19th-20th January, 2023

1. Central Mine Planning and Design Institute Limited (CMPDIL), Ranchi (a consultancy subsidiary of Coal India Limited) has invented a “System and Method for Controlling Generation and Movement of Fugitive Dust” and obtained patent for it.
2. India has assumed the presidency of the 13th assembly of the International Renewable Energy Agency (the first international organisation to focus exclusively on renewable energy).
3. Central government will organise the India’s first global tourism investors summit in Delhi from April 10-12 under the aegis of India’s G20 Presidency.
4. Ministry of Minority Affairs has discontinued the Padho Pardesh Scheme that aimed at providing interest subsidy on education loans for overseas studies for students belonging to minority communities.
5. Network Planning Group (NPG) was constituted under the PM GatiShakti National Master Plan.
6. External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar arrived in Maldives as part of his three-day visit to Maldives and Sri Lanka.
7. The first G20 Health Working Group meeting under India’s G20 presidency was held at Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala.
8. Avani Chaturvedi has become the first woman pilot of the Indian Air Force to participate and lead in an air combat exercise.
9. Indian Army has organised the ‘Sainya Ranakshetram 2.0’ – a Hackathon to seek operational solutions to cyber challenges and jumpstart the development time for innovative solutions in the Cyber Security domain.
10. Indian Air Force has launched Kargil Courier Services from Kargil to Srinagar and Jammu.
11. CMAI (Carbon Markets Association of India) has signed an agreement with AREAS (Association of Renewable Energy Agencies of States) to ensure exchange of knowledge on policy and regulatory related developments and innovation in carbon market and enhance setting up of renewable energy projects.
12. European officials and Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf inaugurated the EU’s first mainland orbital launch complex named Spaceport Esrange at the Esrange Space Centre near the city of Kiruna, Sweden.
13. Archaeologists in Norway have discovered the world’s oldest dated runestone, featuring runic inscriptions from up to 2,000 years ago.
14. India-supported resolution ‘Education for Democracy’ gets adopted by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
15. The International Monetary Fund’s provisional USD 2.9 billion package to Sri Lanka is backed by Sri Lanka’s official creditors — China, Japan and India — which have provided adequate financing assurances.
16. International Labour Organization (ILO) has released the “World Employment and Social Outlook” report.
17. UNICEF has released the “Transforming Education with Equitable Financing” report.
18. Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) is an annual, citizen-led household survey that aims to understand whether children in rural India are enrolled in school and whether they are learning.
19. According to a research report by SBI, India’s fiscal deficit for FY 2023-24 is estimated at around ₹17.95 lakh crore or 6% of GDP in FY24.
20. Mastercard has announced to launch its Girls4Tech STEM education program across all states in India to reach 100,000 additional female students by 2024.
21. South Indian Bank and Steel Authority of India Ltd has signed MoU to provide financial assistance to the dealers of SAIL across the country.
22. India’s Adani Enterprises Limited (AEL) has signed an agreement with Ashok Leyland and Canada’s Ballard Power to launch a pilot project to develop a hydrogen fuel cell electric truck (FCET) for mining logistics and transportation.
23. According to EY estimates, Indian economy will reach GDP size of US$26 trillion (in market exchange terms) by 2047, the 100th year of the country’s independence.
24. State Bank of India (SBI) raised Rs 9,718 crore through the issuance of 15-year infrastructure debt, with the bonds bearing a coupon of 7.7%, in its second tranche.
25. Punjab National Bank (PNB) has offered credit cards against Fixed Deposit to customers who don’t meet the eligibility criteria for regular credit cards.
26. According to the data provided by Tracxn, a leading global market intelligence platform, Bengaluru topped the startup funding chart in India with $10.8 billion in 2022, followed by Mumbai at $3.9 billion, and Gurugram at a distant $2.6 billion.
27. According to a report conducted by Dealroom and London & Partners, India ranked 4th globally with USD 24.1 Billion worth of Venture Capital investments in 2022.
28. Index of Industrial Production (IIP) increased to 7.1% for November 2022 which is the highest in five months.
29. Captain Surbhi Jakhmola has become the first woman to be appointed on a foreign assignment – Project Dantak in Bhutan – by Border Roads Organization.
30. Sujeet Sharma has joined Vodafone-Idea as its Vice-President of active network and commercial.
31. Inger Andersen is the Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Director of UN Environment Program.
32. January 19 – National Disaster Response Force Raising Day (18th edition)
33. Tamilnad Mercantile Bank has won Best Small Bank Awards 2022 by the Business Today-KPMG survey.
34. 1,171 Indians peacekeepers won medals under the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).
35. The men’s doubles team of Yuki Bhambri and Saketh Myneni have won the Bangkok Open 2023 (tennis).
36. Gareth Bale (Welsh footballer) has retired from the international football.
37. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the second phase of Saansad Khel Mahakumbh 2022-23 in Basti, Uttar Pradesh through video conferencing.
38. “Revolutionaries” book was authored by Sanjeev Sanyal (member of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister).
39. Ronald E. Asher (British Linguist and Expert in Dravidian languages) has passed away.

