Baskar Babu Ramachandran re-appointed as MD & CEO of Suryoday SFB

1. Baskar Babu Ramachandran re-appointed as MD & CEO of Suryoday SFB

• The Reserve Bank of India has approved the re-appointment of Baskar Babu Ramachandran as MD & CEO of Suryoday Small Finance Bank for three years, with effect from 23 January 2023.
• He has several years of experience in the banking and finance sector.
• Prior to co-founding the Suryoday Micro Finance Private Limited, he had worked with various companies including GE Capital Transportation Financial Services and HDFC Bank.
• Suryoday SFB is a scheduled commercial bank.

2. Meity becomes nodal ministry for India’s online gaming sector

• The govt of India has designated the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) as the nodal ministry to oversee the online gaming industry in India.
• The ministry will soon release rules for online gaming intermediaries and start public consultation on these rules
• In May 2022, the govt set up a seven-member inter-ministerial task force, chaired by Rajeev Chandrasekhar, MoS, IT.
  • Aim: To work on online gaming regulations and identify a nodal ministry.

3. Prabhu Chandra Mishra honoured with Atal Samman Award

• Prabhu Chandra Mishra was honoured with the prestigious Atal Samman Award during the 9th Atal Samman Samaroh, organised in New Delhi.
• He was awarded for his excellence in field of science & research.
• He has worked in the area of StemCell & Regenerative Medicine in infertility especially when In vitro fertilization (IVF) failed.
• Under his work, diseases like premature ovarian failure, and Asherman syndrome have shown satisfactory results with body’s own cells.

4. Home Ministry gives NOC for name change of two places in Uttar Pradesh

• The Uttar Pradesh government has received the ‘no-objection’ certificates from the ministry of home affairs to change the names of two places in state
• With this consent, ‘Mundera Bazaar’ municipal council in Gorakhpur district has been renamed to ‘Chauri Chaura’ and ‘Telia Afghan’ village in Deoria district to ‘Telia Shukla’
• MHA gives a ‘no-objection’ certificate to change the name of any place after taking consent from ministry of railways, department of posts and Survey of India

5. IISc, Bengaluru to be G20 science working group’s secretariat

• The Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru has been named the Secretariat for Science 20 (S20), the G20 summit’s science working group.
• S20 2023 theme is ‘Disruptive Science for Innovative and Sustainable Development.’
• S20 has been set up as part of efforts by G20 to address global challenges including climate change mitigation and sustainable development.
• G20 is an intergovernmental forum comprising 19 countries and the European Union.

6. India, ADB sign $125 million loan to improve Urban Services in Tamil Nadu

• India has signed a $125 million loan agreement with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to develop climate-resilient sewage collection and treatment, and drainage and water supply systems in three cities of Tamil Nadu.
• The tranche 3 loan for Tamil Nadu Urban Flagship Investment Program signed between Rajat Kumar Mishra (Additional Secretary, DEA) and Hoe Yun Jeong (Officer-in-Charge of ADB’s India Resident Mission).
• This loan will cover Coimbatore, Madurai, and Thoothukudi

7. Indian Bank launched ‘MSME Prerana’ programme in Rajasthan

• Indian Bank has launched its flagship business mentoring program for MSME entrepreneurs named ‘MSME Prerana’ in Rajasthan.
• Aim: To empower MSME Entrepreneurs through skill development and capacity building training in their local languages.
• This program will also assist them in acquiring necessary financial and managerial skills, capacity to handle crisis in business.
• The training program will be provided in collaboration with M/s Poornatha & Co.

8. ‘Dhanu Yatra’ begins in Bargarh, Odisha

• The ‘Dhanu Yatra’ festival,11-day long festival, has been started in the Western Odisha town of Bargarh.
• It was came into existence in Bargarh in 1947-48 as part of the celebration of the country’s Independence.
• The festival starts with the play of dethroning of Emperor Ugrasen of Mathura by angry Kansa over the marriage of his sister Devaki with Vasudev.
• It will be concluded with the death of demon king Kansa and restoration of the throne to Ugrasen.

9. Centre, Manipur govt sign peace pact with Naga armed group

• The government of India and Manipur government have signed a peace agreement with insurgent group Zeliangrong United Front (ZUF).
• The agreement provides for rehabilitation and re-settlement of the armed cadres.
• The tripartite agreement was signed by the central and Manipur governments and ZUF.
• The ZUF represents Zeliangrong people of the Naga tribes.
• The ZUF is listed as one of the 13 active insurgent group in Manipur by the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP).

10. Santosh Kumar Yadav appointed as chairman of NHAI

• Senior bureaucrats, Santosh Kumar Yadav has been appointed as chairman of National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).
• He is a 1995-batch IAS officer of the Uttar Pradesh cadre.
• He is currently serving as an additional secretary in the Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Education.
• Subhasish Panda has been appointed as vice chairman of Delhi Development Authority.
• Ganji Kamala V Rao has been named CEO of FSSAI, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare

11. SBI, Axis, ICICI Bank to introduce Rupay Credit card on UPI by March 2023

• State Bank of India (SBI), ICICI Bank, and Axis Bank will start issuing RuPay credit cards over the UPI by March 2023.
• Presently, the RuPay credit card segment on the UPI platform is live with Union Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Indian Bank and HDFC Bank.
• The RBI has authorised the connection of credit cards to UPI in June 2022.
• Users will benefit from more convenience as a result of the change, which will also expand the adoption of digital payments.

12. Sebi expands committees on cyber security and information systems

• SEBI has expanded two of its committees- (1) High Powered Steering Committee on Cyber Security (HPSC-CS) and (2) Information Systems Security Committee (ISSC).
• High Powered Steering Committee on Cyber Security (HPSC-CS) was expanded to eight members from six earlier.
• It will continue to be chaired by Navin Kumar Singh (DG at NCIIPC).
• SEBI has also expanded its panel on Information Systems Security Committee (ISSC) to seven members, chaired by Prof Krishnamurthy.

13. IIT Guwahati, Bombay, European join hands to check Indian water quality

• IIT Guwahati and Bombay have joined hands with European universities to develop a technology to check the quality of potable and other water in India.
• The LOTUS Indo-European project is an initiative of the Dept of Science and Technology and the European Commission
• Aim: To provide solutions for issues related to the quality of water supplied across Indian households
• The LOTUS project is built around a novel water quality sensor developed at Ecole Polytechnique in Paris