Why in news?

• Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw launched the India Semiconductor Mission recently.
  About India Semiconductor Mission
• The India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) is a specialised and independent business division within the Digital India Corporation.
• It has been set up with the aim to build a vibrant semiconductor and display ecosystem to enable India’s emergence as a global hub for electronics manufacturing and design.
• The mission is authorised to negotiate with the applicants under the semiconductor fab scheme and the display fab scheme.
• This mission has been given the autonomy to decide the appropriate technology mix, applications, node generation, capacity, among others and propose the structure and quantum of fiscal support for the selected applicants. A fab is short for fabrication plant where raw silicon wafers are processed and turned into integrated circuits.

Why in news?

• The government is planning to draw up an energy transition roadmap for the oil NSE -0.05 % and gas sector that could prove to be a key step on India’s path to net-zero emissions by 2070.

About the panel on energy transition

• The government of India has set up the Energy Transition Advisory Committee headed by former petroleum secretary Tarun Kapoor, to draft the strategy.
• The panel will include representatives of all public-sector oil and gas companies and will reach out to other stakeholders in the sector. The committee has until the middle of 2022 to recommend a roadmap for the sector’s transition.
• As part of its efforts, the committee will review and take into consideration existing initiatives while developing an action plan.
• Before his appointment as petroleum secretary, Kapoor spent several years framing policies for the power and the renewable energy sectors and has been instrumental in pushing state-run oil companies to work toward a transition plan.

Why in news?

• Ahead of assembly elections in five states, the government recently approved issuance of the 19th tranche of electoral bonds which will be open for sale from January 1 to 10,2022.

About electoral bonds

• An electoral bond is like a promissory note that can be bought by any Indian citizen or company incorporated in India from select branches of State Bank of India. The citizen or corporate can then donate the same to any eligible political party of his/her choice. The bonds are similar to bank notes that are payable to the bearer on demand and are free of interest. An individual or party will be allowed to purchase these bonds digitally or through cheque.
• The electoral bonds were introduced with the Finance Bill (2017). On January 29, 2018 the Narendra Modi-led NDA government notified the Electoral Bond Scheme 2018.
• The bonds are issued in multiples of Rs 1,000, Rs 10,000, Rs 100,000 and Rs 1 crore (the range of a bond is between Rs 1,000 to Rs 1 crore).
• These are available at some branches of SBI.
• The electoral bond is valid only for fifteen days.
• The electoral bonds will not bear the name of the donor. Thus, the political party might not be aware of the donor’s identity.

When are the bonds available for purchase?

• The electoral bonds are available for purchase for 10 days in the beginning of every quarter. The first 10 days of January, April, July and October has been specified by the government for purchase of electoral bonds. An additional period of 30 days shall be specified by the government in the year of Lok Sabha elections.

Why in news?

• The South Korean government is planning to develop a technology for Korea’s first artificial sun ‘KSTAR’ to maintain 100 million degrees for 300 seconds by 2026.

About ‘KSTAR’

• The Korean government is planning to develop a technology for Korea’s first artificial sun ‘KSTAR’ to maintain 100 million degrees for 300 seconds by 2026. The 300 seconds is the minimum time required for the commercialization of nuclear fusion technology.
• The Ministry of Science and ICT announced recently that it held the 16th National Fusion Committee at the Korea Institute of Fusion Energy and finalize the ‘4th basic plan of nuclear fusion energy development (2022-2026)’. The science ministry sets goals and directions of its policies for nuclear fusion energy development every 5 years.
• According to the plan, it will continue to improve operating technology in the field of KSTAR experiments, which are showing great results such as maintaining 100 million degrees of ultra-high temperature plasma (for 30 seconds in 2021), and will develop technology to maintain the temperature for 300 seconds by 2026.
• The nuclear fusion is the basic principle that the artificial sun generates light and heat. The government is aiming to produce power such as electricity by artificially implementing this principle on Earth with KSTAR.

Why in news?

• BCCI president Sourav Ganguly, and secretary Jay Shah lauded the India cricket team for winning the Under-19 Asia Cup title recently.

