4th January 2024 Daily Current Affairs
State Affairs
1. PM Modi takes part in women’s meet at Thrissur in Kerala
- PM Modi took part in the women’s meet titled “Women Power with Modi” organised at Thekkinkadu Maidan.
- Earlier in the day, the Prime Minister launched and laid the foundation stone of development projects worth 1156 crore rupees at Kavaratti island in Lakshadweep.
- He accused the two fronts for their role in keeping the law providing reservation for women in Parliament and the Assembly, pending for years.
National Affairs
2. Indian Railways to install around 20 thousand GPS based navigation fog
- The Indian Railways have provisioned around 20 thousand fog pass devices during the foggy weather to ensure smooth rail operations.
- The fog pass is a GPS based navigation device that helps the loco pilot to navigate during dense fog conditions.
- The Railway Ministry said, it provides on-board real-time information to Loco Pilots regarding location of fixed landmarks such as Signal, Level Crossing gate and Permanent Speed Restrictions.
Sports
3. Beach Games start at Ghoghala Beach in Union Territory of Diu
- More than 1,200 players from across 20 states and union territories of the country will participate in the first-of-its-kind multi-sports beach games in Diu.
- Mr. Thakur will attend the ‘My Bharat’ program at Malala Auditorium Diu.
- A total of 8 different sports are included in the Diu Beach Games, including beach volleyball, pencak silat, beach boxing, beach soccer, and sea-swimming along with traditional sports and more than 20 in the beach games.
Summits & Conferences
4. Czech PM to be chief guest at Vibrant Gujarat summit
- Czech Republic’s Prime Minister Petr Fiala has accepted the invitation to be a guest of honor at the inaugural session of the 10th Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit, scheduled for January 10th.
- His presence in Gandhinagar was expected to elevate the event to an international level.
- It is also learned that the summit will also feature the presence of presidents from three other countries like the President of the UAE ,the President of Timor and the President of Mozambique.
State Affairs
5. ‘SMART 2.0’ launched for Ayurveda Teaching Professionals
- The Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences (CCRAS) along with National Commission for Indian System of Medicine (NCISM) has launched ‘SMART 2.0’ (Scope for Mainstreaming Ayurveda Research among Teaching professionals) program.
- The program aims to promote robust clinical studies in priority areas of Ayurveda with Ayurveda academic institutions and hospitals across the country through mutual collaboration.
Important Dates
6. World Braille Day to be celebrated across globe today
- This day holds special importance as it marks the birthday of Louis Braille, the visionary inventor of the Braille script, born in France in 1809
- Recognizing the paramount role of Braille in education, communication, and social inclusion, the UN has designated 4 January every year as World Braille Day
- A universal code rather than a language, serves as a tool to write and read in various languages, including Sanskrit, Arabic, Chinese, Hebrew, Spanish, and many others
Banking & Finance
7. RBI releases draft circular proposing new rules of dividend payout
- The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released a draft circular proposing new rules of dividend payout for domestic and overseas banks operating in India.
- RBI has sought public feedback on the proposed norms by January 31 and the circular will be implemented from April 2024 onwards.
- The proposal says banks with net non-performing asset ratio (NNPA) of above 6% and capital adequacy ratio (CRAR) of below 11.5% cannot declare dividends.
Banking & Finance
8. Binny Bansal Launches OppDoor To Help Ecommerce Firms In Expansion
- OppDoor offers end-to-end solutions to brands including market entry analysis, demand mapping, inventory management, cross-border logistics and tax.
- The Singapore-based startup claims to partner with leading private label brands to unlock their business potential and expand globally.
- Currently, the startup claims to be operational in the US, the UK, Canada, Mexico, Germany, Singapore, Japan, and Australia.
International Affairs
9. France becomes first European country to issue digital Schengen visas
- France is set to make history as the first European country to issue digital Schengen visas, introducing a streamlined online process for the anticipated Paris Olympics.
- The innovative “Olympic Consulate” system is exclusively dedicated to managing the influx of visa applications related to the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
- This groundbreaking initiative, aligned with the European Union’s (EU) broader digitalization plans.
