Latest Current Affairs For Thursday 1st December, 2022

NASA's Artemis 1 Orion capsule sets new flight record

NASA's Artemis 1 Orion capsule has set a new space flight record for spacecraft designed to carry humans by travelling 401,798 km from Earth.

The previous record was held by Apollo 13 on April 14, 1970 by travelling 400,171 km.

Apollo 13 was not designed to travel that far and the spacecraft was only made to complete a moon landing.

Since the Orion was not staffed, the Apollo 13 crew still holds the record for the farthest distance from Earth reached by humans.

'Gaslighting' is Merriam-Webster's word of the year 2022

The Merriam-Webster (US dictionary publisher) has announced "gaslighting", as 2022 word of the year.

Merriam-Webster has defined Gaslighting, "The act or practice of grossly misleading someone especially for one's own advantage".

Interest in the term was up by 1,740% over the previous years according to searches of the online dictionary.

Other popular words 2022: Oligarch, Omicron, Codify, Queen Consort, Raid. 

Karnataka developing app-based networking platform for IPRs

Karnataka State Council for Science and Technology (KSCST) is developing an app-based networking platform called "Patentkart".

Aim: For commercialisation of Intellectual Property Rights. 

It will benefit patent holders and their clients in commercialising their IP.

In the past three years, more than 700 patents have been filed by KSCST-assisted IP cells.

Patent Facilitation Centre has supported setting up of a Patent Information Centre at KSCST, IISc.

Star Health launches policy for outpatient expenses

Star Health and Allied Insurance has launched Star Out Patient Care Insurance Policy, which aims at providing complete health and wellness benefits to customers at an affordable cost.

The claims processing procedure will be entirely digital.

The policy is available on individual or floater basis and cover up to six family members. 

Age: 18 - 50 years (adults) and 31 days to 25 years (dependent children). 

Four sum insured (SI) options: ₹25,000, ₹50,000, ₹75,000 and ₹1 lakh. 

Sebi forms a panel to review corporate takeover rules

SEBI has set up a high-level panel to review the takeover norms in a move to simplify and strengthen the current rules by adopting appropriate global practices.

The SEBI regulator will also assess the current rules in the light of past judicial pronouncements and various informal guidelines issued by the capital markets regulator.

The 20-member committee will be chaired by former Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court, Shiavax Jal Vazifdar.

RBI imposed Rs 1.25 crore penalty on Zoroastrian Co-operative Bank

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed a penalty of Rs 1.25 crore on Zoroastrian Co-operative Bank, Mumbai.

Reason: For non-compliance with certain directions, including one related to discounting of bills.

The RBI has imposed penalty of Rs 20 lakh on Indian Mercantile Co-operative Bank, Lucknow for non-compliance with the certain norms related classification of non-performing assets.

The central bank also imposed penalties on five other cooperative banks.

Meghalaya cabinet approves mental health and social care policy

The Meghalaya has become the first state in the Northeast to pass first-ever Mental Health and Social Care Policy.

After Kerala and Karnataka, Meghalaya becomes the third state in India to have such a policy.

Aim: To promote overall mental health and well-being and facilitate appropriate access and care pathways.

This policy will ensure that proper attention is given to mental health, particularly for our youth and adolescents.

Australia's Great Barrier Reef be put on in danger list: UN panel

A UN panel has suggested that Australia's Great Barrier Reef should be listed as a world heritage site that is in danger.

Reason: It was significantly impacted by climate change and warming of oceans.

Frequent bleaching events are threatening the reef, which include the first during La Nina phenomenon, which typically brings cooler temperatures.

Bleaching: When the water warms too much, causing corals to expel the colourful algae living in their tissues and turn white.

RBI to launch of first pilot for retail digital Rupee on 1st December

The RBI will launch the first pilot for the retail digital Rupee on 1st December 2022.

Presently, eight banks have been identified for phase-wise participation.

First phase: SBI, ICICI, Yes Bank and IDFC First. 

Subsequent phase: BoB, Union Bank of India, HDFC and Kotak Mahindra.

This pilot project would initially cover Mumbai, New Delhi, Bengaluru and Bhubaneswar.

Later, it is extended to Ahmedabad, Gangtok, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Indore, Kochi, Lucknow, Patna and Shimla.

Toyota Kirloskar Motor, Vice Chairman Vikram Kirloskar passes away

The vice chairman of Toyota Kirloskar Motor Pvt Ltd, Vikram S Kirloskar has bee passed away at the age of 64.

He became the vice chairman of Toyota Kirloskar in 1998.

He has also served as president of the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers from 2013-15.

He also served as the President of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) for 2019-20.

He was also awarded the Indian Institute of Metals (IIM) JRD Tata Award 2020.

Vistara airlines to be merged with Air India by March 2024

Vistara airlines (Singapore Airlines) has agreed to merge with Tata-owned Air India by March 2024, subject to regulatory approvals.

Singapore Airlines will invest 250 million Dollars (Rs 2,000 crore) into Air India, as soon as this integration is completed.

After the merger, Singapore Airlines shall hold 25.1 per cent shareholding in Air India.

Vistara is a 51:49 joint venture between Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines Limited.

Niti Aayog launches CCUS policy framework

Niti Aayog has launched the report title, 'carbon capture utilisation and storage (CCUS) policy framework and its Deployment Mechanism in India'.

