January 2023 Current Affairs MCQ Questions and Answers online Test

International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), the US-based international organisation has selected the anti-drug & illicit liquor campaign "Nijaat" of Chhattisgarh police for "Leadership in Crime Prevention" award in the institutional category. The prestigious IACP 2022 Award has selected the de-addiction drive "Nijaat", which was executed following the directive by chief minister Bhupesh Baghel to act tough against drug peddlers, and bootleggers and check to smuggling of drugs.

A successful singular campaign, "Nijaat" witnessed the striking results to achieve a drug-free society with missionary zeal. The campaign was launched by the Chhattisgarh police under the leadership of the IPS officer Santosh Kumar Singh who pioneered the drive with intensified efforts in districts of Korea, Rajnandgaon and presently continuing in Korba.

The "Dhanu Yatra" festival, the largest open-air theatre festival began after a gap of two years, in Bargarh at the Odisha. The vibrant Dhanu Yatra is associated with the culture of Odisha. The Festival is being held from December 27 to Jan 6, 2023. Several artists from 130 cultural troupes from across the country are scheduled to perform during the festival. Around 3,000 artistes of 130 cultural troupes from across the country is participating in the festival. However, Kansa is the central attraction of the Dhanu Yatra.

Dhanu Yatra, the eleven day long annual extravaganza places Bargarh in the Cultural Map of India.

The Uttar Pradesh government has appointed IPS officer Laxmi Singh as the new Noida Police chief, making her the first woman officer to head a Police Commissionerate

in the state.

The 2000-batch officer, who replaced Alok Singh in Gautam Buddh Nagar.

Alok Singh, a 1995-batch IPS officer, has been posted as an additional director general of police (ADGP) at the DGP office in state capital Lucknow.

Laxmi has previously served as the IG/DIG of the Special Task Force (STF) in Gautam Buddh Nagar from January 1, 2018 to March 5, 2018.

Thereafter, she was made IG of the police training school in Meerut from March 2018 to May 26 in 2020 before being moved as IG Range Lucknow.

Tamil Nadu Government has announced the "Nilgiri Tahr Project", India’s first-of-its-kind initiative aimed at restoring the state animal’s original habitat and stabilizing its population.

The "Nilgiri Tahr Project" is a five-year program with a budget of Rs 25.14 crore.

It will also have a dedicated team chaired by the project director to deal with species conservation.

The team will explore the possibility of undertaking captive breeding of the animals for re-introduction in forest patches where it has become locally extinct.

Union Minister of Roads Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari has inaugurated the country’s second longest cable-stayed eight-lane Zuari Bridge in Goa.

Right-hand side (4-lane corridor) across the Zuari River and approaches from Bambolim to Verna were thrown open for vehicular traffic.

Gadkari also launched the PWD Goa App for integrated operations management.

Through the insurance scheme of the Government of Goa, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has given Rs 2 lakh each to the families of the workers who died during the construction of the bridge.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually laid foundation stone and projects worth more than Rs 7800 crore in West Bengal.

He also virtually inaugurated Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee – National Institute of Water and Sanitation (DSPM – NIWAS).

It will serve as an apex body in the country on water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) in the country, serving as a hub of information and knowledge for Central, State and local governments.

He has also inaugurated Joka-Taratala stretch of Purple Line of Kolkata Metro.

These projects will add 190 MLD new STP capacity in West Bengal.

These projects will benefit areas of North Barrackpore, Hooghly-Chinsura, Kolkata KMC area- Garden Reach & Adi Ganga (Tolly Nala) and Mahestala town.

Indigenously developed payment application BHIM (Bharat Interface for Money) celebrated its sixth anniversary.

BHIM App was launched on 30th December 2016 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

BHIM stands for Bharat Interface for Money.

It is a biometric payment systems app using the Aadhar platform and is based on a Unified Payment Interface (UPI) to facilitate e-payment directly through the bank.

It was named after the great Dalit leader Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) published a web publication on the activities of the Indian banking sector called "Statistical Tables relating to Banks in India: 2021-22".

The publication includes details of priority sector advances for scheduled commercial banks, except regional rural banks, together with entity-specific information on the main categories of liabilities and assets, along with their maturity profile, income, and expenses.

The consolidated balance statement of rural cooperative banks is also shown, broken down by state.

The publication may be viewed using the link “Time Series Publications” under the Database on Indian Economy.

Recently, the Union Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution issued a notification to provide free foodgrains (rice, wheat and coarse grains) to all eligible households under the National Food Security Act, 2013, for one year from January 1, 2023.

The government, however, discontinued the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana.

The Election Commission of India has developed a prototype of a remote electronic voting machine (RVM) for domestic migrant voters.

It has invited political parties for a demonstration.

If implemented, migrant voters do not need to travel to their home district to exercise their franchise and this will be a major move to increase voter participation.

Hockey Haryana’s women’s team won the Khelo India Youth Games 2022 Women’s Under 18 Qualifiers after defeating Madhya Pradesh (2-0) in the final at Bhubaneswar.

In the final match, Pooja and Gurmail Kaur scored a goal each for Haryana to end the contest in their favour.

Odisha stepped up to claim third place after beating Hockey Jharkhand 2-1 in the 3rd and 4th place encounter.

Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and Jharkhand have qualified for the Khelo India Youth Games (Women) to be held in Madhya Pradesh next year.

The Government of India sponsored the proposal for International Year of Millets (IYM) 2023 which was accepted by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

The declaration has been instrumental for the Government of India to be at the forefront in celebrating the IYM.

PM Narendra Modi has also shared his vision to make IYM 2023 a "People’s Movement" alongside positioning India as the "Global Hub for Millets".

In April 2018, Millets were rebranded as "Nutri Cereals", followed by the year 2018 being declared as the National Year of Millets, aiming at larger promotion and demand generation.

On 6th December 2022, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, organized an opening ceremony for the International Year of Millets – 2023 at Rome, Italy.

With respect to states, Chhattisgarh, Mizoram and Rajasthan have been allocated the month of January for carrying out specific activities for sensitization and promotion of IYM.

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.

He started his banking career as a probationary officer in 1991 with Allahabad Bank where he worked in various capacities in different parts of the country.

Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva took office for a third term as Brazil’s president.

Vowing to fight for the poor and the environment and "rebuild the country" after leader Jair Bolsonaro’s administration.

The 77-year-old veteran leftist, who previously led Brazil from 2003 to 2010, took the oath of office before Congress.

It is the first time since the end of Brazil’s 1965-1985 military dictatorship that an incoming leader has not received the yellow-and-green presidential sash from his predecessor.

Foreign dignitaries including 19 heads of state were in attendance as Lula.

Indian Space and Research Organization, National Centre for Earth Sciences and the Andhra University have researched and concluded that constant rip current zones at blue flag-certified Rushikonda beach and RK Beach have become a danger to the beach visitors.

Between 2012 to 2022 over 200 people drowned in the sea at various beaches in and around Visakhapatnam and 60 percent of deaths occurred in RK Beach.

The fifth volume of the Reserve Bank of India’s history is released.

This volume encompasses the 11-year period from 1997 to 2008.

With this volume, the history of the Reserve Bank of India is now updated up to 2008.

The Reserve Bank had initiated the process of preparation of this volume in 2015 under the guidance of an Advisory Committee chaired by Dr Narendra Jadhav, former Member of Parliament and former Principal Adviser & Chief Economist of the Reserve Bank.

Former World rapid champion Koneru Humpy produced a superlative performance to claim India’s first-ever silver medal from the World blitz chess championship that concluded in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

Humpy defeated China’s Zhongyi Tan to win Silver in the 17th and final round.

Fourth-seeded Humpy scored an impressive 12.5 points, just half a point behind the gold medal winner Bibisara Balabayeva of Kazakhstan.

Humpy is the second Indian to win a medal at World Blitz, after Viswanathan Anand.

The Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Rural Livelihood Mission (DAY-NRLM) has launched the Prajjwala Challenge.

The Prajjwala Challenge has been launched to invite ideas, solutions, and actions that can transform rural development.

India’s first underwater metro service, The Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation (KMRC) said that the East-West Metro Corridor project, will be completed by December 2023.

With this, another feather is being added to the crown of Kolkata Metro, the first metro railway in the country.

Kolkata Metro, which started its journey in 1984, is being expanded to cover the whole city and its outskirts.

The underwater metro, which will be running through the Hoogly river will connect the twin cities of Howrah and Kolkata.

On 1st January 2023, Croatia adopted the Euro and removed dozens of border checkpoints to become the 27th nation to join Europe’s passport-free travel area (world’s largest).

Adopting the euro will make travelling and doing business easier, removing the hassle of currency exchange for Croats going abroad.

Croatia joined the European Union in 2013, but to adopt the Euro it had to fulfil strict economic conditions (having a stable exchange rate, controlling inflation and sound public spending).

The list of Domestic Systemically Important Banks (D-SIBs) for 2021 was released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

The RBI continues to classify SBI, ICICI Bank, and HDFC Bank as Domestic Systemically Important Banks (D-SIBs), in accordance with the 2020 list of D-SIBs.

Coffee shipments from India, Asia’s third-largest producer and exporter, rose 1.66 per cent to 4 lakh tonne in 2022 on rise in instant coffee exports and re-exports.

In 2021, the coffee exports was stood at 3.93 lakh tonne.

In value terms, coffee export was higher at Rs 8,762.47 crore in 2022 as against Rs 6,984.67 crore in the previous year. India ships both Robusta and Arabica varieties, besides instant coffee.

According to the Board’s latest data, shipment of Robusta coffee declined marginally to 2,20,974 tonne in 2022 from 2,20,997 tonne in the previous year.

Union Home and Cooperation Minister Shri Amit Shah has laid the foundation stone of the Central Detective Training Institute (CDTI) at Devanahalli in Karnataka and inaugurated the residential and administrative complexes of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP).

