NATIONAL UPDATES:
1. PM
Narendra Modi declares January 16 as ‘National Startup Day’: Prime Minister
Narendra Modi has declared to mark 16th
January as ‘National Start-up Day’. The announcement was made by PM Modi
via video conferencing during a week-long event “Celebrating Innovation
Ecosystem” as a part of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav. The Prime Minister interacted
with more than 150 startups across different sectors, during the event. The
startups, categorised under six groups, gave presentations to the Prime
Minister on six themes — ‘growing from roots, ‘nudging the DNA’, ‘from local to
global, ‘technology of future’, ‘building champions in manufacturing’ and
‘sustainable development. The Prime Minister was of the view Indian startups
can easily make it to the global stage and reach other countries and told the
young entrepreneurs: “Don’t just keep your dreams local, make them global.
Remember this mantra — let’s Innovate for India, innovate from India”.
2.
ISFR Report: India’s forest & tree cover rose by 2,261 sq km in last 2
years: Union
Environment Minister, Bhupender Yadav has launched the 17th edition of the
biennial ‘India State of Forest Report (ISFR)’ 2021. ISFR is released by the
Forest Survey of India (FSI), every two years since 1987 to assess the
country’s forest resources. India’s forest and tree cover rose by 2,261 square
kilometres in ISFR 2021 as compared to the assessment of 2019. This includes an
increase of 1,540 square kilometres in forest cover and a 721 sq km increase in
tree cover.
Key findings of the ISFR 2021:
(1) The forest and tree cover in India is
now 8,09,537 sq km. Total forest cover is 7,13,789 sq km, (21.71 per cent of
the geographical area) and tree cover is 95,748 sq km (2.91 per cent of the
geographical area).
(2) The top five states in terms of
increase in forest cover are Andhra Pradesh (647 sq km), Telangana (632 sq km),
Odisha (537 sq km), Karnataka (155 sq km) and Jharkhand (110 sq km).
Area-wise, Madhya Pradesh has the largest
forest cover in the country followed by Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha
and Maharashtra.
(3) The top five states in terms of forest
cover as a percentage of total geographical area are Mizoram (84.53%),
Arunachal Pradesh (79.33%), Meghalaya (76.00%), Manipur (74.34%) and Nagaland
(73.90%).
(4) The mangrove cover in the country
recorded an increase of 17 sq km as compared to the assessment of 2019. Total
mangrove cover in the country now covers 4,992 sq km.
(5) Top three States in terms of increase
in mangrove cover are Odisha (8 sq km), Maharashtra (4 sq km) and Karnataka (3
sq km) respectively.
3.
18th Kachai Lemon Festival begins in Manipur 2022: The 18th edition of
the two days long Kachai Lemon Festival began in Manipur at the Local Ground of
Kachai Village in Ukhrul district. The Kachai Lemon Festival is organised
annually to promote this unique kind of lemon fruit and to encourage lemon
farmers. This year, altogether 260 stalls are put up at the festival showcasing
the rich reap of lemon this year. This year the festival is being organised
under the theme ‘Organic Kachai Lemon for Safe Environment and Rural
Transformation’. A training program for lemon farmers will be held tomorrow as
part of the festival.
Kachai Lemon of Manipur has been accorded
Geographical Indication (GI) registration tag and widely grown in the Kachai
Village of Ukhrul district. Unlike the other lemon varieties grown in other
parts of the world, Kachai Lemon is considered to be unique as it is a rich
source of ascorbic acid and famous for its juice content.
Note: Chief Minister of Manipur: N. Biren
Singh; Governor: La. Ganesan.
4.
Rocket scientist S Somanath appointed as new ISRO chief: Indian Space
Research Organisation (ISRO) has announced the appointment of the eminent
rocket scientist Dr S Somanath as its new chairman and Space Secretary. He will
succeed Kailasavadivoo Sivan who completes his extended tenure. The post of the
ISRO chairman, the Space Secretary and the Space Commission chief is usually
held by one person only.
Experience of Dr S Somanath: Mr Somanath is
an expert in a host of disciplines including launch vehicle design and has
specialised in launch vehicle systems engineering, structural design, structural
dynamics, integration designs and procedures, mechanism design, and
pyrotechnics. He is currently the Director of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre
(VSSC) in Kerala’s Thiruvananthapuram. He was a team leader for the Integration
of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) during the early phases of his
career.
Note: ISRO Headquarters: Bengaluru,
Karnataka; ISRO established: 15 August 1969.
5.
RajKummar Rao named as brand ambassador of RenewBuy: RenewBuy, an online
insurance platform, has appointed Rajkummar Rao as the brand ambassador for its
1st 360-degree consumer advertising campaign that highlights consumers’
insurance needs. The campaign was designed and conceptualised by Havas
Worldwide India. “Smart Tech, Right Advice” is the theme of the campaign. This
program aims to increase the spread of insurance policies digitally for
consumers from any part of the country.
INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:
1.
India give support to Sri Lanka to overcome forex crisis: India has announced
financial assistance of USD 900 million loans to Sri Lanka to help the island
nation in building up its depleted foreign reserves and for food imports. It
must be noted that Sri Lanka is currently facing a shortage of almost all essential
commodities due to a shortage of dollars to pay for the imports. India is
extending its support through the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The Indian High
Commissioner to Sri Lanka Gopal Baglay met Cabraal and expressed India’s strong
support to Sri Lanka in the wake of RBI extending over USD 900 million
facilities.
These comprise deferment of Asian Clearing
Union settlement of over USD 509 million and currency swap of USD 400 million.
