Daily Current Affairs and GK | 22 and 23 January 2023

Topic: Infrastructure and Energy

1. India’s deepest Metro station will be constructed at Pune Civil Court.

• India’s deepest Metro station will be part of the ambitious Pune Metro project.
• The Civil Court Metro station will be the Interchange station for the Pimpri Chinchwad-Swargate (16km) and Vanaz-Ramwadi (17 km) routes.
• The Civil Court Metro station will be constructed at a depth of 33.1 metres (108.59 feet deep). It will be constructed in such a way that it will receive natural light during the daytime.
• It will be connected with the Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited bus stop and have five entries.
• The station will be spread over 11 acres and it will also have a skywalk connecting with the third Metro route (Civil Court to Hinjewadi).
• The design of the station will follow the green norms and Indian Green Building Council rankings.

Topic: Art and Culture

2. Government has decided to nominate Charaideo Maidam of Ahom Kingdom as World Heritage site.

• In the cultural category for 2023-24, Charaideo Moidams (pyramids) will be India’s nomination for UNESCO's world heritage site.
• Charaideo Maidam of Ahom Kingdom site has been selected among 52 sites.
• Assam government has submitted the World Heritage Nomination Dossier to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).
• At present, there is no World Heritage Site in the category of cultural heritage from North East India.
• There are 40 UNESCO World Heritage Sites in India. Harappan city of Dholavira in Gujarat is the 40th world heritage site.
• Charaideo Maidam:
  • It is known as the pyramids of Assam and was built by Chaolung Sukhapa in 1229 CE.
  • It was the original capital of the Ahom Kings and is located near Sivsagar town.
  • It is famous for the collection of maidams, tumuli or burial mounds of the Ahom kings and Ahom royalty.
  • It comprises a massive underground vault with one or more chambers having domical superstructure. It is covered by a heap of the earthen mound.
  • It represents the late-medieval mound burial tradition of the Tai Ahom community in Assam.
  • Archaeological Survey of India and Assam State Archaeology Department conserved 30 Maidams. The actual numbers of Maidams were more than 150.

Topic: Defence

3. Fifth Kalvari submarine “INS Vagir” commissioned into the Indian Navy on 23 January.

• The submarine has been built in India by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited, Mumbai, in collaboration with France-based M/s Naval Group.
• Navy Chief Admiral R Hari Kumar commissioned this submarine.
• The time taken to build Vagir is the shortest among all submarines built so far.
• Four Kalvari class submarines have already been inducted into the Indian Navy.
• On 01 Nov 1973, the erstwhile Vagir was commissioned and carried out a number of operational missions including preventive patrolling.
• The submarine was decommissioned on 07 Jan 2001 after serving the nation for nearly three decades.
• The submarine was handed over to the Indian Navy by M/s MDL on 20 Dec 22.
• Vagir will increase the capabilities of the Indian Navy.It is capable of undertaking a variety of missions, including anti-surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare, intelligence gathering, mine laying and surveillance missions.
• Vagir has been named after the sand shark, which represents 'stealth and fearlessness'. Both qualities are synonymous with the ethos of a submarine.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Important Days

4. Parakram Diwas 2023: 23 January

• "Parakram Diwas" (Courage Day) is celebrated on 23 January every year.
• The day is commemorated as the birth anniversary of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose.
• On this day in 1897, Netaji was born in Cuttack, Odisha.
• This year marks the 126th birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.
• The day is observed to commemorate his outstanding contribution to India's freedom movement. He is known for his selfless service to the country.
• In 2021, the Modi government had announced that January 23rd would be celebrated as "Parakram Diwas".

(Source: News on Air)

Topic: Sports

5. Thailand's Kunlavut Vitidsarn won the men's singles title in the India Open Badminton tournament.

• In the final in New Delhi, Vitidsarn defeated top seed Viktor Axelsen of Denmark 22-20, 10-21, 21-12.
• The women's singles title was won by Aan Se Young of South Korea.
• She defeated Japan's Akane Yamaguchi 15-21, 21-16, 21-12 in the final.
• India Open Badminton tournament:
  • The India Open is an annual badminton tournament that has been held in India since 2008.
  • In 2011, it was upgraded to BWF Super series tournament.
  • The India Open was upgraded to a BWF World Tour Super 750 event with effect from 2023.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: National News

6. PM Modi named 21 islands of Andaman and Nicobar Islands after Param Vir Chakra winners.

• On January 23, the name was given on the occasion of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose's birth anniversary.
• The largest island of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands has been named after the first Param Vir Chakra winner.
• Similarly, other islands have been named according to their size.
• The names of the Paramveer Chakra winners named include Major Somnath Sharma, Naik Jadunath Singh, Company Havildar Major Piru Singh, Lance Naik Albert Ekka, Major Ramaswamy Parameswaran, Captain Vikram Batra and Lieutenant Manoj Kumar Pandey.
• This renaming of the islands is being done as a tribute to the heroes who made the supreme sacrifice in safeguarding the sovereignty and integrity of the nation.
• During the program, Shri Modi also inaugurated the model of Netaji National Memorial to be built on Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Island.
• In the year 2018, Shri Modi named Ross Island as Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Island in memory of the historical importance of Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose.
• Similarly, Neil Island was renamed as Shaheed Dweep and Havelock Island as Swaraj Dweep.

Topic: Summits/ Conferences/ Meetings

7. Election Commission of India (ECI) hosted the 2^nd International Conference on 'Use of Technology and Elections Integrity' in New Delhi on 23^rd January 2023.

• Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar inaugurated the two-day international conference. ECI is hosting the conference on 23-24 January, 2023. 
• Election Commissioner of India, Anup Chandra Pandey, will chair the concluding session.
• Around 43 Participants from 17 Countries including Angola, Argentina, Australia, Croatia, Indonesia, Mauritius, Nepal, Philippines and Suriname will join the conference.
• The Election Commission of India (ECI) is leading the Cohort on Elections Integrity.
• The cohort was established as a follow-up to the Summit for Democracy held in December 2021.
• The Election Commission of India (ECI) invited Greece, Mauritius and International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) to be co-leads for the Cohort.
• The first international conference of the Cohort was hosted on 31 October – 01 November, 2022 in New Delhi.
• It was organized on the topic ‘Role, Framework and Capacity of Election Management Bodies’.
• In the first international conference, nearly 50 representatives from Election Management Bodies of 11 countries participated.
• Summit for Democracy:
  • It was an initiative of the US President. It was hosted in December 2021.
  • The 2nd Summit for Democracy is will be held on 29- 30 March 2023.
  • It will be co-hosted by the governments of Costa Rica, the Republic of Korea, the Netherlands, Zambia, and the US. 

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Defence

8. Indian Navy conducted a military exercise along with Army and Indian Air Force near Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh.

• It was a six-day-long mega-military exercise. It was conducted from January 17 to 22.
• It was the largest biennial tri-services amphibious exercise AMPHEX 2023.
• A large number of troops from the Indian Army, amphibious warships from Indian Navy and aircraft from Indian Air Force participated in the joint exercise.
• Complex activities in all domains that demonstrated a high level of preparedness and coordination among the three services were part of AMPHEX 2023.
• AMPHEX-21 was conducted in the Andaman and Nicobar group of Islands from 21-25 January, 2021.

Topic: International Appointment

9. Chris Hipkins to replace Jacinda Ardern as New Zealand Prime Minister.

• After the resignation of Jacinda Ardern, Chris Hipkins will become the new Prime Minister of New Zealand.
• He is the current minister for police, education and public service.
• He is the only nominee to become the next leader. He is a mild-mannered but talented politician.
• He led the New Zealand Government's response to COVID-19.
• Chris Hipkins becomes a member of parliament in 2008 as the representative for Remutaka.
• New Zealand:
  • The government of New Zealand is based on the Westminster system. It is a constitutional monarchy.
  • It has three separate branches- Legislature (Parliament), Executive (Elected government), and Judiciary (Judges and Courts).
  • Prime Minister of New Zealand is appointed by the governor-general.
  • The Prime Minister of New Zealand heads the government and advises on appointment or dismissal of ministers.

Topic: Summits/ Conferences/ Meetings

10. World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2023 held at Davos in Switzerland.

• The heads of member countries discussed various issues including the Russia-Ukraine conflict and climate change.
• 56 finance ministers, 19 central bank heads, 30 trade ministers, and 35 foreign ministers attended the meeting. More than 1,500 leaders from 700 organizations took part in the meeting.
• The meeting has been organized under theme of ‘Cooperation in a Fragmented World’ FROM 16-20 January.
• The major outcomes of the meeting are given below:
  • A new network of online regulators from the United Kingdom, Australia, Ireland and Fiji has been launched to create synergy and protect end users.
  • WEF and UAE signed a collaboration agreement on the TradeTech initiative.
  • More than 50 countries launched a Coalition of Trade Ministers on Climate. It will promote cooperation in the global response to the climate crisis, trade and sustainable development.
  • WEF and Maharashtra Institution for Transformation (MITRA) signed an agreement to work on urban transformation, providing strategic and technical direction to the Maharashtra government.
  • Nine leading industrial clusters in China, Indonesia, Japan, Spain and the US joined ‘Transitioning Industrial Clusters towards Net Zero’ initiative of WEF.
  • WEF launched its first thematic centre on healthcare and life sciences in Telangana.
  • The Global Battery Alliance has been also launched to facilitate the rapid scaling of sustainable, circular and responsible battery value chains.
  • The First Movers Coalition member’s number has increased from 35 to 70. Canada and the UAE become government partners.

Topic: Important Days

11. 51^st statehood day of Manipur, Tripura and Meghalaya observed on 21st January 2023.

• Every year on January 21, the Statehood Day of Manipur, Meghalaya and Tripura is celebrated.
• The three states that attained statehood under the North-Eastern Areas (Reorganisation) Act of 1971 are celebrating their 51st anniversary of statehood this year.
• North-Eastern Areas (Reorganisation) Act of 1971 became effective from January 21, 1972.
• Manipur and Tripura were princely states, which were included in India in October 1949. Then the states were given the status of union territories.
• In 1970, Meghalaya became an autonomous state within Assam.
• In 1972, Tripura, Meghalaya and Manipur were given full statehood by the North Eastern Reorganization Act, 1972.

Topic: Government Schemes and Initiatives

12. Government will extend the benefits of export scheme to green hydrogen fuel manufacturers.

• India will provide export benefits to domestic green hydrogen fuel manufacturers under a key scheme aimed at making the Asian nation a global supplier of the clean fuel.
• The Remission of Duties and Taxes on Export Products (RoDTEP) scheme is designed to offer refunds against some local levies to exporters.
• Now, it will be extended to the export of green hydrogen.
• India is one of the largest emitters of greenhouse gases in the world, and has approved a $2.11 billion incentive plan to boost local production and use of green hydrogen.
• The move aims to help the country achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2070.
• India aims to produce 5 million tonnes of green hydrogen annually and is expected to provide at least 10% of global demand by 2030.
• Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP) was put into effect from 1 January 2021.

Topic: Government Schemes and Initiatives

13. One-time relaxation announced for maintaining average export obligation under EPCG scheme.

• Ministry of Commerce and Industry has announced one-time relaxation from maintaining average export obligation for some sectors under the EPCG scheme.
• These sectors are – Hotel, Healthcare and Educational sectors.
• These sectors are exempted from maintaining average export obligation for the years 2020-21 and 2021-22.
• As per the Ministry’s statement, these sectors will have the option to extend the export obligation period for a longer duration without paying any additional fees.
• With this relaxation, these sectors will be able to cope up with the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The export obligation time can be extended from the date of expiry for the duration equivalent to the number of days the existing export obligation period falls within 1 February 2020 and 31 July 2021, for the EPCG authorizations issued for sectors other than the above mentioned sectors.
• A 5% additional export obligation in value terms on the balance export obligation as on 31 March 2022 has to be paid for this extension.
• Export Promotion Capital Goods (EPCG) scheme:
  • The scheme was launched in 1990s.
  • The objective of the scheme is to promote import of capital goods for producing quality goods and services and increase manufacturing competitiveness of India.
  • The scheme enables import of capital goods for pre-production, production and post-production with zero customs duty.
  • These goods are exempted from IGST and Compensation cess upto 31 March 2020.
  • It covers manufacturer exporters with or without supporting manufacturers, merchant exporters tied to supporting manufacturers and service providers including Common Service Providers (CSP).

Topic: Committees/ Commissions/ Taskforces

14. Indian Olympic Association has formed a 7-member committee to investigate allegations against WFI President.

• The seven-member panel consisting of M C Mary Kom and Yogeshwar Dutt has been established by IOA to investigate allegations against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, President of Wrestling Federation of India.
• Archer Dola Banerjee and President of Indian Weightlifting Federation (IWLF) Sahdev Yadva are also part of this committee.
• India’s top wrestlers including Vinesh Phogat have been protesting for investigating the allegations of sexual misconduct in Wrestling Federation of India.
• The wrestlers alleged financial misappropriation of funds and also claimed that the coaches and sports science staff are incompetent.
• Wrestling Federation of India is the governing body of wrestling in India. It is headquartered in New Delhi.
• Indian Weightlifting Federation is the governing body of weightlifting in India. It is headquartered in New Delhi.
• Indian Olympic Association is responsible for selecting athletes to represent India at the Olympics, Asian Games and other international events. It is headquartered in New Delhi.