The residential complexes of ITBP inaugurated by Shri Amit Shah include Residential Quarters, Joint Building, Barracks for 120 Jawans, Staff Officers’ Mess and Officers’ Mess.

CDTI would help in fulfilling all these objectives for the CAPFs as well as the police of neighboring States, which has been running since 1956.

Shri Amit Shah said the centers built in Kolkata, Hyderabad, Ghaziabad and Rajasthan have made huge contributions and now the Government of India will work towards bringing equality among all these centers through coordination and support of BPR&D.

The National Commission for Indian System of Medicine and the Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences have launched "SMART" (Scope for Mainstreaming Ayurveda Research in Teaching Professionals).

The program aimed to boost scientific research in priority healthcare research areas through Ayurveda colleges and hospitals.

These two prominent institutions under the Ministry of Ayush, Government of India regulating medical education and conducting scientific research respectively.

The proposed initiative is conceptualised with an objective to identify, support and promote innovative research ideas in healthcare research areas.

It includes Osteoarthritis, Iron Deficiency Anaemia, Chronic Bronchitis, Dyslipidemia, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Obesity, Diabetes Mellitus, Psoriasis, Generalised Anxiety Disorder and Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).

On the occasion of Chillai Kalan in the Kashmir Valley, 44 Bn CRPF organized a function "Jashn – e – Chillai Kalan" at HMT Complex, Zainakote, Srinagar.

During this competition, 54 participants (including 12 Female participants) from Schools/colleges & other educational institutions were present along with their guardians & teachers.

All the participants were awarded with appreciation certificates, prizes and the winners and runner ups of each event were awarded with the trophies.

Further winners and runner ups from each event will be nominated for grand competition that is to be organized subsequently.

Rishi Raj Sahay, Commandant 44 Bn, CRPF inaugurated the event.

Some popular festivals held in the Jammu region are Bahu Mela (celebrated from March to April and from September to October), Jhiri Mela (celebrated from October to November), and Purmandal Mela (a three-day fair).

Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) Headquarters in New Delhi has marked the 65th Foundation Day of the Organisation, which is celebrated on 1st January every year.

DRDO Chairman Dr S V Kamat addressed the DRDO fraternity on the occasion.

He reaffirmed DRDO’s commitment towards R&D excellence and briefed about the development of cutting edge technologies for self-reliance in defence.

On the occassion of the day, a DRDO monograph ’Infrared Signatures, Sensors and Technologies’ authored by Dr Kamal Nain Chopra, a former DRDO Scientist, was also released by the Chairman DRDO.

DRDO was established in 1958 after combining Technical Development Establishment (TDEs) of the Indian Army and the Directorate of Technical Development & Production (DTDP) with the Defence Science Organisation (DSO).

Starting with 10 laboratories, DRDO has now grown to a network of 52 laboratories which are deeply engaged in developing defence technologies covering various disciplines.

Former IAS officer Kaki Madhava Rao has authored a new book titled "Breaking Barriers: the Story of a Dalit Chief Secretary" which addresses the details about the dynamics of civil services at the ground level and also fills the gap in the knowledge about micro policies and governance.

The book is published by Emesco Books Private Limited.

K Madhava Rao is a 1962 batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, who retired as Chief Secretary of Andhra Pradesh (AP).

He was born in Pedamaddali village of Krishna district, AP in 1939.

He also served in the Reserve Bank of India(RBI) as a Director and as a member of a sub-committee, the Board for Financial Supervision.

Noted Rabindra Sangeet exponent, Sumitra Sen has passed away at the age of 89.

She will be remembered for her rendition of songs like Jokhon Porbe Na Mor, Sokhi Vabona Kahare Bole and Mone Ki Dwidha.

She was honoured with the Sangeet Mahasamman award by West Bengal government in 2012.

The Election Commission (EC) is focusing on 929 polling booths across Tripura, setting a target of 92 per cent voter turnout in the assembly elections due early this year.

These booths recorded a voter turnout of less than 89 per cent, which was the average across 3,328 booths in the 2018 assembly polls.

The EC is also working on ’Mission Zero Poll Violence’ to make the assembly elections peaceful.

According to the ECI, these booths recorded a voter turnout of less than 89 percent in the 2018 assembly polls.

Except for these booths almost all the booths in the state recorded a voter turnout of 91% or more.

The voter turnout was 89.5% in the 2018 Tripura assembly election.

Global Family Day is celebrated on January 1, each year.

The day creates a sense of unity, community and brotherhood across nations and cultures through the idea of families.

This day is celebrated to discourage unwarranted negative attitudes towards other cultures, nations, which may breed hatred, encourage social aloofness and lead to violence.

The day highlights the need for all nations to exist in harmony, regardless of cultural or religious differences.

The day highlights the importance of family and urges the extension of the idea to a universal scale.

Captain Shiva Chauhan from the Corps of Engineers has been posted at a frontline post in Siachen Glacier, in first such operational deployment of an woman Army officer at the world’s highest battlefield.

The officer was posted at the Kumar post, located at an altitude of around 15,600 feet in Siachen.

Capt Shiva Chouhan hails from Rajasthan, is a Bengal Sapper Officer. Chouhan lost her father at the age of 11 and her mother, a housewife, took care of her studies.

She did her schooling from Udaipur and graduated from NJR Institute of Technology, Udaipur, in civil engineering.

Covering a distance of 508 kms, Capt Chouhan successfully led the Sura Soi Cycling Expedition from Siachen War Memorial to Kargil War Memorial conducted on the occasion of Kargil Vijay Diwas in July 2022.

The Defence Ministry has started the process for the procurement of 100 more K9-Vajra tracked self-propelled howitzers which are built in India by Larsen & Toubro (L&T) using technology transferred from South Korean defence major Hanwha Defence.

At the height of tensions in eastern Ladakh in 2020, the Army deployed one regiment of K-9 Vajra tracked self-propelled howitzers there to augment its long-range fire power in the backdrop of a massive build-up of forces by China across the Line of Actual Control.

Buoyed by their performance, the Army is looking at eventually procuring 200 additional guns.

The induction of Dhanush, K-9 Vajra and M777 Ultra Light Howitzers has enhanced the reach of artillery firepower on the northern borders.

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu announced to set up of Rs 101 crore CM’s Sukhashraya Sahayata Kosh for the destitute in the state.

Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh has informed that 40 Congress MLAs agreed to contribute Rs one lakh each from their first salary for the fund and also requested the MLAs from BJP and other parties to contribute.

India’s first green hydrogen blending operation in the piped natural gas (PNG) network at NTPC Kawas, Gujarat.

The project is a joint effort of NTPC and Gujarat Gas (GCL).

The power generation company stated that the first molecular of green hydrogen from the project was set in motion by P Ram Prasad, Head of Project, Kawas in presence of other senior executives of NTPC Kawas and GCL.

Through video conferencing, Indian Science Congress’s 108th edition was officially inaugrated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University is hosting the five-day 108th session of ISC as it commemorates its centennial.

He emphasised the nation’s expanding energy requirements and urged the scientific community to develop any advances in the area that would help the nation.

Defence minister Rajnath Singh has inaugurated the Siyom bridge in Arunachal Pradesh, along with 27 other infrastructure projects completed by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO). Built at a cost of 724 crore rupees, these projects will hugely augment India’s border infrastructure, mostly along the Chinese border, from Ladakh to Arunachal. 21 other bridges, three roads and three additional infrastructure projects in Arunachal Pradesh, J&K, Ladakh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, Punjab and Rajasthan, were virtually inaugurated by Rajnath Singh from the Siyom bridge site. Singh also virtually inaugurated the 27 other projects of the BRO.

Out of these, eight have been constructed in Ladakh, four in Jammu and Kashmir, five in Arunachal Pradesh, three each in Sikkim, Punjab and Uttarakhand and two in Rajasthan.

The net profit of operating public sector enterprises jumped 50.87 per cent to 2.49 lakh crore during 2021-22, with ONGC, Indian Oil Corp, Power Grid, NTPC and SAIL emerging as the top five performers.

The net profit of operating central public sector enterprises (CPSEs) stood at 1.65 lakh crore in the previous fiscal. The Public Enterprises Survey 2021-22 also revealed that the net loss of loss-making CPSEs narrowed to 0.15 lakh crore in FY 2021-22 from 0.23 lakh crore in FY 2020-21, showing a decrease of 37.82 per cent. Major loss-making CPSEs include Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL), Mahanagar Telecom Nigam Ltd (MTNL), Air India Assets Holding Ltd, Eastern Coalfields Ltd and Alliance Air Aviation Ltd.

The top five CPSEs contributing to the central exchequer were Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd, Bharat Oman Refineries Ltd and Chennai Petroleum Corporation Ltd.

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. The EU Council Presidency is rotated every six months among EU Member States.

In recent years, India’s relations with Europe have qualitatively strengthened, with volatile international dynamics, including simultaneous tensions with China and the need for greater cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region, adding a renewed strategic element to the partnership.

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.

The committee has been formed with the goal of promoting inclusive development and employment generation in the region, as well as empowering the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Councils (LAHDCs) of Leh and Kargil. The committee will be chaired by Shri Nityanand Rai, Minister of State for Home Affairs. The establishment of the HPC reflects the Indian government’s commitment to addressing the concerns of the people of Ladakh and ensuring that the region’s unique culture and way of life are preserved.

With its strategic location and importance, Ladakh plays a vital role in the security and stability of the region, and the HPC will work to ensure that the needs of the people of Ladakh are met and that the region is able to contribute to the overall development of the country.

The Union Cabinet approved an initial outlay of Rs 19744 crore for the National Green Hydrogen Mission.

Addressing the nation on its 75th Independence Day in 2021, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a national mission for green fuels in line with the Centre’s stated target of making India energy-independent before completing 100 years of Independence.

The mission will have four components that aim at enhancing domestic production of green hydrogen and promote the manufacturing of electrolysers.

17th Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award: 27 Indians living overseas have been chosen by the Indian government for the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Awards (PBSA), for outstanding achievements both in India and abroad.

