CURRENT AFFAIRS OF 20th JANUARY, 2023

CURRENT AFFAIRS OF 20^th JANUARY, 2023

1. Noted writer K Venu was conferred with Federal Bank Literary Award 2022 for his autobiography ‘Oranweshananthinte Katha’.
2. Adani Enterprises on 17 January, 2023 signed an agreement with Ashok Leyland, India, and Ballard Power, Canada to launch a pilot project to develop a hydrogen fuel cell electric truck (FCET) for mining logistics and transportation.  
3. Taiwan-headquartered electric vehicle and infrastructure company Gogoro is advancing its plans to deploy battery swapping network in India.
4. Jammu and Kashmir Government has declared the union territory as a ‘Free Area’ for purposes of the Prevention and Control of Infectious and Contagious Diseases in Animals Act 2009.
5. Punjab National Bank (PNB) has become the first Public sector Bank (PSB) to introduce a credit card against fixed deposits (FDs) digitally, for customers who do not fulfil the eligibility criteria for regular credit cards.
6. The English version of the book titled ‘Come! Let’s Run’ by Tamil Nadu Health and Family Welfare Minister, Ms. Subramanian was released by Krishnamachari Srikkanth, former Captain of the Indian Cricket team.
7. Alkesh Kumar Sharma, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY), launched the Technology for Air Quality Monitoring System (AI-AQMS v1.0) on 17 January, 2023.
8. Google piloted a Soundbox for the Indian market-similar to the Paytm or PhonePe ones which gives a sound alert on digital payment.
9. On 18 January 2023, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) adopted a resolution by consensus titled ‘Education for Democracy’ that reaffirms the right of ‘education for all’ and contributes to the strengthening of democracy.
10. As per a recent list released by the World of Statistics, Shah Rukh Khan is the fourth richest actor in the world with a net worth of $770 million.
11. Airtel-backed OneWeb successfully launched and deployed 40 satellites onboard a SpaceX launcher. This was the UK-based satellite network provider’s 16th successful launch, bringing the total number of satellites in its low-Earth orbit (LEO) constellation of satellites up to 542.
12. The Ministry of Minority Affairs (MoMA) has discontinued the scheme of interest subsidy on education loans for overseas studies for students belonging to minority communities (Padho Pardesh).
13. Billionaire Jeff Bezos’s e-commerce company Amazon has become the most valued brand, overtaking Apple, last year’s topper according to brand valuation consultancy Brand Finance’s report, Global 500 2023.
14. The Ministry of Tourism is organizing the first Global Tourism Investors Summit from 10 to 12 April, 2023 at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi.
15. The Archeological Survey of India (ASI) of the Patna circle has unearthed 1200 years old two miniature votive stupas near the Sarai Tila mound on the ‘Nalanda Mahavihara’ grounds in the Nalanda district. The stupas found in Nalanda are carved from stones and depict Buddha figures.
16. The Vice President of the West African nation of Gambia, Badara Alieu Joof passed away after a short illness in India on 18 January, 2023.