Current Affairs 7 December 2022

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NATIONAL AFFAIRS

National Conclave on Soil Health Management for Sustainable Farming 2022 held in New Delhii.On December 5, 2022 i.e. on the occasion of World Soil Day (WSD), and on the lines of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, the National Conclave on Soil Health Management for Sustainable Farming 2022 was inaugurated at New Delhi, Delhi by the Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare (MoA&FW) as its Chief Guest.
ii.It was organized by the NITI (National Institution for Transforming India) Aayog in collaboration with GIZ (German Agency for International Cooperation) affiliated to the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), Germany.
iii.During the conclave, a National Mission on Natural Farming as a separate scheme with an expenditure of Rs. 1,584 crores was approved by the Government.
About Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare (MoA&FW):
Union Minister– Narendra Singh Tomar (Constituency- Morena, Madhya Pradesh)
Minister of State (MoS)– Kailash Choudhary (Constituency- Barmer, Rajasthan)
>> Read Full News

India, Germany sign Migration and Mobility Agreement for Easier Access to Study, Research and WorkOn December 5, 2022, a comprehensive migration and mobility partnership was signed between India and Germany for easier access to study, research and work between both countries.
Signatories:
It was signed by India’s Union Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA); and Federal Foreign Affairs Minister of Germany, Annalena Baerbock in New Delhi, Delhi.
What is in the Agreement?
i.It will facilitate two-way movement of students, professionals and researchers, and also address the challenges of illegal migration.
ii.It will aid in expanding the internationalization of higher education systems by interlinking innovation and research areas of both countries, and also strengthen the structures for Vocational Education and Training.
iii.Indian students can now get increased opportunity to participate in research programs in Germany which is known for its higher education system, research and development efforts especially in the field of Science and Technology.

• Indian students can now get joint degrees and dual degrees through collaboration between Indian and German universities at university level.

iv.It also ensures joint efforts in tackling future pandemics by reforming and strengthening the World Health Organization (WHO) as directing and coordinating authority on international health work.
v.The pact will also facilitate German business owners to travel to India and invest here.
Points to be noted:
i.The decision behind this agreement was taken during the meeting held between both the Ministers in New Delhi, Delhi. Notably, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock was on her first official visit to India on December 5-6, 2022 to discuss cooperation on the transition to renewable energy and India’s relationship with Russia and China.
ii.Both ministers also reviewed bilateral relations and shared their views on important regional and global issues.
About Germany:
Capital– Berlin
Currency– Euro

EPFO Data Shows 35% Jump in Formal Job Creation in H1 FY23According to an analysis of the data released by the Employees’ Provident Fund Organization (EPFO), 87.1 lakh new formal jobs were generated in India during the first half of the current financial year (H1 FY23), a 35 % rise from H1 FY22.

• There were 24.6 lakh and 64.72 lakh formal jobs generated in India in the first halves of FY21 and FY22, respectively.

i.In Q2 FY23, formal job creation increased slightly to 47.4 lakh, up from 39.3 lakh in Q1 FY 23.
ii.Additionally, data demonstrates that states with higher contributions from the service sector, like Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu, created the most formal jobs.
iii.While Maharashtra saw an increase in formal employment of 18.29 lakh during H1, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu saw increases of 9.87 lakh and 9.18 lakh, respectively.
About the Employees’ Provident Fund Organization (EPFO):
Chief Executive Officer(CEO) – Neelam Shami Rao
Headquarters – New Delhi, Delhi
>> Read Full News

SHE STEM 2022 held as a part of Sweden India Nobel Memorial Week 2022SHE STEM 2022, the annual event organised as a part of the Sweden India Nobel Memorial Week to celebrate the women in the field of Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), was held in New Delhi, Delhi on 5th December 2022.

• This marks the 3rd edition of the SHE STEM event, a flagship event of the Sweden-India Nobel Memorial Week.
• SHE STEM is The event was organised by the Embassy of Sweden in India in partnership with the Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog, the Government of India and the German Centre of Innovation and Research (DWIH New Delhi).

