Weekly Current Affairs January 2023 Week – 01

NATIONAL AFFAIRS

The Government of India (GoI) has approved a self-regulatory body for publishers of news
and current affairs across the country. The organization named ‘Print and Digital Media
Association (PADMA)’, with 47 digital news publishers on board, will look at grievances
related to digital media news content on their platforms.

With this, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has approved nine self-regulatory
bodies since May 2021 under rule 12 of the Information Technology (Intermediary
Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.
They include DIGIPUB News India Foundation, Confederation of Online Media (India), and
NBF- Professional News Broadcasting Standards Authority, among others.

The Government of India (GoI) has signed a pact with the Pune-based Institute of
Veterinary Biological Products (IVBP) for developing ‘Lumpi-ProVac’, the indigenous
vaccine for lumpy skin disease in cattle.

Lumpi-ProVacind is used for the prophylactic immunization of animals against Lumpy Skin
Disease, which illicit protection for about one year.
The vaccine is developed by the National Centre for Veterinary Type Culture, ICARNational Research Centre on Equines (ICAR-NRCE), Hisar (Haryana), in collaboration with
ICAR-Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI), Izatnagar (UP).
Lumpy Skin Disease:
It is a viral disease caused by the infection of cattle or water buffalo with the poxvirus
Lumpy Skin Disease Virus (LSDV). It was first seen as an epidemic in Zambia in 1929. It is
primarily spread between animals by biting insects (vectors), such as mosquitoes and biting
flies. It has been reported in India since 2019 while the first case was reported in the state of
Odisha.

The National Commission for Indian System of Medicine (NCISM) and the Central Council for
Research in Ayurvedic Sciences (CCRAS), the two prominent institutions under the Ministry of
Ayush, Government of India for regulating medical education and conducting scientific
research respectively, have launched ‘SMART’ program to boost scientific research in priority
healthcare research areas through Ayurveda colleges and hospitals.
SMART stands for ‘Scope for Mainstreaming Ayurveda Research in Teaching Professionals’.
The objective is to identify, support and promote innovative research ideas in healthcare
research areas including Osteoarthritis, Iron Deficiency Anaemia, Chronic Bronchitis,
Dyslipidemia, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Obesity, Diabetes Mellitus, Psoriasis, Generalised Anxiety
Disorder, Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).
The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras has created a ‘centre of excellence’ named
‘DRDO Industry Academia-Ramanujan Centre of Excellence’ (DIA-RCoE) at a campus unit
Weekly Current Affairs January 2023 Week – 01
iia
www.practicemock.com 4 info@practicemock.com 9319314079
set up by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to develop advanced
technologies for national defence and security.
The centre will undertake basic and applied research in verticals like electronics and
computational systems; naval systems and naval technologies; advanced combat vehicle
technologies; high-power CW laser sources; and next-generation communication and
networking technologies.
The Chief Justice of India (CJI) D Y Chandrachud has launched the Electronic Supreme Court
Reports (E-SCR) project to provide free access to about 34,000 judgements to lawyers, law
students, and the common public.

This is an initiative to provide the digital version of the apex court’s judgments in the
manner as they are reported in the official law report – ‘Supreme Court Reports’.
A search engine comprising elastic search techniques in the database of e-SCR has been
developed by the SC along with the National Informatics Centre (NIC), Pune, Maharashtra.

The Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India (GoI), has notified the
National Geospatial Policy 2022 to develop geospatial infrastructures, skills and knowledge,
standards, and businesses. It is a 13-year guideline which aims to promote India’s geospatial
data industry and develop a national framework to use such data for improving citizen
services.
Highlights of the National Geospatial Policy 2022:

The policy relies on the favourable environment created by the “Guidelines for acquiring
and producing Geospatial Data and Geospatial Data Services including Maps”.
The policy will strive to create a national geospatial data framework and promote “easy
availability” of data to businesses and the general public.
The GoI has proposed to establish an “Integrated Data and Information Framework”
(IDIF) under which a “Geospatial Knowledge Infrastructure” (GKI) will be developed by

The policy calls for the establishment of a national apex body, the Geospatial Data
Promotion and Development Committee (GDPDC).
The policy describes the creation of 14 National Fundamental Sectoral Geospatial Data
Themes.
Geospatial technology:
It is an emerging technique to study real earth geographic information using Geographic
Information System (GIS), Remote Sensing (RS), and Global Positioning System (GPS). It
has applications in almost every domain of the economy i.e. ecology, tourism, marine
sciences, healthcare, agriculture, and forestry to defence, law enforcement, logistics and
transportation. It enables government systems, services, and initiatives to be integrated using
‘location’ as a common and underpinning reference frame.
Weekly Current Affairs January 2023 Week – 01
iia
www.practicemock.com 5 info@practicemock.com 9319314079

The Aeromodelling club of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati has crafted
four state-of-the-art indigenous multipurpose drones capable of surveillance, precision
photography, and warehouse management. The 4 drones include:

‘Warehouse Drones’ for complex warehouse and inventory management.
‘Reaper Drones’ for military and law enforcement usage.
‘Ornithopters’ for surveillance in tight spaces and wildlife photography.
‘RAVEN’ an indigenously built VTOL (Vertical Takeoff and Landing) capable fixed-winged
aircraft which can be used as a delivery or surveillance drone.

The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved the National
Green Hydrogen Mission. The initial outlay for the Mission will be Rs.19,744 crore,
including an outlay of Rs.17,490 crore for the Strategic Interventions for Green Hydrogen
Transition Programme (SIGHT) programme, Rs.1,466 crore for pilot projects, Rs.400 crore for
R&D, and Rs. 388 crore towards other Mission components.
Benefits of National Green Hydrogen Mission:

Creation of export opportunities for Green Hydrogen and its derivatives.
Decarbonisation of industrial, mobility and energy sectors.
Reduction in dependence on imported fossil fuels and feedstock.
Development of indigenous manufacturing capabilities.
Creation of employment opportunities
Development of cutting-edge technologies
India’s Green Hydrogen production capacity is likely to reach at least 5 MMT per annum, with
an associated renewable energy capacity addition of about 125 GW. The targets by 2030 are
likely to bring in over Rs.8 lakh crore investments and create over 6 lakh jobs. Nearly 50 MMT
per annum of CO2 emissions are expected to be averted by 2030.
Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) will be responsible for overall coordination
and implementation of the Mission.

The President of India Droupadi Mormu has given her assent to the Code of Criminal
Procedure (Gujarat Amendment) Bill, 2021 which facilitates registration of criminal cases
against persons who stage protests in violation of Section 144 of the Code of Criminal
Procedure (CrPC).

It amends Section 195 of the CrPC which states that no court shall take cognisance of any
criminal conspiracy for contempt of the lawful authority of public servants, except on the
complaint in writing of the public servant concerned.
The bill seeks to make any violation of prohibitory orders issued under Section 144 CrPC a
cognisable offence under Indian Penal Code Section 188 (disobedience to an order duly
promulgated by a public servant).
The maximum punishment under the Section 188 of the IPC is six-month imprisonment.
Weekly Current Affairs January 2023 Week – 01
iia
www.practicemock.com 6 info@practicemock.com 9319314079
Section 144 of CrPC:
It was enacted in 1973. It empowers the magistrate of any state or union territory in India to
prohibit the assembly of four or more people so that law and order can be protected in an
area.

Union Minister for Science & Technology Dr Jitendra Singh has announced that the Indian
Space Research Organization (ISRO) will launch India’s first Human Space Flight programme
‘Gaganyaan’ by the year 2024.

The Gaganyaan project aims to demonstrate human spaceflight capability by launching a
crew of three people into a 400-kilometre orbit for a three-day mission and safely
returning them to Earth by landing in Indian sea waters.
There will be two preliminary launches in 2024.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has recently paid tribute to Rani Velu Nachiyar on her birth
anniversary.
Rani Velu Nachiyar:

She was an 18th-century warrior queen who belonged to the Sivagangai estate in presentday Tamil Nadu.
She was born on 3rd January 1730 in Ramanathapuram, Tamil Nadu.
She was the first Indian ruler to fight and triumph against the British in 1780, 77 years
before the First War of Independence.
She built an army of women known as ‘Udaiyaal’.
She formed an alliance with Hyder Ali against British in 1780.

The Ministry of Panchayati Raj has organized a two-day National Workshop on Project
Driven Block Panchayat Development Plan (BPDP) and District Panchayat Development
Plan (DPDP) in New Delhi. The National Workshop aims on adopting, conceptualizing and
popularizing Project Driven Block Panchayat Development Plan and District Panchayat
Development Plan to projectize the process and implementation of Panchayat Development
Plans.
The workshop has been inaugurated by Kapil Moreshwar Patil, Union Minister of State for
Panchayati Raj.
Note: Article 243G of the Indian Constitution mandates Panchayats to prepare and
implement plan for economic development and social justice by converging and integrating
all such schemes of Central and State Governments within their geographical area as may be
entrusted to them including those in relation to the matters listed in the Eleventh Schedule of
the Constitution.

STATES AFFAIRS

Union Coal Minister Pralhad Joshi has inaugurated the Rs.300 crore Angul-Balram rail line
connecting Odisha’s Talcher Coalfield.
Angul-Balram rail line project:

The rail link is the first phase of the total 68 km long Inner Corridor – Angul-BalramPutugadiya-Jarapada-Tentuloi – which will connect the coalfields of Talcher Coalfields in
Odisha’s Angul district.
The project has been constructed by Mahanadi Coal Railway Ltd, a joint venture entity
of MCL, IRCON International Ltd and IDCO, an industrial infrastructure development
agency of the Odisha government.The internal corridor is being implemented by
Mahanadi Coal Railway Ltd (MCRL) in two phases.
In Phase II, the Balram-Putugadia-Jarapada-Tentuloi rail link will be completed.

