1. 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.
2. 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.
3. India, Poland hold 10th round of Foreign Office Consultations in Warsaw
Tags: International Relations International News
India and Poland held the 10th round of Foreign Office Consultations in Warsaw on December 12.
Important facts
During the meeting, the two sides discussed regional and international issues, including developments in the Indo-Pacific, India's neighbourhood, the Ukraine conflict, cooperation in multilateral fora including the United Nations, and United Nations Security Council reforms.
During the meeting, India and Poland identified agriculture, food processing, information technology and green transformation as areas of interest to further enhance bilateral ties.
Both sides expressed satisfaction at the discussions at the sixth round of the India-Poland Joint Commission Meeting on Economic Cooperation to be held in October 2022.
The Indian side in the meeting was led by Sanjay Verma, Secretary (West), Ministry of External Affairs.
Both countries agreed to hold the next round of Foreign Office Consultations on mutually convenient dates in New Delhi.
Bilateral Trade
The two nations noted the potential of bilateral trade and investment ties.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the bilateral trade between India and Poland has witnessed steady growth in recent years and it stood at USD 4.3 billion in 2021.
Indian companies have invested over USD 3 billion in Poland while Polish investments in India stand at USD 700 million.
About Poland
Prime Minister - Mateusz Morawiecki
President - Andrzej Duda
Capital - Warsaw
Currency - Polish zloty
4. UAE successfully launches first ever Arab-Built lunar spacecraft
Tags: Science and Technology International News
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on 11 December carried into space the first ever Arab-built lunar spacecraft. It was launched from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
Important facts
Named as Rashid Rover was built by Dubai’s Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC), in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and is being delivered by the HAKUTO-R lander, engineered by Japanese lunar exploration company ispace.
If the landing is successful, HAKUTO-R will also become the first commercial spacecraft ever to make a controlled landing on the moon.
Rashid rover will provide 'novel and highly valued data, images, and insights,' as well as 'collect scientific data on matters relating to the origin of the solar system, our planet and life.'
Its rover weighs just 22 pounds (10 kg) and will work on the surface for about 10 days.
5. Nepal organises 19th Handicraft Trade Fair and 17th Craft Competition in Kathmandu
Tags: International News
The Federation of Handicraft Associations of Nepal (FHAN) organised 19th Handicraft Trade Fair and 17th Craft Competition in Kathmandu from December 9 to 13.
Important facts
The objective of this trade fair is to promote the development and market of handicraft products.
The basic objective of the event is to emphasise the need to preserve and protect the traditional arts, which are in danger of disappearing with the advent of modern technology.
Businessmen and sculptors from 17 districts, including the Kathmandu Valley, participated in the fair, in which about 150 stalls were set up.
This trade fair is attracting local people as well as foreign tourists.
6. US prints first banknotes with women's signatures
Tags: Economy/Finance Person in news International News
The U.S. The Treasury (United States of America's Finance Ministry) has printed the first US banknotes (currency notes) with two women's signatures. The new currency notes of $1 and $5 value carry the signature of the Secretary of Treasury (American Finance Minister) Janet Yellen and Lynn Malerba. The United States currency notes are popularly called as Greenback.
Lynn Malerba is Native American and is the chief of the Mohegan Tribe, who holds the position of Treasurer of the United States within the Department of Treasury, United States government.
Janet Yellen is a former chairman of the United States Central Bank, Federal Reserve of New York. She was the first female head of the Federal Reserve.
In the United States the currency notes are printed by the Treasury Department's Bureau of Engraving and Printing and the Federal Reserve decides how much currency notes will be printed.
The Treasury Department's Bureau of Engraving and Printing has note printing facilities at Fort Worth, Texas and another in Washington.
India
In India the government of India issues currency notes of one Rupees and the Coins under the Coinage act 1906(as amended in 2011).
Notes in the denomination of Rs 2 to Rs 10,000 are issued by the Reserve Bank of India under the Reserve Bank of India act 1934.
In India Currency notes issued by the RBI are called bank notes. The Bank notes are signed by the governor of RBI. Till date there has been no women governor in RBI.
The One rupee note is signed by the Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, Government of India.
Printing of notes in India
Bank notes are printed at four currency presses, two of which are owned by the Government of India through its Corporation, Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India Ltd. (SPMCIL) and two are owned by the Reserve Bank, through its wholly owned subsidiary, Bharatiya Reserve Bank Note Mudran Private Ltd. (BRBNMPL).
The currency presses of SPMCIL are at Nasik (Maharashtra) and Dewas (Madhya Pradesh).
The two presses of BRBNMPL are at Mysuru (Karnataka) and Salboni (West Bengal).
7. India ranked 5th in the 2022 Hurun Global 500 list of valuable companies
Tags: Economy/Finance International News
According to the recently released Hurun Global 500 list 2022, India, with 20 most valuable companies in the world, has moved into the fifth position among countries that are home to the world’s top 500 firms. Last year India was ranked 9th with 8 companies.
The list, released by the Hurun Research Institute, is a compilation of the 500 most valuable non-state-controlled companies in the world. Companies were ranked according to their market capitalization (for listed companies) and valuations for non-listed companies.
Top ranked Indian companies
The top ranked Indian companies in the Hurun 500 list are as follows;
- Reliance Industries Limited was the top ranked Indian company. It was ranked 34th in the world.
- Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) was ranked second , and
- HDFC bank was ranked third.
For the first time, 4 Adani group companies also made to the list. These companies are; Adani Transmission, Adani Green Energy, Adani Enterprises and Adani Total Gas.
Top ranked company in the world
US based Apple was the top ranked company followed by Microsoft, Alphabet (owner of Google), Amazon and Tesla.
Country wise ranking
- The United States of America with 260 companies came at the top. It was followed by
- China with 35 companies,
- Japan with 28 companies,
- The United Kingdom with 21 companies ,
- India and Canada were at the 5th position with 20 companies each.
Of the 20 Indian companies featured on the list this year, 11 are based in Mumbai, four in Ahmedabad and one each in Noida, New Delhi, Bengaluru and Kolkata.
Hurun
It was set up in the United Kingdom by Rupert Hoogewerf in 1999. Hurun is a research, media and investments group, which publishes a series of research reports.
The Company is headquartered in Shanghai, China.
8. 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.
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.
