Current Affairs is the most important area in all competitive exams. But the difficulty level is very high. That’s why; many aspirants get confused, how to select Current Affairs for Preparation of Competitive Examination? In this Post, Daily Current Affairs 1 January 2023, we have tried to cover each and every point and also included all important facts from National/ International news that are useful for upcoming competitive examinations such as UPSC, SSC, Railway, State Govt. etc.
Current Affairs for Competitive Exam – 1 January 2022
Indigenous Payment Application BHIM Celebrates Sixth Anniversary
BHIM Celebrates its Sixth Anniversary: BHIM (Bharat Interface for Money), a locally created payment application, recently celebrated its sixth birthday. On December 30, 2016, Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled the BHIM App. Bharat Interface for Money is referred to as BHIM. It is a biometric payment system app based on the Unified Payment Interface (UPI) that allows for e-payments to be made directly through the bank using the Aadhar platform.
January 2023 Current Affairs Quiz
It can be used on all mobile devices whether it’s a smartphone or feature phone or a phone without an internet connection. The payments through the BHIM App can be made with just a thumb impression after the bank account is linked with the Aadhar gateway.
About BHIM
BHIM or Bharat Interface for Money is an Indian mobile payment app developed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) based on the Unified Payments Interface (UPI). The 30th of December 2016 saw the release of the BHIM App. It is intended to facilitate e-payment directly through banks and encourage cashless transactions. It bears the name of eminent Dalit activist Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar.
The application supports all Indian banks which use UPI, which is built over the Immediate Payment Service (IMPS) infrastructure and allows the user to instantly transfer money between 170-member Banks of any two parties.
NDTV Founders to Get Rs 602 Crore from Sale of 27.26% to Adani Enterprises
NDTV Founders to Get Rs 602 Crore from Sale of 27.26% to Adani Enterprises: Prannoy Roy and his wife Radhika Roy, the founders of NDTV, sold an additional 27.26% ownership share to The Adani Group, which announced the deal to stock exchanges. The billionaire Gautam Adani-backed Adani Group acquired shares from Roys at Rs 342.65 per share which was 16.55 per cent higher than the open offer price of Rs 294 per share.
January 2023 Current Affairs Quiz
More About This Issue:
An indirect subsidiary of the corporation, Vishvapradhan Commercial Private Limited, owns 8.27% of the equity in NDTV, while RRPR previously owned 29.18% of the ownership in NDTV. Following the current transaction, RRPR will hold 56.45% of the company. Adani Group has acquired Roys’ share at deal worth Rs 602.30 crore. On December 30, 2022, the transaction was finalised on the NSE block deal window.
About The Whole Time-line of This Acquisition:
Adani Group inadvertently purchased RRPR Holding Pvt Ltd in August, which led to an open offer to buy an additional 26% of the media company. Adani Group acquired a 29.18 per cent stake in NDTV by buying a company backed by the television network’s founders, Radhika Roy and Prannoy Roy. Thereafter, it made an open offer to acquire an additional 26 per cent from public shareholders.
Despite the substantial discount from the stock’s market price, investors were willing to sell approximately 53 lakh shares of NDTV in response to that open offer. The stock tendered translated to an 8.26 per cent shareholding, taking the total interest of Adani Group in NDTV to 37.44 per cent – higher than the 32.26 per cent holding of founders.
SpaceX Launched First 54 Starlink v2.0 satellites Into Low Earth orbit
SpaceX Launched First 54 Starlink v2.0 satellites Into Low Earth orbit: The first 54 v2.0 or Gen2 Starlink Satellites were launched into low Earth orbit by the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. The SpaceX Falcon 9 was launched on 28th December 2022, and it took place from the SLC-40 launch pad of the US Air Force Base at Cape Canaveral. Since the start of 2022, 60 SpaceX missions have been completed successfully.
January 2023 Current Affairs Quiz
SpaceX Launched First 54 Starlink v2.0 satellites Into Low Earth orbit – Key Points
- Starlink v2.0 satellites have several different configurations depending on the launch vehicle.
- It was assumed that the new satellites would be launched by Starship initially.
- As a result, the size and mass of the new version should be much larger than those of the older versions—2000 kg as opposed to 260 and 295 kg for versions 1.0 and 1.5.However, SpaceX’s super-heavy rocket is a bit delayed, and now, Starlink v2.0 is carried by the good old Falcon 9.
- The mass of such satellites is 303 kg, and the dimensions are almost the same as in v.15.
- The main difference of Starlink v2.0 is a larger antenna and increased bandwidth of each satellite.
- The v1.5 devices are capable of direct communication with regular mobile terminals and have a laser communication system between satellites.
- SpaceX currently has 3,604 operational Starlink Satellites in orbit.
- The anticipated total number of satellites is 12,000, with a potential increase to 42,000.
Tata Motors to complete acquisition of Ford India’s manufacturing Plant in January
Tata Motors to complete acquisition of Ford India’s manufacturing Plant in January: On January 10th 2023, Tata Motors will complete the acquisition of Ford India’s Sanand manufacturing facility through a subsidiary. Ford India Pvt Ltd (FIPLSanand )’s Plant in Gujarat will be purchased by the company’s unit Tata Passenger Electric Mobility Ltd (TPEML) for Rs 725.7 crore, according to the announcement.
