Current Affairs 8 & 9 January 2023

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NATIONAL AFFAIRS

“Purple Fest: Celebrating Diversity”: India’s First Festival of Inclusion held in Goa
On 6th January 2023, ‘Purple Fest: Celebrating Diversity’ (Purple Fest 2023), India’s 1st of its kind inclusive festival commenced at the Entertainment Society of Goa in Panaji, Goa.

• Dr Virendra Kumar, Union Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment,  Dr Pramod Sawant, Chief Minister(CM) of Goa and Subhash Phal Dessai, Minister for Social Welfare, Goa government participated in the inauguration ceremony.
• ‘Purple Fest: Celebrating Diversity’, held from 6th to 8th January 2023 includes engaging panel discussions, artistic live performances, grand exhibitions, and immersive experience zones.

Aim:
Purple Fest aims to showcase how to come together to create a welcoming and inclusive world for everyone.
Key Highlights:
i. Goa has organised a unique purple celebration that will significantly advance the goals and establish a milestone in Divyangjan’s empowerment.

• Divyangjan- The word Viklang was replaced with Divyaang (divine body) to refer to persons with disabilities in 2016.

ii. The idea was inspired by the 6-day event ‘Divya Kala Mela’, which was held in December 2022 in Delhi.
iii. The various activities of Purple Fest like Purple Kaleidoscope – the Art Gallery, Purple Exhibition– stalls of products to help people with vision disabilities, and Purple Bioscope -a screening of the movie “86” with sign language interpreters, are organised to create a better understanding of the concepts.
Note: In order to ensure that people with disabilities are empowered, the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act was introduced in 2016.
Workshop:
Union Minister Dr Virendra Kumar inaugurated a 2-day sensitisation workshop in association with the Purple Fest in Goa on “Issues relating to Empowerment of persons with Disabilities”.

• The workshop was organised by the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment (MoSJE), in association with the Office of the Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities (CCPD) on 6-7 January 2023 in Goa.

Aim: 
A 2-day workshop aims to sensitise the corporate, non-profit, and governmental sectors to their responsibility to build an inclusive society and to have a coordinated approach to Divyangjan’s empowerment.
Dignitaries:
Subhash Phal Dessai, Minister for Social Welfare, River Navigation, Archives and Archeology, Government of Goa, Rajesh Aggarwal, Secretary, Department of Empowerment of persons with Disabilities, Govt. of India were present on this occasion.

• Participants in the workshop included government representatives from the States and Union Territories (UTs) and some eminent NGOs.

Y20 Summit India Curtain Raiser Event: Union Minister Anurag Singh Thakur launches the Themes of the Y20 SummitOn 6th January 2023, Anurag Singh Thakur, Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports, launched the themes of Youth 20 (Y20) Summit, logo, and website in the Curtain raiser event of Y20 Summit India at Akashwani Rang Bhawan New Delhi, Delhi.

The Youth20 Group’s inception meeting will take place in Guwahati, Assam, from 6th to 8th February 2023.

• India is hosting the Y20 Summit for the 1st time.
• The Y20 is the official youth engagement group for the G20 (Group of 20), the forum for the world’s largest and most advanced economies.

Dignitaries: 
Meeta R. Lochan, Secretary Department of Youth Affairs, Government of India, Dr Vijay Chauthaiwale, Mentor of Y20 Secretariat, India, Anmol Sovit, Chair for the Youth 20 Engagement Group, and senior officers of the Ministry also honoured the event.
The 5 themes of Y20:

• Future of Work: Industry 4.0, Innovation & 21st Century skills.
• Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction: Making Sustainability a way of life.
• Peacebuilding and Reconciliation: Ushering in an era of No War.
• Shared Future: Youth in Democracy and Governance.
• Health, Wellbeing &Sports: Agenda for Youth.

