24th January, 2024

1. Union Minister Parshottam Rupala, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying (MoFAHD) has virtually launched the project of depositing artificial reefs in the seabed in Vizhinjam, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.
2. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched “Pradhanmantri Suryodaya Yojana” to provide Rooftop Solar (RTS) power systems to 1 crore households.
3. Prime Minister has inaugurated the new State-of-Art campus of the National Academy of Customs, Indirect Taxes and Narcotics (NACIN) at Palasamudram, Sri Sathya Sai District, Andhra Pradesh.
4. Prime Minister, Narendra Modi has inaugurated projects worth more than Rs 4000 crore in line with the Prime Minister’s vision to transform India’s ports, shipping, and waterways sector, and build capacity and self- sufficiency in it.
5. Prime Minister, Narendra Modi has inaugurated the opening ceremony of the Khelo India Youth Games 2023 in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
6. Prime Minister, Narendra Modi has inaugurated the new state-of-the-art Boeing India Engineering & Technology Center (BIETC) campus in Bengaluru, Karnataka.
7. Himachal Pradesh Government has launched the ‘My School-My Pride‘ campaign under the ‘Apna Vidyalay‘ programme, aligning with the National Education Policy (NEP)-2020.
8. CoRover Private Limited (Corover.ai) has launched India’s 1st indigenous Generative AI (GenAI) Large Language Model (LLM) called BharatGPT.
9. Annual Status of Education Report (ASER 2023: Beyond Basics) report has been released by NGO Pratham.
10. 11th edition of India-Kyrgyzstan Joint Special Forces Exercise KHANJAR has commenced at the Special Forces Training School in Bakloh, Himachal Pradesh.
11. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and Lockheed Martin have unveiled ‘X-59 quiet Supersonic Jet’, a one-of-a-kind experimental aircraft known as the ‘Son of Concorde‘.
12. Late former Bihar Chief Minister Karpoori Thakur has been posthumously awarded the Bharat Ratna, highest civilian honour of India.
13. January 23– Parakram Diwas (Day of Valour)
14. Indian badminton pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty have won the silver medal in the men’s doubles of Yonex-Sunrise India Open 2024.
15. Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Government of India has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Communications of the Republic of Cuba.

National News

1. Union Minister Parshottam Rupala, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying (MoFAHD) has virtually launched the project of depositing artificial reefs in the seabed in Vizhinjam, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.
   • Objective-
     • To increase the income of fishermen by enhancing the fish population in Kerala.
   • More about project-
     • It is a joint initiative of the Government of India (GoI) and the Government of Kerala.
     • Project is implemented under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY).
     • Kerala State Coastal Area Development Corporation (KSCADC) will implement the project with technical assistance from the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute.
     • Total budget for project is Rs 13.02 crore: 60% (Rs 7.812 crore) by Central Government and 40% (Rs 5.208 crore) by the Government of Kerala.

2. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched “Pradhanmantri Suryodaya Yojana” to provide Rooftop Solar (RTS) power systems to 1 crore households.
   • Objective-
     • To provide electricity through solar rooftop installations, along with offering additional income for surplus electricity generation.
   • More about scheme-
     • Scheme will support India to achieve the target of 40 Gigawatt (GW) rooftop solar capacity.
     • It will help poor and middle-income households to lower their electricity bills.
     • Interested beneficiary may install the solar rooftop systems through project developers after taking approval from respective DISCOMS within the capacity limit.
       Source: ET

   
   
   
   

State News

1. Prime Minister has inaugurated the new State-of-Art campus of the National Academy of Customs, Indirect Taxes and Narcotics (NACIN) at Palasamudram, Sri Sathya Sai District, Andhra Pradesh.
   • Objective-
     • To improve governance through Civil Service Capacity Building.
   • Key points-
     • NACIN will focus on the use of new age technologies such as Augmented & Virtual Reality, Block-chain as well as Artificial Intelligence and other emerging Technologies for training and capacity building.
     • He also released a book titled ‘Flora of Palasamudra’
       Source: DH

2. Prime Minister, Narendra Modi has inaugurated projects worth more than Rs 4000 crore in line with the Prime Minister’s vision to transform India’s ports, shipping, and waterways sector, and build capacity and self- sufficiency in it.
   • Key projects-
     • New Dry Dock (NDD) at Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL)
     • International Ship Repair Facility (ISRF) of CSL
     • LPG import terminal of Indian Oil Corporation Limited Puthuvypeen, Kochi
       Source: ET

