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Imp. CA Notes for February 1st Week

(1st February to 8th February 2024)
National Affairs
 Union Cabinet chaired by PM Modi The Cabinet committee approved a Rs 8,500
crore scheme for the promotion of Coal/Lignite Gasification Projects of
Government PSUs (Public Sector Undertakings) and Private Sector. The Union
Cabinet was apprised of an MoU signed between India and Oman on cooperation
in the field of Information Technology(IT).
 India has nominated the ‘Maratha Military Landscapes’, a network of 12 forts
across Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu(TN) for inclusion in the United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage list for
2024-25 under the category of ‘Cultural Sites’.
 Union Minister of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change, Shri Bhupender
Yadav released the report on the Status of Snow Leopards in India during the
National Board for Wildlife meeting held in New Delhi, Delhi. The exercise reported
718 snow leopards in India. It was conducted from 2019 to 2023.
 Union Minister, Amit Shah, Ministry of Cooperation (MoC), launched the
computerisation scheme for the offices of Agriculture and Rural Development Banks
(ARDBs) and the Registrar of Cooperative Societies (RCSs) of all States and Union
Territories (UTs) in New Delhi, Delhi.
 Chenab river was diverted through the diversion tunnels at Drabshalla in
Kishtwar district, in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). This is a major milestone of the
850 MegaWatt (MW) Ratle Hydro Electric Project on the Chenab River in Kishtwar
which is scheduled to be commissioned in May 2026.
 Hyderabad (Telangana) based Marut Dronetech Private Limited has delivered
two customised Octaquad Coaxial X8 drones, India’s first mineral exploration
drones, to NMDC Limited.

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 TATA Advanced Systems Limited (TASL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tata
Sons, and Airbus Helicopters, the helicopter manufacturing division of Airbus,
signed an MoU to set up a final assembly line (FAL) for H125 helicopters in India
with a significant indigenous and localisation component. This will become India’s
1st FAL for helicopters.
 Department of Higher Education under the Ministry of Education (MoE) released the
All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) 2021-22. In 2021-22, Gross
Enrolment Ratio(GER) in Higher Education for the age group 18-23 years in India
increased to 28.4 from 27.3 in 2020-21.
 Union Minister Bhupender Yadav, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate
 Change(MoEFCC) announced that 5 wetlands from India (3 from Karnataka and 2
from Tamil Nadu-TN) were designated as RAMSAR Sites – Wetlands of
International importance. With this addition, the total number of RAMSAR sites in
India has increased from 75 to 80.
 National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has signed a MoU with the Geological
Survey of India (GSI) to enhance the quality of the National Highways (NH) network.
 RBI has revised the eligibility norms for the inclusion of Urban Cooperative Banks
(UCBs) in the Second Schedule to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Act, 1934.
These instructions are issued under clause (a) of sub-section (6) of section 42 of the
RBI Act, 1934. RBI allows Tariff Rate Quota (TRQ) holders to make advance
payment for gold import via India International Bullion Exchange IFSC Ltd (IIBX).
 RBI in exercise of its powers under section 35A of the Banking Regulation (BR) Act,
1949, directed Paytm Payments Bank Ltd (PPBL or the bank) to stop onboarding
of new customers with immediate effect.
 Union Minister Pralhad Joshi, Ministry of Coal (MoC), has launched a web portal
called C- CARES (https://cares-cmpfo.in/) to digitise the records and work processes
of the Coal Mines Provident Fund Organisation (CMPFO). The portal was developed
and designed by the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (CDAC), a
Research and development (R&D) organization under the Ministry of Electronics
and Information Technology (MeitY). The project was awarded to C-DAC.

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 Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways
(MoPSW) launched two digital modules namely the Maritime Single Window (MSW)
module and the Mercantile Maritime Department (MMD) module within the
SagarSetu (National Logistics Portal(NLP) -Marine) platform to transform and
modernize Indian ports.
 National Rural Livelihood Promotion Society (NRLPS), an autonomous body under
the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) signed a MoU with BRAC International,
for the inclusion of the poorest of the poor under Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-
National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM).
 Indian Navy has declared 2024 as the ‘Year of Naval Civilians‘ with a focus on
enhancing administration, efficiency, and the well-being of its civilian workforce.
 Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) released the guidelines of the
“Scheme of Pilot Projects on Use of Green Hydrogen in the Shipping Sector” under
the National Green Hydrogen Mission(NGHM).
 Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has instituted a new medal named ‘Kendriya
Grihmantri Dakshata Padak’ by merging four existing medals
 Union Home Minister’s Special Operation Medal
 Union Home Minister’s Medal for Excellence in Investigation
 Asadharan Assuchana Kushalata Padak
 Union Home Minister’s Awards for Meritorious Service in Forensic Science
 Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) launched its ticketing services on Open
Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) network and became India’s first metro rail
service to join ONDC.
 According to the Indian Institutional Ranking Framework (IIRF)’s Top Master of
Business Administration (MBA) Colleges in India – 2024, the Indian Institute of
Management (IIM), Ahmedabad (Gujarat), has topped among the Top Government
MBA colleges in India.
 Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) launched a new
Satellite Data Acquisition and Processing Facility and unveiled a special postal
stamp “INCOIS My Stamp” as a part of its INCOIS Foundation day – Silver Jubilee
(25 years) celebration held in Hyderabad, Telangana.