The award is the highest honour conferred upon Indians living abroad, including Non-Resident Indians (NRIs), Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) or organisations/institutions established and run by them.

Theme of 17th Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award -

As per the Ministry of External Affairs, the theme for Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2023 will be "Diaspora: Reliable Partners for India’s Progress in Amrit Kaal".

Folk singer Maithili Thakur was appointed the state icon for Bihar by the Election Commission.

The singer will create awareness among the voters for their participation in the electoral process.

This recognition will give her (Maithili) more impetus to spread Bihar’s folk music across continents and generate awareness about the importance of participating in the electoral process.

Odisha won the UN-Habitat’s World Habitat Awards 2023 for Jaga Mission, a 5T initiative of the state.

The awards recognise and highlight innovative, outstanding and revolutionary housing ideas, projects and programmes from across the world.

The Jaga mission is the land titling and slum upgrading program that aims at empowering the lives of slum dwellers.

Imoinu Day is celebrated in Manipur as a part of the Meitei Cultural ritual.

The traditional festival of Imoinu Day is celebrated on the 12th day of the Meitei Lunar Month of Wakching.

Every year on this day, people of the valley serve dishes in odd numbers as part of the Imoinu Eratpa ritual.

They regard Imoinu Eratpa as a goddess of health, prosperity, abundance, and order of domesticity in Manipur.

IIT Madras Centre of Excellence working with DRDO on Advanced Defence Technologies including Combat Vehicle Technologies.

Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) is operating a Research Centre dedicated to defence technologies jointly with the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to develop advanced technologies for the national defence and security needs of the nation.

It was established by DRDO but IIT Madras has now taken over and converted it into a centre of excellence.

This Centre will undertake multidisciplinary directed basic and applied research in the following research

Writer Ambikasuthan Mangad has been selected for Odakuzhal Award 2022 for his collection of short stories titled Pranavayu. The award consists of Rs 30,000, citation, and plaque.Instituted by the Guruvayurappan Trust, the award is being given for the best collection of short stories in Malayalam. The award will be presented on the occasion of the 45th death anniversary of Mahakavi G Sankara Kurup, who established the Guruvayurappan Trust, on February 2 at the Ernakulam Samastha Kerala Sahithya Parishad building here.

Literary critic Dr M Leelavathi will present the award to Ambikasuthan Mangad.

The President of India Droupadi Murmu inaugurated the 18th National Jamboree of the Bharat Scouts and Guides at Pali, Rajasthan on 4th January 2023.

The President of India noted that the Bharat Scouts and Guides is the largest voluntary, non-political, uniformed youth organization and educational movement in the country. The Bharat Scouts and Guides work for the character-building of boys and girls without any distinction of creed, race, or gender.

The organization is working with a spirit of dedication and service which promotes the welfare of humanity.

India has taken over the leadership of the Asia Pacific Postal Union (APPU) in January 2023.

Dr Vinaya Prakash Singh will take over the charge of Secretary General of the Union for a tenure of 4 years.

This is the result of the elections during the 13th APPU Congress held in August-September 2022.

Asian Pacific Postal Union -

There are 32 members in this international organisation from the Asia-Pacific.

It is a specific department inside the UN.

The sole Restricted Union of the Universal Postal in the area is this one.

The Asia Pacific Postal Union’s headquarters are in Bangkok, Thailand.

Indian Railways’ Varanasi Cantt Railway Station has been awarded a 5- star "Eat Right Station" certification for providing high-quality, nutritious food to passengers.

This certification is granted by Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) to railway stations adhering to standard food storage and hygiene practices.

The "Eat Right Station" certification is awarded by FSSAI to railway stations that set benchmarks in providing safe and wholesome food to passengers.

The station is awarded a certificate upon a conclusion of an FSSAI-empanelled third-party audit agency with ratings from 1 to 5.The 5-star rating indicates full compliance by the station to ensure safe and hygienic food is available to passengers.

The first G-20 meeting will be held in Puducherry on 31st January. The G20 logo for the meeting was released by Lieutenant Governor Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan at a function held at Beach Road Gandhi Tidal.

Dr Tamisai thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for giving all the states the opportunity to host the G-20 meetings. He released stickers, posters and badges and also inaugurated a selfie booth in the presence of Chief Minister Rengasamy.

These programs will be organised in different parts of the country in different segments.

Kolkata will host the first meeting on the Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion.

Thiruvananthapuram, Chennai will host a meeting on education, while Guwahati will host the first sustainable financial meeting and Chandigarh will host the first financial architecture meeting.

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has inaugurated one of the largest hockey stadiums in India Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium in Rourkela ahead of the Men’s Hockey World Cup 2023.Built at an estimated cost of Rs 261 crore, the stadium, located in Sundargarh district, has been christened as Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium Complex.It has been built in 50 acres in a record 15 months-time with a seating capacity of 20,000.

The stadium also has practice centres adjacent to it with certified turfs and lighting.

The State has also built a World Cup village, which has 225 rooms to house the players and officials, within nine months.

Australia’s Belinda Clark has become the first female cricketer to have a statue cast in her honour, a bronze sculpture of the trailblazing former captain unveiled outside Sydney Cricket Ground.Clark played 15 tests and over 100 limited overs matches between 1991-2005, and became the first cricketer to score a double-hundred in one-day internationals when she made an unbeaten 229 against Denmark in 1997.The 52-year-old’s statue stands alongside Richie Benaud, Fred Spofforth, Stan McCabe and Steve Waugh as cricketers honoured with sculptures in the SCG precinct.

Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh today inaugurated "National Genome Editing & Training Centre" at National Agri-food Biotechnology Institute (NABI) Mohali, Punjab.The Minister also, at the same time, inaugurated a 4-day International Conference on Food and Nutritional Security 2023.

International Conference on Food and Nutritional

A Medical book "Human Anatomy" in Hindi Manav sharir Rachna Vigyan was released by the Governor of Madhya Pradesh Shri Mangubhai Patel at the function which is a very useful book for the Medical students of all courses related to medical education written by Dr AK Dwivedi.

Dr AK Dwivedi is Homeopathic Doctor of Indore Professor & HOD Physiology SKRP Gujarati Homeopathic Medical College Indore and member of Scientific Advisory Board in the Central Council for Research in Homeopathy, Ministry of AYUSH (Govt. of India).

The Foreword (Preface) of this book has been written by Dr Mohan Yadav, Minister of Higher Education in Madhya Pradesh Government and President of Madhya Pradesh Hindi Granth Academy, Bhopal.

Assam Govt announces recipients of Asom Bhaibav, Asom Sourav and Asom Gourav awards for 2022-23. These awards are the highest civilian awards of Assam state.

The recipients of the state’s top civil honours for 2022–2023 were revealed by the Assam government.

The Assam government presented awards in the Asom Baibhav, Asom Sourav, and Asom Gourav categories.

Dr Tapan Saikia has been awarded by the Asom Baibhav, the highest civilian honour that the Assam government can bestow.

Asom Bhaibav Award - The Asom Baibav award winner will earn a monetary prize of Rs 5 lakhs and will be eligible to receive government-funded medical care for the rest of their lives.

Octave 2023 is a festival being held under the aegis of the South Zone Culture Centre, Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu to showcase the indigenous art and culture of Northeast India. Octave 2023 was inaugurated by Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi.

The Governor of Tamil Nadu said that the perspective of the nation towards the Northeast has changed with the passage of time and the state have involved in the growth stories of India. The Northeast is moving towards development and advancement and is bubbling with capacities and aspirations. Festivals of Tamil Nadu -

Pongal (harvest festival), Chithirai festival, Adipperukku, Mamallapuram, Natyanjali dance festival, Mahamagam festival, Kanthuri festival, Velankanni festival, Navarathiri, Karthigal Deepam.

Ministry of Jal Shakti organized the "1st All India Annual State Minister Conference on Water" with the theme of "Water Vis[email protected]" in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh on 5th and 6th January 2023.

Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Shivaraj Singh Chouhan, and Union Minister of Jal Shakti Gajendra Singh Shekhawat felicitated the occasion.

Pranesh M became India’s 79th Grandmaster, having completed his three norms prior to this event.

IM Pranesh M emerged as the winner of the Rilton Cup, the first tournament of the FIDE Circuit.

The 16-year-old from India, seeded 22nd, made a clean sweep of the field in Stockholm, winning eight games and finishing a full point ahead of IM Kaan Kucuksari (Sweden) and GM Nikita Meshkovs (Latvia).

Pranesh M is now the early leader of the FIDE Circuit with 6.8 circuit points that he gets for this victory.

The one who accumulates the most points by the end of the year qualifies for the 2024 FIDE Candidates.

Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and Microsoft signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to help Indian Space tech start-ups with technology tools, go-to-market support, and mentoring to help them scale and become business ready.

Through this MoU, the space tech startups identified by ISRO will be onboarded onto the Microsoft for Startups Founders Hub.

With the help of Microsoft for Startups Founders Hub, space tech startup founders in India will have free access to the tech tools, and resources they need to build and run their businesses.

Microsoft and ISRO will also jointly organize knowledge-sharing and thought leadership sessions for the startups with space industry experts.

The collaboration will also support founders with go-to-market strategies, technical support, and opportunities to sell their solutions via Microsoft channels and the marketplace.

ISRO Chairman S Somanath said that ISROs collaborating with Microsoft will greatly benefit space tech startups in their analysis and processing of vast amounts of satellite data for various applications.

Parliamentarian and author, Shashi Tharoor’s latest book Ambedkar: A Life was recently launched at the Kitaab Kolkata event.

In this new biography, Tharoor tells Ambedkar’s story with great lucidity, insight, and admiration.

He traces the arc of the great man’s life from his birth into a family of Mahars in the Bombay Presidency on 14 April 1891 to his death in Delhi on 6 December 1956.

He describes the many humiliations and hurdles Ambedkar had to overcome in a society that stigmatized the community he was born into, and the single-minded determination with which he overcame every obstacle he encountered.

