13th December, 2022

1. Central government has selected a total of 67 entries with an investment potential of Rs 42,500 crore under the production linked incentive (PLI) scheme for specialty steel.
2. Union Government has sought Parliament’s nod for additional spending of ₹4.36 trillion for FY23, including over ₹1 trillion for fertilizer subsidy.
3. The University Grants Commission (UGC) announced that the Four-Year Under-Graduate Programme (FYUP) will be adopted in higher education institutions from 2023-24 academic session.
4. The G20 Development Working Group (DWG) meeting will be held in Mumbai under Indian presidency between December 13-16.
5. National Health Authority (NHA) has announced to set up a health exchange platform to digitize and simplify the process of filing health insurance claims.
6. Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare is organizing a two-days conclave commemorating the “Universal Coverage Day (UHC) 2022” on 10th and 11th December 2022 at Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh.
7. Indian Institute of Science (IISc) inaugurated India’s first 3D bioprinting Center of Excellence (CoE) for providing researchers tools to advance discoveries in tissue engineering, regenerative medicine and drug discovery.
8. ISRO has launched the test flight of hypersonic vehicles with headquarters of the Integrated Defense Staff successfully.
9. National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has launched GHAR – GO Home and Re-Unite (Portal for Restoration and Repatriation of Child) to digitally monitor and track the restoration and repatriation of children.
10. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has declared a seed farm, located in Aluva, as the first carbon-neutral farm in the country.
11. PM Narendra Modi has inaugurated the first phase of the greenfield international airport at Mopa in North Goa.
12. The first China-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Summit was held at the King Abdulaziz International Conference Center in Riyadh.
13. The 17th Asia-Pacific Regional Meeting (APRM) of the International Labour Organization was organized in Singapore.
14. Japan has launched its first lunar mission on the Falcon-9 rocket of SpaceX from Cape Canaveral in the US state of Florida.
15. The 5th edition of the WHO Global Antimicrobial Resistance and Use Surveillance System (GLASS) has been released.
16. SEBI has revised rules related to foreign investment in alternative investment funds (AIFs).
17. Asian Development Bank has approved a USD 250 million policy-based loan to India for strengthening and modernising India’s logistics infrastructure, improve efficiency, and lower costs.
18. According to Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal’s reply in the Parliament, the trade deficit between India and China touched USD 51.5 billion during April-October 2022.
19. RBI has shortlisted seven global consultancy firms to use artificial intelligence and machine learning for supervisory functions.
20. Hurun Global 500 list has been released for the year 2022.
21. Tamilnad Mercantile Bank and Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance have partnered to offer Bajaj Allianz Life’s retail products to the new and existing customers of the bank.
22. PNB Housing Finance launched Roshni, a low-cost home loan programme, with a range of Rs. 5 lakhs to Rs. 30 lakhs, for Tier I and II cities.
23. Nomura has forecasted India’s GDP growth rate at 5.1% for 2023-24.
24. Bhupendra Patel (from BJP) has been appointed as the Chief Minister of Gujarat.
25. Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu (from Congress) has been appointed as the Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh.
26. December 10 – UN Human Rights Day; Theme – Dignity, Freedom, and Justice for All
27. Sony Entertainment Television has become the official satellite partner of the Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival Awards 2023.
28. Meghalaya govt has won the Best Practice in Advocacy, Communication and Social Mobilisation in Tuberculosis control award at the National Workshop on ACSM to end TB in New Delhi, India.
29. Denmark-based Viktor Axelsen (Men’s badminton world No 1) has won men’s singles at the BWF World Tour Finals in Bangkok, Thailand.
30. Akhil Rabindra won the Drivers’ Championship in the inaugural Indian Racing League at the Hyderabad Street Circuit.
31. Indian batter Ishan Kishan has become the fastest double centurion in one-day international.

