Daily Current Affairs January 31 2024 | Latest News | Download PDF

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CURRENT AFFAIRS: BANKING & FINANCE

Indian economy to grow close to 7% in FY25, hit $7 trillion by 2030: FinMin

• Even as the finance ministry expects FY24 economic growth to exceed the central bank’s projection of 7%, it also expects growth in the following year, FY25, to be close to 7%, even though geopolitical risks could lead to supply chain disruptions and a rise in inflation.
• Separately, agencies such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank have predicted FY25 gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the region of 6.3-6.4%.

Key Highlights:

• The ministry’s latest monthly economic review also said that under reasonable assumptions, India can aspire to become a $7 trillion economy by 2030, adding that in the next three years, the country is expected to become a $5 trillion economy, the third largest in the world, and the government has set a higher goal of becoming a “developed country by 2047.”

Budget 2024: Government may set higher dividend target at Rs 70,000 crore from RBI, banks and FIs

• Having reaped rich dividends from the Reserve Bank in the current financial year, the government will be looking forward to receiving about Rs 70,000 crore from the central bank and the financial institutions (FIs) in the next financial year.
• In the interim Budget to be unveiled in the Lok Sabha on February 1 by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, sources stated, the government would peg receipts from dividends from financial institutions at much higher level than Rs 48,000 crore estimated for the current fiscal.
• The current financial year estimate has already exceeded the Budget target as RBI paid a dividend of Rs 87,416 crore.

Key Highlights:

• With public sector banks and financial institutions posting good quarterly numbers during the current financial year, the dividend payout by them in the coming year would be higher compared to this year.
• So, it would be feasible to expect about Rs 70,000 crore as dividend payout from RBI and financial institutions in FY’25, sources stated.
• The government had pegged a 17 per cent higher dividend at Rs 48,000 crore from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), public sector banks and financial institutions in 2023-24.
• However, this target was very much surpassed with the transfer of Rs 87,416 crore as surplus to the central government for 2022-23 by the Reserve Bank.
• During 2023-24, the Reserve Bank transferred a surplus of Rs 87,416.22 crore to the central government which is higher than both the amount transferred last year (Rs 30,307.45 crore) and the budgeted amount under Dividend/Surplus transfer of Reserve Bank of India, Nationalised Banks and Financial Institutions in the Union Budget 2023-24 (Rs 48,000 crore).
• In the previous financial year, the government mobilised Rs 40,953 crore from RBI and public sector financial institutions.
• The higher dividend from banks and financial institutions, apart from higher tax mobilisation, would help achieve a fiscal deficit glide path.
  As per the fiscal consolidation roadmap, the government aims to reduce the fiscal deficit to below 4.5 per cent by 2025-26 from an estimated 5.9 per cent of GDP in 2023-24.
• The government, as per the roadmap, is required to bring down the fiscal deficit to 5.4 per cent in the next financial year beginning April 1, 2024.

About RBI :

• Established : 1 April 1935
• Headquarters : Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
• Governor : Shaktikanta Das

CSB Bank Q3 results: Net profit falls 4% to Rs 150 crore, asset quality stays healthy

• CSB Bank on January 29 reported a net profit of Rs 150 crore for the October-December quarter of the financial year 2023-24, a 4 percent drop from Rs 155 crore clocked in the year-ago period.
• Net interest income (NII) for the quarter stood at Rs 382 crore, higher than Rs 343 crore reported in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal.
• The net interest margin of the bank stood at 5.11 percent, down by 41 bps on YoY basis.
• CSB Bank‘s gross non-performing asset (NPA) stood at 1.22 percent and net NPA for the quarter stood at 0.31 percent.
• The lender’s total deposits stood at Rs 27,345 crore and total advances stood at Rs 22,867 crore.
• The gold loan portfolio of the bank jumped 23 percent to Rs 10,817 crore. Corporate loans grew 10 percent to Rs 6013 crore, retail loans jumped by 44 percent and stood at Rs 3459 crore and SME loans grew 28 percent to Rs 2369 crore.