The ‘Dhanu Yatra’, the largest open-air theatre festival, has been organized after a gap of
two years in Bargarh, Odisha. The vibrant Dhanu Yatra is associated with the culture of
Odisha. The festival is being held from 27th December to 6th January 2023.
Dhanu Yatra Festival:

The ‘Dhanu Yatra’, which marks the victory of good over evil, came into existence in
Bargarh in 1947-48 as part of the celebration of the country’s Independence and is held
annually for 7-11 days.
It starts from the 5th day of ‘Pousasukla’ to end on ‘Pousapurnima’.
It is about the episode of Krishna and Balaram’s visit to Mathura to witness the Dhanu
ceremony organized by their (maternal) uncle Kansa.

The Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Brijesh Pathak and Minister of State for Medical
Education Mayankeshwar Sharan Singh have introduced the ‘E-Sushrut’ Hospital
Management Information System (HMIS) in 22 state medical colleges.
The initiative has been launched by the state medical education department in collaboration
with the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (CDAC).
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has recently inaugurated a railway projects worth Rs.7,600
crore in West Bengal. He has dedicated 4 railway projects to the nation including:

Boinchi: Shaktigarh 3rd Line developed at a cost of Rs.405 crore.
Dankuni: Chandanpur 4th Line Project developed at a cost of Rs.565 crore.
Nimtita: New Farakka Double Line developed at a cost of Rs.254 crore.
Ambari Falakata-New Maynaguri-Gumanihat Doubling project developed at a cost of more
than Rs.1080 crore.
Joka-Esplanade Metro Project (Purple Line):
The Joka-Esplanade Metro Project (Purple Line) 6.5 km stretch has 6 stations namely Joka,
Thakurpukar, Sakher Bazar, Behala Chowrasta, Behala Bazar and Taratala. The project has
been constructed at a cost of more than Rs.2475 crore.
Weekly Current Affairs January 2023 Week – 01
iia
www.practicemock.com 8 info@practicemock.com 9319314079
7
th Vande Bharat Express:
The 7th Vande Bharat Express will run from Howrah to New Jalpaiguri station. It is an ultramodern Semi High Speed Train is equipped with state-of-the-art passenger amenities.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has virtually inaugurated the 108th Indian Science Congress
(ISC) at Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj (RTM) Nagpur University, Nagpur, Maharashtra.

The focal theme of the ISC 2023 is “Science & Technology for Sustainable Development
with Women Empowerment”.
The theme will centre on sustainable development with inclusive involvement of all
sections of society including women.
The year 2023 marks the centenary celebration of RTM Nagpur University.
Indian Science Congress Association (ISCA):
It is a premier scientific organisation of India with headquarters at Kolkata, West Bengal. It
started in the year 1914 in Kolkata and it meets annually in the first week of January. The first
Indian Science Congress was held in 1914 at the Asiatic Society in Calcutta.

Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has constituted a 17 member High Powered Committee
(HPC) to discuss measures to protect unique culture, language, and employment of Ladakh.

The committee has been formed under the Chairmanship of Minister of State for Home
Affairs Nityanand Rai.
Ladakh Lieutenant Governor RK Mathur, MP Jamyang Tsering Namgyal, Chairmans of Leh
and Kargil Hill councils, representatives of Apex Body Leh, Kargil Democratic Alliance and
nominee officials of Home ministry are among the members in High powered committee.
The Committee will discuss the protections to Culture and Language considering the
geographical location and strategic importance of Ladakh.
It will also discuss the protections to land and employment for the people, inclusive
development, employment generation, and measures related to empowerment of Ladakh
Autonomous Hill Development Councils of Leh and Kargil.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has dedicated to the nation 28 infrastructure projects of
Border Roads Organisation (BRO), worth Rs.724 crore, during an event organised at Siyom
Bridge on Along-Yinkiong Road in Arunachal Pradesh.

The projects comprise 22 bridges, including Siyom Bridge; three roads and three other
projects in seven border States/Union Territories of Northern & North-Eastern regions.
Eight of these projects are in Ladakh; five in Arunachal Pradesh; four in Jammu & Kashmir;
three each in Sikkim, Punjab & Uttarakhand and two in Rajasthan.
In addition, three telemedicine nodes, two in Ladakh & one in Mizoram, have been
inaugurated.
Siyom Bridge:
Weekly Current Affairs January 2023 Week – 01
iia
www.practicemock.com 9 info@practicemock.com 9319314079
The Siyom Bridge is a state-of-the-art 100-meter long, Class 70 Steel Arch Superstructure
Siyom Bridge over Siyom River in Arunachal Pradesh. The Siyom Bridge will facilitate
movement of army vehicles and weapons to Upper Siang District, Tuting and Yinkiong
regions along the Line of Actual Control.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has launched ‘Mission 929’ to achieve a voter turnout
of more than 90% in Tripura. The mission aims to create awareness among people to vote in
the upcoming elections.

The mission will focus on 929 polling booths across Tripura with a target to increase the
voter turnout to 92 percent in the next assembly elections.
In the 2018 assembly polls, these booths recorded a voter turnout of less than 89 percent.
Note: The 2023 Tripura Legislative Assembly election is scheduled to be held in Tripura by
March 2023 to elect all 60 members of the Tripura Legislative Assembly.

President of India Droupadi Murmu has inaugurated the 18th National Scout and Guide
Jamboree at Rohat in the Pali district of Rajasthan. The state has hosted the Jamboree after
66 years.

Over 35,000 scouts and guides from all over the country have participated in this 7-day
mega-event.
A smart jamboree village has been set up with all the facilities on a 220 hectare area at
Nimblee village 3500 tents have been erected at the venue.
The main attraction of the event was the display of the Indian Airforce Surya Kiran
Aerobatics Team.
This event give a platform to young scouts to share their customs, food habits,
handicrafts, and religious practices with each other.

NTPC Limited and Gujarat Gas Limited (GGL) have commissioned India’s first green
hydrogen blending project in the Piped Natural Gas (PNG) network of NTPC Kawas township
in Gujarat.

The project aims to supply H2-NG (natural gas) to households in the Kawas township at
Adityanagar, Surat.
The green hydrogen in Kawas is produced through the electrolysis of water using power
from a 1 MW floating solar project.
The green hydrogen blending project in Surat is being carried out with the approval of the
Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB).
The PNGRB has given permission for a 5% vol./vol. blending of green hydrogen with PNG
to start with, with the blending level to be gradually increased to reach 20%.
Weekly Current Affairs January 2023 Week – 01
iia
www.practicemock.com 10 info@practicemock.com 9319314079

The President of India Droupadi Mormu has inaugurated the Samvidhan Udyan, Mayur
Stambh, National Flag Post, statues of Mahatma Gandhi and Maharana Pratap at Raj Bhavan,
Jaipur, Rajasthan.

She has virtually inaugurated the Transmission System for Solar Energy Zones in
Rajasthan.
She has also laid the foundation stone for 1000 MW Bikaner Solar Power Project of SJVN
Limited.
She has launched a National Campaign on ‘RISE-Rising India through Spiritual
Empowerment’, organized by Brahma Kumaris.
Other projects inaugurated:
President of India Droupadi Mormu has virtually inaugurated the Brahma Kumaris
Silence Retreat Centre in Secunderabad, Telangana.
She has also laid the foundation stone for Brahma Kumaris Auditorium and Spiritual
Art Gallery at Indore, Madhya Pradesh.

Sammed Shikharji, located on the Parasnath Hill in Giridih district of Jharkhand, is the
biggest pilgrimage centre of the Jain community. It is believed that 20 of the 24 Jain
Tirthankaras, together with other monks, obtained Moksha here.
In News: Jains observe a one-day bandh to protest against the Jharkhand government’s
decision to turn Shri Sammed Shikharji Tirth into a tourist spot.
The state government of Himachal Pradesh will set up the CM’s Sukhashraya Sahayata
Kosh for the destitute with an outlay of Rs.101 crore. The scheme will aim to provide the
facility of higher education to needy children and destitute women.
The Chief Minister of Kerala Pinarayi Vijayan has inaugurated the Indian Library Congress
at the Collectorate Ground in Kannur.

The People’s Mission for Social Development and Library Council has organized the event
in association with Kannur University.
The main aim of the congress is to make libraries a centre of entertainment and
knowledge rather than just bookstores.
Around 3000 delegates from across the country have participated in the congress.

Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has virtually inaugurated 2 infrastructure projects:
Maitra Bridge in Ramban district of Jammu & Kashmir and the double-lane SrinagarSonamarg-Gumri road connecting the Ladakh region with J&K. The 2 projects are aimed to
improve the road connectivity in J&K and Ladakh.
Maitra Bridge:

It is also known as Jhula Bridge. It is a 240-feet Bailey suspension bridge connecting the
Ramban district administrative complex and Gool sub-division.
The project has been completed within 31 days, 2 months ahead of its scheduled date of
completion.
Srinagar-Sonamarg-Gumri road:
The road connects Srinagar to Kargil and Leh with a carriage way width of 7.00 metres and
road width of 12.00 metres. The total length of the road is 84.320 km. This lifeline road link
connects township of Kashmir via Manigam, Kangan Hari-Ganiwan, Gund, Gagangir,
Sonamarg, Zozila before entering Ladakh.

The Zeliangrong community of Manipur has observed the Gaan-Ngai festival to bring
peace, prosperity, and unity to the people of Manipur. The festival also marks the beginning
of the New Year and bids farewell to the old year.

This festival is one of the biggest cultural and religious post-harvest festivals of the
Zeliangrong community that marks the end of the year when the farmers stores their
harvest in their granaries.
The festival is observed by all non-Christian villages of Zeliangrong tribes which includes,
Zeme, Liangmei, Rongmei, Kabui, Ipui, and others living in Assam, Manipur, and Nagaland.

The state government of Madhya Pradesh has launched the ‘Chief Minister’s Residential
Land Rights Scheme’ (Mukhyamantri Aavaseya Bhumi Adhikar Yojna) from Bakpura
Panchayat of Tikamgarh district.

