Daily Current Affairs January 26 2023

BANKING & FINANCE :

RBI asks SBM Bank to stop all remittance transactions under LRS           

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has directed the SBM Bank (India) Ltd to stop all Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) transactions with immediate effect till further orders.
• The RBI under sections 35A and 36(1)(a) of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, has directed SBM Bank to stop LRS transactions.

Key Highlights : 

• Under the LRS scheme, all resident individuals, including minors, are allowed to freely remit funds abroad up to $ 2,50,000 per financial year (April – March) for any permissible current or capital account transaction or a combination of both.
• The Scheme was introduced on February 4, 2004, with a limit of USD 25,000.
• In December 2018, the RBI sanctioned the Scheme of amalgamation of the entire undertaking of SBM Bank (Mauritius) Limited, India with SBM Bank (India) Limited which was granted a license to carry on the business of banking in India through a wholly-owned subsidiary.
• Meanwhile, the RBI has imposed a penalty of Rs 26 lakh on Nutan Nagarik Sahakari Bank, Ahmedabad for non-compliance with the directions issued by it on ‘Co-operative Bank-Interest rate on deposits’ and ‘Guidelines for the issue of ATM-cum-Debit cards by UCBs’.
• A penalty of Rs 1.5 lakh has also been imposed on Samarth Sahakari Bank, Solapur for contravention of certain norms.

About SBM Bank India : 

• Founded: 1 December 2018
• Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
• MD & CEO : Sidharth Rath .
• SBM Bank India is a subsidiary of the State Bank of Mauritius.
• It was the first bank to receive a banking license from India’s banking regulator RBI to establish a universal banking business in the country as a wholly owned subsidiary.

Agriculture Infrastructure Fund Mobilises Over Rs 30,000 Crore 

• Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF), has mobilized over Rs 30,000 crore for taking up projects in the agriculture infrastructure sector with a sanctioned amount of Rs.15,000 crore under AIF.
• With the support of 3% interest subvention, credit guarantee support through CGTMSE for a loan of up to Rs.2 crore, and facility of convergence with other Central and State Govt. The scheme, AIF is providing all-around financial support to the farmers, agri-entrepreneurs, farmer groups like Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs), Self Help Groups (SHGs),  Joint Liability Groups (JLGs), etc., and many others to create post-harvest management infrastructure and build community farming asset throughout India.

About AIF : 

• AIF is a financing facility launched on 8th July 2020 under the visionary guidance of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, for the creation of post-harvest management infrastructure and community farm assets.
• Under this scheme, Rs 1 lakh crore is to be disbursed by the financial year 2025-26 and the interest subvention and credit guarantee assistance will be given till the year 2032-33.

About Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare : 

• Cabinet Minister: Narendra Singh Tomar
• Minister of State: Shobha Karandlaje, Kailash Choudhary

SEBI slaps Rs 26 crore fine on Coffee Day Enterprises                    

• Capital markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) imposed a penalty of Rs 26 crore on Coffee Day Enterprises Ltd (CDEL), which runs Cafe Coffee Day, for the diversion of funds from subsidiaries to a company related to promoters.
• The company has been directed to pay the fine within 45 days.

Key Highlights : 

• SEBI has directed CDEL to take all necessary steps for recovery of entire dues from Mysore Amalgamated Coffee Estates Ltd (MACEL) and its related entities along with the due interest that is outstanding to the subsidiaries.
• SEBI also directed the company to initiate steps to recover dues of Rs 3,535 crore, the amount diverted from 7 subsidiaries of CDEL to MACEL.
• According to SEBI’s Whole time director, Ashwani Bhatia, out of the total dues of ₹3,535 crore as on July 31, 2019, the subsidiaries have managed to recover a paltry sum of ₹110.75 crores till September 30, 2022 (within more than three years).

• For recovering dues, SEBI has ordered the appointment of an independent law firm under the oversight of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) within 60 days.
• MACEL is almost entirely owned by VGS’ family with a 91.75% stake &  VGS’ family is a promoter of CDEL.

About SEBI :

• Established: on 12 April 1988 as an executive body and was given statutory powers on 30 January 1992 through the SEBI Act, 1992
• Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra
• Chairman: Madhabi Puri Buch
• SEBI is the regulatory body for securities and commodity markets in India under the ownership of the Ministry of Finance, GoI.