About CSB:

• Established : 1920
• Headquarters : Thrissur, Kerala, India
• CEO & MD: Pralay Mondal
• Tag line : Support All the Way

CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL NEWS

The Indian Government has extended the ban on the Students Islamic Movement of India for an additional five years under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

• The Government has declared ‘Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI)’ as an ‘Unlawful Association’ for a further period of five years under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) 1967.
• The last ban on SIMI was imposed in January 2019.
• Ministry of Home Affairs, SIMI is continuing to be involved in fomenting terrorism, disturbing peace and communal harmony in the country which are prejudicial to the sovereignty, security and integrity of India.
• It added that many criminal cases have been registered against SIMI and its members under various sections of law including the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

Shri Jyotiraditya M. Scindia inaugurated the UDAN flight service between Dehradun and Pithoragarh.

• Union Minister of Civil Aviation and Steel, Shri Jyotiraditya M. Scindia virtually inaugurated a UDAN flight connecting Dehradun and Pithoragarh from New Delhi. Chief Minister of Uttarakhand Shri Pushkar Singh Dhami also joined the event from Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand.
• The flight connecting the two cities is to be operated by “Fly Big” under the RCS UDAN Scheme.
• Pithoragarh Airport has been developed under the UDAN-RCS scheme, with a cost of Rs 6.68 Crore into a 2B VFR Airport.
• The RCS flight between Dehradun and Pithoragarh was awarded under UDAN 4.2.
• Fly Big will be operating a 19-seater Twinotter DHC6-400 aircraft for ferrying the passengers.

Shri Nitin Gadkari has inaugurated nine highways in Madhya Pradesh, which are worth a total of Rs. 2,367 crore.

• Union Minister Shri Nitin Gadkari inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of 9 National Highway projects costing Rs 2,367 crore and total length of 225 km in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh.
• Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Dr. Mohan Yadav, Union Minister Shri Virendra Kumar, Union Minister of State Shri Faggan Singh Kulaste, Madhya Pradesh BJP State President Shri V.D. Sharma, State Minister Shri Prahlad Singh Patel, State Minister Shri Rakesh Singh, MPs-MLAs, officers and other dignitaries were also present on the occasion.
• Among the projects inaugurated, a 1.5 km long bridge has been constructed on Jamni river on Tikamgarh-Jhansi road at a cost of Rs 43 crore.
• This will make it easier to reach Orchha, the tourist destination of Rajaram’s temple. Construction of a road with 2-lane paved shoulder from Chandia Ghat to Katni Bypass will bring a qualitative change in connectivity to the coal mines of Katni.
• This will benefit the coal mining industry.
• Widening of Bamitha-Khajuraho road will strengthen tourism in Khajuraho. Besides, the social and economic condition of this area will also improve.

The second edition of India Energy Week scheduled to take place in Goa

• The second edition of India Energy Week (IEW) is scheduled to take place in Goa from the 6th to the 9th of February
• Addressing the curtain raiser press conference, Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said that the event is expected to see the participation of Energy ministers from 17 different countries, over 35 thousand attendees, and more than 900 exhibitors.
• IEW represents a golden opportunity to showcase the developments on the energy front and provide the platform for further development and growth in the energy sector.
• Six countries namely Canada, Germany, Russia, the Netherlands, the UK, and the USA will set up their pavilions at the event
• The government recently had an energy startup challenge organised by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.
• Out of the approximately 120 applications, five startups were selected.
• The winners of the startup challenge will be provided mentorship opportunities by Industry leaders, and an opportunity to exhibit their startup ideas.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Qatar, US sign deal to supply LNG to Bangladesh

• QatarEnergy and US-based Excelerate Energy signed an agreement on Monday to supply 1 million metric tonnes per year (mtpa) of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Bangladesh for 15 years from January 2026.
• The deal is the latest in a series state-owned QatarEnergy has with European and Asian partners tied to its massive North Field expansion project, which is expected to lift Qatar’s LNG production to 126 mtpa by 2027 from 77 mtpa now.
• Qatar, among the world’s top LNG exporters, is already the largest supplier of LNG to Bangladesh.

Ukraine to start building 4 new nuclear reactors this year

• Ukraine’s energy ministry stated that it will begin building four new nuclear reactors this year to compensate for Russia’s seizure of the country’s largest nuclear plant.
• Energy Minister German Galushchenko stated in televised comments that all four new reactors would be at the Khmelnytskyi nuclear power plant in western Ukraine, eventually making it the largest in Europe.
• Ukraine’s southern Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station, currently Europe’s largest, has been under Russian control since March 2022 and its six reactors have been shut down.
• Fierce fighting in the area and power cuts have raised international concerns since the plant still needs electricity and water to cool its systems.
• The Khmelnytskyi plant will receive two reactors built to a US design, the minister stated.
• The plant, which dates back to the 1980s, currently has two Two others have long been planned but their construction delayed.
• The Khmelnytskyi plant’s construction began in 1981 and it went into operation the year after the 1986 Chernobyl disaster.
• The original plan was to build four reactors but construction of reactors three and four was halted due to a moratorium on new nuclear projects.
• Later, Ukraine sealed a deal with Russia to build the reactors which was cancelled in 2015.

