Tenure of PLI Scheme for Automobile and Auto Components extended by 1 Year with Partial AmendmentsThe Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI) extended the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for Automobile and Auto Components by one year, with partial amendments. This amended incentive scheme will be applicable for five consecutive financial years, starting from 2023-24 (FY24) and ending in 2027-28 (FY28).

• This decision has been made after receiving the approval of the Empowered Group of Secretaries (EGoS).
• These amendments aim to provide clarity and flexibility to the scheme.

What is the amended Scheme?
i.Under this, the incentive disbursement will be made in the subsequent financial year i.e. FY25.
ii.If a company fails to meet the determined sales value threshold in a year, it won’t receive an incentive for that year.
iii.The eligibility for benefits in the next year if the threshold is met with a 10% year-on-year growth.
Background:
The PLI-Auto Scheme was approved by the Union Cabinet on September 15, 2021, with a budgetary outlay of Rs 25,938 crore for a period of 5 years (FY2022-23 to FY2026-27). The PLI-AUTO Scheme will boost manufacturing of Advanced Automotive Technology (AAT) Products.

• The scheme supports AAT products with certified minimum 50% domestic value addition.

66th Foundation Day of DRDO – 1st January 2024Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO), the Research and Development (R&D) wing of the Ministry of Defence (MoD), annually celebrates its Foundation day or Raising Day on 1 January.
DRDO, formed in 1958, celebrated its 66th foundation day on 1st January 2024.
Formation of DRDO:
DRDO was formed in 1958 from the amalgamation of the then already functioning Technical Development Establishment (TDEs) of the Indian Army and the Directorate of Technical Development & Production (DTDP) with the Defence Science Organisation (DSO).
At present, DRDO is a network of 52 laboratories and 5 DRDO Young Scientist Laboratories (DYSLs).
2024 Events:
The 66th DRDO Foundation Day was celebrated on 1 January 2024 at ARJUN Auditorium, Combat Vehicles Research and Development Establishment (CVRDE) in Avadi(Armoured Vehicles and Ammunition Depot of India.), Tiruvallur District, Tamil Nadu.
Dr Samir V Kamat, Secretary, Department of Defence R&D and Chairman DRDO, addressed the DRDO fraternity at New Delhi (Delhi).
Launch:
DRDO Chairman also launched the Quantity-Distance Software developed by Pune(Maharashtra)-based lab, High Energy Materials Research Laboratory (HEMRL), to automate the siting of explosives and related buildings.

• The software is an essential tool for all MoD establishments engaged in creating explosive-related infrastructure in optimum time and with greater precision.

Highlights of DRDO in 2023:
i.DRDO received Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) worth around Rs. 1,42,000 crore for the induction of several DRDO-developed systems.

• This is the highest ever accorded to DRDO-developed systems in any year.

ii.1,650 Transfers of Technology (ToTs) of in-house developed systems have been handed over to Indian industries.

• In 2023, 109 Licensing Agreements for Transfer of Technology (LAToTs) were signed with indigenous companies for manufacturing DRDO products.

iii.DRDO filed more than 141 patents and 212 of them were granted.
TDF Enhancements:
To make the Technology Development Fund (TDF) and allied schemes more effective, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh constituted a committee headed by Dr Kakodkar, former Secretary Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and Dr Saraswat, Member NITI Aayog (National Institution for Transforming India).
Aim: To propose strategies to fund cutting-edge research similar to the model followed by the Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), in the United States of America (USA).
About Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO):
Chairman– Dr Samir V Kamat
Headquarters– New Delhi, Delhi

