Today's Current Affairs 24th January 2024

 INTERNATIONAL

Sweden set to become NATO member as Turkey approves its membership bid

• The Turkish parliament voted Tuesday to approve Sweden’s NATO membership bid, bringing the Nordic country one step closer to joining the military alliance after months of delays.
• Of the 346 members of parliament who voted, 287 were in favor of Sweden’s accession and 55 voted to reject it. Four others abstained from voting.
• The vote was the second step of Turkey’s ratification process after the parliament’s Foreign Affairs Commission approved the bid last month. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan can now sign the protocol into law.
• The outcome on Tuesday cleared a significant hurdle for the Nordic country’s accession into the military alliance, with Hungary now set to be the only member state that has not yet ratified Sweden’s accession.

 NATIONAL

Haryana secures the top position in the 10m Air Pistol Mixed Team category, while Maharashtra excels in Rhythmic Gymnastics at the Khelo India Games

• In Khelo India games today, Haryana won the gold medal and Rajasthan silver in the 10m air pistol mixed team event. Tamil Nadu clinched bronze.
• In the rhythmic gymnastics Hoop event, Maharashtra's Kimaya Karle and Sanyukta Kale took first and second places, while Muskan Rana from J&K took the third place. In the rhythmic gymnastics Ball event, Sanyukta Kale took the first place, Muskan Rana took the second place and Life Adlakha from Haryana took third place. In the Club event of the same sport, Muskan Rana ended up at the top of the podium. Parina Madanpotra from Maharashtra stood second and Life Adlakha from Haryana came third.

 CCI grants approval for JSW to acquire a stake of up to 38% in MG Motor India 

• The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has given its approval for Sajjan Jindal-promoted JSW Group's proposed acquisition of up to 38 per cent stake in MG Motor India.
• "The Acquirer is a newly incorporated entity and is not engaged in any activities as on date. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of JSW International Tradecorp Pte. Limited and belongs to JSW Group," the CCI stated.
• "The Target is a company incorporated in India, engaged in the automobile original equipment manufacturing business and after sale services. The Target is primarily engaged in the manufacture and sale of passenger cars (including electronic vehicles) under the Target’s brand ‘MG’," it further said.

 SPORTS

In the Khelo India Youth Games hosted in Chennai, gymnast Aaryan Davande from Maharashtra clinched the gold medal in the boys' artistic all-round category

• In the Khelo India Youth Games 2023, defending champions Maharashtra opened their gold medal account when gymnast Aaryan Davande clinched the Boys Artistic All-Round crown at the SDAT Aquatics complex in Chennai.
• Davande accumulated a total of 73 points to beat Uttar Pradesh’s Pranav Mishra. Harshit of UP clinched the bronze in the event.
• Girls team from Tamilnadu won the gold medal, Rajasthan bagged silver and Maharashtra got Bronze in Cycling team sprint event.
• In the 500-metre trial girls category, J. Srimathi won gold, Vimla from Rajasthan bagged silver and R. Tamilarasi from Tamilnadu got the bronze medal.

 APPOINTMENS & RESIGNATIONS

Sankey Prasad has been appointed as the Chairman and Managing Director for India and Colliers Project Leaders Middle East at Colliers

• Global diversified professional services and investment management company has appointed Sankey Prasad as Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) for India and Middle East Engineering and project management business, which is under the name of Colliers Project Leaders Middle East.
• Colliers on Wednesday announced that Sankey Prasad will expand his leadership role to include Project Leaders in the Middle East. Effective immediately, Sankey Prasad becomes Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) for India & CMD for the Middle East Engineering business which is under the name of Colliers Project Leaders Middle East. He will also take a significant stake in Colliers’ rapidly growing Project Management business in the Middle East, supporting the region’s flourishing real estate market in collaboration with Colliers’ existing real estate services business in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

 Important Days

International Day of Education: 24th January 

• International Day of Education 2024 is observed on the 24th January 2024
• The International Day of Education was declared by the UN General Assembly in December 2018 as a way to honor education and to think about how crucial learning is to progress and peace.
• Each of us has a responsibility to advance high-quality education.
• Institutions are not the only ones that can impart knowledge.
• Access to education, which most of us probably take for granted, can help many people escape poverty and open the door to a bright future. 

BANKING AND ECONOMY

Indian Bank is in the process of setting up an operations support subsidiary, emphasizing cost optimization as a key focus area

• Chennai-based Indian Bank is in the process of establishing an operations support subsidiary to offer value-added services while optimizing costs, particularly for operations in non-metropolitan areas.
• Two large public sector banks -State Bank of India (SBI) and Bank of Baroda (BoB) have already formed such units for servicing customers in rural and semi-urban areas.

About Indian Bank: 

Established: 15 August 1907

Headquarters: Chennai, Tamil Nadu

MD & CEO: Shanti Lal Jain

Tagline : Your Own Bank