General Atomic Aeronautical Systems Inc. (GA-ASI) and Bharat Forge Limited, India have announced a partnership to manufacture main landing gear components, subassemblies, and assemblies of remotely piloted aircraft.

Bharat Forge is the largest repository of metallurgical know-how, design, engineering expertise, and manufacturing prowess in India.

The first-ever ABB FIA Formula E World Championship race in India is will be held in Hyderabad.

The Formula E World Championship will be held from 11th February.

The first ticket for the Formula E World Championship was booked by Telangana Special Chief Secretary (Municipal Administration) Arvind Kumar. During the event, Akbar Ebrahim, President Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India, and other dignitaries were also present.

India’s economy is expected to grow 7.0% in the current financial year, according to the first advance estimates by the National Statistical Office (NSO).

New Delhi had pegged India’s growth at 8.7% in the last fiscal year that ended March 31, 2022.

Earlier last month, the Reserve Bank of India had lowered the country’s GDP (gross domestic product) growth forecast to 6.8 per cent for the current fiscal from 7 per cent earlier.

The RBI had projected the real GDP growth for 2022-23 at 6.8 per cent, with the third quarter at 4.4 per cent and the fourth at 4.2 per cent.

The Purple Fest, Celebrating Diversity, the state’s first-ever inclusive festival for people with disabilities (PwDs), will take place in Goa. Panjim will host the festival from January 6–8, 2023, with all the fanfare.

The Goa State Commission for Persons with Disabilities, in collaboration with the Goa Directorate of Social Welfare and Entertainment Society, will hold the Purple Fest.

According to the Ministry of Communications, Vinaya Prakash Singh, a former Member (Personnel), Postal Services Board, was elected as the union’s Secretary General and will assume responsibility for the position for a four-year term following the successful elections held during the 13th APPU Congress, which was held in Bangkok during the months of August and September 2022.

The Asian Pacific Postal Union (APPU), which has its headquarters in Bangkok, Thailand, will be led by India starting this month

An international group of 32 Asia-Pacific nations makes up the Asian Pacific Postal Union (APPU).

The only restricted union of the Universal Postal Union (UPU), a specialised organisation of the United Nations, in the area is the APPU.

Union Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry, and Dairying Parshottam Rupala inaugurated 29 Mobile Veterinary Units (MVU) and a Centralized call center in Thiruvananthapuram. It is a major step for benefit of the livestock farmers in Kerala.

The Minister noted that the scheme is promising and will transform the dairy sector from a subsistence-based farm livelihood to a commercially viable enterprise by giving gainful employment to the youth of Kerala.

These MVUs will be operated through a centralized call center with a uniform helpline No. 1962.

They will receive calls from livestock rearers or animal owners and veterinarians will prioritize all cases based on the emergency nature.

It will transmit them to the nearest MVU for attending at the farmer’s doorstep.

Kerala is deploying 50 MVUs in different districts.

According to a survey by Avtar, a company that specializes in workplace inclusion, Chennai is India’s top city for women’s employment. Pune, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Mumbai are the next best cities for women’s employment.

According to criteria that support an ecosystem that is favourable for women’s employment, the research ranks 111 cities.

The remaining Top 10 cities for women’s employment are Ahmedabad, Visakhapatnam, Kolkata, Coimbatore, and Madurai; each has a population of over a million people.

In another group of cities with a population under one million, Tiruchirappalli, Vellore, Erode, Salem, Tirupur, Puducherry, Shimla, Mangalore (officially Mangaluru), Thiruvananthapuram, and Belagavi are the top 10 cities.

Revolutionaries, New Book by Sanjeev Sanyal: There are numerous viewpoints on history, and a lot of them are influenced by the author and his or her ideological goals.

Key Points -

The history that has been forced on Indians, who have lived under British colonial authority for more than 200 years and have been subject to constant outside aggression since the 11th century, is also not their own.

Herein lies the significance of Sanjeev Sanyal, an economist and banker by trade, who wrote The Ocean of Churn to refute the widely held belief that the seas played a little role in Indian history.

There were undoubtedly many other aspects to the Indian freedom movement, but the one that emphasises that it was predominately non-violent and that Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru, among others, provided the leadership, continues to be the dominant one.

In a major development, India has surpassed Japan in terms of auto sales last year to become the third-largest auto market globally for the first time.

India’s total sales of new vehicles stood at around 4.25 million units, based on preliminary results, topping the 4.2 million sold in Japan.

While new vehicles that got delivered in India totaled 4.13 million during the period of January – November 2022, according to Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers’ data, December’s sales volume reported by Maruti Suzuki, India’s largest carmaker, led the total to hit the 4.25 million units mark.

The figure for sales of new vehicles in India may witness even bigger rise as the country further expects inclusion of pending fourth-quarter sales data for commercial vehicles, along with year-end results yet to be released by Tata Motors and other automakers.

In 2021, China continued to lead the global auto market, with 26.27 million vehicles sold. The US remained second at 15.4 million vehicles, followed by Japan at 4.44 million units.

The COVID-19 epidemic created a difficult operational environment last year, causing delays, interruptions, and resource issues at numerous airports and airlines around the globe.

According to the most recent Cirium Aviation Analytics study, a number of airports worldwide thrived despite this environment.

Bangalore’s Kempegoda International Airport and Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport both ranked second and seventh in Cirium’s list of the world’s best-performing airports for 2022.

According to the data, 84.08% of the 201,897 flights that departed on time from Bangalore’s Kempegoda International Airport and 81.84% of the 411,205 flights that departed on time from Delhi’s IGI Airport.

Mysuru and Hampi are the two popular destinations in Karnataka to be promoted as a part of the new Tourism policy "The Swadesh Darshan 2.0 Scheme, which focuses on revving up destination tourism.

Mysuru and Hampi are among the 19 places identified across the eight states and UTs in India to be promoted under the Swadesh Darshan 2.0 Scheme.

This destination has seen high football throughout the years and played an important role in the history of South India.

Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (POWERGRID) has been ranked 1st in Services Sectors across categories Gross Block, Value Addition, Net Profit, Net Worth, Dividend Declaration, and Contribution to the Central Exchequer and has also been ranked 3rd among the Top 10 profit-making Closes.

The results were published in the Public Enterprises Survey 2021-2022 by the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE), Ministry of Finance, Government of India.

The Harvard Law School Center on the Legal Profession (HLS CLP) has announced Chief Justice of India Dr DY Chandrachud as the 2022 recipient of its "Award for Global Leadership" in recognition of his lifetime service to the legal profession in India and across the world.

The award will be presented to him in a virtual event on 11th January 2023.

Senior leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and former West Bengal governor, Keshari Nath Tripathi passed away at 88.Born on November 10, 1934 in erstwhile Allahabad, Tripathi was also a senior advocate at the Allahabad High Court. He joined RSS when he was just 12 and later switched to Bharatiya Jana Sangh.

He was jailed in Naini Central Jail in 1953 for participating in the "Kashmir Andolan" and again in 1990 for taking part in the Ram Janmabhoomi movement.

A senior advocate of Allahabad high court, Tripathi served as a member of the UP Legislative Assembly six times. He represented the Jhunsi seat between 1977-1980) and Allahabad South seat for five consecutive terms between 1989-2007). He also served as the Speaker of the UP Legislative Assembly thrice between 1991 and 2004.

President Droupadi Murmu laid the foundation stone of state-owned energy firm SJVN’s 1,000 MV Bikaner Solar Power Project. The event was done virtually by the President of India in Jaipur, Rajasthan. The project is being implemented by SJVN Limited through its owned subsidiary SJVN Green Energy Limited (SGEL).

The solar power project is being developed on 500 acres near the village of Banderwala, district Bikaner of Rajasthan. It is one of the highest solar yield areas in India.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan declared Kerala as the first state in the country to go fully digital in its banking service and said this recognition would boost the state economy.

Vijayan said this achievement was possible due to social interventions through local self-government institutions along with infrastructure development and technological advances in the banking sector.

It is a joint venture between the Kerala State Information Technology Infrastructure Ltd (KSITIL), Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) and the state, in which the two companies hold 49% each and the state the remaining 2%.

A consortium led by Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) is executing the project and will be responsible for the operation and maintenance of the 35,000-km-long network for the next seven years.

Funded by the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB), the project is estimated to cost Rs 1028.20 crore, which includes capital expenditure, administrative overheads and annual operational expenditure of Rs 104.4 crore.

ICICI Prudential Life Insurance has announced the launch of its ’360° Financial Protection with ICICI Prudential Life Insurance’ digital-first campaign featuring cricketer Suryakumar Yadav.

According to the company, Yadav has emerged as a consistent and dependable batter in the white ball format since his international debut.

The campaign’s central message is how ICICI Prudential Life Insurance offers a comprehensive suite of protection products providing all-around life cover that offers 360-degree financial protection in any critical situation.

Since his international debut, Suryakumar Yadav has quickly risen to emerge as one of the most consistent and dependable batters in the white ball format.

Union Health and Family Welfare and Chemicals and Fertilizers Minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya announced that India’s first-ever coal gasification-based Talcher Fertilizer Plant in Odisha will be ready to be dedicated to the nation by October 2024.

Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya visited the site on the second day and noted that the work in the plant in Talcher is in progress.

Chetan Sharma was reappointed as the chairman of the senior selection committee, exactly two months after his entire panel was disbanded by the BCCI for the Indian team’s semifinal exit in the T20 World Cup.

Salil Ankola, Shiv Sunar Das, Subroto Banerjee and Sridharan Sharath are new members of the selection committee.

The new committee has been picked by the Cricket Advisory Committee comprising Ashok Malhotra, Jatin Paranjape and Sulakshana Naik.

The committee further recommended Chetan Sharma for the role of Chairman of the senior men’s selection committee.

Salil Ankola, the former chief selector of the Mumbai cricket team, played 20 ODIs and 1 Test match between 1989 to 1997.

His Test debut came along with Sachin Tendulkar against Pakistan in 1989.

