Dear Readers, Here we have given the list of Important Weekly Current Affairs of Jan 08th to 14th Jan 2023. Candidates those who are preparing for Upcoming SBI Clerk 2023 and other competitive exams can make use of it.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: IMPORTANT DAYS

• NRI Day 2023 or Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2023 is observed on the 9th of January 2023.
• World Hindi Day 2023 is observed on the 10th of January 2023.
• National Human Trafficking Awareness Day 2023 is observed on the 11th of January 2023.
• Every year, National Road Safety Week is celebrated from January 11 to 17.
• National Youth Day 2023 is observed on the 12th of January 2023.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL NEWS

• 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.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the 17th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas convention in Madhya Pradesh's Indore.
• President Droupadi Murmu virtually laid the foundation stone of state-owned energy firm SJVN's 1,000 MW Bikaner Solar Power Project in Jaipur, Rajasthan.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the government’s Aspirational Block Programme (ABP), which is aimed at improving the performance of blocks lagging on various development parameters.
• Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology; Minister of State (Independent Charge) Earth Sciences; MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh released the theme for the "National Science Day 2023", titled "Global Science for Global Wellbeing" at National Media Centre.
• Home Minister Shri Amit Shah inaugurated the ‘Jai Hind- The New Light and Sound Show' at Red Fort in New Delhi.
• The Centre has named the new Integrated Food Security Scheme Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana, PMGKAY.
• The government has hiked the interest rate on Kisan Vikas Patra for the quarter of January – March 2023.
• The Director of IIT Madras Prof. Kamakoti has said that the country's largest student-run festival Saarang 2023 will be held for five days this mont
• The Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways and Ayush, Shri Sarbananda Sonowal, along with Dr Manik Saha, Chief Minister, Tripura inaugurated the School of Logistics, Waterways and Communication.
• The world’s longest river cruise MV Ganga Vilas will be flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Varanasi.
• India was among the top five markets, globally, in terms of equity fundraising despite the quantum of funds raised declining by 43 per cent.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: INTERNATIONAL NEWS

• India has identified 2 lithium mines and 1 copper mine in Argentina for a possible acquisition or long-term lease.
• Ecuador, Japan, Malta, Mozambique, and Switzerland officially began their 2-year term as non-permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC ).

CURRENT AFFAIRS: STATE NEWS

• 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).
• Madhya Pradesh (MP) Chief Minister (CM) Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan launched the Chief Minister’s Residential Land Rights scheme (Mukhyamantri Awasiya Bhu Adhikar Yojana) from Bakpura Panchayat of Tikamgarh district in Madhya Pradesh (MP).             
• Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Shri Bhupesh Baghel celebrates the traditional Cherchera festival at Dudhadhari Math in Raipur, Chhattisgarh.
• A Military Tattoo & Tribal Dance Festival ‘Aadi Shaurya - Parv Parakram Ka’ will be held at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, New Delhi on January 23 & 24, 2023, as part of the Republic Day celebrations 2023 and to mark the 126th birth anniversary (Parakram Diwas) of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose.
• Tribal bodies stepped up their demand to “free” the Parasnath hills in Jharkhand's Giridih district from the “clutches” of the Jain community.

• Gujarat Chief Minister (CM) Shri Bhupendra Patel inaugurated the International Kite Festival 2023 in Ahmedabad, Gujarat & the festival is being organised by Gujarat Tourism on the G20 theme of 'One Earth, One Family, One Future.

• Leading stock exchange Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) has joined hands with the government of Goa for the development of SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprises) in Goa.
• Tamil Nadu (TN) Chief Minister (CM) Shri MK Stalin launched the Global Tamil Angels platform (www.tamilangels.fund) for investors from the global Tamil diaspora to make investments in TN’s start-ups.
• West Bengal (WB) chief minister (CM) Mamata Banerjee inaugurated a new vehicle location control centre and mobile app, as part of efforts to enhance security for women in WB.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BUSINESS NEWS

• India’s foreign exchange reserves fell by $70.1 billion in 2022, data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) shows.
• Retail inflation moderated to a one-year low in December led by food prices, while industrial output growth rebounded to a 5-month high in November due to a base effect and robust expansion across sectors including manufacturing.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BANKING AND ECONOMY

