SPOTLIGHT JANUARY 2023 Lyst4851

SPOTLIGHT
Monthly Current Affairs

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RBI - NABARD - SEBI

SPOTLIGHT – JANUARY
2023
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Contents
NATIONAL NEWS ........................................................................................................................... 2
STATE NEWS................................................................................................................................ 45
AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT ............................................................................ 54
DEFENCE NEWS .......................................................................................................................... 57
MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING ...................................................................................... 60
INTERNATIONAL NEWS............................................................................................................... 65
REPORTS AND INDICES.............................................................................................................. 77
BANKING AND ECONOMY ........................................................................................................... 88
GDP FORECASTS ...................................................................................................................... 122
APPOINTMENTS......................................................................................................................... 123
IMPORTANT DAYS ..................................................................................................................... 127
AWARDS ..................................................................................................................................... 131
SPORTS ...................................................................................................................................... 140
MISCELLANEOUS ...................................................................................................................... 145
QUESTIONS ................................................................................................................................ 148
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NATIONAL NEWS
1. A new British Indian Army Memorial, commemorating the sacrifice of millions of Indian
soldiers who fought for the British during the two World Wars, is set to be built in the Scottish
city of Glasgow.
• The memorial is visualised as Scotland’s first permanent memorial wall to recognise the
service and sacrifice of the British Indian Army during the world wars.
2. Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi flagged off the 8th Vande Bharat Express, from
Visakhapatnam–Secunderabad Vande Bharat Express.
• List of Vande Bharat Express –
I. New Delhi-Varanasi
II. New Delhi- Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra
III. New Delhi- Amb Andaura (Himachal Pradesh)
IV. Mumbai-Gandhinagar
V. Chennai-Mysuru
VI. Bilaspur (Chhattisgarh)-Nagpur (Maharashtra)
VII. Howrah- New Jalpaiguri (West Bengal)
VIII. Secunderabad (Telangana)–Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh)
3. Union Minister of Home and Cooperation, Shri Amit Shah addressed the ‘Cooperative
Beneficiaries Conference’ in Bengaluru, Karnataka.
4. The Minister of State for Electronics & Information Technology and Skill Development &
Entrepreneurship, Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar has announced that the Government of India is
going to launch a Digital India Innovation Fund that will support Deep-tech Start-ups.
• It was announced by the Minister during the New India for Young India: Techade of
Opportunities program at the Catholic Bishop House Campus, Thamarassery, Kerala.
5. Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has released the “Road accidents in
India- 2021”.
• The total number of road accidents in 2021 across India stood at 4,12,432. Of these,
1,53,972 people lost their lives and 3,84,448 people faced injuries.
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• Over 19,400 road accidents reported due to loss of control by the driver in 2021. The main
reasons for the mishap included high speed and distraction or misjudgement of a turn by
the driver.
6. Ministry of Railways has launched a new policy “Amrit Bharat Station” scheme for
modernization of railway stations.
• Objective: To prepare Master Plans of the Railway stations and implement Master Plan in
phases to enhance the facilities including and beyond Minimum Essential Amenities.
• Coverage: It envisages infrastructural development of more than 1,000 stations.
• Implementation: It will be implemented as per needs and patronage of the railway stations.
7. Union Minister Shri Anurag Thakur has released the Official Government of India
Calendar for the year 2023.
• 12 themes for the 12 months have been identified for the calendar, which reinforce the idea
of Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas.
• The underlying theme of the 2023 calendar is ‘Naya Varsh, Naye Sankalp’ to showcase
the commitment of the government.
January - breaking the April - Shikshit Bharat July – Mission LiFE October - Food
shackles of the ('Reduce, Reuse and Security
colonial mindset and Recycle')
moving on the path of
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duty towards our

nation
February - Kisan May - Skill India August - Khelo India November - Self-
Kalyan reliant India
March – Nari Shakti June - Fit India, Hit September - December –
India Vasudhaiva Ashtalakshmi (8
Kutumbakam, or "The states of North-East)
World Is One Family"
8. India will assume the chairmanship of the plenary of the Wassenaar Arrangement for 1
year during the 26th annual plenary of the Wassenaar Arrangement held in Vienna, Austria.
• Ireland’s ambassador Eoin O’Leary handed over the chairmanship to India’s
ambassador Jaideep Mazumdar, who is the permanent representative to the UN and
international organisations in Vienna.
• India joined the Wassenaar Arrangement in 2017 as its 42nd participating state.
Knowledge Nuggets –
• The 42-member Wassenaar Arrangement is a voluntary export control regime that
monitors transfers of conventional weapons and dual-use goods.
• The plenary of the Wassenaar Arrangement is the main decision-making body.
• The secretariate of the Wassenaar Arrangement is Vienna, Austria.
• It was established in 1996.
9. Ministry of Railways has released a five-pronged plan to become carbon-neutral by 2030

to reduce energy consumption through efficient operations and increase the use of renewable
energy.
• The plan aims to ensure that buildings are compliant with the Shunya standards of net-
zero emissions set by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency.
10. IIT-Madras is operating a Research Centre dedicated to defence technologies jointly with
Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to develop advanced
technologies for national defence and security needs of the nation.
• This centre is known as the ‘DRDO Industry Academia- Ramanujan Centre of
Excellence’ (DIA-RCoE).
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• The Centre aims to bring academia, industry and DRDO together for boosting research.
11. India Accelerator, a seed-stage accelerator program, has launched the i3 Launchpad, a
program created to nurture and co-innovate with the startup ecosystem in India.
• This has been developed in collaboration with ICICI Bank and Infosys Finacle, part of
EdgeVerve Systems, a wholly-owned product subsidiary of Infosys.
• i3 Launchpad will support a community of entrepreneurs who are on a mission to create
brands that can have a global impact.
• It is designed to help start-ups accelerate their success by leveraging mentorship,
resources, and opportunities from Infosys Finacle, ICICI Bank, and India Accelerator (IA).
• The program is open to startups across all industries and will onboard two cohorts a year,
with a target of 12-18 startups in each cohort. Sectors in focus for the first cohort include
fintech, enterprise tech & SaaS, proptech, wealthtech, sustainability & greentech, and
insurtech.
12. Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana - National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM) has
launched the Prajjwala Challenge to invite ideas, solutions and actions that can transform
rural economy.
• The innovative solutions are invited in the following categories:
o Focus on Women and Marginalized section of community
o Localised Models
o Sustainability
o Cost Effective solutions
o Multi sectoral ideas and solutions etc
• Shortlisted ideas will be acknowledged by the Mission and will be provided mentorship
support from an expert panel and incubation support to scale up.
• The top 5 ideas will be rewarded with Rs. 2 Lakh each.
• Website - www.prajjwalachallenge.com
• The Prajjwala Challenge will also be shared in the Manthan portal by the Office of
Principal Scientific Advisor and in the BIMTECH- Atal Innovation Mission Portal for
reaching out to larger number of applicants.
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• Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation

(BIMSTEC) is a regional organization that was established on 06 June 1997 with the
signing of the Bangkok Declaration.
• Initially known as BIST-EC (Bangladesh-India-Sri Lanka-Thailand Economic
Cooperation), the organisation is now known as BIMSTEC and comprises seven
Member States with the admission of Myanmar on 22 December 1997, and Bhutan and
Nepal in February 2004.
• BIMSTEC is a sectoral collaboration, therefore, every member has taken responsibility of
one sector and sub-sectors (focus on India).
• BIMSTEC HQ – Dhaka, Bangladesh

• Secretary-General – Mr. Tenzin Lekphell (Bhutan)
13. India’s first human space mission – Gaganyaan – will be launched in 2024.
• The mission will have three launches. The first mission will be unmanned, the second one
will have a robot, and in the third launch, the humans will be sent in space.
14. Chief Justice of India Justice Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud announced the launch of the
electronic Supreme Court Reports (e-SCR) project.
• The e-SCR Project is an initiative to provide the digital version of the Supreme Court's
judgments in the manner as they are reported in the official law report - 'Supreme Court
Reports'.
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15. National Commission for Indian System of Medicine (NCISM) and the Central Council for
Research in Ayurvedic Sciences (CCRAS), the two institutions under the Ministry of AYUSH,
have launched ‘SMART’ (Scope for Mainstreaming Ayurveda Research in Teaching
Professionals).
• ‘SMART’ is aimed to boost scientific research in priority healthcare research areas through
Ayurveda colleges and hospitals.
16. Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) constituted a high-powered committee, headed by

Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai, to “ensure protection of land and employment” for
the people of Ladakh.
• The committee will also include Ladakh’s LG Radha Krishna Mathur.
17. India and Austria have signed 'Comprehensive Migration and Mobility Partnership
Agreement' (MMPA) for migration and mobility of Indian students and professionals.
18. 17th edition of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Convention will be held at Indore in Madhya
Pradesh during January 8-10.
• The Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award is conferred by the President as part of the Pravasi
Bharatiya Divas Convention on non-resident Indians (NRIs), persons of Indian origin (PIOs)
or organisations established and run by NRIs or PIOs in recognition of their outstanding
achievements in India and abroad.
• A total of 27 people are chosen for this award this year.
19. 108th Indian Science Congress will be held at R.T.M. Nagpur University, Nagpur,
Maharashtra, India from January 3 -7, 2023.
• Theme - “Science Technology for Sustainable Development with Women Empowerment”
• 2023 - International Year of Millets
20. Ministry of Railway is working on a plan to convert all heritage trains into eco-friendly
Green Hydrogen-powered trains.
21. National Campaign on ‘RISE- Rising India Through Spiritual Empowerment’ was
organized by Brahma Kumaris at Mount Abu, Rajasthan.
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• Additionally, the foundation stone of the Brahma Kumaris Silence Retreat Centre was
laid in Secunderabad, Telangana and laid the foundation stone for the Brahma Kumaris
Auditorium and Spiritual Art Gallery in Indore.
22. IIT-Guwahati’s Aeromodelling Club is encouraging students to harness creativity, technology

and innovation in aeromodelling.
• The club has developed different types of drones including ‘Warehouse Drone’ for
warehouse management, ‘Reaper Drones’ for military and law enforcement, ‘Ornithopter’
based on the design of birds which can be used for surveillance in tight spaces, for wildlife
photography, and ‘RAVEN,’ an indigenously developed VTOL (Vertical Takeoff and
Landing) capable fixed-winged aircraft.
23. Digantara (Bengaluru-based space situational awareness start-up) has launched its 2nd
satellite named Pushpa Alpha on a Falcon 9 rocket to monitor weather.
24. India has taken over the chairmanship of the Asian Pacific Postal Union (APPU) from
January 2023. The announcement was made in the 13th APPU Congress in Bangkok in
September.
Asian Pacific Postal Union

• Asian Pacific Postal Union (APPU) is an intergovernmental organisation of 32-member
countries of the Asian-Pacific region.
• APPU works under the aegis of Universal Postal Union, a specialised agency of UN.
• APPU HQ – Bangkok, Thailand
• Secretary General - Dr Vinaya Prakash Singh (for 4 years till 2026)
Universal Postal Union

• HQ – Bern, Switzerland
• Director-General - Masahiko Metoki
• Members – 192 countries
• Estb. – 1874 (2nd oldest international organization)
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25. Union Minister for MSME, Shri Narayan Rane, inaugurated virtually Intelligent Tray
Retrieval System (ITRS) at Mopa International airport, Goa.
• The system has been manufactured by M/s SJK Innovations Pvt. Ltd, a MSME-Make in
India Company.
• The ITRS is an Artificial Intelligence based fully automatic machine that helps in
providing enhanced passenger security with advanced screening technology.
• The machine is equipped with image analysis software with advanced tools that makes it
easy for the screener to take correct decisions against every baggage.
• Also, the Mopa International Airport’s name has been changed to Manohar International
Airport.
26. The world's first palm leaf manuscript museum has been inaugurated at Kerala capital
Thiruvananthapuram.
27. Central Govt has approved an investment of Rs 2,614 crore for 382 MW Sunni Dam Hydro
Electric Project on the Sutlej River in Shimla and Mandi districts in Himachal Pradesh.
28. Union Government has approved a Rs 19,744 crore National Green Hydrogen mission
that aims to make India a ‘global hub’ for using, producing and exporting green hydrogen.
• Purpose - to incentivise the commercial production of green hydrogen and make India a
net exporter of the green hydrogen
• Sub-schemes –
o Strategic Interventions for Green Hydrogen Transition Programme (SIGHT): It
will fund the domestic manufacturing of electrolysers and produce green hydrogen.
o Green Hydrogen Hubs: States and regions capable of supporting large scale
production and/or utilization of hydrogen will be identified and developed as Green
Hydrogen Hubs.
• Implementing Ministry - Ministry of New and Renewable Energy
• Targets -
o Developing green hydrogen production capacity of at least 5 MMT (Million Metric
Tonne) per annum, alongside adding renewable energy capacity of about 125 GW
in India by 2030.
o It aims to attract over Rs 8 lakh crore of total investments and is expected to
generate 6 lakh jobs.
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o Reduce the imports of fossil fuel by over Rs 1 lakh crore and reduce nearly 50 MT of
annual greenhouse gas emissions.
• An Empowered Group for National Green Hydrogen Mission will be headed by the
cabinet secretary.
• In addition to the Empowered Group, a National Green Hydrogen Advisory Group will
also be established to carry out a technology gap analysis for various aspects of the
hydrogen value chain.
29. Union Cabinet approved the Central Sector Scheme “Broadcasting Infrastructure and
Network Development” (BIND) at a cost of ₹2,539.61 crore for infrastructure development
of Prasar Bharati i.e., All India Radio (AIR) and Doordarshan (DD).
• Nodal Ministry - Ministry of Information and Broadcasting
• The scheme aims to provide financial support to Prasar Bharati for expenses related to
expansion and upgradation of its broadcasting infrastructure, content development and civil
work related to the organization.
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30. Varanasi Cantt railway station has been awarded a 5- star ‘Eat Right Station’ certification
by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) for providing quality and
nutritious food to passengers.
• Other Eat Right Stations in India (total six) –
o Anand Vihar Terminal Railway Station (Delhi); Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus
(Mumbai); Mumbai Central Railway Station, (Mumbai); Vadodara Railway Station,
Chandigarh Railway Station and Bhopal Railway Station.
31. Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry, and Dairying has inaugurated India’s first In-
Vitro Fertilization (IVF) mobile unit for animals in Amreli, Gujarat.
32. National Genome Editing & Training Centre has been inaugurated at National Agri-food
Biotechnology Institute (NABI) Mohali, Punjab.
• NGETC is a one-roof state-of-the-art facility that will serve as a national platform to cater to
the regional needs to adapt different genome editing methods, including CRISPR-Cas
mediated genome modification.
• At the same time, a 4-day International Conference on Food and Nutritional Security
2023 (iFANS) was inaugurated.
• Organizers of iFANS - National Agri-Food Biotechnology Institute (NABI), Centre for
Innovative and Applied Bioprocessing (CIAB), National Institute of Plant Biotechnology
(NIPB), and International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB)
33. Union Cabinet has approved continuation of Schemes of Ministry of Development of North
Eastern Region, with an outlay of ₹12882.2 crore, for the balance period of the 15th Finance
Commission (2022-23 to 2025-26).
34. Indian Meteorological Organization has released the “Statement on Climate of India
During 2022”, which claims 2022 to be the fifth hottest year since 1901.
35. Pradhan Mantri National Apprenticeship Mela will be conducted in 242 districts.
• The candidates who are Class 5th to Class 12th pass outs and have skill training
certificates, or ITI Diploma holders or graduates can apply in this apprenticeship mela.
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36. India’s first coal-gasification based Talcher Fertilizer Plant will be ready for commissioning
by October 2024 at Angul, Odisha.
• Talcher Fertilizers Ltd. (TFL) is a company promoted by GAIL (India) Ltd. (GAIL),
Rashtriya Chemicals & Fertilizers Ltd. (RCF), Coal India Ltd. (CIL) and Fertilizers
Corporation of India Ltd. (FCIL).
• The project promotes coal gasification, it shall also aid in meeting the stated aim of
gasifying 100 MT of coal by 2030.
Knowledge Nuggets -
• India has set a target of eliminating urea imports by 2025.
• India, the top importer of urea, imports about 30% of its average 35 million tonnes of
annual consumption of the crop nutrient.
• Total 5 urea-producing plants in India - Ramagundam, Gorakhpur, Sindri, Barauni, and
Talcher - would together produce 6.5 million tonnes of urea every year.
• Production of indigenous nano urea would rise to 5 million tonnes by 2025.
• Urea accounts for about 70% of India's overall fertiliser subsidy.
37. The National Health Authority (NHA) is introducing a new system under its flagship scheme
Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY) to measure and grade
hospital performance.
• The new initiative will introduce the concept of ‘value-based care’, where payment will be
outcome-based and providers will be rewarded according to the quality of the treatment
delivered.
• Under the new model, the providers will be rewarded for helping the patients improve their
health, which consequently will reduce the effects of the disease in the population in the
long term.
• The performance of AB PM-JAY empanelled hospitals will be measured based on five
performance indicators, such as beneficiary satisfaction, hospital readmission rate, extent
of out-of-pocket expenditure, confirmed grievances, and improvement in patients' health-
related quality of life.
38. Renew Power has installed India’s First 3X Platform Wind Turbine Generators at Gadag,
Karnataka.
• Purpose – to ensure 24X7 supply of renewable energy
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39. Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh has unveiled the theme for National Science Day 2023,
titled Global Science for Global Wellbeing.
• February 28 - National Science Day (to commemorate the discovery of “Raman Effect” by
CV Raman)
40. Central Government has allocated a total financial outlay of the New India Literacy
Programme (NILP) for five years (from 2022-23 to 2026-27) to be Rs.1037.90 crore.
• The Ministry of Education approved the NILP in 2022 to include all aspects of adult
education in line with the new National Education Policy, for the following five years.
• The ministry has replaced the phrase “Adult Education” with “Education for All”
because the former did not accurately describe all non-literates in the age bracket of 15 and
older.
Knowledge Nuggets -
• The New India Literacy Programme is a centrally sponsored scheme of the Ministry of
Education.
• The scheme has following components, namely;
o Foundational Literacy and Numeracy,
o Critical Life Skills (which include, financial literacy, digital literacy, legal literacy,
healthcare and awareness, childcare and education, family welfare, etc.),
o Basic Education (includes preparatory (classes 3 - 5), middle (classes 6- 8), and
secondary stage (classes 9-12) equivalency),
o Vocational Skills
o Continuing Education
o Formation and involvement of SHGs, Voluntary & User Groups and other
community-based organizations
• Mode of Implementation -
o The scheme is to be implemented through volunteerism.
o The learners will be encouraged to excess the content in local languages in online
mode through DIKSHA platform in NCERT.
o Government/Aided schools registered under UDISE are the units of
implementation of the scheme which are run by the State/UT Governments.
41. First Education Group of G-20 countries will meet from the 31st of January to the 2nd of
February in Chennai.
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42. All India Presiding Officers (Assembly Speakers) Conference will be held in Jaipur.
43. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will virtually inaugurate the 7th edition of 'Invest Madhya
Pradesh-Global Investors Summit', a flagship event of the state government, in Indore.
• Theme of the Summit - 'Madhya Pradesh-The Future Ready State'
44. Pune-based Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) has developed a
unique molecular sponge-like material named as macro/microporous ionic organic
framework that can effectively clean polluted water.
45. Union Cabinet has approved setting up a National Level multistate cooperative export
society under the Multi State Cooperative Societies (MSCS) Act, 2002.
• Purpose - to promote exports from cooperative sector by acting as an umbrella
organisation for carrying out and promoting exports
• This will also help in achieving the goal of “Sahakar-se-Samriddhi” through the inclusive
growth model of cooperatives where the members would benefit both by realization of
better prices through export of their goods and services and also by dividend distributed out
of the surplus generated by the society.
46. Union Cabinet, chaired by the Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has approved a
historic decision to set up and promote a national level multi-state seed cooperative society
under Multi State Cooperative Societies (MSCS) Act, 2002.
• It will act as an apex organization for production, procurement, processing, branding,
labelling, packaging, storage, marketing and distribution of quality seeds; strategic research
& development.
• It aims to develop a system for preservation and promotion of indigenous natural seeds; in
collaboration with Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Indian Council for
Agricultural Research (ICAR) and National Seed Corporation (NSC) through their
schemes.
• It will help to increase the seed replacement rate, varietal replacement rate, ensuring the
role of farmers in quality seed cultivation and seed variety trials, production and
distribution of certified seeds with a single brand name, by utilizing the network of all levels
of cooperatives.
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Knowledge Nuggets -
• Seed Replacement Rate is a measure of how much of the total cropped area was sown
with certified seeds in comparison to farm saved seeds.
• Varietal Replacement Rate is the replacement of varieties presently in cultivation with
new varieties providing greater yields and better products. Varietal replacement is one of
the most effective ways of raising yield.
• The Multi-State Co-operative Societies (Amendment) Bill, 2022 was introduced in the
Lok Sabha on December 7, 2022. It amends the Multi-State Co-operative Societies Act,
2002.
o Multi state co-operative societies operate in more than one state.
o The bill aims to change certain provisions related to the election of board
members, redressal of complaints, amalgamation of co-operative societies, fund
for sick co-operative societies, specified co-operative societies, composition of
board of directors, and increasing penalties.
47. Union cabinet approved the formation of a national-level multi-state co-operative organic
society to assist farmers in transitioning away from chemical-based agriculture.
• Any primary agricultural credit societies, district, state and national level federations, multi-
state co-operative societies and Farmers Producer Organisations (FPOs) can join this
national-level co-operative society.
• The society aims to support organic products from the co-operative sector.
• The proposed society aims to provide an enabling ecosystem, assisting farmers in learning
to grow organic food through technical assistance and capacity building. It also intends to
assist farmers in transitioning in a sustainable manner while ensuring market access.
48. Union Cabinet has approved incentive scheme for promotion of RuPay Debit Cards and
low-value BHIM-UPI transactions (P2M) in FY2022-23 with a financial outlay of ₹2,600
crore.
• Under the 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 FY23.
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49. Union Cabinet has given ex post facto approval for renaming of National Centre for Drinking
Water, Sanitation and Quality at Joka, Kolkata as ‘Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee National
Institute of Water and Sanitation (SPM-NIWAS)’.
• The Institute is envisaged as a premier institute to develop capacities in states/UTs in the
field of public health engineering, drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene through training
programmes.
Knowledge Nuggets -
• Syama Prasad Mukherjee (6 July 1901 – 23 June 1953) was an Indian politician, barrister
and academician, who served as India's first Minister for Industry and Supply (currently
known as Ministry of Commerce and Industry) in Jawaharlal Nehru's cabinet.
• He was also the president of Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha from 1943 to 1946.
50. According to the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), at least 15% of
protein powders sold in India are of poor quality in Financial Year 2021-2022.
• Health experts have expressed concern about the unsupervised consumption of dietary
supplements, warning poor-quality products can affect cardiovascular health and kidneys.
51. Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways and Ayush, Sarbananda Sonowal
inaugurated the School of Logistics, Waterways and Communication in Agartala, Tripura,
along with Manik Saha, Chief Minister, Tripura.
• The school will enable the rich pool of talent of the region to become world class experts in
the transportation and logistics sector.
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• It has been set up under State Institute of Public Administration and Rural
Development (SIPARD).
• SIPARD is an autonomous body funded by the Government of Tripura and partially by
the Ministry of Rural Development.
52. Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has listed Neelakurinji (Strobilanthes
kunthiana) under Schedule III of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, including it on the list of
protected plants.
• Those who uproot or destroy the plant will invite a fine of ₹25,000- and three-years'
imprisonment.
Knowledge Nuggets -
• The Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 has divided the protection status of various plants
and animals under the following six schedules -
o Schedule I: It covers endangered species that need rigorous protection. The
species are granted protection from poaching, killing, trading etc.
o Schedule II: Animals under this list are also accorded high protection with the
prohibition on their trade. They cannot be hunted except under threat to human life
or if they are suffering from a disease/ disorder that goes beyond recovery.
o Schedule III & IV: Species that are not endangered are included under Schedule
III and IV. This includes protected species with hunting prohibited but the penalty
for any violation is less compared to the first two schedules.
o Schedule V: This schedule contains animals that are considered as vermin (small
wild animals that carry disease and destroy plants and food). These animals can
be hunted.
o Schedule VI: It provides for regulation in cultivation of a specified plant and
restricts its possession, sale and transportation.
53. Astro tourism in India is set to take off with the National Council of Science Museums
(NCSM) in association with Nehru Memorial Museum & Library (NMML) organizing a sky
gazing event at India Gate Lawns, Kartavya Path, Delhi.
54. Ministry of Culture has organized a grand curtain raiser program called ‘Sur Sarita –
Symphony of Ganga’ at the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor in Varanasi, on the eve of the
launch of the world’s longest river cruise.
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• The program was led by renowned singer Shankar Mahadevan, and was attended by
dignitaries and tourists who were set to embark on the Ganga Vilas Cruise.
55. India and the United States have established a New Working Group to build sustainable
supply chains and boost bilateral trade.
• The working group will initially focus on trade facilitation, digitization of customs procedures,
issues related to sustainable finance and the scaling up of innovative clean technologies.
56. Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the world’s longest river cruise named Ganga Vilas
from Varanasi to Dibrugarh in Assam via Bangladesh.
• This Ganga cruise will sail for 51-days.
57. Indian Railways is going to run its Bharat Gaurav Deluxe AC Tourist Train on a very special
tour “Shri Ram-Janaki Yatra: Ayodhya to Janakpur” covering two most significant
pilgrimage sites Ayodhya and Janakpur from the neighbouring countries India and Nepal.
• The tourist train will include the visit of Nandigram, Sitamarhi, Kashi and Prayagraj as
added attractions in the tour.
• The visit of Ayodhya, Sitamarhi and Prayagraj will be covered in the day halt at the
destination.
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58. Central Govt is planning to launch a five-year National Urban Technology Mission to infuse
technological innovations in municipal services and infrastructure of 4,500 urban local
bodies in the country.
• The mission will be spearheaded by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, will have
three major sub-heads.
• The first sub-head is online governance. The second sub-head would be monitoring and
efficient management of the environmental infrastructure of 1,000 cities.
• Under the mission, sewage treatment, air quality, flood management and water bodies of
these cities will be monitored through technological interventions.
59. Indian Army and Uttarakhand has signed an MOU for CLAW (Conquest land air and water)
Global for the first edition of the 'Soul of Steel' challenge.
• Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, along with several other ministers and Army veterans,
launched the 'Soul of Steel' challenge in Dehradun on the occasion of Armed Forces
Veterans Day (January 14).
• The 'Soul of steel' challenge is a long-distance triathlon held in Europe which tests an
individual's physical capabilities.
• The Indian Army plans to organize the 'Soul of steel' challenge at least once every year.
Anyone between the age group of 18-30 can apply for the challenge that would be spread
across a duration of three months.
• As many as 12 Indians will be shortlisted for the challenge and will be divided into two
teams of six participants each. A total of six international teams will participate in the
endurance challenge.
Knowledge Nuggets -
• The CLAW Global was set up in January 2019 by Major (retd) Vivek Jacob, a retired
para special forces officer.
• The initiative is aimed at enabling life skill training and youth development. It is also
expected to boost global promotion of adventure tourism in Uttarakhand.
60. India will establish a Global South Centre of Excellence to undertake research on
development solutions for developing countries.
• The announcement was made during his opening address at the concluding session of the
Voice of Global South virtual summit.
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61. IG Drones startup has developed India's first 5G-enabled drone named Skyhawk, that is
capable of vertical take-off and landing.
• The drone can be used in defence and medical applications, among other sectors.
• IG Drones is incubated by Veer Surendra Sai University of Technology (VSSUT)
campus in Odisha’s Sambalpur.
62. Central Govt has announced to set up India’s first Centre of Excellence in Online Gaming
in Shillong, Meghalaya by March 2023 to help startups from the North-East region to build
next generation online gaming apps and softwares.
• The centre will be established through the Software Technology Parks of India (STPI)
under the Digital India Startup Hub.
• Indian online gaming industry will reach $5 billion in 2025.
• The Ministry of Electronics and IT has announced to set up a state-of-the-art facility under
the National Institute of Electronics and IT (NIELIT) to provide training on digital skills
to the youth of North-East at Shillong.
63. Central Govt has announced to launch the 4th phase of Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas
Yojana (PMKVY 4.0) to train roughly 1,45,050 youth in the North East region of the country.
• The Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship under PMKVY 4.0 has set a
target to skill around 60,000 youth in Tripura, 35,000 in Nagaland, and 50,000 youth in
Meghalaya across a spectrum of approved courses.
64. India and the UAE have signed an agreement on green hydrogen development.
• Both countries also laid undersea cable connecting India to the UAE under Prime Minister
Narendra Modi's 'One Sun, One World, One Grid initiative'.
65. India is committed to eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis (LF) by 2027, three years ahead of the
global target through mission mode through the five-pronged roadmap.
• Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Telangana, and Bihar account for about 60% Lymphedema cases in
India.
• The elimination of the disease will be achieved via multi-drug administration (MDA)
campaign which aims to administer drug to children twice a year synchronized with
national deworming day (February 10 and August 10).
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• Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya made this announcement during the
National Symposium on India’s roadmap to eliminate LF.
Knowledge Nuggets -
• Lymphatic filariasis, commonly known as elephantiasis, is a neglected tropical disease.
Infection occurs when filarial parasites are transmitted to humans through mosquitoes.
• Infection is usually acquired in childhood causing hidden damage to the lymphatic
system.
• Lymphatic filariasis infection involves asymptomatic, acute, and chronic conditions.
• As of March 2022, 863 million people in 47 countries worldwide remain threatened by
lymphatic filariasis and require preventive chemotherapy to stop the spread of this
parasitic infection.
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66. Siemens (the German engineering company) has signed a 3-billion-euro ($3.25 billion)
contract to supply and service freight trains in India.
• Siemens will deliver 1,200 electric locomotives and provide servicing for 35 years under the
agreement, also its biggest ever in India.
67. National Aquifer Mapping and Management programme, which aims to identify aquifers
and water availability, is set to be completed in one year.
• The announcement was made during a conference on ‘Water Reclamation and Reuse’,
which was organized by the FICCI and the International Water Association (IWA) in
Chennai.
• The announcement was made by G. Asok Kumar, Director General of the National
Mission for Clean Ganga, Union Ministry of Jal Shakti.
Knowledge Nuggets -
• Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) is implementing National Aquifer Mapping and
Management program (NAQUIM), which envisages mapping of aquifers (water
bearing formations), their characterization and development of Aquifer Management
Plans to facilitate sustainable management of Ground Water Resources.
• Launch Year – 2012
• It is a part of the ‘Ground Water Management and Regulation’ scheme to develop
plans for sustainable ground water management in the country.
• Out of the total nearly 33 lakh sq. km geographical area of the country, around 25 lakh
sq km has been identified under NAQUIM.
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• The target year for completion of the program in 2023.
68. Government e Marketplace (GeM) has launched “Womaniya on GeM” initiative to

empower women entrepreneurs and women self-help groups (WSHGs) to sell their
products directly to various government ministries, departments, and institutions.
• It contributes towards the SDG 5: Gender Equality.
• The initiative is represented by artist Anukta M Ghosh’s artwork “Magan”, an illustration
of women empowerment and grace.
• CEO of GeM - S Radha Chauhan
69. Sports Authority of India and the Indian Railways have established their National Centre
for Excellence at Coochbehar, West Bengal.
• The indoor facilities will have major games such as boxing, judo, wrestling, volleyball,
badminton, basketball and others. An international standard hockey synthetic turf is also
planned.
70. Scheme for Financial Support for Project Development Expenses of PPP Projects - India
Infrastructure Project Development Fund Scheme (IIPDF) was approved in November
2022 with an outlay of Rs 150 crores for a period of 3 years from 2022-23 to 2024-25.
• It is a Central Sector Scheme.
• The IIPDF will contribute up to 75% of the project development expenses to the
Sponsoring Authority as an interest free loan. The balance 25% will be co-funded by the
Sponsoring Authority.
Knowledge Nuggets -
• Types of PPP Models - Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT), Build-Own-Operate (BOO), Build,
Own, Operate, Transfer (BOOT), Build-Operate-Lease-Transfer (BOLT), Design-Build-
Operate-Transfer (DBFO), Lease-Develop-Operate (LDO), Engineering, Procurement,
and Construction (EPC) Model, and Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM).
71. Union Minister of State Dr Jitendra Singh has announced that the entire country will be
covered by Doppler Weather Radar Network by 2025.
• It was announced on the occasion of 148th Foundation Day of India Meteorological
Department (IMD).
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• During the event, Minister Dr Jitendra Singh dedicated 4 Doppler Weather Radar
Systems to Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand, and Himachal Pradesh.
• The Minister also dedicated 200 Agro Automated Weather Stations.
• Under Agro-Meteorological Services, it is targeted to establish 660 District Agro
Meteorological Units (DAMUs) by 2025 and increase from 3,100 blocks in 2023 to 7,000
blocks in 2025.
Knowledge Nuggets -
• 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.).
72. Central Mine Planning and Design Institute Limited (CMPDIL), Ranchi (a consultancy
subsidiary of Coal India Limited) has invented a “System and Method for Controlling
Generation and Movement of Fugitive Dust” and obtained patent for it.
• Purpose - Reduce dust generation from open sources and also help in noise reduction
• Application - This system can be used in mines, thermal power plants, railway sidings,
ports, construction sites wherein coal or other minerals/fugitive materials are stored under
open sky.
73. India has assumed the presidency of the 13th assembly of the International Renewable
Energy Agency (the first international organisation to focus exclusively on renewable energy).
• Theme of the Assembly – World Energy Transitions: The Global Stocktake
• Union Minister of New and Renewable Energy R. K. Singh gave his opening remarks at the
agency's 13th assembly in Abu Dhabi.
• India has also been appointed as the host of the Mission Innovation and Clean Energy
Ministerials in 2023.
Knowledge Nuggets -
• Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM) is a high-level global forum to promote policies and
programmes that advance clean energy technology, to share lessons learned and best
practices, and to encourage the transition to a global clean energy economy.
74. Ministry of Minority Affairs has discontinued the Padho Pardesh Scheme that aimed at
providing interest subsidy on education loans for overseas studies for students belonging
to minority communities.
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• Canara Bank is the nodal agency of this scheme.