A domestic cricket veteran, Shiv Sundar Das played 23 Tests and scored 1326 runs. He also donned 4 ODI caps.

Das finished his first-class career with mammoth 10908 runs in 180 matches. He has worked with the Indian women’s cricket team as the batting coach.

Paytm Payments Bank has received banking regulator RBI’s nod to appoint Surinder Chawla as its Managing Director and CEO.

The RBI, however, continues to bar Paytm Payments Bank from on-boarding new customers.

Before joining PPBL, Chawla was working with RBL Bank, where he served as Head – Branch Banking and focused on expanding the CASA base, fee revenue, and cross-selling across channels.

The company in its regulatory filing said that the latest appointment comes as part of PPBL’s ongoing efforts to strengthen its leadership team, enhance its technology capabilities and drive financial inclusion in the country.

World Hindi Day or Vishwa Hindi Diwas is celebrated on 10th January every year to promote awareness about the language across the world.

It is also the day when Hindi, India’s national language, was spoken for the first time in the United Nations General Assembly.

It was on this day in 1975 that the first World Hindi Conference was held in Nagpur.

Since then, such conferences are organised in different parts of the world every year.

Former Chief Justice of India and member of the Rajya Sabha Ranjan Gogoi has released a book titled "Chief Minister’s Diary No.1" containing the account of events of the first year in office of Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.

The book featured accounts of daily activities he undertook as a chief minister.

Ranjan Gogoi is presently a member of the Rajya Sabha.

He served as the 46th Chief Justice of India for 13 months from 2018 to 2019.

University of Kerala bagged the ’Overall Championship’ at Padma Tarang, the 36th Inter University South Zone Youth Festival at Sri Padmavati Mahila Viswa Vidyalayam (SPMVV) in Tirupati. Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam, came the runners-up. With more than 700 registered participants from universities across South India converging on the campus.

The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry is organising Startup India Innovation Week from 10th January 2023 to 16th January 2023 to celebrate the Indian Startup Ecosystem as well as National Startup Day (16th January 2023).

Startup India Innovation Week 2023 aims to engage startup ecosystem stakeholders across the nation during 10th January-16th January 2023 and spur the spirit of entrepreneurship and innovation in India.

India will host "The Voice of Global South" Summit on January 12-13, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said.

As many as 120 countries will participate in the summit.

The virtual summit is significant as India currently holds the presidency of the G20 group and Prime Minister Narendra Modi had earlier indicated that priorities would be shaped in consultation with developing countries.

Indian Tennis Player Sania Mirza (36-year-old), the former doubles World No 1 , has confirmed her retirement from professional Tennis.

She announced that the Dubai Tennis Championships, a Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) 1000 event in Dubai in February 2023 will be her last match.

Prior to her last appearance, she is going to play in women’s doubles at the Australian Open in 16 to 29 January 2023 alongside Kazakhstan’s Anna Danilina.

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel celebrated the Cherchera festival at Dudhadhari Math in Raipur, Chhattisgarh.

The Cherchera festival of Chhattisgarh is celebrated on the full moon night of the "Paush" Hindu calendar month.

It is to celebrate the happiness and joy of taking crops to their homes after cultivation.

Chief Minister Baghel extended warm wishes to all the citizens of Chhattisgarh on the auspicious occasion.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah inaugurated a 120-foot-tall statue of a polo player riding a polo at Marjing Polo Complex in Imphal, Manipur.

Manipur is known as the birthplace of the game polo.

Chief Minister of Manipur N Biren Singh was also present during the inauguration ceremony and gave a polo mallet and a painting of the game to Home Minister Amit Shah.

The union Home minister will proceed to Churachandpur, where he will inaugurate the hill district’s first medical college and hospital.

He will proceed to Moirang in the Bishnupur district, where he will hoist the National Flag and address the public.

Gareth Bale has announced his retirement from professional football at the age of 33.

It brings an end to a career that saw Bale excel for Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur, Real Madrid and LAFC, while also establishing himself as one of the greatest players in Welsh football history.

Bale, who made his Wales debut in May 2006 in a friendly against Trinidad and Tobago, broke the previous Wales record of 28 goals set by Ian Rush. He has won Wales’ player of the year award six times.

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 in their first World Cup since 1958 at Qatar 2022.

Professor Rehman Rahi, renowned poet and Kashmir’s first Jnanpith awardee has passed away.

At the time of his death, the globally acclaimed poet was 98 years old.

He had started his career as a clerk in a government department in 1948 after which he continued his education and completed MA in Persian and English in 1950s and 60s.

He was an academic at Kashmir University for most part of his life.

Rahi had received the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1961 for his poetry collection Nawroz-i-Saba and got the Padma Shri in 2000.

He received the highest literary honour of the country — Jnanpith award — in 2007 for his collection ’Siyah Rood Jaeren Manz’ (In Black Drizzle).

The 80th edition of 2023 Golden Globes show, hosted by Jerrod Carmichael, airs live on NBC and Peacock.

The 80th Golden Globe Awards is the first edition of the annual spectacle to be on TV since an ethics, finance and diversity scandal involving the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the group behind the awards, led NBC to decide not to air the 2022 ceremony.

As in years past, the show will hand out honors in both film and TV categories.

Fintech platform BharatPe said it has received in-principle authorisation from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to operate as an online payment aggregator (PA).

The company said that an in-principle nod was awarded to Resilient Payments Private Ltd, a 100 percent subsidiary of Resilient Innovations Private Ltd (BharatPe).

Suryakumar Yadav has become the fastest player to reach 1,500 runs in T20 International cricket in terms of balls faced.The took only 843 balls to reach this landmark.

In 45 matches and 43 innings, Suryakumar has scored 1,578 runs at an average of 46.41.

He has three centuries and 13 half-centuries in the format, with the best individual score of 117.

However, he is the third-fastest batter to reach the 1,500-run mark in terms of innings.

The fastest batters to reach this landmark are Indian batter Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Australian veteran Aaron Finch and Pakistan skipper Babar Azam, who all took 39 innings to score 1,500 runs in T20 International cricket.

Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter Mohammed Rizwan reached the milestone in 42 innings and Suryakumar did so in 43 innings.

e-NAM, a flagship initiative of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, has won the Platinum Award in the Digital Empowerment of Citizens Category in Digital India Awards 2022 held in New Delhi.

The President of India, Smt Droupadi Murmu has conferred the Digital India Awards, 2022.

Anurag Kumar was appointed as the Chairman and Managing Director of Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL). The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved Kumar’s appointment to the post till the date of his superannuation i.e 31-01-2026.

Kumar comes with several years of extensive experience in Project Management, Strategy Development & Implementation and Strategic Planning.

Over the years, he has garnered experience across diverse verticals including ITES, Telecom and Mass Manufacturing sectors, in areas such as business development, corporate planning and strategy, new market entry, commercial management and negotiations, and engineering and operations management.

According to the latest Henley Passport Index, Japan has retained its position as the most favourible passport in the world, allowing visa-free entry to 193 global destinations, which the country tops for the fifth consecutive year.

Singapore and South Korea came in a joint second on the ranking, followed by Germany and Spain, and then a slew of other European nations.

The Indian passport was ranked 85th, giving visa-free entry to 59 destinations worldwide.

In 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022, the country ranked at 82nd spot, 84th, 85th and 83rd respectively.

Indian passport holders can travel visa-free to 59 destinations like Bhutan, Indonesia, Macao, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Kenya, Mauritius, Seychelles, Zimbabwe, Uganda, Iran and Qatar. However, some countries require visa-on-arrival.

India and Panama have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to encourage cooperation in the training of diplomats.

The MoU between India and Panama was signed by the External Affairs Minister of India Dr Subramanyam Jaishankar and the Foreign Minister of Panama Janaina Tewaney Mencomon.

The MoU was signed in Indore and the External Affairs Minister has noted that they have discussed the opportunities for greater economic, health, finance, and people-to-people linkage. Both leaders have also shared their perspectives on global situations.

Union Minister of State Science and Technology, Dr. Jitendra Singh released the theme for the "National Science Day 2023", titled "Global Science for Global Wellbeing" at National Media Centre.

India’s first female pilot, Avani Chaturvedi, to pilot an Indian Sukhoi fighter jet in aerial wargames in Japan.

For the first time, female officers would be travelling abroad to represent the nation.

Two of the female fighter pilots participated in the French Air Force’s wargames with the female officers as part of foreign contingents visiting India.

From January 16 to January 26, Veer Guardian 2023 will take conducted in Japan at the Sayama Iruma Air Base, Omitama Hyakuri Air Base, and surrounding airspace.

According to Avani Chaturvedi’s classmate and one of the first three female fighter pilots, Squadron Leader

Bhawana Kanth, the Su-30MKIs employed by the Indian Air Force are among the best and most deadly platforms equipped with homegrown weapon systems.

Veer Guardian 2023 will be held in Japan from January 16 to January 26 at Sayama Iruma Air Base, Omitama Hyakuri Air Base, and adjoining airspace.

In an effort to shore up the air defence systems all along the Line of Actual Control(LAC) facing China, the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) cleared the proposal for procurement of VSHORAD (IR Homing) missile system under design and development by the Defence Research and Development Organisation(DRDO).

In view of the recent developments along the Northern borders(China) there is a need to focus on effective Air Defence (AD) weapon systems which are man portable and can be deployed quickly in rugged terrain and maritime domain.

Procurement of VSHORAD, as a robust and quickly deployable system, will strengthen the Air Defence capabilities.

France team captain Hugo Lloris has announced his decision to retire from international football at the age of 36.

Lloris represented France in four World Cups and three Euros and captained Les Blues to the World Cup trophy in 2018.

The Tottenham Hotspur shotstopper led his team to the World Cup final in Qatar, where they were beaten by Argentina on penalties.

The 36-year-old holds many records and is France’s most capped player with 145 appearances to his name.

Lloris made his debut for Les Blues back in November 2008.

He was handed the armband two years after his international debut and would go on to captain France in 121 matches.