Gujarat Emerges as ‘Petro Capital’ of India
Gujarat has been recognised as the ‘petro capital’ of India, due to the presence of the Reliance Industry Limited’s Jamnagar refinery and ONGC Petro Additions Limited (OPaL)’s state-of-the-art petrochemical complex at Dahej in Bharuch district.
RIL-Jamnagar refinery complex:
i.Jamnagar refinery is the largest and most complex single-site refinery in the world.
ii.The refinery can process 1.4 million barrels of crude oil per day.
iii.The Refinery has a complexity index of 21.1 which is the highest in the world.
iv.The Jamnagar refinery complex houses some of the world’s largest units, such as the Fluidised Catalytic Cracker (FCC), Coker, Alkylation, Paraxylene, Polypropylene, Refinery Off-Gas Cracker (ROGC) and Petcoke gasification plants.
v.The refinery complex was established in 2000.
OPaL Refinery Complex:
i.OPaL is one of South Asia’s single largest petrochemical complexes.
ii.It is a joint venture(JV) between the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), the Gas Authority of India (GAIL) & Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation Limited (GSPC).
iii.The refinery complex can produce 14 lakh tons of polymers and 5 lakh tons of chemicals which adds value to various upstream processes.
iv.OPaL was established in 2006.
: Other petrochemical firms such as ONGC and Shell India also contribute to Gujarat’s oil production.
Additional Info:
i.Dahej’s PCPIR is one of the four PCPIRs declared by the Government of India(GoI) under the PCPIR Policy 2007.

• Other three are Vishakapattam-Kakkinada(Andra Pradesh), Paradeep(Odisha) and Cuddalore-Nagapattinam(Tamil Nadu).

ii.10th edition of VGGS, themed ‘Gateway to the Future,’ which is scheduled to take place on 10th-12th January 2024 will further boost investments and collaborations in the petrochemical domain.

BOI Launched Super Special 175 days FD at 7.5% Interest Bank of India (BoI), a Public Sector Bank(PSB), has launched a Super Special Fixed Deposit (FD) scheme with a specified maturity period of 175 days, commencing from January 1st, 2024.

• The scheme offers a interest rate of 7.50% per annum for deposits ranging from Rs 2 crore to less than Rs 50 crore.

Key Points:
i.This special fixed deposit is introduced as a limited period offer.
ii.The scheme is exclusively for domestic rupee term deposits.
iii.Senior citizens (aged 60 to 80) will get an additional interest rate of 0.50% on their retail term deposits (below Rs 2 crore) for tenors ranging from 6 months and above up to 3 years.
iv.Super senior citizens(aged above 80) will get an extra 0.65% on same retail term deposits.
Additional info:
At present BoI pays 4.50% interest rate for a 175 day tenor for deposits below Rs 2 crore. 7.25% is the highest interest rate paid by BoI for a 2 year deposit.
About Bank of India:
Managing Director(MD) and Chief Executive Officer(CEO) – Rajneesh Karnatak
Headquarters – Mumbai, Maharashtra
Established in – 1906
Tagline – Relationship Beyond Banking

GoI Constitutes 16th Finance Commission of India with Arvind Panagariya as ChairmanThe Government of India, has constituted the 16th Finance Commission of India with Dr Arvind Panagariya, former Vice-Chairman(VC), NITI Aayog(National Institution for Transforming India)(2015 to 2017) as Chairman.

• Ritvik Ranjanam Pandey, Joint Secretary(Revenue), Ministry of Finance, was appointed as the Secretary to the Commission. He is a 1998 batch IAS officer of Karnataka cadre.
• The other members of the 16th commission will be notified seperately.