• The Ministry has also discontinued from Maulana Azad National Fellowship for Minority
Students scheme because this scheme is overlapping with other schemes of the govt.
• The Maulana Azad National Fellowship for Minority Students scheme used to provide
scholarship to candidates who belong to one of the Minority Community i.e., Muslim, Sikh,
Parsi, Buddhist, Christian & Jain who are pursuing higher studies such as regular and full
time M. Phil/Ph.
Knowledge Nuggets -
• Padho Pardesh Scheme was launched in 2006 to provide scholarships for meritorious
students from minority communities to continue their studies overseas.
• The objective of the scheme is to award interest subsidy to meritorious students
belonging to economically weaker sections of notified minority communities so as to
provide them better opportunities for higher education abroad and enhance their
employability.
75. Network Planning Group (NPG) was constituted under the PM GatiShakti National Master
Plan.
• The Group has examined and recommended three projects-
• A four-lane accessed controlled greenfield highway as part of the Nagpur-Vijaywada
corridor
• A new rail connectivity projects connecting Barejadi Nandej to Sanand in Gujarat,
• A new rail connectivity projects connecting Barbil, Barsuan and Nayagarh in Odisha
76. External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar arrived in Maldives as part of his three-day visit
to Maldives and Sri Lanka.
• An MoU between Maldivian National University and Kochi University of Science &
Technology was signed.
• India has announced an additional grant of 100 million Maldivian Rufiyaa for
community development projects.
• Abdulla Shahid is Maldivian politician who served as President of the 76th United
Nations General Assembly between 2021 and 2022.
77. A sensitisation workshop on G-20 Environment and Climate Sustainability will be held in
Bengaluru.
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• The first meeting of the G-20 Working Group on Environment and Climate
Sustainability will be held in Bengaluru from the 9th to the 11th of February.
• The G-20 Working Group will focus on Arresting Land Degradation, Restoration of
Degraded Lands, and Enhancement of Biodiversity. It will put specific emphasis on the
restoration of areas affected by Forest Fire and Mining.
78. 57th Directors General of Police / Inspectors General of Police Conference was held in
New Delhi.
• Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi's vision aims at making India a developed nation by
2047 and a $5 dollar economy by 2025.
79. Department of Consumer Affairs under Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public
Distribution released a ‘Endorsements Know-hows!’ guide for celebrities, influencers and
virtual influencers on social media platforms.
• The guide aims to ensure that individuals do not mislead their audiences when endorsing
products or services and that they are in compliance with the Consumer Protection Act and
any associated rules or guidelines.
80. IIT-Madras has developed a mobile operating system 'BharOS' to benefit India's 100 crore
cell phone users in India.
• Developed indigenously, by JandK Operations Private Limited, a Company established
by IIT Madras, BharOS is a significant step towards developing robust indigenous digital
infrastructure in the country.
81. India will extend export benefits under the Remission of Duties and Taxes on Export
Products (RoDTEP) scheme to domestic green hydrogen fuel manufacturers.
• The Remission of Duties and Taxes on Export Products (RoDTEP) scheme, designed to
offer refunds against some local levies to exporters, will be extended to green hydrogen
once exports start.
• India (one of the world's biggest emitters of greenhouse gases) has approved a $2.11
billion incentive plan to boost local production and encourage use of green hydrogen.
Knowledge Nuggets -
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• India targets for an annual production of 5 million tonnes of green hydrogen and
hopes to provide at least 10% of global demand of hydrogen by 2030.
• The move is targeted to help the country achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2070.
82. Union External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar arrived in Sri Lanka for a two-day visit. India
has announced doubling of its high-impact community development project in the debt-
ridden island nation.
• This agreement on community development projects in Sri Lanka with the support of the
Government of India was signed in May 2005.
• It had a project limit of Rs 300 million, doubling from this agreement to Rs 600 million.
• At the Summit, India talked about the implementation of 13A of Sri Lankan Constitution,
which gives powers to the Tamil Community in Sri Lanka. The agreement for the
implementation of the provision was signed in 1987.
83. Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi named the 21 largest unnamed islands of Andaman &
Nicobar Islands after 21 Param Vir Chakra awardees.
• During the programme, the Prime Minister also unveiled the model of the National
Memorial dedicated to Netaji to be built on Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Dweep.
• The largest unnamed island will be named after the first Param Vir Chakra awardee, the
second largest unnamed island will be named after the second Param Vir Chakra awardee,
and so on.
• The Great Nicobar Plan was also announced to develop the infrastructure in Nicobar
island in terms of defense, commerce, logistics, and industries.
o Developing authority: NITI Aayog
o To be implemented by: Andaman and Nicobar Islands Integrated Development
Corporation (ANIIDCO)
o Project Worth: Rs 75,000 crores
84. India International Science Festival (IISF-2022) was organized in Bhopal on the theme of
“Marching towards Amrit Kaal with Science Technology and Innovation”.
• IISF 2022 is the 8th edition since its inception in 2015.
• This event was to be held in 2022. Now, it will take place in 2023.
pg. 27
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85. The average days of employment provided per household under the Mahatma Gandhi
National Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) are at a five-year low in 2022-23.
• The average days of employment provided per household is 42 days while it was 50 days
in 2021-22, 52 days in 2020-21, 48 days in 2019-20 and 51 days in 2018-19.
86. Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacted with youngsters who were selected under the
‘Know Your Leader’ programme, which was organized to honour Netaji Subhas Chandra
Bose, in the Central Hall of Parliament in New Delhi.
• The interaction took place on January 23 (Parakaram Diwas - Netaji Subhas Chandra
Bose Jayanti).
87. Atal Pension Yojana (APY) — targeted towards unorganised sector workers — saw the
highest-ever takers in 2022 with enrolments rising 36%.
• The figure crossed 10 million for the first time in a calendar year. The number of
enrolments in 2022 rose to 12.5 million from 9.2 million in 2021.
• The scheme has crossed the landmark of 50 million (5 crore) enrolments in the calendar
year 2022.
• Cumulatively, the majority of subscribers (82%) have opted for a Rs 1,000 pension
followed by 11% opting for the highest pension amount of Rs 5,000 per month.
• The highest number of enrolments age-wise was from 21-25 years (28%), accounting for
13.7 million subscribers, followed by 25-30 years (25%) with 12.1 million subscribers. The
least number of subscribers were those above 35 years (11.14%).
• The transgender community has also reported the highest number of enrolments in 2022.
Knowledge Nuggets -
• Centre launched the Atal Pension Yojana in 2015 to ensure minimum social security
for unorganised sector workers. The minimum age of joining the scheme is 18 years
and maximum age is 40 years.
• A subscriber under the APY is required to make a monthly/quarterly/six monthly
contribution of an amount determined by the pension chosen and the age of joining the
scheme.
• The subscriber will receive a government-guaranteed minimum pension of Rs 1,000,
Rs 2,000, Rs 3,000, Rs 4,000 or Rs 5,000 per month. It will be paid after the age of 60
until death, depending on the contribution chosen.
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• Till November 30, 2022, the top-five states in enrolments were Uttar Pradesh, Bihar,
West Bengal, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.
• Uttar Pradesh and Bihar are also the top-performing states in terms of women
enrolments followed by West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra.
88. World Economic Forum (WEF) has announced the establishment of a Centre for the Fourth
Industrial Revolution (C4IR Telangana) in Hyderabad.
• It will focus on healthcare and life sciences, with the goal of accelerating product
development and delivery innovation within the Indian healthcare system.
• India also participated in the First Movers Coalition (FMC) Leadership Meeting of the
World Economic Forum which deliberated on the world need for clean energy
technologies to confront climate crisis globally.
• FMC was launched by US President Joe Biden in 2021. India, Japan, Norway, Italy, and
Sweden. UK, USA, Singapore, Germany, Denmark. Canada joined the coalition in 2023.
89. India-UAE Partnership Summit will be organized by International Business Linkage Forum
(IBLF) and Dubai International Chamber in Dubai on January 23-25.
• India is the world’s fifth-largest economy and was the second-biggest trading partner to the
UAE in 2021.
90. National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has launched PARAKH
(Performance Assessment, Review and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic
Development).
• Purpose - to oversee the process and conduct periodic tests like the National Achievement
Survey (NAS) and State Achievement Surveys
• PARAKH will be setting norms, standards and guidelines for student assessment and
evaluation for all recognised school boards of India, encouraging and helping school boards
to shift their assessment patterns towards meeting the skill requirements of the 21st
century.
• PARAKH may conduct the first NAS by 2024.
91. Election Commissioner of India, Rajiv Kumar, has inaugurated the “Democracy Summit”
on the theme of “Use of Technology and Elections Integrity”.
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• This is the 2nd conference in this series. The first conference was held on the theme “Role,
Framework and Capacity of Election Management Bodies”.
• More than 16 countries participated in the conference.
92. Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has conducted a two-day Smart City CEO
Conference at Panaji, Goa.
• CEOs and Municipal commissioners of more than 100 smart cities participated in the
conference.
93. India will host the Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s Film Festival in Mumbai.
94. Central Govt will celebrate the India Energy Week 2023 in February in Bengaluru,
Karnataka.
• During the celebration, a methanol-blended diesel-powered ship named MD15 (because it
has 15% methanol blend) will be launched.
• The methanol for this ship will be obtained from the Mahabahu Brahmaputra project
being implemented in Assam.
• Mahabahu Brahmaputra Project was launched in 2021 in Assam to produce 100 Tons
Per Day (TPD) of methanol.
• Assam Petrochemical Ltd, Namrup currently produces about 100 TPD of Methanol and is
implementing a new project for the production of 500 TPD of Methanol.
95. Ministry of Electronics and IT conducted the first-ever India Stack Developer Conference
in New Delhi to increase the adoption of Indian digital products in India as well as outside.
• India expects 5-7 countries to sign up for adopting India-developed technology
platforms like UPI, DigiLocker and Aadhaar – collectively referred to as the ‘India Stack’ –
by March for accelerating digitisation.
96. Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari has chaired the 10th
Infrastructure Committee Meet in New Delhi to address existing inter-Ministerial issues
concerning the implementation of various infrastructure projects.
97. American India Foundation (AIF) inaugurated India's first STEM Innovation and Learning
Center (SILC) in Chennai under the Vaanavil Mandram initiative of the Tamil Nadu state govt.
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• Chief Minister MK Stalin has launched the Vaanavil Mandram initiative in the
government schools in order to instill scientific rationalism in students and simplify their
learning of Science and Math.
98. Central Govt has selected the Odisha State Disaster Management Authority (OSDMA) and
the Lunglei Fire Station (LFS), Mizoram, for the Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda
Prabandhan Puraskar for 2023 for their work in disaster management.
• Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar is an Indian National Award for
disaster management those who served selfless service for the country.
• Every individual annd organisation awarded by the Government of India on every year on
January 23, the birth anniversary of freedom fighter Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose.
99. Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) has partnered with Bharat
Dynamics Limited (BDL), under the aegis of Ministry of Defense, for creating an
apprenticeship training framework.
• Purpose - to address the need for skilled and future-ready workforce in the Central Public
Sector Undertaking and Industries
• Under the collaboration, more than 250 apprentices have been engaged in the BDL
facility in Hyderabad where ‘Astra’ missile is manufactured.
100. Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF), which was launched in July 2020, has mobilised
over Rs 30,000 crore for taking up projects related to creation of post-harvest management
facilities.
• The AIF is a financing facility for creation of post-harvest management infrastructure and
community farm assets.
• Under this scheme, Rs 1 lakh crore is to be disbursed by financial year 2025-26 and the
interest subvention and credit guarantee assistance will be given till the year 2032-33.
• Within two-and-a-half years of the implementation of the AIF, the scheme has mobilised
more than Rs 30,000 crore for projects in the agriculture infrastructure sector. Of which, Rs
15,000 crore has been allocated for projects.
• AIF is providing financial support to the farmers, agri-entrepreneurs, farmer groups like
Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs), Self Help Groups (SHGs) and Joint Liability
pg. 31
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Groups, among others to create post-harvest management infrastructure and build

community farming asset throughout the country.
101. Central Govt has created the U-WIN app to digitise India's Universal Immunisation
Programme (UIP).
• The platform will be used to register and vaccinate every pregnant woman, record her
delivery outcome, register every new born delivery, administer birth doses and all
vaccination events thereafter.
• The U-WIN is going to be the single source of information for immunisation services,
updating vaccination status, delivery outcome, planning of RI sessions and reports like
antigen-wise coverage, etc.
102. Ministry of Culture will revamp the Monument Mitra scheme to enable private firms to
partner for the upkeep and maintenance of 1,000 ASI monuments.
• Launched in 2017, the Monument Mitra scheme to allow the adoption of monument sites
by people and organizations for the maintenance of ASI sites.
• The scheme was launched under the Ministry of Tourism and recently it was transferred to
the Ministry of Culture.
• Ministry of Culture would be projecting India as a “cultural superpower” during the four
meetings of G20 Cultural track.
o The first meeting will take place at Khajuraho in Madhya Pradesh in February.
o The other two meets will take place in Bhubaneswar and Hampi, while discussion
was underway to decide the location for the fourth meeting.
o At these four locations, a thematic exhibition will be held.
103. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is planning to launch the Aditya-L1
mission by June or July 2023.
• Aditya-L1 is the first Indian space mission to observe the Sun and the solar corona.
• The Aditya-L1 mission will be launched by ISRO to the L1 orbit (which is the first
Lagrangian point of the Sun-Earth system). L1 orbit allows Aditya-L1 to look at the Sun
continuously.
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104. Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s Summit will be held under India’s Chairmanship
in August 2023. India has invited all the SCO members including Pakistan and China for this
Summit.
• Theme - “FOR A SECURE SCO”; Secure stands for -
o S: Security for citizens
o E: Economic Development
o C: Connectivity
o U: Unity
o R: Respect
o E: Environmental Protection
105. India elected as Vice-chair of the 12th session of FAO's Intergovernmental Technical
Working Group (ITWG) on Animal Genetic Resources (ANGR) for Food and Agriculture
at Rome.
• USA is the Chair of the session.
• Spain, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Tonga, and Brazil are other Vice-chairs of this session
along with India.
106. South Africa has signed an agreement with India to introduce dozens of African
cheetahs to India over the next decade.
Knowledge Nuggets -
• South Africa Legislative Capital – Cape Town; Currency - South African rand (ZAR)
• Lesotho and Eswatini, formerly named Swaziland, are two landlocked countries
surrounded by South Africa.
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107. India’s first indigenously developed vaccine named “CERVAVAC” for the prevention of
cervical cancer was developed jointly by the Serum Institute of India and the Indian
Government's Department of Biotechnology.
• The price of the Vaccine is between Rs 200 and Rs 400 per dose.
108. Care organization has launched ‘She Feeds the World’ programme in India to improve
the food security and nutrition of poor rural households, with a strong emphasis on women
small-scale producers.
• Care has partnered with the PepsiCo Foundation to tackle gender inequality in
agriculture with an $18.2 million investment in She Feeds the World.
• The grant will provide resources and training to 5 million women farmers and their
families worldwide to help them increase crop yields and income.
• The program, which will be implemented in the Alipurduar and Cooch Behar districts of
West Bengal, aims to reach out to more than 48,000 women, men and children and
indirectly benefit 1,50,000 individuals.
• Under this initiative, PepsiCo has trained close to 1,500 women farmers in West Bengal on
potato agronomy and other skills.
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109. Union Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, has released “FM's Crack Squad”, which
is a list of eminent personalities who have contributed a lot in the Indian economy and
preparation of the Union Budget for FY24.
• Sitharaman is the first full-term female finance minister of India.
• The Crack Squad includes -
o T V Somanathan - economist and a secretary in the Ministry of Finance
o Ajay Seth - Department of Economic Affairs secretary, secretary in charge of the
finance track of the G20-2023, spearheaded initiatives like India’s first sovereign
green bond issuance
o Tuhin Kanta Pandey - DIPAM Secretary, Played a role in privatisation of Air India
and Neelanchal Ispat Nigam, and the initial public offering of Life Insurance
Corporation of India, Responsible for privatisation of Air India and Neelanchal Ispat
Nigam, and the IPO of Life Insurance Corporation of India
▪ 2023-24 tasks - sale of IDBI Bank and the privatisation of the Shipping
Corporation of India, Container Corporation of India, Bharat Earth Movers,
and the Nagarnar Steel Plant of NMDC (formerly National Mineral
Development Corporation)
o Sanjay Malhotra - chairman and MD of Rural Electrification Corporation, secretary
of Dept of Revenue
o Vivek Joshi – complete privatisation of two state-owned banks and one general
insurance company
o V Anantha Nageswaran - Chief Economic Adviser
110. Niti Aayog's Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), Central Board of Secondary Education
(CBSE) and Intel India have collaborated to bring a change in the education sector by
embedding future skills, such as artificial intelligence (AI), in the formal curriculum.
• Together, they launched the AIoT (Artificial intelligence of things) Integration in the
school curriculum in September 2022.
111. India hosted the 3rd edition of the INTERPOL’s Young Global Police Leaders
Programme (YGPLP) at New Delhi.
• Theme - Building trust in an age of disinformation and deepfakes
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• Established in 2019, the YGPLP brings together a select group of aspiring young law
enforcement officials to explore emerging trends in policing and provide them with
mentoring from experienced senior officers and qualified experts.
• The 2nd edition of the YGPLP was organized in UAE on the theme of “Connecting Minds,
Creating the Future”.
112. The Secretary of Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Shri Alkesh
Kumar Sharma, has inaugurated 1 Ton/day PCB Recycling facility at the Centre for
Materials for Electronics Technology (C-MET), in Hyderabad.
• C-MET has established Center of Excellence (CoE) on E-waste Management first of its
kind in the country under PPP model.
• CoE on E-waste management has developed all varieties of e-waste recycling technologies
viz. spent PCB, Li Ion Battery, Permanent magnet and Si-solar cells etc.
Knowledge Nuggets -
• Centre for Materials for Electronics Technology (C-MET) is an autonomous scientific
society under Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India.
• It is having three R&D laboratories located at Hyderabad, Pune & Thrissur focusing on
different thrust areas on critical electronic materials.
• C-MET, Hyderabad lab is focused on the development of high purity, semiconductors
and strategic materials including metals and alloys.
113. Ministry of Electronics and IT has set up three grievances appellate committees for
the users of social media apps.
• 1st committee – Chair: Rajesh Kumar (CEO of Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre,
M/o Home Affairs)
• 2nd committee – Chair: Vikram Sahay (Joint Secretary in Policy and Administration of
MeiTY)
• 3rd committee – Chair: Kavita Bhatia (scientist at MeiTY)
114. Indian Railways has introduced the ‘Ideal Train Profile’ to maximise the capacity
utilisation and revenue generation in reserved mail express trains by regularly analysing the
demand pattern of every single train.
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115. Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways and Ayush Shri Sarbananda
Sonowal inaugurated The National Logistics Portal (marine) in New Delhi.
• It is a one-stop platform aimed at connecting all the stakeholders of the logistics
community using IT, to improve efficiency and transparency by reducing costs and time
delays and achieving easier, faster, and more competitive offerings of services, to promote
the growth of the logistics sector and thereby improve trade.
116. New Delhi International Arbitration Centre (Amendment) Act, 2022 has come into force
to rename the New Delhi International Arbitration Centre to the India International
Arbitration Centre.
• The Act extends the time period to 5 years.
117. MeitY Startup Hub (MSH), an initiative of the Ministry of Electronics & Information
Technology (MeitY), and Meta have announced the list of 120 startups and innovators for
the XR Startup Program.
• As announced in September 2022, XR Startup Program is a collaboration between MSH
and Meta to discover, nurture, and accelerate Extended Reality (XR) technology startups
and innovators across India.
Knowledge Nuggets -
• XR Startup Program is a collaboration between Meta and MeitY Startup Hub (MSH).
• Purpose - to accelerate India’s contribution towards building the foundations of the
metaverse and nurturing the development of Extended Reality (XR) technologies in India
• The metaverse is the next generation of the internet.
• A total of 80 shortlisted innovators will receive a grant of ₹50,000. Of the 80 shortlisted
innovators, 16 innovators will be supported with grants worth ₹20,00,000 to help them
develop MVP(s)/ prototypes.
118. Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways is developing a Mega International

Container Transhipment Port (ICTP) at Galathea Bay of Great Nicobar Island of Andaman
and Nicobar Islands in Bay of Bengal.
• The proposed facility is envisaged to be developed in four phases with the total estimated
cost of ~INR 41,000 crore.
• Phase 1 is proposed to be commissioned in 2028.
pg. 37
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119. National Statistical Office (NSO) has released the progress report on the Twenty Point
Program.
• The report focused on the third phase of the PM Gram Sadak Yojana.
• As per the report, the length of rural roads constructed under the Pradhan Mantri Gram
Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) has again fallen short of its target.
Knowledge Nuggets -
• The Central Govt launched the Twenty Point Program in 1975. It has been revised twice
since its launch in 1982 and 1986.
• Purpose - to eradicate poverty and improve the lives of rural people using 20 points
• These 20 points will be achieved through government schemes. A total of 65 government

schemes are being implemented to achieve the goals under these 20 points.
• The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) is tasked with
monitoring 65 items under the TTP.
• The TPP planning is done on a quarterly basis.
120. Mughal Garden at the Delhi University has been renamed the Gautam Buddha
Centenary Garden.
• The Mughal Gardens at the Rashtrapati Bhavan has also been renamed as the ‘Amrit
Udyan’.
pg. 38
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121. Shri G. Kishan Reddy, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Development of North
Eastern Region (DONER) launched the Visit India Year 2023 initiative and unveiled its logo
at New Delhi.
122. National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and his US counterpart Jake Sullivan launched
the US-India initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET) in Washington.
123. Republic Day 2023 (74th edition) -

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi has been invited as the Chief Guest of
Republic Day 2023.
• Border Security Force is conducting a seven-day long vigilance
exercise called the “OPS ALERT” in the wake of 74th Republic Day.
• This year, the Republic Day will focus on Nari Shakti (women
empowerment). This is the first republic day celebration after the Rajpath
was renamed the Kartavya Path.
Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud has announced in open court that the
Supreme Court will release 1,268 judgments in 13 Indian languages on
Republic Day in a bid to make justice administration more accessible to the
common man.
• 1,091 judgments will be translated to Hindi, 21 in Odia, 14 Marathi, 4
Assamese, 1 Garo, 17 Kannada, 1 Khasi, 29 Malayalam, 3 Nepali, 4
Punjabi, 52 Tamil, 28 Telugu and 3 Urdu.
• The judgments would be made available in the court’s e-SCR portal. The
portal which is the repository of the electronic version of Supreme Court
Reports (SCR)
As India celebrates its 74th Republic Day, over 11 crore rural households of the
country have access to tap water connections.
• 123 districts and more than 1.53 lakh villages of India have reported
'Har Ghar Jal'.
• Jal Jeevan Mission was launched in 2019 to provide tap water
connections to every household in India.
pg. 39
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• Central and State governments are sharing the funds for the project. The
ratio of their fund sharing is 50:50. In the North-Eastern states and
Himalayan states, it is 90:10. The North East state share 10% of the funds.
o For ‘Coverage’, funds are shared in a 50:50 ratio. For ‘Support
Activities’ and ‘Water Quality Management System’, the ratio is
60:40.
Egypt plans to allot land to Indian industries in Suez Canal Special Economic
Zone.
• India and Egypt have signed a strategic agreement, which includes an
agreement on terrorism. The countries will work together in resolving
cross-border terrorism.
o The agreement will focus in areas such as cyber security, information
technology, youth, culture, and broadcasting.
• India-Middle-East-Europe Freight-Food-Energy Corridor is being
envisioned by India and Egypt can act as a Gateway for India to enter
Europe, West Asia (Middle East) and Africa.
o Although India has land access to the Middle-East, the region goes
through Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran, which are unstable and
hostile nations at present. Therefore, India is seeking an alternative
route to the Middle-East, which goes through Egypt’s Sinai
Peninsula.
India and Egypt signed an MOU to facilitate content exchange, capacity building,
and Co-Productions between Prasar Bharati and National Media Authority of
Egypt.
• Purpose - to exchange their programs of different genres like Sports,
News, Culture, Entertainment and many more areas on bilateral basis and
these programs will be telecast on their Radio and Television platforms
• The MOU is part of the efforts by Prasar Bharati to expand the reach of DD
India Channel to show-case the country’s progress through programs
focussed on economy, technology, social development and also the rich
cultural heritage.
pg. 40
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• Prasar Bharati, Public Service Broadcaster of India, currently has 39

MOUs with foreign broadcasters for co-operation and collaboration in the
field of broadcasting.
Other MOUs between India and Egypt-
• 1st – Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-IN) and Egyptian
Computer Emergency Readiness Team
• 2nd – Cooperation for Information Technology
• 3rd – Cooperation in Culture
• 4th – Cooperation in Youth Matters
Padma Awards
• A total of 106 people won Padma Awards 2023.
• A total of 91 people won the Padma Shri awards.
• President of India has approved 412 Gallantry Awards for Defence
personnel.
pg. 41
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Best Tableaux
• Total – 17 from states/UTs and 6 from ministries and departments
• Best tableaux state/UT - Uttarakhand
• Best tableaux Ministries and Departments – Ministry of Tribal Affairs
(themed on Eklavya Model Residential Schools)
• Best Marching Contingent in Tri-services – Punjab Regiment Centre
Contingent
• Best Marching Contingent from CAPF/other auxiliary services – CRPF
Marching contingent
Knowledge Nuggets -
• Egypt Capital – Cairo; Currency - Egyptian Pound; Official Language –
Arabic
• Approximately, 90% population of Egypt practice Islam.
• It is a transcontinental country. It is divided into Africa and Asia (through the
Sinai Peninsula, which is shares the border of Israel).
• Suez Canal Special Economic Zone
pg. 42
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• Suez Canal is located between the mainland Egypt and Sinai Peninsula.
124. India’s G20 Presidency (18th edition) -

• 2024 Summit – Brazil
• 2025 Summit – South Africa
• The first B20 Summit under the G20 forum was organized in
Gandhinagar.
• B20 India 2023 dialogue will take place under the theme of 'RAISE,' an
acronym for Responsible, Accelerated, Innovative, Sustainable and
Equitable Businesses.
• Ahmedabad will host the U20 Summit of G20 forum in July 2023.
pg. 43
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• Y20 (Youth) Summit, a part of the G20 meetings, will be hosted by India
for the first time on five themes, which are future of work; climate change
and disaster risk reduction; peacebuilding and reconciliation; and youth in
democracy.
• International Kite Festival 2023 has begun in Ahmedabad, Gujarat on
the Sabarmati River front.
• The festival is being organized on the G20 theme of “One Earth, One
Family, One Future”.
• Central government will organise the India’s first global tourism
investors summit in Delhi from April 10-12 under the aegis of India's G20
Presidency.
• Maharashtra is working actively on boosting tourism in the state. 'Mumbai
is the Cruise Capital' and ‘Tadoba is the Tiger Capital'.
• The first G20 Health Working Group meeting under India’s G20
presidency was held at Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala.
• IIT-Madras is hosting a G20 University Connect lecture series titled
‘Engaging Young Minds’ to engage the youth.
• India's Civil 20 Engagement Group (C20), the official engagement group
of the G20 representing the voices of non-profit, voluntary citizens' groups
in service to society, has been inaugurated at Amritapuri in Kerala's
Kollam district.
• Sri Mata Amritanandamayi (popularly called as Amma) is the chair of
C20.
• Shillong in Meghalaya will be hosting the Space-20 program of the G20 in

