The Centre has issued a notification for the elevation of Bombay High Court Chief Justice Dipankar Datta as a Supreme Court judge.

 

As per powers conferred under Clause 2 of Article 124 of the Constitution, President Droupadi Murmu has appointed Justice Datta as Judge of Supreme Court.

 

The Supreme Court collegium, headed by the then Chief Justice of India UU Lalit, had recommended in a meeting on September 26 that Justice Datta, 57, be appointed as a judge at the apex court.

It took nearly two-and-a-half months for the Centre to clear his name. The last time Bombay High Court Chief Justice to be elevated as a Supreme Court judge was Anil Dave, in April 2010.

 

Justice Datta, son of the late Justice Salil Kumar Datta, a former judge of the Calcutta High Court, was born on February 9, 1965. He obtained his LLB degree from the University of Calcutta in 1989, enrolled as an advocate the same year and started practising in the Supreme Court and high courts, dealing with constitutional and civil cases.

 

He served as the junior standing counsel for West Bengal between May 2002 and January 2004, and a counsel for the Union government since 1998. He was appointed as a permanent judge of the Calcutta High Court on June 22, 2006.

 

Justice Datta took over as the Chief Justice of Bombay High Court on April 28, 2020, succeeding Justice Bhushan P Dharmadhikari. Apart from ensuring the functioning of the court through virtual and hybrid modes, Justice Datta, in his two and half years tenure at the helm of the Bombay High Court, also passed several key directions to the authorities and judgments..

Source : Indian Express

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated "Mopa International Airport" in Goa, which has been named after former Chief Minister "Manohar Parrikar".

* The new airport, which is about 35 km from capital city Panaji, can handle 44 lakh passengers annually. Its capacity can be raised to over 3 crore passengers per year after expansion plans in the future.

 

* The new airport is capable of handling large aircraft such as the Airbus A380. It also has rapid exit taxiways and six cross taxiways for quicker aircraft movement.

* The Manohar International Airport, situated near Mopa village in North Goa, has been built at a cost of 2,870 crore rupees. The commercial flights from the new airport will start from January 5, 2023. Speaking on the occasion, Prime Minister said, the new airport will further boost tourism in Goa.

 

* Mr Modi said, there has been an old demand that Goa needs a second airport as one airport is just not enough. With two airports in Goa, the state will turn into a cargo hub, he said.

* Prime Minister accused previous central governments of reluctance in investing in air connectivity. Before 2014, air travel was a luxury in India. Previous governments did not think that general class train passengers also want to travel by air, Mr Modi said..

Source : AIR

Renowned Marathi Lavani singer Sulochana Chavan died in Mumbai on Saturday(10th Dec 2022) due to age-related ailments. Sulochana Chavan, 92, was a Padma Shri recipient. She breathed her last at her south Mumbai residence, her son and Dholki player Vijay Chavan told. 

 

Known as 'Lavani Samradnyi' (Queen of Lavani), Sulochana Chavan was one of the most well-known singers in this traditional Maharashtrian musical genre closely associated with the folk theatre form Tamasha.

 

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde as well as Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari condoled her death.

 

"Smt Sulochana-tai Chavan was the undisputed Queen of Lavani. She infused life in the poetry and immortalized many Lavanis on the strength of her unique voice and diction. Her beautiful voice will live on for many more years. I offer my homage to the great singer and convey my condolences to Shri Vijay Chavan and other members of the bereaved family."

Source : NDTV

The first civilian mission to the moon features a "dream crew" that includes Indian actor "Dev Joshi".

The eight guests who will travel with Japanese businessman Yusaku Maezawa on a SpaceX spaceship to fly past the moon next year include K-Pop sensation T.O.P. and Indian actor Dev Joshi, according to a statement released on Friday(9th Dec 2022).

 

The rocket created by Elon Musk's SpaceX will travel to the moon and return over the course of a week in 2023. Maezawa has paid for all eight seats on this rocket ship in 2018.

