22nd December, 2023 Current Affairs

Sakshi Education

NATIONAL
Parliament gives nod to Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners Bill

Parliament has passed the 'Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Bill, 2023' with the Lok Sabha approving it today. The Rajya Sabha has already cleared it. The Bill replaces the 'Election Commission (Conditions of Service of Election Commissioners and Transaction of Business) Act, 1991'.
It provides for the appointment, salary, and removal of the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and Election Commissioners (ECs). According to the provisions of the Bill, the CEC and ECs will be appointed by the President upon the recommendation of a Selection Committee. The Selection Committee will consist of the Prime Minister, a Union Cabinet Minister, and Leader of Opposition or leader of the largest opposition party in the Lok Sabha.

UNESCO awards Rambagh Gate & Ramparts project highest honor, Award of Excellence for inclusivity & access to broader community

UNESCO has awarded the resilient urban revitalisation of Rambagh Gate and Ramparts in Punjab, as well as the heritage conservation projects related to Haryana's Church of Epiphany and Delhi's Bikaner House. The Rambagh Gate and Ramparts project received the highest honor, the 'Award of Excellence,' for its inclusivity and access to the broader community. Three projects, including the Church of Epiphany and Bikaner House, received an 'Award of Merit.'
The UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation recognize the efforts of individuals and organizations in restoring and conserving structures of heritage value. Twelve projects from China, India, and Nepal were acknowledged by the awards jury this year. Three projects - the Fanling Golf Course in Hong Kong SAR, China; Dongguan Garden Residences in Yangzhou, China; and Karnikara Mandapam at KunnamangalamBhagawati Temple, Kerala, India - garnered an 'Award of Distinction' each.

Parliament passes 'Press and Registration of Periodicals Bill, 2023

The Parliament has passed the 'Press and Registration of Periodicals Bill, 2023' with the Lok Sabha approving it today. The Rajya Sabha has already cleared it. It repeals the 'Press and Registration of Books Act, 1867'. The Bill seeks to simplify the online process of title verification and registration of periodicals by the Press Registrar General of Registrar of Newspapers for India (RNI). The Bill has provisions related to the circulation and verification of newspapers. It also has a provision for prior approval of the Central Government for the publication of facsimile editions of foreign periodicals in India.
According to the Bill, a publisher of a periodical may make an application to the Press Registrar General for revision of particulars of the certificate of registration, or for revision of title.
The Bill has a provision for the Appellate Board, to be called the 'Press and Registration Appellate Board' consisting of the Chairperson, Press Council of India and two members to be nominated by the Press Council of India, from among its members.
The proposed legislation is based on the spirit of upholding media freedom and ease of doing business by making the entire process of allotment of title and registration of periodicals simple and simultaneous, through an online system without the requirement of any physical interface. Importantly, the publishers would no longer be required to file a declaration with the District Magistrate, or the local authorities, or get such declaration.authenticated by such authorities. Furthermore, printing presses would also not be required to furnish any such declaration, instead an intimation by the printer would be sufficient.

Also Read: Weekly Current Affairs (Sports) 4-10 November 2023 Bitbank: Who is the highest wicket-taker for India in ODI World Cup history?

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INTERNATIONAL
Africa’s second largest oil producer Angola leaves OPEC after disagreements over production targets

Africa’s second biggest oil producer, Angola has said that it is leaving OPEC after disagreements over its production targets, in a blow to the oil cartel chaired by Saudi Arabia. The decision was taken at a cabinet meeting and approved by President João Lourenço. The decision comes after the producer group lowered Angola’s oil output target last month as part of a series of cuts led by Saudi Arabia to help prop up prices.
Angola joined OPEC in 2007 but has clashed with Saudi Arabia at recent meetings over attempts to lower its production. It walked out of an OPEC meeting in June, but eventually agreed along with Nigeria and the Republic of Congo for its production baseline to be reviewed by an independent third party. Angola has been battling to turn around declining production for nearly a decade.

Australian govt to send 11 military personnel to support Operation Prosperity Guardian to protect cargo shipping in Red Sea

Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles yesterday said that his government will send 11 military personnel to support Operation Prosperity Guardian, a US-led mission to protect cargo shipping in the Red Sea.
He also said that they will not send a warship or plane, as their military needs to remain focused on the Asia-Pacific region. These military personnel would be sent in January to Operation headquarters in Bahrain, where five Australians are already posted.
Earlier this week, the United States announced that several nations are creating a task force named Operation Prosperity Guardian, to protect commercial ships from the attacks of the Iran-backed Houthis, using drones and ballistic missiles.

ECONOMY
Union Minister of Cooperation informed the Lok Sabha about the National Cooperative Exports Limited
National Cooperative Exports Limited

It was set up by the Ministry of Cooperation under the Multi-State Cooperative Societies (MSCS) Act, 2002.
It will provide a complete ecosystem for the promotion of exports mainly of agri commodities for the benefit of our farmers, in which India has a comparative advantage.
All cooperative societies from the level of primary to apex that are interested in exports are eligible to become members.

