1) World Day of War Orphans 2022: History and Significance
•World Day of War Orphans is marked on 6 January to create awareness about the plight of children who have lost their parents due to conflict. In any conflict, children are one of the most disadvantaged and vulnerable groups present. Children who have been injured in a gunfight or separated from their families require particular care in order to heal the mental wounds of war, begin school, and restart normal life.
2) Kerala’s High Court: India’s First paperless court
•The Kerala High Court is all set to become India’s first paperless court. Supreme Court judge Justice DY Chandrachud inaugurated the smart courtrooms on 1 January 2022. In the 1st phase six courtrooms, including the Chief Justice’s room, will be converted into smart courts. Also, case files will be made available to the lawyers on the computer screen.
3) Ayush Minister lays foundation stone of International Yoga Academy
•Union Ayush Minister, Sarbananda Sonowal has laid the foundation stone of the Heartfulness International Yoga Academy in Hyderabad, Telangana. He also launched 75 crores suryanamaskar initiative as part of the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav”. The academy tries to reach all levels of society through training programmes and these will be overseen by an international team.
•This the academy has therapeutic Yoga rooms for consultation, one to one training spaces or small group classes; pre-natal Yoga rooms; a lecture hall with 200 sitting capacity; a full-fledged recording studio with editing suites for pre-recorded wellness programs; a recording Yoga hall fully equipped for Live online Yoga Classes; a Yoga library with books from every Yoga Institutions and access to Yoga research articles.
4) Himachal Pradesh became 1st LPG enabled & smoke free state of the country
•Himachal Pradesh became the first LPG enables, also, smoke-free state. This milestone was achieved due to the Ujjwala Scheme and Grahini Suvidha Yojana by Centre. The Ujjwala scheme was introduced by the government to get rid of the smoke. The Grahini Suvidha Scheme was introduced to assist the women of rural areas.
•Ujjwalla Yojna was started by the Centre government with the view to free the women of the country from indoor pollution. Along with this, the Himachal government also started the Grihini Suvidha Yojana to benefit as many women as possible, under the scheme.
5) Atul Keshap appointed as President of US-India Business Council
•Indian-origin American diplomat Atul Keshap has been appointed as the President of the U.S.-India Business Council (USIBC) by the US Chambers of Commerce. His term is effective from January 05, 2022. The US Chambers of Commerce is the parent body of USIBC. Atul Keshap replaces Nisha Desai Biswal.
•Prior to this, Keshap served in Delhi as United States Chargé d’Affaires to India, leading the US Embassy team. The USIBC represents top global companies operating across the United States, India, and the Indo-Pacific.
6) Google acquires Israeli cybersecurity startup Siemplify for $500 million
•Alphabet Inc-owned, Google has acquired Israeli cybersecurity startup Siemplify, in a deal worth $500 million. This acquisition will expand the U.S. tech giant’s security offerings in the country amid rising cyber-attacks. Siemplify will be integrated into Google Cloud’s Chronicle operation. As a part of Google Cloud’s security team, Siemplify will help companies better manage their threat response.
7) RBI issued framework for offline digital payments
•Reserve Bank of India has issued a framework for facilitating small-value digital payments in offline mode using cards, wallets, mobile devices, etc, to push digital transactions in rural and semi-urban areas. The upper limit of an offline payment transaction was fixed at Rs 200, with a total limit of Rs 2,000 at any point in time. The framework will enable the Authorised Payment System Operators (PSOs) and Payment System Participants (PSPs), Acquirers and Issuers (banks and non-banks) to conduct small value offline digital payments.
•Under the offline mode, payments can be carried out face-to-face (proximity mode) using any channel or instrument like cards, wallets, and mobile devices. These transactions will not require an additional factor of authentication (AFA), the Reserve Bank of India said, adding that since the transactions are offline, alerts (by way of SMS and/or e-mail) will be received by the customer after a time lag.
8) G Asok Kumar named as DG of National Mission for Clean Ganga
•Additional Secretary under the Ministry of Jal Shakti, G Asok Kumar was appointed as the new Director-General of the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) under the Ministry of Jal Shakti. He succeeded Director-General, Rajiv Ranjan Mishra. Kumar is popularly known as ‘the Rain Man of India’ for his excellent work in rainwater harvesting under the “Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain” campaign.
