Professional Documents
Culture Documents
1. NITI Aayog releases Study Report on Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage
2. 53rd Edition of International Film Festival of India hosted in Goa – November 20 – 28, 2022
3. India’s Maternal Mortality Ratio declines to 97 Per Lakh Live Births in 2018-20
4. BIS Signs MoU with top 6 engineering institutes to Introducing Indian Standards in Curriculum
5. Government Exempts ISRO from Provisions of Explosives Rule; ICHR Approaches ISRO to
Compile India’s Ancient Legacy in S&T
6. Electric Boat Manufacturer Navalt gets its 1st Export Order
7. UNESCO recommended to place Australia’s Great Barrier Reef on ‘in danger’ List
8. UNCTAD’s Review of Maritime Transport for 2022: Global shipping growth at risk from
economic crisis
9. WHO renames Monkeypox as ‘mpox’, citing Racism, Discrimination Concerns
10. India Extends Financial Assistance Worth USD 100 million to Maldives
11. SEBI hikes debt funds’ limit to 12% in Single Issuer Securities
12. SBM Bank & OPEN Partners to Launch Asia’s first end-to-end Embedded Finance Platform
13. YES Bank Partners with Turtlefin to Launch First Comprehensive Technology Platform,
‘EasyNsure’
14. Tata group & Singapore Airlines agrees to merge Air India and Vistara
15. JAXA Uses Steam to Successfully Propel its Moon Spacecraft, EQUULEUS
16. Meltwater Champions Chess Tour 2022: Magnus Carlsen Wins finals defeating Jan-Krzysztof
Duda
17. Former President of China Jiang Zemin Passed Away
18. Toyota Kirloskar Motor Vice Chairperson Vikram Kirloskar Passed Away
19. Day of Remembrance for All Victims of Chemical Warfare 2022 – November 30
20. National Organ Donation Day 2022 – November 27
21. International Jaguar Day 2022 – November 29
22. Meghalaya Cabinet approves Mental Health and Social Care Policy
• It is prepared by the M. N. Dastur & Company (P) Ltd. which received the financial assistance
under the Research Scheme of NITI Aayog.
What is in the report?
It explores the importance of CCUS as an emission reduction strategy to achieve deep decarbonization
from the hard-to-abate sectors.
What is CCUS?
i.It is the process of capturing the carbon dioxide (CO2), released due to industrial activities/power
generation using fossil fuels, before it is released in the atmosphere. The captured CO2 is then used to
make commercially marketable products thus contributing to the circular economy.
• These products include green urea, food and beverage form application, building materials
(concrete and aggregates), chemicals (methanol and ethanol), polymers (including bio-plastics)
and enhanced oil recovery (EOR), etc.
ii.Globally there are about 21 CCUS facilities, with a capacity of capturing about 40 MTPA (Million Tonnes
Per Annum) of CO2 or only 0.1% of the 40 GTPA (Gigatonne per annum) global annual GHG (Green House
Gas) emissions.
iii.The first CCUS projects started in the 1970s and 1980s in Texas, United States (US).
Key Points:
i.India is the 3rd largest emitter of CO2 in the world after China and the US, with estimated annual
emissions of about 2.6 GTPA.
ii.The role of CCUS is important for India in achieving its targets including 50% of its total installed
capacity from non-fossil-based energy sources, 45% reduction in emission intensity by 2030 and taking
steps towards achieving Net Zero by 2070
iii.CCUS can reduce imports and lead to an Atmanirbhar Indian economy.
iv.CCUS projects will also lead to employment generation.
• It is estimated that about 750 MTPA of carbon capture by 2050 can create employment
opportunities of about 8-10 million on full time equivalent (FTE) basis in a phased manner.
IFFI is jointly organized by the National Film Development Corporation and the Entertainment Society of
Goa.
