Today’s Current Affairs
INTERNATIONAL
Today’s Current Affairs Lula sworn in for third term as Brazil’s president
• Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva took office for a third term as Brazil’s president, vowing to fight for the poor and the
environment and “rebuild the country” after far-right leader Jair Bolsonaro’s divisive administration. The 77-year-old
veteran leftist, who previously led Brazil from 2003 to 2010, took the oath of office before Congress, capping a
remarkable political comeback for the metalworker-turned-president less than five years after he was jailed on
controversial, since-quashed corruption charges.
• It is the first time since the end of Brazil’s 1965-1985 military dictatorship that an incoming leader has not received the
yellow-and-green presidential sash from his predecessor. Foreign dignitaries including 19 heads of state were in
attendance as Lula, who previously led Brazil through a watershed boom, took the oath of office for a new four-year
term. जोशीमठ पर मंडराया अस्तित्व का खतरा, जोशीमठ क्यों
Today’s Current Affairs
NATIONAL
ISRO, Andhra University set up equipment to predict rip currents, prevent drowning at sea
• Indian Space and Research Organization (ISRO), National Centre for Ea rth Sciences (NCES), and the Andhra University
(AU) have researched and concluded that constant rip current zones at blue flag -certified Rushikonda beach and RK
Beach have become a danger to the beach visitors.
• Between 2012 to 2022, over 200 people drowned in the sea at various beaches in and around Visakhapatnam and 60
percent of deaths occurred in RK Beach.
• ISRO, NCES, and Andhra University have conducted research and set up equipment to identify Rip currents to warn
marines and local police.
Today’s Current Affairs
SPORTS
Chess: India’s Koneru Humpy wins silver medal at World Blitz Championships
• Former World rapid champion K. Humpy produced a superlative performance to claim India’s first-ever silver medal
from the World blitz chess championship that concluded in Almaty, Kazakh stan. Humpy defeated China’s Zhongyi Tan
to win Silver in the 17th and final round. Fourth-seeded Humpy scored an impressive 12.5 points, just half a point
behind the gold medal winner Bibisara Balabayeva of Kazakhstan. Humpy is the second Indian to win a medal at World
Blitz, after Viswanathan Anand.
• The International Chess governing body FIDE organises World Rapid and Blitz chess championship at the end of the
year. This year it was held in Kazakhstan’s capital Almaty from 26-30 December 2022.
Hockey Haryana Women’s U-18 team wins Khelo India Youth Games 2022
• Hockey Haryana’s women’s team won the Khelo India Youth Games 2022 Women’s Under 18 Qualifiers after defeating
Madhya Pradesh (2-0) in the final at Bhubaneswar. In the final match, Pooja and Gurmail Kaur scored a goal each for
Haryana to end the contest in their favour. Odisha stepped up to claim t hird place after beating Hockey Jharkhand 2-1
in the 3rd and 4th place encounter. Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and Jharkhand have qualified for the Khelo India
Youth Games (Women) to be held in Madhya Pradesh next year.
Hockey Madhya Pradesh clinch KIYG 2022 (Men’s Under 18) Qualifiers title
• In Hockey, Madhya Pradesh defeated Odisha 6-5 to clinch Khelo India Youth Games 2022 Men’s Under-18 Qualifiers
title in Bhubaneswar. In a thrilling final, Jamir Mohammad was the star of the final, scoring a hat-trick, while Ali Ahmed,
Mohammad Zaid Khan and captain Ankit Pal scored one goal each for Madhya Pradesh. On the other hand, Anmol Ekka,
Paulus Lakra, Deepak Minz and Akash Soreng scored one goal each for Odisha. Haryana defeated Jharkhand 2 -0 to
secure the third position in the competition. Amandeep and Roshan scored the goals for Haryana.With this, Madhya
Pradesh, Odisha, Haryana and Jharkhand have qualified for the Khelo India Youth Games to be held in Madhya Pradesh
next year.
Today’s Current Affairs
OBITURY
Former Pope Benedict XVI dies in Vatican monastery aged 95
• Statement released by the Vatican, the former Pope Benedict XVI has passed away in the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery in
the Vatican. He was 95 years old. The head of the Catholic Church, former Pope Benedict, was the first pope in 600
years to resign. He resigned in 2013 and was replaced by the present pope Francis. Pope Benedict was the first German
to become pope in 1000 years. He was the head of the Vatican City from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28
February 2013. He was born as Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger on April 16, 1927, in the southern German village of Marktl,
close to Austria.
