NATIONAL UPDATES:
1. Government forms Committee to
protect Ladakh culture, language & employment: The government of India has constituted 17
member, High Powered Committee (HPC) under the Chairmanship of
Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai. Reason: To discuss
measures to protect unique culture, language and employment of Ladakh. The committee
includes Ladakh LG, RK Mathur; MP Jamyang Tsering Namgyal; Chairmans
of Leh and Kargil Hill councils, representatives of Apex Body Leh, Kargil
Democratic Alliance and nominee officials of Home ministry. The Centre has constituted a High Powered Committee,
HPC, to discuss measures to protect Ladakh's unique culture, language and
employment. AIR correspondent reports that a 17 member committee has been
constituted under the Chairmanship of Minister of State for Home Affairs
Nityanand Rai.
2. ‘SMART’ program launched for
Ayurveda professionals: The National Commission for Indian System of Medicine
(NCISM) and the Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences
(CCRAS) have launched‘SMART’program.'SMART' refersto Scopefor Mainstreaming Ayurveda Research
in Teaching Professionals. Aim: To boost scientific research in
priority healthcare research areas through Ayurveda colleges and hospitals. Vaidya
Jayant Deopujari (Chairman, NCISM) and Prof. Rabinarayan Acharya (DG, CCRAS)
launched the program. The National Commission for
Indian System of Medicine (NCISM) and the Central Council for Research in
Ayurvedic Sciences (CCRAS), the two prominent institutions under the Ministry
of Ayush, Government of India for regulating medical education and conducting
scientific research respectively, have launched ‘SMART’ (Scope for
Mainstreaming Ayurveda Research in Teaching Professionals) program aimed to
boost scientific research in priority healthcare research areas through
Ayurveda colleges and hospitals.
3. IIT-M and DRDO collaborates to
develop defence technology: IIT Madras Centre of Excellence (CoE) has collaborated with
the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to
develop Advanced Defence Technologies. IIT Madras CoE- ‘DRDO Industry
Academia- Ramanujan Centre of Excellence’ (DIA-RCoE) will be conducting a
directed research process to meet the national defence and security needs of
the nation. DIA-RCoE was initially established by DRDO and
then IIT Madras took it over. Director of DIA-RCoE: Dr. O.R.
Nandagopan
4. Imoinu Eratpa festival celebrated across Manipur: The Meitei community
of Manipur celebrated Imoinu Eratpa festival every year. They regard
the Imoinu goddess as a goddess of wealth and prosperity. She is also
associated as one of the incarnations of the goddess Leimarel Sidabi. This
festival falls on the twelfth lunar day of Wakching month of Meitei
calendar (falls either in December or January according to the Gregorian
calendar).
This year the festival is falling on January 3, 2023.
5. Defence minister Rajnath Singh
inaugurates steel arch Siyom Bridge: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has inaugurated the 100-metre,
Siyom Bridge in Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh. This bridge will
open an alternative route to the India-China border. The Siyom Bridge is
one of the 28 projects completed by the Border Roads Organisation at a
cost of Rs 724 crore to strengthen border infrastructure. He has virtually
inaugurated other 27 projects in Ladakh, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Punjab
and J&K.
6. Mamata Banerjee launches new campaign 'Didir Suraksha Kavach': West Bengal CM, Mamata Banerjee has
launched two programme named 'Didir Suraksha Kawach' and ‘Didir Doot’,
ahead of the 2023 panchayat polls. The programme will focus on 15 state
government schemes, covering various sectors such as food, housing, health,
education, social security, income and employment. ‘Didir Doot’, a mobile
application has also been developed for people to register their
problems. The programme will be launched on January 11, 2023. Ahead of panchayat polls in West
Bengal, Trinamool Congress Chairperson and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on
Monday launched a fresh public outreach programme to reach out to people of the
State. Under the initiative ‘ Didir Suraksha Kawach’ (Didi
Protection Shield)‘ about 3.5 lakh volunteers of the
Trinamool Congress will reach out to all 2 crore households of the State in a
span of 60 days.
