Daily Current Affairs – December 11 & 12, 2023
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Daily Current Affairs - Banking - December 11 & 12, 2023
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National News
National Ambient Air Quality Programme
- National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) has been launched in January, 2019 which is a long-term, time-bound national level strategy for prevention, control and abatement of air pollution.
- Under NCAP, it has been envisaged to achieve target of 20 to 30% reduction in Particulate Matter concentrations by 2024 in 131 cities of 24 States/UTs with respect to base year 2017.
- Subsequently, the target has been revised to achieve up to 40% reduction or achieve National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) in terms PM concentrations by 2025-26.
- Due to implementation of city action plans under NCAP, 90 cities out of 131 cities have shown improvement in air quality in terms of annual PM10 concentrations in FY 2022-23 with respect to the baseline of FY 2017-18.
- 15 cities have met National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for PM10 (60 µg/m3) in FY 2022-23.
- Further, an amount of ₹70.37 crores has been sanctioned in FY 2022-23 under National Ambient Air Quality Programme (NAMP) for providing financial assistance to States/UTs for establishment, operation and maintenance of Air Quality Monitoring Stations.
eShram portal
- The Ministry of Labour and Employment has launched eShram portal on 08.2021 for registration of Unorganised Workers.
- It allows an unorganised worker to register himself or herself on the portal on self-declaration basis, under 400 occupations in 30 broad occupation sectors.
- The main objective of the eShram portal is to create a national database of unorganised workers and to facilitate delivery of Social Security and welfare Schemes to such workers.
- As on November 2023, over 29.20 crore unorganised workers have been registered on eShram portal and eShram card has been issued to these workers.
- Ministry of Labour and Employment – Bhupender Yadav, Cabinet Minister (Rajya Sabha MP,Rajasthan) – Rameshwar Teli, Minister of State (Dibrugarh,Assam)
IRSE International Railway Convention 2023
- Union Minister of State for Railways & Textiles Darshana Jardosh inaugurated the IRSE International Railway Convention 2023 at the state of the art Manekshaw Centre in Delhi Cantt.
- The 3-day Convention and Exhibition on Digital Transformation of Railways – Train to Track and Operation to Maintenance conforming to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of Modernisation of Indian Railways is being organised jointly by IRSE Bharat Section and IRSTE, under the aegis of the Ministry of Railway.
- This Convention would focus on aspects like Modern Command and Control Signalling systems that enable train operations at higher speeds, which helps in creating additional line capacity, improves service quality and systems like LTE (4G/5G) band Kavach, CBTC etc. thereby increase the safety in train operations.
- Ministry of Railways – Ashwini Vaishnaw,Union Minister (Rajya Sabha MP,Odisha) – Raosaheb Danve,Minister of State (Jalna,Maharashtra) Darshana Jardosh,Minister of State (Surat,Gujarat)
India’s first Six Lane Steel Slag based Road
- Ministry of Steel has funded a R&D project on “Development of Design Guidelines and Specifications for utilization of steel slag in road construction” being pursued by CSIR-CRRI in association with the steel industry.
- Under this R&D project, India’s first six lane steel slag based road connecting NH-6 to Hazira port was constructed in May, 2022 at Surat Hazira using processed steel slag aggregates as substitute of natural aggregates in all layers of bituminous pavement.
- In this 1 km long test section, processed Electric Arc Furnace (EAF)/ CONARC slag from Arcelor Mittal Nippon Steel (AMNS) steel plant at Hazira has been used.
- Steel Slag is generated as a solid waste during steel production. For every tonne of steel production around 180 – 200 kg of steel slag is generated in the integrated steel plants, which amounts to around 15 million tonnes steel slag generation annually.
- Ministry of Steel – Jyotiraditya Scindia,Union Minister (Rajya Sabha MP,MP) – Faggan Singh Kulaste,Minister of State (Mandla,MP)
ASI had retrieved 357 antiquities from foreign countries from 1976-2023
- The government informed the Parliament that the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has retrieved 357 antiquities from foreign countries from 1976-2023, of which 344 antiquities have been retrieved since 2014.
- Among the antiquities recovered from abroad during the past ten years, 31 antiquities retrieved from Australia, Singapore, the UK and the USA belong to Tamil Nadu
- Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) – 1861 (HQ) – New Delhi (HQ) – Prof Kishore Kumar Basa (Director General)
Banking and Finance
LIC will infuse ₹25 crores in LIC MF
- Life Insurance Corporation’s board approved capital infusion of ₹25 crores in LIC Mutual Fund Asset Management Ltd (LIC AMC) on a preferential basis.