Key Peopel: 
H.E. Jan Thesleff, Ambassador of Sweden to India, addressed the event through a video message. Dr Chintan Vaishnav, Mission Director of Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog, and Dr Katja Lasch, Director at DWIH New Delhi was present during the event.
Sweden India Nobel Memorial Week:
Sweden India Nobel Memorial Week is observed from 6th to 10th December 6-10, 2022.
2022 marks the observance of the 15th edition of the Sweden-India Nobel Memorial Week. 
Highlights of SHE STEM 2022:
i.The event of SHE STEM 2022 began with a musical performance by students of Darbari Lal DAV Model School, the host school for SHE STEM 2022.
ii.The event witnessed various talks and panel discussions by women in the field of STEM and business.
#SHESTEM2022 Video Challenge: 
i.The winners of the #SHESTEM2022 Video Challenge were announced and honoured during the event.
ii.SHE STEM 2022 hosted the #SHESTEM2022 Video Challenge, following the success of the Insta-reels Video Challenge in 2021.
iii.The challenges were hosted across Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, and Google Drive for students of ages 13 to 17.
iv.This encouraged the students to imagine themself in 2047 and speak about their innovative solutions to tackle climate change.
v.Jury Team of the 2022 Challenge were,

• Atal Innovation Mission Team led by Dr Chintan Vaishnav
• Swedish Embassy team led by Dr Per-Arne Wikström
• German Centre for Research and Innovation led by Dr Katja Lasch.

vi.The videos were accessed based on the Novelty of the idea; Clarity of thought and articulation; and Sustainability or climate action angle.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

UNEP Report: Doubling Finance Flows into NbS by 2025 To Deal with Global CrisesAccording to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report “State of Finance for Nature 2022 – Time to Act: Doubling Investment by 2025 and Eliminating Nature-Negative Finance Flows,” financing for nature-based solutions (NbS) must be doubled to address the multiple global crises of climate change, biodiversity loss, and land degradation.

• The objective would be to double financial flows to NbS and cut them for activities that generate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

State of Finance for Nature 2022 (2nd Edition)
The UNEP, in collaboration with the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), and the European Commission, published the 2nd edition of the State of Finance for Nature report (2022).

• The report comes ahead of the commencement of the United Nations Conference on Biodiversity (COP15 CBD) in Montreal, Canada, where a landmark accord to halt and

Key Summary from the report:
i.The report highlighted the importance of private investment in NbS, which currently stands at only 17 % and is considerably underfinanced.
ii.Current financing flows to NbS must swiftly double by 2025 and triple by 2030 if the world is to halt biodiversity loss, limit climate change to less than 1.5 degrees Celsius, and achieve land degradation neutrality by 2030.

• Global investments in NbS are currently about USD 154 billion (Rs 12,49.44 crore) each year, with a target of USD 384 billion by 2025.

iii.The International Monetary Fund (IMF) issues a warning about 2023 being the “darkest hour” for global growth, and the report mentions the numerous short-term measures used by countries to increase Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

• It’s important to remember that nature, which sustains many economies, will impose higher expenses on both present and future generations in the years ahead.

Road Traffic Injuries – 2nd Leading Cause of Death Among Children Aged 5 to 14: WHO Report According to the  World Health Organization (WHO)’s new analysis titled “Preventing injuries and violence: An overview”, Road traffic injuries are the 2nd leading cause of death among children aged 5 to 14 years.

• The analysis states that Road traffic injuries are the leading cause of death among youth aged 15 to 29 years old. Around 271,990 youths have lost their lives due to road traffic injuries.

The report was released on 28th November 2022 during the 14th World Conference on Injury Prevention and Safety Promotion, held in Adelaide, Australia.
Key Highlights:
i.In 2019, an estimated 4.4 million people(~8% of all deaths) globally lost their lives due to injuries from unintentional causes and violence.

• Among these, unintentional injuries were the reason for the death of 3.16 million people and violence-related injuries caused the death of 1.25 million people.
• 1 in 3 of this death was due to road traffic crashes; 1 in 6 was due to suicide and 1 in 9 from homicide and 1 in 61 from war and conflict.

ii.3 of the top 5 causes of death in people aged 5 to 29 years are injury-related, road traffic injuries, homicide and suicide.
iii.According to the report, drowning is the 6th leading cause of death.
iv.Across all ages, the 3 leading causes of death from injuries for males are road traffic injuries, suicide and homicide, while for females, they are road traffic injuries, falls and suicides.
Key points:
i.Twice as many men as women die every year due to injuries and violence. Around three-quarters of deaths from road traffic injuries, four-fifths from homicide and nearly two-thirds of deaths from war are among men.
ii.Due to the exposure to unsafe cooking arrangements and energy poverty in low-and middle-income countries, women and girls are more likely to be burned than men and boys.
iii.According to the Report on Road accidents in India 2019, India topped the ranking in the number of road accident deaths among 199 countries. India accounted for around 11% of global accident-related deaths.

BANKING & FINANCE

Worldline India Report: Digital Payments Worth Rs. 38.32 Trillion Carried Out in Q3 2022According to the “India Digital Payments Report Q3 2022” released by financial services company Worldline India, more than 23 billion digital payment transactions worth Rs. 38.32 trillion were made in July-September (Q3) 2022.

• These payments were made through prepaid payment options such mobile wallets, debit and credit cards, and the Unified Payments Interface (UPI).
• The segment was dominated by UPI-based transactions in terms of both volume and value.

Key Takeaways from the Report:
i.UPI recorded more than 19.65 billion transactions worth Rs. 32.5 trillion in Q3 2022.

• It registered an 88% increase in volume and a 71% gain in value in Q3 2022 compared to Q3 2021, nearly doubling its transaction volume and value since 2021.

ii.The top 3 UPI apps in terms of volume and value as of Q3 2022 were PhonePe, Google Pay, and Paytm Payments Bank App.
iii.The average transaction amount for credit card transactions was Rs 4,833, while the average transaction size for mobile wallet transactions was Rs 382.
iv.Top 10 states with the highest transactions at physical touch points in Q3 2022: Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Telangana and West Bengal.
v.Top 12 cities in Q3 2022 in terms of physical touch point transactions: Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Mumbai, Pune, Delhi, Kolkata, Thiruvananthapuram, Coimbatore, Thrissur, Thane, and Ahmedabad.
vi.In Q3 2022, credit card volume and value was 725 million and Rs. 3.5 trillion, with 386.83 million transactions at the point of sales (POS) and 338.80 million e-commerce transactions.

• In Q3 2022, the volume and value of debit card transactions were 907 million and Rs. 1.88 trillion, respectively.

vii.POS transactions accounted for 595.4 million of total debit card volume, while e-commerce transactions accounted for 311.60 million.

• In terms of value, debit transactions on e-commerce sites totaled Rs. 681.7 billion, while POS terminals processed Rs. 1.19 trillion.

Razorpay Enables Merchants to Accept Credit Card Payments on UPI On 5th December 2022, Fintech platform Razorpay announced a first-of-its-kind move, in partnership with Axis Bank, to enable merchants to accept credit card transactions via Unified Payments Interface (UPI) with minimal changes to the existing setup.

• This facility has been enabled for the customers of HDFC Bank, Punjab National Bank (PNB), Union Bank and Indian Bank.
• At present, UPI enables customers to make transactions through their bank accounts.

Key highlights:
i.This offering is in line with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)’s innovation in digital space. In October 2022, the NPCI allowed the linking of RuPay credit cards with the BHIM UPI app.
ii.Around 250 million Indians use UPI for their day-to-day transactions, and nearly 50 million users have one or more credit cards.
About Razorpay:
Managing Director (MD) & Co-founder – Shashank Kumar
Headquarters – Bengaluru, Karnataka
Establishment – 2014

ICICI Lombard, AU Small Finance Bank tied-up for BancassuranceOn December 5, 2022, the AU Small Finance Bank, and ICICI Lombard General Insurance tied-up for Bancassurance. Under this, the insurer will utilize the bank’s diverse customer’s access, and enhance penetration across India.

• On the other hand, the bank will enhance its general insurance offering with agile, digital & paperless solutions offered by ICICI Lombard.

Key Points:
i.The entire suite of insurance products will be offered across 980+ banking touchpoints covering over 20 states & 2 union territories (UTs).
ii.The offered products are customer centric, and will provide long term financial security to customers and their families.
iii.Bancassurance is a tie-up between the bank and the insurance company to sell the latter’s insurance products to the bank’s customers.
About ICICI Lombard:
Managing Director & CEO– Bhargav Dasgupta
Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra
About AU Small Finance Bank:
Managing Director & CEO– Sanjay Agarwal
Headquarters– Jaipur, Rajasthan
Tagline– Badlaav Humse Hai

Spice Money & Axis Bank Partners for Financial Inclusion in Rural IndiaSpice Money Limited, a Rural fintech player, has partnered with Axis Bank, to facilitate the opening of instant, zero balance savings or current accounts for rural citizens through its Adhikari network.

• Through this partnership, Spice Money aims to bridge the rural-urban divide and bring financial inclusivity by providing access to banking products at doorstep.

Key Points: 
i.Spice Money empowers merchants, known as Spice Money Adhikaris through its technology to cater to the digital and financial needs of rural citizens in India.
It delivers various financial services including cash deposit and withdrawal, insurance premium, bill payments and loans to the rural masses.
ii.Recently, the company has come on board the government-promoted e-commerce platform, Open Network Digital Commerce (ONDC), to facilitate smaller merchants in rural locations.

• By onboarding ONDC, Adhikaris of Spice Money will act as facilitators to other smaller merchants in their localities, who do not have access to e-commerce platforms to sell their products.

About Spice Money Limited: 
Spice Money, a regulated entity under the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), is a 100% subsidiary of DiGiSPICE Technologies. 
Founder-Dilip Modi
Co-founder & Chief Executive Officer (CEO) – Sanjeev Kumar
Headquarters – Noida, Uttar Pradesh

Federal Bank unveils ‘Football Fiesta’ Campaign

Federal Bank Limited, a leading private sector bank, has launched the ‘Football Fiesta’ campaign with many prizes lined up to celebrate the FIFA World Cup 2022.

• As part of the campaign, the bank has also released an augmented reality (AR) filter for Instagram. Moreover, it has announced its public social media contest.
• The contest is to take a selfie saying ‘goal’ with the AR filter from an Instagram profile to win prizes.

ECONOMY & BUSINESS

Airtel partners with Meta to develop Undersea Cable Infrastructure for High-Speed Internet

On 5th December 2022, Bharti Airtel (Airtel) announced a collaboration with Meta Platforms, Inc, the parent company of Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram, to support the growth of India’s digital ecosystem.

• Airtel and Meta will invest collaboratively in global connectivity infrastructure and new-age digital solutions based on Communications Platform as a Service (CPaaS) to support the evolving requirements of users and enterprises in India.

Subsea cable infrastructure is required to digitally connect the world since data flows between countries over the internet are not possible without it.
Key Points: 
i. As India prepares to bring out 5G networks later this year (2022), foundational connectivity infrastructure such as subsea cable systems is crucial for supporting increased demand for high-speed data and digital services.
ii. Airtel will partner with Meta and Saudi Telecom Company (STC) to extend 2Africa Pearls, a subsea cable system, to India.
iii. Airtel and Meta will extend the cable to Airtel’s landing station in Mumbai, Maharashtra, and acquire the dedicated capacity to expand its submarine network portfolio.
2Africa Pearls:
i. 2Africa is the world’s longest subsea cable system and is expected to provide faster internet connectivity to almost 3 billion people globally.
ii. The extended 2Africa Pearls branch will include landing locations in Oman, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq, Pakistan, India, and Saudi Arabia.
iii. 2Africa Pearls launched in 2020. It connected 23 countries with the 37,000 kilometres (KM) subsea cable.
iv. Airtel is now testing 4G and 5G Open RAN solutions on select sites in the state of Haryana, and the technology will be commercially deployed across several locations in India over the next few quarters.

AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS     

Indian billionaires Gautam Adani, Shiv Nadar & Ashok Soota Featured on Asia’s 2022 Heroes of Philanthropy List by Forbes
India’s richest person Gautam Adani, Chairman of Adani Group; Shiv Nadar, Founder of HCL Technologies; and Ashok Soota, Executive Chairman of Happiest Minds Technologies along with Malaysian couple Brahmal Vasudevan and his wife Shanthi Kandiah, a lawyer, were featured on Forbes’ Asia’s 2022 Heroes of Philanthropy list.

• The 2022 list is the 16th edition of Forbes’ annual list(unranked) that highlights the region’s top philanthropists who demonstrated a strong personal commitment to causes like education and the environment.

Key highlights:
i.Gautam Adani was listed for pledging Rs 60,000 crores (USD 7.7 billion) when he turned 60 in June 2022 and this made him one of India’s most generous philanthropists.

• The pledged money will address healthcare, education, and skill development and will be channelled through the family’s Adani Foundation, founded in 1996.
• Each year, the Adani foundation helps nearly 3.7 million people across India.

ii.Self-made billionaire and philanthropist Shiv Nadar channelled around USD 1 billion of his wealth over a few decades to various social causes through Shiv Nadar Foundation.

• In 2022, he donated Rs 11,600 crore (USD 142 million) to the Shiv Nadar foundation, established in 1994.
• This intends to create an equitable, merit-based society by empowering individuals through education.
• Shiv Nadar has co-founded HCL Technologies and also helped in setting up educational institutions including schools and universities via Shiv Nadar foundation, which also promotes art and culture.

iii.Ashok Soota has pledged Rs 600 crore (USD 75 million) to the medical research trust, founded in April 2021 for the study of ageing and neurological illnesses.

• He started SKAN Scientific Knowledge for Ageing and Neurological ailments with an outlay of Rs 200 crore.

iv.Malaysian-Indian Brahmal Vasudevan, founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Kuala Lumpur-based private equity firm Creador and his wife, Shanthi Kandiah, a lawyer supports local communities in both Malaysia and India through the Creador Foundation, co-founded in 2018.

• In May 2022, they pledged to donate 50 million Malaysian Ringgit (USD 11 million) to help in building a teaching hospital at the Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR) Kampar campus in Perak state.
• They also donated 25 million pounds (USD 30 million) to Imperial College London to create the eponymous Brahmal Vasudevan Institute for Sustainable Aviation to help the aviation industry transition to zero pollution.

Indian-origin Teacher Veena Nair receives the 2022 Prime Minister’s Prize in Australia Veena Nair, an Indian-origin teacher in Melbourne, Australia, has received the Prime Minister’s Prizes for Science 2022 under the Prime Minister’s Prize for Excellence in Science Teaching in Secondary Schools category.

• Veena Nair, STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) Project Leader and Head of Technology at Viewbank College, Melbourne, Australia, was honoured for demonstrating the practical application of STEAM to students, and how to use their skills to make a real impact in the world.

About Prime Minister’s Prizes for Science: 
Prime Minister’s Prizes for Science is the most prestigious prizes in Australia for outstanding achievements in scientific research, research-based innovation, and excellence in science teaching.

• It recognises achievements across diverse disciplines and career stages.

The 2022 Prime Minister’s Prize recognises 12 of the country’s leading scientists, innovators and science teachers.
Click here for the categories and the 2022 winners’ 
About Veena Nair:
i. Veena Nair, a leading educator in STEAM began her teaching career in Mumbai, Maharashtra (India), where she provided computers to low socio-economic schools and taught students how to code.
ii. She has more than 20 years of experience teaching science-based subjects across three different countries: India, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Australia.
iii. In 2018, she won the Educator of the Year Award from the Design and Technology Teachers’ Association of Australia.
iv. She has helped increase the number of students studying STEAM subjects at Viewbank College, notably the number of female students.
v. She has led the development of curricular and extracurricular STEAM projects, including several new electives (3D printing, emerging technologies, engineering, etc.).
Click here to know more

‘Goblin mode’: Oxford Dictionaries Word of the Year 2022The Oxford English Dictionary has chosen ‘Goblin mode’ as the word of the year 2022 by an online vote. Goblin Mode received 93% of the votes against contenders “metaverse” (2nd) and “#IStandWith”(3rd).

• For the first time, the choice of Word of the Year was opened to public voting. Around 3 lakh English speakers voted over a period of 2 weeks.

Goblin Mode: 
i. ‘Goblin mode’ is a slang term, that refers to the type of behaviour which is unapologetically self-indulgent, lazy, slovenly, or greedy, typically in a way that rejects social norms or expectations.