An Indian-American aerospace industry expert has been appointed as NASA’s new chief technologist to serve as principal advisor to Administrator Bill Nelson on technology policy and programmes at the space agency’s headquarters.

AC Charania joined the space agency in his new role on January 3.

He replaces another Indian-American scientist Bhavya Lal, who served as acting chief technologist prior to the former’s appointment.

Prior to joining NASA, he served as vice president of product strategy at Reliable Robotics, a firm that works to bring certified autonomous vehicles to commercial aviation.

His previous experience also includes working at Blue Origin to mature its lunar permanence strategy, Blue Moon lunar lander program, and multiple technology initiatives with NASA.

The Japan Air Self Defense Force (JASDF) and the Indian Air Force will participate in the joint air exercise "Veer Guardian-2023" starting on January 12 at Hyakuri Air Base in Japan.

Jadunama, a book written on veteran writer-lyricist Javed Akhtar by Arvind Mandloi, was released.

Jadunama is about a writer, poet, lyricist, and political activist.

It is also about this one man’s struggle since childhood to become what he is today and to create a hallmark of success in everything he does.

Javed Akhtar was recipient of several awards during his lifetime, notable among those being the Padma Shri (1999); Awadh Samman Uttar Pradesh (2001); the Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Ekta Puraskar (2005); and the Padma Bhushan (2007).

The 23rd of January 2023 will see the Aadi Shaurya – Parv Parakram Ka Tribal Dance Festival and Military Tattoo at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi.

The two-day celebration, according to the Defence Ministry, would display the strength of the Armed Forces and the cultural beauty of India’s tribal cultures.

Caste surveys have been started by the Bihar government in several regions of the State.

Nitish Kumar, the chief minister, made it clear that only castes, not subcastes, as well as the economic standing of each household, would be categorized.

Uttarakhand Governor Lt Gen Gurmit Singh (retd) has approved the 30 percent horizontal reservation to domicile women of the state in the government jobs bill.

The state assembly of Uttarakhand passed the Uttarakhand Public Services (Horizontal Reservation for women) Bill on 29th November 2022.

The consent of the Governor has now made the bill into an act. The Uttarakhand Public Services (Horizontal Reservation for women) Bill 2022 provides women of the state with 30 percent horizontal reservation in public sectors and posts. The beneficiaries need to be women with a domicile certificate of Uttarakhand.

According to the Bill, if enough women are not available to fill the reserved seats, they will be filled with qualified male candidates in the order of proficiency.

Horizontal Reservation refers to the equal opportunity provided to other categories of beneficiaries such as women, the transgender community, or individuals with disabilities.

The vertical reservation applies separately for each of the groups specified under the law, the horizontal reservation is always applied separately to each vertical category.

The 28th edition of Saarang, India’s largest student-run festival begins at IIT Madras on 11th January 2023.

Saarang 2023 will feature more than 100 events with participation from 500 colleges across the country.

The Saarang 2023 is one of the largest student-run festivals held completely in physical mode.

It is expected to see over 80,000 people at the festival.

The fest will be held till 15th January 2023.

The Union Cabinet has approved the incentive scheme for the promotion of RuPay Debit Cards and low-value BHIM-UPI transactions (person-to-merchant) for the current financial year.

The approved incentive scheme for promotion of RuPay Debit Cards and low-value BHIM-UPI transactions (P2M) in FY 2022-23 has a financial outlay of Rs 2600

crore.

Under the said scheme, acquiring banks will be provided financial incentive, for promoting Point-of-Sale (PoS) and e-commerce transactions using RuPay Debit Cards and low-value BHIM-UPI transactions (P2M) for the current financial year FY 2022-23.

In the financial year 2021-22, the government had approved an incentive scheme in compliance with the budget announcement of FY22 to give a further boost to digital transactions.

Senior IAS Officer A Santhi Kumari has been appointed as the new Chief Secretary of Telangana.

Santhi Kumari took charge as the first women Chief Secretary of the State at the Secretariat in BRK Bhavan.

Santhi Kumari will take charge over incumbent Somesh Kumar, who was relieved from the Telangana government by the Union Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT).

Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with chapters of 8 countries of the Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO) at the 17th Pravasi Bhartiya Divas convention.

The event was held at MP Tourism Pavilion at Brilliant Convention Centre in Indore.

The MoUs were signed with France Metropole Paris, Mauritius, Reunion Island, Martinique, Sri Lanka, GOPOI International, Malaysia, and Mauritius.

The MoU was signed by Principal Secretary of Tourism and Culture and Managing Director of Tourism Board Sheo Shekhar Shukla on behalf of the Tourism Board and Presidents of 8 countries of GOPIO.

The MoUs have been executed to boost cooperation in the development of the tourism sector of the state, promotion, and publicity of tourist places.

The MoU aims to strengthen, promote and develop cooperation in research, promotion, and tourism development.

Central Mine Planning and Design Institute Limited (CMPDIL) has invented a "System and Method for Controlling Generation and Movement of Fugitive Dust" and obtained a patent for the same in December 2022.

This system is developed to be used in mines, thermal power plants, railway sidings, ports, and construction sites where coal and other minerals or fugitive materials are stored in the open sky.

The system will reduce the dust generation from open source as well as provide noise attenuation.

Coal/Lignite PSUs under the Ministry of Coal consistently strive to produce quality coal in an environmentally responsible manner to meet the energy needs of the country.

Coal/Lignite PSUs are adopting various measures to prevent or mitigate air pollution caused by coal mining and allied activities.

The present invention is related to the synchronized application of windbreaks (WB) and vertical greenery systems (VGS) for reducing the generation and dispersion of fugitive dust.

Recently, the Human Rights Watch in its World Report 2023 (33rd edition) said that Indian authorities had “intensified and broadened” their crackdown on activist groups and the media throughout year 2022.

It also claimed that the current Central ruling party used abusive and discriminatory policies to repress minorities.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organisation founded in 1978 as “Helsinki Watch,” initially aimed at investigating rights abuses in countries that signed the Helsinki Accords.

Currently, its ambit has expanded to about 100 countries worldwide.

It is headquartered in New York City.

Helsinki Accords (1975) was a major diplomatic agreement signed in Helsinki, Finland, at the conclusion of the first Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe (now Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe).

Recently, the Prime Minister of India flagged off the world’s longest river cruise, MV Ganga Vilas in Varanasi.

During the event, the Prime Minister also inaugurated Tent City in Varanasi and laid the foundation stones for several other inland waterways projects.

The cruise will be managed by private operators, the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI), under the Ministry of Shipping, Ports and Waterways (MoPSW) has supported the project.

It will explore forty historic sites on the banks of the river Ganga including, Mahabodhi temple, Hazarduari Palace, Katra Masjid, Bodh Gaya, Chandanagar church, Char Bangla Temple and more.

Besides connecting National Waterway 1 (NW-1) which includes Ganga and National Waterway 2 (NW-2) on Brahmaputra, the cruise will cross 27 river systems.

For the first time in India, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has specified the identity standards for Basmati Rice which will be enforced with effect from 01 August 2023.

Basmati has its origin from India (and some parts of Pakistan); it is a premium variety of rice cultivated in the Himalayan foothills of the Indian subcontinent.

It is universally known for its long grain size, fluffy texture and unique inherent aroma and flavour.

It is cultivated in Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, UT of Jammu and Kashmir and western Uttar Pradesh.

IT giant Cognizant has announced Ravi Kumar as its new Chief Executive Officer, replacing the outgoing Brian Humphries, effective immediately.

He was the president and COO of Infosys until October 2022, before leaving the company to join Cognizant the following week as President of Cognizant Americas.

Mr Humphries had resigned from the post that he held for four years, a move that has been linked to Cognizant’s recent underperformance, including revenue decline in the third quarter of 2022.

The United Arab Emirates has named a veteran technocrat who both leads Abu Dhabi’s state-run oil company and oversees its renewable energy efforts to preside over the upcoming United Nations climate negotiations in Dubai.

Emirati authorities nominated Sultan al-Jaber, a confidant of UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who serves as CEO of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Co.

The phased roll-out of E20 (20 per cent ethanol blending in gasoline) will begin on April 1, Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri has said. The fuel will be available at select outlets and will not require changes to car engines.

The proposed roll-out will give further impetus to the government’s plans of achieving the level of 20 per cent ethanol blending in the overall petrol supply in the country by ethanol supply year 2025-2026.

India has increased the ethanol blending in petrol from 1.53 per cent in 2013-14 to 10.17 per cent in 2022.

To achieve 20 per cent blending by 2025, the country

needs 10.2-11 billion litres of ethanol.

This would require a production capacity of around 14.5 billion litres because some production has to be kept aside for starch and chemical industry.

State Bank of India (SBI) has launched e-Bank Guarantee (e-BG) facility in association with National e-Governance Services Limited (NeSL).

India’s largest lender said this facility will bring about a revolutionary change in the banking ecosystem, where bank guarantee is frequently used in large volumes.

By using the NeSL’s platform, the bank customers and other beneficiaries will instantly get an e-Bank Guarantee without additional verification

NeSL’s Digital Document Execution (DDE) platform, which provides e-Stamp and e-Sign functions, will facilitate the e-Bank Guarantee process.

Beneficiaries will instantly receive an e-Bank Guarantee on NeSL’s platform without further verification.

Currently, the bank issues these guarantees with physical stamping and wet signatures.

The introduction of e-BG will replace this function with e-stamping and e-signature.

The Armed Forces Veterans Day is celebrated on 14th January since 1953, the First Indian Commander in Chief (C-in-C) of Indian Army- Field Marshal KM Cariappa, who led Indian Forces to Victory in the 1947 war, had formally retired from the Services.

The Day is celebrated as Armed Forces Veterans Day and dedicated to our esteemed Veterans.

The First Armed Forces Veterans Day was celebrated on January, 14, 2016 and it was decided to commemorate this day every year by hosting such interactive events in the honor of our Armed Forces Veterans and their families.

