Current Affairs Quiz - December, 2022

Notes:
The Kirit Parikh Committee on Gas pricing recently submitted its report to the Union Petroleum Ministry.
The panel has suggested that a floor price of USD 4 per million British thermal unit and a cap or ceiling price of USD 6.5 per mmBtu on gas from old or legacy fields. The panel has also recommended the prices of domestic gas should be linked to the international prices.

Notes:
China successfully launched the spacecraft carrying three astronauts to its space station. The three astronauts met with their colleagues after docking with the under-construction space station.
With this, China becomes the first country to gather six of its astronauts in space. The Shenzhou-15 spaceship blasted off  atop the Long March-2F Y15 carrier rocket. The space station is expected to be completed by the end of this year. Once ready, China will be the only country to own a space station.

Notes:
The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) is headed by a chairperson and can have a maximum of 10 members.
Former Health Secretary Preeti Sudan has been appointed as a member of Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). She superannuated as the health secretary in July 2020. With the appointment, there is a vacancy of four members in the Commission.

Notes:
Japan’s space agency Jaxa has announced that it has successfully used steam to propel its spacecraft, which was launched as one of the payloads aboard Nasa’s Orion spacecraft.
As per JAXA, this is the world’s first successful orbit control beyond low-Earth orbit using a water propellant propulsion system.

Notes:
The Digi Yatra paperless airport entry facility is now functional at three airports in the country, including Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International, Bengaluru and Varanasi airports.
Based on the Facial Recognition Technology (FRT), Digi Yatra aims to achieve seamless and contactless processing of passengers at airports. By March 2023, four more cities will be added: Hyderabad, Kolkata, Pune, and Vijayawada.

Notes:
The servers of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) remains hacked for over a week, after AIIMS reported a failure in its server.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has joined the investigation into the alleged ransomware attack, with agencies including the India Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-IN), Delhi Police, Intelligence Bureau, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Ministry of Home Affairs.

Notes:
The Idol Wing of Tamil Nadu Police Department issued ‘Soulbound Tokens’ to its outstanding team members.
This is the first-of-its-kind initiative by a government department in India. The Tamil Nadu Police partnered with GuardianLink, a non-fungible token (NFT) start-up for this move. Soulbound Token, a variant of Non-fungible tokens, is a unique blockchain asset that cannot be bought, sold, or moved to another blockchain wallet.

Notes:
The Government authorised sale and encashment of electoral bonds through 29 branches of State Bank of India (SBI) across the country.
The electoral bonds can be purchased by a person who is a citizen of India or incorporated or established in India. A person (individual) can buy electoral bonds, either singly or jointly with other individuals.

Notes:
World Bank approved USD 250 million financing to help Bangladesh strengthen environment management and promote private sector participation in green investment.
The Bangladesh Environmental Sustainability and Transformation (BEST) Project will help the country tackle key pollution issues. An E-waste management facility will be set up to process 3,500 metric tons of e-waste annually.

Notes:
The 17th Asia and the Pacific Regional Meeting (APRM) of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) began in Singapore.
“Integrated policy agenda for a human–centred recovery that is inclusive, sustainable and resilient” is the theme of the meeting.