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CURRENT AFFAIRS: IMPORTANT DAYS

Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2023 Or NRI Day: 9th January

• NRI Day 2023 or Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2023 is observed on the 9th of January 2023.
• NRI Day 2023 or Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2023 theme set by the Ministry of External Affairs this year is “Diaspora: Reliable Partners for India's Progress in Amrit Kaal”.
• It was in 2000 when the Indian government decided to recognize the NRI community on January 9th by observing Pravasi Bharatiya Divas.
• Mahatma Gandhi returned to India on January 9, 1915, from South Africa, which gives the ninth of January its significance as NRI Day.
• Despite being formally established in 2000, this day wasn't observed until 2003.
• The idea for NRI Day originated with Indian lawyer, diplomat, and author L.M. Singhvi.
• The day was then formally declared on January 9, 2002, by Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the country's then-prime minister.
• On 9th January 2006, the concept of OCI (Overseas Citizen of India) was introduced on Pravasi Bharatiya Divas.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL NEWS

Fifty ASI-protected monuments ‘missing’: Ministry of Culture

• The Ministry of Culture in its latest submission at the Parliament revealed that as many as 50 centrally protected monuments under the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) are untraceable or missing.
• The submission was made on December 8 to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism, and Culture as part of a report titled ‘Issues relating to Untraceable Monuments and Protection of Monuments in India’.
• According to the submission, 11 monuments are missing from the state of Uttar Pradesh, two from Delhi and Haryana, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan each, and one from Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, West Bengal, Uttarakhand, and Madhya Pradesh each.
• These monuments have either been lost in urbanization or submerged by reservoirs and dams while others are untraceable, said the submission.
• The Parliamentary Committee noted that “out of the 92 monuments declared as missing by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), 42 have been identified due to efforts made by the ASI”, but from the remaining list of 50 monuments.

Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar inaugurates three-day ‘North East Krishi Kumbha-2023’:

• In Meghalaya, Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar has inaugurated the three-day ‘North East Krishi Kumbha-2023’ and took part in the 49th Foundation Day celebration of the ICAR Research Complex for NEH Region, Umiam.
• The Minister also inaugurated the administrative cum academic block office and Girl's Hostel of the College of Agriculture at Kyrdemkulai, Ri Bhoi district.
• The farmers and farming should always be treated with honour.
• The highlights of the North East Krishi Kumbha -2023 included live demonstrations and an exhibition of recent technologies through 102 stalls, by the host institute and its regional centres along with all the ICAR institutes.
• K Moses Chalai, Secretary, North Eastern Council, Dr. B C Deka, VC AAU, Jorhat, Dr. Anupam Mishra, VC, CAU, Imphal, Dr. S K Chaudhuri, Director ICAR, NEH Region and senior officials of Centre and State Government were present during the program.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: STATE NEWS

World's First Palm-Leaf Manuscript Museum opens in Kerala's Thiruvananthapuram

• Kerala Chief Minister, Pinarayi Vijayan, has opened a Palm leaf Manuscript Museum featuring modern audio-visual technology at the Central Archives in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.
• The museum, which is being promoted as the "World's First Palm-Leaf Manuscript Museum," was created by the Archives Department in partnership with the Kerala Museum of History and Heritage at INR 3 crore (about $420,000).

About the Palm Leaf Manuscript Museum : 

• The museum contains a collection of administrative, socio-cultural, and economic records from the Travancore kingdom, which lasted for 650 years until the end of the 19th century.
• It features 8 theme-based galleries, including

1. History of Writing
2. Land and People
3. Administration
4. War and Peace
5. Education and Health
6. Economy
7. Art and Culture
8. Mathilakam Records

• The museum stores 187 manuscripts from the 6th century to the 19th century.
• It is housed in a 6,000-square-foot space provided by the Kerala government's agency for museums, the Keralam–Museum of History and Heritage.