7. Election Commission appoints
Maithili Thakur as Bihar's state icon: The Election Commission has appointed folk singer, Maithili
Thakur as the state icon for Bihar. She will create awareness among
the voters for their participation in the electoral process. She was born in
Madhubani district of Bihar. She is a trained in Indian classical and folk
music. She was recently selected for the Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva
Puraskar of the Sangeet Natak Akademi for her contribution to the folk music of
Bihar for 2021.
8. Kerala CM inaugurated Indian Library
Congress in Kannur, Kerala: Kerala Chief Minister
Pinarayi Vijayan has inaugurated Indian Library Congress at the
Collectorate Ground in Kannur, Kerala. The People’s Mission for Social
Development and Library Council organized the event in association with Kannur
University. The program was presided over by Dr. V Shivdan, and Higher
Education Minister Dr. R Bindu announced 100 new libraries to be dedicated to
the Kannur district. Representatives from Telangana, Andhra Pradesh,
Maharashtra, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Bihar, and other states and foreign
countries are participating in the Indian Library Congress.
9. Modi inaugurated 108th Indian
Science Congress: Prime
Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated the 108th Indian Science
Congress through video conferencing. The focal theme of this year’s ISC is
“Science and Technology for Sustainable Development with Women Empowerment”. The
first session of Congress was held in 1914. The 108th annual session of ISC
held at Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University, Maharashtra which is
also celebrating its centenary this year. The technical sessions of the 108th
Indian Science Congress have been divided into 14 sections.
10. Government starts process to buy
100 more K9-Vajras: The Defense Ministry has
initiated the process to procure 100 more K-9 Vajra self-propelled
howitzers, which are made in India by Larsen & Toubro
(L&T) using technology transferred from South Korean defence major
Hanwha Defence. The K-9 Vajra is a 155 mm, 52-calibre tracked self-propelled
howitzer built by L&T with technology transferred from South Korean defence
major Hanwha Defence based on its K-9 Thunder. The 100th gun was delivered to
the Army in February 2021, the contract for which was signed in May 2017. The
contract also involved the maintenance transfer of technology to an Army base
workshop to support the howitzers throughout their operational life cycle. The
K-9 Vajra was mainly bought for use in deserts, but the standoff prompted them
to be deployed in the mountains as well.
INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:
1. Bank of Singapore appoints Jason Moo
as new CEO: Jason Moo
(Singapore) has been appointed as the chief executive officer (CEO)
of the Bank of Singapore, with effect from March 6, 2023. He will replace
Vincent Choo, who assumed the role of interim CEO on January 1, 2023 after the
retirement of former CEO Bahren Shaari on December 31, 2023. He has more than 25
years of experience in private banking, wealth management and capital markets. He
has also worked at Goldman Sachs and Julius Baer.
2. Croatia adopts euro, entered
borderless Europe club: Croatia has adopted the euro as its currency with effect from 1 January
2023 and become the 20th member of the eurozone. Croatia has entered
the EU in 2013. It becomes the 27th country to join the Schengen area. Schengen
Area: It is an area that comprises 27 European countries that have
abolished all passports and border control at their respective mutual borders Eurozone: It
is officially called the euro area. The monetary authority of the Eurozone is
the Eurosystem.
3. India signed an agreement with
Austria for migration and mobility 3: India and
Austria have signed five agreements and two of them are in the
interest of the Indian community living in Austria. The two agreements would be
in the interest of the Indian community. There is an agreement
on ‘Migration and Mobility’ for people who want to work in Austria
and who want to come to India for business, or who come here as students and
professionals. Another agreement is on the ‘Working Holiday’ program
that will enable Indian students in Austria to work for 6 months. This is the
first India-Austria EAM-level visit in the last 27 years which is taking place
in 2023 against the backdrop of 75 years of diplomatic relations.
