Overview of PM Modi’s visit to Odisha and Assam on 3 & 4 February, 2024Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi visited Odisha and Assam on 3rd February to 4th February, 2024 and laid the foundation stone and inaugurated several projects.
Highlights of PM Modi’s visit to Odisha
During his visit to Odisha on 3rd February,2024, PM Modi inaugurated and laid the foundation stone for various infrastructure projects worth over Rs 68,000 crore in Sambalpur, Odisha.

• The projects were related to various sectors such as: railways, road, higher education and energy sector which includes coal, natural gas and power areas.

PM Modi laid foundation stone for various projects worth Rs 11,600 crore in Assam
On 4th February, 2024, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated various development projects worth Rs 11,600 crore in Assam.
About Odisha:
Chief Minister(CM): Naveen Patnaik
Governor: Raghubar Das
Capital: Bhubaneswar
National Park(N.P.): Similipal National Park, Bhitarkanika National Park

Union MoS Rajeev Chandrasekhar Inaugurates Digital India FutureLABS at IIIT-Delhi Union Minister of State(MoS) Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology(MeitY) launched the “Digital India FutureLABS” at Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology-Delhi (IIIT-Delhi), New Delhi, Delhi

• The MoS also addressed the Digital India FutureLABS Summit 2024 held at IIIT-Delhi on 3rd February 2024.
• Digital India futureLABS will be coordinated by the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing(C-DAC).

About Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology(MeitY):
Union Minister– Ashwini Vaishnaw(Rajya Sabha- Odisha)
Minister of State(MoS)– Rajeev Chandrasekhar(Rajya Sabha- Karnataka)

India Contributes USD 32.89 Million to UN Regular Budget for 2024 On 31 January 2024, India contributed USD 32.895 million (approximately Rs. 273 Crore) to the United Nations (UN) Regular Budget (RB) for 2024 and earned its spot in the “Honour Roll of the UN for 2024”. 
Honour Roll 2024:
i.Honour Roll is a list of UN that have paid their mandatory financial support in full to the UN’s RB within 30 days of issuance of a payment note from the UN.
ii.As of 5th February 2024, 43 Member States have paid their regular budget assessments in full within the 30 day due period specified in Financial Regulation 3.5 (by 8 February 2024).
Note: India’s assessed contribution to the UN budget for 2023 was USD 30,540,402.00, and India has consistently figured in the UN Honour Roll.
UN Regular Budget (RB):
i.The RB encompasses UN programs spanning various domains, such as:

• Political affairs;
• International justice and law;
• Regional cooperation for development;
• Human rights and humanitarian affairs; and
• Public information.

ii.In December 2023, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) approved an RB for the UN Secretariat’s 2024 operations, of USD 3.59 billion for 2024.
iii.This is about USD 300 million more than the USD 3.3 billion budget proposed by UN Secretary-General António Guterres in October 2023.
Peacebuilding Fund:
i.The budget also includes the establishment of a multi-year Peacebuilding Account, a special account dedicated to financing the UN’s Peacebuilding fund.
ii.The UNGA adopted almost USD 50 million in additional funding for decisions taken by the Human Rights Council and decided to establish the Peacebuilding Account.

• The additionally approved USD 50 million of assessed contributions per annum is to fund the Account, starting 1 January 2025.

Note: The UN maintains a distinct budget for peacekeeping operations, with the fiscal cycle from 1 July to 30 June, while the RB cycle aligns with the calendar year.
About United Nations (UN):
Secretary-General– António Guterres
Headquarters– New York, USA
Established in– 1945

SBI Ties Up with Flywire to Foster Payments of Indian Students AbroadState Bank of India (SBI) in collaboration with Boston, United States of America (USA) based Flywire Corporation, a global payments enablement and software company, aims to simplify cross-border education payments for Indian students pursuing studies abroad.

• The facility is available only to local currency account holders of SBI in India.

