1. Current affairs JAN 2023
 China’s population drops for first time since 1961
 Pankaj Kumar Singh appointed Deputy National
Security Adviser
 21st edition of bilateral naval exercise 'Varuna'
 UN declares Pakistan based Abdul Rehman
Makki a global terrorist
 General Election to the Legislative Assemblies of
Meghalaya, Nagaland and Tripura in 2023
 Global Fire Power Index 2023

2. Retired DG of BSF Pankaj Kumar Singh appointed Deputy
National Security Adviser
• Retired director general of the Border Security Force (BSF)
Pankaj Kumar Singh was appointed on 17 January as the
Deputy National Security Adviser in the National Security
Council Secretariat for a period of two years.
• Pankaj Kumar Singh, a 1988 batch IPS officer of Rajasthan
cadre, has been appointed on re-employment contract. He
retired as the BSF chief on December 31, 2022.

4. • National Security Adviser -Ajit Doval
• Deputy NSA
• D Padsalgikar
• Vikram Misri
• Rajinder Khanna

5. China’s population drops for first time since 1961
• The biggest decline in the population of China has been
recorded after the year 1961. Negative population growth has
now started in China. The death toll in China is more than the
number of children born.
• According to the China’s National Bureau of Statistics China’s
population declined by roughly 850,000 to 1.41175 billion at
the end of 2022.
• In China, 9.56 million people were born in 2022, while 10.41
million people died.
• China's birth rate last year was just 6.77 births per 1,000
people, down from 7.52 births in 2021, the lowest ever.

7. • Impact of the One Child Policy
• The main reason for China's population decline is the one-child policy
implemented between 1980 and 2015.
• Additionally, higher education in China is very expensive, which has prohibited
many Chinese people from having more than one child.
• The fundamental reason why women do not want children is the failure of
society and men to take responsibility for raising children.
• China's strict zero-covid policies that were in force for three years have further
damaged the country's demographic outlook.
• Local governments have introduced measures to encourage people to have
more children from 2021, including tax cuts, longer maternity leave and housing
subsidies.

8. Viacom18 gets 'WIPL' media rights for Rs 951 crore
• On January 16, 2023, BCCI Secretary Jai Shah tweeted
that Viacom 18 has acquired the media rights of the Women's
Indian Premier League (WIPL), which is going to start from
March-April 2023.
• Viacom18 has bought the media rights of the women's IPL for
five years from 2023 to 2027 for Rs 951 crore.
• Viacom18 gets this deal for the next 5 years (2023-27) at Rs
7.09 crore per match, which is quite attractive. Because the per
match price of PSL (Pakistan Super League) organised by
Pakistan is Rs 2.44 crores.

10. 21st edition of bilateral naval exercise 'Varuna' - 2023
to be held
• On 16 January 2023, The 21st edition of the bilateral naval exercise
"Varuna" between India and France began off the western seaboard.
• The exercise will be conducted for five days from 16 to 20 January 2023.
• The current edition of the exercise will involve Indian Navy's indigenous
Guided Missile Stealth Destroyer Ship INS Chennai, Guided Missile Frigate
INS Teg Nauka, Maritime Patrol Aircraft P-8I and Dornier, integral
helicopters and MiG29.
• The French Navy will be represented by aircraft carriers Charles de Gaulle,
FS Forbin and Provence yachts, support ship FS Marne and maritime
patrol aircraft Atlantique.

11. • The bilateral exercise between the navies of India and France was started
in the year 1993, it was named 'Varuna' in the year 2001.
• Garuda –Air November 2022 at Air Force Station Jodhpur.
• SHAKTI - The 6th edition of the biennial training exercise November 15-
26, 2021 at Frejus, France.

12. Kollam becomes first constitution literate district in
India
• In a remarkable achievement, Kerala's Kollam district has
become the first constitution literate district in the country.
• This was announced on January 15 by Kerala Chief Minister
Pinarayi Vijayan at a function presided over by Finance
Minister KN Balagopal in Kollam.

13. The Citizen Constitution Literacy campaign
• The campaign has been launched to educate the residents of Kollam
district of Kerala about the basics of the Constitution.
• Under this campaign, more than seven lakh families of the district are
being educated on the basic principles of the Constitution.
• As part of the campaign, the entire population of Kollam above the age of
10 years was informed about the Preamble of the Constitution and the
historical background of the document, its basic principles, fundamental
rights of citizens and legal remedies.
• Under the campaign, about 20 to 25 persons from each municipality and
10 to 15 persons from each gram panchayat are selected for training and
are called senators.

14. UN declares Pakistan based Abdul Rehman Makki a
global terrorist
• On January 17, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC)
listed Pakistan-based terrorist Abdul Rehman Makki as a global
terrorist.
• He has been declared a 'global terrorist' under UNSC's ISIL
(Da'esh) and Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee.
• In June 2022, India criticised China for blocking the resolution
of sanctions under the Sanctions Committee, also known as the
UNSC 1267 Committee.

15. Who is Abdul Rehman Makki?
• Makki is the brother-in-law of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) chief and 26/11
mastermind Hafiz Saeed.
• He heads the political affairs of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and also plays a
role in raising funds for Lashkar's operations.
• The US government has placed a reward of $2 million on Abdul Rahman.
• According to the US State Department, in 2020, a Pakistani anti-terrorism
court convicted Makki on a terrorism financing count and sentenced him
to prison.
• He is also a militant of Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) and has been designated
as a terrorist by India under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act of
1967.

16. Shahrukh Khan on the fourth position in the list of
world's richest actors
• The list of world's richest actors was released on the Twitter
account of World of Statistics, in which Indian actor Shah Rukh
Khan has overtaken Hollywood star Tom Cruise to become the
world's richest actor.
• Shahrukh Khan has also left behind Tom Cruise and Jackie
Chan.
• Hollywood star Jackie Chan is at number six on the list with
earnings of $520 million.

17. 5 Richest Actors In The World
1. Jerry Seinfeld (American) – (Rs 8200 crore)
2. Tyler Perry (American) – (Rs 8200 crore)
3. Dan Johnson (American) – (6500 crores)
4. Shahrukh Khan (Indian) – (6300 crores)
5. Tom Cruise (American) – (5900 crores)

18. Notification for General Election to the Legislative Assemblies
of Meghalaya, Nagaland and Tripura in 2023
• The National Election Commission has prepared a schedule for holding
general elections to the Legislative Assemblies of the three states of
North-East India, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Tripura.
Tripura Legislative Assembly General Election Schedule
• Total Assembly Constituencies:- 60
• Date of poll:- February 16, 2023
• Date of counting of votes:- March 2, 2023
• Tripura
• Capital: Agartala
• Governor: Satyadev Narayan Arya
• Chief Minister: Dr. Manik Saha

19. General Election Schedule to the Legislative Assemblies of Meghalaya
and Nagaland
• Total assembly constituencies:- 60-60 assembly constituencies in both
the states
• Date of Poll:- February 27, 2023
• Date of counting of votes:- March 2, 2023
Nagaland
Capital: Kohima
Governor: Prof. jagdish mukhi
Chief Minister: Neiphiu Rio
Meghalaya
Capital: Shillong
Governor: BD Mishra
Chief Minister: Conrad Sangma

20. India announces 100 million Maldivian Rufiyaa for
community development projects in Maldives
• External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar arrived in Maldives on
18 January as part of his three-day visit to Maldives and Sri
Lanka.
• To strengthen bilateral ties, India and Maldives signed an MoU
on development projects and held talks with top leadership in
the country.
• The agreement included grant assistance of 100 million rufiyaa
(Maldives' currency) for the High Impact Community
Development Project (HICDP).

21. • It is also called Maldives Islands, an independent island
country in the north-central Indian Ocean.
• Capital -Male
• President -Ibrahim Mohamed Solih
• Official Language - Dhivehi (Maldivian)
• Official Religion - Islam
• Currency - Rufiyaa

22. Jacinda Ardern announced her resignation as Prime
Minister of New Zealand
• On 18 January 2023, the Prime Minister of New Zealand
'Jacinda Ardern' has announced her resignation from her post
at the annual meeting of her party.
• Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern will hold the post of Prime
Minister till 7 February 2023 and will resign after that.
• The 2023 general election in New Zealand is going to be held
on 14 October.
• Prime Minister Ardern is one of the world's youngest female
heads of state at the age of 37 when she came to power in
2017.

24. New Zealand
• Capital: Wellington
• Currency: New Zealand Dollar
• Prime Minister: Jacinda Ardern
• President: Debbie Hockley

25. Renowned Assamese poet Nilamani Phukan passes
away
• Renowned Assamese poet and Jnanpith awardee Nilamani
Phukan passed away at the age of 89 at Guwahati Medical
College, Hospital.
• Nilamani Phukan was born on September 10, 1933 in Dergaon,
Assam.
• He was awarded the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1981 for his
poetry collection 'Kabita'.
• He was conferred with the 56th Jnanpith Award 2020.
• The Government of India honoured him with the Padma Shri in
1990.

27. Global Fire Power Index 2023
• The Global Firepower Report 2023 has ranked India as the 4th
most powerful army in the world.
• 145 countries are ranked this year in the Global Firepower
Report.
• The most powerful country in the world is the United States
of America, followed by Russia, China, India.

28. Top 10 Countries on Global Power Index 2023
1. America
2. Russia
3. China
4. India
5. United Kingdom
6. South Korea
7. Pakistan
8. Japan
9. France
10. Italy

29. Jammu and Kashmir becomes the first Indian Union
Territory to completely shift to e-governance mode
• Jammu and Kashmir has become the first Union Territory of
India to go completely digital.
• Presently all government and administrative services in Jammu
and Kashmir are being provided digitally only.
• Jammu and Kashmir is also emerging as a model of digital
government in the country with a transparent and accountable
governance system.

30. Jammu and Kashmir
• Jammu and Kashmir was a state of India till August 2019
• Bifurcated on 31 August 2019 and form two union territories
named Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
• Capital- Srinagar (May–October), Jammu (November–April)
• Lieutenant Governor - Manoj Sinha
• Legislative Council - 36 seats
• Legislative Assembly - 89 seats

31. 18th Raising Day of National Disaster Response Force
(NDRF)
• The Raising Day of the National Disaster Response Force
(NDRF) is celebrated every year on January 19.
National Disaster Response Force (NDRF)
• Director Generals of NDRF: Atul Karwal;
• HQ of NDRF: New Delhi;
• NDRF Formed: 2006

33. Shubman Gill becomes 5th Indian to score double
century in ODIs
• India's young batsman Shubman Gill has become the 5th
Indian to score a double century in ODIs against New Zealand.
• In the match played at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium
in Hyderabad, Shubman Gill scored 208 runs in 149 balls with
the help of 19 fours and 9 sixes.

34. • With this, Shubman has also become the youngest player in
the world to score a double century in ODIs.
• Shubman Gill has become the fastest Indian batsman to score
1000 ODI runs in 19 innings.
• Shubman Gill has joined an exclusive club of five Indian
batsmen to score a double century along with Sachin
Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan.
• India's Sachin Tendulkar is the first batsman to score a double
century in ODI format. He achieved this feat in 2010 by scoring
200 runs against South Africa.
• India's Rohit Sharma is the batsman with most 3 double
centuries in ODI cricket.