Kapil Kathpal

PhonePe Raises $350 Mn From General Atlantic

• PhonePe has raised $350 million in funding from General Atlantic
at a pre-money valuation of $12 billion making the Walmart-owned
start-up the most-valued financial technology (fintech) player in
India.

• With this funding round, company has more than doubled its
valuation from $5.5 billion in 2020. With a $12-billion valuation, it
has joined the decacorn club.

• PhonePe recently announced a full separation from Flipkart

Group.

• A decacorn is a startup company that has a current valuation of

over $10 billion. According to CBInsights,
there are presently eighteen decacorns within the world,
with ten being from the USA. Toutiao (Bytedance), a Chinese
digital media/AI company is at the highest of the list with a
present valuation of $75 billion.
 Kapil Kathpal
CCI approves Internal Reorganisation of Kalyani Group
• Competition Commission of India approved the internal
recognition of the Kalyani Group’s companies.

• The deal has been cleared under the green channel

route, an automated approval scheme.

• The current transaction entails the internal

reorganisation of 9 Kalyani Group entities under a
scheme of amalgamation and arrangement entered
between these entities.
Punjab Launched ‘School of Kapil Kathpal

Eminence’ Project
• Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann launched the ‘School of
Eminence’, an ambitious project of the Punjab government.

• The Punjab government fixed a budget of Rs 200 crore for the

‘School of Eminence’ project.

• The five pillars of the ‘School of Eminence’ are state-of-the-art

infrastructure, academics, human resource management, sports,
co-curricular activities, and community engagement.

• Under the ‘School of Eminence’ project the Punjab government

will upgrade 117 government schools in 23 districts with special
emphasis on classes 9 to 12.
 Kapil Kathpal
PM Modi Distributed Land Title
Deeds or ‘Hakku Patra’ to Banjaras

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi distributed title deeds or

‘Hakku Patra’ to over 52,000 eligible beneficiaries from
the Lambani nomadic tribes residing in northern
Karnataka.

• The event was organised by the state Revenue

Department at Malkhed, in the Kalaburagi district of
Karnataka.

• A Hakku Patra in Kannada means “Claim Letter”. The

words “Hakku” mean “the right”. A legal document
known as a “Hakku Patra” details a person’s legitimate
inheritance or ownership of a particular property.
 Kapil Kathpal
Lt Governor R K Mathur Launched ULPIN in Ladakh
• Lieutenant Governor R K Mathur launched the
Unique Land Parcel Identification Number
(ULPIN) in the Union Territory.

• The 14-digit ULPIN would help in the

digitization of land records and also reach a
conclusive land titling.
 Kapil Kathpal
Himachal Pradesh Targets to be
1st ‘Green Energy State’ by 2025
• Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, Chief Minister of
Himachal Pradesh announced that Himachal
Pradesh targets to become the “first Green
Energy State” by the end of 2025.

• He also recommended opening all the solar

power projects up to 5 MW capacity for
allotment.

Himachal Pradesh:
• Chief Minister– Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu
• Governor– Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar
 Kapil Kathpal
Ministry of Consumer Affairs issues new
Guidelines for Social Media Influencers
• Ministry of Consumer Affairs unveiled guidelines ‘Endorsements Know- hows!’
for social-media influencers, including celebrities and virtual avatars, for
disclosing the promotional content of the products or services they endorse
and their material connections with those.

• These guidelines are also aligned with those given by the Advertising
Standards Council of India

• If there are any violations, the penalty prescribed for misleading

advertisements under the Consumer Protection Act 2019 will be applicable.

• The Central Consumer Protection Authority can impose a penalty of up to Rs

10 lakh on manufacturers, advertisers and endorsers and for repeated
offences, a penalty of up to Rs 50 lakh can be imposed.

• The CCPA can also prohibit the endorser of a misleading advertisement from
making any endorsement for up to one year and for subsequent
contravention, prohibition can extend up to three years.

• They may go to jail for six months, which can be extended to two years.
 Kapil Kathpal
India’s 1st STEM Innovation and
Learning Center in Chennai
• The American India Foundation inaugurated India’s 1st STEM
Innovation and Learning Centre under the scheme of Vanavil
Mandram and launched Drone and Satellite Launch Vehicle
(DSLV) Mission at the Government Higher Secondary School,
Chennai

• This SILC is the first of 4 Centres to come up in Tamil Nadu over

the next 2 months.

• SILC is designed by AIF’s award-winning flagship education

programme, Digital Equalizer

• It is designed to serve as a one-stop solution for STEM (Science,

Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) among students and
instructors.
 Kapil Kathpal

• It consists of a Technology Corner, which is equipped with a smart

lab, for Teachers, which will make it easier for teachers to lead
techno-pedagogy-enabled classes for the students and to receive
training in the DE Way of Teaching

• DEWoT is a unique method created by AIF to address all types of

students in the classroom.

