1) World Braille Day Observed on 04 January 2022
•World Braille Day is observed globally on 4th January since 2019. The day aims to recognize the right of access to braille by blind people and raise awareness of the importance of braille as a means of communication in the full realization of the human rights for blind and partially sighted people. The day is marked remembering the birth anniversary of Louis Braille, the inventor of Braille – for people with visual disabilities. Louis Braille was born on 4th January 1809 in the town of Coupvray in northern France.
2) Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw launched “India Semiconductor Mission”
•Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has launched the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) to attract large investments for setting up semiconductor wafer fabrication facilities in India. The companies that are interested are invited by the Centre for the development of the semiconductors and display manufacturing ecosystem in India. ISM is a specialised and independent business division within the Digital India Corporation.
3) France takes over EU Presidency for six months 2022
•France has assumed the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union with effect from January 01, 2022. The country will continue to hold the EU presidency for the next six months till June 30, 2022. This is the 13th time that France has taken over the rotating presidency. The motto of France as EU President is “recovery, strength, belonging.”
•France will work to place the continent’s digitization and climate protection at the forefront. The presidency of the EU rotates every six months among the member states of the 27-nation bloc. Upon the completion of six months presidency, France will be replaced by the Czech Republic.
4) Covid-19 new variant ‘IHU’ discovered in France
•Scientists and experts in France have reportedly identified a new variant of COVID-19 termed ‘IHU’. The new variant is said to be a more mutated strain than Omicron. The B.1.640.2 or IHU variant was first identified by the academics at institute IHU Mediterranee Infection and contains 46 mutations, which is more than Omicron. Nearly 12 cases of this new variant have been reported near Marseilles and has been linked to the African country Cameroon. But, the Omicron strain is still dominating in most parts of the world.
•This new variant can be a major threat, however, the cases have not been reported so far in countries other than France and is not labelled as ‘variant under investigation’ by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
5) Sushmita Dev in 31-member Panel to examine bill on raising legal age of marriage
•The parliamentary standing committee constituted to examine “The Prohibition of Child Marriage (Amendment) Bill, 2021” comprise of a total of 31 members, including only one women representative. Out of the total 31 members, TMC MP Sushmita Dev is the sole woman representative in the committee. The Bill seeks to raise the legal age of marriage for women in India from 18 to 21 to bring it at par with men.
6) Russia’s test-fires new hypersonic Tsirkon missiles 2022
•Russia successfully test-fired around 10 new Tsirkon (Zircon) hypersonic cruise missiles from a frigate and other two missiles from a submarine. The Zircon missile would be capable of flying at nine times the speed of sound and have a range of 1,000 kilometres (620 miles). The Tsirkon Cruise Missile will join Avangard glide vehicles and the air-launched Kinzhal (Dagger) missiles in Russia’s hypersonic arsenal.
•Zircon is intended to arm Russian cruisers, frigates and submarines. It is one of several hypersonic missiles under development in Russia. The launch was the latest in a series of tests of Zircon, which is set to enter service next year.
7) SEBI reconstitutes its primary market advisory committee
•Capital markets regulator, Securities and Exchange Board of India has restructured its primary market advisory committee on data. The committee aims to measure pertaining to areas such as securities market data access and privacy. Sebi has appointed Professor at National Law University, Delhi and former chairperson, Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India S Sahoo as Panel Head. Earlier this panel was headed by Madhabi Puri Buch, an ex-whole time member of Sebi.
8) Exercise Milan 2022: India to host 46 nations mega naval wargames
•India has invited a total of 46 friendly foreign countries to participate in the multinational naval exercise Milan in Visakhapatnam, scheduled from February 25, 2022. The theme of this 11th edition of exercise Milan is camaraderie, cohesion and collaboration. This exercise was initiated in 1995 and held biennially and conducted with friendly navies.
9) Vinod Kannan named as next CEO of Vistara airline
•Vinod Kannan took over as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Vistara Airlines. He replaced Leslie Thng who was the CEO from July 16, 2017, to December 31, 2021. It added that Deepak Rajawat has been elevated to take up the role of Vistara’s Chief Commercial Officer. Vistara, is a 51:49 joint venture between Tata Sons Private Limited and Singapore Airlines.
•Kannan spent over two decades working with SIA and has held several senior positions in the airline’s head office in Singapore as well as overseas. He holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the National University of Singapore and the University of California, Los Angeles.
10) Ex-UK PM Tony Blair joins top royal order
•Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, the Duchess of Cornwall, and Baroness Amos are to be appointed as members of the Order of the Garter, England’s oldest and most senior order of chivalry. The former prime minister now will be known as ‘Sir Tony’. The appointments are the personal choice of the Queen, who has up to 24 “knight and lady companions”. The ceremonial order, founded in 1348, is a recognition of significant public service and made without prime ministerial advice.
•Under Sir Tony’s leadership, the UK joined the US-led invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan – an official inquiry into the 2003 Iraq war was strongly critical of his government and UK military chiefs. He famously referred to Diana, Princess of Wales, as the “people’s princess” after her death.
