NATIONAL NEWS

Six - Day Mega Event ‘Bharat Parv’

• The six - day mega event ‘Bharat Parv’ event was organised by the Government of India at the Lawns and Gyan Path in front of Red Fort, Delhi from 26 January to 31 January 2023, as part of the Republic Day Celebrations.

• The Ministry of Tourism has been designated as the nodal Ministry for the event.

• Bharat Parv was earlier held in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020 and 2021 (virtually) on the lawns in front of the Red Fort and on the Gyan Path.

• This physical event is being organised after a gap of 2 years on the lawn and Gyan Path of the Red Fort.

First India Stack Developer Conference

• The first India Stack Developers Conference has been organised to focus on ways and means to ensure wider adoption of India's digital goods across the globe in New Delhi.
• The conference will be attended by over 100 digital delegates from industry, government, start-ups and unicorns and academia.
• Representatives of the G-20 countries and the G-20 Secretariat have also been invited to the conference.
• The objective of the conference is to provide a platform to the industry and developer community to develop a strong start-up and innovation ecosystem and explore ways to take India's Stack products to the country as well as to other countries.
• India Stack is a multi-layered suite of digital solutions such as Aadhaar, UPI, DigiLocker, Co-WIN, GeM, GSTN, which have played a significant role in India's digital transformation.

First Green Energy State by 2025

• The Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu announced that HP targets to become 1st Green Energy State by 2025

• HP would harness hydro, hydrogen and solar energy and switch to green products which will enhance the premium and advantage in export.

• The CM directed Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board Ltd (HPSEBL), Himachal Pradesh Energy Development Agency (HIMURJA), Himachal Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (HPPCL) and the Department of Energy to take action in this direction.

• He also directed the officers to open all the solar projects up to 5 MW capacity for allotment.
• Himachal Pradesh government will install 500 MW solar projects during the year 2023-24.

G20 Task Force on Digital Public Infrastructure

• The Centre has set up a G20 task force on digital public infrastructure for economic transformation and financial inclusion.

• It is to help India achieve its G20 presidency priorities for promoting digital identity, improved and innovative technology-based services, including digital payments such as UPI along with governance frameworks.

• The task force will be headed by Amitabh Kant, India’s G20 sherpa and Nandan Nilekani, Infosys co-founder.

• The task force will create a detailed map of India’s digital infrastructure in finance, health, education, data, taxation, digital commerce and mobility and shortlist key infrastructure to be presented within various G20 tracks.
• The task force’s work will also facilitate the Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion (GPFI) working group in G20’s finance track and the Digital Working Group (DEWG) in the Sherpa track.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

India-Egypt Signed MoU

• India and Egypt on 25 January signed an MoU to facilitate content exchange, capacity building and Co-Productions between Prasar Bharati and the National Media Authority of Egypt.
• Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Singh Thakur and Foreign Minister Sameh Hassan Shoukry, Government of Egypt signed the MoU.
• Under this MoU, broadcasters of both the countries will exchange their programs on bilateral basis in different genres of sports, news, culture, entertainment and many other fields and these programs will be broadcast on their radio and television platforms.
• The validity of this MoU will be for three years.

BANKING

RBI Asks SBM Bank to Stop All Remittance Transactions Under LRS

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has directed the SBM Bank (India) Ltd to stop all Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) transactions with immediate effect till further orders.

• The RBI under sections 35A and 36(1)(a) of the Banking Regulation Act 1949, has directed SBM Bank to stop LRS transactions.

• In December 2018, the RBI sanctioned the Scheme of amalgamation of the entire undertaking of SBM Bank (Mauritius) Limited, India with SBM Bank (India) Limited which was granted a license to carry on the business of banking in India through a wholly-owned subsidiary.

AWARDS & PRIZES

ICC Cricketer of the Year 2022 Awards

• England Test captain Ben Stokes and all-rounder Nat Sciver have won ICC cricketer of the year 2022 awards.

• All-rounder Stokes was named the Men's Test Cricketer of the Year, while Sciver won the Rachael Hayhoe Flint Trophy for the ICC Women's Cricketer of the Year.

• Sciver is also named Women's one-day international (ODI) Cricketer of the Year.

• Babar Azam has been given the Men's ODI Player of the Year award (Sobers Trophy).

Green Railway Station Certificate

• Visakhapatnam Railway Station under East Coast Railway has been awarded the 'Green Railway Station Certificate' with the highest Platinum rating by the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) for adopting green concepts.

• Visakhapatnam has joined some of the major railway stations in the country to receive this certificate. Visakhapatnam has scored 82 out of 100 in six categories of environment.

• The Green Railway Station Rating System has been developed by the Environment Directorate of Indian Railways in collaboration with IGBC.
• The system addresses national priorities such as water conservation, waste management, energy efficiency, limited use of fossil fuels, minimal reliance on the use of natural materials and health and well-being of users.

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS

Acting Chairperson of CCI

• The Central government has extended the tenure of Sangeeta Verma as the acting Chairperson of the Competition Commission of India (CCI), which has been functioning without a full-time Chairperson for three months now.

• She was initially appointed as acting Chairperson of CCI in October 2022 for 3 months or until a new chairperson was appointed after the previous chairperson Mr. Ashok Kumar Gupta demitted office.

• At present CCI is working with only 2 members.

• Dr. Sangeeta Verma, a 1981 batch of the Indian Economic Service (IES).

IMPORTANT DAYS

International Customs Day

• International Customs Day is celebrated every year on 26 January.

• The role and contribution of customs agencies is remembered on this day.

• The day marks the contribution of officers as well as their challenging working conditions.

• Customs agencies play an important role in the smooth flow of goods across borders.

• The theme of 2023 International Customs Day is ‘Nurturing the next generation: promoting a culture of knowledge-sharing and professional pride in Customs’.
• The day was first established in 1953.

National Voter's Day

• 13th ‘National Voters' Day’ is being celebrated on 25 January 2023.

• The theme of this year's National Voters' Day (NVD) is 'Nothing Like Voting, I Vote for Sure'.

• The main objective of National Voters' Day is to create electoral awareness among the citizens and encourage them to participate in the electoral process.

• It was started in the year 2011 in the context of the establishment of the Election Commission of India.

• The Election Commission came into existence on 25 January 1950, on the eve of the first Republic Day of independent India.

OBITUTARY

Renowned Architect Dr. B.V. Doshi

• Noted architect and Padma Bhushan awardee Balkrishna Doshi passed away. He was at the age of 95.

• Doshi's major projects include CEPT University and Kanoria Kala Kendra in Ahmedabad, Indian Institute of Management in Bangalore and 'Aranya Low-Cost Housing', a township for low- and middle-income families in Indore.

• Doshi was awarded the prestigious Aga Khan Award in the year 1995 for the architecture of 'Aranya Low-Cost Housing' township.

• He was awarded the most prestigious award in the field of architecture "Pritzker" in the year 2018. He was the first Indian to receive this honour.
• Doshi was also awarded the Padma Bhushan, India's third highest civilian award in the year 2020.