The NCEL has provision of two kinds of members namely

Ordinary Members: The following shall be eligible to become ordinary members of the NCEL:
Any multi-state co-operative society or any co-operative society registered or deemed to be registered under any law relating to co-operative societies for the time being in force in any State or UT;
The National Co-operative Development Corporation (NCDC) established under the National Co-operative Development Corporation Act,1 962 (26 of 1962);
Such class or classes of persons or associations of persons as may be permitted by the Central Registrar having regard to the nature and activities of the Society.
No individual shall be eligible to become an ordinary member of the NCEL.

Nominal or associate member:

The society may, in the interest of the promotion of its business, admit any person, including cooperative banks, as a nominal member or associate member
This society will focus on exporting the surpluses available in the Indian cooperative sector by accessing wider markets beyond the geographical contours of the country.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Indian Air Force (IAF) has successfully test fired the 'SAMAR' air defence missile system
SAMAR Air Defence Missile System

Surface to Air Missile for Assured Retaliation (SAMAR) is a short-range air-defence system.
It has been developed by a unit under the IAF’s Maintenance Command.
The system is credited with a maximum range of 10–12 km and is used against low-flying aerial targets.
It can engage aerial threats with missiles operating at a speed range of 2 to 2.5 Mach.
The SAMAR-1 system uses the IAF's existing inventory of shelf-life-expired Russian Vympel R-73E infrared‐guided air-to-air missiles (AAMs) for the surface-to-air role.
The system features a twin-turret launch platform capable of launching two missiles in single and salvo modes, depending on the threat scenario.
Each missile launcher had an electro-optic system visible.
It is expected to supplement the IAF’s Akash and SPYDER systems, replacing the ageing improved Pechora and OSA-AK systems.

SPORTS
Chennai Grand Masters 2023; Dommaraju Gukesh clinches title

In Chennai Grand Masters 2023 tournament, Indian chess prodigy, Dommaraju Gukesh clinched the title by holding compatriot Pentala Harikrishna for a draw, yesterday. Meanwhile, Arjun Erigaisi secured the second spot. Both Arjun and Gukesh finished the event at 4.5 points out of 7. Gukesh won the tournament on tie-breaks. Pentala Harikrishna finished third with 4 points, as all three Indians in the tournament ended the campaign with a podium finish.
With this win, Gukesh takes the lead in the FIDE Circuit. If he keeps the lead till 1st January 2024, he will qualify for the highly coveted Candidates Tournament 2024. Earlier, R. Praggnanandhaa qualified for the Candidates by finishing second at the FIDE World Cup 2023 held at Baku, Azerbaijan this year. Vidit Gujrathi too secured the candidate's spot by winning the FIDE Grand Swiss 2023 concluded on the 5th of November this year at the Isle of Man (UK).

Sanjay Singh elected new president of Wrestling Federation of India

Sanjay Singh has been elected the new president of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI). He was elected after the results of election of office bearers, in which he got 40 votes. The other applicant, Commonwealth Games gold medal-winning wrestler, Anita Sheoran received seven votes.
Sanjay Singh is the vice president of the Uttar Pradesh Wrestling Association and previously served on the WFI's executive council. He has also been the national federation's joint secretary since 2019. He will take over the reins of the WFI chief from controversial Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who had to step aside after some wrestlers levelled certain allegations against him.

AWARDS
Sahitya Akademi announces Annual Sahitya Akademi Awards in 24 languages

Sahitya Akademi has announced its annual Sahitya Akademi Awards in 24 languages. 9 books of poetry, 6 of novel, 5 of short stories, 3 Essays and 1 Literary Study have won the Sahitya Akademi Awards 2023.

The Awards, recommended by distinguished Jury members in 24 Indian languages, were approved by the Executive Board of the Sahitya Akademi which met on 20th December, 2023 under the Chairmanship of Sri Madhav Kaushik, President, Sahitya Akademy.
Following is the Category-wise List of Awardees:

Category	Awardees
Poetry	Vijay Verma (Dogri), Vinod Joshi (Gujarati), Manshoor Banihali (Kashmiri), Sorokkhaibam Gambhini (Manipuri), Ashutosh Parida (Odia), Swarnjit Savi (Punjabi), Gaje Singh Rajpurohit (Rajasthani), Arun Ranjan Mishra (Sanskrit) and Vinod Asudani (Sindhi)
Novel	Swapnamay Chakrabarti (Bengali), Neelum Saran Gour (English), Sanjeev (Hindi), Krushnat Khot (Marathi), Rajasekaran (Devibharathi) (Tamil) and Sadiqua Nawab Saher (Urdu)
Short Stories	Pranavjyoti Deka (Assamese), Nandeswar Daimari (Bodo), Prakash S. Parienkar (Konkani), Taraceen Baskey (Turia Chand Baskey) (Santali) and T. Patanjali Sastry (Telugu)
Essays	Lakshmisha Tolpadi (Kannada), Basukinath Jha (Maithili) and Judhabir Rana (Nepali)
Literary Study	E.V. Ramakrishnan (Malayalam)