Key features:
i.Indian students can now pay education fees to higher education institutions across the world in Indian Rupees (INR) directly from their SBI accounts, eliminating lengthy processes.
ii.Universities and colleges receive payments on time in their local currency and gain transparency into transaction history.
LRS guidelines:
i.The solution is in line with the compliance process of the Liberalized Remittance Scheme (LRS) guidelines set by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
ii.The guidelines allow Indian residents to easily remit up to USD 250,000 per financial year.
iii.It also helps to streamline overseas transactions and investments for residents of India.
Process:
i.Flywire directly integrates with SBI’s platform, creating a fully digital checkout experience for the transactions.
ii.Flywire identifies the source of payments delivered to an institutions’ bank account and automatically posts each payment to the applicable student record.
iii.These payments can be made and tracked through the SBI Internet banking platform.
Additional Info:
i.Indian students are moving to countries such as USA, Canada, the United Kingdom(UK) and Australia for higher education.
ii.According to the Open Doors 2023 Report on International Educational Exchange, a huge number of Indian students went to the USA in the 2022-23 academic year, representing an increase of 35% over the 2021-22 academic year.
About State Bank of India (SBI):
Chairperson – Dinesh Kumar Khara
Headquarters –  Mumbai, Maharashtra
Established in – 1955
Tagline – The Banker to Every Indian

HDFC Bank Launched 4 Business Credit Cards BizFirst, BizGrow, BizPower, & BizBlack for Self-employed CommunityOn 6th February 2024, HDFC Bank, India’s largest private sector bank., launched 4 variants of new Small and Medium Enterprises (SME)-focused Business range credit cards namely BizFirst, BizGrow, BizPower, and BizBlack.

• These cards will cater to the needs of the self-employed community including Micro-Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), startups, professionals, and freelancers.

About the New Credit Cards:
i.The business credit card range offers a best-in-class interest-free credit cycle of 55 days, the highest number of days offered by any bank.
ii.It also offers savings on core business spending like utility bills, Goods and Services Tax (GST), income tax, vendor payments, business travel, and business productivity tools.
iii.This credit card launch is part of HDFC Banks’s strong SME Payment Solutions suite designed to meet the diverse payment needs of self-employed individuals, SMEs, and MSMEs.
Unified Digital Platform:
i.HDFC Bank introduces a unified digital platform addressing both the payable and receivable needs of businesses.

• It seamlessly manages vendor payments, utility bills, statutory payments, etc.

ii.On the receivable side of the payments, the platform is designed to optimise end-to-end supply-chain arrangements and reconciliation.
iii.The platform provides a detailed dashboard with one view of payments made and accepted, for better cash-flow management.
Key features:
i.Up to 55 Days Free Credit Period.
ii.Up to 10X Reward Points on Business Spends.iii.Specially Curated Business Insurance Package.
iv.Exclusive Business-Focused Redemption Catalogue.
v.Equated Monthly Installment (EMI) and Loan on Card Facility.
About HDFC Bank Ltd:
MD and CEO– Sashidhar Jagdishan
Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra
Established in 1994
Tagline– We Understand Your World

LIC launches individual life insurance plan Index Plus
Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) launched “LIC Index Plus”, a unit-linked, regular premium, individual life insurance plan.
The plan offers a combination of life insurance coverage and savings throughout the policy’s duration.
LIC Index Plus will be available for purchase from 6th February 2024. 
i.Age at entry:  90 days (Minimum) to 50 or 60 years (Maximum)
ii.Basic sum assured: 7 to 10 times of Annualized premium for entry at 90 days to 50 years and 7 times of Annualized premium for entry at 51 to 60 years.
iii.Age at maturity:  18 years(Minimum) and 75 or 85 (based on sum assured).
iv.Policy term: Minimum 10 or 15 years depending on Annualized premium and Maximum Term is 25 years.
v.Premium: Minimum Premium(Based on the Premium payment frequency): Rs 30000 (Yearly), Rs 15000 (Half- yearly), Rs 7500 (Quarterly), and Rs 2500 (Monthly). Maximum Premium: no limit.

66th Annual Grammy Awards(2024): Taylor Swift wins Album of the Year for 4th timeThe 66th Annual Grammy Awards (Grammy 2024) was held at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California, the United States of America(USA) on 4th February 2024.

