Daily Current Affairs – January 17 & 18, 2024
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Daily Current Affairs - Banking - January 17 & 18, 2024
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National News
NeGD Organises 41st CISO Deep Dive Training Programme under MeitY’s initiative Cyber Surakshit Bharat
- The ‘Cyber Surakshit Bharat’ initiative of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) was conceptualised with the mission to spread awareness about cyber-crime and build capacities of Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) and frontline IT officials, across all government departments, for ensuring adequate safety measures to combat the growing menace of cybercrime and enable organizations to defend their digital infrastructures and become future-ready in tackling cyber-attacks.
- National e-Governance Division (NeGD) under its Capacity Building scheme, is organising the 41st CISO Deep-Dive training programme with participants from Arunachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, New Delhi, Odisha & West Bengal, at the National Law University in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.
- The programme was inaugurated by senior officers from NeGD, MeitY and National Institute for Smart Government (NISG).
- The aim of the program is to spread awareness, build capacities as well as enable Government departments to take steps to create a cyber-resilient ecosystem.
- The programme aims to sensitise and orient participants on cyber safety and security in taking Digital India programme forward for integrated delivery of various Government services to citizens, present a holistic information, knowledge and understanding about cyber security, and empower government departments to look after their cyber hygiene, safety and security.
- National Institute for Smart Government (NISG) – 2002 (Incorporated) – Hyderabad (HQ)
Around 600 Railway stations made Divyangjan friendly under Accessible India Campaign
- The Government is committed to make its railway stations and trains accessible for Divyangjans as part of Accessible India Campaign.
- To facilitate easy movement of elderly, sick and Divyangjans, lifts and escalators are being provided at stations.
- Five hundred ninety-seven Railway stations have been made Divyangjan-friendly by providing lifts and escalators.
State News
Prime Minister dedicates to nation infrastructure projects worth more than ₹4,000 crores in Kochi, Kerala
- The Prime Minister, Narendra Modi inaugurated three major infrastructure projects worth more than ₹4,000 crore in Kochi, Kerala.
- The projects being inaugurated include New Dry Dock (NDD) at Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL), International Ship Repair Facility (ISRF) of CSL, and LPG Import Terminal of Indian Oil Corporation Limited at Puthuvypeen, Kochi.
- These major infrastructure projects are in line with the Prime Minister’s vision to transform India’s ports, shipping, and waterways sector, and build capacity and self-sufficiency in it.
- He also inaugurated the new 310-metre dry dock and International Ship Repair Facility (ISRF) at Cochin Shipyard.
- Set up at an overall cost of ₹2,800 crore, these infra investments are aligned with the Sagarmala and Maritime India Vision 2030 initiatives.
- The ₹1,799-crore dual purpose dry dock can be used both for ship construction as well as for ship repairs.
- It can accommodate large LNG carriers, Capesize and Suezmax vessels, oil rigs and semi-subs and other large vessels.
President Droupadi Murmu inaugurates Rural Tourism Projects in Meghalaya
- President of India, Droupadi Murmu virtually laid the foundation stone for Rural Tourism Accommodation in the villages of Khongtong, Mawlyngot and Kudengrim villages at Mawphlang, East Khasi Hills district, Meghalaya.
- She also inaugurated the Shillong Peak Ropeway and two newly upgraded roads, Rongjeng Mangsang Adokgre Road and the Mairang Ranigodown Azra Road.
Telangana signs deals worth ₹12,400 crores with Adani Group at Davos summit
- The Adani Group, one of the world’s largest infrastructure conglomerates, and the Telangana government signed four agreements committing investments worth more than ₹12,400 crore in the state.
- The memoranda of understanding were signed at the World Economic Forum in Davos in the presence of Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy and Gautam Adani, chairman of the Adani Group.
- The agreements will help build the foundations for Telangana’s economic growth that is “green, sustainable, inclusive, and transformative.
- Adani Enterprises Limited (AEL) will invest more than ₹5,000 crore in a 100 megawatt (Mw) data centre, which would be powered by renewable energy and set up over five to seven years.
- AEL will work with businesses and startups in Telangana to develop a globally competent supplier base for the project.
- The data centre would provide direct and indirect employment to 600 people.
- Adani Enterprises Limited (AEL) – 02/03/1993 (founded) – Ahmedabad, Gujarat (HQ) – Gautam Adani (Chairman)
Web Werks to set up data centres in Telangana at ₹5,200-crores investment
- Web Werks, a data centre company, has announced an investment of ₹5,200 crores in Telangana.
- The company, which already has data centres in Mumbai, Bengaluru, Pune, and Delhi, opened a data centre in Hyderabad in May 2023.
- Web Werks, a fully-owned subsidiary of the US-based Iron Mountain, will invest ₹1,200 crores in a 10 MW networking-heavy data centre in Hyderabad.
Schemes
Chhattisgarh Launches Mahtari Vandana Yojana 2024
- Chhattisgarh state government had launched a new scheme known as Mahtari Vandana Yojana 2024.
- The government aims to provide economic assistance of ₹1000 to women every month, amounting to a total annual financial aid of ₹12,000.
- The scheme not only aims to provide financial assistance to women but also emphasizes fostering self-reliance and skill development through the utilization of these funds.
Banking and Finance
NPCI International in pact with Google Pay India for global expansion of UPI
- Google India Digital Services and NPCI International Payments, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) have signed an agreement to expand the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) platform beyond India.
- The MoU seeks to broaden the use of UPI payments for travellers outside India and enable them to make transactions abroad.
- It intends to assist in establishing UPI-like digital payment systems in other countries, providing a model for seamless financial transactions and focusing on easing the process of remittances between countries by utilising the UPI infrastructure to simplify cross-border financial exchanges.
- This will help accelerate UPI’s global acceptance, provide foreign merchants access to Indian customers and allow customers to no longer rely only on foreign currency and/or credit or forex cards.
- National Payments Corporation of India – 2008 (Founded) – Mumbai (HQ) – Dilip Asbe (MD & CEO)
REC Limited issues inaugural Yen Denominated Green Bonds aggregating to 61.1 Billion Japanese Yen
- REC Limited, a Maharatna Central Public Sector Enterprise under the Ministry of Power, has successfully issued its inaugural Japanese Yen (JPY) 61.1 billion 5-year, 5.25-year and 10-year Green bonds, issued under its US$ 10 billion Global Medium Term Notes Programme.
- Proceeds from the issue of the Bonds will be applied to finance the Eligible Green Projects in accordance with the Company’s Green Finance Framework, RBI’s External Commercial Borrowings Guidelines and the approvals granted by it from time to time.
- The notes will be rated Baa3/BBB–/BBB+ (Moody’s/Fitch/JCR) and will be listed exclusively on Global Securities Market of India International Exchange (India INX) and NSE IFSC in GIFT City, Gandhinagar, Gujarat.
- DBS Bank, Mizuho, MUFG, and SMBC Nikko are the joint lead managers for the issue.
Agreements and MoUs signed
Adani Group signs MoU with Maharashtra government to invest in data centers
- The Adani Group has signed an MoU with the government of Maharashtra to invest ₹50,000 crore over 10 years to set up 1 GW capacity of hyperscale data centre infrastructure.
- The agreement was signed at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
- The data centers will come up in Pune and Mumbai or Navi Mumbai, and will be powered by renewable energy.
- It will provide employment to 20,000 people directly or indirectly.
IndoSpace Signs MoU with Tamil Nadu
- IndoSpace, a leading provider of industrial and logistics real estate, has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the government of Tamil Nadu.
- The agreement outlines IndoSpace’s commitment to investing over ₹2,000 crore across the state to address industrial requirements.
- This substantial investment is expected to create job opportunities for 15,000 individuals and will involve the development of an additional five million sq. ft. of land.
- IndoSpace – 2007 (Founded) – Mumbai (HQ)
Summit & Conference
Parashottam Rupala chairs the National Conference on Fisheries and Aquaculture Insurance in hybrid mode at PUSA, New Delhi
- Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying Parashottam Rupala chaired the National Conference on Fisheries and Aquaculture Insurance in hybrid mode at PUSA, New Delhi.
- He also distributed Group Accident Insurance Scheme (GAIS) cheques of ₹5 lakh each to the identified beneficiaries.
- Group Accident Insurance Scheme (GAIS) has been quite successful and similar success should be replicated for crop insurance and vessel insurance among fishermen community.
- He distributed GAIS cheques of ₹5 lakh each to beneficiaries namely Mrs G. Parvathi, Mr G. Srikanth, Mr M. Prashanth, Mrs G Nagamani and Mrs. G Sujatha from various districts of Telangana.
Science and Technology
E-Shram Portal Implementation Boosts Access for Haryana Unorganized Workers
- The e-Shram portal, an initiative by the Union Ministry of Labour and Employment is now being robustly implemented in
- This digital platform is set to revolutionize how unorganized workers, including agricultural labourers, street vendors, domestic workers, construction workers can access government benefits and welfare programs.