Under this scheme, each beneficiary family will be given a plot of about 600 square feet
for construction of houses.
Under the scheme, applications from 14 lakh people have been received from across the
state.

With the commissioning of Automatic signalling system in Sath Naraini- Rundhi- Faizullapur
Station section of Prayagraj Division, 762 KM long Ghaziabad-Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyay
section has been fully automated and has also become the longest automatic block
signalling section of Indian Railways (IR).

Indian Railways has been rolling out Automatic Block Signalling (ABS) on a mission mode.
ABS has been commissioned on 268 Route km during 2022-23.
As on 31st December 2022, ABS has been provided on 3706 Route km over IR.
Weekly Current Affairs January 2023 Week – 01
iia
www.practicemock.com 12 info@practicemock.com 9319314079

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has
approved the investment for the 382 MW Sunni Dam Hydro Electric Project in Himachal
Pradesh by SJVN Limited, for an estimated cost of Rs.2614.51 crore including Rs.13.80 crore
as budgetary support from the Government of India for cost of enabling infrastructure.
The project cost of Rs.2614 crore included hard cost amounting to Rs.2246.40 crore, Interest
During Construction (IDC) and Financing Charges (FC) of Rs.358.96 crore & Rs.9.15 crore,
respectively.
Other cabinet approvals:
Cabinet has approved the naming of Greenfield International Airport Mopa, Goa as
‘Manohar International Airport – Mopa, Goa’, as a mark of tribute to Late Shri Manohar
Parrikar, Ex-Defence Minister and Four-time Goa Chief Minister.
Cabinet has also approved the continuation of Schemes of Ministry of Development of
North Eastern Region, with an outlay of Rs.12882.2 crore, for the balance period of the 15th
Finance Commission (2022-23 to 2025-26).

The outlay for the North East Special Infrastructure Scheme (NESIDS) will be Rs.8139.5
crore including committed liabilities of ongoing projects.
The outlay for ‘Schemes of NEC’ will be Rs.3202.7 crore including committed liabilities of
ongoing projects.
The outlay for Special Packages for BTC, DHATC and KAATC in Assam is Rs.1540 (BTC- Rs
500 crore, KAATC – Rs 750 crore and old packages of BTC, DHATC & KAATC – Rs 290 crore).

Varanasi Cantt Railway Station has been awarded a 5- star ‘Eat Right Station’ certification
for providing high-quality, nutritious food to passengers. This certification is granted by Food
Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) to railway stations adhering to standard food
storage and hygiene practices.

The ‘Eat Right Station’ certification is awarded by FSSAI to railway stations that set
benchmarks in providing safe and wholesome food to passengers.
The station is awarded a certificate upon a conclusion of an FSSAI-empanelled third-party
audit agency with ratings from 1 to 5.
The 5-star rating indicates full compliance by the station to ensure safe and hygienic food
is available to passengers.
Other railway stations with Star certification:
Anand Vihar Terminal Railway Station (Delhi); Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (Mumbai);
Mumbai Central Railway Station, (Mumbai); Vadodara Railway Station, Chandigarh Railway
Station and Bhopal Railway Station.
Weekly Current Affairs January 2023 Week – 01
iia
www.practicemock.com 13 info@practicemock.com 9319314079

Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has approved Rs.28.11 crore to
provide immediate relief to over 28,000 FCV Tobacco farmers affected by Cyclone
Mandous in Andhra Pradesh.

The fund extends a special interest-free loan of Rs.10,000 to each member of Tobacco
Board’s Growers’ Welfare Schemes.
This will benefit 28,112 farmers under the Southern Regions (Southern Light Soil and
Southern Black Soil).
The interest-free loan to the eligible FCV Tobacco farmers will be administered by the
Tobacco Board, a statutory body under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry,
Government of India.
FCV tobacco:
It is the major exportable tobacco variety of the total unmanufactured tobacco exports from
India.
FCV tobacco is a major commercial crop grown in 10 districts of Andhra Pradesh with an
annual production of 121 m.kg (2021-22) grown in an area of 66,000 ha.

Union Minister for MSME Narayan Rane has inaugurated virtually an India made Intelligent
Tray Retrieval System (ITRS), manufactured by M/s SJK Innovations Pvt. Ltd, a MSMEMake in India Company at MOPA (Goa) International airport.

This “Made in India” ITRS system is also a “Patented in India”.
The ITRS is an Artificial Intelligence based fully automatic machine that helps in providing
enhanced passenger security with advanced screening technology.
The machine is equipped with image analysis software with advanced tools that makes it
easy for the screener to take correct decisions against every baggage.

The Chief Minister of Kerala Pinarayi Vijayan has inaugurated the Palm leaf Manuscript
Museum with modern audio-visual technology at the renovated Central Archives, Fort area in
Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.

The museum, promoted as “World’s First Palm-Leaf Manuscript Museum” has been set up
by the Archives Department in association with the Kerala Museum of History and
Heritage at a cost of Rs.3 crore.
The museum is a repository of curious nuggets of administrative, socio-cultural and
economic facets of the Travancore kingdom which lasted for 650 years till the end of the
19th century.

The Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) has organised the first design-centric
jewellery show of the calendar year 2023 – India International Jewellery Show (IIJS
Signature) and India Gem & Jewellery Machinery Expo (IGJME) at the Bombay Exhibition
Centre, Mumbai, Maharashtra from 5th to 9th January 2023.

Chief Guest: Anupriya Patel, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry
Weekly Current Affairs January 2023 Week – 01
iia
www.practicemock.com 14 info@practicemock.com 9319314079
India’s overall gem and jewellery exports in 2022 saw a growth of 8.26% as compared to
2021.
The Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC):
It was set up by the Ministry of Commerce, Government of India (GoI) in 1966. It is the apex
body of the gems & jewellery industry and represents 8500 members in the sector. It has
been granted autonomous status in 1998.
Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra
Chairman: Vipul Shah

Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology Dr Jitendra Singh has
inaugurated the “National Genome Editing & Training Centre” at National Agri-food
Biotechnology Institute (NABI) Mohali, Punjab.
He has also inaugurated a 4-day International Conference on Food and Nutritional
Security (iFANS) 2023.
iFANS-2023:
It has been jointly organized by the National Agri-Food Biotechnology Institute (NABI), Centre
for Innovative and Applied Bioprocessing (CIAB), National Institute of Plant Biotechnology
(NIPB), and International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB) at NABI,
Mohali.
The conference focuses on how genome editing could enhance India’s food and nutritional
security under changing climate.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah has inaugurated a mega dairy built at a cost of Rs.260
crore in Mandya district of Karnataka. This mega dairy will process 10 lakh liters of milk
per day and it will have the capacity to increase it up to 14 lakh liters per day.
The 205th anniversary of the Bhima-Koregaon battle has recently been observed near the
Ranstambh (victory pillar) in Perne village, Pune district of Maharashtra.
Battle of Bhima-Koregaon:
It took place on 1 January 1818 in the village of Koregaon, Maharashtra between the British
East India Company and the Army of Peshwa Bajirao II. The British had just 834 infantrymen,
around 500 of whom were from the Mahar community, and 12 officers, while the Peshwa
army consisted of 28,000 soldiers. Although the outcome of the battle was inconclusive, the
Jaystambh (obelisk) in Bhima-Koregaon village was erected by the British government in 1821
to commemorate the soldiers who had fought against the Peshwas.
The Governor of Tamil Nadu Ravindra Naryana Ravi (R.N. Ravi) has inaugurated the ‘Octave2023-Northeastern Cultural Festival’ held under the aegis of the South Zone Cultural
Centre, Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, under the Union Ministry of Culture, to showcase the
indigenous art and culture of North East India.
Weekly Current Affairs January 2023 Week – 01
iia
www.practicemock.com 15 info@practicemock.com 9319314079
Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura, Manipur, and Arunachal Pradesh are
among the participating states.
The Cabinet of Assam has approved the proposal for grant of industry status to the tourism
sector in the state, to boost investments and generate employment. With the grant,
restaurants, cafeterias, health clubs, spas and wellness centres, among others, in the state
are eligible for incentives under the industrial policy.
Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah has laid the foundation stone of the
Central Detective Training Institute (CDTI) at Devanahalli in Karnataka and inaugurated
the residential and administrative complexes of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP)
including Residential Quarters, Joint Building, Barracks for 120 Jawans, Staff Officers’ Mess
and Officers’ Mess.
Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology Dr Jitendra Singh has
inaugurated “Incubation Centre” at National Research Development Corporation
(NRDC), Delhi to provide multi-prong support to startups.
With this, Dr Jitendra Singh has become the first Science and Technology Minister to visit the
NRDC Headquarters in Delhi, since its inception in 1953.
Union Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Parshottam Rupala has
inaugurated 29 Mobile Veterinary Units (MVUs) and centralised call centre in
Thiruvananthpuram, Kerala. These MVUs will be operated through a centralised call centre
with a uniform Helpline No. 1962.
Ministry of Road Transport and Highways stated that 11 states/UTs have joined the
National Single Window System (NSWS) for Voluntary Vehicle-Fleet Modernization
Program (V-VMP) to attract private investment in the vehicle scrapping ecosystem. These
states/UTs are Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh,
Rajasthan, Assam, Goa, Uttarakhand, and Chandigarh.
Vehicle Scrappage Policy (V-VMP):
It was announced in the Union Budget 2021-22. It came into effect on 1st April 2022. The
policy proposed a fitness test after 20 years for personal vehicles and 15 years for
commercial vehicles. Under the new policy, the government will provide up to 25 percent tax
rebate on road tax for vehicles that are purchased after scrapping old vehicles.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

Croatia, the youngest member of the European Union (EU), has adopted the ‘Euro’, and it
became a part of Europe’s border-free Schengen zone.
Weekly Current Affairs January 2023 Week – 01
iia
www.practicemock.com 16 info@practicemock.com 9319314079

Croatia, a Balkan country, is now the 20th member of the Eurozone and the 27th country
to join the passport-free Schengen zone.
The Euro has replaced the ‘Kuna’ as the official currency of Croatia starting on 1st January
2023.
The Kuna will be exchanged at a rate of 1 Euro for 7.53450 of Croatian kuna.
The new Croatian euro coin will have inventor Nikola Tesla on one side, as well as a map
of the country and the national checkerboard design.
Schengen Area:
The Schengen Area is an area comprising 27 European countries that have officially abolished
all passport and all other types of border control at their mutual borders.