Pakistan, Iran agree to expand security cooperation after missile strikes

• Pakistan and Iran agreed to work together to improve security cooperation in the wake of deadly airstrikesby Tehran and Islamabad earlier this month that killed at least 11 people, marking a significant escalation in fraught relations between the neighbors.
• The development came after the top Iranian diplomat, Hossein Amirabdollahian, held talks in Islamabad with his Pakistani counterpart, Jalil Abbas Jilani.
• The Iranian foreign minister also met with Pakistan’s caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul-Haq-Kakar.
• Iran-Pakistan ties were dramatically imperilled on Jan. 17, when Iran launched airstrikes in Pakistan’s restive southwestern Baluchistan province, targeting what Tehran stated were hideouts of the anti-Iran Sunni militant group Jaish al-Adl, or the Army of Justice.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: STATE NEWS

Odisha Cabinet Approves New Scheme LABHA For Tribals

• Odisha Cabinet approved a new scheme for the development of the tribals of Odisha-LABHA (Laghu bana jatya drabya kraya), officials stated.
• Briefing the media, Chief secretary Pradeep Kumar Jena stated the LABHA Yojana is a 100% state-funded MSP for MFP scheme (minimum support price for minor forest produce).
• The minimum support price will be determined every year by the state government.
• Under the scheme, a primary collector (tribal)will be able to sell the minor forest produce at Minimum Support Price collected at the procurement centres by TDCCOL.
• Since 99% of primary collectors are tribals and majority of them are women, LABHA Yojana will integrate the efforts with the Mission Shakti’s Women SHGs.
• These procurement centres will be managed by SHGs /any other notified agencies assisted by
• Upon collection, the amount will be transferred as DBT to the beneficiary account and the SHG /any other agency will recieve Commission(2%) as well.
• The procurement automation system will capture the total collection of MFP and the details of the primary collector and the procurement point.
• As per the 5T principles, Procurement Automation System which will be using technology to ensure transparency will bring about greater benefits for the tribal people.
• For further sale, TDCCOL will do e- tendering and explore value addition and processing units.

Key Highlights:

• The State Government to further benefit the tribals of is setting up a 25-crore Tamarind processing plant in Rayagada which will use the Minor Forest Produce of Tamarind procured through LABHA Yojana for value-addition .
• Due to LABHA Yojana, possibility of distress sale of the produce to any middlemen will also be eliminated.
• The State Government has also approved establishment of Commission for Preservation and Promotion of Tribal Languages of Scheduled Tribes of Odisha.
• There are 21 tribal languages in Odisha which the state government wants to preserve, promote, develop, disseminate and safeguard of the Tribal languages in Odisha through this Commission.
• This Commission which will encourage multilingual education, documenting and preserving tribal languages, promoting the use of those languages, protecting linguistic rights among several enriching activities for the development of the tribal languages.
• In the education system under the Multilingual Education (MLE) programme, all 21 recognized tribal languages by the State are included.
• The Commission will also work towards inclusion of tribal languages like Ho, Mundari, Kui and Saora in the 8th Schedule of the Indian Constitution by pursuing with the Centre which has been not including these languages in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution despite several initiatives by the government.
• Unanimous Cabinet resolution was passed today reiterating the demand for inclusion of 169 communities in the ST list of Odisha.
• The cabinet today reiterated the inclusion of Ho, Mundari, Kui and Saora languages in the 8th Schedule of the Indian Constitution.