About Kerala : 

• Governor: Arif Mohammad Khan
• Chief minister: Pinarayi Vijayan
• Capital: Thiruvananthapuram
• National Park: Eravikulam National Park, Silent Valley National Park
• Wildlife Sanctuaries: Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary, Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary, Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary, Idukki Wildlife Sanctuary

Indian Army inks pact with Assam govt for treatment of ex-servicemen at medical colleges

• The Indian Army signed an agreement with the Government of Assam to offer the Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS) at 8 medical colleges and hospitals in Assam.
• The Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare has approved the empanelment of government medical colleges in Assam with the ECHS.
• The ECHS benefits will be offered at the medical college and hospitals in Guwahati, Dibrugarh, Silchar, Jorhat, Barpeta, Tezpur, Diphu, and North Lakhimpur.
• It will facilitate the cashless and capless treatment of almost12 lakh beneficiaries.
• The agreements were inked in presence of Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Eastern Command Lt Gen RP Kalita.
• The Assam Cancer Care Foundation (ACCF), which is an Assam government and TATA Trust initiative, has also been impanelled with ECHS.

About the Indian Army : 

• Headquarters: New Delhi, Delhi
• Chief of Defence Staff: General Anil Chauhan
• Chief of the Army Staff: General Manoj Pande

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

Centre approves Rs 28.11 cr for AP tobacco farmers affected by Cyclone Mandous

• Union Commerce and Industry Minister Shri Piyush Goyal have approved Rs 28.11 crore to provide immediate relief to over 28,000 Flue Cured Virginia (FCV) Tobacco farmers affected by Cyclone Mandous in Andhra Pradesh (AP).
• A special interest-free loan of Rs 10,000 to each member of the Tobacco Board's Grower Welfare Schemes under southern regions.
• The move will benefit 28,112 farmers under the Southern Regions (Southern Light Soil and Southern Black Soil) of
• The interest-free loan to eligible FCV tobacco farmers will be administered by the Tobacco Board, a statutory body under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

About FCV Tobacco : 

• FCV tobacco is a major commercial crop grown in 10 districts of Andhra Pradesh with an annual production of 121 million kg (2021-22) in an area of 66,000 hectares.
• Of the total unmanufactured tobacco exports (excluding tobacco waste) during FY 2021-22, FCV tobacco exports constituted 53.62% in volume terms and 68.47% in value terms.

About Cyclone Mandous : 

• The name of Mandous has been suggested by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in 2020 as a member of the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO).
• Mandous has been categorized as a ‘Severe Cyclonic Storm’.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BANKING & FINANCE

RBI launches Utkarsh 2.0 for the period 2023-2025

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das has launched Utkarsh 2.0, the second phase of its medium-term strategic framework for the period 2023-2025.

About Utkarsh 2.0 :

• “Utkarsh 2.0 builds on the strengths of Utkarsh 2022, retaining the 6 vision statements along with the core purpose, values ​​, and mission statement.

6 vision statements of Utkarsh 2.0 :

1. Excellence in the performance of its statutory and other functions
2. The 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
6. Innovative, dynamic, and skilled human resources.

About Utkarsh : 

• 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 toward the realization of the identified milestones

Issues related to cards, net banking top complaint areas at OBO - RBI report

• According to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Report, issues related to Automated Teller Machine (ATM)/debit cards and mobile/electronic banking were the top grounds of complaints received at the Office of Banking Ombudsman (OBO) from April 1 to November 11, 2021.

Key Highlights : 

• The volume of complaints received under the Ombudsman Schemes/Consumer Education and Protection Cells during 2021-22 increased by 39% over the previous year and stood at 4,18,184
• Of these, 3,04,496 complaints were handled by the 22 Offices of RBI Ombudsman (ORBIOs), including the complaints received under the three erstwhile Ombudsman Schemes till November 11, 2021.
• Complaints related to ATM/ debit cards were the highest at 14.65% of the total, followed by mobile/ electronic banking at 13.64%.
• The rate of disposal of complaints by ombudsmen improved to 97.97% in 2021-22 from 96.59% in 2020-21.
• The coverage of RBIOS was extended to include the non-scheduled Urban Cooperative Banks (UCBs) with a deposit size of Rs 50 crore or above as at the end of the previous Financial Year.
• Credit Information Companies (CICs) were brought under RBI-IOS with effect from September 1, 2022.
• Between November 12 and March 31, 2022, a total of 1,86,268 complaints were received under the RBI-OS.

