In a move that could benefit bidders financially, the coal ministry on  Jan 14 decided that the first revision in Performance Bank Guarantee (PBG) would be done upon the grant of mine opening permission for the respective coal mines.

The ministry has extended the auction bid due date to January 30, 2023, from its earlier bid due date of January 13, 2023.

The bank guarantee mandates a company (who gets the tender) to provide some proportion of tender value to ensure performance and minimise risk if it denies completing the project. 

Uttar Pradesh has emerged as the top destination for mobile gamers, followed by Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Bihar and West Bengal, according to India Mobile Gaming Report 2022 by gaming platform Mobile Premier League released on Jan 15 .

Odisha, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Himachal Pradesh have seen the highest increase in mobile gamers in 2022 compared to 2021.

In terms of games, Ludo Dice, Snakes and Ladders, Carrom, Fruit Dart, Block Puzzle and Poker were some of the top games played by gamers across different Indian cities.

In Uttar Pradesh, Lucknow, Kanpur, Varanasi, Ghaziabad and Allahabad have the highest share of gamers.

Last year, India became the largest consumer of mobile games in the world, recording over 15 billion downloads, as per a report by Lumikai, a gaming-focused venture capital fund.

India's gaming market was worth USD 2.6 billion in the financial year 2022 and it will reach USD 8.6 billion by 2027 with a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 27 per cent.

Opener Shweta Sehrawat smashed an unbeaten 92 after skipper Shafali Verma blazed away to a 16-ball 45 as India crushed South Africa by seven wickets to begin their campaign in the inaugural Women's U-19 T20 World Cup.

Manu Bhaker topped the women's 25m pistol event in India's national shooting trials held at Karni Singh Shooting Range in Delhi's Tughlakabad. The trials were held from January 8 and concluded on January 14.

Virat Kohli lit up the dead rubber with an epic 166 not out, his third century in four innings, as India annihilated a clueless Sri Lanka with a record 317-run win in the third ODI to sweep the series  in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala  on  Jan 15

Brief scores

India: 390/5 in 50 overs (Virat Kohli 166 not out, Shubman Gill 116; Kasun Rajitha 2/81)

Sri Lanka: 73 all out in 22 overs ( Nuwanidu Fernando 19; Mohammed Siraj 4/32 )

Teams

India: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul(wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj.

Sri Lanka: Avishka Fernando, Nuwanidu Fernando, Kusal Mendis(wk), Ashen Bandara, Charith Asalanka, Dasun Shanaka(c), Wanindu Hasaranga, Jeffrey Vandersay, Chamika Karunaratne, Kasun Rajitha, Lahiru Kumara.

Q1. Army Day is observed on January 15 to mark Field Marshal KM Cariappa taking over as the first Indian Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army, replacing his British predecessor in

1. 1946
2. 1947
3. 1948
4. 1949
5. None of These

Q2. Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose’s birth anniversary  is celebrated on

1. January 13
2. January 18
3. January 23
4. January 28
5. None of These

Q3. Name the public sector bank which has stepped up its offerings on its digital transformation initiative 'Project WAVE' with the launch of Kisan Credit Card loans to farmers ?

1. State Bank of India
2. Indian Bank
3. Punjab National Bank
4. Bank of Baroda
5. None of These

Q4. Name the country whose Prime Minister on  Jan 14  has promised to provide tanks and artillery system to Ukraine amid renewed missile attacks by Moscow targeting the Ukrainian capital and other cities ?

1. Germany
2. Britain
3. Poland
4. US
5. None of These

Q5. The inaugural Women's U-19 T20 World Cup is  currently going in

1. Bangladesh
2. South Africa
3. New Zealand
4. Australia
5. None of These

Answers

1---------4   1949

2---------3   January 23

3---------2  Indian Bank

4--------2  Britain

5--------2  South Africa

NCP MLA and former Maharashtra minister Jitendra Awhad on Monday said he has decided to resign as member of the Legislative Assembly over "fake" cases registered against him by police.

The Mumbra police in neighbouring Thane district registered a case after midnight on  Nov 14 against Awhad under Indian Penal Code Section 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) following a complaint by a woman.

The complainant alleged that the NCP leader pushed her while making way for himself during the dispersal of a crowd after an event of the chief minister in Mumbra on Nov 13 evening, as per the First Information Report (FIR).

Awhad, the MLA from Mumbra-Kalwa seat in Thane, was arrested on Nov 11 after he and his supporters stopped a show of "Har Har Mahadev" at a multiplex inside a mall in Thane city, alleging the film distorted the history of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.

The Congress on Nov 13 released two lists of 39 candidates for the Gujarat Assembly elections, fielding Jignesh Mevani from the Vadgam constituency.

Jignesh Mevani had won from the Vadgam seat in Gujarat's Banaskantha district in 2017 as an Independent candidate.

The Congress first released its fifth list with six candidates including Manhar Patel from Botad in place of Ramesh Mer.

Later in the evening, it released a list of 33 candidates, taking the total number of candidates declared so far to 142.

The candidates named in the fifth list were Jayanti Jerajbhai Patel from Morbi, Jivan Kumbharvadiya from Jamnagar Rural, Chhattarsinh Gunjariya from Dhrangadhra, Mansukhbhai Kalariya from Rajkot West and Divyesh Chavda from Gariadhar.

In the sixth list of 33 candidates, the candidates fielded by the Congress included Mevani from Vadgam (SC) seat, Thakor Mohansinh from Mansa, Baldevji Thakor from Kalol, Imran Khedawala from Jamalpur-Khadia, Amit Chavda from Anklav, Bal Kishen Patel from Dabhoi and Sukhrambhai Rathva from Jetpur (ST) seat.