Ecuador, Japan, Malta, Mozambique and Switzerland have recently began their 2-year
term as non-permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). These
new members have replaced India, Ireland, Kenya, Mexico, and Norway.
Albania, Brazil, Gabon, Ghana, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are currently in the middle
of their 2-year term as non-permanent members of UNSC.
United Nations Security Council (UNSC):
The UNSC is responsible for maintaining international peace and security. It has 15 members
in total, including the five permanent members (China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom,
and the United States) who have veto power, and 10 elected members who serve 2-year
terms. The elected members are allocated by global regions and are replaced every two
years.
China has become the first country in Asia and second in the world to launch Hydrogen
powered Train. The train has a top speed of 160 km per hour and can run without refuelling
for 600 km.
Germany was the first country to introduce hydrogen-powered trains in September 2022.
Hydrogen Trains:
The Hydrogen fuel cell is environment friendly and it does not emit any greenhouse gasses. It
uses hydrogen and air to generate electricity. The combination of air and hydrogen will
produce water as a by-product which will be released by the Train.
Note: Hydrogen trains will start in India by December 2023.
Digantara, a space sector start-up, has launched its second satellite Pushan-Alpha as a
rideshare onboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, carrying Transporter-6 mission to the low earth
orbit, from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, USA.
Pushan-Alpha Mission:
Weekly Current Affairs January 2023 Week – 01
iia
www.practicemock.com 17 info@practicemock.com 9319314079

Objectives: (a) To extend radiation measurements to the sun synchronous orbit; (b) To
assess mid to high energy particle radiation from the South Atlantic Anomaly; and (c) To
investigate any co-relation of atmospheric drag and particle environment for enhanced
orbit and debris modelling.
The Pushan-Alpha mission is named after the Hindu solar deity considered as the god of
journeys and protector of travellers.
The satellite will serve as a space weather testbed in the sun synchronous orbit for
enhancing precision driven situational space awareness applications.

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 seized Suu Kyi’s elected government on 1st
February 2021, detaining her and other officials.
In the 15-member UNSC council for the Myanmar crisis, China, Russia and India denied
the vote. The remaining 12 members voted in favour.

REPORTS & INDICES

According to Nikkei Asia’s report, India has surpassed Japan to become the third-largest
auto market globally in 2022. China continued to lead the global auto market, followed by
the USA.
India’s sales volume is expected to rise further with the inclusion of pending fourth-quarter
sales figures for commercial vehicles.
As per the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers, new vehicles delivered in India
totalled 4.13 million between January and November 2022.
The gross GST (Goods & Services Tax) revenue collected during December 2022 is
Rs.1,49,507 crore, of which CGST is Rs.26,711 crore, SGST is Rs.33,357 crore, IGST is
Rs.78,434 crore (including Rs.40,263 crore collected on import of goods) and Cess is Rs.11,005
crore (including Rs 850 crore collected on import of goods).

The Government has settled Rs.36,669 crore to CGST and Rs.31,094 crore to SGST from
IGST as regular settlement.
The total revenue of the Centre and the States after regular settlements in December
2022 is Rs.63,380 crore for CGST and Rs.64,451 crore for the SGST.
The revenues for the month of December 2022 are 15% higher than the GST revenues in
the same month last year.
Additional Information:
Weekly Current Affairs January 2023 Week – 01
iia
www.practicemock.com 18 info@practicemock.com 9319314079
The Goods and Services Tax (GST) is a value-added tax levied on most goods and services
sold for domestic consumption. It was introduced in India from 1st July 2017. It is being levied
at four rates viz. 5%, 12%, 16% and 28%.

As per the latest data from the Ministry of Finance (MoF), India’s external debt stood at USD
610.5 billion in the second quarter of 2022-23 (July-September 2022) showing a decrease of
USD 2.3 billion from Q1 FY23 (April to June 2022). The external debt to GDP ratio stood at
19.2 percent at the end of Q2FY23 as compared to 19.3 percent at end of Q1FY23.

Valuation gains were USD 10.6 billion.
Excluding the valuation effect, the increase in external debt would have been USD 8.3
billion instead of a decrease of USD 2.3 billion at end Q2FY22 over end Q1FY22.
At end Q2FY22, long-term debt (with original maturity of above one year) was placed at
USD 478.7 billion, a decline of USD 8 billion over Q1FY22.
The US dollar denominated debt remained the largest component of India’s external
debt, with a share of 55.5 percent at end of Q2FY22, followed by the Indian rupee (30.2
percent), Special Drawing Rights (SDR) (6.1 percent), Yen (4.9 percent), and the Euro (2.6
percent).

Coffee shipments from India, Asia’s third-largest producer and exporter, have grown by
1.66 percent to 4 lakh tonnes in 2022 from 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 2021.
The shipment of Robusta coffee has declined marginally to 2,20,974 tonne in 2022 from
2,20,997 tonne in 2021.
The export of Arabica has declined by 11.43 percent to 44,542 tonne from 50,292 tonne.
The export of instant coffee has increased by 16.73 percent to 35,810 tonne in 2022 from
29,819 tonne in 2021.
Around 99,513 tonne of coffee has been re-exported in 2022, higher than 92,235 tonne in
2021.
Italy, Germany and Russia are the major export destinations for the Indian coffee.
Note: Karnataka is the largest coffee producing state in India.

GOVERNMENT SCHEMES & PROGRAMMES

The Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD’s) flagship poverty alleviation program
Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM) has launched
the “Prajjwala Challenge” to invite ideas, solutions, and actions that can transform rural
economy.
Weekly Current Affairs January 2023 Week – 01
iia
www.practicemock.com 19 info@practicemock.com 9319314079
The Prajjwala Challenge has been launched by the Secretary, Ministry of Rural Development,
Shailesh Kumar Singh in New Delhi.
Under this challenge, ideas are invited from individuals, Social Enterprises, Start up, Private
Sector, Civil Society, Community Based Organization, Academic Institution, Start-ups,
Incubation centres, Investors etc. having potential to transform the rural economy.
The top 5 ideas will be rewarded with Rs.2 lakh each.
The Central government has rolled out new integrated Food Security Scheme to ensure
effective and uniform implementation of National Food Security Act (NFSA). The scheme is
effective from 1
st January 2023 to December 2023.

The scheme provides free food grains to over 81 crore beneficiaries (Antyodaya Ann
Yojana (AAY) households and Priority Household (PHH) people) under National Food
Security Act (NFSA) in 2023.
It is a scheme to strengthen the provisions of NFSA, 2013 in terms of accessibility,
affordability, and availability of food grains for the poor and the vulnerable section of
society.
The new integrated scheme combines two current food subsidy schemes of the
Department of Food and Public Distribution (a) Food Subsidy to Food Corporation of India
(FCI) for NFSA, and (b) Food Subsidy for decentralized procurement states, dealing with
procurement, allocation, and delivery of free food grains to the states under NFSA.
Free food grains will concurrently ensure uniform implementation of portability under One
Nation One Ration Card (ONORC) across the country. The Central Government will bear the
food subsidy of more than Rs. 2 lakh crore for the year 2023.

The Ministry of Jal Shakti has organized the “1st All India Annual State Ministers
Conference on Water’’ in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh on 5th & 6th January 2023. The theme of
the conference is “Water Vision@2047”.
Objective: To gather inputs for the India@2047 and 5P (Political will, Public financing,
Partnerships, Public Participation and Persuasion for sustainability) vision from the different
water stakeholders of the states, and also to improve engagement and partnership with the
states.
Participants: State Ministers and Senior Secretaries of Water Resources, Public Health
Engineering Department (PHED) and Irrigation from all States/ UTs along with Agriculture
Production Commissioners.
The conference have 5 thematic sessions viz.
(a) Water Security in Water Deficit, Water Surplus and Hilly Regions
(b) Water Use Efficiency including Reuse of Waste Water/ Grey Water
(c) Water Governance
(d) Climate Change Resilient Water Infrastructure
(e) Water Quality
Note: Water is a State subject.
Weekly Current Affairs January 2023 Week – 01
iia
www.practicemock.com 20 info@practicemock.com 9319314079
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved the proposal of the Ministry of
Information and Broadcasting regarding the Central Sector Scheme “Broadcasting
Infrastructure and Network Development” (BIND).

The BIND scheme is aimed to bring modernisation to the public broadcaster Prasar
Bharati i.e. All India Radio (AIR) and Doordarshan (DD).
The outlay of the scheme is Rs.2,539.61 crore and is for the time period 2025-26.
The scheme will increase coverage of AIR FM transmitters in the country to 66% by
geographical area and 80% by population up from 59% and 68% respectively.
The scheme also envisages free distribution of over 8 lakh DD Free Dish STBs to people
living in remote, tribal, LWE and border areas.

Ministry of Power has recently completed 8 years of distributing and selling LED lights
under its flagship Unnat Jyoti by Affordable LEDs for All (UJALA) programme.
Achievements-

More than 36.8 crore LEDs have been distributed across the country so far.
Over 48.42 billion Kilowatt-hour per annum energy has been saved.
9,789 megawatts of peak demand has been avoided.
There has been a substantial reduction in carbon dioxide emissions.
Unnat Jyoti by Affordable LEDs for All (UJALA):
It is a zero-subsidy scheme’
It was launched on 5
th January 2015.
It is implemented by the Ministry of Power.
It is touted as the world’s largest domestic lighting project.
It is also known as the LED-based Domestic Efficient Lighting Programme (DELP).
It aims to promote the efficient usage of energy for all i.e., its consumption, savings
and lighting.
Every domestic household having a metered connection from their respective
Electricity Distribution Company is eligible to get the LED bulbs under the Scheme.
The programme is spearheaded by the Energy Efficiency Services Limited.

