Today's Current Affairs-3rd December 2022

NATIONAL

Culture Ministry inaugrates a three-day long music, art and literature festival Swar Dharohar in New Delhi

• Three-day-long music, art, and literature festival Swar Dharohar was inaugurated by the Culture Ministry on Friday under Kalanjali. The festival aims at showcasing the iconic art, culture and heritage of the country.
• The program will facilitate the upcoming local artists to perform with renowned artists on the same platform. The national, as well as local poets, will also exhibit their artistry through Kavi Sammelan.
• The festival will continue till 4th of this month at Central Vista, New Delhi. Entry is free for everyone.

SPORTS

All-round Saurashtra beat Maharashtra by 5 wickets, win second Vijay Hazare Trophy

• Saurashtra beat Maharashtra by 5 wickets in the final to win the Vijay Hazare Trophy at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. They restricted Maharashtra at 248/9 in 50 overs as captain Ruturaj Gaikwad hit a century, scoring 108 off 131 balls after a slow start. Saurashtra bowler Chirag Jani claimed a hat-trick in the match. Man of the moment is Sheldon Jackson.
• Chasing the target of 249, Saurashtra started off cautiously before the openers sitiched a 125-run partnership. Batter Shledon Jackson held one end as wickets tumbled around him. He scored a match-winning 133 off 136 balls to help Saurashtra chase down the target in 46.3 overs, with five wickets to spare. It was Saurashtra’s second title triumph in history.
• The win enhanced Jaydev Unadkat’s credentials as captain, he had led Saurashtra to their first Ranji Trophy title in 2019-2020. He also finished at the top of the wicket-taking charts in the Vijay Hazare Trophy with 19 strikes to his name.

 OBITURY

Veteran odia film actress jharana Das passes away at 77

• Veteran Odia film actress Jharana Das died at her residence here, family sources said on Friday. She was 77.
• Das, a winner of the state government's prestigious 'Jaydev Puraskar' for her lifetime contribution to Odia film industry, was suffering from old age-related aliment.
• Born in 1945, the versatile actress was known for her memorable roles in films ‘Malajahna’, ‘Amadabata’, ‘Adina Megha’, ‘Abhinetri’, ‘Shree Jagannath’, ‘Nari’, ‘Hira Nilla’ and many more Odia classics.
• Having started out as a child artiste in All India Radio in the 60s, Cuttack, she was a trained Odissi dancer and had learnt the art from Guru Kelucharan Mahapatra. In the later part of her career, she went on to become the voice of AIR-Cuttack.

APPOINTMENS & RESIGNATIONS

Hansraj Ahir assumes charge as NCBC chairperson

• Former Union Minister Hansraj Gangaram Ahir assumed charge as Chairperson of the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC) on Friday.
• He belongs to District Chandrapur, State of Maharashtra. He is an Agriculturist by profession, read a statement from the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment.
• Hansraj Gangaram Ahir had been elected four times Member of Parliament from Parliamentary Constituency Chandrapur, Maharashtra and also he was Member of the Maharashtra Legislative Council. He had been Member of various Standing Committees of Parliament and also served as the Chairperson of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Coal and Steel.
• He had been Union Minister of State for Home Affairs and Union Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilizers, Government of India the 16th Lok Sabha.

Vijender Sharma elected president, Rakesh Bhalla as VP of ICAI

• The Institute of Cost Accountants of India on Monday said that Vijender Sharma has been elected as the new president and Rakesh Bhalla as vice-president for 2022-23.
• The institute, which is a statutory body set up under an Act of Parliament, comes under the administrative control of Union Ministry of Corporate Affairs.
• Vijender Sharma has been elected as the President of the Institute of Cost Accountants of India (ICAI) for the year 2022-23, according to a statement.
• The institute conducted the election of President on November 28.
• Sharma is a fellow member of ICAI and a law graduate. He is a leading practising cost accountant since 1998 and insolvency professional since January 2017.
• He has an experience of over 22 years in diversified areas of financial, cost and management accounting, internal audit, management consultancy, forensic audit, insolvency and liquidation, etc.