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 The quality standards for 5 spices namely small cardamom, turmeric, juniper berry,
allpice, and star anise were finalised at the 7th session of the Codex Committee on
Spices and Culinary Herbs (CCSCH7) held in Kochi, Kerala.
 PM Modi inaugurated and laid the foundation stone for various infrastructure
projects worth over Rs 68,000 crore in Sambalpur, Odisha. PM Modi laid the
foundation stone of the 1st phase of Neyveli Lignite Corporation India Limited
(NLCIL) Talabira Thermal Power Project in Odisha. Prime Minister Narendra Modi
inaugurated various development projects worth Rs 11,600 crore in Assam.
 Union Minister of State (MoS) Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Ministry of Electronics and
Information Technology(MeitY) launched the “Digital India FutureLABS” at
Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology-Delhi (IIIT-Delhi), New Delhi, Delhi.

International Affairs
 The Transparency International released its 2023 Corruption Perceptions Index
(CPI) in which India ranked 93 out of 180 countries with an overall score of 39.
India’s score and Rank is shared by Kazakhstan, Lesotho, and Maldives. The CPI
2023 was topped by Denmark with a score of 90.
 Giridhar Aramane, Secretary, Ministry of Defence (MoD), India and Dr Mohammed
Bin Naseer Bin Ali Al Zaabi, Secretary-General, MoD, Oman co-chaired the 12th
Joint Military Cooperation Committee (JMCC) meeting held in Muscat, Oman. India
and Oman signed an MoU regarding the procurement of Defence Material and
Equipment which will provide a framework for new areas of defence collaboration.
 Mukesh Ambani, Chairman, and Managing Director (CMD) of Reliance Industries
Limited (RIL), has been ranked 1st among all Indians and 2nd globally in the
Brand Guardianship Index (BGI) 2024 compiled by Brand Finance. Mukesh Ambani
ranks 2 in BGI 2024 for the second consecutive time (2024 and 2023).
 India contributed USD 32.895 million (approximately Rs. 273 Crore) to the United
Nations (UN) Regular Budget (RB) for 2024 and earned its spot in the “Honour Roll
of the UN for 2024”.

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Banking & Finance

 Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has issued
guidelines mandating general and health insurance companies to cover Ayurveda,
Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, Sowa Rigpa and Homoeopathy (AYUSH)
treatments in their health insurance policies with effect from 1st April 2024. The
circular was issued in terms of Section 14(2)(b) of the IRDA Act,1999.
 Unified Payments Interface (UPI) was formally launched at the Eiffel Tower in Paris,
France.
 Thrissur (Kerala) based ESAF Small Finance Bank (SFB) announced a
bancassurance partnership with Edelweiss Tokio Life Insurance Company
Limited to offer life insurance products to a wider range of customers, particularly
those in underserved communities.
 Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has provided Rs 9,013.72 crore to the Export-
Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) after the bank invoked Government of India
(GoI) guarantees on decade-old loans extended to some African countries.
 Federal Bank has launched National Common Mobility Card (NCMC)-integrated
debit cards which will enable its RuPay Debit Card holders to use their debit cards
for offline payments at NCMC-enabled terminals at metro stations, buses, etc.
 SBI in collaboration with Boston, United States of America (USA) based Flywire
Corporation, a global payments enablement and software company, aims to
simplify cross-border education payments for Indian students pursuing studies
abroad.
 HDFC Bank, India’s largest private sector bank., launched 4 variants of new Small
and Medium Enterprises (SME)-focused Business range credit cards namely
BizFirst, BizGrow, BizPower, and BizBlack.
 Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) launched “LIC Index Plus”, a unit-linked,
regular premium, individual life insurance plan.