Key Points:
i. On 6th January 2023, a Panel Discussion on “How India can harness its youth population to be a superpower” was held in the second session of the event.
ii. According to Anurag Singh Thakur, the G20 (Group of Twenty) Summit in India will bring together 43 Heads of Delegation, the most ever in the G20, who will attend the last summit in New Delhi, Delhi in September 2023.
iii. The G20 consists of 2 parallel tracks: the Finance Track and the Sherpa Track.

• The Sherpa Track oversees inputs from 13 Working Groups, 2 Initiatives – Research Innovation Initiative Gathering (RIIG) and G20 Empower, and various Engagement Groups

iv. The focus of Y20’s initiatives during India’s presidency will be on global youth leadership and partnership.
v. Pre-summits on the five Y20 themes, and various talks and seminars, will be held at various Universities across India for the next 8 months in preparation for the final Youth-20 Summit.
Note:
i. G20- It is an intergovernmental forum comprising 19 countries and the European Union (EU).
ii. The start of “Amritkaal,” the 25-year era beginning on the 75th anniversary of India’s independence on August 15, 2022, coincides with the G20 Presidency for India.

MoS for Culture Arjun Ram Meghwal inaugurates Astro Tourism – A Sky Gazing Event 

On 6th January 2023, Arjun Ram Meghwal, Minister of State (MoS) for Culture, inaugurated Astro Tourism – A Sky Gazing event which was jointly organised by the National Council of Science Museums (NCSM) and Nehru Memorial Museum & Library (NMML), under the banner of Amrit Mahotsav of Independence, at India Gate Lawns, Kartavya Path, New Delhi, Delhi.

• It is a 3-day program held from 6-8 January 2023 with various activities like Astro Talks by expert Astronomers, an Exhibition on Astronomy, Storytelling related to celestial objects, Experience of using a telescope to see craters of the Moon, Astronomy Activities, Photographic Panel Exhibition, and Astro-Photography.

IMD: 2022 Fifth Warmest Year for India Since 1901

The India Meteorological Department (IMD)’s Statement on Climate of India during 2022 stated that the year 2022 was the fifth warmest for India since 1901. The annual mean land surface air temperature was 0.51 degrees Celsius above the long-term average, which is the mean temperature for the 1981-2010 period.

• This was lower than the highest warming observed in India in 2016 (anomaly of +0.71 degrees Celsius) and higher than the previous year 2021 (anomaly of +0.44 degrees Celsius).
• During the 2022 winter season, the all-India mean temperatures were normal with an anomaly of -0.04 degrees Celsius.

Vande Metro Trains: Indian Railways to introduce India’s First Hydrogen Power Trains on Heritage Lines

Indian Railways is set to introduce India’s 1st hydrogen-powered trains – “Vande Metro trains” on its narrow gauge heritage lines to transform Indian locomotive mobility by December 2023. A prototype hydrogen-fueled train is now being developed by the Northern railway workshop which will be tested on the Haryana section between Sonipat and Jind.

• The “Hydrogen for Heritage” initiative will not only improve the train’s technology and operating system but also promote the use of green energy in public transport systems.
• In 2022, Germany became the first nation in the world to operate hydrogen-powered trains. It was followed by China, which debuted the world’s second and Asia’s first hydrogen-powered train.

Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, Nilgiri Mountain Railway, Kalka Shimla Railway, Matheran Hill Railway, Kangra Valley, Bilmora Waghai, and Marwar-Devgarh Madriya are the 8 heritage lines operated by Indian Railways that are largely powered by diesel.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

New members join United Nations Security Council

On 3rd January 2023, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) officially welcomed Ecuador, Japan, Malta, Mozambique, and Switzerland, who now hold the two-year seats that they won without opposition in June, in charge of preserving international peace and security.

Ecuador, Japan, Malta, Mozambique and Switzerland are the 5 countries replacing India, Ireland, Kenya, Mexico and Norway, whose terms ended on 31st December 2022.

