National & International Appointments
2. NMDC appoints boxer Nikhat Zareen as brand ambassador
- National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) signed a memorandum of agreement (MoA) with World Boxing Champion, Nikhat Zareen to represent NMDC as its brand ambassador.
- She won a gold medal at Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games and the 2022 IBA Women's World Boxing Championships (52 kg category).
- She became the fifth Indian woman to win a gold medal at the IBA World Boxing Championships.
- CMD, NMDC: Sumit Deb
- Headquarters: Hyderabad
National Affairs
3. MeitY, Meta announced list of 120 startups for XR Startup Programme
- The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and Meta have jointly released the list of 120 startups and innovators for the XR Startup Programme.
- It includes an Accelerator and a Grand Challenge.
- Aim: To boost the emerging Tech ecosystem
- Out of the startups selected in the Accelerator Programme, over 30% are from tier II or tier III cities across India.
- It will discover, nurture, and accelerate Extended Reality (XR) Technology startups and innovators.
Obituaries
4. Veteran actress and former MP Jamuna passes away
- Veteran film actress, Jamuna passed away in Hyderabad at the age of 86 due to health issues.
- She was born in 1936 in Hampi in Karnataka and started her career as a stage artist, debuting with Puttillu on Silver Screen.
- She acted in about 200 Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, and Hindi films.
- She was identified with her role in ‘Satyabhama’ and became a household name for the mythological character.
- She was a former Lok Sabha MP from Rajahmundry in 1989 from the Congress.
National Affairs
5. Mughal Gardens renamed as Amrit Udyan
- The iconic Mughal Gardens in Rashtrapati Bhavan has been renamed as the Amrit Udyan.
- It would be open to the public from 31st January to 26 March 2023.
- This decision is said to be part of the government of India’s ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav'.
- The cluster of about 15 gardens will collectively be known as Amrit Udyan.
- Individual gardens within the sprawling Presidential Estate - Herbal Garden, Musical Garden, and Spiritual Garden - will retain their names.
National & International Appointments
6. Former NATO general Petr Pavel becomes new President of Czech Republic
- A former chairman of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) military committee, Petr Pavel has become the new president of the Czech Republic.
- He succeeded the former President of the Czech Republic, Milos Zeman.
- In a run-off vote, he defeated billionaire Andrej Babis.
- He has been a vocal supporter of the European Union and NATO, seeing the Czech Republic’s future as inextricably linked to their membership.
- Czech Republic Capital: Prague
Banking & Finance
7. India’s forex reserves rise by $1.727 bn to $573.727 bn
- As per the Reserve Bank of India release, India’s foreign exchange reserves increased by $1.727 billion to $573.727 billion in the week ended January 20, 2023.
- As on January 13, 2023, the forex reserves of India stood at $561.583 billion.
- The Foreign Currency Assets (FCA) stood at $503.65 billion.
- FCA includes the effect of appreciation or depreciation of non-US units like the euro, pound, and yen held in the foreign exchange reserves.
National Affairs
8. Suzuki to use cow dung for its CNG cars
- India’s largest car manufacturer company, Suzuki Motor Corporation announced that it will use cow dung to power its CNG cars.
- Suzuki signed an MoU with Asia’s largest dairy manufacturer, National Dairy Development Board (NDDB).
- Suzuki has invested in Fujisan Asagiri Biomass which generates power from biogas derived from cow dung in Japan.
- The biogas could be used for Suzuki’s CNG models which account for approximately 70 percent of the CNG car market in India.
Banking & Finance
9. Star Health and Allied Insurance, PNB enter into bancassurance tie-up
- Star Health and Allied Insurance has renewed its strategic corporate agency tie-up for bancassurance with Punjab National Bank (PNB) for a long-term period.
- PNB will continue to distribute Star Health’s insurance products across all their branches pan India.
- It is a testament to Star Health’s customer service, and track record.
- Bancassurance: Contract between bank and insurance company to allow the insurance company to sell its products to the bank's client base.
Banking & Finance
10. NPST launched UPI API engine TimePay Evok for PAPG
- Network People Services Technologies Ltd (NPST) has unveiled "Timepay Evok" as a UPI API engine to articulate its mission and relationship with digital merchants.
- With unique API services, UPI as a payment gateway can be integrated for both websites and App driven solutions for large-scale merchants.
- UPI has been identified as a revolutionary product in the payment ecosystem.
- It was launched in 2016.
- Co-founder, NPST: Deepak Chand Thakur
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