Highlights of PM Narendra Modi’s Visit to Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu on 19 January 2024Prime Minister(PM) Shri Narendra Modi Visited Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu on 19th January 2024 and inaugurated various projects including
i.8 AMRUT projects worth around Rs. 2,000 crores in Solapur, Maharashtra
ii.largest aerospace engineering facility of Boeing outside the United States in Bengaluru
iii.Opening Ceremony of Khelo India Youth Games 2023 in Chennai
iv.launch of a revamped version of the Doordarshan channel DD Podhigai as ‘DD Tamil’
PM Visit to Andhra Pradesh and Kerala on 16th-17th January 2024
The PM Visited Andhra Pradesh and Kerala on 16th-17th January 2024. During his visit to the state he also inaugurated few projects which are:
i.Infrastructure projects worth more than Rs 4,000 crores in Kochi, Kerala
ii.New campus of National Academy of Customs, Indirect Taxes & Narcotics at Palasamudram, Andhra Pradesh

MeitY Signs MoU with Cuba for Cooperation on Digital Public Infrastructure On 19th January 2024, The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Government of India, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Communications of the Republic of Cuba, to foster cooperation in the field of sharing successful digital solutions implemented at a population scale for digital transformation.
Signatories: The MoU was signed by S Krishnan, Secretary, MeitY (India); and  His Excellency Mr. Wilfredo Gonzalez Vidal, First Deputy Minister of Communications (Cuba) in New Delhi, Delhi.
About the MoU:
i.The MoU focuses on promoting digital transformation(INDIA STACK) through Capacity Building Programs, Exchange of Best Practices, and other collaborative activities to mutually benefit the digital ecosystems of India and Cuba.
ii.Under this MoU, India commits to collborate with Cuba by building the development partnership on digital transformation to facilitate a seamless adoption of Digital Public Infrastructure in Cuba.
About India Stack:
i.India Stack is the name used to describe a collection of disparate technology products and frameworks.
ii.It is a a set of open Application Programming Interface (APIs) and digital public goods that aim to unlock the economic primitives of identity, data, and payments at population scale.
About Cuba:
Capital– Havana
Prime Minister– Manuel Marrero Cruz
President– Miguel Mario DÍAZ-CANEL Bermúdez
Currency– Cuban Peso (CUP).

MoE issues New Rules for Coaching Centres; No enrolment of students below 16yearsOn January 19, 2023,  the Department of Higher Education under the Ministry of Education (MoE) has released the ‘Guidelines for Regulation of Coaching Center 2024’  which prohibits Coaching centres from enrolling students below the age of 16.

• This decision has been taken amid rising student suicides, exorbitant high fees at the study centres and mental pressure.

Aim:
i.To provide regulatory measures for coaching centres in India
ii.To safeguard the rights of students enrolled in coaching centres and provide them with necessary protection, guidance and academic support.
Key Rules for Registration of Coaching Centres:
i.Tutors must have a minimum qualification of graduation.
ii.Prohibited from making misleading promises or guarantees of ranks or good marks to parents/students.
iii.Students below 16 years cannot be enrolled; enrollment allowed only after secondary school examination.
iv.Coaching center must maintain an updated website with details on tutor qualifications, courses, duration, hostel facilities, fees, easy exit and refund policies, and student success statistics.
v.Prohibited from conducting classes during regular school hours.
vi.If the student has paid for the course in full and is leaving the course in the middle of the prescribed period, there should be  refund for remaining period on pro-rata basis within 10 vii.days, along with hostel fees and mess fee etc.
viii.There shall be no assessment-test / exam on the day after weekly off.
ix.During regional festivals, coaching center grants leave for family connection and emotional support.
x.Classes limited to 5 hours a day with reasonable timings.
xi.Besides engineering and medical options, students provided information on alternative career choices to ease future stress.

Union Minister Parshottam Rupala Launched Project for Artificial Reefs in Kerala Union Minister Parshottam Rupala, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying (MoFAHD) virtually launched the project of depositing artificial reefs in the seabed in Vizhinjam, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.

• The project aims to increase the income of fishermen by enhancing the fish population in the waters of Kerala.

