1. Garuda Aerospace becomes first drone company ever to get double certification by DGCA for ‘Kisan Drones’
Tags: National News
Drone maker Garuda Aerospace has become the first drone startup in India to receive 'Type Certification' and 'Remote Pilot Training Organisation' (RTPO) approval by the DGCA for its indigenously designed Kisan drone.
Important facts
- DGCA Type Certification is provided on the basis of quality checks of the drones and is issued after a rigorous testing process.
- Kisan Drone has been designed keeping in mind the works related to agriculture. Type certification has been received for its GA-AG model.
- DGCA gives this certificate on the basis of quality check. It is issued only after strict investigation of the drone (unmanned aircraft).
- Remote Pilot Training Organization is a DGCA recognized organization which gives Remote Pilot Certificate under Rule-34 of Drone Rules-2021.
- In India, the government introduced type certification in August 2021 under the Drone Rules.
What are ‘Kisan’ drones?
- Made in India 'Kisan' drones are specially developed for agricultural purposes such as reducing crop losses, crop health monitoring, yield measurement etc. with latest manufacturing capabilities.
- These drones are used for uniform spraying of pesticides, monitoring of crops, gathering of data related to land and collection of data etc.
- Priced at Rs 4.50 lakh, the 'Kisan' drone is India's most affordable advanced automated agriculture drone that falls under the sub 25 kg category.
- Garuda Aerospace recently raised its $30 million Series A at a valuation of $250 million.
- Former Indian cricket team captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has invested in it and is also the brand ambassador of the company.
- MS Dhoni has recently launched a drone named Droni. Garuda Aerospace has a fleet of 400 drones across 26 different cities and a well-trained team of over 500 pilots.
Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA)
- It is the regulatory body in the field of Civil Aviation, primarily dealing with safety issues.
- It is responsible for the regulation of air transport services for India and enforcement of civil air regulations, air safety and airworthiness standards.
- It also co-ordinates all regulatory functions with the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).
2. RBI's revised bank locker rules to come into effect from 1st of January
Tags: Economy/Finance National News
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has amended the bank locker rules, which include providing customers with updated locker agreements. The rules will take effect from January 1, 2023.
What are the new guidelines?
- As per the Reserve Bank of India notification, the agreements should follow the model prepared by the Indian Banks' Association (IBA).
- All existing locker depositors are required to submit proof of eligibility for new locker arrangement.
- They need to sign a renewal agreement before the specified date.
- RBI has advised banks to install CCTV cameras at entry and exit points of strong rooms and common areas of operations.
- It will be mandatory for all banks to keep the recording of cameras safe for at least one hundred and eighty days.
- RBI has directed banks to ensure that there are no unfair provisions or conditions in bank agreements.
- As per the guidelines, if a customer makes a complaint to the bank about his locker being opened without his knowledge or any theft or security lapse, the bank will be required to preserve the CCTV recording till the completion of the police investigation and disposal of the case.
3. Former Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen sentenced to 11 years in prison for money laundering and bribery
Tags: Person in news International News
The Maldives criminal court on 25th December sentenced former president Abdulla Yameen to 11 years in jail and fined him $5 million after he was found guilty of money laundering and accepting bribe.
Important facts
- The court found Yameen guilty of accepting money to lease an island owned by the government.
- The court sentenced the former leader to seven years in the money laundering case and four years in the bribery case.
- Yameen was accused that he had given permission to develop a resort on V Ara's land by taking money during his tenure.
- Yameen was accused of misusing his position to get the Ara's land to ex-parliamentarian Yusuf Nai by taking US $ 1 million.
- Yameen was also fined US $ 5 million in this case.
- According to the court's decision, Yameen will have to deposit the fine amount to the Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) within six months.
About Maldives
- It is also called Maldive Islands, an independent island country in the north-central Indian Ocean.
- It extends more than 510 miles (820 km) from north to south and 80 miles (130 km) from east to west.
- Basis of economy - fisheries, tourism
- Industries - handicraft or cottage including the making of coir (coconut-husk fibre) and coir products, fish canning, and boatbuilding.
- Capital - Male
- President - Ibrahim Mohamed Solih
- Official Language - Dhivehi (Maldivian)
- Official Religion - Islam
- Currency - Rufiyaa
4. Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' appointed as the Prime Minister of Nepal for the third time
Tags: Person in news International News
President Bidya Devi Bhandari of Nepal has appointed Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' as the new prime minister of Nepal on 25 December 2022. Prachand will become the prime minister for the third time.
In the recently held parliamentary election no party got any clear majority. Prachand’s Maoist Center Party won 32 seats in Nepal's 275-member House of Representatives.
He has formed a coalition government with the support of the Communist Unified Marxist-Leninist (UML) party, Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), Rastriya Prajatantra Party and other smaller parties. Prachanda has the support of 165 lawmakers in the 275-member House of Representatives.
According to the deal with the UML party he will remain prime minister for the first half of the five-year term and later will be replaced by a candidate from the UML party.
Pushpa Kamal Dahal will replace Sher Bahadur Deuba of the Nepali Congress party as the Prime Minister.
Nepal’s Parliament
The Federal Parliament of Nepal is called Sanghiya Sansad. It is a bicameral house.
The Upper house is called the National Assembly or Rastriya Sabha. It consists of 59 members. It is a permanent body and the term of a member of the house is six years.
The lower house is called the House of Representative or Pratinidhi Sabha. It consists of 275 members with a term of five years.
Currency of Nepal: Nepalese Rupees
Capital: Kathmandu
President: Vidya Devi Bhandari
5. Union Minister Dr; Jitendra Singh launches revamped Probity Portal, e-HRMS 2.0 Portal
Tags: National Government Schemes Person in news
Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology; Minister of State (Independent Charge) Earth Sciences; Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh has launched a revamped Probity Portal, e-HRMS 2.0 Portal and e-Books on major Initiatives/Achievements of Ministry of Personnel, PG & Pensions on 25 December 2022 on the occasion of the Good Governance Day in New Delhi.
The week-long ‘Governance Week’ (19-25 December 2022) celebrations with a nationwide launch of “PrashasanGaon Ki Ore” campaign also concluded on this day.
Revamped e-HRMS 2.0 Portal
The Revamped Probity Portal was launched for the central government employees in 2017. It provided limited HR related services to the employees .To add more services and interlink it with other government apps the government has launched the Revamped e-HRMS 2.0 Portal.
The Revamped e-HRMS 2.0 Portal will provide the following services in a digital mode to the employees - Transfers (Rotation/Mutual), Deputation, APAR, IPR, iGOT Trainings, Vigilance Status, Deputation Opportunities, Service Book and other basic HR Services like Leave, Tour, Reimbursements etc
The revamped e-HRMS 2.0 is the first digital system in Government of India to provide end-to-end HR Services.
Mobile Application of iGoTKarmayogi Portal by Karmayogi Bharat (SPV)
The Minister also launched Mobile Application of iGoTKarmayogi Portal by Karmayogi Bharat (SPV) with an aim to create professional, well trained and future ready civil service for India, The app and the platform will allow all government servants, at multiple levels, to undergo continuous training, depending on their domain areas. The app and the platform will provide anytime-anywhere-any-device learning to train about 2 crores users.
6. Railways plans to modernise 1,000 small stations under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme
Tags: National Economy/Finance Government Schemes
The Indian Railway will launch the “Amrit Bharat Station Scheme” under which 1000 small but important stations will be modernized. This scheme is different from the ongoing plan to revamp 200 railway stations.
According to the Indian Railways the stations will be selected not only on the passenger traffic but also on the cites they cater to. These stations will be redeveloped under what is called the ''Khurda model of redevelopment''.
Khurda station in Odisha was modernized for Rs 4 crore with all contemporary amenities for passengers. The main structure was renovated, the facade was redone and the number of railway tracks was also increased.
Under the “Amrit Bharat Station Scheme” the Divisional Railway Managers will be responsible for the redevelopment of the railway station. The DRMs have been instructed to review existing buildings in the station premises and release space for passengers near the entrances and enable relocation of rail offices to other places.
Modernisation of these stations would include improved station approaches to ensure smooth access by widening roads, removal of unwanted structures, properly designed signages, dedicated pedestrian pathways, well-planned parking areas, and improved lighting among others.