National News

1. Central Mine Planning and Design Institute Limited (CMPDIL), Ranchi (a consultancy subsidiary of Coal India Limited) has invented a “System and Method for Controlling Generation and Movement of Fugitive Dust” and obtained patent for it.
   • Purpose – Reduce dust generation from open sources and also help in noise reduction
   • Application – This system can be used in mines, thermal power plants, railway sidings, ports, construction sites wherein coal or other minerals/fugitive materials are stored under open sky.
2. India has assumed the presidency of the 13th assembly of the International Renewable Energy Agency (the first international organisation to focus exclusively on renewable energy).
   • Theme of the Assembly – World Energy Transitions: The Global Stocktake
   • Union Minister of New and Renewable Energy R. K. Singh gave his opening remarks at the agency’s 13th assembly in Abu Dhabi.
   • India has also been appointed as the host of the Mission Innovation and Clean Energy Ministerials in 2023.

3. Central government will organise the India’s first global tourism investors summit in Delhi from April 10-12 under the aegis of India’s G20 Presidency.
   • Maharashtra is working actively on boosting tourism in the state. ‘Mumbai is the Cruise Capital’ and ‘Tadoba is the Tiger Capital’.
4. Ministry of Minority Affairs has discontinued the Padho Pardesh Scheme that aimed at providing interest subsidy on education loans for overseas studies for students belonging to minority communities.
   • Canara Bank is the nodal agency of this scheme.
   • The Ministry has also discontinued from Maulana Azad National Fellowship for Minority Students scheme because this scheme is overlapping with other schemes of the govt.
   • The Maulana Azad National Fellowship for Minority Students scheme used to provide scholarship to candidates who belong to one of the Minority Community i.e., Muslim, Sikh, Parsi, Buddhist, Christian & Jain who are pursuing higher studies such as regular and full time M. Phil/Ph.

5. Network Planning Group (NPG) was constituted under the PM GatiShakti National Master Plan.
   • The Group has examined and recommended three projects-
   • A four-lane accessed controlled greenfield highway as part of the Nagpur-Vijaywada corridor
   • A new rail connectivity projects connecting Barejadi Nandej to Sanand in Gujarat,
   • A new rail connectivity projects connecting Barbil, Barsuan and Nayagarh in Odisha
6. External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar arrived in Maldives as part of his three-day visit to Maldives and Sri Lanka.
   • An MoU between Maldivian National University and Kochi University of Science & Technology was signed.
   • India has announced an additional grant of 100 million Maldivian Rufiyaa for community development projects.
   • Abdulla Shahid is Maldivian politician who served as President of the 76th United Nations General Assembly between 2021 and 2022.
7. The first G20 Health Working Group meeting under India’s G20 presidency was held at Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala.

Defence News

1. Avani Chaturvedi has become the first woman pilot of the Indian Air Force to participate and lead in an air combat exercise.
   • The exercise named Veer Guardian is the first air force exercise between India and Japan. It will take place at Hyakuri airbase in Japan.
   • Chaturvedi is leading the squadron on her Sukhoi-30MKI jet.
2. Indian Army has organised the ‘Sainya Ranakshetram 2.0’ – a Hackathon to seek operational solutions to cyber challenges and jumpstart the development time for innovative solutions in the Cyber Security domain.
   • The Hackathon was launched from October 2022 to January 2023.
   • The Hackathon is based on Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning (AI/ ML), Security Software Coding, Cyber Deterrence and Electro Magnetic Spectrum Operations (EMSO) themes.
3. Indian Air Force has launched Kargil Courier Services from Kargil to Srinagar and Jammu.

Memorandum of Understanding

1. CMAI (Carbon Markets Association of India) has signed an agreement with AREAS (Association of Renewable Energy Agencies of States) to ensure exchange of knowledge on policy and regulatory related developments and innovation in carbon market and enhance setting up of renewable energy projects.
   • Purpose – to work towards a common goal of strengthening the country’s journey towards becoming a carbon-neutral economy and aid in the development of the Indian carbon market

International News

1. European officials and Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf inaugurated the EU’s first mainland orbital launch complex named Spaceport Esrange at the Esrange Space Centre near the city of Kiruna, Sweden.
   • The first satellite launch will take place in 2024 from this centre.
   • Themis Program of the European Space Agency will also start operations at this facility. The program aims to reuse rockets.
2. Archaeologists in Norway have discovered the world’s oldest dated runestone, featuring runic inscriptions from up to 2,000 years ago.
   • Researchers at the University of Oslo’s Museum of Cultural History found the stone.
   • The stone has been named “Svingerudsteinen,” or “the Svingerud Stone“, after the site where it was found.
3. India-supported resolution ‘Education for Democracy’ gets adopted by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
   • The resolution calls on member states to work on the challenges associated with access, affordability, digital literacy, and digital skills.
4. The International Monetary Fund’s provisional USD 2.9 billion package to Sri Lanka is backed by Sri Lanka’s official creditors — China, Japan and India — which have provided adequate financing assurances.

Reports and Indices

1. International Labour Organization (ILO) has released the “World Employment and Social Outlook” report.
   • As per the report, the global employment level can increase by 1% in 2023. The growth rate was 2.3% in 2022.
   • The global unemployment rate would be 5.8% in 2023 (208 million in absolute number).

2. UNICEF has released the “Transforming Education with Equitable Financing” report.
   • On average, the poorest benefit from only 16% of public education funding, while the wealthiest benefit from about 28% of the same.
   • For low-income countries, the disparity is even more significant – 11% of public education resources goes to the poorest, while 42% goes to the richest.
3. Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) is an annual, citizen-led household survey that aims to understand whether children in rural India are enrolled in school and whether they are learning.
   • ASER 2022 will reach more than 17,000 villages in almost all rural districts of the country, and will provide representative estimates of the schooling status of children aged 3-16 and the learning levels of children aged 5-16.

Highlights –

• Almost all (98.4%) students in the age bracket of 6-14 years are now enrolled in schools.
• It was last conducted at this scale in 2018, so this marks the return of the survey after four years.
• In ASER 2022, around 7 lakh candidates from 19,060 schools in 616 districts were surveyed to calculate the learning outcomes post pandemic on school children.
• Manipur has the lowest government school enrolment percentage among north-eastern states.