A new product Jan Aushadhi Special Chyawanprash under Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya
Janaushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP) has been launched in New Delhi. Chyawanprash Special is a
potent antioxidant paste, prepared through the synergistic blending of around 50 herbs and
spices.
Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP):
Weekly Current Affairs January 2023 Week – 01
iia
www.practicemock.com 21 info@practicemock.com 9319314079
It was launched in 2008 by the Department of Pharmaceuticals, Ministry of Chemicals &
Fertilizers, Government of India. The aim is to make quality generic medicines available at
affordable prices to all. It is being implemented by the Pharmaceuticals & Medical Devices
Bureau of India (PMBI).

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

India’s External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar and his Cyprus counterpart Ioannis
Kasoulides have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Defence and Military
Cooperation.

A Letter of Intent on Migration and Mobility Partnership has also been signed to
provide a common framework of arrangement and cooperation to facilitate the mobility
of students, academics, business people, and professionals. It will also help in combating
irregular migration.
The External Affairs Minister has also released the commemorative stamps on 75 years of
India’s Independence and 60 years of establishing diplomatic ties with Cyprus.
It is noteworthy that External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar visited the Republic of
Cyprus from 29th December to 31st December 2022 and the Republic of Astana from 31st
December to 3rd January 2023.
During his visit, India & Austria have signed a number of agreements, including ones
pertaining to mobility and migration and the Working Holiday Programme.

The Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore- backed non-profit foundation ARTPARK (AI
& Robotics Technology Park) has joined hands with Google to launch pan-India inclusive
language data initiative named ‘Project Vaani’ for open-sourcing datasets, which will amplify
the Indian government’s ‘Digital India’ efforts by including more diverse regional and local
languages.

Project Vaani aims to compile comprehensive datasets of transcribed text and spoken
language from each district in India.
Vaani joins the SYSPIN (Synthesizing Speech in Indian Languages) and RESPIN
(Recognizing Speech in Indian Languages) programmes, which encompass nine languages,
including Magadhi and Maithili, under the Bhāshā AI umbrella of ARTPARK and IISc.

RITES Limited, a Miniratna (Category – I) Schedule ‘A’ public sector enterprise, has signed a
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with KIIFCON, a consultancy organization under
Kerala infrastructure investment fund board (KIIFB), to jointly explore, identify, secure and
execute consultancy projects.
Under this MoU, RITES and KIIFCON will work as partners to provide consultancy regarding
development and execution for transport and infrastructure projects in various sectors,
including highways, airports, ports & waterways, urban transport (metros), sustainability, etc.
Weekly Current Affairs January 2023 Week – 01
iia
www.practicemock.com 22 info@practicemock.com 9319314079
Zerodha-backed GoldenPi Technologies has become the first online bond platform
provider to receive a debt brokerage license from market regulator Securities and Exchange
Board of India (SEBI). The licence is expected to boost investor trust in the online bond and
debenture investment space.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has relaxed certain provisions of the SEBI
(Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015 (Listing
Requirements) relating to the dispatch of a hard copy of the annual report due in the year
2023 to debenture holders till 30th September 2023, which shall take effect immediately. The
earlier extension lasted until 31st December 2022.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has agreed to the Central Government
request to reclassify its shareholding in IDBI Bank after its disinvestment as public holding.
However, this is subject to the condition that government’s voting rights in the bank will not
exceed 15% of the total voting rights after the sale.
Hindustan Copper Limited, a Miniratna, Category I CPSE under the Ministry of Mines, has
signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Indian Institute of Technology
(Indian School of Mines), Dhanbad at HCL Corporate Office in Kolkata for collaborative and
sponsored research projects.
This MoU will address HCL’s need for technical assistance, guidance and consultancy work
from IIT-ISM for enhancing copper ore production through modifying mining methods with
application of state-of-the-art technologies, improvement of productivity and safety in mines,
environmental clearance issues, various Hydrological & Hydro-geological studies and in areas
of unconventional exploration methods like Geophysical exploration, Remote Sensing etc. for
depth exploration of copper ore.
Hindustan Copper Limited has also signed a Tripartite 8th Wage Settlement for revision of
Wages and Allowances of workmen.
USA-based General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI), a subsidiary of General
Atomics, has tied up with Bharat Forge Limited, a part of Kalyani Group, to manufacture
aerostructures- main landing gear components, subassemblies, and assemblies of remotely
piloted aircraft in India.
This association aims to support the development of a manufacturing ecosystem for highend drones.
Union Minister Rajnath Singh, Ministry of Defence (MoD), has virtually attended the
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) Exchange Ceremony ‘Outreach Programme with the
Weekly Current Affairs January 2023 Week – 01
iia
www.practicemock.com 23 info@practicemock.com 9319314079
Ministry of Education (MoE) and the Ministry of Skill Development and
Entrepreneurship (MoSDE)’ in New Delhi.

The event has witnessed the signing of MoUs and Agreements by MoD, MoE, and MoSDE,
Indian Army, Indian Navy, and Indian Air Force with various stakeholders to facilitate the
continued education of Agniveers while serving in the Armed Forces.
Under these MoUs, the National Institute of Open School and Indira Gandhi National
Open University will award the Agniveers with suitable 12th Class certificates and
Bachelor’s degrees.
Agneepath scheme:
The Government of India (GoI) launched the Agneepath scheme on 15th June 2022. Under the
scheme, both male and female candidates are recruited as Agniveers in the ‘below officer’s
rank’ cadre of the three services of the country for a period of four years.

The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has collaborated with Microsoft India to
support and promote the growth of space technology startups in India.
This collaboration aims to empower Indian space tech startups with technology tools and
platforms, go-to-market support, and mentoring to help them scale and become enterprise
ready.
NTPC Green Energy Ltd (NGEL) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with
Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) for the development of renewable energy
based power projects to tap Business opportunities in RE and supply of 400 MW round the
clock renewable power for requirements of HPCL.
This MoU marks the first step for NGEL and HPCL to collaborate and cooperate in the field of
development of Renewable Energy projects which shall help HPCL in meeting its Clean
Energy Commitments.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) worth Rs.18,590 crore has been signed between
the Government of Uttar Pradesh and six companies of the United Arab Emirates (UAE)
ahead of the Global Investors Summit to be held in Lucknow in February 2023.

The two companies, Astha Green Energy Venture and Shree Siddharth Infratech and
Services will invest in renewable energy worth Rs.4480 and Rs.8000 crore respectively to
create 2560 and 4800 new jobs.
Another two companies, Sharaf Group and Hindustan Port will invest in the Logistics Park
sector. The investment will be Rs.1300 and Rs.210 crore respectively in the state.
Lulu Group will invest Rs.4500 crore in retail and food processing sectors, creating 10000
jobs. While Sobha Realty will invest Rs.100 crore in education and CSR.

The Adani Group has acquired 27.26% equity stake in New Delhi Television (NDTV) from its
founders Prannoy Roy and his wife Radhika Roy for a cash consideration of Rs.602.3 crore.
Weekly Current Affairs January 2023 Week – 01
iia
www.practicemock.com 24 info@practicemock.com 9319314079
Granules India has collaborated with Greenko Group, backed by GIC Holdings Pvt. Ltd., Abu
Dhabi Investment Authority and Japan’s ORIX Corporation to develop and promote carbon
free energy and green molecule solutions. Both will develop and promote State-of-the-art
Integrated Green Pharmaceutical Zones (GPZ) with first collaboration in Kakinada, Andhra
Pradesh.
The Government of India (GoI) has exempted any listed entity in which the Central
Government or State Government or public sector company, either individually or in any
combination with other, hold directly or indirectly, majority of the shares or voting rights or
control of such listed entity, from the Minimum Public Shareholding (MPS) norm which
mandates at least 25 percent public float for all listed companies. The exemption from MPS
norm will be valid for a specified period even if there is a change in ownership or control
after the exemption is granted.

BANKING & FINANCE

Lingam Venkata Prabhakar, the Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
of Canara Bank, has retired from the services of the bank on 31st December 2022, on
attaining the age of superannuation.

He also worked as the Executive Director of Punjab National Bank (PNB).
He also served as the Chairman of Canara Robeco Asset Management Co. Ltd., Canara
HSBC OBC Insurance Company Limited & Canfin Homes Limited and the Chairman of the
IBA Standing Committee on Payment Systems & Banking Technology.

BharatPe, a fintech Startup, has appointed current Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Nalin Negi
as the firm’s interim Chief Executive Officer (CEO). He has replaced Suhail Sameer, who
stepped down from the position. Suhail Sameer will take on the role of strategic advisor,
effective 7th January 2023.
The Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, has increased the interest rate
on a number of small savings schemes for the fourth quarter (Q4) of the current fiscal year
2022-23 (FY23), which runs from 1
st January 2023 to 31st March 2023.