About CDEL : 

• CEO :   Malavika Hegde
• Coffee Day Trading is a subsidiary established in the year 2000 to provide companies with strong potential access to capital and resources.

NATIONAL NEWS

The centre  may  add  slabs in  the overhaul of  the income tax regime: 

• The government has held extensive discussions over the past few weeks to overhaul the new personal income tax regime without exemptions, with a new plan expected to be announced in the Union budget on 1 February
• One of the proposals examined is to add more slabs to the new income tax scheme so that the income range covered in each slab is narrower, preventing taxpayers with diverse incomes from clustering in wide slabs
• The discussions in the finance ministry were around two key aspects.
• Currently, there are six slabs in the new personal income tax regime, starting with the ₹5-5 lakh income bracket taxed at 5%, which progresses to 10%, 15%, 20%, and 25% with each increase in income of ₹2.5 lakhs and then to the 30% rate for those earning ₹15 lakhs and above.
• Compared to this, the old tax filing regime has only three—5% tax for income in the range of ₹5-5 lakh, 20% for income of ₹5-10 lakh, and 30% for income above that.

Centre spent Rs 3.43 trillion on free ration scheme: 

• The Centre spent a total of Rs 3.43 trillion for the seven-phase implementation of the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) between April 2020 and December 2022.
• This expenditure is against an earlier estimate of Rs 3.9 trillion for the free ration scheme because the off-take of grains by the states at 17 million tonnes was 23% less than the initial estimate in the seventh phase (October-December, 2022) of the scheme.
• The expenses on PMGKAY’s last phase were Rs 34,208 crore against an earlier estimate of  Rs 44,762 crore. 
• The Centre has distributed more than 100 MT of foodgrains under the free ration scheme since its launch in April 2020 to reduce hardships for people during the Covid-19 pandemic.
• According to estimates, against an allocation of 2.11 MT of wheat to be distributed under PMGKAY during Oct-December 2022, states have lifted 1.89 MT.
• In the case of rice, states have taken possession of 7.27 MT against an allocation of 9.89 MT.
• The scheme has run continuously with several extensions, except between December 2020 and April 2021.
• The latest extension was for three months till December 31, 2022.
• Under the free ration scheme, 5 kg of foodgrains per person per month was provided to more than 800 million beneficiaries free, along with an equal quantity of highly subsidized food grains under National Food Security Act.
• The government’s food subsidy expenses in the current fiscal are likely to cross Rs 2.76 trillion, up 34% from the outlay at the beginning of the year.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Govt sets up India’s G20 task force on digital public infrastructure

• The Centre has set up a  G20 task force on digital public infrastructure for economic transformation, financial inclusion, and

Aim : 

• To help India achieve its G20 presidency priorities for promoting digital identity, improved and innovative technology-based services, including digital payments such as UPI along with governance frameworks.
• The task force will be headed by Amitabh Kant, India’s G20 sherpa, and Nandan Nilekani, Infosys co-founder.

Functions of G20 Task Force : 

• The “G20 Task Force will help achieve the agenda for India’s G20 presidency related to digital public infrastructure, financial inclusion, digital identity, innovative technology-based services such as digital payments systems like Unified Payments Interface (UPI), and governance frameworks
• The task force will create a detailed map of India’s digital infrastructure in finance, health, education, data, taxation, digital commerce, and mobility and shortlist key infrastructure to be presented within various G20 tracks.
• The task force’s work will also facilitate the Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion (GPFI) working group in G20’s finance track and the Digital Working Group (DEWG) in the Sherpa track.
• It will also assess the Indian ecosystem’s readiness to support global efforts and propose solutions so that innovations can be taken to other countries promptly.
• The focus areas include publicly owned digital goods such as digital identity, access to bank services, fast retail payment system, data-sharing protocol, market-friendly techno-legal regulatory frameworks, and involving the private sector for innovation and service delivery.

About G20 : 

• Established: 1999
• G20 is an intergovernmental forum comprising 19 countries and the European Union (EU).

STATE NEWS

Himachal Pradesh targets to be 1st Green Energy State by 2025                 

• The Himachal Pradesh (HP) Chief Minister(CM) Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu announced that HP targets to become 1st Green Energy State by 2025
• HP would harness hydro, hydrogen, and solar energy and switch to green products which will enhance the premium and advantage in export.
• The CM directed Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board Ltd (HPSEBL), Himachal Pradesh Energy Development Agency (HIMURJA), Himachal Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (HPPCL), and the Department of Energy to take action in this direction.
• He also directed the officers to open all the solar projects up to 5 MW capacity for allotment.

