Daily GK Update: 1st February 2023

 Honours & Awards

1. Former PM Manmohan Singh conferred Lifetime Achievement Honour in UK

• Former PM Dr Manmohan Singh (India) was conferred a Lifetime Achievement Honour by the India-UK Achievers Honours in London.
• He was awarded for his contribution to economic and political life.
• It was handed over to him in New Delhi by the National Indian Students and Alumni Union (NISAU) UK.
• Living Legend Honour: Lord Karan Bilimoria and Opposition Labour Party MP Virendra Sharma
• Outstanding Achievers: Parineeti Chopra, Raghav Chadha, Adar Poonawalla, and Aditi Chauhan

 National & International Appointments

2. UPSC recommends Rajeev Singh Raghuvanshi as new DCGI

• The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has recommended Dr Rajeev Singh Raghuvanshi as the new Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI).
• The recommendation will be approved by the Health Ministry, followed by approval of the Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC) led by PM Narendra Modi.
• He will replace Dr. V G Somani, whose extended tenure will be ended in February 2023.
• Dr. Somani was appointed DCGI for three years on August 14, 2019.

 Agreement

3. Reliance, Maliban Biscuit Manufactories sign for strategic partnership

• The FMCG arm of Reliance Retail Ventures Limited, Reliance Consumer Products Limited (RPCL) has signed a strategic partnership with Sri Lanka’s Maliban Biscuit Manufactories.
• Reason: To bring the unique and highly sought-after taste of Maliban to Indian consumers.
• With this partnership, both organizations will develop unique value propositions that RPCL will utilize to strengthen their portfolio in the biscuit segment.
• Reliance Industries Limited: Mukesh Ambani

 International Affairs

4. US-India Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies launched

• National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and his US counterpart Jake Sullivan launched the US-India initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET) and Innovation Bridge.
• The iCET was announced by US President Joe Biden and PM Narendra Modi in May 2022.
• Aim: To elevate and expand strategic technology partnerships and defense industrial cooperation between governments and businesses
• Innovation Bridge will connect both countries' defense startups.

 Banking & Finance

5. GST collection at Rs 1.55 Lakh Crore in January 2023

• The Indian government collected Rs 1,55,922 crore GST in January 2023.
• The CGST is Rs 28,963 crore, SGST is Rs 36,730 crore, IGST is Rs 79,599 crore, and cess is Rs 10,630 crore.
• The GST collection in January 2023 is the second highest, after the Rs 1.68 lakh crore gross mop-up reported in April 2022.
• The revenues in the current financial year up to January 2023 are 24% higher than the GST revenues in January 2022.
• GST Day: 1st July 

 Summits & Conferences

6. First G20 education working group meeting begins in Chennai

• The first G20 Education working group meeting is being organized in Chennai on 1st Feb 2023 and will continue till 2nd Feb 2023.
• The Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting, Dr. L. Murugan inaugurated the session.
• Discussion topic: K-12 education, tech-enabled learning, and skill development
• A seminar on the ‘Role of Digital Technology in Education’ – a unique initiative under India’s Presidency was organized at the IIT Madras Research Park.

 Obituaries

7. Former Law Minister, Shanti Bhushan passes away

• Former Union Law Minister and veteran lawyer, Shanti Bhushan passed away at the age of 97 in New Delhi.
• He served as the law minister of India under the Morarji Desai government from 1977 to 1979.
• He was best known for successfully arguing for setting aside the election of Indira Gandhi in 1975.
• In his political career, he was a member of Congress and later joined the Janata Party.
• He also served as a Rajya Sabha member from 14 July 1977 to 2 April 1980.

 International Affairs

8. UK to be the country partner for BioAsia 2023

• The global business firm, BioAsia has selected the United Kingdom (UK) as its country partner for the 20th edition of the largest event in the biotechnological industry of Asia.
• Theme 2023: Advancing for ONE: Shaping the next generation of humanized healthcare.
  • ‘O’ in ONE stands for One Health
  • ‘N’ in ONE stands for Next Generation Health
  • ‘E’ in ONE stands for Equity
• BioAsia 2023 will be organized from February 24 to 26 in Hyderabad, Telangana.

 National Affairs

9. Adani Group acquires Haifa port for $1.2 bn

• The Adani Group has acquired the strategic Israeli port of Haifa for USD 1.2 billion.
• The deal was signed by Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani in presence of Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu.
• The Haifa Port is the second largest port in Israel in terms of shipping containers and the biggest in shipping tourist cruise ships.
• The Adani group will also develop real estate at the port to transform the Haifa skyline.
• Israel Capital: Jerusalem

 Banking & Finance

10. New India Assurance launches ‘Pay As You Drive’ vehicle insurance policy

• The New India Assurance has launched “Pay as You Drive” policy for vehicles.
• It is a comprehensive motor insurance policy that charges premiums based on the usage of the vehicle.
• The policy has two components - third-party cover and own-damage cover.
• This policy offered features like discounts on renewals, coverage beyond the distance limit, and enhanced protections.
• The discount will be applied to the basic own damage premium.
• NIA Chairman: Neerja Kapur

 Banking & Finance

11. RBI: Number of micro ATMs increases in 2022

• According to data, released by the RBI, as of December 2022, the total number of micro ATMs across the country has reached 14.19 lakh.
• But, there has been no significant surge in the value of money withdrawn through these devices since June 2022
• There were just about 3.56 lakh micro ATMs in India in 2020
• The cash withdrawal in Dec 2021 was ₹25.2-lakh crore.
  It grew to only about ₹25.5-lakh crore by November 2022
• The data for cash withdrawal for December was not released

 National Affairs

12. Night Time Light radiance in India rose 43% in last 10 years: Report

• According to the latest data from the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), the normalized Night Time Light (NTL) radiance in India has jumped to 43% in 2021 as compared to 2012.
• The night light is used by economists to track the economic growth of regions across the globe.
• Bihar (474%), Manipur (441%), Ladakh (280%), and Kerala (119%) have shown significant growth.
• While a good increase was observed in Arunachal Pradesh, MP, UP, and Gujarat.

 National Affairs

13. India's solar module manufacturing capacity to reach 95 GW by 2025: Report

• According to the research firm, Mercom Capital, the solar module manufacturing capacity of India would reach approximately 95 GW by the end of 2025.
• The solar module manufacturing capacity as of September last year was 39 gigawatts (GW).
• Report title: State of Solar PV Manufacturing in India
• Indian PV manufacturers are strategically poised to expand their production capacities and adopt new technologies
• The US-based Mercom Capital Group is a clean energy research firm.