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CURRENT AFFAIRS: IMPORTANT DAYS
National Human Trafficking Awareness Day: 11th January
- National Human Trafficking Awareness Day 2023 is observed on the 11th of January 2023.
- The fight against human trafficking made progress in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
- The Trafficking Victims Protection Act, which was passed in 2000, was the first federal statute to address contemporary slavery.
- Anti-Slavery International also founded the American nonprofit organization Free The Slaves.
- The resolution designating January 11 as National Human Trafficking Awareness Day was approved by the US Senate in 2007.
- The entire month of January 2010 was devoted by President Obama to raising awareness and preventing human trafficking.
CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL NEWS
PM launches Aspirational Block Programme aimed at spurring development parameters:
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the government’s Aspirational Block Programme (ABP), which is aimed at improving the performance of blocks lagging on various development parameters.
- The ABP was launched during the 2nd National Conference of Chief Secretaries, which was held in January.
- The Indian Express reported that the government is set to launch the Aspirational Blocks Programme.
- The Centre had announced its intention to launch this initiative in the Union Budget 2022-23.
- Launching the Aspirational Block Programme, Prime Minister underscored the success achieved in various Aspirational Districts in the country under the Aspirational District Programme
- According to sources, the program will cover 500 districts across 31 states and Union Territories initially.
- Over half of these blocks are in 6 states—Uttar Pradesh (68 blocks), Bihar (61), Madhya Pradesh (42), Jharkhand (34), Odisha (29), and West Bengal (29).
- However, states can add more blocks to the program later
CURRENT AFFAIRS: INTERNATIONAL NEWS
New Members Join United Nations Security Council
- Ecuador, Japan, Malta, Mozambique, and Switzerland officially began their 2-year term as non-permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC ).
- The 5 latest UNSC members – Ecuador, Japan, Malta, Mozambique, and Switzerland are replacing India, Ireland, Kenya, Mexico, and Norway, whose terms ended on December 31, 2022.
- In a tradition that Kazakhstan started in 2018, the 5 countries’ ambassadors installed their national flags alongside those of other members outside the council chambers.
- Malta joined for a 2nd time, Ecuador a 4th, and Japan a record 12th.
- The other current two-year members are Albania, Brazil, Gabon, Ghana, and the United Arab Emirates.
About United Nations Security Council :
- Founded: 24 October 1945
- Headquarters: New York, United States
- Membership: 15 countries (Including 5 permanent members – China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States)
- It is responsible for maintaining international peace and security
CURRENT AFFAIRS: STATE NEWS
Chhattisgarh CM celebrates the traditional ‘Cherchera’ festival in Raipur
- Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Shri Bhupesh Baghel celebrates the traditional Cherchera festival at Dudhadhari Math in Raipur, Chhattisgarh.
About the Festival :
- Cherchera festival is an important harvest festival in Chhattisgarh.
- The traditional Cherchera festival is celebrated on the full moon night of the ‘Paush’ Hindu calendar month in the happiness of taking the crops to their homes after cultivation.
- According to mythological belief, on this day Lord Shankar begged Mata Annapurna, so people used to donate green vegetables along with paddy on this day.
About Chhattisgarh :
- Governor: Anusuiya Uikey
- Chief Minister: Bhupesh Baghel
- Capital: Raipur
- National Park: Kanger Valley National Park, Indravati (Kutru) National Park
- Wildlife Sanctuaries: Achanakmar Wildlife Sanctuary, Narsinghgarh Wildlife Sanctuary, Tamor Pingla Wildlife Sanctuary, Bhoramdev Wildlife Sanctuary
Military Tattoo & Tribal Dance Festival to be held in New Delhi to mark 126th birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose
- A Military Tattoo & Tribal Dance Festival ‘Aadi Shaurya – Parv Parakram Ka’ will be held at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, New Delhi on January 23 & 24, 2023, as part of the Republic Day celebrations 2023 and to mark the 126th birth anniversary (Parakram Diwas) of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose.
