Current Affairs January 29th & 30th 2023| Current Affairs News

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CURRENT AFFAIRS: BANKING & FINANCE

PSBs, insurers likely drove India’s 1st green bond auction                   

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) conducted the auction of green bonds, with a total of 8,000 crore worth of two securities, a 5-year bond and a 10-year bond being sold.
• The 5-year and 10-year green bonds were issued at a premium compared to the similar existing maturity sovereign regular bonds.
• This is part of the Rs 16,000 crore Sovereign Green Bond auction that the RBI will conduct in the current financial year.
• The second green bond auction will be conducted on February 9, 2023.

About sovereign bond : 

• A sovereign bond is a specific debt instrument issued by the government.
• Just like other bonds, these also promise to pay the buyer a certain amount of interest for a stipulated number of years and repay the face value on maturity.
• These bonds are a source of government financing alongside tax revenue.

About Green premium : 

• Green premium or greenium refers to the negative difference in spreads between green and non-green bonds with the same financial characteristics (currency, tenor issued by the same issuer.
• The green premium suggests that green bonds have a pricing advantage to the issuer over conventional bonds.
• These are bonds issued by any sovereign entity, inter-governmental groups, or alliances and corporations.
• These bonds are launched with the aim that the proceeds of the bonds are utilized for projects classified as environmentally sustainable.
• In India, the framework for the sovereign green bond was issued by the government on November 9, 2022.
• The proceeds from the issuance of the green bond will be deposited in the Consolidated Fund of India (CFI), and then funds from the CFI will be made available for eligible green projects.
• The framework listed investments in solar, wind, biomass, hydro energy projects, urban mass transportation projects (e.g. metro rail), green buildings, and pollution prevention and control projects.
• The government excluded projects such as fossil fuels, nuclear power generation, and direct waste incineration.
• The sovereign green bonds issued by the Indian government will not have any restrictions on foreign investment.
• The proceeds will be used to fund other public sector projects which help in reducing the carbon intensity of the economy.

HDFC Life Policyholders Can Now Pay Premiums with NPCI’s UPI 123PAY    

• HDFC Life has collaborated with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to enable policyholders to pay their premiums through a unique voice-based Unified Payments Interface (UPI) service, called UPI 123PAY.

About UPI 123PAY : 

• UPI 123PAY is a payment facility through a predefined IVR (Interactive Voice Response).
• This platform will enable customers to make financial transactions with or without an internet connection.
• A customer has to initiate a secure call from their phone using the UPI number 080 4516 3571 and complete the UPI onboarding formalities.
• UPI 123PAY enables smartphone and feature phone users to digitally undertake a host of transactions based on four approaches, 

1. Voice payment based on IVR number
2. Proximity sound-based payments
3. The missed call-based payment approach
4. App-based scan and pay on feature phones.

• Customers can avail of this service in various regional languages such as Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Punjabi, Kannada, Tamil, etc.

About HDFC Life : 

• Founded: 2000
• Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
• MD & CEO : Vibha Padalkar
• HDFC Life is a joint venture (JV) between Housing Development Finance Corporation Ltd (HDFC), one of India’s leading housing finance institutions, and Abrdn, a global investment company.

About NPCI : 

• Founded: 2008
• Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
• MD & CEO : Dilip Asbe

CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL NEWS

Indian markets achieve complete transition to T+1 settlement cycle: 

• Indian stock markets are embarking on a shorter settlement cycle or T+1 regime for the final list of large stocks from January, a move that will help reduce margin requirements for clients and boost retail investment.
• T+1 (trade plus one) means that trade-related settlements will be cleared within a day of the actual transactions.
• Earlier, trades on the Indian exchanges were settled in two working days after the transaction took place(T+2).
• The stock exchanges, NSE and BSE, earlier in a joint statement, announced that they would implement the T+1 settlement cycle in a phased manner, starting February 25, 2022, with the bottom 100 stocks in terms of market value.
• The stock exchanges — NSE and BSE — in November 2021 in a joint statement announced that they will implement the T+1 settlement cycle in a phased manner, starting February 25, 2022, with the bottom 100 stocks in terms of market value.
• Indian stock markets are embarking on a shorter settlement cycle or T+1 regime for the final list of large stocks from January, a move that will help reduce margin requirements for clients and boost retail investment.
• This is not the first time that the markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has chosen to shorten the settlement cycle.
• Earlier in 2002, the capital markets regulator had cut the number of days in the settlement cycle from T+5 days to T+3 days, and then in 2003, it was reduced to T+2 days.

