30th Dec 2022 is the sixth anniversary of indigenously developed payment application BHIM (Bharat Interface for Money).

* BHIM (Bharat Interface for Money) was launched on 30th Dec 2016 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

 

* BHIM is a biometric payment system app using the Aadhar platform and is based on Unified Payment Interface (UPI) to facilitate e-payments directly through bank.

 

* It can be used on all mobile devices, be it a smartphone or a feature phone with or without internet connection.

 

* The payments through the BHIM App can be made by just a thumb impression after the bank account is linked with Aadhaar gateway.

 

* UPI transaction has gained traction over the year. UPI transaction value for the month of November this year was 11.90 lakh crore rupees while the transaction volume was 7.30 billion..

Source : AIR

Pritzker-prize winning architect Arata Isozaki has died at the age of 91, according to his longtime partner Misa Shin.

He passed away due to natural causes on Wednesday (28th Dec 2022) at his home in Naha, in Japan's Okinawa prefecture.

In a statement from his office, Arata Isozaki and Associates, Shin said that a private funeral service would be held with only close relatives present.

 

As one of the first Japanese architects to work globally, his prolific career spanned more than six decades, with over 100 completed buildings erected in Asia, Europe, North America, the Middle East and Australia.

The bold, helical Art Tower Mito in Japan, the Sidra tree-inspired Qatar National Convention Center in Doha and the Palau Saint Jordi arena, created for the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, are among his best-known works.

 

Isozaki was born in Oita, Japan in 1931. The bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II had a profound impact on the then teenager — seeing the devastation of such cities would fuel his interest in architecture, and he would pursue a degree in the field at the University of Tokyo in 1954.

 

"(My) first experience of architecture was the void of architecture," he said when he won the Pritzker, "and I began to consider how people might rebuild their homes and cities."

 

He would apprentice for his former professor, the renowned architect and 1987 Pritzker laureate Kenzo Tange, before setting up his own office, Arata Isozaki & Associates, in 1963, during a time when Japan was actively rebuilding post-war..

The Uttar Pradesh government has appointed IPS officer Laxmi Singh as the new Noida Police chief, making her the first woman officer to head a Police Commissionerate in the state.

* The 2000-batch officer, who replaced Alok Singh in Gautam Buddh Nagar, is expected to take charge on Wednesday(28th Dec 2022).

 

* The UP government late Monday(26th Dec 2022) night issued a transfer and posting list of 16 Indian Police Service (IPS) officers in the state, including for the new Commissionrates of Varanasi, Agra and Prayagraj.

 

* The state at present has 7 police commissionerates, a policy structure created first in 2020.

 

* Alok Singh, a 1995-batch IPS officer, has been posted as an additional director general of police (ADGP) at the DGP office in state capital Lucknow.

 

* Laxmi, 48, has been serving as an Inspector General of Police, Lucknow range.

 

* She holds the distinction of being the first woman IPS topper (33rd rank overall) in the UPSC-held exams and was adjudged the best probationer at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy in Hyderabad, as per official records.

 

* She has also been awarded the PM's silver bation and the home minister's pistol during her training.

 

* Holding a B.Tech degree in Mechanical Engineering, she had her first posting as senior superintendent of police in 2004.

 

* In 2013, she was promoted as a deputy IG and in 2018 she was promoted to the rank of IG.

 

* Laxmi has previously served as the IG/DIG of the Special Task Force (STF) in Gautam Buddh Nagar from January 1, 2018 to March 5, 2018...

Source : Economic Times

The government on Thursday(29th Dec 2022) said that the food processing industry has invested Rs 4,900 crore so far under the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme.

* The PLI scheme for the food processing industry was approved in March 2021, with a budget outlay of Rs 10,900 crore. It will be implemented for seven years, until 2026-27.

 

* "A total of 182 applications have been approved under the PLI scheme for the food processing industry," an official statement read.

 

* This includes 30 applications for millets-based products under the PLI scheme (8 large entities and 22 SMEs), the statement added.

 

* "According to data reported by PLI scheme beneficiaries, the scheme has attracted an investment of approximately Rs 4,900 crores," said the statement.

 

* Incentives amounting to Rs 800 crore are likely to be disbursed in the current financial year. Sales-based incentive of Rs 107.3 crore has been disbursed so far, it added.

 

* According to the food ministry, stakeholder consultations for the introduction of a PLI Scheme for the Nutraceutical sector are also underway, allowing this segment to reach its full potential and find its rightful place.

 

* The implementation of the scheme is likely to facilitate the expansion of food processing capacity by nearly Rs 30,000 crore and create additional direct and indirect employment opportunities for about 2.5 lakh persons by 2026-27.

 

* PLI beneficiaries' investments are likely to increase sales and exports of food products. The scheme requires that the entire chain of manufacturing processes, including primary processing of food products, take place in India in order to qualify for the incentive, which is expected to boost domestic industry. It was also stated that the scheme will aid in the promotion of Indian brands abroad.

 

* The ministry stated that a total of 112 food processing projects were completed and operationalised during 2022, leveraging private investment of Rs 706.04 crore and generating direct and indirect employment for 25,293 people. During the year, approximately 190 food processing projects were approved.