About the project:
i.The project is a joint initiative of the Government of India (GoI) and the Government of Kerala.
ii.The project is implemented under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) of MoFAHD by the Kerala State Coastal Area Development Corporation (KSCADC).
iii.Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) – Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) provides technical assistance for the project.
iv.The project is implemented with a budget of Rs 13.02 crore: 60% (Rs 7.812 crore) by GoI and 40% (Rs 5.208 crore) by the Government of Kerala.
Key Points:
i.Under phase 1 of the project, 6,300 artificial reefs will be laid in 42 fishing villages(150 reefs in each village) from Pozhiyur to Varkala in Thiruvananthapuram district.
ii.Under this project, Reinforced Cement Concrete (RCC) reefs in 3 distinct shapes – triangular (80 units), floral (35 units), and fused pipe type (35 units) were assigned for each 42 villages.
iii.These modules will be installed on the seabed at a depth of 12 to 15 fathoms with the help of the Global Positioning System (GPS).
iv.These reefs create an artificial habitat thereby hosts favourable conditions for fish breeding.
Note:One fathom is equal to 6 feet (1.8288 meters), and it is mainly used to measure the depth of water.
Additional Info:
i.Under PMMSY, GoI has cleared Rs 302 crore for artificial reef installation and promotion of sustainable fisheries and livelihood in Kerala.
ii.The Department of Fisheries under MoFAHD has suggested the implementation of artificial reefs in 3,477 fishing villages along India’s coastline.

PM Modi unveiled Ramlalla idol at Ram Janmbhoomi Mandir in Ayodhya, UPOn 22nd January 2024, The Prime Minister(PM) Narendra Modi participated in the Pran Pratishtha (consecration /Establishing the Life Force) ceremony of Shri Ramlalla idol in the newly built Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Mandir(temple) in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh(UP).

• The rituals of ceremony were led by the PM along with Mohan Bhagwat, head of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
• The consecration ceremony officiated by a team of priests led by Varanasi, UP Priest Lakshmikant Dixit.

i.The 51-inch (4.25-ft) Ramlalla Idol placed in the sanctum sanctorum of temple was sculpted by Musuru (Karnataka) based Arun Yogiraj.  The statue portraying Lord Ram as a five-year-old i.e. Ram Lalla because this age is considered as the age of innocence.
ii.The Ram Janmbhoomi Mandir was designed by celebrated architect Chandrakant B Sompura, 81, and his son Ashish, 51 in the Māru-Gurjara architecture of Nagara style, a type of Hindu temple architecture found primarily in northern India.

Ex Khanjar 2024: 11th edition of India-Kyrgyzstan Joint Special Forces Exercise commenced at HP“Exercise Khanjar 2024”, the 11th edition of India-Kyrgyzstan Joint Special Forces Exercise, commenced on 22nd January 2024 at Special Forces Training School in Bakloh, Himachal Pradesh(HP).
The exercise is scheduled to be conducted from 22nd January to 3rd February 2024.
Aim: To exchange experiences and best practices in Counter Terrorism and Special Forces Operations in Built-up Area and Mountainous Terrain under Chapter VII of United Nations(UN) Charter.
Participants:
i.Indian Army (IA) contingent of 20 personnel is represented by troops from The Parachute Regiment (Special Forces).
ii.Kyrgyzstan contingent consisting 20 personnel is represented by Scorpion Brigade.
About Khanjar 2024 Exercise:
i.The exercise focused on sharing best practices of tactics, techniques, procedures to counter existing and emergent threats in Built-up Area and Mountainous Terrain.
ii.The exercise intends to develop Special Forces skills and advanced techniques of insertion and extraction.
iii.It provides a platform to showcase the cutting edge indigenous defence equipment of both the countries.
About Exercise Khanjar:
i.Khanjar is an annual exercise held alternatively in India and Kyrgyzstan.
ii.The first edition of Ex Khanjar was held in 2011 in Nahan, Himachal Pradesh.
iii.The 10th edition of Exercise (Ex Khanjar 2023) was held in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan from 6th to 18th March 2023.
About Kyrgyzstan:
President – Sadyr Japarov
Capital– Bishkek
Currency– Kyrgyzstani Som

PM Modi Launches ‘Pradhan Mantri Suryodaya Yojana’, a new Rooftop Solar Power SchemeOn 22 January 2024, Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi launched “Pradhanmantri Suryodaya Yojana”, a government scheme to provide Rooftop Solar (RTS) power systems to 1 crore households.
The scheme will support India to achieve the taget of 40 Gigawatt (GW) rooftop solar capacity.
About the Scheme:
i.Objective: To provide electricity to through solar rooftop installations, along with offering additional income for surplus electricity generation.
ii.The scheme is meant to assist poor and middle-income households to lower their electricity bills.
Background:
i.In 2014, the government introduced the Rooftop Solar Programme, which aims to expand India’s RTS capacity in residential sectors by providing Central Financial Assistance.
ii.It will be provided to the eligible projects as per the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) Guidelines, and incentives to DISCOMs
iii.The programme targeted to achieve a cumulative installed capacity of 40,000 megawatts (MW) or 40 GW by 2022. The deadline to achieve the taget was extended from 2022 to 2026.
Additional info: RTS systems can be availed through project developers/system integrators/manufactures etc. after taking necessary approval from DISCOM(distribution companies).

Air India launches India’s first Airbus A350-900 flight from Bengaluru to Mumbai
Air India Limited has launched India’s and Air India’s first Airbus A350-900 model aircraft ‘AI 589’.