About RBI :

• Established: 1 April 1935
• Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
• Governor : Shaktikanta Das
• Deputy governors: Mahesh Kumar Jain, M. Rajeshwar Rao, Michael Patra, and T. Rabi Shankar

Axis Bank partners with OPEN to launch a fully digital current account

• India’s third largest private sector bank, Axis Bank, has partnered with the world’s fastest-growing digital banking enterprise, Open Financial Technologies Pvt Ltd (OPEN), to provide a fully native digital current account journey for its customers 
• Small & Medium Enterprises (SMEs), freelancers, homepreneurs, influencers, and more would benefit from the fully digital current account.
• This is Axis Bank’s first-ever partnership with a fintech player to launch a fully digital current account.

Key Highlights : 

• The current account holders will get access to Axis bank's over 250 banking services along with OPEN’s financial automation tools for business management including payments, accounting, payroll, compliance, expense management, and other such services.
• The authentication process of the digital current account will be completely online using PAN (permanent account number) and Aadhaar followed by a Video KYC (know your customer).

About OPEN : 

• Founded: 2017
• Headquarters: Bangalore, Karnataka, India
• Co-founder and chief executive officer: Anish Achuthan
• It operates SME neo-banking platform Open Money, the embedded finance platform, Zwitch, and the enterprise digital banking platform for banks, BankingStack.
• The 100th Unicorn from India, Open is backed by leading global investors like IIFL Finance, Temasek, Google, Visa, and Tiger Global, amongst others.

About Axis Bank : 

• Founded : 3 December 1993
• Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
• MD & CEO: Amitabh Chaudhry

SEBI allows reclassifying govt holding in IDBI Bank as 'public' after-sale

• Capital markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has allowed the central government’s request to reclassify its shareholding in IDBI Bank after its disinvestment as a “public holding”
• This is subject to the condition that the government’s voting rights in the bank will not exceed 15% of the total voting rights after the sale.

Key Highlights : 

• After disinvestment, the bank must make an application to the stock exchanges for reclassification of the government holding under the public category.
• The new acquirer must ensure compliance with the minimum public shareholding (MPS) requirements within one year of the sale.
• Now, the government and state-owned Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) hold a little over 94% of IDBI Bank and are classified as its co-promoters.
• While the government holds a 45.48% stake, LIC holds around 49.24%, and the remaining 5.28% is public shareholding.
• The government is selling a 30.48% stake in the bank, while LIC will sell 30.24%.
• After the sale, the government will be left with 15% and LIC will have a little over 19% stake in the bank.

About SEBI : 

• Established: on 12 April 1988 as an executive body and was given statutory powers on 30 January 1992 through the SEBI Act, 1992
• Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra
• Chairman: Madhabi Puri Buch
• The SEBI is the regulatory body for securities and commodity markets in India under the ownership of the Ministry of Finance within the GoI.

Annapurna Finance Pvt applies for a universal bank license

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has received an application from Odisha-based 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.
• The microfinance institution was the only entity to apply for a universal bank license during the quarter that ended on December 31, 2022.
• As per the RBI’s ‘on tap’ licensing guidelines, the initial minimum paid-up voting equity capital for a universal bank should be Rs 500 crore.
• In May 2022, the RBI rejected 4 applications it had received for setting-up universal banks.
• The applicants rejected were UAE Exchange and Financial Services Ltd, Repatriates Cooperative Finance and Development Bank Ltd (REPCO Bank), Chaitanya India Fin Credit Pvt Ltd, Pankaj Vaish, and others.
• In 2021, the RBI announced a 5-member Standing External Advisory Committee, headed by former RBI deputy governor Shyamala Gopinath, for evaluating applications for universal banks and small finance banks.

SEBI issues debt broker license to Zerodha-backed GoldenPi Technologies

• The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has issued a debt broker license to Bengaluru-based fintech firm GoldenPi Technologies.
• With this, GoldenPi became the first online bond platform provider to receive a debt brokerage license from SEBI.
• In Nov 2022, SEBI introduced regulations for online debt trading platforms which stated that no company or individual shall act as an online bond platform provider (OBP) without the certificate of registration as a stock broker under the SEBI Regulations, 2021.

