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Current Affairs                             10^th January

• 10^th January: This day is celebrated as ‘World Hindi Day’ commemorating the first world Hindi Conference that was held in Maharaashtra’s Nagpur in 1975.
• Famous Indian Classical Singer, Ustad Rashid Khan passes away at the age of 55.
• Gabriel Attal has been appointed as the new Prime Minister of France. He is also the youngest and first openly gay Prime Minister of France.
• The Union Minister of State (MoS), Ministry of Road Transport and Highways  (MoRTH) and Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA), General V.K. Singh launched the book ‘ Sanskriti ke Ayaam’ written by Manorama Mishra.
  • The book speaks about Indian knowledge, tradition and culture.
• Before the upcoming grand opening of the Ram Mandir at Ayodhya on Jan 22, Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad launched a book named ‘Ram Mandir Rashtra Mandir Ek Sajhi Virasat : Kuch Ansuni Batein’, co-authored by GeetaSingh and Arif Khan Bharati.
  • ‘Babri Masjid Ram Mandir Dilemma: An Acid Test for India’s Constitution’ was authored by Madhav Godbole.
• One of the greatest footballers of all time, Franz Beckenbauer of Germany, famously known as ‘The Kaiser’ or ‘The Emperor’ have passed away.
• The PMO has expressed condolences for the passing away of Pandit Hariram Dwivedi, an eminent Hindu Litterateur.
• The President of India Draupadi Murmu, has presented the National Sports and Adventure Awards 2023 at The Rashtrapati Bhavan.
  • The Awards were conferred upon in 6 categories:
    • Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award 2023 – Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy (Badminton)
    • Arjuna Award 2023 – (26 PERSONS)- Ojas Pravin Deotale (Archery), Aditi Gopichand (Archery), MohD. Shami (Cricket), Diksha Dagar (Golf),  Anush Agarwalla (Equestrian), Harinder Pal Singh Sandhu (Squash), Ms Sheetala Devi (Para Archery), Naorem Roshibina Devi (Wushu), Prachi Yadav (Para Canoeing) et all.
    • Dronacharya Award 2023: 8 persons  Mahaveer Prasad Saini (Para Athletics) Shri Ganesh Pravakar Devrukhkar ( Mallakhamb) et all.
    • Major Dhyan Chand Award 2023: – given for life time achievement – Ms Manjusha Kanwar (Badminton), Kavita Selvaraj (Kabaddi), Shri Vineet Kumar Sharma ( Hockey).
    • Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Trophy (MAKA trophy): -Oldest national sports award in India – given to the Universities for top performance in the tournaments – Gurunanak Dev University (Top), Lovely Professional University (1^st Runner Up) and Kurukshetra University (2^nd Runner Up).
    • Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award 2022: Late Savita Kanswal (Land Adventure), Tulsi Chaitanya Mothukuri (Water Adventure), Anshu Kumar Tiwari (Air Adventure) and Praven Singh (Life Time).
  • Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puraskar : Awarded to organisations or corporates or individuals for playing a role in the area of sports promotion and development over the last three years –
    • Identification and Nurturing of Young Talents – Jain Deemed to be University.
    • Encouragement to sports through Corporate Social Responsibility – Odisha Mining Corporate Limited.
• ‘Prabodhan Karyakram’ – where LS Speaker Om Birla will address the members of the 16^th Legislative Assembly of Madhya Pradesh – will begin in Madhya Pradesh.
• Ahead of the grand opening ceremony of the Ram Mandir on 22^nd January, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched the ‘Swachh Mandir’ campaign to make all pilgrimage sites of the country pristine.
• Indian Navy’s Fast Attack Craft, INS KABRA has anchored in Colombo, Sri Lanka during its routine maritime vigilance, SAGAR.
• After a long pause of over 50 years, the United States has launched a Lunar Mission from its Cape Canaveral Space Station in Florida. The launch was also the first private lunar mission. The lander is operated by the company Astrobot.
• The first tropical cyclone of 2024, “Alvaro” has hit Madagascar in the Indian Ocean.
• At the Global Investors Meet (GIM) 2024, Denmark unveiled the Green Fuel Alliance India (GFAI) with an aim to secure carbon neutral eco system in the near future, under the Green Strategic Partnership (GSP) signed between India and Denmark in 2020.
• IIM Kozhikode and International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) has joined hands to launch ‘FINN X’ accelerator programme to boost start ups in the FinTech sector.
• FitRise-75 programme concludes at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy at Hyderabad (SVP NPA).
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated the Vibrant Gujarat Programme in Gandhinagar , Gujarat.
• Odisha CM Navin Pattanaik has inaugurated an all new airport at Malkangiri.

Current Affairs                           11^th – 12^th January

• 11^th January:Death anniversary of Lal Bahadur Shastri – He was the second prime minister of India  who passed away on this very day in 1966 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
  • He gave the famous slogan “Jai Jawan, Jai Kishan”.