• The flight made its inaugural fly from Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru (Karnataka) to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, Mumbai (Maharashtra).

Airbus A350-900:
i.The Airbus A350 was inaugurated by Union Minister of Civil Aviation, Jyotiraditya M. Scindia, in Wings India 2024 Summit which was held in Begumpet Airport, Hyderabad (Telangana) from 18th to 21st January 2024.
ii.The flight at present will be operating between cities such as Bengaluru, Chennai(Tamil Nadu), New Delhi (Delhi), Hyderabad, and Mumbai.
iii.It is a part of the agreement made by Air India with Airbus and Boeing in June 2023 for the supply of 470 aircraft.

Govt Expands Scope of Financial Services at IFSC GIFT city; Notified 4 Additional ServicesThe Ministry of Finance, Government of India (GoI) has expanded the scope of financial services offered at India’s 1st International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) at Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City) in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.

• Notified 4 additional services – Financial crime compliance, taxation, accounting, and bookkeeping – as a part of financial services.

Key Points:
i.These 4 additional services will be provided through units in GIFT City or IFSC, regulated by the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) with tax benefits available to the entities.
ii.These services can be rendered to non-residents (persons resident outside India under the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999) whose business is not set up by splitting up or reconstructing or reorganising a existing business in India.
iii.Existing units within the IFSC at GIFT City can also avail of these services.
Additional info:
i.The financial crime compliance services include services rendered towards compliances of anti-money laundering (AML) and countering the financing of terrorism (CFT) measures and Financial Action Task Force (FATF) recommendations, and other related activities.
ii.This is expected to boost the Big Four firms – Deloitte, KPMG, EY (Ernst & Young), and PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers) to provide some of their services through arms in GIFT City.
About Gujarat International Finance Tec-city co. ltd. (GIFT-City):
MD & Group CEO – Tapan Ray
Chairman – Dr. Hasmukh Adhia
Headquarters–  Gandhinagar, Gujarat

India became Fourth-Largest Stock Market, Overtakes Hong Kong
India has become the world’s fourth-largest stock market by market capitalization with the combined value of shares listed on Indian exchanges reaching USD 4.33 trillion.

• India has thereby surpassed Hong Kong whose combined value of shares is USD 4.29 trillion.
• The top three stock markets are the United States of America (USA), China, and Japan respectively.

NASA Unveils X-59 Quiet Supersonic Jet Known as ‘Son of Concorde’The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and Lockheed Martin, a global aerospace and defense company unveiled the X-59 quiet Supersonic Jet, a one-of-a-kind experimental aircraft known as the ‘Son of Concorde’.
i.X-59 Supersonic Jet was revealed at Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works facility in Palmdale, California, United States of America (USA).
ii.The X-59 is at the center of NASA’s Quiet Supersonic Technology (QueSST) mission that aims to demonstrate the ability to fly supersonic while generating a gentle “sonic thump” without making loud sonic booms.
About X-59:
Speed:The X-59 is expected to fly at speeds of 925 miles per hour (mph) or 1,489 kilometer/h(kmph), or 1.4 times the speed of sound (about 768 miles per hour (1,236 kmph) at sea level).
Features:
i.The X-59 aircraft is estimated to be 99.7 feet long, with a wingspan of 29.5 feet nose that lowers the sonic boom when the jet passes Mach 1.
ii.It accommodates a single pilot and is propelled by General Electric Co.’s F414 engine, which is designed to reach 1.5 times the speed of sound.
iii.Its v-shaped wing and extended nose are engineered to temper the sonic boom to a negligible thump.
iv.The X-59 model builds on a moderator known as a long-low-long/low-boom flight demonstrator (LBFD) configuration.
v.The cockpit of the jet is located about halfway down the length of the plane which has an eXternal Vision System, a series of high-resolution cameras feeding a 4K monitor in the cockpit, instead of forward-facing window
Benefits:
i.The X-59 will be used to collect community response data on the acceptability of a quiet sonic boom generated by the unique design of the aircraft.

• NASA will provide the data to the USA and international regulators to potentially adjust current rules that prohibit commercial supersonic flight over land.

ii.Some of the applications of supersonic flight include rapid medical response, shorter shipping times, and, faster travel.
Points to Note:
i.The Concorde aircraft launched in 1976 could fly up to 1,350 mph and was retired after a fatal 2000 crash.
ii.On 7 February 1996, Concorde completed the journey from London to New York in just 2 hours, 52 minutes, and 59 seconds.

• It still holds the record for the fastest civilian aircraft to complete a transatlantic flight.

iii.The USA banned supersonic travel over land for non-military aircraft in 1973 due to public concern about sonic booms over populated areas.
About National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA):
Administrator– Bill Nelson
Headquarters– Washington, D.C., USA
Founded in– 1958

CoRover.ai Launched India’s first Indigenous GenAI ‘BharatGPT‘ CoRover Private Limited(CoRover.ai) launched India’s 1st indigenous Generative AI (GenAI) Large Language Model (LLM) called BharatGPT (Generative Pre-trained Transformers).