3. Prime Minister, Narendra Modi has inaugurated the opening ceremony of the Khelo India Youth Games 2023 in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
   • Key points-
     • Khelo India Youth Games will be held in Chennai, Madurai, Trichy, and Coimbatore from 19th to 31st January 2024.
     • Mascot- Veera Mangai, inspired by Rani Velu Nachiyar who fought a war against British colonial rule.
     • Logo for the games incorporates the figure of poet Thiruvalluvar.
     • It includes 26 sporting disciplines, including Silambam, a traditional sport of Tamil Nadu, is being introduced as a demo sport for the first time in the history of the Khelo India Youth Games.
       Source: livemint
4. Prime Minister, Narendra Modi has inaugurated the new state-of-the-art Boeing India Engineering & Technology Center (BIETC) campus in Bengaluru, Karnataka.
   • Key points-
     • It is built with an investment of Rs 1,600 crores, and is Boeing’s largest such investment outside the USA.
     • Prime Minister has also launched the Boeing Sukanya Program.
       • It aims to support the entry of more girl children from across India into the growing aviation sector of country.
       • It will provide opportunities for girls and women from across India to learn critical skills in the science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) fields and train for jobs in the aviation sector.
       • It will create STEM Labs at 150 planned locations to help spark interest in STEM careers.
       • It will also provide scholarships to women who are training to be pilots.
         Source: PIB
5. Himachal Pradesh Government has launched the ‘My School-My Pride‘ campaign under the ‘Apna Vidyalay‘ programme, aligning with the National Education Policy (NEP)-2020.
   • Objective-
     • To improve the quality of education in government schools by fostering collaboration among various stakeholders.

   • More about Apna Vidyalay Programme-
     • This initiative will encourage active participation from individuals and organisations to adopt schools and contribute to various aspects of students’ growth.
     • Stakeholders will be requested to provide career counselling, offer remedial teaching, coach students for examinations, and engage in community support services.
     • It also involves monetary contributions for infrastructure development, event sponsorship, scholarships, and support for the Mid-Day Meal (MDM) programme.
     • Retired employees, housewives or any other member of the society will be encouraged to to teach the students without taking any payment under ‘Giving back to society’ initiative.
     • Members of Parliament, MLAs, and government officers are encouraged to adopt at least one government school as patrons.
     • ‘Systematic adolescent management and value addition dialogue’ (SAMVAD) component will educate school going adolescents on moral values, drug awareness, nutrition, legal knowledge, and empowerment schemes.
       Source: HT

Banking and Economy

1. CoRover Private Limited (Corover.ai) has launched India’s 1st indigenous Generative AI (GenAI) Large Language Model (LLM) called BharatGPT.
   • Key points-
     • It is the only Indian Indigenous GenAI platform available across channels in 14+ Indian languages.
     • About BharatGPT-
       • BharatGPT is integrated for voice modality in more than 14 Indian languages and 22 languages for text modality, in partnership with BHASHINI (BHASHa INterface for India).

