19th January, 2024

1. National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) has launched the ‘One Vehicle, One FASTag‘ initiative.
2. 1st National Highway Steel Slag Road of India section on NH- 66 Mumbai-Goa National Highway has been inaugurated.
3. Max Life has launched first-of-its-kind Midcap Momentum Index Fund in unit linked insurance plan (ULIP) segment.
4. World Economic Forum Center for Fourth Industrial Revolution (C4IR), 1st thematic centre in India to focus on life sciences and healthcare will be set up in Hyderabad, Telangana.
5. Life Insurance Corporation of India has overtaken State Bank of India to become the most valuable Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) in term of market capitalization.
6. United States has been ranked as the strongest military of the world in Global Firepower’s 2024 rankings.
7. 225T Bollard Pull (BP) Tug named Bhishm has been launched by Commodore S. Sreekumar, Warship Production Superintendent (Kolkata), at M/s Titagarh Rail Systems Ltd (M/s TRSL) in Kolkata.
8. Indian Navy and Royal Thai Navy have conducted a maiden bilateral exercise, named ‘Ex-Ayutthaya’.
9. Lionel Messi from Argentina has won the Best FIFA Men’s Player 2023 Award, while Aitana Bonmati from Spain has won the Best FIFA Women’s Player 2023 Award.
10. Google India Digital Services and NPCI International Payments, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the National Payments Corporation of India have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to expand UPI to countries beyond India.
11. International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Indian Gas Exchange (IGX) and Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation (GSPC) to establish a global hydrogen trading mechanism.
12. Reserve Bank of India has approved the appointment of Praveen Achuthan Kutty as the Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of DCB Bank Limited.
13. Frederik André Henrik Christian, Crown Prince of Denmark has been proclaimed as the new king of Denmark by it’s Prime Minister (PM) Mette Frederiksen.
14. Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar has released the book ‘Fertilising the Future: Bharat’s March Towards Fertilizer Self-Sufficiency’.
15. “An Uncommon Love: The Early Life of Sudha and Narayana Murthy” book has been written by Indian-American author Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni.

National News

1. National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) has launched the ‘One Vehicle, One FASTag‘ initiative.
   • Objectives-
     • To enhance efficiency of the Electronic Toll Collection system and provide seamless movement at the Toll Plazas.
     • To discourage user behavior of using single FASTag for multiple vehicles or linking multiple FASTags to a particular vehicle.
   • Key points-
     • NHAI is also encouraging FASTag users to complete ‘Know Your Customer’ (KYC) process of their latest FASTag by updating KYC as per RBI guidelines.
     • FASTags with valid balance but with incomplete KYC will get deactivated/blacklisted by banks post 31st January 2024.
       Source: PIB

2. 1st National Highway Steel Slag Road of India section on NH- 66 Mumbai-Goa National Highway has been inaugurated.
   • Key points-
     • Steel Slag Road Technology developed by– CSIR-Central Road Research Institute (CSIR-CRRI)
     • Under the guidance of CSIR-CRRI technological, JSW Steel has constructed the 1 km long four lane steel slag road section on Indapur-Panvel Section of NH-66 Mumbai-Goa.

Source: PIB

Banking and Economy

1. Max Life has launched first-of-its-kind Midcap Momentum Index Fund in unit linked insurance plan (ULIP) segment.
   • More about Mid-cap Momentum Index Fund-
     • New fund offering (NFO) is structured around the Nifty Midcap 150 Momentum 50 Index.
     • NFO aligns with the surging trend of index funds in India which have witnessed 175% CAGR growth in asset under management (AUM) over the last three years (FY20-FY23).

2. World Economic Forum Center for Fourth Industrial Revolution (C4IR), 1st thematic centre in India to focus on life sciences and healthcare will be set up in Hyderabad, Telangana.
   • Key points-
     • Telangana government and the World Economic Forum (WEF) have signed a collaboration agreement between the during the annual meeting of WEF in Davos.
     • Centre – C4IR Telangana will be an autonomous, non-profit organization, leading on policy and governance for healthcare and life sciences.
     • It will play an important role in transforming the regional, national and global healthcare sector, and improving patient access and outcomes.
     • It is the only centre of the World Economic Forum in India with a thematic focus on healthcare and life sciences.

