1. New Zealand passes world's first tobacco law to ban smoking
Tags: International News
The New Zealand government on 13 December passed a law to completely end tobacco smoking by banning youth from buying cigarettes for life.
Important facts
The Smoke Free Environments and Regulated Products (Smoking Tobacco) Amendment Bill has been passed in New Zealand which aims to make New Zealand smoke free by 2025.
The bill aims to ban the sale of tobacco to anyone born after January 1, 2009, and reduce the number of cigarette retailers in the country.
The bill has received bipartisan support in New Zealand's parliament and Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern also plans to reduce the amount of nicotine allowed in smokeless tobacco products.
Passage of the bill would reduce the number of tobacco retailers nationwide to about one-tenth of the current number of 6,000.
This will lead to thousands of lives longer and an additional $5 billion less burden on the health system as there will be no need to treat diseases caused by smoking, such as many types of cancer, heart attacks, strokes, amputations.
The legislation aims to prevent the high number of deaths caused by tobacco consumption in New Zealand which disproportionately affects the native Māori population.
About New Zealand
Prime Minister: Jacinda Ardern
Capital: Wellington
Currency : New Zealand dollar
2. Deaths in India due to Left Wing Extremism reduced by 85% in recent years
Tags: National National News
In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Home, Nityanand Rai said on 14 November that deaths in the country due to Left Wing Extremism (LWE) have reduced by 85 percent in recent years.
Important facts
Incidents of LWE violence have reduced by 77 percent from a high of 2213 in 2010 to 509 in 2021.
Similarly, resultant deaths of both Civilians and Security Forces also have reduced by 85 percent from a high of 1005 in 2010 to 147 in 2021.
With the decline in the geographical spread of Left Wing Extremism, the number of districts with security related expenditure has come down from 126 in April 2018 to 90 and to 70 in July 2021.
Left-wing extremists, popularly known as Maoists worldwide and as Naxalites in India, has been a major threat to India since the 1960s.
Initiative taken by the Government
A multi-pronged strategy has been implemented under the National Policy and Action Plan since 2015 to address Left Wing Extremism.
The government has approved projects worth Rs 971 crore under the Special Infrastructure Scheme, which includes strengthening of special forces and special intelligence branches.
Under the scheme, 2566 crore rupees have been released to States since 2014-15.
A total of 503 Fortified Police Stations have been constructed till date and 147 approved in vulnerable LWE affected areas.
An amount of over Rs 3000 crore has been released to the most Left Wing Extremism affected districts under the 'Special Central Assistance Scheme' to fill critical gaps in public infrastructure and services.
A total of 11600 km roads have been constructed and 2343 mobile towers were installed in the affected districts.
1258 bank branches and 4903 post offices were established in the last seven years for inclusive development in LWE affected districts.
3. Parliament passes New Delhi International Arbitration Centre (Amendment) Bill, 2022
Tags: National National News
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Parliament has passed the New Delhi International Arbitration Centre (Amendment) Bill, 2022 with Rajya Sabha approving it on 14 December unanimously.
Highlights of the Bill
The Bill seeks to amend the New Delhi International Arbitration Center Act, 2019.
The Bill seeks to rename the New Delhi International Arbitration Center in New Delhi as the India International Arbitration Centre.
The new Bill expands this in the Act to include the operation of other forms of alternative dispute resolution.
The manner of conduct of arbitration and other forms of alternative dispute resolution shall be specified by the Central Government through regulations.
The Bill allows the government to remove any difficulty in implementing the Act for five years from the date of enactment of the Act.
This centre is not only for Delhi but will be for the whole of India and will also be for the people of the parties coming from abroad.
4. Union Minister For Jal Shakti To Inaugurate India Water Impact Summit 2022
Tags: Summits National News
The Union Minister for Jal Shakti Gajendra Singh Shekhawat will inaugurate the 7th India Water Impact Summit (IWIS 2022) on 15th December, 2022 in New Delhi.
Important facts
The summit is being organized from 15th to 17th December, 2022 at Dr. Ambedkar International Centre, New Delhi by National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) and Center for Ganga River Basin Management and Studies (cGanga).
Its aims to impart impetus towards developing water and environmental infrastructure to protect rivers and water bodies in India.
The theme of the Summit (IWIS 2022) is ‘Restoration and Conservation of Small Rivers in a Large Basin’ with emphasis on the ‘Mapping and Convergence of 5Ps’ - People, Policy, Plan, Programme and Project.
Experts from the country and abroad will discuss ways in which small rivers facing near-extinction in large river basins can be protected.
Summit aims to give insight into potential causes for divergence and formulate strategy to achieve convergence.The 5 broad themes of the summit are Science and Policy, Finance and Economics, Technology and Innovation, International and Implementation Challenges.
In the 5th edition of the India Water Impact Summit, understanding the concept and nuances of Arth Ganga was the key focus.
5. Dr. Bharati Pravin Pawar inaugurates National Maternal Health Workshop
Tags: National News
Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Dr. Bharati Pravin Pawar inaugurated the National Maternal Health Workshop in New Delhi on 14 December.
Important facts
The theme of the workshop was “Striving for zero preventable maternal mortality”.
During the event, Dr. Pawar unveiled the Midwifery-Led Care Units (MLCUs) brochure and Standard Operating Protocol poster for the labour room.
She also introduced the Maternal health guidance booklet for community health officers (CHOs) and SUMAN community linkages brochure.
India has achieved a momentous milestone in reduction of maternal mortality ratio (MMR) registering a significant decline from 130 in 2014-16 to 97 per lakh live births in 2018-20.
India is on a positive path towards maternal health and child health and the Government of India is determined to meet the new challenges.
For the implementation of “Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan”, doctors pledge one day of service per month for this campaign.
More than 3.6 crore pregnant women have received comprehensive antenatal care under this program across all states and union territories.
Awards to states for remarkable efforts and achievements in the area of maternal health
Intensive efforts in reducing MMR: 1st position: Kerala and 2nd Maharashtra
Performance as per the NFHS-5: Antenatal Care services & Institutional deliveries
In 4 ANC services
1st position- Madhya Pradesh; 2nd position Rajasthan
Increase in Institutional Delivery in large states-
1st position West Bengal; 2nd position Uttar Pradesh
Roll out of SUMAN:
In bigger state category, highest SUMAN notification
1st position- Punjab; 2nd position- Tamil Nadu
In smaller state category, highest SUMAN notification
1st position – Goa; 2nd position- Tripura
Quality certifications under LaQshya:
In the Bigger state category, Karnataka bagged the first position.
In the small state category, Chandigarh was the winner.
In absolute numbers of certifications, Madhya Pradesh holds 1st position.
Gujarat won the state with the highest number of medical colleges prize.
High-risk pregnancy management under PMSMA.
Tamil Nadu was the best performing state.
Manipur bagged the first prize for rapid rollout of extended PMSMA.
Bolstering the teamwork among the frontline workers, the best ANM- ASHA teams went to the State of Uttar Pradesh.
Midwifery initiative: Best performing state was Telangana.
6. India-Kazakhstan joint military exercise "KAZIND - 2022" to begin in Umroi, Meghalaya
Tags: Defence National News
The 6th Edition of Indo - Kazakhstan joint training exercise “KAZIND-22” is scheduled to be conducted at Umroi, Meghalaya from 15 to 28 December 2022.
Important facts
Troops of the Kazakhstan Army, including troops from the regional command, 11 Gorkha Rifles and troops from the Indian Army will participate in the exercise.
Aim of the exercise is to build positive military relations, imbibe each other’s best practices and promote the ability to operate together while undertaking counter terrorist operations in semi urban / jungle scenario, under a UN peace enforcement mandate.
This joint exercise will enable the two armies to train, plan and execute a series of combined tactical drills for neutralising of likely threats that may be encountered in UN peacekeeping operations.
The scope of this exercise involves a Command Post Exercise (CPX) at the Battalion level and Company level Field Training Exercise (FTX) on sub-conventional operations.
During the exercise, participants will engage in a variety of missions ranging from joint planning, joint tactical drills, basics of special arms skills, HADR and raiding a hostile target.
About exercise “KAZIND"
Joint annual training exercise with the Kazakhstan Army was instituted in 2016 as Exercise Prabal Dostyk, which was later upgraded to a company level exercise and renamed as Ex Kazind in 2018.
7. US announces historic nuclear fusion breakthrough
Tags: Science and Technology International News
US researchers announced a historic nuclear fusion breakthrough on December 13, marking a "landmark achievement" toward a source of unlimited, clean energy and an end to dependence on fossil fuels.
Important facts
This breakthrough in nuclear fusion could bring unlimited clean energy and could help in the fight against climate change.
