Overview of PM Modi’s visit to Ayodhya (Uttar Pradesh) on 30th December 2023On 30th December 2023, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh for the inauguration and launch of various initiatives and events as follows:
i.PM Laid the Foundation Stone of Development Projects Worth Over Rs 15,700 Crore in Ayodhya and other parts of Uttar Pradesh
ii.PM Inaugurated Redeveloped Ayodhya Railway Station, Flags off Two Amrit Bharat and Six Vande Bharat Trains.

• The Amrit Bharat Express runs from Darbhanga-Ayodhya – Anand Vihar Terminal, and Malda Town – Sir M. Visvesvaraya Terminus (Bengaluru, Karnataka)

iii.PM Inaugurated Maharishi Valmiki International Airport
iv.Ram Idol Carved by Sculptor Arun Yogiraj Selected for Ayodhya’s Ram Temple
About Uttar Pradesh(UP):
Chief Minister– Yogi Adityanath
Governor– Anandiben Patel
Bird Sanctuary– Parwati Arga Bird Sanctuary; Lakh-Bahosi Bird Sanctuary
Festival– Janmashtami; Taj Mahotsava

Indian Railways signs 3rd MoU with CII to Facilitate Green InitiativesOn 4th January 2024, Indian Railways (IR) and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) have signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to reduce energy and water consumption and lowering greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

• The MoU been renewed for the 3rd consecutive time since 2016.
• This renewed MoU with CII-Green Business Centre(GBC) aims to achieve IR’s target of Net Zero Carbon Emission by 2030.

Signatories:
The MoU was signed and exchanged between Shailendra Singh, Principal Executive Director/Mechanical Engineering (EnHM & Project) of the Railway Board, and Seema Arora, Deputy Director General, CII in the presence of Jaya Varma Sinha, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Railway Board.
Key Initiatives under the MoU:
Under this renewed MoU IR and CII jointly focus on:

• Bringing new/relevant technologies and their implementations.
• Assistance in achieving ISO 50001 certification(Energy Management System certification) for workshops/production units (PUs).
• Development of a Net-Zero Energy Railway station framework.
• Creation of an information dashboard highlighting advancements in green initiatives throughout the year.

Previous MoUs:
i.CII has been a key partner with IR since July 2016 to promote and facilitate green initiatives over IR.
ii.The 1st MoU was signed in 2016 for 3 years. Following its expiration, a 2nd MoU was signed in 2019, for an additional 3 years.
About Confederation of Indian Industry (CII):
Director General– Chandrajit Banerjee
Headquarters– New Delhi, Delhi
Established in– 1895

IMAC to be Upgraded to National Maritime Domain Awareness in 3 Years
The Indian Navy (IN)’s Information Management and Analysis Centre (IMAC) in Gurugram, Haryana is set to be upgraded into the National Maritime Domain Awareness (NMDA) centre in about 3 years. NMDA aims to address maritime challenges in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).
i.NMDA center will unite 15 departments and organizations spanning seven ministries including Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas(MoPNG), Ministry of Defense(MoD), Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPS&W)
ii.Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), a Navratna Public Sector Unit (PSU) under the Ministry of Defence (MoD) is entrusted with the responsibility of providing all the requisite hardware and software necessary for the NMDA.
About IMAC:
i.IMAC is the nodal centre of the National Command Control Communication and Intelligence System (NC3I).
ii.IMAC was approved by the Defence Acquisition Council in 2012 and became operational in 2014 at a cost of  Rs 450 crore.

India Projected to Grow at 6.2% in 2024: UN-DESA WESP 2024i.On January 5, 2024, According to the United Nations Department of Economic & Social Affairs (UN-DESA) released World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) 2024 report projecting India’s economic growth to reach 6.2% in 2024 which is slightly lower than the 6.3% estimate for 2023.
ii.India’s GDP is estimated to reach 6.6% in 2025.
iii.South Asia’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is expected to increase by 5.2% in 2024. It grew by an estimated 5.3% in 2023.
About United Nations Department of Economic & Social Affairs (UN-DESA):
Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs– Li Junhua
Headquarters– New York, United States
Establishment– 1948