April.
• Two day-long ‘Think-20’ meeting will be held under G20, to discuss
various topics, including 'Global Governance with LiFE, Values, and
Wellbeing' in Bhopal.
pg. 44
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• The Bhopal Declaration was adopted at the meeting for promoting

traditional medicine systems like AYUSH. The Declaration aims to work in
different dimensions.
• The first Infrastructure Working Group (IWG) Meeting will be held in
Pune under India's G20 Presidency to focus on various facets of making
cities economic centres of growth, financing urban infrastructure, and
making it future-ready in all aspects.
• The IWG meeting will focus on "Financing Cities of Tomorrow: Inclusive,
Resilient and Sustainable."
STATE NEWS
1. Assam State Cabinet led by CM Himanta Biswa Sarma has given industry status to the
tourism sector in the state.
2. A tripartite agreement was signed by the Indian Government, Manipur Government and an
insurgent group called Zeliangrong United Front (ZUF).
• The Zeliangrong United Front is an insurgent group, which was established in 2011. The
group claims to safeguard the interests of Zeliangrong Naga tribes in Manipur, Assam and
Nagaland.
• They want to create a ‘Zeliangrong’ state within the Indian territory, covering the
Zeliangrong Naga tribe’s area in the three north-eastern states.
3. The 14-km-long Angul-Balram rail link, constructed at a cost of Rs 3 billion, has been
inaugurated in Odisha.
• The Angul-Balram rail link was constructed by the Mahanadi Coal Railway Limited
(MCRL).
4. Delhi government has approved its draft Solar Policy 2022, which aims to increase installed
solar capacity target 6,000 MW by 2025.
• This will increase the share of solar energy in Delhi’s electricity demand from the
current 9% to 25% in 3 years – the highest in India.
pg. 45
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5. Meghalaya commemorated the 160th death anniversary of U Kiang Nagbah on December

30, 2022.
• U Kiang Nangbah was a freedom fighter who led the Jaintias’ rebellion against the British
colonial government.
• Kiang Nangbah belonged to the Jaintia tribal ethnic community.
6. Election Commission of India (ECI) has commenced the process of delimitation of state
assembly and parliamentary constituencies of Assam.
• The current delimitation exercise is being conducted based on the 2001 Census.
• Article 82 of Indian Constitution - Upon the completion of each census, the allocation
of seats in the House of the People to the States and the division of each State into
territorial constituencies shall be readjusted by such authority.
• Lok Sabha constituencies will be readjusted on the basis of Delimitation Commission
in 2026.
• Under Article 170, States also get divided into territorial constituencies as per
Delimitation Act after every Census.
• The Delimitation Commission is appointed by the President of India and works in
collaboration with the Election Commission of India.
7. Defence minister Rajnath Singh has inaugurated the Siyom bridge in Arunachal Pradesh,
along with 27 other infrastructure projects completed by the Border Roads Organisation.
pg. 46
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• The Siyom bridge is a 100-meter 'Class-70' steel arch superstructure, which will facilitate
faster induction of troops, heavy equipment like howitzers and mechanised vehicles to
forward areas of the Upper Siang district, Tuting and Yinkiong regions along the LAC (Line
of Actual Control) with China.
8. Assam has recorded zero poaching of endangered rhinos for the first time in 2022.
9. The High Court Justice Tashi Rabstan of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court has
launched the Legal Aid Defence Counsel System (LADCS) in ten districts of the Union
Territory.
• The system, which aims to provide quality legal services in criminal matters to eligible poor
persons, will be extended to the remaining ten districts in the coming months.
10. Gaan Ngai festival is celebrated by the Zeliarong community in Manipur after the harvest
season every year.
11. President Droupadi Murmu virtually laid the foundation stone for the 1,000 MW Bikaner Solar
Power Project in Jaipur, Rajasthan.
• Developer - SJVN Green Energy Limited (SGEL)
• Date of Commissioning - March 2024
12. Tamil Nadu has organized Octave 2023 – North-Eastern Cultural Festival.
13. President of India has given approval to the Code of Criminal Procedure (Gujarat
Amendment) Bill, 2021.
pg. 47
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• The bill empowers the state govt to register criminal cases against those who have staged
protests in violation of the section 144 of CrPC.
14. Himachal Pradesh CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has launched the CM’s Sukhashray
Sahayata Kosh for providing higher education to the children of needy people.
• A budget of Rs 101 crores has been outlined for the scheme.
15. Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel celebrated the traditional Cherchera festival
at Dudhadhari Math in the state capital Raipur.
16. Osmanabad District Court has become the first court in Maharashtra to introduce an e-
system of functioning.
17. Uttar Pradesh govt has launched UP Global City campaign to make the urban local bodies in
the state on par with the global standards.
18. Kerala has become the first state in India to fully digitalise its banking services.
• In July 2022, Kerala had also become the first and only state in the country to have its
own internet service.
• The ambitious Kerala Fibre Optic Network (K-FON) project of the state government,
which was almost 90% completed, will reduce the digital divide.
• Kerala is also the only state to declare the right to internet as the basic human right.
• Kerala has also won three Digital India Awards in 2022 for Ksheerashree portal (silver
medal), platinum award for Digital Workforce Management System and gold medal for
District Administration of Kottayam.
19. West Bengal CM Mamta Banerjee has launched the “Vehicle Location Control Centre and
App” to enhance the security of women in the state.
20. Tamil Nadu govt has launched the www.tamilangels.fund portal to urge the Tamil diaspora to
invest in startups in the state.
21. Bhitarkanika National Park in Odisha has seen an increase in its bird population in 2022,
according to Odisha’s forest department.
pg. 48
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22. Meghalaya CM Conrad Sangma launched the shared school bus system, prime tourism
vehicles and agriculture response vehicle scheme.
• The buses are part of Sustainable Transport and Efficient Mobility Society (STEMS)
programme focussed on mobility and overall transportation to decongest the city.
23. Odisha government’s state-level steering committee for the Compensatory Afforestation
Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) has approved an annual plan of Rs
1,086 crore for the 2023-24 for reducing man-animal conflicts.
Knowledge Nuggets -
• The Hon’ble Supreme Court on 10th July 2009 issued orders that there will be a
Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA)
as National Advisory Council under the chairmanship of the Union Minister of
Environment & Forests for monitoring, technical assistance and evaluation of
compensatory afforestation activities.
• At the state level, The State CAMPA is created for utilizing the CAMPA funds.
24. Tamil Nadu govt is seeking the revival of the Sethusamudram Project, a proposed shipping
canal project in India that would connect the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait.
25. Vidisha, a district of Madhya Pradesh, is the first district ever in India for on-ground
implementation of ground-breaking 5G use cases proposed by startups.
26. Himachal Pradesh CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has restored the Old Pension Scheme
(OPS) for Himachal Pradesh government employees with immediate effect.
• The CM has also approved a monthly allowance of Rs 1,500 to women aged 18-60. The
state govt will also generate one lakh job opportunities in a year.
27. Tamil Nadu Assembly has adopted the Tamil Nadu Government Servants (Conditions of
Service) Act, 2016 to make Tamil language paper compulsory for recruitment to the State
government services.
28. Tripura government has launched a special education programme called ‘Saharsh’ in an
effort to encourage social and emotional learning.
pg. 49
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• Launch – August 2022 in 40 schools in the state on pilot basis

• Purpose – for empowering children to learn with happiness and contribute to empathetic
development
• Expansion – From January 2023, it will be expanded to all schools in the state
• The social and emotional learning is the process through which children and adults learn
the skills they need to understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals,
feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make
responsible decisions.
29. Rajasthan has implemented the first-ever policy for blindness control in the country to
ensure the “Right to Sight”.
• The policy is in line with the “Nirogi Rajasthan” (Healthy Rajasthan) campaign of the
state, which was launched in 2019.
30. The bull-taming sport of Jallikattu, also known as ‘Eru Thazhuvuthal’ and ‘Mancuvirattu’, has
begun in Madurai district, Tamil Nadu on the occasion of Mattu Pongal.
31. The first edition of the Chennai International Book Fair kicked off at the YMCA Grounds in
Nandanam.
32. Kollam, Kerala has become the country’s first constitution literate district.
• Kollam, also known as Quilon, is an ancient port city located on the banks of the Ashtamudi
Lake in the Indian state of Kerala.
33. Jammu and Kashmir Government has declared the whole Union Territory as a “Free Area”
for purposes of the Prevention and Control of Infectious and Contagious Diseases in
Animals Act, 2009.
34. NTPC Renewable Energy Ltd (NTPC REL) has signed an MOU with Government of Tripura
for the developing floating and ground mounted based renewable energy projects in the state.
35. PM launched various developmental projects in Karnataka.

• 1st project - Narayanpur left bank canal with modern irrigation system at Yadgir in North
Karnataka (built at a cost of Rs 4699 crore)
pg. 50
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• 2nd project - Road and multi village drinking water projects worth Rs 10,863 crore
36. Higher Education Minister in Kerala R Bindu announced that girl students above the age of
18 years would get maternity leave of 60 days.
• The state also allowed menstrual leave for girl students above the age of 18 years.
• The concept of menstrual leave was first introduced by the Cochin University of Science
and Technology (CUSAT).
37. Chief Minister of Maharashtra Shri Eknath Shinde inaugurated the two-day Regional
Conference on “E-Governance” in Mumbai.
• This conference has been jointly organized by the Department of Administrative Reforms
and Public Grievances (DARPG) in collaboration with the Government of Maharashtra.
38. 4th International Trade Fair of Millets and Organics Products - ‘Millets & Organics 2023’
began at Bengaluru.
• The Government of Karnataka has been a leader in promotion of millets – The first
Organics and Millets Fair was held in 2017, the second and third editions in 2018 and 2019
in Bengaluru.
• Karnataka launched the SEEMI Brand Products and Millets Calendar 2023 developed
by Sahaja Samrudha Organization.
39. Assam’s Charaideo Maidam has been nominated for UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Knowledge Nuggets -
• Located approximately 30 km from Sibsagar town in Assam is Charaideo, the first capital
of the Ahom established by the first Ahom king Chao Lung Siukapha in 1253. Charaideo
symbolises the Ahom power, the place of origin of the royal Ahoms.
• If selected, Assam will have three world heritage sites, the other two being Kaziranga
National Park and Manas National Park.
40. Tamil Nadu announced setting up of a Turtle Conservation and Rehabilitation Centre at an
estimated Rs 6.3 crore.
41. Jharkhand launched a water conservation scheme with an outlay of Rs 467.32 crore to
provide benefits to farmers in the state.
pg. 51
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• Under the programme, 2,133 ponds will be renovated and 2,795 percolation tanks will be
constructed in all the blocks of 24 districts of the state.
42. Maharashtra has approved the Jalyukt Shivar Abhiyan 2.0, the flagship water conservation
scheme of the erstwhile Devendra Fadnavis-led NDA government.
• The scheme was launched in 2016 to make Maharashtra a drought-free state by 2019.
• The programme aims to make 5000 villages free of water scarcity every year.
43. Jammu and Kashmir government has launched ‘UT Level Food Processing Programme
for Development of Clusters for Specific Products of J&K’, an ambitious project targeted at
revolutionising the food-processing sector and transforming the lives of farmers in the
Union Territory.
• It is a Rs 879.75-crore initiative to maximise farmer income and minimise post-harvest
losses.
• This comprehensive project has been designed to increase the competitiveness of seven
identified products in 17 districts/clusters across categories in terms of cost, quality,
branding, and sustainability within 5 years.
• The government is investing in value-addition, logistics, marketing and branding of
various agriculture, horticulture and livestock products to achieve this goal.
• Products and their districts -
Milk for Jammu and Pulwama Walnut for Kupwara and Basmati for RS Pura, Samba
Kishtwar and Kathua
Cherry for Ganderbal and Mushrooms for Doda, Meat and poultry for Srinagar
Baramulla Budgam, Samba and and Kathua
Udhampur
Trout for Anantnag and - -
Ganderbal
44. Jaipur Literature Festival 2023 was addressed by the Nobel Laureate Abdulrazak Gurnah.
45. 23rd edition of Asian Water Bird Census was conducted in the Kole wetlands in Kerala.
• As per the Census, the number of birds in the wetland has reduced significantly.
• The number of water birds in the wetland has decreased from 15,959 in 2022 to 9,904.
pg. 52
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• The first edition of the Census was conducted in 1987 by Bombay Natural History Society
and Wetlands International.
• Asian Water Bird Census was also organized in Ladakh at Chumathang, Puga, Tso Kar,
Shey, and Phay sites.
46. Rajasthan Government will provide drones to the farmers on rent in the state to spray
fertilizers and insecticides.
• The drones will be used for spraying fertilisers and insecticides. It will be also be used to
monitor nutrient deficiencies in crops, health of the crops, and irrigation requirements.
• It will also help the farmers in controlling locusts by spraying chemicals.
47. Jaipur District Administration is hosting a three-day International Summit on Crafts to

promote Odisha’s crafts in Rajasthan.
48. 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 digitisation of land records and also reaching a
conclusive land titling.
49. Himachal Pradesh government aims to make the state as the first Green Energy State by
the end of 2025 by harnessing hydro, hydrogen and solar energy and switching to green
products.
50. The annual Ethnic Mamani Festival was organised at Historical Styangkung Village and
Chiktan Shagaran in Ladakh by the Himalayan Cultural Heritage Foundation (HCHF) and
Ladakh Tourism Department.
51. Delhi Govt has launched “100 Days to Beat Plastic” campaign to make the MCD area
”Plastic Free '' with people participation.
• The campaign will end on April 22 – International Earth Day. The theme of International
Earth Day 2023 is “Invest in Our Planet”.
• Mascot of the Campaign – Nivaran Dadi
pg. 53
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52. Bihar govt has collaborated with Forest Survey of India for conducting the “Tree Outside
Forest” field survey to promote agro-forestry.
53. The 3rd edition of the Annual Orange Festival 2023 was organized at the Kohima district,
Nagaland.
• At present, there are about 35,000 standing trees of orange plantation in Rusoma village
and is generating an income of more than Rs 40 Lakh to the village.
54. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann will be inaugurating 500 'Aam Aadmi Clinics'
(Mohalla Clinics) across Amritsar.
55. Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel announced the unemployment allowance of Rs 2500

per month for the unemployed youth of the state.
• Chhattisgarh has a debt of 26.2% of the state GDP.
56. North India’s largest floating solar power project of 2000kWp was inaugurated in
Chandigarh.
57. Delhi has started real-time source apportionment ‘supersite’ to tackle pollution in an
accurate manner at Sarvodaya Bal Vidyalaya, Rouse Avenue.
58. Noble’s Helen is the name of the new Swallowtail Butterfly found in Arunachal Pradesh.
• Its origin is in China, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam, and Cambodia.
AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT

1. Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah inaugurated Mega Dairy at Mandya in
Karnataka.
• The mega dairy was developed at a cost of Rs 260 crore to process 10 lakh litre of milk
per day and increase it up to 14 lakh litre per day.
• Nandini (a brand of Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF), which is a government-run
cooperative) and Amul Cooperative will work together for establishing primary dairies in
every village of Karnataka in next three years.
pg. 54
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• The National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) and the Ministry of Cooperation will
establish a primary dairy in every panchayat of the country in the next three years.
2. According to the provisional data by the Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence

and Statistics (DGCI&S), the exports of agricultural and processed food products
increased by 16% in the eight months (April-November) of the current Financial Year 2022-
23 in comparison to the corresponding period of FY 2021-22.
• The overall export of Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development
Authority (APEDA) products increased to USD 17.43 billion during April-November 2022
from USD 15.07 billion over the same period of the last fiscal.
• For the year 2022-23, an export target of USD 23.56 billion has been fixed for the
agricultural and processed food products basket.
3. Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Shri Parshottam Rupala,
witnessed the signing of an MOU for developing the Goat Pox vaccine and "Lumpi-ProVac"
vaccine indigenously.
• The National Centre for Veterinary Type Culture, ICAR-National Research Centre on
Equines (ICAR-NRCE), Hisar (Haryana), in collaboration with ICAR-Indian Veterinary
Research Institute (IVRI), Izatnagar (UP) developed a homologous live-attenuated LSD
vaccine, named Lumpi-ProVacInd.
4. Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Ministry approved an "Apple Cluster" for Jammu
and Kashmir's Shopian district under the Cluster Development Programme.
• This was announced during a daylong conference on 'India Cold Chain Conclave',
organised by the Ministry in conjunction with the PHD Chamber of Commerce and
Industry in New Delhi.
• The ‘Apple Cluster’ project is estimated to cost Rs 135.23 crore, of which, about Rs 37.05
crore would be provided by the Ministry as grant-in-aid.
• The project is expected to be implemented in four years.
• The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare launched the Horticulture Cluster
Development program to enhance the global competitiveness of the Indian horticulture
sector.
pg. 55
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• Launch Year – 2021

• Nodal Agency – National Horticulture Board
• Type of Scheme – Central Sector Scheme
• Total Selected Clusters – 53
o In 2021, the programme was implemented in 12 horticulture clusters on a pilot
basis.
o The clusters of the pilot phase include Shopian (J&K) and Kinnaur (H.P.) for
Apple, Lucknow (U.P.), Kutch (Gujarat) and Mahbubnagar (Telangana) for Mango,
Anantpur (A.P.) and Theni (T.N.) for Banana, Nasik (Maharashtra) for Grapes,
Siphahijala (Tripura) for Pineapple, Solapur (Maharashtra) and Chitradurga
(Karnataka) for Pomegranate and West Jaintia Hills (Meghalaya) for Turmeric.
• Estimated Investment - CDP is expected to attract an estimated investment of INR
10,000 crore when implemented in all the 53 clusters.
• This scheme will be converged with the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund and the
Central Sector Scheme of Formation and Promotion of 10,000 FPOs (Farmer
Producer Organization) to obtain synergies.
5. Food Corporation of India (FCI) will conduct the first e-auction of 3 million tonnes (30
Lakh Metric Tonnes) of wheat from the Central pool stock to the market through various routes
under the Open Market Sale Scheme (Domestic).
• Purpose – to reduce the soaring prices of wheat by increasing the supply of wheat in the
market
• FCI will start the process of E- auction of stocks immediately, throughout the country during
January to March 2023.
6. Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) has
proposed to use river names as tag line and branding for Indian agri-products.
• APEDA’s involvement has increased agricultural exports to $25.6 billion in 2021-22. This
is 51% of the total agricultural exports of the country.
7. Central Govt has estimated the millet procurement in the country to move up from current 6-
7 lakh tonnes to 40-50 lakh tonnes in the next few years.
• The nine states have launched separate mission with assured procurement and distribution
of the nutri-cereals at subsidised rates.
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• Haryana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Uttarakhand,

Tamil Nadu and Odisha have launched their own programmes to procure millets and
distribute those nutri-cereals within their respective state.
8. India produced record sugarcane to the tune of over 5,000 lakh tonnes during the 2021-22
season.
• Of the total produced during the period, about 3,574 lakh tonne of sugarcane was crushed
by sugar mills to produce about 394 LMT of sugar (sucrose) -- of which 36 LMT sugar was
diverted to ethanol production and 359 LMT sugar was produced by sugar mills.
• In every sugar season, the production of sugar is around 320-360 Lakh Metric Tons (LMT)
as against the domestic consumption of 260-280 LMT.
DEFENCE NEWS
1. Indian Army has received a 3D Printed House Dwelling Unit, which is a disaster-resilient
structure that complies with Zone-3 earthquake specifications and green building norms, in
Ahmedabad Cantt.
• It has been constructed by the Military Engineering Services (MES) in collaboration with
MiCoB Pvt Ltd incorporating the latest 3D Rapid Construction Technology.
2. Indian Army has signed MOU with 8 government medical colleges and hospitals to offer
ex-servicemen contributory health scheme in Assam.
• This will facilitate the cashless and capless treatment of Army personnel in Assam’s
hospitals.
3. Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has successfully carried out a
training launch of a Short-Range Ballistic Missile, Prithvi-II from the Integrated Test Range,
Chandipur off the Odisha coast.
4. Indian Navy has collaborated with Sagar Defence Engineering Pvt Ltd for the development
of armed autonomous boat swarms as part of its “SPRINT” initiative.
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• SPRINT (Supporting Pole-Vaulting in R&D through Innovations for Defence

Excellence) initiative was launched in 2022 to promote the development and usage of
indigenous defense technologies.
• The task of developing this technology is one of the 75 challenges introduced by the Indian
Navy under the “Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav” celebrations.
• Sagar Defence Engineering will develop India’s first armed autonomous unmanned
boat with swarming capabilities.
5. India is planning to deploy female peacekeepers to the United Nations Interim Security
Force in Abyei (UNISFA) on the border of Sudan and South Sudan.
• This marks the largest single unit of women peacekeepers in a UN mission since India
deployed the first all-female contingent in Liberia in 2007.
6. Indian Coast Guard (ICG) ship ‘Kamla Devi’, the Fast Patrol Vessel (FPV), built by Garden
Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE), has been delivered to the Indian Coast Guard.
• ICGS Kamla Devi was commissioned at Kolkata.
Knowledge Nuggets -
• The ship has been named after Kamala Devi Chattopadhyay.
• Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay (3 April 1903 – 29 October 1988) was an Indian social
reformer and freedom activist.
• She is the first lady in India to stand in elections from Madras Constituency although
she lost in the elections but she pioneered the path for the women in India.
• She was also the driving force behind the renaissance of Indian handicrafts, handlooms,
and theatre in independent India.
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7. 21st Edition of the Bilateral Naval Exercise between India and France – Exercise VARUNA
commenced on the Western Seaboard.
8. Indo-Russian Rifles Private Limited (Indo-Russian joint venture) has started manufacturing
Kalashnikov AK-203 assault rifles in Uttar Pradesh's Amethi.
9. Avani Chaturvedi has become the first woman pilot of the Indian Air Force to participate
and lead in an air combat exercise.
• The exercise named Veer Guardian is the first air force exercise between India and Japan.
It will take place at Hyakuri airbase in Japan.
• Chaturvedi is leading the squadron on her Sukhoi-30MKI jet.
10. Indian Army has organised the ‘Sainya Ranakshetram 2.0’ - a Hackathon to seek
operational solutions to cyber challenges and jumpstart the development time for innovative
solutions in the Cyber Security domain.
• The Hackathon was launched from October 2022 to January 2023.
• The Hackathon is based on Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning (AI/ ML), Security
Software Coding, Cyber Deterrence and Electro Magnetic Spectrum Operations (EMSO)
themes.
11. Indian Air Force has launched Kargil Courier Services from Kargil to Srinagar and Jammu.
12. Inaugural Edition of Indo-Egypt Joint Training Exercise “Cyclone-I" started in Rajasthan.
• Exercise “Cyclone - I” is the first exercise of its kind bringing the special forces of both the
nations on a common platform.
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13. Indian Army had ordered six Apache Helicopters with the Tata Boeing Aerospace Limited
(TBAL).
• The order was placed under the Aatma Nirbhar Bharat initiative.
14. Indian Air Force is conducting a massive military exercise named ‘Pralay’ near the Line of
Actual Control.
15. The largest biennial Tri-Services amphibious exercise named AMPHEX 2023, was
conducted off Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh.
• INS Jalashwa. INS Airavat, INS Shardul, and INS Gharial are some of the amphibious ships
of the Indian Navy which participated in the exercise.
16. Ministry of Defence is organizing the 14th edition of Aero-Show at Yelahanka Air Force
Station in Bengaluru on the theme of “The Runway to a Billion Opportunities”.
• The show has been organized by Ministry of Defence since 1996 at Yelahanka Air Force
Station in Bengaluru.
17. Indian Coast Guard Ships (ICGS) Shaurya and Rajveer were on a six-day visit to
Chattogram, Bangladesh to enhance the cooperative engagements and interoperability
under the provisions of the MOU signed between Indian and Bangladesh Coast Guard (BCG).
18. DRDO has signed an agreement with Naval Group to upgrade India’s Kalvari-class
submarines.
• The system will improve the performance and lethality of diesel-electric underwater vessels
and increase their submerged endurance several-fold.
19. 2023 edition of Indian Navy’s major maritime exercise TROPEX will be held from January -
March 2023 in the Indian Ocean Region.
• Theatre Level Operational Readiness Exercise (TROPEX) is an inter-service military
exercise involving the participation of the Indian Army, Air Force, Navy and the Coast
Guard.
MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING
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1. Hindustan Copper Limited (HCL) and the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) (Indian
School of Mines), Dhanbad, have signed an MoU for technical collaboration to increase the
state-owned firm’s copper ore production.
• HCL is the only copper miner in India and owns all operating mining leases for copper ore
in the country.
2. Ministry of Defence has signed MOU with Ministry of Education and Skill Development &
Entrepreneurship for the education and skill development of Agniveers.
3. Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Microsoft have signed an MOU to fuel the
growth of space-tech startups in India.
• The MoU seeks to empower space tech startups across the country with technology tools
and platforms, go-to-market support and mentoring to help them scale and become
enterprise ready.
• Through this tie-up, the space-tech startups identified by ISRO will be onboarded onto the
Microsoft for Startups Founders Hub platform, that supports startups at every stage of
their journey-from idea to unicorn.
4. Minister of External Affairs has visited Cyprus and Austria.

• With Cyprus, India has signed an agreement on defence and military cooperation.
• With Austria, India has signed an agreement on migration and mobility to ensure
smooth mobility of people from both countries on each other’s land.
• Austria and India have also signed a Working Holiday agreement to allow Indians (who
are in Austria for holidays) to work without working visa for 6 months.
Austria -
• Capital – Vienna
• Currency – Euro
• It is a part of the European Union.
• The Principality of Liechtenstein country is entirely based on the borders between Austria
and Switzerland.
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Cyprus –
• Capital – Nicosia
• Currency – Euro
• It is a part of the European Union.
• It is one of the transcontinental countries between Europe and Asia.
5. Garuda Aerospace signed an MOU with Rallis India (a subsidiary of Tata Chemicals) to
boost agriculture by leveraging technology.
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6. Indian Institute of Science (IISC) has signed an MOU with Axis Bank to establish the
“Centre for Mathematics and Computing”.
7. Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe) has signed an
MOU with Nascent Info Technologies Pvt. Ltd. for technical collaboration for development of
various Geographic Information System applications.
Knowledge Nuggets -
• Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN–SPACe) is a single-
window autonomous agency under the Department of Space of the Government of India.
• It aims to give a level-playing field to the private space sector companies.
• Chairman of IN-SPACe - Pawan Kumar Goenka
8. ONGC Tripura Power Company Ltd (OTPC) has signed an MOU with Assam Power
Distribution Company Limited (APDCL) to develop battery energy storage project in
Assam at an investment of Rs 2,000 crore.
9. RITES has signed an MoU with the IIT-Kanpur for mutual assistance and cooperation to
strengthen and develop a sustainable future by Transforming to Green.
• RITES Limited, a Miniratna (Category-I) and Schedule 'A' Central Public Sector Enterprise
under the Ministry of Railways.
• RITES is a leading player in the transport consultancy and engineering sector in India.
10. Indian High Commission has signed an MOU to establish a Hindi Chair at the
Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka.
• The Hindi chair will help in familiarizing students with India, its history, and culture as well
as pave way for popularising Hindi by deputing Indian faculties.
11. Mumbai-based hi-tech engineering company Larsen & Toubro (L&T) has signed an MOU with
the Norway-based H2Carrier (H2C) to develop floating green ammonia projects for
industrial-scale applications.
Knowledge Nuggets -
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• Ammonia is a pungent gas that is widely used to make agricultural fertilisers. Green
ammonia production is where the process of making ammonia is 100% renewable and
carbon-free.
• One way of making green ammonia is by using hydrogen from water electrolysis and
nitrogen separated from the air.
12. CMAI (Carbon Markets Association of India) has signed an agreement with AREAS
(Association of Renewable Energy Agencies of States) to ensure exchange of knowledge
on policy and regulatory related developments and innovation in carbon market and enhance
setting up of renewable energy projects.
• Purpose - to work towards a common goal of strengthening the country's journey towards
becoming a carbon-neutral economy and aid in the development of the Indian carbon
market
13. Indian Ports Association (IPA) and Research and Information System for Developing
Countries (RIS) has signed an agreement for setting up a Centre for Maritime Economy and
Connectivity.
• Purpose - to pave way for seamless, cost-effective trade, and commerce with our
neighbours including the BIMSTEC nations
• India is also developing Transhipment Port at Galathea bay at Greater Nicobar in
Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
14. India Tourism Development Corporation has signed a pact with the Ministry of Ayush for
promotion of medical tourism in the field of Ayurveda and other traditional systems of
medicine.
• Under the agreement, the ITDC will promote "Heal in India - Medical Value Travel in
Ayurveda, Yoga and other Indian traditional systems of medicine".
• Medical value travel, also known as health tourism or medical tourism, is defined as
travel for the purpose of maintaining, improving or restoring health through medical
intervention.
15. IIT-Guwahati has signed an MOU with Assam Electronics Development Corporation Ltd
(AMTRON), and RC Hobbytech Solutions Pvt. Ltd. (RCH) for expanding drone-based
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training, research and development, manufacturing for varied sectors such as agriculture,
disaster management, wildlife conservation and health care, among others.
16. International Hockey Federation (FIH) has signed an MOU with JSP Foundation for its
development programs.
• This partnership will also see the JSP Foundation coming onboard the ongoing FIH Odisha
Hockey Men’s World Cup 2023 Bhubaneswar-Rourkela as a Global Partner.
17. SAMEER, India's premier R&D Institute of Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY), signed an
MOU with Siemens Healthineers to contribute towards the development of new, improved
and innovative technologies for advancing healthcare and diagnostic access in India, in
Bengaluru.
• SAMEER is an acronym for Society for Applied Microwave Electronics Engineering &
Research.
• It specializes in RF Microwaves Radar and Communication Systems, E3 testing and
Medical Electronics a strategic partnership.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
1. According to Save the Children’s Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC)
data, Afghanistan has the highest number of people facing severe levels of hunger.
• The number of people facing hunger increased to 6.6 million in 2022 from 2.5 million in
2019.
• Yemen has the second largest number of people experiencing emergency levels of food
insecurity, including acute malnutrition, with this number increasing from 3.6 million to 6
million, an increase of 66% in the past two years.
• Afghanistan, Central African Republic, DRC, Haiti, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, and
Yemen had the highest numbers of people facing emergency and catastrophic levels of
hunger and malnutrition, between 2019 and 2022.
• The IPC classifies food insecurity levels from 1 to 5, with IPC4 and IPC5 indicating
emergency and catastrophic levels of hunger and even in some areas famine-like
conditions.
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2. United Arab Emirates and Iran have started their annual military drill in the coastal area of the
Gulf of Oman and near the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
• Strait of Hormuz is located at the mouth of the Persian Gulf. It separates Iran and Oman,
linking the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea.
• It is an important waterway as majority of the crude exported from Saudi Arabia, Iran,
the UAE, Kuwait and Iraq – all members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting
Countries (OPEC) – is shipped through this waterway.
• It is also the route used for nearly all the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) produced by the
world’s biggest LNG exporter i.e., Qatar.
3. A new species of bush tomato, named as Garrarnawun bush tomato (Solanum scalarium),
has been discovered in Australia.
• It belongs to Genus Solanum. This genus includes 3 food crops - potato, tomato and
eggplant (brinjal) - having high economic value.
4. Croatia has joined the Schengen area – a term used for countries in Europe which have
abolished visas across their borders; allowing their residents to move freely.
• At present, 23 of the total 27 European Union countries constitute the Schengen area. The
area is named after the 1985 Schengen Agreement and the 1990 Schengen Convention,
both signed in Schengen, Luxembourg.
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• Croatia has also changed its currency to Euro.