The acquisition included the entire land and buildings, the vehicle manufacturing plant along with machinery and equipment and the transfer of all eligible employees of FIPL’s vehicle manufacturing operations at Sanand.
January 2023 Current Affairs Quiz
Tata Motors to complete acquisition of Ford India’s manufacturing Plant in January – Key Points
All eligible employees of FIPL’s vehicle manufacturing plant have been offered employment with TPEML on terms, conditions, and benefits of service similar to those that are currently available to them. FIPL employees who have accepted its offer of employment will become TPEML employees with effect from 10th January 2023.
Tata Motors informed that its passenger and electric vehicles business has delivered “market-beating growth over the last few years and has strong plans to sustain this momentum. With this acquisition, an additional, cutting-edge manufacturing capacity of 3,00,000 units annually will become available. This capacity can be increased to 4,20,000 units annually.
India’s second longest cable-stayed eight-lane Zuari Bridge opens in Goa
Zuari Bridge:
India’s second longest cable-stayed eight-lane Zuari Bridge opens in Goa: Nitin Gadkari, the Union Minister for Roads, Transport, and Highways, opened the second-longest cable-stayed, eight-lane Zuari Bridge in the nation in Goa. Right-hand side (4-lane corridor) across the Zuari River and approaches from Bambolim to Verna were thrown open for vehicular traffic. Gadkari also launched the PWD Goa App for integrated operations management. The families of the workers who passed away during the bridge’s construction each received Rs 2 lakh from Chief Minister Pramod Sawant through the Goa government’s insurance programme.
January 2023 Current Affairs Quiz
About the Zuari Bridge:
The Zuari Bridge is a bridge between North Goa and South Goa, India. It carries the NH 66 over the tidal part of the Zuari River, between the villages of Agaçaim and Cortalim. It is a few metres downstream of the Konkan Railway Bridge. The 640-metre-long bridge and the 13.20 km roads on both sides have been built in 3 phases. The Zuari Bridge work began in June 2016.
Tamil Nadu Information Commission Lowest Performing in RTI Responsiveness
Tamil Nadu Information Commission Lowest Performing in RTI Responsiveness: With just up to 14% of the information requested, the State Information Commission of Tamil Nadu has the worst performance of responsiveness under the RTI Act. Maharashtra was second lowest with sharing only 23% of the information asked for.
The report was issued on the Performance of Information Commission (ICs) in India for 2021-22 by Satark Nagrik Sangathan.
January 2023 Current Affairs Quiz
Tamil Nadu Information Commission Lowest Performing in RTI Responsiveness – Key Points
- Only 10 ICs provided the full information in response to the RTI applications filed as part of this assessment.
- These comprised the northeastern states of Tripura, Nagaland, and Sikkim as well as the states of Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, and Jharkhand.
- A total of 145 RTI applications were filed seeking identical information from all the 29 ICs as a part of the assessment by the organization.
- The RTI applications were tracked to assess how each IC performed as a public authority in terms of maintenance and disclosing information.
- Tamil Nadu was the worst performing IC as it denied most of the information sought.
- They denied the information sought including several appeals and complaints dealt with the IC, details of the penalty imposed, and compensation awarded stating that the information could be provided only ‘after getting the approval of State Legislature Assembly’, though no such provision exists in the RTI Act.
- The SIC of Chhattisgarh denied the information on several points stating that under the prevailing state rule, in one application information on only one topic could be sought.
- The Bihar SIC improved its performance and provided 67% of the information requested after failing to give any information under the RTI Act for the assessments released in 2020 and 2021.
- The report also said that a large number of ICs across the country were returning cases without passing orders.
- Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh returned around 40% of the appeals or complaints received by them.
Pritzker-winning architect Arata Isozaki passes away at 91
Pritzker-winning architect Arata Isozaki passes away at 91: Arata Isozaki, a Japanese architect who won the Pritzker Prize and was hailed as a post-modern giant for fusing Eastern and Western cultures and histories in his works, has passed away. He was 91. Isozaki won the Pritzker Architecture Prize, internationally the highest honor in the field, in 2019. Arata Isozaki, Whose Hybrid Style Forged ‘New Paths,’ Wins Pritzker Prize.
January 2023 Current Affairs Quiz
About the Arata Isozaki:
Isozaki studied architecture at the University of Tokyo, the premier university in Japan, and then began his architectural career as an apprentice under the tutelage of Japanese icon Kenzo Tange, a 1987 Pritzker winner. Isozaki founded his own office, Arata Isozaki & Associates, which he called “Atelier” around 1963, while working on a public library for his home prefecture of Oita — one of his earliest works.
He was one of the forerunners of Japanese architects who designed buildings overseas, transcending national and cultural boundaries, and also as a critic of urban development and city designs. Among Isozaki’s best-known works are the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles and the Palau Sant Jordi stadium in Barcelona built for the 1992 Summer Games. He also created enduring structures like the Team Disney Building and the Florida headquarters of the Walt Disney Company.