Key Highlights : 

• Himachal Pradesh government will install 500 MW solar projects during the year 2023-24.
• Out of this, 200 MW would be installed by HPPCL.
• HIMURJA would install solar projects up to 150 MW capacity through private participation.
• The Capacity of the projects will be from 250 KW to 1 MW.
• To ensure that HP also gets some financial benefits, he directed HIMURJA to evolve a mechanism by seeking royalty for solar projects above 3 MW capacity.
• CM directed HIMURJA to ensure a 5% premium for Himachal Pradesh in solar power projects up to 5 MW and a 10% share with solar power projects having over 5 MW capacity.
• CM also asked HPPCL to expeditiously complete power projects like Kashang II and III, Shongtong, and
• During the meeting, Sukhu also reviewed the progress of the Kishau Dam Project 660 (MW) where the water component is financed by the Central government and the state government in a ratio of 90:10.
• The Power component is to be shared 50-50 by Himachal and Uttrakhand States.
• Also, a pilot plant on Green Hydrogen Generation was being carried out at Nathpa Jhakri Hydro Power Station (NJHPS), Jhakri.

About HP : 

• Governor : Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar
• Chief Minister : Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu
• National Park : Great Himalayan National Park (UNESCO World Heritage Site), Pin Valley National Park, Inderkilla National Park- View Flora And Fauna.,Khirganga National Park
• Wildlife Sanctuaries : Chail Wildlife Sanctuary, Kibber Wildlife Sanctuary
• Airport : Kangra Airport, Kullu Manali Airport

Indian Army participates Monastic festival of Monpa tribe of Tawang at Tawang Monastery, Arunachal Pradesh            

• The three-day Torgya festival, a Monastic festival of the Monpa tribe was celebrated at the Tawang Monastery in Arunachal Pradesh‘s Tawang district.
• The festival starts on the twenty-eighth day of the eleventh lunar month

About Torgya festival : 

• Torgya festival is celebrated by the Monpa tribe of the Tawang Monastery to pay homage to Lama Tsongkhapa to chase away evil spirits that usher in diseases, misfortunes, and natural calamities.
• The highlight of the festival is the Chham dance, wearing the outfit of warrior Arpu by the Lamas of the Monastery.
• The Indian Army participated in the event at the gracious invitation of Gyalsi Rinpoche of Tawang Monastery.

BUSINESS NEWS

India’s Rs 8,000-cr green bond debuts, analysts see strong demand:

• The government is likely to kick off its first-ever issuance of green bonds on a strong note, with debt market participants predicting firm demand.
• The encouraging response to the maiden sale is likely to be reflected in a pricing premium or “greenium” relative to prevailing levels on corresponding regular government bonds.
• The maiden tranche of sovereign green bonds is set to go to auction.
• A total of Rs 8,000 crore worth of green bonds —Rs 4,000 crore of 5-year green bonds and Rs 4,000 crore of 10-year green bonds — would be on the block.
• In the Union Budget for the current fiscal year, the government announced the sale of green bonds as part of its market borrowing, for the first time.
• The proceeds would be deployed in public sector projects that help reduce the carbon footprint of the economy.
• The central government would auction Rs 8,000 crore worth of green bonds on February 9, taking total issuance in FY23 to Rs 16,000 crore.

Businesses face tax heat over deductions claimed for cess

• The key differentiator between regular sovereign bond auctions and green bond auctions is the premium — or the pricing benefit — that issuers globally enjoy for selling environment-friendly securities. 

• The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has asked top income-tax officers to nudge entities that had claimed deduction on account of cess or surcharge over the past several voluntarily differential years to pay the tax to avoid penalties.
• The deadline to resolve and rectify tax returns is March 31.
• After March 31, the amount claimed or taken will be treated as “under-reported” income and subject to a 50 percent penalty.
• The directive was among the key items taken up by the CBDT, chaired by Chairman Nitin Gupta.
• Besides, the apex body took stock of tax collection in FY23, tax deducted at source (TDS), the cases disposed of by the commissioner of income tax GET GHT 4 (appeals), pending taxpayers’ grievances, and so on.
• The exercise could earn the tax authorities ₹5,000 crores, according to rough estimates.

FM Nirmala Sitharaman to renew Atmanirbhar pledge, raft of steps likely Budget

• This could further shore up the direct tax revenue kitty for 2022-23.
• As the government aims to set a template for the next 25 years through the Budget for FY24, it will likely renew its Atmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India) pledge by focusing on five pillars – economy, infrastructure, technology, demography, and supply chain.
• According to sources, a raft of measures is being worked out to spur domestic manufacturing and trim import reliance, especially in fertilizers, cooking oil, and crude petroleum.
• Steps are likely to lure businesses seeking to relocate from China, reduce the compliance burden for India Inc and bolster supply-chain.
• Self-reliance is a key focus area for the country to emerge as a developed nation by 2047, which is a goal set by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
• The Budget will reflect this theme in its way and broadly focus on efforts to make the goal a reality.
• This will mean that it will focus not just on boosting growth on a sustained basis but also on improving ease of living.
• Greater support over the medium term may be extended to improve edible oil output through schemes like the National Edible Oil Mission-Oil Palm.
• Similarly, the country will seek to vigorously raise its ethanol production by mixing it with petrol to cut petroleum imports in the coming years.
• A clutch of green initiatives is also in the offing.

FASTag collections hit Rs 50,000 cr in 2022, up 46% YoY: NHAI

• These include raising the issue size of sovereign green bonds in FY24 from Rs 16,000 crore this fiscal.
• Toll collections at national and state highways through FASTag touched Rs 50,855 crore in 2022, the highest yearly figure and 46 percent more than in 2021.
• FASTag collections in December were approximately Rs 4,167 crore, and December 24 saw the highest-ever single-day collection at Rs 144 crore,
• Electronic toll collections in the previous year were Rs 34,778 crore, according to data released by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).
• Similarly, the number of FASTag transactions also witnessed a growth of approximately 48 percent in 2022 as compared to that in 2021.
• The number of FASTag transactions in 2021 and 2022 was 219 crores and 324 crores respectively
• collections in 2022 averaged approximately Rs 4,200 crore each month, marking the spread of FASTag adoption since the technology was mandated in 2019.
• In March 2022, monthly collections crossed Rs 4,000 crore for the first time.
• As many as 6.4 crore FASTags have been issued and the number of FASTag-enabled fee plazas across India grew to 1,181 in 2022 from 922 in 2021

AWARDS AND HONOUR

Naatu Naatu’ from SS Rajamouli’s ‘RRR’ nominated for Best Original Song in Oscars

• Director SS Rajamouli’s historical epic RRR has scored a nomination in the Best Original Song category at the upcoming 95th Academy Awards, more popularly known as the Oscars.
• In the Best Original Song category, RRR’s song “Naatu Naatu” is competing with “Applause” (Tell it Like a Woman), “Hold My Hand” (Top Gun: Maverick), “Lift Me” (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever), and “This is a Life” (Everything Everywhere All At Once).
• The nominations were announced by actor Allison Williams and actor-rapper-producer Riz Ahmed.
• The individual nominees for the song “Naatu Naatu” are Kala Bhairava, MM Keeravani, and Rahul Sipligunj.
• Previously, AR Rahman and Gulzar won in the Best Original Song category for Slumdog Millionaire’s “Jai Ho”.
• Among RRR’s other high-profile American honors are a Best Director award for Rajamouli by the New York Film Critics Circle, and inclusion in the National Board of Review’s top 10 films of the year.
• Crucially, RRR wasn’t selected as India’s official entry for the Best International Feature category at the Oscars, with the Gujarati film Chhello Show cutting instead.

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS          

Tata Trusts appoints Mr. Siddharth Sharma as CEO & Ms. Aparna Uppaluri as COO 

• One of the country’s oldest public charitable foundations, Tata Trusts appointed Mr. Siddharth Sharma as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Trusts and Ms. Aparna Uppaluri as the Chief Operating Officer (COO).
• Mr. Sharma will succeed Mr. N Srinath, who resigned as the CEO of Tata Trusts in 2022.
• The appointments of the new CEO and COO will come into effect from April 1, 2023.
• Mr. Sharma will be the 3^rd Tata group executive after Srinath & R. Venkataraman.
• For the first time, the company will create the COO post to accommodate Ms. Uppaluri, who is currently the program director for India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka at the Ford Foundation.
• The decision to have the new CEO-COO Structure was taken at the board meeting chaired by Ratan Tata.

Why CEO-COO Structure? 

• To ensure greater oversight on fund allocation ( Tata trusts has an annual distribution grant of Rs.1800 crore) and better governance standards at the foundation.

About Mr. Siddharth Sharma : 

• Mr. Sharma was the financial advisor to the late President Pranab Mukherjee from 2012-17.
• He joined Tata sons in 2019 as chief sustainability officer. 

About Ms Aparna Uppaluri : 

• Ms. Uppaluri is a Canadian citizen & a trained epidemiologist.
• She will be the first woman from outside the tata group to oversee the Trust’s philanthropic activities.

About Tata trusts : 

• Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra
• Tata Trusts holds a 66% stake in Tata Sons, the holding entity of the $128 billion salt-to-software conglomerate.

RBI approves appointment of Mr. Prabdev Singh as India CEO of JP Morgan Chase

• JPMorgan Chase & Co. has received approval from India’s central bank (Reserve Bank of India) to name Prabdev Singh as the lender’s chief executive officer (CEO) in the country for a period of a three-year.

• Mr. Singh had been JPMorgan’s interim CEO since November 2022 replacing Mr. Madhav Kalyan who in October 2022 was named head of payments for Asia Pacific.
• Before joining JPMorgan, he was a trained engineer and had worked for a decade at HSBC Holdings Plc.

About JPMorgan Chase & Co : 

• Established: December 1, 2000
• Headquarters: New York, United States
• JPMorgan Chase & Co. is an American multinational financial services company.
• It is the largest bank in the United States and the world’s largest bank by market capitalization (as of 2023).
• As the largest of the Big 4 banks, the firm is considered systemically important by the Financial Stability Board.

Govt extends tenure of Sangeeta Verma as acting Chairperson of CCI                                             

• The Central government has extended the tenure of Sangeeta Verma as the acting Chairperson of the Competition Commission of India (CCI), which has been functioning without a full-time Chairperson for three months now.
• She was initially appointed as acting Chairperson of CCI in Oct 2022 for 3 months or until a new chairperson was appointed after the previous chairperson Mr. Ashok Kumar Gupta demitted office.
• At present CCI is working with only 2 members.

About Dr. Sangeeta Verma : 

• Dr. Sangeeta Verma, a 1981 batch of the Indian Economic Service (IES)
• Verma, who is a member of CCI, has been the acting Chairperson since October 2022.

About CCI : 

• Founded: 14 October 2003
• Headquarters: New Delhi, Delhi, India
• Acting Chairperson: Sangeeta Verma
• First chairman: Dhanendra Kumar
• The CCI is the chief national competition regulator in India.
• It is a statutory body within the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.
• CCI consists of a chairperson and six members appointed by the Central Government

DEFENCE NEWS

BSF conducts ‘Ops Alert’ exercise to step up security on Indo-Pak border along Gujarat & Rajasthan ahead of Republic Day 2023

• The Border Security Force (BSF) has carried out an “Ops Alert” exercise to enhance security along the India-Pakistan border in the Kutch district of Gujarat and Barmer in Rajasthan ahead of the 2023 Republic Day.
• The ‘Ops Alert’ exercise commenced on January 21, 2023, & will continue till January 28, 2023 “ along the Indo-Pak international border from Sir Creek (marshy area) to the Rann of Kutch in Gujarat and Barmer district of Rajasthan.

Key Highlights : 

• The exercise was being carried out to “thwart any ill designs of anti-national elements” during the Republic Day celebrations
• As part of the exercise, the BSF will carry out special operations in forward and depth areas as well as creeks and ‘Harami Nalla’.
• For the first time, concrete “permanent vertical bunkers” are being built to house BSF troops directly near the strategically crucial Sir Creek and Harami Nalla marshland area.
• The BSF captured 22 Pakistani fishermen, seized 79 fishing boats and heroin worth Rs 250 crore, and charas worth Rs 2.49 crore from this region of Gujarat in 2022.
• The Union Home Ministry has sanctioned a Rs 50-crore fund for the construction of 8 multi-story bunkers cum observation posts in this area.

About BSF : 

• Established: 1 December 1965
• Headquarters: New Delhi, Delhi
• Director General: Sujoy Lal Thaosen
• The BSF is India’s border guarding organization on its borders with Pakistan and Bangladesh.
• It is one of the seven Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) of India.

IMPORTANT DAYS

International Customs Day- January 26

• International Customs Day is celebrated on January 26 every year and was initiated by the World Customs Organization (W.C.O.) in 1983.
• This day celebrates all the customs officials and agencies that toil day in and day out to ensure effective world trade management.
• Each year, the day also follows a new theme like ‘Customs bolstering Recovery, Renewal, and Resilience for a sustainable supply chain’ or ‘Customs fostering sustainability for people, prosperity, and the plant
• The World Customs Organization (W.C.O.) is an intergovernmental organization that oversees the different customs administrations related to international trade.
• In 1948, the Committee for European Economic Cooperation formed a study group called the European Customs Union Study Group (E.C.U.S.G.) to research the possibility of creating one or more inter-European customs unions.
• This led to the formation of the Customs Cooperation Council (C.C.C.) in 1952 to improve the efficiency of customs administrations worldwide.
• On January 26, 1953, the inaugural session of the C.C.C. took place, and 17 founding members participated.
• The organization created International Customs Day in 1983.
• After many decades of growth and expansion outside Europe, the C.C.C. became a global organization and was renamed the W.C.O. in 1994.
• The headquarters of the W.C.O. is in Brussels, Belgium.

Daily CA on Jan 26 : 

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has directed the SBM Bank (India) Ltd to stop all Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) transactions with immediate effect till further orders.
• Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF), has mobilized over Rs 30,000 crore for taking up projects in the agriculture infrastructure sector with a sanctioned amount of 15,000 crore under AIF.
• Capital markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) imposed a penalty of Rs 26 crore on Coffee Day Enterprises Ltd (CDEL), which runs Cafe Coffee Day, for the diversion of funds from subsidiaries to a company related to promoters.
• The Centre has set up a  G20 task force on digital public infrastructure for economic transformation, financial inclusion, and
• The Himachal Pradesh (HP) Chief Minister(CM) Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu announced that HP targets to become 1st Green Energy State by 2025
• The three-day Torgya festival, a Monastic festival of the Monpa tribe was celebrated at the Tawang Monastery in Arunachal Pradesh‘s Tawang district.
• One of the country’s oldest public charitable foundations, Tata Trusts appointed Mr. Siddharth Sharma as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Trusts and Aparna Uppaluri as the Chief Operating Officer (COO).
• JPMorgan Chase & Co. has received approval from India’s central bank (Reserve Bank of India) to name Prabdev Singh as the lender’s chief executive officer (CEO) in the country for a period of a three-year.
• The Central government has extended the tenure of Sangeeta Verma as the acting Chairperson of the Competition Commission of India (CCI), which has been functioning without a full-time Chairperson for three months now.
• The Border Security Force (BSF) has carried out an “Ops Alert” exercise to enhance security along the India-Pakistan border in the Kutch district of Gujarat and Barmer in Rajasthan ahead of the 2023 Republic Day.
• The government has held extensive discussions over the past few weeks to overhaul the new personal income tax regime without exemptions, with a new plan expected to be announced in the Union budget on 1 February
• The Centre spent a total of Rs 3.43 trillion for the seven-phase implementation of the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) between April 2020 and December 2022.
• The government is likely to kick off its first-ever issuance of green bonds on a strong note, with debt market participants predicting firm demand.
• The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has asked top income-tax officers to nudge entities that had claimed deduction on account of cess or surcharge over the past several voluntarily differential years to pay the tax to avoid penalties
• As the government aims to set a template for the next 25 years through the Budget for FY24, it will likely renew its Atmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India) pledge by focusing on five pillars – economy, infrastructure, technology, demography, and supply chain.
• Toll collections at national and state highways through FASTag touched Rs 50,855 crore in 2022, the highest yearly figure and 46 percent more than in 2021.
• Director SS Rajamouli’s historical epic RRR has scored a nomination in the Best Original Song category at the upcoming 95th Academy Awards, more popularly known as the Oscars
• International Customs Day is celebrated on January 26 every year and was initiated by the World Customs Organization (W.C.O.) in 1983.