• Pope is a title which is given to the Bishop of Rome who is the head of the Roman Catholic Church. He is also the head
of the sovereign country of Vatican City. Roman Catholics are the largest of the three major branches of Christianity.
Tata Group veteran RK Krishnakumar, 84, passes away in Mumbai
• R Krishnakumar, a close confidante of Ratan Tata and a group veteran, passed away. Kerala -born Krishnakumar, who
had served at multiple positions in the group, including heading its hospitality arm Indian Hotels, was 84. He had been
active with the Tata Trusts after his retirement from executive roles and was reportedly a part of the team which
worked alongside Ratan Tata in the Cyrus Mistry ouster episode. In 2009, Krishnakumar was awarded Padma Shri.
• Krishna Kumar, well known as KK, was instrumental in the 271 million pounds buy -out of Tetley in 2000, which not only
catapulted Tata Global Beverages to the No. 2 spot among the world’s tea makers but also brought the group and India
Inc to the international stage. He served as the managing director (MD) of Tata Global Beverages from May 1991 to
January 1998.
Today’s Current Affairs
APPOINTMENS & RESIGNATIONS
Ajay Kumar Srivastava becomes new MD and CEO of Indian Overseas Bank
• Ajay Kumar Srivastava has been elevated as Managing Director and CEO of Indian Overseas Bank with effect from
January 1, 2023 from his current posting as executive director. He started his banking career as a probationary officer
in 1991 with Allahabad Bank where he worked in various capacities in different parts of the country. He is an astute
and hardcore banker with Vast field-level experience and has the distinction of having successfull y led the largest and
most critical areas of Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, and Delhi while working at a senior level in Allahabad Bank.
• After the successful completion of about 27 years in Allahabad Bank he was elevated as Executive Director of IOB in
October 2017.
• He made strategies for each of the key areas and successfully implemented them at the ground level with the support
of the Board.
Today’s Current Affairs
International Year of Millets (IYM) 2023 kick starts
• The Government of India sponsored the proposal for International Year of Millets (IYM) 2023 which was accepted by
the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). The declaration has been instrumental for the Government of India to be
at the forefront in celebrating the IYM. PM Narendra Modi has also shared his vision to make IYM 2023 a ‘People’s
Movement’ alongside positioning India as the ‘Global Hub for Millets’.
• Recognising the enormous potential of Millets, which also aligns with several UN Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs), the Government of India (GoI) has prioritized Millets. In April 2018, Millets were rebranded as “Nutri Cereals”,
followed by the year 2018 being declared as the National Year of Millets, aiming at larger promotion and demand
generation. The global millets market is projected to register a CAGR of 4.5% during the forecast period between 2021-
2026.
Today’s Current Affairs
RANKING & REPORTS
1,668 journalists killed from 2003-2022 in connection with their work
• A total of 1,668 Journalists have been killed worldwide with murders, contract killings, ambushes, war zone deaths, and
fatal injuries. These journalists have been killed in connection with their work in the last two decades from 2003 to
2022. The reports gave an average of more than 80 journalists being killed every year.
• Christopher Deloire, RSF Secretary General said that behind the figures, there are the faces, personalities, talent, and
commitment of those who have paid with their lives for their information gathering their search for the truth, and their
passion for journalism.
Today’s Current Affairs 2nd January 2023
Today’s Current Affairs
INTERNATIONAL
Elon Musk becomes first ever person to lose $200 billion after Twitter takeover
• Tesla and Twitter CEO Elon Musk became the first person to lose $200 billion from his net worth. Elon Musk has seen a
drop of up to $137 billion in his wealth after a recent drop in Tesla Shares. The shares of his electric car company are
down nearly 65 percent. Elon Musk became the richest person in the world for the first time in January 2021 with a net
worth of more than $185 billion. जोशीमठ पर मंडराया अस्तित्व का खतरा, जोशीमठ क्यों
• However, he was replaced by Bernard Arnault, the chief executive of luxury brand Louis Vuitton’s parent company
LVMH as the world’s richest man.
