Cabinet Approvals on 5th January 2024The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister(PM) Narendra Modi has approved the following proposals on 5th January 2024,
i.Cabinet approves overarching scheme “PRITHvi VIgyan (PRITHVI)” of the Ministry of Earth Sciences
ii.Cabinet approves MoU between ISRO and MRIC concerning cooperation on the development of a Joint Small Satellite
iii.Cabinet approves signing of a MoU between USAID/India for supporting Indian Railways to achieve Mission Net Zero Carbon Emission
iv.Cabinet approves Ayodhya Airport as an International Airport & naming it as “Maharishi Valmiki International Airport, Ayodhyadham”
v.Cabinet approves signing of Memorandum of Understanding between India and Guyana on cooperation in the hydrocarbon sector
About Mauritius:
Capital– Port Louis
Currency– Mauritian rupee
President– Prithvirajsing Roopun

CBRE India’s report: Maharashtra Contributes Highest Share of MSMEs in India; TN & UP among top 3 According to a report titled MSMEs: Unleashing the Engines of Economic Prosperity, prepared by CBRE India Research, Maharashtra has accounted for the highest share (17%) of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in India followed by Tamil Nadu (TN) (10%) and Uttar Pradesh (UP) (9%).

• The report was unveiled during the CREDAI National New India Summit 2024 (5th edition) held in Varansi, UP from 7th to 9th January 2024.
• CBRE India Research is the knowledge partner of the New India Summit 2024.

Points to note:
i.According to the report, Maharashtra, TN, and UP contributed to nearly 40% of the total MSMEs registered in India.

• Maharashtra holds 38.09 lakh MSMEs, followed by Tamil Nadu (TN) with 22.32 lakh MSMEs, and UP stands out with 20.95 lakh registered MSMEs.

ii.Rajasthan with 16 lakh and Gujarat with 15.96 lakh MSMEs were the other top destinations for registered units in India.
Note: As of 8 January 2023, official data from the Ministry of MSME reveals a substantial presence of 2.21 crore registered MSMEs, excluding Udyam Assist Portal registrations.
Key Contributions of MSMEs in India:
i.The MSME sector plays a vital component in the economic progress of India, contributing nearly 30% to India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and about 44% of Exports in India.

• UP in particular has a 90-lakh MSME base and contributes around 14% share of India’s total MEMEs.

ii.The development of MSME is crucial to achieving financial inclusion and generating significant employment opportunities across urban and rural areas.
Udyam Scheme’s Impact:
i.This report emphasises the pivotal role played by the Udyam scheme, a government initiative designed to promote and foster the growth of MSMEs.
ii.MSME clusters have emerged in cities like Agra, Kanpur, Varanasi, Lucknow, Meerut, and Ghaziabad.

• The Udyam scheme plays a pivotal role, in facilitating widespread enrollment across these cities.

Sector-wise Opportunities:
i.The report highlights the construction sector, contributing approximately 8% to the GDP, as a strategic opportunity for Indian MSMEs.
ii.Unorganized firms in the construction sector are expected to benefit by registering under the MSME ambit.
iii.Integration of digitization, traditional banking, and open protocols has created a more inclusive financing ecosystem.

Coal India Limited signs MoU with NSDC for Establishing Multi Skill Development InstitutesCoal India Limited (CIL) and the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish Multi Skill Development Institutes (MSDIs) in each subsidiary companies of CIL.

Note: CIL is a Maharatna Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) under the Ministry of Coal and NSDC is a not-for-profit public limited company set up by the Ministry of Finance as Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model.
Phased Implementation:
As per the MoU, MSDIs will be established in each CIL’s subsidiaries starting with, Central Coalfields Limited (CCL); Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL); Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL); Northern Coalfields Limited (NCL); and South Eastern Coalfields Limited (SECL) in the 1st phase.

• The remaining subsidiaries will be covered in the subsequent phase.

Repurposing Existing Infrastructure:
Existing infrastructure within CIL subsidiaries will be repurposed and developed to serve as MSDIs. The project encompasses:

• One-time capital expenditure (capex) for repurposing existing infrastructure as MSDIs;
• Annual Recurring and Project Monitoring Unit (PMU) expenses.

Note: This initiative reflects CIL’s commitment to fostering skill development and creating sustainable employment for the local youth in coal-bearing areas.
CIL Signs MoU with EdCIL for Digitizing Education in 11 districts of Jharkhand
CIL  signed a MoU with EdCIL (India) Limited to digitise education in 11 districts of Jharkhand. The MoU was signed as a part of CIL’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative.