National News

1. Central government has selected a total of 67 entries with an investment potential of Rs 42,500 crore under the production linked incentive (PLI) scheme for specialty steel.
   • The Union Cabinet in July 2021 approved a Rs 6,322-crore PLI scheme to boost the production of speciality steel in India.
2. Union Government has sought Parliament’s nod for additional spending of ₹4.36 trillion for FY23, including over ₹1 trillion for fertilizer subsidy.
   • The first batch of supplementary demands for grants tabled in Lok Sabha by the minister of state for finance Pankaj Chaudhary also sought approval for additional expenditure of ₹80,348 crores towards food subsidy and additional allocation under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY).
   • The supplementary demand is an additional grant required to meet the required expenditure of the government over and above the amount for which the parliamentary nod was taken earlier.
3. The University Grants Commission (UGC) announced that the Four-Year Under-Graduate Programme (FYUP) will be adopted in higher education institutions from 2023-24 academic session.
   • The FYUP will split the four-year UG degree into parts and provide different entry and exit options to students.
4. The G20 Development Working Group (DWG) meeting will be held in Mumbai under Indian presidency between December 13-16.
   • The group will discuss developmental issues in developing countries, least developed countries, and island countries.
   • 1st G20 Finance & Central Bank Deputies Meeting will be held in Bengaluru.
5. National Health Authority (NHA) has announced to set up a health exchange platform to digitize and simplify the process of filing health insurance claims.
   • Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY) will be the first insurance scheme in the world to implement this digital solution.
   • The platform will be rolled out in Haryana, followed by a pan-India launch.
   • NHA has recently signed an MoU with the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment to expand healthcare services to the transgender population.
6. Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare is organizing a two-days conclave commemorating the “Universal Coverage Day (UHC) 2022” on 10th and 11th December 2022 at Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh.
   • December 12 – International Universal Health Coverage Day; Theme – Build the world we want: A healthy future for all
7. Indian Institute of Science (IISc) inaugurated India’s first 3D bioprinting Center of Excellence (CoE) for providing researchers tools to advance discoveries in tissue engineering, regenerative medicine and drug discovery.
   • The Centre is established at the Centre for BioSystems Science and Engineering (BSSE) at IISc.
   • The CoE will help researchers to accelerate their work across critical applications.
8. ISRO has launched the test flight of hypersonic vehicles with headquarters of the Integrated Defense Staff
   • Any aircraft, missile, or spacecraft that can exceed Mach 5 (five times the speed of sound) is considered a hypersonic vehicle.
   • ISRO has also successfully tested the Hot Test of Scramjet Engine at ISRO’s Propulsion Research Complex at Mahendragiri in Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu.
   • The scramjet is a more advanced version of the ramjet engine and can operate efficiently at hypersonic speeds.
   • India is the fourth country to demonstrate the flight testing of a Scramjet Engine.
9. National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has launched GHAR – GO Home and Re-Unite (Portal for Restoration and Repatriation of Child) to digitally monitor and track the restoration and repatriation of children.
   • The portal will allow digital tracking and monitoring of children who are in the Juvenile Justice system and have to be repatriated to another country, state or district.
   • It will help to digital transfer of cases of children to the concerned Juvenile Justice Board/Child Welfare Committee of the State. It will help in the speedy repatriation of children.

State News

1. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has declared a seed farm, located in Aluva, as the first carbon-neutral farm in the country.
   • As many as 30% of greenhouse gas emissions come from agriculture and this can be prevented and climate change can be regulated through carbon-neutral agricultural practices.
2. PM Narendra Modi has inaugurated the first phase of the greenfield international airport at Mopa in North Goa.

International News

1. The first China-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Summit was held at the King Abdulaziz International Conference Center in Riyadh.
2. The 17th Asia-Pacific Regional Meeting (APRM) of the International Labour Organization was organized in Singapore.
   • Singapore Declaration for Labour Protection was adopted at the meeting. It was a tripartite declaration which aims to address the challenges with the participation of all stakeholders (government, employers, and workers).
   • The Declaration focuses on reducing inequalities. It has suggested ways to reduce inequalities.
     • Develop inclusive labour market programmes and policies.
     • Implement collective and determined efforts to accelerate a smooth transition from the informal to formal economy.
     • Facilitate the transition to peace, security and decent work in situations of crisis.
     • Recognise the impact of climate change and develop national plans that help build environmentally sustainable economies and societies.
     • Frame policies to regulate labour migration to coordinate labour mobility and social protection and harness opportunities arising from labour migration
3. Japan has launched its first lunar mission on the Falcon-9 rocket of SpaceX from Cape Canaveral in the US state of Florida.
   • The spacecraft has been developed by Tokyo-based startup It is expected to land on moon’s surface in 2023.
   • The ispace mission is the first of a program called Hakuto-R, which means “white rabbit” in Japanese.
   • UAE has also launched a rover, named Rashid, along with ispace’s mission. If it successfully lands, it will be the Arab World’s First Moon Mission.