India sends notice to Pakistan to amend 1960 Indus Water Treaty:

• India announced that it wants to modify the 62-year-old Indus Water Treaty (IWT) with Pakistan, citing what it called Pakistan’s “intransigence” in resolving disputes over the Kishenganga and Ratle hydropower projects, both in Jammu and Kashmir.
• India also protested Pakistan’s “unilateral” decision to approach a court of arbitration at The Hague.
• The government had written to Pakistan calling for modifications to the treaty as per Article XII (3) of the IWT which deals with the “final provisions” of the treaty.
• The first hearing of the Pakistani case at the Permanent Court of Arbitrage at The Hague in the Netherlands began, with India boycotting the court process.
• The decision to issue notice to Pakistan, with a request for a response within 90 days, is a major step and could lead to the unraveling and renegotiation of the water-sharing treaty.
• The treaty is often seen as a rare example of India-Pakistan consensus, at a time when the two countries have snapped trade and cultural exchanges, and most bilateral talks.

Cheetah re-introduction programme: 12 big cats from South Africa to be brought to India:

• As many as 12 cheetahs will be brought to India as the central government signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with South Africa on the re-introduction of the big cats in the country.
• The development comes months after eight cheetahs were flown from Namibia and introduced at the Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh on the occasion of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s birthday on September 17 last year.
• As per the agreement, an initial batch of 12 cheetahs will be flown from South Africa to India next month.
• The cheetahs will join the eight big cats that were flown from Namibia to India last year.
• Following the import of the 12 cheetahs in February, plans have been made to translocate 12 cheetahs annually for the next eight to 10 years to revive the population of the big cats here.
• The multi-disciplinary international program is being coordinated by the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) in collaboration with the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI), South African National Parks (SANParks), the Cheetah Range Expansion Project, and the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) in South Africa along with the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and the Wildlife Institute of India (WII).
• The MoU on the re-introduction of cheetahs to India aims to facilitate cooperation between the parties to establish a viable and secure cheetah population in the country, promote conservation and ensure that expertise is shared and exchanged, and capacity built, to promote cheetah conservation.
• This includes human-wildlife conflict resolution, capture, and translocation of wildlife, and community participation in conservation in the two countries.

All government vehicles older than 15 years to be scrapped from April:

• From April, all government vehicles that have completed 15 years will automatically lose their right to ply on roads as their certificate of registration will expire, according to a new rule of the central government.
• To weed out old, polluting, and potentially less-safe vehicles from Indian roads, Nitin Gadkari-led Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has already rolled out the vehicle scrapping policy.
• The draft notification of the policy was issued in November.
• Any vehicle which is 15 or more years old, owned by governments, in the center or state, Union Territories, public sector undertakings, municipal bodies, or any organization owned or controlled by the government, will have to retire, the new rule states.
• If the registration of such old vehicles was renewed before they attained the age of 15, such registration certificates will also automatically be deemed canceled and they will have to retire after a lapse of 15 years from initial registration.

Jal Jeevan mission provides tap water to 11 crore rural households: 

• The Jal Shakti Ministry the government had provided 11 crore rural households with a tap water connection.
• Data from the Ministry’s dashboard suggest that 56% of the targeted 19.3 crore households had been covered.
• In September 2022, 53% of the households, or 10.2 crore households, had been covered.
• Last October, the Ministry made public the results of a Ministry-commissioned survey, of a cross-section of rural households, that suggested Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh, Goa, and Puducherry reported more than 80% of households with fully functional connections, while less than half the households in Rajasthan, Kerala, Manipur, Tripura, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram, and Sikkim had such connections.
• A fully functional tap water connection is defined as a household getting at least 55 liters of per capita per day of potable water all through the year.
• The Jal Jeevan Mission aims to provide safe and adequate drinking water through individual household tap connections by 2024 to all households in rural India.
• The scheme has a financial outlay of ₹60 lakh crore, with the Centre funding 50% of the cost with States and Union Territories, except for Union Territories without a legislature, where it foots the entire bill, and northeastern and Himalayan States and Union Territories with legislatures, where it funds 90% of the bill.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: INTERNATIONAL NEWS

India-Egypt MoU on cultural cooperation signed for 5 years – Culture Ministry                             

• The Ministry of Culture signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on cultural cooperation between the Government of the Republic of India and the Government of the Arab Republic of Egypt, to strengthen the cultural ties with Egypt.
• Under the aegis of the MoU on Cultural Cooperation, both countries look forward to witnessing a host of cultural activities happening in due course in the realm of Music, Dance, Theatre, Literature, Library, Organising Festivals in respective countries, and  Research and Documentation, etc.
• For continued cultural cooperation, the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed for 5 years.
• The MoU was signed and exchanged by Union Culture Minister G Kishan Reddy and the Arab Republic of Egypt Foreign Minister Sameh Hassan Shoukry.

