One Liners of the Day, 18 January 2022

Economy

• The Centre has invited applications from domestic companies, start-ups and MSMEs under its Design Linked Incentive (DLI) Scheme to create a vibrant ecosystem for semiconductor chip design in the country.  The scheme is part of a ₹ 76,000 crores ($10 billion) package that the government announced in December, aiming to nurture at least 20 domestic companies involved in semiconductor design.    
• State-owned Oil India Ltd (OIL) has exited from a US shale oil venture, selling its 20 per cent stake to its venture partner for USD 25 million — the second exit of an Indian firm from the US shale business in two months. 
• Infrastructure major Megha Engineering & Infrastructures Limited (MEIL) has completed 5-km-long tunnelling work as part of the 18-km-long all-weather Zojila Tunnel in a record time of 14 months. It is envisaged to ensure connectivity between Srinagar and Ladakh throughout the year.
• Jet fuel (ATF) price was hiked by 4.2 per cent on January 2022, but petrol and diesel prices remained unchanged for the 72nd day in a row.
• Indian billionaires have seen their combined fortunes more than double during the pandemic, with the wealthiest 98 Indian billionaires having the same wealth ($657 billion) as the poorest 555 million people (bottom 40 percent).
• India’s wealthiest families saw their wealth reach a record high in 2021, even as 84 per cent of Indian households saw an income decline amid the pandemic, according to a report from non-profit Oxfam India titled 'Inequality Kills'. 

International Affairs

• Mali’s former President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita dies at 76
• An underwater volcano off Tonga had erupted and had triggered a tsunami on the shores of Tonga on January 15, 2022. It has cut off phone and internet lines for the entire island.
• China's birth rate dropped to a record low in 2021: Mainland China's birth rate dropped to a record low of 7.52 per 1,000 people in 2021.

National Affairs

• Indian Army's New Combat Uniform Unveiled. This uniform is more comfortable, and it would be worn in all types of terrains. The digital disruptive pattern is designed with the help of computer aid.
• Union Minister of MSME inaugurated the MSME Pavilion virtually in the presence of officials from the Government of Dubai and dignitaries joining from all over the country in World Expo, 2020 Dubai.
• Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA)  announced the initiation of the Open Data Week to encourage the adoption of open data and promote innovation across India’s urban ecosystem on January 15, 2022.
• Forest Tree Cover in India up by 2,261 sq km since the last assessment in 2019, according to the India State of Forest Report-2021. The top three states showing an increase in forest cover are Andhra Pradesh (647 sq km) followed by Telangana (632 sq km) and Odisha (537 sq km),”
• Graceful small-headed sea snake (Hydrophis gracilis) reported from Perumathura coast of Kerala. 
• New species of wood-boring, deep-sea mollusc found in the Arabian sea. Discovery of species, named Xylophaga nandani, by a team of researchers from Kerala and Brazil.
• Muscles starve in the absence of vitamin D, a mice study finds. Skeletal muscles normally brim with energy, yet they starve in the absence of Vitamin D. 

Person in News

• India's leading Kathak exponent and Padma Vibhushan awardee, Pt Birju Maharaj, passed away after suffering a heart attack on January 2022 at the age of 83.
• Birth Anniversary of Maruthur Gopala Ramachandran aka MGR (17 January):  He was one of the most influential actors of his time. He also served as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu from the period 1977 to 1987.

State Current Affairs

• Arvind Kejriwal will flag off Delhi's first DTC electric bus on January 17, 2022. E-buses will have CCTV cameras and panic buttons enabled to ensure women’s safety as well as pink seats. Besides having GPS and live-tracking, these buses will have kneeling ramps for the differently-abled population.

Sports

• Yonex-Sunrise India Open Badminton in New Delhi: India’s Lakshya Sen (men’s), Thailand’s Busanan Ongbamrunghphan (women’s) win singles titles.

Science & Technology

• China builds an 'artificial moon' for gravity experiments. Chinese scientists have built an "artificial moon" research facility that will enable them to simulate low-gravity environments using magnetism. 

General Knowledge

• The constitutional provision that Specifies the number of seats in the Lok Sabha: Article 81
• The constitutional provision that deals with Hindi as the official language: Article 343
• The constitutional provision that deals with the  Imposition of President's Rule in states: Article 356