Henley Passport Index 2024: Indian Passport Ranks 80th; Gives visa free Entry to 62 countriesAccording to the The Henley Passport Index 2024 Global Ranking released by Henley and Partners, Indian passport is ranked 80th by providing visa-free or visas on arrival access to 62 countries. India shares the 80th rank with Uzbekistan.
i.Previously in 2023, India was ranked 83rd and provided visa free entry to 58 countries.
ii.The top spot is grabbed by 6 countries: France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Singapore, and Spain with citizens enjoying visa-free access to 194 travel destinations.
iii.Japan and Singapore have consistently held the top spot for the past five years.
iv.The world’s weakest passports globally is of Afghanistan at 104th rank with access to 28 nations only.
About Henley & Partners:
Chief Executive Officer– Dr. Juerg Steffen
Headquarters– London, United Kingdom (UK)
Establishment– 1997

India Ranks 2nd in MSCI EM Index; China TopsIndia has secured a 2nd rank in the MSCI Emerging Markets (EM) index by surpassing Taiwan. The first spot is grabbed by China.

• India’s share in MSCI Emerging Markets index saw an increase in over eight years from 7% to 17.1% and is projected to rise further to 20% by early 2024.
• India witnessed the highest inflows observed in the last 11 years.
• This makes India as an attractive investment option in emerging markets.

Key Points:
i.India’s representation in MSCI EM doubled from 8% in October 2020 to 17.1% amid standardized Foreign Ownership Limit (FOL) in 2020 and strong performance in midcap equities.
ii.In 2023, India’s stock count in MSCI Standard index increased to 131 after inducting 17 new Indian stocks.
iii.Consistent flow from domestic institutional investors and potential for India to exceed 20% weight in MSCI EM Index by early 2024.
iv.Top 5 countries in MSCI EM Index (8 Jan ‘24 ) – China (26.6), India (17.1), Taiwan (15.8), South Korea (12.6), and Brazil (5.7).
About MSCI EM Index:

• In 1988, MSCI Inc., formerly Morgan Stanley Capital International launched the MSCI Emerging Markets Index which is one of the first investable benchmark index global equity markets in the space. It captures large and mid cap representation across 24 EM countries. With 1,441 constituents, the index covers approximately 85% of the free float-adjusted market capitalization in each country.
• This index is a collection of stocks that tracks the performance of companies in fast-growing countries.

Dun & Bradstreet and Jupiter Wagons Unveiled Indian Railway Freight Activity IndexFlorida(United State of America)- based Dun & Bradstreet (D&B), in collaboration with Jupiter Wagons Ltd., unveiled the Indian Railway Freight Activity (IRFA) Index during the 15th International Railway Equipment Exhibition (IREE 2023) in Pragati Maidan, New Delhi, Delhi from 12th to 14th October 2023.

• It is a quarterly report providing a comprehensive and data-driven assessment of the dynamics of Indian Railway freight activity.
• The IRFA Index has become a first-of-its-kind tool for monitoring and understanding the intricacies of Indian railway freight activity.

Note: D&B is a leading global provider of business decisioning data and analytics for almost 200 years.
About Jupiter Wagons Ltd:
Managing Director (MD)- Mr. Vivek Lohia
Headquarters– Kolkata, West Bengal
Incorporated in– 2006
About Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) India:
Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO)- Avinash Gupta
Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra
Started operations in– 1995

India and U.K. signed LoA and MoU for Defence Collaboration in R&D and cadet exchange programme respectivelyUnion Defence Minister Rajnath Singh made a two day visit to the United Kingdom (U.K) on 9 & 10 January 2024 and held the bilateral meeting with his British Counterpart Grant Shapps. The visit also saw signing of LoA and MoU by both the countries.
The bilateral meeting resulted in signing of two important agreements between India and U.K.
i.A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between India and U.K. on conduct of bilateral international cadet exchange programme.
ii.Letter of Arrangement was signed between Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), India and Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL), U.K. on defence collaboration in Research and Development (R&D).
Significance of these Agreements:
i.These agreements will give boost and promote people-to-people exchanges particularly among the youth.
ii.It will expand areas of defence research collaboration between India and U.K.
Note: This is the first visit by an Indian Defence Minister to U.K. over 20 years (Previously visited by MoD George Fernandes  in 2002).
About Ministry of Defence:
Union Minister: Rajnath Singh (Lok Sabha Constituency: Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh)
Minister of State (MoS): Ajay Bhatt (Lok Sabha Constituency: Nainital-UdhamSingh Nagar, Uttarakhand)
About United Kingdom (U.K.):
Prime Minister: Rishi Sunak
Capital: London
Currency: The Pound Sterling(GBP)
About Defence Research Development and Organisation(DRDO):
Chairman: Dr. Samir Vankatpati Kamat
Headquarters: New Delhi, Delhi
Established: 1958

IIT Madras to Establish New Campus in Kandy, Sri Lanka
The Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-Madras) based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu is set to start a new campus of its Tech univerity in Kandy, Sri Lanka in 2024.
Dr. Susil Premajayantha, Education minister of Sri Lanka, announced that this proposal was part of the Budget 2024 presented by Sri Lanka President Ranil Wickremasinghe in his capacity as Finance Minister.

