CURRENT AFFAIRS OF 19th JANUARY, 2023

CURRENT AFFAIRS OF 19^th JANUARY, 2023

1. National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) Raising Day is annually observed across India on 19 January to commemorate the establishment of the NDRF, under the Ministry of Home Affairs. 2023 marks the 18^th NDRF Raising Day. 
2. Uttar Pradesh launches a statewide 100-day ‘UP Global City’ campaign to make urban bodies of the state on par with global standards.   
3. Paytm Payments Bank Ltd (PPBL) has received final approval from the Reserve Bank of India to operate as Bharat Bill Payment Operating Unit.
4. In an effort to shore up the air defence systems all along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) facing China, the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) cleared the proposal for procurement of VSHORAD (IR Homing) missile system under design and development by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). 
5. Retired Director General of the Border Security Force (BSF), Pankaj Kumar Singh was appointed as the Deputy National Security Adviser in National Security Council Secretariat for a period of two years. 
6. Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually flaged off the semi-high speed train Vande Bharat Express from Secunderabad Railway Station on 15 January as a gift to the Telugu people on the occasion of Sankranti.
7. Food Safety and Standards Authority of India has notified regulatory standards for Basmati Rice which will be enforced from 1 August, 2023.   
8. In a major boost to the film and entertainment industry, PVR and Inox merger has been approved by the National Company Law Tribunal.
9. Rajasthani film ‘Naanera’, directed by Deepankar Prakash bagged the ‘Golden Kailasha’ award for the best movie at the Ajanta-Ellora Film Festival on 16 January, 2023.  
10. Hockey India has launched a new metaverse product ‘Hockeyverse’ to tie in with its hosting of the Men’s World Cup in Bhubaneswar and Rourkela from 13-29 January, 2023. 
11. Indian-American attorney, Janani Ramachandran has become the youngest and the first LGBTQ woman of color to take oath as the Oakland City Council member in the US state of California on 17 January, 2023.
12. Union Minister of State for Culture Arjun Ram Meghwal handed over the 9^th to 10^th  century Nataraja Idol to the Archaeological Department official in Chittorgarh Fort in Rajasthan.
13. SPIC MACAY, in association with the Ministry of Culture and the New Delhi Municipal Council, organised the ‘Music in the Park’ series under the name ‘Shruti Amrut’ on 15 January, 2023.
14. India and Egypt have announced to hold the first-ever military exercise ‘Cyclone-I’ involving the special forces in Udaipur on 14 January, 2023.
15. Indian batter Shubman Gill has made double century on 18 January (208 off 149 balls with 4s-19 and 6s-9) and become only the eighth and the youngest player (23 years) in ODI Cricket history.
16. The Italian film legend Gina Lollobrigida passed away at the age of 95 in Rome, Italy on 16 January, 2023.