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CURRENT AFFAIRS: BANKING & FINANCE NEWS

RBI allows LIC to acquire up to 9.99% stake in HDFC Bank

• The Reserve Bank of India has allowed Life Insurance Corp. of India to acquire as much as 9.99 percent of HDFC Bank, the country's largest private lender told stock exchanges on January 25.
• LIC owns a 5.19 percent stake in the bank, according to the lender's shareholding pattern as of December 31.
• As per the bank's exchange notification,  the RBI informed the decision to the LIC through a letter dated  January 25, under which LIC can acquire an aggregate holding up to 9.99 percent of the paid-up share capital or voting rights of HDFC Bank Limited.
• Recently, HDFC Bank shares had witnessed heavy sell offpushing the shares to near 52-week lows, post the announcement of the bank's third quarter
• Some analysts speculate that the sell off is due to foreign investors panicking over a recent Sebi proposal concerning foreign portfolio investors.

About RBI :

• Established : 1 April 1935
• Headquarters : Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
• Governor : Shaktikanta Das

About HDFC Bank :

• Founded : 1st July 2023 (via the merger between HDFC-HDFC bank)
• Headquarters : Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
• MD & CEO : Sashidhar Jagdishan
• Tagline : We Understand Your World

Bank of Baroda to float Rs 5,000-crore, 10-year infra bonds

• State-run Bank of Baroda on January 24 issued infrastructure bonds worth Rs 5,000 crore maturing in 10 years, according to people familiar with the development.
• The bonds have a base issue of Rs 1,000 crore, with retain oversubscription of Rs 4,000 crore as greenshoe option.
• It is a provision in an underwriting agreement that grants the underwriter the right to sell investors more bonds than initially planned by the issuer if the demand for a security issue proves higher than expected.
• The bonds have been rated ‘AAA’ with a ‘stable’ outlook by CRISIL and India ratings.
• The minimum application size of this bonds is Rs 1 lakh and in multiples of Rs 1 lakh.
• On January 19, Bajaj Finance and ONGC Petro Additions raised Rs 857.60 crore and Rs 900 crore through bonds.
• Bajaj Finance issued bonds worth Rs 857.60 crore through five-year bonds at an 8.10 percent coupon and ONGC Petro Additions raised Rs 900 crore through three-year bonds at 8.29 percent.
• The yield on the corporate bonds maturing in three-year were in the range of 7.75-7.80 percent, on five-year bonds at 7.65-7.75 percent, and on 10-year bonds at 7.65-7.70 percent.

ICRA revises up bank credit growth estimate to 15% from 13% for FY24

• Ratings agency ICRA has revised upwards its projection of bank credit growth in FY24 to 14.9-15.3 per cent, estimated at an incremental growth of ₹20.4-20.9 lakh crore, from the earlier projection of 12.8-13 per cent equating to a growth of ₹17.5-17.8 lakh crore.
• Bond issuances are seen at ₹9.6-9.9 lakh crore in FY24 and ₹10.0-10.5 lakh crore in FY25 against ₹8.7 lakh crore in FY23.
• Corporate bond outstanding, estimated at ₹44.7 lakh crore as of December 2023, is seen growing 5-7 per cent on year to ₹45.2-45.5 lakh crore by March 2024 and ₹47.7-48.5 lakh crore by March 2025.
• However, challenges in deposit mobilisation could temper bank credit expansion to 11.7-12.6 per cent or ₹19-20.5 lakh crore in FY25, it stated.

Credit-deposit

• Incremental bank credit growth touched nearly ₹16.9 lakh crore in the nine months ended December 2023, far outpacing the ₹14.1 lakh crore expansion in the previous year.
• The rise has been driven by 33 per cent growth in retail and 23 per cent in the NBFC segment as of November 18, 2023.
• For Q3 FY24, incremental bank credit growth was ₹6.1 lakh crore compared with ₹10.8 lakh crore in H1 FY24.
• However, growth in December 2023 was lower at ₹1.3 lakh crore against ₹2.0 lakh crore a year ago.
• This bank credit growth will be accompanied by record incremental deposit mobilisation in FY24, with the highest ever build-up at ₹21.7-22.3 lakh crore, of which ₹19.2 lakh crore has been mobilised in 9M FY24 aided by record accretion of ₹11.2 lakh crore in Q1 FY24 following the withdrawal of ₹2,000 currency notes.
• In FY23, deposit mobilisation was ₹15.8 lakh crore.
• Deposit mobilisation is expected to moderate to ₹19.4-20 lakh crore in FY25, registering a growth of 9.5-9.8 per cent on year as against 12-12.3 per cent estimated for FY24.
• Incremental credit-deposit ratio is expected to remain high at 95-100 per cent in FY24-FY25, keeping liquidity conditions tight through FY25 as well.