International Film Festival of India (53rd Edition) – 2022 Spotlight Events
i.Eight movies were shown as part of the Country Focus package, with France serving as the “spotlight”
nation.
ii.The opening and closing films of the IFFI 2022 festival were the Austrian film ‘Alma and Oskar’,
directed by Dieter Berner, and Krzysztof Zanussi’s ‘Perfect Number’.
iii.Three films – Teesri Manzil, Do Badan, and Kati Patang – of Asha Parekh, who was awarded with the
esteemed Dadasaheb Phalke Award 2020 (National Film Awards presented in 2022) were screened.
iv.In 2022, there were 42 pavilions, and for the first time, pavilions appeared at IFFI in line with significant
international markets such as the Marche du Cannes.
v.Shigmotsav (the spring festival) and Goa Carnival are among the attractions during the 53rd IFFI.
vi.IFFI 2022 featured 280 films from 79 different nations.
vii.The “Indian Panorama” featured 25 feature films and 20 non-feature films from India, while 183 films
were shown as part of the international programming.
53rd edition of IFFI: Mega Star Chiranjeevi receives Indian Film Personality of the Year Award for
2022
At the closing ceremony of the 53rd International Film Festival of India (IFFI), Konidela Siva Sankara Vara
Prasad, better known by his stage name Chiranjeevi, was given the Indian Film Personality of the Year
Award for 2022.
• He is widely regarded as the Mega Star of Tollywood and he has also received the Padma
Bhushan award in 2006.
Chiranjeevi had a distinguished acting career that lasted more than 4 decades.
• He has appeared in more than 150 Telugu-language feature films in addition to a few in Hindi,
Tamil, and Kannada.
53rd edition of IFFI: Iranian film ‘Nargesi’ on the struggles of a person with Down’s Syndrome wins
ICFT-UNESCO Gandhi Medal
The Iranian film “Nargesi,” directed by Payam Eskandari, was awarded the ‘ICFT-UNESCO Gandhi
Medal’ at the 53rd International Film Festival of India.
Highlights:
i.Assam has the highest MMR of 195 while Kerala has the lowest of 19 per lakh live births.
ii.Assam is followed by Madhya Pradesh with MMR of 173 per lakh live births and Uttar Pradesh 167.
iii.Kerala is followed by Maharashtra (33) and Telangana (43).
iv.MMR in Punjab and Haryana continues to be higher than the national average of 97.
• In Punjab, it is 105 deaths per one lakh live births and in Haryana it is 110 deaths.
v.The highest number of maternal deaths nationally i.e. 32% happened in the 20 to 24 year age group
followed by 30% in 25-29 years and 20% in 30 to 34 years.
vi.At the adolescent level 15 to 10 years, there was 6% of all maternal deaths, indicating child marriages.
vii.The statistics of MMR are derived from Sample Registration System (SRS).
What is Maternal Mortality?
i.Maternal mortality in a region is a measure of the reproductive health of women in the area.
• According to World Health Organization (WHO), “Maternal death is the death of a woman while
pregnant or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy, irrespective of the duration and site of
the pregnancy, from any cause related to or aggravated by the pregnancy or its management but
not from accidental or incidental causes.”
ii.Maternal Mortality Ratio which is defined as the number of maternal deaths during a given time period
per 1,00,000 live births during the same period.
Click Here for Official Link
Points to be noted:
i.The target 3.1 of the Sustainable Development Goals set by the United Nations (UN) aims at reducing the
global maternal mortality ratio to less than 70 per 1,00,000 live births.
ii.India is a signatory to the United Nations sustainable development goals (SDGs), which adopted a global
MMR target of fewer than 70 deaths per 1,00,000 live births by 2030.
Some Interventions made by the Indian Government to reduce MMR in India:
i.Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY) launched in 2017:
• It is a direct benefit transfer (DBT) scheme under which cash benefits are provided to pregnant
women in their bank accounts to meet enhanced nutritional needs and partially compensate for
wage loss.
ii.Labour Room Quality Improvement Initiative (LaQshya) launched in 2017:
• It aims to improve the quality of care in labour room and maternity operation theatres to
ensure that pregnant women receive respectful and quality care during delivery and immediate
postpartum period.
iii.POSHAN Abhiyaan launched in 2018:
BIS Signs MoU with top 6 engineering institutes to Introducing Indian Standards in Curriculum
On 28th November 2022, Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)
with top six engineering institutes of India for introducing Indian standards as an integral part of the
curriculum.