- Currently, LIC has 45% stake in LIC AMC, followed by LIC Housing Finance at 30%, GIC Housing Finance at 11.70% and Union Bank of India at 4%.
- In July this year, LIC Mutual Fund completed the takeover of IDBI Mutual Fund and merged schemes with effect from July 29.
- LIC Mutual Fund Asset Management Ltd (LIC AMC) – 20/04/1989 (Founded) – Mumbai (HQ) – Ramakrishnan (CEO)
Business and Economy
Government extended export ban on de-oiled rice bran till March 2024
- The government has extended the export ban on de-oiled rice bran till March 31 2024.
- It was first banned in July
- De-oiled Rice Bran (DORB) is derived when crude oil is extracted from rice bran.
- DORB is commonly used in the production of animal nutrition products catering to cattle, poultry, horse, pet care, aquaculture (aquafeed), and swine industries.
- Is high in vitamin B and goes well for agricultural animals.
Rallis India launched a new zinc fertilizer for soil application
- Rallis India, a Tata enterprise, has introduced ‘NAYAZINC’, a patented zinc fertilizer designed for soil application.
- With 16% zinc, ‘NAYAZINC’ provides optimum zinc nutrition to the plants at almost one-tenth of zinc application when compared to zinc sulphate and also with 9% magnesium also in it.
- ‘NAYAZINC’ boosts photosynthesis during the early growth phase.
- ‘NAYAZINC’ offers a solution suitable for a wide range of crops such as paddy, wheat, maize, sugarcane, pulses, oilseed, vegetables, cotton, sorghum, mustard, groundnut, and soyabean.
Summit and Conference
Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI) summit
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI) Summit, at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi.
- GPAI is a multi-stakeholder initiative with 29 member-countries, which aims to bridge the gap between theory and practice on AI by supporting cutting-edge research and applied activities on AI-related priorities.
- India is the lead chair of GPAI in 2024.
- As one of the founding members of GPAI in 2020, the current incoming Support Chair of GPAI, and the Lead Chair for GPAI in 2024.
- The summit witnessed participation of 50+ GPAI experts and 150+ speakers from across the countries.
- Further, Top AI Gamechangers from across the world will be participating in different events including Intel, Reliance Jio, Google, Meta, AWS, Yotta, Netweb, Paytm, Microsoft, Mastercard, NIC, STPI, Immerse, Jio Haptik, Bhashini etc.
- Besides, students who are winners under YUVA AI initiative and start-ups will also be showcasing their AI models and solutions.
Appointments
Chief Ministers of Indian States
- Madhya Pradesh – Mohan Yadav (19th CM)
- Chhattisgarh – Vishnu Deo Sai (4th CM & first tribal chief minister of the state)
- Rajasthan – Bhajan Lal Sharma (14th CM)
Prime Minister of Poland
- Donald Tusk, a leader of a centrist party, returned as Poland’s Prime Minister after his term in 2007-2014.
- He succeeded Mateusz Morawiecki.
- He also served as European Council president from 2014-2019.
- Poland – Warsaw (Capital) – Złoty (Currency) – Andrzej Duda (President) – Donald Tusk (Prime Minister) – Polish (Language) – Europe
Awards and Recognitions
Italy's Highest Civilian Honour
- International actor Kabir Bedi was awarded the “Order of Merit of the Italian Republic” (Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana), the most senior Italian civilian award in
- The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic is the most senior Italian order of merit was established in 1951 by the second President of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi.
- It is awarded in the fields of literature, the arts, economy, public service, and social, philanthropic and humanitarian activities and for long and conspicuous service in civilian and military careers.
- Italy – Rome (Capital) – Euro (Currency) – Sergio Mattarella (President) – Giorgia Meloni (Prime Minister) – Italian (Language) – Europe
Sports News
ICC Players of the Month for November
- Women – Nahida Akter of Bangladesh
- Men – Travis Head of Australia (June 2023)
- International Cricket Council (ICC) – 15/06/1909 (Founded) – Dubai,UAE (HQ) – Greg Barclay (Chairman) – 108 countries
Khelo India Para Games 2023
- Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Anurag Singh Thakur inaugurated the Khelo India Para Games 2023 in New Delhi
- Athletes are representing 31 states and Union Territories at the inaugural Khelo India Para Games.
- Services Sports Control Board (SSCB) is the 32nd
- A total of 175 gold, 175 silver and 204 bronze medals will be on offer at the eight-day meet.
- Medal events are being held across seven sports – para athletics, para shooting, para archery, para football, para badminton, para table tennis, para weightlifting (powerlifting) at three different Sports Authority of India (SAI) facilities – the Indira Gandhi Stadium, Shooting Range in Tughlakabad and the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.
