Current Affairs Quiz 15th December 2023 Quiz

Exp. Udaiti Foundation launched “Close the Gender Gap” initiative

The Udaiti Foundation launches “Close the Gender Gap (CGG)” Initiative to Lead a Shift in Gender Equality and Promote Inclusive Workplace Policies.

Objective – To drive transformative changes in gender representation and policies within the formal sector.

The CGG platform marks a historic milestone by compiling longitudinal company-wise data from 2000 companies based on market capitalization, offering an unparalleled perspective on gender representation and policies.

The platform sheds light on gender dynamics within private sector organizations. Larger organizations have more women, but they hit the glass ceiling. Smaller firms however have more women in leadership.

When it comes to women’s leadership on boards, there is much ground to cover, 43% report one mandatory female Board member, plunging to a mere 11% with more than two female BoDs.  

Exp. Madhya Pradesh govt to set up PM College of Excellence in all districts of the state

Madhya Pradesh government will set up PM College of Excellence in all districts of the state.

The decision to this effect was taken at the first Cabinet meeting chaired by new Chief Minister Mohan Yadav in Bhopal.

In Madhya Pradesh, the government will upgrade one college in every district out of total 570 government colleges as “PM College of Excellence”. More than Rs 460 crore will be spent on the development of these colleges.

Apart from this, degree and mark sheets of students in all government and private universities will be uploaded in DigiLocker.

About Madhya Pradesh

• Capital – Bhopal
• Chief Minister – Dr Mohan Yadav (replace Shivraj Singh Chauhan)
• Deputy CM – Jagdish Devda & Rajendra Shukla
• Speaker of Madhya Pradesh Assembly – Narendra Singh Tomar
• Governor – Mangubhai C. Patel
• Lok Shaba Seats – 29
• Rajya Sabha Seats – 11
• Legislative Assembly Seats – 230

Exp. Tata Power ties up with Indian Oil to set up over 500 EV charging stations

Tata Power EV Charging Solutions Ltd (TPEVCSL) has signed an MoU with Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) to install over 500 electric vehicle (EV) charging points across the country.

Tata Power will set up the stations at IOCL’s retail outlets.

This strategic collaboration focuses on building a reliable and expansive intercity charging network, which will help alleviate range anxiety for EV owners travelling between cities.

These EV charging points will be installed in major cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad, Pune, and Kochi, as well as across major highways such as the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, Salem-Kochi Highway, Guntur-Chennai Highway and the Golden Quadrilateral.

The customers will be able to use “Tata Power EZ Charge” and “IndianOil e-Charge” apps to locate and book the chargers.

IOCL envisages to provide 10,000 EV charging stations by 2024, transforming retail network to complete energy solutions outlets. With more than 6,000 EV charging stations at present, the company plans to keep expanding its reach.

Tata Power currently has a charging infra across over 420 cities in India, including over 62,000 home chargers, 4,900 public and semi-public charging points, and 430 bus charging stations.

Recent MoUs

• RITES signed pact with CFM Mozambique for 10 diesel locomotive supply
• THDC India inks pact to develop renewable energy projects in Karnatakas
• IBM inks 3 pacts with IT Ministry on semiconductor, Al, Q-computing
• SUN Mobility partners with Bluwheelz to deploy over 16,000 EVs
• India Global Forum signs with World Governments Summit to develop an Emerging Economies Programme

Exp. India’s e-retail market estimated to reach over $160 bn by 2028: Report

E-retail in India is expected to scale beyond $160 billion in value by 2028.

The market has experienced strong growth post-pandemic, with an estimated value of $57–$60 billion in 2023, according to the findings from the fourth (2023) edition of ‘How India Shops Online’, a report released by Bain & Company in collaboration with Flipkart.

This represents an annual addition of $8–$12 billion since 2020. The e-retail market is poised to grow in the coming years, with online spending currently only 5–6 per cent of total retail spending in India vs 23–24 per cent in the US and over 35 per cent in China, indicating massive headroom for growth.

Even as the online channel grows, the offline channel will continue to be crucial. Majority of India’s retail spend (94–95 per cent) continues to be offline, with General Trade accounting for 87 per cent of the overall retail spend. On one side, scale retailers are growing offline presence; on the other, online-first insurgents are adopting omnichannel strategies to grow scale.

In India, around 240 million shoppers are expected to participate in e-retail in 2023, with significant headroom to grow given more than 60 per cent of internet users are not shopping online vs. only around 20 per cent in the US and China.

Exp. NHAI inks pact to develop multi-modal logistics park at Nagpur

State-owned NHAI has signed an agreement to develop a multi-modal logistics park (MMLP) in Nagpur at a cost of Rs 673 crore.

This project is poised to be the first MMLP in Maharashtra under the PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan.

NHAI has signed an agreement with M/s DC Multi-Modal Park (Nagpur) Limited, an SPV of M/S DeltaBulk Shipping India Pvt Ltd, for the development of Multi Modal Logistics Park (MMLP) in Nagpur.

The MMLP will be developed in an area of 150 acres under the Public Private Partnership model at an estimated cost of Rs 673 crore.

The MMLP will provide facilities, such as warehouses, cold storages, intermodal transfers, handling facilities for container terminals, and bulk/break-bulk cargo terminals, along with value-added services.

Exp. India’s plan for 50,000 e-buses on its roads gets US support

India is aiming to get 50,000 electric buses on its streets by 2027 with help from a joint finance mechanism with the US.

The $390 million fund will act as a guarantee for manufacturers seeking loans to expand production. India currently only has 12,000 e-buses in operation.

The payment security mechanism, established with $150 million from the US government and philanthropic groups, and $240 million from the Indian government, is the bedrock of risk management for building out the financial system for electric mobility at scale in India.

Exp. Germany to give €500 mn for Bengaluru Metro expansion

KfW, Germany’s state-owned investment and development bank, is set to sign an agreement to provide €500 million (around ₹4,500 crore) in financial assistance for the expansion of the Bengaluru Metro.

The funding, which includes loan and grants, will help the metro’s expansion plans as well as provide technical expertise to the metro project.

KfW, which is looking to expand its funding for green energy and sustainable mobility projects in India, is also financing metro projects in Mumbai and Nagpur among other cities.

The funding would be used to construct new lines for the Bengaluru Metro, also called Namma Metro.

KfW, which has been active in India since 1958, has also provided funds to other metro projects in the country. In 2016, it provided a €500 million loan to the Indian government for the construction of a “modern and sustainable metro system” in Nagpur.

KfW also provided funding for the expansion of the Mumbai metro in 2020 through the provision of a €545 million loan.

The credit package is made up of one development loan of €345 million and one promotional loan of €200 million. In addition, a financing agreement of €2.2 million was signed for accompanying technical support.

Exp. Parama Sen appointed part-time member of PFRDA board

The Centre has appointed Parama Sen, Additional Secretary, Department of Expenditure in the Finance Ministry, as a part-time member in Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA).

Sen, a 1994 batch Indian Audit and Accounts Services (IAAS) officer, replaces Anne George Mathew, Additional Secretary in Finance Ministry, who demitted office this year.

PFRDA has a chairman besides three whole-time members and three part-time members. The post of Member (Law), which fell vacant in May last year, remains to be filled.

The two other part-time members — Rahul Singh (Department of Personnel and Training) and Pankaj Sharma (Department of Financial Services) — were appointed last year

Recent Appointment in Banking & Insurance Sector

• Chairman of Max Life Insurance – Rajiv Anand (replace Analjit Singh)
• Executive Director of Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) – Jithesh John
• MD of State Bank of India – Vinay M. Tonse (till 2025; for 2 years)
• Director of Jio Financial Services – Isha Ambani, Anshuman Thakur, and Hitesh Kumar Sethia
• MD & CEO of Kotak Mahindra Bank – Ashok Vaswani (replace Dipak Gupta) effect from 1 Jan 2024

Exp. Sangram Singh appoints as CEO Indifi Technologies

Indifi Technologies, which focuses on lending to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), hired Axis Bank executive Sangram Singh as its Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

Singh, who in the past has been also the chief executive of Axis Bank subsidiary and digital payments app Freecharge, will be responsible to scale up Indifi’s core platform, and will overlook key functions including product, distribution, lending partnerships, treasury, risk and technology.