• It is often used in the expressions ‘in goblin mode’ or ‘to go goblin mode’.

ii. The term was 1st seen on Twitter in 2009 and gained popularity in 2022 as people across the globe emerged uncertainly from pandemic lockdowns.
Note: In 2021, the Oxford word of the year was ‘vax,’ while the Merriam-Webster word of the year was ‘vaccine.’
Other 2 Final Choice of Words:
2nd Place- Metaverse: 

• It defines a (hypothetical) virtual reality environment in which users interact with one another’s avatars and their surroundings in an immersive manner
• It is occasionally proposed as a potential extension or replacement for the internet, World Wide Web, social media, and so on.’
• By October 2022, It had increased almost fourfold from 2021 in the Oxford Corpus.

3rd Place- #IStandWith:

• The phrase ‘to stand with’ someone in the sense of supporting or siding with them.
• The hashtag #IStandWith emerged in the first decade of the 21st century; evidence has been found dating back to 2009.
• ‘#IStandWith’ has been used to show support for a variety of causes, with evidence indicating an increase in internet searches in 2022 compared to 2021.

Swayam Shikshan Prayog Wins Local Adaptation Champions Award at COP27 Climate Summit

Swayam Shikshan Prayog (SSP), a Pune (Maharashtra) based Non-Government Organisation (NGO) won the Local Adaptation Champions Award under the “capacity and knowledge” category for its work in supporting women farmers to adopt more resilient and sustainable agricultural practices in Marathwada in Maharashtra.

• The award was announced by the Global Centre on Adaptation(GCA), at the Conference of Parties (COP) 27 climate summit held in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt.
• The award constitutes a cash award of EURO 15,000, a certificate and a memento.

Local Adaptation Champions Awards: 
Local Adaptation Champions Awards, launched by GCA in 2022,  highlight and reward inspiring, innovative and scalable locally-led efforts to address climate change impacts and build effective resilience.

• The award is presented under 4 categories which include, Financial Governance Inclusive Leadership, Capacity and Knowledge and Local Innovation.

Other Winners: 

• Financial Governance category: Adaptation Consortium
• Inclusive Leadership category: Rangamati Hill District Council
• Local Innovation category: Community Development & Advocacy Forum Nepal

Key Points: 
i.The award to SSP offers recognition to the women farmers and helps to get more adopters of the women-led climate resilient farming model (or one-acre model).
ii.SSP has trained more than 3 lakh rural women across India to adapt climate change with this model which is being implemented in 8 districts in Maharashtra (Osmanabad, Solapur, Latur, Landed, Washim, Aurangabad, Ahmednagar and Jalna).
iii.SSP has worked mostly with the Gujarat earthquake in 2001, Tamil Nadu tsunami in 2004, floods in Bihar in 2007 and Kerala in 2018 and is working extensively in three states of India including Kerala, Bihar and Maharashtra.
About Swayam Shikshan Prayog (SSP):
SSP was founded by Prema Gopalan and activist-academic Sheela Patel.
Director – Upmanyu Patil
Headquarters – Pune, Maharashtra
Establishment – 1998

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS    

TTFI Elections: Meghna Ahlawat Becomes First Woman President of TTFI; Kamlesh Mehta Becomes Secretary General

On 5th December 2022, Meghna Ahlawat was elected as the first female President of the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI)and former Indian Table Tennis player Kamlesh Mehta, an eight-time national champion and Arjuna awardee(1985) took over as the new secretary general of the TTFI.

• Meghna Ahlawat is the wife of the outgoing President of TTFI, Dushyant Chautala, Deputy Chief Minister(CM) of Haryana.

i.The election for 25 posts was conducted after a compromise. Among 25 posts, three were reserved for women.
New TTFI Executive Committee: 
President: Meghna Ahlawat
Senior Vice Presidents: Dr T Dhevanathan Yadav and Padmaja S Menon
Vice Presidents: Pramod Kumar Chaudhary; P. Vishwanath Rao; Passang Dorjee Megiji; C Gunalan; Purvesh B Jariwala; Rupak Debroy; Chetan Gurung; Raju Duggal; Rinku Acharya
Senior Joint Secretary: Harish Kumar Kakkar
Treasurer: Patel Nagender Reddy
Joint Secretaries: B B Subba; Saurabh Shukla; Samar Jeet Singh; Rajive Ratan Singh; and Dr Alka Sharma
Executive Members: Dr Moirangthem Bapin Kumar; A V Vidyasagar; L Sundarvaradhan; Pradeep Joshi; Dr Alka Sharma
Background: 
i.In February 2022, the Delhi High Court suspended the TTFI Executive Committee, and appointed a 3 member Committee of Administrators (CoA) to take care of the day-to-day activities of TTFI.