Source: TOI

Reports and Indices

1. Annual Status of Education Report (ASER 2023: Beyond Basics) report has been released by NGO Pratham.
   • About ASER 2023: Beyond Basics-
     • It is a nationwide citizen-led household survey that provides a snapshot of the status of children’s schooling and learning in rural India.
     • It collects information about enrollment in preschool and school for children in the age group of 3 to 16 and assesses children aged 5 to 16 one-on-one to understand their foundational reading and arithmetic abilities.
     • First implemented in 2005, the ‘basic’ ASER survey was conducted annually until 2014 and switched to an alternate-year cycle in 2016.
   • Objective-
     • 2023 survey has focused specifically on the ability to apply reading and math skills to everyday situations, and aspirations of 14-to-18-year-old children in rural India.
   • ASER 2023: Beyond Basics has explored following domains-
     • Activity: What activities are India’s youth currently engaged in?
     • Ability: Do they have basic and applied reading and math abilities?
     • Digital awareness and skills: Do they have access to smartphones? What do they use smartphones for, and can they do simple tasks on their smartphones?
     • Aspirations: What do they aspire to become? Who are their role models?
   • Key Findings of the Report-
     • Activity-
       • Increased Enrollment: Overall, 86.8% of 14-18-year-olds are enrolled in an educational institution.
       • Vocational Training: Youth at the college level are the most likely to be taking vocational training (16.2%).
     • Ability-
       • Foundational Skills: About 25% of this age group (14-18) still cannot read a Std II level text fluently in their regional language.
       • Everyday Calculations: Nearly 85% of surveyed youth can measure length using a scale when the starting point is 0 cm.
       • Financial Calculations: Of the youth who can do subtraction or more, over 60% are able to do the budget management task, about 37% can apply a discount, but only about 10% can calculate repayment.
     • Digital Awareness and Skills-
       • Digital Access: Close to 90% of all youth have a smartphone in the household and know how to use it.
       • Communication and Online Safety: Of all youth who used social media, only about half are familiar with the online safety settings that were included in the survey.
       • Digital Tasks: 70% of youth can browse the internet to find the answer to a question and about two-thirds can set an alarm for a specific time.
         Source: ASER

Defence News

1. 11th edition of India-Kyrgyzstan Joint Special Forces Exercise KHANJAR has commenced at the Special Forces Training School in Bakloh, Himachal Pradesh.
   • Objective-
     • To share experiences and best practices in Counter-Terrorism and Special Forces Operations in urban and mountainous areas under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter.
     • Participants-
       • Indian Army contingent -20 personnel from The Parachute Regiment (Special Forces).
       • Kyrgyzstan contingent- 20 personnel from Scorpion Brigade.
   • About Exercise Khanjar:
     • It is an annual exercise held alternatively in India and Kyrgyzstan.
     • 1st edition of Ex Khanjar was held in 2011 in Nahan, Himachal Pradesh.
     • 10th edition of Exercise (Ex Khanjar 2023) was held in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan from 6th to 18th March 2023.
       Source: PIB

Science and Tech

1. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and Lockheed Martin have unveiled ‘X-59 quiet Supersonic Jet’, a one-of-a-kind experimental aircraft known as the ‘Son of Concorde‘.
   • Objective-
     • To collect data that could revolutionize air travel, paving the way for a new generation of commercial aircraft that can travel faster than the speed of sound.
   • Key points-
     • X-59 is at the center of NASA’s Quiet Supersonic Technology (QueSST) mission
     • aims to demonstrate the ability to fly supersonic while generating a gentle “sonic thump” without making loud sonic booms.
     • 59 is expected to fly at speeds of 925 miles per hour (mph) or 1,489 kilometer/h(kmph), or 1.4 times the speed of sound (about 768 miles per hour (1,236 kmph) at sea level).
       Source: NASA

Awards

1. Late former Bihar Chief Minister Karpoori Thakur has been posthumously awarded the Bharat Ratna, highest civilian honour of India.
   • Key points-
     • He is the 49th recipient of the country’s highest civilian award.
     • Award recognizes his efforts as a champion for the marginalised and a loyal, reliable, and hardworking supporter of equality and empowerment.
   • About Karpoori Thakur-
     • He has served as the Chief Minister of Bihar twice, and was known for championing the cause of the backward classes.
     • He belonged to a very humble background and was born the son of a barber.
     • He was Popularly known as Jan Nayak (people’s hero)
     • He passed away in February 1988.

Source: HT

Important Days

1. January 23– Parakram Diwas (Day of Valour)
   • It is observed to commemorate the birth anniversary of freedom fighter Subhash Chandra Bose.
     Source: HT

Sports

1. Indian badminton pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty have won the silver medal in the men’s doubles of Yonex-Sunrise India Open 2024.
   • List of winners-

Source: olympics.com

Memorandum of Understanding

1. Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Government of India has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Communications of the Republic of Cuba.
   • Objective-
     • To promote cooperation in the field of sharing successful digital solutions implemented at a population scale for digital transformation.
   • More about MoU-
     • It focuses on promoting digital transformation(INDIA STACK) through Capacity Building Programs to mutually benefit the digital ecosystems of India and Cuba.
     • India will collaborate with Cuba by building the development partnership on digital transformation to facilitate a seamless adoption of Digital Public Infrastructure in Cuba.

Source: PIB

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