NBFC growth

• AUM growth for NBFCs has also been revised to 14-16 per cent for FY24, against the earlier estimate of 13-15 per cent.
• This is expected to moderate to 13-15 per cent in FY25.

Zomato Payments gets RBI's nod to operate as an online payment aggregator

• Zomato Payments, a wholly owned subsidiary of Zomato Limited, has received the certificate of authorisation from the Reserve Bank of India to operate as an online payment aggregator.
• In an exchange filing, the food delivery platform stated the central bank has allowed it to carry out the business as payment aggregator and issuer of pre-paid payment instruments with effect from January 24, 2024.
• Last year, Zomato had joined hands with ICICI Bank to launch its own unified payments interface (UPI) offering -- Zomato UPI.
• The feature was offered to select users and did not involve a KYC process.
• It eliminated the need for users to navigate to other payment apps, such as Google Pay, Paytm, and PhonePe, while placing orders on Zomato.
• With this, Zomato, just like Tata Pay, Razorpay, Cashfree, among others, managed to secure the much-awaited payments licence.
• Earlier this month, Tata Payments and Bengaluru-based identity verification startup DigiO secured the payment aggregator (PA) licence from the RBI.
• With the licence, it is expected that the salt-to-software services conglomerate will process payments for its ecommerce transactions.
• In December 2023, Razorpay and Cashfree got the final approval from the Reserve Bank of India to operate as payment aggregators after nearly a year-long embargo.
• Shares of Zomato were trading at Rs 135.85, down by 0.29 per cent, at 3.15 PM.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL NEWS

Diamond Jubilee celebration of Supreme Court of India inaugurated by Prime Minister in New Delhi 

• Prime Minister Modi has inaugurated the Diamond Jubilee celebration of the Supreme Court of India in New Delhi.
• Modi will launch citizen-centric multiple technology initiatives, which include Digital Supreme Court Reports, Digital Courts 2.0 and a new website of the Supreme Court.
• The Digital Supreme Court Reports (SCR) will make Supreme Court judgments available to the citizens of the country free of cost and in electronic format.

Key Highlights:

• The key features of digital SCR are that all 519 volumes of the Supreme Court reports since 1950, covering over 36 thousand cases will be available in a digital format and with open access.
• Digital Courts 2.0 application is a recent initiative under the e-Courts project to make court records available to the Judges of the district courts in electronic form.
• Prime Minister will also launch the new website of the Supreme Court.
• The new website will be in bilingual format in English and Hindi and has been redesigned with a user-friendly interface, the statement stated.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: INTERNATIONAL NEWS

AP Moller-Maersk Reveals World’s Largest Methanol-Powered Container Ship

• AP Moller-Maersk has revealed the Ane Maersk, the world’s largest Ship that can run on the green hydrogen
• It was named after Ane Maersk Mc-Kinney Uggla, Chairman of the Parent Company AP Moller Holding.
• It can carry 8 times more containers than Danish Logistics Company’s Laura Maersk, which became the world’s first methanol dual-fuel container ship when it was launched in September 2023.

Key Highlights:

• The Ane Maersk will begin its first voyage on 9th Feb from Hyundai Heavy Industries Shipyard in Ulsan, South Korea, where it was constructed, to Ningbo, China.
• It will then head to Malaysia, followed by Sri Lanka, Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi, Morocco, the UK, France, Belgium and Germany.
• Maersk has placed an order for 24 container shipswith dual-fuel engines.
• Among these, 11 would be the same size as Ane Maersk, 6 would be bigger with a 17,000 TEUcapacity, and 6 would be 9000 TEU.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BUSINESS NEWS

Ola founder’s Krutrim becomes India’s first AI unicorn

• Krutrim, an AI startup founded by Ola founder Bhavish Aggarwal, stated it has raised a funding round that values it at $1 billion.
• The startup, founded last year, is the fastest to become a unicorn in India, it claimed in a press statement.
• It’s also the first Indian AI startup to become a unicorn, it stated.
• Matrix Partners India — which has also backed Aggarwal’s other two startups, ride-hailing platform Ola and EV startup Ola Electric — led the $50 million “first round” in Krutrim.
• TechCrunch reported last year that Aggarwal was in talks to raise $50 million for his new AI venture.
• Krutrim, which means “artificial” in Sanskrit, is building a large language model that has been trained on local Indian languages in addition to English.
• The startup plans to launch a voice-enabled conversational AI assistant that understands and speaks multiple Indian languages, the startup stated.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: AWARDS & HONOURS

Padma Awards 2024: India's second-highest civilian honour

• The Union government released the list of winners of the Padma Awards 2024, the nation's second-highest civilian honour.
• The prestigious awards, conferred by the Government of India, recognize exceptional contributions in various fields.

