Table of Contents

1. National & Defense

2. International

3. Sports

4. Science & Technology

5. Economy

6. Environment & Ecology

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National & Defense

1. EWS Quota: SC upholds 10 per cent quota for Economically

Weaker Sections
• The Supreme Court of India upheld the 103rd constitution Amendment
providing for a 10 percent quota for the Economically Weaker Section (EWS)
from the unreserved categories and held that the provisions of the concerned
amendment are not in violation of the Indian Constitution.
• As per the Apex Court, the beneficiaries can avail of the quota for admission to
the government as well as private, government, and unaided jobs.

What is 103rd Amendment in Constitution?

• The amendment introduced 10 percent reservation for the Economically
weaker sections for admission to the Government as well as the private
education institution. The amendment also provides for similar reservations
for employment in Government jobs.

Who are eligible to avail EWS quota benefits?

1. Those with an annual gross household income of up to Rs. 8 lakhs.
2. Communities that already have reservations such as SCs & STs.
3. Excluded: Families owing over 5 acres of agricultural land, a house over 1,000
square feet, a plot of over 100 years in a notified municipal area or over a 200
yards plot in a non-notified municipal area.

2. Law Commission of India: Government appoints Justice Rituraj

Awasthi as Chairperson
• The role of the Law Commission has been both advisory and critical of the
Government’s policies. The Supreme Court of India and academia have
recognized the commission as pioneering and perspective.
• The commission’s function is to research and advise the Government on legal
reform and is composed of legal experts, headed by a retired judge. The Law
Commission of India is established for a fixed tenure and works as an advisory
body to the Ministry of Law and Justice.
3. CJI: Justice DY Chandrachud takes over as the 50th Chief Justice
of India

4. Mother Tongue Survey of India: Government completes survey

of 576 languages in India
• The Union Home Ministry has successfully completed a Mother Tongue Survey
of India with field videography of 576 languages and dialects across India.
• As per the annual report of the Home Ministry for 2021-22, it has been planned
to set up a web archive at the National Informatics Centre (NIC) to preserve
and analyze the original flavor of each indigenous mother tongue.
• The Ministry of Home Affairs also informed that the Linguistic Survey of India
is a regular research activity in the country since the 6th Five Year Plan.

What is the Mother Tongue Survey of India (MTSI)?

• The Mother Tongue Survey of India is a project that surveys the mother
tongues, which are returned consistently across two and more census decades
later. The survey also documents the linguistic features of the selected
languages.
• As per the 2011 Linguistic census, Hindi is the most widely spoken mother
tongue in India with 52.8 crore people, or 43.6 percent of the population
declaring it as the Mother Tongue. The next highest, after Hindi, is Bengali. It
is the mother tongue of 9.7 crore individuals and accounts for 8 percent of the
population of the country.

5. Veerangana Sewa Kendra: Single window facility launched for

welfare, grievance redressal of Army’s Veer Naris

6. EXCELL Awards 2022: India wins excellence in leadership in

family planning awards
• India became the only country to receive the Leadership in Family Planning
(EXCELL) Awards 2022 in the ‘country category’ at the International
Conference on Family Planning held in Thailand.
• India has been making outstanding progress not only in improving access but
also in the adoption of modern contraceptive methods enabling couples to
make informed choices about family planning.

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 • As per the National Family Health Survey-5 data, the overall Contraceptive
Prevalence Rate has increased substantially from 54 percent to 67 percent in
the country.

7. Former Bureaucrat Arun Goel appointed Election

Commissioner
About Election Commission
• The Election Commission of India is a constitutional body. It was established
by the Indian Constitution to conduct and regulate elections in India.
• Article 324 of the Constitution provides that the power of superintendence,
direction, and control of the elections to Parliament, state legislatures, the
office of the President of India, and the office of the Vice President of India
shall be vested in the Election Commission.

8. Supreme Court launches online RTI Portal

• The online RTI Portal has been initiated to make it convenient for the citizens
of India to access information about the Supreme Court. So far, the Right To
Information applications at the Supreme Court had to be filed only via post.

9. India wins Vice-Presidency of International Electrotechnical

Commission & Chair of SMB
What is International Electrotechnical Commission?
• The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) is an international
standards-setting body that publishes international standards for all electrical,
electronic, and related technologies. The Standardisation Management Board
is an apex governance body of the IEC which is responsible for technical policy
matters.

About Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS)

• BIS is continually expanding its international footprints by working on the
growth mantra provided by the Union Minister of Commerce & Industry,
Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution & Textiles, Piyush Goyal.

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10. Maternal Mortality Ratio in India dips to 97 per lakh live
births in 2018-20
• Maternal Mortality Ratio in India has declined from 130 per lakh live birth in
2014-16 to 97 per lakh live births in 2018-20, as per the Special Bulletin
released by the office of the Registrar General of India. According to the latest
released data, Assam has the highest Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) of 195
while Kerala has the lowest of 19 per lakh live births.

What is Maternal Mortality?

• Maternal Mortality in a region is a measure of the reproductive health of
women in the area. Many women of reproductive age die because of
complications during and following pregnancy and childbirth or abortion.

Office of Registrar General of India

The Office of the Registrar General of India under the Ministry of Home Affairs,
apart from conducting the Population Census and monitoring the
implementation of the Registration of Births and Deaths Act in the country, has
been giving estimates on fertility and mortality using the Sample Registration
System.

11. Ballistic Missile Defence Interceptor successfully tested

by DRDO
• The Defence Research and Development Organisation conducted a successful
maiden flight test of phase-II Ballistic Missile Defence interceptor AD-1 missile
with a large kill altitude bracket from the APJ Abdul Kalam Island off the Odisha
coast.
• The AD-1 (Air Defence) is a long-range interceptor missile that is designed for
both low exo-atmospheric and endo-atmospheric interception of long-range
ballistic missiles as well as aircraft.

