Current Affairs Weekly(2nd Jan,2023

2nd Jan 2023

Croatia adopted the European Union’s (EU) common currency, the euro, and joined the Schengen Area, Europe’s visa-free travel area, on Jan 1, 2023. With this, Croatia became a fully integrated member of the EU.
Centre signed a pact with the Institute of Veterinary Biological Products (IVBP) for commercial production of ‘Lumpi-ProVac’, a vaccine for lumpy skin disease in cattle. The vaccine was developed by the National Centre for Veterinary Type Culture and ICARNational Research Centre on Equines and ICARIndian Veterinary Research Institute. Vaccine Give protection for about one year.
Ajay Kumar Srivastava has been elevated as Managing Director and CEO of Indian Overseas Bank with effect from January 1, 2023, from his current posting as executive director Sir Marshal Pankaj Mohan assumes command of the IAF Western Command.
Lula da Silva was sworn in as the President for the third time on 1 January 2023 for a 4 year term. He defeated the incumbent president Jair Bolsonaro
The 108 Indian national Science Congress will be organized by the Indian Science Congress Association from 3-7 January 2023 at the Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University.
The government of India sponsored the proposal for the International Year of Millets (IYM) 2023 which was accepted by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). The PM of India has also shared his vision to make IYM 2023 a ‘People’s Movement’ alongside positioning India as the ‘Global Hub for Millets.
RBI on 30 December 2022 launched the 2ndphase of the RBI’s medium-term strategy for strengthening regulatory and supervisory mechanisms called Utkarsh 2.0
Centre approves Kalasa-Banduri project in Karnataka is a dam designed to divert water from the Mhadei basin to the Mala-Prabha river basin. The project is aimed at facilitating drinking water for13 towns in drought-hit northern Karnataka
The foundation stone of the Central Detective Training Institute (CDTI) was laid at Devanahalli, Karnataka on 31 December 2022. This will be the 6th CDTI of the Bureau of Police Research & Development under the Home Ministry.

India assumes chairmanship of Wassenaar Arrangement from 1 Jan. The 42-member Wassenaar Arrangement is a voluntary export control regime that monitors transfers of conventional weapons and dual-use goods.
SpaceX Launched the First 54 Starlink v2.0 satellites Into Space and was launched into a low Earth Orbit. The SpaceX Falcon 9 was launched on 28th December 2022. It Took place from the SLC-40 launch pad of the US Air Force Base at Cape Canaveral. Starlink satellites aim to provide internet in various parts of the world.
Anil Kumar Lahoti has been appointed as the next Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Railway Board.
Gujarat’s Amreli, India received its first In vitro fertilization (IVF) mobile device on January 1, 2023.
Purushottam Rupala, union minister, launched the mobile IVF lab. The IVF mobile van, according to the minister, was “dedicated in a collaborative endeavor of the Government of India and Amar Dairy.”

3rd Jan 2023

At the start of the New Year 2023, Indian Railways has set a goal to modernize its heritage lines with the latest technology. To achieve this, the Ministry of Railways has announced a plan to introduce hydrogen power trains on its heritage lines in the second half of the year. This plan, called “Hydrogen for Heritage,” aims to not only update the appearance and operating system of trains but also promote the use of green energy in public transportation.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) published its list of Domestic Systemically Important Banks (D-SIBs) for 2021 on Monday. According to the central bank, SBI, ICICI Bank, and HDFC Bank are still classified as Domestic Systemically Important Banks (D-SIBs) in accordance with the 2020 list.
Sweden assumed the Presidency of the European Union Council for the first six months of the year on January 1, 2023, succeeding the Czech Republic, which led the Council in the second half of 2022. Sweden is taking up the Presidency of the Council for the third time.

Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Awards have been announced for this year. 27 people were chosen on January 2, 2023, the highest honor for overseas Indians. The 17th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Convention will be held in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, from January 8 to 10, 2023.
The World Boxing Council (WBC), one of the four governing bodies for Boxing, will introduce a transgender category in 2023 to ensure safety and inclusion.
On 1st January 2023, Dr. Jitendra Singh, Union Minister for Science and Technology, announced that the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is ready to launch India’s 1st Atmamirbhar human flight “Gaganyaan” by the year 2024.
The Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dhananjaya Yashwant (DY) Chandrachud launched the Electronic Supreme Court Reports (E-SCR) project to provide free access to about 34,000 judgments of SC to lawyers, law students and the common public. This project is an initiative to provide the digital version of the SC’s judgments in the manner as they are reported in the official law report i.e. SCRs.The project has been launched as a tribute to the nation in the New Year.

