20th December, 2022 Current Affairs

Sakshi Education

NATIONAL
Gati Shakti University: Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw appointed as first Chancellor

Union Minister of Railways, Ashwini Vaishnaw has been appointed as the Chancellor of Gati Shakti Vishwavidyalaya, Vadodara, by President Smt. Draupadi Murmu. It is noteworthy to mention that Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw will be the first Chancellor of Gati Shakti Vishwavidyalaya.
President also appointed Dr Manoj Chaudhary as the first Vice Chancellor of Gati Shakti University, Vadodara. As per the Central University Act, 2009, Dr Manoj Chaudhary will hold the position of Vice Chancellor of Gati Shakti University for five years from the date he assumes office.

India ranked 3rd globally in the publication of scientific papers

Union Minister for Science and Technology, Jitendra Singh has revealed that India had jumped from 7th to 3rd in global scientific publications and scholarly output, according to a report by America’s National Science Foundation. India also ranks third globally in the number of PhDs produced annually. In a similar upward trend, the number of patents granted by the India Patents Office to Indian scientists has more than doubled in just the last four years.
The National Science Foundation is an independent agency of the United States government that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health. The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent federal agency created by Congress in 1950 “to promote the progress of science; to advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare; to secure the national defense.

INTERNATIONAL
Indian-origin Leo Varadkar is new Prime Minister of Ireland

Indian-origin Leo Varadkar has returned for a second term as Ireland’s Prime Minister as part of a job-sharing deal made by the country’s centrist coalition government. His appointment was confirmed when he received the seal of office from President Michael D. Higgins, Ireland’s head of state.
This is the second time that Varadkar has been elected as Irish prime minister. He first became the Irish prime minister in June 2017. In June 2020, the Fine Gael party led by Varadkar formed a coalition government with Fianna Fail and Green Party, in which he served as deputy prime minister and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment.

Harvard University named Claudine Gay as first black president

Harvard University named Claudine Gay, a dean of the Faculty of Arts and Science, as its new president, the first African American to hold the post at the prestigious university.
Gay, 52, is just the second woman to be elected to head the school in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Gay, the daughter of Haitian immigrants, will take over as the university’s 30th president on July 1, 2023.

India Announced Candidature for UNSC Membership for 2028-29 Term

India looks forward to being back in the UN Security Council, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said, as he declared the country’s candidature as non-permanent member for the 2028-29 term.
Jaishankar arrived at UN to preside over two signature events on counter-terrorism and reformed multilateralism held under India’s current Presidency of the UN Security Council, before the curtains come down this month on the country’s two-year tenure as elected member of the 15-nation top organ of the world body.
The previous eight terms that India has been in the Council are 1950-1951, 1967-1968, 1972-1973, 1977-1978, 1984-1985, 1991-1992 and 2011-2012. On December 1, India assumed the monthly rotating Presidency of the Security Council, the second time after August 2021 that India is presiding over the Council during its two year tenure as elected UNSC member.

Iran Removed From UN Commission on the Status of Women

In an unprecedented move, Iran has been expelled from the United Nation’s Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) in a vote on which India abstained. The US proposal at the UN Economic and Social Council to remove Iran from the panel received 29 votes, while there were eight votes against and 16 abstentions in the 54-member elected body.
The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, also known as UN Women, is a United Nations entity working for the empowerment of women.
UN Women became operational in January 2011.
President of Chile Michelle Bachelet was the inaugural Executive Director, and Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka is the current Executive Director.
As with UNIFEM previously, UN Women is a member of the United Nations Development Group.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
NASA Launches International Mission ‘SWOT’ to Survey Earth’s Water

The US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the French space agency Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES) have jointly launched the newest Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) spacecraft to track nearly all the water on the surface of the Earth. It was launched atop a SpaceX rocket from Space Launch Complex 4E at California’s Vandenberg Space Force Base. It will remain operational for 3 years.
The Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission is a satellite altimeter jointly developed and operated by NASA and CNES (French space agency) in partnership with the space agencies of the UK and Canada.
The mission’s objective is to make the world’s first-ever global survey of the Earth’s surface water, capable of observing the finer details of the ocean surface topography and measuring the changes in the terrestrial surface water bodies.
It is equipped with an instrument called the Ka-band radar interferometer (KaRIn), which bounces radar pulses off the surface of the water and receives the return signal using 2 antennas on either side of the spacecraft.