 

* As per the ministry, the 'One District One Product (ODOPY) scheme (under the Prime Minister-Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PM-FME) scheme) has been approved for 713 districts across 35 states and union territories, with 137 distinct products..

Source : Business World

The Madurai Bench of Madras High Court has prohibited devotees from carrying mobile phones inside temples in Tamil Nadu.

* The Division Bench of Justice R. Mahadevan and J Sathya Narayana Prasad held that the gadgets divert the attention of the devotees from the purpose of visiting the temple.

 

* The Tamil Nadu Temple Entry Authorization Act 1947, and the Rules empower the trustees or any authority in charge of the temple to make regulations for the maintenance of order and decorum in the temple.

 

* The court noted that mobile phone ban have been implemented in famed temples.

* These temples include Sri Krishna Temple at Guruvayur, Kerala, Meenakshi Sundareshwara Temple at Madurai, Tamil Nadu, and Sri Venkateshwara Temple at Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh.

* The temple will have security counters to deposit mobile phones before entering the temple premises.

* The judges have passed the order prohibiting the carrying of mobile phones in temples while hearing a petition praying to take effective measures to prohibit mobile phone usage inside the Subramaniya Swamy Temple in Coastal Tiruchendur.

* The Judges have informed us that temples are great institutions and they have traditionally been central to everyone’s life.

* The Temples are not only a place of worship but also an integral part of the sociocultural and economic life of people.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced 29th Dec 2022 the appointment of Abdullah Abdul Samad Dashti of Kuwait as United Nations Coordinator for the Black Sea Grain Initiative, Trend reports citing the press service of UN.

 

The Initiative was launched by Ukraine, Türkiye, Russian Federation and the United Nations on 22 July 2022 to enable the resumption of exports from Ukraine of grain, foodstuffs and fertilizer, including ammonia, through a safe maritime humanitarian corridor.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate and dedicated to the nation railway projects worth over ₹ 5,800 crore in West Bengal through video-conferencing on Friday (30th Dec 2022).

 

PM Modi, who lost his mother this morning, was scheduled to be part of the event to launch the connectivity and infrastructure projects in the state.

 

The projects include the inauguration of the Joka-Taratala stretch of the Joka-Esplanade Metro Project (Purple Line) and the flagging off of the Howrah-New Jalpaiguri Vande Bharat Express.

 

The Joka-Taratala 6.5-km stretch having six stations has been constructed at a cost of more than ₹ 2,475 crore.

 

Passengers of southern parts of Kolkata such as Sarsuna, Dakghar, Muchipara and South 24 Parganas will be immensely benefited by inauguration of this project..

Source : NDTV

India and Cyprus have signed agreements in various areas including on Defence and Military Cooperation.

Both countries have also signed a Letter of Intent on Migration and Mobility Partnership to provide a common framework of arrangement and cooperation to facilitate the mobility of students, business people and professionals.

It will also help in combating irregular migration.

The agreements were signed between EAM Dr. S Jaishankar and Foreign Minister of Cyprus..

Source : AIR

Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari inaugurated phase 1 of the New Zuari Bridge in Goa 29th Dec 2022. 

 

Located on the Zuari river at Cortalim village on Margao-Panaji National Highway, the bridge aims to ease the traffic woes of the state. 

 

Under the 1st Phase, the 4 Lane Right Hand Side Corridor of the 8 Lane Stayed Cable bridge has been inaugurated. The Rs.2530 Crore project consists of the new bridge and the approaches from Bambolim to Verna and has a total project length of 13.20 KM.

 

He credited the late Chief Minister and Union Minister Manohar Parrikar as being one of the architects of both the Mandovi bridge and the new stayed cable bridge over the Zuari river. 

 

The recent pace of construction of this project is also testament to the new technology that the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways is using to build bridges across the country, observed Union Minister Nitin Gadkari. He informed that the Goa-Mumbai Highway will also be completed in the next 7 to 8 months..

Source : PIB

The Odisha Cabinet headed by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday (27th Dec 2022) approved the provision of Rs 367.19 crores for five years from 2022-23 to 2026-27 for implementation of the State Sector Scheme “empowerment of women in agriculture-promotion of entrepreneurship for women SHG”.

 

“The scheme is introduced with an objective to double the mushroom production across the State through area expansion involving women beneficiaries/WSHGs and to make the state self-sufficient in the production of button mushroom and loose flowers”.

 

“The scheme will ensure sustainable income generation Of women beneficiaries/WSHGs & the state shall emerge as the net exporter of mushroom and high-value flowers over the mission period,” it added.

 

The state Cabinet has also approved the provision of Rs1142.24 crore for four years from 2022-23 to 2025-26 for implementation Of the State Sector Scheme- “Development of Potato, Vegetable and Spices” with the involvement of WSHGs and FPOs.

 

“The scheme is introduced with the objective to provide financial assistance to the farmers for the cultivation of Potato, Onions, Hybrid vegetables, and Spices in order to make the State self-sufficient in the production Of 5 vegetables (Potato, Onion, Tomato, Cauliflower & Cabbage) along With an increase in area and production under spices.”.

Source : The Print