31-12-21 Daily-Punjab-PPSC Current Affairs

The state government will reimburse around Rs 4.58 crore which was spent on the vaccination of registered construction workers and their family members to the Punjab Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board.

It has been learnt the Labour Department has already asked the Finance Department to take steps in this regard in the recent 28th meeting of the board. The meeting was chaired by the Chief Minister himself, wherein the Labour Department asked officials to reimburse the money citing the free supply of vaccination to the entire population by the central government.

The Tribune had been highlighting the paid vaccination of construction workers while others were being jabbed for free. The Labour Department had to transfer around Rs 7.04 crore to the Health Department for the vaccination of registered construction workers and their family members. Ironically, other beneficiaries of the state were being jabbed free of cost.

The Bina (MP)-Panki (UP) Multiproduct Pipeline Project was inaugurated by Prime Minister Modi.

Highlights:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated the 356-kilometer Bina Refinery (Madhya Pradesh)-POL Terminal at Panki (Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh) Multiproduct pipeline project.

It has a capacity of 45 million metric tonnes per annum, which cost Rs 1524 crore Rs. 1227 crores in UP and Rs. 297 crores in MP.

The project was completed and commissioned one month ahead of schedule, in December 2021 (3 years after PNGRB approval), and on budget.

It will allow for the safe and efficient evacuation of products from the Bina Refinery, as well as increased product availability in Eastern Uttar Pradesh, Central Uttar Pradesh, Northern Bihar, and Southern Uttarakhand.

The Sahitya Akademi announced its prestigious “Sahitya Akademi Awards, Yuva Puraskar, and Bal Sahitya Puraskar” for 2021 in various languages on 30 December.

The award is given to authors of the most outstanding books of literary merit published in any of the 24 major Indian languages and 22 languages listed in the Indian Constitution’s Eighth Schedule.

In 1954, the award was established. In 20 Indian languages, the Sahitya Akademy Award 2021 was presented.

In English, it went to Namita Gokhale for her novel ‘Things to Leave Behind.’

On December 29, 2021, Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw launched the India Semiconductor Mission.

Highlights:

Interested companies will be able to apply for the scheme beginning January 1, 2022, if they want to take advantage of the Rs 76,000-crore incentives set aside by the central government for developing semiconductors and demonstrating India’s manufacturing ecosystem.

In order to receive applications for the scheme, a portal has been created.

The India Semiconductor Mission is a government-led initiative to develop semiconductors in India (ISM)

Digital India Corporation’s ISM is a specialized and self-contained business division.

In China’s Shanghai Province, the world’s longest metro line was inaugurated on 31 December.

Highlights:

Shanghai maintains its position as the world’s largest metro network with this inauguration. Line 14 and Phase One of Line 18 are the two new metro lines that the city has opened.

The total length of Shanghai’s metro network has now reached 831 kilometers. It maintains its position as the world’s longest network.

With the addition of two new lines, Shanghai now has a total of five fully automatic metro lines with a total operating length of 167 kilometers.

On December 30, 2021, Iran launched a rocket into space with a satellite carrier carrying three devices.

Highlights:

It’s unclear when this launch took place or what devices the carrier launched into space.

However, a spokesman for the Defense Ministry identified the rocket as “Simorgh, or Phoenix,” which launched the three devices into space at a distance of 470 kilometers.

The status of the objects is unknown, implying that the rocket failed to place its payload into the proper orbit.

The Iranian Space Agency (ISA) is the country’s space agency. In 2009, the country achieved orbital launch capability.