Current Affairs in English – December 22 2022

National Events:

India-Indonesia:

A meeting of the Joint Task Force Committee of ‘The India- Indonesia Investment and Business Forum’ was held in Port Blair on 20 December 2022.
It was held to identify new areas of cooperation and develop infrastructure, tourism, trade, and connectivity to enhance business relations. Andaman and Nicobar Lieutenant Governor D K Joshi attended the meeting with Indonesian delegates.

Three new schemes:

J & K Lt Governor Manoj Sinha has announced three new schemes Holistic Development of Agriculture & Allied Sectors, Aspirational Towns, and Aspirational Panchayat for Jammu and Kashmir.
These Projects have been approved by the Administrative Council, chaired by the Lt Governor. Over the next five years, these projects would transform the agriculture economy of J & K.

iDEX:

Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX), initiative of Department of Defence Production, has reached a milestone with the signing of its 150th contract.
The contract relates to an Indian Navy project of the Defence India Start-up Challenge (DISC 7) SPRINT edition. The challenge was won by Altair Infrasec Pvt Ltd, Pune.

NTPC Ltd & GE Power India Limited:

NTPC Ltd, the country’s largest power generating utility, and GE Power India Limited, have signed an MoU. It has been signed for feasibility to demonstrate technologies to reduce the carbon footprint of NTPC’s existing coal fired power plants.
This first of a kind MoU aims at partnering on research, development and engineering of technologies.

Maritime Anti Piracy Bill 2022:

Parliament has passed the Maritime Anti Piracy Bill 2022 with Rajya Sabha approving it on 21 December 2022. The Bill enables Indian authorities to take action against piracy on the high seas.
The Bill defines piracy as any illegal act of violence, detention, or destruction against a ship, aircraft, person, for private purposes, by the crew or passengers of a private ship or aircraft.

Energy Conservation (Amendment) Bill:

The Rajya Sabha passed the Energy Conservation (Amendment) Bill in December 2022. The Rajya Sabha, constitutionally the Council of States, is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of India.
Founded: 3 April 1952. Deputy Chairman: Harivansh Narayan Singh.Seats: 250(238 Elected + 12 Nominated). Secretary General: Pramod Chandra Mody. Chairman (Vice President of India): Jagdeep Dhankhar.

SPI:

The Prime Minister Economic Advisory Council (PMEAC) on 20 December 2022 released the Social Progress Index (SPI) for States and Districts prepared by the Institute for Competitiveness and Social Progress Imperative.
Puducherry has the highest SPI score of 65.99 in the country. Aizawl (Mizoram), Solan (Himachal Pradesh), and Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) are the top 3 best-performing districts. Pondicherry or Puducherry is now a Union Territory town bounded by the southeastern Tamil Nadu state.
It was a French colonial settlement in India until 1954. In 1674 the French East India Company set up a trading center at Pondicherry.
On 21 August 1693, during the Nine Years War, Pondicherry was captured by the Dutch. Lt. Governor: Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan. Chief Minister: N Rangasamy.

IEX:

Indian Energy Exchange (IEX) became the country’s first carbon-neutral power exchange in December 2022. IEX voluntarily cancelled CERs (certified emissions reductions) from clean projects.
As per UNEP 2022 report, global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions must be cut 45 % by 2030 to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees. Total global GHG emissions were estimated at around 53 GTCO2eq in 2021.

PT Usha:

Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar has nominated legendary former athlete and MP PT Usha to the panel of Vice chairpersons in the Upper House on 21 Dec 2022.
YSRCP (Yuvajana Shramika Rythu Congress Party) member Vijai Sai Reddy has also been nominated along with her.
She was also elected as the president of the Indian Olympic Association in Dec 2022. PT Usha has won 4 Asian gold medals and 7 silver medals.

National Mathematics Day:

National Mathematics Day is celebrated on 22 Dec every year to commemorate the birth anniversary of the famous mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan. He was born in 1887 in Erode, Tamil Nadu.
In 1911 Ramanujan published the 1st of his papers in the Journal of the Indian Mathematical Society. 1729 is known as the Ramanujan Number. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of London in 1918.

‘H1’:

Union minister of state for Space and Technology, Dr Jitendra Singh has announced that India’s maiden human space flight ‘H1’ mission is targeted to be launched in the fourth quarter of 2024.
The Gaganyaan project was conceived in 2007 and it was formally started in 2018. Four Indian Air Force pilots have been identified as crew for the mission who are undergoing training in Russia.

UNESCO:

The Union Ministry of Culture announced on 20 December 2022 that Vadnagar town, and Sun Temple Modhera, Gujarat have been added to the tentative list of UNESCO’s(United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) world heritage sites.
Rock Cut Sculptures and reliefs of the Unakoti, Tripura have also been added in the list. With the addition of these three sites, UNESCO has 52 proposals in the tentative list of India.

Tamil Nadu Events:

Vainu Bappu:

On the celebrations of 50 years of operations of the Vainu Bappu 40-inch telescope, several stellar discoveries of the telescope were highlighted. The celebrations were held on the 15th and 16th of Dec 22 in Kavalur, Tamil Nadu.
The telescope set up by Professor Vainu Bappu has played a significant role in astronomy with major discoveries like the presence of rings around the planet Uranus.

International Events:

Resolution on the mental health:

India has voted in favour of a resolution on the mental health of UN peacekeepers.
The United Nations is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation. Founded: 24 October 1945. Headquarters: New York.

First Ever Resolution:

The United Nations Security Council has adopted its first ever resolution on Myanmar in 74 years to demand an end to violence. The resolution urges to immediately release all arbitrarily detained prisoners, including Suu Kyi and ex-President Win Myint.
It also demands an immediate end to all forms of violence and asks for all parties to respect human rights, fundamental freedoms and the rule of law.

Sports Events:

Brazil:

Brazil maintained their top spot in the FIFA World Ranking in December 2022 despite Argentina winning their first FIFA World Cup title since 1986 in Qatar 2022.
Brazil have held the number one position since February 2022, when they dethroned Belgium. Argentina and France have moved up one spot to second and third place, respectively.

Asian Wrestling Championships 2023:

The United World Wrestling (UWW) announced on 20 December 2022 that the 36th Asian Wrestling Championships 2023 will be held in New Delhi, from 28 March to 2 April 2023. New Delhi will be hosting the event for the 7th time.
It will offer ranking points to the wrestlers which will determine their seedings for the World Championships to be held in Belgrade, Serbia from 16 to 24 Sept 2023.