12. Survey Vehicle Ikshak

• Ikshak is the third of the four survey vessels built under the Survey Vessels
(Large) (SVL) Project for the Indian Navy.
• It was built by the Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE) Ltd in
partnership with the Larsen and Toubro (L&T).

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 • The vessel has been named ‘Ikshak’, which means “Guide”. The name signifies
the contribution of survey vessels towards facilitating safe passage for
Mariners at Sea.

13. Indian Army to procure 120 Kamikaze Drones, aerial

targeting system
• Loitering systems and aerial targeting systems are being purchased through a
fast-track process under the ‘buy Indian’ category. The Indian Army has
mandated that 60 percent of any system be made of locally sourced material.

14. 6 women officers to enter prestigious Indian Army’s Staff

College for the first time
• For the first time in the history of the Indian Army, 6 women officers will attend
the prestigious Defence Services Staff College (DSSC). Out of 15 women
officers who appeared for this year’s examination for DSSC, six cracked the
competition. Every year, 1,500-1,600 officers sit in the prestigious exam,
however, only around 300 get selected.
• Unlike the other courses in the Indian Army- National Defence College, High
Command, and Higher Defence Management- which are all nominated,
selection to the Defence Services Staff College (DSSC) is based on a competitive
examination.

What is the significance of attending DSSC course?

• After the completion of the DSSC course, the officers will be eligible for critical
staff appointments into higher formations of the Indian Army as well as for
foreign postings.
• The completion of the course enables the Army personnel for staff
appointment to Lt Col Rank and also gives them an advantage in the
promotions to the rank of Colonel, which takes place via selection.
• Till the Colonel Rank, all the promotions are based on a time scale- one
becomes a Major after 7 years of service and Lt Col after 13 years.

Defence Services Staff College (DSSC)

• The Defence Services Staff College was established in 1905 and it is the merit
that decides the candidature and not the gender, as the identity of the
candidates is hidden from those checking the answer sheets.

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 • DSSC is also the only institution of its kind in India that had moved from Quetta
to Pakistan and has completed 74 years at Wellington.

15. Agni-3: India successfully test-fires intermediate range

ballistic missile
• The Agni-3 is an Indian immediate-range ballistic missile inducted into service
in 2011 as the successor of the Agni-II.
• The missile has a range of 3,000 to 5,000 kilometers and can reach targets deep
inside the neighboring countries including China.
• Agni-III, which is designed by the Defence Research and Development
Organisation is a two-stage ballistic missile that is capable of nuclear weapons
delivery. The missile is also equipped with sophisticated navigation, guidance,
and control systems and advanced onboard computer systems.

16. Fodder-Centric Farmer Producer Organisations

• The Indian Government designated National Dairy Development Board (NDDB)
as the implementing agency for setting up fodder-centric FPOs.

What is fodder-centric Farmer Producer Organisations?

• Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying proposed the setting up
of fodder-centric FPOs in 2020 to address the fodder deficit situation in India.
It requested the Union Agriculture Ministry to permit the establishment of
fodder-centric FPOs under the central scheme “Formation and Promotion of
10,000 new FPOs”. National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) has been
designated as the implementing agency for this scheme.

17. IPPB: India’s First Floating Financial Literacy Camp

• India’s First Floating Financial Literacy Camp was conducted as part of the
launch of the initiative called “Niveshak Didi” in Jammu and Kashmir’s Srinagar.

What is “Niveshak Didi” initiative?

• “Niveshak Didi” initiative is implemented based on the concept of “by the
women, for the women”. This concept believes that women in rural regions
are more comfortable sharing their queries to other women.
• It was launched by IPPB, in collaboration with Investor Education and
Protection Fund Authority (IEPFA), which comes under the aegis of the Union
Corporate Affairs Ministry.

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 About IPPB?
• The India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) comes under the aegis of the Department
of Posts, Ministry of Communication. It is fully owned by the central
government. This bank was launched on September 1, 2018 to become the
most accessible, affordable and trusted bank for common man in India.

18. BHIM App open-source license model

• Under the BHIM App open-source license model, regulated entities in the UPI
ecosystem can get license for accessing source code of the BHIM app. New
features that will be included in the application in the future can also be
accessed by these licensees.

Why was open-source license model launched?

• Currently, many banks do not have their own mobile banking applications.
Therefore, they are unable to provide the benefits of UPI to their customer
base. The NPCI aims to address this gap by providing readily available features
of UPI to these banks via the BHIM App licensing model.
• The BHIM licensing model will empower the banking entities to provide
benefits of the UPI to their customer base with a readily-available UPI
application.

What is Unified Payments Interface (UPI)?

• Unified Payments Interface (UPI) is an instant real-time payment system that
is used on mobile devices to instantly transfer money between two bank
accounts. It was developed by the NPCI.

19. SEBI Framework for Online Bond Platform Providers

(OBPPs)
• Online bond platform is defined as any electronic system (other than
recognized stock exchange or an electronic book provider platform) on which
listed debt securities are offered or transacted. An individual who provides or
operations such a platform is called as the online bond platform provider.
• OBPPs are companies that are incorporated in India. The new framework
requires them to be registered as stock brokers in the debt segment of the
stock exchange. After being registered as a stock broker, the OBPP is required
to apply as a bourse.

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20. First Women Inspector Generals of CRPF
• Two women officers who were recently promoted to the rank of Inspector
General are IG Seema Dhundiya and IG Annie Abraham. While IG Seema
Dhundiya will head the Bihar Sector of CRPF, IG Annie Abraham will head the
Rapid Action Force (RAF). In 1986, the CRPF became the first Central Armed
Police Force (CAPF) to induct women in combat.

21. 400th Birth Anniversary of Lachit Barphukan

• Lachit Borphukan, born on November 24, 1622, was a commander and
Bophukan (councillor) in the Ahom Kingdom, which reigned present-day
Assam for over 600 years while successfully resisting the Mughal Empire.
Borphukan is known for his leadership in the 1671 Battle of Saraighat, which
prevented the Mughal forces from invading the Ahom Kingdom. He passed
away a year later because of illness.