• 12th January: National Youth Day – This day is celebrated as National Youth Day on the occasion of the birth anniversary of the great sage Swami Vivekananda.
  • Born on 12^th January 1863 in Kolkata, Swamiji founded the Belur Math on 1897 at Belur in the West Bank of the Hoogly river. He also founded the Ramakrishna Misission on 1897 there. His famous books are Jnana Yoga, Raja Yga, Bhakti Yoga and Karma Yoga. He was the chief disciple of Ramakrishna Paramhansa Dev.
• Tshering Tobgay has been re-elected to become the PM of Bhutan for the second time.
  • Bhutan’s Monarch: Jigme Khesar Namgyal Wangchuk.
• Senthil Pandian C has been appointed as the next ambassador of India to the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
  • WTO: Estd. – 1995, HQ – Geneva, Switzerland, Head: Ngozi Okonjo-Iwela.
• Hollywood veteran actor Willem Dafoe becomes the first person in 2024 to be awarded with the Hollywood Walk of Fame Star.
• Swachh Survekshan Award 2023:
  • Released by : Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.
  • Top:
    • 1^st – Indore (for sixth consecutive term) and Surat
    • 3^rd – Navi Mumai
    • Top three best performing states: 1^st – Maharashtra, 2^nd – Madhya Pradesh, 3^rd – Chattisgarh
    • Cleanest Cantonment board: Mhow
    • Cleanest Ganga town: Varanasi
    • Best Safaimitra Surakshit Award: Chandigarh
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated the longest bridge in India cum the longest sea bridge in India, the ‘Atal Setu’ in Mumbai. Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL) a.k.a Atal Setu , the original name of the bridge is “Atal Vihari Vajpayee Sewri-Nhava Sheva Atal Setu” that promises to bring a revolutionary change in the travel time from two hours to that of twenty minutes between Mumbai and Navi Mumbai. It is a 21.8 Km long 6 lane bridge.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated the 27th National Youth Festival at Nashik, Maharashtra.
  •  Theme : “MYBharat-ViksitBharat@2047 –By the Youth, For the Youth”.
• Maharashtra has established the Atpadi Conservation Reserve in Sangli  District to protect the endangered ‘canids’ – wild dogs, wolves, jackals and foxes etc.
• The Ministry of Civil Aviation has announced to establish five more airports in Uttarpradesh, namely – Azamgarh, Aligarh, Moradabad, Chitrakoot and Shravasti.
• Chandubi Festival was celebrated on the occasion of its 14^th Anniversary in Assam. It is a fresh water lake  created during 1897 earthquake.
• Union Health Minister Dr. Mansukh Singh Mandaviya has recently inaugurated the country’s first healthy and hygienic food street – “Prasadam” at Mahakal Lok, Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh.
  • He also launched the ‘Manhit App’ for mental health and ‘The DART Book’ – by FSSAI for at home food adulteration test.
• The Chattisgarh govt has announced the latest ‘Ramlala Darshan Scheme’ for arranging an annual pilgrimage to Ayodhya every year for 20000 devotees. It has also signed an MoU with IRCTC for the implementation of the scheme.
• Indian Navy is set to host the annual Exercise MILAN 24 in Vishakhapattanam from 19-24 February 2024.
• P-8I of Indian Navy reaches Guam of USA for Exercise Sea Dragon 24, hosted by the US Navy anti submarine warfare  exercise among the navies of US, Australia, South Korea,  Japan and India.
• Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has invented an all-new 7.62mm calibre assault rifle named ‘Ugram’ to replace the aging INSAS Rifles from Military, Paramilitary and Police Services. This new gun weighs about 4kgs and has a range about 500 meters.
• Indian Navy Chief R. Harikumar received the first Drishti-10 star liner Medium Altitude Long Endurance  (MALE) Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) assembled by Adani Defence & Aerospace in Hyderabad.
• IIT Madras will open its new campus in Kandy, Sri Lanka.
• The Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched the ‘PAiSA Dashboard’ and ‘PM SVANidhi Portal’ for better and smooth operation and implementation of the ‘PM SVANidhi’ scheme Nationwide.
• Prime Minister Narendra Mkodi will inaugurate the BAPS Swaminarayan Hindu Temple in Abu Dhabi in a grand event organised by the Indian diaspora in UAE named ‘Ahlan Modi’ (Hello Modi). According to the UN’s International Migration Report 2020, UAE boasts the largest Indian Diaspora at 3.5 million surpassing the USA.
• Asian Champion Aman Sehrawat becomes the first Indian to secure a gold medal in the Zagreb Open 2024 Wrestling Tournament after defeating China.
• India  is all set to chair UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee for the first time in July 2024.