• The project will be implemented in the 11 districts of Jharkhand with mining areas of 3 subsidiaries of CIL namely Eastern Coalfields Ltd (ECL), Bharat Coking Coal Ltd (BCCL), and Central Coalfields Ltd (CCL).
• The estimated cost of the project is Rs 27.08 crore and will be implemented over 3 years.

Objective:
The initiative in line with the New Education Policy (NEP) 2020, aims to empower students with rich educational content, improving learning outcomes in schools around the coal mining areas of CIL subsidiaries ECL, BCCL, and CCL in Jharkhand.
Key Project Details:
i.As a part of this project, one smart classroom and one Information & Communication Technology (ICT) lab will be set up in each identified school.
ii.The project also includes provisions for teacher training and 3 years of maintenance of the installed equipment.
Key People:
The MoUs were signed in the presence of Rupinder Brar, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Coal; Vinay Ranjan, Director (Personnel and Industrial Relations), CIL and Manoj Kumar, Chairman and Managing (CMD) Director, EdCIL (India) Ltd.

Individual Income Inequality has declined during FY14-FY22: SBI ERD Reporti.On January 8, 2023, the State Bank of India (SBI) Economic Research Department (ERD) released a report titled ‘SBI Research: Debunking K-shaped recovery‘ which stated that individual income inequality in India has declined during 2013–2014(FY14) to 2021–2022(FY22).
ii.The Gini coefficient of taxable income, which captured income inequality, dropped from 0.472 to 0.402 during this period.
iii.36.3% taxpayers moved to higher income groups, leading to a 21.3% income increase.
iv.Top 2.5% taxpayers’ share dropped from 2.81% to 2.28% (2014–2021).
About State Bank of India(SBI):
Chairman– Dinesh Kumar Khara
Establishment– 1955
Headquartered– Mumbai, Maharashtra
Tagline – The Banker to Every Indian

RBI doubles Minimum Capital Requirement to Rs 200 cr for SFBs On January 8, 2024, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) increased the minimum capital requirement for Small Finance Banks (SFBs) from Rs 100 crore to Rs 200 crore, and permitted Payments Banks to upgrade as SFBs.

• The reason behind this is to improve the financial resilience of SFBs and ensure their long-term sustainability.
• It is noted that the net worth of all operational SFBs is in excess of Rs 200 crore.

Key Points:
i.Urban Co-operative Banks (UCBs) transitioning to Small Finance Banks (SFBs) need an initial net worth of Rs 100 crore, to be increased to Rs 200 crore within five years.
ii.Payments Banks, eligible as per guidelines, can apply for SFB conversion after five years of operation.
iii.SFBs will be granted scheduled bank status immediately upon commencement of operations, and will get immediate general permission to open banking outlets.
iv.The key difference between SFBs and Payments Bank is that the latter is not allowed to do lending.

• SFBs can provide basic banking services like lending and accepting deposits. SFBs target customers like small farmers, small businessmen, unorganized workers, and micro small and medium enterprises.
• Payment Banks offer limited banking services, such as debit card issuance, remittances, and deposit accounts.

About Reserve Bank of India (RBI):
Governor– Shaktikanta Das
Headquarter– Mumbai, Maharashtra
Establishment– April 1, 1935

Overview of 81st Golden Globe Award 2024: Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” bagged 5 Awards81st edition of Golden Globe Awards (2024) held on 8th January, 2024 at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California, United States of America (U.S.A.).
i.Five-time Oscar nominee Christopher Nolan’s film “Oppenheimer” steals the entire spotlight at 81st Golden Globe Awards by securing 5 awards in coveted categories such as: Best Film in Drama, Best Actor in Drama, Best Supporting Actor and for best original score by Ludwig Goranson.

• Christopher Nolan won his career 1st Golden Globe Award for Best Director for his film “Oppenheimer”. Though, he was nominated for Golden Globe 6 times.

ii.Cillian Murphy won the Golden Globe for best male actor in Drama for his role as the father of the atomic bomb ”J. Robert Oppenheimer”.
iii.Lily Gladstone won best female actor in Drama for Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon.
iv.Greta Gerwig’s film Barbie became the 1st film to win “Cinematic and Box Office Achievement” at Golden Globes.
About Golden Globe Awards:
Golden Globe Awards are one of the most prestigious awards given in both American and international film and television.

• 1st Golden Globe Award held in 1944.
• The Awards were founded and presented annually by Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA).