22. India Infrastructure Project Development Fund Scheme

• The India Infrastructure Project Development Fund Scheme (IIPDF) was
launched by the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA).
• This central sector scheme extends financial aid required for the development
expenses of Public Private Partnership (PPP) projects.
• It provides funding for project sponsoring authorities (both in the central and
state governments) to access services provided by Transaction Advisors (TAs)
and consultants involved in the development of the PPP projects.

23. What is SVAMITVA scheme?

• SVAMITVA is an acronym for Survey of Villages and Mapping with Improvised
Technology in Village Areas. Implemented by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj
(MoPR), it is a central sector scheme launched on the occasion of National
Panchayati Raj Day (April 24) in 2021. It aims to provide an integrated property
validation solution in rural India so that “clear ownership” is established for
properties in rural regions.

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24. What are electoral bonds?
• The Electoral Bonds Scheme was launched in 2018 to provide an alternative
for cash donations to political parties. Electoral bonds are financial instruments
through which anyone can donate money to political parties.
• The electoral bonds can be bought by donors from authorized branches of the
State Bank of India using cheque or a digital mechanism. The donor can give
these bonds to the political party or parties of their choice. The political parties
can choose to encash electoral bonds within 15 days of receiving them and
fund their electoral expenses.
• This retains the anonymity of the donor while also ensuring transparency.
Bonds are issued only to those political parties that are registered under
Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 and those that
secured not less than 1 per cent of votes polled in the last General Elections to
the Lok Sabha or the Legislative Assembly of the State.

25. What is vigilance awareness week?

• The Vigilance Awareness Week is a week-long observation, under the Central
Vigilance Commission. It aims to raise public awareness of the dangers of
corruption.
• It is observed every year, in the week in which India celebrates the Ekta Diwas
i.e., the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel (October 31).
• The 2022 event is being observed on the theme of ‘Corruption Free India for a
Developed Nation’.

26. Meghalaya: Wangala100 drums Festival

• Wangala Festival is a popular festival of the Garo community in Meghalaya. It
is also known as a 100 drums festival.
• It is a harvest festival that honors the Garo tribe’s main deity, Saljong – the Sun
god of fertility. The celebrations of this festival mark the start of the winter
season and the end of the period of toil, which brings profitable outputs.

Who is the Garo?

The Garo are Tibeto-Burman ethnic tribe who mainly live in the Indian states
of Meghalaya, Assam, Tripura, and Nagaland as well as in the nearby regions
in Bangladesh. The religion of the tribe’s ancestors is known as Songsarek.
Their language belongs to the Tibeto-Burman language family.

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27. Madhya Pradesh to Implement PESA Act
• The Panchayat Extension to Scheduled Areas (PESA) Act is set to be
implemented by the state government of Madhya Pradesh to prevent the
exploitation of the tribal population. The formal announcement of the Act’s
implementation was made on the occasion of Janjatiya Gaurav Divas
(November 15).

What is PESA Act?

• Panchayat Extension to Scheduled Areas (PESA) Act aims to ensure self-
governance via the traditional gram sabhas for people living in Scheduled
Areas in the country. The Scheduled Areas are places that are mainly
dominated by tribal communities. These regions were not covered by the 73rd
Constitutional Amendment or Panchayati Raj Act.
• The PESA Act aims to extend the provisions of Part IX of the Indian Constitution
to the Scheduled Areas. It enables the Panchayats and Gram Sabhas to
implement the system of self-governance in these regions.
• The Act allows the setting up of a Gram Sabha for a village in the scheduled
area. Every gram sabha will act as an autonomous body that manages certain
aspects of the scheduled area, especially the resource management. The Act
also allows the gram panchayats to decide on matters that are related to minor
forest produce, land, and small water bodies along with the implementation
of government schemes. They will also maintain records of migrant laborers
for the elimination of the practice of bonded labor in the scheduled areas.

28. First Amendment to the Indian Constitution

• The Bill providing first amendment to the Indian Constitution was introduced
by former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru on May 10, 1951 and enacted by
the Indian Parliament on June 18, 1951.
• The Constitution (First Amendment) Act, 1951 makes several changes to the
Fundamental Rights provisions provided by the Indian Constitution. It provides
the means to restrict the freedom of speech and expression, validates the
prohibition of zamindari system and clarifies that the right of equality does not
prevent the government from providing special consideration for weaker
sections of the society.

What are the constitutional provisions related to the right to freedom of

speech?
• Article 19(1)(a) in Part III of the Indian Constitution provides fundamental right
to freedom of speech and expression. Clause 2 of the Article lists exemptions

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 to this right, putting place “reasonable restrictions” on the right. The first
amendment makes 2 important changes in this clause –
I. Introduction of the qualification “reasonable” to the restrictions the
Article 19(2) imposes. The term “reasonable” allows the judiciary to
examine the legitimacy of the restrictions imposed by the Indian
Parliament.
II. Introduction of specific terms like “public order” and “incitement to an
offence”. These narrower terms were necessitated by the Supreme
Court rulings in 1950, which went against the state’s power to curb free
speech.

What prompted the first amendment?

The 2 SC cases – the Romesh Thappar case and Brij Bhushan case – prompteed
the first amendment.

About Romesh Thappar case

This case challenged the then Madras Government’s ban on the left-leaning
magazine “Cross Roads” after it criticized the government’s foreign policy.

About Brij Bhushan case

During the case, the SC struck down Section 7(1)(c) of the East Punjab Public
Safety Act that allowed the government to conduct pre-publication scrutiny of
material that is prejudicial to public safety or the maintenance of public order.