Invest Goa 2024 summit was held on January 29

• The Invest Goa 2024 Summit which will feature 24 different speakers addressing potential key sectors of the coastal state will begin on January 29, in
• The summit is a collaborative initiative by the Goa Industrial Development Corporation (Goa-IDC) and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) bringing together industry leaders and key stakeholders which promises to be a key platform for fostering dialogue and enhancing investment prospects in the State of Goa.
• The spokesman of the summit stated that the distinguished line-up of speakers includes Suresh Prabhu, Former Union Minister; R Dinesh, President-CII; Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, CII; Piruz Khambatta, Past Chairman, CII Western Region; and Swati Salgaocar Deputy Chairperson-CII WR President
• The government has signed of MoU between TVS Industrial and Logistics Park and Goa Investment Promotion and Facilitation Board, as well as Pai Kane Group and Goa Investment Promotion and Facilitation Board.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: AWARDS AND HONOURS

The tableau presented by the Ministry of Culture has won the first prize at the Republic Day Parade of 2024.

• The tableau of the Ministry of Culture has secured the first prize at the Republic Day Parade 2024.
• The tableau, a stunning blend of tradition and innovation, captivated audience s with its masterful use of the anamorphic technique alongside a rich display of Bharat’s cultural heritage – often hailed as the mother of democracy.
• The Ministry of Culture in a statement said that it takes immense pride in this achievement, showcasing its commitment to preserving and celebrating the diverse tapestry of India.
• The Ministry added that this victory is not just a recognition of the creativity but a testament to the richness of Bharat’s cultural legacy.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS

Anil Kumar Lohati appointed as new TRAI chairman

• The government has appointed former chairman and chief executive officer of the Railway Board chairman, Anil Kumar Lohati, as the new chairperson of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai)
• The high-profile post of Trai chairman was vacant following the completion of a two-year term of former chairman PD Vaghela in September last year.
• Meenakshi Gupta (Member) took over the additional charge in the
• Former power secretary Sanjiv Sahai, former member of technology at the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) A K Tiwari, and former secretary of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology Ajay Prakash Sawhney were also in the race to take over as the next regulator.

About Lahoti:

• Lahoti is an Indian Railway Service of Engineers 1984 batch officer and was appointed in the first panel of Indian Railways Management Service for Level-17.
• During his more than 35 years of career in the Indian Railways, Lahoti worked in various capacities across Central, Northern, North Central, Western and West Central Railways regions.
• He underwent training in Strategic Management and Leadership programs at Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, USA; Bocconi School of Management, Milan, Italy; and the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad.
• Starting from 2018, the position is accompanied by a consolidated monthly salary of Rs 4.50 lakh.
• The TRAI Act of 1997, which regulates appointments to the position, has been amended in the Telecom Bill to enable the appointment of senior executives from the private sector for the role.

Adani Energy Solutions appoints Kunjal Mehta as CFO

• Adani Energy Solutions Limited approved during the meeting of the Board of Directors of the Company held on January 29, 2024, approved that Rohit Soni, Chief Financial Officer (a Key Managerial Personnel, categorized as Senior Management Personnel), to relinquish his position as Chief Financial Officer of the Company, in view of transition to a new role, effective from closure of the business hours on March 31, 2024.
• Kunjal Mehta, presently serving as CFO within Adani Portfolio of Companies, will assume the role of Chief Financial Officer of the Company (a Key Managerial Personnel, categorized as Senior Management Personnel), commencing from April 1, 2024.
• Rohit Soni was appointed as Chief Financial Officer (“CFO”) of the Company in the month of September 2021.
• Under the ongoing leadership development process across the Adani Group, Mr. Rohit Soni will be assuming a new role within the Adani portfolio of companies effective from April 1, 2024.
• Kunjal Mehta is a qualified Chartered Accountant and Cost Accountant with over 24 years of work experience.
• In his previous positions, he has worked with Adani Ports & SEZ and Essar Steel.
• His expertise lies in the domains of Finance Resource Mobilization, Working Capital Management, Financial Planning & Analysis, Auditing & Budgetary Controls, Compliance and Risk Management functions of Business.

Bhutan’s liberal Tobgay becomes prime minister for second time

• Bhutan’s liberal politician Tshering Tobgay, leader of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), officially began his second term as prime minister, following elections earlier this month.
• To mark his appointment formally, King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck handed a scarf to Tobgay, a statement posted on the king’s official facebook page stated.
• Tobgay, 58, is country’s fourth freely elected prime minister since democracy was established in the Himalayan kingdom 15 years ago.
• A former bureaucrat and an advocate for Bhutan’s Buddhist culture, he was previously prime minister from 2013 to 2018.
• He was also the leader of opposition in the parliament set up after the first free vote in 2008 until 2013.
• Bhutan is a country of fewer than 800,000 people, situated between China and India.
• It is known for its Gross National Happiness (GNH) index, an economic gauge that takes into account factors such as recreation and emotional well-being that are ignored by gross domestic product measures.
• But Tobgay faces the challenge of revamping the $3 billion economy following the COVID-19 pandemic and creating jobs to prevent young Bhutanese people from going abroad, mainly to Australia, in pursuit of better opportunities.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: DEFENCE NEWS

