UIDAI Topped the Grievance Redressal Index For the Fourth Consecutive Month in November
Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) topped the grievance redressal index among all group A ministries, departments and autonomous bodies for resolution of public grievances for the fourth month in a row in November.
Who Published The Report:
The report was published by the Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances Department (DARPG)
About This Milestone:
The Electronics and Information Technology Ministry stated that UIDAI has moved towards a centralized grievance handling mechanism through its Open-Source customer relationship management system. UIDAI’s new open-source CRM (customer relationship management) system has enhanced user experience and improved service delivery to the residents.
UIDAI’s Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning based Chatbot, Aadhaar Mitra is also gaining popularity and soon the conversations happening there on a daily basis are going to cross 50,000 figures.
About UIDAI:
The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) is a statutory authority established on 12 July 2016 by the Government of India under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, following the provisions of the Aadhaar Act 2016.
The UIDAI is mandated to assign a 12-digit unique identification (UID) number (Aadhaar) to all the residents of India.
The UIDAI was initially set up by the Government of India in January 2009, as an attached office under the aegis of the Planning Commission.
SpiceJet awarded ‘Safety Performer of the Year’ award by GMR Delhi airport
GMR Delhi Airport Awards:
SpiceJet has been awarded the ‘Safety Performer of the Year’ award by GMR Delhi Airport Awards for being the top performer among the self-handling airlines and as it has been able to reduce ground safety violations significantly. SpiceJet ground handling team at Delhi Airport achieved this performance through constant focus on quality improvements, innovation and hard work. Moreover, their role in minimising incidences of ground safety violations ensured compliance with safety guidelines and regulatory requirements.
Some points to know about SpiceJet:
Recently, the airline was audited by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), and its operations, safety processes, and systems were found to be strong and at par with the global best practices and safety standards.
The airline was the only scheduled Indian airline part of the audit conducted by ICAO, the United Nations aviation arm. The audit of SpiceJet safety systems “helped India achieve” its highest-ever safety ranking in ICAO audit
Earlier this year, as many as 90 pilots of Spicejet were restrained from flying Boeing 737 Max aircraft after the DGCA found they were not properly trained. That was followed by multiple snags in its aircraft.
WHO names Sir Jeremy Farrar as its new chief scientist
World Health Organization (WHO) announced that Dr Jeremy Farrar will become its new Chief Scientist. Currently, Director of the Wellcome Trust, Dr Farrar will join WHO in the second quarter of 2023. As WHO’s Chief Scientist, Dr Farrar will oversee the Science Division, bringing together the best brains in science and innovation from around the world to develop and deliver high quality health services to the people who need them most, no matter who they are and where they live.
About the Dr Farrar:
Dr Farrar is a clinician scientist who, before joining Wellcome in 2013, spent 17 years as Director of the Clinical Research Unit at the Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Viet Nam where his research interests were in global health with a focus on emerging infectious diseases. Dr Farrar is a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences UK, European Molecular Biology Organisation (EMBO), the National Academies USA and a Fellow of The Royal Society.
Other appointment:
Dr Amelia Latu Afuhaamango Tuipulotu will become WHO’s Chief Nursing Officer. Previously Minister for Health of the Kingdom of Tonga, and before that Tonga’s Chief Nursing Officer, Dr Tuipulotu will join WHO in the first quarter of 2023.
As WHO’s Chief Nursing Officer, Dr Tuipulotu will champion, nurture and support nurses and midwives to ensure that their skills and experience are being well-utilized to strengthen health systems and to bolster their critical role in bringing patients, communities and national health systems closer together.
In 2019 Dr Tuipulotu became the Kingdom of Tonga’s first female Minister for Health, serving until December 2021. From 2014 to 2019, she served as Tonga’s Chief Nursing Officer. Previously, she was Director of Nursing at Vaiola Hospital, the country’s main referral hospital. She was the first Tongan to receive a Ph.D. in Nursing. In 2019, she was appointed Honorary Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of Sydney.
From May 2020 to December 2022, Dr Tuipulotu was a member of the WHO Executive Board; she was elected EB Rapporteur in 2020.
Russia Replaces Iraq as Top Oil Supplier to India in November
Russia has for the first time emerged as top oil supplier to India replacing Iraq as refiners last month snapped up oil from Moscow fearing a price cap from Dec. 5 could hit supplies and choke payment avenues.
Extent Of This Development:
India’s oil imports from Russia rose for the fifth straight month, totaling 908,000 barrels per day (bpd) in November, up 4% from October, the data showed.
About The Price-Cap On Russian Oil: The Immediate Cause:
The Group of Seven nations(G-7), Australia, and the 27 European Union countries have imposed a price cap of $60 a barrel on Russian seaborne oil from Dec. 5 as the West tries to limit Moscow’s ability to finance its war in Ukraine. The price cap plan calls for G7 countries to deny insurance, finance, brokering, navigation, and other services to oil cargoes priced above the price cap on crude and oil products.
India & The Russian Oil:
Russian oil accounted for about 23% of India’s overall import of about 4 million bpd oil in November, the data showed. India’s overall imports in November declined 11% from October on lower purchases by Russia-backed Indian refiner Nayara Energy, which had shut its 400,000 bpd refinery for maintenance during the month, the data showed.