29. Rohini 200 Rocket (RH 200)

• RH-200 sounding rocket of ISRO recorded 200th consecutive successful flight.
• Sounding rockets are used by the scientific community for carrying out
experiments on meteorology, astronomy and similar branches of space
physics.
• First sounding rocket to be launched from India was American Nike-Apache in
1963. ISRO launched its own version, Rohini RH-75, in 1967.
• RH 200 is a solid motor-powered expendable rocket capable of climbing up to
a height of 70 km bearing payloads designed to study the upper atmosphere.

30. Exercises In News

• Indo-Pacific Endeavour 2022: It is a Maritime Partnership Exercise involving
Royal Australian Navy and Indian Navy.

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 • Garuda Shakti: It is a bilateral joint training exercise between India and
Indonesia amongst the Special Forces of both the sides. While Garuda is a joint
air force exercise between India and France.
• Yudh Abhyas 22: It is an annual India-US exercise.
• Exercise HARIMAU SHAKTI: It is an annual training event between the Indian
and Malaysian Army.

31. Uniform Civil Code (UCC)

• UCC refers to same set of civil laws applicable to all citizens of India in their
personal matters such as marriage, divorce, custody, adoption and
inheritance.
• The provisions for Uniform Civil Code come under Article 44 (Directive
Principles of State Policy) of the Constitution.
• It says that the state shall endeavour to secure a UCC for the citizens
throughout the territory of India.
• Thus, UCC comes under non justiciable part of constitution.
• Also, “Personal laws” comes under Concurrent List.

32. Critical Information Infrastructure (CII)

• Census, National Population Register (NPR) databases notified as Critical
Information Infrastructure (CII).
• Notification means that any tampering or unauthorized access to data
associated with Census applications, NPR database or data centres of Registrar
General of India (RGI) will be punishable by ten years imprisonment.
• CII, also known as critical infrastructure, refers to a physical or cyber-based
system, incapacitation or destruction of which shall have debilitating impact
on national security, economy, public health or safety.
• CII is declared by government under Section 70 of Information Technology (IT)
Act, 2000 (amended in 2008).
• Threats to CI include Natural (Earthquakes, Tsunami etc.), Human-caused
(Terrorism, economic espionage etc) and Accidental (power grid/safety system
failure etc.).

Measures taken to protect CI

• National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre (NCIIPC) is the
nodal agency for taking all measures to protect CIIs.

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• Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) is nodal agency for
responding to computer security incidents.

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International

33. Israel Elections 2022: Benjamin Netanyahu comes back to

power

34. Natasa Pirc Musar elected as the first Female President of

Slovenia

35. G20 Summit 2022 in Bali

• World Leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, US President Joe
Biden, and Chinese President Xi Jinping have converged in Indonesia, for the
17th Group of 20 (G20) Summit which is taking place in the city of Bali.
• G20 Summit 2022 theme is ‘Recover Together, Recover Stronger’. It focuses on
global economic recovery, global health architecture, sustainable energy
transition, digital transformation, and climate change among other topics.

36. Indian-Origin Nobel Laureate Venki Ramakrishnan

awarded UK’s Order of Merit
• UK’s Order of Merit is awarded in recognition of distinguished service to the
armed forces, science, literature, art, or for the promotion of the culture.

37. Malaysia Prime Minister: Opposition leader Anwar

Ibrahim appointed as the new PM

38. Russia withdraws from Black Sea Grain Initiative

• The Black Sea Grain Initiative was an agreement between Russia and Ukraine
with Turkey and the United Nations. It sought to create a safe passage of food
grains exported from Ukraine, which is currently in war with Russia.

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 • Under this agreement, export of grain, food and fertilizers will be allowed to
resume from Ukraine via a “safe maritime humanitarian corridor” from three
key Ukrainian ports i.e., Chornomorsk, Odesa, and Yuzhny/Pivdennyi.

39. Bali G20 Summit

• The summit in Bali is the 17th meeting of the Group of Twenty (G20) countries
that represent 85 per cent of the global GDP, 75 per cent of the global trade
and 66 per cent of the global population.
• The G20 summit will be held in Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia. Indonesia’s
presidency commenced on December 1, 2021. It will end during this summit.
• The theme for the event is ‘Recover Together, Recover Stronger’.

40. East Timor to become 11th member of ASEAN

• The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is a regional bloc founded
on August 8, 1967 in Bangkok, Thailand. Its member states are Brunei,
Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore,
Thailand, and Vietnam. East Timor was added as a new member of this regional
grouping.

41. Indo-Pacific Regional Dialogue (IPRD) 2022 (4th Edition)

• IPRD is an apex level international annual conference of Indian Navy. It
manifests Navy’s engagement at the strategic-level.
• IPRD seeks to foster exchange of ideas and promote deliberations on regionally
relevant maritime issues.
• It is a Track 1.5 event having a balanced representation from government and
non-government agencies and institutions.

42. Rule Of Law (ROL) Index 2022

• World Justice Project (WJP) released RoL Index 2022. The WJP is an
independent, multidisciplinary organization working to create knowledge,
build awareness, and stimulate action to advance the rule of law worldwide
• RoL has declined globally for fifth year in a row. India has ranked 77 out of 140
countries. Topped by Denmark.

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• As per World Justice Project’s definition, the rule of law is “a durable system
of laws, institutions, norms and community commitment” that delivers the
following universal principles:
I. Accountability (of government as well as private actors under the law)
II. Just law (i.e., law which is clear, publicized, stable and applied evenly;
and ensures rights)
III. Open Government (i.e., accessible, fair, and efficient processes by
which the law is adopted, administered, adjudicated, and enforced)
IV. Accessible and Impartial Justice (i.e., timely justice delivered by
competent, ethical, and independent representatives and neutral
parties who are accessible, have adequate resources, and reflect the
makeup of the communities they serve).

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Sports

43. Squash: Indian men’s team win their first ever gold medal
at Asian Test Championship

44. ICC Hall of Fame: Chanderpaul, Edwards & Qadir inducted

in the prestigious list of cricket legends

45. T20 World Cup 2022 winner: England beats Pakistan by 5

wickets to clinch their second T20 WC Title

46. India set to host Women’s World Boxing Championship

2023, announces Boxing Federation of India

47. National Sports Awards 2022

• Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award has been awarded to the Table Tennis
player Achanta Sharath Kamal. On the other hand, Arjuna Awards will be given
to 25 players including Nikhat Zareen, Seema Punia, Lakshya Sen, Deep Grace
Ekka, Sushila Devi, and Omprakash Mitharval, among others.

National Sports Awards 2022: Key Points

• Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award is given for the most spectacular and
outstanding performance by the sportsperson over the period of the previous
four years.
• Arjuna Award is given for an outstanding performance over the period of the
previous four years. It also recognizes the qualities of leadership,
sportsmanship, and a sense of discipline.
• Dronacharya Award is given to the coaches for doing outstanding and
meritorious work on a consistent basis.
• Dhyanchand Award for Lifetime Achievement is given to honour the
sportspersons who have contributed to the sports through their performance.

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 • Rashtriya Khel Ratna Puraskar is given to corporate entities, Sports Control
Boards, NGOs, including Sports bodies at the National and State level.
• Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Trophy is given to the overall Top performing
University in inter-university tournaments.

About National Sports Awards

• National Sports Awards is a collective name that is given to the 6 Sports Awards
of the Republic of India. It is awarded annually by the Ministry of Youth Affairs
and Sports. The awards are presented by the President of India in the same
ceremony at the Presidential Palace.

48. Mary Kom elected Chairperson, Achanta Sharath Kamal

Vice-Chairperson of ‘Athletes Commission’ of IOA
• Olympic Medalist Mary Kom was unanimously elected as the Chairperson of
the Athletes Commission of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), while the
Table Tennis legend Achanta Sharath Kamal was elected as the Vice-
Chairperson of the body.

Athletes Commission of Indian Olympic Association: Key Details

• The elected members were to elect a chairperson and a vice-chairperson from
amongst themselves and also select 8 Sportspersons of Outstanding Merit
(SOMs).
• The SOMs along with the Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson of the Athletes
Commission will constitute an electoral college for the IOA President’s election
scheduled on December 10, 2022.

Athletes Association in IOA

• The responsibilities of the IOC Athletes Commission are to empower the
athlete representation in the Olympic Movement decision-making process.
Support athlete development in their sporting and non-sporting career and
promote athlete involvement in the decision-making across the Olympic
Movement.

Indian Olympic Association

• The Indian Olympic Association is the body responsible for selecting the
athletes to represent India at the Olympic Games, Asian Games, and other
international athletic meets and for managing the Indian teams at these
events. It plays with the name of Team India.

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49. Sharath Achanta Kamal: Star paddler becomes first Indian
to be elected in ITTF’s Athletes Commission
• The International Table Tennis Federation is the governing body for all the
national table tennis associations.

50. Asian Cup 2022 Table Tennis: Manika Batra becomes first
Indian woman to win medal at Asian Cup

51. PT Usha, former Indian Sprinter, to become the first

woman President of Indian Olympic Association

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Science and Technology

52. North India’s first data centre

• The Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath inaugurated North India’s
first hyper-scale data centre Yotta Yotta D1.
• North India’s first Data Centre which will be established in Greater Noida, will
increase the data storage capacity of the country, which until now stood at two
percent despite the fact that 1.5 billion mobile phones and 650 million internet
users in the world are from India using 20% of the data.

53. IBDC: Government launches India’s first national

repository for life science data
• Science and Technology Minister unveiled India’s first national repository for
life science data, generated from publicly-funded research in the country. The
Indian Biological Data Centre (IBDC) which is established at the Regional Centre
of Biotechnology has a data storage capacity of four petabytes.
• It is also home to the ‘Brahm’- High-Performance Computing Facility. The
Indian Biological Data Centre (IBDC) is committed to the spirit of data sharing
as per FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) principles.
• India’s first national repository for life science data, the Indian Biological Data
Centre (IBDC) has been established in Faridabad, Haryana. As per the BIOTECH-
PRIDE guidelines of the Government of India, IBDC is mandated to archive all
life science data generated from publicly-funded research in India.
• The Centre, supported by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), has been
established at the Regional Centre of Biotechnology, Faridabad with a data
disaster recovery site at the National Informatics Centre (NIC), Bhubaneshwar,
Odisha.

54. Cochin Shipyard to build India’s first Hydrogen Fuel Cell

Catamaran Vessel
• Cochin Shipyard has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the
Inland Waterways Authority of India to build the country’s first hydrogen fuel
cell catamaran vessel for Varanasi in UP. Cochin Shipyard Ltd. also signed
another MoU for the construction of six electric catamaran vessels for Uttar
Pradesh and two such vessels for Guwahati.

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 Cochin Shipyard Ltd.
• Cochin Shipyard Ltd. is a shipbuilding facility in India. It is part of a line of
maritime-related facilities in the port city of Kochi in Kerala. The services that
are provided by the shipyard are building the platform supply vessels and
double-hulled oil tankers.
• Cochin Shipyard built the first indigenous aircraft carrier of the Indian Navy,
the INS Vikrant. The company also has Miniratna status.

55. Artemis 1: NASA launches Mega Rocket on maiden flight

to moon
• NASA launches the most powerful rocket ever built on a journey to the Moon.
The step has marked the start of the US Space Agency’s new flagship program,
Artemis.

56. Vikram-S: ISRO launches India's first private rocket

• Vikram-S, India's first privately developed rocket successfully lifted off from
the Spaceport in Sriharikota on November 18, 2022. With this, Skyroot
Aerospace has become the first private sector company in the country to
launch a rocket into space.
• The maiden mission of Skyroot Aerospace, named ‘Prarambh’ (the beginning)
carried three customer payloads and launched from the Indian Space Research
Organisation’s launchpad at Sriharikota.