• In January 2024, officials of the IIT-Madras will visit Sri Lanka to begin the process of setting up a branch of its campus in Sri Lanka.
• The process involves presenting a report to the University Grants Commission (UGC) outlining courses and initiating the establishment process of the campus branch.
• The campus is expected to help Sri Lankan students pursue higher education locally at an affordable price.

SBI’s Proposed Dollar-Denominated Bond Gets BBB- Rating from S&P and FitchThe S&P Global Ratings assigned its ‘BBB-‘ long-term issue rating to the proposed dollar-denominated bonds to be issued by the London branch of State Bank of India (SBI).
Fitch Rating has given an expected rating of ‘BBB-(EXP)’ to these senior unsecured notes.
SBI raises USD 600 million via 5-year senior unsecured fixed rate notes
SBI raised USD 600 million through senior unsecured fixed rate notes having maturity of 5 years at a coupon of 5%, payable semi-annually, under Regulation-S. Under Regulation-S, offers and sales of securities that happen outside the United States are exempt from Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) registration requirements.

• The Bonds will be issued through SBI London branch in the United Kingdom (UK) as of January 17, 2024 and will be listed on Singapore Stock Exchange and India International Exchange, Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT) City in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.

Key Points:
i.This fundraising is on the lines of the bank concluding placement of USD 250 million senior unsecured Green floating rate notes, aka “The Green Notes.”
ii.This “Green Notes” issuance, maturing on December 29, 2028, is part of SBI’s USD 10 Billion medium-term note program and was conducted through a private placement facilitated by its London branch.

• The Green Notes rated BBB- by S&P, were issued on a floating rate basis of 1.20% above SOFR (secured overnight financing rate).

IPPB & Hindustan Zinc Partners to Offer Financial Inclusion Services in RajasthanIndia Post Payments Bank (IPPB) and Hindustan Zinc Limited (HZL) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to transform the financial landscape of rural Rajasthan.
Note: IPPB is a 100% government owned entity under the Department of Posts, Ministry of Communication(MoC). HZL is a subsidiary of Vedanta Limited
Signatories: The MoU was signed by Gursharan Rai Bansal, Chief Sales & Marketing Officer, IPPB and Arun Misra, Chief Executive Officer(CEO) of HZL
About the MoU:
i.The MoU aims to provide financial inclusion services to the beneficiaries of HZL’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities.

• These services include helping people open bank accounts, providing access to pension plans, granting income-generating loans and offering long-term savings and investment options.

ii.The MoU is aligned with IPPB’s commitment to providing best-in-class digital banking services to the unserved and underserved population of India.
iii.IPPB also empowers over 3.5 lakh beneficiaries, including Self-Help Group (SHG) women, farmers, and youth to make them Individual Business Correspondents (BC).
iv.IPPB will also support government social welfare programs through its banking channels.
About India Post Payments Bank Ltd (IPPB):
Chief Executive Officer(CEO) –  Venkatram Jayanthy
Headquarters – New Delhi, Delhi
Established in – 2018
Tagline – Aapka Bank, Aapke Dwaar
About Hindustan Zinc Limited (HZL):
HZL is India’s largest and the world’s second-largest integrated zinc producer. At present, Government of India owns 29.5% stake in HZL while Vedanta owns 64.9% stake.
Chief Executive Officer(CEO)- Arun Misra
Headquarters- Udaipur, Rajasthan
Established in 1966

Bloomberg Index Services Ltd to Include India’s FAR Bonds into its EM Index from September 2024
Bloomberg Index Services Ltd (BISL) proposed the incorporation of India’s Fully Accessible Route (FAR) bonds into its Emerging Market (EM) Local Currency Index. As per the proposal, the inclusion of Indian government bonds will be a phased implementation plan spanning over 5 months starting in September 2024.

• Each month will add 20% of the bonds’ full market value (100%) falling under the FAR category which does not involve any restrictions on foreign investors. The process will be completed in January 2025.
• Once completely phased into the Bloomberg EM 10% Country Capped Index, India FAR bonds will be fully capped at 10% weight within the index.
• At that point, the Indian Rupee will become the 3rd largest currency component, following the Chinese Renminbi and the South Korean Won, within the Bloomberg EM Local Currency Index.

