16th December, 2022

1. India has offered to set up a permanent secretariat for the No Money for Terror Ministerial Conference in the country.
2. Central government has approved a revival package of Rs 1,64,000 crore for revival of BSNL.
3. India has successfully conducted night trials of the nuclear-capable ballistic missile named Agni V, capable of striking targets at ranges up to 5,000 km with a very high degree of accuracy.
4. Law Minister Kiren Rijiju informed the Rajya Sabha that states are empowered to enact personal laws that decide issues such as succession, marriage and divorce, in their endeavour to secure a uniform civil code (UCC).
5. Union Minister of Civil Aviation and Steel, Shri Jyotiraditya M. Scindia inaugurated a direct flight between Mumbai and San Francisco.
6. Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has proposed the ‘Bharat Krishi Satellite Programme’ for using satellites in agriculture.
7. The 20th edition of the Chennai International Film Festival was inaugurated in the city.
8. Uttarakhand State Disaster Management Authority (USDMA) and Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) signed an MOU to “strengthen and densify the weather forecasting network in the state.”
9. Department of Industry Promotion and Internal Trade, Ministry of Commerce and Industry has issued the GI tags to 9 new products, taking the number of GI-tagged products to 432.
10. The 16th edition of the Indo-Nepal joint army training Exercise “SURYA KIRAN-XVI” was held at Nepal Army Battle School, Saljhandi.
11. All 36 Rafale aircrafts have arrived in India from France.
12. Kalyani Rafael Advanced Systems Pvt Ltd (KRAS), which is a 51:49 joint venture between Pune-based Kalyani Group and Israel’s Rafael group, has rolled out its 100th medium range surface to air missile (MRSAM) kit for delivery to the Indian armed forces.
13. The Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) has signed an MOU with Shiprocket to support micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) exporters in India showcasing their products on the Indian Business Portal (IBP).
14. G7 countries, along with Norway and Denmark, has approved $15.5 billion to Vietnam to help the Southeast Asian nation move faster from coal power to renewable energy.
15. In the United States, wildlife officials declared a Nevada wildflower
16. World Bank has released the “Striving for Clean Air: Air Pollution and Public Health in South Asia” report.
17. Redseer Strategy Consultants in their latest report stated that India currently has around 350 million online transacting users across e-commerce, shopping, travel and hospitality, and OTT and the number is set to double by 2030.
18. Ministry of Heavy Industries has allocated Rs 1000 crores under the phase-II of FAME-India Scheme for the development of charging infrastructure.
19. Reliance Consumer Products — the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) arm and a fully owned subsidiary of Reliance Retail Ventures (RRVL) — launched its consumer-packaged goods brand – ‘Independence’, in Gujarat.
20. Tamilnad Mercantile Bank has partnered with Kotak Mahindra General Insurance company to sell its general insurance products to customers.
21. Asian Development Bank (ADB) has forecasted a 7% GDP growth rate for 2022-23.
22. American executive Cindy Hook has been appointed as the inaugural CEO of the organising committee for the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Brisbane.
23. December 14 – National Energy Conservation Day
24. December 16 – Vijay Diwas (to honour the victory of Indian armed forces over Pakistan in the 1971 war)
25. Jindal Steel and Power (JSP) has been honoured with FICCI CSR Special Commendation Award for its efforts to counter the COVID-19 pandemic.
26. SpiceJet has won the ‘Safety Performer of the Year’ award at the annual GMR Delhi Airport Awards for being the top performer among the self-handling airlines, besides for “its success in reducing ground safety violations”.
27. Praggnanandhaa has won the $10,000 Julius Baer Challenger Championship in Tel Aviv.
28. Rafael Nadal was crowned the ITF world champion for the fifth time.
29. Kabaddi World Cup will be held in the West Midlands region of the United Kingdom in 2025.

National News

1. India has offered to set up a permanent secretariat for the No Money for Terror Ministerial Conference in the country.
   • India hosted the third Ministerial Level Conference on Counter-Terrorism Financing last month.
2. Central government has approved a revival package of Rs 1,64,000 crore for revival of BSNL.
   • BSNL is going to implement indigenously developed 4G and 5G technology.
   • The reasons for losses of BSNL are high employee cost over the years, debt burden, stiff competition in the market and lack of 4G services (except on a limited basis in certain areas).
3. India has successfully conducted night trials of the nuclear-capable ballistic missile named Agni V, capable of striking targets at ranges up to 5,000 km with a very high degree of accuracy.
   • The missile test firing was conducted from APJ Abdul Kalam Island off the Odisha coast.
4. Law Minister Kiren Rijiju informed the Rajya Sabha that states are empowered to enact personal laws that decide issues such as succession, marriage and divorce, in their endeavour to secure a uniform civil code (UCC).
   • Article 44 of the Constitution provides that the State shall endeavour to secure for the citizens a uniform civil code throughout the territory of India.
5. Union Minister of Civil Aviation and Steel, Shri Jyotiraditya M. Scindia inaugurated a direct flight between Mumbai and San Francisco.
   • Air India will operate the non-stop flight on this route effective from 15th December 2022.
6. Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has proposed the ‘Bharat Krishi Satellite Programme’ for using satellites in agriculture.
   • The satellites will be owned by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmer Welfare and not by ISRO. The ISRO will just provide the technical support.
   • An ‘Earth Observation Council’ will be created for addressing the current deficiencies in earth observation capabilities and data utilisation.

State News

1. The 20th edition of the Chennai International Film Festival was inaugurated in the city.
   • At the festival, 102 films from 51 countries will be screened.
2. Uttarakhand State Disaster Management Authority (USDMA) and Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) signed an MOU to “strengthen and densify the weather forecasting network in the state.”
   • A committee has been formed to identify places for the installation of radars and other weather forecasting equipment.

Agriculture and Rural Development

1. Department of Industry Promotion and Internal Trade, Ministry of Commerce and Industry has issued the GI tags to 9 new products, taking the number of GI-tagged products to 432.
   • The products include –

Defence News

1. The 16th edition of the Indo-Nepal joint army training Exercise “SURYA KIRAN-XVI” was held at Nepal Army Battle School, Saljhandi.
2. All 36 Rafale aircrafts have arrived in India from France.
   • India and France had signed the inter-government agreement in 2016, under which Paris agreed to provide 36 Rafale fighter jets at a cost of around Rs 60,000 crore to India.
   • The first batch of five Rafale jets arrived on 29th July 2020.
3. Kalyani Rafael Advanced Systems Pvt Ltd (KRAS), which is a 51:49 joint venture between Pune-based Kalyani Group and Israel’s Rafael group, has rolled out its 100th medium range surface to air missile (MRSAM) kit for delivery to the Indian armed forces.

Memorandum of Understanding

1. The Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) has signed an MOU with Shiprocket to support micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) exporters in India showcasing their products on the Indian Business Portal (IBP).

International News

1. G7 countries, along with Norway and Denmark, has approved $15.5 billion to Vietnam to help the Southeast Asian nation move faster from coal power to renewable energy.
   • Vietnam aims to reduce its emissions to “net zero” by 2050.
   • Vietnam has initiated the Just Energy Transition Partnership to mobilise $15.5 billion of public and private finance to support Vietnam to achieve its ambitious Net Zero 2050 goal.
2. In the United States, wildlife officials declared a Nevada wildflower
   • The wildflower is the only place it’s known to exist.

Reports and Indices

1. World Bank has released the “Striving for Clean Air: Air Pollution and Public Health in South Asia” report.
   • South Asia is home to 9 of the world’s 10 cities with the worst air pollution, which causes an estimated 2 million premature deaths across the region each year and incurs significant economic costs.

Banking and Economy

1. Redseer Strategy Consultants in their latest report stated that India currently has around 350 million online transacting users across e-commerce, shopping, travel and hospitality, and OTT and the number is set to double by 2030.
   • At 780 million, India is home to the second-largest Internet user base in the world, which is more than 2 times of the US population.
   • With the accelerated growth of Internet and smartphone adoption, India is expected to surpass 1 billion Internet users by 2030.
   • Gaming has almost 450 million users in 2022, and the market will see a 33% rise in paid gamers by 2026.
2. Ministry of Heavy Industries has allocated Rs 1000 crores under the phase-II of FAME-India Scheme for the development of charging infrastructure.
   • The Ministry has sanctioned 2,877 electric vehicle charging stations in 68 cities across 25 states/UTs.
3. Reliance Consumer Products — the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) arm and a fully owned subsidiary of Reliance Retail Ventures (RRVL) — launched its consumer-packaged goods brand – ‘Independence’, in Gujarat.
4. Tamilnad Mercantile Bank has partnered with Kotak Mahindra General Insurance company to sell its general insurance products to customers.

GDP Forecasts

1. Asian Development Bank (ADB) has forecasted a 7% GDP growth rate for 2022-23.
   • For 2023-24, the GDP growth has been kept unchanged at 7.2%.
   • Inflation in India is still expected to rise to 6.7% in 2022-23.

Appointments

1. American executive Cindy Hook has been appointed as the inaugural CEO of the organising committee for the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Brisbane.

Important Days

1. December 14 – National Energy Conservation Day
2. December 16 – Vijay Diwas (to honour the victory of Indian armed forces over Pakistan in the 1971 war)

Awards

1. Jindal Steel and Power (JSP) has been honoured with FICCI CSR Special Commendation Award for its efforts to counter the COVID-19 pandemic.
   • JSP launched a special initiative, ‘Mission Zero Hunger’ in three states, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, and Jharkhand, to feed truck drivers, stranded migrant labourers, and the poor.
   • This initiative was later extended to Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, and Maharashtra, delivering more than 2 million meals.
   • NTPC Ltd. has been conferred with the prestigious FICCI Special Jury Commendation Awards in the category- Environmental Sustainability for the project – Revival & Operation of Municipal Solid Waste plant at Karsada, Varanasi.
2. SpiceJet has won the ‘Safety Performer of the Year’ award at the annual GMR Delhi Airport Awards for being the top performer among the self-handling airlines, besides for “its success in reducing ground safety violations”.

Sports

1. Praggnanandhaa has won the $10,000 Julius Baer Challenger Championship in Tel Aviv.
2. Rafael Nadal was crowned the ITF world champion for the fifth time.
   • Top-ranked Iga Swiatek won the ITF’s women’s award.
   • In the men’s doubles category, American Rajeev Ram and Briton Joe Salisbury won the award for the first time.
3. Kabaddi World Cup will be held in the West Midlands region of the United Kingdom in
   • The Kabaddi World Cup 2025 will be hosted out of Asia for the first time announced by the World Kabbadi Federation (WKF).

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