57. ISRO launches PSLV-C54 rocket carrying 9 satellites, 8

nanosatellites in orbits
• The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) successfully placed the earth
observation satellite EOS-06 and 8 nanosatellites in the multi-orbits on
November 26, 2022. ISRO’s workhorse Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV)
lifted off from the first launch pad at Sriharikota spaceport at 11.56 am in a
two-hour multi-orbit launch mission.
• The primary payload onboard PSLV-C54 was EOS-06. The 117kg earth
observation satellite was built by UR Rao Satellite Centre, ISRO while the
nanosatellites included India’s first privately built earth observation satellite
Anand.

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 • EOS-06 is a third-generation satellite in the Oceansat series. This is to provide
continuity services of Oceansat-2 spacecraft with enhanced payload
specifications as well as the application areas.
• The nanosatellites included two Thybolt satellites, communication payloads
made by Dhruva Space to enable rapid technology demonstration, and
constellation development for multiple users. It was followed by INS-2B
satellite (India-Bhutan Sat) which was injected into a 528.8km altitude.

58. World’s first nasal COVID vaccine by Bharat Biotech

cleared for restricted emergency use
• Bharat Biotech International Limited announced on November 28, 2022, that
its COVID-19 intranasal vaccine iNCOVACC (BBV154) has received approval
from the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) under the
‘Restricted Emergency Use’ for ages 18 and above in India.
• As per the press release from the vaccine maker, iNCOVACC, a recombinant
replication-deficient adenovirus vectored vaccine with a pre-fusion stabilized
SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, is the world’s first intranasal vaccine to receive both
primary series and heterologous booster approval.

59. Agnikul Cosmos inaugurates India’s first private space

vehicle launchpad in Sriharikota
• India’s first launchpad and mission control center operated by a private player
has been inaugurated at the Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota.
• The announcement was made by Agnikul Cosmos on November 28, 2022. The
startup which is incubated at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras also
plans on launching its customizable Agnibaan Rocket from the launchpad at
the end of 2022.

60. Overhauser Magnetometer

• A magnetometer is a scientific instrument used for measuring the strength and
direction of the magnetic field. It has various applications like geophysical
surveys to look for iron deposits, exploration for shipwrecks, etc.
• Overhauser or OVH magnetometer is one of the most accurate
magnetometers. It works based on the Overhauser effect. This instrument has
several advantages like high accuracy, high sensitivity and power efficiency.

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 About Alibag Magnetic Observatory
• Alibag Magnetic Observatory is India’s first geomagnetic observatory. This
observatory was established in 1904. It is situated in Alibag, Maharashtra. It is
under the administration of the Indian Institute of Geomagnetism (IIG).

About IIG
The Indian Institute of Geomagnetism is an autonomous research institution
under the Indian Government’s Department of Science and Technology (DST).
The institute has been undertaking research in geomagnetics and allied fields
since 1971.

61. Bluebugging
• It is a form of hacking that lets attackers access a device through its
discoverable Bluetooth connection.
• Once a Bluetooth connection is established, hackers use brute force attacks to
bypass authentication.
• Once a device is blue bugged, a hacker can listen to the calls, read and send
messages and steal and modify contacts.

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Economy

62. India’s first Sovereign Green Bonds Framework receives

approval
• Green Bonds are the financial instruments that generate proceeds for
investment in environmentally-sustainable and climate-sustainable projects.
• The proceeds that will be generated from the issuance of such bonds will be
deployed in public sector projects which will help in reducing the carbon
intensity of the economy.
• India’s green bonds framework was rated as ‘Medium Green’ with a ‘Good
Governance Score’.

63. IFSCA signs MoU with RBI for supervision of regulated

entities
• Reserve Bank of India is the central bank and monetary authority of India,
while the International Services Centres Authority is a unified regulator that is
responsible for the development and regulation of financial products, financial
services, and financial institutions.

Reserve Bank of India

The Reserve Bank of India is a central bank and the monetary authority of India
carrying on, inter-alia, the regulation and the supervision of banks and non-
banking financial institutions. It also undertakes other functions and exercises
powers in accordance with various statutes.

International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA)

The International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) was established
on April 27, 20220, under the International Financial Services Centres
Authority Act, 2019. IFSCA is headquartered at GIFT City, Gandhinagar in
Gujarat. It is a unified authority for the development and regulation of financial
products, financial services, and financial institutions in the International
Financial Services Centre in India.

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64. FIRSTAP: IDFC First Bank launches India’s first sticker-
based debit card
• IDFC First Bank has launched India’s first sticker-based Debit Card- FIRSTAP, in
association with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). The card
will facilitate transactions by simply tapping the sticker on a Near Field
Communication (NFC) enables a point-of-sale terminal.

65. India extends USD 100 million credits to Maldives to

overcome financial crisis
• India handed over USD 100 million to the Maldives on November 30, 2022, to
ease the financial challenges faced by the archipelagic state in the Indian
Ocean.
• Maldives is an archipelago comprised of around 1200 coral islands and atolls.
The country is a part of South Asia and is situated in the Indian Ocean. The 8-
degree channel separates the Maldives from India. Male is the capital of
Maldives and it has Rufiyaa as its currency.

66. POSOCO renamed as “Grid Controller of India Limited”

• India’s national grid operator Power System Operation Corporation Limited
(POSOCO) was renamed as Grid Controller of India Limited.

About Grid Controller of India Limited (Grid-India)

• The Grid Controller of India Limited (Grid-India) is a wholly owned central
government enterprise that comes under the aegis of the Ministry of Power.
• Previously, it was a fully owned subsidiary of the Power Grid Corporation of
India Limited (Powergrid) – the central public sector undertaking (PSU) owned
by the Union Power Ministry.
• It was set up in March 2009 to take care of the power management functions
of the PGCIL.

67. Common Income Tax Return Form

• A single income tax return (ITR) form was proposed for all taxpayers. The draft
of the proposed form was unveiled recently by the Central Board of Direct
Taxes (CBDT) to receive public inputs until December 15.