About the Ministry of Culture : 

• Cabinet Minister: G. Kishan Reddy
• Minister of State: Meenakshi Lekhi

About Egypt : 

• President : Abdel Fattah el-Sisi
• Prime Minister: Moustafa Madbouly
• Capital: Cairo
• Currency: Egyptian pound

Sri Lanka To release Stamp With India’s first PM Jawaharlal Nehru’s Portrait on 75th National Independence Day                            

• As part of its 75th National Independence Day celebrations, the government of Sri Lanka has decided to release a commemorative stamp that will include a portrait of the first Indian Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru.
• The main ceremony of the National Independence Day Celebrations will be held on February 4, 2023, at Galle Face Green in Colombo Sri Lanka.
• Many cultural and religious programs have been organized throughout the country in conjunction with the 75th National Independence Festival.
• The theme of this year’s Independence day celebration will be “Namo Namo Matha – A Step towards a Century”. 
• In the next 25 years, the government will head on towards a new reformist course and intends to implement stable government policies until the country celebrates its 100th year of Independence in 2048.

About Sri Lanka : 

• President: Ranil Wickremesinghe
• Prime Minister: Dinesh Chandra Rupasinghe Gunawardena
• Capital: Colombo
• Currency: Sri Lankan Rupee

The Rachid Karameh International Fair of Tripoli (Lebanon) inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List       

• The Rachid Karami International Fair (RKIF) located in Lebanon’s northern city of Tripoli has been officially inscribed on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage List and List of World Heritage in Danger.
• The RKIF would receive international attention and continued support from UNESCO, which contribute to its restoration and preservation.
• The World Heritage Committee used an emergency procedure to inscribe the site, due to its alarming state of conservation, the lack of financial resources for its maintenance, and the latent risk of development proposals that could affect the integrity of the complex.

Some of the famous UNESCO World Heritage sites in India : 

• Taj Mahal, Hampi
• Ajanta Caves
• Ellora Caves
• Agra Fort
• Kaziranga National Park

About RKIF : 

• The RKIF was designed in 1962 by the Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer to house a permanent international fair capable of accommodating up to 2 million visitors a year, including a grand exhibition hall, a national pavilion, and an outdoor concert stage.
• It is Lebanon’s 6th monument to enter the UNESCO World Heritage List

About UNESCO : 

• Founded: 16 November 1945
• Headquarters: Paris, France
• Director-General, Audrey Azoulay.
• UNESCO is a specialized agency of the United Nations.

Aim : 

• To promote world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences, and culture.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: STATE NEWS

Uttar Pradesh government gets ₹9000 crore investment proposals during Chandigarh roadshow

• The Uttar Pradesh (UP) government received investment proposals worth ₹9000 crores at the eighth (8th) and last domestic roadshow organized in Chandigarh ahead of the Global Investors Summit to be held in Lucknow on February 10-12, 2023.
• The investors’ summit is an initiative by the chief minister (CM) Shri Yogi Adityanath to make UP a trillion-dollar economy in the next 5 years.
• The UP government team held Business to Government (B2G) meetings with the investors before and after the roadshow.

Key Highlights : 

• Company-wise, the highest investment proposals received during the roadshow include proposals worth ₹1100 crore by Unique Energies Private Limited, ₹1000 crore each by Spray Engineering Devices Private Limited and Amartex Industries, and a proposal worth ₹700 crores by Madhav KRG Private Limited.
• UP minister for industrial development Nand Gopal Gupta ‘Nandi’, minister of state for agriculture Baldev Singh Aulakh, and minister of state (Independent Charge) home guard Dharamveer Prajapati led the UP government’s team that signed 26 memorandums of understanding (MoUs) during the roadshow.
• With these investments, more than 20,000 employment opportunities will be created in UP.

