NATIONAL NEWS
Cabinet Extends Tenure of National Commission for Safai Karamcharis Till 2025Government extended the tenure of National Commission for Safai Karamcharis by three years up to March 31, 2025. The decision was taken at a meeting of the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, I&B Minister Anurag Thakur told.
- The National Commission for Safai Karamcharis (NCSK) was constituted on 12th August 1994 as a statutory body by an Act of Parliament for a period of three years.
- The validity of the Act was extended up to February 2004 twice by passing amendment bills by Parliament.
India and Denmark agreed to initiate joint research and development on green fuels including green hydrogen, the Science and Technology Ministry said.
- They agreed to organise 3-4 webinars for partnership development and stressed on promoting call for proposals in green fuels, including green hydrogen.
- The Joint Committee also reviewed the progress of the ongoing projects of last two joint calls being implemented in the areas of energy research; water; cyber-physical systems, and bioresources & secondary agriculture.
Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari, inaugurated Madhavbaug's (Vaidya Sane Ayurved Labs Ltd), Power MAP, in a ceremony that was held digitally.
- Power MAP is a medical analytics application developed by Madhavbaug under the trusted leadership of their CEO, Dr Rohit Sane. The application is built for doctors to help them get necessary medical intelligence regarding a patient's clinical parameters to reverse their chronic diseases effectively.
- Madhavbaug (Vaidya Sane Ayurved Labs Ltd), is a unique medical service institution that treats chronic ailments like cardiac disease, diabetes, hypertension and obesity with the distinctive outlook of amalgamating technology with traditional healing of Ayurveda. The institution operates 274 clinics and 2 hospitals across India.
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and the Odisha government have joined hands to improve the food security of small and marginal farmers by strengthening their resilience to climate change.
- In a pilot initiative, advisories will be provided to small farmers of the state, which is particularly prone to cyclones, to help them adapt to impact of the climate crisis.
- The WFP and the Agriculture Department will develop toolkits, modules, and guidelines during the project to provide services to small farmers.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
First BRICS Sherpas Meeting Of 2022 Held Under Chinese ChairshipThe first BRICS Sherpas meeting of 2022 was held virtually under the Chinese chairship with the members thanking India for its BRICS chairship in 2021 and China has taken on the rotating chairmanship of BRICS in 2022.
- Programme and priorities for the year were discussed at the first BRICS Sherpas Meeting of 2022 under the Chinese chairship, Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said.
BANKING & FINANCE
MobiKwik, Bharat BillPay tie-up to launch ClickPay for bill paymentsFintech major MobiKwik has launched ‘ClickPay’ in collaboration with NPCI Bharat BillPay Ltd. (NBBL). NPCI Bharat BillPay is a wholly owned subsidiary of National Payments Corporation of India.
- Through ClickPay, customers can pay recurring online bills (such as mobile, gas, water, electricity, DTH, insurance, and loan EMIs) without the need to remember individual bill details and due dates.
Fintech company Lendingkart announced that it has entered into a co-lending partnership with Canara Bank to provide low-cost business loans of up to ₹10 lakh to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) across the country.
- The loans will be provided with fast turnaround time for approvals powered by “Lendingkart 2gthr" platform using ‘zero touch’ technology, Lendingkart said.
- Canara Bank said through this alliance it aims to broaden its reach to support MSME borrowers to enhance financial inclusion under the Reserve Bank’s Priority Sector initiative.
BUSINESS & ECONOMY
Jio Becomes No 1 Home Broadband Provider in India, Overtakes BSNL As Market LeaderReliance Jio has overtaken state-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) to become the top service provider in the fixed landline broadband segment, according to the monthly telecom subscribers report published by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).
- The Mukesh Ambani-led company with 4.34 million customers, has managed to edge out BSNL, an established player in the sector for around 20 years, in just two years of commercial roll out of its fixed-line broadband services.
- Reliance Jio's fixed-line broadband customer base increased to 4.34 million in November 2021 from 4.16 million in October 2021.
SPORTS
ICC Test Rankings: Virat Kohli Moves to 7th Spot, Jasprit Bumrah Back in Top-10Indian star Virat Kohli moved up two places to seventh after scores of 79 and 29 in his last Test as captain in the latest ICC rankings for batters in the five-day format.
- Wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant’s unbeaten century in the second innings of the series-deciding third Test against South Africa lifted him 10 places to 14th, while fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah’s six wickets in Cape Town took him back to the top 10 in the bowling chart.
- Australia have overtaken India and New Zealand to reclaim the No. 1 ICC Test rankings spot after their 4-0 Ashes win at home, pushing India down to third spot. New Zealand retained their second position followed by India.
APPOINTMENTS
Narendra Goenka takes over as new AEPC ChairmanFounder and Managing Director of Texport Industries Narendra Kumar Goenka takes charge of Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) as its new Chairman. He has replaced A Sakthivel.
- Mr. Goenka has been associated with the Council for more than two decades. He was the Vice Chairman of the apex body of Indian apparel exporters before taking charge as Chairman of AEPC.
North Macedonia’s parliament has elected Dimitar Kovacevski as prime minister of a Social Democrat-led government after two months of political crisis.
- The new coalition cabinet, composed of Kovacevski's Social Democrats and two ethnic Albanian parties as junior partners, won the January 16 vote 62-46 in the 120-seat legislature.
- Kovachevski, 47, was a deputy finance minister in the previous government of Social Democrat leader Zoran Zaev.
- Zaev resigned after his party’s poor performance in local elections last October.
AWARDS
Mrs World 2022: Mrs America Shaylyn Ford takes the crown37 Years old Shaylyn Ford was crowned as the winner of Mrs World 2022. She was crowned by the outgoing queen Kate Schneider from Ireland. Mrs. Jordan Jaclyn Stapp was voted first runner-up at the glamourous event in Las Vegas, while Debanjali Kamstra, who was representing the UAE for the first time in the pageant’s history, was named second runner-up.
- Shaylyn Ford represented America in the pageant and battled out 57 other contestants from across the globe to claim the title. This is the 8th time an American representative won the title of Mrs. World.
Odisha’s Navdeep Kaur won the award for the Best National Costume at the recently concluded Mrs World 2022 pageant in Las Vegas, USA.
- She represented India on the international stage after winning the title of Mrs India World in 2021.
- For the competition, Kaur wore an Avant-garde outfit, which was conceptualised and created by artist Eggie Jasmin and was inspired by the ‘Kundalini Chakra’.
OBITUARIES
Padma Shri recipient HPS Ahluwalia passes awayPadma Shri recipient and founder of the Indian Spinal Injuries Centre Major HPS Ahluwalia passed away. He was 85.
- Ahluwalia was a retired army officer, a trained mountaineer, author, and social worker ”who has contributed immensely in various fields including adventure, sports, environment, disability, and social work”.
- As a professional mountaineer, he was one of the first Indians to conquer Mount Everest. He has written over 13 books including his autobiography Higher Than Everest, it said Major Ahluwalia has also been a former president of the Indian Mountaineering Foundation and the Delhi Mountaineering Association.
Cartoonist Narayan Debnath, the creator of Bengali comic characters ‘Bantul The Great’, ‘Handa Bhonda’ and ‘Nonte Phonte, passed away after prolonged illness. He was 97.
- The cartoonist was conferred with the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award in India, in 2021 but could not visit New Delhi to collect the award.
- Debanth was also conferred with the Sahitya Akademi award in 2013 and the West Bengal government also honoured him with Banga Bibhushan the same year. The Rabindra Bharati University gave him an honorary D.Litt in 2015.
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