26th January
National Affairs
1. India Celebrates 73rd Republic Day With Iconic Parade
- India celebrated its 73rd Republic Day with the iconic parade at Delhi's Rajpath showcasing its military prowess and cultural pageantry.
- A flypast by 75 aircraft and helicopters was the highlight of this year's parade.
- President Kovind posthumously awarded Ashok Chakra, the country's highest peacetime gallantry award, to Assistant Sub Inspector Babu Ram, who was killed fighting terrorists in Kashmir.
- The officer's wife received the award on his behalf.
National & International Appointments
2. Armenia's president resigns over position's lack of power
- Armenian President Armen Sarkissian tendered his resignation, saying he believes the country's constitution does not give him sufficient powers to influence events.
- He served as the 4th President of Armenia from 9 April 2018 to 23 January 2022.
- At a referendum in December 2015, Armenia became a parliamentary republic, while presidential powers were significantly curtailed.
International Affairs
3. AIIB will invest $150 million in development of data centres serving Asia
- The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), a multilateral development bank, will spend $150 million in the creation of data centres that will primarily serve emerging Asia.
- This project is being AIIB’s 1st data centre project.
- The Keppel Data Centre Fund II (KDCF II), a private equity company managed by Alpha Investment Partners Limited (Alpha), will route funds through the Beijing-based AIIB, of which India is a significant founding member.
Important Dates
4. International Customs Day: 26th January
- The International Customs Day (ICD) is being observed every year on 26th January.
- The objective of the day is to recognise the role of customs officials and agencies and focus on the working conditions and challenges that customs officers face in their jobs.
- Theme 2022: Customs Digital Transformation by Embracing a Data Culture and Building a Data Ecosystem.
Banking & Finance
5. IMF lowers India’s FY22 growth forecast to 9% from 9.5%
- According to the latest world economic outlook report, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has cut India’s economic growth forecast for the current fiscal 2021-22 (FY22) to 9%,
- Earlier this was estimated at 9.5%
- IMF has projected the growth forecast for India in FY 2022-23 at 7.1%
- IMF has projected the global growth rate in 2022 to 4.4%, and in 2023 to 3.8%.
Defense
6. Western Naval Command conducts Joint maritime exercise Paschim Lehar XPL-22
- Western Naval Command of the Indian Navy has conducted a joint maritime exercise Paschim Lehar (XPL-2022) off the West Coast.
- The exercise continued for 20 days and was conducted with an aim to enhance Inter-Service synergy among the Indian Navy, IAF, Indian Army and Coast Guard.
Three command–level formations of the Indian Navy
- The Western Naval Command (HQ- Mumbai)
- Eastern Naval Command (HQ- Visakhapatnam) and
- Southern Naval Command (HQ- Kochi)
Agreement
7. India, France sign MoU with scope for cooperation in health research
- India and France have signed an MoU with scope for cooperation in health research, Science and Technology Ministry.
- The MoU was signed between the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and Institut Pasteur, France.
- CSIR and Institut Pasteur will jointly research and focus on emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases and inherited disorders and enable delivery of effective and affordable healthcare solutions.
Sports
8. Lucknow IPL team to be called Lucknow Super Giants
- Lucknow’s IPL franchise (owned by Sanjiv Goenka (RPSG Group), has been renamed Lucknow Super Giants ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 mega auction.
- Lucknow team roped in KL Rahul as their captain and also roped in Australia all-rounder Marcus Stoinis and leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi.
- Sanjiv Goenka decided to take public opinions from its fans.
Honours & Awards
9. Olympian Neeraj Chopra gets Param Vishisht Seva Medal
- Olympic gold medalist Neeraj Chopra has been bestowed the Param Vishisht Seva Medal on the eve of Republic Day by President Ram Nath Kovind.
- The PVSM is usually accorded to three-star officers for distinguished service to the nation. Chopra is a Subedar in the Rajputana Rifles.
- He is the first track and field athlete to win a gold medal for India at the Olympics.
- Neeraj was chosen for training at the Mission Olympics Wing and Army Sports Institute in Pune.
Science & Technology
10. Meta’s new Supercomputer to be called world’s fastest
- According to Meta (Facebook parent company), its newly unveiled artificial intelligence supercomputer will be the fastest in the world by mid-2022.
- The company is introducing AI Research SuperCluster (RSC), which is believed to be among the fastest AI Supercomputers running today.
- With this supercomputer, the company aims to accelerate AI research as it helps build for the metaverse.
27th January
National & International Appointments
1. Pushp Kumar Joshi to be new Chairman and Managing Director of HPCL
- Pushp Kumar Joshi has been selected by the PESB as the new chairman and managing director of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL).
- Joshi is currently Director - Human Resources at HPCL.
- The recommendation will now go to the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
- He will replace Mukesh Kumar Surana, who superannuates on April 30 this year.
- HPCL is nation's third largest oil refining and fuel marketing company.
Sports
2. Tata Motors to be title sponsor for tennis tournament Maharashtra Open
- Tata Motors will be the sponsor of the Tata Open Maharashtra tennis tournament for the fourth consecutive year.