Instruments	Rates of interest (%) (Q3 of FY 2022-23)	Rates of interest (%) (Q4 of FY 2022- 23)	Compounding
Savings Deposit (SD)	4.0	4.0	Annual
1 Year Time Deposit (TD)	5.5	6.6	Quarterly
2 Year Time Deposit (TD)	5.7	6.8	Quarterly
3 Year Time Deposit (TD)	5.8	6.9	Quarterly
5 Year Time Deposit (TD)	6.7	7.0	Quarterly
5 Year Recurring Deposit (RD)	5.8	5.8	Quarterly
5 Year Senior Citizens Savings Scheme (SCSS)	7.6	8.0	Paid Quarterly
5 year Monthly Income Scheme (MIS)	6.7	7.1	Paid Monthly
5 Year National Savings Certificate (NSC)	6.8	7.0	Annual
Public Provident Fund (PPF) Scheme	7.1	7.1	Annual
Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP)	7.0 (will mature in 123 months)	7.2 (will mature in 120 months)	Annual
Sukanya Samriddhi Account Scheme (SSAS)	7.6	7.6	Annual

Indian Bank has unveiled the QR code bill payment system for Chamundeshwari
Electricity Supply Corporation Ltd (CESC) making it as the first power distribution company
to offer such an initiative to customers in Mysuru, Karnataka.
This dynamic QR code linked to the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) on printed electricity bill,
will help customers in making their payments without visiting any online portal or physically
going to any payment centre.
The Government of Tripura has signed an agreement with Asian Development Bank (ADB)
worth Rs. 2,275 crore to strengthen and improve power distribution efficiency in the state.

Under this, ADB will support the state government’s efforts to strengthen its power sector
by replacing inefficient power plants and strengthening the distribution system.
The project will be implemented in the next 3 years.
Of the Rs. 2,275 crore fund, the central government will repay Rs.1,820 crore while the
state will provide Rs.455 crore.

Ajay Kumar Srivastava, Executive Director of Indian Overseas Bank, has become the
Managing Director (MD) and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Indian Overseas Bank
(IOB) with effect from 1st January 2023. He has succeeded Partha Pratim Sengupta.
Punjab & Sindh Bank (PSB), a public sector bank, has collaborated with SBI Card to launch
co-branded credit cards for the bank’s customers. This marks the entry of PSB into ‘credit
cards’ as a new product segment under the bank’s portfolio.
Under this collaboration, three card variants have been launched including, PSB SBI Card
ELITE, PSB SBI Card PRIME, and PSB SimplySAVE SBI Card.
Weekly Current Affairs January 2023 Week – 01
iia
www.practicemock.com 26 info@practicemock.com 9319314079
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has sanctioned USD 100 million External Commercial
Borrowing (ECB), a five-year loan, under the lender’s social finance framework to Shriram
Finance Limited, a part of Shriram Group, to provide vehicle loans to women
entrepreneurs.
The credit will be issued towards the purchase of new and used vehicles throughout India.
The IDBI Bank has signed a Scheme Transfer Agreement (STA) with LIC Mutual Fund (MF)
for the transfer of Schemes of IDBI Mutual Funds (MF) to LIC Mutual Fund to comply with
regulations 7B of the Securities & Exchange Board of India (SEBI) Mutual and Regulations.
Following this proposed scheme acquisition transaction the like-to-like schemes will be
merged and the unique schemes of IDBI MF will continue on a standalone basis with the
acquiring entity.
Bank of Baroda, the second largest public sector bank in India after SBI, has bagged an EAG
Laureate award in the International Olympiad of Financial Security held at Sochi, Russia.

The Eurasian group on combating money laundering and terrorism (EAG) is a FATF type
regional which comprises of 9 members including India.
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is the global anti- money laundering and antiterrorist financing body.

The Board of Directors of IDBI Bank Limited has re-appointed Suresh Kishinchand
Khatanhar as the Deputy Managing Director (DMD) for 1 year with effect from 15th January
1. Dhanlaxmi Bank has launched its new retail banking services ‘DhanDelight’, and retail
  mobile banking app ‘DhanSmart’ featuring latest information system security features to
  provide secure banking. The new services are built on omni channel platform.
  In DhanDelight, latest UI (User Interface) and UX (User Experience) enable customers to do
  the financial transactions more securely.
IndusInd Bank has tied up with British Airways Executive Club and Qatar Airways
Privilege Club to introduce the first-of-its-kind unique multi-branded credit card, powered by
Visa.
This multi-branded credit card will be launched and made available to consumers in the first
quarter of FY 2023-24.
Weekly Current Affairs January 2023 Week – 01
iia
www.practicemock.com 27 info@practicemock.com 9319314079
ICICI Bank has introduced the Digital Solutions for Exporters, a comprehensive set of
banking and value-added services on a single platform. The initiative aims to simplify the
journey of exporters by decongesting the current time-intensive manual procedures.
Key services and offerings of the Digital Solutions for Exporters:

Exporters will get the convenience of Export Packing Credit (EPC) instantly and digitally.
The solution offers foreign currency accounts namely Exchange Earners’ Foreign
Currency Account (EEFC).
Exporters can book forex deals over phone or online through digital platforms to get
flexibility and transparency in booking rates.
The exporters can avail Digital Letter of Credit (e-LC) facility.
The bank has partnered with Electronic Bills of Lading (e-BL) service providers to facilitate
end-to-end digital movement of trade documents across the world.
The solution offers digital filing of documents, settlement, and reconciliation of export
invoices.
Exporters can avail value-added services from Trade Emerge, the Bank’s one-stop
platform that offers a comprehensive digital suite of various banking and beyond banking
services for companies.
The Bank offers Trade APIs, a future-ready industry-first solution, for seamless handling
of export bills.

Aegon Life Insurance has launched the ‘iTerm Prime’ Insurance plan, which will fulfil the
requirements of self-employed individuals by offering a special 10% discount (5% discount in
addition to the 5% online discount for all) on the first-year premium.
Key features of iTerm Prime:

The plan offers a minimum sum assured of Rs.25 lakhs with no maximum limit on a
consumer’s requirement.
The minimum entry age is 18 years, while the maximum age for regular pay is 65 years
and 50 years for limited pay.
The product also offers a ‘Special Exit Value’ option that allows the policyholder to get all
premiums back when they turn 55 years old.
The policy offers unique add-on features including Critical Illness Rider and Accidental
Death Benefit Rider.

HDFC Bank & Yes Bank have tied up with Microsoft for utilizing the Azure cloud platform
and for developing a next-generation mobile application, respectively.

The association with Yes Bank is aimed at launching a mobile app that will personalise the
experience for each customer of the bank.
In the case of HDFC Bank, the association is to aid the bank in the next phase of its digital
transformation by assisting in transforming the bank’s apps, modernising its data
landscape and securing the enterprise with the Microsoft cloud platform.
Weekly Current Affairs January 2023 Week – 01
iia
www.practicemock.com 28 info@practicemock.com 9319314079

India Accelerator (IA), a seed-stage accelerator program, has launched ‘i3 Launchpad’, a
program to nurture and co-innovate with the start-up ecosystem in India, in collaboration
with ICICI Bank and Infosys Finacle, part of EdgeVerve Systems, a wholly-owned product
subsidiary of Infosys.

Aim: To support a community of entrepreneurs who are on a mission to create brands
that can have a global impact.
It is designed to help start-ups accelerate their success by leveraging mentorship,
resources, and opportunities from Infosys Finacle, ICICI Bank, and IA.
The program is open to start-ups across all industries and will onboard two cohorts a
year, with a target of 12-18 start-ups in each cohort.

Bandhan Bank has launched its integrated marketing campaign ‘Jahaan Bandhan,
Wahaan Trust’ featuring the bank’s brand ambassador, cricketer, Sourav Ganguly.

The campaign emphasises the ‘trust’ that the brand has been able to earn in a span of
seven years as a Bank and over the last two decades in the various avatars prior to the
bank.
The campaign was conceived by Leo Burnett Orchard, who was brought in as Bandhan
Bank’s creative agency in August 2022.

RBI IN NEWS

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has announced that the State Bank of India (SBI), along
with private sector lenders ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank will continue to be identified as
Domestic Systemically Important Banks (D-SIBs), under the same bucketing structure as
in the 2021 list of D-SIBs.
The list of D-SIBs is as follows:

SIBs are perceived as banks that are ‘too big to fail (TBTF)’.
This perception of TBTF creates an expectation of government support for these lenders
in times of distress.
RBI places D-SIBs in appropriate buckets depending upon their Systemic Importance
Scores (SISs).
Based on the bucket in which a D-SIB is placed, an Additional Common Equity
requirement is applied to it.

Under bucket 1, banks require 0.2 percent of additional common equity Tier 1 capital as a
percentage of risk-weighted assets (RWAs), and under bucket 3, banks require 0.6 percent
of additional common equity Tier 1 capital as a percentage of RWAs.
RBI had announced SBI and ICICI Bank as D-SIBs in 2015 and 2016. Based on data collected
from banks as on March 31, 2017, HDFC Bank was also classified as a D-SIB. SBI is placed in
the third bucket and private sector lenders ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank fall under bucket 1.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has recently released the preliminary data on India’s Balance
of Payments (BoP) for the July-September (Q2) of FY2022-23. As per it, India’s Current Account
Deficit (CAD) has widened in the Q2FY23 due to increased trade gap driven by high
commodity prices and a weak rupee.

India’s Current Account balance has recorded a deficit of USD 36.4 billion in Q2FY23
which is highest in more than a decade. As a percentage of GDP, it was 4.4%, the highest
since the June quarter of 2013.
India’s foreign exchange reserves on BoP basis has recorded a deficit of USD 30.4 billion
compared to a USD 31.2 billion surplus in the Q2FY22.
In the financial account, net Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) has decreased to USD 6.4
billion, from USD 8.7 billion in Q2FY22.
Net Foreign Portfolio Investment (FPI) has recorded inflows of USD 6.5 billion, up from
USD 3.9 billion during Q2FY22.
Net external commercial borrowings by India has recorded an outflow of USD 0.4 billion
in Q2 of 2022-23, compared to an inflow of USD 4.3 billion in Q2FY22.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das has launched the second phase of
its medium term strategy framework for strengthening regulatory and supervisory
mechanisms called ‘Utkarsh 2.0’ for the period 2023-25.
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 towards
realization of the identified milestones.
Utkarsh 2.0 like the Utkarsh 2022 has six Vision statements as well as Core Purpose, Values,
and Mission statements.
Vision in Utkarsh 2.0:

Excellence in performance of its statutory and other functions
Strengthened trust of citizens and Institutions in the RBI
Enhanced relevance and significance in national and global roles
Transparent, accountable and ethics-driven internal governance
Best-in-class and environment-friendly digital and physical infrastructure
Innovative, dynamic and skilled human resources
Weekly Current Affairs January 2023 Week – 01
iia
www.practicemock.com 30 info@practicemock.com 9319314079

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has given its approval to the SBI Funds Management (SBI
FML) to acquire up to 9.99% of the paid-up equity capital of Equitas Small Finance Bank
through the schemes of SBI Mutual Fund (SBI MF).
This approval is subject to compliance with the relevant regulations issued by RBI and SEBI
and is valid for one year till 2 January 2024.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has selected six entities out of nine applications for the Test
Phase under the 4
th cohort of Regulatory Sandbox (RS) on the theme ‘Prevention and
Mitigation of Financial Frauds’. The selected entities will commence testing of their products
on Anti-Fraud Solutions from February 2023.

