Daily Current Affairs December 23 2023 | Latest News | Download PDF

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CURRENT AFFAIRS : BANKING & FINANCE

IDFC FIRST Bank, LIC Cards and Mastercard Collaborate to Launch a Co-branded Credit Card to Meet the Financial Needs of India

• IDFC First Bank, LIC Cards, and Mastercard announced their collaboration to launch an exclusive co-branded credit card to meet the dynamic financial needs of the country.
• The credit card is available in two variants – LIC Classic and LIC Select.

Key Highlights :

• Financial Benefits : No joining and annual fees for the credit card.
• Low interest rates starting from 9% p.a.
• Target Audience : The card is designed to meet the dynamic financial needs of consumers of varied age groups across the country.
• Reward Points for Policyholders : More than 27 crores LIC policyholders can save through reward points on every LIC insurance premium payment.
• Insurance Benefits : Cardholders enjoy a personal accident insurance cover of up to Rs. 5 lakh.
• Up to Rs. 50,000 cover for lost card liability.
• Redemption of Reward Points : Cardholders can redeem reward points against any online purchase, including LIC insurance premiums.
• Travel Benefits : Complimentary access to lounges at airports and railway stations.
• Various protective covers, including personal accident insurance.
• Fuel Surcharge Waiver : Cardholders benefit from a 1% fuel surcharge waiver.
• Roadside Vehicle Assistance : Additional perk includes roadside vehicle assistance worth Rs. 1,399.
• Fee Structure : Zero joining fee and zero annual fee.
• No minimum spend conditions
• Online Features : Online redemption of reward points.
• Dynamic APR (Annual Percentage Rate).
• Low revolving credit for better credit customers.

About IDFC First Bank :

• Founded : October 2015
• Headquarters :Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
• MD &CEO : V. Vaidyanathan
• Tagline : Always You First
• IDFC FIRST Bank is an Indian private sector bank formed by the merger of the banking arm of Infrastructure Development Finance Company and Capital First, an Indian non-bank financial institution.
• It is the first universal bank to offer monthly interest credit on savings accounts, lifetime free credit cards with dynamic and low annual percentage rates.

About Mastercard :

• Established : 1966
• Headquarters : New York, United States
• CEO : Michael Miebach
• Mastercard Inc. is the second-largest payment-processing corporation worldwide. It offers a range of payment transaction processing and other related-payment services.

PFRDA Releases Preliminary Risk Management Framework for Credit Rating Agencies (CRAs)

• Pension regulator Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) has issued a Draft Risk Management Framework for the Central Record keeping Agencies (CRAs) under National Pension System (NPS) architecture.

Key Highlights :

• The Risk Management Framework for CRAs is a description of Authority’s expectations with respect to risk management governance, the organisation’s risk appetite and key elements of its risk management process.
• The stakeholders including CRAs have been given time till January 1 to provide their feedback/suggestions/inputs on the draft proposals.
• The risk management framework provides guidance on the approach to managing risk in the NPS ecosystem so that the various risks associated with the functioning of CRAs do not result in any deficiencies in service to customers, disruption, or any issues affecting the integrity of record keeping, accounting, administration functions of the CRAs.
• Currently, there are 3 CRAs registered with the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority.
• They are Computer Age Management Services Ltd (CAMS), Protean eGov Technologies Ltd. (Formerly NSDL e-Governance Infrastructure Limited), and KFin Technologies Limited.
• The Risk Management Framework will have to be approved by the respective Boards of CRAs and submitted to the regulatory. The policy would be reviewed periodically by the Board of PFRDA.
• The objective of the Risk Management Framework includes managing risk in a consistent manner across the organisational set up of the CRA; have a strong risk culture wherein managing risk would be part of regular work of the CRA; and deliver fair outcomes for subscribers, maintain an orderly and transparent operation of services of the CRAs to subscribers and all other stakeholders.

SBI Mutual Fund Acquires 1.5% Stake in Karur Vysya Bank for Rs 190 Crore

• SBI Mutual Fund acquired shares of scheduled commercial bank Karur Vysya Bank (KVB) for Rs 190 crore through open market transactions.
• According to the bulk deal data available with the BSE and NSE, SBI Mutual Fund (MF) purchased a total of 1,20,00,000 shares, amounting to a 1.5% stake in Karur Vysya Bank.
• The shares were picked at an average price of Rs 162 apiece on both bourses, taking the combined aggregate deal size to Rs 194.40 crore.
• Shares of Karur Vysya Bank rose 1.32 per cent to close at Rs 164.90 apiece on the BSE and gained 0.52 per cent to settle at Rs 164.70 per piece on the NSE.