Bengali Writer Shirshendu Mukyopadhyaya Named for 2023 Kuvempu Award
Bengali writer and novelist, Shirshendhu Mukyopadhyaya (87), has been honoured with the Kuvempu Rashtriya Puraskar 2023 by the Rashtrakavi Kuvempu Trust.

• The award recognises the litterateurs who had contributed to any language recognised by the constitution of India.
• The award includes a cash award of Rs 5 lakh, a silver medal and a citation.

Note: The annual award was instituted in 2013 as a tribute to the late Kannada poet Kuvempu.
About Shirshendhu Mukyopadhyaya:
He has authored more than 90 books, including travelogues and fiction for children.
He received the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1989 for his novel Manabajamina and became a fellow of the Sahitya Akademi in 2021.

Justice BR Gavai Nominated As Chairperson of SCLSC; Justice Sanjiv Khanna Nominated as Executive Chairman of NALSAThe National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) has nominated Justice Bhushan Ramakrishna (BR) Gavai, a judge of the Supreme Court of India, as the Chairman of the Supreme Court Legal Services Committee (SCLSC).
He succeeds Justice Sanjiv Khanna, the senior most puisne judge of the Supreme court.
Note: The Department of Justice, under the Ministry of Law & Justice, issued the notification to this effect on 29th December 2023.
About BR Gavai:
i.BR Gavai started his career as an advocate in the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court in 1985.
ii.He was appointed as Government Pleader and Public Prosecutor for Nagpur Bench in 2000.
iii.In 2003, he was appointed as an Additional Judge of the Bombay High Court and later became the permanent judge in 2005.
iv.In 2019, he was elevated as the Judge of the Supreme Court. He is due to retire on 23rd November 2025.
About SCLSC:
i.SCLSC was established under Section 3A of the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987.
ii.The committee aims to provide free and competent legal services to the weaker sections of society.
iii.SCLSC consists of a sitting judge of Supreme court as the chairman and 9 members nominated by Chief Justice of India(CJI).
Sanjiv Khanna Appointed as Executive Chairman of NALSA:
The President of India, Droupadi Murmu, in exercise of the powers conferred under Clause (b) of sub-section (2) of Section 3 of the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 has nominated Justice Sanjiv Khanna as the Executive Chairperson of NALSA with effect from 26th December 2023.

• He succeeds Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul, who retired on 25th December 2023.

Note: He was was appointed as a Judge of the Supreme Court in 2019 and he is set to retire on 13th May 2025.
Additional Info:
i.The President, in consultation with the CJI, appoints an active or retired Supreme Court judge as the Executive Chairman of NALSA.
ii.As per convention, the post of Executive Chairman of NALSA is occupied by the second-senior judge of the Supreme Court.
About Supreme Court of India:
Chief Justice of India (CJI) – Justice Dhananjaya Yeshwant (DY) Chandrachud
Located in New Delhi, Delhi
Established in 1950

ACC Appoints Aruna Nayar as Secretary to Railway Board in IRMS
The Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC) has appointed Aruna Nayar, Indian Railway Personnel Service (IRPS) Officer of 1987 Batch, as Secretary to Railway Board in Indian Railway Management Service (IRMS) Level-16 with effect from 6th January 2024.

•  Aruna Nayar is the 1st IRPS officer to be empanelled in IRMS at Level 16.
• Prior to the appointment, she has been serving on the Railway Board as an Additional Member, Staff since May 2023.
• She has aslo served as the Principal Executive Director/Staff, Railway Board from February 2022 to May 2023.

Canada’s Brookfield set to Acquire ATC India for USD 2.5 bn 
Canada-based Brookfield Asset Management(BAM) through its affiliate Data Infrastructure Trust(DIT) is set to fully acquire the Indian unit of American Tower Corporation (ATC) for an enterprise value of around USD 2.5 Billion.
The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and expected to close in the second half of 2024.

• Following the acquisition, Brookfield will become India’s largest tower company with 2.53 lakh towers.
• Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited (RJIL) is the anchor client of Brookfield whereas Vodafone Idea Limited (VI) is the anchor client of ATC.

NASA Tested Rotating Detonation Rocket Engine in USA National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has successfully tested the 3-dimensionally (3-D) printed innovative propulsion system called “Rotating Detonation Rocket Engine (RDRE)” at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, the United States of America (USA).

• RDRE is NASA’s first engine which generates thrust using a supersonic combustion phenomenon known as a detonation.

