Today's Current Affairs 13th January 2023

NATIONAL NEWS

Sarbananda Sonowal inaugurates School of Logistics, Waterways and Communication in Agartala

• Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, along with Tripura Chief Minister Dr. Manik Saha, inaugurated the School of Logistics, Waterways and Communication in Agartala. The school’s mission is to tap into the economic potential of the Northeast by harnessing the human resources of the region’s waterways and transportation sector, as outlined by Minister Sonowal.
• The Centre for Logistics, Communication and Waterways aims to improve the logistics and transportation sector by conducting research, training, workshops, and seminars for various stakeholders, including businesses, exporters/importers, Chambers of Commerce and Industries, local entrepreneurs, and tourist operators. The centre is established under the State Institute of Public Administration and Rural Development (SIPARD), an autonomous body funded by both the Government of Tripura and the Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India.

 SPORTS

Former Indian Captain MS Dhoni, Garuda Aerospace launched surveillance drone named Droni

• Former India cricket team captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and drone market Garuda Aerospace have launched a a surveillance drone named ‘Droni.’ Dhoni is an ambassador-cum-investor in the low-cost drone manufacturer. Dhoni had unveiled the camera drone called Droni at The Global Drone Expo in Chennai last year. Droni is a battery-operated quadcopter surveillance drone.
• At the launch, MS Dhoni has said that he got interested about drones during the COVID-19 lockdown and learned about the important role drones can play for farmers and agriculturalists. Garuda Aerospace recently became the first-ever drone company in India to get dual DGCA approvals for both drone manufacturing type certificate and RTPO. Recently, MS Dhoni and Garuda had also launched a short film ‘Kheton Ke Kaptan’, aimed at encouraging youth and farmers to lead in their respective farms.

Brook and Gardner crowned ICC Players of the Month for December 2023

• Harry Brook received the ICC Men’s Player of the Month award after a blistering run of scores that helped England claim a historic World Test Championship (WTC) series victory in Pakistan. On the other hand, Australia’s Ashleigh Gardner bagged the ICC Women’s Player of the Month award for her contributions with bat and ball in the T20I series against India.
• The 23-year-old Brook scored 468 runs in three matches in the recently concluded Test series against Pakistan. England won the series 3–0 in which Brook made his important contribution.
• Gardner won the award after his impressive individual performance in the series against India in December 2022. He received this award leaving behind Charlie Dean of England and Suzie Bates of New Zealand.

 OBITUARY

Constantine II, last king of Greece dies at 82

• Constantine II, the former and last King of Greece who ruled Greece before the country became a republic in 1974 passed away in Athens, Greece, at 82. He was born of King Paul I, younger brother to King George II, of Greece and German aristocrat Princess Frederica of Hannover, Germany, on 2nd June 1940 in Psikhikó near Athens, Greece.
• When Constantine was an infant, the royal family fled Greece during the German invasion of World War II, moving to Alexandria (Egypt), South Africa. They returned to Greece in 1946.
• Constantine II, the 2nd cousin of Britain’s King Charles III, is the only son of King Paul and Queen Frederica of Greece, he ascended to the throne in 1964 at the age of 23 after the demise of his father. His reign was marred by political instability, culminating in a military coup on 21st April 1967. A military coup was launched as a result of the episode involving the defection of numerous lawmakers from the ruling party, which is widely known as the “apostasy” in Greece. He remained in Rome until the regime abolished the monarchy in 1973.

Sharad Yadav From Fighting Emergency To Championing Mandal dies at 78

• Socialist stalwart and former JD(U) chief Sharad Yadav passed away. He was 75. He is survived by his wife, daughter and son. A 7-term Lok Sabha and 4-term Rajya Sabha member, Yadav, a former Union Minister, had not been keeping well for some time.
• Born on July 1, 1947 at Babai in Hoshangabad district of Madhya Pradesh, Yadav was a gold medallist in engineering from the Jabalpur Engineering College.He soon became active in youth politics, greatly influenced by socialist leader Ram Manohar Lohia.
• He participated in a number of mass movements and was detained under MISA during the turbulent 1970s. Much later, he was among the leaders who played a significant role in the implementation of the Mandal Commission recommendations.

