Super Important

Current Affairs January 2023

Part-1
 Koustav Chatterjee is India’s 78rd Chess
grandmaster
 first women officer to be operationally
deployed in Siachen
 Zuari Bridge, India’s Second-Largest Cable
Bridge In Goa
 108th Indian Science Congress to be held in
 Indian Army inaugurates first ever two-
storey 3-D printed dwelling unit
SSC/BANK/KVS/CDS/CTET
 Koustav Chatterjee is India’s 78rd Chess grandmaster

• 19 year old Koustav Chatterjee of West Bengal became India’s

78th chess Grandmaster, securing the third and final GM norm
at the MPL 59th National Senior Chess Championship 2022
being held in New Delhi. He is the 10th Grandmaster from West
Bengal.
• Viswanathan Anand(Chennai) was the first Grandmaster in India.
• Dommaraju Gukesh(Chennai) is the youngest GM at 12 years, 7 months
and 17 days.
 Captain Shiva Chauhan becomes the first women
officer to be operationally deployed in Siachen
• Fire and Fury Corps officer Captain Shiva Chauhan became the
first woman officer to be operationally deployed at the highest
battleground in Kumar Post on the Siachen glacier.

• This information was tweeted by the official account of the Fire

and Fury Corps of the Indian Army.

• Ms Shiva had to undergo arduous training before her posting in

Kumar Post.
 China becomes the first country in Asia and second in
the world to launch Hydrogen powered Train
• China became thefirst country in Asia andsecond in the world
to launch Hydrogen powered urban trains. Germany was the
first country to introduce hydrogen powered trains in
September 2022.

• Chinese company CRRC Corporations ltd built a train that has a

top speed of 160 KM per hour and can run without refuelling
for 600 Km . The German Coradia iLint serial train developed by
French company Alstom has set a record 1175 Km range
without refuelling.
• According to the Chinese officials, the operation of the train will reduce CO2
emissions compared to diesel traction by 10 tons per year.

• India is committed to achieve zero net carbon emission by 2070.

• As per Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, India will most likely get its first-ever
indigenous Hydrogen trains by December 2023.
 DRDO celebrated its 65th foundation day

Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO)

• Chairman - Dr S V Kamat
• He reaffirmed DRDO's commitment towards R&D excellence
and briefed about the development of cutting edge
technologies for self-reliance in defence.

• It is a premier defence research and development agency

under the Ministry of Defence, Government of India.
• Set up - 1958
• Headquarters - New Delhi
• Chairman - Samir V Kamat
In 4:1 majority verdict, Supreme Court finds no flaw in
demonetisation process
• On January 02, 2023, a Constitution Bench of the Supreme
Court by a 4:1 majority upheld the central government's
decision to demonetise currency notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000
denominations six years ago in 2016.
• Judgement of the Court
• Justices S Abdul Nazeer, BR Gavai, AS Bopanna, V
Ramasubramanian held that the Centre's notification dated
November 8, 2016 was valid and satisfied the test of
proportionality.
• Justice BV Nagaratna, in his dissenting opinion, said that though demonetisation
was well-intentioned, it should be declared illegal on legal grounds (and not on
objective grounds).

• Justice Nagaratna said the decision to demonetise Rs 500 and Rs 100 notes should
have been made through legislation and not through notification.

• The Supreme Court dismissed 58 petitions challenging demonetisation, saying

that this decision related to the economic policy of the government cannot be
withdrawn.

• The Supreme Court accepted the government's view that there were consultations
between the Center and the RBI before demonetisation.
Demonetization
• Demonetization refers to the decision of the government to revoke the legal
tender status of a currency note.
• Once a currency note is demonetised, it cannot be used.
• On 8 November 2016, the Government of India announced the
demonetisation of all 500 and 1,000 notes.
• The government also announced the issuance of new 500 and 2,000
banknotes in exchange for the demonetised notes.

Objective of 2016 demonetisation

• Curb Corruption , Tackle Terrorism, Eliminating Fake Currency, Eradicate
Black Money
Nitin Gadkari Inaugurates Zuari Bridge, India’s Second-
Largest Cable Bridge In Goa
• Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari
inaugurated the first phase of the new Zuari bridge in Goa on
29th December, 2022.

• This bridge is the second largest cable-stayed bridge in India.

The bridge is built over the famous Zuari river in the state and
is eight lanes wide.
• The new bridge in Goa is expected to improve connectivity
between North Goa and South Goa.
• This 640 meter long bridge is being built in three phases.
 PM to address 108th Indian Science Congress to be
held in Nagpur
• The 108 Indian national Science Congress is being organised by
the Indian Science Congress Association from 3-7 January 2023
at the Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University.
• The 107 Indian Science Congress 2022 was held at the
University of Agricultural Sciences, GKVK Campus, Bangalore,
Karnataka in January 2022.

• Theme of the 108th Indian Science Congress 2023: Science

and Technology for Sustainable Development with Women
Empowerment”.
Other Programmes at the ISC
• Children’s Science Congress
• Farmer’s Science Congress
• Tribal Science Congress

• It was set up in Kolkata in 1914.

 CRPF Chief Sujoy Lal Thaosen takes over the additional charge
of Director General of the Border Security Force

• The Government of India has given the Central Reserve Police

Force (CRPF) Director General Sujoy Lal Thaosen the additional
charge as Director General Border Security Force (BSF). The
incumbent BSF Director General Pankaj Kumar Singh will retire
on 31 December 2022.
 Union Ministry of Home Affairs (7 Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF)

• Assam Rifles 1835

• Border Security Force (BSF) 1965

• Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) 1969

• Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) 1939

• Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) 1962

• National Security Guards (NSG) 1984

• Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) 1963

 Tamil Nadu Launches Project to protect Nilgiri Tahr

• Tamil Nadu government has issued orders to conserve the

Nilgiri tahr, the state animal, at a cost of Rs 25.14 crore.

• This is regarded as the first Nilgiri Tahr conservation project in

the country. The project would be implemented during a 5-year
period from 2022-2027, and follow a strategy including
synchronised surveys to estimate numbers of the tahrs. The
tahr is an endangered species and is protected under Schedule-
I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act of India, 1972.
India’s first underwater metro to become operation by
December 2023
• According to the Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation, India's first
underwater metro service, the East-West Metro Corridor
project is expected to be completed by December 2023.
• The metro line, which will connect Salt Lake to Howrah via
Kolkata with a stretch below the Hooghly River, is currently
operational between Sector V and Sealdah stations.
• Of the total 16.55 km length of the project, 9.30 km length
between Sector V and Sealdah is operational.
• The remaining 7.25 km length is likely to be operational by
December 2023.
Metro Rail system

• The first metro rail system in the world was started in London
on 10 January 1863.

• First metro in India; Kolkata Metro which started its operation

24 October 1984 between Dum Dam to Tollygunge. It was
started with the help of the Soviet Union.
 Election Commission proposes remote voting for
inter-state migrants
• The Election Commission of India has moved a proposal to all
political parties to enable domestic migrants to vote for their
home constituencies from their place of stay through a new
remote EVM (RVM).

• RVM has been developed with the help of Bharat Electronics

Limited (BEL) and Electronics Corporation of India Limited
(ECIL). It is based on the currently used EVM system.
• The Election Commission has sought written views of all recognized
national and state-level parties by January 30, 2023, and has scheduled a
demonstration of the RVM prototype to party representatives on January
16.
• There were 834 million registered voters in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections
out of which only 66.44% voted.
• In the 2019 parliamentary elections, the number of registered voters
increased to 912 million while the voter turnout was barely 67.40%.
• Registered voters are unable to vote for various reasons, the main reason
being domestic migration.
• This goes directly against the EC’s “No voter left behind” goal.
 Brazil's legendary footballer Pele dies at the age of 82

• Brazilian football legend Pele, who won a record

three World Cups has passed away at the age of 82
on 28th December.

• He died of multiple organ failure as a result of

progression of colon cancer.
• He is credited with scoring a world record 1,281 goals in 1,363 appearances during
a career spanning 21 years, including 77 goals in 92 appearances for his country.

• He was the only player to win the World Cup three times, lifting the trophy in
1958, 1962 and 1970, Pele was named Fifa's Player of the Century in 2000.

• Edson Arantes do Nascimento, better known as Pelé, became a global star when,
at the age of 17, he helped Brazil win the 1958 World Cup in Sweden.
 Indian Army inaugurates first ever two-storey 3-D
printed dwelling unit in Ahmedabad
• The Indian Army inaugurated its first 3-D Printed House
Dwelling Unit (with Ground plus One configuration) for soldiers
at Ahmedabad Cantt on 28 December 2022.

• The dwelling unit has been constructed by Military Engineering

Services (MES) in association with MiCoB Pvt Ltd,
incorporating the latest 3D Rapid Construction Technology.
• The disaster-resistant structures comply with Zone-III
earthquake specifications and green building norms.
• It builds up a 3-D structure in a layer-by-layer manner by extruding a
specially designed special type of concrete.
• The Ahmedabad-based Golden Katar Division of the Indian Army has
been instrumental in taking forward the project with manifold
applications in operation.

• What is 3D Printing?
• 3D printing uses computer aided design (CAD) to create three-
dimensional objects through the layering method.
• The model to be printed with the help of software is first developed by
the computer, which then instructs the 3D printer.
• The ‘Dhanu Yatra’ festival, the largest open-air theatre festival began after
a gap of two years, in Bargarh at the Odisha. The vibrant Dhanu Yatra is
associated with the culture of Odisha. The Festival is being held from
December 27 to Jan 6, 2023. Several artists from 130 cultural troupes
from across the country are scheduled to perform during the festival.
Around 3,000 artistes of 130 cultural troupes from across the country is
participating in the festival. However, Kansa is the central attraction of
the Dhanu Yatra.
 Tokyo was Japan's most populous city

• With approximately 9.7 million inhabitants, Tokyo was Japan's

most populous city as of 2020, followed by Yokohama, which,
in the same year, counted about 3.78 million inhabitants.
• Families in Japan will be offered up to one million yen (£6,217) per child
to move out of Tokyo in an effort to reduce overcrowding in the capital.