Daily Current Affairs and GK | 17 January 2023

Topic: State News/ Kerala

1. Kollam becomes the first Constitution literate district in India.

• Kollam district of Kerala has achieved this feat through a Constitution literacy campaign, The Citizen.
• This Constitution literacy campaign was launched by the Kollam district panchayat, District Planning Committee and Kerala Institute of Local Administration (KILA).
• The aim of the campaign is to educate people of the district about the constitution and its impact on their daily lives.
• Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that Constitutional values should be integrated with life.
• From each municipality, around 20 to 25 individuals and 10 to 15 persons from each grama panchayat will be selected for training.
• They will be called senators and Kollam Corporation will have 100 to 150 senators.
• Indian constitution:
  • It was adopted by the Constituent Assembly of India on 26 November 1949.
  • It became effective on 26 January 1950.
  • It is the lengthiest written constitution in the world with approximately 1,45,000 words.
  • The Constituent Assembly took about 2 years and 11 months to prepare it.

Topic: International News

2. Peru declared a state of emergency amid heavy protest.

• Peru’s capital Lima along with regions of Cusco, Puno and the port of Callao are under a state of emergency.
• The government has taken this step after a week-long protest against President Dina Boluarte.
• The state of emergency will be effective for 30 days and it authorizes the army to intervene for maintaining law and order.
• Constitutional rights such as freedom of movement has been suspended.
• Supporters of President Pedro Castillo are demanding fresh elections and the removal of Boluarte.
• The first mass anti-government demonstrations started in early December after Castillo was removed from office.
• Peru:
  • It is located in the western part of South America.
  • Its capital and largest city is Lima and its currency is Sol.
  • Peru is bordered by Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, and Ecuador.
  • The President of Peru serves both as head of state and head of government.

Topic: Important Days

3. Thiruvalluvar Day: 15 or 16 January

• Thiruvalluvar Day was celebrated in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry on 16 January.
• Every year, it is usually celebrated either on the 15th or 16th of January.
• It is observed in honour of the poet Thiruvalluvar, as part of the Pongal celebrations.
• It was first celebrated in 1935 at Chennai Pachaiappan College.
• Thiruvalluvar:
  • He was a renowned poet and philosopher.
  • He authored Tirukkural, a collection of couplets on ethics, political and economic matters, and love.
  • Thirukkural contains 1330 couplets (kurals) that is divided into 133 sections of 10 couplets each.
  • A temple memorial Valluvar Kotam was built in Chennai in 1976 in the honour of Thiruvalluvar. It is one of the largest auditoriums in Asia.

Topic: Important Days

4. National Start-up Day 2023: 16 January

• National Start-up Day is celebrated to promote start-up culture at the grass-root level.
• In 2022, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced celebrating January 16 as National Start-up Day.
• Several organizations organized this event with the aim to foster the spirit of entrepreneurship and innovation by engaging the start-up community.
• The Start-up India Innovation Week was also conducted on January 10, 2023, which was concluded on January 16, 2023.
• The Start-up India Innovation Week was organized by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) and the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
• The first National Start-up Day was celebrated in 2022.
• The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade also felicitates winners of the National Start-up Awards on this occasion.

Topic: MoUs/ Agreements

5. NTPC REL and Government of Tripura signed an MoU for cooperation in renewable energy development.

• On January 16, 2023, NTPC Renewable Energy Limited (NTPC REL) and the Government of Tripura signed an MoU in New Delhi.
• The MoU has been signed for the development of floating and ground-mounted based renewable energy projects in the state.
• Shri Mahanand Debbarma, Director General & CEO of Tripura Renewable Energy Development Agency, and Shri Rajeev Gupta, Chief General Manager of NTPC REL, signed the MoU.
• This MoU is a step towards the development of large-scale renewable energy projects in Tripura and will help the Government of Tripura to fulfill its clean energy commitments and obligations.
• NTPC Renewable Energy Limited (NTPC REL), formed on 7 October 2020, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of NTPC Limited.

