1. IIT Delhi organised 4th edition of Industry Day
Tags: Important Days National News
IIT Delhi's flagship industry-academia partnership event, Industry Day 2022, held on December 10, 2022.
Important facts
K Ananth Krishnan, Executive Vice-President and Chief Technology Officer, Tata Consultancy Services, who is an IIT Delhi alum, was the chief guest on the occasion.
The fourth edition of the daylong event gives an opportunity to the industry to witness how IIT Delhi is working to develop technologies that will benefit both the industry and society.
The event was attended by top leadership of more than 15 large corporate and business houses.
The event was attended by industry leaders, scientists, IIT Delhi faculty, research scholars, and students.
Over 70 cutting-edge technologies developed by the researchers of IIT Delhi were showcased as product demonstrations on the Industry Day.
Themes of Industry Day 2022
Industry Day 2022 was focused on four themes that have been built into India's commitment to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
These topics are healthcare, electric vehicles, communications technology, and clean energy and the environment.
2. Skill Development Ministry to hold Pradhan Mantri National Apprenticeship Mela on December 12
Tags: National News
The Pradhan Mantri National Apprenticeship Mela (PMNAM) will be organised by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) on December 12, 2022 at 197 locations in 25 states and union territories.
Important facts
The main objective of this program is to encourage companies to hire more apprentices.
The goal of the government is to raise apprenticeship opportunities in India to 10 lakhs by the end of 2022 and to 60 lakhs by 2026.
Several local businesses have been invited to be a part of the fair to provide an opportunity to the local youth to shape their career through apprenticeship training.
The event will witness the participation of various companies from different sectors.
Participating companies will have the chance to meet potential apprentices on a single platform and choose applicants on the spot.
Candidates who have passed Class 5 to 12 and have skill training certificates, or ITI Diploma holders or graduates can apply during this apprenticeship mela.
About Apprenticeship mela
Apprenticeship melas are hosted in the country every month, wherein selected individuals receive a monthly stipend in accordance with government criteria for gaining new skills.
Apprenticeship is considered the most sustainable model of skill development, and it has been getting a big boost under the Skill India Mission.
The government is trying to train one million youth every year through apprenticeship training.
3. More than 3 crore 60 lakh pregnant women receive comprehensive antenatal care under PMSMA
Tags: Government Schemes National News
The Government has said that more than three crore sixty lakh pregnant women have received comprehensive antenatal care under the Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan (PMSMA) programme across all States and Union Territories.
Important facts
Dr. Bharti Praveen Pawar, Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, said this in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha on 9 December.
The program was launched with the objective of providing free, assured, comprehensive and quality antenatal care to all pregnant women universally on the 9th of every month.
The percentage of institutional deliveries in public facilities has increased from 52 per cent in 2015-16 to around 62 per cent in 2019-21.
Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan
This is a programme under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
It aims to provide free antenatal services (ANC) and essential treatment to pregnant women on 9th of every month.
The scheme is applicable only for the pregnant women in their pregnancy period of 3 to 6 months.
Objectives of the scheme
Provide healthy life to pregnant women.
Lowering the maternal mortality rate.
Making pregnant women aware of their health issues and diseases.
Making sure safe delivery and healthy life of the baby.
4. 10th meeting of Empowered Task Force of Clean Ganga Mission
Tags: Government Schemes National News
The Union Minister for Jal Shakti Gajendra Singh Shekhawat chaired the 10th meeting of the Empowered Task Force (ETF) of National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) on 8th December 2022.
Important facts
The Minister reviewed the progress of various components under the Namami Gange Programme.
The Union Minister directed the States and Central Ministries/Departments to expedite the work being done for the overall rejuvenation of river Ganga.
The minister urged the states and central ministries to achieve the targets in a time-bound manner.
Ashok Kumar, Director General, NMCG, briefed the task force about the activities undertaken by Arth Ganga over the past months.
Kumar added that the Ghat Mein Haat initiative was launched under Arth Ganga in the Ganga Basin among other activities.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare informed of the steps taken to build organic farming and natural farming corridors along River Ganga.
National Mission for Clean Ganga(NMCG)
It was registered on 12 August 12, 2011 as a society under the Societies Registration Act 1860.
It serves as the implementing arm of the National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA), which was constituted under the provisions of the Environment Protection Act (EPA), 1986.
