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CURRENT AFFAIRS: IMPORTANT DAYS

World Braille Day 2023: 4th January

• World Braille Day 2023 is observed on the 4th of January 2023.
• On World Braille Day 2023, Create awareness about the word Braille because many have not aware of its importance of Braille.
• On World Braille Day 2023, Give a Braille-written gift to a person who is blind or partially sighted.
• This present might be a book, a toy, or educational materials.

History:

• After its inventor, "Braille," the term was given. When Louis Braille was a young child, he inadvertently injured himself in the eye with his father's awl, which caused him to lose his vision.
• He spent time at the Royal Institute for Blind Youth in France starting at the age of 10 when he developed and improved the raised-dot technique that eventually became known as Braille.
• Braille finished his work by creating a code based on cells with six dots that allowed a fingertip to quickly go from one cell to the next while still feeling the full unit with one touch.
• Braille eventually gained acceptance as the primary method of written information for blind people on a global scale.
• Unfortunately, Braille was unable to witness the usefulness of his creation.
• Two years before the Royal Institute started teaching Braille, in 1852, he passed dead.
• The United Nations General Assembly recognized Braille as a wonderful tool that gave the blind and visually handicapped access to a wide range of opportunities (UNGA).
• The date January 4 was designated as World Braille Day in November 2018.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: INTERNATIONAL NEWS

International Year of Millets (IYM) 2023 kickstarts

• The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) declared 2023 as the International Year of Millets (IYM), a proposal sponsored by the Government of India (GoI) to promote these "Nutri-cereal"
• The declaration will be helpful to the Government of India in articulating its goal of making IYM 2023 a "People's Movement" as well as presenting India as the "Global Hub for Millets," as India produces one-fifth of the world's millets.

About Millets :

• Millets are a highly varied group of small-seeded grasses that are often referred to as “Nutri-cereals”.
• Millets’ were among the first crops to be domesticated in India with several evidence of their consumption during the Indus valley civilization.
• In India, millets are primarily a Kharif crop, requiring less water and agricultural inputs than other similar staples.
• The main millet-growing states in India are Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh.
• Millets are also an integral part of the G-20 meetings and delegates will be given a true millet experience through tasting, meeting farmers, and interactive sessions with start-ups and Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs).

Key Statistics :

• India is the largest producer of millet in the world.
• Currently, India is the fifth largest exporter of millets in the world, according to 2020 data with exports continuously increasing at around 3% Compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in the last five years ending with 2020.
• The global market for millets is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 4.5% during the forecast period, 2021-2026.
• India is the world leader in the production of millet with a share of around 41% of total world production in
• According to Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare data, India produces around 12 million MT of millet annually
• The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations organized the opening ceremony of the International Millet Year- 2023 on 6 December 2022 in Rome, Italy.
• Earlier in April 2018, millet was promoted as a "nutritional grain & after this, the year 2018 was declared the National Millet Year.
• The Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare sponsored a special "Millet Luncheon" for the Members of the Parliament in the Parliament House in preparation for the year-long celebration of IYM 2023.

Activities for the International Year of Millets :

• The ministry has planned 15 activities over 15 days in January 2023 which include engaging sports persons, nutritionists, and fitness experts through video messages.
• The Ministry of Food Processing Industries will be organizing Millet Fair-cum-exhibitions in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, and Madhya Pradesh, and the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) will hold Eat Right Melas in Punjab, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu.
• Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) and the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare will participate in the trade exhibition organized in Belgium in January 2023.

About Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare :

• Cabinet Minister: Narendra Singh Tomar
• Minister of State : Shobha Karandlaje
• Secretary: Shri Sanjay Agarwal

UNSC adopts first-ever resolution on Myanmar, demanding an end to violence and release of political prisoners

• The United Nations Security Council (UNSC ) has adopted its first-ever resolution on Myanmar in 74 years to demand an end to violence and urge the military junta to release all political prisoners, including ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
• Myanmar has been in crisis since the army took power from Suu Kyi's elected government on 1, 2021, detaining her and other officials.

