18th January, 2024

1. National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog and World Food Programme (WFP) have launched a compendium in New Delhi featuring the field stories showcasing the use of millets in Asian and African countries.
2. Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), Rao Inderjit Singh has launched the ‘MPLADS e-SAKSHI Mobile Application’ in New Delhi.
3. DLabs at the Indian School of Business (ISB) in Hyderabad, Telangana, has introduced a startup accelerator program called “Build for Billions”.
4. Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has allowed investors to freeze or block their trading account any suspicious activity is detected.
5. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has cancelled the licence of Hiriyur Urban Co-operative Bank due to inadequate capital and earning prospects.
6. REC Limited, has successfully issued its inaugural Japanese Yen (JPY) 61.1 billion 5-year, 5.25-year and 10-year Green bonds, issued under its US$ 10 billion Global Medium Term Notes Programme.
7. US aircraft maker Boeing has announced the opening of a warehousing facility at Khurja in Uttar Pradesh for parts supply.
8. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has approved a proposal to launch a Group (Term) Insurance Scheme for Casual Paid Labourers (CPLs) engaged by Border Roads Organisation/General Reserve Engineer Force for the ongoing project works.
9. Defence Research & Development Organisation has started development trials of indigenous light tank ‘Zorawar’.
10. National Startup Awards 2023 have been announced on the occasion of National Startup Day on 16 January.
11. Central Government has signed an agreement to acquire five lithium brine blocks for exploration and development in Argentina.
12. Incumbent Vice President of Taiwan Lai Ching-te has been elected President of Taiwan.
13. Hindustani classical vocalist Prabha Atre has passed away in Pune, Maharashtra.
14. Renowned Urdu poet Munawwar Rana has passed away at the age of 71 in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh (UP).

National News

1. National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog and World Food Programme (WFP) have launched a compendium in New Delhi featuring the field stories showcasing the use of millets in Asian and African countries.
   • More about Compendium-
     • Compendium will help in capacity building and scaling up the best practices in the adoption of millets across the world.
     • It includes inspiring case stories to help countries learn and invest in traditional climate resilient crops such as millet.”
     • It is expected to act as a reference for integrating millets into mainstream food systems, offering insights for making informed decisions and exchange through South-South Cooperation and policy dialogues.

2. Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), Rao Inderjit Singh has launched the ‘MPLADS e-SAKSHI Mobile Application’ in New Delhi.
   • Objective-
     • To enable the Members of Parliament (MPs) to recommend works of developmental nature with emphasis on the creation of durable community assets based on the locally felt needs.

   • Key points-
     • Mobile app would offer convenience and accessibility, allowing MPs to propose, track, and oversee the projects at their fingertips.
     • Real-time access is expected to improve decision-making processes, and enable swift responses to emerging needs or issues.
     • It will promote transparency by providing MPs with instant updates on the status and progress of their proposed projects.
     • Mobile application has the features for budget management, ensuring MPs can monitor expenditures.

Source: PIB

Banking and Economy

1. DLabs at the Indian School of Business (ISB) in Hyderabad, Telangana, has introduced a startup accelerator program called “Build for Billions”.
   • Objective-
     • To bridge gap between financial services and informal economy.

   • More about Build for Billions-
     • It is a collaboration with the Reserve Bank Innovation Hub (RBIH) and Union Bank of India (UBI).
     • It will support fintech startups in developing financial inclusion solutions for informal economy, including gig workers, migrant workers, etc.

2. Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has allowed investors to freeze or block their trading account any suspicious activity is detected.
   • Key points-
     • Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has directed stock brokerages to lay out a framework on this by April 1 and implement it from July 1, 2024.
     • Guidelines will be formulated by the Industry Standards Forum (ISF) of Brokers under the aegis of stock exchanges, and in consultation with the capital markets regulator.
     • Guidelines will have a detailed policy for voluntary freezing or blocking the online access of the trading account of the client.
     • Stock exchanges are supposed to submit compliance report on this to SEBI by August 31, 2024.

3. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has cancelled the licence of Hiriyur Urban Co-operative Bank due to inadequate capital and earning prospects.
   • Head office of Hiriyur Urban Co-operative Bank is located at Hiriyur, Karnataka.
     Source: The Hindu

4. REC Limited, has successfully issued its inaugural Japanese Yen (JPY) 61.1 billion 5-year, 5.25-year and 10-year Green bonds, issued under its US$ 10 billion Global Medium Term Notes Programme.
   • Proceeds from the issue of the Bonds will be applied to finance the Eligible Green Projects
     Source: PIB
5. US aircraft maker Boeing has announced the opening of a warehousing facility at Khurja in Uttar Pradesh for parts supply.
   • Key points-
     • It is one of eight distribution centres around the world that holds and ships spare parts specifically for Boeing’s commercial customers.
     • It will support the emergent needs of spare parts for Boeing aircraft in India, reducing lead times, improving availability, and supporting the MRO industry.
       Source: Business Standard

Defence News

1. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has approved a proposal to launch a Group (Term) Insurance Scheme for Casual Paid Labourers (CPLs) engaged by Border Roads Organisation/General Reserve Engineer Force for the ongoing project works.
   • Scheme will provide the insured value of Rs 10 lakh as an insurance in any kind of death to CPLs family/Next of Kin.
     Source: PIB
2. Defence Research & Development Organisation has started development trials of indigenous light tank ‘Zorawar’.
   • Tank has been named Zorawar, after the 19th-century general who conquered Ladakh and Baltistan for his Dogra overlords.
     Source: Business Standard

Awards

1. National Startup Awards 2023 have been announced on the occasion of National Startup Day on 16 January.
   • Key points-
     • Announced by- Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
     • Category A States (population more than 1 crore)-
       • Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu have been awarded as best performer states.
       • Top performer states during the year were Maharashtra, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan and Telangana.
       • Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand have been awarded the Leader status.
       • Bihar and Haryana got aspiring leader award.
     • Category B States (population less than 1 crore)-
       • Himachal Pradesh has won best performer award.
       • Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya have been awarded top performer award.
       • Goa, Manipur, Tripura have won Leader status.
       • Andaman and Nicobar Islands has won Aspiring leader award.
         Source: ET

Memorandum of Understanding

1. Central Government has signed an agreement to acquire five lithium brine blocks for exploration and development in Argentina.
   • Key points-
     • Agreement has been signed between Khanij Bidesh India Ltd (KABIL) and Catamarca Minera Y Energética Sociedad Del Estado (CAMYEN).
     • KABIL will start exploration and development of five lithium brine blocks covering an area of about 15,703 hectares in the Catamarca province.

Source: Business Standard, mines.gov.in

Appointments

1. Incumbent Vice President of Taiwan Lai Ching-te has been elected President of Taiwan.
   • He belongs to Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) of Taiwan.
     Source: Indian Express

Miscellaneous

1. Hindustani classical vocalist Prabha Atre has passed away in Pune, Maharashtra.
   • Key points-
     • She represents the Kirana Gharaanaa of Hindustani classical music.
   • Awards-
     • She has been honoured with the Padma Shri in 1990; Padma Bhushan in 2002; and Padma
       Vibhushan in 2022 for Arts.
     • She has received the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1991 as an appreciation for her
       outstanding role in enriching, preserving, and popularizing Indian art, and music.
     • Her first book ‘ Swaramayee’ which is a compilation of many of her articles on music.
       Source: Indian Express
2. Renowned Urdu poet Munawwar Rana has passed away at the age of 71 in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh (UP).
   • Key points-
     • His expertise lay notably in ghazals, a poetic structure characterized by rhyming couplets and a recurring refrain, for which he gained significant recognition.
   • Awards:
     • He has been awarded Sahitya Akademi Award in 2014 for his poetry book ‘Shahdaba‘.
     • He was also awarded the Gyanpeeth Award in 2014.
       Source: Business Standard

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