- National:
- Three handloom sarees from West Bengal (Tangail, Korial, and Garad) and seven products from Odisha (including Odisha Khajuri Guda, Dhenkanal Magji, and Similipal Kai Chutney) received the Geographical Indication (GI) tag recently. The sarees got the tag on a Thursday, while the Odisha products were tagged on January 3, 2024.
- Banking:
- Asset Reconstruction Company India Limited (ARCIL) has purchased loans worth ₹1,100 crore from RBL Bank and Bandhan Bank. Here are the details: RBL Bank sold small business loans worth Rs.360 crore for Rs.20 crore in an all-cash deal to ARCIL. This equates to less than 1% recovery. Bandhan Bank sold a Rs.719-crore home loan portfolio for Rs.289 crore. This transaction highlights the stress in lower-income groups.
- Mous:
- The memorandum of understanding (MoU) between India and Guyana on cooperation in the hydrocarbon sector was signed on January 5, 2024 in Georgetown, Guyana. This Mou aims to bolster cooperation across the entire hydrocarbon sector, bringing a range of benefits to both nations.
- Science & Technology:
- The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has indeed successfully tested a newly designed Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (PEM) Fuel Cell for power generation in space. This test was conducted on its orbital platform, POEM, which was launched onboard PSLV-C58.
- On 3rd January 2024, NewSpace India Ltd (NSIL), the commercial arm of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), signed a contract with SpaceX for the launch of the GSAT-20 satellite, which has been renamed as GSAT-N2. This satellite will be launched onboard SpaceX’s Falcon-9 rocket during the second quarter of 2024.
- GlobalSpace Technologies launched ‘GoRoga’, India’s first anti-stress wearable, on January 5, 2024. The device uses pulsed electrical stimulation and app-based therapies to reduce stress. It’s priced at Rs.22,500 and is recommended for use 20 minutes per day.
- On 5th January 2024, A new herbaceous plant species named Polygonum Chaturbhujanum was discovered at Gol Pahadi Island of the Pench Tiger Reserve (PTR) in Maharashtra during a survey. This discovery was part of a floral survey carried out over one year in Pench, during which 863 plant species belonging to 554 genera and 117 families were reported.
- On 5th January 2024, Researchers at the Indian Institutes of Technology Madras and Mandi have metabolically engineered plant cells to increase production of anti-cancer drug camptothecin (CPT). The allopathic medicine is produced using Nathapodytes nimmoniana, a native, endangered plant.
- Defence:
- On January 4, 2024, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) of India signed two contracts worth Rs 802 crore. The first contract is with Jupiter Wagons Limited for 697 Bogie Open Military (BOM) Wagons at a cost of Rs 473 crore. The second contract is with BEML Ltd for 56 Mechanical Minefield Marking Equipment (MMME) Mark II at a cost of Rs 329 crore.
- Sports:
- The second Test match between India and South Africa, which took place at Newlands, Cape Town on Wednesday, 03 January 2024, is indeed the shortest completed Test match in the history of cricket.
- Apps & Portals:
- The Secretary of the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY), Shri S Krishnan, launched ERNET India’s web portal for educational institutions on January 4, 2024. The launch event took place at ERNET India’s head office. The aim of ERNET India’s web portal for educational institutions is to offer domain registration, DNS, and value-added services such as Website as a Service (WaaS) and Learning Management as a Service (LMaaS) to educational institutions.
- On January 3, 2024, Himachal Pradesh’s Chief Minister Sukhvinder Sukhu launched two portals, the Report Management Portal (RMP) and the Meeting Management Portal (MMP). These portals aim to improve government communication, decision-making, and data management.
- Appointments:
- Ambassador Indra Mani Pandey, a senior diplomat of India, assumed the position of Secretary General of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) on January 4. He is the 4th Secretary General of BIMSTEC and will remain in this position for three years.
- On 4th January 2024, Rashmi Shukla, a 1988 batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, was appointed as the Director General of Police by the Maharashtra government, making her the first woman police officer to hold the top police post in the state. Before this, she was on central deputation as an Additional Director General of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in Hyderabad.
- On 6th January 2024, Sanjiv Aggarwal was appointed as the CEO and Managing Director (MD) of the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund Limited (NIIFL). His appointment will be effective in February 2024.
- On 5th January 2024, Vikas Sheel, a 1994-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the Chhattisgarh cadre, was appointed as the Executive Director of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in Manila. Before this, he was serving as the Additional Secretary and Mission Director of the Jal Jeevan Mission under the Ministry of Jal Shakti.
- Raghuram Iyer has been appointed as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) on 5th January 2024. He is expected to assume office on January 15, 2024.
- Sheikh Mohammed Sabah al-Salem al-Sabah was appointed as the Prime Minister of Kuwait on January 4, 2024. This appointment came after the resignation of the former Prime Minister, Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Hamad Al-Sabah.
- Succes Masra, president of The Transformers party and a long-time opponent of the Deby dynasty, has been appointed as the Prime Minister of Chad. He was appointed by the transitional President Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno.
- Books:
- General VK Singh has released a book titled ‘Sanskriti ke Ayaam’ written by Manorama Mishra. The book is about Indian culture.
Questions:
Q.1 Who is the Secretary of the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY)?a. Shri S Krishnan
b. Shri Ramesh Kumar
c. Shri Anil Kumar
d. Shri Rajesh Sharma
Q.2 Which of the following sarees from West Bengal recently received the Geographical Indication (GI) tag?
a. Baluchari
b. Tangail
c. Jamdani
d. Tant