• The ambassadors of the 5 countries installed their national flags alongside those of other members outside the council chambers, continuing a tradition that Kazakhstan inaugurated in 2018.
• Mozambique and Switzerland marked their 1st-ever terms on the UN’s most powerful body.
• Malta joined for a 2nd time, Ecuador a 4th and Japan a record 12th. China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States (US) are permanent UN members.

BANKING & FINANCE

RBI to Issue Its Maiden Green Bonds for Rs. 16,000 Crore in Two Tranches of Rs. 8,000 Crore EachThe Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has announced that the maiden Sovereign Green Bonds (SGrBs) for an aggregate sum of Rs. 16,000 crore will be issued in two tranches of Rs. 8,000 crore each in January and February 2023, with the intention of mobilizing resources for green infrastructure.

• The proceeds would be used to fund public-sector projects that will help India reduce its carbon emissions.

i.The Union Budget for 2022-2023 included SGrBs, in accordance with the objective to significantly minimize the carbon intensity of the economy.
ii.Green bonds are financial instruments used by the government to raise funds from potential investors for programmes/schemes that promote environmental sustainability and climate adaptation.
iii.Issuance Method: SGrBs will be issued through Uniform Price Auction.
About the Reserve Bank of India (RBI):
Governor – Shaktikanta Das
Headquarters – Mumbai, Maharashtra
Establishment – 1935
>> Read Full News

NABARD Raises around Rs 5,000 crore via 3-year BondsUnder its first issue of ‘fund raising through bonds in 2023’, National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has raised around Rs 5,000 crore via 3-year bonds.

• The coupon for the 3-year bond was 7.63 per cent. (The yield on 3-year government bonds was above 7.16 per cent).
• The issue by NABARD had a base size of Rs 2,000 crore plus a green-shoe option of Rs 3,000 crore.
• Since NABARD is being a public finance institution, it is exempted from filing papers for bond offering with the Ministry of corporate affairs.

REC Limited:
i.Similar to NABARD, REC Limited (formerly Rural Electrification Corporation Limited) also intends to raise up to Rs 3,000 crore through a 10-year paper (maturing in January 2033). The base size is Rs 500 crore with a green-shoe option of Rs 2,500 crore.
ii.It also plans to issue medium-term paper (about 41-42 months) to raise up to Rs 3,000 crore from the market.
What is a coupon bond?

• A coupon bond is a bond with coupons that pays periodic interest payments at its lifetime and par value at maturity.
• The coupon rate of the bond refers to the bond’s yield at the date of issuance.
• Bonds with higher coupon rates will offer higher yields for the investor on their investment.

-‘Hockey Wali Sarpanch’ inks pact with NABARD to start FPO for Rajasthan’s Farmers
To support the farmers of Rajasthan’s Lambi Ahir Village, Neeru Yadav, fondly known as ‘Hockey Wali Sarpanch’ has made an agreement with NABARD to start a Farmers Producers Organisation (FPO), ‘Sachhi Saheli Mahila Agro Producer Company Limited’.

• The FPO was started with the assistance of SIIRD (Society of Indian Institute of Rural Development). Neeru Yadav became the Board of Directors of the company.
• Sachhi Saheli Mahila Agro Producer Company Limited is the 15th FPO launched by NABARD in Rajasthan.
• Neeru Yadav trained 10 girls in hockey sports under Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) Scheme and helped them to get placed in MNCs.

ECONOMY & BUSINESS

First Advance Estimates of National Income, 2022-23: India’s GDP Likely to Grow at 7% in FY23The National Statistical Office (NSO), Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation (MoSPI), has released its First Advance Estimates (FAE) of National Income for the financial year 2022–2023 (FY23) at both constant (2011–12) and current prices.

• According to the NSO’s first FAE, the Indian economy will grow at a rate of 7% in FY23, up from 8.7% in FY22.

