Daily GK Update: 10th January 2023

 National & International Appointments

1. Govt extends RBI Deputy Governor Michael Debabrata Patra tenure by one year

• The government of India has extended the term of the deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Michael Debabrata Patra, by one year with effect from January 15, 2023.
• His three-year tenure was coming to an end on January 14, 2023.
• He looks after the monetary policy department as the deputy governor of the RBI.
• He is also as a member of the Monetary Policy Committee.
• The three other deputy governors of RBI are M K Jain, M Rajeshwar Rao and T Rabi Sankar.

 National & International Appointments

2. Meta appoints Vikas Purohit as Director of Global Business Group India

• Facebook-parent Meta has appointed Vikas Purohit as Director of its Global Business Group in India.
• He will lead the strategy and delivery units under the advertising wing.
• He has served as the chief executive at Tata CLiQ till October 2022.
• He will report to Arun Srinivas, Director and Head of Ads Business for Meta in India.
• He has also worked in companies such as Amazon, Reliance Brands, Aditya Birla Group and Tommy Hilfiger.

 Important Dates

3. World Hindi Day 2023: 10th January

• World Hindi Day is observed on January 10 every year to promote awareness about the language across the world.
• Theme 2023: "Hindi – Traditional Knowledge to Artificial Intelligence"
• On this day, Hindi (India's national language) was spoken for the first time in the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
• The 12th World Hindi Conference will be organised in Fiji by the Foreign Ministry in collaboration with the Fiji government from February 15 to 17, 2023.

 National & International Appointments

4. Gabon names vice-president and new prime minister

• President of Gabon, Ali Bongo has appointed the country’s first female Prime Minister, Rose Christiane Ossouka Raponda (59) as the vice-president of country.
• She was appointed as the country's PM in July 2020.
• She was also named budget minister in 2012 before being elected mayor of Libreville (Capital) in 2014.
• While, former minister, Alain-Claude Bilie By Nze will replace PM Ossouka Raponda to form a new government.
• Currency: Central African CFA franc

 Agreement

5. India signs MoU with Panama to enhance cooperation in training of diplomats

• India has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Panama to enhance cooperation in the training of diplomats.
• The agreement was signed by EAM, Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and Panama's Foreign Minister, Janaina Tewaney Mencomo.
• Both countries have also discussed the opportunities for greater economic, health, finance and people to people linkages.
• Panamanian Minister has also joined the 17th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Convention in Indore.

 State Affairs

6. MP Tourism Board signs MoUs with 8 countries

• Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board has signed MoUs with chapters of eight countries of the Global Organisation of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO) at the 17th Pravasi Bhartiya Divas Convention, Indore.
• Aim: To boost cooperation in the development of the Tourism sector of the State, and promotion, and publicity of tourist places.
• These MoUs were signed with France Metropole Paris, Mauritius, Reunion Island, Martinique, Sri Lanka, GOPIO International, Malaysia, and Mauritius.

 Obituaries

7. Kashmir's first Jnanpith awardee, Rehman Rahi passes away

• Noted academic and poet, Prof Rehman Rahi has been passed away at the age of 98.
• He received the Sahitya Akademi Award for his collection of poems ‘Nawroz-i-Saba’ in 1961.
• He was honoured with the country's highest literary award, the Jnanpith, for his work "Siyah Rood-e-Jaerenn Manz" in 2007.
• He has also awarded Padma Shri in 2000 by the govt of India.
• He was an acclaimed poet who has translated the works of many renowned poets and writers into the Kashmiri language.

 Important Dates

8. Union Minister Jitendra Singh releases theme of National Science Day 2023

• Union Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Jitendra Singh has released the theme of National Science Day 2023.
• Theme 2023: Global Science for Global Wellbeing
• The theme has been selected for the purpose of raising public appreciation of scientific issues in a global context which is having a bearing on global Well-being
• National Science Day is celebrated every year on the 28th February to celebrate the discovery of the Raman Effect by Indian Physicist Sir C V Raman.

 National Affairs

9. Govt introduces new system to measure and grade performance of hospitals

• The National Health Authority (NHA) has introduced a new system to measure and grade hospital performance under the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PMJAY)
• Aim: To shift the focus of measuring the performance of hospitals from the volume of services provided to the value of healthcare services
• The Health Ministry announced that the new model with the reward system will consequently reduce the effects of the disease in the population in the long term

 Books & Authors

10. Dhoni releases autobiography of Prof. K.K. Abdul Gaffar

• An autobiography of Techno-educationalist, Professor K.K. Abdul Gaffar 'Njaan Sakshi’ (me as the witness) was released by Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
• It will provide an insight into the journey of Prof. Gaffar and how education and students have changed over the time.
• The first copy of this book was received by Marwan Al Mulla, the CEO of Dubai Health Authority (DHA).
• He also presented copies of the book to dignitaries including actor Tovino Thomas at the occasion.

 Sports

11. Novak Djokovic wins men's single Adelaide International 1 title 2023

• Serbian Tennis Player, Novak Djokovic has defeated America’s Sebastian Korda to win the 2023 Adelaide International 1 men’s singles title.
• While, Aryna Sabalenka (Belarus) has won women’s singles title, after defeating Czech Republic's Linda Nosková.
• Other winner:
  • Men's doubles: Lloyd Glasspool(United Kingdom) / Harri Heliövaara(Finland)
  • Women's doubles: Asia Muhammad (United States) / Taylor Townsend (United States)

 National & International Appointments

12. Chetan Sharma continue as chairman of BCCI senior selection committee

• Former Indian pacer, Chetan Sharma has been re-appointed as the chairman of the five-member BCCI's senior selection committee.
• He was the head of the board's selection committee from December 2020.
• His name was recommeded by the Cricket Advisory Committee.
• The committee also named Shiv Sundar Das (Central Zone), Subroto Banerjee (East Zone), Salil Ankola (West Zone) and Sridharan Sharath (South Zone).
• BCCI secretary: Jay Shah

 Banking & Finance

13. Kerala becomes country’s first fully digital banking state

• Kerala Chief Minister, Pinarayi Vijayan has declared Kerala as the first state in the country to go fully digital in its banking service.
• It was possible due to social interventions through local self-government institutions along with infrastructure development and technological advances in the banking sector.
• He has also announced that the ambitious Kerala Fibre Optic Network (KFON) project of the state government will reduce the digital divide.