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Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi has inaugurated the first phase of the Greenfield International Airport in Mopa, North Goa, which was built at a cost of about Rs. 2,870 crore. The foundation stone for the airport was laid by the PM in November 2016.
• It is Goa’s second international airport, besides the existing airport at Dabolim, Goa.
• As an honor to the late Goa Chief Minister (CM) Manohar
Parrikar, the airport will be named as the ‘Manohar International Airport’.
• During his visit to Goa, PM Narendra Modi addressed the valedictory ceremony of the 9th World Ayurveda Congress (WAC). The theme of the 9th WAC & Arogya Expo was “Ayurveda for One Health.”
• i.The absence of an inclusive design, in addition to affordability and a lack of safety, has an impact on women’s presence in public areas and labour force participation in India, which was 22.8 % in 2019–2020).
•India has one of the lowest female labour force participation rates in the world, at 26.2% in 2020-21.
•The WB toolkit for Indian cities proposes including a gender
perspective into new and existing transportation policies and
strategies.
•It is based on the practical experience of planning and implementing gender-responsive urban transportation initiatives in Chennai (Tamil Nadu) as part of the World Bank-supported Chennai City Partnership project.
39th edition of India-Indonesia Coordinated Patrol (IND-INDO CORPAT) between the Indian Navy and the Indonesian Navy is being conducted between 8th December and 19th December 2022. The CORPAT will be executed along the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) from 15th December 2022 to 16th December 2022. The CORPAT will conclude with a debrief at Port Blair, Andaman and Nicobar Islands
• The IND-INDO CORPAT between India and Indonesia has been carried out twice a year since 2002, with an aim of keeping the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) safe and secure for commercial shipping, international trade and also to conduct legitimate maritime activities.
• The exercise helps in enhancing understanding and interoperability between the two navies in facilitating measures to prevent Illegal Unreported Unregulated (IUU) fishing, drug trafficking, maritime terrorism, armed robbery and piracy.
• It also helps in enhancing operational synergy between two navies by the exchange of information for the prevention of smuggling, illegal immigration and for the conduct of Search and Rescue (SAR) operations at sea.
HDFC Bank in partnership with the Government of India (GoI)’s flagship initiative ‘Startup India’, launched the 6th ‘Parivartan SmartUp Grants’, the annual grants program for social startups. This program aims to identify startups that are working towards social impact and to support them through monetary grants to their incubators. The grants have been offered under the aegis of Parivartan, the umbrella name for the HDFC Bank’s social initiatives.
•The bank has been enabling startups through its state-of-the-art SmartUp program, by providing specialised banking and value-added services to entrepreneurs.
•The Bank is offering grants under the aegis of Parivartan, the umbrella name for the HDFC bank’s social initiatives.
•Until now, the HDFC bank has disbursed over Rs. 30 crore to
more than 45 incubators which supported around 165 startups working in the areas of environment, agribusiness, ed-tech, waste management, healthcare, and skill development sectors.
• In 2022, the HDFC bank will also focus on building capacities of incubators and startups working in tier- II and III cities.
• It will fund social impact startups developing solutions in the field of environmental conservation, affordable healthcare, sustainable rural economy, technologies for better governance, economic growth of
Small, Medium Enterprises (SMEs), gender diversity and inclusion space.
Former Vice President (VP) of India Muppavarapu Venkaiah Naidu has been conferred with the 25th South Indian Education Society(SIES) Sri Chandrasekarendra Saraswathi National Eminence Award for Public Leadership. The award was presented during the event held at Shanmukhananda auditorium, King’s Circle in Mumbai, Maharashtra.
• Venkaiah Naidu was the 13th Vice President of India from 11th August 2017 to 11th August 2022.
• Prior to joining Modi’s Cabinet, he was the minister of housing, urban poverty alleviation, urban development, and information.
• He was a prominent leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its National President from 2002 to 2004.
• He served as Minister for Rural Development in Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s government from 1996 to 2002.
Pilavullakandi Thekkeraparambil Usha (58 years) aka P.T. Usha, a retired Indian track and field athlete, has been named as the first woman president of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA). She also became the First Olympian and First International Medallist to head the IOA in its 95-year-old history. She is also the first sportsperson after Maharaja Yadavindra Singh to serve as president of the IOA. He served as IOA President from 1938 to 1960.
•PT Usha fondly known as the ‘Payyoli Express’ hails from Payyoli, Kerala. She is the winner of 4 Asian gold medals and 7 Silver medals, and fourth place finisher in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics 400m hurdles final.
•At the age of just 16 years, she became the youngest sprinter to ever represent India at the biggest stage for track and field athletes.
• PT Usha was awarded the Arjuna Award and the Padma Shri Award in 1983 and 1985.
• In July 2022, she was nominated to the Rajya Sabha by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) launched a mission to carry a Japanese lander named ‘HAKUTO’ , the United Arab Emirates (UAE)’s Rover named ‘Rashid’ ,and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s Lunar Flashlight by its Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida,United States.
• The HAKUTO lander, which translates to white rabbit, is also the part of the Mission 1 by the Japanese lunar exploration company ispace. A second lunar landing by the private company ispace is planned for 2024 and a third in 2025.
• The Rashid Rover, a first Arab built lunar spacecraft was built by Dubai’s Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC), in the
United Arab Emirates (UAE), and is being delivered by the HAKUTO-R lander, engineered by Japanese lunar exploration company ispace.
United Nations (UN)’s International Mountain Day is annually observed across the globe on December 11 to create awareness about the importance of mountains to life.
• The theme of International Mountain Day 2022 is ‘Women move mountains’.
• On 16 December 2021, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) proclaimed 2022 as the International Year of Sustainable Mountain Development (IYM2022) at the proposal of the Kyrgyz Government
• The idea of International Mountain Days began in 1992, with the adoption of Chapter 13 of Agenda 21 titled “Managing Fragile Ecosystems: Sustainable Mountain Development” at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development.
• The UNGA has declared the year 2002 as the “International Year of Mountains” and adopted the resolution A/RES/57/245 and declared December 11 as International Mountain Day.
• The 1st ever International Mountain Day was observed on 11 December 2003.
United Nations Children’s Fund(UNICEF) day is annually observed across the globe on 11th December to mark the creation of UNICEF by nited Nations General Assembly(UNGA) on 11th December 1946. 2022 marks the 75th anniversary of the foundation of UNICEF
•The UNGA adopted resolution 57(I) on 11th December 1946 creating UNICEF to provide supplies and assistance to children after World War II.
•UNICEF originally known as the “United Nations International
Children’s Emergency Fund” was started as a temporary relief fund of the United Nations(UN).
•Later, The mandate of UNICEF was broadened to address the long-term needs of children and women in developing countries.
• UNICEF became a permanent part of the UN system in 1953, and was renamed as United Nations Children’s Fund but retained its acronym “UNICEF”.
National Investment and Infrastructure Fund Limited (NIIFL) announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Tamil Nadu Infrastructure Development Board (TNIDB) to help attract commercial capital into infrastructure opportunities in Tamil Nadu, under the public-private project (PPP) model.
• Currently, 7 projects across departments have been identified, with potential investments ranging from Rs 5,000 to 6,000 crore.
• Work on these projects has already begun.
• The Strategic Initiatives and Policy Advisory (SIPA) team at NIIFL provide high-level strategic advice to entities in the Central and State Governments.
• Among the various initiatives outlined in the MoU, NIIFL intends to assist the state government in identifying potential private sector opportunities in asset recycling and developing greenfield and brownfield infrastructure projects in sectors (renewable energy, roads, waste management, water, tourism, and others).