• Croatia Capital – Zagreb; Currency – Euro; Official Language – Croatia
• Croatia was the 20th country to join the European Union.
• Croatia is surrounded by Adriatic Sea.
• It was a part of Yugoslavia, which broke up in 1991-1992.
5. Scientists from South Korea have developed a new water purification system that can
effectively remove microplastics from water in just 10 seconds.
6. China’s CRRC Corporation Ltd. has launched a hydrogen urban train, and it is the first in
Asia and the second such train in the world. Germany introduced green trains a few months
back.
• The hydrogen trains have a speed of 160 km per hour and the operational range without
refueling is 600 km.
7. Ecuador, Japan, Malta, Mozambique, and Switzerland have joined United Nations
Security Council as non-permanent members to replace India, Ireland, Kenya, Mexico, and
Norway.
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8. Start Me Up - a joint project with the UK Space Agency, Cornwall Council and Britain’s Royal
Air Force - is the project to launch the first orbital satellites on a Boeing 747 of Virgin Orbit.
9. NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite has identified an Earth-size world, called
TOI 700 e. The planet is 95% Earth’s size and likely rocky.
• The planet was orbiting within the habitable zone of its star – the range of distances where
liquid water could occur on a planet’s surface.
• The discovery was published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.
10. NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has identified a first-Earth like exoplanet named
LHS 475 b for the first time.
11. UK and Japan will allow military forces to be deployed to one another’s territory by virtue of
a bilateral agreement.
• The agreement simplifies the procedures required for port visits and joint exercises,
allowing for more active military exchanges.
12. United Arab Emirates (UAE) will enforce a blanket ban on single-use plastic shopping
bags starting January 1, 2024.
13. World Health Organization (WHO) announced that Uganda had successfully declared the
end of the Ebola disease outbreak caused by Sudan ebolavirus.
14. Swedish mining company LKAB has found Europe’s largest known deposit of rare earth
elements.
• These metals are used in the manufacturing of electric cars and wind turbines, as well as
magnets, glass screens, speakers and various other electronics.
15. World Health Organization (WHO) has urged all nations in South-East Asia to take urgent
measures against measles.
• By 2019, measles vaccination coverage reached an all-time high of 94% for the first dose
and 83% for the second dose. However, in 2021, it was reduced to 86% for first dose and
76% for second dose.
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• This reduction leaves 9 million children unvaccinated for measles and around 5.3 million
children partially vaccinated.
Knowledge Nuggets -
• Measles is an acute viral respiratory illness. It is highly contagious infectious disease
caused by measles virus.
• High fever up to 40 degrees Celsius, cough, runny nose, itchy eyes are some of its initial
symptoms.
• Measles is a childhood infection, which can be prevented through vaccination. However,
adults can also acquire measles disease.
• Measles is a vaccine-preventable disease, yet measles claims an estimated 351 lives
(mostly children) worldwide each day.
• Countries with highest burden of measles, as per Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (national public health agency of the United States).
16. World’s first agri-focused satellite has been launched by South Africa. It is expected to
generate over USD 100 million in revenue for South Africa.
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• The satellite named AgriSAT-1 has been launched Dragonfly Aerospace on a Space X
Falcon 9 rocket.
• Many ‘Firsts’ attached to the satellite -
o First ever-commercial satellite licensed in South Africa
o First microsatellite to be manufactured in south africa since 2009
o First satellite of the EOS SAT constellation
o First agri-focused constellation in space
17. Russian VTB bank, Russia’s second largest bank, has launched direct payments in rupees
to boost bilateral trade and investments.
• The mechanism of direct settlements allows to fix the price of a product and the payment in
the national currency, and to receive individual quotes on market terms.
• Nine Russian banks, including VTB, opened special vostro accounts in India to facilitate
Russian-Indian trade in November 2022. Certain Indian banks opened special Vostro
accounts for trade with Russia.
18. US and Japan have signed an agreement for collaborating in space exploration.
19. Russia and Belarus began joint military exercises in Belarus military airfields.
20. Abdul Rehman Makki (Pakistan-based terrorist) was listed as a global terrorist by the
United Nations Security Council (UNSC) under its ISIL (Daesh) and Al-Qaeda Sanctions
Committee.
21. European officials and Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf inaugurated the EU’s first mainland
orbital launch complex named Spaceport Esrange at the Esrange Space Centre near the
city of Kiruna, Sweden.
• The first satellite launch will take place in 2024 from this centre.
• Themis Program of the European Space Agency will also start operations at this facility.
The program aims to reuse rockets.
22. Archaeologists in Norway have discovered the world's oldest dated runestone, featuring
runic inscriptions from up to 2,000 years ago.
• Researchers at the University of Oslo's Museum of Cultural History found the stone.
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• The stone has been named "Svingerudsteinen," or "the Svingerud Stone", after the site
where it was found.
23. India-supported resolution ‘Education for Democracy’ gets adopted by the United Nations
General Assembly (UNGA).
• The resolution calls on member states to work on the challenges associated with access,
affordability, digital literacy, and digital skills.
24. The International Monetary Fund’s provisional USD 2.9 billion package to Sri Lanka is
backed by Sri Lanka’s official creditors — China, Japan and India — which have provided
adequate financing assurances.
25. NASA has awarded $425 million to Boeing Co for the agency's "Sustainable Flight
Demonstrator" project which aims to cut aviation sector emissions.
• United States has set a goal of achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions from the
U.S. aviation sector by 2050.
Knowledge Nuggets -
• NASA was established on July 29, 1958.
• Headquarters of NASA - Washington, D.C.
• NASA succeeded the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) to give the
U.S. space development effort a distinctly civilian orientation, emphasizing peaceful
applications in space science.
26. South Africa has announced to conduct the joint naval drills with Russia and China.
• The exercises named as "Mosi", which translates to "smoke" in the local Tswana
language of South Africa, are scheduled for February 17 to 27, off the port city of Durban
and Richards Bay in South Africa.
27. U.S. has designated Russia’s Wagner group as a transnational criminal organisation.
• Transnational organized crime is organized crime coordinated across national borders,
involving groups or markets of individuals working in more than one country to plan and
execute illegal business ventures.
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28. India-Bangladesh Friendship pipeline (IBFPL) will start supplying diesel to Bangladesh on
an experimental basis from June 2023.
• Total length - 131.5 kilometre (126.5 km pipeline is in Bangladesh and 5 km is in India)
• The international pipeline will carry diesel from the Siliguri based marketing terminal of the
Numaligarh Refinery Limited to Parbatipur depot of Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation
(BPC).
29. According to the World Bank’s Managing Director Axel van Trotsenburg, Bangladesh is
one of the world’s greatest development stories as it has moved from being one of the
poorest at its inception to one of the fastest growing countries of the world.
• Bangladesh has the largest ongoing International Development Assistance program of
more than USD 15 billion.
30. Exercise Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) / Marine Exercise
(MAREX) was held between Sri Lanka and USA at the SLN bases in Trincomalee and
Mullikullam.
• The sea phase will take place in the Laccadive Sea.
• This year’s exercise includes participants from the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force
and Maldives National Defence Force, and coincides with the 75th anniversary of
diplomatic relations and partnership between the United States and Sri Lanka.
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31. International Tourism Fair (FITUR travel exhibition) is being held in Madrid, Spain for five
days.
• The exhibition was first held in 1981. The exhibition dedicates a separate pavilion for each
participating country. The countries shall use these pavilions to exhibit their tourist
attractions.
32. United States has launched the “Welcome Corps” scheme to allow its citizens to offer
sanctuaries to refugees.
• The Welcome Corps scheme is a new initiative from the US government to provide support
for refugees arriving in the country.
33. NASA and Israel will sign an agreement on a space mission named ULTRASAT.
• The mission is currently being developed by Israel Space Agency and Germany.
• ULTRASAT will study the UV signature in space. It will look for UV emissions from
mergers (collision of neutron stars) and supernova explosions.
34. Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) will be launched by Europe to find out whether the
oceans hidden under the surface of Jupiter's icy moons have the potential to host extra-
terrestrial life.
• Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) spacecraft is manufactured by Airbus in the
southwestern French city of Toulouse.
• JUICE will give a far clearer image of Europa, Ganymede and Callisto, before becoming
the first spacecraft to orbit around one of Jupiter's moons.
• It will be the first European space mission that ventures into the outer solar system,
which begins beyond Mars.
• If launched in April 2023, the satellite is expected to enter Jupiter orbit by 2034. It will be
deorbited in 2035.
• NASA's Clipper mission will be launched in 2024 to study Europa. It will orbit it by 2030.
35. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson has announced USA’s plans to test a spacecraft engine
powered with nuclear fission by 2027.
• NASA will partner with the US military’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
(DARPA) to develop the nuclear thermal propulsion engine and launch it into space.
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• The project has been named the Demonstration Rocket for Agile Cislunar Operations
(DRACO).
36. Uganda has one of the largest oil reserves in Africa. It has 6.5 billion barrels of oil reserves, of
which 1.4 billion is recoverable.
• China and France have invested $10 billion in Uganda’s oil drilling project at Lake
Albert.
• The oil will be extracted in four phases and the first phase of the project has been launched
now.
• TotalEnergies of France and its partner China National Offshore Oil Corporation will
undertake the extraction work.
37. Geotail Spacecraft is the first joint mission of NASA and Japan Aerospace Exploration
Agency (JAXA). The spacecraft retired after 30 years in orbit after data recorder failure.
• Geotail was launched in 1992 to orbit Earth, gathering an immense dataset on the structure
and dynamics of the magnetosphere.
38. Canada has developed World’s First Photonic-based Quantum Computing.

• The investment of 40 million Canadian dollars ($32 million) will enable Xanadu Quantum
Technologies Inc., a Toronto-based Canadian quantum computing company, to develop
the quantum computer.
• The Computing Technologies will have the potential to provide world leading capabilities to
help solve complex data problems and could be used in a variety of sectors such as
finance, transportation, environmental modelling, and health.
39. Australians marked the 235th anniversary of British colonization.

• The referendum, expected to be held between August and November, would enshrine the
Voice in the constitution.
40. Canada has appointed human rights advocate Amira Elghawaby as its first special
representative on combatting Islamophobia.
Knowledge Nuggets -
• Canada Capital – Ottawa; Currency – Canadian Dollar
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• English and French (the official languages) are the mother tongues of approximately 54%
and 19% of Canadians, respectively.
• Canada is divided into ten provinces and three territories.
• 49th parallel is the line of latitude that forms the boundary between Canada and the US
from Lake of the Woods to the Strait of Georgia.
• US and Canada have five Great Lakes between them.
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41. Swedish government has announced an "international information campaign", which it

expects to discourage refugees from coming to the country.
• During the campaign, the Sweden Government will create contact points in foreign
countries to spread the information about Sweden’s migration policy.
42. Nigeria’s central bank has launched the “AfriGo”- a domestic card to rival foreign cards like
Mastercard and Visa and become a cashless society and save the country’s foreign
transaction fees.
• Nigeria has joined China, Russia, India and Turkey in launching a domestic card scheme.
AfriGo is owned by CBN and Nigerian banks.
• Nigeria’s Currency is Naira. Nigeria launched its first e-currency i.e., e-Naira in 2021.
Knowledge Nuggets -
• Nigeria Capital – Abuja; Currency – Naira; Official Language - English
• Nigeria is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the
Gulf of Guinea to the south in the Atlantic Ocean.
43. South Africa will host the 2023 BRICS Summit (15th edition) in August at Durban city.
• China hosted the 14th edition of BRICS Summit in 2022 on the theme of 'Building a
high-quality partnership to usher in a new era of global development'.
44. Solvay (a Belgium-based chemical company) has partnered with UNESCO to launch a STEM
education program in Asia.
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• This 3-year partnership aims at engaging high schoolers and graduate students from India,
Indonesia and South Korea to find solutions to national and regional environmental issues
through science.
• The program will be focused on “Sustainable living for one planet” theme.
45. UNESCO has designated the historic centre of Odesa, a strategic port city on Ukraine’s Black
Sea coast, a “World Heritage in Danger” site.
REPORTS AND INDICES

1. As per official data compiled by Munich Re, insured losses from natural disasters hit about
$120 billion in 2022.
• The total cost of storms, droughts, earthquakes and fires last year was $270 billion,
including uninsured losses.
• The insurance industry is struggling to adapt to a new normal in which losses fuelled by
climate change are now regularly exceeding $100 billion a year.
2. Henley and Passport has released the Henley Passport Index for the year 2023, based on
exclusive data provided by the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
• Total - 199 passports and 227 travel destinations
• 1st position - Japan (visa-free entry in 193 countries)
• 2nd position - Singapore and South Korea (192 countries)
• India – 85th (visa-free entry in 59 countries)
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3. As per a new study by United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and
Health, around 3,700 large dams across India could lose up to 26% of their original storage
capacity due to sedimentation build-ups by 2050.
• In 2022, the Asia-Pacific region is estimated to have lost 13% of its initial dam storage
capacity and will lose 23% by mid-century.
• Globally, the storage capacity of dams across the world could be lost by 25%.
Estimated reservoir storage loss in Asia-Pacific
Knowledge Nuggets -
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• UNU-INWEH is one of the United Nations University (UNU) institutes, an academic arm
of the UN. The University’s 13 research and training institutes are located in 12 countries
and address a range of global development challenges.
• UNU-INWEH was established in 1996, as a public service agency and a subsidiary body
of the UNU. It is headquartered in Canada.
4. World Economic Forum has released 18th edition of Global Risk Report 2023.
• The risks are classified in two terms – short (2 years) and long (10 years).
5. United Nations Inter-Agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UN IGME) has
released the “Levels and trends in child mortality” report.
• As per the report, more than 5 million children under age 5, including 2.3 million new borns,
along with 2.1 million children and youth aged 5 to 24 years – 43% of whom are
adolescents – died in 2021.
• Globally, the under-five mortality rate (U5MR) fell to 38 deaths per 1,000 live births in
2021.
pg. 79
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• Children born in sub-Saharan Africa are subject to the highest risk of childhood death
in the world with a U5MR of 74 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2021.
6. UNICEF has released the “Never Forgotten: The situation of stillbirth around the globe”
report.
• As per the report, there are 53 million babies that have been stillborn since 2000.
• In 2021, a total of 1.9 million babies were stillborn, an unprecedented high record.
• In 2021, the global stillbirth rate of 13.9 stillbirths per 1,000 total births.
• Stillbirths were concentrated in a few countries, with the greatest number found in India,
followed by Pakistan, Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia and
Bangladesh.
• These six countries accounted for almost half of the estimated global number of stillbirths
and 36% of global live births in 2021.
• The region of sub-Saharan Africa has witnessed a shocking increase in the global number
of stillbirths from 26% in 2000 to 45% in 2021.
7. According to the UN’s “World Social Report 2023”, the number of people aged 65+ will
double from 761 million in 2021 to 1.6 billion in 2050.
• Published by – UN’s Department of Economic and Social Affairs
• At present, Northern America and Europe has the highest share of old-age people.
• Northern Africa, Western Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa will witness an increase in the
number of old-age people.
• The countries are advised to invest in the silver economy (Silver Economy is defined as the
market that is being developed around the needs of an ageing population, with a focus on
innovation.)
8. According to the “Survival of The Richest” report by Oxfam International, India's top 1%
owned more than 40.5% of its total wealth in 2021.
• The report was released during the 53rd World Economic Forum-Davos 2023 on the
theme of ‘Cooperation in a Fragmented World’.
• World Economic Forum has launched the Giving to Amplify Earth Action (GAEA)
initiative, in partnership with over 45 organizations.
pg. 80
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o Purpose - to fund existing and establish new public, private, and philanthropic
partnerships (PPPPs) to invest $3 trillion each year to reach net zero, reverse
nature loss, and restore biodiversity by 2050
o African Climate Foundation, Bezos Earth Fund, and the Rockefeller Foundation are
among some organizations which will participate in GAEA initiative.
• FireAld initiative was also launched to manage wildfires using Artificial Intelligence.
Under the initiative, scientists will use data and maps to determine the intensity of wildfires
in different parts of the world.
• Global Collaboration Village Mission aims to bring in all stakeholders together to
discuss on the economic development of the world. It aims to bring global development.
• Cyber Resilience in Oil and Gas Initiative aims to protect the oil and gas pipelines from
cyber-attacks.
Knowledge Nuggets -
• UN Biodiversity Conference (CBD COP15) in Montreal decided to conserve
30% of all earth and sea’s biodiversity.
9. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has released the Rural Health Statistics Report
2021-22.
• The report is an annual publication of MoHFW since the year 1992.
• The report is based on data uploaded by states and union territories on the Health
Management Information System (HMIS) portal.
• As of 31 March, 2022, the report has revealed that each sub-centre (SC) catered to an
average of 5,691 people, each Primary Health Centers (PHC) to 36,049 people and each
Community Health Centers (CHC) to 1,64,027 people.
• As per norms, each SC is supposed to cater to a population of 3,000-5,000, each PHC to
a population of 20,000-30,000 and each CHC to a population of 80,000-1,20,000.
10. According to the Knight Frank’s Wealth Report, 88% of India's ultra-wealthy individuals
saw increase in wealth in 2022.
• Globally, the report noted that 40% of ultra-wealthy individuals saw a rise in their wealth in
2022, whereas 15% noted no change in wealth status in 2022 as against 2021.
• In general, Indian ultra-rich class own 5.1 residential properties compared to the global
average of 4.2 units.
pg. 81
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11. First “District Good Governance Index” has been prepared by the Department of
Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG), in collaboration with Jammu and
Kashmir government.
• Total – 22 districts of J&K
• Top - Jammu district has emerged at the top, followed by districts of Doda, Samba,
Pulwama and Srinagar in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir
• Parameters - 10 governance sectors having 58 indicators with 116 data points
• This index is inspired from the State Good Governance Index, which is prepared at the
national level. All the below-mentioned governance parameters are taken from State Good
Governance Index.
12. International Labour Organization (ILO) has released the “World Employment and Social
Outlook” report.
• As per the report, the global employment level can increase by 1% in 2023. The growth
rate was 2.3% in 2022.
• The global unemployment rate would be 5.8% in 2023 (208 million in absolute number).
pg. 82
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13. UNICEF has released the “Transforming Education with Equitable Financing” report.
• On average, the poorest benefit from only 16% of public education funding, while the
wealthiest benefit from about 28% of the same.
• For low-income countries, the disparity is even more significant – 11% of public education
resources goes to the poorest, while 42% goes to the richest.
pg. 83
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14. “Countdown to 2023: WHO report on global trans-fat elimination 2022” report has been
released by WHO.
• Mandatory trans-fatty acids (TFA) policies are currently in effect for 3.4 billion people in 60
countries (43% of the world population); of these, 43 countries have best-practice policies
in effect, covering 2.8 billion people (36% of the world population).
• India has launched the policy to eliminate industrially produced TFA.
15. Indian Institutional Ranking Framework has released the Top Management and Business
School 2023 ranking.
Top 5 Government Colleges Top 5 Private Colleges
1-Indian Institute of Management, (IIM) 1-Xavier Labour Relations Institute (XLRI),
Ahmedabad Jamshedpur
2-Indian Institute of Management, (IIM) 2-Management Development Institute (MDI),
Bengaluru Gurgaon
3-Indian Institute of Management, (IIM) Kolkata 3-Symbiosis Institute of Business
4-Indian Institute of Management, (IIM) Management, Pune
Lucknow 4-S P Jain Institute of Management &
5-Faculty of Management Studies, University Research (SPJIMR), Mumbai
of Delhi, Delhi 5-Symbiosis Centre For Management &
Human Resource Development (SCMHRD),
Pune
• World’s top B-Schools – London Business School (1st), Wharton-University of

Pennsylvania (2nd)
16. Ministry of Education has released the All-India Survey on Higher Education 2020-21.
Total Enrolments
• Total enrolment in higher education: It has increased to nearly 4.14 crore in 2020-21
from 3.85 crore in 2019-20.
• Female enrolment: It has increased to 2.01 crore from 1.88 crore in 2019-20.
• Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER): As per 2011 population projections for 18-23 years age
group, GER has increased to 27.3 from 25.6 in 2019-20.
o Female GER has overtaken Male GER since 2017-18.
pg. 84
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o Gender Parity Index (GPI), the ratio of female GER to male GER, has increased
from 1 in 2017-18 to 1.05 in 2020-21.
• Top 6 States in terms of number of students enrolled: Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra,
Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Rajasthan.
Faculty
• Total number of faculty/teachers: 15,51,070 of which about 57.1% are male and 42.9%
are female.
• Female per 100 male faculty: It has improved to 75 in 2020-21 from 74 in 2019-20 and 63
in 2014-15.
Institutions
• Institutes of National Importance (INIs): They have almost doubled from 75 in 2014-15 to
149 in 2020-21.
• States with highest number of Universities: Rajasthan (92), Uttar Pradesh (84) and
Gujarat (83).
• Institutes exclusively for women: 17 Universities (of which 14 are State Public) and 4,375
Colleges are exclusively for women.
17. Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) is an annual, citizen-led household survey that
aims to understand whether children in rural India are enrolled in school and whether they are
learning.
• ASER 2022 will reach more than 17,000 villages in almost all rural districts of the country,
and will provide representative estimates of the schooling status of children aged 3-16 and
the learning levels of children aged 5-16.
Highlights -
• Almost all (98.4%) students in the age bracket of 6-14 years are now enrolled in schools.
• It was last conducted at this scale in 2018, so this marks the return of the survey after four
years.
• In ASER 2022, around 7 lakh candidates from 19,060 schools in 616 districts were
surveyed to calculate the learning outcomes post pandemic on school children.
• Manipur has the lowest government school enrolment percentage among north-
eastern states.
pg. 85
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pg. 86
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18. Project 39A, an advocacy group with the National Law University, New Delhi, has
published the Annual Death Penalty Report.
• As per the report, Indian courts in 2022 awarded a record 165 death sentences, the
highest in over two decades.
• In total, 539 prisoners were on death row at the end of the year which was the largest
population for the same since 2004.
• Uttar Pradesh accounted for the highest death row inmate population (100), followed by
Gujarat (61) and Jharkhand (46).
Knowledge Nuggets -
• National Law University, Delhi was established in 2008 under the National Law University
Act, 2007 for imparting legal education.
• Project 39A aims to survey the practices and policies in the criminal justice system to
check its compliance with the principles of Equal Justice, Equal Opportunities (as
prescribed by the Article 39A of the Indian Constitution.
19. UN has released the “Global Action Plan on Child Wasting” report.
• As per the report, 15 countries, having most vulnerable children, are heavily impacted by
the unprecedented food and nutrition crisis.
• Child wasting affects more than 30 million children in the 15 worst affecting countries.
• 40 million children (under the age of 5) are facing food scarcity and 27 million children
experience extreme food insecurity.
pg. 87
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20. FiBL and IFOAM – Organics International has released the “The World of Organic
Agriculture Statistics and Emerging Trends 2022”.
BANKING AND ECONOMY

1. Tata AIA Life Insurance has launched the Emerging Opportunity Fund, which will invest in
mid-cap companies and emerging market leaders.
• The applications for ULIP (Unit Linked Insurance Plan) plans with New Fund Offering (NFO)
window will remain open till 31 December.
pg. 88
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• In addition, the Fund will also be attached to Tata AIA’s Param Rakshak Solutions. This
offers consumers the unique opportunity to benefit from the long-term growth potential of
equity while securing their loved ones with the protection of a life insurance cover.
2. IDBI Mutual Fund has signed an agreement with LIC Mutual Fund to transfer its schemes to
the latter.
3. Asian Development Bank (ADB) has sanctioned a long-term funding of $100 million to
Shriram Finance Ltd to provide credit towards the purchase of new and used vehicles
throughout India.
• The External Commercial Borrowing (ECB) is a 5-year loan and is under SFL's Social
Finance framework.
• Besides the ADB loan, SFL has also successfully raised $250 million from US Development
Finance Corporation
4. Punjab & Sind Bank (PSB), a public sector bank, has partnered with SBI Card, the country’s
largest pure-play credit card issuer, to launch co-brand credit cards for the bank’s customers.
• Punjab & Sind Bank HQ – New Delhi
• Punjab & Sind Bank MD and CEO – Swarup Kumar Saha
• Tagline - Where service is a way of life
5. RBI has released its ‘Trends and Progress of Banking in India 2021-22’ report.
• As per the report, the non-performing assets (NPAs) recovered by scheduled
commercial banks (SCBs) improved to 18.4% of the amount involved in FY22 against
14% in FY21.
• SCBs recovered ₹89,661 crore via multiple channels — Lok Adalats, Debt Recovery
Tribunals (total 39 DRTs), Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and
Enforcement of Security Interest (SARFAESI) Act of 2002, and Insolvency and
Bankruptcy Code (IBC), 2016 — in FY22 against ₹4,87,062 crore involved.
6. RBI has also released the “Financial Stability Report for December 2022”.
• Banks' asset quality has shown significant improvement in the first half ending September
30, 2022 period for FY23.
pg. 89
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• As per the FSR, banks gross NPA continued to decline and stood at a seven-year low of
5% in September 2022.
• The net NPA stood at a ten-year low of 1.3% under which private bankers' net NPA was
below 1%.
7. Tata Motors’ arm Tata Passenger Electric Mobility Ltd (TPEML) would acquire Ford India
Pvt Ltd’s (FIPL) Sanand Plant in Gujarat for Rs 725.7 crore.
8. SEBI has announced to make the Investor Risk Reduction Access (IRRA) platform effective
from October 1, 2023.
• The platform aims to help investors in case there is a disruption of services caused by
systems belonging to trading members.
• The IRRA service would support multiple segments across multiple exchanges.
• Once IRRA service is authorised, the investors concerned can square off/close the open
positions across segments and exchange/s and/or cancel the orders across segments,
which are pending at the exchange/s, in case of any disruption.
9. Eicher Motors Ltd, parent company of Royal Enfield, has announced a strategic collaboration
with Spain-based Stark Future SL to expand in the space of electric vehicles.
10. India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) processed a record 7.82 billion transactions in
December 2022, worth a total of Rs 12.82 trillion ($174.6bn).
11. The interest rates on the small saving schemes have been revised for the January-March
2023 quarter.
• The interest rates on these schemes are revised quarterly by the Ministry of Finance.
pg. 90
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12. RBI has released the Utkarsh 2.0 – Medium-Term Strategy Framework (2023-25). Utkarsh
1.0 was launched in 2019.
• Structure of the Utkarsh 2.0 policy –
pg. 91
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• Number of strategies under each vision -
13. Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of India have signed a $220 million
loan to improve energy security, quality of supply, efficiency, and resilience of power sector in
Tripura.
14. The Chennai-headquartered Indian Bank has unveiled QR code bill payment system for
Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Corporation Ltd (CESC) making it as the first power
distribution company to offer such an initiative to customers in Mysuru.
• By using the QR code linked to the UPI on printed electricity bill, customers would be able
to make their payments without visiting any online portal or physically going to any payment
centre.
15. Bandhan Bank has launched its ‘Jahaan Bandhan, Wahaan Trust’ marketing campaign
featuring cricketer Sourav Ganguly as its brand ambassador.
16. Niva Bupa Health Insurance (formerly known as Max Bupa Health Insurance) has signed a
corporate agency agreement with Sundaram Finance Limited to offer Niva Bupa’s select
range of indemnity plans to its growing range of existing and past customers.
• MD & CEO, Niva Bupa Health Insurance - Krishnan Ramachandran
17. HDFC Bank and Yes Bank have partnered with Microsoft for utilising the Azure cloud
platform and for developing a next-generation mobile application, respectively.
• HDFC Bank will use Microsoft Power’s Platform to set up an app innovation and automation
factory. The app factory will enable the bank to migrate, modernise and transform its
application portfolio.
• Yes Bank will leverage Microsoft’s Azure platform to create the app which will offer
customers a host of services such as online payments, shopping, rewards, offers, as well
as customised dashboards, in addition to traditional banking functions.
pg. 92
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18. According to RBI, State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, and HDFC Bank continue to be the
Domestic Systemically Important Banks (D-SIBs).
19. NTPC Limited and Gujarat Gas Limited (GGL) have commissioned India’s first green
hydrogen blending project in the piped natural gas (PNG) network of NTPC Kawas township,
Surat.
• The project aims to supply H2-NG (natural gas) to households in the Kawas township.
20. Indian government has announced that public sector entities will be exempt from the
Minimum Public Shareholding (MPS) norm that requires listed companies to maintain a 25%
public shareholding.
21. Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of India signed a $350 million loan
to improve the connectivity of key economic areas in Maharashtra.
• ADB has also given loan of $300 million to Assam for upgrading over 300 kilometres (km)
of state highways and major district roads (MDRs).
• ADB has also given a loan of $350 Million Loan to Chennai for expansion of Metro Rail
Network.
22. SBI Mutual Fund has received RBI’s approval for acquiring 9.99% stake in Equitas Small
Finance Bank.
• Equitas Small Finance Bank Head Office- Chennai
• Equitas Small Finance Bank MD & CEO - PN Vasudevan
• Equitas SFB Tagline - Here, your money works towards better society.
• SBI Mutual Fund MD - Vinay Tonse
23. General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (US-based) and Bharat Forge Limited, India
have partnered to manufacture main landing gear components, subassemblies, and
assemblies of remotely piloted aircraft.
24. Aegon Life Insurance has launched iTerm Prime Insurance plan for the self-employed
individuals with a special 10% discount on first-year premium.
pg. 93
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• The plan offers a minimum sum assured of ₹25 lakhs, with no upper limit on a
consumer’s requirement.
• The product also offers a ‘Special Exit Value’ option that allows the policyholder to get all
premiums back when they turn 55 years old.
25. ICICI Bank launched first of its kind ‘Digital Solutions for Exporters’ to provide finances
and other facilities to exporters without any delay, to improve their operational efficiency.
• Facilities include the Insta Export Packing Credit (EPC), Trade APIs, Trade Accounts,
Digital Letter of Credit facility etc.
26. RBI has received an application from Annapurna Finance Pvt Ltd (AFPL), formerly known as
Annapurna Microfinance Pvt Ltd, under the Guidelines for ‘on tap’ Licensing of Universal Banks
in the Private Sector.
27. Qatar Airways Privilege Club, British Airways Executive Club and IndusInd Bank from
India have partnered to introduce the first-of-its-kind multi-branded credit card, with two
leading international airlines powered by Visa.
28. Dhanlaxmi Bank has launched all new retail internet banking – DhanDelight, and retail
mobile banking app – DhanSmart.
• Dhanlaxmi Bank HQ– Thrissur, Kerala
• Dhanlaxmi Bank MD & CEO - Shivan J K
• Dhanlaxmi Bank Tagline - Tann Mann Dhan
29. The Consumer Education and Protection Department (CEPD) of RBI released the Annual
Report of the Ombudsman Schemes for the FY 2021-22 (April 2021-March 2022).
• The Report covers activities under the following Ombudsman Schemes:
o Banking Ombudsman Scheme, 2006 (BOS)
o Ombudsman Scheme for Non-Banking Financial Companies, 2018 (OSNBFC),
o Ombudsman Scheme for Digital Transactions, 2019 (OSDT)
o Reserve Bank - Integrated Ombudsman Scheme, 2021 (RB-IOS)
pg. 94
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(% to Total
Complaints
complaints) Nature of complaints
against REs
2021-22
▪ ATM / Debit Cards – 15%
Complaints ▪ Mobile / electronic banking – 14.7%
against 88.04% ▪ Credit Cards – 12%
banks ▪ Loans and advances – 9%
▪ Non-observance of Fair Practices Code (FPC) – 9%
▪ Loans & Advances related / Non-adherence to
FPC – 56%
Complaints
▪ Non-observance of RBI directions – 5.65%
against 10.94%
▪ Levy of charges without prior notice – 5%
NBFCs
▪ Non-transparency in contract/ loan – 1.5%
▪ Delay in repayment of deposits – 0.96%
▪ Mobile/Electronic Fund Transfers /
Complaints
Mobile/Electronic Banking – 39%
against
▪ Fund Transfers/ UPI/ BBPS/ Bharat QR Code – 31%
NBPSPs
▪ Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPI) – 7%
(Non-Bank 1.02%
▪ Non-reversal of Funds due to Wrong Beneficiary
Payment
Transfer by System Participant – 6%
System
▪ Violation of RBI Directives in relation to Fees/Charges
Participants)
– 2%
30. Axis Bank has partnered with OPEN to provide a fully native digital current account journey
for its customers including SMEs (small and medium enterprises), freelancers, homepreneurs,
influencers and more.
• This has been the bank’s first-ever partnership with a fintech player to launch a fully
digital current account.
• Customers can open their digital accounts through video-KYC.
31. SEBI has granted a debt broker licence to GoldenPi Technologies (Bengaluru-based
fintech company backed by Zerodha Broking Ltd.).
• GoldenPi Technologies became the first online bond platform to obtain a debt broker
licence.
pg. 95
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32. SEBI has given approval to Central Govt to reclassify its stake in IDBI Bank as a public
holding.
• The government, which owns 45.48% of IDBI Bank, is looking to divest a 30.48% stake in
the lender, alongside state-owned Life Insurance Corp of India (LIC), which will sell a
30.24% stake from its holding of 49.24% in the bank.
33. RBI has announced opening of the Fourth Cohort under Regulatory Sandbox on the theme
of ‘Prevention and Mitigation of Financial Frauds’.
• A total of six entities have been selected for this cohort.
Bahwan Cybertek Private Crediwatch Information enStage Software Private
Limited Analytics Private Limited Limited (Wibmo)
HSBC + enStage Software napID Cybersec Private Trusting Social Private Limited
Private Limited Limited
(Wibmo)
• Themes of the earlier cohorts –

o 1st – Retail Payments
o 2nd – Cross Border Payments
o 3rd – MSME Lending
• The theme of the 5th cohort will be “Neutral”.
34. Bombay Stock Exchange has partnered with the government of Goa for the development of
SMEs (Small Medium Enterprises) in the state.
• Besides, the exchange will also provide training and capacity-building support to District
Industries Centre officials and facilitates SMEs with respect to registration/listing on the
platform.
• BSE is the largest SME Exchange in India with over 400 companies listed on the
platform.
35. Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal has announced that the Bureau
of Indian Standard’s “Portal for Mapping of Industrial Units and Laboratories”.
• The portal is a centralised platform for information on industrial units and laboratories
across India.
pg. 96
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• BIS has also launched several transformational initiatives including Standards National
Action Plan (SNAP) 2022 - 27 and setting up around four thousand Standards Clubs
across the country.
36. National Statistical Office (NSO), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, has
released the First Advance Estimates (FAE) of National Income at both Constant (2011-
12) and Current Prices, for the financial year 2022-23.
GDP Year Amount Growth Rate
Real GDP or GDP 2022-23 ₹157.60 lakh crore 7%
at Constant (2011-
12) Prices
2021-22 (provisional ₹147.36 lakh crore 8.7%
estimates)
Nominal GDP 2022-23 ₹273.08 lakh crore 15.4%