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 There are 7 kinds of ITR forms used for different categories of taxpayers.
I. ITR-1 (Sahaj) is for small and medium tax payers having income up to
Rs.50 lakh earned from salary, one house property or other sources
(interests etc.)
II. ITR-2 is filed by people with income from residential property
III. ITR-3 is for people having income from profits obtained by business or
profession
IV. ITR-4 (Sugam) is filed by individual, Hindu Undivided Families and Firms
having a total income of up to Rs.50 lakh from business and profession
V. ITR-5 and 6 are filed by limited liability partnerships (LLPs) and
businesses respectively
VI. ITR-7 is filed by trusts and non-profit organizations

What are the changes made in the draft ITR form?

• The common ITR form can be used by all taxpayers except trusts and non-
profits. It merges all existing ITR forms except ITR-7.
• Under this new format, taxpayers will be given the option to either use the
common form or existing forms ITR-1 or ITR-4. However, other old tax forms
(ITR-2, ITR-3, ITR-5 and ITR-6) are not part of this new format and their users
only have the option of using the common form.

68. Multi-modal logistics park

• A Multi-Modal Logistics Park (MMLP) as an inter-modal freight-handling
establishment comprising warehouses, dedicated cold chain facilities, freight
or container terminals and bulk cargo terminals.
• It eases and optimizes merchandise movement via road, rail, waterway and air.
• Under the ‘PM GatiShakti National Master Plan’, the Government of India has
announced that contracts will be awarded through PPP model for
implementation of MMLPs.
• Recently, the Government has awarded the contract of setting up India’s first
multi-modal logistics park (MMLP) near Chennai to Reliance Industries (RIL).

69. Transport 4 All Challenge Stage-2

• The ‘Transport4All’ Challenge is an initiative of Ministry of Housing and Urban
Affairs.
• It aims at enhancing the mobility experience of citizens and focuses on digital
innovation to improve mobility needs of all citizens.
• Stage 1 of the Challenge was launched in 2021.

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 • It is organised in partnership with Institute for Transportation and
Development Policy and Word Bank.

70. Maarg Portal

• Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade has invited start-up
applications for registration on MAARG portal.
• MAARG (Mentorship, Advisory, Assistance, Resilience and Growth) portal is to
facilitate mentorship for startups across diverse sectors, functions, stages,
geographies, and backgrounds.

Objectives of portal:
• Provide sector focused guidance, handholding, and support to startups.
• Facilitate efficient mentorship and a mechanism for timely tracking of mentor-
mentee engagements.
• It includes customizable mentorship programs, recognition for contributing
mentors etc.

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Environment and Ecology

71. Arunachal Pradesh to get India’s first Aqua Park &

Northeast’s first fish museum
• Fisheries Minister Tage Taki announced that a fish museum, the first of its kind
in the Northeast, would soon be built in Arunachal Pradesh. The fish museum
will be part of India’s first-ever ‘Integrated Aqua Park’ which has been
approved by the central government. The park will be set up at Tarin (Ziro) in
the Lower Subansiri district.

About Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana

• The Central Government’s Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana aims at
addressing the critical gaps in the fisheries value chain, productivity, and
quality of technology, marketing, and post-harvest infrastructure.

72. Cauvery South Wildlife Sanctuary notified as Tamil Nadu’s

17th Wildlife Sanctuary
• The Government of Tamil Nadu has declared an area in the reserve forests of
Krishnagiri and Dharmapuri as the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary. Comprising an
expanse of 686.406 sq.km, the sanctuary will be part of a protected landscape
contiguous with the forests that currently constitute the Cauvery North
Wildlife Sanctuary which is shared between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.

Cauvery South Wildlife Sanctuary: Key Details

1. Cauvery South Wildlife Sanctuary was notified under Section 26-A of the Wild
Life (Protection) Act, 1972.
2. The sanctuary will connect Cauvery North Wildlife Sanctuary of Tamil Nadu
with Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary in neighboring Karnataka thereby forming a
large, contiguous network of protected areas of wildlife.
3. The landscape maintains further continuity to the Nilgiri Biosphere through
Malai Mahadeshwara Wildlife Sanctuary, Billigiri Rangaswamy Temple, Tiger
Reserve in Karnataka and Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve, and Erode District.

Species in Cauvery South Wildlife Sanctuary

• Cauvery South Wildlife Sanctuary, covering the reserve forest areas in
Krishnagiri and Dharmapuri districts, is home to 35 species of mammals, 238

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 species of birds, Leith’s soft-shell turtles, smooth-coated otters, marsh
crocodile, and four-horned antelopes.
• Grizzled giant squirrels and Lesser Fish Eagles which are exclusively dependent
on the Cauvery River and its riverine forest system are also found here.

73. India ranks at 8th on Global List for Climate Protection,

climbs two spots
• India has climbed two spots to rank 8th out of 63 in the Climate Change
Performance Index (CCPI) 2023. The improvement in rank is the result of
India’s low emissions and the increasing use of renewable energy.

Climate Change Performance Index

• The Climate Change Performance Index is an instrument to enable
transparency in national and international climate politics.
• It uses a standardized framework to compare the climate performance of 59
countries and the European Union, which together account for 92 percent of
global greenhouse gas emissions.
• The Climate Protection Performance is assessed in four categories:
Greenhouse Gas emissions, Renewable Energy, Energy use, and Climate Policy.

74. Champions of the Earth 2022: India’s Purnima Devi

Barman honoured with UN’s highest environmental award
• Assam’s leading conservationist Purnima Devi Barman has been awarded the
United Nation's highest environmental honor, ‘Champions of the Earth’, for
2022.
• Champions of Earth Award is given in various categories and India’s Purnima
Devi Barman received it in the Entrepreneurial Vision Category, for leading the
‘Hargila Army’.
• Purnima Devi Barman, a Green Oscar Winner, has strived for nearly two
decades to ensure the survival of the Greatest Adjutant Stork by creating an
all-woman grassroots conservationist group called the ‘Hargila (the Assamese
name for the bird) Army’ to save the bird from extinction.

