MoD Contracts: Submarine Capabilities

MoD Contracts for Submarine Capabilities

• The Ministry of Defence (MoD) inked agreements totaling Rs 2,867 crore with Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) and Naval Group on December 30, 2024.
• One contract involves constructing an Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) Plug for the DRDO-AIP system for Indian submarines.
• The other contract focuses on integrating Electronic Heavy Weight Torpedoes (EHWT) on Kalvari-Class submarines.
• The contracts were formalized with Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh present.
• The goal is to improve the strength of India's naval capabilities using indigenous technology, improving operational effectiveness and independence.
• MDL had a contract worth Rs 1,990 crore to integrate the AIP plug, which was developed by DRDO's Naval Materials Research Laboratory (NMRL).
• AIP tech will enable submarines to remain submerged for longer periods by producing power chemically.
• A contract worth Rs 877 crore was signed with Naval Group for the EHWT integration on Kalvari-Class submarines.
• The EHWT is a large, self-propelled underwater device for targeting both surface and submarine vessels.
• DRDO-developed torpedoes will enhance the offensive abilities of submarines to safeguard India's maritime borders.
• These projects will boost conventional submarine lifespan in accordance with the “Aatmanirbhar Bharat” (Self-Reliant India) program.
• The Kalvari-class submarines are diesel-electric attack submarines made at MDL with Naval Group tech.
• The submarines can perform missions such as anti-surface and anti-submarine warfare plus long-range strikes
• Naval Group's CEO is Pierre-Eric Pommellet, with headquarters in Paris, France, established in 1631.
• Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) is led by CMD Sanjeev Singhal, headquartered in Mumbai, and was founded in 1934.

Kaamya Karthikeyan's Feat

• Kaamya Karthikeyan, 17, from Mumbai's Navy Children School, is the youngest to scale the highest peaks in all 7 continents, after climbing Mount Vinson Massif in Antarctica with her father on December 24, 2024.
• Kaamya received the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Shakti Puraskar in 2021 for young achievers.
• She climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro (Africa) in 2017 and Mt. Kosciuszko (Australia) and Mt. Elbrus (Europe) in 2018.
• Also ascended Mt. Aconcagua (South America) in 2020, and Mt. Denali (North America) in 2022.
• Scaled Mt. Everest (Asia) in May 2024 at age 16, becoming India’s and the world’s 2nd youngest.
• Mount Vinson Massif in Antarctica is 4892 m, and is about 1,200 km from the South Pole.
• Mount Kilimanjaro is in Tanzania, with peaks at 5,895 m.
• Mount Kosciuszko, Australia is the tallest peak at 2,228 m.
• Mount Elbrus: Russia's peak is 5,642 m.
• Mount Aconcagua is at 6961 m the peak of the Americas.
• Mount Denali is North America's mountain peak at 6,190 meters.
• Mount Everest is situated at the Greater Himalayas with height of 8,849m.

TN CM Inaugurates Glass Bridge

• On December 30, 2024, Tamil Nadu CM Muthuvel Karunanidhi Stalin opened the 1st bowstring arch glass bridge in Kanniyakumari.
• It connects the Thiruvalluvar Statue and the Vivekananda Rock Memorial.
• The bridge opening marked the Silver Jubilee of the Thiruvalluvar Statue's installation.
• The Thiruvalluvar Statue will be called 'Statue of Wisdom'.
• The bowstring arch glass bridge spans 77 meters in length, and 10 meters in width, being constructed with advanced tech for corrosion resistance.
• Built for Rs. 37 crore, it is intended to reduce travel time.
• Saint Thiruvalluvar authored 1,330 couplets in the Thirukkural.
• The 133-foot-tall and 7,000-tonne statue was unveiled in January 2000 by M. Karunanidhi.
• The statue was designed by sculptor V. Ganapati Sthapati with the 133-foot height correlating to the 133 chapters of the Thirukkural.
• Ravindra Narayana Ravi is the Governor of Tamil Nadu.

NeGD and IPA Partnership

• The New Delhi-based National e-Governance Division (NeGD) signed an MoU with the Indian Ports Association (IPA) on December 24, 2024
• They seek to promote digital adoption in India's maritime sector while operating under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).
• The agreement was finalized by NeGD's CEO Nand Kumarum and IPA's MD Vikas Narwal.
• The collaboration merges NeGD tech resources with IPA maritime awareness to enhance port efficiency through upgrades.
• NeGD was established in 2009 under MeitY.
• The IPA was founded in 1966.

DPIIT and boAt Collaboration

• DPIIT and boAt signed an MoU in December 2024.
• It supports startups in manufacturing and D2C sectors as the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoC&I).
• The partnership aims to nurture D2C and manufacturing startups.

India-Nepal Military Exercise

• The 18th 'Surya Kiran' military exercise between India and Nepal commenced in Saljhandi, Nepal.
• It was scheduled from December 31, 2024, to January 13, 2025.
• The goal is to enhance defense cooperation through jungle warfare and humanitarian aid.
• COAS General Upendra Dwivedi (IA) and General Ashok Raj Sigdel (NA) visited Nepal and India.
• The Indian contingent is led by a battalion from the 11th Gorkha Rifles, which consists of 334 personnel.
• 'Surya Kiran' had the 17th Edition in Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand from November 24th to December 7th, 2023.
• General Upendra Dwivedi was awarded with the Honorary General rank of the NA.
• The President of India, Droupadi Murmu conferred the Honorary General rank to General Ashok Raj Sigdel.
• KP Sharma Oli is the PM of Nepal and Ram Chandra Poudel the President, with its capital in Kathmandu.
• Currency is Nepalese Rupee (NPR).

