Daily GK Update- 25th Dec, 2021

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Nagaland creates 3 new districts Niuland, Tseminyu, Chumukedima: Nagaland government has announced the creation of three new districts, namely Tseminyu, Niuland and Chumoukedima. This comes less than a year after the 12th district of the state—Noklak—was inaugurated. With the addition of the three new districts, Nagaland will now have 15 districts. While the Tseminyu sub-division in Kohima district has been upgraded to a district, Niuland and Chumukedima have been carved out of Dimapur district. Though there were demands from at least 11 tribes for the creation of new districts, the Cabinet could consider only three of them as some districts are inhabited by only one tribe and those cannot be divided.

Note: Chief Minister of Nagaland: Neiphiu Rio; Governor of Nagaland: Jagdish Mukhi.

 

2. Haryana launched ‘Khel Nursery scheme 2022-23’ to promote sports: Haryana’s Minister of State for Sports and Youth Affairs, Sandeep Singh launched ‘Khel Nursery Scheme 2022-23’ to promote sports in the state. The players of Haryana have given a new identity to the state at the international level with their sports talent. The state government is always striving to develop new sports talents in the state. The scheme promotes sports nurseries that will be started in government, private educational institutions and private sports institutions. The sports nurseries are being opened for the sports included in the Olympic, Asian and Commonwealth Games.

Note: Haryana Capital: Chandigarh; Haryana Governor: Bandaru Dattatreya; Haryana Chief Minister: Manohar Lal Khattar.

 

3. Tamil Nadu announced ‘Tamil Thaai Vaazhthu’ as state song: Tamil Nadu government has announced ‘Tamil Thaai Vaazhthu’ as the state anthem. It should be sung before the start of any functions in all educational institutions, universities, government offices, and public sector undertakings. The decision comes in the wake of the Madras High Court recently ruling that ‘Tamil Thai Vaazhthu’ is a prayer song and not an anthem. Government Order to this effect has been issued, mandating that all barring the differently-abled persons should remain standing when the 55-second long song is sung. The ‘Tamil Thai Vaazhthu’ enjoy official status since 1970. It is the official song of the union territory of Puducherry as well. Jaya Bharata Jananiya Tanujate is the official state anthem of Karnataka and Bande Utkal Janani is the official state anthem of Odisha.

Note: Tamil Nadu Capital: Chennai; Tamil Nadu Chief Minister: MK Stalin; Tamil Nadu Governor: R.N.Ravi; Tamil Nadu State Dance: Bharathanatyam.

 

4. A book on Yogi Adityanath “The Monk Who Transformed Uttar Pradesh” released: The book titled “The Monk Who Transformed Uttar Pradesh: How Yogi Aditynath Changed UP Waala Bhaiya’ abuse to a Badge of Honour”, authored by Shantanu Gupta. A new book chronicles how Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath transformed the state in various aspects like law and order, connectivity, education, health infrastructure, and overall growth. The book underlines the journey of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, from being born in Uttarakhand to becoming a Nath Panthi saint, to CM of Uttar Pradesh.

 

5. Good Governance Day: 25th December: In India, Good Governance Day (Sushasan Divas) is observed annually on 25th December. On this day nation celebrates the birth anniversary of Bharat Ratna and former-Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. In keeping with this principle, Good Governance Day has been declared to be a working day for the government.

Significance of the day: The aim to observe this day is to let the students and citizens of the country know about the duties and responsibilities of the government they need to fulfil. Good governance day acts as a reminder to the government about their responsibilities, and the government should be unbiased, transparent, and development-oriented.

History of the day: On 23rd December 2014, former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, and Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya were announced to receive the highest civilian award of the nation, Bharat Ratna. After the announcement, the newly elected prime minister Narendra Modi has announced 25th December to be celebrated and observed as the Good Governance Day.

About Atal Bihari Vajpayee: Atal Bihari Vajpayee served as the Prime Minister of India for three times. His first term was for only 13 days in 1996. He served his second term for a period of thirteen months from March 1998 to April 1999 and then a full term from 1999 to 2004. His first entry into parliament was in 1962 through the Rajya Sabha. He was elected to the Lok Sabha seven times. In 2015, Mr Vajpayee was conferred the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian award.

 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Gabriel Boric elected as youngest-ever President-elect of Chile: 35-year-old, Gabriel Boric, has won Chile presidential elections, to become the youngest-ever President-elect of Chile. He defeated his opposition Jose Antonio Kast in the elections. Gabriel Boric will assume office in March 2022, will become the youngest president in Chile’s history. Official results gave Mr Boric 56% of the votes against Mr Kast’s 44%. Mr Kast conceded defeat barely an hour-and-a-half after polls closed, and with around half of ballots counted.

The president-elect also promised to block a controversial proposed mining project which he said would destroy communities and the national environment. Chile’s currency, the peso, plunged to a record low against the US dollar after Mr Boric’s victory. Stock markets fell by 10%, with mining stocks performing particularly badly.

Note: Chile Capital: Santiago; Chile Currency: Peso;

 

2. Pradeep Kumar Rawat appointed as India’s new envoy to China: Senior Indian diplomat Pradeep Kumar Rawat, who is well-versed in negotiating with Chinese diplomats, has been appointed as India’s next Ambassador to China. Rawat’s appointment comes amid the lingering border stand-off in eastern Ladakh. Rawat is currently the country’s envoy to the Netherlands.

