Daily GK Update- 17th Jan, 2023

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. B-20 inception meeting to be organised in Gandhinagar, Gujarat: As part of G-20 presidency, a Business-20 (B-20) inception meeting will be organized at Gandhinagar in Gujarat from 22- 24 January 2023. Agenda: To formulate policy recommendations to be submitted to G-20 ahead of the leaders' Summit. Attended by: Union Ministers Piyush Goyal and Ashwini Vaishnaw, CM Bhupendra Patel, Amitabh Kant (India's Sherpa to G-20), and N Chandrasekaran (Tata Sons Chairman). It will be the first of 15 events that the State is set to organize.

 

2. NTPC REL signed MoU with Government of Tripura: NTPC Renewable Energy Ltd (NTPC REL) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Government of Tripura in New Delhi. Reason: For the development of Floating and Ground Mounted based Renewable Energy Projects in Tripura. Rajiv Gupta (Chief GM, NTPC REL) and Mahananda Debbarma (DG and CEO, Tripura Renewable Energy Development Agency) signed this MoU. It also embarks upon the journey towards the development of large-sized Renewable Energy Projects in Tripura.

 

3. SPIC MACAY, Culture Ministry collaborate for ‘Music in the Park’ series: The Society for the Promotion of Indian Classical Music And Culture Amongst Youth (SPIC MACAY), Ministry of Culture, and New Delhi Municipal Council have organized 'Music in the Park’ series under the name ‘Shruti Amrut’ Under this series, the first event of 2023 was organized in Nehru Park, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi. The concert started with a Sarod performance by Aman Ali Bangash (7th Generation musician from Senia Bangash Gharana) SPIC MACAY is a voluntary youth movement

 

4. Entire country to be covered by doppler weather radar network by 2025: Union Minister Jitendra Singh has informed that by 2025, the entire country will be covered by the Doppler weather radar network. The purpose is to predict extreme weather events more accurately. The number of Doppler radars in the country has increased from 15 in 2013 to 37 in 2023. India will set up 25 more radars in the next 2 to 3 years, taking the number to 62. Doppler weather radar, commonly known as Weather Surveillance Radar (WSR), is a type of radar used to find precipitation, determine its motion, and also the type of precipitation (rain, snow, hail, etc.). The intensification and frequency of extreme weather events is one of the most evident repercussions of global warming and the usual occurrence of cold waves or heatwaves, heavy precipitation, and droughts are resulting to take a number of human lives as well.

 

5. Indian Railway to run Bharat Gaurav train between Ayodhya and Janakpur: Indian Railways is going to run its Bharat Gaurav Deluxe AC Tourist Train on a very special tour “Shri Ram-Janaki Yatra: Ayodhya to Janakpur” covering two most significant pilgrimage sites Ayodhya and Janakpur from the neighboring countries India and Nepal. The tourist train will start from Delhi on 17th Feb 2023 and this initiative will strengthen the bilateral relations and also promote the cultural relations between the two countries. The tourist train will include the visit of Nandigram, Sitamarhi, Kashi and Prayagraj as added attractions in the tour. There will be two-night stay in the hotels, one each at Janakpur and Varanasi respectively, while the visit of Ayodhya, Sitamarhi, and Prayagraj will be covered in the day halt at the destination. The Bharat Gaurav train was run with the theme ‘Dekho Apna Desh’.

 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. 21st edition of naval exercise VARUNA between India and France begins: The 21st edition of the bilateral naval exercise between India and France 'VARUNA' was organized on the Western Seaboard from 16 -20 January 2023. It will witness advanced air defense exercises, tactical manoeuvres, surface firings, underway replenishment, and other maritime operations. This exercise will provide an opportunity to learn best practices from each other. It was initiated in 1993 and was christened ‘VARUNA’ in 2001.

 

2. IISc and McGill University detect radio signals: Astronomers from McGill University in Canada and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) have detected a radio signal, originating from atomic hydrogen in a distant galaxy. The signal was detected with the help of data from the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) in Pune. The findings have been published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. It is also the first confirmed detection of strong lensing of 21 cm emission from a galaxy.

 

3. India announced the donation of pentavalent vaccines to Cuba: India has announced, the donation of 12,500 doses of pentavalent vaccines to Cuba. The pentavalent vaccine provides protection to a child from five life-threatening diseases Diphtheria, Pertussis, Tetanus, Hepatitis B and Hib. It was announced during the Minister of State for External Affairs Meenakshi Lekhi’s official visit to Cuba. Both the leaders discussed various issues including, the development of indigenous vaccines against Covid and woman empowerment

 

OTHER UPDATES:

 

SPORTS

 

1. Yonex- Sunrise India Open 2023 starts in Delhi: The India Open, officially known as Yonex- Sunrise India Open 2023 started in New Delhi on 17th January and continues till 22nd January 2023. The tournament organized at the KD Jadhav Indoor Hall. Since 2008, it will be the first time when India Open is organized in the super 750 status category. The tournament will see some top players from 29 countries, and a total of 97 players will compete in various categories.

