23rd December, 2024 Current Affairs

NATIONAL
India’s First Bio-Bitumen Stretch Inaugurated by Nitin Gadkari

• Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, inaugurated India’s first bio-bitumen-based National Highway stretch on NH-44 in Mansar, Nagpur, Maharashtra. This stretch is a milestone in India’s road development sector, being the first to employ lignin-based bio-bitumen technology. The technology, developed by Praj Industries, in collaboration with CSIR – Central Road Research Institute (CRRI), National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), and Oriental, represents a significant step forward in India’s sustainability and self-reliance goals.
• The stretch on NH-44 is developed using lignin-based bio-bitumen technology, which is a breakthrough in flexible pavement construction.
• Praj Industries and CSIR-CRRI collaborated on this innovation, marking a significant leap in road construction technology.
• Lignin, a by-product of plant biomass, is used as a sustainable binder for road construction.
• This innovation can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 70% when compared to fossil-based bitumen.
• By utilizing lignocellulosic biomass, the technology addresses issues such as bitumen scarcity and import dependency (currently, India imports 50% of its bitumen).
• The development generates additional revenue for bio-refineries and mitigates the environmental problem of stubble burning.

INTERNATIONAL
Justice Madan Lokur Appointed Chairperson of UN Internal Justice Council

• Former Supreme Court Judge of India, Justice Madan B Lokur, has been appointed as the Chairperson of the United Nations Internal Justice Council (IJC) by UN Secretary-General António Guterres. The appointment, confirmed in a letter dated December 19, 2024, is effective immediately and extends until November 12, 2028. The IJC is a critical advisory body to the UN, ensuring the impartiality, professionalism, and independence of its internal justice system. Justice Lokur’s appointment is a notable achievement for India, reflecting his distinguished career and global legal stature.
• Justice Lokur will serve as the Chairperson of the IJC, a five-member body, until November 12, 2028.

US President-elect Trump appoints Indian-American Sriram Krishnan as policy advisor on AI

• In the United States, President-elect Donald Trump has appointed Indian-American entrepreneur Sriram Krishnan as the Senior White House Policy Advisor on Artificial Intelligence, AI. Krishnan will work closely with David Sacks, who has been appointed as the White House AI and Crypto Czar, to shape AI policy across the federal government.
• Born in Chennai, Krishnan moved to the United States after completing his graduation. He began his career at Microsoft as a founding member of Windows Azure. Apart from being a seasoned tech leader, he is also a venture capitalist, podcaster, and author.

ECONOMY
Foreign investors pump in over Rs 26,000 crore into Indian capital markets in December

• Foreign investors pumped in over 26,000 crore rupees into the Indian capital markets so far in December. As per the depositories data, the foreign portfolio investors or FPIs, pumped in 21,789 crore rupees into the Indian equities markets and 4,646 crore rupees into the debt market, taking the total net investment into the Indian capital markets to 26,435 crore rupees.
• This comes after heavy outflows in the last few months. The overseas investors pulled out 21,612 crore rupees from equities markets in November and 94,017 crore rupees in October. Interestingly, September had marked a nine-month high for FPI inflows in equities, with an investment of 57,724 crore rupees.
• So far this year, FPIs have made a net investment of 6,770 crore rupees into equities and 1,11,704 crore rupees into the debt markets, taking the total investment into the Indian capital markets to nearly 1.2 lakh crore rupees in 2024.