• This is the only Indian Indigenous GenAI platform available across channels in 14+ Indian languages, with generative Video, Voice & Text.

Note: Bengaluru, Karnataka based CoRover is the world’s first and the highest Return on Investment (ROI) delivering human-centric Conversational and Generative AI platform.
About BharatGPT:
i.BharatGPT is integrated for voice modality in more than 14 Indian languages and 22 languages for text modality, in partnership with BHASHNI (BHASHa INterface for India), a National Language Translation Mission (NLTM) under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).
ii.CoRover has partnered with Google to host BharatGPT on Google CloudPlatform (GCP) to ensure data sovereignty, privacy, and security. 
iii.To enable organisations to use Google’s AI services, CoRover’s Conversational AI platform is integrated with the Vertex AI.
Additional info: BharatGPT is a collaborative effort of CoRover.ai and I-HUB Anubhuti- IIITD Foundation, tech hub of Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology Delhi(IIITD).
Points to note:
i.At present, CoRover offers AI Virtual Assistants (ChatBots, VoiceBots, VideoBots) to organisations like Life Insurance Corporation (LIC), Max Life Insurance, Mahindra, Government of India.
ii.CoRover also has the capability of integrating payment gateway and Aadhar-based authentication for Know Your Customer (KYC), and various AI components like speech-to-text, text-to-speech, and sentiment analysis.
Benefits:
i.Using CoRover’s BharatGPT developers and business users can create text and voice-enabled multi-lingual Virtual Assistants in a few seconds.
ii.Multi-layered Natural language processing (NLP) approach of this platform reduces computing and memory requirements.

India’s Satwiksairaj and Chirag Wins Silver Medal in Men’s Doubles of India Open Badminton 2024Indian badminton pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty won the silver medal(Runners-up) in the men’s doubles of Yonex-Sunrise India Open 2024 held from 16th-21st January 2024 in K. D. Jadhav Indoor Stadium in New Delhi, Delhi.

• In the finals of the men’s doubles, the Indian pair lost to South Korean pair Kang Min Hyuk and Seo Seung Jae (Gold medallists).

India Open 2024 winners:
i.Men’s singles: Shi Yu Qi (China)
ii.Women’s singles: Tai Tzu Ying (Chinese Taipei)
iii.Men’s doubles: Kang Min Hyuk – Seo Seung Jae (South Korea)
iv.Women’s doubles: Mayu Matsumoto – Wakana Nagahara (Japan)
v.Mixed doubles:Dechapol Puavaranukroh – Sapsiree Taerattanachai (Thailand)
About the India Open 2024:
i.India Open 2024 is a Badminton World Federation (BWF) Super 750 tournament.

• The BWF World Tour is divided into six levels, namely World Tour Finals, four Super 1000, six Super 750, seven Super 500, and 11 Super 300.In addition, the BWF Tour Super 100 level offers ranking points.

ii.It was the second tournament of the 2024 badminton season.
iii.It offered qualifying ranking points to players for the Paris 2024 Olympics.
iv.The Badminton Association of India (BAI) organized the tournament with sanctions from the BWF.
Total Prize Money – USD 850,000
Malaysia Open – 9th to 14th January 2024
Satwiksairaj and Chirag also won the silver medal(Runners-up) in the men’s doubles after they lost to Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang(Winner – Gold Medal) of China in the PETRONAS Malaysia Open 2024.
About Badminton World Federation(BWF):
President – Poul-Erik Høyer Larsen
Headquarters – Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Established – 1934

Canada’s Former Pole Vault World Champion Shawn Barber Passed Away
Shawn Barber, Canada’s former Pole Vault World Champion (2015) passed away at the age of 29 in Kingwood, Texas, the United States of America(USA). He was born on 27 May 1994 in Las Cruces, New Mexico, the USA.

• Shawn Barber, a dual Canadian-American citizen, represented Canada throughout his competitive career.

i.He earned a gold medal at the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto (Canada). He also won the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) World Championships in Beijing, China, later in 2015 at the age of 21.
ii.At the 2016 Pole Vault Summit in Reno, Nevada (USA), he achieved his best vault at 6 meters (19 feet, 8 ¼ inches), which is remains the Canadian record in Pole vault.
iii.He represented Canada at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), finishing 10th.

Parakram Diwas 2024 – January 23 Parakram Diwas, is annually observed across India on 23 January to commemorate the birth anniversary of one of the prominent independence fighters of India, Subhash Chandra Bose, popularly called Netaji.

• 23 January 2024 marks the 127th birth anniversary of Subhash Chandra Bose.