• The MoU was signed with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) BHU,Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh,
Malaviya National Institute of Technology (MNIT) Jaipur, IIT Indore, IIT Patna, IIT Madras and
National Institute of Technology (NIT) Trichy for the establishment of ‘BIS Standardization
Chair Professor’ at these institutes.
Key highlights:
i.The establishment of ‘BIS Standardization Chair Professor’ will promote excellence and leadership in
teaching and research as well as development in the field of Science and various disciplines in the
respective institutes.
ii.The MoU will also strengthen and enhance the standards formulation activity by facilitating Research &
Development (R&D) projects, encouraging involvement of young minds in the area of standardisation
process and jointly organising seminars, conferences, workshops, symposia or lectures, training and short-
term education programs.
Government Exempts ISRO from Provisions of Explosives Rule; ICHR Approaches ISRO to
Compile India’s Ancient Legacy in S&T
The Central Government has exempted the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) from taking its
approval for manufacturing, storage, use and transportation of solid propellant for space rockets to
promote ease of doing business.
• A solid propellant is the main fuel used in a category of space rockets.
• Earlier, ISRO was required to take a licence from the Petroleum and Explosives Safety
Organisations (PESO), an arm of the department for promotion of industry and internal trade
(DPIIT).
Note – The PESO (formerly known as the Department of Explosives), is a nodal agency for regulating the
safety of hazardous substances, such as explosives, compressed gas and petroleum.
The notification from the Central Government says, ‘The Central government hereby exempts Indian Space
Research Organisation from the operation of all the provisions of the Explosives rule 2008 for
manufacturing, storage, use and transportation of solid propellant for space rockets falling under UN Class
I (explosives)’.
Key highlights:
i. Background – ISRO was demanding this exemption, which was in place before 2008. In 2008, some changes
were made in the explosives rule, which took away that exemption and now that has been restored
ii.According to the notification,
• ISRO has to follow the guidelines of the Storage and Transportation of Explosives Committee
(STEC) for the construction of buildings for the manufacture, storage, transportation and use of
explosives.
• They also have to carry out a biennial safety audit of the solid propellant manufacturing
facilities with the participation of a member from the Centre for Fire, Explosive and
Environment Safety (CFEES), under the ministry of defence(MoD).
ICHR Approaches ISRO to Compile India’s Ancient Legacy in S&T
The Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR) has embarked on a project titled, ‘History of Indian
Science and Technology’ to compile India’s history of science and technology (S&T), and economics from
the ancient times to the present.
• ICHR has approached the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for the compilation
project and has sent a concept note to ISRO chairman, S Somanath.
• The Ministry of Education (MoE) has sanctioned Rs 25 lakh for the project.
About the compilation:
i.The History of Science and Technology will be compiled in six volumes with two volumes each dedicated
to ancient history, medieval history and modern era with an expected cost of Rs 5 crore.
ii.The first volume is expected to be ready in the next 5 months and is aimed to release by 22nd March
2023.
Note – A similar structure would be followed in the compilation of India’s economic history.
Key highlights:
i.The project helps in compiling a comprehensive history of India from the Indian perspective based on a
cross-section of sources across different regions and local languages.
ii.Presently, India’s comprehensive history has been influenced by the medieval Islamic period and the
colonial rule, while the post-Independence writings have a pronounced Marxist perspective.
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
UNESCO recommended to place Australia’s Great Barrier Reef on ‘in danger’ List
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) released a report
recommending Australia’s Great Barrier Reef (GBR) on a list of world heritage sites in danger. It is the
world’s biggest coral reef ecosystem.
• This recommendation has been made as the reef is significantly impacted by climate change and
warming of oceans.
• However, this recommendation of ‘in danger’ status will be considered with submissions from
the Federal and Queensland governments (Australia) before UNESCO makes a final decision on
its status.
The report followed the UNESCO’s 10-day visit to reef in March 2022. It made 22 recommendations, 10 of
which must be addressed with utmost urgency. The report is written by experts from the
International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and UNESCO.
• The properties are included in the list of World Heritage in danger in accordance with Article 11
(4) of the Convention.
Highlights from Report:
i.GBR is faced with major threats that could have deleterious effects on its inherent characteristics.
ii.The acidity of its water has increased 26%, and water quality targets have not been met.
iii.There are frequent bleaching events affecting the reef due to the warming oceans due to the burning of
fossil fuels, and acidification. There was widespread bleaching in 1998, 2002, 2016, 2017, 2020 and 2022.
• Notably, it was the first time that the GBR suffered a bleaching event during a La Nina
phenomenon of 2022, which typically brings cooler temperatures.
• Bleaching happens when the water warms too much, causing corals to expel the colourful algae
living in their tissues and turn white.
iv.The report recommended urgent action to stop sediment runoff, a ban on destructive gill net fishing and
a reduction in runoff from banana and sugarcane farming.
Key Points:
i.Corals can survive a bleaching event but can stunt their growth and affect reproduction.
UNCTAD’s Review of Maritime Transport for 2022: Global shipping growth at risk from
economic crisis
According to the “Review of Maritime Transport – 2022” published by the United Nations Conference on
Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the pace of global shipping activity is set to decrease in 2023 due to
the impacts of economic turmoil, the conflict between Ukraine and Russia and the impact of COVID-19
pandemic on the outlook for trade.
• The report has estimated that the global maritime trade growth would moderate to 1.4% in
2022 and remain at the same level in 2023.
• The report also compares the estimated growth of 3.2% in 2021 and overall shipment volume of
11 billion tonnes, versus a 3.8% decline in 2020.
Note:
• The slowdown is expected to impact Maritime Transport, the major layer on international trade
and the global economy.
• Existing schemes will be exempt until the maturity of the underlying debt and money market
securities.
This circular by SEBI is issued in exercise of its powers conferred under Section 11 (1) of the SEBI Act,
1992, read with the provisions of Regulation 77 of SEBI (Mutual Funds) Regulations, 1996, to protect the
interests of investors and to promote the development of the securities market.
Key Points:
i.The single-issuer instruments include money market securities and non-money market securities re-
rated investment grade by a credit rating agency.
ii.MFs require prior approval of the boards of Trustees and Directors of the Asset Management Company
(AMC) for the enhanced limit.
iii.MF schemes cannot invest more than 10% of its NAV in debt and money market securities rated AAA,
and 8% of a scheme’s NAV in securities rated AA.
SBM Bank & OPEN Partners to Launch Asia’s first end-to-end Embedded Finance Platform
On 30th November 2022, SBM Bank India partnered with Open Financial Technologies Private
Limited announced a strategic partnership to launch Asia’s first end-to-end Embedded Finance
platform, ‘Zwitch’.
Zwitch will offer a no-code, low-code and full-stack Application Programming Interface (API) solution that
enables fintechs to build their own financial products using Zwitch’s technology stack, which comprises
drag-drop dashboard, low-code plugins along with 300+ APIs.
• Zwitch is built and operated by OPEN Financial Technologies Private Limited.
Note – Non-fintechs like, Software as a service (SaaS) platforms, health techs and others can also use this
platform to embed financial features into their product or service.
Key highlights:
i.With Zwitch, businesses can embed financial features like savings accounts, credit & debit cards, lending
and others in a few weeks and at 10x lesser cost using no-code drag and drop widgets or full stack APIs for
developers, and also without compliances.
ii.Zwitch significantly reduces the go-to-market timelines for these businesses, increases revenue streams,
creates newer avenues to engage with existing and new users.
iii.Until now, Zwitch platform was available only to select clients in limited beta and over 50 plus
businesses have built their fintech features using the platform. With this partnership, Zwitch’s technology
and services will be available to the larger business community.