Indian and Nepal Defense Ties

• Extensive defense cooperation sees Nepali Gorkhas serving in the IA.
• Tradition of mutual conferment with Honorary General rank to heads of respective armies.

YES Bank initiative for Women

• In December 2024, YES Bank partnered with FICCI FLO to launch 'YES PowherUp', a tailored MSME program.
• Its aim is to promote women entrepreneurship
• It offers financial solutions for women-led businesses.
• The programme features SME loans, business accounts, trade and forex services and investment options.
• Key Features include a 50% processing fee waiver on SME loans.
• Premium business accounts, trade and forex solutions along with a trading option are available.
• Beneficiaries can trade a maximum of Rs 1.5 crore at zero brokerage for 60 days with YES securities.
• Prashant Kumar is the MD & CEO of Yes Bank, established in 2004, the headquarters is in Mumbai and the tagline is 'Experience our expertise'
• Joyshree Das Verma is the President of FICCI FLO, HQ in New Delhi, established 1983.

RBI Penalties

• In December 2024, RBI fined 4 Karnataka co-op banks Rs 5.50L for regulatory non-compliance.
• Bharat Cooperative Bank Limited was fined Rs 3 lakh for approving new loans.
• Swami Vivekanand Sahakari Bank Niyamit was fined Rs 1 lakh for not adhering to KYC requirements.
• Sri Basaveshwara Pattana Sahakara Bank Niyamit was fined Rs 1 lakh for increasing exposure.
• Manjra Mahila Urban Cooperative Bank Limited was penalized Rs 50,000 for not uploading KYC records.

RBI Allows UPI Payments

• In December 2024, RBI enabled UPI payments from/to full-KYC PPIs through third-party apps.
• Is in line with statement made on April 5, 2024.
• UPI from PPI was only available through the PPI issuer's apps.

Swiggy Partners with NSE

• In December 2024, Swiggy and NSE signed an MoU to introduce a financial literacy program for delivery partners with focus on women.
• Amruta Fadnavis was the Chief Guest for the event.
• Swiggy want to include to 1 lakh women delivery partners by 2030, providing financial training.
• Swiggy's MD & CEO is Sriharsha Majety.

Rajat Verma Appointment

Rajat Verma was appointed as the CEO of of DBS Bank India starting March 1, 2025 , will also became a member of DBS’s Group Management Committee.

• Verma will succeed Surojit Shome.
• serving as the head of IBG.
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has approved Rajat Verma's appointment.
• Rajat Verma joined DBIL in June 2023 and DBIL was recognised as the Best Bank for Sustainable Finance by Global Finance in 2024.
• DBIL was established in 2019 and DBIL has expanded to over 350 locations across 19 states in India.

Cherukumalli Srinivas Appointed

• In December 2024, agricultural scientist Cherukumalli Srinivas Rao has been appointed Director of IARI in New Delhi.
• Rao succeeds Dr. A.K. Singh, who retired in June 2024. -Srinivas Rao has leadership roles in several research institutions across India.
• He was appointed to the ICAR governing body in 2023 for a three-year term.
• The Agricultural Research Institute (ARI) was founded in 1905 in Pusa, Bihar and is now the IARI with the headquarters in New Delhi.

RBL Bank Divestment in DAM Capital Advisors

• RBL Bank has sold its entire 8.16% stake in DAM Capital Advisors.
• Involving 57.71 Lakh equity shares with FV of Rs. 2 each, the sale was through an offer for sale (OFS), at Rs. 283 each, with total value of Rs. 163.32 crore.
• DAM Capital: made its stock market debut on December 27, 2024,was established in 1993.
• RBL Bank, is an Indian private sector bank with the CEO R Subramaniakumar.

PSLV-C60 Mission Facts

• On December 30, 2024, ISRO launched the PSLV-C60 rocket to demonstrate the ability to dock 2 small spacecraft and was named the Space Docking Experiment (SpaDeX) mission.
• India became the 4th country with space docking after Russia, USA and China.
• The PSLV-C60 mission was ISRO’s 99th launch, leading up to docking by January 7, 2025.
• The PLSV is considered ISRO's 1st vehicle that was integrated for all 4 stages at the PSLV integration facility. PSLV-C60 rocket has 2 mission objectives: One is Spacecraft Docking and Undocking and the second is to demonstrate power transfer as advanced Space technologies.
• The spacecraft begins from a distance of 20 km to 3 meters prior docking controlled by ISRAC. The spacraft then transfers power between each other and continue with independent operation or testing even after its undocked.
• Technological Innovations: Differential and Inter Satellite Communication for accurate control. The satellite consists of four stages.

China's CR450

• In December 2024, China introduced the CR450, the world's next-generation high-speed train setting a record speed of 450 km/h.
• It was developed by CR450 prototype which aims to enahance safety, energy efficiency, and passenger comfort.
• The design of the CR450 is streamlined and reduces enery consumtion by 20% in it's water cooled system.

Haryana Steelers Victory

• Haryana Steelers triumphed over Patna Pirates in PKL Season 11.
• Awards for outstanding players included Mohammadreza Shadioui for his defensive abilities.
• Haryyanna Steelers won the rupees 3 crore and Ptana pirates won 1 million rupees as part of their prize money.

King Cup International Badminton Open 2024

• Anders Antonsen claimed victory over Hu Zhe'an.
• Lakshya Sen secured third position. I-t's unique in that the championship featured solely men as single events and was started by Olimpic Champion Lin Dan.
• Anders first secured the silver medal and Bronze.

World Boxing's Asian Body Formation

World Boxing formed a global structure to increase representation of boxing, with AIBA being among them.

• Key position in the BFI as well as important roles for those influential were granted pivotal positions in assisting the organization's internal operation.
• BFI president: Ajay Singh
• Secretary general: Hemanta Kumar Kalita