Current affairs 30 January 2023

India wins the inaugural Women’s U19 T20 World Cup title.

• India women's cricket team defeated England by 7 wickets in the final to win the first-ever ICC Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup 2023, held in Potchefstroom, South Africa.
• BCCI secretary, Jay Shah announced a whopping cash reward of ₹5 crores for the entire India squad.
• England captain and stellar all-rounder, Grace Scrivens has been named Player of the Tournament.
• Player of the Match: Titas Sadhu (India)
• India's Captain for U-19 Women’s T20: Shafali Verma

Mughal Gardens renamed as Amrit Udyan.

• The iconic Mughal Gardens in Rashtrapati Bhavan has been renamed as the Amrit Udyan.
• It would be open to the public from 31st January to 26 March 2023.
• This decision is said to be part of the government of India’s Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav.
• The cluster of about 15 gardens will collectively be known as Amrit Udyan.
• Individual gardens within the sprawling Presidential Estate - Herbal Garden, Musical Garden, and Spiritual Garden - will retain their names.

Suzuki to use cow dung for its CNG cars.

• India’s largest car manufacturer company, Suzuki Motor Corporation announced that it will use cow dung to power its CNG cars.
• Suzuki signed an MoU with Asia’s largest dairy manufacturer, National Dairy Development Board (NDDB).
• Suzuki has invested in Fujisan Asagiri Biomass which generates power from biogas derived from cow dung in Japan.
• The biogas could be used for Suzuki’s CNG models which account for approximately 70 percent of the CNG car market in India.

India’s forex reserves rise by $1.727 bn to $573.727 bn.

• As per the Reserve Bank of India release, India’s foreign exchange reserves increased by $1.727 billion to $573.727 billion in the week ended January 20, 2023.
• As on January 13, 2023, the forex reserves of India stood at $561.583 billion.
• The Foreign Currency Assets (FCA) stood at $503.65 billion.
• FCA includes the effect of appreciation or depreciation of non-US units like the euro, pound, and yen held in the foreign exchange reserves.

MeitY, Meta announced list of 120 startups for XR Startup Programme.

• The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and Meta have jointly released the list of 120 startups and innovators for the XR Startup Programme.
• It includes an Accelerator and a Grand Challenge.
• Aim: To boost the emerging Tech ecosystem
• Out of the startups selected in the Accelerator Programme, over 30% are from tier II or tier III cities across India.
• It will discover, nurture, and accelerate Extended Reality (XR) Technology startups and innovators.