 IMPORTANT DAYS

International Day of Persons with Disabilities: 3 December

• December 3rd is celebrated as the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, worldwide. The day is observed to highlight issues that affect people with disabilities and to champion their well-being, their dignity and fundamental rights. International Day of Persons with Disabilities is celebrated to encourage increased assimilation of persons with disabilities in the socio-political, economic and cultural aspects of life. The goals fall under the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
• The theme of International Day of Persons with Disabilities, this year, is “Transformative solutions for inclusive development: the role of innovation in fuelling an accessible and equitable world“. The 2022 celebration will focus on the need for innovative solutions to help create an inclusive developmental model to aid people with disabilities.
• In 1976, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) proclaimed 1981 as the International Year of Disabled Persons (IYDP). On February 6, 1981, US President Ronal Reagan did the same. Then the UNGA declared 1983-1992 as the decade of Disabled Persons. The adoption of December 3 as the International Day of Persons with Disabilities happened during the UNGA’s 37th plenary meeting, on October 4, 1992.

RANKING

Pakistan tops 'list of nations at ‘risk of Violence'

• Pakistan has topped the list of countries at the highest risk of experiencing new mass killings, according to a new report.
• The report cites violence by Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) as one of the main challenges for the nation already facing political and economic crises.
• It said that Pakistan is estimated to have about a one in six chance of experiencing a new mass killing in 2022 or 2023.

BOOKS & AUTHOR

Shekhar Pathak wins Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay NIF Book Prize 2022 for 'The Chipko Movement'

• A book on the popular forest conservation campaign Chipko Movement, written by historian-activist Shekhar Pathak, was named the winner of the Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay NIF Book Prize 2022. Translated from Hindi by Manisha Chaudhry, “The Chipko Movement: A People’s History” was selected from a diverse shortlist of five books covering a wide expanse of modern Indian history and encompassing distinct topics and perspectives.
• The winner was selected by a six-member jury panel chaired by political scientist Niraja Gopal Jayal. The other jury members were entrepreneur Manish Sabharwal; historians Srinath Raghavan and Nayanjot Lahiri; former diplomat Navtej Sarna; and attorney Rahul Matthan.
• The other shortlisted books were “Accidental Feminism: Gender Parity and Selective Mobility Among India’s Professional Elite” by Swethaa S Ballakrishnen; “Whole Numbers and Half Truths: What Data Can and Cannot Tell Us About Modern India” by Rukmini S; “Midnight’s Borders: A People’s History of Modern India” by Suchitra Vijayan; and “Born a Muslim: Some Truths about Islam in India” by Ghazala Wahab.

BANKING AND ECONOMY

RBI comes out with four-tiered regulatory framework for urban cooperative banks

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has announced a four-tiered regulatory framework for categorisation of Urban Co-operative Banks (UCBs). Besides, the central bank has come out with norms pertaining to the net worth and capital adequacy of these banks.
• The Reserve Bank of India had constituted the Expert Committee on Urban Co-operative Banks, under the Chairmanship of Shri N. S. Vishwanathan, former Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank to examine the issues in urban cooperative banking sector and to review regulatory/ supervisory approach for strengthening the sector. Based on the recommendations of the Expert Committee, RBI had released the Revised Regulatory Framework for Urban Co-operative Banks (UCBs) on July 19, 2022. The four-tiered regulatory framework, based on size of deposits of the UCBs, will come into force with immediate effect.

Rs. 1,45,867 crore gross GST revenue collected for November 2022

• Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections for the month of November 2022 stood at Rs 1,45,867 crore, according to the data shared by finance ministry. The revenue for the month of November are 11% higher than the GST revenue in the same month last year, which itself was Rs 1,31,526 crore. This is the ninth straight month when collections from GST has remained above Rs 1.40 lakh crore.
• The gross GST revenue collected in November 2022 came in at Rs 1,45,867 crore of which CGST is Rs 25,681 crore, SGST is Rs 32,651 crore, IGST is Rs 77,103 crore (including Rs 38,635 crore collected on import of goods) and Cess is ₹10,433 crore (including Rs 817 crore collected on import of goods). The government has settled Rs 33,997 crore to CGST and Rs 28,538 crore to SGST from IGST as regular settlement.
• The total revenue of Centre and the state after regular settlements in the month of November 2022 is Rs 59678 crore for CGST and Rs 61189 crore for the SGST. In addition, the Centre had also released Rs 17,000 crore as GST compensation to States/UTs in November 2022.