Today News Highlights on 1 January 22

• Two electric cars launched at Kallazhagar Temple 
• Old-age pension will soon be increased to ₹3,000, says Social Welfare Minister 
• Huge explosives cache seized near Myanmar border in Mizoram 
• Bombay HC to have ‘hybrid’ hearings 
• Deployment of first regiment of S-400 to be completed next month 
• South Africa bids farewell to Archbishop Desmond Tutu with state funeral 
• Amit Shah expresses gratitude to PM for releasing ₹ 20,900 crore to farmers 
• No property tax on residential properties up to 500 sq ft in Mumbai, says CM Uddhav Thackeray 
• India, Pakistan exchange list of nuclear installations, prisoners 
• Sri Lanka food prices hit record highs as shortages bite 
• 5.89 crore IT returns filed by December 31 deadline 
• India sends more medical supplies to Afghanistan 

GK Snapshots on 1 January 2022

Reliance New Energy Solar Acquires 100% Stake in Faradion

Reliance New Energy Solar Limited (RNESL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Reliance Industries, has signed a definitive agreement to acquire 100 percent shareholding in Faradion Ltd. through secondary transactions for a total value of British Pound Sterling (GBP) 94.42 million based on an enterprise value of £100 million.
Highlights: RNESL has also agreed to subscribe to new equity shares of Faradion for an aggregate of GBP 31.59 million.

• Out of GBP 31.59 million, GBP 25 million in growth capital for accelerating commercial roll out and the remaining for repayment of debt and other fees.

Note – The agreement is in line with Mukesh Ambani’s plan of investing Rs 75,000 crore over the next 3 years to build a new clean energy business aimed at RIL’s commitment to be net carbon neutral by 2035.

SBI to Acquire Around 10% stake in IICC

State Bank of India(SBI) is set to acquire around 10% stake in the India International Clearing Corporation (IICC), the first international clearing corporation set up at GIFT-IFSC that acts as a central counterparty providing clearing and settlement and risk management services. This clears and settles index and single stock derivatives, currency derivatives and debt securities.

• SBI is expected to complete up to a 9.95% stake subject to a maximum investment of Rs 34.03 crore, in IICC by March 2022,

• With this strategic investment, IICC is aimed at strengthening the financial markets infrastructure.

South African Cricketer Quinton de Kock Announced Retirement from Test Cricket

South African cricketer (wicketkeeper & Batsman) Quinton de Kock(29 years old) has announced his retirement from Test Cricket with immediate effect. He has committed to play international limited-overs cricket (white-ball cricket).

About Quinton de Kock:
i.Quinton de Kock hails from Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa.
ii.He has been twice named the South African Cricketer of the Year in 2017 and 2020.
iii.He has Captained the South African Cricket team (the Proteas) in One Day International(ODI) and T20I between 2018 and 2021.
iv.He made his test debut against Australia in Gqeberha, South Africa in 2014.
v.He has also played in the Indian Premier League(IPL) representing Sunrisers Hyderabad, Delhi Daredevils, Royal Challengers Bangalore, and Mumbai Indians.
 

Highlights:
i.He scored 3300 runs at an average of 38.82 in 54 Tests, with six centuries and 22 fifties. He took 221 catches and made 11 stumpings.
ii.He is one of the 12 wicket-keepers with more than 3000 runs and 232dismissals (including 221 catches and 11 stumpings) in tests.
iii.He has also taken 48 catches (47 catches and 1 stumping) in 11 matches, 3rd most number of catches in the inaugural ICC World Tests Championship.
iv.He also has 6 dismissals in an inning (personal best) against England in Centurion in 2019.

1987 batch IAS topper Amir Subhani named as new Chief Secretary of Bihar

In accordance with the General Administration Department of Bihar’s notification, the 1987 batch IAS (Indian Administrative Service) topper, Amir Subhani, appointed as the new Chief Secretary of Bihar w.e.f. January 1, 2022 succeeding Tripurari Sharan who retires on December 31, 2021.

• Prior to this, Amir Subhani was serving as Bihar’s development commissioner. He will retire in April 2024.

• Meanwhile, Additional Chief Secretary of the social welfare department Atul Prasad, an IAS officer of the 1987 batch, has been appointed as new development commissioner.

UP’s Jhansi Railway Station Renamed As ‘Veerangana Laxmibai Railway Station’; Road Named ‘Narendra Modi Marg’ Inaugurated in Sikkim

Yogi Adityanath, Chief Minister(CM) of Uttar Pradesh(UP) has announced that the government of UP has renamed the Jhansi Railway Station, in Jhansi, UP as “Veerangana Laxmibai Railway Station” after Rani Laxmibai, the Maharani consort of the Maratha princely state of Jhansi.