 

In March 2021, Maezawa began accepting applications for the journey. Maezawa will be travelling into space for the second time after spending 12 days aboard the Russian Soyuz spacecraft visiting the International Space Station in 2021.

 

T.O.P., who made his debut as the lead rapper for the K-Pop group Big Bang, American DJ Steve Aoki, American filmmaker Brendan Hall, and American YouTuber Tim Dodd are among the eight people Maezawa chose for his "dearMoon project." The other four are British photographer Karim Illiya, Indian actor Dev Joshi, Czech artist Yemi AD, Irish photographer Rhiannon Adam. American Olympic snowboarder Kaitlyn Farrington, and Japanese dancer Miyu were backups..

Source : Zoom tv Entertainment

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, during a function here on Friday(9th Dec 2022), launched sanitation workers’ development programme across the state and distributed safety equipment to a few workers.

* A survey will be carried out to identify sanitation workers and details will be uploaded on a mobile application. Through this scheme, the standard of living of sanitation workers will rise and the economy will improve, said Stalin. Later in the day, he unveiled the statue of Dr BR Ambedkar at Perangudi along with ministers and VCK president Thol Thirumavalavan. 

 

* In the first phase, the scheme will be implemented in five urban local bodies and will be extended to all other local bodies in Tamil Nadu later.

* Ministers KN Nehru, Palanivel Thiaga Rajan, Moorthi, MP S Venkatesan and other council members accompanied the CM. “Sanitation workers are at the forefront of keeping our cities clean and healthy but face many challenges in their daily life.

 

* To help them, the municipal administration had announced that a sanitation workers development programme would be implemented through local bodies, so that they can avail the benefits of various government welfare schemes and receive necessary skill training in mechanised sanitation work or opt for alternative business as per their choice. Loan assistance will also be provided through the banks,” said principal secretary of municipal administration.

 

* Officials said the scheme would benefit 18,859 permanent sanitation workers and 34,442 temporary contract employees working in urban local bodies. “A total of 53,301 employees, including government staff, private sector and informal workers involved in sanitation, will benefit..

Source : New Indian Express

International Mountain Day is celebrated annually on December 11 to increase public awareness of the value of mountains to both life and climate.

The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) established International Mountain Day to recognise the importance of mountains.

Nearly 15 per cent of the world’s population lives in mountains, which also house roughly half of the planet’s biodiversity hotspots.

 

However, in today’s world, mountains are in desperate need of preservation due to the threat of climate change and overexploitation. Hence, on International Mountain Day 2022, here’s a look at its history, significance, theme and more.

International Mountain Day 2022 Theme : Every year, International Mountain Day is observed with a specific theme. The theme of this year’s International Mountain Day (IMD) is ‘Women Move Mountains.’

 

International Mountain Day History : The day came into existence in 2003. The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development accepted Chapter 13 of Agenda 21: Managing Fragile Ecosystems: Sustainable Mountain Development in 1992. With such widespread support, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 2002 to be the “United Nations International Year of Mountains." The group determined that beginning in 2003, December 11 would be designated as World Mountain Day annually.

 

World Mountain Day Significance : International Mountains Day has played an important role in addressing the issue of mountain ecology. It also has an impact on mountain tourism. Mountain tourism has grown in popularity over the years. People express a desire to visit the mountains rather than the lowlands.

 

It is a positive sign for the people who live there because tourism helps the economy. However, travellers must keep the mountains’ sanctity alive while on their journey. Because, even though mountain tourism contributes to economic growth, it also contributes to the degradation of mountain ecosystems as a result of visitors’ careless environmental practices. Every person has a responsibility to protect our environment and preserve its biodiversity.

 

Every year UNICEF Day is celebrated on December 11. The word UNICEF stands for United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund(UNICEF) and the purpose served by the organisation is to save children's lives by providing them with humanitarian aid across the world.

