Morning Current Affairs: 25 January 2022

Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha to have staggered timing

Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha are likely to function with staggered timing during the budget session of the Parliament, which is scheduled to start from January 31, 2022 amid rising number of COVID Cases in the country. While the Rajya Sabha is likely to meet in the first half of the day, the Lok Sabha is likely to meet in the second half of the day. President Ram Nath Kovind will address the joint sitting of the two Houses on January 31st. The budget will be presented on February 1st.

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National Voters Day 2022

The 12th National Voters Day was observed today to commemorate the foundation day of the Election Commission of India. The Election Commission was set up on January 25, 1950. The National Voters Day aims to encourage the new voters to enroll themselves in the electoral process.

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Air India likely to be handed over to Tata on January 27

National carrier Air India is likely to be handed over to the Tata Group on January 27, 2022. The government has decided to complete the disinvestment process by then, as per sources. Talace Pvt Ltd, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Sons Pvt Ltd, had won the bid last year to acquire 100 per cent equity shareholding of government-owned Air India. 

US places 8,500 troops on 'heightened alert' over Russia-Ukraine standoff

The Pentagon informed on January 24, 2022 that US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has placed up to 8,500 troops on heightened alert to prepare them for deployment if needed amid fears of Russia invading Ukraine. This comes after Russia has amassed almost 100,000 soldiers along its border with Ukraine.

Health Minister to hold meeting with health ministries of 9 states/ UTs

The Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya will hold virtual meeting with health ministers of nine states and union territories today over the COVID-19 situation. These states and UTs include Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Ladakh and Chandigarh. 

Meta's new AI supercomputer to be world's fastest by mid 2022

Meta, Facebook's parent company, said recently that its new artificial intelligence supercomputer is expected to be the world's fastest by the middle of this year. The company also stated that developing the next generation AI will require the supercomputers capable of performing quintillions of operations per second.

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