 Essential Estimations
i.Real GDP, or GDP at constant (2011-12) prices, is estimated to be Rs 157.60 lakh crore in FY23, compared to a Provisional Estimate of GDP of Rs 147.36 lakh crore in FY22, announced on May 31, 2022.
ii.Nominal GDP, or GDP at current prices, is estimated to be Rs. 273.08 lakh crore in FY23, compared to a Provisional Estimate of GDP of Rs. 236.65 lakh crore in FY22, announced on May 31, 2022.
iii.The Net National Income (NNI) of India is projected to rise by 6.6 % in FY23 as compared to 8.5 % in FY22.
iv.This is expected to keep the fiscal deficit as a percentage of GDP at or below the budget estimate of 6.4%.
About the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI):
Ministers of State (Independent Charge) – Rao Inderjit Singh (Gurugram Constituency – Haryana)
>> Read Full News

AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS   

President Droupadi Murmu Presents Digital India Awards – 2022 (7th edition)The President of India, Droupadi Murmu, presented the Digital India Awards 2022, the 7th edition of the Digital India Awards (DIA), in New Delhi, Delhi, on January 7, 2023.

• The DIA awards are administered by the National Portal of India, which provides a single-window access to information and services offered by government institutions at all levels (centre, state, and local bodies).

Digital India Awards (DIA)
i.The DIA awards aim to inspire and encourage not only government entities, but also start-ups and grassroots digital initiatives in pursuing their Digital India vision.

• The purpose of the Digital India Program, as envisioned by the Government of India (GoI), is to transform India into a knowledge-based society and economy.

ii.The selection process for DIA includes the nomination of digital initiatives by government entities through the Rashtriya Puraskar Portal, supervised by the Director General, Awards at the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).

• This unified portal for managing all National Awards was developed and implemented under the direction of the Prime Minister.

iii.This is followed by the ranking of entries by the Nomination Processing Partner, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi, and the selection of winners by a jury composed of representatives from government, industry, and academia, chaired by the Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).
iv.The awards are eligible to all Central Government Ministries/ Departments/ Offices/ Organizations; State Government Departments/ Offices/ Organizations; District Administrations, and Indian Missions Abroad.
Digital India Awards 2022 (7th edition)
The Digital India Awards 2022 (DIA 2022) were given to the winners in seven various categories, such as:

• Digital Initiatives at Grassroots Level
• Digital Empowerment of Citizens
• Digital Initiatives for Ease of Doing Business
• Public Digital Platforms – Central Ministries, Departments and States
• Data Sharing and Use for Socio Economic Development
• Digital Initiatives in Collaboration with Startups
• Best Web & Mobile Initiatives Complying with GIGW & Accessibility Guidelines

Click here to see the list of winners in each category.  

Indian Actress-Director Aparna Sen Receives Lifetime Achievement Award at 15th JIFF 

On 6th January 2023, Veteran Indian actress-director Aparna Sen was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the opening ceremony of the 15th edition of the Jaipur International Film Festival (JIFF 2023) in Jaipur, Rajasthan, being held between 6th and 10th January 2023.  Grammy award-winner Ricky Kej, scriptwriter Kamlesh Pandey, and screenplay writer-film producer Haider Hale were present at the opening ceremony.

• She made her acting debut in Satyajit Ray’s Teen Kanya (1961) and has starred in several films. She made her directorial debut in 1981 with the English film “36 Chowringhee Lane” (1981).
• She has won 9 National Film Awards which includes: Best Director – 36 Chowringhee Lane (1981); Best Feature Film in Bengali – Paromitar Ek Din (2000) & Best Feature film in English – 15 Park Avenue (2005). Her film Mr. and Mrs. Iyer (2002) won 3 national awards Best Direction, Best Screenplay and Nargees Dutt Award.
• She was honoured with Padma Shri for Arts in 1987.   