Key Highlights :

• The 15-member council has long been split on how to deal with the Myanmar crisis with China and Russia arguing against strong action.
• The remaining 12 members voted in favour.
• The resolution urges the junta to immediately release all arbitrarily detained prisoners, including Suu Kyi and ex-president Win Myint.
• It also demands an immediate end to all forms of violence and asks for all parties to respect human rights, fundamental freedoms, and the rule of law.

About UNSC :

• Founded: 24 October 1945
• Headquarters: New York, United States
• India's permanent representative to the UN: Ruchira Kamboj (India’s first woman Permanent Representative to the UN)
• Membership: 15 countries  (Permanent members- China, France, Russia, United Kingdom, United States)
• Myanmar's UN Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun

CURRENT AFFAIRS: STATE NEWS

Assam Govt Grants Industry Status to the Tourism Sector in Assam

• The Assam Cabinet, chaired by Assam Chief Minister (CM) M Shri Himanta Biswa Sarma, approved the application for the provision of Industrial status to the tourist sector in
• The newly-implemented policy aims for sustainable and environmentally friendly investment besides capital formation and the creation of gainful employment.

Key Highlights :

• Restaurants, cafeterias, health clubs, spas, and wellness centres among others are now eligible for subsidies under the industrial strategy as a result of the tourism industry being given industry status.
• This action will further support and stimulate private investment in the aforementioned tourism-related industries.
• The ministry also stated that the region’s overall development might be aided by the development of the infrastructure through Public Private Partnership (PPP) models.

 About Assam :

• Governor : Jagdish Mukhi
• Chief minister: Himanta Biswa Sarma
• Capital: Dispur
• National Park: Kaziranga National Park, Manas National Park, Raimona National Park, Nameri National Park
• Wildlife Sanctuaries: Amsang Wildlife Sanctuary, Nambor Wildlife Sanctuary, Sonai Rupai Wildlife Sanctuary
• Airports: Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport, Dibrugarh Airport, India, Tezpur Airport

Tripura signs Rs 2,275 crore agreement with ADB to improve power distribution network 

• Tripura government has signed an agreement for an Asian Development Bank (ADB)-assisted project of Rs 2,275 crore (US $275 million) for the Improvement of Tripura’s Power Distribution Strengthening and Generation Efficiency.
• The Project agreement was signed between Brijesh Pandey, Secretary of the Power Department on behalf of the Government of Tripura, and Nilaya Mitash, Officer-in-Charge of ADB's India Resident Mission.
• This was the highest investment package in the power sector of Tripura so far, and also the biggest single project in the history of Tripura in any infrastructure sector.
• The project will be implemented in the next 3 years.
• The ADB project will support the state government’s efforts to strengthen its power sector by replacing inefficient power plants and strengthening the distribution system.

About the Project :

• The project would have an Rs 1820 crore loan from ADB and Rs 455 crore of direct investment by the State government to improve energy security, quality of supply, efficiency, and resilience of the power sector in Tripura.
• Under this project, Rokhia's existing 63 MW (3X21 MW) Open Cycle power project with a 120 MW Combined Cycle power project would reduce greenhouse gas emissions through fuel saving.
• The government will undertake the massive renovation of two power projects - Rukhia in the Sepahijala district and Gumati Hydro project in the Gomati district.
• Currently, the northeastern state generates 84 MW of power out of the state per day demand of 450/460 MW. 
• It receives around 500 MW of power from ONGC Tripura Power Company Limited (OTPC), NEEPCO (North Eastern Electric Power Corporation Limited), and other central PSUs (Public Sector Undertakings). 
• It also includes the installation of 1,50,000 smart meters, 582 16 KVA, and 547 25-KVA distribution transformers. 
• It would support at least 15 selected women’s self-help groups (SHGs).
• The Tripura government is implementing result-based reform linked RDSS Scheme to improve the operational and financial viability of the Corporation at an investment of Rs 800 Cr.
• Under this Scheme, 5.47 lakh Smart and Prepaid Metres would be installed on Consumer premises.
• In addition, 8720 km LT Aerial Bunched (AB) Cable and 830 Distribution Transformers (DTs) would also be installed.