About GoldenPi Technologies : 

• Founded: 2017
• CEO and co-founder: Abhijit Roy
• Currently, the Zerodha-backed company offers more than 100+ bonds and debentures on its online platform in the form of daily listings.
• It has more than 3.7 lakh active users on its platform, investing in corporate bonds, Non-Convertible Debentures (NCD), Initial Public Offerings (IPOs), and other fixed-income assets.

SEBI extends relaxation on dispatching hard copies of financial statements

• The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) extended the relaxation to listed companies from dispatching physical copies of financial statements till September 30, 2023.
• Earlier, the regulator had given similar relaxations to listed companies till December 2022.

Key Highlights : 

• The Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements (LODR) rules require listed companies to dispatch a hard copy of the statement containing salient features of all the documents - financial statements, board's report, and auditor's report to those shareholders who have not registered their email addresses.
• The listed entities are required to send hard copies of full annual reports to those shareholders who request the same.
• Separately, the SEBI has eased the rules for entities, which listed their non-convertible securities, from dispatching hard copies of annual reports to debenture holders.

Dhanlaxmi Bank launches retail internet banking services DhanDelight & mobile banking app DhanSmart 

• Dhanlaxmi Bank has launched all new retail internet banking DhanDelight and the retail mobile banking app DhanSmart.
• The new services are built on an omnichannel platform having various features covering different banking needs of customers.
• DhanDelight and DhanSmart have the latest information system security features to provide secure banking.

About DhanDelight : 

• The latest UI (User Interface) and UX (User Experience) provide a refreshing user experience and will enable customers to do financial transactions more securely.

About DhanSmart : 

• The mobile app also offers a dark theme to improve visual ergonomics, reduce eye strain, and helps in conserving battery power.
• The applications come with value-added features such as biometric authentication for mobile users, a dashboard for internet users, user-defined themes, soft token for transaction authentication, credit card reports, online subscriptions of various social security and other schemes, online financial transactions and payments, etc.

About Dhanlaxmi Bank : 

• Founded: 14 November 1927
• Headquarters: Thrissur, Kerala, India
• MD & CEO: J. K. Shivan

IndusInd Bank partners with British Airways & Qatar Airways to launch a multi-branded credit card

• IndusInd Bank, in a first-of-its-kind initiative, partnered with British Airways Executive Club and Qatar Airways Privilege Club, to introduce the unique multi-branded credit card, powered by Visa.
• The card was made available to consumers in the first quarter of the financial year 2023 - 2024.

About the Card : 

• The credit card will be available in the Infinite variant of Visa.
• It will offer best-in-class rewards and benefits to elevate the international travel experience of customers.
• Through this proposition, members will soon be able to collect Avios, the rewards currency for British Airways Executive Club and Qatar Airways Privilege Club, by signing up and choosing their preferred loyalty program.
• At the time of application, this credit card will give customers the flexibility to choose their preferred airline loyalty program and select their preferred travel destination to collect maximum Avios.

About IndusInd Bank : 

• Founded: April 1994
• Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
• MD & CEO : Sumant Kathpalia
• Tagline: We Make You Feel Richer

CURRENT AFFAIRS: AWARDS AND HONOURS

Jalna and Nagpur Police win ‘Best Police Units’ award:

• Nagpur, Jalna district police, and Nagpur city police in Maharashtra have bagged the ‘Best Police Unit’ awards for 2021 in the state under different classes for maintaining law and order, use of modern technology, evolving community policing, and administration.
• The Jalna police got the award in ‘Class A’ and the Nagpur police in ‘Class B’, as per the winners announced by Additional Director General of Police (law and order) Kulwant Sarangal.
• Police units with less than 6,100 Indian Penal Code cases are grouped in ‘Class A’, while those with more than 6,100 IPC cases are grouped in ‘Class B’, according to a police circular.
• In ‘Class A’, Raigarh district police got the second best police unit award, while Sindhudurg district police won for the best unit for conviction in session trial cases, Beed district police for the best unit in technology for policing, and Gadchiroli police for the best unit in community policing initiatives.
• In ‘Class B’, Pune city police bagged the second best police unit award, Mira-Bhayandar-Vasai Virar police won for the best unit in technology for policing, while Solapur rural police won two awards — best unit for conviction in session trial cases and community policing initiatives.
• Jalna police force comes under the Aurangabad range.
• The Aurangabad rural police from the same range had won the best police unit award for 2020 in ‘Class A’.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: MOUS AND AGREEMENT

