Explanation: Ministry of Rural Development’s Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM) has launched the Prajjwala Challenge. Under the challenge, ideas are invited from individuals, Enterprises, Start-ups, Private Sector, Civil Society and others to transform the rural economy.

Explanation: Markets regulator SEBI has asked stock exchanges to set up an Investor Risk Reduction Access (IRRA) platform The platform will give investors an opportunity to square off their position or cancel pending orders in case of disruption of trading services. There is a rise in instances of glitches in the systems of trading members, some of which lead to the disruption of trading services.

Explanation: India’s agricultural and processed food products exports rose by 16 percent in the first eight months (April-November) of the current financial year 2022-23 on an annual basis. For the year 2022-23, an export target of $23.56 billion has been fixed for the agricultural and processed food products basket. At present, agricultural exports attained 74 per cent of its annual export target.

Explanation: Department of Economic Affairs under the Ministry of Finance notifies changes in rates on small savings schemes. Recently, the government hiked the interest rates on various small savings schemes including senior citizen savings scheme for the January to March quarter. The PPF will continue to earn 7.10%, while Sukanya Samriddhi account scheme will continue to earn 7.6% interest rate.

Explanation: Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually flagged off the Vande Bharat express connecting Howrah and New Jalpaiguri. It is a railway station in Siliguri, West Bengal, and is considered as the gateway to the northeast. The Vande Bharat Express covers a distance of 564 km in 7.45 hours, will save three hours of travel time. The Vande Bharat express will be preferred by tea industry executives and tourists traveling to the Himalayas in North Bengal and Sikkim.

Explanation: G Kamala Vardhana Rao has taken over the charge as the CEO of food regulator FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India). The FSSAI is a statutory body established under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Prior to this, Rao was serving as the Managing Director of Indian Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC), a Miniratna PSU under the Ministry of Tourism.

Explanation: Union Minister of Home and Cooperation, Amit Shah addressed the ‘Cooperative Beneficiaries Conference’ in Bengaluru, Karnataka The first cooperative society in the whole country was established in Gadag district of Karnataka in 1905. The Minister announced that one cooperative society will be formed in every panchayat of the country. NABARD, NDDB and the Ministry of Cooperation have prepared an action plan to form 2 lakh new such cooperative societies in three years.

Explanation: The Minister of State for Electronics & Information Technology and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Rajeev Chandrasekhar announced Government of India is going to launch a Digital India Innovation Fund. The Fund aims to catalyse Deep-tech Startups. He announced this during his address in the event of ‘New India for Young India: Techade of Opportunities’ program at the Catholic Bishop House Campus in Kerala.

Explanation: Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah inaugurated Mega Dairy at Mandya, Karnataka. The mega dairy inaugurated at a cost of Rs 260 crore would process 10 lakh liters of milk per day and capacity to increase it upto 14 lakh liters per day. To remove malnutrition among children through the Ksheer Bhagya scheme, milk is being provided to 65 lakh children in government schools and 39 lakh children in Anganwadis.

Explanation: Tata Motors said the acquisition of Ford India’s manufacturing plant at Sanand through its subsidiary will be completed by January 2023. Tata Passenger Electric Mobility Limited (TPEML) announced that would acquire Ford India’s Sanand plant in Gujarat for around ₹725 crore. The acquisition included the entire land and buildings, vehicle manufacturing plant along with machinery and equipment and the transfer of all eligible employees of FIPL’s vehicle manufacturing operations at Sanand.