About Tripura :

• Governor : Satyadev Narayan Arya
• Chief Minister : Manik Saha
• Capital : Agartala
• Wildlife Sanctuaries: Gumti Wildlife Sanctuary, Rowa Wildlife Sanctuary, Sepahijala Wildlife Sanctuary
• Tribes : Tripura/Tripuri, Riang, Jamatia, Noatia, Uchai

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BANKING & FINANCE

ADB grants $100 million to Shriram Finance for vehicle loans to women entrepreneurs

• Multilateral funding agency Asian Development Bank (ADB) has sanctioned USD 100 million (about `830 crore) to Shriram Finance Limited (SFL), a part of Shriram Group to provide vehicle loans to women entrepreneurs.
• The USD 100 million External Commercial Borrowing (ECB) is a 5-year loan and is under SFL’s Social Finance framework to provide credit towards the purchase of new and used vehicles throughout India.
• The loan can be used for vehicle finance for commercial purposes for BS VI-compliant vehicles and electric vehicles, specifically, finance women entrepreneurs, catering to under-developed states of the country.
• It will empower and promote the social and economic status of underserved communities.
• Besides the ADB loan, SFL has also successfully raised $250 million from US Development Finance Corporation and $ 475 million through a 144A Bond from the international market in 2022.

About ADB :

• Founded : 19 December 1966
• Headquarters : Mandaluyong, Philippines
• President : Masatsugu Asakawa
• Membership :  68 members

About SFL :

• Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
• Chairman: Jugal Kishore Mohapatra

Tata AIA Life introduces Emerging Opportunities Fund with Ulips

• Tata AIA Life Insurance has launched Emerging Opportunity Fund, and ULIP plans (Unit Linked Insurance Plans) which can spend money on mid-cap firms and rising market leaders with the potential to generate important future development.
• The purposes for ULIP plans with the New Fund Offering (NFO) window will stay open until 31 December 2022.

Key Highlights :

• Investments within the Fund might be made using Tata AIA’s ULIP choices like Fortune Pro, Wealth Pro, Fortune Maxima, and Wealth Maxima. 
• The Fund may also be hooked up to Tata AIA’s Param Rakshak Solutions.
• The fund can make investments as much as 30% of the portfolio in fairness and fairness-associated devices falling outdoors the mid-cap range.

About Tata AIA Life Insurance :

• Commenced Operation: 2001
• Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
• MD & CEO : Naveen Tahilyani
• Tata AIA Life Insurance Company (Tata AIA Life) is a Joint Venture (JV) between Tata Sons and AIA Group Limited (AIA).

CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL NEWS

Coffee exports from India up by nearly 2% to 400,000 tonnes in 2022

• Coffee shipments from India, Asia's third-largest producer and exporter, rose 1.66 percent to 4 lakh tonne in 2022 on the rise in instant coffee exports and re-exports, according to the Coffee Board.
• Exports stood at 3.93 lakh tonnes in 2021.
• In value terms, coffee export was higher at Rs 8,762.47 crore in 2022 as against Rs 6,984.67 crore in the previous year.
• India ships both Robusta and Arabica varieties, besides instant coffee.
• According to the Board's latest data, the shipment of Robusta coffee declined marginally to 2,20,974 tonnes in 2022 from 2,20,997 tonnes in the previous year.
• Similarly, export of Arabica fell 11.43 percent to 44,542 tonnes from 50,292 tonnes.
• However, the export of instant coffee increased 16.73 percent to 35,810 tonnes in 2022 from 29,819 tonnes in the previous year.
• Italy, Germany, and Russia are the major export destinations for Indian coffee.
• Some of the major exporting companies are CCL Products India, Tata Coffee, ITC Ltd, Olam Agro, Vidya Herbs, and Sucden Coffee India.
• Coffee production is pegged higher at 3,93,400 tonnes for the 2022-23 crop year (October-September), as against the final output of 3,42,000 tonnes achieved last year.

'SMART' program launched to boost R&D in Ayurveda:

• A special government initiative aimed to boost scientific research in healthcare areas through Ayurveda colleges and hospitals was launched.
• The Scope for Mainstreaming Ayurveda Research in Teaching Professionals (SMART) program was launched by the National Commission for Indian System of Medicine and the Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences, the two prominent institutions under the Ayush Ministry.
• The program was launched on Monday by Vaidya Jayant Deopujari, Chairman, of NCISM, and Professor Rabinarayan Acharya, Director General, CCRAS in the presence of Prof. B S Prasad, President of the Board of Ayurveda, NCISM, and other senior officials.
• The 'SMART' program will have a deep long-term rejuvenating impact on research in the field of Ayurveda and it will be a great service to the nation.

