28th December, 2022

1. IIT-Guwahati and IIT-Bombay are collaborating with the European Universities for the LOTUS Indo-European project.
2. Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change has been implementing the Assistance to Botanical Garden (ABG) Scheme since 1992 for ensuring the ex-situ conservation of endemic and threatened species of plants in the network of Botanic Garden.
3. According to a govt official, the Rs 200 per cooking gas cylinder subsidy for 12 cylinders per year under Ujjwala Scheme may be extended for another year in the upcoming Budget 2023-24.
4. National Mission for Clean Ganga has approved 12 projects worth Rs 2700 crores for developing sewerage infrastructure in the Ganga Basin.
5. Researchers at the IIT-Madras, Tel Aviv University and Columbia University are studying a rare genetic brain disease called “GNB1 Encephalopathy” and trying to develop a drug to treat it effectively.
6. IIT-Roorkee has developed the SwasthGarbh Mobile App for antenatal care and real-time medical support for pregnant women.
7. Uttarakhand launched the “Climate Resilient Livelihood for Disaster Prone Region of Uttarakhand”, in collaboration with SBI Foundation and HESCO’s Project.
8. The 10th edition of the North East Festival was organized at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Delhi from December 23- 26, 2022.
9. Tata Steel and TuTr Hyperloop have signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) at IIT-Madras to jointly work on development and deployment of Hyperloop technology at scale.
10. NTPC Limited has signed a non-binding MOU with Tecnimont Private Limited, Indian subsidiary of Italy-based Maire Tecnimont Group.
11. Ministry of Power has signed an MOU with Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO), Ministry of Defence for the implementation of Early Warning System for Vulnerable Hydro Projects/Power Stations.
12. SEBI has expanded two of its committees–High Powered Steering Committee on Cyber Security (HPSC-CS) and Information Systems Security Committee (ISSC)– to strengthen cyber security frameworks and cyber resilience requirements.
13. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (Meity) has been appointed as the nodal ministry for online gaming.
14. According to the Chief Economic Adviser to the Govt of India, Dr V. Anantha Nageswaran, Indian economy is likely to grow 6.5% to 7% in 2023-24.
15. Senior bureaucrats Santosh Kumar Yadav has been appointed as the chairman of National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).
16. Ganji Kamala V Rao has been named the CEO of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).
17. December 27 – International Day of Epidemic Preparedness
18. 9th Atal Samman Samaroh was organized in New Delhi to honour personalities who played an important role in various fields like political, religious, social, educational, film etc., on the birth anniversary of former Prime Minister of the country Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

National News

1. IIT-Guwahati and IIT-Bombay are collaborating with the European Universities for the LOTUS Indo-European project.
   • The LOTUS Indo-European project has been launched by Department of Science and Technology and the European Commission for providing solutions for issues related to the quality of water supplied across Indian households and elsewhere.
   • Under the project, Universit Gustave Eiffel, IIT Guwahati, and the SME EGM, Sophia Antipolis, France have developed the LOTUS water quality sensor.
2. Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change has been implementing the Assistance to Botanical Garden (ABG) Scheme since 1992 for ensuring the ex-situ conservation of endemic and threatened species of plants in the network of Botanic Garden.
   • Botanical Survey of India is the implementing agency of the scheme.
   • Rs 48.07 crores has been spent on this scheme, so far.
   • Recently, the Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India’s Report for 2020-21 highlighted the ineffectiveness of this scheme in the conservation of plants, due to delay in fund release by the Ministry and lack of monitoring.

3. According to a govt official, the Rs 200 per cooking gas cylinder subsidy for 12 cylinders per year under Ujjwala Scheme may be extended for another year in the upcoming Budget 2023-24.
4. National Mission for Clean Ganga has approved 12 projects worth Rs 2700 crores for developing sewerage infrastructure in the Ganga Basin.
   • The Ganga Basin covers areas in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, and West Bengal, with a special focus on tributaries of Ganga.