• The Grammy 2024 recognized recordings released between 1st October 2022 and 15th September 2023. The 2024 awards were presented in 94 categories.

Top Honours: 
i.Taylor Swift won the Grammy 2024 – Album of the Year for her album Midnights and became the first ever artist to win “Album of the Year” four times.  she also won the award under “Best Pop Vocal Album” category. 
ii.Victoria Monét won the Best New Artist at the 2024 Grammys
Zakir Hussain’s Shakti band won Best Global Music Album for ‘This Moment’:
The band Shakti, led by Tabla maestro Ustad Zakir Hussain and featuring vocalist Shankar Mahadevan, percussionist V Selvaganesh, violinist Ganesh Rajagopalan and John McLaughlin, has won the Best Global Music Album award for their latest release ‘This Moment’.

H Venkatachalam Iyer Appointed as MD & CEO of Tata AIA Life  ; Naveen Tahilyani Appointed as MD & CEO of Tata DigitalThe Board of Tata AIA Life Insurance Company Limited has appointed H Venkatachalam Iyer as its new Managing Director (MD) & Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

• He will take over from incumbent Naveen Tahilyani, who has been elevated as a non-executive director of Tata AIA Life and appointed as MD & CEO of TATA Digital Private Limited with effect from 19th February 2024.

Note: The appointment is subjected to regulatory approval from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDAI).
About H Venkatachalam Iyer:
Prior to the appointment, Venkatachalam Iyer has been serving as the President & Chief Distribution Officer at Tata AIA Life. He joined Tata AIA Life in April 2016.
Previously he served as the Executive Vice President of ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company Limited.
He has more than 20 years of experience in the field of Sales and Distribution, Channel Management, and Strategy roles.
Naveen Tahilyani appointed as MD & CEO of Tata Digital CEO & MD
Tata Group has appointed Naveen Tahilyani as the new MD & CEO of Tata Digital Private Limited with effect from 19th February, 2024.

• He will succeed Pratik Pal, who stepped down from the post on 6th February 2024.

About Naveen Tahilyani:
i.He served as the MD & CEO fo TATA AIA Life from 2015 to 2018 and from 2020 to 2024.
ii.Between 2018 and 2020, He served as the CEO of AIA Group (2018 to 2020) and held a brief stint as Group Executive- Banking Operations and Transformation of Axis Bank Limited (2020)iii.He has also served as Senior Partner at McKinsey & Company, based in Mumbai and led the Financial Services practice in India and South East Asia.
About Tata AIA Life Insurance Company Limited:
Tata AIA Life Insurance Company Limited is a Joint Venture(JV) between Tata Sons Private Limited and AIA Group Limited.
Headquarters – Mumbai, Maharashtra
Established in – 2001

Nayib Bukele re-elected as President of El Salvador for 2nd Term Nayib Armando Bukele Ortez(42-year-old), President of  El Salvador, won the general elections 2024 and was re-elected to the post for the 2nd consecutive term.

• He became the first Salvadorian president to win a 2nd consecutive term since 1983.
• He will take charge as the President of El Salvador in June 2024 and setve till 2029.

About Nayib Armando Bukele Ortez:
i.Nayib Bukele, the founder of Nuevas Ideas (New Ideas) political party, has been serving as the President of El Salvador since 2019.
ii.In 2021, the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court of El Salvador ruled that President Nayib Bukele could run for a second consecutive term.
iii.Previously, He has also served as a mayor for the municipalities of Nuevo Cuscatlán (2012-2015) and San Salvador (2015-2018) in El Salvador.
Note:
i.In December 2023, the Congress of El Salvador granted President Nayib Bukele permission to leave his post for 6 months to launch campaign for 2024 election.
ii.Claudia Rodríguez de Guevara, head of National Directorate of Municipal Works was appointed as the the Interim President of El Salvador for the 6 months.  She became the first women President of El Salvador.
2024 General Election of El Salvador:
i.The elections for president, vice president and Legislative Assembly were held in El Salvador from 6th January to 4th February 2024.