As per the figures from the Ministry of Finance, India’s external debt stood at USD 610.5 billion in Q2 FY23 (July- September 2022) showing a decrease of USD 2.3 billion from Q1 FY23 (April to June 2022).
The Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation (KMRC) announced that the East- West Metro Corridor project, India’s first underwater metro service, in Kolkata will be completed by December 2023. The 16.6 km corridor will run through the Hooghly river, connecting Howrah and Kolkata Sealdah railway stations including the north-south line of the Kolkata Metro at Esplanade. This will reduce the travel time from 90 minutes to 40 minutes.
On 2nd January 2023, The National Commission for Indian System of Medicine (NCISM) and the Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences (CCRAS) launched the SMART (Scope for Mainstreaming Ayurveda Research in Teaching Professionals) program. The program aims to identify, support, and promote innovative scientific research in priority healthcare research areas.
The Ministry of Science and Technology (MoS&T) notified the ‘National Geospatial Policy, 2022′ for implementation with immediate effect. The policy was notified following the liberalizing of the usage of geospatial data under the draft Geospatial Data Policy in February 2021.
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has constituted a 17-member High Powered Committee (HPC) to discuss measures for the protection of Ladakh’s unique culture, language, and employment. It will be chaired by Minister of State (MOS) Nityanand Rai, MHA.

4th Jan 2023

The Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) has released the Draft Rules for Online Gaming, which have been introduced as an amendment to the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) recently signed a loan agreement with the Indian government to provide $1.22 billion in funding for projects aimed at improving connectivity and infrastructure in four Indian states. The loan will cover a range of projects including improving the power sector and highways in the northeastern states of Tripura and Assam, expanding the metro rail network in the southern city of Chennai, and improving key economic areas in the western state of Maharashtra.
The Supreme Court observed that all religious conversions cannot be presumed by a State to be illegal.
King Charles III of the UK held a telephone conversation on India’s G-20 Presidency with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
An invertebrate survey was undertaken in the Thiruvananthapuram Wildlife Division.
Captain Shiva Chouhan becomes the first women officer operationally deployed at Kumar Post, Siachen.
HC asks Delhi Government to ensure free food and treatment for poor HIV-positive persons.
The Department of Posts releases a special cover on the Institute of Mathematical Sciences.
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in India has established a High Powered Committee (HPC) to address issues related to the protection of Ladakh’s culture, language, land, and employment opportunities
NTPC Limited and Gujarat Gas Limited (GGL) have commissioned India’s first green hydrogen blending project in the piped natural gas (PNG) network of NTPC Kawa’s township, Surat.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi to launch the world’s longest river cruise, “Ganga Vilas” from Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh to Dibrugarh, Assam on 13th January 2023. The “Ganga Vilas” cruise will travel 3,200 kilometers from Uttar Pradesh to Dibrugarh. It will make stops at more than 50 significant architectural locations including World Heritage Sites, as it will travel through rivers of India and Bangladesh.

India starts probe into circuit board dumping by China and Hong Kong.
The Government of India is proposing a ban on the promotion of Online Betting on Social Media platforms. The Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, have recently been recommended for revision by the Central government to control the Indian online gaming market. The suggestion was made to protect consumers from any harm that skill-based games might cause.
U.S. carries out first execution of a transgender person
South Korea fines Tesla USD 2.2 million for EV range exaggeration
Japan plans to boost financial support to households moving away from the capital city of Tokyo.
A five-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court upheld the Modi government’s 2016 decision to demonetize Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes, saying the decision was about executive policy and could not be reversed. The court rejected the 58 petitions challenging demonetization and said the decision-making process of the government was not flawed.
China’s CRRC Corporation Ltd. Launched a hydrogen urban train, and it is the first in Asia and the second such train in the world. Germany introduced green trains a few months back. The hydrogen trains have a speed of 160 km per hour and the operational range without refueling is 600 km.

