Current Affairs in English – December 7 2022

National Events:

Karnataka government:

The Karnataka government has cleared a total of 59 investment proposals worth Rs 2,627.88 cr, promising to create 9,764 jobs.
The proposals were cleared at the 136th State Level Single Window Clearance Committee (SLSWCC) meeting.
Four projects of additional investment have also been approved which will result in an investment of Rs 852.73 cr and would generate 1,460 employment opportunities.

K S Rangappa:

Mysuru – based scientist K S Rangappa has been awarded a fellowship of The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS), a programme unit of UNESCO.
He has served as General President of the Indian Science Congress Association (ISCA). Listed among the top 2 per cent of world scientists since 2019, Rangappa is a CSIR Emeritus Scientist.

RBI:

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has hiked the policy repo rate – for a fifth consecutive time by 35 basis points to 6.25%.
The key interest rate has been hiked a total of 190 basis points by 50 basis points thrice since June, and once by 40 basis points during an off-cycle meet in May 2022. The FY23 real GDP forecast had been lowered to 6.8%.

Lieutenant General B S Raju:

The Vice Chief of Army Staff Lieutenant General B S Raju embarked on a three – day visit to Malaysia on 7 Dec 2022.
He will take forward the defence cooperation between India and Malaysia through multiple meetings with senior military and civilian leadership of the country.
He will witness various training activities of the ongoing joint Exercise Harimau Shakti and interact with the troops.

ONGC:

Former BPCL chairman Arun Kumar Singh has been appointed as Chairman of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC).
Vetsa Rama Krishna Gupta has taken over the additional charge of Chairman and Managing Director of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), post superannuation of Arun Kumar Singh.
ONGC had been without a regular chairman and managing director since April 2021.

Walmart Global Sourcing India Private Limited and The National Small Industries Corporation Limited:

An MoU was signed between Walmart Global Sourcing India Private Limited and The National Small Industries Corporation Limited on 6 December 2022.
Through this MoU NSIC will be able to extend the NSIC schemes and other services to MSMEs who would participate in various Vriddhi program.
MSMEs who are part of the NSIC ecosystem will also be linked to the Vriddhi program in relevant clusters.

PFC:

Power Finance Corporation Limited signed an MoU for FY 2022-23 with Ministry of Power on 6th December 2022.
PFC is a key partner to Government of India for implementation of several schemes such as Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS), Liquidity Infusion Scheme under Atmanirbhar Bharat, Late Payment Surcharge Rules (LPS) etc.

India’s first Drone Skill Training Conference:

Union Minister Anurag Thakur inaugurates India’s first Drone Skill Training Conference in Chennai on 06 Dec’22.
He also launched 1000 planned Drone Centre of Excellence at Garuda Aerospace’s Manufacturing unit in Chennai, and also flagged off Garuda Aerospace’s Drone Yatra, ‘Operation 777’.
‘Operation 777’ is meant to demonstrate the efficacy of drones across 777 districts in India.

Global Achievers Award 2022:

HBW News announced the winners of the Global Achievers Award 2022 on 6 December 2022. This award is an initiative to recognize top global leaders and organizations for their outstanding achievements and contributions.
The Winners list includes Katrina Kaif for achievement in Bollywood, Nandan Nilekani for IT Industry, Selena Gomez for her achievement in singing, etc.

eSanjeevani:

Government telemedicine service, eSanjeevani has crossed eight crore teleconsultations in December 2022. eSanjeevani strives to provide an alternative to conventional physical consultations through a digital platform.
The scheme was started in November 2019. It is run by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. It is also called the National Teleconsultation Service.

Armed Forces Flag Day: 7 December:

Every year on December 7, India commemorates Armed Forces Flag Day to raise donations for the welfare the Armed Forces Staff.
On 28th August 1949, the Ministry of Defence decided to celebrate this day, to honor the soldiers, sailors, and airmen.
The welfare schemes are funded by the Armed Forces Flag Day Fund (AFFDF) which was instituted Government of India.

‘Mandous’:

The formation of a low-pressure area over the South Andaman sea and its neighbourhood area intensified into a cyclonic storm ‘Mandous’ on 6 December 2022.
It is likely to move towards north Tamil Nadu-Puducherry and south Andhra Pradesh by 8 December. Sea conditions in Andaman and coastal areas of Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, and South Andhra will be very rough in the next few days.

Tamil Nadu Events:

Treaty of Fraternity:

A consultation meeting was held under the leadership of the mayors of San Antonio Corporation of America and Chennai Corporation.
A meeting of these cities was held at the Ribbon House in accordance with the Treaty of Fraternity. A group led by Chennai Mayor R. Priya and San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg discussed in this meeting.

International Events:

12th World Hindi Conference:

The 12th World Hindi Conference is being organized by the Ministry of External Affairs in collaboration with the Government of Fiji from 15-17 February 2023 in Fiji. The theme of the Conference is “Hindi: From Traditional Knowledge to Artificial Intelligence”.
According to the UN report of 2020, Fiji had a population of more than 896,000 and out of which over 30 % is of Indian-origin.

India and Bangladesh:

The 18th Meeting of the Joint Working Group (JWG) on Security and Border Management between India and Bangladesh was held on December 5-6, 2022.
The Indian delegation was led by Piyush Goyal and the Bangladesh Government delegation was led by A.K. Mukhlesur Rahman.
Bilateral issues such as border fencing and illegal crossing, combating terrorism, smuggling, etc were discussed in the meeting.

International Civil Aviation Day: 7 December:

International Civil Aviation day is celebrated on 7 Dec every year to raise awareness about the role that international civil aviation plays and its importance.
The International Civil Aviation Organisation is a UN body that takes care of international standards for aviation safety.
In 1996, the UN’s General Assembly declared this day to be observed as International Civil Aviation Day.

FAO:

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, organized an opening ceremony for the International Year of Millets 2023 in Rome, Italy on 6 Dec 2022.
India sponsored the proposal for the International Year of Millets 2023 which was accepted by the UN’s General Assembly. In India, millets are primarily a Kharif crop, requiring less water and agricultural inputs.

Sports Events:

Hrishikesh Kanitkar:

BCCI appointed former cricketer Hrishikesh Kanitkar as the new batting coach of the India women’s team on 6 December 2022. He will join the side from the upcoming five-match T20I series against Australia starting on 9 December 2022.
Kanitkar played two Tests and 34 ODIs for India between 1997 and 2000. He was also the coach of India’s U19 team, which won the ICC Under-19 Men’s Cricket World Cup in 2022.

Manisha Ramadoss:

India’s Manisha Ramadoss has won the International Badminton Federation’s Para-Badminton Player of the Year 2022 award.
17-year-old Manisha has won 16 medals including 11 gold and 5 bronze in all competitions this year.

Aditya Mittal:

Aditya Mittal (16) from Mumbai has emerged as India’s 77th chess grandmaster. He achieved this milestone at the ongoing El Llobregat Open Chess Tournament in Spain.