Sl. No.	Sandbox Entity	Description
1	Bahwan Cybertek Private Limited	Product: ‘rt360 Real Time Monitoring System’ This product provides a comprehensive surveillance mechanism for monitoring transactions and events from loan accounts on a continuous and real time Basic.
2	Crediwatch Information Analytics Private Limited	Product: ‘Crediwatch EWS’ This is an Early Warning System for credit monitoring and fraud identification that looks at data across public and private data sources to uncover early signs of trouble for commercial borrowers.
3	EnStage Software Private Limited (Wibmo)	Product: ‘Trident FRM’ This is a Risk Based Authentication solution aimed at providing a frictionless (without OTP) transaction experience for low value transactions based on risk assessment of users.
4	HSBC in collaboration with enStage Software Private Limited (Wibmo)	The product is a closed user group AI/ML based solution which helps in card-not-present fraud detection by leveraging the power of collaboration across banks and financial institutions using historical transactions and contextual information through advanced technologies.
5	NapID Cybersec Private Limited	Product: ‘napID Fraud Filter Layer’ This product locks the login form, payment form, ATM, POS machines and enable it only for the authorised user to initiate the transaction using their credentials via napID Zero-Factor Authenticator app.
6	Trusting Social Private Limited	Product: ‘Trusting Social CI & AV’ This product helps in address verification by running its proprietary AI algorithms on non-personally identifiable data on subscriber usage, location signals and other such parameters to predict residential and office address of users. This helps to verify the accuracy and stability of address/ location declared by prospective customers.

AWARDS & RECOGNITION

The winners of Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award (PBSA) 2023 have recently been
announced. 27 Indians abroad have been chosen for PBSA, the highest honour for overseas
Indians.
The PBSA is conferred by the President as part of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Convention on
Non-Resident Indians (NRIs), Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) or organisations established and
run by NRIs or PIOs in recognition of their outstanding achievements in India and abroad.
The 17th edition of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Convention will be held at Indore in Madhya
Pradesh during 8-10 January 2023.
The awards will be conferred by the President during the valedictory session of the Pravasi
Bharatiya Divas celebrations.

Winners of PBSA 2023	Country	Field
Jagadish Chennupati	Australia	Science and Technology and Education
Sanjeev Mehta	Bhutan	Education
Dilip Loundo	Brazil	Art & Culture and Education
Alexander Maliakel John	Brunei	Medicine
Vaikuntam Iyer Lakshmanan	Canada	Community Welfare
Joginder Singh Nijjar	Croatia	Art & Culture
Ramjee Prasad	Denmark	IT
Kannan Ambalam	Ethiopia	Community Welfare
Amal Kumar Mukhopadhyay	Germany	Community Welfare
Mohamed Irfaan Ali	Guyana	Politics & Community Welfare
Reena Vinod Pushkarna	Israel	Business & Community Welfare

Maqsooda Sarfi Shiotani	Japan	Education
Rajagopal	Mexico	Education
Amit Kailash Chandra Lath	Poland	Business
Parmanand Sukhumal Daswani	Republic of Congo	Community Welfare
Piyush Gupta	Singapore	Business
Mohanlal Hira	South Sudan	Community Welfare
Sanjaykumar Shivabhai Patel	South Sudan	Community Welfare
Sivakumar Nadesan	Sri Lanka	Community Welfare
Dewanchandrebhose Sharman	Suriname	Community Welfare
Archana Sharma	Switzerland	Science & Technology
Frank Arthur Seepersad	Trinidad and Tobago	Community Welfare
Siddharth Balachandran	UAE	Business
Chandrakant Babubhai Patel	UK	Media
Darshan Singh Dhaliwal	USA	Business & Community Welfare
Rajesh Subramaniam	USA	Business
Ashok Kumar Tiwary	Uzbekistan	Business

The state government of Assam has recently announced the winners of the highest civilian
awards of the state, namely Assam Baibhav, Assam Saurav and Assam Gaurav awards for
the year 2023. A total of 21 civilians in different fields have been named to receive the three
state civilian awards for their distinguished service.
Assam Baibhav (cash prize: Rs.5 lakh):
Dr Tapan Saikia in the field of healthcare (cancer care) and public service.
Assam Saurav (cash prize: Rs.4 lakh):
Krishna Roy in the field of art and culture, Gilbert Sangma and Nayanmoni Saikia in the field
of sports, Dr Binoy Kumar Saikia in the field of science and Dr SashidharPhukan in the field of
healthcare and public service.
Assam Gaurav (cash prize: Rs.3 lakh):
Dhritimala Deka (public service), Debajit Barman (Agriculture & Allied (Composite Farming)),
Rustom Basumatary (Tourism), Manje La (Tourism (Agrotourism)), Binanda Hatibaruah
(Environment & Forest), Atul Ch Baruah (Social Work), Kalyani Rajbonshi (Entrepreneur (SHG
Worker), Shila Gowala (Public Service (ASHA worker)), Dr Jogesh Deuri (Agriculture & Allied
(Sericulture)), Dr Pankaj Lal Gogoi (Entrepreneur (Poultry)), Sarbeswar Basumatary
(Agriculture (Progressive Farmer)), Manthang Hmar (Agriculture & Allied (Pineapple Farmer &
Exporter)), Dr. Dhrubajyoti Sharma (Agriculture & Allied (Horticulturist & Entrepreneur)),
Weekly Current Affairs January 2023 Week – 01
iia
www.practicemock.com 33 info@practicemock.com 9319314079
Dayal Goswami (Satriya Culture & Art (MukhaShilpa)), and Dr Syed Ifthikar Ahmed (Anti AIDS
and Anti-Drugs campaigner).

BOOKS & AUTHORS

British Historian Simon Sebag Montefiore has authored a book titled “The World: A Family
History of Humanity”. The book explores how people and families have played a role in the
convergences and divergences in world history. The book is published by Hachette India.
Kaki Madhava Rao, a 1962 batch IAS officer, has authored a book titled “Breaking Barriers
The story of a Dalit Chief Secretary”.
The book addresses the details about the dynamics of civil services at the ground level and
also fills the gap in the knowledge about micro policies and governance. The book is
published by Emesco Books Private Limited.
The Governor of Madhya Pradesh Mangubhai Patel has released a medical book titled
‘Human Anatomy’ in Hindi ‘Manav sharir Rachna Vigyan’. The book is written by Dr AK
Dwivedi, Homeopathic Doctor of Indore Professor & HOD Physiology SKRP Gujarati
Homeopathic Medical College Indore and member of Scientific Advisory Board in the Central
Council for Research in Homeopathy, Ministry of AYUSH (Govt. of India). The co-author of the
book are Dr Vaibhav Chaturvedi & Dr Kanak Dwivedi.

The book is published by Madhya Pradesh Hindi Granth Academy.
The book features 12 chapters like Introduction to Human Body, Bone & Joints, Muscles &
tissues, Nervous System, etc.

PERSON IN NEWS

Ajit Kumar Saxena has been appointed as the Chairman-cum-Managing Director (CMD) of
MOIL Limited. He will assume the charge of the post till the date of his superannuation i.e.
31st December 2025, or until further orders, whichever is earlier.
MOIL Limited:
MOIL is one of the largest manganese ore producers of the country. It is a Schedule “A”
Miniratna Category-I Company. It was originally incorporated as Manganese Ore (India)
Limited in the year 1962. It is based in Nagpur, Maharashtra.
Lieutenant General Arvind Walia has been appointed as the Engineer-in-Chief of the
Indian Army. He has succeeded Lt. General Harpal Singh who is superannuated on 31st
December 2022.
He is a 1986 batch officer and an alumnus of the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun.
Weekly Current Affairs January 2023 Week – 01
iia
www.practicemock.com 34 info@practicemock.com 9319314079
Air Marshal Pankaj Mohan Sinha has taken over as the Commander-in-Chief of Western
Air Command of the Indian Air Force (IAF). He has succeeded Air Marshal S Prabhakaran
who superannuated on 31 December 2022 after putting in more than 39 years of
distinguished service in the IAF.
Election Commission has appointed Maithali Thakur, a Folk Singer, as the state icon for
Bihar. She will create awareness among the voters for their participation in the electoral
process.
She is an Indian classical and folk music-trained musician chosen for the Ustad Bismillah
Khan Yuva Puraskar of the Sangeet Natak Akademi for her contribution to the folk music of
Bihar for 2021.
Industry expert Sundararaman Ramamurthy has been appointed as the Managing
Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of BSE Limited with effect from 4th January
He has been appointed for a period of 5 years.
The post has been vacant since July 2021 after the MD & CEO of BSE Ashishkumar Chauhan
left the post to join the National Stock Exchange of India Limited (NSE) as MD & CEO.
Captain Shiva Chauhan from the Corps of Engineers has become the first woman army
officer to get operationally deployed on the Siachen Glacier, the world’s highest battlefield.
She has been deployed to the Kumar Post after completing arduous training. She is an officer
of the Fire & Fury Corps.
Siachen Glacier:
It is located in the Eastern Karakoram range in the Himalayas, just northeast of Point NJ9842
where the Line of Control between India and Pakistan ends. It is the second-longest glacier in
the World’s Non-Polar areas. It is a part of the Union Territory of Ladakh.
President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has appointed
Galymzhan Koishybayev as the Deputy Prime Minister-Chief of Staff of the Government.
Earlier, he served as the head of the Prime Minister’s Office since March 2019. He has also
served as Vice Minister of foreign affairs.
Dr Vinay Prakash Singh, former Member (Personnel), Postal Services Board, has been
elected as the Secretary General of the Asian Pacific Postal Union (APPU) for a 4-year
term. He has succeeded Lin Hongliang of China.
The Secretary General leads the activities of the Union and is also the Director of the Asian
Pacific Postal College (APPC) which is the largest intergovernmental postal training institute in
the region.
Weekly Current Affairs January 2023 Week – 01
iia
www.practicemock.com 35 info@practicemock.com 9319314079
Asian Pacific Postal Union (APPU):
It is an intergovernmental organization of 32-member countries of the Asian-Pacific region. It
is the only Union of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) in the region, which is a specialized
agency of the United Nations.