About UP : 

• Governor : Anandiben Patel
• Chief Minister: Yogi Adityanath
• Capital: Lucknow
• National Park: Dudhwa National Park
• Wildlife Sanctuaries: National Chambal Sanctuary, Nawabganj Bird Sanctuary, and Chandraprabha Wildlife Sanctuary
• Tiger Reserve: Pilibhit Tiger Reserve

CURRENT AFFAIRS: AWARDS AND HONOURS

901 Police Medals to celebrate bravery, distinguished service:

• A total of 901 police personnel were awarded Police Medals on the occasion of Republic Day, a statement by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
• The Police Medal for Gallantry (PMG) has been awarded to 140 police personnel, the President’s Police Medal for Distinguished Service (PPM) to 93 personnel, and the Police Medal for Meritorious Service (PM) has been awarded to 668 personnel.
• As many as 80 out of 140 gallantry awards have been conferred on police personnel deployed in Left Wing Extremism-affected areas.
• Nineteen Maharashtra Police personnel received gallantry medals for the May 21, 2021 encounter in the Paidi forest area in Gadchiroli district, where 13 Maoist cadres, including a senior member Satish, were killed.
• Forty-five personnel from the Jammu and Kashmir region are being awarded for their gallant action.
• Among the personnel receiving gallantry awards, 48 are from the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), 31 from Maharashtra Police, 25 from J&K Police, nine from Jharkhand Police, and seven each from Delhi Police, Chhattisgarh Police and the Border Security Force.
• A PMG is awarded on the ground of conspicuous gallantry in saving life and property, or in preventing crime or arresting criminals.
• PPM is awarded for a specially distinguished record in police service, and the PM is awarded for valuable service characterized by resource and devotion to duty.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: RANKING AND INDEX

Delhi and Bengaluru among top global cities for women entrepreneurs:

• Delhi, Bengaluru, and Mumbai are among the top 50 cities providing a beneficial business environment for women entrepreneurs, according to the findings of Dell Technologies’ 2023 Women Entrepreneur Cities (WE Cities) Index.
• According to the report, Delhi has demonstrated significant improvement over its score in 2017 by offering a skilled workforce and cost benefits, making it a preferred city for women-led businesses.
• Mumbai is a new entrant to this list and Bengaluru is one of the top 10 cities in the world which provides accessibility and inclusive policies.
• The report ranked 55 global cities based on their ability to attract and foster high-potential women entrepreneurs (HPWE) who want to start and scale a business.
• This year’s index had 90 indicators across two categories and 5 pillars including an equality sub-pillar.

Optimum conditions

• Delhi has the highest momentum score compared to 2017, the base year.
• Delhi also benefits from a skilled workforce, ranking 6 th in the share of the population with tertiary education.
• Bengaluru is ranked fifth in the top ten operating environments
• This is the first time Bengaluru has appeared on this list, ahead of Paris and Washington DC, and other cities.
• Bengaluru provides market size, cost, access, and policies that can benefit and accelerate the growth of women entrepreneurs.
• Bengaluru has a momentum score of 58.5 and falls under the “Cities on the radar” category of progress.
• Further, along with Montpellier, Auckland, Wellington, and Hamburg, Mumbai has also been inducted into the WE Cities Index.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS 

India elected as Vice-chair at the 12th session of FAO’s ITWG on ANGR for Food and Agriculture

• During the 12th session of the Intergovernmental Technical Working Group (ITWG) on Animal Genetic Resources (AnGR) in Rome, Italy, India was elected as Vice-Chair and represented the Asia and Pacific region.
• Dr. B N Tripathi, Deputy Director General (Animal Sciences), Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), and the National Coordinator, Vice-chaired the Session and also acted as Rapporteur.

Key Highlights : 

• The ITWG established by the Food and Agricultural Organization’s (FAO’s) Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (CGRFA), functions to review technical issues, advise and make recommendations to the Commission and further implement the Commission’s program related to AnGR at the global level.
• In the 12th session of ITWG, implementation of the Global Plan of Action for Animal Genetic Resources, monitoring of AnGR diversity, and preparing the 3rd Country Report were reviewed.
• Earlier to the ITWG Session, the Global National Coordinators’ Workshop was held in Rome, from 16-17th January 2023.
• In the Workshop, Dr. B N Tripathi shared the country’s experience in updating data in Domestic Animal Diversity – Information System (DAD-IS) and presented a framework for cataloguing native populations.