The government will launch a Digital India Innovation Fund:

• The government will launch a Digital India Innovation Fund which will support deep tech startups.
• Deep technology (deep tech) or hard tech is a classification of organization, or more typically startup company, with the expressed objective of providing technology solutions based on substantial scientific or engineering challenges.
• India had over 3,000 deep-tech start-ups, dabbling in new-age technologies like Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning (ML), the Internet of Things, Big Data, quantum computing, robotics, etc., at the end of 2021.
• India’s deep-tech ecosystem has grown 53% in the last decade and is now at par with that in developed economies like the US, China, Israel, and Europe.
• From drone delivery and cold chain management to climate action and clean energy, deep-tech start-ups are making their presence felt across sectors.
• Bengaluru accounts for 25-30% of India’s deep-tech start-ups, followed by Delhi-NCR (15-20%) and Mumbai (10-12%).
• Overall, the share of deep-tech start-ups in India’s overall entrepreneurial ecosystem stands at 12% now.

Women workers participating in the MGNREGS have touched a ten-year high in the ongoing financial year:

• The proportion of women workers participating in the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) has touched a ten-year high in the ongoing financial year.
• According to the latest statistics, 57.8% of the workers who used the scheme this year were women, their highest level of participation since 2012-13.
• Out of the 15 States (Kerala, Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, Odisha, Jharkhand, Assam, Gujarat, and Uttar Pradesh) being surveyed, 14 States reported an upward trend in women’s participation except for Kerala.
• The drop in Kerala is miniscule.
• For the last five years, in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, women’s share in the MGNREGA workforce has been hovering between 85-90%.
• The proportion of women workers in Bihar grew 3.7 percentage points this year, while UP saw a 3.3 percentage point hike.
• Despite this, U.P. has participation in MGNREGS at around 37%.
• The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), also known as Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MNREGS) is Indian legislation enacted on August 25, 2005.
• The MGNREGA provides a legal guarantee for one hundred days of employment in every financial year to adult members of any rural household willing to do public work-related unskilled manual work at the statutory minimum wage.
• The Ministry of Rural Development (MRD), Govt of India is monitoring the entire implementation of this scheme in association with state governments.

Central government offices are expected to go fully digital by the end of February 2023:

• As most Central government offices are expected to go fully digital by the end of February 2023, several security measures have been put in place to avoid any cybersecurity incidents such as the recent cyber and ransomware attack at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi.
• E-Office is designed and developed by National Informatics Centre, Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MEITY).
• E-Office is a cloud-enabled software that can be deployed/hosted in any data centre or any cloud identified by the organization.
• The NIC team shall help the organization set up the e-Office environment, master data preparation, and initial rollout.

About e-Office:

• The e-Office aims to support Governance by ushering in more effective and transparent inter and Intra-Government processes.
• The vision of the e-Office is to achieve a simplified, responsive, effective, and transparent working of all Government Offices.
• The Open Architecture on which e-Office has been built makes it a reusable framework and a standard reusable product amenable to replication across the Governments, at the Central, State, and District levels.
• e-office is for unclassified files with two-factor authentication and is not available on the Internet but on NICNET.
• It has mandatory features for the authentication of documents with digitally signed certificates and e-signatures.
• So far, 74 ministries and departments have migrated to e-office version 7.0.
• CERT-In is an organization of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India, to secure Indian cyberspace.

India's unemployment rate rose to the highest in 16 months at 8.30 percent in December:

• India's unemployment rate rose to 8.30 percent in December, the highest in 16 months, from 8 percent in the previous month, data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE).
• The urban unemployment rate rose to 10.09 percent in December from 8.96 percent in the previous month, while the rural unemployment rate slipped to 7.44 percent from 7.55 percent, the data showed.

About CMIE:

• The Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) is an independent private limited entity that serves both as an economic think-tank as well as a business information company.
• Headquarters- Mumbai, India, Chairman- Mahesh Vyas.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva sworn in as the 39th president of Brazil

• Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has been sworn in as the 39th president of Brazil in a ceremony held in the National Congress in Brasília, Brazil following the 2022 Brazilian general election 
• He was sworn in as President of Brazil for the 3rd time after defeating Jair Bolsonaro (Incumbent President of Brazil from 2019 to 2022).
• Meanwhile, Geraldo Alckmin was sworn in as the 26th Vice President of Brazil.

Note :

• Lula is the first Brazilian president to have been elected to a third term in office and the first to have defeated an incumbent president in an election.

About Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva :

• Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is known mononymously as Lula.
• He is a Brazilian politician, trade unionist, and former metalworker.
• He was first elected as president of Brazil in 2002.
• Again he was re-elected for a second term as president of Brazil in 2006 which ended in 2011.

About Brazil :

• Capital: Brasília
• Currency: Real
• It is the largest country in South America.
• It is the fifth-largest country in the world by area.

Tata Sons chairman Mr. N Chandrasekaran to head Maharashtra government advisory council 

• The Maharashtra government has appointed Tata Sons Chairman Mr. N Chandrasekaran as the head of the new Economic Advisory Council of Maharashtra.
• This was announced by the deputy chief minister Shri Devendra Fadnavis in the Maharashtra Legislative Council in Nagpur, Maharashtra.
• The state government is forming an Economic Advisory Council to make Maharashtra a trillion-dollar economy.
• It will function as a private research organization with a focus on issues related to agriculture, banking, engineering, and education.
• The state government will also focus on certain 'aspirational' regions to increase the state's human development index.
• Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has set a target of India becoming a $5 trillion economy by 2024-25

About  Mr N Chandrasekaran :

• In October 2016, Mr. Chandrasekaran joined the Tata Sons board & in January 2017, he was promoted to the post of chairman.
• He was also the chairman of Tata Motors and Tata Global Beverages (TGB).
• He became the first non-Parsi to lead the companies in the Tata Group.
• He is also the chairman of Air India after the airline was acquired by the Tata Group earlier in 2022.
• In December 2022 Mr. Chandrasekaran was also appointed as the Chair of B20 India to lead the trade agenda during India's G20 presidency.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: DEFENCE NEWS

Defence Ministry begins Process To Buy 100 More K-9 Vajra self-propelled Howitzers

• The Defence Ministry has started the process for the procurement of 100 more K9-Vajra tracked self-propelled howitzers which are built in India by Larsen & Toubro (L&T) using technology transferred from South Korean defense major Hanwha Defense.
• The 100th gun was delivered to the Army in February 2021, the contract for which was signed in May 2017.

About K-9 Vajra :

• The K9 Vajra is a 155 mm, 52-calibre tracked self-propelled howitzer (a short gun for firing shells on high trajectories at low velocities) transferred from South Korean defense major Hanwha Defense based on its K9 Thunder.
• The K9 gun has been developed under the ‘Buy Global’ program of the Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP) where foreign companies are allowed to participate.
• The K9 Vajra was mainly bought for use in deserts, but the India-China standoff prompted them to be deployed in the mountains as well.
• At the height of tensions in eastern Ladakh in 2020, the Army deployed one regiment of K-9 Vajra-tracked self-propelled howitzers there to augment its long-range firepower in the backdrop of a massive build-up of forces by China across the Line of Actual Control

About howitzer :

• A howitzer is a long-ranged weapon, falling between a cannon (also known as an artillery gun in the United States), which fires shells at flat trajectories, and a mortar, which fires at high angles of ascent and descent.