About the Engine:
i.RDRE is managed and funded by the Game Changing Development Program within NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate.
ii.The engine can power both human landers and interplanetary vehicles.
iii.The RDRE incorporates the NASA-developed GRCop-42, a copper, chromium and niobium alloy, with the powder bed fusion additive manufacturing process
iv.The engine increases the capacity of a spacecraft to carry more payload and mass to deep space destinations.
v.The engine aims to change the structure of future propulsion systems which helps in NASA’s Moon to Mars vision.
About the Testing:
i.RDRE was tested for 251 seconds (4 minutes & 11 seconds).
ii.The testing was aimed at scaling the combustor to different thrust classes, supporting engine systems of all types and maximizing the variety of missions it could serve.
iii.The engine produced more than 5,800 pounds( 25,810 newtons) of thrust during testing.
iv.The hot fire test of the engine was conducted in 2022 by NASA in partnership with In Space LLC of Indiana (USA) and Purdue University of Indiana.
About National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA):
Administrator – Bill Nelson
Headquarters – Washington, D.C., the United States of America (USA)
Established in – 1958

NASA Launched Peregrine Mission One to Moon with Five PayloadsOn 08th January 2024, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) launched five payloads to soft land on the Moon’s surface aboard Peregrine Mission One (PM1) (TO2-AB). The mission was launched through United Launch Alliance (ULA)’s  Vulcan Centaur Launch Vehicle (VC2S) from Cape Canaveral, Florida, United States of America (USA).

• This is the first launch of NASA under the Commercial Lunar Payload Services(CLPS) Initiative.
• PM1 is the first commercial mission of Astrobotic Technology to land on another planetary body.
• Sharad Bhaskaran, who is of Indian origin, is the mission director.

About the Mission:
i.This is the first lunar mission of NASA after the launch of Apollo 17 in 1972.
ii.The mission aims to identify water molecules on the Moon, measure radiation and gases around the lander, and assess the lunar exosphere.
iii.The mission consists of a Peregrine Lunar Lander, which carries scientific instruments and other payloads to the Moon’s surface.
iii.The Lunar Lander will land at Sinus Viscositatis (also known as the Bay of Stickiness), a lunar feature near the Gruithuisen Domes on the Moon on 23rd February 2024.
iv.The mission is said to be operated for about 10 Earth days.

i.Peregrine is a small-class lander that delivers payloads to lunar orbit and the lunar surface.
ii.Payloads can be mounted above or below the decks, inside or outside of enclosures, and can remain attached or deployed.
Payloads:
The five payloads of the mission are:

• Laser Retro-Reflector Array (LRA) – function as a permanent location marker on the Moon.
• Linear Energy Transfer Spectrometer (LETS) – demonstrates the capabilities of the radiation monitors on the lunar surface.
• Near-Infrared Volatile Spectrometer System (NIRVSS) – Studies lunar soil composition and finds hidden minerals and volatiles.
• Peregrine Ion-Trap Mass Spectrometer (PITMS) – analyses thin lunar atmosphere and studies escaping gases & molecules.
• Neutron Spectrometer System (NSS) – detects potential water present in the lunar soil.

CLPS Initiative:
i.Through the CLPS initiative, NASA establishes a commercial marketplace for science, exploration, and technology development investigations on the Moon’s surface and in lunar orbit.
ii.The initiative was launched in 2018.
iii.14 vendors under CLPS are eligible to carry NASA payloads to the Moon.
Note –
United Launch Alliance (ULA) is a venture of Boeing-Lockheed Martin.
About Astrobotic Technology:
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) – John Thornton
Headquarters – Pennsylvania, United States of America (USA)
Established in – 2008

Franz Beckenbauer, Germany’s World Cup Winning Football Player & Manager, Passed AwayFormer German football player and manager Franz Beckenbauer, who won Two World Cup titles, passed away at the age of 78 in Salzburg, Austria. He was born on 11 September 1945 in Munich, Germany.

• He was nicknamed “Der Kaiser” (“The Emperor”), who invented a new style of play as a central defensive sweeper role or ‘libero’, where he found the most success.