About FAO : 

• Established: 16 October 1945
• Headquarters: Rome, Italy
• Director General : Qu Dongyu
• Membership: 195 members (including 194 countries and the European Union)

US President Mr. Joe Biden nominates Indian-American astronaut Raji Chari for US Air Force Brigadier General post  

• Indian-American astronaut Raja J Chari has been nominated by President Mr. Joe Biden for the appointment to the grade of Air Force brigadier general.
• The nomination will have to be confirmed by the Senate.
• The US Senate approves all senior civilian and military appointments.

About Raja J Chari : 

• Chari served as the commander of the 461st Flight Test Squadron.
• He is the director of the F-35 Integrated Test Force at Edwards Air Force Base in California.
• In 2020, he was selected as the Commander of the SpaceX Crew-3 mission to the International Space Station (ISS) by NASA and the European Space Agency.
• He was the commander of the Crew Dragon spacecraft and the Crew-3 mission.
• He was one of the four astronauts that were part of the SpaceX spacecraft which docked successfully at the orbiting lab in May 2022.
• He was responsible for all phases of flight, from launch to re-entry.
• He also served as an Expedition 66 flight engineer aboard the station & this was the first spaceflight for Chari, who was selected as a NASA astronaut candidate in 2017.
• Currently, Chari is serving as the Crew-3 commander and astronaut, at National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Johnson Space Center, Texas.”

About Brigadier General (BG): 

• BG is a one-star General Officer rank of the United States Air Force.
• BG is the 23rd rank in the United States Air Force, ranking above Colonel and directly below Major General.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: ACQUISITIONS & MERGERS

Dell acquires Israeli cloud services startup Cloudify for $100 million

• Dell Technologies has acquired Israeli startup Cloudify which is known for cloud orchestration and infrastructure automation.
• Dell spent close to $100 million in buying the startup to boost its cloud services business, specifically its offerings in DevOps.
• This transaction allows Dell to continue to innovate our edge offerings.

About Cloudify : 

• Cloudify is an open-source, multi-cloud orchestration platform 
• It features unique technology that packages infrastructure, networking, and existing automation tools into certified blueprints.
• Cloudify includes in its technology ecosystem such partners as Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud Platform, Microsoft Azure, F5, Wind River Software, and ServiceNow.

About Dell Technologies : 

• Founded: September 7, 2016
• Headquarters: Texas, United States
• Chairman & CEO : Michael Dell

CURRENT AFFAIRS: DEFENCE NEWS

First Ever India-Japan Bilateral Air Defence Exercise – ‘Veer Guardian 2023’ Concludes                                   

• The inaugural edition of the bilateral air exercise ‘Veer Guardian 2023’ between the Indian Air Force (IAF) and Japan Air Self-Defence Force (JASDF) concluded in Japan.
• The 16-day joint exercise was conducted to enhance air defense cooperation between the two air forces.
• Su-30 MKI pilot squadron leader Avani Chaturvedi participated in the bilateral air exercise ‘Veer Guardian 2023’.

Participants : 

• The Participants of the IAF contingent comprised four Su-30 MKI, two C-17, and one IL-78.
• The Participants of the JASDF include four Mitsubishi F-2 and four F-15 combat jets.
• India and Japan agreed to step up bilateral defense cooperation and engage in more military exercises, including holding the first joint fighter jet drills, during the second ‘2+2 Foreign and Defence Ministerial’ dialogue in Tokyo, Japan in September 2022

About ‘Veer Guardian 2023’ : 

• During the exercise, the conduct of air defense missions, “both in Visual and Beyond Visual Range settings,” was practiced.
• Notably, the aircrew of both air forces flew sorties in each other’s participating aircraft to gain deeper knowledge and understanding of each other’s flying and operating philosophies.
• The exercise involved multi-domain air combat missions in complex environments.

About IAF : 

• Founded: 1932
• Headquarters: New Delhi, Delhi, India
• Chief of the Air Staff:  Air Chief Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari

About Japan : 

• Prime Minister : Fumio Kishida
• Capital: Tokyo
• Currency: Japanese yen

CURRENT AFFAIRS: SPORTS NEWS

Suryakumar Yadav bags ICC Men’s T20I Cricketer of the Year 2022: 

