Latest Current Affairs For Saturday 24th December, 2022

TATA Projects, CSIR-IIP ink MoU for Clean Energy Solutions

TATA Projects Limited has inked an MoU with the CSIR – Indian Institute of Petroleum (CSIR – IIP) to collaborate and work together towards ensuring clean energy solutions.

As part of this agreement, clean energy solutions such as room temperature bio-diesel produced from CSIR-IIP shall be used across some of Tata Projects’ ongoing sites.

This partnership will also explore utilization of by-product Green Diesel from the existing DILSAAF™.

Goa to host 1st ever World Table Tennis series in India

India’s first ever World Table Tennis (WTT) series event will be hosted by Goa from February 27 to March 5 2023.

The event will be held at the Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Indoor stadium, located at the Goa University Campus.

Stupa Analytics, a homegrown sports analytics firm, will be the tournament host with active support from the Goa government.

WTT Series is the official professional table tennis series of events, with the world’s best players.

Odisha CM launches 'Drink From Tap' facility in 19 cities, towns

Odisha CM, Naveen Patnaik has launched the ‘Drink From Tap’ project in 19 cities and towns of the state.

Aim: To provide safe drinking water provision at every home in the state

Earlier, this facility was unveiled in Puri and Gopalpur.

Under the project, drinking water will be supplied round the clock through taps installed in households.

CM has announced that at least 5.55 lakh people in the 19 cities and the towns would benefit from the project.

Assam grants industry status to its tourism sector

The Assam State Cabinet led by CM Himanta Biswa Sarma has approved the proposal for grant of industry status to the tourism sector in the state.

Aim: To boost investments and generate employment.

The industry status, fresh investments in tourism infrastructure, permanent in nature, will contribute towards rapid employment generation, public-private partnership and development.

Tourism is to be one of the main sources of income generation for the people over the years.

Former PepsiCo India chairman, PM Sinha passes away

PepsiCo legend, PM Sinha, who popularly known as Suman has been passed away at the age of 82 in Gurugram.

He started his career from Hindustan Lever Ltd (HLL, later HUL).

He served as the chairman of PepsiCo India between 1992 and 2002.

He was also credited with launching bottled water brand Aquafina in India.

He helped acquire Duke’s in Mumbai and snack food company, Uncle Chipps.

He also joined Bata as chairman in 2004 and is credited with restructuring the company.

Prof. Thalappil Pradeep received VinFuture special prize 2022

Renowned researcher and Madras IIT Professor, Pradeep Thalappil has received the VinFuture Prize 2022 instituted by the VinFuture Prize Council to honour breakthrough research projects.

He has been awarded the ‘Special Prize dedicated to Innovators from Developing Countries’ for his development of a low-cost filtration system to remove arsenic and other heavy metals from groundwater.

He was also honoured with the Padma Shri (2020), Nikkei Asia Prize (2020).

Veteran Telugu actor Kaikala Satyanarayana passes away

Veteran Telugu actor, Kaikala Satyanarayana has been passed away at the age of 87 in Hyderabad.

He was honoured with the several Awards including Raghupati Venkaiah Award (2011), Filmfare Awards for lifetime achievement award for Telugu cinema (2017) and the Andhra Pradesh government’s Nandi film awards.

He was also elected to the 11th Lok Sabha from Machilipatnam on Telugu Desam Party (TDP) but withdrew from politics after 1998.

Petroleum Ministry organizes musical event 'Dance to Decarbonise'

The Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry has organised one of its kind musical event, Dance to Decarbonise at the National Stadium in New Delhi on 23rd Dec 2022.

As per the ministry, the renewable energy generated through dance will be used to charge electric vehicles.

Aim: To showcase the India’s target of achieving net-zero emissions by 2070 weighing against the country's growing economy, and rising energy requirements over transformational energy systems for the future. 

Dr. Suhel Ajaz Khan appointed as next Ambassador of India to Saudi Arabia

According to the Ministry of External Affairs, an Indian Foreign Service (IFS) official of 1997 batch, Dr. Suhel Ajaz Khan has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

He will replace Dr. Ausaf Sayeed, a 1989 batch IFS officer.

Presently, he is serving as the Ambassador of India to the Republic of Lebanon.

He has also served as a United Nations Pension Board member in 2016 and 2017.

India, Japan to conduct first bilateral air combat exercise in January 2023

India and Japan will organise their maiden bilateral air combat exercise, Veer Guardian 2023 from January 16 to 26 at Hyakuri air base and Iruma air base in Japan.

Reason: To promote the mutual understanding and strengthen defence cooperation between the Air Forces and enhance JASDF’s tactical skill.

India will deploy four Sukhoi-30MKI fighters supported by two C-17 Globemaster-III strategic lift aircraft, one IL-78 mid-air refueler and around 150 IAF personnel.

Sahitya Akademi Awards 2022 announced

Sahitya Akademi has announced its annual Sahitya Akademi Awards in 23 languages on 22nd December 2022.

7 books of poetry, 6 of novel, 2 of short stories, 3 Play/Dramas, 2 Literary Criticism, one each of Autobiographical Essays, Collection of Articles and Literary History have won the Sahitya Akademi Awards 2022.

The awardee will receive an engraved copper-plaque, a shawl and Rs.1,00,000 in Cash.

It also announced the ‘Sahitya Akademi Translation’ awards for 2022.

Shamsher Singh as MD and CEO of SBI Funds

Shamsher Singh has been appointed as the MD & CEO of SBI Funds Management Limited (SBIFML).

Prior to this role, he served as the Deputy MD of State Bank of India.

He had joined SBI as probationary officer in June 1990.

He has more than 32 years of rich experience working with SBI in various verticals, including investment banking, treasury, corporate banking and branch banking.

SBIFML is a JV between SBI and Europe’s largest asset manager, Amundi.

Aloke Singh to be chief of Air India LCC business from January 2023

The Air India management has appointed Air India Express CEO, Aloke Singh as the new chief executive officer of Air India's Low Cost Carrier (LCC) business from January 1, 2023.

The LCC business will comprise AirAsia India and Air India Express.

The current AirAsia India CEO, Sunil Bhaskaran will assume the leadership of a new initiative -- an aviation training academy.

AirAsia India was launched in 2014 while Air India Express started operations back in 2005.

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.