- The event is being organized by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, with the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) serving as the coordinating agency.
Aim :
- To remember the sacrifices of the country’s brave hearts and celebrate the rich cultural heritage which makes India so unique and diverse.
About the Festival :
- The two-day festival will showcase the prowess of the Armed Forces and the ethnic beauty of India’s tribal culture.
- The program included a military tattoo (paramotor gliding, hot air balloon, horse show, motorcycle display, air warrior drill, navy band) and an hour-long traditional dance performance (khukri dance, gatka, mallakhamb, kalaripayattu, thangata) by tribal artists from across the country.
- The objective of the festival is to celebrate together the bravery of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, embrace the true spirit of India, and renew the commitment to building a strong and prosperous New India.
- The grand finale includes a performance by famous singer Shri Kailash Kher
Tribal Bodies Step Up Demand To ‘Free’ Parasnath Hills From Jains
- Tribal bodies stepped up their demand to “free” the Parasnath hills in Jharkhand’s Giridih district from the “clutches” of the Jain community.
About Parasnath hills :
- Parasnath is a mountain peak in the Parasnath Range.
- It is located towards the eastern end of the Chota Nagpur Plateau in the Giridih district of the Indian state of Jharkhand.
- It has been named Parasnath after the 23rd Jain Tirthankara.
- It is a holy and reverend site for the Jain community, called “Sammed Sikhar ”.
- Out of 24 Tirthankaras of Jains, 20 got NIRVANA on Parasnath Hills.
- On the mountain, A Jain temple is believed to have been constructed by Magadha King Bimbisara (543-491 BCE.)
CURRENT AFFAIRS: BANKING & FINANCE
RBI to issue green bonds worth Rs 16,000 cr in two tranches in Jan, Feb
- The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has announced that the maiden Sovereign Green Bonds (SGrBs) would be issued in two tranches for an aggregate amount of Rs 16,000 crore.
- The first auction of Rs 8,000 crore would be done on January 25 while the second for an equal amount will be held on February 9, 2023.
| Date of Auction | Amount in
(Rs Crore) |
Security-wise Allocation |
| January 25, 2023 | 8000 |
i) 05 Year SGrB for Rs 4,000 crore ii) 10 Year SGrB for Rs 4,000 crore |
| February 09, 2023 | 8000 |
i) 05 Year SGrB for Rs 4,000 crore ii) 10 Year SGrB for Rs 4,000 crore |
- The proceeds will be utilized for funding public sector projects seeking to reduce carbon emissions.
Key Highlights :
- In Union Budget 2022-23, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that sovereign green bonds will be issued for mobilizing resources for ‘green projects’.
About Green bonds :
- Green bonds are issued by companies, countries, and multilateral organizations to exclusively fund projects that have positive environmental or climate benefits and provide investors with fixed-income payments.
- The projects can include renewable energy, clean transportation, and green buildings, among others.
Aim :
- To mobilize Rs 16,000 crore through the issuance of green bonds in the current fiscal ending March 2023.
- All eligible green expenditures will include public expenditure undertaken by the government in the form of investment, subsidies, grants-in-aid, or tax foregone (or a combination of all or some of these) or select operational expenditures.
- The eligible expenditures will be limited to government expenditures that occurred a maximum of 12 months before the issuance of the green bonds.
- Nuclear power generation, landfill projects, alcohol/weapons/tobacco/gaming/palm oil industries, and hydropower plants larger than 25 MW have been excluded from the framework.
- The Ministry of Finance has constituted a Green Finance Working Committee (GFWC) including members from relevant ministries and chaired by the Chief Economic Advisor.
- The GFWC will meet at least twice a year to support the Ministry of Finance (MoF) with the selection and evaluation of projects and other work related to the Framework.
Feature of sovereign green bonds :
- The Sovereign Green Bonds’ objective is to mobilize resources for green infrastructure as part of the government’s overall market borrowings in 2022-23.
- Issuance Method: SGrBs will be issued through Uniform Price Auction.