The station should also have a second entry station building and high-level platforms with a length of 600m.
Union Railway Minister: Ashwini Vaishnaw
7. Government to waive off Registration/Diagnostics/Treatment fee at National Institutes for Divyangjan having UDID cards from 1st January, 2023
Tags: National
In a significant move that will benefit lakhs of Divyangjan, the government has waived the Registration, Diagnostics and Treatment fees at National Institutes and Composite Regional Centres from 1st of January2023. The fee will be waived for those who have Unique ID for Persons with Disabilities- UDID cards and those who have disability certificate and are enrolled on UDID portal.
In addition, full course fee will also be waived off in various courses at such institutes and centres. This will be effective for 2022-23 batch students onwards. Further, the central government has also instructed each National Institutes and Composite Regional Centres to have a dedicated counter to help Persons with Disabilities in filing UDID applications and to provide treatment facilities to all persons on Saturday and Sunday also.
Union Minister for Social Justice & Empowerment, Dr. Virendra Kumar
8. PM Modi to participate in the historic programme marking ‘Veer Bal Diwas’ in Delhi on 26 December
Tags: place in news National Person in news Important Days
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will participate in a historic programme marking the first ‘Veer Bal Diwas’ at Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium, Delhi on 26th December 2022.
On the Prakash Purab()birth anniversary) of the 10th Sikh Guru Sri Guru Gobind Singh on 9th January 2022 the Prime Minister had announced that 26th December will be observed as ‘Veer Bal Diwas to mark the martyrdom of Sri Guru Gobind Singh’s sons Sahibzadas Baba Zorawar Singh and Baba Fateh Singh.
They were brutally murdered by Wazir Khan the Mughal Governor of Sirhind on this day in 1705. .
During the programme, the Prime Minister will attend a ‘Shabad Kirtan’ performed by Baal Kirtanis. On this occasion, Mr Modi will also flag off a march-past by about three thousand children in Delhi.
9. Union Consumer Affairs Minister Piyush Goel launches right to repair portal for consumers
Tags: National
On the National Consumer Rights day the Union Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Piyush Goyal launched a host of new initiatives including the Right to Repair portal in New Delhi on 24 December 2022.
The Right to Repair portal
On the 'right to repair' portal, manufacturers will share the manual of product details with customers so that they can either repair by self, by third parties, rather than depend on original manufacturers. Initially, mobile phones, electronic, consumer durables, automobile and farming equipment will be covered.
In July 2022 the Department of Consumer Affairs had set up a committee headed by the Additional Secretary Nidhi Khare to develop a comprehensive framework on ‘Right to Repair’.
National Consumer Helpline
On the occasion the minister opened the new premises of the National Consumer Helpline centre in the national capital. On this day National Consumer Helpline launched its service in 7 new regional languages. The helpline is now offering its service in 12 regional languages.
"Effective disposal of cases in consumer commission"
Speaking on the theme of the "Effective disposal of cases in consumer commission" on the National consumer Rights day the minister praised the consumer commissions for disposing of a higher number of pending cases in the last six months.
Under the Consumer Protection law, a complaint is required to be disposed of within 90 days of its filing and within 150 days wherever expert evidence is required to be taken. There are 673 consumer commissions in the country.
A memorandum of understanding was also signed between the Consumer Affairs Department and IIT (BHU), Varanasi
10. Air Suvidha forms must for passengers coming from 5 countries; Mansukh Mandaviya
Tags: National
Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said on 24 December 2022 that the Air Suvidha portal will be implemented for passengers arriving from China, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Thailand in view of rising cases of COVID in China.
Air Suvidha forms are self-declarations of the health of passengers travelling to India from the identified international destinations. These forms have been reintroduced to keep a check on the passengers arriving from the countries most affected by the virus.
The Minister also said that the RT-PCR (reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction) test will be mandatory for them. And they will be quarantined if they test positive.
India has already started random testing 2 percent of international passengers arriving at its airports for COVID-19 as the country steps up surveillance for new virus variants.
The steps come amid a series of high-level meetings following a spike in cases seen in other parts of the world, although experts and officials have reportedly said India has little to worry because of its high baseline immunity.