Established: 1962
Headquarters: Bangkok, Thailand.

Prasanna Kumar Motupalli has been appointed as the Chairman & Managing Director
(CMD) of the state-run NLC India Limited (NLCIL), a Navratna Public Sector Undertaking
(PSU) under the Ministry of Coal. He has replaced K. Mohan Reddy.

OBITUARIES

Japanese architect Arata Isozaki has recently passed away in Naha, Okinawa Prefecture,
Japan. He was born on 23rd July 1931 in Oita, Japan. He was called a ‘post-modern giant’,
who blended the culture and history of the East and the West in his designs.
He won numerous awards including the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 2019, RIBA Gold
Medal in 1986 and the Leone d’Oro at the Venice Architectural Biennale 1996.
Veteran bureaucrat Manjula Subramaniam, a 1972-batch IAS officer, has recently passed
away in Vadodara, Gujarat. She was born on 18 September 1948 in Tamil Nadu.

She served as the first woman chief secretary of Gujarat.
She also served as the Chief Vigilance Commissioner and Principal Secretary of the Energy
and Petrochemicals Department.
She was appointed as the additional director on the Board of Directors of Gujarat Gas
Limited in August 2020 for a tenure of five years.

Former Pope Benedict XVI has recently passed away in Mater Ecclesiae Monastery, Vatican
City. He was born as Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger on 16th April 1927 in Bavaria, Germany.
He served as the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19
April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. With this, he became the first pontiff in
600 years to resign since Gregory XII in 1415.
Former Indian football player Shyamal Ghosh, who represented the national team in the
1970s, has recently passed away in Kolkata, West Bengal.

He made his international debut during the Merdeka Cup in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in
1974 and went on to play 7 matches for India, including the Asian Games in 1974 in
Tehran, Iran.
He won the Santhosh Trophy thrice in 1975, 1976, and 1977 representing Bengal.
He received the Lifetime Achievement Award from East Bengal in 2016.
Weekly Current Affairs January 2023 Week – 01
iia
www.practicemock.com 36 info@practicemock.com 9319314079

Ronnie Walter Cunningham, an American astronaut, has recently passed away in
Houstan, Texas, USA. He was born on 16th March 1932 in Creston, USA.

He was the last surviving astronaut from the first successful crewed space mission in
NASA’s Apollo programme after Neil Armstrong and Elliot See.
He was a lunar module pilot on the Apollo 7 mission in 1968.
He also authored a book ‘The All-American Boys’ in 1977.

Anita Marie Pointer, an American singer-songwriter, has recently passed away at the age
of 74. She was born on 23rd January 1948 in Oakland, California, USA. She was best known as
a founding member of the vocal group the Pointer Sisters. The Pointer Sisters won 3
Grammys throughout their career.
Tata Group veteran and former Tata Sons director R.K. Krishna Kumar has passed away in
Mumbai, Maharashtra. He was born in 1938 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 1982.
He had served in multiple positions in the Tata group, including heading its hospitality
arm Indian Hotels.
He was awarded the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award by the Indian
government in 2009, for his contributions to Indian Trade and industry.

Senior Lingayat pontiff and Karnataka seer Siddeshwara Swami has recently passed away
at the age of 81. He is often referred to as the ‘Walking God of North Karnataka’. He was
born.

SPORTS

Indian Grandmaster Koneru Humpy, a former world rapid champion, has won a silver
medal in the Women’s World Blitz Championship at the FIDE World Rapid and Blitz
Championship 2022 held in Almaty, Kazakhstan from 25th to 30th December 2022.

She has won India’s 1
st ever silver medal in the World Blitz Chess Championships
defeating Zhongyi Tan of China.
She is the 2
nd Indian to win a medal at World Blitz, after Vishwanathan Anand.

Final Winners of FIDE World Blitz Championship 2022
Rank	Name & Country
Open Blitz
1	Magnus Carlsen (Norway)

2	Christopher Hikaru Nakamura (USA)
3	Haik Mikaeli Martirosyan (Armenia)
Women’s Blitz
1	Bibisara Assaubayeva (Kazakhstan)
2	Koneru Humpy (India)
3	Shuvalova Polina (Russia)

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has made some key decisions during the
Team India performance review meeting ahead of the ODI World Cup 2023.

The Yo-Yo and DEXA test will now be mandatory for national team selection.
Previously, only a yo-yo test was mandatory before selection.
The DEXA test is now required for injured players who want to come back to the national
team.
Yo-Yo Test:
It is a maximal aerobic endurance fitness test, involving running between markers placed 20
meters apart, at increasing speeds, until exhaustion.
DEXA (dual x-ray absorptiometry) Test:
It is also called the bone density test. The DEXA scan measures bone strength using X-ray
technology. This test provides information about calcium and other minerals present in the
bones is obtained.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has released the names of the players who
were the best performers of Team India across all 3 formats- One Day Internationals (ODIs).

Hyderabad, Telangana will host the 2023 Hyderabad E-Prix, India’s first ever ABB FIA
Formula E World Championship race, all-electric motorsports.
Weekly Current Affairs January 2023 Week – 01
iia
www.practicemock.com 38 info@practicemock.com 9319314079

The 2023 Hyderabad E-Prix is round 4 of the 17 races for the 9th season of the ABB FIA
Formula E World Championship.
The 2023 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship marks the 9th season championship
which will be organized between January and July 2023.
Formula E World Championship:
Formula E is a showcase for the world’s most advanced e-mobility technologies that drive
towards a more sustainable future. The first 3 have already taken place in Mexico City (1st)
and Riyadh (2nd & 3rd).

Belinda Clark, a former Australia captain, has become the first female cricketer to get a
Bronze statue unveiled at the Sydney Cricket Ground’s Walk of Honour.

She is the 15th sportsperson and the 3rd woman to have a statue as part of the SCG
sculpture project. The other two are sprinters Betty Cuthbert and Marlene Matthews.
She played 15 tests and over 100 limited overs matches between 1991-2005, and became
the first cricketer to score a double-hundred in ODIs when she made an unbeaten 229
against Denmark in 1997.

Kolkata-based chess player Koustav Chatterjee has become India’s 78th Grandmaster
(GM) in MPL 59th National Senior Chess Championship 2022 held at K.D. Jadhav Indoor Sports
Hall, IG Stadium, New Delhi. He is also the 10th GM from Kolkata and West Bengal (WB).
The World Boxing Council (WBC), one of the four governing bodies for Boxing, has
planned to introduce a new category for transgender fighters in 2023. The objective is to
ensure safety and inclusion. The WBC will not sanction a new championship or title belt but
will create an event for the transgender fighters to take part in the boxing sport.

IMPORTANT DAYS

Global Family Day, also known as World Peace Day, is observed annually on 1
st January to
promote the concept of harmony and unity in the world. The day was started in 1997, when
the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) launched the International Decade for the
Culture of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World, with effect from the 1st day
of the new millennium.
Power System Operation Corporation (POSOCO) Day is observed annually on 3
rd
January to commemorate its independent functioning that began on 3rd January 2017,
under Ministry of Power as one of the Power PSUs after separating from POWERGRID as its
subsidiary organization. The year 2023 marks the commemoration of the 6th POSOCO Day.
Weekly Current Affairs January 2023 Week – 01
iia
www.practicemock.com 39 info@practicemock.com 9319314079
World Braille Day is observed annually on 4
th January to recognize the right of access to
braille by blind people and raise awareness of the importance of braille as a means of
communication in the full realization of the human rights for blind and partially sighted
people. The day was first observed in 2019.
The day is also observed to mark the birth anniversary of Louis Braille, the inventor of Braille
– for people with visual disabilities. Louis Braille was born on 4th January 1809 in the town of
Coupvray in northern France. The year 2023 marks the 214th birth anniversary of him.
Additional Information:
The Election Commission of India (ECI) introduced Braille voter slip for visually impaired
voters in the 2019 Lok Sabha election. Electronic voting machines (EVMs) already have the
Braille feature.
World Day of War Orphans is observed annually on 6
th January to raise awareness about
children who have been orphaned due to wars. The day was initiated by the French
organization, SOS Enfants en Detresses.
Note: UNICEF describes an orphan as a child who is under 18 years of age who has lost one
or both parents to any cause of death.

Weekly Current Affairs January 2023 Week – 01

NATIONAL AFFAIRS

STATES AFFAIRS

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

REPORTS & INDICES

GOVERNMENT SCHEMES & PROGRAMMES

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

BANKING & FINANCE

RBI IN NEWS

AWARDS & RECOGNITION

BOOKS & AUTHORS

PERSON IN NEWS

OBITUARIES

SPORTS

IMPORTANT DAYS

Leave a Comment Cancel Reply

Folllow us for Updates: