Table of Contents
Important Days
Pravasi Bhartiya Divas 2022: 09th January
The Non-Resident Indian Day or also known as the Pravasi Bhartiya Divas is celebrated every year on 9th January every year.
The aim of the event is to strengthen the engagement of the overseas Indian community with the Government of India and reconnect them with their roots.
On the occasion of 2022 Pravasi Bhartiya Divas (PBD), Union Minister of State for External Affairs V. Muraleedharan will speak at a virtual youth PBD conference on the “role of Indian diaspora” in innovation and new technology.
On 9 January 1915, Mahatma Gandhi came to India from South Africa and became the greatest Pravasi who led India’s Freedom Struggle and made India free from British or colonial rule. As a Non-Resident Indian or Pravasi, he is presented as a symbol of a change and development that could bring into India.
World Hindi Day: 10 January
World Hindi Day is celebrated on January 10 since 2006 to promote the language on the global stage. The day marks the anniversary of the first World Hindi Conference which was inaugurated on January 10, 1975, by the then prime minister Indira Gandhi.
However, the celebration of the first World Hindi Day was commenced on 10 January 2006 by former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh. The first World Hindi Day conference was organised on January 10, 1975, in Nagpur, a city in the state of Maharashtra.
The grand event registered the participation of 122 representatives from 30 countries. The day is observed in India from the year 2003. The Ministry of External Affairs began the tradition of celebrating World Hindi Day in other nations in 2006 with an aim to promote this language across the world.
National
Rajnath Singh inaugurates Kalpana Chawla Centre For Research at Chandigarh University
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has inaugurated Kalpana Chawla Centre for Research in Space Science and Technology (KCCRSST) at Chandigarh University.
The Union Minister also launched Chandigarh University’s Defence Scholarship Scheme, worth Rs 10 Crore, for the wards of Defence Personnel of the three services. Kalpana Chawla was the first woman of Indian origin to go to space.
PM declares December 26 to be observed as ‘Veer Baal Diwas’ annually
Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi has declared that starting from the year 2022, December 26 will be observed as ‘Veer Baal Diwas’ every year.
The day will be commemorated as a tribute to the courage of the 4 Sahibzades (the four sons of Guru Gobind Singh Ji), who attained martyrdom in the 17th century.
The announcement was made by PM Modi on January 09, 2022, on the occasion of the Parkash Purab of Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji, or the birth anniversary of the 10th guru of Sikhs and the founder of the Khalsa community.
26 December marks the day on which Sahibzada Zorawar Singh Ji and Sahibzada Fateh Singh Ji (younger pair of Sahibzade) attained martyrdom after being sealed alive in a wall, at the tender age of 6 and 9 years.
Sahibzada Ajit Singh Ji and Sahibzada Jujhar Singh Ji (older pair of Sahibzade) attained martyrdom on December 21, 1705, fighting the enemy in battle at Chamkaur Sahib at the young age of 18 and 14 years.
Sikkim celebrated Losoong (Namsoong) Festival
Losoong (Namsoong) is annually celebrated across the Indian State of Sikkim on the 18th day of the 10th month of the Tibetan Lunar Calendar, which also marks the beginning of the harvest season.
The Namsoong festival begins on the 1st day of the new moon phase Kurneet Lovo, as per the Lepcha lunisolar Calendar known as Dungkit Karchu.
The Losoong festival is celebrated as Sonam Losoong, by the Sikkimese Bhutia and as Namsoong by the Lepchas. The festival is also celebrated in Nepal and Bhutan.
International
Australia & Japan signed defence agreement to counter China
The leaders of Japan and Australia signed a “landmark” defence agreement that allows closer cooperation between their militaries and stands as a rebuke to China’s growing assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific region.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida met in a virtual summit to sign the Reciprocal Access Agreement, the first such defence pact signed by Japan with any country other than the United States.
The agreement follows more than a year of talks between Japan and Australia aimed at breaking down legal barriers to allow the troops of one country to enter the other for training and other purposes.
Morrison called the pact a “pivotal moment for Australia and Japan and (for) the security of our two nations and our people.”
Appointments
GoI extends Navrang Saini’s term as interim chief of IBBI
The Government of India has extended the tenure of Navrang Saini as interim Chairperson of Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) for three more months till March 05, 2022.
Mr Saini, who is a Whole Time Member of IBBI, was assigned the additional charge of Chairperson in addition to his existing duties in October 2021 for three months till January 13, 2022.
The post of full-time Chairperson has been lying vacant after M.S. Sahoo retired upon completing a five-year tenure on September 30, 2021.