- Non-competitive bidding facility: About 5% of the notified amount of sale will be reserved for retail investors as specified under the ‘Scheme for Non-competitive Bidding Facility in the auction of Government of India Dated Securities and Treasury Bills’.
- Eligibility for Repurchase Transactions (Repo): SGrBs will be eligible for Repurchase Transactions (Repo) as per the terms and conditions mentioned in Repurchase Transactions (Repo) (Reserve Bank) Directions, 2018 as amended from time to time.
- Eligibility for Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR): SGrBs will be reckoned as eligible investments for SLR purposes.
- Underwriting: The underwriting in the auction of SGrBs by the Primary Dealers will be as per the “Revised Scheme of Underwriting Commitment and Liquidity Support” issued by the RBI.
- When-issued Trading: SGrBs will be eligible for “When Issued” trading by the guidelines on ‘Transactions in the When Issued market in Central Government Securities’ issued by the RBI.
- Tradability: SGrBs will be eligible for trading in the secondary market.
- Investment by Non-residents: SGrBs will be designated as specified securities under the ‘Fully Accessible Route’ for investment in Government Securities by non-residents.
About RBI :
- Established: 1 April 1935
- Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
- Governor : Shaktikanta Das
- Deputy governors: Mahesh Kumar Jain, M. Rajeshwar Rao, Michael Patra, and T. Rabi Shankar
MFs’ AUM grows 5.4% in CY22, SBI MF widens lead – AMFI
- According to the latest data by the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI), the average assets under management (AUM) for the domestic mutual fund (MF) industry grew 5.4% year-on-year to Rs 40.2 trillion for the quarter that ended December.
- The growth in assets was primarily due to incremental flows into equity schemes, driven by monthly systematic investment plans of Rs 12,000-13,000 crore.
Key Highlights :
- SBI MF and Mirae MF clocked the fastest growth among large AMCs.
- The former now has assets of over Rs 7 trillion and has widened the lead over ICICI MF and HDFC MF, ranked number 2 and 3, respectively, with assets of over Rs 4 trillion each.
- Mirae’s assets have grown 15.7% to Rs 1.15 trillion in the past year.
- HDFC MF, Axis MF, IDFC MF, and Aditya Birla Sun Life MF were among the top 10 asset managers that clocked a negative growth during the year, with the last two seeing a de-growth of around 5%.
About AMFI :
- Founded: 1995
- Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
- CEO: N.S.Venkatesh
- Members: 44
- The AMFI is the regulatory body for the mutual fund sector in India.
- It is a division of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), Ministry of Finance (MoF), Government of India.
RBI Directs Banks to Improve Financial Statement Disclosures
- The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has asked banks to make enhanced disclosures relating to material items in their notes to accounts wherever any item under the head “Other Liabilities and Provisions” and “Other Assets” exceeds 1% of the total assets.
Aim :
- To enhance transparency in banks’ financial statements through disclosures.
Key Highlights :
- Currently, if any item under the subhead “Miscellaneous Income” under the head “Other Income” exceeds 1% of total income, banks have to give particulars in the notes to accounts.
- Similar instructions exist in the case of the subhead “Other expenditure” under the head “Operating Expenses”.
- The RBI also asked payments banks to disclose particulars of all such items in the notes to accounts, wherever any item under “Other Income” – “Commission, Exchange, and Brokerage” exceeds 1% of the total income.
- Its instructions relating to “Financial Statements – Presentation and Disclosures -Disclosure of material items “apply to all commercial banks.
- These instructions shall come into effect for disclosures in the notes to the annual financial statements for the year ending March 31, 2023, and onwards,” per the central bank’s directions.
CURRENT AFFAIRS: APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS
Paytm Payments Bank appoints Mr. Surinder Chawla as MD & CEO
- The parent company of Paytm Payments Bank Limited (PPBL), One 97 Communications, announced that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has approved the appointment of veteran banker Mr. Surinder Chawla as the new Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for 3 years.
