermediaries or through private placement.
    • New changes –
      • The cooling-off period required between 2 OFS has been reduced from 12 weeks to 2 weeks.
      • Minimum amount for OFS will be ₹25 crore.
        • In case, the OFS is made for increasing the public shareholding in the company, as per the Minimum Public Shareholding (MPS) norms, the issue size can be less than Rs 25 crore.

• OFS mechanism will be available to companies with a market capitalization of ₹1,000 crore and above.
• Facility of OFS shares will be available on BSE, NSE, and the Metropolitan Stock Exchange of India (MSEI).

• Allocation:
  • Minimum 25% of the shares offered will be reserved for mutual funds and insurance companies
  • Minimum 10% of the shares offered will be reserved for retail investors
  • Moreover, retail investors will now be allowed to bid for the unsubscribed portion of the non-retail segment.
• Unitholders of listed REITS and InvITS are also allowed to offer their holdings through the OFS mechanism.
• Earlier, Promoter and non-promoter shareholders holding at least 10% stake in a company were allowed to offer shares through the OFS route. This has been done away with by SEBI.

GDP Forecasts

1. World Bank has released its “Global Economic Prospects”

Appointments

1. Herbalife International has appointed Smriti Mandhana as the brand ambassador.

Important Days

1. January 9 – Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas
   • 17^th Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas Convention was held on the theme of “Diaspora: Reliable Partners for India’s Progress in Amrit Kaal”. The convention is divided into three segments and 5 plenary sessions.
   • During the Convention, India and Panama have signed an agreement for undertaking the training of diplomats.
   • India and UK have exchanged letters for UK-India Young Professional Schemes to allow 3,000 Indians and Britons to live, study, and work on each other’s land.
   • President Droupadi Murmu will confer the Pravasi Bhartiya Samman Awards up on 27 overseas Indians during the valedictory session of the 17th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Convention in Indore.
2. January 10 – World Hindi Diwas
   • World Hindi Conference 2023 will be organized in Nadi, Fiji on the theme of “Traditional Knowledge to Artificial Intelligence”.
3. Ministry of Road Transport and Highways will observe Road Safety Week from 11th to 17th of January.

Awards

1. Adar Poonawalla has won the 1st Dr Patangrao Kadam Memorial Award for his contribution in fighting against the Covid-19 pandemic.
2. Telugu movie RRR created history by winning a Golden Globe – a first for the country.
   • The film’s catchy musical number, Naatu Naatu, was awarded best original song.
3. Odisha has won the World Habitat Award 2023 for its Jaga Mission – world’s largest slum upgradation program.
   • Jaga Mission aims to upgrade all 2,919 slums in the state of Odisha.

Sports

1. Tallon Griekspoor (from Netherlands) has won the men’s singles at the Tata Open (ATP men’s tennis tournament) in Maharashtra.
2. The anthem, mascot and a ‘smart torch’ for the fifth edition of the Khelo India Youth Games have been unveiled by the Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Chouhan.
   • Malkhamb and water sports are making their debut.
   • Anthem – ‘Hindustan Ka Dil Dhadka Do’ –
   • Mascot – Asha (a cheetah)
3. Suryakumar Yadav has become the fastest player to reach 1,500 runs in T20 International cricket in terms of balls faced.
   • The fastest batters to reach this landmark are Indian batter Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Australian veteran Aaron Finch and Pakistan skipper Babar Azam.
4. Khelo India Senior Women National Kho Kho league is set to take place at Chandigarh University, Punjab from January 10 to January 13.
5. A 122-foot-tall statue of a polo player astride a Manipur Pony was unveiled in Imphal, Manipur.
   • Modern polo is believed to have originated from Sagol Kangjei, a sport indigenous to Manipur in which players ride the Manipur Pony.

Miscellaneous

1. MS Dhoni has released the autobiography of KK Abdul Gaffar (techno-educationalist) titled as ‘Njaan Sakshi’ (meaning ‘me as the witness’).
2. “Father of Laparoscopic Surgery” – Dr Tehemton E Udwadia has passed away.
   • Laparoscopy is a type of surgical procedure that allows a surgeon to access the inside of the abdomen (tummy) and pelvis without having to make large incisions in the skin.
3. Kashmir’s 1st Jnanpith Awardee Abdur Rehman “Rahi” has passed away.

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