General Atomics partners with Bharat Forge to manufacture aerostructures in India:

• San Diego-based General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI), a subsidiary of General Atomics, announced its partnership with Bharat Forge Ltd.
• The move is expected to result in significant capability-building for both companies and provide an impetus to the Indian large, unmanned aircraft industry.
• It will also help India develop a manufacturing ecosystem for high-end drones.
• The move will provide India with an opportunity to manufacture main landing gear components, subassemblies, and assemblies of remotely piloted aircraft in the country.
• Baba Kalyani, Chairman and Managing Director of Bharat Forge Limited said that aerospace is a high 'technology intensive' domain, which relies on product integrity, reliability, and zero defect.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: RANKING AND REPORTS

Chennai, Southern cities top in terms of women employment:

• Chennai is India's best city for women’s employment and it is followed by Pune, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Mumbai, a report by Avtar, a firm specializing in workplace inclusion.
• The report ranks 111 cities on parameters nurturing a conducive ecosystem for women’s employment.
• Ahmedabad, Visakhapatnam, Kolkata, Coimbatore, and Madurai from the rest of the Top 10 cities—each has a population of more than one million—in terms of women’s employment.
• Tiruchirappalli, Vellore, Erode, Salem, Tirupur, Puducherry, Shimla, Mangalore (officially Mangaluru), Thiruvananthapuram, and Belagavi are the top 10 cities in another category of cities with a population of less than one million.
• Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh, and Karnataka got the top five state averages in the country.
• In north India, the top three cities are Delhi, Srinagar, and Amritsar.
• In the south, the top three slots are taken by Chennai, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad.
• In the eastern region, Kolkata is at the top slot, followed by Dhanbad and Patna.
• In the western region, Pune, Mumbai, and Ahmedabad secure first, second, and third places respectively. Raipur, Indore, and Bhopal secure the first, second, and third places in the central region.
• The study, apart from indexed scores, considered steps were taken by states and cities in empowering women in the last year.
• It considered key inclusion measures required for increasing women’s workforce participation.

Bangalore, Delhi in the Top 10 best-performing global airports of 2022:

• Tracking the performance of airports and airlines, Cirium issued a list of the top-performing global airports of 2022 in which Bangalore’s Kempegowda International Airport won the 2nd rank, whereas Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport acquired the 7th spot.
• While Kempegowda International Airport saw on-time departure for 84.08% of 201,897 flights, Delhi’s IGI witnessed 81.84% on-time departure for 411,205 flights.
• Along with the above analytics, Cirium also released a list of the most punctual airlines globally wherein Azul Airlines surfaced as “the global leader”.
• It is a Brazilian carrier based in Barueri, a suburb of São Paulo.
• The airline is counted among the top three airlines in Brazil which started operations in late 2008.
• It has, since, become the fastest-growing airline in the country and won many awards for its services.

The top 10 Rankings for best-performing global airports of 2022 according to Cirium’s report are as follows :

1. Tokyo, Japan – (HND) Haneda Airport
2. Bengaluru, India – (BLR) Kempegowda International Airport
3. Salt Lake City, USA – (SLC) Salt Lake City International Airport
4. Detroit, USA – (DTW) Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport
5. Philadelphia, USA – (PHL) Philadelphia International Airport
6. USA – (MSP) Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport
7. Delhi, India – (DEL) Indira Gandhi International Airport
8. Seattle, USA – (SEA) Seattle-Tacoma International Airport
9. Bogotá, Colombia – (BOG) El Dorado International Airport
10. North Carolina, USA – (CLT) Charlotte Douglas International Airport

CURRENT AFFAIRS: SPORTS NEWS

International Hockey Federation signs JSW as global World Cup partner

• The 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.
• The group supports and promotes the Olympics in India and has created an Olympic Training Institute in the Inspire Institute of Sport as well as Olympic training centres across the country.
• The 15th edition of FIH’s flagship event for men will be played from 13 January to 29 January in Odisha, India.
• The year 2021 saw a comeback for sports sponsorships and media deals, as compared to 2020, following a lull after the pandemic.
• The year helped India achieve a billion-dollar scale with a 62% growth over 2020, found a report by GroupM ESP, the entertainment, esports, and sports division of GroupM India