5th Jan 2023

A recent bird survey conducted at Silent Valley National Park in Kerala identified a total of 175 species, with 17 of those being newly recorded.
On 4 January 2023, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan launched the Chief Minister’s Residential Land Rights scheme (Mukhyamantri Awasiya Bhu Adhikar Yojana) in Tikamgarh district, Madhya Pradesh. The scheme aims to provide free plots to poor rural families for building their homes.
The 36th India-France Strategic Dialogue is set to take place on January 5, with a focus on addressing China’s militarization of the Indo-Pacific region and ways in which the two nations can work together to counter it.
The Union Cabinet, led by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved the National Green Hydrogen Mission. The mission aims to make India a global hub for the production, utilization, and export of green hydrogen and its derivatives.
Hindustan Copper (HCL) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines), Dhanbad for a collaborative and sponsored research project. It is a momentous occasion for HCL as it is the first technical collaboration with IIT (IMS) Dhanbad
Kosovo Serbs who have been blocking roads in northern Kosovo for 19 days have agreed to start removing barricades, bowing to calls by the United States and the European Union to defuse tensions.
India has taken over the leadership of the Asia Pacific Postal Union (APPU) in January 2023.
The Union Cabinet has approved the naming of Greenfield International Airport at Goa’s Mopa as Manohar International Airport after former Defence Minister and Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar.
Indian Institute of Technology Madra is operating a research center dedicated to defense technologies jointly with the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) to develop advanced technologies for the national defense and security needs of the nation. It was established by DRDO but IIT Madras has now taken over and converted it into a center of excellence.

Odisha won the UN-Habitat’s World Habitat Awards 2023 for Jaga Mission, a 5T initiative of the state. The awards recognize and highlight innovative, outstanding, and revolutionary housing ideas, projects, and programs from across the world. The Jaga mission is the land titling and slum upgrading program that aims at empowering the lives of slum dwellers.
Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a 36-hour ceasefire in Ukraine over Orthodox Christmas, the first major truce of the more than the 10-month-long war that has killed tens of thousands and devastated swathes of Ukraine. Putin ordered the ceasefire to begin on January 6, the Kremlin said.
Supreme Court rules that a citizen can seek enforcement of the fundamental right to freedom of speech not just against the state.
The Government approves Rs 28.11 crore to extend the interest-free loan to tobacco farmers of Andhra Pradesh.
PM Narendra Modi will chair the second National Conference of Chief Secretaries in Delhi.
India-France will discuss bilateral and global issues at the 36th India-France strategic dialogue.
India initiates anti-dumping probe into import of vitamins, used for animal consumption, from China, European Union, and Switzerland.
Britain’s power grid hits record 88% zero-carbon power generation, delivering the cleanest energy on record to households and businesses.
Russia ships record 1.17 million barrels a day (mbd) of crude in December
Elon Musk says Twitter Inc will reverse its 2019 ban on political ads.
Japan pledges to deepen his country’s alliance with the U.S. under Japan’s new Defence policy.

6th Jan 2023

The Ministry of Panchayati Raj organized a two-day National Workshop on Project Driven Block Panchayat Development Plan and District Panchayat Development Plan on 5-6 January 2023 in New Delhi.The National Workshop aimed at adopting, conceptualizing, and popularizing Project Development Plans.
President Droupadi Murmu will give away the Digital India Awards (DIA) 2022 to the winners, here on 7 January 2023.DIA 2022 aims to inspire and motivate government entities, start-ups, and grassroots-level digital initiatives in fulfilling the Digital India vision.
As per the Nikkei Asia report, India is now the world’s third-largest auto market. India has surpassed Japan, which is currently placed fourth. China continued to lead the global auto market and the US remained second.
Maharashtra has announced that 122 new sports complexes will soon be built in rural areas. The aim is to reinforce the state’s status as a sporting powerhouse in the country.
Union Minister Anurag Thakur launched the themes of the Y20 summit, logo, and website in New Delhi on January 6, 2023, in the curtain raiser event of Y20 Summit India.
Centre has declared The Resistance Front (TRF) as a terrorist organization under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, UAPA.
The Indian Army on 5 Jan 2023 signed an agreement with the Assam govt to offer Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS) at eight medical colleges and hospitals in the state. This will facilitate the cashless and capless treatment of 1.12 lakh beneficiaries.
India, among the largest troop-contributing countries to UN peacekeeping, is deploying a platoon of women peacekeepers in Abyei, Sudan. This will be the country’s largest single unit of female Blue Helmets in a UN mission since 2007. In 2007, India became the first country to deploy an all-women contingent to UN peacekeeping missions.
Kolkata will host the first Meeting of the Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion Working Group of G20 on Jan 9-11, 2023. The opening session of the meeting will showcase a unique exhibition on India’s role in financial inclusion.