2021-22 (provisional ₹236.65 lakh crore 19.5%
estimates)
37. National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has raised close to Rs
5,000 crore via 3-year bonds.
• The coupon for the three-year bond was 7.63%.
• The issue by NABARD had a base size of Rs 2,000 crore plus a green-shoe option of Rs
3,000 crore.
38. Reserve Bank of India will issue sovereign green bonds (SGrBs) worth Rs 16,000 crore for
mobilising resources for boosting green infrastructure.
• These bonds will be issued in two tranches of Rs 8,000 crores each.
• The bonds are, at present, tax-free to increase the number of green projects in the country.
• RBI has issued the first tranche of the bonds. The 5-year maturity bond worth Rs 4,000
crores was launched at 7.10% coupon rate while the 10-year maturity bond of Rs 4,000
crores was launched at 7.29% coupon rate.
pg. 97
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Knowledge Nuggets -
• The 5-year bond was expected to be sold at 7.13% coupon rate.
• The 10-year bond was estimated to be sold at 7.31% coupon rate. These
bonds were sold six basis points lower than the similar maturity sovereign
debt.
• Implication – the lower yield may act as a deterrent in attracting more
investments in the green sector.
39. Indian Bank has received the RBI’s approval to hold special rupee vostro accounts of three
banks from Sri Lanka.
• Mechanism of Vostro Account –
o Indian importers would deposit their payments (due to Sri Lankan exporters) in
Indian Rupees in these Vostro Accounts.
o Indian exporters would receive the payments (accrued from Sri Lankan importers) in
Indian Rupees through these Vostro Accounts.
• Impact – This will reduce burden of spending dollars on Sri Lanka.
40. According to a Nikkei Asia’s Report, India has surpassed Japan to become the world’s 3rd
largest automobile market in 2022.
• China is at the 1st place in automobile sales, followed by US at the 2nd position.
• India’s new vehicle sales stands at 4.25 million units in 2022.
41. Kotak Mahindra General Insurance Company Limited has partnered with Clootrack, a
Kochi-based start-up, for customer experience analytics.
42. HDFC Capital has received $376 million funding for its HDFC Capital Affordable Real
Estate Fund-3 (H-CARE) to provide long-term and flexible funding across affordable and mid-
income housing projects including early-stage funding.
• The primary investor in H-CARE 1 and 2 schemes is Abu Dhabi Investment Authority.
43. South Indian Bank has launched an online portal to provide instant loans of up to Rs 1
crore to MSMEs.
Knowledge Nuggets -
pg. 98
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• SIB HQ – Thrissur, Kerala

• SIB MD and CEO - Murali Ramakrishnan
• Tagline – Experience Next Generation Banking
44. PayRup (https://payrup.com) India’s fastest payment app has been launched to provide
advanced digital payment experience with outstanding user experience.
• It is built by cutting-edge technology of web 3.0.
• PayRup users can pay utility bills and landline bills, recharge their mobile, broadband, DTH,
and purchase Gift Cards.
45. ICRA has released the “Indian Banking Sector” report, according to which, the bond
issuance by banks has reached a record-high of Rs 91,500 crores during April-December
2022.
46. RBI has released a list of domestic credit rating agencies. Banks are advised to use this list
for risk weighting their claims about capital adequacy.
• The central bank listed Acuite Ratings & Research Limited, Credit Analysis and Research
Limited (CARE), CRISIL Ratings Limited, ICRA Limited, India Ratings and Research
Private Limited, and INFOMERICS Valuation and Rating Pvt Ltd.
47. BharatPe (Fintech firm) has received in-principle approval from the Reserve Bank of India
(RBI) to operate as a payment aggregator.
• The company will operate the platform through its subsidiary Resilient Payments.
• Payment aggregators are companies enabling e-commerce sites and merchants to accept
various payment instruments from the customers without the need for merchants to create
a separate payment integration system.
48. Export Import Bank of India (EXIM) Bank has raised $1 billion from investors across the
globe.
• EXIM's Long-Term rating is driven by its Government Support Rating (GSR) of 'bbb-',
and is the same as India's sovereign rating (BBB-/Stable).
49. SEBI has relaxed certain norms related to the Offer for Sale (OFS).
pg. 99
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• Offer For Sale – When a promoter or promoter group sells its shares to public. It is done
either through intermediaries or through private placement.
• New changes -
o The cooling-off period required between 2 OFS has been reduced from 12 weeks
to 2 weeks.
o Minimum amount for OFS will be ₹25 crore.
▪ In case, the OFS is made for increasing the public shareholding in the
company, as per the Minimum Public Shareholding (MPS) norms, the issue
size can be less than Rs 25 crore.
Minimum Public Shareholding (MPS)
According to this, companies are required to have a public shareholding of at least 25%
within 3 years of being listed. However, state-owned entities are exempt from the minimum
public holding rule
o OFS mechanism will be available to companies with a market capitalization of
₹1,000 crore and above.
o Facility of OFS shares will be available on BSE, NSE, and the Metropolitan Stock
Exchange of India (MSEI).
• Allocation:
o Minimum 25% of the shares offered will be reserved for mutual funds and insurance
companies
o Minimum 10% of the shares offered will be reserved for retail investors
o Moreover, retail investors will now be allowed to bid for the unsubscribed portion of
the non-retail segment.
• Unitholders of listed REITS and InvITS are also allowed to offer their holdings through the
OFS mechanism.
• Earlier, Promoter and non-promoter shareholders holding at least 10% stake in a company
were allowed to offer shares through the OFS route. This has been done away with by
SEBI.
50. Axis Bank has announced to acquire an additional 7% stake in Max Life Insurance
Company from Max Fin Serv.
51. Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has allowed stock exchanges to introduce
futures contracts on corporate bond indices.
pg. 100
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• Purpose - to enhance liquidity in the bond market and also to provide an opportunity to
investors to hedge their positions
• This decision was based on the recommendation of the Secondary Market Advisory
Committee (SMAC) of SEBI.
• The index should have at least 8 issuers, in which a single issuer should not have more
than 15% weight.
• Further, the index should not have more than 25% weight in a particular group of issuers
in the index or from a particular sector (excluding securities issued by PSUs, Public
Financial Institutions (PFIs) and Public Sector Banks (PSBs).
52. Hitachi Payment Services, an end-to-end payment solutions provider, and Enkash have
received an in-principle approval from the RBI to act as a “Payments Aggregator”.
• Payment aggregators facilitate e-commerce sites and merchants to accept various payment
instruments from customers, and help merchants connect with acquirers.
53. Punjab & Sind Bank (PSB), a public sector bank, and Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance
Company (BALIC) have entered into a Corporate Agency Partnership.
54. Non-resident Indians (NRIs), who are holding bank accounts in India and are living abroad,
will soon be able to use Unified Payments Interface (UPI) platforms with their international
mobile numbers.
• The NPCI has allowed UPI platforms to onboard non-resident accountholders (NRE/NRO
accounts) from ten countries with international mobile numbers with certain conditions.
pg. 101
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55. According to the “Startup Tracker- CY22" report released by PwC India, the funding for
Indian startups has fallen by 33% to USD 24 billion in 2022.
56. Meta has partnered with the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) to
digitally enable thousands of automobile dealers across the country to reach consumers
digitally.
• It was announced at the Auto Expo 2023 in Noida.
• Meta also launched ‘Move with Meta’, a skilling and enablement program in partnership
with FADA to upskill more than 3000 auto dealers across the country to build a social
presence and digitise using Meta Platforms.
57. SEBI allowed stock exchanges to launch multiple contracts in the same commodity in a
bid to encourage broader participation of investors in commodity derivatives market.
• SEBI observed that due to the requirement of a single contract on a particular commodity,
except for gold, silver and precious metals, the participation of investors, especially in metal
contracts, is limited.
Knowledge Nuggets -
• A derivative contract, which has a commodity as its underlying is known as a 'commodity
derivatives' contract. Generally, the commodities traded in commodity derivatives market
are classified into two broad categories -- agricultural commodities and non-agricultural
commodities.
• In December 2022, SEBI suspended futures and options trading in seven agricultural
commodities for one more year till December 2023 in a bid to control prices.
• Seven agricultural commodities suspended by Sebi are wheat, moong, paddy (non-
basmati), chana, crude palm oil, mustard seeds and their derivatives and soya bean and
its derivatives.
58. Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) will come out with a list of “identified
goods” that will be subject to stricter scrutiny for their true value.
• The CBIC has notified the Customs (Assistance in Value Declaration of Identified
Imported Goods) Rules, 2023, aimed at addressing the undervaluation of specified
imported goods.
• The rules will be effective from February 11, 2023.
pg. 102
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59. UK-based private equity firm Apax Partners sold 4.3% stake in Shriram Finance Ltd through
the open market.
Knowledge Nuggets -
• Shriram Finance Ltd is India’s largest retail NBFC offering credit for commercial vehicles.
• In November 2022, the subsidiaries of Shriram – Shriram Transport Finance Company
Shriram Capital, and Shriram City Union Finance – merged to form the Shriram Finance
Ltd.
60. China's Alibaba Group has sold about a 3% stake in One97 Communications, the parent
entity of leading Indian mobile payments and financial services company Paytm, for ₹1,031
crore through a block deal.
Knowledge Nuggets -
• A Block Deal is the selling and buying of securities (like shares) between the institutional
players. Block Deals are generally executed through multiple brokers to hide the true size
of the transaction.
• In India, SEBI allows only single transaction through Block Deals, which can be of a
minimum of five lakh shares or Rs 5 crore. The transaction happens through a separate
trading window.
61. State Bank of India (SBI) has launched e-Bank Guarantee (e-BG) facility in association with
National e-Governance Services Limited (NeSL).
• A bank guarantee is a kind of guarantee from a lending organization. The bank guarantee
signifies that the lending institution ensures that the liabilities of a debtor are going to be
met. In other words, if the debtor fails to perform the obligation, the bank will cover it.
Knowledge Nuggets -
• A bank guarantee is a kind of guarantee from a bank / lending organization. The bank is
taking the guarantee of paying the exporter on behalf of the importer.
• The importer obtains the bank guarantee to give it to the exporters.
62. Garuda Aerospace has partnered with the Union Bank of India (UBI) for the Union Kisan
Pushpak Scheme.
pg. 103
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• The Kisan Pushpak Scheme has been launched by the Bank to provide loans to farmers
for availing loans for 150 Garuda Agri Kisan drones, developed by Garuda Aerospace.
Knowledge Nuggets -
• The Agriculture Infrastructure Fund Scheme is already providing subsidies to farmers
for purchasing drones. The Scheme is also working to train 150 skilled drone pilots.
• Garuda Aerospace is targeting 1 lakh youth for drone pilot training. The company is
planning to sell 5,000 drones before 31st March, 2023.
63. SEBI has allowed alternative investment funds (AIFs) to participate in the Credit Default
Swaps (CDS) market as protection buyers and sellers in a bid to facilitate deepening of the
domestic corporate bond segment.
• Under the new norm, Category-I and Category-II AIFs can buy CDS on underlying
investment in debt securities only for the purpose of hedging, while Category-III AIFs can
purchase CDS for hedging or otherwise, within permissible limits.
Knowledge Nuggets -
• A credit default swap (CDS) is a financial derivative that allows an investor to swap or
offset their credit risk with that of another investor.
• Alternative Investment Fund are the mutual funds that hold non-traditional
investments like real estate. The investment can be made in both equity and/or debt.
• There are three types of AIFs in India
o Category I AIF – Encouraged and incentivised by the govt
▪ Venture capital funds (Including Angel Funds)
▪ SME Funds
▪ Social Venture Funds
▪ Infrastructure funds
o Category II AIF – AIFs which do not fall in Category I and III. These funds aim to
meet day-to-day operational requirements. Govt does not provide any concessions
in this category.
▪ Real Estate Funds
▪ Private Equity Funds
▪ Funds For Distressed Assets
o Category III AIF – AIFs which employ diverse or complex trading strategies fall in
this category. These funds can also invest in listed or unlisted derivatives.
pg. 104
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▪ Hedge Funds
▪ PIPE Funds
64. SEBI has allowed mutual funds with active Equity-Linked Savings Schemes (ELSS) to
launch passive schemes to provide a cost-effective and tax-saving alternative to individual
investors.
• Earlier, mutual funds were allowed to either launch an actively-managed ELSS scheme or a
passively-managed one but not in both categories.
65. India and China bilateral trade reached all-time high of $135.98 billion in 2022.
• The trade deficit of India touched $100 billion for the first time.
• Last year, the trade was $125 billion. This year, it has grown by 8.4%.
66. Jio-BP, a fuels and mobility joint venture between Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) and UK-
based BP, will build EV charging infrastructure for India unit of French automobile
manufacturer named Citroen.
• Jio-bp will install DC fast chargers across Citron's key dealership network and workshops
across the country in phases.
67. Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation Group (SMBC Bank) of Japan and Oaktree Capital
Management are among those that have submitted expressions of interest (EoIs) for the
strategic stake sale in IDBI Bank.
• Oaktree is a US alternative assets firm founded by Howard Marks, one of the world’s
most formidable distressed debt investors. The stake being sold is held by the Centre and
state-owned Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC).
• The government, which owns 45.48% of IDBI Bank, is looking to divest a 30.48% stake in
the lender, alongside state-owned Life Insurance Corp of India (LIC), which will sell a
30.24% stake from its holding of 49.24% in the bank.
68. CII Business Confidence Index has rebounded to its highest reading in almost two years of
67.6 from 62.2 for the October-December quarter.
69. The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has allowed the Jalan-Kalrock Consortium
(JKC) to take over Jet Airways.
pg. 105
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70. Aditya Birla Health Insurance Co. Ltd. (ABHICL) has signed a bancassurance partnership
with Punjab & Sind Bank for distribution of health insurance products through the bank’s
network of branches across India.
• Mayank Battwal is the CEO of Aditya Birla Health Insurance (a joint venture between the
Aditya Birla Group and MMI Holdings of South Africa since August 2015).
71. The Odisha government has initiated the process to divest 49% stake in Odisha Power
Generation Corporation (OPGC), a profit-making PSU that operates 1,740 MW thermal
power plant at Banharpalli in Jharsuguda district.
72. Merchandise exports for the period April-December 2022 registered a growth of 9% to
$332.76 billion on a year-on-year basis.
• Overall imports during April-December grew to $551.70 billion.
• More than $6 billion worth of smartphones were exported during the period April-
November 2022.
73. RBI has proposed a framework for adoption of an expected loss-based approach for
provisioning by banks in India.
• The RBI proposes to adopt the Expected Credit Loss (ECL) approach used in
International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) 9 for prescribing guidelines for loss
provisioning by banks.
• At present, banks use incurred loss approach and this will be changed to ECL approach,
1 year after announcing the final guidelines.
• Salient features -
o Banks will classify financial assets (primarily loans, including irrevocable loan
commitments, and investments classified as held-to-maturity or available-for-sale)
into one of the three categories — Stage 1, Stage 2, and Stage 3, depending upon
the assessed credit losses on them, at the time of initial recognition as well as on
each subsequent reporting date and make necessary provisions.
o Regional rural banks and smaller cooperative banks (based on a threshold) are
proposed to be kept out of the above framework.
o Banks would be allowed to design and implement their own models for measuring
ECL for the purpose of estimating loss provisions in line with the proposed principles.
pg. 106
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o Banks will be given an option to phase out the effect of increased provisions on
CET1 capital, over a maximum period of five years.
74. Imports from Russia have jumped five times to $32.9 billion during April-December 2022,
making it the fourth largest trading partner.
• There are two main contributors to India's higher imports from Russia -- crude oil and
fertilisers.
75. Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) has entered into a partnership with
VFS Capital to extend loans to the MSME sector.
• VFS Capital will extend MSME loans upto Rs 5 lakh at 13% interest rate per annum.
76. State Bank of India (SBI) has signed an MOU with Warehousing Development and
Regulatory Authority (WDRA) to provide loans against electronic Negotiable Warehouse
Receipts (e-NWR) issued by WDRA-registered warehouses.
Knowledge Nuggets -
• Negotiable Warehouse Receipt (NWR) system in the country enables farmers to store
their produce for safe and scientific storage and preservation in warehouses near their
farms and to seek pledge loan from banks against the NWRs issued against deposit of
their stock.
77. RBI has released the Master Direction – Reserve Bank of India (Acquisition and Holding
of Shares or Voting Rights in Banking Companies) Directions, 2023.
• Any person who intends to make an acquisition which is likely to result in major
shareholding in a banking company, is required to seek previous approval of the Reserve
Bank.
• “Major shareholding” means “aggregate holding” of 5% or more of the paid-up share
capital or voting rights in a banking company by a person.
• If the aggregate holding of a person is not in conformance with the Guidelines, s/he shall
submit a shareholding dilution plan within 6 months from the date of issue of these
directions.
pg. 107
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78. Paytm Payments Bank has received final approval from the Reserve Bank of India to
operate as a Bharat Bill Payment Operating Unit (BBPOU) under the Bharat Bill Payment
System (BBPS).
Knowledge Nuggets -
• BBPOU is allowed to facilitate bill payment services of electricity, phone, DTH, water, gas
insurance, loan repayments, FASTag recharge, education fees, credit card bill and
municipal taxes.
• BBPS is owned by the National Payments Corporation of India.
79. Protean eGov Technologies, formerly NSDL e-Governance Infrastructure, has received the
RBI's approval to for its wholly-owned subsidiary to operate as an account aggregator.
80. RBI has released the “State Finances: A Study of Budgets of 2022-23" report on the theme
of “Capital Formation in India- The Role of States”.
• As per the report, the gross fiscal deficit of states is budgeted to narrow to 3.4% of
gross domestic product (GDP) in 2022-23 from 4.1% in 2020-21.
• States’ debt is budgeted to ease to 29.5% of GDP in 2022-23 as against 31.1% in 2020-
21, it is still higher than the 20% recommended by the FRBM Review Committee, 2018.
• States’ capital outlay-GDP ratio is likely to improve from 2.3% in 2021-22 (provisional
account) to 2.9% in 2022-23 (budget estimate).
81. Asteria Aerospace, a full stack drone technology company, has received type certification for
its indigenously designed and manufactured A200-XT drone from the Directorate General of
Civil Aviation (DGCA).
• The A200-XT drone is a versatile drone with payloads that can be quickly swapped
between a high-resolution high-zoom day camera, and a night-time thermal camera.
• Asteria has become the first company to have two DGCA-certified drones that it can
offer to its customers for a variety of applications including law enforcement, industrial
security, infrastructure inspections, and agriculture and land surveys.
82. Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) has released first-ever Audit Standard
for Sustainable Information.
• The ICAI has also issued 16 social audit standards for conducting audits of social stock
exchanges.
pg. 108
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83. According to a research report by SBI, India's fiscal deficit for FY 2023-24 is estimated at
around ₹17.95 lakh crore or 6% of GDP in FY24.
• For FY23, the fiscal deficit would stand at Rs 17.5 lakh crore.
• The net market borrowing of the Centre in FY24 is believed to be around ₹11.7 lakh
crore, and with repayments of ₹4.4 lakh crore, gross borrowing is expected at ₹16.1 lakh
crore.
• In FY24, the overall gross borrowing by the Centre and states is likely to be ₹24.3 lakh
crore (up from ₹22.2 lakh crore in FY23) and net borrowings ₹17 lakh crore (₹16.7 lakh
crore in FY23).
84. Mastercard has announced to launch its Girls4Tech STEM education program across all
states in India to reach 100,000 additional female students by 2024.
• The program, supported by the Mastercard Impact Fund and in partnership with the
American India Foundation, will provide STEM education to girls aged 8 to 14 in 40
different government schools in Delhi and across the country.
• Already, the program is being implemented in both urban and rural areas across six states
in India.
85. South Indian Bank and Steel Authority of India Ltd has signed MoU to provide financial
assistance to the dealers of SAIL across the country.
• Purpose - to offer SAIL’s dealers with financial assistance for working capital, especially
steel procurement
86. India's Adani Enterprises Limited (AEL) has signed an agreement with Ashok Leyland and
Canada's Ballard Power to launch a pilot project to develop a hydrogen fuel cell electric
truck (FCET) for mining logistics and transportation.
• The FCET is scheduled to be launched in India in 2023.
87. According to EY estimates, Indian economy will reach GDP size of US$26 trillion (in market
exchange terms) by 2047, the 100th year of the country’s independence.
• The report, India@100: Realizing the potential of a US$26 trillion economy, was
launched by Sri Ashwini Vaishnaw, Railway and IT Minister, Government of India on the
sidelines of the World Economic Forum at Davos, Switzerland.
pg. 109
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• The per capita income of India is expected to increase to $15,000.
88. State Bank of India (SBI) raised Rs 9,718 crore through the issuance of 15-year
infrastructure debt, with the bonds bearing a coupon of 7.7%, in its second tranche.
• Infrastructure bonds are securities that are exempt from the computation of net demand
and time liabilities (NDTL) – a proxy for deposits. Hence, they are not subject to cash
reserve ratio (CRR) and statutory liquidity ratio (SLR) requirements.
89. Punjab National Bank (PNB) has offered credit cards against Fixed Deposit to customers
who don’t meet the eligibility criteria for regular credit cards.
• This facility will be available for salary account customers, and they shall be able to apply
through the mobile banking app PNB One, website or Internet Banking Service (IBS).
90. According to the data provided by Tracxn, a leading global market intelligence platform,
Bengaluru topped the startup funding chart in India with $10.8 billion in 2022, followed by
Mumbai at $3.9 billion, and Gurugram at a distant $2.6 billion.
91. According to a report conducted by Dealroom and London & Partners, India ranked 4th
globally with USD 24.1 Billion worth of Venture Capital investments in 2022.
• USD 10.7 billion worth of investment went into companies based in Bengaluru. Now,
Bengaluru (Indian tech city) has joined the likes of London and New York in the top 5 hubs
for tech VC investment last year.
• Top 3 countries – US ($233 billion), China ($48 billion), and United Kingdom ($29.9 billion)
92. Index of Industrial Production (IIP) increased to 7.1% for November 2022 which is the
highest in five months.
Knowledge Nuggets -
• The Index of Industrial Production (IIP) is a composite indicator that measures the
short-term changes in the volume of production of a basket of industrial products during a
given period with respect to that in a chosen base period.
• With the inception of the Central Statistical Organization (now known as National
Statistics Office (NSO)) in 1951, the responsibility for compilation and publication of IIP
was vested with it.
pg. 110
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93. SEBI has proposed to introduce a blocking of funds facility for trading in secondary
markets for safeguarding investors' money from misuse and default by stock brokers.
• This is similar to Application Supported by Blocked Amount (ASBA)-like facility already
available for the primary market which ensures that money from an investor gets moved
only when an allotment happens.
• Now, investors will be able to trade in secondary markets based on blocked funds in one's
bank account, thereby eliminating the need to transfer funds to stock broker.
• Under the proposed model, funds would remain in the account of client but will be blocked
in favour of Clearing Corporation (CC) till the expiry date of the block mandate or till the
block is released by the CC, whichever is earlier. CC can debit funds from client account,
limited to the amount specified in the block.
Knowledge Nuggets -
• SEBI was established in 1988 as a non-statutory body.
• In 1992, the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992 was passed to make SEBI
a statutory body.
• Chairperson – Madhabi Puri Buch
94. Japan’s leading sporting equipment maker Yonex is expanding its manufacturing footprint in
India.
95. Ministry of Commerce and Industry has announced some relaxations regarding Export
Promotion Capital Goods (EPCG) scheme.
• Under the scheme, imports of capital goods are allowed duty free, subject to an export
obligation.
• The latest relaxation will be available for hotel, healthcare, and educational sectors.
• The government has announced a one-time relaxation from maintaining the average
export obligation for EPCG authorizations issued to them for years 2020-21 and 2021-22.
• The next relaxation is to extend the export obligation period from the date of expiry for
the duration equivalent to the number of days the export obligation period falls within
February 1, 2020 and March 31, 2022.
About the Export Promotion Capital Goods (EPCG) Scheme -

• Objective – To facilitate import of capital goods for creating world-class products for export
purpose
pg. 111
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• It is a trade promotion scheme governed by the Foreign Trade Policy of India.
96. Sebi has launched an information database on municipal bonds.