World Cup Records:
i.He captained the West Germany national team which won the Federation Internationale de Football Association(FIFA) World Cup in 1974 held in Munich, Germany.
ii.He was the Manager of the West Germany Football team that won the World Cup 1990 held in Italy.
Note: He is one of the 3 individuals that have won the FIFA world cup both as player and as Manager. The other 2 are: Brazil’s Mario Zagallo and France’s Didier Deschamps
Franz Beckenbauer’s Career:
i.He played for Bayern Munich from 1964 to 1977; New York Cosmos from 1977 to 1980 and 1982 to 1983 and Hamburger SV from 1980 to 1932.
ii.After his retirement 1983, he served as the manager of West Germany team from 1984 to 1990.
iii.He has also served as the President of Bayern Munich from 1994 to 2009 and as Honorary President of  Bayern Munich from 2009 till his death.
Highlights:
i.He represented West Germany 103 times scoring 14 goals. He has scored 74 goals in 582 games representing Bayern Munich.
ii.He was a part of the West Germany team that won the European Championship in 1971.
iii.During his stint with Bayern Munich, the club won Three European Cup and one European Cup Winners’ cup and one Intercontinental Cup.
Awards:
i.He won the Ballon d’Or twice for the best European Footballer of the year in 1972 and 1976.
ii.He was named Germany’s Footballer of the year four time in 1966, 1968, 1974, 1976

Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2024- January 9 Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD), also known as Non-Resident Indian (NRI) Day, is celebrated on 9 January to recognise the remarkable contributions and accomplishments of the Overseas Indian community (Indian diaspora) across the world to the development of India.
Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) Convention:
i.PBD Convention is the flagship event of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Government of India (GoI).
ii.It aims to provide a platform for the overseas Indian community to engage with the GoI and share their experiences and expertise with the Indian community.
Background:
i.The 1st PBD Convention was organised on 9 January 2003 (Delhi).
ii.Since 2003, it has been celebrated as an annual event, but in 2015, the government revised its format to celebrate PBD once every 2 years (biennial).

• The 18th PBD will be organised on 9 January 2025.

iii.The MEA has held 17 conventions since its inception.

• The 17th PBD Convention took place from 08-10 January 2023 in Indore, Madhya Pradesh.
• The theme for the 17th PBD was “Diaspora: Reliable Partners for India’s Progress in Amrit Kaal”.

Why January 9?
It was on the same date in 1915, that Mahatma Gandhi returned to India from South Africa.

• To mark this day, the tradition of celebrating PBD started in 2003.

Overseas Indians/Indian Diaspora:
i.Indian Diaspora is a generic term used for addressing people who have migrated from the territories that are currently within the borders of the Republic of India.
ii.It constitutes NRIs, who are citizens of India but live outside India, and Persons of Indian origins (PIOs) including Overseas Citizens of India (OCI), who are foreign nationals with Indian roots.

• NRIs have rights like voting in India, which PIOs don’t have.

iii.As of October 2023, there are around 3,22,85,425 overseas Indians around the world (data by MEA).
Note: To streamline processes and enhance engagement, the government merged PIO and OCI cardholders into a unified category, OCI, in 2015.
Regional Pravasi Bhartiya Divas (RPBD):
i.It is a strategic initiative by the MEA to engage with the diaspora beyond the main biennial event in India.

• It aims to connect with the diaspora, who are all unable to attend the main event in India.

ii.So far, 10 RPBDs have been held:

• The 10th RPBD was held in Singapore from 6-7 January 2018.

Earth’s Rotation Day 2024 – January 8 Earth’s Rotation Day is annually observed across the globe on 8 January to highlight the significance of Earth’s rotational motion. It commemorates the anniversary of the scientific demonstration of Earth’s rotation by the French physicist Léon Foucault in 1851.

• Earth’s Rotation Day 2024 observed on 8th January 2024 commemorates 173rd anniversary of Léon Foucault‘s demonstration.

Basics of Earth’s Rotation:
i.The spinning of the Earth around its axis is called ‘rotation.’ Earth completes a full rotation on its axis every 23 hours and 56 minutes, which is rounded up to 24 hours.
ii.This rotation around its axis is known as one Earth Day and this rotation is responsible for day and night cycles.
ii.Earth rotates on its axis from West to East, and the Sun and Moon appear to move from East to West across the sky.
History:
i.In 470 BC, the Greeks claimed that the earth rotates on its own back.
ii.In 1851, Léon Foucault demonstrated the earth’s rotation with the help of his pendulum called the Foucault Pendulum.
iii.The principle of the Foucault Pendulum was 1st demonstrated in the Pantheon in Paris Observatory in 1851 by suspending the pendulum from the dome of the Panthéon.

• The experiment involved suspending a 28-kilogram brass bob, 38 centimeters in diameter, hanging on a 67-meter (220-foot) long wire.

iv.It was the 1st satisfactory demonstration of the earth’s rotation using laboratory apparatus rather than astronomical observations.
Note: Later, it was displayed at the Pantheon in Greece.