SPORTS
India hockey team win’s Women’s FIH Nations Cup 2022

The Indian women Hockey team led by Captain Savita Punia beat Spain 1-0 in the final to win the inaugural FIH Nations Cup played at Valencia, Spain.
The winning goal was scored by Gurjit Kaur of India. The inaugural FIH Nations cup was held in Valencia, Spain from 11-17 December 2022.
India and Spain had played in the FIH women’s Hockey Pro League 2021-22 season as replacement teams after pull-outs by Australia and New Zealand due to COVID-19 related issues.

Neeraj Chopra becomes the most written-about athlete in 2022

According to the World Athletics, Tokyo Olympics gold medalist javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra of India was the most written about track and field athlete in 2022, displacing the Jamaican legend Usain Bolt from the top lists. The data collated by media analysis company Unicepta was cited by World Athletics, the global governing body for athletics.
Neeraj Chopra, the Tokyo Olympics men’s javelin champion, led the way with 812 articles ahead of the Jamaican women’s sprint trio of Olympic champion Elaine Thompson-Herah (751 articles), 100m world champion Shelley-Ann Fraser-Pryce (698 articles) and 200m world champion Shericka Jackson (679 articles). Usain Bolt, the world record holder in 100m and 200m men’s sprint, comes in fourth in the list with 574 mentions. The Jamaican, who is now retired, had previously topped the annual list for most written-about athlete for years.

FIFA World Cup 2022 Messi Won Golden Ball, Golden Ball Award 2022 and Winners

Lionel Messi of Argentina wins the Golden Ball 2022 FIFA World Cup for his outstanding performance. FIFA World 2022 is the last World Cup match of Messi.
The FIFA World Cup Golden Ball award was initially presented in 1982 along with the Golden Boot, and ever since then, it has been given out in every football tournament. A short list of players is created by a FIFA technical committee, and a group of media representatives then votes on them. Even if they weren’t on the team that won the title, every player is still eligible for the honour.
Italy, Argentina, and Brazil are tied for the most wins with ten total, making them the most successful nations to date. One goalkeeper has only ever received the award (Oliver Kahn in 2002).
Messi and Mbappe are the two front-runners for the 2022 award, due to the numerous instances of game-winning brilliance they have contributed along the way. May the best runner prevail after all the tie-breaking goals and superb abilities.

AWARDS
Sargam Koushal wins Mrs World 2022 title after 21 years

Sargam Koushal created history as she finally won the Mrs World 2022 title after 21 years while competing for India in the pageant. The 32-year-old won the competition in Las Vegas after defeating competitors from 63 other nations.
Sargam Koushal beat Mrs. Polynesia to win the title.
The Jammu and Kashmir-born beauty queen previously worked as a teacher in Vizag.
Her husband works for the Indian Navy.
Koushal is shown beaming in photographs from her historic victory that were posted on the Mrs India pageant’s official Instagram account. “The long wait is over; the CROWN is returned after 21 years!” Check out the caption.

REPORTS
2022 Global Food Security Index (GFSI) Report

The 2022 Global Food Security Index (GFSI) report was released by the British weekly The Economist. The 11th Global Food Security Index shows a deterioration in the global food environment for the third year, threatening food security. In this report, South Africa overtook Tunisia to become the most food-secure country in Africa.
It measures the underlying drivers of food security based on the following factors:
1. Affordability
2. Availability
3. Quality and Safety
4. Natural Resources and Resilience
India is ranked at 68th position along with Algeria with the overall score of 58.9. China’s position is at 25th with the score of 74.2.
India was ranked at 71st position in the Global Food Security (GFS) Index 2021 of 113 countries with an overall score of 57.2 points on the GFS Index 2021.

Published date : 20 Dec 2022 06:22PM