Useful notes for all competitive exams:
- Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India Headquarters: New Delhi;
- Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India Founder: Parliament of India;
- Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India Founded: 1 October 2016.
Agreements
Airtel Payments Bank tie-up with Park+ to offer FASTag-based Parking Solutions
Airtel Payments Bank and Park+ have collaborated to offer FASTag-based smart parking solutions to marquee commercial and residential properties across India.
This partnership will utilize the reach of Airtel Payments Bank to digitize the parking ecosystem using FASTag associated with the vehicle. Park+ is backed by Sequoia Capital and Matrix Partners and is engaged in automating parking spaces through FASTag.
The collaboration aims to leverage the deep distribution reach and digital payments stack of Airtel Payments Bank to digitize the parking ecosystem using FASTag associated with the vehicle.
Park+ will offer its entire suite of FASTag services including issuance, acquiring, recharge, and technology support to Airtel Payments Bank. Park+ access control systems are installed at over 1500 societies, over 30 malls, and over 150 corporate parks across the country.
Useful notes for all competitive exams:
- Airtel Payments Bank’s MD and CEO: Nubrata Biswas.
- Airtel Payments Bank Headquarters: New Delhi.
- Airtel Payments Bank Founded: January 2017.
Banking
RBI increased banks’ LCR maintenance on Funds received
The Reserve Bank of India has increased the threshold limit for Banks to maintain the Liquidity Coverage Ratio (LCR) on deposits and other ‘extension of funds’ received from non-financial small business customers from Rs 5 crore to Rs 7.5 crore.
This is applicable on all Commercial Banks other than Regional Rural Banks, Local Area Banks, and Payments Banks. To better align RBI’s guidelines with the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) standard and enable banks to manage liquidity risk more effectively.
LCR promotes the short-term resilience of banks to potential liquidity disruptions by ensuring that they have sufficient high-quality liquid assets (HQLAs) to survive an acute stress scenario lasting for 30 days.
RBI issues eligibility norms for entities harnessing credit bureau data
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued eligibility criteria for entities that harness data from credit information companies (CICs) or credit bureaus.
These newly-formed guidelines said that a company’s net worth must be at least Rs 2 crore and owned and controlled by resident Indian citizens to become a designated user with a credit bureau, which comes amid accusations of lending applications with Chinese ties functioning in India.
Economy
SBI Ecowrap: India’s Real GDP is projected to grow at around 9.5% in FY22
The economic research team of the State Bank of India (SBI) released its Ecowrap report. In the report, SBI researchers have revised upwards the real GDP of India to around 9.5 percent in 2021-22 (FY22) on a year-on-year (YoY).
The report believes that though rising Covid infections could impact mobility, yet economic activity is not expected to get much affected.
RBI data: Forex reserves decline by USD 1.466 bn to USD 633.614 bn
As per the latest Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data, the foreign currency reserves of India declined by $1.466 billion to $633.614 billion, in the last week of 2021, which ended December 31, 2021.
Gold reserves rose by USD 14 million to USD 39.405 billion. India’s forex touched a lifetime high of USD 642.453 billion in the week ended September 03, 2021. Forex reserves include foreign currency assets (FCAs), gold reserves, SDRs, and the country’s reserve position with the IMF.
NSO projects the Indian economy to grow 9.2% in FY22
National Statistical Office (NSO) has estimated India’s GDP to grow at 9.2 percent in the current fiscal, 2021-22. NSO released its first advance estimates of economic output on January 07, 2022. The GDP estimate for 2020-21 fiscal was projected at a contraction of 7.3 percent by NSO.
In terms of figures, real GDP in 2021-22 is estimated at Rs. 147.54 lakh crore against the provisional estimate of GDP for the year 2020-21 at Rs 135.13 lakh crore.
Nominal GDP for 2021-22 is estimated at Rs. 232.15 lakh crore, as against the Provisional
Estimate of GDP for the year 2020-21 at Rs 197.46 lakh crore.
The fiscal deficit target likely to be achieved is 6.8%.
Business
Reliance acquires a controlling stake of 73.37% in New York’s Mandarin Oriental hotel
Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) has announced the acquisition of a controlling stake of 73.37% in Mandarin Oriental New York, a premium luxury hotel in midtown Manhattan.
RIL through its wholly-owned arm Reliance Industrial Investments and Holdings Limited has acquired the entire share capital of Cayman Islands-based Columbus Centre Corporation (Cayman), for an equity value of approximately $98.15 million (Rs 735 crore).
