NATIONAL NEWS

‘Right To Repair’ Portal

• On the National Consumer Rights Day, the Union Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Piyush Goyal launched a host of new initiatives including the ‘Right to Repair’ portal in New Delhi.
• On the 'right to repair' portal, manufacturers will share the manual of product details with customers so that they can either repair by self, by third parties, rather than depend on original manufacturers.
• The Department of Consumer Affairs had set up a committee headed by the Additional Secretary Nidhi Khare to develop a comprehensive framework on ‘Right to Repair’.

PAN Not Linked with Aadhaar to be ‘Rendered Inoperative’

• The Income Tax department on 24 December 2022 issued an advisory that those permanent account numbers (PAN) which are not linked with Aadhaar by the end of March 2022 will be rendered "inoperative".

• According to the Income Tax department ‘As per Income-tax Act, 1961 it is mandatory for all PAN holders to link their PAN with Aadhaar before 31 March 2023’.

• From 01 April 2023, the unlinked PAN shall become inoperative.

Free Foodgrains for One Year Under NFSA

• The government has decided to provide free foodgrains to 81.35 crore people for one year under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) at an estimated cost of Rs 2 lakh crore.
• As per the cabinet decision, beneficiaries under NFSA will get free food grains for one year till December 2023.
• It is a part of the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package (PMGKP) to help the poor in the fight against COVID-19.
• The program is run by the Department of Food and Public Distribution under the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution.

Ladakh Proposes State Tree and State Flower

• The Ladakh administration has proposed Bhoti ‘Shukpa’ (Juniperus polycarpos) and Bhoti ‘Tsersnon’ (Meconopsis aculeata) as the state tree and state flower respectively.

• The proposed state tree and state flower for the union territory of Ladakh are placed in the public domain for suggestions and comments from experts and the general public by the committee constituted for the purpose.

• State tree is locally known as ‘Shukpa’ by Buddhists and ‘Chilgi’ by the Brokpa tribes of Ladakh.

Kerala’s First Smart Mobile Composting Unit Inaugurated

• Minister for Local Self-Governments M.B. Rajesh inaugurated the first smart mobile composting unit in the State jointly launched by Suchitwa Mission and the Kerala Mission at Pallithottam, Kerala.
• He stated that the waste management issues in Kerala will be eliminated by 2026 making the State completely garbage free.
• The smart mobile composting unit is an innovative concept that scientifically treats waste from auditoriums and large catering centers and turns it into manure.
• The unit can process up to 500 kg of waste per hour and convert it into manure.

BANKING

IFC Provides $400 Million Loan to HDFC

• World Bank Group Member International Financial Corporation (IFC) will provide a $400 million loan to India’s largest housing finance company, Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC).

• HDFC will use around 75% of the loan amount ($300 million) to provide loans to the affordable green housing sectors in India.

• Green Houses are built with sustainable, environmentally-friendly, energy-efficient and recyclable resources.

• The loan will support the government effort to provide Housing for All.

Tata Power Gets ₹450 Crores Sustainable Trade Finance Facility

• Tata Power has received a Rs 450 crore “sustainable trade finance facility” from MUFG (Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group) Bank of Japan to fund its solar projects.

• This credit facility was extended for two solar projects under TP Kirnali Limited (TPKL).

• TPKL is a 100% subsidiary of Tata Power Renewable Energy Limited (TPREL).

• UFG has extended the financing to fund TPKL’s two solar power projects namely 100 MW renewable project in Parthur, Maharashtra and 120 MW green energy project in Mesanka, Gujarat.
• It is the first sustainable trade finance facility offered by MUFG in India and TPKL will utilize the funds towards generating renewable energy capacity.
• Tata Power aimed to become carbon net zero before 2045 and MUFG has announced its commitment to achieving net zero emissions in its finance portfolio by 2050 and its operations by 2030.

SPORTS

Indian Men’s Cricket Team Beat Bangladesh

• The Indian cricket team led by K L Rahul won the cricket test series against the Shakib Al Hassan led Bangladesh team 2-0 to win the two match test series in Bangladesh.

• India lost the ODI series against Bangladesh by 2-1.

• Ishan Kishan made a world record by scoring fastest double century in ODI.

• He made his double century against Bangladesh in just 126 balls.

Top Arena Junior International Badminton Championship

• Geto Sora from Arunachal Pradesh has won the Top Arena Junior International Badminton Championship title in the below 9 years category.
• The Top Arena Junior International Badminton Championship was held in Kuala Lumpur from 19 December to 23 December 2022.
• He won the Championship title after defeating Malaysian Jaryl Teh.

RANKS, INDICES & REPORTS

Highest-Paid Female Athletes in Forbes Annual List

• India's badminton star PV Sindhu is the only Indian sportsperson to feature in the top 25 of Forbes' annual list of the world's highest-paid female athletes.

• Sindhu, the 2016 Tokyo Olympics silver medalist, is ranked 12th in the list, which is topped by Japanese tennis star Naomi Osaka.

• Sindhu, who won the singles gold and doubles silver at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in 2022 earned $7 million out of her total earnings of $7.1 million.

AWARDS & PRIZES

VinFuture Special Prize 2022

• Renowned researcher and Madras IIT Professor Pradeep Thalappil has bagged the VinFuture Prize 2022 instituted by the VinFuture Prize Council to honour breakthrough research projects.

• Thalappil has been awarded the ‘Special Prize dedicated to Innovators from Developing Countries’ for his development of a low-cost filtration system to remove arsenic and other heavy metals from groundwater.

• The award was presented by Prize Council Chairman Richard Friend at a ceremony in Vietnam’s capital Hanoi.

• The Winfuture Prize is awarded every year by the Winfuture Fund to recognize breakthrough scientific and technological inventions that have the potential to make a meaningful difference to people's lives.

Rabindranath Tagore Literary Prize for 2021–2022

• The Rabindranath Tagore Literary Prize has been shared by Shobhana Kumar and Sudeep Sen for their collections of haibun, A Sky Full of Bucket Lists and Anthropocene: Climate Change, Contagion and Consolation, respectively.

• The winners, who each received $10,000 and a Rabindranath Tagore figurine, were chosen from a shortlist of 11 at the India International Centre.

• Sanjoy K. Roy, the director of the Jaipur Literature Festival received the Tagore Prize for social achievement.

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS

Prime Minister of Nepal

• President Bidya Devi Bhandari of Nepal has appointed Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' as the new prime minister of Nepal on 25 December 2022.

• Prachand will become the prime minister for the third time.

• Prachand’s Maoist Center Party won 32 seats in Nepal's 275-member House of Representatives.

• Pushpa Kamal Dahal will replace Sher Bahadur Deuba of the Nepali Congress party as the Prime Minister.

IMPORTANT DAYS

Good Governance Day

• Good Governance Day is observed every year on 25 December.

• The day is celebrated to mark the birth anniversary of the 10th Prime Minister of India Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

• The day is celebrated so as to ensure that the citizens of the country are treated fairly by the government.

• The purpose of Good Governance Day is to increase public access to various government programmes and services through good governance.

• It was established with the slogan ‘Good Governance through e-Governance.’

National Consumer Day

• National Consumer Day is observed every year on 24 December.

• The objective of the day is to make the consumers aware of their rights and prevent them from the prevalent malpractices.

• The day was established in 1986 as part of the Consumer Protection Act.

• This day was celebrated for the first time in the year 2000.

• The main objective of the Consumer Protection Act is to provide protection to the consumers against various forms of exploitation such as defective goods, unsatisfactory services and unfair trade practices.