7th Jan 2023

The first-ever ABB FIA Formula E World Championship race in India will be held in Hyderabad on February 11.
The Indian Army has deployed its largest contingent of women peacekeepers in the United Nation mission at Abyei, UNISFA.
Indian Telegraph (Infrastructure Safety) Rules 2022 have been formulated by the Department of Telecommunications under the Ministry of Communications.
Ghaziabad-Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyay section has become the longest automatic block signaling section of Indian Railways.
The Uttarakhand government has announced its plan to evacuate all the families which are living in the danger zone in Joshimath.
The UGC prepared a draft to pave the way for foreign universities to open their branches in India.
The Chief Minister of West Bengal demanded national status for “Gangasagar Mela” to get funds.
A check dam has been named after PM Modi’s late mother Hiraba in Rajkot, Gujarat.
According to the International Labour Organization (ILO) report “Working Time and Work-Life Balance Around the World”, more than half of the world’s workforce doesn’t typically work a nine-to-five schedule. As per the report, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the average number of hours per week in paid work globally was around 43.9 hours
Naveen Patnaik, Chief Minister (CM) of Odisha, inaugurated the Birsa Munda International Hockey Stadium, India’s largest hockey stadium, in terms of seated (chair) capacity of 20,000, in Rourkela, Odisha.
The IFANS-2023, a 4-day conference, will be jointly organized by the National Agri-Food Biotechnology Institute (NABI), Centre for Innovative and Applied Bioprocessing (CIAB), Indian Council of Agricultural Research National Institute of Plant Biotechnology (ICAR – NIBP), and International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB) at NABI, Mohali, Punjab.The theme of the conference is pertinent to inspire young students and researchers considering the fact that food and nutrition security is a global demand.

The Union Minister of State Dr. Jitendra Singh inaugurated India’s first unique ‘Rock’ museum in Hyderabad. The Open Rock Museum in Hyderabad has been set up with an aim to educate and enlighten the masses about several lesser-known facts. The ages of the rocks range from 3.3 billion years to around 55 million years of the Earth’s history.
According to the latest released guidelines by the Government, all the passengers flying from abroad will have to home quarantine themselves for a week after landing in India. They will have to get themselves tested on the eighth day and if they are positive, their samples will be sent for genome testing at the INSACOG laboratory network.
The Union Cabinet gave its approval to the Green Energy Corridor phase 2 with an outlay of Rs. 12,000 crores. It will facilitate the grid integration and the power evacuation of about 20 GW of renewable energy projects in 7 states. The second phase of the Scheme will help in achieving the target of 450 GW installed Renewable Energy capacity by 2030.
As per aviation analytics firm ‘Cirium’, India’s Chennai airport is the only one from India to feature in the Top 10 global list for On-time performance, in the year 2021.
Reserve Bank of India has approved Fino Payments Bank for commencing international (Cross Border) remittance business under the Money Transfer Service Scheme (MTSS)
A Russian-led alliance has sent peacekeeping troops to Kazakhstan to manage the ongoing unrest and restore order in the country after a request from Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
The Union Ayush Minister Shri Sarbananda Sonowal laid the foundation stone for the Heartfulness International Yoga academy today at Hyderabad
CryptoWire, a global crypto super app that is a special business unit of TickerPlant, has announced the launch of India’s first index of Cryptocurrencies – IC15, which is a rule-based broad market index by market capitalization