2. Viacom18 bags Women's IPL media rights: Viacom 18 has won the bid for the media rights for the Women’s IPL for a whopping Rs 951 crore for five years. The auction for the T20 League was conducted by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in Mumbai. BCCI will launch the Women's Indian Premier League in March 2023. The detailed terms and conditions governing the tender process including eligibility requirements etc. are contained in the ‘Invitation to Tender’ (ITT). BCCI president: Roger Binny

 

3. Viktor Axelsen wins men's singles Malaysia Open title 2023: Denmark badminton player, Viktor Axelsen won the men's singles Malaysia Open title 2023, after defeating Kodai Naraoka from Japan. While Akane Yamaguchi (Japanese player) lifted the title in the women's final, after beating South Korea's An Se-young.

Other winners:

·       Men's doubles: Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto (Indonesia)

·       Women's doubles: Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan (China)

·       Mixed doubles: Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong (China)

 

4. Virat Kohli becomes 5th highest run scorer in ODI cricket: Indian cricketer Virat Kohli has become the fifth-highest run-scorer in the history of ODI cricket after overtaking Sri Lankan legend Mahela Jayawardene (12,650 runs in 448 matches) to enter the top five. He scored this during India’s third and final ODI of the series against Sri Lanka in Kerala. Virat had 12,652 runs in 268 ODIs at an average of 57.78, with 45 tons and 65 half-centuries. As per records, the highest run-scorer in ODI history is Indian legend Sachin Tendulkar, who has scored 18,426 runs at an average of 44.83. He has 49 centuries and 96 fifties in this format, with the best of 200*.

Followed by Sachin, Sri Lankan great Kumar Sangakkara (14,234 runs in 404 matches), Australian great Ricky Ponting (13,704), Sri Lankan all-rounder Sanath Jayasuriya (13,430 in 445 matches), and Virat.

 

5. Yuki Bhambri, Saketh Myneni won Bangkok Open tennis title 2023: The Indian tennis pair of Yuki Bhambri and Saketh Myneni has won the Bangkok Open Men’s double tennis championship, held at Nonthaburi, Thailand. Bhambri-Saket, playing their seventh final as a pair, beat Indonesian Christopher Rungkat and Australian Akira Santillan 2-6, 7-6, 14-12. This is their sixth title together on the ATP Challenger Tour. They will compete in the Australian Open 2023, the season’s first Grand Slam-where they have been given a wild card entry.

 

BANKING AND FINANCE

 

1. WPI inflation eases to 22-month low of 4.95% in December 2022: According to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry data, the Wholesale Price-based Inflation (WPI) for December 2022 has been eased to 22-month low of 4.95%. Reason: Due to falling in prices of food articles, especially vegetables, and oilseeds The WPI inflation was 5.85% in November 2022 and 14.27% in December 2021. In a  reported period, food articles segment slipped to 0.65 %. The Fuel and power increased marginally from 17.35% in November to 18.09% in December 2022. Paytm 2. 2. Payments Bank received approval from RBI as BBPOU: Paytm Payments Bank has received final approval from RBI to operate as a Bharat Bill Payment Operating Unit (BBPOU). Under Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS), a BBPOU is allowed to facilitate bill payment services for electricity, phone, gas insurance, loan repayments, credit card bill, and municipal taxes.

The National Payments Corporation of India owns BBPS. So far, Paytm Payments Bank was undertaking this activity under in-principle authorization from RBI.

 

3. RBI proposes expected loss-based approach for provisioning by banks: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has proposed a framework for the adoption of an ‘expected loss-based approach for provisioning by banks. Presently, banks are required to make loan loss provisions based on an ‘incurred loss’ approach. Aim: To enhance the resilience of the banking system Adopting the forward-looking expected credit loss approach to estimating loss provisions is likely to result in excess provisions as compared to a shortfall in provisions.

 

4. States’ gross fiscal deficit set to fall in 2022-23: RBI: According to the RBI report, the Gross fiscal deficit (GFD) of states is budgeted to narrow to 3.4 % of GDP in 2022-23 from 4.1% in 2020-21. While states’ debt is budgeted to ease to 29.5% of GDP in 2022-23 as against 31.1% in 2020-21. But, it is higher than the 20% recommended by the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Review Committee in 2018. The RBI has also advised governments to set up a fund for long-term expenditure when revenue collection is strong.