NATIONAL NEWS

Khadi Fest-23

• Khadi and Village Industries Commission inaugurated the Khadi Fest- 23 which will run from January 27 to February 24, 2023 at the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) in Mumbai.

• Events and exhibitions like Khadi Fest, Khadi Institutions, Prime Minister's Employment Generation Program - PMEGP and Fund Scheme for Regeneration of Traditional Industries - SFURTI units provide a platform to bring thousands of artisan products directly to the customers.

• The Khadi Village Industries Commission was established in 1957 under the Khadi and Village Industries Commission Act 1956.

• It is under the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.

Indianoil to Pump in Rs 2,200-Cr Investment for Projects

• The Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) has planned investments of around ₹2,200 crores in Tamil Nadu (TN) over the next two years, to take the major grassroots and expansion projects in TN.

• The projects include a ‘grass-roots terminal’ at Asanur and Vallur, a ‘captive petroleum’ project, oil and lubricant-LPG jetty at Kamarajar port among others.

• The IOCL has achieved 10% ethanol blending with petrol in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry and was working towards increasing it to 20% in line with the Centre’s mandate.

Jal Jeevan Mission Provides Tap Water to Rural Households

• The Jal Shakti Ministry the government had provided 11 crore rural households with a tap water connection.

• Data from the Ministry’s dashboard suggest that 56% of the targeted 19.3 crore households had been covered.

• In September 2022, 53% of the households or 10.2 crore households, had been covered.

• A fully functional tap water connection is defined as a household getting at least 55 liters of per capita per day of potable water all through the year.

• The Jal Jeevan Mission aims to provide safe and adequate drinking water through individual household tap connections by 2024 to all households in rural India.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

India Becomes 1st Nation to Extend Assurance to Sri Lanka

• India has become the first creditor nation to extend assurance towards restructuring the debt of Sri Lanka with financial assistance worth $4 billion.
• India will encourage greater investment in core areas of energy, tourism and infrastructure.
• Dr. Jaishankar’s visit also witnessed the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the High Impact Community Development program on socio-economic development.

BANKING

AU Small Finance Bank Launches ‘Swipe Up’

• India’s largest Small Finance Bank, AU Small Finance Bank (AU SFB), launched the first-of-its-kind platform in the credit card industry – the ‘Swipe Up’ platform.

• With the help of this platform, credit cardholders of any bank can get an upgraded card instantly.

• Other bank credit cardholders can upgrade their card to one of AU credit cards.

• Swipe Up platform primarily focuses on customers who hold Credit Cards from any other Bank and can benefit from an upgraded Credit Card matching their current lifestyle.
• It allows cardholders to compare their existing credit cards within seconds.
• These cards will have a higher credit limit, higher cashback, better reward points, zero membership fees and various other features that are an upgrade from their existing credit card.

Bank of Baroda Introduces Vikram Credit Card

• On the Occasion of 74th Republic Day celebrations, Bank of Baroda’s (BoB) subsidiary BOB Financial Solutions Limited (BFSL) has launched Vikram Credit Card.
• It is the contactless RuPay credit card dedicated to Indian defense, paramilitary and police personnel.
• Mr. Vikramaditya Singh Khichi, former Executive Director of Bank of Baroda, launched the Vikram Credit Card.
• It is a lifetime-free credit card
• It has attractive reward points and an activation gift of a complimentary OTT (Over-The-Top) subscription.
• It has an accidental death cover of Rs 20 lakh.

SPORTS

Australian Open 2023

• Novak Djokovic won the Australian Open title for the 10th time by defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3, 7-6, 7-6 in the first Grand Slam Australia Open of 2023.

• With this victory, Novak Djokovic has equaled Spain's Rafael Nadal's record of winning 22 Grand Slam titles.

• Djokovic won the first Australian Open title in the year 2008.

• In the Australian Open 2023, Arina Sabalenka of Belarus has won the women's singles title by defeating Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan.

• Sabalenka has won a Grand title for the first time.
• Sabalenka defeated Elena Rybakina 4–6, 6–3, 6–4 in the final match.

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS

Chief Technology and Operations Officer of Standard Chartered Bank

• Standard Chartered Bank has appointed Sarabjit Anand as the chief technology and operations officer (CTOO) for India and South Asia.

• Mr. SV Shivshanker has been appointed by the United Kingdom (UK)-based bank as Head of Human Resources for India and South Asia.

• Mr. Sarabjit joined Standard Chartered Bank in 1991 in India.

• Recently, he was the Chief Information Officer (CIO) for Singapore and ASEAN markets.

President Election of The Czech Republic

• In the Czech Republic, retired army general Petr Pavel won the presidential election, defeating billionaire businesswoman Andrej Babis.

• Retired general Petr Pavel will replace controversial incumbent President Milos Zeman.

• During the election, General Pavel got 58.2 percent of the votes while Andrzej Babis got 42.8 percent.

• General Powell has been Chairman of the Military Committee of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

World’s First Photonic based Quantum Computer

• Canadian Prime Minister (PM) Mr. Justin Trudeau has announced a new federal investment of 40 million Canadian dollars ($32 million), which will enable Xanadu Quantum Technologies Inc.
• It is a Toronto-based Canadian quantum computing company to build and commercialize the world’s first photonic-based, fault-tolerant quantum computer.
• The Project is supported through the Canadian government’s Strategic Innovation Fund with 177.8 million Canadian dollars ($142 million).
• The Project is expected to create 530 new highly skilled positions in the high-tech and quantum computing fields.

OBITUTARY

Former Indian and Iron Man of India Sabir Ali

• Former Indian decathlete and Iron Man of India Sabir Ali passed away in New Delhi. He was at the age of 67.

• He was an athlete who won 10 gold medals in the decathlon, including at the 1981 Asian Athletics Championships held in Tokyo, Japan.

• He became the 3rd Indian to win the Asian Athletics Championships decathlon crown after VS Chauhan (1974) and Suresh Babu (1975).

• He became the Captain of the Indian Athletics Team in the Asian track and field athletic meet held in Kuwait in 1983.

• He was conferred with the Arjuna award by the president of India Zail Singh and the Bhim award by the government of Haryana in 1981.