 BOOKS AND AUTHORS

Prince Harry’s memoir, titled ‘Spare,’ to come out in 10th January

• Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, a member of the British royal family, has released his memoir titled “Spare”. The book was written with the assistance of American novelist J. R. Moehringer. The book is published by Transworld Publishers Ltd, a division of Penguin Random House.
• The book reveals the details of Harry’s relationship with his father, King Charles, his elder brother, Prince William, and other members of the royal family. Prince Harry announced that the proceeds from his memoir will be used to support British charities with donations including USD 1.5 million to Sentebale, an organization Prince Harry founded with Prince Seeiso in their mothers’ legacies, which supports vulnerable children and young people in Lesotho and Botswana.

PM Modi receives book titled " Braving A Viral Storm: India’s Covid-19 Vaccine Story"

• Health and Family Welfare Minister Mansukh Mandaviya has officially launched the book titled “Braving A Viral Storm: India’s Covid-19 Vaccine Story” in New Delhi. The book is co-authored by Aashish Chandorkar and Suraj Sudhir. The book launch comes ahead of India’s second anniversary of starting its COVID-19 vaccination drive in January 2021.
• In this book, the inside story of India’s fight against Corona and the challenges of making a vaccine in difficult circumstances is told. The whole story from India’s preparation to making it in the vaccine race has been told through words in this book. India had established a Covid management model towards an exemplary vaccination with public participation.

 BANKING AND ECONOMY

Centre clears incentives on digital payments across RuPay, BHIM-UPI transactions

• The Union Cabinet has approved the incentive scheme for the promotion of RuPay Debit Cards and low-value BHIM-UPI transactions (person-to-merchant) for the current financial year. The approved incentive scheme for promotion of RuPay Debit Cards and low-value BHIM-UPI transactions (P2M) in FY 2022-23 has a financial outlay of Rs 2,600 crore.
• Under the said scheme, acquiring banks will be provided financial incentive, for promoting Point-of-Sale (PoS) and e-commerce transactions using RuPay Debit Cards and low-value BHIM-UPI transactions (P2M) for the current financial year FY 2022-23.
• In the financial year 2021-22, the government had approved an incentive scheme in compliance with the budget announcement of FY22 to give a further boost to digital transactions.

20% ethanol-blended petrol to debut within days: Oil min Hardeep Singh Puri

• The phased roll-out of E20 (20 per cent ethanol blending in gasoline) will begin on April 1, Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri has said. The fuel will be available at select outlets and will not require changes to car engines. The proposed roll-out will give further impetus to the government’s plans of achieving the level of 20 per cent ethanol blending in the overall petrol supply in the country by ethanol supply year 2025-2026.
• Being rolled out in 11 states/UTs of Delhi, Bihar, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Punjab, Daman Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli, E20’s initial target was April 1, 2023, but the government had advanced it. Under phase 1, 15 cities will be covered, the minister said.
• India has increased the ethanol blending in petrol from 1.53 per cent in 2013-14 to 10.17 per cent in 2022. To achieve 20 per cent blending by 2025, the country needs 10.2-11 billion litres of ethanol.

Retail inflation eases to a 12-month low of 5.7% in December

• Retail inflation declined to a one-year low of 5.72 per cent in December 2022, mainly due to softening prices of food items. Also, it was well within the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) comfort range of 2 per cent-6 per cent for a second month, data released by the Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation (MoSPI) showed. The Consumer Price Index (CPI)-based inflation rate eased to 5.72 per cent in December. It was 5.88 per cent in November, and 6.77 per cent in October 2022.
• After remaining above the Reserve Bank of India’s upper tolerance threshold of 6 per cent since January 2022, retail inflation declined in November to 5.88 per cent and further in December to 5.72 per cent — its lowest level in one year.
• The marginal dip in inflation was driven by lower food prices, especially vegetables. It may be noted that food inflation for December came in at 4.1 per cent, compared to 4,.67 per cent in November. The inflation rate for vegetables saw the biggest contraction at 15.08 per cent. Inflation rate for fuel and light, however, increased mildly to 10.97 per cent against 10.62 per cent in November.