Topic: Summits/Conferences/Meetings

6. Think-20 meeting under G-20 was organized in Bhopal.

• On 16 January, the two-day Think-20 meeting under G-20 was conducted at Kushabhau Thackeray International Convention Center in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh
• Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan inaugurated the first Think-20 meeting in Madhya Pradesh.
• G-20 Chief Coordinator Harsh Vardhan Shringla stated that more than 300 ministers, intellectuals, and subject experts from India and abroad participated in plenary and parallel sessions.
• Participants at the event also included officials from global organizations like the Asian Development Bank, ADB Institute, African Union, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, UN, UNDP, and UNICEF.
• Think-20 or T20 submitted policy brief abstracts of contributors on 17 January.
• Contributors were invited to submit abstracts of any proposed policy brief focused on the T20 India Task Force.
• There are seven T20 task forces covering all the different aspects of the G20 agenda. These include accelerating SDGs, life, resilience and well-being, macroeconomics, trade, and livelihoods.
• On 6 February, selected abstracts will be notified of their acceptance.
• The T20 website encourages collaboration between authors from institutions in the G20 countries.

Topic: Defence

7. 21^st edition of Exercise Varuna commenced on the western seaboard on 16 January 2023.

• The exercise will be conducted till 20 January 2023.
• It will witness advanced air defence exercises, tactical manoeuvres, surface firings, and other maritime operations.
• It facilitates operational-level interaction between the two navies to foster mutual cooperation for good order at sea.
• In 21st edition, indigenous guided missile stealth destroyer INS Chennai, guided missile frigate INS Teg, maritime patrol aircraft P-8I and Dornier, integral helicopters and MiG29K fighter aircraft are taking part.
• The French Navy is being represented by the aircraft carrier Charles De Gaulle, frigates FS Forbin and Provence, support vessel FS Marne and maritime patrol aircraft Atlantique.
• Exercise Varuna is a bilateral naval exercise between India and France.
• The bilateral exercise between two navies was started in 1993. It was renamed as ‘VARUNA’ in 2001.

Topic: Indian Economy

8. India’s overall exports in April to December 2022 are estimated to show a positive growth of 16.11% over the same period last year.

• As per the estimates, India’s overall exports are likely to be 568.57 billion US dollar as against 489.69 billion US dollar in the corresponding period of 2021.
• Overall imports in April to December 2022 are estimated to show a growth of 25.55% over the same period last year.
• Overall imports are estimated to be 686.70 billion dollar as compared to 546.95 billion US dollar over the same period of last year.
• Ministry of Commerce and Industry said that India’s overall export remained at 61.82 billion US dollar in December 2022.
• India’s overall export in December 2022 exhibited a negative growth of 5.26% over the same period last year.
• India’s overall import in December 2022 is estimated to be 73.80 billion US dollar.
• It exhibited a negative growth of 1.95% over the same period last year. 
• The top exports of India are refined petroleum, packaged medicaments, diamonds, rice, and jewellery.
• The top imports of India are crude petroleum, gold, diamonds, and petroleum gas.

Topic: Government Schemes and Initiatives

9. Ministry of Minority Affairs (MoMA) discontinued the Padho Pardesh scheme.

• MOMA has discontinued the interest subsidy scheme Padho Pardesh on education loans for overseas studies for minority community students.
• Indian Banks’ Association has notified about the discontinuation of the Padho Pardesh Interest Subsidy Scheme from 2022-23.
• Canara Bank was the designated nodal bank for the implementation of the scheme.
• The existing beneficiaries as on March 31, 2022, will receive the interest subsidy during the moratorium period of the loan.
• The main objective of the scheme is to give interest subsidies to meritorious students of economically weaker sections of minority communities.
• Students who secured admission in the approved courses at Masters, M. Phil or Ph. D levels abroad were eligible for the scheme.
• Padho Pardesh scheme was part of the then Prime Minister's fifteen-point programme for the welfare of minorities in 2006.

Topic: Science and Technology

10. Entire country will be covered by Doppler weather radar network by 2025.

• Union Minister Jitendra Singh inaugurated four Doppler weather radar systems in Jammu & Kashmir, Uttarakhand, and Himachal Pradesh as well as 200 agro-automated weather stations.
• It will cover the entire country by 2025 for more accurate forecasts related to extreme weather events.
• The government has taken many steps to increase the radar network from a mere 15 in 2013 to 37 in 2023.
• Union Minister Jitendra Singh addressed an event on the occasion of 148th foundation day of India Meteorological Department (IMD).
• The government is also planning to establish agro-meteorological units in 660 districts by 2025 and to increase the coverage from 3,100 blocks in 2023 to 7,000 blocks in 2025.
• The minister said that the loss of lives due to cyclones and heat waves has been reduced to single or double-digit figures.
• In the last five years, IMD's accuracy has increased by about 20-40% for different severe weather events forecast.
• The flood warning system was introduced in Mumbai in July 2020. In the coming years, a similar system will be set up in Kolkata, Guwahati, and Delhi.
• Doppler radar network:
  • It has been named after Christian Doppler who gave the concept of the Doppler Effect.
  • Doppler radar network is a system that uses radar technology to detect and track moving objects.
  • When there is relative motion between a sound source and a listener, the frequency of the sound heard by the listener is lower or higher than the original frequency is called the Doppler effect.

Topic: Personality in News

11. Last Nizam of Hyderabad passed away in Turkey.

• The eighth and last Nizam of Hyderabad, Mir Barkat Ali Khan, passed away on 14 January 2023 in Istanbul, Turkey.
• Mir Barkat Ali Khan was known as Prince Mukarram Jah Bahadur.
• He was born on 6 October 1993 to Mir Himayat Ali Khan, the first son of Mir Osman Ali Khan. His mother was daughter of the last sultan of Turkey (Ottoman empire), Sultan Abdul Mejid II.
• Mir Barkat Ali was designated as the titular head of the Asaf Jahi dynasty on 14 June 1954 by his grandfather Osman Ali, 7^th Nizam.
• He was officially recognised the Prince of Hyderabad until 1971 as titles and privy purses were abolished via 26^th Consitutional Amendment Act 1971.
• The princely state of Hyderabad was merged with Union of India in September 1948.
• The first Nizam of Hyderabad was Mir Qamar-ud-din Khan Siddiqui. He served as a Naib of the Deccan Sultanates under the Mughal Empire from 1713 to 1721. 

Topic: Awards and Prizes

12. RRR bagged 28^th Critics’ Choice Awards for Best Foreign Language Film.

• Rajamouli’s RRR has won two awards – Best Song award for Naatu Naatu and Best Foreign Language Film award.
• RRR was also nominated for Best Director, Best Picture and Best Visual Effects.
• Earlier, RRR’s song Naatu Naatu has also won Golden Globes Award for Best Song.
• 28^th Annual Critics Choice Awards were held on 15 January 2023 in Los Angeles.
• Other winners of 28^th Critics’ Choice Awards are given below:

• Critics’ Choice Awards:
  • It was earlier known as the Broadcast Film Critics Association Award.
  • The award is presented annually by American-Canadian Critics Choice Association.
  • It was first presented in 1996.

Topic: State News/ Rajasthan

13. Rajasthan has become the first state to implement a policy to control blindness.

• In order to reduce the rate of blindness, the Rajasthan government implemented a Blindness Control Policy, making it the first state in India to do so.
• It has been implemented with the objective of 'Right to Sight'.
• On January 13, on the instructions of Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, a document on the prevention of blindness policy was issued by the Medical and Health Department.
• This policy has been brought with the aim of bringing light to the lives of more than three lakh visually impaired people in the state.
• In 2020, the prevalence rate of blindness in the country was 1.1%. The blindness control policy aims to reduce it to 0.3%.
• According to the policy, Keratoplasty centers and eye banks will be mandated to operate at all government medical colleges.
• Government institutions will be made available the cornea on a priority basis, which is collected by private institutions and NGOs receiving financial assistance from Government.

Topic: National News

14. National Urban Technology Mission for municipal services and ULBs will be launched by the Centre.

• The Center will launch a five-year National Urban Technology Mission.
• It will promote technological innovations in municipal services and infrastructure of 4,500 urban local bodies in the country.
• The mission is being headed by the Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry, which could have three main sub-heads.
• The mission outlay is estimated to be 15,000 crores for five years.
• The primary sub-head is Online Governance.
• The mission will identify six basic common citizen services that every urban local body will have to provide online.
• These would essentially include issuing birth and death certificates, providing water and electricity connections, calculating and collecting of property tax, and grievance redressal.
• The second sub-head could be environmental infrastructure monitoring and eco-friendly governance of 1,000 cities.
• Sewage treatment, air quality, flood management, and water bodies of these cities will be monitored through technological interventions under the mission.