Current Affairs

31st January 2023

Top 14 Daily Current Affairs: National & International News:

Here is the Current Affairs 31st January 2023 covering the following news headlines: Uttarakhand tableau, Ladli Bahna, Drugs Controller General Of India, Economic Survey 2022-23, Jeevan Raksha Padak Awards.

National News

1. Indian Council of Historical Research Rejected Inclusion of Muslim dynasties in Exhibition

·      The Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR) organized an exhibition on Medieval Indian Dynasties by a division of the Union Ministry of Education and featured 50 different dynasties in the exhibitions. In the exhibition of the Indian Council of Historical Research no Muslim dynasty was displayed.

·      The ICHR organized the exhibition at Lalit Kala Akademi titled ‘Glory of Medieval India: Manifestation of the unexplored – Indian dynasties, 8th-18th Centuries.

·      The Indian Council of Historical Research organized an exhibition that was inaugurated by the Minister of State Education Dr. Rajkumar Ranjan Singh.

·      Muslim dynasties like Bahmani and Adil Shahi were not part of the exhibition since no Muslim dynasty was displayed in the exhibition.

·      ICHR member secretary Professor Umesh Ashok Kadam informed that he does not consider Muslim dynasties as a part of Indian dynasties.

2. Republic Day 2023: Uttarakhand tableau wins first prize

·      Uttarakhand tableau which showcased the state’s wildlife and religious sites at the 74th Republic Day parade has won the top prize. Uttarakhand’s tableau showcased the state’s wildlife and religious sites during the ceremonial parade at Kartavya Path on January 26.

·      In the foreground of the tableau, reindeer, deer and various birds were shown roaming in the world-famous Corbett National Park. The central part of the tableau depicted the state animal of Uttarakhand, musk deer, national bird peacock and ghoral. Jageshwar Dham, a group of 125 small and big ancient temples in Manaskhand’s Almora district, and popular deodar trees were shown in the rear part of the tableau.

·      Uttarakhand won the first prize for its tableau, followed by Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh in the second and third positions respectively.

State News

3. Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan announces ‘Ladli Bahna’ scheme

·      Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, has made a significant statement for the women to launch the “Ladli Bahna Yojana” in the state following the success of the Ladli Laxmi Yojana for the girls. No matter their caste or status, underprivileged women would receive Rs 1,000 each month under this Yojna in order to gain financial independence.

·      “Ladli Bahna Yojana” will be created for the poor and lower middle class women of the state, irrespective of caste or category.

·      The funds will be deposited each month into the accounts of the recipients from every eligible family, enabling them to achieve financial independence. In five years, it is predicted that this programme will cost roughly Rs 60,000 crore.

·      Notably, the state had previously seen the Ladli Laxmi Yojna and Ladli Laxmi Yojna 2. To empower the state’s underprivileged women, the state government will now launch the Ladli Bahna Yojna.

·      Ladli Laxmi Yojna is regarded as one of the state’s most effective Yojnas.

Appointments News

4. UPSC recommends Rajeev Singh Raghuvanshi As Drugs Controller General Of India

·      The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has recommended the name of Dr Rajeev Singh Raghuvanshi as the new Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI). The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) conducted interviews for the appointment of the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI).

·      The UPSC conducted interviews for the appointment of the DCGI, with the top contenders being Dr. VG Somani, Dr Rajeev Singh Raghuvanshi, and Dr Jai Prakash.

5. Unilever appoints Hein Schumacher as new CEO

·      Unilever has announced the appointment of Hein Schumacher as its new Chief Executive Officer. Hein will replace Alan Jope, who announced in September 2022 his intention to retire from Unilever.

·      Hein is currently CEO of the global dairy and nutrition business Royal FrieslandCampina and became a Non-Executive Director of Unilever in October last year. He will begin as Unilever CEO on 1 July 2023, after a one-month handover period.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

·      Unilever Headquarters: London, United Kingdom;

·      Unilever established: 2 September 1929.

Economy News

6. Economic Survey 2022-23, Indian economy to grow 6.5% next year

·      Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the economy survey to Parliament. According to the economic survey, India’s economy will expand by 6.5 percent in 2023–2024 as opposed to 7 percent in the current fiscal year and 8.7 percent in 2021–2022.

·      The Economic Survey 2022-23 is primarily the government’s assessment of the economy’s performance over the previous year.

·      The government stated in its Economic Survey 2022-23 report that their baseline scenario for growth for 2023–2024 was 6.5%, with nominal growth—which takes inflation into account—predicted at 11%.

Awards News

7. President of India Awarded RPF/RPSF Personnel with Jeevan Raksha Padak Awards

·      The President of India Droupadi Murmu has awarded the RPF/RPSF personnel with Jeevan Raksha Padak awards to Jaipal Singh, Head Constable/ Northern Railway, Surendra Kumar, Constable/Northern Railway, and Bhuda Ram Saini, Constable/7th BN/RPSF.

·      On 12.05.2022, in the jurisdiction of Nizamuddin Railway Station between Rly. Km 1532/13 to 1532/25, at about 16:10 hrs BTPN wagon no. 40121185538 caught fire due to technical reasons.

·      During that time about 1000 (one thousand) persons were working at the site.  An atmosphere of fear was created after seeing the fire taking a dreadful form.

·      To save their lives, the workers started running here and there in a fit of desperation. Head Constable Jaipal Singh, Constable Surendra Kumar, and Constable Buddha Saini were posted on duty.

Jeevan Raksha Padak Awards

Summits and Conferences News

8. India’s G-20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant Inaugurated India’s First Model G-20 Summit

·      India’s G-20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant inaugurated India’s first Model G-20 Summit organized by Rambhau Mhalgi Prabodhini’s Indian Institute of Democratic Leadership.

·      The two-day Model G-20 Summit has been organized at the Rambhau Mhalgi Prabodhini’s Uttan campus in Mumbai to celebrate India’s presidency and take the idea of G-20 to the youth. Dr. Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, President of ICCR and Vice Chairman of Rambhau Mhalgi Prabodhini chaired the inaugural ceremony.

Ranks and Reports News

9. Gautam Adani out of world’s top-10 billionaires list

·      Gautam Adani has fallen out of the exclusive group of the top 10 wealthiest billionaires in the world after losing $36 billion of his wealth so far in January as a result of a collapse in firm share prices in the wake of the Hindenburg report.

·      According to Bloomberg Billionaires Index, the Indian tycoon, 60, who has his headquarters in Ahmedabad, is currently ranked 11th in terms of wealth with $84.4 billion in assets.

·      Adani has seen the most wipeout among the top 500 richest people in the world thus far in 2023.

·      Adani, incidentally, had the largest increase in wealth in 2022, with a gain of about $40 billion each year. He appears to have reversed all of the increases in his personal wealth from earlier now.

·      Adani Group has questioned the purpose of the report and claimed it is an instance of unethical short selling by a foreign entity by publishing a report to manipulate and depress the price of stock and create a false market in a 413-page thorough rebuttal to the 88 questions posed by the New York-based short-seller.

Defence News

10. Air Marshal A.P. Singh to be new Vice Chief of Indian Air Force

·      Air Marshal A P Singh has been appointed as the new Vice Chief of the Indian Air Force. He will succeed Air Marshal Sandeep Singh, who will retire from service.

·      Air Marshal A P Singh is currently serving as the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Central Air Command. He will take charge as the Vice Chief on 01st Feb 2023. He was commissioned into the fighter stream of the IAF on December 21, 1984.

·      Air Marshal A P Singh is an alumnus of National Defence Academy, Defence Services Staff College and National Defence College. He is a Qualified Flying Instructor and an Experimental Test Pilot with more than 4,900 hours of service flying on a variety of fixed wing and rotary wing aircraft.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams: 

·      Indian Air Force Headquarters: New Delhi;

·      Indian Air Force Founded: 8 October 1932, India;

·      Indian Air Force Air chief Marshall: Vivek Ram Chaudhari.

Sports News

11. Dutch player Anish Giri wins Tata Steel Masters 2023

·      Dutch player Anish Giri, five times the runner-up in Wijk aan Zee, has won the 85th edition of Tata Steel Chess after pouncing on a blunder by Richard Rapport while Jorden van Foreest took down long-term leader Nodirbek Abdusattorov. Magnus Carlsen beat Arjun Erigaisi on demand to catch Nodirbek in a tie for 2nd place, while Wesley So finished 4th.

·      Anish Giri (NED, 2764) has never lost a tournament game against Richard Rapport (ROU, 2740). He has defeated the creative genius thrice and the remaining encounters ended in draws. Obviously, this statistic gave Giri the extra boost he needed to push for a win in the final round.

12. Murali Vijay Announces Retirement From All Forms Of International Cricket

·      Veteran Indian opener Murali Vijay has announced his retirement from all forms of international cricket. He last played for India in December 2018 during the Border-Gavaskar Test series against Australia.

·      Murali appeared in 61 Tests, 17 ODIs and nine T20Is for India during his international career that began back in 2008 when he came in for Gautam Gambhir in the playing XI of the final Test match of Border-Gavaskar Test series against Australia in Nagpur. He scored 3982 runs in Tests with 12 centuries and 15 fifties, 339 runs in ODIs with a solitary half-century and 169 runs in T20Is.

13. 6,000 Athletes to Participate in 27 sports in Khelo India Youth Games

·      Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan inaugurated the fifth edition of the Khelo India Youth Games (KIYG) at a mega function to kick start the Khelo India Youth Games that will see participation from nearly 6,000 athletes from across the country in 27 disciplines.

·      The Chief Minister declared the Games open at the Tatya Tope stadium in the state capital Bhopal. The Khelo India Youth Games will be historic in Madhya Pradesh.

Books and Authors News

14. British economist Meghnad Desai Authored a New Book titled “The Poverty of Political Economics

·      India-born naturalised British economist Meghnad Desai has authored a new book titled “The Poverty Of Political Economy: How Economics Abandoned the Poor” which highlights how the discipline of economics, since the time it evolved from the late 18th century, systematically kept the interests of the poor at the periphery. The book is published by HarperCollins Publishers India.

·      The book examines the philosophical traditions that have shaped economics across the world in this engrossing new book. Through this book, Meghnad Desai studies the contributions of economics to domestic and international politics from Adam Smith to John Maynard Keynes, and from the Great Depression to the collapse of the Lehmann Brothers.