Other howitzers being used in the Indian Army :

• Dhanush, K-9 Vajra and M777 Ultra Light Howitzers 

About L&T :

• Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
• Chairman : Anil Manibhai Naik
• MD & CEO : S. N. Subrahmanyan

CURRENT AFFAIRS: AWARDS AND HONOURS

Riafy Technologies app won Google Play’s Best of 2022 Award:

• The outgoing year gifted Riafy Technologies with a milestone achievement, as users chose the company’s novel app as their ‘favorite’, finding ‘Dance Workout for Weight Loss’ among Google Play’s Best of 2022 Awards.
• The app provides original and customized ways to support people in maintaining their physical and mental fitness.
• Riafy is being incubated under Kerala Startup Mission, the nodal agency of the government for entrepreneurship development and incubation activities in the State.
• The app, available in 11 languages, is used by lakhs of users in 176 countries. With the ‘pandemic pounds’ phenomenon, several individuals suffered from acute weight problems and associated health issues, unable to access fitness regimes.
• The award, which was announced in September at the Google Developer summit in Bengaluru, was given over to the company at the Global Huddle meet in Thiruvananthapuram recently.
• Company’s Co-founder and CEO John Mathew.
• The company was the first Indian developer to be featured at Google I/O, the world’s largest Android conference (2015), and has since been showcased for four consecutive years.
• Riafy’s consumer-end products are used by 45 million people in 160 countries and 27 global languages.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: MOUS AND AGREEMENT

India and Austria will sign five agreements:

• India and Austria will sign five agreements on January 2023.
• One of these five agreements is an agreement on 'migration and mobility'.
• India will sign a “Comprehensive Migration and Mobility Partnership Agreement” (MMPA) with Austria on January 2023.
• The second agreement is on the ‘Working Holiday’ program.
• This will enable Indian students in Austria to work for 6 months.
• The agreement on migration and mobility will benefit students, academics, professionals, and business people in Austria.
• External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar is on a trip to Cyprus and Austria.
• This is the first trip to Austria by an Indian Foreign Minister in 27 years.
• Jaishankar and Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg also held a meeting with the Foreign Ministers of Czech and Slovakia, under the “Slavkov” trilateral format for the Central European countries.
• Its capital is Vienna and its currency is Euro.

Tripura government has signed an agreement for an ADB-assisted project of Rs 2,275 crores:

• Tripura government has signed an agreement for an ADB-assisted project of Rs 2,275 crore (US $275 million) for the Improvement of Tripura's Power Distribution Strengthening and Generation Efficiency.
• The project would have an Rs 1820 crore loan from ADB and Rs 455 crore of direct investment by the State government to improve energy security, quality of supply, efficiency, and resilience of the power sector in Tripura.
• The existing 63 MW (3X21 MW) Open Cycle power project with a 120 MW Combined Cycle power project in Rukhia in the Sepahijala district would reduce greenhouse gas emissions after the improvement of the generation infrastructure.
• The State government is implementing result-based reform linked RDSS Scheme to improve the operational and financial viability of the Corporation at an investment of Rs 800 Cr.
• Under this Scheme, 5.47 lakh Smart and Prepaid Meters would be installed on Consumer premises.
• In addition, 8720 km LT Aerial Bunched (AB) Cable and 830 Distribution Transformers (DTs) would also be installed.
• The efficiency of the Gomti Hydel Power Project would be increased through its modernization.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: SPORTS NEWS

Magnus Carlsen wins all three-world chess championships:

• Magnus Carlsen wins all three world chess championship titles and he has won all three world chess championship titles for the third time in his career.
• He achieved this feat by winning both the World Rapid and World Blitz chess titles in Almaty.
• No other player has ever won the Rapid and Blitz titles in the same year.
• Carlsen won the World Classical Championship in November 2021 by defeating grandmaster Ian Nepomniachtchi.
• According to the International Chess Federation, his 2882 rating in 2014 is the highest in the history of chess.
• He has currently a 2859 rating in classic and a 2839 rating in rapid.
• Carlsen became the youngest person to be ranked number one in the world in 2010.
• Gambit, move, Stalemate, Check, Grandmaster, and Castling are some important terms related to Chess.

About FIDE (International Chess Federation or World Chess Federation):

• President: Arkady Dvorkovich
• Headquarters: Lausanne, Switzerland
• Founded: 20 July 1924, Paris, France
• Membership: 200 national associations

CURRENT AFFAIRS: OBITUARIES

Former Tata Sons director RK Krishnakumar passed away 

• Tata Group veteran and former Tata Sons director Rayaroth Kuttambally Krishna Kumar passed away at the age of 84 in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.