Sri Lanka is currently experiencing a shortage of almost all essentials due to
a shortage of dollars to pay for the imports. Additionally, power cuts are
imposed at peak hours as the state power entity is unable to obtain fuel to run
turbines. The state fuel entity has stopped oil supplies as the electricity
board has large unpaid bills. The only refinery was shut as it was unable to
pay dollars for crude imports.
Note: Sri Lanka Capitals: Sri
Jayawardenepura Kotte; Currency: Sri Lankan rupee; Sri Lanka Prime Minister:
Mahinda Rajapaksa; Sri Lanka President: Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
OTHER UPDATES:
SPORTS
1.
Tata group replaces Chinese mobile manufacturer Vivo as IPL title sponsor: The Board of
Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has informed that Tata group has replaced
Chinese mobile phone manufacturer Vivo as the title sponsor of the Indian
Premier League (IPL) for the 2022 and 2023 seasons. The multinational
conglomerate will pay Rs. 300 crore per year as the title sponsor of IPL for
the next two seasons. This is about 60% of what Vivo would have paid.
Note: Tata group Founder: Jamsetji Tata;
Tata group Founded: 1868, Mumbai; Tata group Headquarters: Mumbai; Chairman of
the Board at Tata Sons: Natarajan Chandrasekaran.
2.
AISCD gets approval to hold first World Deaf T20 Cricket championship 2023: The All India
Sports Council of the Deaf has got approval from the International Committee of
Sports for the Deaf (ICSD) to host the first World Deaf T20 Cricket
Championship in Kerala from January 10-20, 2023. This championship was planned
to be conducted in 2020-21 but due to the sudden outbreak of coronavirus, it
was postponed first to 2022 & now fixed for 2023. A minimum of eight countries
are expected to take part in the championship and this kind of international
event is being held in India with the approval of the ICSD for the first time.”
About the AISCD: AISCD is the only
Centre-recognised national sports federation for the deaf, while the ICSD is
the only international federation recognized as governing body of the deaf
sports movement and Deaflympics sanctioned by the International Olympic
Committee.
Note: International Committee of Sports for
the Deaf Founded: 1924; International Committee of Sports for the Deaf
Headquarters: Maryland, USA; International Committee of Sports for the Deaf
President: Rebecca Adam.
BANKING AND FINANCE
1.
LazyPay tie-up with SBM Bank India to Launch LazyCard: LazyPay, a Buy Now
Pay Later (BNPL) solution by PayU Finance, announced its partnership with SBM
Bank India to launch LazyCard, a prepaid payment instrument backed by a credit
line that works on the Visa payment network. To empower financially underserved
Indians with easy access to credit as their card has limited credit options.
LazyCard reaches over 62 million pre-approved users of LazyPay, with a credit
limit of up to 5 lakhs. Consumers could avail the Lazycard at zero joining fees
and zero annual fees along with multiple transactional benefits and rewards.
Note: SBM Bank Incorporated: 1st December
2018; SBM Bank Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra; SBM Bank CEO & MD:
Sidharth Rath
2.
RBI approves appointment of Ittira Davis as MD & CEO of Ujjivan SFB: Reserve Bank of
India has approved the appointment of Ittira Davis as managing director &
chief executive officer of (MD & CEO) of Ujjivan Small Finance Bank for one
tenure. He will take charge of the extended tenure from January 14, 2022. The
post had been lying vacant since three-month following the sudden exit of
incumbent Nitin Chugh. Prior to Ujjivan, Davis was the Managing Director with
the Europe Arab Bank, London. He has also held leadership positions with Arab
Bank plc, Bahrain and Citibank, India. He has over 40 years of work experience
in India, Middle East and Europe.
Note: Ujjivan Small Finance Bank
Headquarters: Bengaluru; Ujjivan Small Finance Bank Founder: Samit Ghosh;
Ujjivan Small Finance Bank Founded: 1 February 2017.
BUSINESS AND ECONOMY
1. UN
projects India GDP at 6.5% in FY22: The GDP growth forecast of India in fiscal
2022 is estimated to grow at 6.5 per cent as per the United Nations World
Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) 2022 report. Earlier this was estimated
at 8.4%. The WESP is a flagship report produced by the UN Department of
Economic and Social Affairs (UN-DESA). UN has projected the growth rate for
fiscal 2023 (FY 2022-2023) at 5.9 per cent.
On a calendar year basis UN has projected
India’s GDP as follows:
2021 – 9 per cent
2022 – 6.7 per cent
2023 – 6.1 per cent
Globally:
2021 – 5.5 per cent
2022 – 4.0 per cent
2023 – 3.5 per cent
2.
Centre will hold 35.8% stakes of Vodafone Idea in the form of equity: The Central
Government of India is set to become the largest shareholder in Vodafone Idea.
The company’s board approved the conversion of Rs 16,000 crores in interest
into equity. India’s third-largest network Vi or Vodafone Idea Limited (VIL)
has approved the interest on the spectrum and Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) dues
into government equity. VIL accepted a four-year moratorium as well as accepted
the equity conversion, which means the Indian government will own almost 35.8%
of VIL’s stake followed by Vodafone Group which owns 28.5% and 17.8% by Aditya
Birla Group.
DEFENCE
1.
DRDO successfully test-fires final deliverable configuration of MPATGM: Defence Research
and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully flight tested the Man-Portable
Anti-Tank Guided Missile (MPATGM), in its final “deliverable configuration”.
MPATGM will be manufactured by Bharat Dynamics Limited at its facility in
Bhanoor, Telangana.
About the missile: The purpose of testing the missile was to check its consistent performance at a minimum range, which is 200-300 metres. MPATGM has already completed a similar successful test for a maximum range of 4,000 metres. With this successful test of the MPATGM, the system is now ready for production in large numbers in India.
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