World Bank’s IBRD raises GBP 1.5 billion in 5-year Sustainable Development Bond The World Bank (WB) arm International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) has priced a 5-year Sustainable Development Bond in Great British Pound sterling (GBP) to raise GBP 1.5 billion from investors, contributing to finance sustainable development initiatives in World Bank member countries.
Note: IBRD has maintained a triple-A(AAA) rating (investment grade ratings) since 1959.
About the bond:
i.The bond will mature on 2nd October 2028.
ii.The bond is listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange (LSE) in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg.
iii.Transaction details:

• Issue price: 99.955%
• Issue yield: 3.889% annual
• Denomination: GBP 1,000
• Coupon: 3.875% per annum
• Coupon payment dates: 2 October of each year

v.Citigroup Inc., NatWest Markets Plc, Santander Bank and Toronto Dominion Securities are the joint lead managers of the transaction.
vi.Belgium based Euroclear and Luxembourg based Clearstream will offer Clearing systems service for the transaction.
vii.The transaction marks the largest GBP benchmark bond for Supranational Sovereign and Agency (SSA) issuers since 2022.
Investor Distribution:

• By Investor Type- Central Banks / Official Institutions (53%), Banks/Bank Treasuries/Corporates (25%), Asset Managers /Insurance/Pension Funds (22%).
• By Geography – United Kingdom (UK – 59%), Asia (32%), Europe / Middle East (6%), Americas (3%).

About Arms of World Bank Group(WBG):
WBG consists of five development institutions namely,
i.International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD)
ii.International Development Association (IDA)
iii.International Finance Corporation (IFC) 
iv.Multilateral Guarantee Agency (MIGA) 
v.The International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID)

SBI raises USD 250 million through Green Bonds to Finance Green ProjectsState Bank of India (SBI),the largest public sector bank in India, has raised USD 250 million by issuing 5-year green bonds (also known as green notes) which will mature on 29th December 2028 to fund green projects which are in line with SBI’s Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Financing framework.
Key Points:
i.The issued senior, unsecured, green floating rate notes are rated as ‘BBB-’ by Standard & Poor’s (S&P).
ii.The bonds were issued as part of SBI’s USD 10 billion medium-term note programme.
iii.The bonds were issued on the floating rate basis of 1.20% above the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR).
iv.The bond was issued via private placement facilitated by SBI’s London Branch, the United Kingdom (UK).
v.It was listed on the India International Exchange Limited (India INX) located in the International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) in Gujarat’s International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City).
vi.Tokyo(Japan) based – Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc.(MUFG) acted as the sole green note coordinator and placement agent for this placement.
SBI’s Syndicated Social Loan of USD 1 Billion:
i.SBI has successfully raised USD 1 Billion through Syndicated Social Loan to cater to the domestic ESG financing market.
ii.The raised USD 250 million is the part of this Syndicated Social Loan.
iii.The funds were raised through two tenures: a three-year and a five-year loan.
Note: 
SOFR is a benchmark interest rate for dollar-denominated derivatives and loans which replaced the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) in June 2023.
About State Bank of India (SBI):
Chairman – Dinesh Kumar Khara
Headquarters – Mumbai, Maharashtra
Established in – 1955

India’s GDP likely to grow by 7.3% in FY24: First Advance Estimated by NSOi.On January 5, 2024, the National Statistical Office (NSO), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) released the First Advance Estimates (FAE) of National Income for the financial year 2023-24, both at Constant (2011-12) and Current Prices.
ii.As per it, Indian economy growth in real GDP will be at 7.3% in FY24 as compared to the 7.2% in FY23.
iii.While in nominal terms, the projected GDP growth for India in FY24 is 8.9%, a deceleration from the 16.1% recorded in FY23.
iv.India will retain as the fastest-growing major economy.
v.It should be noted that the India’s 7% growth rate in FY24 is a the third year in a row.
vi.The higher GDP growth is driven by government expenditure along with a pickup in sectoral outputs of mining, manufacturing, construction and financial services.
About Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI):
Minister of State (Independent Charge)– Rao Inderjit Singh (Constituency- Gurugram, Haryana)
Secretary– DR. G P Samanta

Vitol and GAIL Sign Long-Term LNG Supply Deal into India
GAIL (India) Limited, a Maharatna Central Public Sector Enterprise (CPSE) under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG), has signed a Long Term Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) deal with Singapore-based Vitol Asia Pte Limited for the supply of approximately one million metric tons of LNG per annum into India for a period of about 10 years, with effect from 2026.