About Indifi Technologies

• Founded in 2015, Gurgaon-based Indifi provides debt financing to small businesses through term loans and credit lines. Its annual disbursals are around Rs 2,500 crore.
• At present, a little over 80% of its overall revenues comes from its term loan product, with another 15% from credit lines.
• The platform has an active loan book of Rs 2,000 crore, with almost half of it being funded from its in-house non banking finance company (NBFC).
• Till date, Indifi has disbursed over 96,000 loans across 400 cities, amounting to a total disbursal value of over Rs 5,100 crore.

Exp. Aditya Jairaj appoints as CEO and MD of Stellantis India

Aditya Jairaj has been appointed as CEO and MD of Stellantis India, with effect from January 1, 2024.

Aditya, currently deputy managing director, Stellantis India and head – Jeep India, will succeed Roland Bouchara, who will be assigned to another function in Europe after six and a half years of leading Stellantis in India.

Since he was appointed the CEO and MD in 2021, Roland has successfully led Stellantis India’s expansion, playing an instrumental role in establishing a robust foundation for Citroën and Jeep.

Before 2021, Roland successfully launched the Citroën brand in India and led the operations in his capacity as senior vice president of sales and marketing for the brand.

Recent Appointment

• President of FICCI – Anish Shah (replace Subhrakant Panda)
• Senior Vice President of FICCI – Harsha Vardhan Agarwal
• Chairman of World Radiocommunication Conference 2023 – Mohammed Al Ramsi (UAE)
• Head of British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) Board – Samir Shah
• Chairman of Swiggy India – Anand Kripalu

Exp. Dr. Hemachandran Ravikumar honored with the Karmaveer Chakra Medal

Dr. Hemachandran Ravikumar was honored with the Karmaveer Chakra Medal and Rex Karmaveer Global Fellowship by ICONGO in collaboration with the United Nations in New Delhi

These awards recognized Dr. Hemachandran Ravikumar’s exceptional contributions to Research & Development in Physical & Bio-Science and Microbiological Studies.

The Rex Karamveer Chakra Medal, considered one of the most prestigious civilian honors, is reserved for individuals who have exhibited outstanding contributions globally towards the well-being of humanity.

Recent Awards

• Diwali ‘Power of One’ Awards 2023 – Ban Ki-moon
• International Gender Equality Prize 2023 by Finland – Afghanistan NGO
• Padmapani Lifetime Achievement Award at Ajanta-Ellora Film Festival – Veteran Javed Akhtar
• International Anti-Corruption champion by US Govt. – Nikhil Dey
• Italy’s highest honour “Order of Merit of the Italian Republic” – Kabir Bedi

Exp. First Indian astronaut on moon by 2040: ISRO

The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) is planning to send Indian astronauts to the moon for the first time by 2040.

Four test pilots from the Indian Air Force have been selected as astronaut designates for the mission.

ISRO aims to take the next step in space exploration with the Gaganyaan programme, planning to launch a crew of 2 to 3 Indian astronauts into Low Earth Orbit (LEO) for up to three days before safely returning them to a predefined site in Indian waters.

Currently, the astronaut designates are undergoing mission-specific training at the Astronaut Training Facility (ATF) in Bengaluru.

The inaugural manned space mission Gaganyaan involves developing critical technologies, including a human-rated (capable of safely transporting humans) launch vehicle (HLVM3), an Orbital Module comprising a Crew Module (CM) and Service Module (SM), and life support systems.

Two identical un-crewed missions (G1 and G2) besides Integrated Air Drop Test, Pad Abort Test, and Test Vehicle flights will precede the Gaganyan mission.

The first development flight of Test Vehicle (TV-D1) was launched on October 21, 2023, and it successfully demonstrated in-flight abort of the Crew Escape System, followed by Crew Module separation and its safe recovery from the Bay of Bengal by the Indian Navy.

About Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO)

• Founded – 15 August 1969
• Headquarters – Bangalore, Karnataka
• Founder / 1st Chairman – Vikram Sarabhai
• 10th Chairman – S Somanath
• Aryabhata India’s first satellites Launched on 19 April 1975

Exp. 14 December – National Energy Conservation Day

National Energy Conservation Day is observed in India every year on December 14.

Objective – To raise public awareness about the value of energy efficiency and conservation.

Every year, the Bureau of Energy Efficiency under the Ministry of Power spearheads the celebrations.

Since 1991, December 14 has been designated as the National Energy Conservation Day.

In 2021, the power ministry also observed the Energy Conservation Week from December 8 to 14 as part of the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav celebrations.