This year 7th Armed Forces Veterans Day celebrates on 2023

Indian army day 2023 is celebrated on 15th January 2023 and it mark the 75th anniversary of the Indian army day.

Every year on January 15, India celebrates its Army Day. It is the day on which Field Marshal Kodandera M Cariappa (then a Lieutenant General) took over as the first CommanderinChief of the Indian Army from the last British CommanderinChief of India, General Fransis Bucher in the year 1949.

Parades, medal presenting and other ceremonies are organized to celebrate the Army Day.

With "Service before self" as its motto, the Indian Army is the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces.

Originally, the Indian army was formed under the British rule on April 1, 1895 and was called as British Indian Army.

After India got its independence in the year 1947, it was only on January 15, 1949, when the country got its first Indian chief.

Lt Gen K M Carriappa took over as commanderinchief of the Indian Army in 1949 from General Francis Butcher, the last British commanderinchief ofIndia.

The transfer of power from the British to India signifies an important moment in the Indian history and is celebrated as Army Day.

This day also also honors the soldiers who have sacrificed their lives for the country.

Mongeet is a festival of music, poetry, art, craft, food, culinary techniques, indigenous herbs, and culture celebrated in Majuli, Assam.

The Mongeet festival started in the year 2020 as a movement of arts and music and it aims to nurture the upcoming musical talents of Assam.

It was started by actor Adil Hussain and Kaushik Nath, an actor-director-turned-entrepreneur.

Mongeet festival will be held on 15th, 16th, and 17th January at Dekasang, Majuli and on 19th and 20th January at Dekasang, Sadiya.

This edition of the Mongeet festival will witness Montulika, a creative painting workshop, and Monmritikka, a special workshop on the rich art and sculpture of Assam.

It is the only festival from Assam that is designed to promote music, art, culture, and food.

This Festival aims to educate people about the culture of Assam and introduce the rich musicians of the state to the world.

The ’Saharsh’ was launched in 40 schools of the state on a pilot basis in August last year.

This year, it will be extended to all government and aided schools in Tripura from the second week of January.

A similar program, which was found to be effective in social and economic development in research studies of Harvard and Columbia Universities is being contextualized with local realities of India before being implemented in Tripura.

On the inauguration of the 49th state-level science, mathematics, and environment exhibition, Education Minister Ratan Lal Nath informed that the state government has been working to make Tripura self-reliant and prosperous.

The school education department has introduced 36 reforms in the last five years and the higher education department has 19 reforms.

The ’Saharsh’ initiative is aimed at empowering children to learn with happiness.

The state government has trained 204 schools for the ’Saharsh’ curriculum while 200 more will be trained in the future.

Indian Coast Guard (ICG) ship "Kamla Devi" the Fast Patrol Vessel (FPV) which is designed, built, and delivered by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) Ltd to Indian Coast Guard was commissioned in Kolkata, West Bengal.

Indian Coast Guard ship Kamla Devi is officially the fifth and last vessel of the series of FPVs designed and built by GRSE as per the specifications of the Indian Coast Guard.

Falak Mumtaz, an 11-year-old girl from Jammu and Kashmir has bagged a gold medal in National Sqay Championship.

Falak Mumtaz has achieved a gold medal in the National Sqay Championship which was held in Jammu. She is currently studying sixth standard at Aisha Ali Academy in Kulgam.

The 23rd National Sqay Championship was organized by the SQAY Federation of India and hosted by Jammu and Kashmir SQAY Association at Indoor Stadium Bhagwati Nagar, Jammu.

In the 23rd National Sqay Championship, players from all over Jammu and Kashmir performed very well and bagged 1st place in the overall medal tally.

11-year-old Falak Mumtaz won a gold medal at the 23rd National Sqay Championship. Andhra Pradesh bagged 2nd place and Odisha was in 3rd place.

The MAARG (Mentorship, Advisory, Assistance, Resilience, and Growth) platform will be launched by Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal. The Commerce Ministry said MAARG, a portal to facilitate mentorship for start-ups across diverse sectors, and geographies, will go live on January 16.

It will facilitate mentorship between start-ups and entrepreneurs across sectors, stages, and functions, the ministry said. The matchmaking phase of the portal will allow start-ups to connect with mentors and discuss their mentorship needs.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a new "Aarogya Maitri" project under which India will provide essential medical supplies to any developing country affected by natural disasters or humanitarian crisis and proposed to set up a "centre of excellence" to facilitate development solutions to these countries.

In his opening address at the concluding session of the Voice of Global South virtual summit, Modi also said that India will launch a "science and technology initiative" to share its expertise with other developing nations.

He announced that New Delhi will institute new scholarships for students from developing countries to pursue higher education in India.

Union Labour and Employment Minister Bhupendra Yadav inaugurated the Regional Office of Employees provident Fund Organization (EPFO) at Alwar, Rajasthan.

The Regional Office will help more than 2 lakh workers, 12,000 establishments, and 8,500 pensioners from Alwar and the neighboring districts of Bharatpur and Dholpur.

The major industrial areas served by Regional Office are Bhiwadi, Khushkhera, Tapukara, Karoli, Neemrana, Behror, Gheelot, and Khairthal.

Union Minister of State for Culture Arjun Ram Meghwal handed over the 9th to 10th century Nataraja Idol of the Archeological Department official in Chittorgarh Fort in Rajasthan.

Union Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal noted that there are only 13 idols of ancient importance that could be brought to India by the year 2023 but after 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi brought 229 idols to India.

Captain Surbhi Jakhmola of the Indian Army’s 117 Engineer Regiment will be the first woman officer to be posted on a foreign assignment at the Border Roads Organisation (BRO).

The officer will be sent to Bhutan as part of Project Dantak.

The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) is an executive road construction force in India that supports the Indian armed forces.

The deployment of BRO comes just days after the Indian Air Force deployed woman fighter pilot squadron leader Avani Chaturvedi to Japan for the exercise Veer Guardian 2023.

BRO builds and maintains road networks along India’s borders and in friendly neighbouring countries.

It is also included in the armed forces Order of Battle, ensuring their support at all times.

BRO was established on May 7, 1960.

In order to improve border connectivity, BRO was transferred entirely to the ministry of defence in 2015.

It is responsible for maintaining the road network in the border areas of India.

Star cricketer Virat Kohli became the fifth-highest run-scorer in history of ODI cricket, overtaking Sri Lankan legend Mahela Jayawardene to enter into top-five.

At the time of becoming the fifth-highest run-scorer, Virat had 12,652 runs in 268 ODIs at an average of 57.78, with 45 tons and 65 half-century. His best score in the format is 183.

As per records, the highest run-scorer in ODI history is Indian legend Sachin Tendulkar, who has scored 18,426 runs at an average of 44.83.

He has 49 centuries and 96 fifties in this format, with the best of 200*.

Followed by Sachin, Sri Lankan great Kumar Sangakkara (14,234 runs in 404 matches), Australian great Ricky Ponting (13,704), Sri Lankan all-rounder Sanath Jayasuriya (13,430 in 445 matches) and Virat

The Centre is about to launch a five-year National Urban Technology Mission which is able to infuse technological improvements in municipal providers and infrastructure of 4,500 city native bodies within the nation.

The mission, to be spearheaded by the ministry of housing and urban affairs, can have three main sub-heads.

A be aware ready for the approval of the expenditure finance committee (EFC) pegs the mission outlay at Rs 15,000 crore for 5 years.

Under its campaign of Nirogi Rajasthan, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has implemented the policy for Blindness Control with the objective of "Right to Sight".

With this, Rajasthan has become the first state to have such a policy.

This policy has been brought with an aim to bring light in the lives of more than 3 lakh people suffering from visual impairment in the State.

The prevalence rate of blindness in the country was 1.1% in 2020 and the initiatives under the Blindness Control Policy will help to bring it down to 0.3 percent.

Under the policy for Blindness Control, the state government will mandatorily run Keratoplasty Centre and Eye Bank in all the government medical colleges.

The government funded private organizations and NGOs that are collecting cornea will have to provide the collected cornea to the government institutions on priority.

Chief Economic Adviser to the Treasury, Clare Lombardelli, has been appointed as the new Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Chief Economist. She will lead the OECD’s economic work, replacing France’s Laurence Boone, who has held the post since 2018.

A British national, Clare holds a Master’s Degree in Economics from London School of Economics and Political Science and Bachelor’s Degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from Oxford University.

Clare has worked in government since 2005, after starting her career as an economist at the Bank of England.

During this time her roles have included Principal Private Secretary to the Chancellor, Private Secretary for Economic Affairs to the Prime Minister and Budget Director.

She has also worked as a technical adviser for the International Monetary Fund.

She will step down from the Treasury after the Spring Budget.

Her roles at the UK Treasury have included Deputy Director for Labour Market Policy (2007-2010), Principal Private Secretary to the Chancellor of the Exchequer (2012-2015), and Director of Strategy, Planning and Budget (2015-2018).

The renowned Jallikattu bull-taming competition got underway on Sunday in the Tamil Nadu village of Avaniyapuram.

Aneesh Sekhar, the district collector of Madurai, as saying that preparations had been made to ensure a successful Jallikattu.

ensuring the players’ and bulls’ safety.

Bulls are protected in the play area by three levels of barricading, as are spectators.

The world faces a set of risks that feel both wholly new and eerily familiar.

The Global Risks Report 2023 explores some of the most severe risks we may face over the next decade.

As we stand on the edge of a low-growth and low-cooperation era, tougher trade-offs risk eroding climate action, human development and future resilience.

The World Economic Forum taking place in Davos, Switzerland released the 18th edition of the Global Risk Report 2023 based on the 2022-2023 Global Risks Perception Survey (GRPS).

The Himachal Pradesh government restored the old pension scheme in its first cabinet meeting.

The cabinet decided to provide OPS to all government employees who are presently covered under the defined contributory pension scheme, also referred to as NPS.

This scheme will benefit about 1.36 lakh NPS employees in the state.