Tenure: The Chairman and other members of the Commission will hold the post from date on which they assume office up to the date of submission of Report or 31st October 2025.
Note: The 16th commission is set to submit its report by 31st October 2025 covering a period of five years commencing on the 1st April 2026. 
About Finance commission of India:
The commission was constituted in pursuance of clause (1) of article 280 of the Constitution read with the provisions of the Finance Commission (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1951 (33 of 1951) and was approved by the President of India, Droupadi Murmu.
The Finance Commission is a Constitutionally mandated body to recommend how tax revenue should be shared between the Union and states.
The 1st Finance Commission was set up in 1951.
Roles and responsibilities:
The 16th commission will make recommendations on
i.distribution between the Union and the States of the net proceeds of taxes which are to be, or may be, divided between them under Chapter I, Part XII of the Constitution and the allocation between the States of the respective shares of such proceeds.
ii.Principles that will govern the  grants-in-aid of the revenues of the States out of the Consolidated Fund of India and the sums to be paid to the States by way of grants-in-aid of their revenues under article 275 of the Constitution for the purposes other than those specified in the provisos to clause (1) of that article
iii.Efforts that should be taken to increase the Consolidated Fund of a State to supplement the resources of the Panchayats and Municipalities in the State on the basis of the recommendations made by the Finance Commission of the State.
The 16th commisison will also review the current arrangements on financing Disaster Management initiative, with reference to the funds constituted under the Disaster Management Act, 2005 (53 of 2005) and provide the suitable recommendations.
About Arvind Panagariya:
i.Arvind Panagariya is a Professor of Economics and the Jagdish Bhagwati Professor of Indian Political Economy at Columbia University, the United States of America (USA).
ii.He has been serving as the chancellor of Nalanda University, Bihar since April 2023.
iii.He has also served as the Chief Economist of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) from 2000 to 2002.
iv.He was honoured with Padma Bhusan (Literature and Eduction) in 2012.

Congo President Félix Tshisekedi Re-Elected for 2nd term Félix-Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo, the leader of Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS) party, was re-elected as the President of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for the 2nd term.

• He is set to sworn in as the President of Congo on 20th January 2024.

Results of election:
The Presidential election of Congo was held on 20th and 21st December 2023.
Félix Tshisekedi won 73% (or 13 million) of the vote defeating former Governor of Katanga province Moïse Katumbi Chapwe (18%) of the “Together for the Republic” party and Martin Madidi Fayulu(5%) of Engagement for Citizenship and Development party.
Denis Mukwege, a surgical gynecologist and 2018 Nobel Peace Prize winner, also contested in the election.
About Félix Tshisekedi:
i.Félix Tshisekedi is the son of Étienne Tshisekedi, who served as the Prime Minister of Congo(then called Zaire) in 1991, 1992-92 and 1997.
ii.In 2018, he was elected as the leader of UDSP after the death of his father in 2017.
iii.He was first elected as the President of Congo in 2019 succeeding Joseph Kabila.
iv.During his tenure as President, He also served as Chair of the African Union (AU) in 2021.
Note: From 1971 to 1997, Congo was officially known as the Republic of Zaire.
About Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC):
President – Félix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo
Capital – Kinshasa
Currency – Congolese Franc

Nadia Calviño of Spain took over as 1st Woman President of European Investment Bank On 1st January 2024, Nadia Calviño Santamaría, a Spanish economist and civil servant, took over as the 8th President of the European Investment Bank (EIB), the lending arm of the European Union(EU).
i.With this appointment, she became the first woman President of EIB. 
ii.She succeeds Werner Hoyer of Germany, who held the post since 2012.
Note: She has been serving as the First Vice-President(VP) and Minister for Economy, Trade and Companies, Government of Spain since July 2021.
About Nadia Calviño:
i.She started her career as a civil servant in the Ministry for Economy in Spain.
ii.She joined the European Commission in 2006 and served as Assistant Director-General for Competition of the European Commission till 2010.
iii.She also served as Director-General for Internal Market of the European Commission (2010-2014) and Director-General for Budget of the European Commission(2014-2018).
iv.She has also served as the Minister for Economy and Business (2018-2020); Third Vice-President and Minister for Economy and Digitalization (2020-2021) and Second Vice-President and Minister for Economy and Digitalization (March-July 2021).
v.She has also served as the Chair of International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) (since 3rd January 2022).
Honours: In 2015, His Majesty King Felipe VI of Spain bestowed her with the Commendation of the Order of Civil Merit.
About European Investment Bank (EIB):
EIB the biggest multilateral financial institution in the world, and one of the largest providers of climate finance.
President– Nadia Calviño
Headquarters– Boulevard Konrad Adenauer, Luxembourg
Founded in– 1958

Tata Power acquires 100% stake in Bikaner Special Purpose Vehicle
Tata Power has acquired a 100% equity stake in Bikaner III Neemrana II Transmission Limited, a special purpose vehicle (SPV), for Rs 18.6 crore.