• The centre also has a Studio Setup to develop high-quality DE

Edu reels.

• DSLV Mission aims to create a platform for students to learn about

Drone and Aviation technology through DE’s TLM(Technical
License Management).

• More than 200 selected students from 12 schools in Chennai were

trained for the mission launch to assemble a drone and a PICO
satellite and launch their models on the spot.
 Kapil Kathpal
L&T Technology Services Selected as
Strategic Engineering Partner to Airbus
• L&T Technology Services Limited, a subsidiary
of Larsen & Toubro Limited has been selected
as a strategic engineering partner to Airbus for
providing Advanced Engineering Capabilities
and Digital Manufacturing Services under a
multi-year contract.
 Kapil Kathpal
‘International Craft Summit’ in Odisha

• Chief Minister of Odisha, Naveen Patnaik

inaugurated an ‘International Craft Summit’ in
Jajpur. The International Craft Summit is the
first-of-its-kind craft summit to feature pioneer
craftspersons, culture, and art enthusiasts.

• Jajpur was the ancient capital of Odisha and

has existing assets of religious tourism, urban
tourism, and Buddhist tourism.
 Kapil Kathpal
India’s Civil 20 Engagement Group
Inaugurated at Amritapuri
• India’s Civil 20 Engagement Group (C20), the official
engagement group of India’s G20 representing the
voices of non-profit, voluntary citizens’ groups in
service to society, was inaugurated at Amritapuri in
Kollam, Kerala.

• Sri Mata Amritanandamayi(Amma) the chair of C20,

Amitabh Kant, Former Chief Executive Officer(CEO) of
NITI Aayog were among the participants.
 Kapil Kathpal
Indian Navy conducts “AMPHEX 2023”

• Indian Navy has carried out a six-day-long

mega military exercise along with the Indian
Army and the Indian Air Force near Kakinada in
Andhra Pradesh.

• The “largest” biennial tri-services amphibious

exercise AMPHEX 2023 was conducted.

• The exercise is being conducted near the

Naval Enclave at Suryaraopeta village in
Kakinada rural Mandal off Kakinada coast.

• Chief of Naval Staff: Admiral R Hari Kumar

 Kapil Kathpal
Border Security Force starts ‘Ops alert’ exercise

• BSF is conducting a seven-day long exercise

called the “OPS ALERT”.

• During the exercise, the security personnel will

hold drills in the India – Pakistan border that
extends between Rann of Kutch and Sir Creek
and also in the Barmer district of Rajasthan.
 Kapil Kathpal
ICGS Shaurya & Rajveer on a 6-day visit to Bangladesh
• Indian Coast Guard Ships Shaurya and ICGS
Rajveer, 2 vessels of the Indian Coast Guard
sailed to Chittagong, Bangladesh for a 6-day
visit as a part of the close cooperation between
the ICG and Bangladesh Coast Guard
 Kapil Kathpal
Appointments Committee of the Cabinet- Decisions
• The appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the
appointment of Vikram Dev Dutt as the next director general in the
Directorate of General of Civil Aviation. He will be succeeding the
incumbent DGCA chief Arun Kumar.

• In 2022, Dutt was appointed as the Chairman and Managing Director of

Air India Ltd

ACC approved more appointments-

• Arti Bhatnagar as Additional Secretary & Financial Advisor, Ministry of

Commerce & Industry;

• Amardeep Singh Bhatia as Additional Secretary, Department of

Commerce

• Alok as Additional Secretary, National Disaster Management Authority

• Satinder Pal Singh as Additional Secretary, Ministry of Housing & Urban

Affairs.
 Kapil Kathpal
Geotail Spacecraft, 1st joint
mission of NASA-JAXA Retires
• Geotail spacecraft, the first joint mission of the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) retired
after 30 years in orbit.

• The mission operations of Geotail were ended due to

the failure of its remaining data recorder.

• Geotail, which was launched on 24th July 1992 orbited

earth and gathered datasets on the structure and
dynamics of the magnetosphere, Earth’s protective
magnetic bubble.
 Kapil Kathpal
FIH tie-up with JSP Foundation for hockey
development and Men’s World Cup
• The International Hockey Federation Partners with JSP
Foundation for Hockey Development and Men’s World
Cup Lausanne, Switzerland.

• FIH will be working closely with JSP Foundation for

some of its key initiatives for hockey development over
the coming months.

• JSP Foundation is the social arm of Jindal Steel &

Power.

• The International Hockey Federation (FIH) is the world

governing body for the sport of hockey, recognised by
the International Olympic Committee
 Kapil Kathpal
Book- “India’s Knowledge
Supremacy: The New Dawn”
• A book titled “India’s Knowledge Supremacy: The New
Dawn” Written by Dr Ashwin Fernandes has released
globally.

• Dr Fernandes founded India’s first nationwide private

sector evaluation framework called QS I-GAUGE.