About Mr. Surinder Chawla :
- Surinder Chawla is a Chartered Accountant who carries with him an experience of 28 years in retail banking.
- He has worked with banking institutions such as HDFC Bank, RBL Bank, ABN Amro Bank, and Standard Chartered Bank.
- He worked with HDFC Bank for almost 12 years, rising to the post of Head of the Retail Liabilities Product Group.
- Currently, he is serving as the head of branch banking at RBL Bank (formerly known as Ratnakar Bank).
About Paytm Payments Bank :
- Headquarters: Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India
- Chairman: Vijay Shekhar Sharma
CURRENT AFFAIRS: SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
China launches Asia’s first semi-high-speed hydrogen train with a range of 600 km
- China’s CRRC Corporation Limited has unveiled Asia’s first hydrogen urban train.
- The hydrogen train gets a top speed of 160 km/h (Kilometre per hour), and the operational range without refuelling is 600 km on a single tank.
- This is the second such train in the world.
- Earlier in 2022, Germany became the first country to operate the world’s first-ever hydrogen-powered passenger train fleet.
Key Highlights :
- The Hydrogen train was developed based on the Fuxing high-speed platform and includes 4 cars with it.
- The train will also get Digital solutions from the CRRC including GoA2 automation, component monitoring sensors, and 5G data transmission equipment.
- The operation of the train will reduce CO2 emissions compared to diesel traction by 10 tons per year.
- India will most likely get its first hydrogen train by 2023.
About China :
- Capital: Beijing
- Currency: Renminbi
ISRO & Social Alpha sign MoU to establish SpaceTech Innovation Platform
- The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Social Alpha signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to launch the SpaceTech Innovation Network (SpIN), India’s first dedicated platform for innovation curation and venture development for the burgeoning space entrepreneurial ecosystem.
- It is a one-of-its-kind public-private collaboration for start-ups and SMEs in the space industry.
- This is an important step towards providing further impetus to India’s recent space reform policies.
Key Highlights :
- SpIN has launched its first innovation challenge from early-stage start-ups for developing solutions in areas of maritime and land transportation, urbanization, mapping and surveying, disaster management, food security, sustainable agriculture, environmental monitoring, and natural resources management.
About SpIN :
- SpIN is India’s first dedicated platform for innovation, curation, and venture development for the burgeoning space entrepreneurial ecosystem.
- SpIN will primarily focus on facilitating space tech entrepreneurs in three distinct innovation categories:
- Geospatial Technologies and Downstream Applications;
- Enabling Technologies for Space & Mobility; and
- Aerospace Materials, Sensors, and Avionics
Google launches anti-misinformation project in India to prevent violence
- American multinational technology company, Google’s subsidiary Jigsaw is launching a new anti-misinformation project in
Aim :
- To prevent the misleading information that has been blamed for inciting violence and deaths.
Key Highlights :
- The initiative will use “prebunking” videos, designed to counter false claims before they become widely circulated on the company’s YouTube platform and other social media sites.
- The experiment in India will be bigger in scope as it will deal with multiple local languages Bengali, Hindi, and Marathi & cover diverse sections of a country populated by over a billion people.
- Indian government officials have called on tech companies such as Google, Meta, and Twitter to take stronger action against the spread of fake news.
- The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B) has repeatedly invoked “extraordinary powers” to block YouTube channels, and some Twitter and Facebook account allegedly used to spread harmful misinformation.
About Google :
- Founded: September 4, 1998
- Headquarters: California, United States
- CEO: Sundar Pichai
CURRENT AFFAIRS: SPORTS NEWS
Adelaide International: Novak Djokovic saves championship point to win the title after beating Sebastian Korda:
- Novak Djokovic defeated America’s Sebastian Korda in a nerve-wracking final to win the Adelaide International men’s singles title.
- The 21-time Grand Slam winner won the match 6-7 (8-10), 7-6 (7-3), and 6-4 in three hours and nine minutes.
- After losing the first set, Djokovic faced a championship point with the score-line reading 5-6 in favour of Korda.
