Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 03 January 2022

SSC CGL Current Affairs

Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 03 January 2022

::NATIONAL::

Anupam Ray to be the new Ambassador of India to the United Nations Conference on Disarmament

Senior diplomat Anupam Ray has been appointed as India's next permanent representative to the UN Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Wednesday.
Ray, a 1994-batch Indian Foreign Service officer, is currently serving as a joint secretary in the MEA's headquarters in Delhi.
"Anupam Ray (IFS:1994), presently joint secretary in the ministry, has been appointed as the next ambassador/PR (permanent representative) of India to the UN Conference on Disarmament, Geneva," the MEA said in a statement.
It said he is expected to take up the assignment shortly.
Ray will succeed Pankaj Sharma.
Sharma, a 1991-batch Indian Foreign Service officer, has been appointed as India's next ambassador to Mexico.
DrAnupam Ray has been appointed as the next Ambassador and Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations on Disarmament, Geneva, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement on December 29. DrAnupam Ray, who is an Indian Foreign Services (IFS) officer of the 1994 batch, is currently working as Joint Secretary in the MEA.
The MEA in a statement further stated that Ray is expected to be taking up the assignment shortly. DrPankaj Sharma, who is presently the Permanent Representative of India to the UN Conference on the Disarmament, has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to Mexico, the MEA informed in a statement. DrPankaj Sharma is an IFS officer of the 1991 batch. He took up the position of the Ambassador/Permanent Representative to the UN on Disarmament on 12 January, 2018.

::INTERNATIONAL::

Japan introduces world's first dual-mode vehicle

The world's first dual-mode vehicle has hit the ground on Saturday in the town of Kaiyo, Japan. It is said that the vehicle can run on roads as well as rail tracks.
The DMV looks like a minibus and runs on normal rubber tyres on the road. What makes this vehicle different from the rest is, it also has steel wheels in its underbelly which descend when it hits the rail tracks.
The front tyres are lifted off the track and the rear wheels stay down to propel the DMV onto the railway. This feature of effectively changing into a train-like module easily on a rail track is the first of its kind.
According to reports, the DMV can carry upto 21 passengers and runs at a speed of 60km/h on rail tracks and can go as fast as around 100km/h on public roads.
The vehicles could help small towns like Kaiyo with an aging and shrinking population, where local transport companies struggle to make a profit," Reuters quoted CEO of Asa Coast Railway company as saying.
Powered by diesel, the small fleet of vehicles comes in different colours. It runs along part of the Coast of Shikoku Island in southern Japan, connecting several small towns and offering passengers attractive seaside scenery.

::ECONOMY::

PM Modi inaugurates Bina (MP)-Panki (UP) multiproduct pipeline project

The Multiproduct pipeline from Bina Refinery (MP) to POL Terminal at Panki, Kanpur (UP) was today dedicated to the nation by the Prime Minister ShriNarendraModi. 356 Km long project has a capacity of around 3.45 million metric tonne per annum. This Project also includes augmentation of Tankage capacity and construction of Rail Loading Gantry at Panki POL Terminal.Total cost of the project is Rs.1524 crore (Rs. 1227 crore in UP and Rs. 297 crore in MP). project will cover 5 districts of UP: Lalitpur, Jhansi, Jalaun, Kanpur Dehat and Kanpur Nagar, and 2 of MP: Sagar and Tikamgarh.
The project has been completed and commissioned one month ahead of approved completion schedule of December 2021 (3 years from PNGRB authorisation) and within the approved cost.It will provide for safe and efficient evacuation of products from Bina Refinery and also improve availability of products in Eastern U.P, Central U.P., Northern Bihar and Southern Uttarakhand.
The project includes laying of 18 inch dia, 356 km long multi-product pipeline (283 km in UP and 73 km in MP) with design capacity of 3.5 MMTPA from Bina Dispatch Terminal at Bina (MP) to POL Terminal at Panki, Kanpur (UP) for transporting MS, HSD & SKO and also includes following facilities;
A. Construction of Pipeline Dispatch Terminal at Bina
B. Pipeline Receipt Terminal at Panki (Kanpur) with augmentation of tankage capacity from 30400 KL to 167200 KL
C. Rail Loading Gantry
D. 11 nos. SV stations and 1 no. Intermediate Pigging station along pipeline route.
The Project provided direct & indirect employment of close to 5 lakh man-days during construction phase. The Project will also provide employment to approx. 200 people for operation and maintenance.
Pipelines are the safe & environment friendly mode of transporting large quantity of petroleum products in an economical and reliable manner, reducing carbon foot prints by avoiding tank wagon and tank lorry movements.

::SCIENCE AND TECH::

Russia's first versatile nuclear-powered icebreaker to boost India's Arctic plans

Russia has launched a brand new nuclear powered icebreaker ‘Sibir’ that may contribute to the quickly rising fleet of deadly icebreakers to preserve the Northern Sea Route open for year-round transport by means of the Arctic enabling wider presence of India within the area.
During the twenty first version of the India-Russia summit held on December 6, the Indian Side additionally expressed its curiosity in collaborating with Russia on the Northern Sea Route. The Indian Side congratulated the Russian Side for its ongoing profitable chairmanship of the Arctic Council from 2021-23 and expressed its readiness to play an energetic position as an Observer within the Arctic Council.
Oil and gasoline reserves within the Russian Arctic could also be enough for the nation if obligatory, for many years and even centuries, in accordance to Russian estimates.
Simultaneously, the Arctic is opening new alternatives for hydrocarbons and different potential sources that lie unexplored beneath its ice. Russia maintains a dominant place within the Arctic and considers the area its strategic yard.
The Arctic, in current instances, has offered a brand new entrance of alternatives and cooperation between India and Russia. The Barents space within the Arctic area has a number of the best-known mineral deposits and a number of the world’s finest deep harbours from which to transport the merchandise. The area is wealthy in iron-ore. Russia’s oil and gasoline improvement initiatives within the Arctic are being given excessive precedence.
The Northern Sea Route via Arctic affords the shortest route between East Asian and Western European ports. It is estimated that the maritime distance from Shanghai to Rotterdam via NSR shall be 30 per cent shorter vis-à-vis the Suez Canal route, reducing time by 10–12 days. Likewise, the space from Yokohama to Rotterdam shall be 40 per cent shorter.

::SPORTS::

New Zealand Ross Taylor announces retirement from international cricket

Ross Taylor has announced his retirement from international cricket.
Taylor is the first player to feature in 100 games in each of the three formats.
New Zealand star Ross Taylor confirmed that he would retire from international cricket at the end of Black Cap’s home season. Taylor, who began his international career in March 2006 against West Indies, took to Twitter to announce that he will hang his boots after the upcoming Test series against Bangladesh and ODI legs versus Australia and the Netherlands.