It also defends children's rights and helps them fulfill their potential from childhood through adolescence. The fund for UNICEF was generated after World War II and then became a permanent organisation in 1953.

 

UNICEF Day History : After World War II, the United Nations formed the International Children's Emergency Fund. The goal was to protect and enhance the lives of people whose future was at risk. They wanted to provide food and assistance for the well-being of the children. The day was announced as UNICEF in 1946. Later it became a permanent agency.

 

UNICEF Day 2022 Significance : The day plays a significant role in raising awareness at a global level to help children who need help and assistance. The assistance includes the supply of food, clean water, education, and health facilities for free..

Source : India Today

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday(10th Dec 2022) declared a seed farm, located in Aluva here, as the first carbon neutral farm in the country.

 

* A significant reduction in carbon emission has helped the seed farm, under the Agricultural Department, achieve carbon neutral status.

 

* The total amount of carbon emission from the farm, located at Thuruthu in Aluva, in the last one year was 43 tons but its overall procurement was 213 ton, he said.

 

* Compared to the emission rate, as many as 170 tons of more carbon have been procured at the farm, which helped it to be declared as the first carbon neutral seed farm in the country.

 

* “Carbon neutral farms will be set up in all 140 Assembly constituencies. Efforts have already been launched to make 13 farms in Kerala carbon neutral,” Chief Minister said. Carbon neutral agricultural methods would be implemented through women’s groups and such interventions would be made in the tribal sector as well, Mr Vijayan added.

 

* Even as the state moves towards the goal to achieve food self-sufficiency, plans to maintain ecological equilibrium are also equally important, the Chief Minister said. 

 

* As many as 30 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions come from agriculture and this can be prevented and climate change can be regulated through carbon neutral agricultural practices, he added.

 

According to the definition of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), carbon neutrality, or net zero CO2 emissions, refers only to carbon dioxide emissions and is a state of balance between the CO2 emitted into the atmosphere and the CO2 removed from the atmosphere.

 

In actual business practice, organizations often use the term “carbon neutrality” to include all greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions when they announce their ambitious emissions reduction targets.

There are a number of ways of achieving the balance we are talking about. The healthiest way is not to emit more CO2 than can be absorbed naturally by the world’s forests and plants, which act as carbon sinks through the process of photosynthesis – they take in CO2 from the air and turn it into oxygen – helping to reduce emissions..

Source : Indian Express

Three medicinal plant species (Meizotropis pellita, Fritilloria cirrhosa, Dactylorhiza hatagirea) have been listed in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, after a recent assessment.

Reason : The biodiversity hotspot shows deforestation, habitat loss, forest fires, illegal trade and climate change.

Meizotropis pellita has been assessed as ‘critically endangered’, Fritilloria cirrhosa as ‘vulnerable’, and Dactylorhiza hatagirea as ‘endangered’..

Source : The Hindu

India, with 20 of the most valuable companies in the world, has moved into the fifth(5th) position among countries that are home to the world’s top 500 firms. Last year(2021), it ranked ninth with eight companies. The US continued to top the charts, according to the 2022 Hurun Global 500 list.

 

* The 20 Indian companies featuring on the list this year, 11 are based in Mumbai, four in Ahmedabad and one each in Noida, New Delhi, Bengaluru and Kolkata.

* The list, released by the Hurun Research Institute, is a compilation of the 500 most valuable non-state-controlled companies in the world. Companies were ranked according to their market capitalisation (for listed companies) and valuations for non-listed companies.

 

* With a $202-billion valuation, Reliance Industries (RIL) topped the charts of Indian companies, while it ranked 34th in the world. It was followed by Tata Consultancy Services ($139 billion) and HDFC Bank ($97 billion).

 

* The list also saw the entry of four companies — Adani Transmission, Adani Green Energy, Adani Enterprises and Adani Total Gas — led by billionaire Gautam Adani, with a total valuation of $173 billion..

Source : Financial Express