Note:

• India’s FAR bonds are those that foreign investors can buy without any limits.
• In September 2023, JPMorgan said that Indian government bonds will be a part of its Government Bond Index-EM (GBI-EM) global index suite from June 2024.

President Droupadi Murmu Honoured Winners of Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award 2022 Droupadi Murmu, President of India, honoured the Four winners of Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award (TNNAA) 2022 during the Sports and Adventure Award 2023 event held in Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi, Delhi.

• The 4 winners of TNNAA 2022 are: Savita Kanswal (posthumous), Praveen Singh, Tulsi Chaitanya Mothukuri, and Anshu Kumar Tiwari.
• TNNAA award honours the achievements of individuals in adventure sports.

Points to note:
During the event, President honoured the winners of Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Awards-2023; Dronacharya Awards-2023; Arjuna Awards-2023; Dhyan Chand Awards-2023; Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar-2023; and Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Trophy-2023.
Click here for the complete list of winners
Winners of TNNAA 2022:

• She lost her life in an avalanche in Draupadi’s Danda-2 mountain peak in Uttarakhand on 4 October 2022.

ii.Tulsi Chaitanya Mothukuri is the 1st Indian poice officer to achieve the triple crown of the open water swimming.

• He swam the English Channel in 15 hours(hr) 18 minutes(min) 45 seconds(sec); Gilbraltar Strail in 4 hr 25 mins; Palk Strait in 8hr 15 min and Catalina Channel in 12rh 40 min.

iii.Anshu Kumar Tiwari has completed 2214 hrs of flying including 250 hrs in night for skydiving, training and dispatching.
iv.Pravin Singh has scaled more than 20 himalayan peaks including Mt Everest twice and Mt Kanchenjunga.
About Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Awards (TNNAA):
i.TNNAA was instituted in 1993-1994, and the first awards were given for the year 1994 in 1995. TNNAA is named after Tenzing Norgay, who was one of the first 2 people to reach the 8,849-meter summit of Mount Everest on May 29, 1953.
ii.Objective: to encourage youths to develop the spirit of endurance, cooperative teamwork, and effective reflexes in challenging situations.
iii.Categories: The TNNAA is presented in 4 categories namely: Land Adventure; Water (Sea) Adventure; Air Adventure; and Life Time Achievement for adventure activities on Land, Sea, and Air.

• Achievements for the last 3 years are considered for the 3 categories namely Land Adventure, Water (Sea) Adventure, and Air Adventure;
• For the Life Time Achievement award, the achievement of an entire career is considered.

iv.Award Value: The award includes a bronze statuette, a certificate, a blazer with a silken tie/a saree, and award money of Rs. 15 Lakh.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino Receives Award for International Sports Personality for 2023 in Dubai
Gianni Infantino, President of the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA), received the Award for International Sports Personality for 2023 at the 12th annual Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Creative Sports Awards held in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

• He received the award in recognition of FIFA’s impactful contributions to football development through various means, including Video Assistant Referee (VAR) technology, doping detection, and player injury monitoring.

i.The award was established in 2009 inspired by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum’s passion for sports.
ii.The award recognizes outstanding individual achievements across diverse sport-related fields and acknowledges global innovators fostering sports development and enhancing fair competition.
iii.International recipients have been eligible for recognition since 2012, and this award is the highest international honour.

Indian Navy Received the 1st Indigenous Drishti 10 Starliner Drone   from Adani Defence and Aerospace The Indian Navy received Drishti 10 Starliner (also known as Elbit Hermes 900), the 1st indigenously manufactured Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), manufactured at the Adani Defence and Aerospace(ADA) facility in Hyderabad, Telangana.
The drone was unveiled by dmiral R Hari Kumar, Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Indian Navy, in Hyderabad, Telangana.
Note:
The drone with 75 Navy personnel is set to be transported from Hyderabad to Porbandar, Gujarat, where it will be officially inducted into naval maritime operations.
This will enhance surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities in the Arabian Sea.
About Drishti 10 Starliner:
i.The Drishti 10 drones were produced by Adani Group in partnerhsip with Israel’s Elbit Systems. Around 70% of the drone has been indigenised.
ii.It has 36 hours endurance and 450 kg payload capacity
Features:
i.This UAV is a cutting-edge Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) platform, equipped with state-of-the-art sensors, and advanced communication capabilities.
ii.It’s the only all-weather military platform with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO) STANAG 4671 (Standardized Agreement 4671) certification for the UAV system’s airworthiness.

• It holds authorization for flight in both segregated and unsegregated airspaces.

iii.With advanced technologies such as Automatic Take Off and Landing (ATOL), Drishti would be a strong force multiplier, adding capability and credibility in undertaking ISR across the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).
Background:
i.In 2023, Ministry of Defence(MoD) and ADA signed a contract to suppy four MALE drones for Indian Army and Navy (2 each).
ii.The contract was signed using the emergency financial powers granted by MoD.
iii.The combined value of the deals is around Rs 550 crore.
About Adani Defence and Aerospace:
Adani Defence and Aerospace is a part of Adani Group.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO)– Ashish Rajvanshi
Headquarters– Ahmedabad, Gujarat

NSPAAD Launches ‘Report Fish Disease’ Mobile App to Monitor  Disease OutbreaksThe National Surveillance Programme for Aquatic Animal Diseases (NSPAAD) project has introduced a mobile app ‘Report Fish Disease’ (RFD) to track and monitor fish diseases across India.
Developers of the App:
i.The ‘Report Fish Disease’ app has been developed by ICAR(Indian Council of Agricultural Research)-NBFGR(National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources) in Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh)under the National Surveillance Programme for Aquatic Animal Diseases (NSPAAD), funded under Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana(PMMSY) by the Department of Fisheries, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying (MoFAH&D), Government of India.
ii.The Central Institute of Fisheries Technology (CIFT) in Kochi (Kerala) is one of the collaborative partners of the NSPAAD project.
About Report Fish Disease app:
i.Fish farmers can report disease outbreaks by providing essential information such as location, species affected, symptoms observed, and images of species.
ii.Geo-tagging technology in the app helps to identify a farm’s location, facilitates swift response from authorities and farmers get real-time updates on the status of their reported cases.
iii.It also ensures transparency and accountability in the disease management process.
About the National Surveillance Programme on Aquatic Animal Diseases (NSPAAD) Phase-II:
i.In February 2023, MoFAH&D launched NSPAAD Phase-II under PMMSY with a total cost of Rs.33.8 crores for implementation in all States and Union Territories for a period of 3 years.
ii.It is launched to improve the collection of information on the distribution and occurrence of aquatic animal diseases.
About PMMSY:
i.The Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) is being implemented by the Department of Fisheries at a total estimated investment of Rs. 20,050 Crore for a period of 5 years from 2020-21 to 2024-25.
ii.The scheme aims to bring about the Blue Revolution (aquaculture production) through sustainable and responsible development of the fisheries sector in India.
iii.PMMSY is designed to address critical gaps in the fisheries value chain from fish production, productivity, and quality to technology, post-harvest infrastructure, and marketing.

China’s OrienSpace Launches its Maiden Rocket Gravity-1OrienSpace, a Chinese space startup firm has launched its maiden rocket Gravity-1(Yinli-1) from Defu-15002 the mobile sea platform off the coast of Haiyang (Yellow Sea) in the eastern Shandong province of China.

• Gravity-1 carried three Yunyao-1 weather satellites to 500km low earth orbit(LEO).

About the Gravity-1 rocket:
i.Gravity-1 is a three-stage solid fuel-propelled rocket that can carry a payload of up to 6,500 kg into LEO and 4200 kg into sun-synchronous orbit, making it the most powerful launch vehicle developed by a private Chinese enterprise.

• The medium-sized rocket stands 30 meters high, and its core stages and boosters are 2.65 meters in diameter.
• Gravity-1 has the capability to deploy up to 30 satellites in a single launch.

ii.The satellites deployed through the launch were built by Changguang Satellite Technology (a Chinese State-owned enterprise) and will be operated by Tianjin Yunyao Aerospace Technology for meteorological analysis and forecasting, spatial environmental detection, and ground disaster research and prevention.
iii.Orienspace’s successful launch of Gravity-1 establishes them as the fifth private Chinese company to operate their own carrier rocket, following i-Space, Galactic Energy, Space Pioneer, and LandSpace
iv.The mission is the ninth sea-based rocket launch in China.

Union Minister Giriraj Singh Releases “Panchayats Free From GBV – A Handbook for Elected Representatives”
Union Minister Giriraj Singh, Ministry of Panchayati Raj (MoPR) released a handbook titled “Panchayats Free From Gender-Based Violence (GBV) – A Handbook for Elected Representatives” during the virtual inauguration of the one-day National Workshop n Role of Panchayati Raj Institutions in Addressing Gender-Based Violence (GBV) in New Delhi, Delhi.

• The workshop was organized by the MoPR in collaboration with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) India in New Delhi, Delhi.
• The book was released in the presence of Vivek Bharadwaj, Secretary, MoPR; Dr. Chandra Shekhar Kumar, Additional Secretary, MoPR; Ms. Andrea M. Wojnar, Resident Representative for UNFPA.