3. Life Insurance Corporation of India has overtaken State Bank of India to become the most valuable Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) in term of market capitalization.
   Source: livemint

Reports and Indices

1. United States has been ranked as the strongest military of the world in Global Firepower’s 2024 rankings.
   • Key points-
     • Ranking evaluates 145 nations on 60 factors, the rankings offer Detailed insights into military prowess.
     • Bhutan is the least powerful country and Pakistan has been ranked 9th on the list.
     • Top 5 Countries-

Source: ET

Defence News

1. 225T Bollard Pull (BP) Tug named Bhishm has been launched by Commodore S. Sreekumar, Warship Production Superintendent (Kolkata), at M/s Titagarh Rail Systems Ltd (M/s TRSL) in Kolkata.
   • Tug acts as a representative of the “Make in India” initiative of the Government of India.
     Source: PIB
   
   
2. Indian Navy and Royal Thai Navy have conducted a maiden bilateral exercise, named ‘Ex-Ayutthaya’.
   • Key points-
     • ‘Ex- Ayutthaya’ means ‘The Invincible One’ or ‘Undefeatable’
     • ‘Ex-Ayutthaya’, symbolises the significance of ‘Ayodhya’ in India and Ayutthaya in Thailand, which holds historic legacies and has rich cultural ties.
     • Indian Naval ships Kulish and IN LCU 56 have participated in the inaugural edition of the exercise.
     • Royal Thai Navy side was represented by His Thai Majesty’s Ship (HTMS) Prachuap Khiri Khan.
     • 36th edition of the India-Thailand Coordinated Patrol (Indo-Thai CORPAT) was also conducted along with the maiden bilateral exercise.
       Source: ET
     
     

Awards

1. Lionel Messi from Argentina has won the Best FIFA Men’s Player 2023 Award, while Aitana Bonmati from Spain has won the Best FIFA Women’s Player 2023 Award.
   • FIFA Special Award for her outstanding career achievements– Marta (Brazil)
   • FIFA Puskás Award 2023- Guilherme Madruga(Brazil)
     Source: TOI
   
   
   
   

Memorandum of Understanding

1. Google India Digital Services and NPCI International Payments, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the National Payments Corporation of India have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to expand UPI to countries beyond India.
   • MoU has three key objectives-
     • To increase the use of UPI payments for travelers outside of India, enabling them to conveniently make transactions abroad.
     • To assist in establishing UPI-like digital payment systems in other countries.
     • To focus on easing the process of remittances between countries by utilizing the UPI infrastructure, and simplifying cross-border financial exchanges.

2. International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Indian Gas Exchange (IGX) and Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation (GSPC) to establish a global hydrogen trading mechanism.
   • Objective-
     • To improve transparency, boost investor confidence, and facilitate the growth of the green hydrogen market on global scale.
       Source: ET

Appointments

1. Reserve Bank of India has approved the appointment of Praveen Achuthan Kutty as the Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of DCB Bank Limited.
   • Appointment is for 3 years with effect from April 29, 2024.
     Source: ET
   
   
   
   
2. Frederik André Henrik Christian, Crown Prince of Denmark has been proclaimed as the new king of Denmark by it’s Prime Minister (PM) Mette Frederiksen.
   Source: reuters

Miscellaneous

1. Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar has released the book ‘Fertilising the Future: Bharat’s March Towards Fertilizer Self-Sufficiency’.
   • Key point-
     • Written by- Chemicals and Fertilizers Minister Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya
     • Hindi version of the book is titled ‘Urvarak-Atmanirbharta ki Raah’.
     • Book outlines the journey of making India self-reliant in the fertilizer sector under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the revolutionary changes that have taken place till date.
       Source: AIR
     
     
2. “An Uncommon Love: The Early Life of Sudha and Narayana Murthy” book has been written by Indian-American author Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni.
   • Key points-
     • Published by- Juggernaut Books
     • Biography covers the early years of Sudha Murty’s and Narayana Murthy’s lives.
       Source: HT

Start Quiz of 19th January 2024 on Mobile

Start Quiz of 19th January 2024 on Desktop