National Genome Editing and Training Centre (NGETC) was inaugurated at National Agri-food Biotechnology Institute (NABI) Mohali in Punjab in Jan 2023.NSETC will cater to the regional needs for the adoption of various genome editing methods.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on 6 Jan 2023 unveiled a 120-feet-tall statue of a polo player riding a pony at Marjing Polo Complex in Manipur’s Imphal East district. This is the highest monument in the northeast.
Bank of Singapore (BoS) has announced the appointment of Jason Moo as its new CEO. He will succeed Bahrain Shaari officially from March 6 onwards.
Lieutenant Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan informed that Puducherry would host the first G20 meeting on 31 Jan 2023. He released stickers, badges, and posters with the G20 logo and also inaugurated a selfie booth in the presence of Puducherry CM N Rangasamy at an event.
The Varanasi Cantt Railway Station has been awarded the 5-Star ‘Eat Right Station’ certification for providing high-quality nutritious food to passengers.
The Centre is set to launch the Aspirational Blocks Programme (ABP) to raise blocks on a development scale.
A strange fossil with a dinosaur-like head & bird-like body found in China
The 10th edition of the Dhaka Lit Fest (DLF) begins in Bangladesh.
Taliban announced signing an oil extraction deal at the Amu Darya basin, with a Chinese firm.

8th Jan 2023

The Jammu and Kashmir authorities have declared almost 70 hectares of land in Gulmarg and Sonamarg tourist resorts as ‘strategic areas
Captain Harpreet Chandi, an Indian-origin British Sikh Army officer has created history by becoming the first woman of color to complete a solo unsupported expedition to the South Pole.
Uttar Pradesh has been awarded the first prize in the 3rd National Water Awards in the best state category, followed by Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu. The first National Water Award was launched by the Jal Shakti Ministry in 2018.
India’s economy will return to growth in 2021-22 and is expected to grow 9.2% against a contraction of 7.3% in the previous fiscal year. This was shown in the first advance estimates by the National Statistical Office (NSO) released on 7 January 2022.
India is among the six Indo- Pacific nations participating in a multilateral anti-submarine warfare exercise in the Pacific Ocean. The Sea Dragon 22 exercise began on January 5, 2022, along with the navies of India, Australia, Canada, Japan, and South Korea. The exercise is primarily centered on anti-submarine warfare training and will involve more than 270 hours of in-flight training.
The Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) has bagged the SKOCH silver award in the ‘Power and Energy’ category. The award was given for its outstanding contribution towards ensuring quality, accessibility, and availability of power at an affordable price focusing on a sustainable environment.
Assam government and National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) have inked an MoU. They will set up a joint venture company for Rs 2000 cr with the target of processing 10 lakh liters of milk through 6 new milk processing units in 7 years. This would benefit more than 1,75,000 dairy farmers in Assam.
Sports Ministry’s Mission Olympic Cell (MOC), has approved the inclusion of Alpine Skiing athlete Md Arif Khan in the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS), Core group, until the Winter Olympics, scheduled in Feb’22 in Beijing, China. He will take part in the Winter Olympics in the Slalom and Giant Slalom events.
Researchers in China have developed an industrial robot that can read a human co-worker’s mind with 96% accuracy. The robot not only monitored the worker’s brain waves but also collected electric signals from muscles, as it worked to assemble a complex product. It has been developed at China Three Gorges University’s Intelligent Manufacturing Innovation Technology Centre.

Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) Chairman Vinai Kumar Saxena launched the country’s first Mobile Honey Processing Van at village Sirora in Ghaziabad, UP on 7 Jan ’22.
India will start the export of mangoes to the US under a new framework agreement signed between the US Dept of Agriculture and the Department of Agriculture and Farmer Welfare (DAC&FW) of India. India did not export mangoes to the U.S. during the previous two and half years as the U.S.
Child marriage has become illegal in the Philippines. A law banning the practice took effect in the country on 6 Jan 2022.
Assam Governor Jagdish Mukhi inaugurated the 9th edition of the North East Festival (NEF) at a program held in Guwahati on 7 January 2022. The festival shall contribute towards the sustainable development of this region and the country.
An agreement has been signed between World Food Programme in India and The Akshaya Patra Foundation, on 3 Jan ’22 in New Delhi. The partnership aims to enhance food safety and hygiene projects, capacity building of cooks-cum- helpers and the nutritional quality of school meals.
The Kerala-based lender South Indian Bank has won the UiPath Automation Excellence Awards 2021 for Best Automation under Crisis for Business Continuity. The award was bestowed upon the Bank for its exceptional use of Robotic Process Automation capabilities.

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