NATIONAL UPDATES:
1. PM Modi inaugurates new terminal building of Trichy
airport: Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the new
terminal of Trichy Airport and laid the foundation stone for several
development projects worth over Rs 20,000 crore in Tamil Nadu’s
Tiruchirappalli. The new terminal building has been developed at a cost of more
than Rs 1100 crore. Tiruchirappalli International Airport is Tamil Nadu’s
second-largest airport in terms of international passenger traffic after
Chennai.
2. Guinness world record of performing mass Surya
Namaskar created in Gujarat on New Year Day: Gujarat
has set a Guinness record for performing mass Surya Namaskar
simultaneously at 108 places in the state on the first day of the new
year. Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, and Minister for Home Affairs Harsh
Sanghavi attended the State level event that took place at the iconic Sun
Temple in Modhera in Mahesana district. More than 2500 people performed Surya
Namaskar at the state-level function held at the iconic Modhera Sun Temple. The
function also witnessed the felicitation of the winners of the state-level Mega
Surya Namaskar Competition. This month-long competition was organized for the
first time in the state by the Gujarat State Yog Board and the state government
to popularise Surya Namaskar practice among people.
3. Assam CM flags off 200 green buses for pollution-free
Guwahati: Assam Chief Minister
Himanta Biswa Sarma has flagged off 200 electric buses from Guwahati.
The initiative as the government’s one of the biggest push towards a
pollution-free environment. By 2025, we want to establish Guwahati as the
country’s first city to be powered by a 100 per cent green public
transportation system. This new fleet builds upon the 100 CNG buses dedicated
to the New Year.
4. PM to attend DGP conference at Jaipur: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend
the three-day annual conference of Director Generals and Inspector
Generals of Police, beginning from January 5 at Jaipur. Objective –
To deliberate on challenges posed by artificial intelligence (AI), cyber
security, counter terrorism, left wing extremism and narcotics smuggling. The
58th all-India annual conference of DGPs and IGPs will be held at Rajasthan
International Centre located at Jhalana in Jaipur, which is after a new BJP
government has come to power in the State, pointed out sources.
INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:
1. World Introvert Day 2024:2nd January: World Introvert Day, observed on January 2nd, provides an opportunity to
recognize and appreciate the unique qualities introverts bring to our lives. It
all started in 2011 when a psychologist and author named Felicitas Heyne
published a blog post calling for a day for the 'quiet ones'. World Introvert
Day is an opportunity to finally relax and enjoy solitude for introverts as
this entire period can be tough for many reasons.
2. Tshisekedi re-elected DR Congo president: The Democratic Republic of
Congo’s (DRC) President Felix Tshisekedi won re-election with more than 70
percent of the vote, the country’s election commission has announced. The preliminary
results of the December 20 election were announced in the capital,
Kinshasa, on Sunday amid demands from the opposition and some civil society
groups for the vote to be rerun due to massive logistical problems that put the
validity of the outcome into question.
3. Argentina Rejects BRICS Membership Under President
Javier Milei: Argentine President Javier Milei has
officially declined the invitation to join the BRICS (Brazil, Russia,
India, China, South Africa) grouping of major emerging economies. The bloc —
made up of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — in August announced
it was admitting six new members in a bid to counter the Western-led global
order. The membership of Argentina, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and
the United Arab Emirates was due to take effect from January 1, 2024.
4. 1 January – World Day of Peace: World Day of Peace is celebrated
on January 1 every year, is primarily a Catholic feast day dedicated to
universal peace on the Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God. On this occasion,
Popes generally make authoritative declarations on the Catholic Social Teachings
(C.S.T.). The Pope and the Vatican Church stress the need to care and share
tolerance for each other and to create a society that focuses on good moral
values and does not yield to the temptation to disregard others.
5. 1 January – Copyright Law Day: Copyright Law Day is celebrated every
year on 1 January to emphasize on the need to give credit where it is
due. The first copyright statute was made by British Statute of Anne 1710 and
applied only to books. In 1787, the United States Constitution protected
copyrights to promote the progress of science and useful arts. Even back then,
the primary intention of copyrights was to promote the creation of new works
and allow authors the profit of copyrights. However, illegal downloading and
usage of copyrighted products still continue to haunt us, and make the
industries suffer.
OTHER UPDATES:
DEFENCE
1. Military Exercise Desert Cyclone-2024: The joint military exercise Desert Cyclone-2024 between the
armies of India and UAE will be conducted in the Thar Desert of Rajasthan (2nd
to 15th January 2024). Desert Cyclone aims to learn and share best practices in
urban operations. The potential areas of bilateral cooperation in the defence
sector include the production and development of defence equipment, joint
exercises of the armed forces, sharing information on tactics and doctrines,
etc.
SPORTS
1. Anahat wins U-19 girls” title at Scottish Junior Open
squash: Delhi’s Talented Indian teenager Anahat
Singh produced a dominant performance, bagging the girls’ under-19
title at the 2023 Scottish Junior Open squash held in Edinburgh. Anahat claimed
a 11-6, 11-1, 11-5 victory over home favourite Robyn McAlpine in the final. Anahat
recorded the under-19 and senior National championship double and won the mixed
doubles bronze along with Abhay Singh both at the Asian Games and in the
inaugural Asian Mixed Doubles Championships.
BANKING AND FINANCE
1. RBI issues new order to help recovery of unclaimed
deposits in banks: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has issued
fresh instructions to banks to strengthen the ongoing efforts to reduce the
quantum of unclaimed deposits in the banking system and return such deposits to
their rightful owners or claimants. As per the extant instructions, the credit
balance in any deposit account maintained with banks, which have not been
operated upon for 10 years or more, or any amount remaining unclaimed for 10
years or more.
2. GST collections rise 10% to Rs 1.64 lakh crore in
December: The gross Goods and
Services Tax, GST revenue collection for the month December 2023 stood at one
lakh 64 thousand and 882 crore rupees. The revenue for month of December is
10.3% higher than the GST revenues in the same month last year. The total GST
revenue collected for the month, Central Goods and Services Tax, CGST
collection is 30 thousand 443 crore rupees, State Goods and Services Tax, SGST
is 37 thousand 935 crore rupees, Integrated Goods and Services Tax.
3. Sale of Electoral Bonds begins today: SBI authorised to issue and encash bonds
through 29 branches. It will be sold through 29 authorised branches of SBI till
the 11th of this month. The Bonds will be valid for fifteen calendar days from
the date of issue and no payment will be made to any payee political
party if the Bond is deposited after expiry of the validity period. The Bond
deposited by the eligible Political Party in its account will be credited on
the same day.
AWARDS AND HONOURS
1. Prof B R Kamboj honoured with M S Swaminathan Award: Prof. B.R. Kamboj has been honoured with the prestigious M.S. Swaminathan Award in recognition of his contributions as a scientist and extension specialist in the field of agronomy. Prof Kamboj is the VC of the Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University. Thawar Chand Gehlot (Governor of Karnataka) presented him this award. Prof Kamboj has published about 300 research papers and articles in national and international journals, books and technical magazines.
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