• The notification of the renaming was issued by the UP Government following the no objection given by the Ministry of Home Affairs on 24th November 2021.

Establishments renamed during CM Adityanath’s tenure:

i.In 2018, the Mughalsarai junction was renamed as Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya junction after RSS ideologue Deen Dayal Upadhyaya.

ii.In November 2021, the Faizabad (FD) Railway Station in Lucknow Division of Northern Railway was renamed as Ayodhya Cantt.

iii.The districts of Faizabad and Allahabad have been renamed as Ayodhya and Prayagraj, respectively.

Sikkim Governor Ganga Prasad Inaugurated ‘Narendra Modi Marg’, Road Named After PM Modi

Ganga Prasad, Governor of Sikkim has inaugurated the “Narendra Modi Marg”, a road named after Prime Minister(PM) Narendra Modi. The Narendra Modi Marg is the 2nd road connecting the Tsomgo lake and Nathula border pass with Gangtok, Sikkim.

The older route is called Jawaharlal Nehru Road.

About the Road:

i.The 19.52 km long alternative double-lane road at 51 Kyongnosla Gram Panchayat Unit (GPU)

ii.The road constructed by the Border Roads Organisation(BRO) has reduced the distance between Gangtok and Tsomgo lake by 15 km.

India Welcomes Egypt as Member of New Development Bank of BRICS

India welcomed Egypt as the fourth new member of the New Development Bank (NDB) that was established by BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South-Africa) in 2015.

About New Development Bank (NDB):
Aim – To mobilise resources for infrastructure and sustainable development projects in emerging economies.
i.Members – The NDB admitted Bangladesh, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Uruguay as its new members in September 2021 whereas Brazil, Russia, India, China and South-Africa were admitted in July 2015.
ii.The NDB has approved about 80 projects worth USD 30 billion in member countries in areas such as transport, water and sanitation, clean energy, digital infrastructure, social infrastructure and urban development.

Women less likely to receive COVID-19 relief from government: UN Women report

In accordance with the report by United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women aka UN Women titled ‘Women and girls left behind: Glaring gaps in pandemic responses‘, women were significantly less likely to report receiving pandemic-related cash relief from governments or non-profits.

• The report compiled and analysed the results of Rapid Gender Assessment surveys (RGA) from April 2020-March 2021, which include 58 countries across all regions.

• It has been prepared in partnership with national statistical offices, governmental entities, international partners or private sector.This was calculated using data from the UNDP-UN Women Gender Response Tracker.

Diplomat Anupam Ray Appointed as India’s Permanent Representative at UN Conference on Disarmament in Geneva

Senior diplomat Dr Anupam Ray, a 1994 batch of Indian Foreign Service(IFS) officer, has been appointed as India’s next permanent representative(PR)/Ambassador to the United Nations(UN) Conference on Disarmament(CD) in Geneva, Switzerland.

• He is currently serving as the joint secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs(MEA).

• He replaces Dr Pankaj Sharma, a 1991 batch IFS officer who has been serving as the Ambassador/Permanent Representative to the UN on Disarmament since 2018.

UN Conference on Disarmament (CD):
i.The Conference on Disarmament (CD), was recognized by the 10th Special Session on Disarmament (SSOD) (1978) of the United Nations General Assembly(UNGA) as single multilateral disarmament negotiating forum of the international community.
ii.The CD meets in an annual session, which is divided into 3 parts of 10, 7 and 7 weeks.
 

New Zealand’s Ross Taylor Confirms Retirement from International Cricket

Senior cricket player of New Zealand, Ross Taylor announces to retire from international cricket after playing in the Two-Test series against Bangladesh and his last ODIs (One Day Innings) against Australia and the Netherlands in March 2022.

• Ross Taylor was the World’s 1st player to play 100 international matches in all 3 formats of cricket.

Early life & career:
i.Ross Taylor is a 37-year-old international cricketer and former captain of the New Zealand national team.
ii.In Indian Premier League (IPL), he was a part of the Royal Challengers Bangalore season from 2008 to 2010 and then became a part of Rajasthan Royals team.

Govt Approved 19th Tranche of Electoral Bonds
Ahead of assembly elections in five states such as Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Goa, the government has approved the issuance of the 19th tranche of electoral bonds, which will be open for sale from January 1 to 10, 2022.
• In the 19th tranche of sale, the State Bank of India (SBI), has been authorised to issue and encash electoral bonds through its 29 specialised branches.

Note – SBI is the only authorised bank to issue electoral bonds.

News in Detail