• Under this deal, Vitol will deliver LNG from its global LNG portfolio to GAIL in India on a pan-India basis.

About GAIL(India) Limited:
Chairman & Managing Director (CMD) – Sandeep Kumar Gupta
Headquarters – New Delhi, Delhi
Established in – 1984

Canara Bank CGM P Santhosh Appointed as MD & CEO of NARCL; Natarajan Sundar Resigns as MD
P Santhosh, Chief General Manager (CGM) of Canara Bank, has been appointed (on deputation) as Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of National Asset Reconstruction of India Limited (NARCL) with effect from 5th January 2024.

• He succeeds Natarajan Sundar, MD & CEO of NARCL (from 2022), who resigned from the post.
• Santhosh will hold the post until the appointment of a regular CEO.

Note: The majority of NARCL’s stake is held by Public Sector Banks (PSBs) and the balance by private banks. Canara Bank is among the sponsor bank of NARCL with 10% stake.
Additional info:
i.Natarajan Sundar is the 2nd person among NARCL’s top management to resign from the position before completing their tenure.
ii.In August 2023, Karnam Sekar, then chairman of NARCL, resigned ahead of his term’s completion, without specifying any reason.
About Natarajan Sundar:
i.Natarajan Sundar is a veteran banker with over 30 years of experience across Corporate & Wholesale Banking.
ii.During his term at SBI, he held the position of Deputy Managing Director (DMD) and was working as Chief Credit Officer for the Bank.
iii.Previously, he served as the CGM in the Credit Review Department from June 2018 to June 2020; and in the Project Finance Strategic Business Unit (SBU) from June 2016 to June 2018.
About National Asset Reconstruction Company Limited (NARCL):
NARCL is a state-backed ‘bad bank’ formed on 7th July 2021.
It is registered with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) as an Asset Reconstruction Company (ARC).
Chairman– Diwakar Gupta
MD and CEO– P Santhosh
Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra

ACC Cleared Appointments of 7 Civil Servants to Key Posts Abroad in Foreign MissionsOn 5 January 2024, the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) chaired by Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi, cleared the appointment of 7 civil servants to key posts abroad to represent India in foreign missions and captive posts within the Government of India (GoI) across various multilateral bodies.
About the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC):
Chairperson– Narendra Modi
Headquarters– New Delhi, Delhi

Ravindra Kumar Tyagi Took Charge as CMD of Power Grid Corporation of India LimitedRavindra Kumar Tyagi assumed charge as Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (POWERGRID) with effect from 1 January 2024. Before this, he was serving as Director (Operations) of POWERGRID.

• He succeeded Kandikuppa Sreekant, who was superannuated on 31 December 2023. He has been the CMD of POWERGRID since August 2019.

Note: State-owned POWERGRID is a Maharatna Central Public Sector Undertaking (CPSU) under the administrative control of the Ministry of Power.
About Ravindra Kumar Tyagi:
i.Ravindra Kumar Tyagi has over 3 decades of work experience in the Power Transmission sector.
ii.He has handled multi-disciplinary work in various business segments of POWERGRID like Asset Management, Business Development (domestic and overseas), Telecom, etc.
iii.Previously, he served as the Executive Director (ED) in POWERGRID’s North Eastern Region.
iv.He is one of the Vice Presidents of CIGRE (International Council on Large Electric Systems) India Governing Council 2022-2024.
About Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (POWERGRID):
POWERGRID was incorporated on 23rd Oct 1989 under the Company Act, 1956.
CMD– Ravindra Kumar Tyagi
Headquarters– Gurugram, Haryana

Sanjiv Aggarwal Appointed as MD & CEO of NIIFLOn 5th January 2023, Sanjiv Aggarwal, Partner (Energy Infrastructure), Actis, was appointed as the Managing Director (MD) & Chief Executive officer (CEO) of National Investment and Infrastructure Fund Limited (NIIFL), with effect from February 2024.

• He will succeed Rajiv Dhar, who has been serving as interim MD and CEO of NIIFL since May 2023.

