Current Affairs Quiz 17th and 18th December 2022 Quiz

Exp. AIIMS Delhi campus declared ‘tobacco-free zone’

The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Delhi premises have been declared as a “Tobacco Free Zone”.

Smoking and spitting of tobacco on the premises of AIIMS Delhi are prohibited and are a punishable offence with a fine of Rs 200.

The Director AIIMS has issued guidelines in this regard and mentioned the risk factor for leading causes of death and a number of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD) including cancers, and lung disorders.

Tobacco is a prominent risk factor for leading causes of death and a number of non-communicable diseases (NCD), including cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and lung disorders.

AIIMS New Delhi was established in 1956 and is under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

Exp. Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Kaam Karyakram renamed as PMVIKAS Scheme

The central government has renamed the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Ko Kaam Karyakram (PMKKK) as Pradhan Mantri Virasat Ka Samvardhan (PM VIKAS) Scheme.

PM VIKAS aims to improve the livelihoods of the minorities, particularly the artisan communities, using the components of skill development, education, women leadership & entrepreneurship.

This integrated scheme amalgamates the five earlier schemes of the Ministry – Seekho aur Kamao, Ustad, Hamari Dharohar, Nai Roshni and Nai Manzil.

The scheme has been approved by the cabinet for the period of the 15th Finance Commission.

Exp. 8th India International Science Festival 2022 to be held in Bhopal

The eighth edition of the India International Science Festival (IISF) 2022 will be held in Bhopal In January 2023.

The IISF 2022 is the eighth edition since its inception in 2015.

Objective -To celebrate the country’s achievements in the field of science, technology, and innovation.

IISF is the initiative of the Ministry of Science and Technology and Earth Sciences in association with Vijnana Bharati.

14 events will be organized during the four-day event beginning January 21 at the Maulana Azad Institute of Technology, Bhopal.

The first and second IISF were held in New Delhi, the third in Chennai, the fourth one in Lucknow, fifth in Kolkata, sixth through virtual mode and the last one IISF was held in Goa.

Exp. 48th GST Council meeting held in New Delhi

The 48th GST Council meeting was held in New Delhi.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman chaired the meeting.

Tax rates, rules, and regulations under GST are governed by the Council, which consists of the Finance minister, and her counterparts.

The GST Council agreed to decriminalize certain offences and doubled the threshold for launching prosecution to ₹2 crore.

The Council has recommended to raise the minimum threshold of tax amount for launching prosecution under GST from Rs. One Crore to Rs. Two Crores, except for the offence of issuance of invoices without supply of goods or services or both.

Monetary threshold will be increased, from the current Rs 5 crore to Rs 20 crore, for launching legal proceedings against offenders.

Exp. India announced candidature for UNSC membership for 2028-29 term

External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar announced the candidature of India for non-permanent membership at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for the 2028-29 term.

India assumed the monthly rotating Presidency of the UNSC in December.

This is the second time India got the Presidency after holding the top spot in August 2021.

India has presided over the Security Council during its two-year tenure as an elected member.

UNSC rules of procedure say that the Council presidency rotates between each of the 15 members of the UNSC in alphabetical order.

UNSC Headquarters – New York

Exp. TPG to acquire Poonawalla housing finance

US-headquartered private equity major TPG Capital wraps the deal with Poonawalla Fincorp to acquire 100 percent stake in its housing finance arm.

The transaction is sized at ₹3,900 crore.

TPG Capital will deploy ₹1,000 crore into Poonawalla Housing Finance as part of its capital infusion commitment.

In May, Poonawalla Fincorp’s board had approved a capital raise permitting an equity dilution by the promoter of up to 15 percent in the housing finance company. However, with limited interest, Poonawalla Fincorp started exploring a complete exit from the business by July.

The existing management team led by ManishJaiswal will continue to carry out the operations.

PHFL currently has over 153 branches spread across 20 states.

The group had planned for value unlocking for the housing finance business with an IPO planned in 2025.

Exp. Rajeev Kumar Vishnoi appointed as CMD of NHPC

Rajeev Kumar Vishnoi has been appointed as the Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) Ltd.

Vishnoi is also the CMD of Rishikesh-based THDC India Limited.

Earlier, Yamuna Kumar Chaubey, Director of NHPC (Technical) was holding the additional charge of CMD of the company.

NHPC Ltd is a Mini-Ratna Category-I Enterprise of the Government of India.

About National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) Ltd.

• Founded – 1975
• Headquarters – Faridabad, Haryana
• CMD – Rajeev Kumar Vishnoi

Recent Appointment

• Chief Scientist of WHO – Jeremy Farrar (replace Soumya Swaminathan)
• President of Cardiological Society of India – Dr. PC Rath
• Judge of Supreme Court – Justice Dipankar Dutta
• First woman president of Indian Olympic Association – PT Usha
• President of Table Tennis Federation of India – Meghna Ahlawat
• Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh – Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu

Exp. Harvard University appointed Claudine Gay as first black president

Harvard University has named Dr. Claudine Gay as the first black president to run an Ivy League university.

Gay is just the second woman to be elected to head the school in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Dr. Gay, who is a dean at Harvard, has been appointed as the 30th president of the university.

She will replace Lawrence Bacow, who will retire on July 2023.

Notably, she is the daughter of Haitian immigrants and received her bachelor’s degree from Stanford University in 1992.

Recent Appointment

• Deputy Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh – Mukesh Agnihotri
• MD & CEO of Ashok Leyland – Shenu Agarwal
• MD of the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) – Meenesh C Shah
• Chair of B20 India – N Chandrasekaran
• Chairman of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) – Arun Kumar Singh

Exp. Leo Varadkar re-elected as Prime Minister of Ireland

Indian-Origin Leo Varadkar has been re-elected as the Prime Minister of Ireland in line with a coalition deal struck in 2020.

Varadkar replaced Micheal Martin as Taoiseach (premier) in a rotation between his Fine Gael and Martin’s Fianna Fail parties.

He was born in Dublin to an Irish mother who worked as a nurse and an Indian immigrant father, who was a qualified doctor.

He became the country’s youngest Taoiseach at the age of 38 as well as its first openly gay head of government and first of Indian heritage.

In 2007, he secured the election for Fine Gael in Dublin West.

Newly Appointed Prime Minister & President

• First female President of Peru – Dina Boluarte
• Prime Minister of Malaysia – Anwar Ibrahim
• President of Kazakhstan – Kassym-Jomart Tokayev (2^nd term)
• First female president of Slovenia – Natasa Pirc Musar
• New Prime Minister of Israel – Benjamin Netanyahu
• President of Brazil – Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva

Exp. India won blind T20 cricket world cup for 3rd consecutive times

India defeated Bangladesh by 120 runs in the final to win the 3rd T20 World Cup for Blind played at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, Karnataka.

It was the third title for India having won it in 2012 and 2017. All three T20 World Cup for Blind has been hosted by India.

India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Australia, Bangladesh, and South Africa competed in the tournament. The Pakistan team was denied a visa by the Indian government.

It was organized by the Cricket Association for the Blind in India (CABI).

The 4th T20 World Cup for Blind will be held in Pakistan in 2023.

Exp. India successfully carried out trials of nuclear-capable ”Agni-5 missile”

India has successfully carried out the night trials of the nuclear-capable ballistic missile, Agni-V from Abdul Kalam Island, off the coast of Odisha.

The test was conducted to check the new technologies and equipment on the missile which is now lighter than before.

Agni 5 missile capable of striking targets at ranges up to 5,000 kilometres with a very high degree of accuracy.

Agni-5 is an ingeniously built advanced surface-to-surface ballistic missile developed under the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP).

It is a fire-and-forget missile, which cannot be stopped without an interceptor missile.

The Agni 1 to 4 missiles have ranges from 700 km to 3,500 km and they have already been deployed.

Exp. ISRO earned Rs 1,100 crore in five years from foreign launches

According to the Ministry for Space, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) had earned approximately Rs 1,100 crore in the last five years from the launch of foreign satellites.

Since January 2018, ISRO successfully launched 177 foreign satellites belonging to 19 countries.

These countries include Australia, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Finland, France, Israel, Italy, Japan, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Netherlands, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom, and USA.

Under a commercial agreement, ISRO launched these satellites on board PSLV and GSLV-MkIII.

Foreign exchange generated through the launching of these 177 foreign satellites from January 2018 to November 2022 is approximately 94 million USD and 46 million Euro.

About Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO)

• Founded – 15 August 1969
• Headquarters – Bangalore, Karnataka
• Founder / 1st Chairman – Vikram Sarabhai
• 10th Chairman – S Somanath
• Aryabhata India’s first satellites Launched on 19 April 1975.

Exp. Neeraj Chopra becomes the most written-about athlete in 2022

Tokyo Olympics gold medalist javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra (India) has the most written-about track and field athlete in 2022, displacing the Jamaican legend Usain Bolt from the top lists.

World Athletics said that in 2022, Indian javelin star Neeraj Chopra displaced the charismatic Bolt, who is still the world record holder in the 100m and 200m despite retiring in 2017.

Chopra leads the way with 812 articles ahead of a troika of Jamaican women sprint stars, Elaine Thompson-Herah, with 751 articles, world 100m champion Shelley-Ann Fraser-Pryce (698) and world 200m champion Shericka Jackson (679), with Bolt still featuring in 574 articles.

Neeraj Chopra also became the first athlete from India to win the Diamond League final this year.

Exp. 18 December – Minority Rights Day

Minority Rights Day is observed every year on 18 December.

Objective – To safeguard the individual rights of the religious, ethnic, racial, or linguistic minorities in the country.

On December 18, 1992, the United Nations adopted the day as Minorities Rights Day. It is the responsibility of the government to improve minority conditions. The state is also responsible for creating awareness about their linguistic, national, cultural, and religious identity in the country.

Theme 2022 – All in 4 Minority Rights

Exp. 18 December – International Migrants day

International Migrants Day is observed annually on December 18.

This day is observed to guarantee that the rights of migrants are equally respected and not violated.

The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) proclaimed December 18 as International Migrants Day on December 4, 2000.

On this day in 1990, the UNGA adopted the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families.