NATIONAL UPDATES:
1. G20’s first Infrastructure Working
Group meeting to be held in Pune: The first G20 Infrastructure Working Group meeting
under G20 India Presidency will be held on 16-17 January in Pune. The
meeting will be hosted by the Department of Economic Affairs along
with Australia and Brazil as the
co-chairs. The Group deliberates on various aspects of infrastructure
investments, including developing infrastructure as an asset class The outcomes
of the Working Group feed
into the G20 Finance Track priorities and promote infrastructure development.
2. PM Modi announces ‘Aarogya Maitri’
project: PM Modi announced the “Aarogya Maitri” project during
the Voice of Global South Summit Through this project, the country will
provide essential medical supplies to any developing country affected by
natural disasters or humanitarian crises. He also proposed setting up
a ‘centre of excellence’ to facilitate development solutions to these
countries Also, India will launch the Global South Science and Technology
Initiative to share its expertise in space technology
3. ‘Soul of Steel’ challenge will be
launched in India: A ‘Soul of Steel’
challenge was launched in Uttarakhand which aims to test one’s
high-altitude endurance. The general area of the expedition would be the Nanda
Devi National Park. The challenge is an initiative of CLAW Global and
is being supported by the Indian Army. The idea behind Soul of
Steel is pooling of skill sets and creating a challenge that will unlock
the human ability to survive, stabilise and thrive in high altitude areas.
4. Union Minister Bhupender Yadav
inaugurates Regional Office of EPFO at Alwar: Union
Minister for Labour and Employment, Forest, Environment and Climate
Change, Bhupender Yadav inaugurated the Regional Office of
EPFO at Alwar, Rajasthan. The Regional Office will help more than 2 lakh workers,
12,000 establishments, and 8,500 pensioners from Alwar and the neighboring
districts of Bharatpur and Dholpur. The major industrial
areas served by Regional Office are Bhiwadi, Khushkhera, Tapukara, Karoli,
Neemrana, Behror, Gheelot, and Khairthal.
5. Shillong to get India’s first centre
of excellence for online gaming: Union government has announced to set up
India’s first center of excellence for online gaming in Shillong, Meghalaya.
The CoE will be set up under Digital India Startup Hub
through the Software Technology Parks of India (STPI). The STPI was set up in
1991 as an autonomous society in the field of Science and Technology under the
MeitY. India has one of the largest markets for the gaming business, the Boston
Consulting Group (BCG) and Sequoia India report suggests that the Indian mobile
gaming industry will be worth $5 Billion in 2025.
It is expected to catalyze startups from India’s
Northeast to build the next-generation online gaming ecosystem. The Ministry of
Electronics (MeitY) will also set up a state-of-the-art facility under the
National Institute of Electronics and IT (NIELIT) in Shillong.
6. West Bengal organized ‘Ganga Sagar
Mela’ on Makar Sankranti: Lakhs of pilgrims have
celebrated flocking to Sagar Island on the southernmost tip of West
Bengal for the annual Ganga Sagar Mela, held between January 12 and
14 to celebrate Makar Sankranti. It is the second largest fair in India after
Kumbha Mela. Ganga Sagar is a place of Hindu pilgrimage. Every year on the day
of Makar Sankranti (14 January), hundreds of thousands of Hindus gather to take
a holy dip at the confluence of the river Ganges and Bay of Bengal and offer
prayers (puja) in the Kapil Muni Temple. Ganga Sagar is an island in the Ganges
delta located on the continental shelf of the Bay of Bengal. Although Sagar
Island is a part of the Sundarbans, it does not have a tiger habitat or
mangrove forests, or small river tributaries.
7. Captain Surbhi Jakhmola becomes
first woman officer to be posted at BRO: An officer of the 117
Engineer Regiment of the Indian Army, Captain Surabhi
Jakhmola has become the first woman officer of the Border Roads
Organization (BRO) to be posted on a foreign project. She has
been deployed by BRO under Project Dantak in Bhutan. The Border Roads
Organization (BRO) is an executive road construction force in India that
supports the Indian armed forces. BRO builds and maintains road networks along
India’s borders and in friendly neighbouring countries. It is also included in
the armed forces Order of Battle, ensuring their support at all times. In order
to improve border connectivity, BRO was transferred entirely to the ministry of
defence in 2015. The Indian Air Force recently deployed Squadron Leader Avani
Chaturvedi, a woman fighter pilot, to Japan for Veer Guardian 2023 training.