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75. Continuous Marine Water Quality Monitoring System
inaugurated
• Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority in collaboration with the Department of Civil
Engineering, IIT Madras, developed a continuous marine water quality
monitoring system and launched an electric environmental monitoring vehicle
(EV) at the port site.

Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority

• Jawaharlal Nehru Port is India's second largest container port after Mundra
Port. Jawaharlal Nehru Port on the Arabian Sea is accessed via Thane Creek.
• The Continuous Water Quality system and electric monitoring vehicle will
assist in managing the marine water and air quality in the port area, regulating
the environmental quality within the port area.
• Jawaharlal Nehru Port consists of a full-fledged Custom House, 30 Container
Freight stations, and connectivity to 52 Inland Container Depots across the
country. The hinterland connectivity both by rail and road is being further
strengthened by ongoing projects like the Dedicated Freight Corridor, which
will increase the existing train capacity of 27 to 100 trains per day.

76. Arittapatti Village in Madurai notified as Tamil Nadu’s

first biodiversity heritage site
• The Government of Tamil Nadu issued a notification declaring Arittapatti
Village near Melur in Madurai district as a biodiversity heritage site under
Section 37 of the Biodiversity Diversity Act, 2002.

What is a Biodiversity Heritage Site?

• Biodiversity Heritage Sites are the areas that are unique, ecologically fragile
ecosystems having rich biodiversity comprising of any one or more endemic
species or fossil beds or components having cultural and esthetic values.
• The Biodiversity Heritage Site is also a step that adds to the conservation of
the environment, while also protecting the community dependent on it. As per
Section 37 of the Biological Diversity Act, the State Governments are
empowered to notify in the official gazette, in consultation with local bodies,
areas of biodiversity importance as the Biodiversity Heritage sites.

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77. Wildlife Summit: India’s proposal for enhanced
protection to Leith’s softshell turtle adopted
• India’s proposal for enhancing the protection status of Leith’s softshell turtle
has been adopted at the ongoing World Wildlife Conference in Panama.
• India also proposed to give higher protection to the red-crowned roofed turtle
or ‘Batagur Kachuga’ and received wide support from other parties at the 19th
meeting of the Conference of Parties (CoP) to the Convention on International
Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.
• The transfer of Leith’s Softshell turtle from the Convention on International
Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) Appendix II to
Appendix I would ensure that the legal international trade in the species does
not take place for commercial purposes.
• The species is listed on Schedule IV of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972,
which gives it protection from hunting and trade.

About Leith’s Softshell Turtles

• Leith’s Softshell Turtle is a large freshwater soft-shelled turtle that inhabits
rivers and reservoirs. It is endemic to Peninsular India.

78. Hawaii’s Mauna Loa: World’s largest active volcano

erupts for first time in nearly 40 years
• The world’s largest active volcano, Hawaii’s Mauna Loa began erupting on
November 27, 2022, for the first time since 1984. It ended its longest quiet
period in recorded history.

79. India’s first National Centre of Excellence for Green Port

& Shipping launched
• The objective of the National Centre of Excellence for Green Port & Shipping is
to provide support to the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways in
developing and maintaining a policy and the regulatory framework for a green
alternative technologies roadmap for the shipping sector in India for its
transition to carbon neutrality and CE principles.
• The Centre will act as a technological arm of the Ministry of Ports, Shipping &
Waterways for providing the needed support on Policy, Research, and
Cooperation on Green Shipping areas for Ports, DG Shipping, CSL, and other
institutions.

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80. Indian black honeybee discovered in the Western Ghats
• A new endemic species of honeybee, christened Indian black honeybee (Apis
karinjodian), was discovered in the Western Ghats.
• Its habitat ranges from the central Western Ghats and Nilgiris to the southern
Western Ghats, spanning the states of Goa, Karnataka, Kerala and parts of
Tamil Nadu.
• The species has been classified as Near Threatened in the IUCN Red List.

81. Coronal Holes

• NASA’s Solar Dynamics observatory observed the phenomenon of coronal
holes in ultraviolet light as these are typically invisible to our eyes.
• Coronal holes are regions on the sun’s surface from where fast solar wind
gushes out into space.
• Because they contain little solar material, they have lower temperatures and
thus appear much darker than their surroundings.
• The holes are not a unique phenomenon, appearing throughout the sun’s
approximately 11- year solar cycle.
• These coronal holes can cause a solar storm on Earth as they release a complex
stream of solar winds.
• These fast solar wind streams interact with earth’s magnetic field and creates
geomagnetic storm (GMS).
• GMS is a disturbance in earth’s magnetosphere, which is the area around the
planet controlled by its magnetic field.
• Earth’s magnetosphere protects its inhabitants from most of the particles
emitted by the sun.

82. Envistats India 2022

• Recently, the National Statistics Office (NSO) came up with a publication
EnviStats-India 2022 Vol. I: Environment Statistics.
• EnviStats brings together a large number of statistics bracketed in a single
publication which is sourced from the coordination of multiple public
institutions.
• Environment statistics aims at providing statistical information to improve
knowledge of the environment. It helps to support evidence-based policy and
decisionmaking and to provide information for the general public, as well as
for specific user groups.
• The data in EnviStats is categorized in six sections based on the division in
Framework for Development of Environment Statistics (FDES 2013).

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83. ACECLOFENAC
• Indian Veterinary Research Institute has demanded a ban on using aceclofenac
in cattle. Aceclofenac is a veterinary painkiller.
• This is because study showed that aceclofenac metabolises into diclofenac in
water buffaloes and cows which eventually threatens vulture populations in
the country.
• Diclofenac, an anti-inflammatory drug, was banned in 2006 as it was the main
cause of dramatic decline (99 per cent) of vulture population across Asia.

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