- Each registered worker will receive a 12-digit Universal Account Number (UAN), which is valid for lifetime, enabling them to avail benefits across the state and the country.
- Ministry of Labour and Employment – Bhupender Yadav, Cabinet Minister (Rajya Sabha MP,Rajasthan) – Rameshwar Teli, Minister of State (Dibrugarh,Assam)
MeitY Secretary launches India's First Graphene Centre, IoT CoE in Kerala
- Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (Meity) Secretary S Krishnan launched a Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Intelligent Internet of Things (IIoT) Sensors and India’s first graphene centre – India Innovation Centre for Graphene (IICG) in Kerala.
- The CoE in IIoT Sensors is a unique facility established at Makers Village Kochi by MeitY, Government of India and Government of Kerala to catalyse the development of sensors within the realm of Intelligent IoT systems covering a broad spectrum of applications of intelligent sensors in networks, devices and sensor system.
- Further, the India Innovation Centre for Graphene (IICG) has also been established at Makers Village Kochi by MeitY and Government of Kerala along with Tata Steel Limited.
- Digital University Kerala (DUK) (formerly IIITMK) and Centre for Materials for Electronics Technology (CMET), Thrissur are the technical partners for setting up these centres.
- Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology – Ashwini Vaishnaw, Cabinet Minister (Rajya Sabha MP, Odisha) – Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Minister of State (Rajya Sabha MP, Karnataka)
IIT-Madras partners with Altair to launch e-mobility simulation lab
- Indian Institute of Technology-Madras has partnered with Altair, a US-based provider of solutions in simulation, high-performance computing and artificial intelligence, to launch an e-mobility simulation lab.
- Set up in the institute’s Department of Engineering Design, this lab will have state-of-the-art products and tools along with financial support from Altair.
- This will be followed with other labs and facilities to deliver research and training in the e-mobility domain.
- The lab will host Altair’s modelling and simulation tools which will support the academic activities that IIT-Madras will carry out in the other e-mobility labs for batteries, charging, power electronics, motors and controllers and vehicle engineering, among other related areas.
- These facilities will together support the multiple academic initiatives that the Department of Engineering Design has started in the area of e-mobility.
Power
BHEL gets 2,400 MW greenfield power project from NLC India in Odisha
- State-owned BHEL has bagged an order to set up a 2,400 MW supercritical thermal power project (STPP) from coal PSU NLC India Ltd.
- BHEL has won the prestigious order under International Competitive Bidding (ICB) for the greenfield project on an Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) basis at Jharsuguda in Odisha.
- Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) – 1956 (Founded) – New Delhi (HQ) – Koppu Sadashiv Murthy (Chairman & Managing Director)
Acquisitions and Mergers
Sun Pharma will acquire remaining stake in Israeli firm Taro for ₹2,982 crores
- Sun Pharmaceutical Industries has entered an agreement with Taro Pharmaceutical to acquire the balance 52 per cent stake in the Israel-based company for a cash consideration of $43 per share amounting to $347.73 million (₹2,982 crore).
- Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Limited (Sun Pharma) – 1983 (Founded) – Mumbai (HQ) – Dilip Shanghvi (MD)
Appointments
RBI approves Praveen Kutty as DCB Bank CEO
- The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has approved the appointment of Praveen Kutty as the CEO of DCB Bank for a period of three years with effect from April 29 2024.
- He replaces Murali Natrajan who completes 15 years as the bank’s CEO at the end of April 2024.
- DCB Bank – 1930 (Founded) – Mumbai (HQ) – Murali M. Natrajan (MD & CEO)
Ranks and Indices
India retains 4th position in Military ranking 2024
- The GFP ranking evaluates military capabilities based on factors such as manpower, equipment, natural resources, finances, and geography across land, sea, and air.
- The combined PowerIndex (PwrIdx) score is generated, with a lower score indicating stronger military capabilities.
- According to the index, a “0.0000” is considered to be the perfect score.
- All top four military powers in the world have maintained their respective positions.
- India maintained its fourth position since
- Out of the 145 countries on the list, Bhutan has the least powerful military with a PwrIdx of 3704, after Moldova (4.2311) and Suriname (3.9038).
Rank
Country
Score (Power Index)
1
USA
0.0699
2
Russia
0.0702
3
China
0.0706
4
India
0.1023
5
South Korea
6
UK
7
Japan
8
Turkey
9
Pakistan
10
Italy
Reports
NITI Aayog report: Over 24.8 crore people moved out of poverty in India in nine years
- According to NITI Aayog report, the national multidimensional poverty measures simultaneous deprivations across three equally weighted dimensions of health, education, and standard of living that are represented by 12 sustainable development goals-aligned indicators.
