1st December, 2022 Current Affairs

Sakshi Education

NATIONAL
IAS officer Preeti Sudan appointed as a member of UPSC

Andhra Pradesh cadre IAS officer and former health secretary, Preeti Sudan has took the oath of office and secrecy as Member, UPSC. The oath was administered to her by the UPSC chairman Dr Manoj Soni.
Sudan superannuated as the Union Health Secretary in July, 2020. She also served as Secretary, Department of Food & Public Distribution, and in Women and Child Development and Defence Ministries.
The UPSC is headed by a chairperson and can have a maximum of 10 members. With Sudan’s appointment, there is still a vacancy of four members in the Commission. The UPSC, is India’s premier central recruitment agency for recruitment of all the Group ‘A’ officers under Government of India. The body conducts civil services examination annually in three stages — preliminary, main and interview — to select officers of Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS) and Indian Police Service (IPS) among others.

Mumbai ranks 22nd in Global Prime Cities Index by Knight Frank

Mumbai stood at 22nd rank in a global index that measures annual price appreciation of premium residential properties, according to Knight Frank. In its report on ‘Prime Global Cities Index Q3 (July-September) 2022’, Property consultant Knight Frank said that all three Indian cities: Mumbai, Bengaluru and New Delhi, registered an increase in average annual prices in the third quarter of 2022.
The prime global cities index is a valuation-based index tracking the movement in prime residential prices in local currency across 45-plus cities worldwide.
Mumbai moved up to 22nd rank in the third quarter of 2022 from 39th rank in the year-ago period.
Bengaluru’s rank also moved up to 27th as against 41st, while New Delhi’s position improved to 36th rank from 38th rank.

Animal Quarantine Certification Services Inaugurated in Bengaluru

As part of the National Milk Day celebrations, Animal Quarantine Certification Services was organized in Bengaluru by the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry, and Dairying.
Department of Animal Husbandry, Ministry of Fisheries Animal Husbandry and Dairying celebrated National Milk Day on 26th November 2022. The Department inaugurated Animal Quarantine Certification Services as part of the celebrations in Hasserghata Bengaluru.
As part of the National Milk Day celebrations, Animal Quarantine Certification Services was organized in Bengaluru by the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry, and Dairying.
Department of Animal Husbandry, Ministry of Fisheries Animal Husbandry and Dairying celebrated National Milk Day on 26th November 2022. The Department inaugurated Animal Quarantine Certification Services as part of the celebrations in Hasserghata Bengaluru.

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INTERNATIONAL
India formally assumes G20 Presidency for one year; PM Modi says, will work to promote universal sense of oneness

India formally assumed the G-20 presidency today, December 1, for one year. Several events will be held across the country including the lighting of 100 monuments with the G-20 logo to mark the occasion.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said India’s G20 agenda will be inclusive, ambitious, action-oriented, and decisive.
India’s G20 presidency will work to promote this universal sense of oneness, and hence India's theme is One Earth, One Family, One Future.
This is not just a slogan but it takes into account recent changes in human circumstances, which we have collectively failed to appreciate. He also urged the citizens to join together to make India’s G20 presidency a presidency of healing, harmony, and hope.

Former Chinese President Jiang Zemin dies aged 96

Former Chinese leader Jiang Zemin – the first Chinese President to visit India, dies at 96 China's former leader Jiang Zemin, who led the country at the time of its opening up, has died at the age of 96.
He was the first Chinese President to visit India in 1996 when India and China moved towards normalizing the bilateral ties. Jiang, who was China's president from 1993-2003, died of leukemia and multiple organ failure on November 30, 2022, in Shanghai.
Under Jiang’s leadership, a peaceful handover of Hong Kong to China took place in 1997 and China joined the World Trade Organization which laid the base for China to become the world’s second-largest economy with high-speed growth.

ECONOMY
India, Australia exchange written notifications regarding India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement

India and Australia have exchanged written notifications regarding the India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement, ECTA. The ECTA will enter into force on 29th December. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said in a tweet that India and Australia have consolidated their long-standing partnership. He added that it is the dawn of a whole new era for businesses and people of both nations.
The India-Australia ECTA will significantly enhance bilateral trade in goods and services, create new employment opportunities, raise living standards, and improve the general welfare of the people. Duties on 100 percent tariff lines are to be eliminated by Australia under the agreement. The total bilateral trade will cross 45 to 50 billion dollars in five years from existing 31 billion dollars.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak reiterates his country's commitment to FTA with India

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has reiterated the U.K.'s commitment to a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with India as part of the country's wider focus on enhancing ties with the Indo-Pacific region. Delivering a talk on British foreign policy at the Lord Mayor of London’s Banquet yesterday, Mr. Sunak reflected upon his heritage and committed to promoting British values of "freedom and openness" around the world.