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) lifted restrictions related to Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services (M&M Finance) on recovery operations via third-party collection agents.
• ICICI Bank has launched a first-of-its-kind initiative in the industry, digital solutions for exporters, and a comprehensive set of banking and value-added services on a single platform.
• Aegon Life Insurance has launched the iTerm Prime Insurance plan, which will cater to the needs of self-employed individuals with a special 10% discount (5% discount in addition to a 5% online discount for all) on 1st-year premium.
• According to the Finance Ministry, the Goods & services tax (GST) collections for December 2022 stood at Rs 1,49,507 crore, 2.5% more than Rs 1,45,867 crore collected in November 2022.
• The 'Toolkit on Enabling Gender-Responsive Urban Mobility and Public Spaces in India' was launched at a session organized by the World Bank (WB) & the Chennai Urban Metropolitan Transport Authority in Chennai, Tamil Nadu (TN). 
• 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.
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has announced that the maiden Sovereign Green Bonds (SGrBs) would be issued in two tranches for an aggregate amount of Rs 16,000 crore.
• According to the latest data by the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI), the average assets under management (AUM) for the domestic mutual fund (MF) industry grew 5.4% year-on-year to Rs 40.2 trillion for the quarter that ended December.
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has asked banks to make enhanced disclosures relating to material items in their notes to accounts wherever any item under the head “Other Liabilities and Provisions” and “Other Assets” exceeds 1% of the total assets.
• PayRup (https://payrup.com/), India’s fastest payment app was launched.by Mahadevappa Halagatti in Lulu Mall, Bangalore, Karnataka.
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued the revised list of accredited credit rating agencies (CRAs) to assign risk weight to assets for capital adequacy purposes by the banks.
• Axis Bank has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, Karnataka to establish a Centre for Mathematics and Computing at the Institute.
• Standard Chartered China has just become the first foreign-invested bank in China to engage in Chinese treasury bond futures trading.
• The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has raised around Rs 5,000 crore via 3-year bonds, in the first issue of fundraising through bonds in 2023.
• Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has issued a standard of procedures (SOP) for the handling of stock exchange outages and extension of trading hours due to the outage.
• HDFC Capital, a subsidiary of HDFC Ltd has achieved the initial close of $376 million for Scheme 2 of HDFC Capital Affordable Real Estate Fund – 3 (H-CARE 3) to provide long-term, flexible funding across the lifecycle of affordable and mid-income housing projects including early-stage funding
• The South Indian Bank (SIB) launched a Micro Small & Medium Enterprise (MSME) online portal providing instant online ‘In Principle’ approval of up to ₹1 crore.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: AWARDS AND HONOURS

• 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 Harvard Law School Center on the Legal Profession has decided to confer Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud with the ‘Center on the Legal Profession Award for Global Leadership’.
• Veteran actor-director Aparna Sen was honoured with the lifetime achievement award at the opening ceremony of the 15th edition of the Jaipur International Film Festival.
• RRR won Best Original song at the ongoing ceremony for Naatu Naatu.
• e-NAM, a flagship initiative of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, has won the Platinum Award in the Digital Empowerment of Citizens Category in Digital India Awards 2022 held in New Delhi.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS

• United States (US) President Mr. Joe Biden has renominated former Los Angeles Mayor Mr. Eric Garcetti as the Ambassador of the United States to India. 
• Prasanna Kumar Motupalli was appointed as Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of the state-run NLC India Ltd (NLCIL), a Navratna Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) under the Ministry of Coal till the date of his superannuation is June 30, 2026.
• Captain Shiva Chouhan of the Indian Army's Fire and Fury Corps became the first woman officer to get operationally deployed at the world's highest battlefield, Siachen Glacier.
• The parent company of Paytm Payments Bank Limited (PPBL), One 97 Communications, announced that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has approved the appointment of veteran banker Mr. Surinder Chawla as the new Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for 3 years. 
• The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) reappointed Mr Chetan Sharma as chairman of the senior men’s national selection committee.
• Republican leader Mr Kevin McCarthy has been elected as the next Speaker of the US House of Representatives & he has replaced Ms Nancy Pelosi, the leader of the Democratic Party in the House of Representatives.
• R S Sodhi, managing director (MD) of Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), the owner of India’s biggest dairy brand Amul, has stepped down from his post.
• Telangana Chief Minister Shri K Chandrashekar Rao appointed senior Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Santhi Kumari as the first woman Chief Secretary of Telangana.
• Premier global nutrition company,Herbalife Nutrition India Private Limited (Herbalife Nutrition Ltd) is partnering with international women’s cricketer, Smriti Mandhana as a ‘nutrition sponsor’.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: MOUS AND AGREEMENT

• San Diego-based General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI), a subsidiary of General Atomics, announced its partnership with Bharat Forge Ltd.
• India and Panama have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to enhance cooperation in the training of diplomats.
• Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board signed MoUs with chapters of eight countries of the Global Organisation of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO) at the MP Tourism Pavilion of Brilliant Convention Centre in Indore at the 17th Pravasi Bhartiya Divas Convention.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: DEFENCE NEWS