OTHER UPDATES:
SPORTS
1. Koustav Chatterjee becomes 78th Grandmaster of India: Koustav Chatterjee (19) has become 78th
Grandmaster of India at the MPL 59th National Senior Chess Championship in
New Delhi. He is also the tenth Grandmaster of West Bengal. He won his
maiden GM-norm in October 2021 at Sheikh Russel GM 2021 in Bangladesh. He
scored his second GM-norm at Asian Continental Championship in November 2022. He
has also crossed 2500 in the August FIDE rating list. 77th grandmaster of
India: Aditya Mittal 76th GM of India: Pranav Anand
2. World Boxing Council to create
transgender category: The president
of World Boxing Council, Mauricio Sulaiman has announced that it
will introduce a transgender category from 2023. A ‘at birth rule’
will be used, which means a transgender boxer who is registered as male at
birth will be allowed to fight others who have also been registered
as male at birth. While, those registered as female at birth will
be allowed to fight others who have been registered as female at
birth. World Boxing Council HQ: Mexico
BANKING AND FINANCE
1. Tripura signed agreement with ADB to
improve Power Distribution Network: The Tripura government has signed an agreement with Asian
Development Bank (ADB) amounting to Rs 2,275 crore to strengthen and
improve power distribution efficiency in the north-eastern state
Of the Rs 2,275 crore fund, the central government will repay Rs 1,820
crore while the state is supposed to provide Rs 455 crore. The project will be
implemented in the next three years. At present, gas based Rukhia power project
produces 66 MW power and its installed capacity will be doubled by modernizing
the plant. The Dumbur hydropower project’s capacity will be increased from 5 MW
to 10 MW. The externally aided project will benefit five to six lakh consumers
and it will also generate 6,000 to 6,500 direct jobs in different levels.
2. Gross GST collection
in December goes up by 15% is ₹1.49 lakh.: The gross Goods and Services Tax (GST) revenue collected
in December 2022 is ₹1.49 lakh. The GST
revenues are 15 percent higher than the GST revenues in the same month last
year. The gross GST revenue collected during December 2022 is ₹1,49,507 crore, of which CGST is ₹26,711 crore, SGST is ₹33,357 crore, IGST is ₹78,434 crore (including ₹40,263 crore collected on import of goods) and cess
is ₹11,005 crore (including ₹850 crore collected on import of goods). The
monthly GST revenues more than ₹1.4 lakh
crore for 10 straight months in a row. The government has settled ₹36,669 crore to CGST and ₹31,094 crore to SGST from IGST as regular
settlement. The total revenue of Centre and the States after regular
settlements in the month of December 2022 is ₹63,380 crore for CGST and ₹64,451 crore for SGST.
AWARDS AND HONOURS
1. Govt names 27 overseas Indians for
2023 Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Awards: The government of India has selected 27 people for the highest honour
for overseas Indians, Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award (PBSA) 2023. The
awards will be conferred by the President Droupadi Murmu at 17th
edition of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Convention held at Indore in Madhya
Pradesh from January 8-10, 2023. President of Guyana Mohamed Irfaan
Ali will be the chief guest this year. PBW 2023
theme: Diaspora: Reliable Partners for India's Progress in Amrit Kaal The Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award (PBSA) is the highest
honour conferred on overseas Indians. PBSA is conferred by the Hon’ble
President of India as part of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Convention on
Non-Resident Indians, Persons of Indian Origin or an organization/institution
established and run by the Non-Resident Indians or Persons of Indian Origin in
recognition of their outstanding achievements both in India and abroad.
OBITUARIES
1. Karnataka seer Sri Siddeshwara
Swamiji passes away: Siddeshwara
Swamiji, one of the prominent Lingayat seers in Karnataka, has
been passed away at the age of 82 at Jnanayogashrama. He was born and
brought up in Bijjaragi, Vijayapura in Karnataka. He was often referred to as
the ‘Walking God of North Karnataka'. He was ordained as a math seer
by his guru, Vedanta Kesari Sri Mallikarjuna Mahashivayogi. In 2018,
he refused to accept the Padma Shri award.