Current Affairs Quiz - December, 2022

Notes:
Haryana Government issues orders which prohibit dismissing an employee without a proper enquiry. The move comes after a recommendation of Punjab and Haryana high court which states that authorities have been ignoring the law regarding dismissal of an employee under Article 311 (2) (b) of the Constitution.
Article 311 empowers the competent authority to dismiss, remove or reduce in rank a government employee subject to various riders.

Notes:
Arun Kumar Singh, former chairman of oil refining and marketing company BPCL, is appointed Chairman and Managing Director of ONGC.
He will head the company for a three-year tenure with effect from the date of assumption of charge. He retired as the BPCL head 13 months later in October 2022.

Notes:
Mirabai Chanu has clinched silver medal at the weightlifting World Championships in Bogota, Colombia.
Tokyo Olympics silver medallist won the silver, despite a wrist injury. The 2017 World Champion leads a four-member Indian squad at the competition. The 28-year-old from Imphal earned a silver medal in two individual categories and for her total score.

Notes:
The government permitted complete Work From Home (WFH) options to the employees of IT units in special economic zones.
The government has amended Special Economic Zones (SEZ) rules and permitted IT/ITeS units in SEZ, subject to certain conditions. The notification increases the duration of WFH, which could be extended up to 50% of the total employees.

Notes:
The International Day of Commemoration and Dignity of the Victims of the Crime of Genocide and of the Prevention of this Crime is observed on December 9.
In September 2015, the United Nations General Assembly established 9 December as the International Day of Commemoration and Dignity of the Victims of the Crime of Genocide and of the Prevention of this Crime.

Notes:
Three medicinal plant species found in the Himalayas have been added to IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Meizotropis pellita, commonly known as Patwa and endemic to Uttarakhand, has been assessed as ‘critically endangered’, Fritilloria cirrhosa as ‘vulnerable’, and Dactylorhiza hatagirea as ‘endangered’.

Notes:
Scientists working with the European Space Agency (ESA) are developing batteries made of a nuclear waste called Americium, to power space missions
The space agency expects that the technology will be developed by the end of the decade to operate space missions in the dark side of the Moon or areas far-off from the Solar System where solar power is limited.

Notes:
The Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said in Lok Sabha that 30 River-linking components have been identified.
National Water Development Agency (NWDA) under the Ministry of Jal Shakti identified 16 links under peninsular rivers component and 14 links under Himalayan component of National Perspective Plan (NPP) for inter basin transfer. Ken-Betwa river link project has been approved with estimated cost of ₹44,605 crore with central support of ₹39,317 crore.

Notes:
Union MSME Minister Narayan Rane stated in a written reply in the Lok Sabha that more than 8,40,000 jobs created by Startups in country.
These jobs have been generated by 84 thousand government recognized start-ups. The start-ups are spread in 640 districts with 45 percent of them being from tier-2 and tier-3 cities. Over 100 Indian start-ups have achieved the status of Unicorn.

Notes:
The two-day-long National conclave of Universal Health Coverage was organised in Varanasi, by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
Union Minister of Health & Family Welfare, Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya launched operational guidelines for AB-HWCs, Tele-MANAS along with training modules for CHOs and SASHAKT portal at the inaugural ceremony. He also felicitated Best Performing States/UTs.