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS     

RBI approves Appointment of Surinder Chawla as New CEO of Paytm Payments Bank

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has approved the appointment of Surinder Chawla as the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Paytm Payments Bank Limited (PPBL).The appointment has been approved by the RBI for a period of 3 years.

• Surinder Chawla is currently serving as Head of Branch Banking at RBL Bank (formerly known as Ratnakar Bank).

About Surinder Chawla:
i. Surinder Chawla,  a merit-listed Chartered Accountant, has over 20 years of experience in Retail Banking. He has worked and managed teams in the areas of relationship management, retail asset sales, direct sales product management, and branch banking.
ii. He started his career in 1994 with Standard Chartered Bank, where he initiated the direct sales setup that eventually became a whole vertical within the organisation.
iii. Prior to joining RBL Bank in 2013, He spent around 11 years in several important and senior management roles at HDFC Bank Limited.  He served as HDFC Bank’s Head-Retail Liability Product Management.

• He has also worked as Head-sales, Credit Cards for ABN Amro Bank before joining HDFC Bank.

About Paytm Payments Bank:
Chairman- Vijay Shekhar Sharma
Headquarters- Noida, Uttar Pradesh
Establishment- 2017
About the Reserve Bank of India (RBI):
Governor- Shaktikanta Das
Deputy governors- Mahesh Kumar Jain, Michael Debabrata Patra, M. Rajeshwar Rao, T. Rabi Sankar
Headquarters- Mumbai, Maharashtra
Establishment- 1935            

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

BIS Launches Portal for Mapping of Industrial Units & Laboratories; SNAP; NBC and Electric CodeOn the occasion of the 76th Foundation Day of the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) – 6th January 2023, Piyush Goyal, Union Minister for Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution launched a “Portal for mapping of Industrial Units and Laboratories” during an event organised in New Delhi, Delhi.

• He also launched Standards National Action Plan (SNAP) 2022- 27; Revision Exercise of National Building Code of India (NBC 2016); Revised National Electrical Code of India 2023 and Training Courses on National Building Code of India 2016 and National Electrical Code of India.

Key highlights:
Portal for mapping of Industrial Units and Laboratories: is a centralised platform for information on industrial units and laboratories across India and also enables analysis of test facilities and helps entrepreneurs in accessing information about testing facilities.
i. standards clubs in schools: through this, BIS aims to expose science students of class 9th and above to the concepts of quality and standardisation through student centric activities.

• Until date, BIS has established over 4000 Standards Clubs across India and the standards authority has also set a target to create 10,000 clubs by the end of 2022-23.

ii.Standards National Action Plan (SNAP) 2022- 27 will serve as a strong foundation for standardisation to meet the emerging technologies and concerns of sustainability and climate change.

• Through SNAP (2022-2027), BIS aims to expose science students of class 9th and above to the concepts of quality and standardisation through student centric activities.

iii.Revision Exercise of National Building Code of India (NBC 2016) – The National Building Code of India, which was initiated by BIS through the National Building Code Sectional Committee has been revised.

• They include sustainable city planning norms, new and sustainable building materials, design concepts, construction technologies and building and plumbing services.

iv.With the launch of National Electrical Code of India 2023, BIS aims to regulate the electrical Installations practices across India.

• In 1985, India’s first National Electrical Code was formulated and was subsequently revised in the year 2011.
• Few new Chapters that were added in the revised NEC include requirements related to Electrical installations at special locations like Hospitals, Community facilities, Hotels, Swimming Pools, Amusement Parks, Supplies for Electric vehicles and multi-storied buildings.

 About Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS):
President – Piyush Goyal (Union Minister for Consumer affairs, Food & Public Distribution)
Director-General – Pramod Kumar Tiwari
Headquarters – New Delhi, Delhi

China launches Asia’s 1st Semi-High-Speed Hydrogen Train with a Range of 600 Km

China’s CRRC Corporation Limited has unveiled Asia’s 1st hydrogen-powered trains for the Urban Railways, which have a top speed of 160 kmph (kilometre per hour) and a range of 600 km on a single tank. It was developed in collaboration with Chengdu Rail Transit and CRRC Changchun Railway Co.