• Elon Musk has applied a move-fast-and-break-things approach such as firing staff then asking them to come back and
applying content policies haphazardly to justify banning the accounts of some prominent journalists who cover him.
• Commenting on Croatia’s Schengen accession and the adoption of the euro, the President of the EU Commission, Ursula
von der Leyen, expressed her warm welcome for the citizens of Croatia in the borderless zone, pointing out that border
controls between Croatia and the rest of the Schengen Area will now become part of the past.
Croatia’s big day: Balkan nation adopts euro and joins Schengen zone
• Starting from this Sunday, January 1, 2023, Croatia will officially become a Schengen Area Member Country and will
also adopt the euro as its currency after years of intensive preparations and work.
• In honour of Croatia meeting these two milestones, the European Union Commission has released a statement
congratulating the country and highlighting the importance of this date for both Croatia and Europe.
• It further points out that with Croatia joining the Schengen Area, now the zone consists of 27 Member Stat es, 23 of
which are also EU countries. The Eurozone, in the meantime, now consists of 19 EU Member States and 347 million EU
citizens that will share it as their common currency.
Dhaka Lit Fest to feature speakers from five continents
• The 10th edition of Dhaka Lit Fest (DLF), the largest international literary festival in Bangladesh, which was postponed
three years in a row owing to the Covid-19 pandemic, is scheduled for January 5-8, 2023. The Bangla Academy in
Dhaka’s historic grounds will serve as the venue for the event.
• In a press release on Friday, Sadaf Saaz, Ahsan Akbar, and Kazi Anis Ahmed—the festival’s three directors—confirmed
the information.
• The Dhaka Lit Fest has long been a well-liked annual occasion on Bangladesh’s winter calendar. The eighth Dhaka Lit
Fest, which was most recently held in 2019, attracted almost 30,000 attendees.
• Over the course of the four days, there will be a variety of discussions and dialogues as well as film screenings, art
displays, musical performances, and cultural performances.
• Out of the more than 200 speakers scheduled to attend the 2023 edition, the DLF directors have released their initial
roster of 25 speakers.जोशीमठ पर मंडराया अस्तित्व का खतरा, जोशीमठ क्यों
Today’s Current Affairs
NATIONAL
Ministry of Rural Development launches Prajjwala Challenge
• The Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Rural Livelihood Mission (DAY-NRLM) has launched the Prajjwala Challenge.
The Prajjwala Challenge has been launched to invite ideas, solutions, and actions that can transform rural development.
• It will provide a platform where ideas are invited from individuals, social enterprises, start-ups, the private sector, civil
society, community-based organizations, academic institutions, incubation centers, investors, etc having the potential to
transform the rural economy.
• The Prajjwala Challenge was launched by the Secretary of, the Ministry of Rural Development, Shri Shailesh Kumar
Singh in New Delhi.
• The mission aims to look forward to ideas and solutions around Innovation technology solutions, inclusive growth, value
chain interventions, enhanced women entrepreneurship, and cost-effective solutions.
Kolkata: India’s first underwater metro worth over Rs 8000 crores to be operational by 2023
• India’s first underwater metro service, The Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation (KMRC) said that the East-West Metro
Corridor project, is expected to be completed by December 2023. With this, another feather is being added to the
crown of Kolkata Metro, the first metro railway in the country. Kolkata Metro, which started its journey in 1984, is
being expanded to cover the whole city and its outskirts. The underwater metro, which will be running through the
Hoogly river will connect the twin cities of Howrah and Kolkata.
• Kolkata Metro Railway Corporation has taken up the difficult take of making the tunnel with the help of German
machines and the best experts. Work inside the tunnel is still in progress.
• As far as the cost of construction of the underground metro is concerned, it costs about Rs 120 crore per kilometre to
build the tunnel but the manufacturing cost of the tunnel underwater, which is deep in the Hooghly river costs
increased to around 157 crores by per kilometre.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah inaugurated Mega Dairy in Karnataka
• Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah inaugurated Mega Dairy at Mandya in Karnataka. The mega dairy
inaugurated at a cost of Rs 260 crore would process 10 lakh liters of milk per day and the will have the capacity to
increase it upto 14 lakh liters per day. 10 lakh liters of milk is processed, prosperity reaches the homes of lakhs of
farmers. There are 15,210 village level cooperative dairies in Karnataka, in which about 26.22 lakh farmers deliver their
milk daily and through 16 district level dairies, Rs 28 crore is deposited into the accounts of 26 lakh farmers every day.