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Appointments & Resignations

Ajay Narayan Jha, have been appointed as full-time members of the 16th
Annie George Finance Commission (FC) by the President of India, Droupadi
Mathew and Murmu in January 2024
Niranjan
Rajadhyaksha.
Anil Kumar Lahoti appointed as the 9th Chairman of the Telecom
Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) for 3 years
Harun Rashid Appointed as its Part-Time Chairman of AU Small Finance Bank
Khan
Sultan Ibrahim was sworn in as the 17th
ibni Almarhum King of Malaysia
Sultan Iskandar
Jay Shah reappointed as the President of the Asian Cricket Council
(ACC) for the 3rd consecutive term.
Ranveer Singh appointed as a brand ambassador of
BoAt.
Champai Soren sworn in as the Chief Minister (CM) of Jharkhand
Nangolo Mbumba sworn in as the Interim President of the Republic of Namibia
appointed as the Goodwill Ambassador for Education for
Vinícius Junior All by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO)
Vivek Kumar appointed as the Managing Director (MD) of National High-
Gupta Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL)
Dr. Ahmed Awad was appointed as the Prime Minister (PM)
bin Mubarak of Yemen
H Venkatachalam appointed as the Managing Director (MD) & Chief Executive
Iyer Officer (CEO) of Tata AIA Life Insurance Company Limited

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Nayib Armando was re-elected as the President of El Salvador
Bukele Ortez for the 2nd consecutive term.
Ravi Kumar Jha appointed as the Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive
Officer (CEO) of LIC Mutual Fund Asset Management Ltd

Sports
 Grandmaster (GM) Wei Yi of China won his first master title by defeating GM
Gukesh D of India in the finals of the 86th edition of the Tata Steel Chess
Tournament (2024).
 The 6th edition of Khelo India Youth Games (KIYG) 2023 hosted by Tamil Nadu
was held from 19th to 31st January 2024. Maharashtra topped the medal tally of
KIYG 2023 with 158 medals (57 gold, 48 silver, 53 bronze) and won the overall
championship trophy.
 The Indian women’s hockey team finished as runner-up (Silver Medal) at the
Fédération Internationale de Hockey (FIH) Hockey 5s Women’s World Cup 2024
after losing to the Netherlands in the final.
 Abhinav Bindra selected as a torchbearer to take part in the Paris 2024 Olympic
Torch Relay.

Economy & Business

 International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecast India's growth to 6.5% for 2024.
 GAIL (India) Limited has finalized a long-term Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG)
purchase agreement with Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), a state-
owned oil company of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
 Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Limited(GRSE) and Rolls-Royce Plc
signed a Frame and Individual License agreement for the license production
and localisation of the Motoren- und Turbinen-Union (MTU) International Maritime
Organisation (IMO) Tier II compliant Series 4000 marine engines to power
government ships.

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 Fitch Ratings estimated India’s fiscal deficit for financial year 2024-2025 (FY25)
to reach 5.4% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
 According to the CRISIL (formerly Credit Rating Information Services of India
Limited) report titled “Indian Economy: Capital as Growth Driver”, the Indian
economy is expected to grow at an average rate of 6.7% per year between fiscal
2024 and 2031. This is slightly higher than the pre-pandemic decadal average of
6.6%.

Acquisitions & Mergers

 CCI has approved the subscription of compulsorily convertible preference shares of
Mumbai (Maharashtra) based API Holdings Limited by Goldman Sachs India
Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) Scheme-1 and Goldman Sachs India
Alternative Investment Trust AIF Scheme-2.
 CCI approves the acquisition of a majority stake (70% stake) in Kotak Mahindra
General Insurance Company Limited by Zurich Insurance Company Ltd from
Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited.
 HDFC Bank Limited, India’s largest private lender, has received approval from the
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to acquire up to 9.5% stake each in six banks namely
– Axis Bank Limited, Suryoday Small Finance Bank Limited, ICICI Bank Limited,
Bandhan Bank Limited, YES Bank Limited and IndusInd Bank Limited.

Awards & Recognition

 The Delhi Police Women’s Marching Contingent won the award in Best Marching
Contingent among CAPF/other auxiliary forces category by a panel of judges.
 Odisha (Woman Empowerment in Viksit Bharat) was selected as the best state
tableaux under a panel of judges, while Gujarat (Dhordo : A Global Icon Of
Gujarat’s Border Tourism) was selected as the best state tableaux under online poll
on MyGov.

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 Union Minister Rajnath Singh, Ministry of Defence (MoD) honoured Dr Bina Modi,
Chairperson of Modi Enterprises, KK Modi Group, with the “Outstanding Business
Woman of the Year – 2023′ Award.
 Gurugram (Haryana) based REC Limited (formerly Rural Electrification Corporation
Limited) was awarded with the Best Green Bond – Corporate Award at The Asset
Triple A Awards for Sustainable Finance 2024.
 Former Deputy Prime Minister and Veteran Leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP), Lal Krishna (LK) Advani will be conferred with Bharat Ratna, the highest
civilian award in India.