• SPV was set up by PFC Consulting Limited which is a subsidiary of Power Finance Corporation.
• SPV was formed in June 2023 for the electrical power transmission project, which will be developed on a Build-Own-Operate-Transfer (BOOT) basis.
• The transmission line project with an estimated cost of Rs. 1544 crore will transfer 7.7 Gigawatt (GW) of green power from Bikaner to Neemrana in Rajasthan about a distance of 340 kms.

ISRO launches PSLV-C58/XPoSat: India’s 1st X-ray Polarimeter Satellite to study Black Holes & Neutron Stars in SpaceOn 1st January 2024, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) launched XPoSat (X-ray Polarimeter Satellite), India’s 1st dedicated polarimetry mission onboard the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV)-C58 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh (AP). PSLV-C58 has launched XPOSAT Satellite into an Eastward low inclination orbit.

• It was PSLV-C58’s 60th mission and lifted a mass of 260 ton. It should be noted that this launch was by PSLV-DL variant. It was PSLV-DL’s 4th mission.
• The satellite is expected to operate for at least 5 years.

About XPoSAT/PSLV-C58 Mission:
i.The mission aims to  study various dynamics of bright astronomical X-ray sources like blackhole, neutron stars, active galactic nuclei, pulsar wind nebulae etc. in extreme conditions.
ii.With this, India becomes the 2nd country in the world (after the United States of America(USA)) to launch a specialised astronomy observatory to study black holes and neutron stars in our galaxy.
About the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO):
Chairman– Sreedhara Panicker Somanath
Headquarters– Bengaluru, Karnataka
Establishment– 1969

2023 World Blitz Chess Championships: Norway’s Magnus Carlsen won his 7th title & Russia’s Valentina Gunina won her 2nd titleNorwegian Grandmaster and World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen won the title at the 2023 World Blitz Chess Championships (open tournament) held at the Samarkand Congress Center, Samarkand, Uzbekistan from 29th to 30th December 2023.
i.This marks Carlsen’s 7th World Blitz championship title and 17th World Championship title.
ii.Russia’s Valentina Gunina won the title in the Women’s Blitz tournament. This marks her 2nd World Blitz title. she previously won the title in 2012.
Top 3 under Open and Women’s tournament: 
Open: 
Magnus Carlsen finished with 16 points scored in 21 games, while Russia’s Daniil Dubov (15.5 points), and Russia’s Vladislav Artemiev (15 points) finished 2nd and 3rd in the Open Blitz tournament.
Women: 
Valentina Gunina finished with 14 points out of 17 games. The former World Champion Alexandra Kosteniuk of Switzerland finished 2nd (13.5), and China’s Zhu Jiner finished 3rd third (12.5).
Note: The Russian players are currently playing under the neutral FIDE flag.
About the Event:
Since 2012, International Chess Federation (FIDE: Fédération Internationale des Échecs) has been organising the World Rapid and Blitz Championships as a joint tournament.
Prize Money:
The prize fund of 2023 championship is 1 million US dollars, with USD 700,000 for the Open and USD 300,000 for the Women’s tournaments.
About Magnus Carlsen: 
i.Magnus Carlsen is a 5-time World Chess Champion who has been ranked No. 1 in the FIDE world chess rankings since 1 July 2011.
ii.His 17 World championships includes 5 World Championship titles, 5 rapid and 7 blitz.

Indian American Academic and Padma Bhushan Awardee Professor Ved Prakash Nanda Passed AwayPadma Bhushan Awardee Professor Ved Prakash Nanda, an Indian American academic and a expert on international law, passed away in Denver, Colorado, the United States of America(USA). He was born on 20th November 1934 in Gujranwala, Punjab, British India (now in Pakistan).
Note: Prof Ved Prakash Nanda was honoured with Padma Bhushan (literature and education) in 2018.
About Professor Ved Prakash Nanda:
i.He worked as a professor of law at the University of Denver USA.  He has also served as the director of the International Legal Studies Program at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law.
ii.Since 1970, he served as a professor of law at Denver Thompson G. Marsh, a part of the University of Denver.
iii.He was a Vice-chair executive council of the World Federation United Nations (UN) Association, Geneva (Switzerland).