8. 14 January 2023 – 7th Armed Forces
Veterans Day: The Indian Armed Forces
celebrated the 7th Armed Forces Veterans’ Day on 14 January 2023. Veterans’
Day is celebrated in recognition of the services rendered by the First
Commander-in-Chief of Indian Armed Forces, Field Marshal KM Cariappa, who
retired on this day in 1953. This year the event is being celebrated at nine
locations across the country, namely Juhunjhunu, Jalandhar, Panagarh, New
Delhi, Dehradun, Chennai, Chandigarh, Bhubaneshwar and Mumbai by three Service
Headquarters. The event in Chennai has presided over by Raksha Rajya Mantri. The
First Armed Forces Veterans Day was celebrated on 14 January 2016 and it was
decided to commemorate this day every year by hosting such interactive events
in honor of our Armed Forces Veterans and their families.
INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:
1. UAE names ADNOC oil chief Sultan
al-Jaber as President of COP28: The president
of the UAE’s national oil company Sultan al-Jaber was named as
president of this year's COP28 climate talks.
The chief
executive of the ADNOC will be the first CEO to take the role at the
UN summit. Jaber is also the Gulf state's special envoy for climate change and
has taken part in more than 10 COP meetings. The Conference of Parties
or COP is the world’s biggest climate conference.
2. Europe’s largest known deposit of
rare earth elements found in Sweden: Swedish state-owned mining company, LKAB, has discovered more
than one million tonnes of rare earth oxides in the northern area of the
country. This is the largest known deposit in Europe. Currently, no rare earths
are mined in Europe and it mostly imports them from other regions.
Almost 98 per
cent of rare earths used by the European Union were sent by China. Rare earth
elements or rare earth metals are a set of 17 chemical elements in
the periodic table.
3. Piyush Goyal to launch MAARG portal
for startup mentorship: Commerce and
industry minister Piyush Goyal will launch the MAARG platform
(Mentorship, Advisory, Assistance, Resilience, and Growth) The portal
will facilitate mentorship between startups and entrepreneurs across
sectors, stages, and functions. Goyal will also announce the results of
the National Startup Awards 2022. The winning startups will be given a
cash prize of Rs 5 lakh
One
exceptional Incubator and one Accelerator each will also
get a cash prize of Rs 15 lakh
OTHER UPDATES:
SPORTS
1. 11-year-old Kashmiri girl bags gold
medal at National Sqay Championship: Falak Mumtaz an eleven-year-old Kashmiri girl from a far-flung area
won a gold medal at the national level in the Sqay championship. Falak is
one of them who won the gold medal in the Sqay championship that was played
last week in Jammu. She is currently studying 6th standard at Aisha Ali Academy
in Kulgam. Recently four girls were selected for the Sqay
championship. Falak is the only girl who gave a tremendous performance to
win the gold medal.
2. France captain Hugo Lloris retires
from international football: France team
captain Hugo Lloris has announced his retirement from
international football at the age of 36. Lloris represented France in four
World Cups and three Euros and captained Les Blues to the World Cup trophy in
2018. The 36-year-old holds many records and is France’s most-capped player
with 145 appearances to his name. Lloris made his debut for Les Blues back in
November 2008. He was handed the armband two years after his international
debut and would go on to captain France in 121 matches.
BANKING AND FINANCE
1. RBI imposes ₹30 lakh fine on Bahadur
Chand Investments for non-compliance: The RBI imposed
a monetary penalty of ₹30 lakh on Delhi-based Bahadur Chand Investments.
The penalty has been levied for
non-compliance with certain provisions of the 'Core Investment Companies
(Reserve Bank) Directions, 2016' and directions on 'Information Technology
Framework for the NBFC Sector'. This penalty has been imposed in the exercise
of powers vested in RBI under the provisions of the Reserve Bank of India
Act, 1934
AWARDS AND HONOURS
1. Thiru Nadesan awarded Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award 2023: Thiru Kumar Nadesan has been awarded the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award for his contribution towards community welfare. Nadesan had initiated a fundraiser to assist stranded Indian Citizens in Sri Lanka during the Covid outbreak. He actively promotes business and cultural exchanges between India and Sri Lanka. He is the second member of Indian diaspora from Sri Lanka to receive the honour. A delegation of 30 people from Sri Lanka which is the biggest till date, is attending the Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas convention in Indore.
No comments:
Post a Comment