About RK Krishnakumar :

• Krishna Kumar was born in Thalassery, Kerala.
• He joined Tata Administrative Services in 1963.
• In 1965, he was transferred to Tata Global Beverages, then known as Tata Finlay, and worked through the re-branding of the company as Tata Tea, to become the vice president of South India Plantations in
• In 1997, he was appointed as the head of the division of Indian Hotels Company (IHCL), which owns the Taj Group of hotels.
• In 2002, he was appointed to the board of Tata Sons, the investment holding company of Tata Group.
• In 2007, he joined Sir Dorabji Tata Trust & then in 2009 he joined RNT Associates, the investment company of then-chairman Ratan N Tata.
• He retired as a board member of Tata Sons in
• He was a close associate of Tata Sons Chairman Emeritus Ratan Tata and was involved in Tata group's charitable trusts that hold a 66% stake in Tata Sons.

Awards & Honors :

• In 2009, Krishnakumar was awarded the Padma Shri, the fourth-highest civilian award by the Indian government, for his contributions to Indian Trade and industry.

Daily CA on January 4:

• World Braille Day 2023 is observed on the 4th of January 2023.
• Coffee shipments from India, Asia's third-largest producer and exporter, rose 1.66 percent to 4 lakh tonne in 2022 on the rise in instant coffee exports and re-exports, according to the Coffee Board.
• A special government initiative aimed to boost scientific research in healthcare areas through Ayurveda colleges and hospitals was launched.
• The government will launch a Digital India Innovation Fund which will support deep tech startups.
• The proportion of women workers participating in the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) has touched a ten-year high in the ongoing financial year.
• As most Central government offices are expected to go fully digital by the end of February 2023, several security measures have been put in place to avoid any cybersecurity incidents such as the recent cyber and ransomware attack at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi.
• India's unemployment rate rose to 8.30 percent in December, the highest in 16 months, from 8 percent in the previous month, data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE).
• The outgoing year gifted Riafy Technologies with a milestone achievement, as users chose the company’s novel app as their ‘favourite’, finding ‘Dance Workout for Weight Loss’ among Google Play’s Best of 2022 Awards.
• India and Austria will sign five agreements on January 2023.
• Tripura government has signed an agreement for an ADB-assisted project of Rs 2,275 crore (US $275 million) for the Improvement of Tripura's Power Distribution Strengthening and Generation Efficiency.
• Magnus Carlsen wins all three world chess championship titles and he has won all three world chess championship titles for the third time in his career.
• The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) declared 2023 as the International Year of Millets (IYM), a proposal sponsored by the Government of India (GoI) to promote these "Nutri-cereal"
• The United Nations Security Council (UNSC ) has adopted its first-ever resolution on Myanmar in 74 years to demand an end to violence and urge the military junta to release all political prisoners, including ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
• The Assam Cabinet, chaired by Assam Chief Minister (CM) M Shri Himanta Biswa Sarma, approved the application for the provision of Industrial status to the tourist sector in
• Tripura government has signed an agreement for an Asian Development Bank (ADB)-assisted project of Rs 2,275 crore (US $275 million) for the Improvement of Tripura’s Power Distribution Strengthening and Generation Efficiency.
• Multilateral funding agency Asian Development Bank (ADB) has sanctioned USD 100 million (about `830 crore) to Shriram Finance Limited (SFL), a part of Shriram Group to provide vehicle loans to women entrepreneurs.
• Tata AIA Life Insurance has launched Emerging Opportunity Fund, and ULIP plans (Unit Linked Insurance Plans) which can spend money on mid-cap firms and rising market leaders with the potential to generate important future development.
• Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has been sworn in as the 39th president of Brazil in a ceremony held in the National Congress in Brasília, Brazil following the 2022 Brazilian general election 
• The Maharashtra government has appointed Tata Sons Chairman Mr. N Chandrasekaran as the head of the new Economic Advisory Council of Maharashtra.
• The Defence Ministry has started the process for the procurement of 100 more K9-Vajra tracked self-propelled howitzers which are built in India by Larsen & Toubro (L&T) using technology transferred from South Korean defence major Hanwha Defense.
• Tata Group veteran and former Tata Sons director Rayaroth Kuttambally Krishna Kumar passed away at the age of 84 in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.