• The information database contains a wide range of information in the form of statistics and
regulations, circulars, guidance note and Frequently Asked Questions issued by Sebi in
respect of municipal debt securities.
Knowledge Nuggets -
• Municipal Debt Securities aim to raise money for the municipal corporations of different
cities for funding the infrastructure and other related projects.
• Municipal Bonds, popularly known as “Muni Bonds”, are most common type of
Municipal Debt Security.
• Bengaluru was the first city in India to issue the Municipal Bond in 1997, followed by
Ahmedabad in 1998.
• In 2017, Pune became the first city to issue Municipal Bond with the help of US
Department of Treasury’s Office of Technical Assistance. Vadodara followed the suit
and launched the bond with US’s help in 2022.
97. RBI gave banks time till end of December 2023 to complete renewal of agreements for the
existing safe deposit lockers of customers.
• Banks were earlier required to complete the process by January 01, 2023.
• RBI has asked them to complete work in phases with intermediate milestones of 50% by
June 30, and 75% by September 30.
98. Amazon has tied up with Quikjet Cargo Airline Private Ltd, a Bengaluru-based freight
carrier, which will use a Boeing aircraft to fly shipments.
• Quikjet will transport Amazon customer shipments to Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Delhi, and
Mumbai.
99. Paytail has partnered with HDB Financial Services, a leading NBFC, to offer loans on
lifestyle products such as bicycles, EVs, mobile devices, consumer durables and kitchen
appliances.
• Paytail provides instant digital finance and easy EMIs to merchants.
• The loan amount ranges from ₹5,000 to ₹3 lakh. It offers a hassle-free EMI tenure of 24
months, depending on the borrowed amount and the product segment.
pg. 112
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100. Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) has launched LIC Jeevan Azad Plan.
• It is a limited period premium payment plan that offers financial support for the family in
case of unfortunate death of the life assured during the policy term.
• If the LIC policyholder survives the maturity term, then the plan offers a guaranteed base
sum-assured amount.
• Key features of the Policy –
o It is a non-linked non-participating premium endowment plan.
o Minimum Basic Sum Assured - Rs 2 Lakh
o Maximum Basic Sum Assured - Rs 5 Lakh
▪ There will be no medical examination for the sum assured of up to Rs 3 lakh.
For a sum assured of above Rs 3 lakh, a medical examination is required.
o Minimum-Maximum term – 15-20 years
o Entry age - 90 days to 50 years
o The Premium Payment Term (PPT) is equal to the policy term minus eight years.
o The death benefit will not be less than 105 per cent of the total premiums paid up to
the date of death.
101. RBI has released the “What Drives Startup Fundraising in India?” paper.
• Authors - Rajas Saroy, Ashish Khobragade, Rekha Misra, Sakshi Awasthy and Sarat Dhal
• This paper has sourced Tracxn’s data on startups in India.
pg. 113
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102. State Bank of India (SBI) has acquired 40% stake in Commercial lndo Bank LLC (CIBL),
Moscow held by Canara Bank for cash consideration of $14.67 million.
• Commercial Indo Bank (CIBL) provides banking services. It is a joint venture of SBI and
Canara Bank in 60:40 ratio.
pg. 114
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103. L&T Technology Services 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.
104. RBI has released the “Outward Remittances under the Liberalised Remittance
Scheme (LRS) for Resident Individuals” for November 2022.
• Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) of RBI allows Indians to transfer money to NRIs
abroad. It was launched in 2004.
• The scheme streamlined overseas payments and was made available for all resident
individuals in India.
• LRS allows parents to transfer money to their children studying abroad. Any Indian resident
can participate in it and transfer up to $250,000 abroad in a financial year.
105. Citibank and Paytm have ended their partnership for a co-branded credit card Paytm CITI
Card, ahead of the merger of Citibank’s consumer banking business with Axis Bank.
106. Garuda Aerospace has unveiled India’s first carbon-neutral drone at the World
Economic Forum 2023.
107. OPPO India and the MeitY Common service Centre (CSC) Academy have partnered to
train 10,000 women in cybersecurity and cyber wellness in the country.
• The initiative to empower rural and semi-urban women through the 'Cyber Sangini'
programme, which is supported by the Ministry of Electronics and IT, aims to equip them
with the skills and knowledge needed to become certified 'Cyber Sanginis'.
108. Tata Motors has partnered with ICICI Bank to offer financing solutions to its authorised
passenger electric vehicle dealers.
109. India's Housing Development Finance Corp planned to raise at least Rs 30 billion
($370.5 million) through the sale of bonds maturing in 10 years.
• The issue will also have a greenshoe option to retain an additional Rs 20 billion.
pg. 115
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110. Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Nhava Sheva Freeport Terminal Private Limited
(NSFTPL) have signed a USD 131 million (about ₹1,066 crore) loan agreement to upgrade
the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Container Terminal, Navi Mumbai, to enhance international
trade in India through efficient, transparent, and state-of-the-art logistics infrastructure.
• NSFTPL is a special purpose vehicle jointly owned by J M Baxi Ports and Logistics
Limited (JMBPL) and CMA Terminals.
111. AU Small Finance Bank launched the first of its kind “SwipeUp” platform to allow other
bank credit cardholders to upgrade their AU credit cards.
112. Appellate Authority for Advance Rulings (AAAR) has put mangrove cultivation under
18% GST tax slab.
113. National Asset Reconstruction Company Ltd (NARCL) has acquired its first stressed
asset, Jaypee Infratech, from lenders at a 55% haircut from the IDBI Bank.
Knowledge Nuggets -
• In finance, a haircut is the difference between the current market value of an asset and
the value ascribed to that asset for purposes of calculating regulatory capital or loan
collateral.
114. Punjab National Bank (PNB) and Aadhar Housing Finance Ltd (AHFL) have entered
into a co-lending agreement to offer home loans at competitive interest rates.
115. BOB Financial Solutions Limited (BFSL) has launched Vikram Credit Card for the
Indian defence, paramilitary, and police personnel.
• BFSL already has exclusive cobranded credit cards with the Indian Army (Yoddha),
Indian Navy (Varunah), Indian Coast Guard (Rakshamah) and Assam Rifles (The
Sentinel).
• Special Features -
o It is a lifetime-free credit card
o It has attractive reward points and activation gift of a complimentary OTT
subscription.
o It has an accidental death cover of Rs 20 lakh.
o 1% Fuel Surcharge Waiver
pg. 116
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o EMI offers
o Periodic merchant offers
116. According to the share purchase agreement of Air India, Tata Group was mandated to
adopt an employee stock option scheme (ESOP) within three months of the closing date of
the sale.
Knowledge Nuggets -
• An employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) is an employee benefit plan that gives
workers ownership in the company in the form of shares of stock.
• ESOPs are set up as trust funds and can be funded by companies putting newly issued
shares into them, putting cash in to buy existing company shares, or borrowing money
through the entity to buy company shares.
117. Vaccine major Bharat Biotech International Limited (BBIL) has launched iNCOVACC
(BBV154), the world’s first intranasal vaccine for Covid-19.
118. Dell Technologies has acquired Israeli startup Cloudify that is known for cloud
orchestration and infrastructure automation for $100 million.
119. After China, India will become the second country in the world to start the ‘trade-plus-
one’ (T+1) settlement cycle in top listed securities.
• Purpose – for bringing operational efficiency, faster fund remittances, share delivery, and
ease for stock market participants
• In the T+1 format, if an investor sells a share, she will get the money within a day, and the
buyer will get the shares in her Demat account also within a day.
Knowledge Nuggets -
• Foreign investors are opposing this move of SEBI because in T+1 cycle the shares will be
credited in one day in the investors’ account and they have to make the payment on the
same day.
• Foreign investors are majorly concerned about the operational issues like foreign
exchange, flow of information, and hedging of their risks among other things.
pg. 117
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120. National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and HDFC Life Insurance have
partnered to allow the HDFC customers to pay their premiums by using the UPI 123PAY
service.
• UPI 123PAY is a payment facility which allows the customers to make payments with or
without an internet connection by using IVR (Interactive Voice Response) services on UPI
123PAY.
• Customers can avail this service in various regional languages such as Hindi, Marathi,
Gujarati, Punjabi, Kannada, Tamil, etc.
• UPI 123PAY can be used through four modes, which are voice payments via IVR
numbers, proximity sound-based payments, missed call-based payment ways, and
app-based scan and pay on feature phones.
• Limits -
o Per day transactions limit is Rs 1,00,000.
o Per transaction limit is Rs 5000 on UPI 123pay.
Knowledge Nuggets -
• National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), an umbrella organisation for operating
retail payments and settlement systems in India, is an initiative of RBI and Indian Banks’
Association (IBA) under the provisions of the Payment and Settlement Systems Act,
2007, for creating a robust Payment & Settlement Infrastructure in India.
• It has been incorporated as a “Not for Profit” Company under the Section 8 of Companies
Act 2013.
• Products of NPCI -
o RuPay
o IMPS - Immediate Payment Service
o NACH - National Automated Clearing House
o ABPS - Aadhaar Payment Bridge
o AePS - Aadhaar enabled Payment System
o NFS - National Financial Switch
o UPI - Unified Payments Interface
o Bharat Bill Payment System
o NETC - National Electronic Toll Collection
121. Godrej Agrovet Ltd. has launched Samadhan initiative, a one stop solution centre for
oil palm farmers, under its Oil Palm business.
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• The initiative aims at helping farmers in optimising their yields by adopting latest agricultural
techniques and boosting their productivity.
• As a part of the Samadhan initiative, Godrej Agrovet will establish 50 Samadhan centers
across the India by 2027 to support the planting of ~2,000 hectares of oil palm.
• The company has become the first in the country to be awarded a verification Certification
under the Indian Palm Oil Sustainability (IPOS) Framework.
• The IPOS Framework is established by the Solvent Extractors Association of India with
assistance from Solidaridad Network, the Indian Institute of Oil Palm Research, and Society
for Promotion of Oil Palm Research and Development (SOPOPRAD).
• Godrej Agrovet Ltd. aims to add 60,000 hectares of additional oil palm plantations in
the next 5 years under the National Mission on Edible Oil - Oil Palm (NMEO-OP).
Knowledge Nuggets -
• The National Mission on Edible Oil - Oil Palm (NMEO-OP) was launched in August
2021 with a special focus on the North-East states.
• Nodal Ministry – Ministry of Agriculture and Farmer Welfare
• Target – to cultivate 1,000,000 hectares of oil palm by 2027
• The program's introduction of the Viability Gap Payment (VGP) for long term
sustainable development and increased incentives for new farmers are two key features
that make it unique and supportive of the industry.
122. Aviva Life Insurance has launched Aviva Signature Investment Plan, a unit-linked
non-participating individual life insurance plan for the millennial and GenX customers.
• The plan comes with two options, Signature Millennial and Signature GenX.
• Signature Millennial has an inbuilt premium waiver and a guaranteed corpus for a
dependent parent, spouse, or child after the insured person’s death.
• Signature GenX offers customers the opportunity to grow their wealth for up to 60 years
through disciplined monthly savings.
123. RenewBuy has launched its first customised health insurance product named
RenewBuy Health Wellness Plan to target the customers in the smaller cities.
• Launched in three variables, it provides the plan in three variants.
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124. Network People Services Technologies Ltd (NPST), a leading fintech solution provider,
has unveiled “Timepay Evok” as a UPI API (application programming interface) engine for
the digital merchants, payment aggregators and payment service providers.
125. Star Health and Allied Insurance has signed a bancassurance agreement with the
Punjab National Bank.
126. Maruti Suzuki has signed an MoU with National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) to
use cow dung its CNG cars.
127. Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) launched the revamped Nidhi Aapke
Nikat 2.0 outreach programme across the country.
128. Indian Oil Corporation has exported the first ever consignment of AVGAS 100 LL, a
special aviation fuel meant for piston engine aircrafts and unmanned ariel vehicles, to Papua
New Guinea.
• The global aviation gasoline market is projected to grow at 5% CAGR. The Aviation traffic in
India is also likely to grow by 7%.
• AV GAS 100 LL, produced by IndiaOil’s flagship refinery at Vadodara, is a higher-octane
Aviation fuel meeting the product specifications with superior performance quality
standards.
Knowledge Nuggets -
• Papua New Guinea Capital - Port Moresby; Currency – Kina
• It is a Unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy.
• It is a part of the Oceania continent’s Melanesia region.
• The country is the world's third largest island country.
• It is a part of Commonwealth of Nations (group of countries which were once a colony of
the Britishers).
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129. Defence PSU Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) Ltd has signed an
MOU with Rolls Royce Solutions of Germany for manufacture of high-quality marine diesel
engines at the former's plant in Ranchi.
130. SBM Bank (India) has raised ₹99 crore from Life Insurance Corporation of India,
through the issue of tier-II bonds.
• The bonds have a maturity of 10 years with a call option at the end of five years.
131. Edelweiss Asset Management has launched a new fund offer (NFO) for India's first
open-ended passive short-duration index scheme.
• The scheme is called as Edelweiss CRISIL IBX 50:50 Gilt Plus SDL Short Duration
Index Fund.
• The scheme will invest in a diversified portfolio of Indian Government Bonds (IGBs) and
State Development Loans (SDLs).
Knowledge Nuggets -
• Active vs Passive Funds – Active Funds involve active participation of a fund manager,
whereas in Passive Funds, the fund manager’s involvement is lesser.
• In Active Mutual Funds, the fund manager is actively involved in the buying and selling of
assets in these funds and aims to generate returns that will beat the market index.
• In the case of passive funds, the funds look to generate returns similar to those of an
index like SENSEX or Nifty or other indices. Index Fund is an example of the passive
funds.
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132. National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) has emerged as the 3rd largest exchange in
the world in the equity segment by the number of trades (electronic order book) in 2022.
• In the previous year, it was ranked 4th as per statistics maintained by the World
Federation of Exchanges (WFE).
• NSE is the world’s largest derivatives exchange in 2022 by the number of contracts
traded based on statistics maintained by Futures Industry Association (FIA), a
derivatives trade body.
133. Google researchers have created an AI that can generate musical pieces from text
inputs.
• The AI model is called MusicLM.
134. RBI has released the ‘State Finances: A Study of Budgets of 2022-23’ report.
• As per the report, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka and Uttarakhand were
the top five GST compensation receiving States during the five-year transition period
from July 2017 to June 2022.
GDP FORECASTS
1. World Bank has released its “Global Economic Prospects” report.
India World
FY23 – 6.9% FY23 - 1.7%
FY24 – 6.6% FY24 – 2.7%
2. UN’s Department of Economic and Social Affairs has released the “World Economic
Situation and Prospects 2023”.
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APPOINTMENTS
1. Lieutenant General Arvind Walia has been appointed as the next Engineer-in-Chief of the
Indian Army.
2. Maithili Thakur (a folk singer) has been appointed as the State Icon of Bihar by the Election
Commission of India.
• Thakur has also won the Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar of the Sangeet Natak
Akademi for her contributions to the folk music of Bihar for the year 2021.
3. Ajay Kumar Srivastava has been appointed as the MD and CEO of the Indian Overseas
Bank.
4. Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva has been elected as the President of Brazil.
5. Sundararaman Ramamurthy has been appointed as the MD and CEO of Bombay Stock
Exchange (BSE).
• BSE was established in 1875 as Asia's first stock exchange.
• It is the Fastest Stock Exchange in world with the speed of 6 micro seconds and one of
India's leading exchange groups.
• BSE has recently got approval from SEBI to set up the Social Stock Exchange as a
separate segment.
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6. Ecuador, Japan, Malta, Mozambique, and Switzerland have officially begun their two-year
term as non-permanent members of the United Nations Security Council.
7. Captain Shiva Chouhan, an officer from the Corps of Electronics and Mechanical Engineers,
became the first woman officer to be operationally deployed at Kumar Post in the Siachen
Glacier, which is located at an altitude of 15,632 feet.
8. Prasanna Kumar Motupalli has been appointed as the Chairman and Managing Director
(CMD) of the state-run NLC India Ltd (NLCIL).
9. Surinder Chawla has been appointed as the new CEO of Paytm Payments Bank.
10. Herbalife International has appointed Smriti Mandhana as the brand ambassador.
11. AC Charania has joined NASA as the chief technologist, replacing fellow Indian-American
scientist Bhavya Lal.
• Charania’s position falls within NASA’s Office for Technology, Policy, and Strategy.
12. A Santhi Kumari has been appointed as the First Female Chief Secretary of Telangana till
2025.
13. Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology of UAE, Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber has
been named as UNFCCC COP-28 President.
• The COP 27 is hosted by Egypt.
14. Cognizant has named Ravi Kumar S as the CEO and a member of the Board, replacing
Brian Humphries.
15. The government has extended the tenure of managing director (MD) and CEO of Bank of
Baroda Sanjiv Chadha till June 2023.
16. Renowned IPS Officer Pankaj Kumar Singh has been appointed as the Deputy National
Security Adviser.
• National Security Advisor – Ajit Doval
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17. Captain Surbhi Jakhmola has become the first woman to be appointed on a foreign
assignment – Project Dantak in Bhutan - by Border Roads Organization.
Knowledge Nuggets -
• Launched in 1961, the Project Dantak is an overseas project of the Border Roads
Organization.
18. Sujeet Sharma has joined Vodafone-Idea as its Vice-President of active network and
commercial.
19. Inger Andersen is the Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive
Director of UN Environment Program.
Knowledge Nuggets -
• The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) was established in 1972.
• HQ - Nairobi, Kenya
• Conventions and Treaties under the administrative aegis of UNEP -
o Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)
o Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and
Flora (CITES)
o Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS)
o Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous
Wastes and their Disposal
o Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain
Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade
o Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants Minamata Convention on
Mercury
o Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer
20. GreenCell Mobility, a leading pan-India shared electric mobility player, has appointed
Devndra Chawla as its CEO.
21. Chris Hipkins succeeds Jacinda Ardern as 41st Prime Minister of New Zealand in February
2023.
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22. CEO of EESL Vishal Kapoor took over the additional charge of CEO of Convergence
Energy Services Limited (CESL).
23. 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 (DGCA).
24. RBI has approved the appointment of Prabdev Singh as the CEO of JPMorgan Chase & Co.
for a period of 3 years.
25. Sangeeta Verma has been appointed as the Chairperson of the Competition Commission
of India.
• Union Cabinet has approved the Competition (Amendment) Bill, 2022 to amend the
Competition Act, 2002, to regulate mergers and acquisitions based on the value of
transactions.
• Deals with transaction value of more than Rs 2,000 crore will require CCI’s approval. The
Bill proposes to reduce the timeline for the CCI to pass an order on such transactions from
210 days to 150 days.
Knowledge Nuggets -
• The Competition Commission of India is a statutory body which was established in
2003, in compliance with the Competition Act, 2002.
• It is the duty of the Commission to eliminate practices having adverse effect on
competition, promote and sustain competition, protect the interests of consumers and
ensure freedom of trade in the markets of India.
• Mergers and Acquisitions beyond a certain threshold require the approval of the
Competition Commission of India (CCI) under the Competition Act, 2002.
26. Shamalbhai B Patel has been re-elected as the Chairman of the Gujarat Cooperative Milk
Marketing Federation Ltd (owner of the Amul Brand).
• Valamji Humbal has been appointed as the Vice-Chairperson of the Cooperative.
27. India's largest iron ore producer based in Hyderabad, NMDC Ltd has roped in world boxing
champ Nikhat Zareen as its brand ambassador.
28. Retired Nato general Petr Pavel has been elected as new President of Czech Republic.
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Knowledge Nuggets -
• Czech Republic Capital – Prague; Currency - Czech koruna; Old name – Bohemia
• Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe.
• On 31 December 1992, Czechoslovakia was peacefully dissolved, with its constituent

states becoming the independent states of the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
• The Czech Republic is a unitary parliamentary republic and developed country with an
advanced, high-income social market economy.
• It is a welfare state with a European social model, universal health care and free-tuition
university education.
29. Air Marshal Amar Preet Singh has been appointed as the Vice Chief of the Indian Air Force.
IMPORTANT DAYS
1. January 1 – Birth Anniversary of Indian physicist Satyendra Nath Bose (known for his work on
quantum mechanics)
• February 4 – Death Anniversary of Indian physicist Satyendra Nath Bose
• January 1 – Global Family Day
2. January 3 –
• Birth anniversary of Savitribai Phule (India’s first female teacher; born in 1831)
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• Birth anniversary of Rani Velu Nachiyar

o Rani Velu Nachiyar was an 18th-century warrior queen who belonged to the Sivagangai
estate in present-day Tamil Nadu. She fought against the Britishers.
3. January 4 – World Braille Day
4. January 6 – World Day of War Orphans
5. January 9 – Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas

• 17th Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas Convention was held on the theme of “Diaspora: Reliable
Partners for India’s Progress in Amrit Kaal”. The convention is divided into three
segments and 5 plenary sessions.
• During the Convention, India and Panama have signed an agreement for undertaking the
training of diplomats.
• India and UK have exchanged letters for UK-India Young Professional Schemes to allow
3,000 Indians and Britons to live, study, and work on each other’s land.
• President Droupadi Murmu will confer the Pravasi Bhartiya Samman Awards up on 27
overseas Indians during the valedictory session of the 17th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas
Convention in Indore.
6. January 10 – World Hindi Diwas

• World Hindi Conference 2023 will be organized in Nadi, Fiji on the theme of “Traditional
Knowledge to Artificial Intelligence”.
7. Ministry of Road Transport and Highways will observe Road Safety Week from 11th to
17th of January.
8. January 12 – National Youth Day; Theme – Viksit Yuva-Viksit Bharat

• Prime Minister Modi inaugurated this year’s National Youth Festival at Hubballi,
Karnataka on 12th January on the occasion of birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda.
9. January 14 – Armed Forces Veterans Day (7th edition)
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• The Armed Forces Veterans’ Day is celebrated on 14th January every year, as on this day
in 1953, the First Indian Commander-in-Chief of Indian Army Field Marshal KM Cariappa,
who led the Indian forces to victory in the 1947 war, formally retired from the Service.
10. January 15 – Army Day (75th edition); Theme - In Stride with the Future
• The parade took place at Parade Grounds in Bengaluru, Karnataka. This is the first time,
when the Parade was held outside Cariappa Parade Ground in Delhi.
• The day celebrates the achievements of first Indian Army Chief and Field Marshall KM
Cariappa. He hailed from Karnataka.
11. January 19 – National Disaster Response Force Raising Day (18th edition)
12. January 21 - Statehood Day of Meghalaya, Manipur and Tripura

• Under the North-Eastern Areas (Re-organisation) Act, 1971, Tripura, Manipur and
Meghalaya attained statehood on January 21, 1972.
13. January 24 –
• International Day of Education; Theme - To invest in people, prioritise education
• UNESCO dedicates International Day of Education to Afghan girls and women in 2023.
• January 24 – Statehood Day of Uttar Pradesh; Theme - 'Investment and Employment'
• January 24 - National Girl Child Day
14. January 25 –
• National Voters Day (13th edition); Theme - Nothing Like Voting. I Vote for Sure
• Himachal Pradesh Statehood Day (It was on this day in 1971 that Himachal Pradesh
became the 18th state of India.)
• National Tourism Day
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15. January 26 – International Custom Day; Theme - Nurturing the next generation
16. January 27 - International Holocaust Remembrance Day; Theme – Home and Belonging
17. January 28 – International Data Privacy Day (17th edition)

• On this day, the Data Security Council of India (an NPO set up under the NASSCOM)
has organized a campaign on the theme of “Think Privacy First”.
• Stefano Rodotà Award 2023 winners -
Knowledge Nuggets -
• The Convention for the Protection of Individuals with Regard to Automatic
Processing of Personal Data is a Council of Europe’s (an international human rights
organization) treaty, which was implemented in 1981.
• The Convention is also called as the Convention 108.
• It was the first legally binding international instrument in the data protection field.
• The Convention 108 established the Stefano Rodotà Award. The award is given in two
categories - Best PhD thesis and Best (other) types of academic articles, including
master theses.
Council of Europe -
• The Council of Europe is not part of the European Union.
• It was established in 1949. It has 46 member states.
• The Council of Europe is an official United Nations Observer.
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18. January 30 –
• World Neglected Tropical Diseases Day; Theme - Act now, Act together, invest in
neglected tropical diseases
• Martyrs' Day / Sarvodaya Diwas / Shaheed Diwas (Mahatma Gandhi’s death anniversary)
• May 19 - Bhasha Shaheed Diwas/Language Martyr’s Day in Assam
AWARDS
1. State-owned Bank of Baroda has bagged an EAG Laureate award in the International
Olympiad of Financial Security held at Sochi, Russia.
• The Eurasian Group on Combating Money Laundering and Terrorism (EAG) is a
FATF-type regional organization which comprises of 9 members including India.
• It is the second largest public sector bank in India after State Bank of India (SBI).
2. Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced the Player of the Year Awards
for 2022 in all formats.
Test Rishabh Pant and Jasprit Bumrah
ODI Shreyas Iyer and Mohammed Siraj
T20I Suryakumar Yadav and Bhuvneshwar Kumar
3. Assam govt has announced the State’s Civilian Awards 2023 in three categories – Asom
Baibhav, Asom Sourav, and Asom Gourav.
• Asom Baibhav (top-most award) – Dr Tapan Saikia (healthcare and public service)
4. The first edition of the KR Gouri Amma national award will be given to Cuban social activist
Dr Aleida Guevara.
• K. R. Gouri (14 July 1919 – 11 May 2021), commonly known as Gouri Amma, was an
Indian politician from Alappuzha in central Kerala.
5. According to aviation analytics company Cirium, two Indian airports, Bengaluru and Delhi,
have featured in the list of top ten global airports in terms of on-time performance (OTP).
• Similarly, three Indian airlines — IndiGo, AirAsia India, and Vistara — have been listed
among the top ten airlines in Asia-Pacific.
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6. Veteran actor-director Aparna Sen was honoured with the lifetime achievement award at the
opening ceremony of the 15th edition of the Jaipur International Film Festival.
7. Digital India Awards 2022 have been announced by the Ministry of Housing and Urban
Affairs.
Category Winners
Digital Empowerment of Citizens Platinum – e-NAM
Gold - Transport Mission Mode Project (eTransport)
Silver - Judgment Search Portal
Digital Initiatives at Grassroots Platinum - e-Vivechna App (Madhya Pradesh)
Level Gold - DeGS Computer Basic Training Grassroot level
(Jharkhand)
Silver - Ksheerasree Portal (Kerala)
Digital Initiatives for Ease of Doing Platinum - Mine Mitra (UP)
Business Gold - eAbkari (Odisha)
Silver - Invest Punjab
Data Sharing and Use for Socio Platinum - Smart Cities Mission, M/o Housing and Urban
Economic Development Affairs
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Gold - Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE)

Silver - Center for e-governance (Karnataka)
Public Digital Platforms - Central Platinum - DUARE SARKAR (West Bengal)
Ministries, Departments and States Gold - e-Services Manipur
Central Ministries, Departments Platinum - ICEGATE Portal
Gold – eShram
Digital Initiatives in Collaboration Platinum - Digital Workforce Management System (Kerala)
with Startups Gold - Smart Nutrient Management of the Soil (Telangana)
Silver - Digital Deposit Refund System (Uttarakhand)
Best Web & Mobile Initiatives Platinum - Bilaspur District Website (Chhattisgarh)
Complying with GIGW & Gold - Website of Kottayam District (Kerala)
Accessibility Guidelines Silver - Website of Central Institute of Petrochemicals
Engineering & Technology
8. Adar Poonawalla has won the 1st Dr Patangrao Kadam Memorial Award for his contribution
in fighting against the Covid-19 pandemic.
9. Telugu movie RRR created history by winning a Golden Globe award- a first for the country.
• The film's catchy musical number, Naatu Naatu, was awarded best original song.
• This was the 80th Annual Gloden Globe Awards ceremony, organized by the Hollywood
Foreign Press Association in US.
• The ‘Best Motion Picture-Drama' award was won by “The Fablemans” movie, directed by
Steven Spielberg (who also received the “Best Director” at the award ceremony for the
same movie).
10. Odisha has won the World Habitat Award 2023 for its Jaga Mission - world’s largest slum
upgradation program.
• Jaga Mission aims to upgrade all 2,919 slums in the state of Odisha.
11. Clayfin Technologies, a leading provider of Digital Customer Experience solutions for Banks
and Financial institutions, and Bandhan Bank have been awarded 'Best Digital
Channel/Platform Implementation: Best Project Implementation' at IBSi Global FinTech
Innovation Awards 2022.
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• Established in 1991, UK-headquartered International Banking Systems (IBS) Intelligence

(IBSi) is the world’s only pure-play Financial Technology (traditional and new-age)
research, advisory, and media firm, with global coverage, and a 360° portfolio of
intelligence offerings.
12. S.S. Rajamouli's RRR won two trophies — Best Foreign Language Film and Best Song for
"Naatu Naatu" — at the Critics Choice Awards (CCA).
13. Miss R'Bonney Gabriel from USA has won the Miss Universe 2022 in USA.
14. National Awards were given to 82 best agri-preneurs who were trained under the Central
Sector Scheme – Agri-Clinics and Agri-Business (AC&ABC) of Government of India for
their significant contribution to farmers through agri-clinic and agribusiness services.
• These awards were given on the National Youth Day (January 12).
Knowledge Nuggets -
• AC & ABC is a mega flagship scheme that aims to transform unemployed youth into
self-employed agripreneurs through a 45-day free residential training at different parts
of the country with a provision for availing loan and subsidy from banks.
• The AC & ABC scheme is being implemented by Hyderabad-based National Institute of
Agricultural Extension Management known as MANAGE with a network of 136 Nodal
Training Institutes (NTIs) spread across all the states.
• NABARD is collaborating in implementing the AC & ABC scheme.
15. Bhavin Rabari, the lead child actor in Pan Nalin’s Oscar-nominated Gujarati film Chhello Show
(The Last Film Show), bagged the International Press Academy (IPA) award in the ‘Best
Breakthrough Performance’ category at the 27th Satellite Awards held in the United
States.
• The film is the first Indian film to be shortlisted for the Oscars in the ‘Best International
Feature Film’ category after 21 years.
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16. 10th-16th January - Startup India Innovation week