IPS officer Laxmi Singh named UP’s first woman Police Commissioner at Noida
IPS officer Laxmi Singh: Laxmi Singh, an IPS officer, has been named the new head of the Noida Police Department by the Uttar Pradesh government, making her the first woman to lead a Police Commissionerate in the state. The 2000-batch officer, who replaced Alok Singh in Gautam Buddh Nagar. Alok Singh, a 1995-batch IPS officer, has been posted as an additional director general of police (ADGP) at the DGP office in state capital Lucknow.
January 2023 Current Affairs Quiz
Career of Laxmi Singh:
- Laxmi, 48, has held the position of Inspector General of Police in the Lucknow district.
- She holds the distinction of being the first woman IPS topper (33rd rank overall) in the UPSC-held exams and was adjudged the best probationer at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy in Hyderabad, as per official records.
- She has also been awarded the PM’s silver bation and the home minister’s pistol during her training.
- In 2004, after receiving her B.Tech in mechanical engineering, she began working as a senior superintendent of police.
- In 2013, she was promoted as a deputy IG and in 2018 she was promoted to the rank of IG.
- Laxmi has previously served as the IG/DIG of the Special Task Force (STF) in Gautam Buddh Nagar from January 1, 2018 to March 5, 2018.
- Thereafter, she was made IG of the police training school in Meerut from March 2018 to May 26 in 2020 before being moved as IG Range Lucknow.
Food Processing Industry Invests Nearly Rs 4,900 Crore Under PLI Scheme
Food Processing Industry Invests Nearly Rs 4,900 Crore Under PLI Scheme: According to the government, the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme has so far attracted investments of Rs 4,900 crore from the food processing sector. The PLI scheme for the food processing industry was approved in March 2021, with a budget outlay of Rs 10,900 crore. It will be implemented for seven years, until 2026-27.
January 2023 Current Affairs Quiz
More About This Development:
In total, 182 applications for the PLI scheme for the food processing industry have been approved. This includes 30 applications for millets-based products under the PLI scheme (8 large entities and 22 SMEs). Incentives of Rs 800 crore are probably going to be given out in the current fiscal year. Sales-based incentive of Rs 107.3 crore has been disbursed so far.
Its Significance:
PLI beneficiaries’ investments are likely to increase sales and exports of food products. The scheme requires that the entire chain of manufacturing processes, including primary processing of food products, take place in India in order to qualify for the incentive, which is expected to boost domestic industry. It was also stated that the scheme will aid in the promotion of Indian brands abroad.
The ministry stated that a total of 112 food processing projects were completed and operationalised during 2022, leveraging private investment of Rs 706.04 crore and generating direct and indirect employment for 25,293 people. Throughout the year, about 190 projects related to food processing were approved.
About Food Processing Industry:
Food processing is the transformation of raw ingredients into food, or of food into other forms (ie. food processing may denote direct manufacturing of food or value addition on existing food). Food processing typically takes harvested crops or butchered animal products and uses these to produce long shelf-life food products.
Why are food processing industries significant?
- India is a land famous for food production. More than 50% of the Indian population work in Agriculture related activities. If there are good food processing industries in India, raw materials like grains or meat can be converted into food for domestic and foreign consumption.
- Food processing units acts as a link between agriculture and industries.
- A significant portion of workers from the agriculture sector, who experience covert unemployment, can be absorbed by the food processing sectors. It can lead to better productivity and GDP growth.
- Food processing prevents food wastage and helps in attaining food security.
- Processed food requires less space for storage.
- Processed food can be exported. This may help us in getting foreign exchange reserves.
Madras High Court: Mobile Phones Banned in Tamil Nadu’s Temples
Madras High Court: Mobile Phones Banned in Tamil Nadu’s Temples- The Madras High Court’s Madurai Bench has ruled that visitors to Tamil Nadu temples are not allowed to bring cell phones inside. The Division Bench of Justice R. Mahadevan and J Sathya Narayana Prasad held that the gadgets divert the attention of the devotees from the purpose of visiting the temple.
The Tamil Nadu Temple Entry Authorization Act 1947, and the Rules empower the trustees or any authority in charge of the temple to make regulations for the maintenance of order and decorum in the temple.
January 2023 Current Affairs Quiz
Madras High Court: Mobile Phones Banned in Tamil Nadu’s Temples- Key Points
- The court mentioned that famed temples had banned mobile phones. These temples include the Meenakshi Sundareshwara Temple in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, the Sri Venkateshwara Temple in Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh, and the Sri Krishna Temple in Guruvayur, Kerala.
- The temple will have security counters to deposit mobile phones before entering the temple premises.
- The judges have passed the order prohibiting the carrying of mobile phones in temples while hearing a petition praying to take effective measures to prohibit mobile phone usage inside the Subramaniya Swamy Temple in Coastal Tiruchendur.
- The Judges have informed us that temples are great institutions and they have traditionally been central to everyone’s life.
- The Temples are not only a place of worship but also an integral part of the sociocultural and economic life of people.