He also pledged to do things differently when it came to China, which he said poses a "systemic challenge" to British values and interests.
Mr. Sunak said by 2050, the Indo-Pacific will deliver over half of global growth compared with just a quarter from Europe and North America combined. The British Premier said that considering the positive aspects of the Indo-Pacific, Britain is joining the Trans-Pacific trade deal, the CPTPP, delivering a new FTA with India and pursuing one with Indonesia.

British PM Sunak says golden era of UK-China relations is over

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said that the so-called golden era of relations with China is over as the UK need to evolve its approach towards Beijing. Mr. Sunak made the remarks while addressing Lord Mayor's Banquet in London.
In his first foreign policy speech, the British Prime Minister said, the closer economic ties of the previous decade had been naïve. He said, the UK now needed to replace wishful thinking with robust pragmatism towards competitors.
The speech, comes after protests in China over the weekend against the country's strict Covid lockdown laws.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
NASA's Orion capsule reaches key milestone on its demonstration mission around the Moon

The US space agency NASA's Orion capsule has reached a key milestone on its demonstration mission around the Moon. It moved some 4,30,000 kilometer beyond the Earth yesterday, the furthest any spacecraft designed to carry humans has travelled.
The capsule is uncrewed now, however, if it completes the current flight without incident, the astronauts will be on the next outing in two years' time. According to reports, Nasa is planning a series of ever more complex missions with Orion.
They're part of the agency's Artemis programme, which seeks to return people to the lunar surface after a gap of 50 years. Monday's milestone marks the middle point of the mission.
The capsule was launched from Florida's Kennedy Space Center on 16th of this month on 26-day mission designed to stretch its systems and make sure it is safe to carry astronauts. The spacecraft is due to splash down in the Pacific Ocean off San Diego in California on 11th of next month.

“World’s 1st Hydrogen-Run” Aircraft Engine Tested by EasyJet, Rolls-Royce

Airline EasyJet and Aircraft Engine maker Rolls-Royce announced that they have successfully tested a hydrogen-powered aircraft engine, which is described as the World’s First for aviation. They had set a new aviation milestone with the world’s first run of a modern aero engine on hydrogen in a test carried out on land earlier this month.
The company tested a turboprop fan engine that is used a small regional flights aircraft.
Green hydrogen for the tests had been generated using tidal and wind energy from Orkney Islands, Scotland.
Rolls-Royce is eventually hoping to conduct a full-scale ground test of a Pearl 15 jet engine.
Britain’s Minister for Business and Energy, Grant Shapps has said that it is a true British success story, and it was a prime example of how they worked together to make aviation cleaner while driving jobs across the country.
Britain earlier this year identified the need for major investment to help unlock green hydrogen from water using renewable energy.
Blue hydrogen is far more available than its green hydrogen however it is opposed by environmentalists as it is produced from natural gas in a processing releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

SPORTS
FIFA World cup 2022: Stephanie Frappart to be 1st woman referee

FIFA has announced that Stephanie Frappart of France will be the first woman to referee a men’s’ World Cup match. She will officiate the match to be played between Germany and Costa Rica in Group E on 2 December 2022.
France’s Frappart is one of three women referees among the 36 selected for the tournament in Qatar, alongside Rwandan official Salima Mukansanga and Japan’s Yoshimi Yamashita. Three other female officials have travelled to the World Cup as assistant referees.

ENVIRONMENT
Hawaii's Mauna Loa, the world's largest active volcano, erupts for first time in nearly 40 years

The world's largest active volcano, Hawaii's Mauna Loa, is erupting for the first time in almost 40 years. Officials said, Lava flows are contained within the summit area and are not threatening downslope communities. But the notification from the US Geological Service (USGS) warned the situation could change rapidly.
An ashfall advisory is in effect for Hawaii's Big Island and the surrounding waters, and residents have been told to remain vigilant. The volcano's alert level has been upgraded from an "advisory" to a "warning", the highest classification.
Mauna Loa last erupted in March and April of 1984, sending lava flows within 8 kilometres of the city of Hilo.
The latest eruption began on Sunday night at the volcano's summit caldera. Calderas are hollows that form beneath the summit at the end of an eruption.
It added, if the eruption migrates beyond the walls of the summit caldera, lava flows could "move rapidly downslope.

Published date : 01 Dec 2022 05:50PM