Daily Current Affairs 3rd January 2024: Your guide for daily General Knowledge Preparation
Dear Readers,
This post contains important current affairs of 3rd January2024. It includes all Major National, International, Business and Sports related current affairs of 3rd January2024. A brief explanation of every current affair is provided to further enhance your general knowledge. Once you have gone through these current affairs we would recommend to you to try 3rd January2024 Current affairs test.
Banking & Finance Updates
1. Improvement in Asset Quality
- Indian scheduled commercial banks (SCBs) reported a significant improvement in their Gross Non-Performing Assets (GNPA) ratio, which declined to 3.2% by September 2024, marking a 45% reduction in GNPA. This positive change reflects a healthy trend in asset quality, primarily due to recoveries and upgrades.
- The overall balance sheet of SCBs grew by 12.2% during the 2022–23 period. Notably, the agricultural sector recorded the highest GNPA ratio, contrasting with the lowest ratio in retail loans.
- Urban cooperative banks and non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) also showed growth, with their collective balance sheet increasing by 2.3% and 14.8% respectively in 2022–23.
- The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) extended the Payments Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF) scheme until December 31, 2025. This extension is aimed at enhancing payment acceptance infrastructure. Under the scheme, merchants in the PM Vishwakarma Scheme are now eligible, with subsidies provided for soundbox devices and Aadhaar-enabled biometric devices. The subsidy for special focus areas is a uniform 90% of the device cost.
- The RBI postponed the implementation of penal charges in loan accounts by three months, to discourage the use of such charges as a revenue-boosting strategy.
- State Bank of India (SBI), HDFC Bank, and ICICI Bank are recognized as Domestic Systemically Important Banks (DSIBs). Starting April 1, 2025, SBI and HDFC Bank will have increased Common Equity Tier (CET) 1 requirements, while ICICI Bank will maintain its current CET 1 requirement.
- ICICI Prudential Asset Management Company received approval to acquire up to a 9.95% stake in Federal Bank, RBL Bank, and Equitas Small Finance Bank.
2. National News Briefs
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi initiated several development projects in Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu, spanning across rail, road, oil, gas, and shipping sectors, cumulatively valued over Rs 20,000 crores. This includes the inauguration of the new terminal at Tiruchirappalli International Airport and the Demonstration Fast Reactor Fuel Reprocessing Plant at Kalpakkam.
- The interest rate for Sukanya Samridhi Yojana (SSY) was increased to 8.2% by the Modi government. SSY is a savings scheme aimed at promoting education for girl children in India, allowing annual deposits up to Rs. 1.5 lakh for resident Indian girls under the age of 10.
- The Prime Minister is set to inaugurate the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL), India’s longest sea bridge at 22 km, on January 12. The Rs 17,843 crore project connects Shivdi in Mumbai with Nhava on the mainland.
- The completion deadline for Bharatmala Phase-I, a major highway project, has been extended to 2027-28. Initiated in 2017, this project aims to enhance road connectivity and foster economic growth.
3. International News Highlights
- During the Indian External Affairs Minister’s visit to Russia, India and Russia signed a Protocol on Consultations, aiming to deepen cooperation in various sectors and strengthen their bilateral relationship. The visit also included discussions on global issues and further agreements regarding the Kudankulam nuclear power projects.
4. State News Update
- The Chief Minister of Telangana launched the “Abhaya Hastam” program as part of Congress’ six guarantees. This initiative, under the “Praja Palana” campaign, focuses on collecting beneficiary applications and implementing the program within 100 days. It emphasizes government outreach, particularly in Telangana.
5. Business News Overview
- In December 2024, the GST revenue in India reached Rs 1.64 lakh crore, indicating a 10.3% year-over-year increase. The revenue breakdown includes CGST at Rs 30,443 crore, SGST at Rs 37,935 crore, IGST at Rs 84,255 crore, and Cess at Rs 12,249 crore, with an average monthly collection of Rs 1.66 lakh crore.
- Reliance Jio and IIT-Bombay have collaborated on the ‘Bharat GPT’ AI initiative as part of Jio 2.0. This partnership focuses on leveraging large language models and generative AI to drive innovation across various sectors.
- The number of stock market investors in India surpassed 8 crores, a 22.4% increase from the previous year. Maharashtra leads in this regard, followed by Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat. India’s market capitalization has now exceeded $4 trillion, ranking it fourth globally.
6. Awards and Honors
- Prof. B.R. Kamboj, Vice Chancellor of Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University, was honored with the M.S. Swaminathan Award for Agronomic Excellence. The award was presented at the ‘One Health One World’ conference in Gwalior, recognizing his significant contributions to agronomy.
7. Appointments & Resignations
- HDFC Bank’s board extended Atanu Chakraborty’s tenure as non-executive chairman for three more years, subject to RBI approval. Chakraborty, a former IAS officer, has held various significant government positions.
8. Sports News
- World champion pole vaulter and Olympic gold medalist Katie Moon was announced as the ambassador for the Tata Mumbai Marathon. This event, recognized as a top 10 global marathon, is a World Athletics Gold Label Race and offers a substantial prize pool.
9. Science & Technology Updates
- Pakistan successfully conducted a test of its indigenous Fatah-II rocket system, a 400 km range guided multi-launch system with advanced features.
- An ammonia gas leak at a fertilizer unit in Ennore, Chennai, led to over 50 people being hospitalized. A technical committee, including experts from IIT, was formed to investigate and address the incident.