Indian Navy foils second hijacking bid in Arabian Sea in 24 hours

• The Indian Navy stated that its offshore patrol vessel INS Sumitra rescued an Iranian-flagged fishing vessel (FV) hijacked by armed pirates off the Somali coast, the second such action in the last 24 hours in the Arabian Sea where the security situation has deteriorated significantly due to the resurgence of piracy, and missile and drone attacks by Iran-backed Houthi rebels.
• FV Al Naeemi, the second Iranian-flagged vessel to be rescued by INS Sumitra, was carrying a crew of 19 Pakistani nationals.
• The Indian warship had on January 28 responded to a distress call from FV Iman, intercepted it and rescued the boat and its crew of 17 Iranians from Somali pirates.
• INS Sumitra is currently deployed along the east coast of Somalia and the Gulf of Aden for anti-piracy operations.
• Last week, guided missile destroyer INS Visakhapatnam responded to a distress call by Marshall Islands-flagged merchant vessel Marlin Luanda, which was struck by a missile in the Gulf of Aden.
• Specialist firefighting crews embarked on the vessel and helped douse the fire on board.
• Challenges in the distant seas, including the Arabian Sea, have emerged as a new front in recent weeks, with Red Sea tensions escalating and the resurgence of piracy in the Gulf of Aden and off the Somali coast.
• The navy has stepped up surveillance in the Arabian Sea substantially and deployed task groups consisting of around 10 warships in the face of rising threats.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: MOUS AND AGREEMENT

NGEL signs MoU with Government of Maharashtra for development of Green Hydrogen Projects

• NTPC Green Energy Limited (NGEL) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government of Maharashtra for development of Green Hydrogen and derivatives (Green Ammonia, Green Methanol) of up to 1 million Ton capacity per annum, including Pumped Storage Projects of 2 GW and development of renewable energy projects with or without storage up to 5 GW in the state.
• The MoU has been signed as a part of the Government of Maharashtra’s Green Investment Plan for the next five years.
• The agreement envisages a potential investment of approximately ₹ 80, 000 crores.
• The MoU was exchanged between Chief Executive Officer, NGEL, Shri Mohit Bhargava and Deputy Secretary (Energy), Government of Maharashtra, Shri Narayan Karad in the presence of Chief Minister of Maharashtra Shri Eknath Shinde, Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Shri Devendra Fadnavis and other senior officials.
• NTPC is in the path of building renewable energy capacity of 60 GW by 2032.

About NGEL:

• NGEL is a wholly-owned subsidiary of NTPC and aims to be the flag bearer of NTPC’s Renewable Energy journey with an operational capacity of over 3.4 GW and 26 GW in pipeline including 7 GW under implementation.

Reliance Jio, OnePlus join hands to set up 5G innovation lab in India

• Telecom major Reliance Jio and Chinese smartphone company OnePlus have joined hands to set up a 5G innovation lab in India.
• The alliance between OnePlus and Jio aims to provide OnePlus and Jio True 5G users differentiated features and an unparalleled network experience.
• The lab will serve as a hub for testing and developing new technologies.
• Reliance Jio leads the India market in terms of 5G coverage.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: SPORTS NEWS

With 127 medals, Maharashtra leads the Khelo India Games medal tally followed by Haryana.

• In the Khelo India games, Maharashtra ranks first in the medal tally with a total of 127 medals including 44 gold, 39 silver, and 44 bronze medals followed by Haryana scoring 94 medals including 33 gold, 19 silver, and 42 bronze medals.
• Tamil Nadu stood third with a total of 82 medals including 29 gold, 19 silver, and 34 bronze
• In the Football semi-finals boys Meghalaya beat Jharkhand 5-3 and in another semi-finals, Punjab beat Odisha 1-0
• In the Kho Kho semi-finals girls, Odisha beat Delhi 27 -18 and Maharashtra beat Gujarat 27 -16.
• In Boys Kho Kho, Maharashtra beat Karnataka 29 -23 and Delhi beat Gujarat 43-28.
• In Shooting, – Skeet boys all the medal winners were from Punjab. Gurfateh Singh Sandhu, Zorawar Singh Bedi, and Harazeez Singh Alwa from Punjab won the gold, silver, and bronze medals respectively.
• In Shooting Skeet Girls, Devyani Rathore and Yashaswi Rathore both from Rajasthan won gold and silver medals respectively. Venkat Lakshmi Lekhu from Tripura won the bronze medal.

