Topic: Reports and Indices
1. Global unemployment stood steady at 5 percent in 2024, according to International Labour Organisation (ILO) report.
- Global unemployment in 2024 remained at a historical low continuing from the 2023, as per ILO report.
- The report is titled as “World Employment and Social Outlook: Trends 2025 (WESO Trends).
- In 2024, economic growth was 3.2%, which was lower than the 3.3% and 3.6% growth in 2023 and 2022, respectively.
- In 2025, a similar expansion is anticipated, followed by a slowdown over the medium term.
- According to the ILO report, there have been no improvements, particularly for youth.
- The unemployment rate for young people is still significantly higher at 12.6%.
- According to the report, low-income nations seem to be more at risk.
- According to the ILO report, real wage growth has only increased in a small number of advanced economies, while worldwide unemployment has stayed stable.
- According to the report, only advanced economies have seen increases in labour force participation, particularly among women and older workers.
- The global jobs gap is calculated to reach 402 million in 2024.
- Global jobs gap is the estimated number of people who want to work but are out of work.
Topic: Corporates/Companies
2. A HUL factory in eastern Assam has been named as an advanced 4IR end-to-end (E2E) value chain ‘Lighthouse’ by WEF.
- The factory is located in Tinsukia district’s Doom Dooma.
- This is Hindustan Unilever Limited- HUL’s third factory in South Asia to get the honour for adopting 4IR technologies.
- Cloud computing, automation, artificial intelligence, and the Internet of Things at scale are examples of Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) technologies.
- Sonepat in Haryana and Dapada in Dadra and Nagar Haveli are the other HUL factories that got this honour.
- The only company in India to have three plants recognised as Lighthouses is HUL.
- The most technologically sophisticated factories are recognised by the World Economic Forum-WEF's Global Lighthouse Network.
- The largest production facility for beauty and well-being in India is the Doom Dooma plant.
Topic: Appointments
3. The government has appointed Ashok Chandra as MD and CEO of PNB and Binod Kumar as MD and CEO of Indian Bank.
- Both Ashok Chandra and Binod Kumar have taken charge on 16 January 2025.
- Chandra was an executive director at Canara Bank. He has been appointed for a three-year term.
- Binod Kumar was an executive director at PNB. He has been appointed for a three-year term.
- He will be eligible for an extension of up to two more years.
- The posts of MD and CEO at PNB and Indian Bank became vacant after the tenures of Atul Kumar Goel and SL Jain, respectively, ended on December 31.
Topic: RBI
4. RBI has appointed Deputy Governor M. Rajeshwar Rao to oversee monetary policy department and department of economic and policy research.
- This has been done after the Deputy Governor Michael Patra’s term ended on January 15, 2025.
- Deputy Governor M Rajeshwar Rao is in charge of banking regulation.
- Other portfolios of Patra have been distributed with other deputy governors.
- Patra was made the RBI deputy governor in January 2020 for a period of three years.
- In 2023, he received extension of one year and another year in 2024.
- Patra was also the member secretary of the ‘Expert Committee to Revise and Strengthen the Monetary Policy Framework.
- This committee was formed in 2014 and headed by the then deputy governor Urjit Patel.
Topic: Indian Economy/Financial Market
5. According to PHDCCI, India's GDP would overtake Japan and rank fourth in the world by 2026.
- It predicted that India's GDP would expand by 7.7% in FY26 and 6.8% in the current fiscal year.
- The PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry added that only those with incomes over Rs 40 lakh should be subject to the highest income tax rate.
- This rate is presently applicable at 30% on income above Rs 15 lakh.
- It suggested raising the income tax exemption threshold to Rs 10 lakh.
- In its policy review next month, PHDCCI anticipates that the RBI will cut the benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points.
- PHDCCI has advised that tax rate on firms under proprietorship or partnership and LLP, which is currently 33%, should be 25%.