• Nayib Bukele claimed to have won more than 85% of the vote.

ii.In the Legislative Assembly election, the Nuevas Ideas party won 58 seats out of 60 seats of the El Salvador parliament.
iii.A second set of elections will be held on 3rd March 2024 to elect mayors and municipal councils and deputies to the Central American Parliament (Parlamento Centroamericano also known as PARLACEN)

Ravi Kumar Jha Appointed as MD & CEO of LIC AMC
LIC Mutual Fund Asset Management Ltd(LIC AMC), the investment manager of LIC Mutual Fund (LICMF), has appointed Ravi Kumar Jha as its Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) with effect from 31st January 2024.

• He is also designated as a Key Personnel for the Schemes of LIC Mutual Fund.
• Prior to the appointment, he was serving as the Associate Director of LIC AMC.

Note: T.S. Ramakrishnan, who served as MD & CEO of LIC AMC since 2022, resigned from the services by attaining superannuation at LIC on December 28, 2023.

CCI Approvals on 6th February 2024The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has approved the following on 6th February 2024.
i.Acquisition of certain shareholding of Shadowfax Technologies Private Limited(SFX) by NewQuest Asia Fund IV (Singapore) Pte. Ltd.(TPG NQ).
ii.Acquisition of 70% stake in Kotak Mahindra General Insurance Company Limited by Zurich Insurance Company Ltd
iii.Acquisition of 100% shareholding of Interise Investment Managers Limited by the CPIH, AIL – II. and Ontario Inc.
About Competition Commission of India (CCI):
Chairperson – Ravneet Kaur
Headquarters– New Delhi, Delhi
Established on– 14 October 2003 (Operational from 2009)

HDFC Bank gets RBI Nod to Acquire up to 9.5% Stake in Six Banks
HDFC Bank Limited, India’s largest private lender, has received approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to acquire up to 9.5% stake each in six banks namely – Axis Bank Limited, Suryoday Small Finance Bank Limited, ICICI Bank Limited, Bandhan Bank Limited, YES Bank Limited and IndusInd Bank Limited.

• The approval was granted pursuant to the applications made by HDFC Bank to RBI on 18th December 2023.
• The approval is valid for one year ie., till 4th February 2025.
• The approval is intended for investments by HDFC Asset Management Company (AMC), HDFC Ergo and HDFC Life Insurance.

Note: HDFC Bank must ensure that the aggregate holding in the 6 banks does not exceed 9.50% of the paid-up share capital or voting rights of the respective banks, at all times.

Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik releases Coffee-Table Book Titled ‘Shree Jagannatha, Lord Of The Universe’
Chief Minister (CM) of Odisha Naveen Patnaik has released a coffee-table book titled ‘Shree Jagannatha, Lord Of The Universe’ during the valedictory session of the first-ever “World Odia Language Conference” held in Bhubaneswar, Odisha from 1st to 3rd February 2024.

• The book was published by The Hindu Group and edited by Raghuvir Srinivasan, Editor of The Hindu BusinessLine.
• The book pictorially narrates traditions and rituals associated with Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra, and Devi Subhadra in Shree Jagannath Temple of Puri, Odisha.

International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation 2024- February 6
The United Nations (UN) International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation(FGM) is annually observed across the globe on 6 February to amplify and direct the efforts on the elimination of the practice of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).
6 February 2024 marks the 13th observance of UN recognised International Day of Zero Tolerance for FGM.

• The theme of International Day of Zero Tolerance for FGM 2024 is, “Her Voice. Her Future. Investing in Survivor-Led Movements to End Female Genital Mutilation.”

Background:
i.On 6 February 2003, Stella Obasanjo, the 1st Lady of Nigeria, and spokesperson for the Campaign Against FGM, made the official declaration on “Zero Tolerance for FGM” in Africa during a conference.
ii.The 1st International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation was observed on 6 February 2003.
iii.On 20 December 2012, the UN General Assembly (UNGA) adopted the resolution A/RES/67/146 and proclaimed the 6th February of every year as the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation.
About United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA):
It began operating in 1969 as the United Nations Fund for Population Activities.
Executive Director– Dr. Natalia Kanem
Headquarters– New York, USA