Daily CA One-Liner: January 31

• The Government has declared ‘Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI)’ as an ‘Unlawful Association’ for a further period of five years under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) 1967
• Union Minister of Civil Aviation and Steel, Shri Jyotiraditya M. Scindia virtually inaugurated a UDAN flight connecting Dehradun and Pithoragarh from New Delhi. Chief Minister of Uttarakhand Shri Pushkar Singh Dhami also joined the event from Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand.
• Union Minister Shri Nitin Gadkari inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of 9 National Highway projects costing Rs 2,367 crore and total length of 225 km in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh.
• The second edition of India Energy Week (IEW) is scheduled to take place in Goa from the 6th to the 9th of February
• The tableau of the Ministry of Culture has secured the first prize at the Republic Day Parade 2024.
• NTPC Green Energy Limited (NGEL) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government of Maharashtra for development of Green Hydrogen and derivatives (Green Ammonia, Green Methanol) of up to 1 million Ton capacity per annum, including Pumped Storage Projects of 2 GW and development of renewable energy projects with or without storage up to 5 GW in the state.
• Telecom major Reliance Jio and Chinese smartphone company OnePlus have joined hands to set up a 5G innovation lab in India.
• In the Khelo India games, Maharashtra ranks first in the medal tally with a total of 127 medals including 44 gold, 39 silver, and 44 bronze medals followed by Haryana scoring 94 medals including 33 gold, 19 silver, and 42 bronze
• Even as the finance ministry expects FY24 economic growth to exceed the central bank’s projection of 7%, it also expects growth in the following year, FY25, to be close to 7%, even though geopolitical risks could lead to supply chain disruptions and a rise in inflation.
• Having reaped rich dividends from the Reserve Bank in the current financial year, the government will be looking forward to receiving about Rs 70,000 crore from the central bank and the financial institutions (FIs) in the next financial year.
• CSB Bank on January 29 reported a net profit of Rs 150 crore for the October-December quarter of the financial year 2023-24, a 4 percent drop from Rs 155 crore clocked in the year-ago period.
• QatarEnergy and US-based Excelerate Energy signed an agreement on Monday to supply 1 million metric tonnes per year (mtpa) of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Bangladesh for 15 years from January 2026.
• Ukraine’s energy ministry stated that it will begin building four new nuclear reactors this year to compensate for Russia’s seizure of the country’s largest nuclear plant.
• Pakistan and Iran agreed to work together to improve security cooperation in the wake of deadly airstrikesby Tehran and Islamabad earlier this month that killed at least 11 people, marking a significant escalation in fraught relations between the neighbors.
• The Invest Goa 2024 Summit which will feature 24 different speakers addressing potential key sectors of the coastal state will begin on January 29, in
• The government has appointed former chairman and chief executive officer of the Railway Board chairman, Anil Kumar Lohati, as the new chairperson of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai)
• Kunjal Mehta, presently serving as CFO within Adani Portfolio of Companies, will assume the role of Chief Financial Officer of the Company (a Key Managerial Personnel, categorized as Senior Management Personnel), commencing from April 1, 2024.
• The Indian Navy stated that its offshore patrol vessel INS Sumitra rescued an Iranian-flagged fishing vessel (FV) hijacked by armed pirates off the Somali coast, the second such action in the last 24 hours in the Arabian Sea where the security situation has deteriorated significantly due to the resurgence of piracy, and missile and drone attacks by Iran-backed Houthi rebels.
• Bhutan’s liberal politician Tshering Tobgay, leader of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), officially began his second term as prime minister, following elections earlier this month.
• Odisha Cabinet approved a new scheme for the development of the tribals of Odisha-LABHA (Laghu bana jatya drabya kraya), officials stated. Briefing the media, Chief secretary Pradeep Kumar Jena stated the LABHA Yojana is a 100% state-funded MSP for MFP scheme (minimum support price for minor forest produce).