• The suspension came into effect after India’s top-ranked female table tennis player Manika Batra allegations of match-fixing against the national coach Soumyadeep Roy during Tokyo Olympics qualifiers.

ii.The Delhi High Court had barred members of the suspended executive board from taking part in the fresh elections.
iii.Previously, the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Executive Committee had proposed the suspension of TTFI for not having a set of office bearers in place even after eight months of CoA rule.       

ACQUISITIONS & MERGERS      

CCI approves the deal between Bharat Biotech International & Eastman Exports The Competition Commission of India (CCI) had approved the proposed combination of Bharat Biotech International Limited (BBIL) for acquiring the shares of Eastman Exports Global Clothing (EEGC) Pvt Ltd through a share purchase agreement.

• Acquirer– Bharat Biotech International Limited
• Target– Eastman Exports Global Clothing Pvt. Limited

Nature and purpose of the combination:
The Proposed Combination exceeds the thresholds prescribed by way of the ‘Parties Test’ under Section 5(a)(i)(A) of the Competition Act, 2002. Accordingly, the Proposed Transaction is notifiable to the CCI under Section 6(2) of the Act.
Green Channel Notification: 
The Proposed Transaction is notified under the green channel route in terms of Regulation 5A and Schedule III of the Competition Commission of India (Procedure in regard to the transaction of business relating to combinations) Regulations, 2011 (as amended)
Key Highlights:
i. The proposed combination relates to BBIL acquiring shares of EEGC through a share subscription agreement and a share purchase agreement.
ii. Given that there are no horizontal overlaps, vertical, or complementary links between the activities of the BBIL (and its affiliates) and the EEGC, the proposed combination is being informed via the Green Channel method.
iii. BBIL produces human vaccines and bio-therapeutics, whereas EEGC is sourcing, buying, distributing, and selling yarn, fabric, and apparel.
About the Competition Commission of India (CCI):
Acting Chairperson- Sangeeta Verma
Establishment- 14th October 2003
Headquarters- New Delhi, Delhi   

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Chinese Astronauts return to earth after successful 6–Month mission

On December 4, 2022, three Chinese astronauts landed back on earth on board the re-entry capsule of the Shenzhou-14 spacecraft after completing a six-month mission on China’s space station.

• The three astronauts were commander Chen Dong and teammates Liu Yang and Cai Xuzhe.
• They left for space on June 5, 2022 to supervise the Tiangong space station’s final phase of construction, which was finished in November 2022. The construction of China’s Space Station was initiated in April 2021.

SPORTS

AFC Asian Cup 2027: AIFF Withdraws Bid, to focus on Grassroots Development  

On 5th December 2022, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) jointly announced that the AIFF, the governing body of football in India, has withdrawn their bid to host the AFC Asian Cup 2027 in India.

• The current focus of AIFF is to build the foundations of a proper footballing structure before thinking of hosting bigger events like the AFC Asian Cup.
• The AFC Executive Committee had shortlisted the AIFF and the Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) bids to host the AFC Asian Cup 2027 during its meeting on 17th October 2022.
• The AFC Congress was scheduled to select the host in February 2023 in Manama, Bahrain.

Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik launches Trophy Tour of FIH Hockey Men’s World Cup 2023

On 5th December 2022, Odisha Chief Minister (CM) Naveen Patnaik launched the Trophy tour of the FIH (Fédération Internationale de Hockey) Hockey Men’s World Cup 2023 in Bhubaneshwar, Odisha, and handed over the trophy to Dilip Tirkey, President of Hockey India.

• The trophy will travel to 13 States and 1 Union Territory (UT) before returning to Odisha on December 25.
• The FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup 2023 will be held at Bhubaneswar and Rourkela from 13th -29th January 2023.

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