- Sports Authority of India (SAI) – 1984 (Founded) – New Delhi (HQ) – Pushpendra Garg (CEO)
Important Days
International Mountain Day 2023
- International Mountain Day is annually observed on December 11.
- In 2003 the United Nations General Assembly designated December 11 as “International Mountain Day”.
- The day is celebrated to raise awareness about the significance of mountains in our lives and for the health of our planet.
- Theme – Restoring mountain ecosystems
Universal Health Coverage (UHC) Day 2023
- Universal Health Coverage (UHC) Day is annually observed on December 12.
- The day is celebrated to emphasize the need for a health care system that provides equitable and good health care along with financial protection to everyone who needs it, close to where they live.
- It marks the anniversary of the United Nations’ historic and unanimous endorsement of universal health coverage in
- United Nations (UN) – 24/10/1945 (Founded) – New York (HQ) – António Guterres (Secretary General) – 193 member states & 2 observer states
International Day of Neutrality 2023
- International Day of Neutrality is annually observed on December 12.
- The day is celebrated to raise awareness regarding the importance of neutrality in intergovernmental relations and to strengthen peace and security at the global level.
- The idea of the International Day of Neutrality was proposed by Turkmenistan in Central Asia which has been recognised as a permanent neutral state by the United Nations since December 1995.
- The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) approved the proposal on February 2, 2017.
- On December 12, 2017, the International Day of Neutrality was proclaimed.
- Turkmenistan – Ashgabat (Capital) – Manat (Currency) – Serdar Berdimuhamedow (President) – Turkmen (Language) – Central Asia
Defence
Joint Military Exercise VINBAX-2023
- The Indian Armed Forces contingent comprising 45 personnel participated fourth edition of Joint Military Exercise VINBAX-2023 held at Hanoi, Vietnam.
- The Indian contingent comprises 39 personnel from an Engineer Regiment of Bengal Engineer Group and six personnel of Army Medical Corps.
- The Vietnam People’s Army contingent will also be represented by 45 personnel.
- Exercise VINBAX was instituted in 2018 and the first edition was conducted at Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh.
- It is an annual training event conducted alternatively in India and Vietnam.
- Last edition was conducted at Chandimandir Military Station, Panchkula, Haryana in August 2022.
- The Exercise will culminate with a Validation Exercise, wherein standards attained by both contingents will be showcased.
- Both sides will conduct technical military operations in accordance with scenarios akin to worldwide deployment of United Nations’ contingents.
- Vietnam – Hanoi (Capital) –Vietnamese dong (Currency) – Võ Văn Thưởng (President) – Phạm Minh Chính (Prime Minister) – Vietnamese (Language)
Biannual Exercise ‘Prasthan’
- A co-ordinated exercise code-named ‘Prasthan’ was conducted by the Indian Navy and other defence, State and civil agencies in the Offshore Development Area off Mumbai.
- The exercise is conducted every six months to validate measures and procedures to address various contingencies that may arise in the oil production platforms.
- The current exercise was conducted on R12A (Ratna) platform of ONGC, located about 45 nm West of Mumbai harbour.
- The exercise was conducted in two phases over the day.
- The first phase saw security emergencies such as attack by terrorists and bomb threat from IEDs.
- The second phase witnessed action against contingencies such as fire in the oil platform and assisting a disabled vessel in the offshore development area.
- Indian Navy – 26/01/1950 (Founded) – New Delhi (HQ) – Navy Day (December 4) – Admiral R. Hari Kumar (Chief of Naval Staff) – ‘May the Lord of Water be auspicious unto us’ (Motto)
Daily Current Affairs - December 11 & 12, 2023 - Consolidated
- National Ambient Air Quality Programme
- eShram portal
- IRSE International Railway Convention 2023
- India’s first Six Lane Steel Slag based Road
- ASI had retrieved 357 antiquities from foreign countries from 1976-2023
- LIC will infuse ₹25 crores in LIC MF
- Government extended export ban on de-oiled rice bran till March 2024
- Rallis India launched a new zinc fertilizer for soil application
- Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI) summit
- Chief Ministers of Indian States
- Prime Minister of Poland
- Italy’s Highest Civilian Honour
- ICC Players of the Month for November
- Khelo India Para Games 2023
- International Mountain Day 2023
- Universal Health Coverage (UHC) Day 2023
- International Day of Neutrality 2023
- Joint Military Exercise VINBAX-2023
- Biannual Exercise ‘Prasthan’