Current Affairs in English – January 1 2023

National Events:

New ‘Rupee Prepaid’ card:

The charging station company ‘Partum Charge and Drive’ in collaboration with the financial company ‘Pine Labs’ has launched a new ‘Rupee Prepaid’ card for vehicle charging facility.
It has also been reported that this card can be used at all charging stations across India from January 1.
Also, electric vehicle customers can use this prepaid card not only at charging stations but also at various public places like malls, shops, and restaurants.

“Lumpi-ProVac” vaccine:

MoU for commercial production of goat pox vaccine and “Lumpi-ProVac” vaccine was signed in Nagpur on 29th December, 2022 in the presence of Union Fisheries Minister, Maharashtra Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister Shri Parshotham Rupala.
Lumpi-ProVacind is used for immunization against lumpy skin disease in animals, ICAR is involved in the development of Lumpi-ProVac, an indigenous vaccine for LSD.

Interest rate:

The Union Finance Ministry revises the interest rate for small savings including National Savings Certificates, Post Office Deposits every quarter (3 months) of the financial year.
Accordingly, the Union Government has announced that the interest rate for small savings for the last quarter of the current fiscal year from January to March has been increased by 1 percent.
There is no change in the interest rate for the Thangamahal Savings Scheme and General Savings Fund.

Tamil Nadu Events:

Mobile workshops:

Tamil Chief Minister M.K.Stalin today (31.12.2022) flagged off mobile workshops for inspection and maintenance of government vehicles in the places where there are no government automatic workshops on behalf of the Transport Department at the Chief Secretariat.
The Chief Minister inaugurated 7 government mobile workshops at Madurai, Dindigul, Dharmapuri, Kanchipuram, Vellore, Salem and Tirunelveli at an estimated cost of Rs.1 crore 2 lakh 48 thousand.

“Chennai Sangamam – Namma Uru Festival-2023”:

“Chennai Sangamam – Namma Uru Festival-2023” jointly organized by Tamil Nadu Government Arts and Culture Department and Tourism Department is scheduled to be held from January 14th to 17th.It will be inaugurated by Chief Minister M.K.Stalin.
Earlier in 2007, During the regime of DMK in Tamil Nadu, the Chennai Sangam program was started. Now after ten years, on the occasion of Pongal festival in 2023, it has been decided to hold Chennai Sangam in 16 places like parks, grounds and beaches in Chennai.

RTI:

The State Information Commission of Tamil Nadu has the lowest performance of responsiveness under the RTI Act concerned, with only up to 14% of the information sought. Maharashtra was second lowest with sharing only 23% of the information asked for.
The report was issued on the Performance of Information Commission (ICs) in India for 2021-22 by Satark Nagrik Sangathan.

International Events:

Wang Yi:

Wang Yi, who served as China’s foreign minister, has been appointed as a member of the ruling Communist Party of China’s Political Bureau (Politburo).
This group is a high-level power group that takes important decisions in China. After this, Qin Kang (56), who is the country’s ambassador to the United States, has been appointed as the new foreign minister.

Former Pope:

Former Pope Benedict XVI has died of ill health at the age of 95 at his Vatican home, nearly a decade after leaving office.
Serving as head of the Catholic Church from 2005 to 2013, Pope Benedict XVI was the first pope to resign since Gregory XII in 1415.

International Day of Families:

The International Day of Families is celebrated on January 1 as a day of peace and sharing. The International Day of Families originated in the end of the 20th century through efforts for world peace.
The purpose of this day is to unite and spread the message of peace by considering and promoting the idea that the Earth is one global family to make the world a better place for all.

Sports Events:

All India Senior Ranking Badminton Tournament:

The Akhilesh Das Gupta Memorial All India Senior Ranking Badminton Tournament was held at Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh from December 23 to 29, 2022.
In this competition, Ashmita Salika won the women’s category and in the final match of the men’s category, Tamil Nadu player Rithvik Sanjeev won the gold medal.
19-year-old Rithvik became the first player from Tamil Nadu to win the men’s singles title in this tournament.