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1)  Israel Completed A Successful Flight Test Of The Arrow-3

•The test was performed at a test site in central Israel, and led by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI). It was developed in a joint project between the Defense Ministry’s Missile Defense Organization and the American Missile Defense Agency.

•The Arrow 3 was first tested successfully in February 2018, after months of delays and technical problems. It is considered one of the most powerful weapons of its kind in the world and has been in development since 2008.

2)  Lt Gen Manoj Pande Appointed As Next Army Vice Chief

•The Government approved the proposal for appointment of Eastern Army Commander Lieutenant General Manoj Pande as the next Vice Chief of Army Staff.

•General Pande would be the successor to Lt Gen CP Mohanty who is scheduled to superannuate on January 31. General Pande was commissioned into the Corps of Engineers (The Bombay Sappers) in December 1982. He was Director-General at Army Headquarters dealing with subjects of discipline, ceremonial and welfare.

3)  The Union Cabinet Approved Infusion Of 1500 Crore Rupees In IREDA

•The Union Cabinet approved infusion of 1500 crore rupees in Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Limited.

•It will help generate 10,200 jobs a year and reduce carbon emissions equivalent to approximately 7.49 million tonnes per year. The IREDA played a big role in the field of renewable energy and its portfolio had increased from ₹8,800 crore to ₹28,000 crore in the past six years.

•IREDA is a Non-Banking Financial Institution engaged in promoting, developing, and extending financial assistance for setting up projects relating to new and renewable sources of energy.

4)  The MoHUA Announced The Initiation Of The Open Data Week

•The Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) announced the “Open Data Week” that will see participation from all the 100 smart cities, a move aimed at ensuring a collaborative effort towards making Indian cities “data smart”. The Open Data Week will be conducted during the third week of January from 17th January 2022 to 21st January 2022.

•It is divided into two segments — first, uploading of datasets, visualisation, APIs and data blogs on the Smart Cities Open Data Portal from January 17 to January 20 and second, the celebration of a “Data Day” by all smart cities on January 21.

5)  SEBI Launches Saa₹Thi Mobile App On Investor Education

•The new app aims to empower investors with accurate knowledge about the securities market. The app will cater largely to individual investors, who have recently entered the markets and carry out trading via their mobile phones. The app will be helpful in easily accessing all the relevant information like the basic concepts of Securities Market, KYC Process, trading and settlement, mutual funds, recent market developments, investor grievances redressal mechanism, etc.

•It is currently available in Hindi and English.

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📰 States weigh options on IAS cadre rule changes

1)  NDRF celebrates its 17th Raising Day on 19 January 2022

•National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) celebrates its Raising Day every year on January 19, since it came into existence on January 19, 2006. In 2022, the NDRF is observing its 17th Raising Day. There are 12 NDRF battalions located in different parts of the country and comprises as many as 13,000 NDRF personnel who work to build a safer country.

•The NDRF has earned a good name and fame nationally and internationally with its selfless service and unmatched professionalism in disaster management. NDRF has saved more than One lakh lives in its 3100 operations and rescued/evacuated over 6.7 lakh people during disasters. NDRF is an Indian specialized force under the National Disaster Management Authority, constituted under the Disaster Management Act, 2005, to carry out the special responses in situations of threatening disaster.

2)  India & Japan conducted Maritime Partnership Exercise in Bay of Bengal

•A Maritime Partnership Exercise was held between the Indian Navy and Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force (JMSDF) in the Bay of Bengal in a non-contact mode amid COVID-19. The Indian side was represented by Indian Naval Ships (INS) Shivalik and INS Kadmatt while JMSDF Ships Uraga and Hirado participated from the Japanese side. Strengthening bilateral relations, promoting defence cooperation, enhancing mutual understanding and interoperability, and sharing best practices between IN and JMSDF.

3)  Roberta Metsola takes over EU parliament presidency

•Roberta Metsola, a Christian Democrat from Malta, was elected president of the European Union’s parliament. Her election comes a week after the shock death of outgoing parliament president David Sassoli, who was due to step down as part of a power-sharing pact. She is only the third woman elected to the post. she is the European Parliament’s youngest president. Metsola was the candidate of the parliament’s biggest group, and she received 458 of the 616 votes cast.

4)  JIO becomes 1st telecom company to roll-out UPI AUTOPAY

•National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and Reliance Jio have announced that UPI AUTOPAY has now been introduced for the telecom industry with Jio. Jio’s integration with UPI AUTOPAY has made it the first player in the telecom industry to go live with the unique e-mandate feature that was launched by NPCI.

•Using the UPI AutoPay launched by NPCI, customers can now enable recurring e-mandate using any UPI application for recurring payments such as mobile bills, electricity bills, EMI payments, entertainment/OTT subscriptions, insurance, mutual funds among others.

5)  Dubai opens its Infinity Bridge for traffic for the first time

•Iconic ‘Infinity Bridge’ in Dubai, United Arab Emirates has been formally opened to traffic for the first time on 16th January 2022. Its design resembles a mathematical sign for infinity (∞). It represents the limitless, infinite goals of Dubai. It consists of six lanes in each direction and a combined 3-metre track for pedestrians and cyclists. It is 300 meters long and 22 meters wide.

•The bridge consists of six lanes and improves the link between Deira and Bur Dubai. It features a combined 3-metre track for pedestrians and cyclists. First announced in 2018, the Infinity Bridge is part of an Al Shindagha Corridor Project. Consisting of six lanes in each direction, the bridge has an arch-shaped like the infinity symbol – which symbolises Dubai’s unlimited ambitions.

6)  A book titled “Bose: The Untold Story of An Inconvenient Nationalist” by Chandrachur Ghose

•A new biography titled “Bose: The Untold Story of An Inconvenient Nationalist” authored by Chandrachur Ghose will be released in February 2022. The book contains the thoughts and opinions of Subhas Chandra Bose about the development of independent India, communalism, geopolitics and political ideology. It also marked the untold and unknown stories of Netaji (Subhas Chandra Bose).

7)  India to host AFC Women’s football Asian Cup 2022

•India is all set to host AFC Women’s football Asian Cup India 2022 from 20th January 2022 in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, and Pune. The tournament will witness 12 teams competing for the trophy. AFC Women’s Asian Cup India will also be the final stage of Asian qualification for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. Five teams will qualify for the main event directly while two of them will progress to the inter-confederation play-offs.

•Japan are the defending champions of the Women’s Asian Cup, having won it in 2018. Hosts India has been placed in Group A alongside China, Chinese Taipei, and Iran. Meanwhile, Australia, Thailand, the Philippines, and Indonesia have been placed in Group B. Defending champions Japan find themselves in Group C along with South Korea, Vietnam, and Myanmar.

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Vision IAS Current Affairs Monthly Magazine December 2021 in English PDF