Daily Current Affairs – 29 November 2022

The Narendra Modi-led government at the centre has granted Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra a 14-month extension in the post beyond his date of superannuation on 31 December.
The directive was confirmed by in a Personnel Ministry order.
“The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved extension in service to Vinay Mohan Kwatra, (IFS:1988), as Foreign Secretary beyond the date of his superannuation i.e. 31.12.2022 up to 30.04.2024 or until further orders, whichever is earlier,” a government order said.
Kwatra, who is known to have extensive expertise in dealing with India’s neighbourhood as well as the US, China and Europe, will now continue in office till the present Narendra-Modi government term ends in 2024.
Kwatra had assumed office as Foreign Secretary on May 1 this year, succeeding Harsh Vardhan Shringla to the post.

75 The percentage of hypertension patients in India who have uncontrolled high blood pressure (BP), according to a study published in The Lancet Regional Health
High BP is an important modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular diseases, making it a significant contributor to premature death and morbidity.

India and France on Monday discussed defence industrial cooperation with a focus on ‘Make in India’ as well as means to strengthen maritime cooperation and increase the scope and complexity of bilateral exercises.
This was discussed during the 4th India-France annual defence dialogue chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his visiting French counterpart Sebastien Lecornu.
“During the dialogue, one of the key areas of discussion was defence industrial cooperation with a focus on ‘Make in India’.
Future collaborations and potential co-production opportunities were discussed.
The Ministers agreed that the technical groups from both the countries should meet early next year and take the key cooperation issues forward,” a Defence Ministry statement said. This is the first visit of Mr. Lecornu to India as French Minister of Armed Forces.

The Indian Space Research Organization (Isro) on Monday unveiled the first privately designed and operated rocket launchpad and mission control centre in India.
The facility, unveiled by S. Somanath, chairman of Isro and secretary Department of Space (DoS), is designed and will be fully operated by homegrown space startup Agnikul Cosmos, Isro confirmed in a statement.
The launchpad and mission control centre, located in Isro’s Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh, is expected to host its first rocket launch in the coming weeks by Agnikul itself.
“The first exclusive launch pad for a private launch vehicle has come up at Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC).
So now India can travel to space from one more space platform.
Srinath Ravichandran, chief executive of Agnikul, told that while the launch facility will be presently used by Agnikul only, the company will be “open to other companies using the launchpad in future”.

Hawaii’s Mauna Loa, the world’s largest active volcano, began spewing ash and debris from its summit, prompting civil defence officials to warn residents on Monday to prepare in case the eruption causes lava to flow toward communities. The eruption began late Sunday night following a series of earthquakes

Source : THE HINDU