- The tournament, scheduled from 31 January to 6 February at the Balewadi stadium.
- It is South Asia’s only ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) tournament and India's oldest international sporting event.
- The fourth edition of the tournament is all set to make its return after a one-year break due to the pandemic.
Banking & Finance
3. Muthoot Homefin, India Mortgage Guarantee Corp partner to offer home loan
- India Mortgage Guarantee Corporation (IMGC) partnered with with Muthoot Homefin to offer mortgage guarantee-backed home loan products to MHIL’s customers seeking home loans in the affordable housing segment.
- Muthoot Homefin aims to leverage mortgage guarantee as a risk mitigation tool as demand for affordable and mid-income housing increases.
- The tie-up with IMGC will help Muthoot Homefin deepen its penetration in existing markets across its 108 branches/locations.
Summits & Conferences
4. PM Modi to host first meeting of India-Central Asia Summit today
- PM Narendra Modi will host the 1st India-Central Asia Summit to take ties to "newer heights".
- Presidents of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan will participate.
- Apart from regional security and the Afghanistan issue, the key focus will be trade and connectivity, development partnership, culture, and people-to-people ties.
- This will be the first engagement of its kind between India and the Central Asian countries at the level of leaders.
Schemes
5. Govt notifies scheme to make drone certification simpler, faster and transp
- Govt has notified drone certification scheme to make certification of drones simpler, faster and transparent.
- Along with the liberalised drone rules, airspace map, the PLI scheme and the single window Digital Sky Platform, will help drone manufacturing industry in India.
- This is another step in making India the drone hub of the world by 2030.
- Centre has formulated the Digital Sky Platform for registration and operation of drones with an all-digital process.
Agreement
6. India, France sign MoU with scope for cooperation in health research
- India and France have signed an MoU with a scope for cooperation in health research.
- The MoU was signed between Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, CSIR and Institut Pasteur, France.
- CSIR and Institut Pasteur will jointly research and focus on emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases and inherited disorders and enable delivery of effective and affordable healthcare solutions not only for the people of India and France but for the global good.
Books & Authors
7. Boot titled 'Last among Equals' authored MR Sharan
- MR Sharan authored the, Last among Equals: Power, Caste, and Politics in Bihar’s Villages.
- The book is an account of the author’s field study in a group of villages in Bihar.
- The book lays bare how the best of policies, crafted with the best of intentions, get subverted by local village-level power structures.
- The hero of this book is the little-known Sanjay Sahni, an immigrant from Bihar eking out a comfortable living as an electrician in Delhi.
State Affairs
8. 'Grama One' launched in 12 districts of Karnataka
- Karnataka govt has launched 'Grama One', a technology-driven programme.
- It would offer services of various government departments in rural areas of 12 districts.
- The services will be extended to all districts across Karnataka by the end of March.
- It enables access to a host of services offered by the departments of Agriculture, Horticulture, Revenue, Women and Children Development.
- Karnataka CM: Basavaraj Bommai
- Karnataka Governor: Thaawar Chand Gehlot
National & International Appointments
9. Wipro appoints Badrinath Srinivasan as Managing Director for Southeast Asia
- Wipro Limited has appointed Badrinath Srinivasan as the MD for Southeast Asia.
- He will focus on Wipro’s vision for business growth, revenue expansion, client and influencer relationships, talent development and brand building.
- He will also strengthen the key markets of Southeast Asia, focusing on large deals and strategic transformational engagements.
- In his most recent role, Srinivasan was the Asia leader for the Financial Services and Insurance verticals at Infosys.
National Affairs
10. India Ranks 85 On Corruption Perceptions Index For 2021
- Transparency International has released its new report the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), 2021.
- India's rank improved one place to 85 among 180 countries.
- Except Bhutan, all of India's neighbours are ranked below it.
- Denmark, Finland, New Zealand and Norway topped the list with the highest score.
- The index uses a scale of 0 to 100 to rank CPI, where 0 is highly corrupt and 100 is very clean.
- Transparency International gave India a CPI score of 40.
Important Dates
11. International Holocaust Remembrance Day 2021: 27th January
- The UN marked the International Holocaust Remembrance Day on 27th January in honour of six million Jews killed in the Holocaust.
- On this day, the UN urges every member state to develop educational programs to help prevent future genocides.
- The theme of this year’s Holocaust remembrance and education is “Memory, Dignity and Justice”.
- It encourages action to challenge hatred, strengthen solidarity and champion compassion
Defense
12. Russia delivers all the contracted 70,000 AK203 assault rifles to India
- Russia has delivered all the contracted 70,000 AK-203 Kalashnikov assault rifles to Indian Armed Forces.
- India plans to procure 670,000 Ak203 assault riffles, and the 70,000 delivered is part of the overall objective.
- Rest all 600,000 will be manufactured in India's Amethi under a joint venture.
- The total cost of the contract is around Rs 5000 cr.
- Joint Venture called Indo-Russian Rifles Private Ltd has been created for the production of 600,000 AK 203 in India.
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