- As many as 82 crore people moved out of multidimensional poverty in nine years to 2022-23, with Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh registering the largest decline.
- Multidimensional poverty in India declined from 17% in 2013-14 to 11.28% in 2022-23, with about 24.82 crore people moving out of this bracket during this period.
- At the State level, Uttar Pradesh topped the list with 94 crore people escaping poverty followed by Bihar at 3.77 crore and Madhya Pradesh at 2.30 crore.
Awards and Recognitions
REC wins ICAI Award for Excellence in Financial Reporting for FY 2022-23
- REC Limited, a Maharatna Public Sector Unit and a leading NBFC under the Ministry of Power, has been awarded ‘Plaque’ under the ‘Financial Services Sector (Other than Banking and Insurance)’ category at the ICAI Awards for Excellence in Financial Reporting for the financial year 2022-23.
- This is the only award bestowed by the ICAI under this category and the selection has been made based on the company’s accounting practices, disclosure policies, presentation of financial statements, other information contained in the Annual Report and degree of compliance with Indian Accounting Standards, Statutory guidelines and Regulations.
- Director (Finance), REC, Ajoy Choudhury; Executive Director (Finance), REC, Sanjay Kumar; and HoD (Finance), REC, Jatin Kumar Nayak received the award from Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh, Vishnu Deo Sai, at a ceremony held in Raipur.
- REC Limited (Rural Electrification Corporation Limited) – 25/07/1969 (Founded) – New Delhi (HQ) – Vivek Kumar Dewagan (CMD)
National Startup Awards 2022 Winners
S.No | Startup | Sector | State |
1 | Fruvetech Private Limited | Agriculture | Delhi |
2 | Wolkus Technology Solutions Private Limited | Agriculture | Karnataka |
3 | Natura Crop Care | Agriculture | Karnataka |
4 | Hydrogreens Agri Solutions Private Limited | Animal Husbandry | Karnataka |
5 | Micob Private Limited | Construction | Gujarat |
6 | Himalayan Hemp Industries Private Limited | Construction | Himachal Pradesh |
7 | Trestle Labs Private Limited | Education & Skill Development | Haryana |
8 | Testbook Edu Solutions Private Limited | Education & Skill Development | Maharashtra |
9 | Makerinme Technologies Private Limited | Education & Skill Development | Karnataka |
10 | Trascender Services Private Limited | Education & Skill Development | Maharashtra |
11 | Log 9 Materials Scientific Private Limited | Energy | Karnataka |
12 | Renkube Private Limited | Energy | Karnataka |
13 | Indigenous Energy Storage Technologies Private Limited | Energy | Uttarakhand |
14 | Nextscm Solutions Private Limited | Enterprise Technology | Karnataka |
15 | Stylumia Intelligence Technlogy Private Limited | Enterprise Technology | Karnataka |
16 | Corover Private Limited | Enterprise Technology | Karnataka |
17 | Hygienity Solutions Private Limited | Environment | Maharashtra |
18 | Kbcols Sciences Private Limited | Environment | Maharashtra |
19 | Infinita Biotech Private Limited | Environment | Gujarat |
20 | Whrrl Fintech Solutions | FinTech | Maharashtra |
21 | Changejar Technologies Private Limited | FinTech | Karnataka |
22 | Micronsure Consultancy Private Limited | FinTech | Telangana |
23 | Medulance Healthcare Private Limited | Health & Wellness | Delhi |
24 | Mallipathra Nutraceutical Private Limited | Health & Wellness | Karnataka |
25 | Prantae Solutions (Opc) Pvt Ltd | Health & Wellness | Odisha |
26 | Algorithmic Biologics Private Limited | Health & Wellness | Karnataka |
27 | Jc Orthoheal Private Limited | Health & Wellness | Gujarat |
28 | Yourdost Health Solutions Private Limited | Health & Wellness | Karnataka |
29 | Amace Solutions Private Limited | Industry 4.0 | Karnataka |
30 | Sandlogic Technologies Private Limited | Industry 4.0 | Karnataka |
31 | Lynkit Solutions Private Limited | Industry 4.0 | Delhi |
32 | Lab To Market Innovations Pvt Ltd | Industry 4.0 | Karnataka |
33 | Irov Technologies Private Limited | Industry 4.0 | Kerala |
34 | Quidich Innovation Labs Private Limited | Media & Entertainment | Maharashtra |
35 | Filmboard Movie Technologies Private Limited | Media & Entertainment | Maharashtra |
36 | Qunu Labs Private Limited | Security | Karnataka |
37 | Atom Alloys India Private Limited | Security | Maharashtra |
38 | Digantara Research And Technologies Private Limited | Space | Uttarakhand |
39 | Cogos Technologies Private Limited | Transport | Karnataka |
40 | Revamp Moto Private Limited | Transport | Maharashtra |
41 | ALGORITHMIC BIOLOGICS PRIVATE LIMITED | Special Category – Women Led Startup | Karnataka |
42 | Natura Crop Care | Rural Impact Startup | Karnataka |
43 | Primary Healthtech Private Limited | Special Category – Startups from North-East | Assam |
44 | T-HUB | Incubators | Hyderabad |
45 | CENTRE FOR CELLULAR AND MOLECULAR PLATFORMS (C- CAMP) | Incubators | Karnataka |
46 | CISCO LAUNCHPAD | Accelerators | Karnataka |
The Best FIFA Football Awards 2023
Category | Winner |
The Best FIFA Women’s Player | Aitana Bonmati |
The Best FIFA Men’s Player | Lionel Messi |
The Best FIFA Women’s Goalkeeper | Mary Earps |
The Best FIFA Men’s Goalkeeper | Ederson |
The Best FIFA Women’s Coach | Sarina Wiegman |
The Best FIFA Men’s Coach | Pep Guardiola |
The FIFA Puskás Award | Guilherme Madruga |
The FIFA Special Award | Marta |
The FIFA Fair Play Award | Brazil men’s national team |
The FIFA Fan Award | Hugo Daniel “Toto” Iniguez |
Sports News
ICC Player of the Month for December 2023
- Women: Deepti Sharma (India)
- Men: Pat Cummins (Australia)
- International Cricket Council (ICC) – 15/06/1909 (Founded) – Dubai,UAE (HQ) – Greg Barclay (Chairman) – 108 countries
Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa surpasses Viswanathan Anand to become India's number one Chess player
- India Chess Wizard Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa defeated World Chess Champion Ding Liren in the Tata Steel Masters in Wijk aan Zee, in the Netherlands.
- He became only the second Indian after Vishwanathan Anand to defeat a reigning champion.
- He also overtook Anand to become India’s new number one Chess player in terms of live ratings.
Daily Current Affairs - January 17 & 18, 2024 - Consolidated
- NeGD Organises 41st CISO Deep Dive Training Programme under MeitY’s initiative Cyber Surakshit Bharat
- Around 600 Railway stations made Divyangjan friendly under Accessible India Campaign
- Prime Minister dedicates to nation infrastructure projects worth more than ₹4,000 crores in Kochi, Kerala
- President Droupadi Murmu inaugurates Rural Tourism Projects in Meghalaya
- Telangana signs deals worth ₹12,400 crores with Adani Group at Davos summit
- Web Werks to set up data centres in Telangana at ₹5,200-crores investment
- Chhattisgarh Launches Mahtari Vandana Yojana 2024
- NPCI International in pact with Google Pay India for global expansion of UPI
- REC Limited issues inaugural Yen Denominated Green Bonds aggregating to 61.1 Billion Japanese Yen
- Adani Group signs MoU with Maharashtra government to invest in data centers
- IndoSpace Signs MoU with Tamil Nadu
- Parashottam Rupala chairs the National Conference on Fisheries and Aquaculture Insurance in hybrid mode at PUSA, New Delhi
- E-Shram Portal Implementation Boosts Access for Haryana Unorganized Workers
- MeitY Secretary launches India’s First Graphene Centre, IoT CoE in Kerala
- IIT-Madras partners with Altair to launch e-mobility simulation lab
- BHEL gets 2,400 MW greenfield power project from NLC India in Odisha
- Sun Pharma will acquire remaining stake in Israeli firm Taro for ₹2,982 crores
- RBI approves Praveen Kutty as DCB Bank CEO
- India retains 4th position in Military ranking 2024
- NITI Aayog report: Over 24.8 crore people moved out of poverty in India in nine years
- REC wins ICAI Award for Excellence in Financial Reporting for FY 2022-23
- National Startup Awards 2022 Winners
- The Best FIFA Football Awards 2023
- ICC Player of the Month for December 2023
- Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa surpasses Viswanathan Anand to become India’s number one Chess player
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