• Around 66,000 kg milk used to be processed daily in Karnataka in 1975 while today over 82 lakh kg milk is processed
daily and 80% of the total turnover goes to the farmer.
Today’s Current Affairs
SPORTS
Bengal gets 10th GM, India 78th in Koustav Chatterjee
• Nineteen-year-old Kolkata-based chess player, Koustav Chatterjee became India’s 78th Grandmaster. He is also the
tenth GM from West Bengal. Koustav earned his first GM norm in October 2021 at a Grandmasters’ chess tournament
in Bangladesh. He got his second GM norm at the Asian championship in the first week of November 2022. He crossed
FIDE rating 2500 in August. Koustav is in the joint-lead with GM Abhijeet Gupta at the National Senior Chess
Championship with a score of 8/10 after 10 rounds.
• GrandMaster is the highest title apart from World Champion awarded to Chess players International Chess Federation
FIDE. India’s 1st Chess GrandMaster was won by Viswanathan Anand at the age of 14 in 1988.
Today’s Current Affairs
BANKING AND ECONOMY
RBI launches Utkarsh 2.0 for the Period 2023-2025
• The Reserve Bank of India’s Medium-term Strategy Framework for the period 2023-2025 – ‘Utkarsh 2.0’ – was launched
by Shri Shaktikanta Das, Governor, RBI. The first strategy framework (Utkarsh 2022) covering the period 2019-2022
was launched in July 2019. It became a medium-term strategy document guiding the Bank’s progress towards realisation
of the identified milestones. Utkarsh 2.0 would allow the central bank to both react and act proactively to confront
socio-economic challenges.
• Utkarsh 2.0 harnesses the strengths of Utkarsh 2022 by retaining the six Vision statements as well as Core Purpose,
Values, and Mission statement. Collectively, they create a strategic g uiding path.
• The desired outputs are proposed to be realised in terms of strategies calibrated through milestones. The Reserve Bank
of India attaches high importance to its medium-term strategy and monitors its implementation and progress through a
Sub-committee of its Central Board.
Today’s Current Affairs
Gross GST collection in Dec up 15% to Rs 1.49L cr
• According to a government announcement, India’s goods and services tax receipts increased 15% year over year in
December to Rs 1.49 lakh crore ($18.07 billion), suggesting robust economic activity throughout the holiday season. In
November, revenue from goods and services taxes totaled Rs. 1.46 lakh crore.
• The total amount of GST revenue collected in December 2022 was Rs 1,49,507 crore, of which the CGST portion w as
Rs 26,711 crore, the SGST portion was Rs 33,357 crore, the IGST portion was Rs 78,434 crore (including Rs 40,263
crore from the collection of GST on goods imported), and the Cess portion was Rs 11,005 crore (including Rs 850 crore
collected on import of goods).
• The government made a regular settlement of Rs 36,669 crore to CGST and Rs 31,094 crore to SGST from IGST.
• After monthly payments in the month of December 2022, the combined income for the Centre and the States is Rs
63,380 crore for the CGST and Rs 64,451 crore for the SGST.
SBI Card collaborates with Punjab & Sind Bank to launch co-brand credit cards
• Public sector bank Punjab and Sind Bank (PSB) has partnered with SBI Card to launch co -brand credit cards for the
bank’s customers. PSB has also entered the credit card market as a new product segment in its portfolio as a result of
this collaboration. Three card variants—the PSB SBI Card ELITE, PSB SBI Card PRIME, and PSB SimplySAVE SBI Card—
have been launched by both partners. This collaboration also marks the entry of PSB into ‘credit cards’ as a new product
Today’s Current Affairs
segment under the bank’s portfolio.
• The joining price for the PSB SBI Card ELITE is Rs 4,999 plus taxes, the PSB SBI Card PRIME is Rs 2,999 plus taxes, and
the PSB SimplySAVE SBI Card is Rs 499 plus taxes. The PSB SBI Cards ELITE and PRIME will be offered on the VISA
platform, while the PSB SimplySAVE SBI Card will be offered on the RuPay network. RELETED LINK