About India Winning the U-19 Asia Cup

• A disciplined bowling effort followed by Raghuvanshi’s half-century has helped India clinch their eighth U19 Asia Cup title at the Dubai International Stadium.
• Ravi Kumar, Rajvardhan Hangargekar and Raj Bawa picked a wicket each to mount some early pressure on the islanders. Kaushal Tambe piled further misery on the islanders, picking two wickets in his first three overs of the day. Vicky Ostwal also left his mark, picking three wickets including two in a single over. It was Angkrish Raghuvanshi towards the end, who notched up a half-century to seal the win for India.
• The rain-marred final was reduced to 38 overs after a two-hour interruption. In eight editions of the U-19 Asia Cup, India have now won it eight times, which includes a shared trophy in 2012. The team also owns the record of having never lost a final.

Why in news?

• Russia test-fired around 10 new Tsirkon (Zircon) hypersonic cruise missiles from a frigate and two more from a submarine.
• Russian President Vladimir Putin has lauded the weapon as part of a new generation of unrivalled arms systems.

Why in news?

• With the latest inclusion of metro lines, the total length of Shanghai’s metro network will extend to 831 km, continuing to be the longest in the world.

About the Metro line in Shanghai

• With the latest inclusion of metro lines, the city will have 20 metro lines with 508 stations.
• According to the metro official, the new line will connect a few of the popular areas of Shanghai including Jiading, Putuo, Jing’an, Huangpu districts and Pudong New.
• Apart from connecting some of the vital places of the city, the authorities also informed that the new metro station will provide convenient connectivity to the city’s most renowned tourist attractions and landmarks downtown, including Jing’an Temple and Lujiazui.

Why in news?

• Director General Virender Singh Pathania took over as the 24th Chief of the Indian Coast Guard recently.

About General VS Pathania

• A qualified helicopter pilot, the top official of India’s Coast Guard has held several key roles afloat and ashore in a career spanning 36 years.
• The Flag Officer has commanded all classes of Coast Guard ships such as Inshore Patrol Vessel ‘Ranijindan’, Offshore Patrol Vessel ‘Vigraha’ and Advanced Offshore Patrol Vessel ‘Sarang’.
• An alumnus of the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington and National Defence College, New Delhi, he also holds a Master’s Degree in Defence & Strategic Studies from the University of Madras. In addition to this, he has undergone a specialization in Search and Rescue and port operations with the US Coast Guard.
• Director General Pathania is also recipient of President’s Tatrakshak Medal for Distinguished service, Tatrakshak Medal for gallantry and Director General Indian Coast Guard Commendation.

Why in news?

• The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has approved an ex-gratia from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF) for the victims of stampede at Mata Vaishno Devi Bhawan.

About Prime Ministers National Relief Fund (PMNRF)

• In pursuance of an appeal by the then Prime Minister, Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru in January, 1948, the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF) was established with public contributions to assist displaced persons from Pakistan.
• The resources of the PMNRF are now utilized primarily to render immediate relief to families of those killed in natural calamities like floods, cyclones and earthquakes, etc. and to the victims of the major accidents and riots. Assistance from PMNRF is also rendered, to partially defray the expenses for medical treatment like heart surgeries, kidney transplantation, cancer treatment and acid attack etc.
• The fund consists entirely of public contributions and does not get any budgetary support. The corpus of the fund is invested in various forms with scheduled commercial banks and other agencies. Disbursements are made with the approval of the Prime Minister.
• PMNRF has not been constituted by the Parliament. The fund is recognized as a Trust under the Income Tax Act and the same is managed by Prime Minister or multiple delegates for national causes.
• PMNRF accepts only voluntary donations by individuals and institutions.

Why in news?

• With the advent of New Year, Manali will be hosting the Winter Carnival from January 2 to 6.
• The annual fest is organised to attract tourists to Kullu and Manali during the off-season, promote folk culture and provide a platform to local artistes and those from other states.
• In order to expand it, the then Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal gave the Winter Carnival the status of a state-level festival in 1999 while it became a national event in 2011.
• The main purpose of the carnival in 1970s was to promote winter sports.
• Harnam Singh, the then director of the mountaineering institute in Manali, played an important role in starting this event.