India assumes the Presidency of the UNSC for December month 2022

India assumes the Presidency of the UNSC for December month 2022

• India has assumed the Presidency of the UN Security Council for the month of December. It is the second time in its two-year tenure as an elected member of the UN Security Council that India has assumed the Presidency of the Council. India had earlier assumed the Presidency of the UNSC in August 2021.
• Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations Ruchira Kamboj said, during India’s December Presidency of the UN Security Council, two high-level signature events will take place on 14th and 15th December on ‘Reformed Multilateralism and Counter-Terrorism and it will be chaired by External Affairs Minister.
• The United Nations Security Council is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, and approving any changes to the UN Charter.

Maharashtra govt tweaks policy on single-use plastic, allows straws, cups, plates made from compostable materials

• The Maharashtra government has permitted the production of straws, cups, plates, forks and spoons made from ‘compostable’ materials by making changes to the policy on single-use plastic.
• A panel which studied the ban on single-use plastic and thermocol items, decided to permit items made from compostable material.
• But it will be mandatory to get approval for these products from the Central Institute of Plastic Engineering and Technology (CIPET) and Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

“The Chipko Movement” written by historian-activist Shekhar Pathak, was named the winner of the Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay NIF Book Prize 2022

• A book on the popular forest conservation campaign Chipko Movement, written by historian-activist Shekhar Pathak, was named the winner of the Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay NIF Book Prize 2022. Translated from Hindi by Manisha Chaudhry, “The Chipko Movement: A People’s History” was selected from a diverse shortlist of five books covering a wide expanse of modern Indian history and encompassing distinct topics and perspectives.
• Established in 2018, the Kamaladevi NIF Book Prize builds on the New India Foundation’s mission of sponsoring high-quality research and writing on all aspects of Independent India. 
• The Book Prize celebrates high-quality, non-fiction literature by emerging writers from all nationalities, published in the previous calendar year.
• The prize is named after Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay, the institution-builder who had contributed significantly to the freedom struggle, to the women’s movement, to refugee rehabilitation and to the renewal of handicrafts.