Kapil Kathpal

UPI Reaches Record High in December

Banking &
• India’s Unified Payments Interface processed a record 7.82 billion Financial News
transactions in December, worth a total of INR 12.82 tn.

• This represents an increase of 7.12% in volume and 7.73% in

value compared to November.

• On a year-on-year basis, volume and value increased by 71% and

55% respectively.

• In 2022, UPI processed over 74 billion transactions worth INR

125.94tn.

• In 2021, it processed 38 billion transactions worth INR 71.54tn.

• UPI reached 1 billion transactions in October 2019, 2 billion in

October 2020, and 3 billion in January 2021.
 Kapil Kathpal
RBI Releases Fifth Volume of
Reserve Bank History (1997-2008) Banking &
Financial News
• The fifth volume of the Reserve Bank of India’s history is released.
This volume encompasses the 11-year period from 1997 to 2008.

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

• The Reserve Bank had initiated the process of preparation of this

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

• The volume has been prepared by a team of writers led by the

economic historian Dr. Tirthankar Roy. Other members of the team
were K. Kanagasabapathy, N. Gopalaswamy, F. R. Joseph and
S.V.S. Dixit.
 Kapil Kathpal
Launch of Utkarsh 2.0
Banking &
• The Reserve Bank of India’s Medium-term Strategy Framework for the Financial News
period 2023-2025 – ‘Utkarsh 2.0’ – was launched by Shri Shaktikanta
Das, Governor, RBI.

• The first strategy framework (Utkarsh 2022) covering the period 2019-
2022 was launched in July 2019.

• It became a medium-term strategy document guiding the Bank’s progress

towards realisation of the identified milestones.

• Utkarsh 2.0 harnesses the strengths of Utkarsh 2022 by retaining the six
Vision statements

1. Excellence in performance of its functions;

2. Strengthened trust of citizens and Institutions in the RBI;
3. Enhanced relevance and significance in national and global roles;
4. Transparent, accountable and ethics-driven internal governance;
5. Best-in-class and environment-friendly digital and physical infrastructure;
and
6. Innovative, dynamic and skilled human resources.
 Kapil Kathpal
SBI Card And Punjab & Sind Bank Join Hands
Banking &
Financial News
• Punjab and Sind Bank has partnered with SBI
Card to launch co-brand credit cards for the
bank’s customers.

• PSB has also entered the credit card market as

a new product segment in its portfolio as a
result of this collaboration.
 Kapil Kathpal
GST collections in December 2022
Banking &
• The total amount of GST revenue collected in Financial News

December 2022 was Rs 1,49,507 crore, of

which the CGST portion was Rs 26,711 crore,
the SGST portion was Rs 33,357 crore, the
IGST portion was Rs 78,434 crore
 Kapil Kathpal
ISRO & Andhra University to Set up Equipment
Along Beaches to Predict Rip Currents National News
• Indian Space and Research Organization, National Centre for Earth Sciences and
the Andhra University have researched and concluded that constant rip current
zones at blue flag-certified Rushikonda beach and RK Beach have become a
danger to the beach visitors.

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

• ISRO, NCES, and Andhra University have conducted research and set up
equipment to identify Rip currents to warn marines and local police.
 Kapil Kathpal
Prajjwala Challenge Launched by
Ministry of Rural Development National News

• The Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Rural

Livelihood Mission (DAY-NRLM) has launched the
Prajjwala Challenge.

• The Prajjwala Challenge has been launched to invite

ideas, solutions, and actions that can transform rural
development.

• The ideas shortlisted 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.

 India’s first underwater metro to Kapil Kathpal

become operation by December 2023 National News

• India’s first underwater metro service is expected to be completed

by December 2023. With this, another feather is being added to
the crown of Kolkata Metro

• The underwater metro, which will be running through the Hoogly

river will connect the twin cities of Howrah and Kolkata.

• First metro in India-Kolkata Metro which started its operation 24

October 1984 between Dum Dam to Tollygunge. It was started
with the help of the Soviet Union.

• Largest metro rail in operation in India: Delhi Metro (390.14 km)

It started operation on 24 December 2002. Smallest Metro:
Ahmedabad metro- 6 km
 Kapil Kathpal
7th Vande Bharat Express
National News

• Vande Bharat Express train Howrah-Jalpaiguri

is the seventh Vande Bharat Express.

• The train will cover a distance of around 564

km.

• Vande Bharat Express train between Howrah

and New Jalpaiguri will cover the distance in
around 7.5 hours.
 Kapil Kathpal
Govt Approves PADMA as Self
Regulatory body for the publisher National News

• The government of India has approved the Print and

Digital Media Association (PADMA) as a self-
regulatory body for publishers of news and current
affairs across India.

