Daily Current Affairs and GK | 30 November 2022

Topic: Reports and Indices/Ranking

1. Bharat Rural Livelihood Foundation released Tribal Development Report 2022 in two volumes.

• It is the first of its kind report since 1947. The report is focused on the status of the tribal communities.
• The report has showcased the status of tribal communities in different fields such as livelihoods, agriculture, natural resources, economy, migration, governance, etc.
• 80% of the tribal communities live in Central India. As per the report, indigenous communities of India have been pushed farther away from alluvial plains and fertile river basins.
• Now, tribal communities live in hills, forests, and dryland regions. Most tribal areas have faced a lot of disturbance and conflict.
• Even after 75 years of independence, tribal communities are at the bottom of the country’s development pyramid.
• During a two-day event at the India International Centre, the authors of the report discussed their findings.
• Policymakers and leaders have to work for the welfare of Adivasis to connect them with the development of India.
• According to the 2011 Census, 8.6 per cent of the population is from tribal communities.
• Bharat Rural Livelihood Foundation (BRLF)
  • It is an independent society established under the Ministry of Rural Development.
  • Its main aim is to scale up civil society action in partnership with the central and state governments.

Topic: Sports

2. Stephanie Frappart will become first woman referee in a men’s FIFA World Cup match.

• On December 2, Stephanie Frappart will become the first woman referee in a men’s match between Costa Rica and Germany.
• She will be joined by assistant referees Neuza Back of Brazil and Mexico’s Karen Díaz Medina.
• In 2021, she became the first woman to referee a men’s World Cup qualifying match.
• Three women – Stephanie Frappart Frappart, Salima Mukansanga and Yoshimi Yamashita - were included in Fifa's list of 36 referees.
• FIFA World Cup 2022 is scheduled to be held from 20 November to 18 December in Qatar. 32 teams are taking part in this tournament.

Topic: State News / Meghalaya

3. First ever Mental Health and Social Care Policy was passed in the Meghalaya cabinet meeting.

• On 29 November, the Meghalaya state cabinet passed its first “Mental Health and Social Care Policy” following a cabinet meeting.
• With the passing of this policy, Meghalaya has become the first state in the North East and the third in the country to have such a policy.
• The Policy's goal is to provide appropriate access and pathways to care while promoting holistic mental health and well-being.
• Chief Minister Konrad K. Sangma said that the policy will ensure proper attention to mental health, especially for children, adolescents and youth.
• He said, mental health issues are often neglected and therefore a comprehensive policy was needed to address the issue.

Topic: Reports/Indices

4. NITI Aayog launched the Framework for Carbon Capture, Use and Storage (CCUS) Policy.

• On 29 November, NITI Aayog launched the Carbon Capture, Use, and Storage (CCUS) Policy Framework and its Implementation Mechanism in India.
• The report related to this was launched in New Delhi by Suman K. Berry, Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog.
• This report has been prepared on the basis of valuable information received from various stakeholders in the energy and power sector.
• Earlier, the government had made public the draft policy on the 2030 CCUS road map for upstream E&P companies for suggestions from all stakeholders in the country.            
• The CCUS policy framework aims to develop and implement a practical framework to accelerate research and development on carbon capture, utilization, and storage in India.
• India is the third largest carbon dioxide emitting country after China and the USA, which emits 2.6 Giga tons per year.
• CCUS are essential for India to achieve its net carbon footprint.
• PM Narendra Modi announced the Panchamrit of drastically reducing climate change, including achieving zero emissions by 2070, at a conference on pollution in Glasgow last year.
• The government of India is committed to reducing CO2 emissions by 50% by 2050 and reaching net zero by 2070.

Topic: National Appointment

5. Former Health Secretary Preeti Sudan took oath as a UPSC member.

• On 29 November, Former Health Secretary Preeti Sudan took the oath of office and secrecy as a member of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).
• Sudan, a 1983 batch (retired) IAS officer of the Andhra Pradesh cadre, was administered the oath by Dr. Manoj Soni, Chairman of the Union Public Service Commission.
• Sudan retired as Health Secretary in July 2020.
• Sudan has also served as the Department of Food and Public Distribution secretary.
• Her notable contributions include starting two of the country's flagship programs - 'Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao' and 'Ayushman Bharat'.
• Sudan has also been a consultant to the World Bank.
• UPSC is headed by a chairman and can have a maximum of 10 members.
• Even after the appointment of Sudan, there is a vacancy of four members in the commission.

Topic: State News/ Karnataka

6. Karnataka is developing an app-based networking platform for the commercialization of intellectual property rights.

• The app is named "Patentkart" and is being developed by the Karnataka State Council for Science and Technology (KSCST).
• PatentKart, an initiative under 'Make in India', will help patent holders and their customers in commercializing their IP.
• The app will be functional by early 2023.
• Over the last three years, KSCST-assisted IP cells have filed over 700 patents, with "more than 10 granted and the others in progress."
• The state of Karnataka has topped the India Innovation Index for the third time in a row.
• Patent information center has been established at KSCST, Indian Institute of Science. It has been supported by the Patent Facilitation Centre as a step toward facilitating patents in Karnataka.
• KSCST has established 58 IP cells across universities, engineering institutions, and science, law, and agricultural colleges since its inception.

Topic: Banking System

7. Reserve Bank of India announced the launch of retail digital rupee on a pilot basis from December 1.

• The number of banks identified for phase-wise participation in this pilot is eight.
• The first phase will begin with four banks in four cities across the country.
• These four banks are State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, Yes Bank and IDFC First Bank.
• Four more banks will join this pilot subsequently. These banks are Bank of Baroda, Union Bank of India, HDFC Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank.
• Initially, the pilot project would cover four cities. These cities are Mumbai, New Delhi, Bengaluru and Bhubaneswar.
• The pilot project would later extend to Ahmedabad, Gangtok, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Indore, Kochi, Lucknow, Patna and Shimla.
• It would cover selected locations in a closed user group (CUG). It would comprise customers and merchants.
• The digital Rupee would be in the form of a digital token and will have legal validity.
• Users can transact with digital Rupee through a digital wallet made available by the participating banks and stored on mobile phones.
• Transactions can be both Person to Person and Person to Merchant.
• The digital Rupee would have features of physical cash like trust, safety and settlement finality.
• Like cash, it will not earn any interest and can be changed to other forms of money, like deposits with banks.
• The pilot project will test the robustness of the complete process of digital rupee creation, distribution and retail usage in real time.

Topic: Personality in News

8. Vikram Kirloskar, Toyota Kirloskar vice-chairman, passed away recently on 29th November 2022.

• He died of cardiac arrest at 64. He played a key role in bringing the Japanese firm Toyota Motor Corp to India in 1997.
• The Toyota-Kirloskar has a manufacturing plant in Bidadi of Ramanagar district near Bengaluru.
• It is considered to be among the largest automotive plants in the country.
• Toyota Kirloskar Motor Private Limited is an Indian joint venture between Toyota Motor Corporation and Kirloskar Group. It is headquartered in Bidadi, Karnataka, near Bengaluru.

Topic: Space and IT

9. NASA's Orion capsule achieved a key milestone on its demonstration mission around the Moon.

• The US space agency's Orion capsule reached 430,000km (270,000 miles) beyond the Earth which is the furthest distance travelled by any spacecraft designed for carrying humans.
• No spacecraft meant for carrying humans has ever travelled this far before.
• The ship is without a crew but will carry astronauts over the next two years. NASA is planning to carry out many more complex missions with Orion.
• Orion spacecraft is a joint effort of NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA).
• It is expected to come back to the earth on 11 December. It has used less fuel and produced more power than expected.
• Orion capsule was launched on 16 November on a 26-day mission from Florida's Kennedy Space Center. It was launched to ensure whether it can carry astronauts safely or not.
• The earlier record was of the Apollo-13 mission. It travelled 400,171km (248,655 miles) from Earth in 1970.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: State News/ Kerala

10. ‘Nai Chetna’ gender campaign has been launched under the National Rural Livelihoods Mission.

• ‘Nai Chetna’ gender campaign took off in Kerala under the Kudumbashree Mission.
• It is a nationwide campaign under the National Rural Livelihoods Mission.
• Its main aim is to enable women to raise their voices against gender violence and provide them with knowledge about their rights. 
• As part of the campaign, the activities will be conducted in 25 gender resource centres in various districts of Kerala. It will be based on Gender Equality and Gender-based Violence.
• A core committee has been formed at the state level for monitoring the four-week-long campaign.
• Leaflets, posters, and short films prepared by the NRLM will be used for the awareness programmes.
• The campaign will also include follow-up activities as part of the Sthreepaksha Navakeralam campaign.
• The 'Sthreepaksha Navakeralam' campaign was launched against dowry-related suicides and murders.

Topic: Sports

11. Ruturaj Gaikwad made a world record by hitting seven sixes in one over.

• On 28 November, Maharashtra captain Ruturaj Gaikwad created a new List A world record by hitting seven sixes in an over during the Vijay Hazare Trophy ODI cricket match against Uttar Pradesh.
• A total of 43 runs were scored in this over. He scored an unbeaten 220 off 159 balls, which included 10 fours and 16 sixes.
• The bowler was Shiva Singh, who also bowled a no-ball in this over which made it a seven-ball over.
• Earlier in the Ford Trophy in 2018, Brett Hampton and Joe Carter for the Northern Districts scored as many runs in an over as Willem Ludik of the Central Districts.
• In international cricket, only four players have hit six sixes in an over–Herschelle Gibbs of South Africa, Yuvraj Singh of India, Kieron Pollard of the West Indies, and Jaskaran Malhotra of the United States.
• Other cricketers to have hit six-sixes in various domestic formats are Sir Garfield Sobers, Ravi Shastri, Ross Whiteley, Hazratullah Zazai, Leo Carter, and Thisara Perera.

Topic: Environment and Ecology

12. A UN panel has recommended listing Australia's endangered Great Barrier Reef as a World Heritage Site in danger.

• It said the world's largest coral reef ecosystem has been significantly affected by climate change and ocean warming.
• The report of the 10-day mission in March pointed out that climate change has become a serious challenge.
• Australian Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek said the government will press UNESCO not to list coral reefs as endangered because climate change continues to threaten all coral reefs around the world.
• The Australian government announced a $1 billion package in January to protect the reef.
• Australia has committed itself to reduce the country's greenhouse gas emissions by at least 43 percent below 2005 levels by 2030.
• However, to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees, Australia would need to cut emissions by 74 percent.
• The UNESCO report found that the acidity of the Great Barrier Reef's water has increased by 26 percent while water quality targets have not been met.
• The Great Barrier Reef is one of the most important marine ecosystems on Earth.
• It is covering approximately 133,000 square miles and is home to more than 1,500 species of fish and 400 species of hard coral.
• In 2021, scientists found that the global range of living coral has halved since the 1950s due to climate change, overfishing, and pollution.

Topic: State News/Odisha

13. Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik launched AMLAN- ‘Anaemia Mukta Lakhya Abhiyan’ in the state.

• Odisha CM has launched AMLAN in a bid to ensure complete eradication of anaemia among women and children in Odisha.
• AMLAN will be implemented with combined efforts of several departments.
• Some of those departments are Health and Family Welfare, School and Mass Education, Women and Child Development, Mission Shakti and ST and SC Development.
• Odisha CM said AMLAN is a programme for making the state free from anaemia, especially among women and children.
• Major interventions include strengthening iron and folic acid supplementation, testing for hemoglobin and treatment of anemic cases.
• Capacity building of service providers and social behaviour change communication are also major interventions.
• Odisha CM said the programme will be launched in 55,000 government and government-aided schools and 74,000 Anganwadi Centres across the state.
• Anemia is a condition that occurs due to lack of healthy RBCs to carry adequate oxygen to the body’s tissues. 

Topic: Biotechnology and Diseases

14. iNCOVACC has received Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) approval for Covid booster doses.

• Bharat Biotech International Limited (BBIL) announced that iNCOVACC (BBV154) has received approval from the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) under Restricted Use in Emergency Situation for all adults, for heterologous booster doses.
• iNCOVACC is first intranasal Covid vaccine in the world to receive approval for the primary 2-dose schedule and heterologous booster dose.
• It is stable at 2-8°C for easy storage and distribution. It is a recombinant replication-deficient adenovirus vectored vaccine with a pre-fusion stabilized SARS-CoV-2 spike protein.
• It was developed in partnership with Washington University, St Louis. Human clinical trials were conducted by Bharat Biotech.
• Product development and clinical trials were funded in part by the Government of India.
• Heterologous boosting is the one in which a person is given a different vaccine from that was used for the primary dose.
• On the other hand, homologous boosting is the one in which a person is given the same vaccine that was used for the two previous doses.