Today's Current Affairs 23rd December 2022

INTERNATIONAL

UNSC adopts first-ever resolution on Myanmar, demanding end to violence and release of political prisoners

• The U.N. Security Council has adopted its first ever resolution on Myanmar in 74 years to demand an end to violence and urge the military junta to release all political prisoners, including ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Ms. Kyi, 77, has been a prisoner since the army toppled her government almost two years ago and violently cracked down on dissent.
• The 15-member council has long been split on how to deal with the Myanmar crisis with China and Russia arguing against strong action. They both abstained from the vote, along with India. The remaining 12 members voted in favor.
• The resolution urges the junta to immediately release all arbitrarily detained prisoners, including Suu Kyi and ex-president Win Myint.
• It also demands an immediate end to all forms of violence and asks for all parties to respect human rights, fundamental freedoms and the rule of law.
• It also urges “concrete and immediate actions” to implement a peace plan agreed upon by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

US to provide $1.85 billion military aid to Ukraine, including critical Patriot missile system

• The United States is finalizing plans to send the Patriot missile defense system to Ukraine. Ukraine has asked its Western partners for air defenses, including U.S.-made Patriot systems, to protect it from heavy Russian missile bombardment including against its energy infrastructure. The system is part of $1.85 billion in assistance unveiled in parallel with a visit to Washington by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
• Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has warned NATO against providing Ukraine with Patriot missile defenses, and it is likely Moscow will view the move as an escalation.
• The Pentagon says Russia’s recent surge in missile strikes in Ukraine is partly designed to exhaust Kyiv’s supplies of air defenses so it can dominate the skies above the country.
• The Patriot is considered to be one of the most advanced U.S. air defense systems and is usually in short supply, with allies around the world vying for it.
• Ground-based air defense systems such as Raytheon Technology Corp’s (RTX.N) Patriot are built to intercept incoming missiles.
• Patriot has been proven effective in Saudi Arabia against Iranian-design ballistic missiles fired from Yemen.

 NATIONAL

PM Modi to inaugurate National Youth Festival in Hubballi-Dharwad on Jan 12: Karnataka CM

• Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said that a National Youth festival is poised to be hosted at Hubballi-Dharwad twin cities, which will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The National Youth Festival will be organized on January 12 in connection with the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda.
• Around 7,500 representatives from all the States will participate in the youth festival. The National Youth Festival is organised to commemorate the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekanand which falls on 12 January.
• The first National Youth Festival was started in 1995 as a major activity under the programme of National Integration Camp. The 25th National Youth Festival was organised in Puducherry.
• Swami Vivekananda’s birthday on January 12 is always celebrated as National Youth Day and 12-16 January every year is observed as the National Youth Week.

Tourism sector receives industry status in Assam

• As the growth in the tourism sector is vital for socio-economic development in a state, the Assam State Cabinet led by CM Himanta Biswa Sarma approved the proposal for grant of industrial status to the tourism sector in the state.
• It has been highlighted that with such industry status, fresh investments in tourism infrastructures permanent in nature will contribute towards rapid employment generation, public-private partnership and infrastructure development.
• With the grant of industry status to the tourism sector, now, restaurants, cafeterias, health clubs, spas and wellness centres among others are eligible for incentives under the industrial policy.
• The ministry also said mentioned that the infrastructure can be developed through Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode, which will contribute to the overall development of the region.
• Assam has now become a nationally and internationally acclaimed all-season tourist destination for its unique wildlife, bio-diversity and experience of an unexploited wonderland.

About Assam:

Capital: Dispur

Chief Minister: Himanta Biswa Sarma

Governor: Prof. Jagadish Mukhi

Country's first infantary Museum opens for public in Mhow (Indore)

• The country’s first Infantry Museum has been opened for the general public at Mhow, Indore, Madhya Pradesh. This museum is the first in the country and second in the world. Before this, such a museum has been built in America. The Army inaugurated to celebrate the Victory Day and the eve of the 75th year of the establishment of the Infantry School. The world-class museum has been set up with the intention of showcasing the Infantry. The project was conceived in July 2003 as a national-level training hall cum research centre.
• The Infantry Museum covers the history of the Infantry from 1747 to 2020. It depicts the rich heritage, glorious past and supreme sacrifice of our brave soldiers preserved in sculptures, murals, and photo galleries.
• The construction of this museum has been in the works for a decade. This three-story building of the museum has been built on two acres of land. It has 17 different rooms covering the history and development of the Indian Infantry since 1747 in chronological order in 30 subject areas. In this museum, along with Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Subhash Chandra Bose, and Maharaja Ranjit, the history of many great men will be seen.

About Madhya Pradesh

Capital: Bhopal;

Governor: Mangubhai C. Patel;

Chief Minister: Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

 SPORTS

FIFA chooses Morocco to host the 2023 Club World Cup

• Morocco was rewarded by FIFA with hosting rights for the next Club World Cup in February, with an expanded 32-team edition set to launch in 2025. The most recent edition of the tournament was held in the UAE in February 2022 and was won by the English football club, Chelsea. European champion Real Madrid, South American champion Flamengo and Seattle Sounders, the first CONCACAF Champions League winner from the United States, will play in the traditional seven-team tournament from Feb. 1-11.