It was established to address pollution challenges in the Ganga river.
The operational area of the project covers the Ganga basin and all the states through which the river flows, including Delhi.
The objective is to reduce pollution and ensure rejuvenation of the Ganga river.
5. Delhi HC seeks Centre's response on plea by Ashok Swain against cancellation of OCI card
Tags: National News
The Delhi High Court on 8 December sought response of the Central Government on the plea of Ashok Swain against the cancellation of the Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card.
Important facts
Justice Prathiba M Singh issued notice on the petition by the Sweden resident and granted four weeks' time to the Centre to state its stand.
The petitioner is a professor at Uppsala University in Sweden.
He said in his petition that as per the show cause notice issued in 2020, his OIC card was arbitrarily stopped on the alleged grounds that he was involved in inflammatory speeches and anti-India activities.
Subsequently, on February 8 this year, the authorities cancelled the OCI card of the petitioner, which was in violation of his right to free movement.
The petition alleged that the order of cancellation of OCI card is illegal, arbitrary and illegal.
The petition states that a scholar has an important role in the society to discuss and criticise the policies of the government through his work.
Mere criticism of the policies of the present ruling dispensation does not amount to anti-India activity under Section 7D(e) of the Citizenship Act, 1955.
Who is an Overseas Citizen of India (OCI)?
OCI is defined as a person who was a citizen of India on or after 26th January, 1950 or eligible to become a citizen of India on that date or belonging to any territory that became part of India after 15th August, 1947 or a child or grandchild of such a person, who fulfils the other eligibility criteria.
The OCI category was introduced by the Government of India in the year 2005.
An applicant shall not be eligible for an OCI card if he or his parents or grandparents, great-grandparents have ever been a citizen of Pakistan or Bangladesh or any other country notified by the Government of India in the Official Gazette.
OCI cardholders can enter India, obtain a Multipurpose Lifelong Visa to visit India and do not even need to register with the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO).
6. World Bank’s flagship Gender Toolkit launched
Tags: National News
The World Bank launched the 'Toolkit on Enabling Gender-Responsive Urban Mobility and Public Spaces in India' on 8 December.
The toolkit was launched at a session organised by the World Bank and the Chennai Urban Metropolitan Transport Authority in Chennai.
About Gender Toolkit
The toolkit from World Bank contains practical tools that can inform a wide set of policymakers as well as private or community-based organisations to help ensure safe and inclusive public transport for women in India.
It aims to guide Indian cities on how to design public transport that is more inclusive of women's travel needs.
It aims to spotlight gender issues surrounding mobility and city design.
It recommends integrating gender equality into new and existing transport policies and plans.
It also talks for increasing representation of women in decision making in key institutions such as urban local bodies and public transport authorities.
The continued poor representation of women as frontline workers in public transport reinforces the perception that women feel unsafe in public transport.
Background of the toolkit
The toolkit has been designed in response to a 2019 World Bank-supported survey of 6,048 respondents in Mumbai.
This survey found that between 2004 and 2019, men shifted to two-wheelers to commute to work, while women used auto-rickshaws or taxies, which tend to be more costly (per trip) than two wheelers.
India has amongst the lowest female labour force participation rates globally, at 22.8 per cent in 2019-20.
7. Japan, Britain and Italy to jointly build sixth generation fighter jets
Tags: Defence International News
Japan, Britain and Italy are merging their next-generation jet fighter projects to build an advanced front-line 6th generation fighter into operation by 2035. It is for the first time that Japan is collaborating in a defence project without the participation of the United States of America since World War Two. It is seen as a move by Japan to counter an increasingly assertive China and Russia in the region.
The project will merge the British-led Future Combat Air System project, also known as Tempest, with Japan's F-X programme in a venture called the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP).
Britain's BAE Systems, Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Italy's Leonardo will lead design of the aircraft, which will have advanced digital capabilities in AI and cyber warfare.
The newly developed fighter plane will replace Britain’s Typhoon fighters and Japan’s F -22 fighter plane.
Britain, Italy and Japan are part of the US fifth-generation F-35 stealth fighter program and parts of the planes are assembled in Italy and Japan. The new jet is not expected to affect the F-35 program.
China and Russia also are developing the 6th generation fighter plane. At present China has 5th generation fighter planes J-20 and J-31, while the Russian 5th generation planes are Su-57.