Cayman is the parent company of Mandarin Oriental hotel. It had indirect ownership of a 73.37 per cent stake in the hotel. Reliance will also take over the hotel’s debt in excess of $115 million to take the entire deal value to around $270. The transaction is anticipated to close by the end of March 2022.
Useful notes for all competitive exams:
- Reliance Industries Ltd CEO: Mukesh Ambani (31 Jul 2002–);
- Reliance Industries Ltd Founder: Dhirubhai Ambani;
- Reliance Industries Ltd Founded: 8 May 1973, Maharashtra;
- Reliance Industries Ltd Headquarters: Mumbai.
TCS bags phase 2 of Centre’s passport plan
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has signed an agreement with Tata Consultancy Services Limited (TCS) for the second phase of the Passport Seva Programme (PSP-V2.0).
TCS will be the service provider for the Passport Seva Project, which it has been for over 10 years. The PSP-V2.O envisages rolling out chip-enabled e-passports, increasing data security and ensuring the next level of customer experience with the use of biometrics, artificial intelligence, advanced data analytics and auto-response.
In the next phase of the programme, TCS will refresh existing facilities and systems, and develop new solutions to enable the issuance of e-passports using technologies such as biometrics, artificial intelligence, advanced data analytics, chatbots, auto-response, natural language processing, and the cloud.
Useful notes for all competitive exams:
- Tata Consultancy Services Limited CEO: Rajesh Gopinathan (21 Feb 2017–);
- Tata Consultancy Services Limited Founded: 1 April 1968;
- Tata Consultancy Services Limited Headquarters: Mumbai.
Awards
Satish Adiga gets ICMR national award “Dr Subhas Mukherjee Award”
A professor in the clinical embryology department at Kasturba Medical College (KMC), under Manipal Academy of Higher education (MAHE), Dr Satish Adiga has been selected by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) for its national award.
He will receive Dr Subhas Mukherjee Award from ICMR in recognition for his outstanding contribution to the field of in-vitro fertilization (IVF). He has contributed significantly to both clinical IVF and fertility research.
Forensic Science Laboratory won the SKOCH Award for combating crime against children
The Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) won SKOCH Award in the Silver category for its work towards combating Crime and Violence against Children. The award was given out at the 78 SKOCH Summit.
The “State of Governance” was the theme of the summit. Deepa Verma, the Director of the Rohini-based lab, has accepted the award on behalf of the lab.
FSL is a scientific department and a participant in the criminal justice system whose mission is to investigate incidents of crime and violence against children who have suffered physical, sexual, financial, or emotional harm.
Committees
Sudhir Kumar Saxena committee constituted to enquire security lapses during PM Punjab visit
Ministry of Home Affairs has constituted a committee to enquire into the serious lapses in the security arrangements during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Punjab. It is a three-member committee and will be headed by Sudhir Kumar Saxena, Secretary (Security), Cabinet Secretariat. It also comprises Balbir Singh, Joint Director, IB and Suresh, IG, SPG.
The committee has been asked to inquire about the alleged lapses in the security arrangements of PM Modi “which led to the exposure of the VVIP to grave risk” and submit the report at the earliest.
The move comes just ahead of the Supreme Court’s hearing on the PM’s security breach. It was the government’s own former ASG, Maninder Singh, who moved SC seeking an independent probe into the PM’s security breach. The court is slated to hear the matter on January 7.
Sports
World Rapid Chess Championship 2021 won by Nodirbek Abdusattorov
Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Uzbekistan), won the World Rapid Chess Championship 2021 by defeating Ian Nepomniachtchi (Russia) in a tiebreaker and dethroning Magnus Carlsen, the current World Number 1. 2020 FIDE Championship was won by Magnus Carlsen.
Nodirbek won the title along with a prize of $60,000, where he lost only one match against the Ukrainian Anton Korobov and tied in five others. The Uzbeki Grand Master (GM), received the Mard Uglon (“Brave Son”) Presidential medal.
LLC named Jhulan Goswami as Ambassador of All Women Match Official Team
Legends League Cricket (LLC) has appointed Jhulan Goswami as an ambassador to its All Women Match Official Team to promote Women’s Empowerment initiatives of the LLC and to increase participation of women in cricket.
The LLC set up an All Women Match Official Team for the League. This is the first of its all-women official teams that would officiate an entire men’s league. Legends League Cricket (LLC) is the professional cricket league for retired cricketers.
The inaugural session of LLC will be organized from January 20 2022 at Oman Cricket Stadium in Muscat, Oman. Legends League Cricket (LLC) 2022 teams: Indian Maharaja, Asian Lions, World Giants.