About Federation International de Football Association (FIFA)

Founded: 21 May 1904;

Founded: Paris, France;

Headquarters: Zürich, Switzerland;

Membership: 211;

Languages: English, French, German, Spanish & Italian;

First President: Robert Guérin;

Current President: Gianni Infantino (Switzerland);

Secretary General: Fatma Samoura (Senegal).

 OBITURY

Padma Shri awardee, H.R Keshava Murthy passed away at 89

• R. Keshava Murthy, a senior gamaka exponent, who was honoured with Padma Shri earlier this year, passed away. He was born in a family of gamaka artists. He had his initial training from his father Ramaswamy Shastry. Under the guidance of Venkateshaiah he continued his studies. Over the decades he has presented hundreds of programmes and trained many students. Through his performances, he publicised noted Kannada epics. Hosahalli, his native place, is known for many music talents.
• Keshava Murthy has been honored with many awards inlcuding Shantala Natya Shri award, by the State government and different cultural organisations. The President honoured him with the Padma Shri this year. The residents of his village celebrated the occasion.

 APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS

Puma India onboards Anushka Sharma as brand ambassador

• The manufacturer and designer of causal and athletic footwear, Puma has roped in Bollywood actor and entrepreneur Anushka Sharma as its brand ambassador. The association is intended to “accelerate Puma’s strong commitment towards women consumer segment”. The actor will endorse the brand’s footwear, apparel and accessories, including select collections through myriad activities and brand campaigns, throughout the year.
• The brand announced ‘End of Season Sale’ promotions on its social media featuring images of the actor in its products. Anushka took to her social media and called out the brand for using her imagery only after onboarding her as a brand ambassador. The brand’s other ambassadors in India include Kareena Kapoor Khan, MC Mary Kom, Yuvraj Singh, Sunil Chhetri, and most recently Harrdy Sandhu.

 IMPORTANT DAYS

Indian National Farmer’s Day 2022: 23^rd December

• December 23 is observed as Farmers’ Day or Kisan Diwas across India. Farmers are the backbone of our economy and to honour their hardship, this day was coined by the government of India in 2001. This day also marks the birth anniversary of the ‘Champion of Indian Peasants’ and the fifth Prime Minister of India, Chaudhary Charan Singh.
• The day aims to spread awareness of the contributions of farmers to the socioeconomic development of the nation. It also recognises the efforts of the former Prime Minister who helped in uplifting the farmers in the country, introduced Debt Redemption Bill and Land Holding Act.
• National Farmers Day or Kisan Diwas is the day marked every year to honor each and every farmer who is working continuously for the nation. Farmers are considered to be the backbone of the nation as without them none of us can survive. Agriculture is the basis for all our growth and consumption.

 AWARDS & RECOGNITION

Sahitya Akademi Award Winner list 2022

• The award has been given by the central government for the best literature of every year. Accordingly, the central government has announced the Sahitya Akademi Award for literature on December 22. Writer M. Rajendran from Tamil Nadu has received this award for his novel ‘Kala Pani’. The awardee will be presented with a cash prize of one lakh rupees and a copper Shield. This ‘Kala Pani’ novel is a historical novel based on the war of Kalayarkovil or Kalayarkool.
• The Awards, recommended by distinguished Jury members in 23 Indian languages, were approved by the Executive Board of the Sahitya Akademi, under the Chairmanship of Dr. Chandrashekhar Kambar, President, Sahitya Akademi.

SAHITYA AKADEMI AWARD 2022:

Language	Title and Genre	Name of the Author
Assamese	Bhool Satya (Short Stories)	Manoj Kumar Goswami
Bodo	Sansrini Modira (Poetry)	Rashmi Choudhury
Dogri	Chhe Roopak (Drama)	Veena Gupta
English	All The Lives We Never Lived (Novel)	Anuradha Roy
Gujarati	Gher Jatan (Autobiographical Essays)	Gulam Mohammad Shaikh
Hindi	Tumadi Ke Shabd (Poetry)	Badri Narayan
Kannada	Bahutvada Bhaarata mattu Bouddha Taatvikate (Collection of Articles)	Mudnakudu Chinnaswamy
Kashmiri	Zael Dab (Literary Criticism)	Farooq Fayaz
Konkani	Amrutvel (Novel)	Maya Anil Kharangate
Maithili	Pen-Drive Me Prithvi (Poetry)	Ajit Azad
Malayalam	Ashaante Seethayanam (Literary Criticism)	M. Thomas Mathew
Manipuri	Leironnung (Poetry)	Koijam Shantibala
Marathi	Ujavya Sondechya Bahulya (Novel)	Praveen Dashrath Bandekar
Nepali	Saino (Drama)	K.B. Nepali
Odia	Dayanadi (Poetry)	Gayatribala Panda
Punjabi	Main Aynghosh Nahi (Short Stories)	Sukhjit
Rajasthani	Alekhun Amba (Play)	Kamal Ranga
Sanskrit	Deepmanikyam (Poetry)	Janardan Prasad Pandey ‘Mani’
Santali	Sabarnaka Balire Sanan’ Panjay (Poetry)	Kajli Soren (Jagannath Soren)
Sindhi	Sindhi Sahit Jo Mukhtasar Itihas (Literary History)	Kanhaiyalal Lekhwani
Tamil	Kaala Paani (Novel)	M. Rajendran
Telugu	Manodharmaparagam (Novel)	Madhuranthakam Narendra
Urdu	Khwab Saraab (Novel)	Anis Ashfaq