About SBI Mutual Fund :

• Founded : 1987
• Headquarters : Mumbai, Maharashtra
• MD &CEO : Shamsher Singh
• SBIFMPL is a joint venture between the State Bank of India, an Indian public sector bank, and Amundi, a European asset management company.

About Karur Vysya Bank :

• Established : 1916
• Headquarters : Karur, Tamil Nadu
• MD &CEO : Mr. Ramesh Babu
• Tagline : Smart way to Bank

CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL NEWS

France President Emmanuel Macron to be Chief Guest for 75th Republic Day celebrations

• President of France Emmanuel Macron will be the Chief Guest for the 75th Republic Day celebrations.
• External Affairs Ministry, at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the President of France will visit India for the Republic Day celebrations.
• India and France share a high degree of convergence on a range of regional and global issues.
• This year, both countries are celebrating the 25th anniversary of the India-France Strategic Partnership.
• Prime Minister Modi was the Guest of Honour at the Bastille Day Parade held on 14 July 2023 in Paris.

Govt allows extra borrowing ceiling of over Rs 60,000 crore to states for NPS

• Government allowed additional borrowing of Rs 60,000 crore to 22 states for the National Pension Scheme.
• The Department of Expenditure approved an extra borrowing of Rs 60,876.8 crore to 22 States in 2023-24 for the National Pension Scheme.
• 3 per cent of the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) or Rs 8,59,988 crore in absolute terms was fixed as the normal net borrowing ceiling for states in FY24.
• States have been also allowed extra borrowing ceilings equivalent to employer and employee share of contribution of its employees to the NPS.
• The central government has earlier approved additional financial incentives worth Rs 66,413 crore to 12 states for reforms in the power sector.
• Additional borrowing of Rs 39,175 crore was allowed to 12 states in 2021-22 and Rs 27,238 crore to 6 States in 2022-23.
• States have the facility of tapping Rs 1.3 lakh crore 50-year interest-free capex loans facility for FY24.
• Capital expenditure of Rs 91,471.43 crore has been approved for 25 states.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BUSINESS NEWS

India’s imports of thermal coal from the US reached a two-year high.

• Inbound shipments of thermal coal from the US increased to 1.40 million tonnes (MT), highest in over a year.
• According to Kpler (an energy intelligence firm), India imported a total of 17.51 MT of thermal coal in November 2023.
• This was lower than 15-month high of 18.66 MT recorded in October 2023.
• India imported 23.27 MT of seaborne coal in November 2023.
• US supplied total (Thermal and Metallurgical) 12.03 MT of coal to India in FY18.
• This increased to 14.18 MT in FY19.
• In 2022, Indonesia was India’s largest supplier of thermal coal.
• As of October 2023, US is India’s second biggest supplier of coking coal after Australia. Russia is the third biggest supplier.
• During April–October 2023, Australia remained the largest supplier of coking coal with 20.17 MT.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: AWARDS AND HONOURS

Former bureaucrat Poonam Khetrapal Singh honoured by Bhutanese King

• Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh has been awarded Bhutan’s National Order of Merit Gold Medal.
• Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh is the WHO Regional Director (South-East Asia).
• Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh has been awarded for her distinguished services to the country.
• Dr Singh is an Indian national.
• The King of Bhutan Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuk honoured her at Bhutan’s 116th National Day celebration.
• She is the first woman regional director of the WHO South-East Asia region.
• During her tenure, Bhutan became one of the first countries to eliminate measles and rubella ahead of schedule.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: MOUS AND AGREEMENT

The government of India and ADB sign $100 million loan agreement to improve urban services and tourism facilities in Tripura

• The Government of India today signed an agreement with Asian Development Bank (ADB) to avail a USD 100 million loan to improve urban services and tourism facilities in the northeastern state of Tripura.
• The signatories to the loan agreement for the Tripura Urban and Tourism Development Project were Ms. Juhi Mukherjee, Joint Secretary Department of Economic Affairs in the Ministry of Finance, for the Government of India, and Mr. Nilaya Mitash, Officer-in-Charge of ADB’s India Resident Mission, for ADB.
• After signing the loan agreement, Ms. Mukherjee stated that the project will improve the municipal infrastructure and public services in urban local bodies (ULBs) along the main national highways in Tripura besides upgrading key tourism sites.
• The project will support the state as a gateway to the northeast region by developing tourist destinations along highways and by improving urban governance and financial sustainability through improved resource mobilisation and credit worthiness
• ADB support will also strengthen the capacity of ULBs for integrated planning, including climate and disaster resilience, and identification of community and private sector participation for tourism and marketing.
• The project will upgrade urban water supply systems by installing 42 kilometres (km) of new transmission and distribution pipes, establishing 4 new water treatment plants, and improving 55 km of stormwater drains.
• It will improve 21 km of urban roads that will incorporate features that respond to the needs of the elderly, women, children, and differently-abled.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: SPORTS NEWS

Chennai Grand Masters 2023; Dommaraju Gukesh clinches title

• In Chennai Grand Masters 2023 tournament, Indian chess prodigy, Dommaraju Gukesh clinched the title by holding compatriot Pentala Harikrishna for a draw.
• Meanwhile, Arjun Erigaisi secured the second spot.
• Both Arjun and Gukesh finished the event at 4.5 points out of 7.
• Gukesh won the tournament on tie-breaks.
• Pentala Harikrishna finished third with 4 points, as all three Indians in the tournament ended the campaign with a podium finish.
• With this win, Gukesh takes the lead in the FIDE Circuit.
• If he keeps the lead till 1st January 2024, he will qualify for the highly coveted Candidates Tournament 2024.
• Earlier, R. Praggnanandhaa qualified for the Candidates by finishing second at the FIDE World Cup 2023 held at Baku, Azerbaijan this year.
• Vidit Gujrathi too secured the candidate’s spot by winning the FIDE Grand Swiss 2023 concluded on the 5th of November this year at the Isle of Man (UK).
• The 2024 Candidates Tournament is an eight-player chess tournament, held to determine the challenger for the 2024 World Chess Championship.
• It is scheduled to be held from 2 to 25 April 2024 in Toronto, Canada.

Union Minister Anurag Singh Thakur to launch Official logo and mascot for Khelo India Youth Games in Chennai

• Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting Anurag Singh Thakur will launch the Official logo and mascot for Khelo India Youth Games in Chennai.
• He will attend the ceremony as the chief guest for the launch of official logo, jersey, mascot, and torch.
• The Khelo India Youth Games will be held from January 19th to 31st next year.
• The upcoming edition will take place in Chennai, Trichy, Madurai and Coimbatore.
• The previous editions of the Youth Games have been held in Delhi, Pune, Guwahati, Panchkula, and Bhopal.
• The launch ceremony on Friday will also be graced by Udhayanidhi Stalin, Minister of Youth Welfare and Sports Development, Government of Tamil Nadu among other dignitaries from the Union Sports Ministry, Sports Authority of India and the State Government.
• Renowned sports icons including Chess Grand Master Vishwanathan Anand, Tokyo Olympian Fencer Bhavani Devi, Squash Champion Joshna Chinappa and Hockey Asia Cup bronze medalist S. Mareeswaran, among other esteemed personalities will attend the programme.

Mitchell Starc becomes most expensive player in league’s history, goes to KKR for Rs 24.75 crore

• Mitchell Starc became the most expensive player in IPL history, bought by KKR for Rs 24.75 crore.
• Australian left-hander faster bowler Mitchell Starc has been signed by Kolkata Knight Riders for Rs 24.75 crore in the IPL 2024 auction in Dubai.
• He also became the most expensive player in IPL history, surpassing his Australian captain Pat Cummins, who was signed by SRH for Rs 20.5 crore earlier on the same day.
• Starc last played in the IPL for Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2015.
• That year, he took 20 wickets in 13 matches at an average of 14.55 and an economy rate of 6.76.
• Starc was signed by Kolkata Knight Riders in 2018 for Rs 9.40 crore but he got injured.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: IMPORTANT DAYS

National Consumer Rights Day: 24th December

• National Consumer Rights Day 2023 is observed on the 24th of December 2023.
• When India’s Consumer Protection Act of 1986 was passed, consumer rights were given serious consideration.
• The purpose of this legislation was to protect consumers against unfair commerce, the sale of subpar goods, fraud, and inadequate service.
• India’s economy has changed tremendously throughout the years, greatly impacting how many Indians shop and travel.
• As a result, the consumer’s tried-and-true habits have been altered, necessitating a revision and overhaul of the Consumer Protection Act.
• On August 6, 2019, India’s parliament passed the amended Consumer Protection Bill, taking into account this dynamic and modern economy.
• The Right to Information Act, which made India’s governance procedures open to the public and had significant ramifications for consumer rights, is a supplement to the Consumer Protection Acts of 1986 and 2019.
• The rights to safety, information, freedom of choice, and consumer education are a few of these.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

President Putin Leads Flag-Raising Ceremony for Strategic Nuclear Submarines, Highlighting Russia’s Naval Power Projection

• Russian President Vladimir Putin participated in a televised flag-raising ceremony for two significant Russian nuclear submarines.
• The ceremony took place in Severodvinsk, a northern city, where Putin visited the Sevmash shipbuilding yard.
• Putin travelled to the northern city of Severodvinsk to view the vessels, the Krasnoyarsk and Emperor Alexander the Third, at the Sevmash shipbuilding yard.
• Submarine Identities :Emperor Alexander III: A notable submarine belonging to Russia’s new Borei class, representing a technological advancement since the Cold War.
• Krasnoyarsk: A submarine of the Yasen class, designed for multipurpose use and equipped with long-range, high-precision missiles.
• Borei Class Significance: Emperor Alexander III is part of the Borei class, denoted as the “Arctic Wind,” highlighting Russia’s strategic focus on advanced naval capabilities in the Arctic region.

Yasen Class Features :

• Missile Capabilities: The Krasnoyarsk, belonging to the Yasen class, is equipped with long-range, high-precision missiles capable of striking both sea and land targets.
• Expansion Plans: President Putin mentioned the ongoing construction of five more Yasen-class submarines, indicating a commitment to expanding Russia’s naval capabilities.

About Russia :

• President :Vladimir Puti
• Prime Minister :Mikhail Mishustin
• Capital :Moscow
• Currency :Ruble

Ola CEO Bhavish Agarwal’s AI startup is building a multilingual Large Language Model

• Krutrim SI Designs, the new artificial intelligence (AI) venture of Ola co-founder Bhavish Aggarwal, has unveiled a family of multilingual artificial intelligence (AI) models to cater to the unique requirements of the Indian ecosystem.

Key Highlights :

• Krutrim, ‘artificial’ in Sanskrit, will come in two sizes: a base model named Krutrim trained on 2 trillion tokens and unique datasets, and a larger, more complex model called Krutrim Pro, launching next quarter for advanced problem-solving and task execution capabilities.
• Krutrim can understand 22 Indian languages and generate content in about 10, including Marathi, Hindi, Bengali, Tamil, Kannada, Telugu, Odia, Gujarati, and Malayalam.
• It has been trained on over two trillion tokens of data for Indian languages, with the base model incorporating around 20 times more Indic tokens than any other model in existence.
• The Krutrim team is based across India and the Bay Area (US).
• The full open release of Krutrim is scheduled for January 2024, and Krutrim APIs will be accessible to developers from February 2024.
• Krutrim Si Designs was launched in April 2023.
• It was set up by Aggarwal with Krishnamurthy Venugopala Tenneti, who is one of the board members of ANI Technologies Ltd, which owns Ola Cabs and Ola Electric.

Tesla Introduces ‘Optimus Gen 2,’ an Advanced Humanoid Robot Designed to Automate Repetitive Tasks

• Tesla has unveiled “Optimus Gen 2”, a new generation of its humanoid robot that should be able to take over repetitive tasks from humans.
• Optimus, also known as Tesla Bot, has not been taken seriously by many outside of the more hardcore Tesla fans, and for good reason.
• With this new version, Tesla says that the robot is now able to walk 30% faster.
• The company also claims a 10 kg weight reduction while improving balance.

About Tesla :

• Founded : July 1, 2003
• Headquarters : Austin, Texas, United States
• CEO : Elon Musk.

Daily CA One- Liner: December 23

• IDFC First Bank, LIC Cards, and Mastercard announced their collaboration to launch an exclusive co-branded credit card to meet the dynamic financial needs of the country.
• Pension regulator Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) has issued a Draft Risk Management Framework for the Central Record keeping Agencies (CRAs) under National Pension System (NPS) architecture.
• SBI Mutual Fund acquired shares of scheduled commercial bank Karur Vysya Bank (KVB) for Rs 190 crore through open market transactions.
• President of France Emmanuel Macron will be the Chief Guest for the 75th Republic Day celebrations
• Government allowed additional borrowing of Rs 60,000 crore to 22 states for the National Pension Scheme
• Inbound shipments of thermal coal from the US increased to 1.40 million tonnes (MT), highest in over a year.
• Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh has been awarded Bhutan’s National Order of Merit Gold Medal.
• The Government of India today signed an agreement with Asian Development Bank (ADB) to avail a USD 100 million loan to improve urban services and tourism facilities in the northeastern state of Tripura.
• In Chennai Grand Masters 2023 tournament, Indian chess prodigy, Dommaraju Gukesh clinched the title by holding compatriot Pentala Harikrishna for a draw.
• Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting Anurag Singh Thakur will launch the Official logo and mascot for Khelo India Youth Games in Chennai.
• Mitchell Starc became the most expensive player in IPL history, bought by KKR for Rs 24.75 crore.
• National Consumer Rights Day 2023 is observed on the 24th of December 2023.
• Russian President Vladimir Putin participated in a televised flag-raising ceremony for two significant Russian nuclear submarines.
• Krutrim SI Designs, the new artificial intelligence (AI) venture of Ola co-founder Bhavish Aggarwal, has unveiled a family of multilingual artificial intelligence (AI) models to cater to the unique requirements of the Indian ecosystem.
• Tesla has unveiled “Optimus Gen 2”, a new generation of its humanoid robot that should be able to take over repetitive tasks from humans.