• After securing top spot in 2024 Tripadvisor Travellers’ Choice Best of the Best Destination Awards 2024, Dubai becomes the most favourite tourist destination worldwide.
• Reliance Industries tycoon Mukesh Ambani has announced to set up country’s first Carbon Fibre Facility as Hajira in Gujarat.

Current Affairs                    13^th,14^th & 15^th January

• January 11^th -17^th : National Road Safety Week. Theme – “Be a Road Safety Hero”.
  • It is celebrated by Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) every year during this time all over the country to promote road safety.
• January 14^th, 2024: Lohri Festival. It is a harvest festival of Northern India mainly Punjabi and Dogra folks  which is celebrated the day before Makar Sankranti.
• January 14^th: Armed Forces Veteran Day. Initially it was called Armstice Day. It is celebrated honouring the sacrifices of the retired veterans of our armed forces.
  • It was first celebrated in 1953 when the first Commander – in – Chief of Indian Army KM Cariappa retired from the services.
• Jaya Jaitly has launched her new book ‘Inspirations for Graphic Design from India’ – co-authored with Professor Dimple Bahl — that promotes traditional Indian crafts and designs of all over the country.
• Union Minister Bhupendra Yadav has launched a new book titled “Modi Energising A Green Future” on the PM’s vision for a green future.
• The Union Cabinet has appointed Sheel Vardhan Singh as the Chairman of UPSC. He was the former Director General of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF).
• The government has extended the term of RBI Deputy Governor Michael D. Patra by one year ahead of his tenure. He is currenly  in charge of the monetary policy and is a member of the monetary policy committee. Alongside RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das, Michael D. Patra has played a key role in dealing with the impact of Covid-19 in the Economy.
• Renowned classical singer Padma Vibhusan Prabha Atre passes away at the age of 92. She belonged to the Kirana Gharana of Hindustani Classical Music.
• 33^rd International Kite Festival: It is an annual kite festival held in Ahmedabad, Gujarat on the occasion of Makar Sankranti.
• The Department of Tourism has organised the International Camel Festival at Bikaner, Rajasthan. The theme of this year is ‘Icons of Bikaner.
  • 2024 has also been declared by the United Nations as ‘The International Year of Camelids’.
• Kateel Yakshagana Mela has started in Karnataka. It is a century old traditional folk dance-drama consisting unusual blend of dance, music, song, scholarly dialogues and vibrant costumes. It is performed in open-air theatres.
  • ‘Yakshagana’ literally means ‘song of the demi gods/ spirits’.
  • Some other important traditional dance dramas are: Therukuoothu – TamilNadu, Koodiyattam – Kerala, Bhavai – Gujarat, Nautanki – Uttarpradesh, Tamasha – Maharashtra and Jatra – West Bengal.
• The Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah has launched the new ‘Yuva Nidhi’ scheme  where the state government will provide financial assistance to the unemployed youth graduates and diploma holders of the state for a maximum period of two years and the govt will register them in the skill connect portal to train them. The scheme will provide ₹3000 per month to the graduates and ₹1500 per month to the diploma holders.
• President Draupadi Murmu in a first for any regional ethnicity based festival in the North East , will attend the golden jubilee celebration of the Karbi Youth Festival in the Karbi Anglong district of Assam.
  • The Karbi Youth Festival since 1974 has been working to establish the Karbi culture, customs, indigenous games, food and the karbi language on a global scale.
• The Budget Session of the Union Government will begin from 31^st January. The term ‘Budget’ comes from a French ‘Bougette’ which means bag. Article 112 deals with ‘Annual Financial Statement’ of Budget. Budget has mainly three kinds of data: Actual Estimate (Data of the previous year), Provisional Estimate (Data concerning this Year) and Budgetary Estimate (Data regarding the upcoming year).
  • Independent  India’s first Union Budget was presented by RK Shanmukam Chetty on November 26, 1947. Indira Gandhi was the first women to present the Budget in 1971.
  • Sessions of the Parliament:
    • Budget Session  – January End to April End or May first week
    • Monsoon Session – July starting to August/ September
    • Winter Session – November to December
• Indian pavilion has emerged as a premier one in the recently concluded SteelFab 2024 Exhibition in UAE.
• National Surveillance Programme for Aquatic Animal Diseases (NSPAAD) project has launched “Report Fish Disease” app for the Aquaculture farmers to help them deal with various fish diseases that can harm their livelihood under the ‘Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana’. The app was developed by ICAR – National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources (NBFGR), Lucknow.
• I-STEM (Indian Science, Technology and Engineering facilities Map) — an initiative under the office of Principal Scientific Advisor, Government of India – is planning to launch the Samavesha Project at IISc  Bengaluru.
  • The project targets connecting researchers with scientific institutes through an online portal nationwide. The project expects outcomes regarding increased indigenous product ecosystem, knowledge eco system and multimodal national advancements.
• Henley Passport Index 2024:
  • It showcases average count of visa free access to 194 global countries of a nation.
  • Developed by: London based global citizenship and residence advisory firm Henley & Partners.
  • India’s Rank: 80 (4 spot increase from 2023)
  • Top 5: France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Singapore and Spain.
  • Bottom 4: Afganistan, Syria, Iraq and Pakistan.
• Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) conducts successful test flight of the New Generation Akash (Akash – NG) Surface to  Air Missile (SAM) at the Integrated Test Range (ITR)  Chandipur, Odisha.
  • Akash – NG is a new variant of the Akash missile that can strike targets at 60 km with a speed of Mach 2.5. It is developed by the Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL),  Hyderabad in association with other DRDO laboratories.
  • The development of Akash-NG is part of the IGMDP (Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme) of India that was envisioned by missile man Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam to achieve self-sufficiency  in missile development. 5 types of Missile are developed under this programme:
  • P – A – T – N – A :
    • Prithvi: Short range surface to surface ballistic missile.
    • Agni: Ballistic missile with varying ranges (Agni 1,2,3,4,5)
    • Trishul : Short range low level surface to air missile.
    • Nag: 3^rd Gen anti-tank guided missile.
    • Akash: Mid range surface to air missile.
• The Supreme Court of India has issued a stay order and a notice to the Union of India regarding the exclusion of CJI from the selection panel of the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners.
  • As per the petition filed before the apex court, this move by the govt is against the very basic feature of separation of powers. The court has listed the case for hearing in April.
  • ‘The CEC and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023’ states that the President will appoint the CEC and ECs bsed on the recommendations of a Selection Committee which will include the Prime Minister, a Union Cabinet Minister and the Leader of the Opposition.
• The Ministry of Railways has selected Udupi  station of Karnataka under the Amrit Bharat  Station Scheme.
  • Amrit Bharat Station Scheme (ABSS) was launched by the Railway Ministry in 2023 that aims to modernize the important railway stations of our country and to equip them with improved passenger amenities, efficient traffic circulation, inter-modal integration and upgraded signage.
• Auroville, Tamil Nadu will host the first  National Equestrian Championship in Dressage  in the region. Dressage is likened to the ballet on horseback in the equestrian sporting realm.
  • In 2023, India has won its first Asian Games Gold Medal in Dressage in Hangzhou, China.
• The Naval ships, INS Cheetah, INS Guldar and INS Kumbhir were decommissioned at Port Blair after 40 years of service.
• Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has approved a proposal to launch Group (Term) Insurance Programme for the Casual Paid Labourers engaged by the Border Roads Organisation. This scheme will reportedly provide the insured amount of Rs. 10 lakh to any kind of death to CPL’s Family or next of kin.
• The University Grants Commission of India has launched Mulya Pravah 2.0 Guidelines for the Higher Educational Institutions of India that is objected to instil human values and professional ethics in the higher institutes across India.
• The Zero Effect , Zero Defect (ZED) scheme by the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Ministry , that aims to encourage environmentally conscious manufacturing practices among the MSMEs, has achieved 1 lakh milestone.
• British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Ukrainian President  Volodymyr Zelensky has signed a 10 year security accord that will remain effective to the point until Ukraine joins the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). It complements on the Political, Free Trade & Strategic Partnership Agreement of 2020.
• Mauritius has granted a two hour break to its Hindu public employees on January 22 for the inauguration of Ram Mandir in India. With 48.5%  Hindu population, Hinduism is the largest religion of Mauritius.
  • Mauritius:           Capital – Port Louis,        PM – Pravind Jugnauth.
• Madhya Pradesh has emerged as the overall winner of the Beach Games 2024 organised at the Blue Flag Certified  Ghoghla Beach in Diu. Lakshdweep has secured gold medal in Beach Soccer.
  • Blue Flag Certification is an internationally recognized certification acknowledging environmental education and information, bathing water quality, environmental management and conservation and safety services in the beaches for the concerned beach.
  • There are 12 beaches with Blue Flag Certification in India: Shivrajpur (Gujarat), Ghoghla (Diu), Kasarkod (Karnataka), Padubidri Beach (Karnataka), Kappad (Kerala),  Kovalam (TamilNadu) , Rushikonda (Andhra Pradesh), Golden Beach (Odisha), Radhanagar Beach (A&N) , Eden beach (Puducherry),  Minicoy Thundi beach (Lakshadweep) and Kadmat Beach ( Lakshadweep).
• 9^th Asian Winter Games is going to be held in Harbin, China from February. The slogan of the game is “Dream of Winter, Love among Asia”. Its mascots are ‘Binbin’ and ‘Nini’ inspired by two Siberian tiger cubs. The official emblem of the game is “Breakthrough”.