Reports and Indices

1. The 5th edition of the WHO Global Antimicrobial Resistance and Use Surveillance System (GLASS) has been released.
   • It was first launched in 2015 to foster AMR surveillance and inform strategies to contain AMR.

Banking and Economy

1. SEBI has revised rules related to foreign investment in alternative investment funds (AIFs).
   • At present, SEBI rules allow AIFs to raise funds from any investor – whether Indian, foreign or non-resident Indian – by way of issue of units.
   • AIFs may accept commitments from a government or government-related investor that does not meet the signatory condition, if the investor is a resident in the country as approved by the Indian government.
   • According to SEBI’s guidelines, the investor or its underlying investors contributing 25% or more in the corpus of the investor, should not be mentioned in the sanctions list of the United Nations Security Council.
   • The investor must not be a resident of a country identified by the Financial Action Task Force as a jurisdiction having anti-money laundering deficiencies.
   • In case an investor who has been onboarded to the scheme of an AIF does not subsequently meet these conditions, the manager of the AIF should not draw down any further capital contribution from such an investor, until the said conditions are met.
2. Asian Development Bank has approved a USD 250 million policy-based loan to India for strengthening and modernising India’s logistics infrastructure, improve efficiency, and lower costs.
3. According to Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal’s reply in the Parliament, the trade deficit between India and China touched USD 51.5 billion during April-October 2022.
   • Imports during the period stood at USD 60.3 billion, while exports aggregated at USD 8.8 billion.
4. RBI has shortlisted seven global consultancy firms to use artificial intelligence and machine learning for supervisory functions.
   • These firms are Accenture Solutions Private Limited; Boston Consulting Group (India) Pvt Ltd; Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India LLP; Ernst and Young LLP; KPMG Assurance and Consulting Services LLP; McKinsey and Company; and Pricewaterhouse Coopers Pvt Ltd.
5. Hurun Global 500 list has been released for the year 2022.
   • India is ranked at the 5th position with 20 firms on the list. The most valuable companies in India are Reliance Industry (1st), Tata Consultancy Services (2nd), and HDFC Bank (3^rd).

6. Tamilnad Mercantile Bank and Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance have partnered to offer Bajaj Allianz Life’s retail products to the new and existing customers of the bank.
7. PNB Housing Finance launched Roshni, a low-cost home loan programme, with a range of Rs. 5 lakhs to Rs. 30 lakhs, for Tier I and II cities.

GDP Forecasts

1. Nomura has forecasted India’s GDP growth rate at 5.1% for 2023-24.
   • Nomura expects India’s headline retail inflation to ease from 6.8% in 2022-23 to 5% in 2023-24 and 4.9% in 2024-25.
   • Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation forecast was 6.7% for FY23.

Appointments

1. Bhupendra Patel (from BJP) has been appointed as the Chief Minister of Gujarat.
   • Gujarat Governor – Acharya Devvrat
2. Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu (from Congress) has been appointed as the Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh.

Important Days

1. December 10 – UN Human Rights Day; Theme – Dignity, Freedom, and Justice for All
   • UNESCO runs ‘Orange the World Campaign’ from November 25 (International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women) to December 10.

Awards

1. Sony Entertainment Television has become the official satellite partner of the Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival Awards 2023.
2. Meghalaya govt has won the Best Practice in Advocacy, Communication and Social Mobilisation in Tuberculosis control award at the National Workshop on ACSM to end TB in New Delhi, India.
   • A National Strategic Plan for TB Elimination (2017-25) was launched to achieve the target of eliminating TB by 2025.
   • The TB Mukt Bharat campaign, or ‘Jan Andolan’, was launched to build greater awareness, remove the stigma, and generate demand for services across the state.

Sports

1. Denmark-based Viktor Axelsen (Men’s badminton world No 1) has won men’s singles at the BWF World Tour Finals in Bangkok, Thailand.
   • Akane Yamaguchi of Japan won the women’s singles.
2. Akhil Rabindra won the Drivers’ Championship in the inaugural Indian Racing League at the Hyderabad Street Circuit.
3. Indian batter Ishan Kishan has become the fastest double centurion in one-day international.

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