Current Affairs in English – August 14 2022

National Events:

Law against any change of religion:

The Himachal Pradesh Freedom of Religion ( Amendment ) Bill , 2022 , was passed in August 2022 .
It forbids ” mass conversion ” and increases the maximum punishment to 10 years imprisonment in its 2019 law against any change of religion through force or allurement .
The bill seeks to amend sections 2,4,7 and 13 and insert section 8A in the 2019 Act .

“Roshni”:

Union Minister of State Science & Technology Dr Jitendra Singh has launched India’s first saline water lantern ” Roshni ” . It uses the sea water as the electrolyte between specially designed electrodes to power the LED lamps .
This technology can also be used in hinterlands , where sea water is not available . NIOT ( National Institute of Ocean Technology ) team has invented the Roshini Lamp .

CCI:

The Competition Commission of India ( CCI ) has given its approval for the acquisition of Holcim’s stake in Ambuja Ltd and ACC Ltd by the Adani Group .
The proposed combination involves acquisition of 100 per cent stake in Holderind Investments Ltd by Endeavour Trade and Investment Ltd.

R K Tyagi:

PowerGrid Corporation has announced that R K Tyagi has assumed charge as its director of operations .
Power Grid Corp is an Indian public sector undertaking engaged in transmission of bulk power across different states of India . It is headquartered in Gurgaon .

Tamil Nadu Events:

Elephant Reserve:

On the occasion of World Elephant Day , the centre announced the establishment of another elephant reserve at Agasthiyamalai .
This reserve will be the 32nd elephant reserve in the country and the fifth in Tamil Nadu . It will encompass reserve forests and patta lands in Tirunelveli , Kanyakumari and Tenkasi districts .

Ramsar Convention:

11 more mangrove forests in India have been recognized by the Ramsar Convention. The Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change has announced that the number of mangrove forests in India that have been included in the Ramsar Convention has increased to 75 to coincide with the country’s 75th independence anniversary.
20 years ago in Tamil Nadu only Kodiakkarai was included in the Ramsar list. Tamil Nadu has the largest number of 14 mangrove forests in the country. Next to Tamil Nadu is Uttar Pradesh (10).

International Events:

WHO:

World Health Organisation ( WHO ) has announced new names for variants of the Monkeypox virus . WHO has named the variants as- Clades I , lla and llb . It had declared a global health emergency over monkeypox in July 2022 .
Monkeypox is a rare disease caused by infection with the monkeypox virus . Its symptoms include fever , headache , swollen lymph nodes , exhaustion , etc.

IMD & Japanese Government & UNDP:

The India Meteorological Department ( IMD ) , the Japanese government , and the United Nations Development Programme ( UNDP ) have joined hands . They have unveiled a new project to expedite climate action in ten Indian states and union territories .
It will be implemented in Bihar , Delhi – NCR , Gujarat , Jharkhand , Madhya Pradesh , Maharashtra , Odisha , Sikkim , Uttarakhand , and Uttar Pradesh .