Key Highlights:

• These awards are given in three categories: Padma Vibhushan (for exceptional and distinguished service), Padma Bhushan (distinguished service of higher order) and Padma Shri (distinguished service).
• The award seeks to recognize achievements in all fields of activities or disciplines where an element of public service is involved.
• These awards are conferred on the recommendations made by the Padma Awards Committee, which is constituted by the Prime Minister every year. 

Padma Awardees:

• This year the government decided to honour 5 distinguished individuals with Padma Vibhushan, 17 with Padma Bhushan, and 110 with Padma Shri awards ( total 132) for their exceptional contributions in various fields.

Padma Vibhushan:

1. Ms. Vyjayantimala Bali: Art | Tamil Nadu
2. Shri Konidela Chiranjeevi: Art | Andhra Pradesh
3. Shri M Venkaiah Naidu: Public Affairs | Andhra Pradesh
4. Shri Bindeshwar Pathak (Posthumous): Social Work | Bihar
5. Ms. Padma Subrahmanyam : Art | Tamil Nadu

Padma Bhushan:

1. Ms. M Fathima Beevi (Posthumous): Public Affairs | Kerala
2. Shri Hormusji N Cama: Literature & Education - Journalism | Maharashtra
3. Shri Mithun Chakraborty: Art | West Bengal
4. Shri Sitaram Jindal: Trade & Industry | Karnataka
5. Shri Young Liu: Trade & Industry | Taiwan
6. Shri Ashwin Balachand Mehta: Medicine | Maharashtra
7. Shri Satyabrata Mookherjee: Public Affairs | West Bengal
8. Shri Ram: Public Affairs | Maharashtra
9. Shri Tejas Madhusudan Patel: Medicine | Gujarat
10. Shri Olanchery Rajagopal: Public Affairs | Kerala
11. Shri Dattatray Ambadas Mayaloo alias Rajdutt: Art | Maharashtra
12. Shri Togdan Rinpoche (Posthumous): Others-Spiritualism | Ladakh
13. Shri Pyarelal Sharma: Art| Maharashtra
14. Shri Chandreshwar Prasad Thakur: Medicine | Bihar
15. Ms. Usha Uthup: Art| West Bengal
16. Shri Vijaykanth (Posthumous): Art | Tamil Nadu
17. Shri Kundan Vyas: Literature & Education - Journalism | Maharashtra

Padma Shri:

CURRENT AFFAIRS: APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS

SUDHIR SEKHRI TAKES OVER AS THE NEW CHAIRMAN OF AEPC

• Shri Sudhir Sekhri, an Apparel industry veteran, has taken over as the new Chairman of Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC).
• Shri Sekhri has been into the business of Readymade Garment Manufacturing for more than four decades and is currently Managing Partner of Trendsetter International.
• He stated that ‘Our target to reach 40 billion USD of RMG export by 2030 can be a reality and my duty is to take every possible step to reach this target’, he added.

About Sudhir Sekhri:

• After a 5-year stint in the family manufacturing & export business of electric welding equipment, he diversified into the manufacturing & export business of readymade garments.
• He has been an Executive Committee member of the Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) since 1990, Chairman (Export Promotion Committee) of AEPC for several years and Vice Chairman, AEPC for the year 2022 & 2023.
• He has been an Executive Committee member of the Garment Exporters & Manufacturers Association (GEMA) since its inception and is its current Senior Vice President.
• He has also been an Executive Committee member of Apparel Training and Design Center (ATDC) since 2014 and an Executive Member of Apparel Made-Ups Home Furnishing Sector Skill Council (AMHSSC) since 2023.
• He is also on the Board of the Federation of Indian Export Organizations (FIEO).
• Sudhir Sekhri is known for his philanthropy, benevolence and humanitarianism.
• He is one of the early donors to Dharamshila Cancer Foundation and Research Centre, an NGO that started North India's first state-of-the-art comprehensive cancer care and research centre.
• He is an annual contributor to Vivekanand Kendra Prathisthan to sponsor Child’s Education program.
• He regularly donates to several Institutions involved in social causes viz Sewa Bharti, Durbal Divyang Kalyan Society, ISCKON, etc.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar resigns; expected to form new government with BJP support

• Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar submitted his resignation to Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar, breaking away from the grand alliance less than 18 months after forming a new government in the state with the support of Lalu Prasad Yadav's Rashtriya Janata Dal.
• The JD(U) president is expected to stake claim to form a new government with the Bharatiya Janata Party's support.
• The BJP has the largest number of 17 MPs in Bihar, where the total number of Lok Sabha members is 40.
• The JD(U), headed by Nitish Kumar, has 16, while another NDA ally LJP, now split up between the uncle-nephew duo of Pashupati Kumar Paras and Chirag Paswan, has six.
• In the Bihar assembly of 243, the RJD has 79 MLAs; followed by the BJP's 78; the JD(U)'s 45' the Congress's 19, the CPI (M-L)'s 12, two each of the CPI(M) and CPI, the Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular)'s four seats, and the AIMIM's one, plus one Independent legislator.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Aditya L1 update: Isro successfully deploys magnetometer boom in halo orbit

• The Aditya-L1 spacecraft has successfully deployed its 6-meter-long magnetometer boom in space at Lagrange Point-1.
• The deployment took place on January 11, 2024, while the satellite was stationed in a halo orbit at the Lagrange point L-1, marking 132 days since the spacecraft's launch.

Magnetometer Boom:

• The magnetometer boom is a critical component of the Aditya-L1 mission, which aims to study the Sun's chromosphere and corona, as well as the interplanetary magnetic field.
• The boom carries two advanced fluxgate magnetometer sensors that are essential for measuring the low-intensity magnetic fields in space.
• These sensors are strategically placed at distances of 3 and 6 meters from the main body of the spacecraft to minimise interference from the spacecraft's own magnetic field.
• The use of dual sensors allows for a more accurate estimation of this influence and helps cancel out any magnetic effects originating from the spacecraft itself.

Other Highlights:

• Constructed from carbon fiber-reinforced polymer, the boom segments act as interfaces for sensor mounting and contain the mechanism elements necessary for deployment.
• The boom's design includes an articulated mechanism with five segments connected by spring-driven hinge mechanisms.
• This allows the boom to fold and deploy in an accordion-like fashion, a process controlled by a patented Kevlar closed control loop mechanism.
• Once deployed, the hinges lock the segments into their operational configuration.
• During the launch phase, the boom was held securely in place by two hold-downs, which transferred the launch loads to the spacecraft body.
• To initiate deployment, a thermal cutter-based release system was activated upon command.
• Telemetry data confirmed the successful release of the hold-downs, the initial motion of the boom, and the locking of all hinges.
• Impressively, the in-orbit deployment time was recorded at approximately 9 seconds, falling within the predicted range of 8 to 12 seconds.
• All telemetry indications for hinge locking and hold-down release were reported to be within nominal parameters, indicating a flawless deployment operation.
• This achievement marks a significant step forward for the Aditya-L1 mission, as the fully deployed magnetometer boom will now enable scientists to gather precise measurements of the interplanetary magnetic field, furthering our understanding of solar phenomena and their impact on space weather.
• The success of this deployment demonstrates the advanced capabilities of India's space technology and its contributions to solar physics research.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: SPORTS NEWS

Rohan Bopanna, the oldest Grand Slam winner clinched the Australia Open 2024:

• India's tennis star Rohan Bopanna and his Australian partner Matthew Ebden clinched the grand slam title at the Australian Open 2024 after the duo defeated Italy's Simone Bolelli, and Andrea Vavassori in the men's doubles final at Melbourne Park.
• The 43-year-old Rohan Bopanna, who recently became World No. 1 in the ATP men's doubles rankings is now the oldest grand slam winner.
• The victory in the Australian Openmarks the initial significant triumph for the duo, who experienced defeat in the US Open final last year.
• Following the rankings update, Rohan Bopanna will ascend to the world number one spot, while Matthew Ebden, despite participating in three additional tournaments within the ranking period, will hold the number two position.