Hyderabad to host first-ever Formula E World Championship race:

• The first-ever ABB FIA Formula E World Championship race in India to be held in Hyderabad on February 11 kicked off with the sale of tickets for the prestigious event getting underway.
• Telangana Special Chief Secretary (Municipal Administration) Arvind Kumar booked the first ticket at an event here.
• Akbar Ebrahim, president Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India, and other dignitaries were present.
• The government thought that hosting Formula E would put Hyderabad in the league with some of the top cities in the world and it is a matter of prestige that Hyderabad got to host the prestigious event.
• It would place Hyderabad as a global destination for e-mobility
• Hyderabad race on February 11 will be the fourth race of the season, season 9 of Formula E, the first three include Mexico City and Riyadh (second and third)
• Private firm Ace Nxt Gen is the official promoter of the Formula E Race in India in partnership with Formula E and the Telangana government.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BOOKS AND AUTHORS

Sanjeev Sanyal's New Book on the Role Of “Revolutionaries In India's Freedom Struggle:”

• Noted economist and popular historian Sanjeev Sanyal is set to release his latest book, "Revolutionaries: The Other Story of How India Won Its Freedom," in January 2023.
• Sanyal has authored best-selling books including "Land of the Seven Rivers," "The Ocean of Churn," "India in the Age of Ideas," and "The Indian Renaissance."
• He also co-authored and edited six Economic Surveys of the Government of India between 2017 and 2022, and has published over 200 articles and columns in leading national and international publications.
• He has also represented India on various international forums, such as the OECD and G7, and served as the Co-Chair of the G20's Framework Working Group.
• A Rhodes Scholar and Eisenhower Fellow, he was named “Young Global Leader 2010” by the World Economic Forum at Davos.

About the Book:

• Sanyal is a great storyteller. Instead of being purely dry history, his book emphasizes the human side of these revolutions through narratives and other subtleties.
• They are not just cardboard cutouts that have been inserted into a rewritten account of the liberation struggle.
• Our independence movement's revolutionary nature has been downplayed in modern history in two ways: first, by being reduced to small footnotes in a largely nonviolent mainstream battle.
• The alternative is to make them into idealistic characters with nothing to do but occasionally display bravery.

Shashi Tharoor's Latest Book Ambedkar: A Life Launched at Kitaab Kolkata

• Parliamentarian and author, Shashi Tharoor’s latest book Ambedkar: A Life was recently launched at the Kitaab Kolkata event organized by Prabha Khaitan Foundation (PKF) at the ITC Sonar presented by Shree Cement.
• The event was attended by young and old bibliophiles, members of Ehsaas Women, and FICCI FLO.
• Suhel Seth, management consultant, author, columnist, and public speaker, was in an hour-long conversation with the author.
• Kitab is a signature event of the Prabha Khaitan Foundation conceptualized by Sundeep Bhutoria which provides a forum for writers, poets, intellectuals, and thinkers to launch their books and share their thoughts.

About the book:

• The biography of Babasaheb Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar is neither the first one nor the last, but Shashi Tharoor's meticulously-researched work adds a new perspective to one of India's most revered icons and an intellectual giant.
• He chronicles the course of the great man's life from his 14 April 1891 birth into a Mahar family in the Bombay Presidency to his 6 December 1956 passing in Delhi.
• He details the numerous hardships and humiliations Ambedkar had to face in a culture that denigrated the group of people he was born into, as well as the unwavering resolve with which he surmounted every challenge he faced.
• Ambedkar's struggles to outlaw untouchability, his disagreements with other political and intellectual giants of his time, such as Gandhi and Nehru, and his determination to give India a visionary Constitution that enshrined both traditional notions of social justice and the unalienable rights of the individual.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: OBITUARIES

Veteran Sinologist Janaki Ballabh passed away

• Veteran Sinologist Janaki Ballabh passed away at the age of 94.

