• Tata Motors-owned Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has appointed Adrian Mardell as Chief Executive Officer for a three-year term. Mardell was appointed Interim CEO on November 16, 2022, having been Chief Financial Officer and a member of the JLR Board of Directors for three years prior.
• It also announced the appointment of Richard Molyneux as chief financial officer of JLR. Molyneux was appointed acting chief financial officer on December 12, 2022, following six years as finance director of operations at Jaguar Land Rover. Mardell joined Jaguar Land Rover in 1990, and held a variety of financial positions until 2008, when he became Deputy Chief Financial Officer and Operations Controller, and subsequently Chief Transformation Officer.

• HDFC Bank became the second most valuable company by market capitalisation, overtaking IT behemoth Tata Consultancy Services. At the close of trade, HDFC Bank, which recently completed the merger of its mortgage financier parent HDFC into itself, commanded a market capitalisation (mcap) of Rs 12,72,718.60 crore, which was Rs 5,826.95 crore more than TCS' Rs 12,66,891.65 crore valuation on the BSE.
• Shares of HDFC Bank ended at Rs 1,688.50 apiece, up 0.22 per cent on the BSE. During the day, it climbed 0.36 per cent to Rs 1,690.95. HDFC Bank is also the country's most valuable bank by mcap followed by ICICI Bank, which commanded a market valuation of Rs 6,96,538.85 crore, and State Bank of India (Rs 5,44,356.70 crore).

• The Ministry of Ayush, in association with Ministry of External Affairs and Indian Mission to ASEAN organized a conference of India and the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) on traditional medicines at New Delhi. The Conference, held again after almost a decade, promised to consolidate sustainable and resilient healthcare systems to achieve Sustainable Development Goals and Universal Health Coverage.  
• The Conference was graced by Union Minister of Ayush and Ports, Shipping & Waterways Shri Sarbananda Sonowal and MoS for Ayush and WCD Dr. Munjpara Mahendrabhai Kalubhai as Guest of Honour. Secretary Ayush Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha, other dignitaries and representatives from ASEAN countries were also present on this occasion. A total of 75 delegates from India and ASEAN including two ASEAN countries participating through virtual mode, were a part of this prestigious conference.

• Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel launches Gramin Awas Nyay Yojana– Chhattisgarh Chief Minister (CM) Shri Bhupesh Baghel Ji launched a housing scheme known as ‘Nyay Yojana,’ for providing homes to rural homeless individuals across the state. He announced this scheme on July 19th, 2023, during the announcement of Rs.1,764 crore worth of benefits for various segments of government employees. The Chhattisgarh state Govt will be fully sponsored by allocating Rs.100 crore in the budget.
• The Panchayat and Rural Development Department under the Government Of Chhattisgarh conducted the survey. The scheme will help over 8 lakh beneficiaries. The Gramin Awas Nyay Yojana aims to help families which are facing challenges in getting housing approval due to the eligibility criteria for the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana.

• India and Japan recently signed an agreement to jointly develop the semiconductor ecosystem, strengthening their partnership and resilience in the global supply chain. The memorandum signed by Union Electronics and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnav and Japan's Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Yasutoshi Nishimura covers various areas of cooperation.
• This marks Japan as the second Quad partner after the United States to collaborate with India to enhance the semiconductor industry. The agreement covers various areas of cooperation, including semiconductor design, manufacturing, device research and talent development, with the aim of ensuring a robust and reliable semiconductor supply chain. To facilitate efficient cooperation, the two countries will set up an "implementing organisation" to promote government-to-government and industry-to-industry partnerships.

• Ambassador Ruchira Kamboj, India's Permanent Representative to the United Nations announced that India has made a voluntary contribution of $1 million to the UN. This contribution aims to support the promotion of the Hindi language within the organization and foster inclusive dialogue and understanding.
• The Hindi@UN initiative, launched in 2018 through a partnership with the UN Department of Public Information, aimed to enhance the United Nations' communication efforts in the Hindi language. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has addressed the General Assembly and the Security Council where simultaneous translation is available, but he spoke in English at the International Yoga Day celebrations held outdoors at the UN complex last month.

• PhonePe Insurance Broking Services, a wholly owned subsidiary of PhonePe Private Limited, has launched health insurance plans offering comprehensive insurance in partnership with leading insurers.
• With this, PhonePe has also introduced Unified Payments Interface (UPI) monthly mode of payment, making them affordable for customers. These health insurance plans, which come with coverage up to Rs 1 crore. A user can also avail of innovative features like a bonus cover up to 7 times the base cover amount for each claim free year.

• Pakistan’s Prime Minister (PM) Mr Shehbaz Sharif launched the construction of a 1,200-megawatt Chinese-designed nuclear energy project, which will be built at a cost of $3.5 billion as part of the government efforts to generate more clean energy in the Islamic nation.
• The ceremony marking the start of the project comes less than a month after Pakistan signed an agreement with China’s National Nuclear Corporation Overseas in the capital, Islamabad, to construct a Hualong One reactor -a third-generation nuclear reactor and is considered safer because of the latest security features. The nuclear power plant known as Chashma-5 will be constructed at a site along the left embankment of the fast-flowing Indus River in Mianwali, a district in the eastern Punjab province.

• Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) has appointed Sat Pal Bhanoo as the managing director (MD) of the company. He will take over as the LIC MD in place of Siddhartha Mohanty, who was appointed as the chairman of LIC in April, 2023. Bhanoo’s appointment is effective from the date of assumption of charge and up to the date of his superannuation on December 31, 2025 or until further orders, whichever is earlier.

• Hacker Kevin Mitnick passed away at the age of 59 renowned hacker Kevin Mitnick in the history of cyber security has died at the age of 59 after battling pancreatic cancer for over a year.
• Mitnick gained notoriety for his hacking exploits, which inspired several films, including "WarGames". Some claimed that as a teenager he had successfully hacked the North American Aerospace Defense Command's computer systems, but Mitnick denied the allegation. In 1988, Mitnick was arrested for stealing $1 million in proprietary software from Digital Equipment Corporation. He received a one-year prison sentence and three years' probation, but a new arrest warrant was issued in 1995 for violating probation.

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