NATIONAL NEWS

Anti-Misinformation Campaign in India

• Social media giant Google’s subsidiary Jigsaw launched a new anti-misinformation project in India.
• The project aims to prevent the misleading information that has been blamed for inciting violence and deaths.
• Google's initiative will use "prebunking" videos.
• Prebunking videos are designed to counter false claims before they become widespread. It will be used on YouTube platforms and other social media sites.
• The government of India has repeatedly called upon the social media giants like YouTube, Google, Meta (Facebook) and Twitter to take steps to counter the spread of fake news.

India - France Partnership on Kaziranga Project

• India and France are collaborating under the Kaziranga Project in the Kaziranga National Park in Assam.
• With France and India technical and financial support, the Indo-Pacific Parks Partnership will facilitate partnership activities for natural parks of the Indo-Pacific region.
• These activities include biodiversity conservation, wildlife management and engagement with local communities.
• The Kaziranga project is a part of a larger Assam Project on Forest and Biodiversity Conservation (APFBC) for which the Agence Française de Développement (AFD) has committed funding of €80.2 million for a 10-year period between 2014-2024.
• The AFD program has been most effective in skill development in the area, especially in the forest dwelling communities.

7th Edition of Sangam Exercise

• The 7th edition of Exercise Sangam, a joint Naval Special Forces exercise between Indian Navy MARCOs and US Navy SEALs commenced at Goa.

• Exercise Sangam was first conducted in 1994 and is an important military and diplomatic initiative between the two nations, reflective of the trust and friendship between them.

• The present edition will see personnel from SEAL Team Five based at San Diego, USA and Indian Navy MARCOs from INS Abhimanyu.

• It aims to exchange ideas and experiences on various aspects of Maritime Special Operations.

International Conference On ‘J C Bose: A Satyagrahi Scientist’

• The government of India’s Ministry of Culture and Vijnana Bharati organized an ‘International conference on the contributions of J C Bose: A Satyagrahi Scientist’ at the Inter-University Accelerator Center in New Delhi.

• It was hosted on the occasion of the 164th anniversary of the birth of eminent Indian scientist Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose as part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsava.

• He developed the crescograph, a tool for gauging plant growth while working as a plant physiologist and physicist.

• He presented evidence of plants’ emotions for the first time.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

India will Resume e-Visa Facility for UK Citizens

• The Indian High commissioner to the United Kingdom (UK) Vikram K Doraiswami has announced that India will shortly resume the e-Visa facility for UK citizens travelling to India.
• The e visa facility was suspended in March 2020 due to the outbreak of covid.
• e-Visa is granted to a foreigner whose sole objective of visiting India is recreation, sightseeing, casual visit to meet friends or relatives, attending a short-term yoga programme, medical treatment including treatment.

BANKING

SEBI Reduces Time Period for Listing of Debt Securities

• Capital markets regulator Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has reduced the timeline for listing of debt securities issued on a private placement basis to three days(T+3).
• Currently, the timeline is four days (T+4). T refers to issue closure date.
• The new guidelines would come into effect from 01 January 2023.
• In October SEBI reduced the face value of debt security and non-convertible redeemable preference shares issued on private placement basis to Rs 1 lakh from the current Rs 10 lakh.
• It will also be applicable from 01 January 2023.

ECONOMY

World Bank Increases India’s GDP Growth Forecast

• The World Bank has forecasted growth rate for the Indian economy in 2022-23 to 6.9%.

• India's gross domestic product (GDP) grew 8.7 percent in the previous 2021-22 financial year.

• In the second quarter of 2022-23 fiscal year, it grew by 6.3%.

• The Reserve Bank of India expects the Indian economy to grow by 7 % in 2022-23.

AWARDS & PRIZES

Banker’s Bank of the Year Award 2022

• Canara Bank received the ‘Banker’s Bank of the Year Award 2022’ for the India segment at the Global Banking Summit held in London, United Kingdom (UK).

• The public sector lender has been adjudged as the Best Bank in India.
• The Canara bank’s MD and CEO L V Prabhakar received the award from the organizers.
• The Bankers’ Bank of the year award is considered to be like Oscar award for the banking sector.
• The winners are judged on their ability to deliver returns, strategy, innovation, technology and product and services in their respective geographies in the last 12 months.

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS

Batting Coach of Indian Women Cricket Team by BCCI

• The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) appointed Hrishikesh Kanitkar as the Batting Coach of the Senior Women’s cricket team.
• Kanitkar will take charge of the team from the upcoming five-match T20I series against Australia starting 09 December in Mumbai.
• Hrishikesh Kanitkar was the head coach of the under -19 men’s cricket team which won the world cup held in West Indies in 2022.

Chairperson of NSCI

• Rajeeva Laxman Karandikar, retired professor at Chennai Mathematical Institute (CMI), has been appointed as part-time chairperson of National Statistical Commission of India (NSCI) for three years.
• He has designed, supervised and analysed nationwide opinion polls for Indian parliamentary elections as well as state legislatures since 1998.
• He was a member of the committee constituted by the Election Commission (EC) of India.

IMPORTANT DAYS

National Microwave Oven Day

• National Microwave Oven Day 2022 is observed every year on 06 December.

• Percy Spencer, a self-taught American engineer developed a way to safely prepare food with microwaves.

• In 1955 the first domestic microwave was introduced.

OBITUTARY

Noted Economist, Former Union Minister Yoginder Alagh

• Noted economist and former Union minister Yoginder K Alagh passed away. He was at the age of 83.

• Alagh was an emeritus professor at the Sardar Patel Institute of Economic and Social Research Ahmedabad.

• He had a doctorate degree in economics from the University of Pennsylvania.
• He was also a former vice-chancellor of Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi.
• He was Union minister of state for Planning and Programme Implementation, Science and Technology and Power during 1996-98.
• He was also a member of the Planning Commission.