The career of Pradeep Kumar Rawat: An Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer of the 1990 batch, Rawat is currently the country’s envoy to the Netherlands. He was joint secretary (East Asia) in the MEA when the Doklam border stand-off took place in 2017. He was involved in the negotiations during the early days before he moved to Indonesia as ambassador.

Rawat served as India’s envoy to Indonesia and Timor-Leste from September 2017 to December 2020. He had earlier served in Hong Kong and Beijing and speaks fluent Mandarin.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

 

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

 

1. ICICI Pru Life Insurance became first insurer to sign UNPRI on ESG issues: ICICI Prudential Life Insurance became the first Indian insurance company to sign United Nations-supported Principles for Responsible Investment (UNPRI), to demonstrate commitment towards the environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues. In order to promote sustainability, IPRULIFE is integrating ESG factors into its investment management framework. The UNPRI is an investor initiative in partnership with the two bodies of the United Nations – the UN Environment Programme Finance Initiative and the UN Global Compact. Climate change is impacting lives and livelihoods around us and as one of the largest domestic financial institutions in the country, it is incumbent on us to act proactively and responsibly on ESG factors to save the planet.”

Note: ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Established: 2000; ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra; ICICI Prudential Life Insurance CEO & MD: Narayanan Srinivasa Kannan.

 

2. Truecaller: India fourth most affected country by spam calls in 2021: Spam call rates in India have spiked again, with the country moving up in global rankings from 9th position to 4th position owing to a significant in sales and telemarketing calls in 2021, according to the latest insights by callerID, spam detection and blocking company, Truecaller. The upward movement is a direct result of a significant increase in sales and telemarketing calls, which in India make up about 93.5% of all spam calls. The report also showed that one particular company, the identity of which Truecaller did not reveal, was responsible for making over 202 million spam calls in 2021, which translates to about 27,000 calls on an hourly basis.

Top 3 countries: The top three countries in the world with maximum spam based calls were Brazil, Peru and Ukraine. Interestingly, the USA dropped from 2nd place in 2020 to 20th in 2021, owing to stringent government regulations.

Note: Truecaller Established: 1 July 2009; Truecaller Chairmen: Bing Gordon; Truecaller Headquarters: Stockholm, Sweden.

 

AWARDS AND HONOURS

 

1. Emma Raducanu wins BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2021: Tennis star Emma Raducanu is the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year for 2021. She beat Tom Daley(diver) and Adam Peaty (swimmer) into second and third place, while England’s men’s footballers were named team of the year and Gareth Southgate the coach, as a triumphant period for British sport across the board was commemorated at a ceremony in Salford. Tom Daley won gold for the first time at his fourth Olympics in Tokyo.

Other award winners at Sports Personality 2021:

Categories	Winners
Helen Rollason Award	Jen Beattie
Coach of the Year	Gareth Southgate
Team of the Year	England men’s football team
World Sport Star	Rachael Blackmore
Lifetime Achievement	Simone Biles
Unsung Hero	Sam Barlow
Young Sports Personality of the Year	Sky Brown

 

2. SAIL honoured Golden Peacock Environment Management Award 2021: Steel Authority of India Ltd. (SAIL), under the Ministry of Steel, has been awarded with the prestigious Golden Peacock Environment Management Award 2021 for successive three years. The Award is given to organizations for significant achievements in Environment Management by Environment Foundation (WEF) since 1998. The company’s environmental protections measures are focused on adopting various environmental measures including, upgrading of pollution control facilities, water conservation efforts with the aim to achieve Zero Liquid Discharge, efficient handling of different solid wastes (viz. process waste, hazardous waste, canteen/township waste), carbon sequestration through afforestation, eco-restoration of the mined-out area and etc.

Some of the major initiatives undertaken by SAIL in this area: Carbon footprint reduction has become an integral part of the company’s corporate policies and operations. Deployment of state-of-the-art environment-friendly technology, R&D initiatives in association with academic institutes of repute for resource efficiency, creation of carbon sinks by massive plantation drives, gradual shift to LED lighting, enhancing the share of renewable energy etc.

Note: SAIL Founded: 19 January 1954; SAIL Headquarters: New Delhi; SAIL CEO: Soma Mondal.

 

OBITUARIES

 

1. Former SC Judge Justice GT Nanavati Who Headed ‘2002 Godhra Riots’ passes away: Former Supreme Court judge, Justice Girish Thakorlal Nanavati who headed two inquiry commissions formed to probe into the 2002 Godhra Riots & 1984 Anti-Sikh Riots, passed away. Justice Girish Thakorlal Nanavati was 86. He was elevated as the Judge of the Supreme Court of India with effect in March 1995 and he retired as an SC Judge in February 2000.

 

2. Former Union Minister R L Jalappa passes away: A veteran leader of the Indian National Congress (INC) and the former Union Minister of Textiles, RL Jalappa has passed away. RL Jalappa was founder and Chairman of Devaraj Urs Medical College in Kolar and RL Jalappa Institute of Technology, Doddaballapur. In 1979 he quit Congress to form the Karnataka Kranti Ranga with former Chief Minister D Devaraj Urs and he again joined congress in 1998.