• This is the second such train in the world. Germany introduced green trains in 2022.
• By 2025, China plans to roll out 50,000 hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, with a target of producing 100,000–200,000 tonnes of hydrogen annually from renewable sources.
• The market for hydrogen-powered trains is predicted to be valued at USD 34.7 billion by 2030.

SPORTS

Indian tennis player Sania Mirza Announced Retirement from Professional Tennis

Indian Tennis Player Sania Mirza (36-year-old), the former doubles World No. 1 , has confirmed her retirement from professional Tennis. She announced that the  Dubai Tennis Championships, a Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) 1000 event in Dubai in February 2023 will be her last match. Prior to her last appearance, she is going to play in women’s doubles at the Australian Open in 16 to 29 January 2023 alongside Kazakhstan’s Anna Danilina.

• She has won six Grand Slam doubles titles
• She won her first grand slam in 2009 by winning Austraian Open Mixed doubles title with Mahesh Bhupathi. The pair also won the French Open 2012. She won her 3rd mixed doubles title at the US Open in 2014 with Brazil’s Bruno Soares.
• Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis of Switzerland won 3 women’s doubles – Wimbledon 2015, the US Open 2015 and the Australian Open 2016
• Mirza became the first Indian to win a WTA singles title in 2005. In 2007, She  was ranked among the 30 and also reached her career-high ranking of world number 27(Singles).she was ranked India’s No 1 in Singles from 2003 till her retirement from Singles in 2013.

BOOKS & AUTHORS

Ex-CJI Ranjan Gogoi Releases Assam CM’s Book “Mukhyamantrir Diary 1” 

Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament (MP) and former Chief Justice of India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi launched the book “Mukhyamantrir Diary 1” authored by Himanta Biswa Sarma, Chief Minister (CM) of Assam.
The book chronicles the daily activities of the Himanta Biswa Sarma, during the 1st year of his tenure as CM.

• It is an attempt to bring forth the ideas and thoughts behind a CM’s way of functioning.

STATE NEWS

BSE signs MoU with Goa Government to Promote Development of SMEs BSE (formerly Bombay Stock Exchange Ltd.) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government of Goa for the development of Small Medium Enterprises (SME) in Goa.
Key Highlights:
i. Under this partnership, BSE will create awareness among SMEs in Goa on the advantages of listing on the exchange and guide them on efficient methods of raising capital through equity infusion.
ii. BSE will offer training and capacity-building support to District Industries Center officials and facilitate SMEs with respect to registration or listing on the platform.
iii. The partnership between the Goa Government and BSE would be essential in creating many opportunities for small to medium-sized businesses.
About BSE:
More than 400 companies are listed on the BSE platform, which makes it the largest SME exchange in India.
Managing Director(MD) & Chief Executive officer(CEO)- Sundararaman Ramamurthy
Headquarters- Mumbai, Maharashtra
Establishment- 1875
About Goa:
Chief Minister- Pramod Sawant
Governor- P. S. Sreedharan Pillai
Zoological park- Bondla Zoological Park
Airport- Goa International Airport

Chhattisgarh CM Celebrates Traditional ‘Cherchera’ Festival in Raipur

On 6th January 2023, Bhupesh Baghel, Chief Minister (CM) of Chhattisgarh, celebrated the traditional Cherchera festival, an important harvest festival of Chhattisgarh which is popularly known as the “Rice bowl of India”, at Dudhadhari Math in Raipur, Chhattisgarh.

• The festival is celebrated on the full moon night of ‘Paush’ Hindu calendar month in the happiness of taking the crops to their homes after cultivation. The festival usually falls in the month of January.
• According to mythological belief, on this day Lord Shankar begged from Mata Annapurna, so people used to donate green vegetables along with paddy on this day.

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