• EcoPill2B-Black money: SC ruling on demonetisation: 4–1 majority judges upheld Government’s decision. 1 judge dissented that RBI didn’t apply its mind, and government should have enacted a law and informed parliament. Justice Nagarathna held that Section 26(2) gives excessive powers to the Centre to demonetise currency by just issuing a gazette notification. More details in monthly magazine. (सर्वोच्च न्यायालय ने सरकार के नोट बंदी के फ़ैसले को उचित बताया)
  • EcoPill1B2:Bad Loans: Financial Stability Board (FSB, founded 2009, Basel, Switzerland) issued framework for Systemically Important Banks. Each year, RBI issues list of Domestic Systemically Important Banks (D-SIB). SBI, ICICI, HDFC in this list.
  • They’ve to keep extra capital/buffer called additional common equity tier 1 (CET1).
  • D-SBI are considered to be ‘Too Big To Fail’ and their survival is critical for economy.
Domestic Systemically Important Banks (D-SIB)
  • Environment/Biodiversity: ASSAM CHIEF MINISTER Himanta Biswa Sarma announced on January 1 that no rhinos were poached in the state in 2022. The Indian rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis) is found only in the Brahmaputra valley, parts of North Bengal, and parts of southern Nepal. It has a single black horn that can grow up to 60 cm. Horn powder used in Chinese sex-power & anti-cancer medicines. Rhinos found in Kaziranga National Park (KNP). September 22 observed as World Rhino Day. (वर्ष 2022 में एक भी गैंडे का शिकार नहीं हुआ है ऐसा असम ने बताया)
  • Ethics: Environmental Ethics: 2021: Indian government burned down almost 2,500 rhino horns to “bust myths about rhino horns”, and to send “a loud and clear message to the poachers and smugglers that such items have no value” (Recall that Namibia wants to sell ivory / tusks of dead elephants to earn money.) (भारत सरकार ने ज़ब्त किये हुए गेंडे के सींग को जला दिया है समाज को यह संदेश देने के लिए कि इनका कोई महत्व नहीं है. इसलिए इसका कोई व्यापार तस्करी नहीं करनी है.)
  • Geography: Henry Segerman, a British American mathematician has invented Continental Drift, a 3-D sliding puzzle. Only one person has solved Continental Drift puzzle so far. (महाद्वीपीय बहाव पर बनायी गई है 3D पज़ल. अब तक दुनिया का सिर्फ़ एक आदमी उसे सही कर पाया है.)
  • History/Culture: 1) 200th birth anniversary of Arya Samaj founder Swami Dayanand Saraswati falls in 2024. 2) Arya Samaj will complete 150 years in 2025.
  • History/Culture: Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML) was established in 1964 in New Delhi, in Teen Murti House, the former residence of India’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru. NMML is an an autonomous organization under the Ministry of Culture and is a member of the Indian Council of Historical Research. PM is the President of this NMML.
  • PIN-Award: Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award is the highest honour conferred on overseas Indians during the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Convention, which will be held this time between January 8 and 10 in Indore. 17th Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award (PBSA) 1) GUYANA’S PRESIDENT Mohamed Irfaan Ali 2) US-based businessman Darshan Singh Dhaliwal, 3) DSB Group CEO Piyush Gupta 4) Poland-based businessman Amit Kailash Chandra Lath, who helped Indian students escape from Ukraine. Plus, FedEx Corporation CEO Rajesh Subramaniam; Indian-Australian economist Chennupati Jagadish; and Ethiopia’s Kannam Ambalam for water conservation, Reena Vinod Pushkarna, an Israel-based chef etc.
  • PIN: Sports- Czech–American Tennis superstar Navratilova diagnosed with throat and breast cancer.
  • Polity: Comparing Constitution: Amber McLaughlin, 49, will become the first openly transgender woman executed in the US. She is scheduled to die by injection Tuesday for killing a former girlfriend in 2003. (पहला किन्नर जिसे अमेरिका में मृत्युदंड दिया गया.)
  • Polity: Comparing Constitution: Ex-PM Liz Truss had suggested free childcare support by 20 hours a week. So, women can pursue jobs after motherhood. But new PM Rishi Sunak has shelved plans because Government doesn’t have money to subsidise this. India’s DPSP requires State shall make provision for securing just and humane conditions of work and for maternity relief. Past Economic Surveys lamented that responsibilities of child/elders affect womens’ LFPR. (ब्रिटेन में नौकरीशुदा माँ बाप के बच्चों को हफ़्ते में 20 घंटे सरकार द्वारा देखने की जाएगी ऐसा ही प्रस्ताव था लेकिन नए प्रधानमंत्री कृषि सुनत ने उसे हटा दिया है क्योंकि सरकार के पास इतना पैसा नहीं है. बच्चों के पालन पोषण की ज़िम्मेदारी के चलते कई बार महिलाएँ अपने नौकरी रोज़गार की महत्वाकांक्षाओं को पूरा नहीं कर पाते. भारत के संविधान की राजनीति के पथ दर्शक सिद्धांतों में भी सरकार को इसकी ज़िम्मेदारी दी गई है)
  • GPSC: “Gujarat accounts for 23 per cent of the total wetland area of India and four wetlands of the state have been declared Ramsar sites (of international importance).
  • GPSC: GUJARAT GOVERNOR and Chancellor of Gujarat Vidyapith Acharya Devvrat presented the ‘Shri Mahadev Desai Samaj Sewa Award’ to 80-year-old Gandhian Mansukhbhai Salla, who is a writer and educationist, Monday.