India which has the Rafale fighter plane is considered to be a 4.5 generation plane.
8. Govt extends rooftop solar scheme till March 2026
Tags: Government Schemes National News
The government on 8 December said the rooftop solar programme has been extended till March 31, 2026, and therefore, subsidy under the programme will be available until the target for the scheme is achieved.
Important facts
The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has advised that all residential consumers should not pay extra amount to any company for applying on the National Portal, nor should they pay more than the amount fixed by the concerned distribution company for metre and testing.
The ministry said that any vendor, agency or individual demanding additional charges should be informed about the same through email.
Consumers wishing to install solar panels on the roof of their houses can apply through the National Portal.
Under this program, the central government gives a subsidy of Rs 14,588 per kilowatt to a person who installs solar panels on the roof of his house.
About Rooftop Solar Scheme
The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy is implementing the Grid Connected Rooftop Solar Scheme (Phase II) to generate solar power by installing solar panels on the roof of houses.
Phase II aims to achieve a cumulative capacity of 40,000 MW from Rooftop Solar Projects by the year 2022.
The objective of the programme is to promote the grid-connected SPV rooftop and small SPV power generating plants among the residential, community, institutional, industrial and commercial establishments.
To ease the implementation of the scheme, a National Portal was developed, which was launched by PM Modi on 30 July 2022.
The central government has set a target of 450 GW of renewable energy generation by 2030.
Under this, many schemes are also going on, in which a target has been set to provide more than 17 lakh solar pumps to farmers in the country through Pradhan Mantri-Kusum Yojana.
9. DCGI allows the export of SII made Ebola vaccine for export to Uganda
Tags: Science and Technology International News
The Drugs Controller General of India (DGCI) on 8 December 2022 approved the export of India’s first Ebola vaccine manufactured by Serum Institute of India (SII) to Uganda.
The vaccine has been developed by SII in collaboration with Oxford University, United Kingdom. This vaccine will be used for solidarity clinical trials in Uganda.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has sought collaboration with manufacturers of Ebola vaccines for the prevention of the disease and has selected ChAdOx1 biEBOV as a potential vaccine for participation in a solidarity clinical trial in Uganda.
Oxford University signed an agreement with Serum Institute of India to manufacture ChAdOx1 biEBOV.
Serum Institute of India situated in Pune is the largest vaccine manufacturer in the world. SII makes vaccines for Covid-19, diphtheria, BCG, measles, rubella and others.
CEO of SII: Adar Poonawala
Ebola Virus
It was first reported in 1972 in South Sudan and in a village near Ebola River in Democratic Republic of Congo. Hence it is called the Ebola virus.
The virus can spread through direct contact with an infected animal (bat or nonhuman primate) or a sick or dead person infected with Ebola virus.
10. Nirmala Sitharaman among 6 Indians on Forbes list of world's most powerful women
Tags: Reports International News
Forbes on December 7 released its annual list of the 100 Most Powerful Women in the World, 2022, in which six women from India feature.
Important facts
It includes Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman along with Biocon Executive Chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, HCL Tech Chairperson Roshni Nadar Malhotra and Nykaa CEO Falguni Nair along with two more names.
The Finance Minister of India has been included in this list for the fifth time in a row.
This list also includes 39 CEOs and 10 heads of state, apart from this it includes 11 billionaires, whose total assets are $ 115 billion.
The list was determined by four main metrics: money, media, impact and spheres of influence.
Name of six Indians
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman - ranked 36, is on the list for the fourth time in a row.
Roshini Nadar Malhotra, Chairperson of HCLTech - ranked 53rd.
Madhabi Puri Buch, Chairperson of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) -ranked 54th.
Soma Mondal, Chairperson of the Steel Authority of India - ranked 67.
Mazumdar-Shaw, executive chairperson and founder of Biocon Limited and Biocon Biologics Limited - ranked 72.
Falguni Sanjay Nayar, the founder and CEO of the beauty and lifestyle retail company Nykaa - ranked 89th.
Top 3 women in the world in Forbes list
The list was topped by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who played a key role in handling COVID -19 crisis, the Russia-Ukraine war, etc.
European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde stood at second position on the list.
US Vice President Kamala Harris ranked third on the list.
Iran's Zina "Mahsa" Amini was posthumously ranked 100th on the influential list. His death in September sparked one of Iran's worst public protests.