• Swashbuckling India middle-order batsman Suryakumar Yadav, who had an outstanding run in the shortest format in the year 2022, was named the ICC Men’s Cricketer of the Year by the sport’s global governing body.
• Surya had a phenomenal run last year where he broke a plethora of records in the T20Is.
• He beat the likes of Sam Curran, Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan, and Zimbabwe’s batting all-rounder Sikandar Raza for the top honor.
• Yadav was at his stupendous best during the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia, recording three fifties in six innings and averaging nearly 60 during the tournament.
• Notably, his strike rate was yet again right up there at 189.68.
• Having already recorded a ton earlier in the year, Suryakumar continued his brilliant year after the multi-nation tournament, making his second hundred in T20Is in the year in the bilateral series in New Zealand.
• Yadav also became the top-ranked MRF Tyres ICC Men’s T20I Player Rankings, achieving a career-high 890 rating points.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: IMPORTANT DAYS

World Leprosy Day: 30th January

• World Leprosy Day 2023 is observed on the 30th of January 2023.
• The disease is also called Hansen’s disease, named after the Norwegian doctor Gerhard Henrik Armauer Hansen, who is known for identifying the bacteria that causes Leprosy.
• French philanthropist Raoul Follereau started World Leprosy Day in 1954 to raise awareness of the illness, particularly its socioeconomic effects.
• To honor Mahatma Gandhi’s unwavering compassion for those suffering from the disease, the day is marked in India on January 30, the anniversary of his passing.
• Despite being curable today and uncommon in affluent nations like the U.S., the illness still has a stigma.
• The countries with the highest incidence of incidents include Indonesia, Brazil, and India.
• People who are infected are frequently subjected to prejudice and exclusion, which prevents them from receiving the proper medical attention, treatment, and even basic human rights.

Daily CA on January 29 & 30:

• Indian stock markets are embarking on a shorter settlement cycle or T+1 regime for the final list of large stocks from January, a move that will help reduce margin requirements for clients and boost retail investment
• India announced that it wants to modify the 62-year-old Indus Water Treaty (IWT) with Pakistan, citing what it called Pakistan’s “intransigence” in resolving disputes over the Kishenganga and Ratle hydropower projects, both in Jammu and Kashmir
• As many as 12 cheetahs will be brought to India as the central government signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with South Africa on the re-introduction of the big cats in the country.
• From April, all government vehicles that have completed 15 years will automatically lose their right to ply on roads as their certificate of registration will expire, according to a new rule of the central government
• The Jal Shakti Ministry the government had provided 11 crore rural households with a tap water connection.
• A total of 901 police personnel were awarded Police Medals on the occasion of Republic Day, a statement by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
• Delhi, Bengaluru, and Mumbai are among the top 50 cities providing a beneficial business environment for women entrepreneurs, according to the findings of Dell Technologies’ 2023 Women Entrepreneur Cities (WE Cities) Index.
• Swashbuckling India middle-order batsman Suryakumar Yadav, who had an outstanding run in the shortest format in the year 2022, was named the ICC Men’s Cricketer of the Year by the sport’s global governing body.
• World Leprosy Day 2023 is observed on the 30th of January 2023.

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) conducted the auction of green bonds, with a total of 8,000 crore worth of two securities, a 5-year bond and a 10-year bond being sold.
• HDFC Life has collaborated with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to enable policyholders to pay their premiums through a unique voice-based Unified Payments Interface (UPI) service, called UPI 123PAY.
• The Ministry of Culture signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on cultural cooperation between the Government of the Republic of India and the Government of the Arab Republic of Egypt, to strengthen the cultural ties with Egypt.
• As part of its 75th National Independence Day celebrations, the government of Sri Lanka has decided to release a commemorative stamp that will include a portrait of the first Indian Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru.
• The Rachid Karami International Fair (RKIF) located in Lebanon’s northern city of Tripoli has been officially inscribed on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage List and List of World Heritage in Danger.
• The Uttar Pradesh (UP) government received investment proposals worth ₹9000 crores at the eighth (8th) and last domestic roadshow organized in Chandigarh ahead of the Global Investors Summit to be held in Lucknow on February 10-12, 2023.
• During the 12th session of the Intergovernmental Technical Working Group (ITWG) on Animal Genetic Resources (AnGR) in Rome, Italy, India was elected as Vice-Chair and represented the Asia and Pacific region.
• Indian-American astronaut Raja J Chari has been nominated by President Mr. Joe Biden for the appointment to the grade of Air Force brigadier general.
• Dell Technologies has acquired Israeli startup Cloudify which is known for cloud orchestration and infrastructure automation.
• The inaugural edition of the bilateral air exercise ‘Veer Guardian 2023’ between the Indian Air Force (IAF) and Japan Air Self-Defence Force (JASDF) concluded in Japan.