Topic: Miscellaneous
6. SHE COHORT 3.0 launched by Punjab to empower women-led startups.
- On 15 January, Punjab launched SHE COHORT 3.0 (Startups Handholding & Empowerment—Cohort 3.0) at Mohali.
- The initiative supports aspiring female entrepreneurs and students in building and scaling technology-based ventures, with assistance from business incubators and ecosystem enablers.
- Inaugurated by Secretary Science, Technology, and Environment, Punjab, Priyank Bharti, the event highlighted the upcoming plans of Startup Punjab to boost the state’s startup ecosystem in the presence of over 250 emerging start-ups, innovators, and students.
- This initiative provides a platform for budding poor and marginalized women entrepreneurs to showcase their talent and ideas for start-ups and become self-reliant by using science and technology.
- Their startup can also generate income for others and is a helpful step towards making a developed India a reality by 2047.
Topic: Awards and Prizes
7. Singapore awards the Honorary Citizen Award to Tarun Das, the former head of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).
- Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam honored Tarun Das with the Honorary Citizen Award for his role in strengthening India-Singapore relations.
- During a ceremony in New Delhi, President Tharman, who is on a state visit to India, presented the award to Das.
- A non-Singaporean can receive the highest recognition from the Singapore government through the Honorary Citizenship Award.
- It is awarded to individuals who have made significant impact in fields such as business, science and technology, education, health, arts and culture, and community service.
- Mr Das is the second Indian to be honoured with this honour, before him the only Indian to receive this honour was late Ratan Tata.
Topic: Indian Economy/Financial Market
8. India’s merchandise exports reduced by 1 percent to $38.01 billion in December.
- The imports rose by 4.9 per cent to $59.95 billion, which led to a trade deficit of $21.94 billion in December.
- According to United Nations Trade and Development, shifts in United States (US) trade policy toward more protectionist, inward-looking industrial policies in many countries, trade wars, and geopolitical tensions will negatively influence international trade in 2025.
- Moderating global inflation, stable economic growth forecasts and improving business activity will create positive momentum in global trade for early 2025.
- Petroleum imports rose 2.2% to $15.3 billion in December 2024.
- Between April and December 2024, exports of petro products were 20.84%.
- Global trade is expected to grow by 3.3 percent in 2024.
- The World Trade Organization (WTO) has revised its projection of world merchandise trade growth to 3 per cent in 2025.
Topic: Corporates/Companies
9. Pixxel became the first private company in India to have its own constellation of satellites.
- Pixxel and Digantara announced the launch of their satellites through the SpaceX rocket.
- These satellites will monitor the earth and objects orbiting around it.
- Pixxel has created its own constellation of satellites by using cutting-edge hyper-spectral frequency. It will allow observation of the earth in more than 150 bands.
- It will be very useful in different sectors such as agriculture and defence.
- Digantara Aerospace announced the launch of the world's first commercial satellite - Space Camera for Object Tracking (SCOT).
- This will be used for surveillance of objects as small as 5 cm orbiting the Earth for safer space operations.
Topic: Miscellaneous
10. National Startup Day 2025: 16 January
- National Startup Day is celebrated every year on January 16.
- It is observed to commemorate the role of startups in driving entrepreneurship, innovation, technology, self-reliance and collaboration.
- In 2022, 16 January was declared to be celebrated as National Startup Day.
- India with 1.6 lakh government-recognized startups has the third largest Startup ecosystem in the world.
- Startups have created more than 1.6 million jobs across the country.
- Under the Startup India initiative, startups have to register with the Commerce Ministry’s Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) to get the benefits.
- Startups in India get many benefits including self-certification allowed for labour laws and environmental laws, rebate in patent filing, tax exemption under section 80IAC, exemption from Angel tax, etc.
- India has currently more than 110 Unicorns. As of January 13, 2025, more than 4,000 startups have received funds under Startup India’s Fund of Funds programme.
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