For the first time in history, American scientists have carried out a nuclear fusion reaction at the National Ignition Facility at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California, USA, due to which pure energy (carbon free energy) was produced just like the Sun.
According to scientists, if everything goes right, America's dependence on fossil energy like gas, petrol and diesel can be reduced.
What is Nuclear fusion?
Nuclear fusion is the process by which two light atomic nuclei combine to form a single heavier one while releasing massive amounts of energy.
It is the process that powers the Sun and other stars. This light works by taking pairs of atoms and forcing them together and generates enormous amounts of energy.
8. Rajeev Chandrasekhar attends the India Global Forum at Dubai
Tags: Economy/Finance Summits International News
Union Minister of state for Electronics and Information Technology, Rajeev Chandrasekhar attended the India Global Forum at Dubai on 13-15 December, 2022.
Important facts
He attended the ministerial roundtable – globalization of Indian tech and innovation talent.
He put forward Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision on creating reliable corridors of technologies and innovation.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision is to build credible corridors for technologies and innovation with various countries in collaboration with young Indian innovators.
The objective of these discussions is to assess avenues of collaborations with entrepreneurs who are aspirational of expanding their footprint in India.
About India Global Forum
It is the agenda-setting forum for international business and global leaders.
It selects platforms that international corporate and policy makers can leverage to interact with stakeholders in their sectors and geographies of strategic importance.
9. G-20 finance and central bank representatives meeting held in Bengaluru
Tags: Economy/Finance Summits National News
The first G-20 Finance and Central Bank Deputies meeting and the first Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting began in Bengaluru on 13 December.
Important facts
The Bank Governors meeting began in Bengaluru on 13 December.
The three-day meeting, which will mark the beginning of discussions on the 'Finance Track' agenda under India's G20 chairmanship, will be jointly organised by the Ministry of Finance and the Reserve Bank of India.
There will be 40 such meetings on Finance across the country.
The first Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting will be held between February 23-25, 2023 in Bengaluru.
What is the G20 Finance Track?
It is led by the finance ministers and central bank governors of the G20 countries and focuses on economic and financial issues.
It provides an effective forum for global economic discourse and policy coordination.
The G20 Finance Track discusses key issues of relevance for the global economy, encompassing the global economic outlook, the international financial architecture, infrastructure development and financing, sustainable finance, global health, international taxation and financial sector issues, including financial inclusion.
Discussions in the Bengaluru meeting will focus on the agenda of the finance track under India's G20 chairmanship.
During the meeting, a panel discussion on 'Strengthening Multilateral Development Banks to Address the Common Global Challenges of the 21st Century' will be held.
A seminar on the 'Role of Central Banks in Green Financing' will also be held.
10. UIDAI topped the Grievance Redressal Index for the fourth consecutive month in November
Tags: National News
The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has once again secured the first rank among all Group A Ministries, Departments and Autonomous Bodies for resolution of public grievances in the ranking report published by the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG) for November 2022.
Important facts
This is the fourth month in a row when UIDAI has topped the said rankings.
UIDAI's new open-source CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system is enhancing user experience and improving service delivery to residents.
This system has the capability to support multiple channels like phone call, e-mail, chatbot, web portal, social media, letter, and walk-in through which the grievances can be registered, tracked and resolved effectively.
Through this new CRM system, UIDAI has moved towards a centralised complaint management system.
UIDAI Headquarters and its Regional Offices (ROs) are using a common platform for resolution of CRM cases through various channels.
UIDAI’s ‘Aadhaar Mitra’
UIDAI's newly launched Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI-ML) based chatbot, 'Aadhaar Mitra' is gaining popularity among the residents.
Around 30,000 conversations are happening on "Aadhaar Mitra" on a daily basis and it is expected to cross the 50,000 mark soon.
The new chatbot has advanced features like - Check Aadhaar Enrolment/Update Status, Track Aadhaar PVC Card Status, Enrollment Center Location Information etc.
Residents can even register their grievances and track them using Aadhaar Mitra.
"Aadhaar Mitra" is available in both English and Hindi languages.
UIDAI is constantly working to facilitate “ease of living” for residents.
UIDAI
The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) is a statutory authority established under the provisions of the Aadhaar Act, 2016.
The UIDAI is mandated to assign a 12-digit unique identification (UID) number (Aadhaar) to all the residents of India.