• The last surviving member of the first successful space mission under the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA's) Apollo program, US astronaut Walter Cunningham, passed away at the age of 90.
• India and Japan are all set to hold the joint Air Exercise, 'Veer Guardian-2023' involving the Indian Air Force (IAF) and Japan Air Self Defence Force (JASDF) at Hyakuri Air Base, Japan from 12 January 2023 to 26 January 2023.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

• The government of the Union Territory of Ladakh has partnered with the Indian Institute of Remote Sensing (IIRS), a unit of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to develop a “Spatial Data Infrastructure geoportal ‘Geo-Ladakh’ for UT-Ladakh.
• The United States Air Force has unveiled its latest high-tech strategic bomber, the B-21 Raider, which is the world's 1st sixth-generation aircraft and can carry conventional and nuclear payloads.
• China's CRRC Corporation Limited has unveiled Asia’s first hydrogen urban train.
• The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Social Alpha signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to launch the SpaceTech Innovation Network (SpIN), India’s first dedicated platform for innovation curation and venture development for the burgeoning space entrepreneurial ecosystem.
• American multinational technology company, Google's subsidiary Jigsaw is launching a new anti-misinformation project in
• The United Kingdom's ((UK’s) attempt to launch the first rocket from its soil failed after the rocket carrying 9 satellites failed to reach orbit.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: ACQUISITIONS & MERGERS

• Axis Bank has entered into a revised agreement with Max Financial Services Limited to acquire an additional 7% stake in Max Life Insurance at fair market value using discounted cash flow method.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: RANKING AND REPORTS

• 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.
• A recent data from Central Pollution Control Board claimed Delhi to be India's most polluted city in 2022 with PM 2.5 levels more than double the safe limit and the third-highest average PM10 concentration.
• For the fifth straight year, the Japanese passport is the most powerful among all passports in the world, as it allows visa-free access to as many as 193 countries, according to Henley Passport Index 2023.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BOOKS AND AUTHORS

• 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.
• The book Jadunama, authored by Arvind Mandloi about the eminent poet-lyricist Javed Akhtar, was published.
• Former Chief Justice of India and member of the Rajya Sabha Ranjan Gogoi has released a book 'Chief Minister's Diary No.1' containing the account of events of the first year in office of Assam Chief Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma.
• Techno-educationalist, Professor K.K. Abdul Gaffar’s autobiography, ‘Njaan Sakshi’ (me as the witness), was released by cricket legend Mahendra Singh Dhoni at a grand function organised in Kasaragod
• Tamal Bandyopadhyay, a veteran journalist, has published "Roller Coaster: An Affair with Banking" through Jaico Publishing House.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: SPORTS NEWS

• 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.
• In Madhya Pradesh, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan will unveil the mascot, torch, and anthem of Khelo India Youth Games-2022 in a colourful program at Shaurya Smarak in Bhopal.
• Novak Djokovic defeated America’s Sebastian Korda in a nerve-wracking final to win the Adelaide International men’s singles title.
• Wales and Los Angeles FC winger Gareth Bale had decided to end his playing career at the age of 33, having reached exceptional milestones in both club and international football.
• Cricket South Africa has announced that all-rounder Dwaine Pretorius has called time on his international career.
• Indian squash prodigy Anahat Singh clinched the girl's Under-15 squash title at the most prestigious British Junior Open tournament in Birmingham.
• Virat Kohli returned to the Indian ODI side with yet another dazzling hundred against Sri Lanka in the first three-match ODI series.
• The Khelo India Senior Women National Kho Kho league is set to take place at Chandigarh University, Punjab.
• France team captain Hugo Lloris announced his decision to retire from international football at the age of 36.
• Hockey India has launched a new metaverse product to tie in with its hosting of the Men’s World Cup in Bhubaneswar and Rourkela from January 13-29.
• Australia allrounder Ashleigh Gardner and England’s Harry Brook have won the ICC Player of the Month Awards for December following their sparkling show at the international level.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: OBITUARIES

• Veteran Sinologist Janaki Ballabh passed away at the age of 94.
• Noted Rabindra Sangeet exponent Sumitra Sen passed away at the age of 89 in Kolkata
• Former chairman of PepsiCo, India, and South Asia, PM Sinha, passed away at the age of 82 in Gurugram.

• The three-time speaker of the Uttar Pradesh (UP) Legislative Assembly and former Governor of West Bengal Keshri Nath Tripathi passed away at the age of 88 in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh(UP).
• The father of Laparoscopic surgery in India, Dr. Tehemton E Udwadia passed away at the age of 88 in Mumbai, Maharashtra.
• American soccer journalist Grant Wahl Passed away, while covering the World Cup match between Argentina and the Netherlands in Lusail Stadium, Qatar.
• Kashmir’s renowned poet and first Jnanpith awardee Professor Abdul Rehman Rahi Passed away at the age of 98 in Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir (J&K).