- However, once the Serbian took the match in the tie-breaker, there was no stopping him.
- Djokovic also equalled Rafael Nadal’s tally of 92 ATP singles titles in the Open Era.
- Nadal and Djokovic are joint-fourth in the list after Jimmy Connors (109), Roger Federer (103), and Ivan Lendl (94).
- The former World No.1 also won his 34th match in a row on Australian soil since the beginning of 2019.
- The 35-year-old has also won 23 of his last 24 matches and has looked in decent form of late.
- Djokovic is now set to return to the Australian Open, which gets underway in just over a week.
Gareth Bale announces retirement from football career:
- Wales and Los Angeles FC winger Gareth Bale had decided to end his playing career at the age of 33, having reached exceptional milestones in both club and international football.
- Bale played a Wales record of 111 games for his country and was a five-time Champions League winner with Real Madrid.
- He helped the Welsh reach the 2016 and 2020 Euros before leading them to their first World Cup since 1958 at Qatar 2022.
- Bale started his senior career at then-Championship side Southampton, which introduced the 17-year-old to professional football before he moved to Tottenham Hotspur two years later.
- After six seasons and nearly 150 appearances in the Premier League, Bale was signed by Real Madrid for a fee reported by British media as a world record of 100 million euros ($107.45 million).
- In 2013-14, his first season in Spain, he helped Real Madrid to their 10th Champions League trophy, awaited by the club for more than 10 years.
- Bale made 12 appearances and scored six goals in the triumphant campaign, including in the 4-1 final win over Atletico Madrid.
First European Championship:
- Bale became Wales’ youngest player when he made his debut as a substitute at the age of 16 years and 315 days old against Trinidad & Tobago in May 2006.
- Having scored 41 goals, he remains their all-time top scorer.
- He captained Wales in their first European Championship in 2016, making the semi-finals, and helped them qualify again for Euro 2020, before reaching the 2022 World Cup for the first time since 1958.
- The 33-year-old, who in Qatar became Wales’ most-capped player in their second group game against Iran, vowed to keep playing for the national team amid doubts over his future after they were knocked out with a 3-0 defeat by England.
South Africa all-rounder Dwaine Pretorius announces retirement from international cricket:
- Cricket South Africa has announced that all-rounder Dwaine Pretorius has called time on his international career.
- Pretorius has represented the Proteas across all three formats in 30 T20Is, 27 ODIs, and three Tests since making his debut in 2016.
- He was also part of two World Cup squads for South Africa.
- The 33-year-old said it was one of the toughest decisions of his career to step away from international cricket.
- He will be shifting his focus to T20 cricket and other shorter formats.
- The 33-year-old thanked his coaches, teammates, and family for supporting him and had a special thank you for Faf du Plessis.
Anahat Singh clinches Girls U-15 squash title at British Junior Open tournament in Birmingham:
- Indian squash prodigy Anahat Singh clinched the girl’s Under-15 squash title at the most prestigious British Junior Open tournament in Birmingham.
- The 14-year-old defeated Sohaila Hazem of Egypt, 3-1 in the final.
- Despite the first set being closely contested, she took the lead and won the tournament.
- The British Junior Open is held in January every year in the UK where all the best players from all over the world compete to win the coveted title.
- This year it was held after a Covid-induced gap of two years from the 4th to the 8th of January
Virat Kohli slams 73’rd international 100, equals Sachin Tendulkar’s record:
- Virat Kohli returned to the Indian ODI side with yet another dazzling hundred against Sri Lanka in the first three-match ODI series.
- It was Kohli’s 45th ODI ton and 73rd in international cricket.
- With this century, Kohli reached another ODI milestone, equaling Sachin Tendulkar’s record of 20 ODI tons at home.
- While Tendulkar reached the landmark in 164 matches, Kohli did it in 101 games.
- Kohli also surpassed Sachin Tendulkar’s record of most centuries against Sri Lanka in ODIs.
- Tendulkar has eight to his credit while Kohli has gone to nine.
