- National:
- President Droupadi Murmu gave her assent to three new criminal justice bills and the Telecommunications Bill 2023. The three new laws are the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, and the Bharatiya Sakshya Act. These laws will replace the colonial era Indian Penal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure, and the Indian Evidence Act of 1872.
- Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation, Shri Amit Shah, released a commemorative Postal Stamp to mark 50 years of Pandit Jasraj’s music festival – ‘Pandit Motiram Pandit Maniram Sangeet Samaroha’. This event took place in New Delhi. The stamp was brought out by the Department of Post, Ministry of Communications, Government of India.
- On 27th December 2023, The University Grants Commission (UGC) released draft guidelines on recognizing colleges. These guidelines are named the “UGC (Recognition of Colleges under Clause (f) of Section 2 of the UGC Act) Regulations, 2023”.
- The Uttar Pradesh government has issued a draft policy to promote green hydrogen production. The policy aims to reduce the cost of green hydrogen, achieve 20% green hydrogen blending in total hydrogen consumption by 2028, and make Uttar Pradesh a 100% green hydrogen-consuming state by 2035.
- In 2023, India lost a record 204 tigers, according to the Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI). The causes of death varied, with natural causes, poaching, and infighting being the most common. Despite this loss, the All India Tiger Estimation (2022) reported an increase in India’s tiger population by 200 from 2018 to 2022.
- There was an ammonia gas leak incident in Ennore, Chennai. The leak occurred at the Ennore facility of Coromandel International Ltd, a fertilizer manufacturing company, during the pre-cooling operations of an undersea pipeline. The incident took place around 11:45 pm on 26th December 2023.
- International:
- The Court of Appeals in Qatar has spared the lives of the eight former Indian Navy officers who were on death row since October 26 when a lower court in the West Asian nation had awarded them capital punishment for allegedly spying for Israel.
- A Protocol on Consultations is a document that outlines the areas and modalities of bilateral cooperation between two countries. India and Russia have signed such a protocol for 2024-28 on December 28, 2023, during the 12th meeting of the India-Russia Joint Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation (IRJCTC) in New Delhi.
- Banking:
- On December 19, 2023, the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) announced partnerships with Google and Meta. The partnership with Meta aims to digitally upskill five lakh MSMEs, while the collaboration with Google will enhance the accessibility of services like Kochi Metro’s by connecting with Google Maps.
- On December 27, 2023, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) approved the acquisition of a controlling stake in Reliance Capital Limited (RCL) by IndusInd International Holdings Limited (IIHL), IIHL BFSI (India) Limited, and Aasia Enterprises LLP.
- The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has extended the deadline for mutual fund and demat account holders to nominate a beneficiary or opt-out. The regulatory authority has pushed the deadline from December 31, 2023, to June 30, 2024. This move is aimed at helping investors secure their assets and pass them on to their legal heirs.
- Science & Technology:
- NASA has renamed its former OSIRIS-REx spacecraft to OSIRIS-APEX (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification and Security – Apophis Explorer) and launched it on a new mission to study asteroid Apophis. Apophis is a near-Earth asteroid that will make a very close approach to our planet in 2029, closer than some satellites.
- Important Days:
- The 100th Jayanti of Justice Konda Madhava Reddy was celebrated recently on 27th December 2023. A special Indian Postal Cover was released to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the late Justice Konda Madhav Reddy. The event was held at the AV College in Hyderabad.
- Appointments:
- Justice Shree Chandrashekhar was appointed as the acting Chief Justice of the Jharkhand High Court on 27th December 2023. This appointment came as the incumbent Chief Justice Sanjaya Kumar Mishra retired upon reaching the age of 62. Justice Chandrashekhar has a distinguished career, having conducted about 3500 cases, mostly in the Supreme Court of India.
- Nina Singh, a 1989-batch IPS officer of the Rajasthan cadre, has become the first woman to be appointed as the Director General of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) on 28th December 2023.
- Obituaries:
- Jacques Delors, the former President of the European Commission and a key figure in the creation of the euro currency, has passed away. He was 98 years old. Delors, who was also a French politician, died in his sleep.
Questions:
Q.1 How many tigers did India lose in 2023 according to the Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI)?a. 100
b. 204
c. 300
d. 400
Q.2 Who has extended the deadline for mutual fund and demat account holders to nominate a beneficiary or opt-out?
a. Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI)
b. Reserve Bank of India (RBI)
c. Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI)
d. Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA)
