Current Affairs in English – December 21 2022

National Events:

Digital India Awards 2022:

The Smart Cities Mission, Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs has won the Platinum Icon in the Digital India Awards 2022. They have been awarded for their initiative “Data Smart Cities: Empowering Cities through Data”.
The award was announced under the ‘Data Sharing and Use for Socio-Economic Development’ category.

Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar:

Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar gets A grade by NAAC(National Assessment and Accreditation Council). Amritsar is a city in the northwestern Indian state of Punjab, 28 kilometers from the border with Pakistan.
The Golden Temple situated there is the holiest gurdwara of the Sikh religion. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Amritsar is the second-most populous city in Punjab.
The city has been chosen as one of the heritage cities for HRIDAY(National Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana) scheme.

Assam Cabinet:

The Assam cabinet has approved the proposal for grant of industry status to the tourism sector in the state, to boost investments and generate employment. The newly-implemented policy aims for sustainable and environmentally friendly investment.
The infrastructure will be developed through Public Private Partnership mode, which will contribute to the overall development of the region.

LNG:

Gail India and Japanese transport firm Mitsui OSK Lines, through its wholly owned subsidiary, has signed a time charter contract for a new-build liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier. It has also been signed for joint ownership of an existing LNG carrier.
The vessel will be built by South Korean shipbuilder Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering with a charter period from 2023.

Pey Jal Survekshan:

Ground survey of Pey Jal Survekshan begins under AMRUT 2.0 Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MOHUA) has kickstarted the ground survey of Pey Jal Survekshan from 15th December 2022.
The Pey Jal Survekshan under Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) 2.0 was launched in September, 2022 Scores will be assigned to the cities and city-water report cards, reflecting each city’s water health, will be published.

Arnala:

Arnala, the first ship of the ASW SWC Project, being built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers for the Indian Navy was launched on Dec 20, 2022 at Kattupalli, Chennai.
The ship has been named Arnala to signify the strategic maritime importance accorded to the island of Arnala.
The contract for building 8 ASW SWC ships was signed between Defence Ministry and GRSE, Kolkata in Apr 2019.

Gujarat Regularisation of Unauthorised Development Bill:

In Gujarat, the State Assembly passed the Gujarat Regularisation of Unauthorised Development Bill on 20 December 2022.
The Bill will regularise the illegal commercial, educational, and residential real estate buildings constructed in the State before October 2022 upon payment of a fee. The Bill replaced the Ordinance promulgated in October 2022.

SPARSH:

Bandhan Bank signs MoU to set up ‘Sparsh’ centres across the country. In 2021, the Ministry of Defence implemented SPARSH (System for Pension Administration Raksha). It is an integrated system for automation of sanction and disbursement of defence pension.
Earlier State Bank of India (SBI) and Punjab National Bank (PNB) were co-opted as Service Centres.
SPARSH envisages establishment of Service Centres to provide last mile connectivity to pensioners. It will provide services to the defence pensioners through its 557 branches.

Swadesh Darshan 2.0:

Gaya and Nalanda in Bihar have been included by the Government of India under the Swadesh Darshan 2.0 scheme. Punaura Dham in the Sitamarhi District of Bihar has been selected for development under the PRASHAD Scheme of the Government of India.
The government of India launched the Swadesh Darshan scheme in 2014-15 for the integrated development of theme – based tourist circuits.

Rajasthan Government:

The Rajasthan Government has announced to provide 12 LPG cylinders per year to the poor families at Rs 500 per cylinder from 1 April 2023. Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot announced this at the Bharat Jodo Yatra in Alwar on 19 December 2022.
‘Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana’ (PMUY) was launched by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 1 May 2016 in Ballia, Uttar Pradesh.

Tamil Nadu Events:

Tamil Nadu government:

The Tamil Nadu government has announced that all those who are eligible for benefits under various government schemes will have to submit proof of having an Aadhaar number.
As per the order, Aadhaar is mandatory for government employees, pensioners and beneficiaries of various schemes implemented by the state government. Governor-Ravindra Narayan Ravi. Chief Minister- M.K.Stalin.

International Events:

Earth-free magnets:

Scientists fabricate rare earth-free magnets. Rare-earth magnets are strong permanent magnets made from alloys of rare-earth elements.
Developed in the 1970s and 1980s, rare-earth magnets are the strongest type of permanent magnets made, producing significantly stronger magnetic fields than other types such as ferrite or alnico magnets.
The magnetic field typically produced by rare – earth magnets can exceed 1.2 teslas.

Elon Musk:

Billionaire Elon Musk will step down as chief executive of Twitter Inc once he finds a replacement, but will still run some key divisions of the social media platform.
This is the first time Musk has mentioned stepping down as chief of the social media platform. Twitter, Inc. is an American social media company based in San Francisco, California.

Sports Events:

Fencing Championship 2022:

J & K Lt Governor Manoj Sinha declared the All India Inter-University Fencing Championship 2022-23 open at Jammu University on 20 December 2022. More than 1000 fencers from 100 Universities across India are participating in the event.
During the event, Lt Governor also released the Competition Mascot and departmental calendar of the Directorate of Sports & Physical Education, University of Jammu.