- Earlier, Kohli ended his ODI century drought during India’s tour of Bangladesh.
- The number 3 batter remained century-less for 1214 days.
- The former India skipper had left batting legend Ricky Ponting behind when he last scored an ODI century.
- Kohli is just five ODI centuries away from breaking Tendulkar’s record for most hundreds in the format.
- Kohli has 45 ODI centuries, whereas Tendulkar has scored 49 ODI hundreds in his career.
- Kohli can break another record as he needs 180 more runs to enter the top 5 all-time run-getters in ODIs.
- Kohli is only behind Tendulkar, Sangakkara, Ponting, Jayasuriya, and Jayawardene in the elite list.
CURRENT AFFAIRS: OBITUARIES
Former PepsiCo India chairman PM Sinha Passed Away
- Former chairman of PepsiCo, India, and South Asia, PM Sinha, passed away at the age of 82 in Gurugram.
About PM Sinha :
- PM Sinha, popularly known as Suman.
- Sinha started his career with Hindustan Lever Ltd (HLL), where he was the head of government relations.
- He was the second chairman & CEO of PepsiCo India who helmed the company for a decade from 1993 to 2003.
- He became the chairman of Bata in 2004.
- PepsiCo entered India in
Daily CA on January 11:
- National Human Trafficking Awareness Day 2023 is observed on the 11th of January 2023.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the government’s Aspirational Block Programme (ABP), which is aimed at improving the performance of blocks lagging on various development parameters.
- Novak Djokovic defeated America’s Sebastian Korda in a nerve-wracking final to win the Adelaide International men’s singles title.
- Wales and Los Angeles FC winger Gareth Bale had decided to end his playing career at the age of 33, having reached exceptional milestones in both club and international football.
- Cricket South Africa has announced that all-rounder Dwaine Pretorius has called time on his international career.
- Indian squash prodigy Anahat Singh clinched the girl’s Under-15 squash title at the most prestigious British Junior Open tournament in Birmingham.
- Virat Kohli returned to the Indian ODI side with yet another dazzling hundred against Sri Lanka in the first three-match ODI series.
- Ecuador, Japan, Malta, Mozambique, and Switzerland officially began their 2-year term as non-permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC ).
- Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Shri Bhupesh Baghel celebrates the traditional Cherchera festival at Dudhadhari Math in Raipur, Chhattisgarh.
- A Military Tattoo & Tribal Dance Festival ‘Aadi Shaurya – Parv Parakram Ka’ will be held at Jawaharlal Nehru stadium, New Delhi on January 23 & 24, 2023, as part of the Republic Day celebrations 2023 and to mark the 126th birth anniversary (Parakram Diwas) of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose.
- Tribal bodies stepped up their demand to “free” the Parasnath hills in Jharkhand’s Giridih district from the “clutches” of the Jain community.
- The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has announced that the maiden Sovereign Green Bonds (SGrBs) would be issued in two tranches for an aggregate amount of Rs 16,000 crore.
- According to the latest data by the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI), the average assets under management (AUM) for the domestic mutual fund (MF) industry grew 5.4% year-on-year to Rs 40.2 trillion for the quarter that ended December.
- The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has asked banks to make enhanced disclosures relating to material items in their notes to accounts wherever any item under the head “Other Liabilities and Provisions” and “Other Assets” exceeds 1% of the total assets.
- The parent company of Paytm Payments Bank Limited (PPBL), One 97 Communications, announced that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has approved the appointment of veteran banker Mr. Surinder Chawla as the new Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for 3 years.
- China’s CRRC Corporation Limited has unveiled Asia’s first hydrogen urban train.
- The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Social Alpha signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to launch the SpaceTech Innovation Network (SpIN), India’s first dedicated platform for innovation curation and venture development for the burgeoning space entrepreneurial ecosystem.
- American multinational technology company, Google’s subsidiary Jigsaw is launching a new anti-misinformation project in
- Former chairman of PepsiCo, India, and South Asia, PM Sinha, passed away at the age of 82 in Gurugram.