• PADMA, an organisation with 47 digital news

publishers, will look at grievances related to digital
media news content on its platform.

• The organisation will be headed by former High Court

Judge Mool Chand Garg and have a part-time member
of Prasar Bharati Ashok Kumar Tandon and journalist
Manoj Kumar Mishra as members.
 Kapil Kathpal
Mega Dairy inaugurated at Mandya, Karnataka
National News

• Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah

inaugurated Mega Dairy at Mandya in Karnataka.

• The mega dairy inaugurated at a cost of Rs 260 crore

would process 10 lakh liters of milk per day and the will
have the capacity to increase it upto 14 lakh liters per
day.

• 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.
 Kapil Kathpal
High-Temperature Stars Revealed in
the Globular Cluster Omega Centauri National News

• A team of astronomers led by scientists at the Indian Institute of

Astrophysics and their international collaborators decided to study
the most massive globular cluster system in our galaxy, Omega
Centauri.

• A class of high-temperature stars was detected in the globular

cluster Omega Centauri, the largest-known globular cluster in the
Milky Way.

• Globular clusters are spherical aggregates of several thousand to

millions of stars bound by gravity.
 Kapil Kathpal
1668 Journalists killed in the Past
20 years Between 2003 to 2022 Reports

• A total of 1,668 Journalists have been killed worldwide

in the last two decades from 2003 to 2022. The reports
gave an average of more than 80 journalists being
killed every year.

• The annual death toll peaked in 2012 and 2013 with

144 and 142 journalists killed.

• The two countries with the highest death tolls are Iraq
and Syria with a combined total of 578 journalists killed
in the past 20 years.

• Followed by Afghanistan, Yemen, and Palestine.

 Kapil Kathpal
India’s Unemployment Rate Reaches
Highest Level in 16 Months Reports

• According to data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy,

India’s unemployment rate reached 8.30% in December, the
highest level in 16 months.

• This marks an increase from the 8.00% recorded in November.

• The urban unemployment rate also saw a rise, going from 8.96%
in November to 10.09% in December.

• However, the rural unemployment rate saw a slight decrease,

going from 7.55% in November to 7.44% in December.

• Haryana recorded the highest unemployment rate at 37.4%, while

Odisha had the lowest at 0.9%.
 Kapil Kathpal
India and Pakistan Exchange Lists of
Nuclear Assets and Prison Inmates International
• India and Pakistan exchanged lists of nuclear installations that
cannot be attacked in the event of hostilities

• This was the 32nd consecutive exchange of such lists between the
two countries, the first one having taken place on January 1, 1992.

• Under the provisions of the 2008 Agreement on Consular Access,

the two sides also exchange lists of prisoners in each other’s
custody twice a year, on January 1 and July 1, through diplomatic
channels in New Delhi and Islamabad.

• The external affairs ministry said India currently has 339 Pakistani
civilian prisoners and 95 fishermen in its custody.

• Pakistan shared a list of 51 civilian prisoners and 654 fishermen in

its custody.
 Kapil Kathpal
10th Dhaka Literary Festival
International
• The 10th edition of Dhaka Lit Fest (DLF) is scheduled
for January 5-8, 2023.

• The Bangla Academy in Dhaka will serve as the venue

for the event.

• The Dhaka Lit Fest has long been a well-liked annual

occasion on Bangladesh’s winter calendar. The eighth
Dhaka Lit Fest, which was most recently held in 2019,
attracted almost 30,000 attendees.
 Kapil Kathpal
Inacio Lula da Silva Sworn in As
the President of Brazil International

• Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva took office for a third

term as Brazil’s president

• He previously led Brazil from 2003 to 2010

• Capital: Brasilia
• Currency: Brazilian Real
 Kapil Kathpal
Croatia’s switch to Euro
International
• Croatia has taken two major steps towards further
integration with the European Union by adopting the
euro

• The country officially became the 20th member of the

eurozone on January 1st, and the removal of land
border controls with neighboring Slovenia and Hungary
marks its inclusion in the Schengen zone.

• The inclusion of Croatia in the Schengen zone, which

allows for passport-free travel between 26 European
countries, is expected to boost tourism in the country.
 Kapil Kathpal

Schengen Area – The World’s Largest Visa Free Zone

• Schengen Area signifies a zone where 27 European
countries, abolished their internal borders, for the free
and unrestricted movement of people, in harmony with
common rules for controlling external borders and
fighting criminality by strengthening the common
judicial system and police cooperation.

• Schengen Area covers most of the EU countries,

except Ireland, and the countries that are soon to be
part of the Schengen Area: Romania, Bulgaria, and
Cyprus. Although not members of the EU, countries
like Norway, Iceland, Switzerland and Lichtenstein are
also part of the Schengen zone.
Ajay Kumar Srivastava appointed as MD Kapil Kathpal

and CEO of Indian Overseas Bank Appointment

• Ajay Kumar Srivastava has been

elevated as Managing Director and CEO
of Indian Overseas Bank from his current
posting as executive director.

• He started his banking career as a

probationary officer in 1991 with
Allahabad Bank
 Kapil Kathpal
IDBI Bank re-appoints Suresh
Khatanhar as Deputy MD for a Year Appointment

• IDBI Bank Limited re-appointed Suresh

Kishinchand Khatanhar as the Deputy
Managing Director of IDBI Bank for 1 year

IDBI Bank Limited:

• MD & Chief Executive Officer (CEO)- Rakesh Sharma
• Headquarters- Mumbai
 Kapil Kathpal
Dexa: BCCI’s new selection criteria for Indian players
Sports
• The Board of Control for Cricket in India announced that the Dexa bone
density test will be mandatory for Indian players to be selected for the
national team.

• Dexa, also known as the bone density test, is an X-ray technology that
measures bone strength.

• It can help identify if a person has a risk of breaking or losing bones, and
can be used to determine if a player is at risk of fracturing any body parts.

• Dexa can also measure body composition and record body fat and
muscle mass.

• The Yo-Yo Test will also return as part of the team’s preparation for the
2023 ODI World Cup.

• 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.
 Kapil Kathpal
Khelo India Youth Games 2022
Sports
• Hockey Haryana’s women’s team won the Khelo India
Youth Games 2022 Women’s Under 18 Qualifiers after
defeating Madhya Pradesh in the final at Bhubaneswar.

• Odisha stepped up to claim third place after beating

• Best Goalkeeper: Kavita (Haryana)

• Best Defender: Yogita Verma (Madhya Pradesh)
• Best Midfielder: Manisha (Haryana)
• Best Striker: Bhumshika Sahu (Madhya Pradesh)
 Kapil Kathpal
Koneru Humpy won Silver at the
World Chess Blitz Championship Sports

• Former World rapid champion K. Humpy claimed India’s first-ever

silver medal from the World blitz chess championship that
concluded in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

• Humpy is the second Indian to win a medal at World Blitz, after

Viswanathan Anand.

• The men’s section was won by Magnus Carlsen. He became the

first player in chess history to hold the Classical chess world
championship, Rapid world championship and the Blitz world
Championship at the same time.

• The women’s section was won by Bibisara Balabayeva of

Kazakhstan.
Koustav Chatterjee becomes India’s 78th Grandmaster Kapil Kathpal

• Nineteen-year-old Kolkata-based chess player, Sports

Koustav Chatterjee became India’s 78th Grandmaster.

• He is also the tenth GM from West Bengal.

• India’s 1st Chess GrandMaster was won by

Viswanathan Anand at the age of 14 in 1988.

• GrandMaster is the highest title apart from World

Champion awarded to Chess players International
Chess Federation FIDE.

• FIDE currently awards the title of GM to a player who

achieves a 2500 FIDE classical (or ‘standard’) rating
and three GM norms.
 Kapil Kathpal
Book “The World” by Simon Sebag Montefiore Books &
Authors
• Simon Sebag Montefiore, a British historian,
discussed his recent book “The World: A
Family History”

• In the book, Simon Sebag Montefiore explores

how people and families have played a role in
the convergences and divergences in world
history.
 Kapil Kathpal
Former Pope Benedict XVI passes away
Obituary
• The former Pope Benedict XVI has passed away in
Vatican.

• The head of the Catholic Church, former Pope

Benedict, was the first pope in 600 years to resign.

• He resigned in 2013 and was replaced by the present

pope Francis.

• Pope Benedict was the first German to become pope in

1000 years.

• He was the head of the Vatican City from 19 April 2005

until his resignation on 28 February 2013.
 Kapil Kathpal
• Pope is a title which is given to the Bishop of Rome
who is the head of the Roman Catholic Church. He is
also the head of the sovereign country of Vatican City.

• The Holy See is the name given to the government of

the Roman Catholic Church, which is led by the pope
as the bishop of Rome.

• St. Peter, disciple of Jesus Christ, was the first Pope.

• Vatican City is the world’s smallest country which is

located within the Italian capital city of Rome.

• It is also the least populated country in the world

 Kapil Kathpal
RK Krishnakumar passes away
Obituary
• R Krishnakumar passed away.

• He had been active with the Tata Trusts after his

retirement from executive roles from TATA group

• In 2009, Krishnakumar was awarded Padma Shri.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Kapil Kathpal

Mother Heeraben Passes Away Obituary

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s mother

Heeraben passed away at the age of 100 in
Ahmedabad, Gujarat.