• He served as its vice-chairman from 1995-2001.

iv.He was also the Founding Director and Director Emeritus of the International Legal Studies Program.
v.He was a Director of the Ved Nanda Center for International and Comparative Law, which was founded in his honour by the alumni of the University of Denver’s Sturm College of Law.
vi.He also served as:

• Honorary President of the World Jurist Association;
• Former Honorary Vice President of the American Society of International Law; and
• a member of the advisory council of the United States Institute of Human Rights.

Books: World Debt and the Human Condition: Structural Adjustment and the Right to Development (Co-editor; 1992); International Environmental Law & Policy (1995); International Environmental Law and Policy for the 21st Century (Co-Author; 2004).
Awards: He received the Gandhi-King-Ikeda Award for Community Peace Building from Soka Gakkai International (SGI) and Morehouse College (USA) in 2004.

Kerala Governor Launched the Book named “Ram Mandir Rashtra Mandir Ek Sajhi Virast”
Kerala Governor Arif Muhammed Khan launched a book titled “Ram Mandir Rashtra Mandir Ak Sajhi Virast”(Meaning: Ram Mandir, Rashtra Mandir – A Common Heritage) jointly written by Geeta Singh and Arif Khan Bharti.

• The book launch event was held at the Rang Bhawan Auditorium of Akashwani in New Delhi, Delhi.
• The book explores the profound influence of Lord Ram not only in India but across the Asian continents.

TN Chief Minister MK Stalin Released a Book Titled ‘Maha Kavithai’ by Poet Vairamuthu
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin released a Tamil book titled ‘Maha Kavithai’(means ‘Great Poem’) written by poet Vairamuthu at the event held in Chennai(Tamil Nadu) on 1st January 2024.

• The event was attended by former Union minister P Chidambaram.
• The book covers a wide range of subjects including the genesis of the universe, planet Earth, the functions of five elements, climate change, and its impact.
• The book also delves into the immediate need for checking the ever-increasing global temperature and the dangers being faced by humans because of the deteriorating environment.

Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan launches K-SMART App to Offer Digital Access to Local Govt ServicesOn 1st January 2024, Pinarayi Vijayan, Chief Minister (CM) of Kerala, launched the K-SMART (Kerala Solutions for Managing Administrative Reformation and Transformation) software/mobile application, in an event held in Kochi, Kerala.

• K-SMART is a unified platform to provide digital access to the services provided by the local self-government bodies across Kerala.

Developer: 
The app was developed by the Information Kerala Mission (IKM), an autonomous body under the Local Self-Government Department(LSGD), Government of Kerala.
Features of K-SMART:
i.K-SMART app will streamline the services provided by local government bodies in Kerala with its 35 different modules.
ii.These modules include services like registration of birth, death, and marriage, business licenses, property taxes, and others.

• This is in line with the effort to strengthen local self-governance through ICT (Information &Communication Technologies) applications.

Implementation: 
i.Initially, the K-SMART app will be implemented in corporations and municipalities across Kerala.
ii.Starting from 1st April 2024, the app will be extended to reach the Gram Panchayats.
About Kerala: 
Chief Minister– Pinarayi Vijayan
Governor– Arif Muhammed Khan
Capital– Thiruvananthapuram
Stadium-Chandrasekharan Nair Stadium; Trivandrum Tennis Club

Durga Shanker Mishra Re-appointed as Chief Secretary of Uttar Pradesh Durga Shanker Mishra was re-appointed as the Chief Secretary (CS) of Uttar Pradesh (UP) for the third term, from 1st January to 30th June 2024.

• DS Mishra, a 1984-batch UP cadre Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer who was initially set to retire on December 31, 2021, was appointed as the CS of UP with a one-year extension of service.
• This was his third service extension, following the second extension on 30th December 2022.