The report explores the importance of CCUS as an emission reduction strategy, to achieve the deep decarbonization from the hard-to-abate sectors.

The report was launched by Vice Chairman of Niti Aayog, Suman Bery.

The report was prepared on the inputs provided by the various stakeholders from the Energy and Power Sector.

GroupM South Asia CEO, Prasanth Kumar elected president of AAAI

Prasanth Kumar (CEO, South Asia of GroupM Media (India) Pvt Ltd) has been elected as the President of the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) for 2022-23.

While, Rana Barua (Group CEO of Havas Group India) has been elected as the Vice-President of the Association.

Immediate Past President, Anupriya Acharya has been appointed as the ex-officio member of the AAAI Board for 2022-23.

AAAI is a national advertising agencies, which was formed in 1945.

PM Narendra Modi to be awarded prestigious Lokmanya Tilak Award 2023

The Tilak Smarak Mandir Trust (Hind Swaraj Sangh) would confer the prestigious Lokmanya Tilak National Award 2023 to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Pune on August 1, 2023.

Reason: This award recognizes PM Modi's supreme leadership under which India has climbed the ladder of progress

It is presented annually on the occasion of Lokmanya Tilak's death anniversary.

Other awardees: Indira Gandhi, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Sharad Pawar, Cyrus Poonawalla, and Manmohan Singh. 

J&K Bank wins award for Best Performance in CASA

Jammu & Kashmir Bank has been felicitated for the Best Performance in CASA-India (1st Runner up in Small Bank Category) at ICC Emerging Asia Banking Conclave & Awards 2022.

The event was participated by banks from India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka & Myanmar.

The function was organized by the Indian Chamber of Commerce in Goa.

Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) is a non-governmental trade association and advocacy group headquartered in Calcutta.

India poised to become world’s 2nd-largest economy by 2075: Goldman Sachs

According to the Investment Bank Goldman Sachs, India is poised to become the world’s second-largest economy by 2075.

As per the report, India would cross Japan, Germany, and the US With a population of 1.4 billion people.

India’s GDP is estimated to expand remarkably, reaching 52.5 trillion dollars surpassing the US GDP projection.

The labour force participation set to make India the second-largest economy in the world by 2075.

L&T and Spain's Navantia sign agreement for submarine project

L&T has signed a teaming agreement with Spanish-based Navantia for the submission of a techno-commercial bid for the Indian Navy’s prestigious P75 (India) submarine program.

P75 (India) Submarine Project is expected to be valued at €4.8 billion.

Navantia would carry out the design of P75(I) submarines based on its S80 class of submarines.

The first S80 class submarine was launched in 2021 and is undergoing sea trials prior to its delivery to Spanish Navy. 

India overtakes China as most attractive emerging market for investing

According to a study by Invesco Global Sovereign Asset Management, India has overtaken China to become the most attractive emerging market for investing in sovereign wealth funds this year.

Reason: This is due to its solid demographics, political stability, and proactive regulation. 

Positives for the nation also include the rapidly expanding demography, strong regulatory actions, and a welcoming climate for sovereign investors.

World Population Day 2023: 11 July

World Population Day is observed every year on July 11 in order to raise awareness about global population issues, including population control.

2023 theme: Unleashing the power of gender equality: Uplifting the voices of women and girls to unlock our world’s infinite possibilities. 

It was established by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in 1989, after the day the world approximately reached a population of five billion, which was observed on 11 July 1987.

MoHUA conducts SBM-U 2.0 Planning & Implementation Review-cum-Workshop

The Housing Ministry organized a review-cum-workshop to evaluate and accelerate the planning and implementation of the SBM-Urban 2.0.

PM Modi launched the 2.0 versions of SBM-U and AMRUT on October 1, 2021.

SBM-U 2.0: Achieving 100% waste segregation in all households and premises and 100% door-to-door collection of segregated waste from each. 

AMRUT 2.0: To provide complete coverage of water supply to all households and sewerage and septage in 500 AMRUT cities. 

Gujarat CM launches pilot project of ‘Antyodaya Shramik Suraksha Yojana’

Gujarat CM Bhupendra Patel launched the Antyodaya Shram Suraksha Accident Insurance Scheme from Kheda

All those registered under the e-Shram portal from Nadiad will benefit from the scheme.

It is being implemented through the Indian Postal Department, the IPPB, and the Ministry of Labour and Employment.

Under this scheme, insurance with a premium of Rs. 289 and Rs. 499 per year will be a big support to workers in the event of death or partial disability.

OCA elects Sheikh Talal as the new President

Kuwait’s Sheikh Talal Fahad Al Ahmad Al Sabah has been elected as the new President of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA).

He replaced his older brother Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah, who led the OCA for 30 years until 2021.

The OCA was founded in 1982 by his father Fahad Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, who led it until 1990.

The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) is a governing body of sports in Asia, currently with 45 member National Olympic Committees.

Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance wins Insurer Innovation Award 2023

Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance has won the Insurer Innovation Award 2023 for the APAC region at the 8th World Digital Insurance Awards, hosted by TDI - The Digital Insurer.

Recognition: Bajaj Allianz Life's ground-breaking WhatsApp Conversational Platform - empowering customers to digitally services their policies seamlessly. 

The award entries were shortlisted by industry experts and the winner was selected by the community through pre-voting and live event voting.