Banking and Economy

1. According to a research report by SBI, India’s fiscal deficit for FY 2023-24 is estimated at around ₹17.95 lakh crore or 6% of GDP in FY24.
   • For FY23, the fiscal deficit would stand at Rs 17.5 lakh crore.
   • The net market borrowing of the Centre in FY24 is believed to be around ₹11.7 lakh crore, and with repayments of ₹4.4 lakh crore, gross borrowing is expected at ₹16.1 lakh crore.
   • In FY24, the overall gross borrowing by the Centre and states is likely to be ₹24.3 lakh crore (up from ₹22.2 lakh crore in FY23) and net borrowings ₹17 lakh crore (₹16.7 lakh crore in FY23).
2. Mastercard has announced to launch its Girls4Tech STEM education program across all states in India to reach 100,000 additional female students by 2024.
   • The program, supported by the Mastercard Impact Fund and in partnership with the American India Foundation, will provide STEM education to girls aged 8 to 14 in 40 different government schools in Delhi and across the country.
   • Already, the program is being implemented in both urban and rural areas across six states in India.
3. South Indian Bank and Steel Authority of India Ltd has signed MoU to provide financial assistance to the dealers of SAIL across the country.
   • Purpose – to offer SAIL’s dealers with financial assistance for working capital, especially steel procurement
4. India’s Adani Enterprises Limited (AEL) has signed an agreement with Ashok Leyland and Canada’s Ballard Power to launch a pilot project to develop a hydrogen fuel cell electric truck (FCET) for mining logistics and transportation.
   • The FCET is scheduled to be launched in India in 2023.
5. According to EY estimates, Indian economy will reach GDP size of US$26 trillion (in market exchange terms) by 2047, the 100th year of the country’s independence.
   • The report, India@100: Realizing the potential of a US$26 trillion economy, was launched by Sri Ashwini Vaishnaw, Railway and IT Minister, Government of India on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum at Davos, Switzerland.
   • The per capita income of India is expected to increase to $15,000.
6. State Bank of India (SBI) raised Rs 9,718 crore through the issuance of 15-year infrastructure debt, with the bonds bearing a coupon of 7.7%, in its second tranche.
   • Infrastructure bonds are securities that are exempt from the computation of net demand and time liabilities (NDTL) – a proxy for deposits. Hence, they are not subject to cash reserve ratio (CRR) and statutory liquidity ratio (SLR) requirements.
7. Punjab National Bank (PNB) has offered credit cards against Fixed Deposit to customers who don’t meet the eligibility criteria for regular credit cards.
   • This facility will be available for salary account customers, and they shall be able to apply through the mobile banking app PNB One, website or Internet Banking Service (IBS).
8. According to the data provided by Tracxn, a leading global market intelligence platform, Bengaluru topped the startup funding chart in India with $10.8 billion in 2022, followed by Mumbai at $3.9 billion, and Gurugram at a distant $2.6 billion.
9. According to a report conducted by Dealroom and London & Partners, India ranked 4th globally with USD 24.1 Billion worth of Venture Capital investments in 2022.
   • USD 10.7 billion worth of investment went into companies based in Now, Bengaluru (Indian tech city) has joined the likes of London and New York in the top 5 hubs for tech VC investment last year.
   • Top 3 countries – US ($233 billion), China ($48 billion), and United Kingdom ($29.9 billion)
10. Index of Industrial Production (IIP) increased to 7.1% for November 2022 which is the highest in five months.

Appointments

1. Captain Surbhi Jakhmola has become the first woman to be appointed on a foreign assignment – Project Dantak in Bhutan – by Border Roads Organization.

2. Sujeet Sharma has joined Vodafone-Idea as its Vice-President of active network and commercial.
3. Inger Andersen is the Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Director of UN Environment Program.

Important Days

1. January 19 – National Disaster Response Force Raising Day (18th edition)

Awards

1. Tamilnad Mercantile Bank has won Best Small Bank Awards 2022 by the Business Today-KPMG survey.
2. 1,171 Indians peacekeepers won medals under the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).

Sports

1. The men’s doubles team of Yuki Bhambri and Saketh Myneni have won the Bangkok Open 2023 (tennis).
   • Men’s Singles – Arthur Cazaux (French Tennis player)
2. Gareth Bale (Welsh footballer) has retired from the international football.
3. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the second phase of Saansad Khel Mahakumbh 2022-23 in Basti, Uttar Pradesh through video conferencing.
   • The Khel Mahakumbh organises diverse competitions in both indoor and outdoor sports like wrestling, kabaddi, kho kho, basketball, football, hockey, volleyball, handball, chess, carrom, badminton, table tennis etc.
   • Apart from these, competitions in essay writing, painting, rangoli making etc are also organised during the Khel Mahakumbh.

Miscellaneous

1. “Revolutionaries” book was authored by Sanjeev Sanyal (member of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister).
   • The book was released by Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
2. Ronald E. Asher (British Linguist and Expert in Dravidian languages) has passed away.

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