Note: NIIF is a collaborative investment platform for international and Indian investors, anchored by the Government of India(GoI).
About Sanjay Aggarwal:
i.Sanjay Aggarwal has been associated with Actis, a leading global investor in sustainable infrastructure, since 2008. He became a partner in 2010.
ii.Before joining Actis, he worked with Citigroup for seven years as Head of Power, Energy, Chemicals, Mining and Transportation for India.
iii. Before that, he worked at ANZ Investment Bank for nine years, heading the project financing team for urban infrastructure and oil & gas.
About National Investment and Infrastructure Fund Limited (NIIFL): 
The creation of the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) was announced in the Union Budget of 2015-16.
Managing Director (MD) & Chief Executive Officer (CEO) – Rajiv Dhar Headquarters – Mumbai, Maharashtra
Established in – 2015

SEBI Appoints G Ram Mohan Rao as Executive Director for 3 years
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), has appointed Govindayapalli Ram Mohan Rao as as Executive Director (ED) of SEBI for a period of three years.

• He will handle Investigation Department and Internal Inspection Department in SEBI headquarters in Mumbai, Maharashtra.

About Govindayapalli Ram Mohan Rao:
i.Prior to joining SEBI, G Ram Mohan Rao served as Regional Director of the Eastern Regional Office(ERO) of SEBI in Kolkata, West Bengal.
ii.He also served at the Northern Regional Office(NRO) and Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) in New Delhi, Delhi.
iii.Rao is a certified fraud examiner from the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE).

ISRO Successfully Injected Aditya L1 into the Halo Orbit Around L1On 6th January 2024, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully performed the crucial manoeuvre (final manoeuvre) of injecting the Aditya-L1 spacecraft, India’s first space-based observatory-class solar probe to study the Sun, into the halo orbit around Lagrangian point 1 (L1). 

• Aditya L1 has travelled around 3.7 million kilometers in 126 days to reach L1.
• This marks the transition of Aditya L1 mission from cruise phase to orbit phase.

Points to note:
i.After a flight duration of 63 minutes and 20 seconds, Aditya L1 was successfully injected into an elliptical orbit of 235×19500 km around the Earth.
ii.The satellite in the orbit around L1 will have the advantage of continuously viewing the sun without any eclipse.
About Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO):
ISRO operates as the primary research and development arm of the Department of Space (DoS).
Chairman– S. Somanath
Headquarters– Bengaluru, Karnataka
Formed on – 1969

ICC Modifies Stumping Rule and Concussion Substitute RuleThe International Cricket Council (ICC) has made changes to the stumping rule by stating that while checking for a stumping appeal, the TV umpire (referred as 3rd Umpire) will only assess the images from the side-on camera (to show only stumping done by the wicketkeeper) and will not assess the caught-behind scenario.

• ICC also made changes to the concussion substitute rules.

About New Stumping Rule:
i.The change in the stumping rules make the bowling team go for a separate Decision Review System (DRS) referral for the caught-behind appeal (whether the ball caught by the wicketkeeper has been hit or edged by the batsman).
ii.The new changes to the Stumping rule came into effect on 12th December 2023.
About concussion Substitution rule:
According to new changes in the concussion (head or neck injury) Substitution rule, the substitute player will not be allowed to bowl if the replaced(injured) player was suspended from bowling at the time of the concussion incident.
Additional Info:
The ICC has also imposed a four-minute time limit for on-field injury assessment and treatment.

Four Stars of Destiny: The Autobiography of Ex-Indian Army Chief M.M. Naravane
General Manoj Mukund Naravane (MM Naravane), former Chief of Army Staff(CoAS) has penned his autobiography titled “Four Stars of Destiny: An Autobiography”.  The book is set to be published in January 2024 by Penguin Veer, an imprint of Penguin Random House India.

• The book narrates the experiences that shaped his character, from his childhood to his years in the Services.

About MM Naravane:
i.MM Naravane served as the 28th CoAS of Indian Army from December 2019 to April 2022.
ii.He has also served as the Vice CoAS and  General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Training and Eastern Commands.
iii.He has received several  national and international awards which includes Param Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM) in 2019 and the Distinguished Public Service Award 2022 conferred by the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF).