Today's Current Affairs-9th December 2022

NATIONAL

Election results 2022: BJP breaks records in Gujarat, Cong wins Himachal

• The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) posted a record-breaking tally of 156 out of the 182 seats in the Gujarat Assembly elections, winning a seventh consecutive term in the state. The Congress posted its worst tally in Gujarat, notching up just 17 seats with a vote share of around 27 per cent, down from 41.4 per cent in 2017.
• In Himachal Pradesh, the final seat tally stood at 40 for the Congress, a gain of 19 seats from the previous election, and 25 for the BJP. However, the contest was closer in terms of vote share, with the Congress getting 44 per cent of the votes and BJP 43 per cent.
• The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) won five seats in Gujarat but could not open its account in Himachal Pradesh. However, thanks to its vote share of 12.9 per cent, it gained national party status.

RBI signs Currency Swap Agreement with Maldives Monetary Authority

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has signed a Currency Swap Agreement with the Maldives Monetary Authority under the SAARC Currency Swap Framework. This agreement will enable the Maldives authority to make drawals in multiple tranches up to a maximum of 200 million dollars from the RBI.
• 9th World Ayurveda Congress and Arogya Expo 2022 inaugurated in Goa
• 9th World Ayurveda Congress (WAC) was inaugurated at Panaji, Goa. The 9th WAC aims to showcase the efficacy and strength of the AYUSH systems of medicine at the Global level.
• A MoU was signed between All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA) and Rosenberg’s European Academy of Ayurveda, Germany to facilitate advanced studies in traditional Indian medicine systems.

 INTERNATIONAL

U.N. Convention on Biological Diversity, COP 15 Commences in Canada

• TheUnited Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, also called as Conference of Parties (COP-15) commenced in Montreal, Canada on 7 December 2022.
• The two-weeklong conference (7-19 December 2022) wasoriginally scheduled to be held in Kunming, China in October but was shifted to Montreal, Canada due to covid situation in China. This is the second part of the COP15.

 BANKING AND ECONOMY

UPI to now allow blocking money for multiple debits, paves way for ASBA

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) enhanced the capabilities of the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) by introducing a ‘single-block-and-multiple debits’ functionality, which allows a customer to enable a payment mandate against a merchant by blocking funds for specific purposes in his/her bank account which can be debited, whenever needed.

 APPOINTMENTS AND RESIGNATIONS

Sushmita Shukla appointed First Vice President, Chief Operating Officer of Federal Reserve Bank of New York

• Sushmita Shukla, an Indian-origin veteran of the insurance industry, has been appointed as First Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, making her the second-ranking officer at the prominent institution.
• The appointment was approved by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.
• President and Chief Executive Officer of the New York Fed John Williams.

 DAYS

International Anti-Corruption Day 2022  

• International Anti-Corruption Day is observed annually on December 9 with an aim to raise awareness against corruption and the measures that can be implemented to fight it. The UN General Assembly adopted the United Nations Convention against Corruption on October 31, 2003, and designated December 9 as International Anti-Corruption Day.

International Day of Commemoration and Dignity of the Victims of the Crime of Genocide and of the Prevention of this Crime: 9^th December

• International Day of Commemoration and Dignity of the Victims of the Crime of Genocide and of the Prevention of this Crime is commemorated on December 9 of every year around the world.
• It is observed to raise awareness about the greatest crime perpetrated by man against man, the violation of human rights and how it can be prevented in the future.
• On December 9, 1948, the United Nations adopted the first human rights treaty, the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (the “Genocide Convention”).