• January 16 – 7th National Startup Day (celebrates the launch of Startup India scheme
(2016)
• A webinar was organized on this day on the theme of “Founders of Today, Leaders of
Tomorrow”.
• Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has presented National Startup
Awards 2022 at the end of Startup India Innovation week.
• Mentorship, Advisory, Assistance, Resilience, and Growth (MAARG) portal helps
start-ups in many ways including fine-tuning ideas and accessing the funding ecosystem.
• At the event, 41 startups, two incubators, and one accelerator were recognised as
winners.
• The NSA 2022 focused extensively on diversity, inclusion, and innovation. The winning
startups will receive INR 5 Lakh each, while the winning incubator and accelerator will be
awarded INR 15 Lakh each.
Categories Winners
Incubator Telangana-based T-Hub and Bengaluru-based
Centre for Cellular and Molecular Platforms
Accelerator Cisco Launchpad
17. Tamilnad Mercantile Bank has won Best Small Bank Awards 2022 by the Business
Today-KPMG survey.
18. 1,171 Indians peacekeepers won medals under the United Nations Mission in South
Sudan (UNMISS).
Knowledge Nuggets -
• Almost 20,000 peacekeepers serve with the United Nations Mission in South Sudan,
which was launched in 2011, to protect civilians and build durable peace in the conflict-
affected country.
• The civilian, police and military personnel from 73 countries carry out many duties under
the mandate provided by the United Nations Security Council.
• Their work falls under four main pillars - Protection of Civilians, creating conditions
conducive to the delivery of humanitarian assistance, Supporting the implementation of
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the revitalized agreement and the peace process, and Monitoring and investigating
human rights.
19. Himalayan Cataract Project Co-Founder Dr Sanduk Ruit (a Nepalese ophthalmologist) has
won the ISA Award for Service to Humanity, a top civilian award of Bahrain.
• The award carries a cash prize of USD 1 million, a certificate of merit and a gold medal.
• He is fondly called as "God of Sight" to have saved 1,20,000 eyesight who would have
otherwise gone blind in absence of treatment.
• He is the recipient of the Padma Shri Award by India, the National Order of Merit of Bhutan
as well as the Ramon Magsaysay Award of Philippine.
20. Hon’ble President of India, Smt. Droupadi Murmu conferred the “Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya
Bal Puraskar” instituted by the Ministry of Women and Child Development on 11
exceptional children.
• A book on Baal Veer “Young Heroes of India” was also released during the ceremony by
Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani, who presented the first copy to the President of India.
• The awardees of this year include one each in the category of Bravery and Social
Service, two in the category of Innovation, three in Sports, and four in Art & Culture.
• Out of the 11 awardees, 5 are Girls and 6 are boys.
Knowledge Nuggets -
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• The Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar awards are given to children for their
achievements in six categories namely; Art & Culture, Bravery, Innovation, Scholastic,
Social Service and Sports which deserves national recognition.
• Each awardee receives a medal, cash prize of Rs. 1,00,000/-, a certificate and a citation.
21. "Naatu Naatu", the hit dance track from SS Rajamouli's blockbuster "RRR", was nominated for
the Original Song at the Oscars 2023.
• Indian documentaries "All That Breathes" and "Elephant Whisperers" walked away with
nods in Documentary Feature and Documentary Short categories.
22. ESAF Small Finance Bank has bagged the prestigious Inclusive Finance India Awards
2022 for its contributions in advancing the goal of financial inclusion and supporting inclusive
growth.
• The Inclusive Finance India Awards is an initiative of ACCESS Development Services
constituted in 2009 in partnership with HSBC India.
23. GMR Goa International Airport (GGIAL), a subsidiary of GMR Airports Infrastructure, has
won 'Best Sustainable Greenfield Airport' award under aviation sustainability and
environment category at ASSOCHAM's 14th International Conference-cum-Awards for
Civil Aviation 2023.
24. Brand Guardianship Index 2023 has been released by Brand Finance, which provides a list
of Top 25 CEOs and Top 100 Brand Guardians.
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25. Visakhapatnam Railway Station of the East Coast Railways has been awarded the Green
Railway Station Certification with the highest rating of Platinum.
• The Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) gave this certification.
• Steps taken by Visakhapatnam Railway Station to reduce its impact on the environment-
o Segregation of waste by constructing MRF Shed
o Setting and operationalisation of 500KLD STP for station & colony water
o Setting up of solar panels to conserve power
o Well-developed passenger amenities
o 100% fitment of LED lighting
Knowledge Nuggets -
• The Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) was established in 2001 as part of the
Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).
• Vision of IGBC - "To enable a sustainable built environment for all and facilitate India to
be one of the global leaders in the sustainable built environment by 2025”.
• IGBC gives certification to every type of building which conforms to its sustainability
criteria. The categories are mentioned below -
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• The IGBC Green Railways Stations is one of the certifications, IGBC gives among all the
other categories.
26. Babar Azam (Pakistan) won the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Sir Garfield Sobers
Award for Cricketer of the Year 2023.
27. Tata Trusts has appointed Siddharth Sharma as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the
Trusts, and Aparna Uppaluri as the Chief Operating Officer (COO).
28. Global Entrepreneur Sunil Krishnan has been awarded the Dr Ambedkar Award for
Contribution to India at the hands of Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshiyari.
• Reason - Spreading Indian Cuisine Globally with Moksh
• Sunil Krishnan is one of the most revered entrepreneurs and restauranteurs in South Africa.
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SPORTS
1. Tamil Nadu’s 16-year-old L. Dhanush bagged a gold medal in the youth men’s 49Kg section
of the National (junior, youth & senior) weightlifting championships at the Ponjesly
College of Engineering in Tamil Nadu.
2. Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo has joined Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr for 2.5 years.
3. 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.
4. Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has mandated the Dexa Bone density test for
Indian players to be selected for the national team.
• The Yo-Yo Test is mandatory for the team’s preparation for the India ICC ODI World Cup
2023.
• DEXA, or dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry, is a method of determining bone mineral
density using spectral imaging.
• The Yo-Yo test is a fitness test that is used to measure a person’s endurance. It involves
running back and forth between two cones placed 20 meters apart.
5. Koustav Chatterjee from Kolkata has become India’s 78th Grandmaster during the MPL 59th
National Senior Chess Championship in New Delhi.
6. World Boxing Council (based in Mexico) will introduce a transgender category in Boxing
from 2023 onwards.
• FINA (headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland), world swimming’s governing body, is set
to create an ‘open category’ and has set up a working group for it.
7. Rajasthan will host the 18th National Scout and Guide Jamboree at Rohat in the Pali
district.
8. Hyderabad will host the ‘Hyderabad ePrix’ – India’s first-ever electric Formula E race in
2023.
• It will be a race of the single-seater, electrically powered Formula E race
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9. Belinda Clark has become the first woman to get a Bronze Statue at the Sydney Cricket
Ground in Australia.
10. International Hockey Federation (FIH) has signed a partnership with the JSW Group for the
upcoming FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup 2023 Bhubaneswar-Rourkela, which will
start from January 2023.
• The group supports and promotes Olympics in India and has created an Olympic Training
Institute in the Inspire Institute of Sport as well as has Olympic training centres across
the country.
11. Kewal Kiran Clothing Limited (KKCL), the retail giant which owns brands like Killer, Integriti,
Lawmanpg3, Easies and Desi Belle announced plans to take its flagship brand ‘Killer’, into a
strategic partnership with BCCI as the Indian cricket team’s “Official Sponsor”.
• This move will see the brand displayed on the right upper chest of the Team India jersey.
12. M Pranesh has become India’s 79th chess Grandmaster after winning the Rilton Cup, the
first tournament of the FIDE Circuit, in Stockholm, Sweden.
13. FIH-certified Rourkela hockey stadium is the world’s largest in terms of seating capacity
in Odisha.
• Odisha has also launched “Mo Bus” services in Rourkela.
14. Sania Mirza (tennis player) has announced retirement.
15. Novak Djokovic (Serbian) has won the Adelaide International Tennis Tournament.
• Women’s Singles – Aryna Sabalenka (Belarus)
16. Anahat Singh has won the Girls U-15 squash title at British Junior Open tournament in
Birmingham, UK.
17. Tallon Griekspoor (from Netherlands) has won the men’s singles at the Tata Open (ATP
men’s tennis tournament) in Maharashtra.
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18. The anthem, mascot and a ‘smart torch’ for the fifth edition of the Khelo India Youth Games
have been unveiled by the Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Chouhan.
• Malkhamb and water sports are making their debut.
• Anthem - ‘Hindustan Ka Dil Dhadka Do’ –
• Mascot – Asha (a cheetah)
19. Suryakumar Yadav has become the fastest player to reach 1,500 runs in T20 International
cricket in terms of balls faced.
• The fastest batters to reach this landmark are Indian batter Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Australian
veteran Aaron Finch and Pakistan skipper Babar Azam.
20. Khelo India Senior Women National Kho Kho league is set to take place at Chandigarh
University, Punjab from January 10 to January 13.
21. A 122-foot-tall statue of a polo player astride a Manipur Pony was unveiled in Imphal,
Manipur.
• Modern polo is believed to have originated from Sagol Kangjei, a sport indigenous to
Manipur in which players ride the Manipur Pony.
22. Hockey India becomes the first National Sports Federation to enter the world of
metaverse by launching its Hockeyverse before the 15th FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup
2023.
• 'Hockeyverse' will provide a new virtual experience to global hockey fans who enjoy the
Hockey World Cup from the comfort of their homes.
• The opening ceremony of the world cup will be held at Barabati Stadium, Cuttack,
Odisha.
23. Sony Sports is the official broadcaster of Australia Open 2023.
24. Swastika Ghosh became the fourth Indian to qualify for the Doha-World Table Tennis
Championship 2023 from the Asian Continental Stage.
25. Barcelona Football Club has won the Spanish Super Cup by defeating Real Madrid FC.
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26. Indian pair of Yuki Bhambri-Saketh Myneni won Bangkok Open Challenger 2023.
27. Akane Yamaguchi and Viktor Axelsen won the women’s and men’s singles at the
Malaysia Open Super 1000 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
28. India has defeated Sri Lanka by 317 runs at the Greenfield Stadium in
Thiruvananthapuram.
• India has broken New Zealand’s 15-year-old record for the largest victory margin in ODI
cricket.
29. Malaysia Open (Badminton) 2023 – Men's Singles – Viktor Axelsen (Denmark); Women’s
Singles – Akane Yamaguchi (Japan)
30. The men’s doubles team of Yuki Bhambri and Saketh Myneni have won the Bangkok
Open 2023 (tennis).
• Men’s Singles – Arthur Cazaux (French Tennis player)
31. Gareth Bale (Welsh footballer) has retired from the international football.
32. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the second phase of Saansad Khel
Mahakumbh 2022-23 in Basti, Uttar Pradesh through video conferencing.
• The Khel Mahakumbh organises diverse competitions in both indoor and outdoor sports like
wrestling, kabaddi, kho kho, basketball, football, hockey, volleyball, handball, chess,
carrom, badminton, table tennis etc.
• Apart from these, competitions in essay writing, painting, rangoli making etc are also
organised during the Khel Mahakumbh.
33. FIDE World Championship 2023 will take place in Astana, Kazakhstan, from April 7th to
May 1st.
34. India Open Badminton 2023 tournament – Men's Singles - Kunlavut Vitidsarn (Thailand) by
defeating Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen; Women’s Singles - An Se-young (South Korea)
• Yonex- Sunrise India Open 2023 (badminton) was held in New Delhi.
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• The tournament, being held in India since 2008, will be the first time when India Open will
be held in the super 750 status category.
35. Laxman Rawat has won the NSCI All India Snooker Open 2023 in Delhi.
• NSCI Snooker Open Crown is a snooker tournament organized by the National Sports Club
of India (NSCI).
36. India has become the No. 1 ODI team in ICC Rankings after 3-0 series win over New
Zealand.
37. Youth Affairs and Sports Ministry has formed an Oversight Committee, chaired by MC
Mary Kom (Khel Ratna Awardee and Chairperson of Athletes Commission), to enquire into the
allegations of sexual misconduct, harassment and financial irregularities in the Wrestling
Federation of India (WFI).
• The others members include Khel Ratna Awardee Yogeshwar Dutt and Dhyanchand
awardee Trupti Murgunde.
38. Women's Indian Premier League (WIPL) is an upcoming women's T20 franchise cricket
league of India. It is founded by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
• The auction for five teams in the women’s Indian Premier League, now called the
Women’s Premier League (WPL) collected nearly Rs 4,670 crore.
• The auction of teams was for a 10-year period (2023-32).
• Adani group entered the Indian cricketing arena with the highest bid of Rs 1,289 crore
for the Ahmedabad franchise, followed by the Reliance-backed Indiawin Sports, which
bought the Mumbai franchise for Rs 912.99 crore.
39. Hugo Lloris (French football player) has announced retired.
40. International Cricket Council has announced awards for 2022.

Category Winners
ICC Men’s T20I Cricketer of the Year Suryakumar Yadav from India
ICC Emerging Women’s Cricketer of the Year Renuka Singh from India
ICC Men’s ODI Cricketer of the Year Babar Azam from Pakistan
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Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for ICC Men’s Babar Azam from Pakistan
Cricketer of the Year
ICC Spirit of Cricket Award Aasif Sheikh from Nepal
41. FIA Formula E 2023 Hyderabad E-Prix will be sponsored by Greenko as its title sponsor.
• The electric car racing series will host its first-ever race in the country on February 11
near the Hussain Sagar Lake.
42. Indian cricketer Murali Vijay has announced retirement from international cricket.
43. Australia Open (Tennis) 2023 – Men's Singles: Novak Djokovic (Serbia); Women’s Singles:
Aryna Sabalenka (Belarus)
MISCELLANEOUS
1. “The World: A Family History” book has been authored by Manu S. Pillai.
2. An unprecedented bomb cyclone has hit the US and Canada, affecting over millions of
people in the region.
3. Confuciusornis Shifan is a 119-million-year-old beaked bird, whose fossils were discovered

recently in China.
4. “Breaking Barriers” book has been authored by Kaki Madhava Rao (former IAS officer).
5. Grammy-award winning American singer Anita Pointer has passed away.
6. “Ambedkar: A Life” book has been authored by Shashi Tharoor.
7. ‘Human Anatomy' book was released by Governor of Madhya Pradesh Mangubhai Patel.
• This book has been published by Madhya Pradesh Hindi Granth Academy.
8. Former Indian footballer Shyamal Ghosh has passed away.
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9. Cyclones Mandous has hit Andhra Pradesh and affected areas in Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka.
• United Arab Emirates (UAE) has named this cyclone.
10. Veteran sinologist Janaki Ballabh has passed away.
11. Ex-CJI Ranjan Gogoi has released Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma’s book titled
“Mukhyamantri Diary 1”.
12. MS Dhoni has released the autobiography of Prof. KK Abdul Gaffar (techno-educationalist)
titled as ‘Njaan Sakshi’ (meaning ‘me as the witness’).
13. “Father of Laparoscopic Surgery” - Dr Tehemton E Udwadia has passed away.

• Laparoscopy is a type of surgical procedure that allows a surgeon to access the inside of
the abdomen (tummy) and pelvis without having to make large incisions in the skin.
14. Kashmir’s 1st Jnanpith Awardee Abdur Rehman “Rahi” has passed away.
15. “Spare” is the memoir of Prince Harry, the Duke of Sessex.

• The memoir was written in collaboration with JR Moehringer (an American singer).
16. Constantine II of Greece (former king of Greece) has passed away.

• He was an Olympic Gold medallist of 1960.
17. Health and Family Welfare Minister Mansukh Mandaviya has launched the book titled
“Braving A Viral Storm: India’s Covid-19 Vaccine Story” in New Delhi.
• The book is co-authored by Aashish Chandorkar and Suraj Sudhir.
18. Former Union minister and once the Janata Dal (United)’s chief Sharad Yadav passed away.
19. “Come: Let’s Run” is the English version of the Tamil book authored by Tamil Nadu Health
Minister- Ma. Subramaniam.
• The English translation was done by Geeta Padmanaban, along with J. Joicy and Sharon.
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20. Lok Sabha MP from Jalandhar constituency Santokh Singh Chaudhary died after suffering a
cardiac arrest during the Bharat Jodo Yatra.
21. Scientist A. D. Damodaran has passed away. He was the former Director of the CSIR –
National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (NIIST),
Thiruvananthapuram.
22. Telangana CM K Chandrashekhar Rao has paid tributes to the titular Nizam of Hyderabad,
late Mir Barkat Ali Khan Siddiqui Mukarram Jah Bahadur in Hyderabad.
23. “Revolutionaries” book was authored by Sanjeev Sanyal (member of the Economic
Advisory Council to the Prime Minister).
• The book was released by Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
24. Ronald E. Asher (British Linguist and Expert in Dravidian languages) has passed away.
25. ‘Hockey & India – A Golden Legacy’ book has been released by Odisha Chief Minister
Naveen Patnaik.
• This book has been prepared by Sportstar.
Knowledge Nuggets -
• Hockey and Odisha’s relationship -
o Birsa Munda International Hockey Stadium at Rourkela – largest all-seater field
hockey stadium in the world
o 2023 FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup – Odisha (2nd FIH Men’s World Cup in the
state, after 2018, which was won by Belgium)
o In 2018, Odisha announced to sponsor India’s Hockey team both the men’s and
women’s teams till 2023. Now, the government has already announced its
intention to formulate a new decade-long deal with Hockey India that will run up to
2033, beyond the 2032 Brisbane Olympics.
26. Nilmani Phookan (Assamese Poet), winner of Jnanpith Award, has passed away.
27. Union Education and Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Minister Dharmendra
Pradhan has launched the ‘India’s Knowledge Supremacy: The New Dawn’ book.
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• The book was authored by Dr Ashwin Fernandes (India International expatriates).
28. Former Vice Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal Harjeet Singh Arora passed away at the age of 61.
29. ‘Ironman of India’ Sabir Ali (winner of decathlon gold at the 1981 Asian Athletics
Championships in Tokyo) has passed away.
30. Balkrishna Vithaldas Doshi (Indian architect) has passed away.

• He was the first Indian to receive the Pritzker Prize (Nobel for Architecture). He has
also won Royal Gold Medal and Padma Bhushan in 2020.
• In 2023, he won the Padma Vibhushan award.
• He was the architect of Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL- a Public Sector
Enterprise under the Department of Atomic Energy) and Cyberabad in Hyderabad.
31. Olive Ridley turtles (aka Pacific ridley sea turtle) were washed ashore on the coast of Andhra
Pradesh. Their population is declining rapidly.
32. “The Poverty of Political Economy: How Economics Abandoned the Poor” book has
been authored by Meghnad Desai and Baron Desai.
33. A new species of wasp (Soliga ecarinata) has been named after Soliga — who are the
indigenous community of Biligiri Rangan Hills (B.R. Hills) in Chamarajanagar district of
Karnataka.
QUESTIONS
Q.1) Where will the British Indian Army
Memorial be established? Q.2) How many vande bharat express trains
[a] Scotland are operational as of January 2, 2023?
[b] Denmark [a] Seven
[c] Ireland [b] Ten
[d] Wales [c] Eight
[e] France [d] Nine
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[e] Five
Q.6) Which state has given the industry
Q.3) What is the target of the “Amrit Bharat status to the tourism sector in the state?
Station” scheme? [a] Goa
[a] 500 stations [b] Assam
[b] 200 stations [c] Karnataka
[c] 600 stations [d] Odisha
[d] 1000 stations [e] Sikkim
[e] 100 stations
Q.7) Which article of the Indian Constitution
Q.4) Union Minister Shri Anurag Thakur has provides for the delimitation of the Lok Sabha
released the Official Government of India seats after completion of Census?
Calendar for the year 2023. Mission LiFE is [a] Article 82
the theme of which month? [b] Article 110
[a] July [c] Article 98
[b] August [d] Article 56
[c] November [e] Article 75
[d] October
[e] September Q.8) Nandini is the brand of which state’s milk
cooperative?
Q.5) India will assume the chairmanship of [a] Andhra Pradesh
the plenary of the Wassenaar Arrangement [b] Karnataka
for 1 year during the 26th annual plenary of [c] Maharashtra
the Wassenaar Arrangement held in Vienna, [d] Tamil Nadu
Austria. The 42-member Wassenaar [e] Kerala
Arrangement is a voluntary export control
regime that monitors transfers of conventional Q.9) Indian Army has received a 3D Printed
weapons and dual-use goods. When did India House Dwelling Unit, which is a disaster-
join the group? resilient structure that complies with Zone-3
[a] 2018 earthquake specifications and green building
[b] 2017 norms. Where is the unit established?
[c] 2015 [a] Danapur
[d] 2013 [b] Ahmedabad
[e] 2012 [c] Jabalpur
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[d] Lucknow [b] ICICI Bank

[e] Deolali [c] State Bank of India
[d] Bank of India
Q.10) Which countries are separated by Strait [e] Bank of Baroda
of Hormuz?
[a] Iran and UAE Q.14) Recently, National Commission for
[b] Saudi Arabia and Iran Indian System of Medicine (NCISM) and the
[c] Iran and Oman Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic
[d] Both A and B Sciences (CCRAS), the two institutions under
[e] Both A and C the Ministry of AYUSH, have launched
‘SMART’ initiative to boost scientific research
Q.11) Which IIT hosts the ‘DRDO Industry in priority healthcare research areas through
Academia- Ramanujan Centre of Excellence’ Ayurveda colleges and hospitals. What does
(DIA-RCoE)? ‘S’ stand for in SMART?
[a] IIT-Delhi [a] Smart
[b] IIT-Ropar [b] Strength
[c] IIT-Madras [c] Self
[d] IIT-Kharagpur [d] Sustainable
[e] IIT-Bhopal [e] Scope
Q.12) Under which scheme is the Prajjwala Q.15) Which university will host the 108th
Challenge launched by the Union Indian Science Congress?
Government? [a] Savitribai Phule University
[a] DAY-NRLM [b] R.T.M. Nagpur University
[b] Svamitva [c] Sant Gadge Baba Amravati University
[c] Sreshtha [d] Swami Ramanand Teerth Marathwada
[d] Rashtriya Gram SWARAJ Abhiyaan University
[e] e‑Gram SWARAJ [e] Shivaji University
Q.13) Which bank has collaborated with India Q.16) National Campaign on ‘RISE- Rising
Accelerator to launch the i3 Launchpad, a India Through Spiritual Empowerment’ was
program created to nurture and co-innovate organized by Brahma Kumaris at Mount Abu,
with the startup ecosystem in India? Rajasthan. The foundation stone of the
[a] HDFC Bank Brahma Kumaris Silence Retreat Centre was
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laid recently. Where will the centre be [d] Shikhar Dhawan

developed? [e] Virendra Sehwag
[a] Warangal
[b] Hyderabad Q.20) Who has been appointed as the State
[c] Secunderabad Icon of Bihar by the Election Commission of
[d] Indore India?
[e] Guwahati [a] S.S. Nakul
[b] Maithili Thakur
Q.17) Where is the Siyom bridge located? [c] B.N. Bhaskar
[a] Arunachal Pradesh [d] Vivek Singh
[b] Madhya Pradesh [e] Sernya Bhutia
[c] Kerala
[d] Maharashtra Q.21) Which company has launched its 2nd
[e] Karnataka satellite named Pushpa Alpha on a Falcon 9
rocket to monitor weather?
Q.18) Croatia has joined the Schengen area [a] Dhruva Space
– a term used for countries in Europe which [b] Digantara
have abolished visas across their borders; [c] SatSure
allowing their residents to move freely. How [d] Pixxel
many of the European Union countries are a [e] Agnikul Cosmos
part of this grouping?
[a] 18 Q.22) India has taken over the chairmanship
[b] 23 of the Asian Pacific Postal Union (APPU)
[c] 25 from January 2023. The announcement was
[d] 15 made in the 13th APPU Congress in Bangkok
[e] 21 in September. Asian Pacific Postal Union
(APPU) is an intergovernmental organisation
Q.19) Who has been appointed as the brand of 32-member countries of the Asian-Pacific
ambassador of Bandhan Bank’s ‘Jahaan region. Who is the current Secretary General
Bandhan, Wahaan Trust’ marketing of APPU?
campaign? [a] Vinay Kaushal
[a] Virat Kohli [b] Vinaya Prakash Singh
[b] Sourav Ganguly [c] Kedar Burande
[c] Rahul Dravid [d] Sukant Vatsa
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[e] Gaurav Keshri [c] Rs 5,900 crore

[d] Rs 3,500 crore
Q.23) At which airport is the Intelligent Tray [e] Rs 4,700 crore
Retrieval System established?
[a] Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Q.27) Which state organized the Octave 2023
International Airport – North-Eastern Cultural Festival?
[b] Mopa International airport [a] Tamil Nadu
[c] Thiruvananthapuram International Airport [b] Andhra Pradesh
[d] Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International [c] Kerala
Airport [d] Maharashtra
[e] Guru Ram Dass Jee International Airport [e] Madhya Pradesh
Q.24) Where is the world's first palm leaf Q.28) What is the capital of Croatia?
manuscript museum established? [a] Seville
[a] India [b] Dubrovnik
[b] Cambodia [c] Nicosia
[c] Vietnam [d] Bruges
[d] Indonesia [e] Tallinn
[e] Malaysia
Q.29) How much stake has SBI Mutual Fund
Q.25) What is the budget of the National acquired in Equitas Small Finance Bank?
Green Hydrogen mission? [a] 8.76%
[a] Rs 20,070 crore [b] 9.99%
[b] Rs 19,744 crore [c] 10.5%
[c] Rs 35,670 crore [d] 14.2%
[d] Rs 55,980 crore [e] 7.65%
[e] Rs 67,900 crore
Q.30) Which bank has launched first of its
Q.26) How much amount has been approved kind ‘Digital Solutions for Exporters’ to
by Union Cabinet under the Central Sector provide finances and other facilities to
Scheme “Broadcasting Infrastructure and exporters without any delay, to improve their
Network Development” (BIND) for 2023? operational efficiency?
[a] Rs 2,500 crore [a] Bandhan Bank
[b] Rs 8,100 crore [b] Bank of India
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[c] ICICI Bank [d] National Institute of Biotic Stresses

[d] Bank of Baroda Management
[e] Central Bank of India [e] National Agri-food Biotechnology Institute
Q.31) In January 2023, Varanasi Cantt Q.34) How much outlay has been sanctioned
railway station has been awarded a 5- star for the Schemes of Ministry of Development
‘Eat Right Station’ certification by the Food of North Eastern Region for 2022-23 to 2025-
Safety and Standards Authority of India 26?
(FSSAI) for providing quality and nutritious [a] ₹20200 crore
food to passengers. In light of this statement, [b] ₹12800 crore
how many eat right railway stations are [c] ₹34500 crore
located in India at present? [d] ₹89200 crore
[a] Seven [e] ₹67800 crore
[b] Eight
[c] Five Q.35) How many districts are covered in the
[d] Nine Pradhan Mantri National Apprenticeship
[e] Ten Mela-January 2023?
[a] 242 districts
Q.32) Where is India’s first In-Vitro [b] 145 districts
Fertilization (IVF) mobile unit for animals [c] 234 districts
inaugurated? [d] 189 districts
[a] Bhopal [e] 101 districts
[b] Ranchi
[c] Meerut Q.36) Which state has launched the CM’s
[d] Amreli Sukhashray Sahayata Kosh for providing
[e] Mangaluru higher education to the children of needy
people?
Q.33) Which institute houses the National [a] Maharashtra
Genome Editing & Training Centre? [b] Uttarakhand
[a] Centre for Cellular Molecular Biology [c] Assam
[b] Institute of Genomics and Integrative [d] Himachal Pradesh
Biology [e] Arunachal Pradesh
[c] Institute of Himalayan Bioresource
Technology
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Q.37) Which bank has partnered with OPEN, [b] Surinder Chawla
in January 2023, to provide a fully native [c] Kedar Burande
digital current account journey for its [d] Ramesh Kumar
customers including SMEs (small and [e] Chandra Sekhar
medium enterprises), freelancers,
homepreneurs, influencers and more? Q.41) India’s first coal-gasification based
[a] Axis Bank Talcher Fertilizer Plant will be ready for
[b] ICICI Bank commissioning by October 2024 at Angul,
[c] Bank of India Odisha. This would be the 5th urea producing
[d] Bank of Baroda indigenous plant of India. In July 2022, the
[e] State Bank of India government has set a target for eliminating
urea imports by ____?
Q.38) When is the World Day of War [a] 2023
Orphans observed? [b] 2025
[a] January 6 [c] 2026
[b] January 15 [d] 2027
[c] January 17 [e] 2030
[d] January 20
[e] January 19 Q.42) The National Health Authority (NHA) is
introducing a new system under its flagship
Q.39) How much is the estimated real GDP scheme Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri
for 2022-23, as per NSO’s First Advance Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY) to measure
Estimates (FAE) of National Income at both and grade hospital performance. The new
Constant (2011-12) and Current Prices, for initiative will introduce the concept of ‘value-
the financial year 2022-23? based care’, where payment will be outcome-
[a] ₹273.08 lakh crore based and providers will be rewarded
[b] ₹600.67 lakh crore according to the quality of the treatment
[c] ₹500.67 lakh crore delivered. On how many parameters will the
[d] ₹157.60 lakh crore hospitals be judged under the new system?
[e] ₹101.90 lakh crore [a] Five
[b] Seven
Q.40) Who has been appointed as the new [c] Ten
CEO of Paytm Payments Bank? [d] Fourteen
[a] Astik Sinha [e] Sixteen
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Q.43) Where has Renew Power installed Q.47) Where is the Bhitarkanika National
India’s First 3X Platform Wind Turbine Park located?
Generators? [a] Odisha
[a] Gujarat [b] Maharashtra
[b] Karnataka [c] Karnataka
[c] Madhya Pradesh [d] Tamil Nadu
[d] Odisha [e] Kerala
[e] Rajasthan
Q.48) Indian Navy has recently collaborated
Q.44) How much amount has been allocated with Sagar Defence Engineering Pvt Ltd for
for the New India Literacy Programme (NILP) the development of armed autonomous boat
for five years (from 2022-23 to 2026-27)? swarms as part of its “SPRINT” initiative.
[a] Rs 1,000 crores SPRINT initiative was launched in 2022 to
[b] Rs 13,000 crores promote the development and usage of
[c] Rs 12,500 crores indigenous defense technologies. What does
[d] Rs 7,800 crores ‘S’ stand for in the full form of SPRINT?
[e] Rs 4,300 crores [a] Scaffolding
[b] Smart
Q.45) Which city hosted the First Education [c] Sharp
Group of G-20 countries? [d] Sustainable
[a] Puri [e] Supporting
[b] Chennai
[c] Guwahati Q.49) Where is India planning to deploy a
[d] Chandigarh platoon of female peacekeepers?
[e] Bhuvneshwar [a] Border between Sudan and South Sudan
[b] Border between Angola and Zamibia
Q.46) Which has become the first state in [c] Border between Democratic Republic of
India to fully digitalise its banking services? the Congo and The Congo
[a] Kerala [d] Border between Israel and Palestine
[b] Madhya Pradesh [e] Border between Iraq and Kuwait
[c] Tamil Nadu
[d] Telangana
[e] Odisha
pg. 7
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Q.50) With which bank has IISc partnered to [a] Rs 10,000 crores
establish the “Centre for Mathematics and [b] Rs 2,600 crores
Computing”? [c] Rs 4,500 crores
[a] ICICI Bank [d] Rs 17,800 crores
[b] Axis Bank [e] Rs 5,500 crores
[c] CitiBank
[d] HSBC Bank Q.53) Where has the Union Minister of Ports,
[e] IndusInd Bank Shipping & Waterways and Ayush,
Sarbananda Sonowal inaugurated the School
Q.51) Union Cabinet, chaired by the Hon’ble of Logistics, Waterways and Communication
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has in the North-East?
approved a historic decision to set up and [a] Tripura
promote a national level multi-state seed [b] Manipur
cooperative society under Multi State [c] Nagaland
Cooperative Societies (MSCS) Act. When did [d] Assam
this act come into force? [e] Arunachal Pradesh
[a] 2019
[b] 2002 Q.54) Who has joined NASA as the chief
[c] 2001 technologist?
[d] 2011 [a] Ritika Singh Verma
[e] 2014 [b] Ramesh Kumar
[c] Chandra Sekhar
Q.52) Union Cabinet has approved incentive [d] Neerja Sekhar
scheme for promotion of RuPay Debit Cards [e] AC Charania
and low-value BHIM-UPI transactions (P2M)
in FY2022-23. Under the scheme, acquiring Q.55) Which of the following companies
banks will be provided financial incentive, for received the payment aggregator’s license
promoting Point-of-Sale (PoS) and e- from RBI in January 2023?
commerce transactions using RuPay Debit [a] Hitachi Payment Services
Cards and low-value BHIM-UPI transactions [b] EnKash
(P2M) for the current financial year FY23. [c] Cashfree
How much money would the government [d] Both A and B
spend to ensure the widespread adoption of [e] Both B and C
BHIM UPI and Debit cards?
pg. 8
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Q.56) Which project aims to create shipping [a] IIT-Bombay

canal project in India that would connect the [b] IIT-Delhi
Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait? [c] IIT-Ropar
[a] Mangalsamudram Project [d] IIT-Kanpur
[b] Samudramanthanam Project [e] IIT-Guhawati
[c] Samudrasamikshikam Project
[d] Sethusamudram Project Q.59) Recently, Indian High Commission has
[e] SamudraKsheeram Project signed an MOU to establish a Hindi Chair at
the Sabaragamuwa University. Where is the
Q.57) Established in June 2020, Indian university located?
National Space Promotion and Authorization [a] Indonesia
Centre (IN–SPACe) is a single-window [b] Malaysia
autonomous agency under the Department of [c] Cambodia
Space of the Government of India. It aims to [d] Laos PDR
give a level-playing field to the private space [e] Sri Lanka
sector companies. Currently, it is chaired by
Pawan K. Goenka. Recently, it has signed an Q.60) Which has become the first country to
MOU with an agency for technical launch Hockeyverse (a metaverse platform
collaboration for development of various for hockey tournaments)?
Geographic Information System applications. [a] Saudi Arabia
What is the name of the agency? [b] Qatar
[a] Nascent Info Technologies [c] India
[b] Google Appscale Academy [d] Bangladesh
[c] Startup Hub [e] UAE
[d] Skyroot Aerospace
[e] Garud Aerospace Q.61) As per a newspaper article published in
January 2023, India has collaborated with
Q.58) Recently, RITES has signed an MoU ____ to establish a New Working Group to
with the IIT-Kanpur for mutual assistance and build sustainable supply chains and boost
cooperation to strengthen and develop a bilateral trade?
sustainable future by Transforming to Green. [a] Japan
RITES is a Miniratna (Category-I) and [b] United Kingdom
Schedule 'A' Central Public Sector Enterprise [c] USA
under ____? [d] Australia
pg. 9
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[e] New Zealand build next generation online gaming apps and
softwares?
Q.62) Which state has collaborated with [a] Imphal
Indian Army for the 'Soul of Steel' challenge? [b] Shillong
[a] Uttarakhand [c] Agartala
[b] Tamil Nadu [d] Gangtok
[c] Telangana [e] Dimapur
[d] Himachal Pradesh
[e] Jharkhand Q.66) Where was the two day-long ‘Think-20’
meeting of G20 grouping held?
Q.63) Which country has announced its [a] Bhopal
plans to establish a Global South Centre of [b] Chennai
Excellence to undertake research on [c] Indore
development solutions for developing [d] Vadodara
countries? [e] Vishakhapatnam
[a] Australia
[b] Kenya Q.67) Which is the first district ever in India
[c] Gambia for on-ground implementation of ground-
[d] India breaking 5G use cases proposed by
[e] Vietnam startups?
[a] Kachchh
Q.64) Which company has developed India's [b] Jaisalmer
first 5G-enabled drone named Skyhawk, that [c] Bikaner
is capable of vertical take-off and landing? [d] Vidisha
[a] IG Drones [e] Ahmednagar
[b] Garuda Aerospace
[c] General Aeronautics Q.68) ‘Saharsh’ is the special education
[d] Paras Aerospace programme of which state?
[e] Throttle Aerospace [a] Uttar Pradesh
[b] Meghalaya
Q.65) Where will India’s first Centre of [c] Tripura
Excellence in Online Gaming be established [d] Madhya Pradesh
to help startups from the North-East region to [e] Gujarat
pg. 10
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Q.69) Which state has implemented the first- [a] 6-pronged

ever policy for blindness control in the country [b] 7-pronged
to ensure the “Right to Sight”? [c] 4-pronged
[a] Rajasthan [d] 3-pronged
[b] Gujarat [e] 5-Pronged
[c] Maharashtra
[d] Jammu and Kashmir administration Q.73) Which company has signed a 3-billion-
[e] Delhi euro ($3.25 billion) contract to supply and
service freight trains in India – largest ever
Q.70) Where is the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) order?
ship ‘Kamla Devi’ commissioned? [a] Siemens
[a] Kolkata [b] Climeworks
[b] Mormugao [c] Thyssenkrupp
[c] Vishakhapatnam [d] Ludus Global
[d] Mazagaon [e] Bosch Global
[e] Mumbai
Q.74) Government e Marketplace (GeM)
Q.71) With which country has India signed launched “Womaniya on GeM” initiative to
MOU for green hydrogen development in empower women entrepreneurs and women
January 2023? self-help groups (WSHGs) to sell their
[a] UAE products directly to various government
[b] Singapore ministries, departments, and institutions. The
[c] Saudi Arabia initiative is represented by artwork “Magan”,
[d] Netherlands an illustration of women empowerment and
[e] Denmark grace, by _____?
[a] Maya Varadaraj
Q.72) Recently, India has announced to [b] Anukta M Ghosh
eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis (LF) by 2027, [c] Arpita Akhanda
three years ahead of the global target through [d] Ian Malhotra
mission mode. Union Health Minister [e] Divya Singh
Mansukh Mandaviya made this
announcement during the National Q.75) Which country has launched the
Symposium on India’s roadmap to eliminate world’s first agri-focused satellite?
LF. This roadmap outlines a ____ approach. [a] USA
pg. 11
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[b] South Africa [d] Only III