About Janaki Ballabh : 

• Janaki Ballabh born in Dalakot village in Almora in Uttarakhand.
• He was closely associated with India’s independence movement.
• He was married to Shayma Ballabh, who worked as the first Hindi announcer at Radio Beijing.
• He was also the first Indian to have been given long-term residency in China along with his wife.
• He spent 5 years in Beijing working for Foreign Languages Press and stayed put in the country until 1961.
• He worked for various Indian publications, including ‘Veer Arjun’, ‘Sainik Samachar’, ‘New Age’ (the Communist Party of India’s official publication), and later at the Information and Cultural office of the Chinese Embassy from 1963-77.

Awards & Honors : 

• In 1961, he was given the Peace and Friendship Award by the then-Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai.

Daily CA on January 8 & 9:

• NRI Day 2023 or Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2023 is observed on the 9th of January 2023.
• The Ministry of Culture in its latest submission at the Parliament revealed that as many as 50 centrally protected monuments under the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) are untraceable or missing.
• In Meghalaya, Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar has inaugurated the three-day ‘North East Krishi Kumbha-2023’ and took part in the 49th Foundation Day celebration of the ICAR Research Complex for NEH Region, Umiam.
• Nagpur, Jalna district police, and Nagpur city police in Maharashtra have bagged the ‘Best Police Unit’ awards for 2021 in the state under different classes for maintaining law and order, use of modern technology, evolving community policing, and administration.
• San Diego-based General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI), a subsidiary of General Atomics, announced its partnership with Bharat Forge Ltd.
• Chennai is India's best city for women’s employment and it is followed by Pune, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Mumbai, a report by Avtar, a firm specializing in workplace inclusion.
• Tracking the performance of airports and airlines, Cirium issued a list of the top-performing global airports of 2022 in which Bangalore’s Kempegowda International Airport won the 2nd rank, whereas Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport acquired the 7th spot.
• The 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.
• The first-ever ABB FIA Formula E World Championship race in India to be held in Hyderabad on February 11 kicked off with the sale of tickets for the prestigious event getting underway.
• Noted economist and popular historian Sanjeev Sanyal is set to release his latest book, "Revolutionaries: The Other Story of How India Won Its Freedom," in January 2023.
• Parliamentarian and author, Shashi Tharoor’s latest book Ambedkar: A Life was recently launched at the Kitaab Kolkata event organized by Prabha Khaitan Foundation (PKF) at the ITC Sonar presented by Shree Cement.
• Kerala Chief Minister, Pinarayi Vijayan, has opened a Palm leaf Manuscript Museum featuring modern audio-visual technology at the Central Archives in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.
• The Indian Army signed an agreement with the Government of Assam to offer the Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS) at 8 medical colleges and hospitals in Assam.
• Union Commerce and Industry Minister Shri Piyush Goyal have approved Rs 28.11 crore to provide immediate relief to over 28,000 Flue Cured Virginia (FCV) Tobacco farmers affected by Cyclone Mandous in Andhra Pradesh (AP).
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das has launched Utkarsh 2.0, the second phase of its medium-term strategic framework for the period 2023-2025.
• According to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Report, issues related to Automated Teller Machine (ATM)/debit cards and mobile/electronic banking were the top grounds of complaints received at the Office of Banking Ombudsman (OBO) from April 1 to November 11, 2021.
• India’s third largest private sector bank, Axis Bank, has partnered with the world’s fastest-growing digital banking enterprise, Open Financial Technologies Pvt Ltd (OPEN), to provide a fully native digital current account journey for its customers 
• Capital markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has allowed the central government’s request to reclassify its shareholding in IDBI Bank after its disinvestment as a “public holding”
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has received an application from Odisha-based 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.
• The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has issued a debt broker license to Bengaluru-based fintech firm GoldenPi Technologies.
• The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) extended the relaxation to listed companies from dispatching physical copies of financial statements till September 30, 2023.
• Dhanlaxmi Bank has launched all new retail internet banking DhanDelight and the retail mobile banking app DhanSmart.
• IndusInd Bank, in a first-of-its-kind initiative, partnered with British Airways Executive Club and Qatar Airways Privilege Club, to introduce the unique multi-branded credit card, powered by Visa.
• Veteran Sinologist Janaki Ballabh passed away at the age of 94.