State News
 Odisha Cabinet led by Chief Minister (CM) Naveen Patnaik, launched LABHA
(Laghu Bana Jatya Drabya Kraya) Yojana, a new 100% state-funded minimum
support price (MSP) scheme for minor forest produce (MFB).
 Justice PS Dinesh Kumar was appointed Chief Justice (CJ) of the Karnataka High
Court (HC). He is set to retire from the service on 24th February 2024.
 NTPC Green Energy Limited (NGEL), a wholly owned subsidiary of NTPC Limited,
and the Government of Maharashtra have signed a Memorandum of Understanding
(MoU) for the development of Green Hydrogen and its derivatives projects,
including Green Ammonia & Green Methanol.
 Thanthai Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary was declared as 18th Wildlife Sanctuary of
Tamil Nadu.
 The Karnataka government and Taiwan-based Wistron Corporation signed a
MoU to set up a 1st-of-its-kind laptop manufacturing plant near Bengaluru,
Karnataka.
 The 4th edition of the Rüsoma Orange Festival 2024 was held under the theme
“Organic Orange” from 24th to 25th January 2024 in Rüsoma village near Kohima,
in Nagaland.
 The Chief Minister (CM) of Odisha, Naveen Patnaik, has inaugurated the 4th
National Chilika Bird Festival.

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 Ministry of Law and Justice (MoL&J) notified the appointment of Chief Justice (CJ)
to seven High Courts (HC): Meghalaya, Allahabad (Uttar Pradesh), Gauhati
(Assam), Orissa (Odisha), Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, and Punjab & Haryana
(Chandigarh).
 Finance Minister of Uttar Pradesh (UP), Suresh Kumar Khanna, presented Rs 7.36
lakh crore (Rs 7,36,437.71 crore) budget for FY25 (2024-2025) in Uttar Pradesh
Legislative Assembly (UPLA) in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh (UP).
 Finance Minister of Kerala Kalanjoor Narayana Panicker Balagopal (K.N.
Balagopa) has presented a deficit budget for FY 2024-2025 at the State Legislative
Assembly in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.

Science & Technology

 Dr. Neeraj Mittal, Chairman of the Digital Communications Commission and
Secretary of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) under the Ministry of
Communications (MoC), launched the “Bharat 5G Portal– an integrated portal”
during the ‘Bharat Telecom 2024 – An Exclusive International Business Expo.’
 An indigenously-developed ‘Green Propulsion System‘developed under the
Technology Development Fund (TDF) scheme of the Defence Research and
Development Organisation (DRDO) has successfully demonstrated ‘in-orbit‘
functionality on a payload launched by the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV)
C-58 mission. Green Propulsion System is performed under the RUDRA 0.3 HPGP
Payload.
 US Department of State has approved the sale of 31 MQ-9B Armed Drones and
other related equipment to India. The estimated cost of the deal is around USD 3.99
billion. With this appointment, she became the first-ever woman to hold the post of
CS in Uttarakhand since its formation in 2000.
 The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation’s (CASC) Jielong-
3, or Smart Dragon-3 rocket, successfully launched nine satellites into the Sun-
Synchronous Orbit (SSO), off the coast of Yangjiang in southern Guangdong
province, China.

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 First 25T Bollard Pull (BP) Tug, named ‘Yard 305 – Mahabali’ was delivered to the
Indian Navy (IN) at Naval Ship Repair Yard (NSRY) in Kochi, Kerala in the
presence of Rear Admiral Subir Mukherjee, Admiral Superintendent of NSRY
(Kochi).
 Indian Navy (IN) commissioned the Indian Naval Ship (INS) Sandhayak (Yard
3025), the first of four Survey Vessel Large (SVL) ships, at the Naval Dockyard,
Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, in the presence of Union Minister Rajnath Singh,
Ministry of Defence (MoD), and Indian Navy Chief Admiral R. Hari Kumar.
 IIT-Madras in Tamil Nadu (TN) joined hands with Munitions India Limited (MIL) to
develop India’s first 155mm smart ammunition, on the lines of indigenization in
the defence sector.
 A team of researchers from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
(NASA) have identified a potential “super-Earth” called ‘TOI-715 b’ by using the
Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS).
 Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies (KUFOS) has partnered with the
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for the second phase of the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar
(NISAR) research programme.
 DRDO successfully conducted four flight trials of the High-Speed Expendable
Aerial Target (HEAT) ABHYAS at the Integrated Test Range (ITR) in Chandipur,
Odisha.

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