[c] China [e] Only II and III
[d] India
[e] Japan Q.78) Aditya Birla Health Insurance Co. Ltd.
(ABHICL) has signed a bancassurance
Q.76) Which bank of Russia has launched partnership with Punjab & Sind Bank for
direct payments in rupees to boost bilateral distribution of health insurance products
trade and investments in January 2023? through the bank’s network of branches
[a] SberBank across India. Aditya Birla Health Insurance is
[b] Gazprombank a joint venture between the Aditya Birla
[c] VTB24 Group and MMI Holdings since August 2015.
[d] Bank Otkritie Financial Corporation Which country does the MMI Holdings belong
[e] VTB to?
[a] South Africa
Q.77) Recently, the first-ever “District Good [b] Kenya
Governance Index” has been released by the [c] Ethiopia
Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Jammu. [d] Zambia
Which of the following statement(s) is/are not [e] Namibia
true about the index?
(i) The index has been prepared by the Q.79) Recently, RBI has proposed a
Jammu & Kashmir Administration, in framework for adoption of an expected loss-
collaboration with the Department of based approach for provisioning by banks in
Administrative Reforms and Public India. As per the framework, the banks are
Grievances (DARPG) and Ladakh required to classify their financial assets
administration (primarily loans, including irrevocable loan
(ii) This index is based on the 10 governance commitments, and investments classified as
sectors, 80 indicators with 139 data points held-to-maturity or available-for-sale) into one
(iii) This index has been topped by Jammu of the ____ categories, depending upon the
district, which is followed by Doda, Samba, assessed credit losses on them, at the time of
Pulwama and Srinagar initial recognition as well as on each
subsequent reporting date and make
[a] Only I necessary provisions.
[b] Only II [a] Three
[c] Only I and II [b] Five
pg. 12
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[c] Two Q.82) What is the outlay of the Scheme for

[d] Four Financial Support for Project Development
[e] Seven Expenses of PPP Projects - India
Infrastructure Project Development Fund
Q.80) National Awards were given to 82 best Scheme (IIPDF) for 2022-23 to 2024-25?
agri-preneurs who were trained under the [a] Rs 500 crore
Central Sector Scheme – Agri-Clinics and [b] Rs 150 crore
Agri-Business (AC&ABC) of Government of [c] Rs 700 crore
India for their significant contribution to [d] Rs 800 crore
farmers through agri-clinic and agribusiness [e] Rs 200 crore
services. AC & ABC is a mega flagship
scheme that aims to transform unemployed Q.83) By which year will the entire country
youth into self-employed agripreneurs be covered with the network of Doppler
through a 45-day free residential training at Weather Radars?
different parts of the country with a provision [a] 2030
for availing loan and subsidy from banks. [b] 2027
Which agency is spearheading this initiative? [c] 2026
[a] NABARD [d] 2025
[b] SIDBI [e] 2022
[c] SBI Foundation
[d] EXIM Bank Q.84) How many District Agro Meteorological
[e] IDBI Bank Units will be established by 2025?
[a] 200
Q.81) Sports Authority of India and the Indian [b] 350
Railways have established their National [c] 550
Centre for Excellence. Where is the Centre [d] 780
established? [e] 660
[a] West Bengal
[b] Gujarat Q.85) Which UT has declared the whole
[c] Rajasthan Union Territory as a “Free Area” for purposes
[d] Kerala of the Prevention and Control of Infectious
[e] Karnataka and Contagious Diseases in Animals Act,
2009?
[a] J&K
pg. 13
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[b] Ladakh required to seek previous approval of the

[c] Puducherry Reserve Bank.
[d] A&N Islands In this context, “major shareholding” means
[e] Lakshadweep “aggregate holding” of ______ or more
percent of the paid-up share capital or voting
Q.86) With which company has SIDBI signed rights in a banking company by a person.
an MOU in January 2023 to extend loans to [a] 9%
the MSME sector? [b] 5%
[a] VFS Capital [c] 15%
[b] BSS Microfinance Limited [d] 20%
[c] Cashpor [e] 25%
[d] Arohan Financial Services
[e] Fusion Microfinance Q.89) Which payment bank has recently
received final approval from the Reserve
Q.87) Which bank has signed an MOU with Bank of India to operate as a Bharat Bill
Warehousing Development and Regulatory Payment Operating Unit (BBPOU) under the
Authority (WDRA) to provide loans against Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS)?
electronic Negotiable Warehouse Receipts [a] Airtel Payment Bank
(e-NWR) issued by WDRA-registered [b] Jio Payment Bank
warehouses? [c] NSDL Payment Bank
[a] SBI [d] Fino Payment Bank
[b] UBI [e] Paytm Payment Bank
[c] PNB
[d] HDFC Bank Q.90) RBI has released the “State Finances:
[e] CSB A Study of Budgets of 2022-23" report on the
theme of “Capital Formation in India- The
Q.88) RBI has released the Master Direction Role of States”. As per the report, the gross
– Reserve Bank of India (Acquisition and fiscal deficit of states is budgeted to narrow to
Holding of Shares or Voting Rights in Banking ____% of gross domestic product (GDP) in
Companies) Directions, 2023. As per the 2022-23 from 4.1% in 2020-21.
directions, any person who intends to make [a] 3.4%
an acquisition which is likely to result in major [b] 2.3%
shareholding in a banking company, is [c] 2.9%
[d] 3.9%
pg. 14
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[e] 1.7% Q.94) Who has become the first woman pilot
of the Indian Air Force to participate and lead
Q.91) Which country has assumed the in an air combat exercise?
presidency of the 13th assembly of the [a] Pavitra Baweja
International Renewable Energy Agency? [b] Avani Chaturvedi
[a] South Africa [c] Kritika Saini
[b] India [d] Payal Goyal
[c] Maldives [e] Bhawana Chauhan
[d] Saudi Arabia
[e] USA Q.95) Which country inaugurated the EU’s
first mainland orbital launch complex?
Q.92) Ministry of Minority Affairs has [a] Sweden
discontinued the Padho Pardesh Scheme [b] Netherlands
that aimed at providing interest subsidy on [c] Denmark
education loans for overseas studies for [d] Germany
students belonging to minority communities. [e] United Kingdom
Which bank used to be the nodal agency of
this scheme? Q.96) Which country discovered the world's
[a] Punjab National Bank oldest dated runestone?
[b] Canara Bank [a] Norway
[c] State Bank of India [b] Switzerland
[d] Bank of Baroda [c] Poland
[e] Bank of India [d] Cuba
[e] Ecuador
Q.93) Where is the first G20 Health Working
Group meeting be held? Q.97) What is the global unemployment rate
[a] Thiruvananthapuram in 2023, as per ILO’s “World Employment and
[b] Chennai Social Outlook” report?
[c] Mysore [a] 5.8%
[d] Bangalore [b] 6.7%
[e] Mangalore [c] 4.5%
[d] 6.3%
[e] 7.2%
pg. 15
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Q.98) As per the Annual Status of Education [b] Bengaluru

Report (ASER), ____ percent of students in [c] Gandhinagar
the age bracket of 6-14 years are now [d] Chennai
enrolled in schools? [e] Indore
[a] 89.7%
[b] 98.4% Q.102) Which edition of the Directors General
[c] 67.5% of Police / Inspectors General of Police
[d] 99.2% Conference was held in New Delhi?
[e] 80.5% [a] 57th
[b] 65th
Q.99) Which company has announced to [c] 78th
launch its Girls4Tech STEM education [d] 47th
program? [e] 28th
[a] Infosys
[b] Microsoft Q.103) Which IIT has developed a mobile
[c] IBM operating system 'BharOS' to benefit India's
[d] Mastercard 100 crore cell phone users in India?
[e] Google [a] IIT Delhi
[b] IIT Madras
Q.100) With which bank has Steel Authority [c] IIT Ropar
of India Ltd signed an MoU to provide [d] IIT Kharagpur
financial assistance to the dealers of SAIL [e] IIT Dhanbad
across the country?
[a] South Indian Bank Q.104) In January 2023, India announced to
[b] Bank of India extend export benefits under the Remission
[c] Central Bank of India of Duties and Taxes on Export Products
[d] Dhanlaxmi Bank (RoDTEP) scheme to domestic green
[e] CSB hydrogen fuel manufacturers. In the light of
the above statement, which of the following
Q.101) Where will the first meeting of the G- statement(s) is/are incorrect?
20 Working Group on Environment and (i) RoDTEP scheme is designed to offer
Climate Sustainability be held in February refunds against some local levies to exporters
2023? of capital goods
[a] Ahmedabad
pg. 16
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(ii) India targets for an annual production of 5 [e] 3rd

million tonnes of green hydrogen by 2030
(iii) India aims to provide at least 10% of Q.107) As per a newspaper report published
global demand of hydrogen by 2030 in January 2023, the average days of
employment provided per household under
[a] Only I the Mahatma Gandhi National Employment
[b] Only II Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) reached at
[c] Only I and II a five-year low in 2022-23. How many days of
[d] Only II and III employment were provided per household
[e] Only III under this scheme in FY23?
[a] 81 days
Q.105) As per a newspaper report published [b] 50 days
in January 2023, the Prime Minister of India, [c] 78 days
Shri Narendra Modi, announced to change [d] 42 days
the names of ____ islands of Andaman & [e] 90 days
Nicobar Islands after the Param Vir Chakra
awardees. The largest unnamed island will be Q.108) What is the theme of the B20 2023
named after the first Param Vir Chakra Summit?
awardee, the second largest unnamed island [a] RAISE
will be named after the second Param Vir [b] EmpowHER
Chakra awardee, and so on. [c] Digital Revolution
[a] 18 [d] Next Gen Revolution
[b] 15 [e] ImPaRT
[c] 12
[d] 21 Q.109) Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-
[e] 25 Sisi has been invited as the Chief Guest of
Republic Day 2023. On the occasion of the
Q.106) Which edition of the India Republic Day, Border Security Force is
International Science Festival was organized conducting a seven-day long vigilance
in Bhopal? exercise named as _____?
[a] 8th [a] Operation Vigil
[b] 10th [b] Operation Kavach
[c] 5th [c] Operation Mark
[d] 2nd [d] Operation Alert
pg. 17
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[e] Operation Eagle Brahmaputra project. The project is being

implemented in _____?
Q.110) Himalayan Cataract Project Co- [a] Assam
Founder Dr Sanduk Ruit has won the ISA [b] Kerala
Award for Service to Humanity, a top civilian [c] Uttar Pradesh
award of Bahrain. Dr Sanduk Ruit is fondly [d] West Bengal
called as "God of Sight" because he saved [e] Madhya Pradesh
1,20,000 people’s eyesight who would have
otherwise gone blind in absence of treatment. Q.113) Where has American India
He belongs to Nepal. Which of the following Foundation established India's first STEM
is the correct terminology for his profession? Innovation and Learning Center?
[a] Ophthalmologist [a] Guwahati
[b] Optometrists [b] Kolkata
[c] Orthoptists [c] Chennai
[d] Opticians [d] Ahmedabad
[e] Ophthalmi [e] Mangalore
Q.111) Where was the Smart City CEO Q11.4) Recently, Lunglei Fire Station (LFS)
Conference conducted by the Ministry of won the Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda
Housing and Urban Affairs? Prabandhan Puraskar for 2023. Which state
[a] Indore does the fire station belong to?
[b] Panaji [a] Mizoram
[c] Bhopal [b] Nagaland
[d] Gandhinagar [c] Tripura
[e] Kolkata [d] Manipur
[e] Arunachal Pradesh
Q.112) Central Govt will celebrate the India
Energy Week 2023 in February in Bengaluru, Q.115) Where is the three-day International
Karnataka. During the celebration, a Summit on Crafts being developed?
methanol-blended diesel-powered ship [a] Jaipur
named MD15 (because it has 15% methanol [b] Chandigarh
blend) will be launched. The methanol for this [c] Bengaluru
ship will be obtained from the Mahabahu [d] Chennai
[e] Ahmedabad
pg. 18
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[c] Rs 65 lakh
Q.116) By which year does the Himachal [d] Rs 10 lakh
Pradesh govt aim to become the first Green [e] Rs 20 lakh
Energy State?
[a] 2029 Q.120) When was the Liberalised Remittance
[b] 2025 Scheme (LRS) launched by RBI?
[c] 2027 [a] 2010
[d] 2022 [b] 2004
[e] 2028 [c] 2008
[d] 2016
Q.117) Recently, Union Agriculture and [e] 2013
Farmers Welfare Ministry approved an "Apple
Cluster" under the Cluster Development Q.121) Which of the following statement(s)
Programme. Where will this cluster be is/are not true about the Monument Mitra
developed? Scheme?
[a] Nasik (i) The Monument Mitra Scheme was
[b] Shopian launched in 2017 by the Ministry of Culture
[c] Kinnaur (ii) The Monument Mitra Scheme allows the
[d] Solapur adoption of monument sites by people and
[e] Chitradurga organizations for the maintenance of ASI
sites
Q.118) Where was the largest biennial Tri- (iii) The Monument Mitra scheme will be
Services amphibious exercise named revamped to enable private firms to partner
AMPHEX 2023 held? for the upkeep and maintenance of 1,000 ASI
[a] Kandla monuments
[b] Kakinada
[c] Paradeep [a] Only I and II
[d] Haldia [b] Only I, II, and III
[e] Panaji [c] Only II and III
[d] Only I
Q.119) What is the maximum sum assured in [e] Only I and III
the LIC Jeevan Azad Plan?
[a] Rs 5 lakh Q.122) Recently, South Africa has signed an
[b] Rs 70 lakh agreement with India to introduce dozens of
pg. 19
[Type here]
African cheetahs to India over the next transaction value of more than _____ will
decade. Choose the correct option about require CCI’s approval.
South Africa from the statements given [a] Rs 2,000 crore
below. [b] Rs 5,000 crore
[a] South Africa has two capitals – Cape [c] Rs 3,000 crore
Town and Johannesburg [d] Rs 1,000 crore
[b] South Africa’s Currency is Loti [e] Rs 7,000 crore
[c] South Africa shares land borders with
Uganda in the North, Mauritania in the West, Q.125) National Asset Reconstruction
Rwanda in the East, and Atlantic Ocean in Company Ltd (NARCL) has acquired its first
the South stressed asset, Jaypee Infratech, from lender
[d] South Africa is the only African country at a 55% haircut from the _____?
that is surrounded by two oceans i.e., Atlantic [a] Bank of Baroda
Ocean and Indian Ocean [b] Central Bank of India
[e] South Africa houses two landlocked [c] Union Bank of India
countries within its geographical territory, [d] State Bank of India
which are Gambia and Equitorial Guinea [e] IDBI Bank
Q.123) Egypt plans to allot land to Indian Q.126) Recently, India was elected as the
industries in Suez Canal Special Economic Vice-chair of the 12th session of FAO's
Zone. Name the port of Suez Canal in the Intergovernmental Technical Working Group
Mediterranean Sea? (ITWG) on Animal Genetic Resources
[a] Port Said (ANGR) for Food and Agriculture at Rome.
[b] Port Suez USA is the chair of the Working Group. Which
[c] Port Ningbo-Zhoushan of the following countries have been selected
[d] Port Antwerp as the Vice-chair of the group along with
[e] Port Hamburg India?
[a] Spain and Saudi Arabia
Q.124) Union Cabinet has approved the [b] South Africa and Tonga
Competition (Amendment) Bill, 2022 to [c] Australia and Indonesia
amend the Competition Act, 2002, to regulate [d] Only A and B
mergers and acquisitions based on the value [e] Only B and C
of transactions. As per the bill, the deals with
pg. 20
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Q.127) In January 2023, the Care Q.130) Which company has launched Vikram
organization has launched ‘She Feeds the Credit Card for the Indian defence,
World’ programme in India to improve the paramilitary, and police personnel?
food security and nutrition of poor rural [a] BOB Financial Solutions Limited
households, with a strong emphasis on [b] Capital First Limited
women small-scale producers. Which of the [c] L&T Infrastructure Finance Company
following organization has partnered with the Limited
Care organization for this program? [d] Hinduja Leyland Finance Limited
[a] SBI Foundation [e] Axis Finance Limited
[b] Tata Trusts
[c] Wipro Q.131) Which edition of the INTERPOL’s
[d] PepsiCo Foundation Young Global Police Leaders Programme
[e] Umang (YGPLP) was held in New Delhi?
[a] 3rd
Q.128) Who among the following from the [b] 4th
FM’s Crack Squad is responsible for carrying [c] 9th
out the privatization of two public sector [d] 12th
banks? [e] 5th
[a] Vivek Joshi
[b] Sanjay Malhotra Q.132) Which city will be hosting the Space-
[c] T V Somanathan 20 program of the G20 in April?
[d] Tuhin Kanta Pandey [a] Bengaluru
[e] Ajay Seth [b] Mumbai
[c] Guwahati
Q.129) Which country has developed the [d] Shillong
World’s First Photonic-based Quantum [e] Chennai
Computing?
[a] Japan Q.133) Recently, the Secretary of Ministry of
[b] South Korea Electronics and Information Technology
[c] USA (MeitY), Shri Alkesh Kumar Sharma, has
[d] Canada inaugurated 1 Ton/day PCB Recycling facility
[e] France at the Centre for Materials for Electronics
Technology (C-MET) in ____?
[a] Hyderabad
pg. 21
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[b] Vishakhapatnam
[c] Secunderabad Q.136) Which Africa country has launched
[d] Bengaluru the “AfriGo”- a domestic card to rival foreign
[e] Chennai cards like Mastercard and Visa and become a
cashless society and save the country’s
Q.134) With which company has SAMEER, foreign transaction fees?
India's premier R&D Institute of Ministry of [a] Nigeria
Electronics and IT (MeitY), signed an MOU to [b] Mauritius
contribute towards the development of new, [c] Seychelles
improved and innovative technologies for [d] Kenya
advancing healthcare and diagnostic access [e] Ethiopia
in India, in Bengaluru?
[a] Honeywell International Q.137) Which edition of BRICS Summit will
[b] Mitsubishi Heavy Industries be held in 2023?
[c] PowerChina [a] 15th
[d] Siemens Healthineers [b] 23rd
[e] Bouygues [c] 8th
[d] 12th
Q.135) Recently, Solvay (a chemical [e] 10th
company) has partnered with UNESCO to
launch a STEM education program in Asia. Q.138) In January 2023, National Payments
This 3-year partnership aims at engaging Corporation of India (NPCI) and HDFC Life
high schoolers and graduate students from Insurance have partnered to allow the HDFC
India, Indonesia and South Korea to find customers to pay their premiums by using the
solutions to national and regional UPI 123PAY service. How many modes of
environmental issues through science. The payment are available in the UPI 123PAY
program will be focused on “Sustainable service?
living for one planet” theme. Which country [a] Four
does the company belong to? [b] One
[a] Romania [c] Two
[b] Belgium [d] Five
[c] France [e] Three
[d] United Kingdom
[e] Sweden
pg. 22
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Q.139) Which company has launched [e] ₹80,000

Samadhan initiative, a one stop solution
centre for oil palm farmers? Q.142) Ministry of Ports, Shipping and
[a] Godrej Agrovet Waterways is developing a Mega
[b] ITC Ltd International Container Transhipment Port
[c] Adani Wilmar Ltd. (ICTP) at Galathea Bay of Great Nicobar
[d] Agro Tech Foods Limited Island of Andaman and Nicobar Islands in
[e] Gokul Agro Resources Ltd Bay of Bengal. How much amount has been
allocated for this project?
Q.140) When is the Data Privacy Day [a] Rs 41,000 crore
observed? [b] Rs 37,000 crore
[a] January 28 [c] Rs 80,000 crore
[b] January 21 [d] Rs 34,000 crore
[c] January 27 [e] Rs 50,000 crore
[d] January 22
[e] January 10 Q.143) The Central Govt launched the
Twenty Point Program in 1975. It has been
Q.141) MeitY Startup Hub (MSH), an initiative revised twice since its launch in 1982 and
of the Ministry of Electronics & Information 1986. The scheme aims to eradicate poverty
Technology (MeitY), and Meta have and improve the lives of rural people using 20
announced the list of 120 startups and points. The Ministry of Statistics and
innovators for the XR Startup Program. XR Programme Implementation (MoSPI) is
Startup Program is a collaboration between tasked with monitoring _____ schemes and
Meta and MeitY Startup Hub (MSH) to initiatives under the TTP.
accelerate India’s contribution towards [a] 80
building the foundations of the metaverse and [b] 65
nurturing the development of Extended [c] 50
Reality (XR) technologies in India. A total of [d] 75
80 shortlisted innovators will receive a grant [e] 102
of ______.
[a] ₹60,000 Q.144) Where in India was the Noble’s Helen
[b] ₹45,000 found recently?
[c] ₹20,000 [a] Arunachal Pradesh
[d] ₹50,000 [b] Meghalaya
pg. 23
[Type here]
[c] Tripura [b] BPCL

[d] Nagaland [c] ONGC
[e] Manipur [d] IOCL
[e] HPCL
Q.145) Which is India’s top B-School as per
the Indian Institutional Ranking Framework’s Q.148) What is the capital of Papua New
Top Management and Business School 2023 Guinea?
ranking? [a] Suva
[a] IIM-Calcutta [b] Port Moresby
[b] IIM-Bangalore [c] Hagåtña
[c] IIM-Lucknow [d] Apia
[d] IIM-Kolkata [e] Ngerulmud
[e] IIM-Ahmedabad
Q.149) Who has been appointed as the brand
Q.146) Which state has the highest number ambassador of the NMDC Ltd?
of universities in India as per All-India Survey [a] Mary Kom
on Higher Education 2020-21? [b] Nikhat Zareen
[a] Rajasthan [c] Lovlina Borgohain
[b] Punjab [d] Vijender Singh
[c] Maharashtra [e] Laishram Sarita Devi
[d] Kerala
[e] Karnataka Q.150) Where is the Soliga community
found?
Q.147) Which oil company has exported the [a] Karnataka
first ever consignment of AVGAS 100 LL, a [b] Tripura
special aviation fuel meant for piston engine [c] Manipur
aircrafts and unmanned ariel vehicles, to [d] Meghalaya
Papua New Guinea? [e] Assam
[a] GAIL
1 A 51 B 101 B
2 A 52 B 102 A
3 D 53 A 103 B
pg. 24
[Type here]
4 A 54 E 104 A
5 B 55 D 105 D
6 B 56 D 106 A
7 A 57 A 107 D
8 B 58 D 108 A
9 B 59 E 109 D
10 E 60 C 110 A
11 C 61 C 111 B
12 A 62 A 112 A
13 B 63 D 113 C
14 E 64 A 114 A
15 B 65 B 115 A
16 C 66 A 116 B
17 A 67 D 117 B
18 B 68 C 118 B
19 B 69 A 119 A
20 B 70 A 120 B
21 B 71 A 121 D
22 B 72 E 122 D
23 B 73 A 123 A
24 A 74 B 124 A
25 B 75 B 125 E
26 A 76 E 126 D
27 A 77 C 127 D
28 C 78 A 128 A
29 B 79 A 129 D
30 C 80 A 130 A
31 A 81 A 131 A
32 D 82 B 132 D
33 E 83 D 133 A
34 B 84 E 134 D
35 A 85 A 135 B
pg. 1
[Type here]
36 D 86 A 136 A
37 A 87 A 137 A
38 A 88 B 138 A
39 D 89 E 139 A
40 B 90 A 140 A
41 B 91 B 141 D
42 A 92 B 142 A
43 B 93 A 143 B
44 A 94 B 144 A
45 B 95 A 145 E
46 A 96 A 146 A
47 A 97 A 147 D
48 E 98 B 148 B
49 A 99 D 149 B
50 B 100 A 150 A
pg. 2
[Type here]
pg. 3
[Type here]
pg. 4
[Type here]
pg. 5
[Type here]
pg. 6

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SPOTLIGHT

Monthly Current Affairs

RBI - NABARD - SEBI

duty towards our

9. Ministry of Railways has released a five-pronged plan to become carbon-neutral by 2030

• Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation

• BIMSTEC HQ – Dhaka, Bangladesh

16. Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) constituted a high-powered committee, headed by

22. IIT-Guwahati’s Aeromodelling Club is encouraging students to harness creativity, technology

Asian Pacific Postal Union

Universal Postal Union

• The target year for completion of the program in 2023.

68. Government e Marketplace (GeM) has launched “Womaniya on GeM” initiative to

• Canara Bank is the nodal agency of this scheme.

Groups, among others to create post-harvest management infrastructure and build

118. Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways is developing a Mega International

• These 20 points will be achieved through government schemes. A total of 65 government

123. Republic Day 2023 (74th edition) -

• Prasar Bharati, Public Service Broadcaster of India, currently has 39

• Suez Canal Special Economic Zone

124. India’s G20 Presidency (18th edition) -

• Shillong in Meghalaya will be hosting the Space-20 program of the G20 in

• The Bhopal Declaration was adopted at the meeting for promoting

5. Meghalaya commemorated the 160th death anniversary of U Kiang Nagbah on December

• Launch – August 2022 in 40 schools in the state on pilot basis

35. PM launched various developmental projects in Karnataka.

47. Jaipur District Administration is hosting a three-day International Summit on Crafts to

55. Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel announced the unemployment allowance of Rs 2500

AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT

2. According to the provisional data by the Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence

• Launch Year – 2021

• Haryana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Uttarakhand,

• SPRINT (Supporting Pole-Vaulting in R&D through Innovations for Defence

4. Minister of External Affairs has visited Cyprus and Austria.

• Croatia has also changed its currency to Euro.

38. Canada has developed World’s First Photonic-based Quantum Computing.

39. Australians marked the 235th anniversary of British colonization.

• US and Canada have five Great Lakes between them.

41. Swedish government has announced an "international information campaign", which it

REPORTS AND INDICES

Estimated reservoir storage loss in Asia-Pacific

• World’s top B-Schools – London Business School (1st), Wharton-University of

BANKING AND ECONOMY

• Number of strategies under each vision -

• Themes of the earlier cohorts –

Nominal GDP 2022-23 ₹273.08 lakh crore 15.4%

• SIB HQ – Thrissur, Kerala

• The per capita income of India is expected to increase to $15,000.

About the Export Promotion Capital Goods (EPCG) Scheme -

• It is a trade promotion scheme governed by the Foreign Trade Policy of India.

96. Sebi has launched an information database on municipal bonds.

• On 31 December 1992, Czechoslovakia was peacefully dissolved, with its constituent

• Birth anniversary of Rani Velu Nachiyar

3. January 4 – World Braille Day

4. January 6 – World Day of War Orphans

5. January 9 – Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas

6. January 10 – World Hindi Diwas

8. January 12 – National Youth Day; Theme – Viksit Yuva-Viksit Bharat

9. January 14 – Armed Forces Veterans Day (7th edition)

12. January 21 - Statehood Day of Meghalaya, Manipur and Tripura

17. January 28 – International Data Privacy Day (17th edition)

Gold - Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE)