Daily Current Affairs and GK | 6 January 2023

Topic: Summits/ Conferences/ Meetings

1. Union Minister Anurag Singh Thakur launched themes, logo and website of Y20 summit.

• Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Shri Anurag Singh Thakur attended the Curtain raiser event of Y20 Summit India on 6th January 2023 in New Delhi.
• On this occasion, he launched logo and website of the Y20 summit. He also released the themes of the summit.
• Panel discussions (young achievers) were also held on this occasion. The discussion was around how India can harness its youth population to be a superpower.
• In the next eight months, Pre summits on the five Y20 themes will be organized along with various discussions and seminars at different Universities.
• In Youth20 Engagement Group, India’s focus is to bring all young leaders on one platform to discuss ideas for a better tomorrow.
• India is hosting the Y20 summit for the first time. During India’s presidency, the activities will be focused on global youth leadership and partnership.
• Y20 Summit is an event to bring together young leaders from across G20 countries to discuss and debate the G20 Leaders' agenda.

Topic: State News/ Assam

2. Dr Tapan Saikia won the Assam’s highest civilian award.

• ‘Assam Baibhav’, Assam’s highest civilian award, has been conferred to renowned doctor Dr Tapan Saikia.
• He has received the award for his notable work in the field of Healthcare (Cancer Care) and Public Service.
• He played a key role in creating awareness about cancer in Assam and other North-eastern states.
• Currently, Dr Tapan Saikia is the director of Oncology Sciences at the Jaslok Hospital.
• Assam government also announced the winners of the ‘Assam Gaurav' and ‘Assam Sourav’ awards.
• A total of 15 eminent personalities have been selected for this year’s 'Assam Gaurav' award and five persons have been selected for the ‘Assam Sourav’ award.
• Maje La (Tourism), Binanda Hatibaruah (Environment and Forest), Atul Chandra Baruah (Social Work), Dr Jogesh Deuri (Agriculture), etc. are some recipients of 'Assam Gaurav' award.
• Assam Cabinet has approved the appointment of state-run RITES Ltd as a consultant for preparing DPR in seven projects.
• The Assam government has also approved the Assam City Gas Distribution Policy 2022.
• ‘Assam Sourav’ award winners:
  • Krishna Roy (Art and Culture)
  • Gilbert Sangma (Sports, Football)
  • Nayanmoni Saikia (Sports, Lawn Bowl)
  • Dr Binoy Kumar Saikia (Science)
  • Dr Sashidhar Phukan (Healthcare and Public service)

Topic: National News

3. FSSAI awarded 'Eat Right Station' to the Varanasi Cantt Railway Station.

• The Varanasi Cantonment Railway Station of the Indian Railways has been awarded the 'Eat Right Station' certification with a 5-star rating for providing high-quality nutritious food to passengers.
• The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) provides this certification to railway stations for following standard food storage and hygiene practices.
• The 'Eat Right Station' certification by the FSSAI is awarded to railway stations that set benchmarks in providing safe and nutritious food to passengers.
• The station is awarded a certificate with a rating of 1 to 5 based on the findings of the FSSAI-scheduled third-party audit agency.
• The 5-star rating indicates full compliance by the station in providing safe and hygienic food to the passengers.
• The certification is part of the 'Eat Right India' movement and a massive effort by the FSSAI to transform the country's food system to ensure safe, healthy and sustainable food for all Indians.
• Other railway stations with star certification include:
  • Anand Vihar Terminal Railway Station (Delhi)
  • Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (Mumbai)
  • Mumbai Central Railway Station (Mumbai)
  • Vadodara Railway Station
  • Chandigarh Railway Station
  • Bhopal Railway Station

(Source: PIB)

Topic: National News

4. The Resistance Front (TRF) declared by the Center as a terrorist organization.

• Under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, UAPA, the Central Government has declared The Resistance Front (TRF) as a terrorist organization.
• The Home Ministry said that The Resistance Front is recruiting youths online to carry out terrorist activities.
• In 2019, the Resistance Front came into existence as a proxy faction of the outlawed terrorist organization, Lashkar-e-Taiba.
• This organization is involved in spreading terrorist activities in Jammu and Kashmir, recruiting terrorists, infiltrating them, and smuggling arms and drugs from Pakistan.
• The Ministry said Sheikh Sajjad Gul, commander of TRF, is designated as a notorious terrorist under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act 1967.

Topic: Art and Culture

5. World's first Palm leaf Manuscript Museum opened in the Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.

• It is a treasure house of both obscure and famous stories.
• It has shown the erstwhile Travancore Kingdom, which became the first empire in Asia to defeat any European power on Indian soil.
• It has highlighted the cultural heritage and educational space of the state.
• It is billed as the world's first palm leaf manuscript museum.
• This museum is a repository of administrative, socio-cultural, and economic facets of Travancore, spanning a period of 650 years until the end of the 19th century.
• The museum has an account of the famous Battle of Colachel in which the brave Travancore King Anizham Thirunal Marthanda Varma (1729–58) defeated the Dutch East India Company.
• The museum has 187 manuscripts which are a mine of stories based entirely on primary sources.
• The manuscripts are spread over 6 centuries from 1249 to 1896 CE.

Topic: Important Days

6. World Day of War Orphans 2023: 6 January

• Every year on 6 January, World Day for War Orphans is observed.
• It is celebrated to raise awareness about children who have been orphaned due to wars.
• The main aim of the day is to highlight the emotional, social and physical challenges faced by orphans.
• World War Orphans Day reminds people of their responsibility to help children in troubled areas.
• The Day was founded by the French organization SOS Enfants en Detresses.
• According to UNICEF, the total number of orphans increased between 1990-2001.
• Since 2001, the estimated number of war orphans has declined steadily, but at a rate of only 0.7 percent per year.
• According to UNICEF, a child under the age of 18 who has lost one, or both parents, is considered an orphan.

Topic: Reports and Indices

7. Net loss of loss-making CPSEs declined from ₹ 0.23 lakh crore in FY 2020-21 to ₹ 0.15 lakh crore in FY 2021-22 according to the Public Enterprises Survey 2021-22.

• This is a decrease of 37.82%. The net profit of public sector enterprises increased 50.87% to ₹ 2.49 lakh crore during 2021-22 according to the Public Enterprises Survey 2021-22.
• The net profit of central public sector enterprises (CPSEs) stood at ₹ 1.65 lakh crore in the last fiscal.
• ONGC, Indian Oil Corporation, Power Grid Corporation of India, NTPC and Steel Authority of India Ltd were the top five CPSEs with the highest net profits according to the Public Enterprises Survey 2021-22.
• Major loss-making CPSEs are Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL), Mahanagar Telecom Nigam Ltd (MTNL), Air India Assets Holding Ltd, Eastern Coalfields Ltd, and Alliance Air Aviation Ltd.
• Total gross revenue from the operations of operating CPSEs during FY 2021-22 and dividend declared by operating CPSEs in FY 2021-22 have also increased.
• According to the survey, better performance by the petroleum (refinery and marketing), crude oil and transport, and logistics segments contributed to increase in revenue in FY 2021-22.
• Petroleum (refinery and marketing), trading and marketing, and power generation jointly contributed 69.08% to the gross revenues in FY 2021-22.
• According to the survey, Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd, Bharat Oman Refineries Ltd and, Chennai Petroleum Corporation Ltd were the top five CPSEs contributing to the central exchequer.
• The corporate social responsibility (CSR) expenditure of all CSR- eligible CPSEs stood at ₹ 4,600 crore in FY 2021-22.
• As per the survey, ONGC, NTPC, Indian Oil Corporation, NMDC, and Power Grid were the top five CPSEs contributing the highest under CSR.

Topic: Summits/Conferences/Meetings

8. PM Modi will chair the National Conference of Chief Secretaries in New Delhi on 06 January 2023.

• This year, the National Conference of Chief Secretaries is being held from 5th to 7th January 2023 in Delhi.
• The focus of three days Conference is on achieving rapid and sustained economic growth in partnership with the States.
• More than 200 people are expected to participate in the conference, including representatives of the Central Government, Chief Secretaries and other senior officials from all States/UTs and domain experts.
• The discussion during the conference will be held on six identified themes.
• These themes are Thrust on MSMEs, Infrastructure, and Investments, Minimising Compliances, Women's Empowerment, Health and Nutrition, and Skill Development.
• The first Conference of Chief Secretaries was organized in Dharamshala in June 2022.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Indian Economy

9. DPIIT is working on a new industrial policy to increase financing sources for industries.

• The new industrial policy will promote Made in India brand.
• The proposed policy aim is to address issues and challenges of the industry through certain policy measures.
• It will foster and create an innovative and competitive industrial ecosystem in the country.
• The new industrial policy has identified six objectives to achieve the goals. The objectives are given below:
  • Competitiveness and capability
  • Economic integration and moving up the global value chain
  • Promoting India as an attractive investment destination
  • Nurturing innovation and entrepreneurship
  • Achieving global scale, and standards
• It has a proposal for the implementation of an integrated investment promotion strategy by involving district, state, national and international markets.
• It also proposed incentivising public procurement by developing a robust data protection regime, setting up a technology fund, etc.
• The policy will also strengthen export finance systems to promote export competitiveness.
• It will be the third industrial policy after 1956 and 1991. The new industrial policy will replace the industrial policy of 1991.

Topic: National News

10. 11 States/ UT joined National Single Window System for vehicle scrapping.

• To attract private investment in the vehicle scrapping ecosystem, 11 States/ UTs have joined the National Single Window System (NSWS) for Voluntary Vehicle-Fleet Modernization Program (V-VMP).
• 117 investors have shown interest in Registered Vehicle Scrapping Facilities (RVSF). Out of the total applications, 36 have been approved by the respective state governments.
• The vehicle scrapping policy (V-VMP) was announced in the Union Budget 2021-22. It comes into effect on 1 April, 2022.
• The policy proposed a fitness test after 20 years for personal vehicles and 15 years for commercial vehicles.
• To promote the features of the V-VMP policy, investor summits have been organized at various places in 16 states.
• Under this policy, the government will provide tax exemption of up to 25 percent on road tax for vehicles purchased after scrapping old vehicles.

Topic: MoUs/Agreements

11. ISRO joined hand with Microsoft to empower spacetech startups in India.

• On 5 January, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) announced a collaboration with Microsoft to promote the development of space technology startups in the country.
• Through this collaboration, ISRO-identified spacetech startups will be on-boarded onto the ‘Microsoft for Startups Founders Hub' platform.
• This platform supports startups at every stage of their journey-from idea to unicorn.
• This collaboration will greatly benefit space-tech startups in analyzing and processing large amounts of satellite data for various applications using cutting-edge methods such as AI, machine learning and deep learning.
• Microsoft will support space-tech startups through mentoring in a variety of fields, including space engineering to cloud technologies, product and design, fund raising and sales and marketing.

Topic: MoUs/Agreements

12. Hindustan Petroleum and NTPC Green Energy signed an MoU.

• On 3 January, NTPC Green Energy Ltd (NGEL) signed an MoU with Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) in New Delhi.
• The MoU has been signed for Development of Renewable Energy based Power Projects to tap Business opportunities in RE and supply of 400 MW round the clock renewable power for requirements of HPCL.
• With the signing of this MoU, NGEL and HPCL have taken the first step in collaborating and working together to develop renewable energy projects.
• It will also help HPCL in fulfilling its clean energy commitments.
• HPCL is an Indian oil and gas refining company and a Maharatna PSU. It is headquartered in Mumbai. ONGC owns a majority stake in HPCL. It was founded in 1974. CMD of HPCL is Pushp Kumar Joshi.

Topic: State News/Himachal Pradesh

13. The central government has approved an investment of Rs 2,614 crore for the Sunni Dam Hydro Electric Project in Himachal Pradesh.

• The project will be built on the Sutlej River. It will have a capacity of 382 megawatts.
• It will be built by Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVN) limited in over 5 years.
• It will produce direct and indirect employment for about 4,000 persons.
• The project would have a 71-metre-high concrete gravity dam and six generating units in its surface power house.
• As per SJVN, the project is scheduled to be commissioned within 63 months of the commencement of construction works.
• The project is being financed on a 70:30 debt-equity ratio.
• On commissioning, 13% of the electricity generated will be provided free of cost to the government of Himachal Pradesh.

Topic: Art and Culture

14. The Gaan Ngai festival of the Zeliangrong community was celebrated on 04 January in Manipur.

• It is one of the major festivals of Manipur. It is celebrated every year after harvesting.
• It marks the end of the year. At the time of the festival, the Zeliangrong community shows their gratitude by offering the almighty a good harvest.
• During the festival, the community prays for a better and more prosperous life in the coming year.
• It is a custom to produce fire by rubbing dry wood and split bamboo pieces. They are distributed to every household on the festival day to mark the beginning of the New Year. 
• The Zeliangrong community in Manipur includes Rongmei, Liangmei, and Zeme tribes.