Current Affairs One - Liner : 31st December 2023 & 1st January 2024

• National:
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Maharshi Valmiki Airport in Ayodhya on December 30, 2023. The airport has been named after Maharishi Valmiki, and the Prime Minister expressed happiness on this occasion. The airport, developed at a cost of more than Rs.1450 crore, can handle Rs.10 lakh passengers annually in the first phase.

• Union Minister Piyush Goyal announced that the government has decided to extend the benefits of the Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP) scheme to e-commerce exports. The RoDTEP scheme, which came into effect three years ago, refunds the embedded non-creditable central, state, and local levies paid on inputs to exporters.
• Union Minister Bhupender Yadav launched the National Transit Pass System (NTPS), also known as “One Nation-One Pass”, on December 29, 2023. This system is designed to facilitate the seamless transit of timber, bamboo, and other forest produce across India.
• The Telecommunication Engineering Centre (TEC), the technical arm of the Department of Telecommunications (DOT), has launched online modules for the Certificate of Approval (CoA) and Technology Approval under its Voluntary Certification Scheme on 28th December 2023. This initiative was launched by Shri A.K.Sahu, Member (S), Digital Communication Commission (DCC), and is aimed at enhancing the Ease of Doing Business and promoting Atmanirbhar Bharat.
• Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) has indeed become the first Indian company to chemically recycle plastic waste-based pyrolysis oil into International Sustainability & Carbon Certification (ISCC)-Plus certified Circular Polymers.
• The Jammu and Kashmir Panchayati Raj Act, 1989 has been amended to incorporate reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) on 28th December 2023. The Administrative Council, under the chairmanship of Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, approved the amendments.
• The announcement that Uttar Pradesh ranked first in the Inter-Operable Criminal Justice System for the third consecutive year was made on December 29, 2023. The ICJS platform, conceptualized by the Supreme Court’s e-committee and implemented by the Ministry of Home Affairs, facilitates the seamless transfer of data and information among various pillars of the criminal justice system nationwide.
• Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann launched a new website, nri.punjab.gov.in, on Friday, December 30, 2023. This website is a part of the NRI Affairs Department and is aimed at facilitating non-resident Indians (NRIs) in resolving their issues.
• The cultural exchange and tourism collaboration between Vietnam’s Lam Dong and India’s Leh Ladakh was officially inaugurated on December 30, 2023. The program series took place from December 27 to December 30, 2023. This initiative aims to foster tourism ties and promote each other’s unique destinations as premier tourist hubs.
• Banking:
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has indeed extended the deadline for implementing the revised guidelines on penal charges in loan accounts. The new rules will be introduced from April 1, 2024, but not later than June 30, 2024.
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has indeed simplified the process for reactivating dormant accounts and tightened norms to limit fraud in inoperative accounts. The activation can now be done through KYC details or video-customer identification processes. This is part of RBI’s efforts to ensure customer due diligence and maintain records.
• The Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) has indeed reduced its shareholding in Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) to 9.617% from 11.701%. This was done through the sale of shares at an average price of Rs.79.58 in the secondary market between June 2019 and December 2023. After this announcement, shares of BHEL closed 0.44% higher at Rs.193.45. This is a significant move by LIC and could have various implications for both LIC and BHEL.
• As per the data from the National Stock Exchange (NSE), Maharashtra has the highest number of registered investors. As of December 25, 2023, Maharashtra had over Rs.1.48 crore registered investors. This state is followed by Uttar Pradesh with Rs.89.5 lakh active investors and Gujarat with Rs.76.5 lakh investors. The investor pool in Maharashtra saw an increase of 16.9%. It’s interesting to see the growth and interest in the stock market across different states in India.
• Dhanlaxmi Bank has been showing a positive trend in its financial performance. The bank’s earnings have been growing at an average annual rate of 20.5%, while the revenues have been growing at an average rate of 10.9% per year. The bank’s return on equity is 10.9%, and it has net margins of 20.1%.
• Economy:
• The Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) has projected that India’s GDP growth will comfortably exceed 6.5% in FY24. This is supported by the Reserve Bank of India, which has recently projected India’s economic growth at 7% in the current fiscal year, up from 6.5% earlier.
• Sports:
• In the 2023 FIDE World Rapid Chess Championship, Magnus Carlsen secured the world rapid chess crown for a record fifth time. He finished undefeated with a score of 10/13. In the women’s category, Koneru Humpy from India won the individual silver medal. The 2023 FIDE World Rapid Chess Championship was held in Samarkand, Uzbekistan from 26 to 28 December 2023.
• Defence:
• The 7th ferry craft ‘Manjula’ (Yard 786) was handed over to the Indian Navy on December 29, 2023. This ferry craft, which can carry 250 men, was delivered in the presence of Rear Admiral Deepak Kumar Goswami, ASD (MBI).
• A new design and test facility at Hindustan Aeronautics Limited’s (HAL) Aero Engine Research and Development Centre (AERDC) in Bengaluru was inaugurated by Defence Secretary Shri Giridhar Aramane. The inauguration took place on December 29, 2023.
• Science & Technology:
• SpaceX launched the USSF-52 mission, which is a secretive U.S. military spacecraft on a research mission. The mission was launched using SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket. The launch took place on December 28th from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The payload for this mission was the U.S. Space Force X-37B spaceplane. This was the seventh mission for the X-37B spaceplane.
• Obituaries:
• Former Indian defender Prabir Majumdar passed away on Thursday, December 28, 2023, after suffering from a brief illness. He was 77 years old and is survived by his wife and a son.

Questions:

Q.1 Who inaugurated the Maharshi Valmiki Airport in Ayodhya?
a. President Ram Nath Kovind
b. Prime Minister Narendra Modi
c. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath
d. Minister of Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya Scindia
Q.2 When was the cultural exchange and tourism collaboration between Vietnam’s Lam Dong and India’s Leh Ladakh officially inaugurated?
a. December 27, 2023
b. December 30, 2023
c. December 31, 2023
d. January 1, 2024