About Rohan Bopanna

1. Rohan Bopannawas born in Coorg district Karnataka in March 1980 and developed an early interest in tennis.
2. He carried the game to the United States, where is attended his college and slowly made his name in the world of professional tennis championships.
3. Rohan Bopanna is renowned for his success in doubles tennis.
4. He has secured victories in Grand Slam events, including winning the mixed doubles title at the 2017 French Open with his partner Gabriela Dabrowski
5. Recipient of the Arjuna Award, Rohan Bopanna has been a pivotal constituent of India's Davis Cupsquad since his inaugural appearance in 2002.
6. Furthermore, he clinched victory in the 2006 Asian Hopman Cup, a qualifying competition for the 2007 Hopman Cup, alongside Sania Mirza.
7. Rohan Bopanna has secured considerable success on the ATP Tour.
8. He has won numerous titles in doubles events, showcasing his skill and consistency as a doubles specialist on the professional circuit.
9. The grand slam winner is actively involved in promoting and developing tennis in
10. He has established the Rohan Bopanna Tennis Academy to nurture young talent and provide them with opportunities to excel in the sport, contributing to the growth of tennis in the country.

Aryna Sabalenka crushes Zheng Qinwen to defend Australian Open title

• Aryna Sabalenka crushes Zheng Qinwen 6-3, 6-2 to defend Australian Open title.
• She became the first woman to do so in more than a decade.
• The 25-year-old Belarusian defending champion and world number two Aryna Sabalenka defeated Chinese 12th seed Zheng Qinwen 6-3, 6-2 to win the Australian Open women's singles title in Melbourne.
• Sabalenka took just 33 minutes to race through a 6-3 win in the first set at Melbourne Park.
• This is Sabalenka's second Grand Slam title while Zheng was gunning for a first.
• Sabalenka became the first woman to defend the Australian Open title since

CURRENT AFFAIRS: IMPORTANT DAYS

Indian Newspaper Day-January 29

• Indian Newspaper Day is a day to commemorate the birth of newspapers in India.
• The motive of this day is to promote Indian Newspapers.
• Indian Newspaper Day is celebrated every year on 29th January.

History:

• Indian Newspaper Day commemorates the birth of the first Indian Newspaper on January 29, 1780.
• The ‘Hickey’s Bengal Gazette’, which was also known as the ‘Calcutta General Advertiser’, was the first weekly newspaper.
• As per the summons of the Indian Newspaper Society, this day is celebrated on 29th January every year.

January 28 & 29: One liner

• The Reserve Bank of India has allowed Life Insurance Corp. of India to acquire as much as 9.99 percent of HDFC Bank, the country's largest private lender told stock exchanges on January 25.
• State-run Bank of Baroda will on January 24 issue infrastructure bonds worth Rs 5,000 crore maturing in 10 years, according to people familiar with the development.
• Rating agency ICRA has revised upwards its projection of bank credit growth in FY24 to 14.9-15.3 per cent, estimated at an incremental growth of ₹20.4-20.9 lakh crore, from the earlier projection of 12.8-13 per cent equating to a growth of ₹17.5-17.8 lakh crore.

• Zomato Payments, a wholly owned subsidiary of Zomato Limited, has received the certificate of authorisation from the Reserve Bank of India to operate as an online payment aggregator.
• Prime Minister Modi will inaugurate the Diamond Jubilee celebration of the Supreme Court of India in New Delhi.
• AP Moller-Maersk has revealed the Ane Maersk, the world’s largest Ship that can run on the green hydrogen
• Krutrim, an AI startup founded by Ola founder Bhavish Aggarwal, stated it has raised a funding round that values it at $1 billion.
• The Union government released the list of winners of the Padma Awards 2024, the nation's second-highest civilian honour. This year the government decided to honour 5 distinguished individuals with Padma Vibhushan, 17 with Padma Bhushan, and 110 with Padma Shri awards ( total 132) for their exceptional contributions in various fields.
• Shri Sudhir Sekhri, an Apparel industry veteran, has taken over as the new Chairman of Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC).
• Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar submitted his resignation to Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar, breaking away from the grand alliance less than 18 months after forming a new government in the state with the support of Lalu Prasad Yadav's Rashtriya Janata Dal.

• The Aditya-L1 spacecraft has successfully deployed its 6-meter-long magnetometer boom in space at Lagrange Point-1.
• India's tennis star Rohan Bopanna and his Australian partner Matthew Ebden clinched the grand slam title at the Australian Open 2024 after the duo defeated Italy's Simone Bolelli, and Andrea Vavassori in the men's doubles final at Melbourne Park.
• Aryna Sabalenka crushes Zheng Qinwen 6-3, 6-2 to defend the Australian Open title.
• Indian Newspaper Day is celebrated every year on 29th January.