Current Affairs in English – January 12 2023

National Events:

Vikas Purohit:

Meta announced the appointment of former Tata CLIQ CEO Vikas Purohit as the director of the global business group in India in January 2023.Purohit will lead Meta’s strategic relationship with various brands to boost the adoption of digital tools for revenue growth.
He started his career at Aditya Birla Group. Arun Srinivas is the Director and Head of Ads Business for Meta in India.

PayRup:

India’s fastest payment app ‘PayRup’ was launched in January 2023. PayRup is built with the cutting edge technology of web 3.0. It ensures the 5 dimensions of service quality and follows SERVQUAL standards to provide the best service experience.
In Jan 2023, PayRup announced ticketing and booking services. The launching event was hosted in Bangalore and was launched by Mahadevappa Halagatti.

Avani Chaturvedi:

First female fighter pilot, squadron commander Avani Chaturvedi, will participate in the inaugural air exercise Veer Guardian 2023. The exercise aims to improve air defence cooperation between Japan and India.
For the first time an Indian Air Force (IAF) female fighter pilot will participate in aerial war games. The exercise will be hosted by the Japan at the Hyakuri Air Base in Jan 2023.

Aparna Sen:

Aparna Sen was honored with a lifetime achievement award at the 15th Edition of the Jaipur International Film Festival on 11 January 2023.
Aparna Sen debuted in Satyajit Ray’s Teen Kanya in 1961. She is a Director and actress who also works in Bengali cinema and has received nine National Film Awards. The Indian government had honored Aparna Sen with Padma Shri in 1986.

WSC:

The 14th edition of the World Spice Congress (WSC), is to be held in Mumbai from 16-18 February 2023. It aims to open up newer opportunities to promote international trade of Indian spices.
Union Minister Piyush Goyal will also distribute the trophies and Awards for Excellence in Exports of Spices on 17th February 2023. The WSC is organized by the Spices Board of India.

“Hockey Wali Sarpanch” and NABARD:

Neeru Yadav or “Hockey Wali Sarpanch” and NABARD have signed an agreement to launch the Farmers Producers Organization (FPO) with the help of SIIRD (Society of Indian Institute of Rural Development) in Rajasthan.
The 15th FPO to be introduced by NABARD in Rajasthan is “Sachhi Saheli Mahila Agro Producer Company Limited, where Yadav has taken on the role of the company’s Board of Directors.

New integrated food security scheme:

The Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved a new integrated food security scheme to provide free food grains to Anthodaya An Yojna (AAY) and Primary Household (PHH) beneficiaries, to be implemented from January 1, 2023.
The scheme is named Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan An Yojana (PMGKAY). The new scheme will be implemented from January 1, 2023, which will benefit more than 80 crore poor and underprivileged people.

International Events:

2023 Henley Passport Index:

According to the 2023 Henley Passport Index, Japan has topped the list as the most powerful passport in world, which allows visa-free entry to 193 global destinations in 2023.
The second spot is shared by Singapore and South Korea and has visa-free access in 192 countries. India, improved its position by two spots from 2022 and is ranked 85th on the index.

World Bank:

The World Bank in its January 2023 Global Economic Prospects Report, projected India’s economy to grow 6.9 percent in FY23.
As per the report, India will be the fastest-growing economy among the seven largest emerging markets and developing economies (EMDEs) in 2023. The World Bank expects global growth to decelerate in 2023 to 1.7 percent from 3 percent.

OneWeb:

Airtel-backed OneWeb successfully launched 40 satellites onboard a SpaceX launcher on January 9. OneWeb initially sought to deploy a complete 648 satellites to allow its community of satellite-based web connectivity all over the world.
OneWeb is a communications company that aims to build broadband satellite Internet services. OneWeb CEO: Neil Masterson. OneWeb Founder: Greg Wyler.

Thiru Kumar Nadesan:

Thiru Kumar Nadesan has been awarded the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award for his contribution towards community welfare in January 2023. He had initiated a fundraiser to assist stranded Indians in Sri Lanka during the Covid outbreak.
He actively promotes business & cultural exchanges between India and Sri Lanka. He is the 2nd member of the Indian diaspora from Sri Lanka to receive the honor.

Ali Bongo:

Gabon’s President Ali Bongo on 9 Jan 2023 appointed the country’s first female Prime Minister Rose Christiane Ossouka Raponda to the role of vice-president.
Former minister, Alain-Claude Bilie-By-Nze, will replace Ossouka Raponda and form a new government in the country. Ossouka Raponda was named budget minister in 2012, becoming the first woman to hold that position since 1956.

Sports Events:

Smriti Mandhana:

Herbalife Nutrition appointed Smriti Mandhana as a ‘nutrition sponsor’ in January 2023. Currently, she is the vice captain of the Indian women’s national cricket team. Herbalife Nutrition has signed over 100 sponsorship deals with various world-class athletes.
Many Indian athletes like Virat Kohli, Mary Kom, Lakshya Sen, and Manika Batra have partnered up with Herbalife Nutrition.