Note – Earlier, Zwitch powered Fedo.ai, a health tech company to launch India’s first health savings
account.
About OPEN Financial Technologies Private Limited:
OPEN Financial Technologies Private Limited is a digital banking fintech enterprise that runs Open
Money, a Small & Medium Enterprises (SME) neobanking platform; Zwitch, an embedded finance
platform and BankingStack, an enterprise digital banking platform for banks.
Key Highlights:
i.This technology platform will allow business tracking across bank hierarchy, simplifying revenue
reconciliation.
ii.Benefits – EasyNsure provides benefits including seamless single-point online insurance service, the
ability to compare and select a suitable insurance cover based on the customer’s need and also provides
facility to compare costs for rationalising purchase decisions.
iii.Presently, the EasyNsure platform consists of around 40 Life and General Insurance plans and has
created over 30,000 insurance quotes with more than 6,500 proposals and 5,200 policies being punched.
• Until now, the platform has recorded a total premium of Rs. 6,050 lakh.
About YES Bank:
Managing Director (MD) & Chief Executive Officer (CEO) – Prashant Kumar
Establishment – 2004
Headquarters – Mumbai, Maharashtra
Tagline – Experience Our Expertise
• This is the world’s first successful orbit control beyond low-earth orbit (LEO) using a steam
(water) propellant propulsion system.
Key highlights:
i.The EQUULEUS has been placed in its planned orbit towards the second Earth-Moon Lagrange point
(EML2), a position that is situated beyond the Moon.
SPORTS
Meltwater Champions Chess Tour 2022: Magnus Carlsen Wins finals defeating Jan-Krzysztof
Duda
On 20th November 2022, World Champion Magnus Carlsen of Norway defeated Poland’s Jan-Krzysztof
Duda in the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour (MCCT) finals 2022 held at the SHACK15 venue in San
Francisco, United States of America(USA).
• MCCT 2022 is a series of 9 online chess tournaments that started on 19th February 2022 and
ended on 20th Novmber 2022.
MCCT 2022 Prize:
• The total prize fund of MCCT 2022 is USD 1.6 million.
• The total prize fund for the MCCT 2022 finals is USD 210,000. Each win in the round-robin
event was worth USD 7,500.
Highlights of MCCT 2022 finals:
i.In the MCCT 2022 finals, Magnus Carlsen secured first place with a round to spare. He finished the
tournament with a 7th staring win.
ii.Filipino-born American chess player Wesley So, who lost to Anish Giri, remained in second place,
followed by Le Quang Liem of Vietnam in 3rd and Jan-Krzysztof Duda on 4th place.
OBITUARY
Former President of China Jiang Zemin Passed Away
On 30th November 2022,Jiang Zemin, former President of China who presided over more than a decade of
economic growth after the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown against pro-democracy protester, passed away at
the age of 96 in Shanghai, China.
• He died from leukemia and multiple organ failure.
About Jiang Zemin:
i. Jiang Zemin was born in 1926 in Yangzhou, Jiangsu province, China.
IMPORTANT DAYS
Day of Remembrance for All Victims of Chemical Warfare 2022 – November 30
United Nations (UN)’s Day of Remembrance for All Victims of Chemical Warfare is annually observed
across the globe on November 30 to pay tribute to the the victims who lost their lives or suffered due to
chemical warfare.
The day also reaffirms Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW)’s dedication to the
cause and aims to achieve the goals of peace, security, and multilateralism.
• The day aims to encourage efforts for eliminating the use of chemical weapons.
STATE NEWS
Meghalaya Cabinet approves Mental Health and Social Care Policy
On 29th November 2022, Meghalaya Cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Conrad Kongkal Sangma, approved
the “Meghalaya Mental Health and Social Care Policy“ to address the issues of mental health and social
care through collaborative engagement with communities.
• With this Meghalaya became the 3rd state in India to have a comprehensive mental health
policy. (Kerala and Karnataka are the other 2 states with such policy).
• On 10th October 2022 (World Mental Health Day), Meghalaya announced the first-
ever draft state mental health and social care policy.