India, which rarely used to buy Russian oil because of costly logistics, has emerged as Russia’s second biggest oil client after China as refiners snap up discounted crude shunned by Western nations since the February invasion of Ukraine. Last month India’s oil imports from Iraq declined to the lowest since September 2020, while that from Saudi Arabia plunged to a 14-month low, the data showed.
Higher purchases of Russian oil dragged down Indian imports from the Middle East and member nations of Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) declined to the lowest ever in November, the data showed. During April-November, the first eight months of this fiscal year, Iraq continued to be the largest oil supplier to India followed by Saudi Arabia and Russia, which has knocked down UAE to the fourth position.
Meghalaya health department awarded for Best Practice in Tuberculosis ACSM
The Meghalaya government, which has adopted a ‘Jan Andolan’ (people’s movement) against Tuberculosis received an award for best practices in controlling the disease that affects 2.6 million people in India every year. The award for Best Practice in Advocacy, Communication and Social Mobilisation (ACSM) in Tuberculosis control was presented to representatives of the health department at a national workshop, aimed at ending TB infections, in the national capital.
The state registered 4,189 TB cases in 2021 while in the first quarter of 2022, around 1,075 patients have been enrolled for treatment. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had put a national target to eliminate the disease that affects over 26 lakh Indians each year by 2025, five years ahead of WHO’s Sustainable Development Goals. TB affects about 2.6 million people in India every year.
ISRO Successfully Completes Hypersonic Vehicle Test Run
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully conducted a joint hypersonic vehicle trial along with the Headquarters, Integrated Defence Staff (HQ IDS). According to the country’s premier space research agency, the joint hypersonic vehicle trial matched with the predetermined targets.
What Has Been Achieved:
The hypersonic vehicle, based on state-of-the-art technology, is capable of delivering military response over long distances by rapidly reaching space. India is also developing an indigenous, dual-capable hypersonic cruise missile as part of its Hypersonic Technology Demonstrator Vehicle programme. This missile will be capable of firing conventional weapons as well as nuclear weapons.
What is a Hypersonic Vehicle:
A hypersonic vehicle can be an airplane, missile, or spacecraft that has the ability to travel five times faster than the speed of sound, or greater than Mach 5 . It is regarded as a cutting-edge technology, and countries like China, India, Russia, and the United States have been trying to further enhance the ability of their hypersonic weapons.
The Indian space agency has been developing hypersonic missiles in collaboration with Russia. Indian scientists are also working on a project for an indigenous, dual-capable hypersonic cruise missile as part of its Hypersonic Technology Demonstrator Vehicle program.
What is hypersonic missile: A New Arena For Competition:
Hypersonic missiles move towards the target at a speed of Mach 5 i.e. 5 times or more than the speed of sound (343 m/s). It can travel about 6,200 kilometers in an hour. Capable of carrying nuclear warheads, hypersonic missiles can fly at very low altitudes and at higher speeds than common ballistic and cruise missiles. They can also change direction during their journey, that is, like a normal missile, the target does not follow a fixed path.
20th Edition Of Kathmandu International Mountain Film Festival
The 20th Edition of the Kathmandu International Mountain Film Festival kicked off in Kathmandu, Nepal. This year, the festival was scheduled to be held from December 8 to 12, 2022. The festival is resuming its physical screening after two years, because of the pandemic and is ready to showcase numerous films from across the world.
Its Key Focus:
The key focus of the film fest is on the mountain communities and cultures to Nepali audiences. This year, the audience will get a chance to witness more than 60 films from 30 different countries, at the Rastriya Sabga Griha and Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) Exhibition Road.
Theme Of this Event:
The theme of the Film Fest is ‘Sustainable Summits’ and is going to feature documentaries, fiction, shorts as well as experimental and animated films.
More About this:
During the course, of the film fest a discussion on the ‘Future of Nepali Film’ and ‘Young Person in Film’ is also being organized. A workshop on Adventure Filmmaking is also going to be conducted by Switzerland-based filmmaker and journalist Lisa Roosli. The film fest aims to bring together filmmakers, journalists, mountaineers, scholars, and critics from across the world to celebrate the art of filmmaking and to give exposure of world cinema to the Nepali audience.
India’s Participation:
Indian film Bandhua (Bonded), directed by Shobhit Jain is also going to be featured in the International Competitive Film category along with films like Ayena, Before You were my Mother, and Matto ki Saikil.
Major Film Festivals celebrated in Asia:
1.International Film Festival of India, India:
The International Film Festival of India or IFFI is organized annually by the Directorate of Film Festivals and the State Government of Goa. This year the festival was conducted from November 20 to 28 in the coastal state of Goa. Founded in 1952, the festival has been considered as one of the most prominent film festivals in Asia.
2.Busan International Film Festival, South Korea:
The first-ever International film festival organized in South Korea. The first edition of the festival was started in the year 1996 having a total of 169 films from 31 countries. This year, the film festival witnessed the screening of around 353 films, which comprises 242 films from 71 countries.
3.Hong Kong International Film Festival, Hong Kong:
The festival is organized annually by the Hong Kong International Film Society, which aims at making world cinema accessible and affordable to the public. The festival is comprised of various annual programs aiming to promote Asian, Hong Kong, and Chinese film culture.
4.Shanghai International Film Festival, China
Celebrating the film culture and film industry of Shanghai, the festival was first organized in 1994. In its 24th edition, which was held in 2021, the film fest witnessed participation of 4,443 films from 113 countries.
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