5. Researchers at the IIT-Madras, Tel Aviv University and Columbia University are studying a rare genetic brain disease called “GNB1 Encephalopathy” and trying to develop a drug to treat it effectively.
   • With less than 100 documented cases worldwide, GNB1 Encephalopathy is a kind of neurological disorder which affects individuals in the foetus stage.
   • A single nucleotide mutation in the GNB1 gene that makes one of the G-proteins, the “Gβ1 protein,” causes this disease.
   • This mutation affects the patient since they are a foetus. Children born with GNB1 mutation experience mental and physical developmental delay, epilepsy (abnormal brain activity), movement problems.
   • The research was supported by Indo-Israel Binational grant offered by Israel Science Foundation (ISF) and India’s University Grants Commission (UGC).
6. IIT-Roorkee has developed the SwasthGarbh Mobile App for antenatal care and real-time medical support for pregnant women.
   • The free-of-cost application was developed in collaboration with the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), for women with poor access to healthcare services, especially in rural areas.

State News

1. Uttarakhand launched the “Climate Resilient Livelihood for Disaster Prone Region of Uttarakhand”, in collaboration with SBI Foundation and HESCO’s Project.
   • Purpose – to create livelihood options for people living in disaster-prone areas
2. The 10th edition of the North East Festival was organized at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Delhi from December 23- 26, 2022.

Memorandum of Understanding

1. Tata Steel and TuTr Hyperloop have signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) at IIT-Madras to jointly work on development and deployment of Hyperloop technology at scale.
2. NTPC Limited has signed a non-binding MOU with Tecnimont Private Limited, Indian subsidiary of Italy-based Maire Tecnimont Group.
   • Purpose – to collaborate for green methanol production facility at an NTPC project in India
   • The green methanol project involves capturing carbon from NTPC power plants and converting it into a green fuel.
3. Ministry of Power has signed an MOU with Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO), Ministry of Defence for the implementation of Early Warning System for Vulnerable Hydro Projects/Power Stations.
   • Ministry of Power and DRDO will jointly work towards developing suitable mitigation measures against avalanches, landslides, glaciers, glacial lakes and other geo-hazards.

Banking and Economy

1. SEBI has expanded two of its committees–High Powered Steering Committee on Cyber Security (HPSC-CS) and Information Systems Security Committee (ISSC)– to strengthen cyber security frameworks and cyber resilience requirements.
   • High Powered Steering Committee on Cyber Security –
     • Total members – 8 (earlier 6)
     • Chair – Navin Kumar Singh (DG at National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre (NCIIPC)
     • New members – G Padmanabhan (ex-executive director in RBI), and Sushil Kumar Nehra (Additional Director, Cyber Security Division, MeitY)
   • Information Systems Security Committee (ISSC) –
     • Total members – 7 (earlier 6)
     • Chair – Prof Krishnamurthy
2. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (Meity) has been appointed as the nodal ministry for online gaming.
   • The department of sports under the ministry of youth affairs and sports has been notified as the nodal ministry for “eSports as part of multi-sports events”.

GDP Forecasts

1. According to the Chief Economic Adviser to the Govt of India, Dr V. Anantha Nageswaran, Indian economy is likely to grow 6.5% to 7% in 2023-24.

Appointments

1. Senior bureaucrats Santosh Kumar Yadav has been appointed as the chairman of National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).
   • Subhasish Panda, a 1997-batch IAS officer of the Himachal Pradesh cadre, has been appointed as Delhi Development Authority (DDA) vice chairman.
2. Ganji Kamala V Rao has been named the CEO of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).

Important Days

1. December 27 – International Day of Epidemic Preparedness

Awards

1. 9th Atal Samman Samaroh was organized in New Delhi to honour personalities who played an important role in various fields like political, religious, social, educational, film etc., on the birth anniversary of former Prime Minister of the country Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
   • Prabhu Chandra Mishra has received the Atal Samman Award for his work in the field of science and research.

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