Daily Current Affairs 24th January , 2023

Daily Current Affairs 24 January 2023 for Banking/Insurance/SSC and other related exams.

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NATIONAL NEWS

IAF to carry out mega air exercise in NE region
The Indian Air Force will carry out a mega exercise covering the Northeastern region early next month to check its combat readiness, amid a fresh spike in tension with China along the Line of Actual Control in Arunachal Pradesh.

• The exercise ‘Poorvi Aakash’ is expected to involve the IAF’s frontline fighter jets, including the Rafale and the Su-30MKI aircraft, and other assets deployed in the region. 
• The exercise will involve the activation of the command’s fighter, helicopter and transport assets towards routine practice of aerial drills, including joint exercises

Atal Pension Yojana logs 10 million enrolments in a calendar year
The Atal Pension Yojana (APY) — targeted towards unorganised sector workers — saw the highest-ever takers in 2022 with enrolments rising 36 per cent. The figure crossed 10 million for the first time in a calendar year, data released by the finance ministry showed.

• The number of enrolments in 2022 rose to 12.5 million from 9.2 million in 2021.
• The enrolments in 2022 grew by 81 per cent compared to the pre-pandemic year of 2019, when 6.9 million subscribers had enrolled for the pension scheme. 

Amid standoff with China, Indian Air Force to hold Exercise Pralay along LAC
The Indian Air Force will carry out Exercise Pralay involving all its major air bases in the northeast including the recently moved drone squadrons in the northeast amid the ongoing standoff with China. 

• The exercise planned to be held in the next few days also comes at a time when the Indian Air Force has deployed and activated the S-400 air defence squadron in the area which can take on any enemy aircraft or missile from a distance of up to 400 km. 

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

World’s longest calligraphic mural on road to Makkah’s Grand Mosque
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) has installed the longest calligraphic mural in the world on King Abdul Aziz Street, the road that leads to Makkah’s Grand Mosque. 

• To enhance the beauty of Makkah, the administration has installed an Arabic calligraphy mural on the path.
• The 75-meter-long mural, designed by artist Amal Felemban, joins an array of sculptures and installations.

Brazil declares medical emergency in Yanomami territory following reports of children deaths from malnutrition
In Brazil, the government has declared a medical emergency in the Yanomami territory following reports of children dying of malnutrition and other diseases caused by illegal gold mining. 

• A decree published by the government said, the aim of the declaration was to restore health services to the Yanomami people that had been dismantled by the previous government.
• Yanomami territory is the country’s largest indigenous reservation bordering Venezuela. The government announced food packages that will be flown to the territory where some 26,000 Yanomamis live in a region of rainforest and tropical savanna the size of Portugal. Yanomami has been invaded by illegal gold miners for decades.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

Google plans to demo AI chatbot, a ChatGPT competitor
Google plans to demo a version of its search engine with AI chatbot features and launch 20 new products, following ChatGPT ‘code red,’ report says. Google is planning to demonstrate an AI version of its search engine. 

• Google’s AI projects include an image generation tool, an upgraded version of AI Test Kitchen, a TikTok-style green screen mode for YouTube, and a tool that can create videos to summarise other clips. 
• The company’s code generation tool called PaLM-Coder 2 is similar to Microsoft’s GitHub Copilot software and another that helps build apps for smartphones named Colab + Android Studio.

SPORTS

Thai shuttler Kunlavut Vitidsarn wins India Open Badminton title
Thai shuttler Kunlavut Vitidsarn won the India Open title. He defeated World No.1 Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen in the men’s singles final of the India Open Badminton Championship 22-20, 10-21 and 21-12 at K. D. Jadhav Indoor Stadium in New Delhi.  

• Earlier, Korean sensation An Seyoung won the Women’s singles final. She beat World No.1 Japanese Akane Yamaguchi 15-21, 21-16, 21-12. 

APPOINTMENTS

Shamalbhai B Patel appointed as chairman of Amul
Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) that markets milk and dairy products under the Amul brand announced the appointment of Shamalbhai B Patel as its chairman and Valamjibhai Humbal as vice chairman.

• The announcement was made after an election was conducted by the deputy collector, Anand, in presence of 17 out of 18 members who are chairmen representing their district milk unions in the state. GCMMF is made up of 18 member unions covering 33 districts.

AWARDS

RV Prassad received the 2022 Most Distinguished Scientist Award
R Vishnu Prassad was awarded “The most distinguished scientist of the year 2022” at Vigyan Bhawan, Delhi by Anurag Thakur, Minister of Information & Broadcasting. 

• R Vishnu Prassad, a scientist with 69 patents has been honored with the Indian Achievers Award as the most distinguished scientist of the year by Anurag Thakur, Minister of Information & Broadcasting and Minister of Sports & Youth Affairs, Govt. of India.
• The award, which recognizes individuals for their outstanding contributions in various fields, including culture, science, sports, and innovation, was presented to Vishnu during a ceremony held at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi. 

ICC reveals five Teams of the Year in ICC Awards 2022
The International Cricket Council (ICC) completed announcements of the ICC Teams of the Year, a feature of the ICC Awards 2022 which captures the best combined XIs across the different formats of men’s and women’s international cricket after an action-packed year of competition.
ICC Men’s Test Team of the Year:

1. Usman Khawaja (Aus)
2. Kraigg Brathwaite (WI)
3. Marnus Labuschagne (Aus)
4. Babar Azam (Pak)
5. Jonny Bairstow (Eng)
6. Ben Stokes (c) (Eng)

ICC Women’s ODI Team of the Year:

1. Alyssa Healy (wk) (Aus)
2. Smriti Mandhana (Ind)
3. Laura Wolvaardt (SA)
4. Nat Sciver (Eng)
5. Beth Mooney (Aus)

ICC Men’s ODI Team of the Year:

1. Babar Azam (c) (Pak)
2. Travis Head (Aus)
3. Shai Hope (WI)
4. Shreyas Iyer (Ind)
5. Tom Latham (wk) (NZ)

ICC Women’s T20I Team of the Year:

1. Smriti Mandhana (Ind)
2. Beth Mooney (Aus)
3. Sophie Devine (c) (NZ)
4. Ash Gardner (Aus)
5. Tahlia McGrath (Aus)

ICC Men’s T20I Team of the Year:

1. Jos Buttler (c) (wk) (Eng)
2. Mohammad Rizwan (Pak)
3. Virat Kohli (Ind)
4. Suryakumar Yadav (Ind)
5. Glenn Phillips (NZ)

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