The State Cabinet in its first meeting presided over by the Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu held in Shimla passed a resolution thanking the people of Himachal Pradesh for reposing their confidence in the policies and programs of congress.

Congress government has fulfilled a key poll promise by providing the Old Pension scheme (OPS) to all government employees.

R’Bonney Gabriel of the United States was crowned Miss Universe 2022 on January 15, 2023.

Divita Rai of India, who finished in the top 16, was unable to advance in the beauty contest held in New Orleans.

Venezuela and the Dominican Republic were the other two countries in the top three.

R’Bonney Gabriel is an American model who was crowned Miss USA 2022 earlier this year.

Her full name is R’Bonney Nola Gabriel, and she is of Filipino descent from her father’s side.

R’Bonney Gabriel is the first Filipina-American winner in the history of Miss Universe.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced that Viacom 18 have grabbed the media rights for the upcoming Women’s IPL for a whopping Rs 951 crore for five years.

The auction for the T20 League was conducted by the cricket board in Mumbai.

The global rights comprise three categories linear (TV), digital and combined (TV and digital).

In the men’s IPL, separate rights are sold across regions.

The inaugural Women’s IPL is likely to begin in the first week of March.

Five teams will compete and all the matches will be held in Mumbai.

Akane Yamaguchi and Viktor Axelsen won the Malaysia Open Super 1000 women’s and men’s singles titles in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Yamaguchi, the reigning world champion, registered a come-from-behind win over world no. 4 An Se Young to clinch the Super Series Premier title.

Yamaguchi won her maiden Super Series Premier title at the China Open in 2017.

China’s Chen Qingchen-Jia Yifan, the world no. 1 pairing in women’s doubles, blew away South Korea’s Baek Hana-Lee Yulim 21-16, 21-10 in 52 minutes.

In mixed doubles, the world no. 1 pairing of Zheng Siwei-Huang Yaqiong, carrying on their last season’s dominating display, claimed the season’s first Super Series Premier title.

The first 15 meetings of the Business 20 (B20) India Inception Meeting will be held in Gandhinagar from January 22nd to 24th, 2023.

India has been assumed as the G20 under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The G20 chairman for India is a historic event as it comes while celebrating the ’Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’.

Barcelona have won the Spanish Super Cup for the first time since the competition was revamped and moved to Saudi Arabia with a 3-1 victory over Real Madrid.

It was also Barcelona’s first title since former player Xavi took over as the team’s coach in 2021 and since Lionel Messi left for Paris Saint-Germain.

Barcelona have now won the Super Cup a record 14 times. Madrid have 12 to their name.

The Super Cup used to be played between the Spanish league champion and the Copa del Rey winner. Now the runners-up in both competitions also participate.

Madrid played as the league champion and Barcelona as the league runner-up.

The current contract to play the Super Cup in Saudi Arabia runs through the 2024-25 season.

The second edition of ’Dot Fest,’ a part of city festivals commemorating the FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup 2023, will be held in Odisha from January 15 to 29, 2023.

The event will be organized with a slew of activities including Bollywood superstars and international storytellers.

As part of the festival, six main festivals and activities will be held, including Bhubaneswar live, an international cuisine festival, the story-telling festival BhuFesto, Ekamra walks, a night flea market, and the ’Sebe-O-Ebe’ picture show.

The titular eighth Nizam of Hyderabad Mukarram Jah has recently passed away. Mukarram Jah was born on October 6, 1933 in France, to Prince Azam Jah and Princess Durru Shehvar, the imperial princess of the Ottoman Empire.

He was educated in the Doon School in Dehradun and later at Harrow and Peterhouse, Cambridge.

He also studied at the London School of Economics and at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.

He was descendants of Asaf Jahi royal dynasty.

On April 6, 1967, he was coronated as Asaf Jah the Eighth, after the death of Mir Osman Ali Khan in February 1967.

Noted writer K Venugopal bagged the first-ever Federal Bank Literary Award 2022 for his autobiography "Oranweshananthinte Katha". Balagopal Chandrasekhar is the current chairman and independent director of Federal Bank in January 2023."Oranweshananthinte Katha" was chosen by a panel comprising writer and literary critic K C Narayanan, Sunil P Ilayidom and P K Rajashekharan from the 10 works which were shortlisted for the award. Judging panel member P K Rajashekaran commented that the essence of the book brought back the memory of the most-intense political timeline in the modern history of Kerala.

The 53rd edition of the World Economic Forum (WEF) has begun at Davos in Switzerland.

The meeting will continue till 20th January.

The theme for this year’s WEF meeting is "Cooperation in a Fragmented World". According to the WEF’s annual Global Risks Report, recession threat, cost-of-living crisis and debt distress is likely to dominate the outlook for at least two years. WEF Founder and Executive Chairman Klaus Schwab said, they see the manifold political, economic and social forces creating increased fragmentation on a global and national level.

As per the Union Minister of State Dr Jitendra Singh at 148th Foundation Day of India Meteorological Department, The entire country will be covered by Doppler Weather Radar Network by 2025 to predict extreme weather events more accurately. He dedicated 4 Doppler Weather Radar Systems to the Western Himalayan States of Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand, and Himachal Pradesh. Doppler weather radar, commonly known as Weather Surveillance Radar (WSR), is a type of radar used to find precipitation, determine its motion, and also the type of precipitation (rain, snow, hail, etc.).

The Critics Choice Awards 2023 was recently held in Los Angeles. The SS Rajamouli’s film RRR has won two major nods, including Best Foreign Film and Best Song at the prestigious awards.

According to the Ministry of Defence, the 21st edition of "Varuna" the bilateral naval exercise between India and France commenced on the western seaboard.

This edition of the exercise will witness participation of indigenous guided missile stealth destroyer INS Chennai, guided missile frigate INS Teg, maritime patrol aircraft P-8I and Dornier, integral helicopters and MiG29K fighter aircraft.

The French Navy will be represented by the aircraft carrier Charles De Gaulle, frigates FS Forbin and Provence, support vessel FS Marne and maritime patrol aircraft Atlantique.

The exercise will be conducted over five days from 16 to 20 January 2023 and will witness advanced air defence exercises, tactical manoeuvres, surface firings, underway replenishment and other maritime operations.

NTPC Renewable Energy Ltd and the Tripura government have joined forces to develop large-scale renewable energy projects in the state.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between NTPC’s renewable energy arm and Tripura government on Monday (16 January) for development of floating and ground mounted based renewable energy projects in the state.

TREDA is the nodal agency for implementing renewable energy projects in Tripura.

Retired director general of the Border Security Force (BSF), Pankaj Kumar Singh was appointed as the Deputy National Security Adviser in National Security Council Secretariat for a period of two years.

Singh, a 1988-batch IPS officer of the Rajasthan cadre, has been appointed on a re-employment contract.

Singh had retired as the BSF chief on December 31, 2022.

When Singh took charge of the BSF on August 31, 2021, he had created history of a son and a father holding the top post of a paramilitary force during their services.

Singh had earlier served with the Union government as Inspector General of the CRPF in Chhattisgarh and IG (Operations) at CRPF headquarters in Delhi.

Before becoming BSF DG, he also served in the BSF as chief of the Eastern Frontier, he played an instrumental role in bringing down cattle smuggling through West Bengal and Assam borders.

Between 2015 and 2021, cattle smuggling on the Indo-Bangla border dropped by 87%. When he became DG of the BSF, he had to negotiate the contentious amendment to BSF jurisdiction which was increased to 50km from the border as many states opposed it.

He has served in the Rajasthan Police as well as in the

Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), during which he cracked an infamous sex scandal that had rocked Jammu and Kashmir, besides being involved in solving several cases related to corruption.

Recently, Sweden’s state-owned mining company LKAB has discovered Europe’s largest deposit of rare earth metals.

The store, situated in Kiruna located in the northern region of Sweden, holds a stockpile of over 1 million metric tons of rare earth oxides.

This discovery bolsters Europe’s ambition to rely less on imported raw materials needed for the green transition.

Currently, no rare earths are mined in Europe and it mostly imports them from other regions.

Recently, on the occasion of National Startup Day (16th January), Startup India Innovation week culminated along with National Start up Awards 2022.

National Startup Awards 2022 given by Ministry of Commerce and Industry acknowledges startups and enablers who have been instrumental in revolutionizing the development story of India.

Startup India organized industry-focused webinars on the topic "Championing the billion-dollar dream".

The Start-up ecosystem in India ranks third after that of the United States (US) and China.

According to the India Venture Capital Report 2021 published by Bain and Company, the number of cumulative start-ups has grown at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 17% since 2012.

Bengaluru, in particular, has been dubbed the "Silicon Valley of India" due to the large number of technology companies based in the city

In a first of its kind initiative in Kerala State, the target to declare Kollam a totally Constitution literate district on August 14 midnight, has been taken up.

Kollam has become the first constitution literate district in the country, the feat which was achieved by educating families on the basic principles of the Constitution as part of The Citizen, a constitution literacy campaign.

Conducting: The campaign was jointly organised by the Kollam district panchayat, District Planning Committee, and the Kerala Institute of Local Administration (KILA).

Initiative: As part of the campaign, the entire population of Kollam above the age of 10 will be briefed on the preamble of the Constitution and the historical background of the document, its basic principles, fundamental rights of citizens, and legal remedies.

Idea behind the campaign: The idea of the campaign is to equip the people to uphold constitutional values in personal life, family life, and socio-political, economic, and cultural life. Participants: Everyone, including government institutions, private establishments, socio-cultural organisations, and educational institutions, will be made participants in the campaign.

Jammu and Kashmir’s governments have declared the union territory as a “Free Area” for purposes of the Prevention and Control of Infectious and Contagious Diseases in Animals Act 2009.

According to the notification issued by the government, the declaration has been made in the exercise of the power conferred by sub-section (5) of section 6 of the Prevention and Control of Infectious and Contagious Diseases in Animals (PCICDA) Act 2009.