- National:
- The Uttarakhand Tourism Department has successfully conducted a trial run of gyrocopters for the ‘Himalaya Airsafari’. This initiative aims to connect tourists with unexplored destinations in Uttarakhand. The department has obtained the necessary approvals for the gyrocopter operations.
- The Bihar Police will be implementing a new initiative called ‘Mission Investigation@75 days’ starting from January 1, 2024. This initiative mandates investigators to complete the investigation of cases within 75 days of FIR registration. The performance of all police stations and district police will also be reviewed every month from January 1.
- The MedTech Mitra initiative was launched by Union Health Minister Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya on 24th December 2023. This initiative is a collaborative effort of NITI Aayog, ICMR, and CDSCO. It’s not just a facilitation cell, but a movement designed to nurture, guide, and amplify the voices of MedTech innovators. The aim is to pave the way for affordable and accessible MedTech solutions.
- India and Bangladesh have agreed to extend the Indo-Bangladesh Protocol (IBP) route and declare Safardighi in West Bengal as the new port of call under the Protocol on Inland Water Transit & Trade (PIWT&T). This agreement was reached after three high-level talks between India and Bangladesh, including shipping secretary-level talks, the 22nd meeting of the standing committee under PIWT&T, and the 3rd meeting of the inter-governmental committee on the use of Chattogram and Mongla Ports for to-and-fro movement of goods.
- The Ministry of Power recently announced significant reforms in the Carbon Credits Trading Scheme (CCTS) in December 2023. These reforms are seen as a major step towards establishing India's own independent standards for carbon trading and deepening the country's carbon credit market.
- International:
- China, the world’s top processor of rare earths, has indeed banned the export of technology to extract and separate these strategic metals. This move is seen as a step towards protecting its dominance in several strategic metals. The ban covers almost every step of the refining process: mining, extracting, smelting, and separating the strategic metals.
- The Ministry of Finance has indeed imposed an anti-dumping duty on industrial laser machines imported from China. This move is based on the findings of the designated authority and aims to address the adverse impact on the domestic industry. The duty rates vary for different producers and range from 22.54% to 147.20% of CIF value.
- Banking:
- Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) play a crucial role in any economy as they bring in capital, which can boost the country’s economic growth. This record investment of Rs.57,313 crore (about $7 billion) indicates strong confidence in the market’s potential.
- ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund has announced changes in its ETF product symbols on BSE and NSE. The codes will now be a combination of the name of the fund and the suffix ‘IETF’, which stands for ICICI Prudential ETF. This change is aimed at simplifying the identification of ETF Schemes for passive investment purposes. For example, ‘ICICILIQ’ will now be ‘LIQUIDIETF’, ‘ICICINIFTY’ will be ‘NIFTYIETF’, and so on.
- The Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) has granted INR 12.45 Cr to ETO Motors to deploy 300 Electric 3-Wheelers (E3W) in Hyderabad and Delhi for first and last-mile passenger connectivity. This initiative is part of SIDBI’s Mission 50K-EV4ECO, which aims to strengthen the EV ecosystem in India.
- Economy:
- In November 2023, the power sector’s coal imports rose by 84% year-on-year. This increase was supported by domestic supply and reduced demand, which facilitated restocking. It’s also worth noting that India, the world’s third-largest consumer of energy, saw a significant increase in power generation, registering a 7.71% surge from April to November 2023 compared to the corresponding period of the previous year.
- Education loans registered a record year-on-year growth of 20.6 percent at Rs.1,10,715 crore in the current financial year till October compared with Rs.96,853 crore in the year-ago period. According to Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data, spurt in education loans was the highest in the last five years.
- India’s coking coal imports have reached a five-year high of 38.14 million tonnes (mt) for the April-November period of this fiscal year. Australia remains the dominant supplier, accounting for 60% of the shipments. However, India’s steel mills are increasingly sourcing from Russia and the US to counter price volatility. Despite being the second largest producer of crude steel globally, India relies heavily on imports for coking coal, making it the largest importer of this resource.
- Defence:
- The INS Imphal, an indigenously built stealth-guided missile destroyer, was commissioned into the Indian Navy in Mumbai on 26th December 2023. It’s the first warship named after a city from the Northeastern region. The ship can achieve speeds over 30 knots and has a high indigenous content of about 75%.
- Appointments:
- The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has approved the appointment of Pramod Agrawal as the Chairman of BSE Ltd. He will succeed SS Mundra, the outgoing chairman and public interest director of the bourse, whose term will expire on January 16. Pramod Agrawal’s term as the Chairman of BSE Ltd will start from January 17.
- Books:
- General Manoj Mukund Naravane, the twenty-eighth Chief of the Indian Army, has written an autobiography titled "Four Stars of Destiny". The book is set to be released around April 30, 2024. The book also includes lessons on leadership and management with universal applicability and emphasizes the importance of family and maintaining a work-life balance.
Question:
Q.1 Who has been approved by SEBI as the Chairman of BSE Ltd?a. SS Mundra
b. Pramod Agrawal
c. Ratan Tata
d. Mukesh Ambani
Q.2 Who is the author of the book “Four Stars of Destiny”?
a. General Manoj Mukund Naravane
b. General Bipin Rawat
c. General V. K. Singh
d. General Dalbir Singh Suhag
