NATIONAL UPDATES:
1. PM
Narendra Modi launched development projects in Goa: Prime Minister
Narendra Modi has inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of several
development projects worth over 650 crores rupees in Goa. He felicitated
freedom fighters and veterans of ‘Operation Vijay’ at the function. He
appreciated Chief Minister Pramod Sawant for keeping the pace of development up
in the state.
Some of the major projects Modi will
inaugurate are:
(1) The re-development of Aguada Fort Jail
Museum at a cost of over Rs 28 crore.
(2) A super specialty block at the Goa
Medical College and Hospital, which has been constructed at a cost of over Rs
380 crores.
(3) The New South Goa District Hospital,
built at a cost of around Rs 220 crore.
(4) The Aviation Skill Development Centre
at the upcoming Mopa Airport, built at a cost of around Rs 8.5 crore.
(5) A gas-insulated substation at
Davorlim-Navelim, Margao, was constructed at a cost of around Rs 16 crores.
Note: Goa Capital: Panaji; Goa CM: Pramod
Sawant; Goa Governor: S. Sreedharan Pillai.
2.
Punjab CM gave tag of ‘state festival’ to Jagannath Rath Yatra: The Chief Minister
of Punjab, Charanjit Singh Channi has declared Lord Krishna Balram Jagannath
Rath Yatra as an annual state festival. The announcement for the same was made
during flagging off the 25th Shri Lord Krishna Balram Jagannath Rath Yatra. He
also announced a grant of Rs 2.51 crore for the Iskcon Temple in Ludhiana,
Punjab. Notably, Punjab Government is also developing the Bhagavad Gita and
Ramayana Research Centre on a 20-acre land in Patiala. This was not the first
time that the Rath Yatra of Ludhiana set the stage for the elections. Ahead of
the 2017 Punjab elections, Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia of AAP participated
in the yatra. He also performed ‘Maha Aarti’ from the stage with party
candidates.
Note: Punjab Capital: Chandigarh; Punjab
Chief minister: Charanjit Singh Channi; Punjab Governor: Banwarilal Purohit.
3.
International Arbitration and Mediation Centre inaugurated in Telangana: Chief Justice of
India (CJI) Justice NV Ramana, and Chief Minister of Telangana K Chandrasekhar
Rao has inaugurated India’s First International Arbitration and Mediation
Centre (IAMC) at Phoenix VK Tower at Nanakramguda, Hyderabad, Telangana. Those
who empanel the centre include internationally acclaimed arbitrators and
mediators from countries such as Singapore and the UK.
About the IAMC: IAMC has been
established to quickly resolve the issues that arise due to the Lack of
sufficient judges. IAMC will settle commercial disputes and it will also look
into the disputes of ordinary people.
Note: Telangana Capital: Hyderabad;
Telangana Governor: Tamilisai Soundararajan; Telangana Chief minister: K.
Chandrashekar Rao.
4.
Atul Dinkar Rane appointed as BrahMos Aerospace CEO & MD: Atul Dinkar Rane
has been appointed as the new Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of
the BrahMos Aerospace Limited that manufactures the BrahMos supersonic cruise
missile. His pioneering contributions and techno-managerial leadership has been
transformative for the successful development and induction of BrahMos
Supersonic Cruise Missile into Armed Forces.
Rane is renowned for his decades of
sustained R&D contributions in the indigenous design and development of
mission-critical Onboard Computers (OBC), hardware in loop simulation studies,
systems analysis, development of mission software and avionics technologies for
defence applications. His pioneering contributions and techno-managerial
leadership has been transformative for the successful development and induction
of BrahMos Supersonic Cruise Missile into Armed Forces.
Note: BrahMos Aerospace Limited Founder: A.
Sivathanu Pillai; BrahMos Aerospace Limited Founded: 12 February 1998; BrahMos
Aerospace Limited Headquarters: New Delhi.
5.
Tusshar Kapoor released his debut book ‘Bachelor Dad’: Tusshar Kapoor has
written his first book titled ‘Bachelor Dad’. The actor became a single father
to son Laksshya Kapoor via surrogacy in 2016. He has shared his journey of
being a single father in the new book. The actor has shared his journey of the
‘slightly unconventional road to fatherhood’ in his debut book, Bachelor Dad.
On the cover of the book, he can be seen carrying his son. Announcing the book,
Tusshar wrote, “I WROTE A BOOK! Becoming a father has been one of the most
cherished moments of my life and my first book, Bachelor Dad, talks about how I
took a slightly unconventional road to fatherhood.”
INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:
1.
WADA report: India among world’s top three dope violators country: India is among the
world’s top three dope violators country in the world. Indian athletes were
involved 152 times in dope-related activities in the year 2019. The report has
revealed the latest report published by the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada),
which has put India into the top-three of the world’s biggest violators behind
Russia (167) and Italy (157). Brazil (78) is at fourth and Iran (70) fifth
positions.
In 2019, 152 (17 per cent of the world
total) Anti-doping Rule Violations (ADRVs) were reported in India. The maximum
dope offenders are from bodybuilding followed by weightlifting (25), athletics
(20), wrestling (10), and boxing.
About the report:
(1) A total of 278,047 samples were
collected by Anti-Doping Organisations worldwide in 2019, and subsequently,
analysed by WADA-accredited laboratories. Of these samples, 2,701 (1 per cent)
were reported as Adverse Analytical Findings.
(2) Based on a compilation of the
information received by WADA till January 31, 2021, 1,535 samples (57 per cent)
were confirmed as ADRVs (sanctions), the world anti-doping watchdog.
(3) Among Olympic sports worldwide,
athletics leads the number of dope offenders with 227 (18 per cent), followed
by weightlifting with 160. Bodybuilding leads overall with 272.
Note: World Anti-Doping Agency
Headquarters: Montreal, Canada; World Anti-Doping Agency President: Craig
Reedie; World Anti-Doping Agency Founded: 10 November 1999.
2.
International Day of Epidemic Preparedness: 27th December: The United Nations
and World Health Organization marked December 27 as the International day for
Epidemic Preparedness. Battered by the Covid-19 pandemic, humans have learned
about epidemic preparedness the hard way. In a bid to prepare for future
outbreaks and sensitise people about epidemics on all levels. The day was first
observed last December when the United Nations General Assembly had emphasised
on the need to advocate the importance of the preparedness for, prevention of
and partnership against epidemics.
Significance: As per a WHO
statement, the need of the hour is to invest in systems that can help detect,
prevent and respond to outbreaks that have the ability to disrupt health
systems, supply chains and livelihood of especially the poorest countries. The
UN also aims at popularising the One Health approach that fosters the
integration of plant health, human health and animal health along with other
relevant sectors.
OTHER UPDATES:
SPORTS
1.
BWF World Championships 2021: Loh Kean Yew won Men’s singles: The 2021 Badminton
World Federation (BWF) World championship (officially known as the
TotalEnergies BWF World Championships 2021), an annual tournament was held
between 12th December 2021 and 19th December 2021 in Huelva, Spain. Loh Kean
Yew of Singapore won the Men’s Singles title and Akane Yamaguchi of Japan won
the Women’s Singles title of BWF World Championship 2021.
Winners of BWF World Championship
2021:
|
Category |
Winner |
Runner |
|
Men’s Singles |
Loh Kean Yew
(Singapore) |
Srikanth Kidambi
(India) |
|
Women’s Singles |
Akane Yamaguchi
(Japan) |
Tai – Tzu Ying
(Chinese Taipei) |
|
Men’s Doubles |
Takuro Hoki & Yugo
Kobayashi (Japan) |
He Jiting & Tan
Qiang (China) |
|
Women’s Doubles |
Chen Qingchen &
Jia Yifan (China) |
Lee So-hee & Shin
Seung-Chan (South Korea) |
|
Mixed Doubles |
Dechapol Puavaranukroh
& Sapsiree Taerattanachai (Thailand) |
Yuta Watanabe &
Arisa Higashino (Japan) |
BANKING AND FINANCE
1.
State Bank of India acquired minority stake in JSW Cement for INR 100 crore: State Bank of India
(SBI) acquired a minority stake (less than 50 per cent) in JSW Cement Limited
for an investment of INR 100 crore through Compulsory Convertible Preference
Shares (CCPS). The SBI is working as a strategic investor at JSW Cement and has
invested in the company through CCPS. The conversion of such CCPS into common
equity of the company will be linked to the JSW Cement’s business performance
and valuation at the time of the proposed initial public offering. The SBI
transaction with JSW Cement comes close on the heels of the Rs 1,500 crore
investments made by two global private equity investors, Apollo Global
Management Inc. (through its investment entity in Singapore) and Synergy Metals
Investments Holding Ltd earlier this year.
Note: SBI Founded: 1 July 1955; SBI
Headquarters: Mumbai; SBI Chairman: Dinesh Kumar Khara.
BUSINESS AND ECONOMY
1.
GoI & German Bank signed Euro 442.26 mn loan for Surat Metro Rail Project: Government of India
and the Germany Development Bank- KfW (Kreditanstalt fur Wiederaufbau) signed a
26 million euros loan for a 40.35 km Surat Metro Rail project in Gujarat. The
total cost of the project is Euro 1.50 billion, out of which KfW is financing
Euro 442.26 million. The project is co-financed by French Development Agency,
AFD (Agence Française de Développemet) with Euro 250 million. Prime Minister
Narendra Modi had launched the Ahmedabad Metro Rail Project Phase-II and the
Surat Metro Rail Project in January this year. The project is aimed at reducing
traffic congestion and long delays on major travel corridors in Surat city and
urban areas.
About the Surat Metro project: The 40.35 km
Surat Metro project aims to strengthen the transport infrastructure of the
urban part of Surat. It comprises two corridors. While corridor-1 is 21.61 km
long and is from Sarthana to Dream City. Corridor-2 is 18.74 km long and is
from Bhesan to Saroli.
2. PM
Jan Dhan Yojna accounts surpass the 44-cr mark: The total number of
beneficiaries under the Centre’s financial inclusion scheme, Pradhan Mantri Jan
Dhan Yojana (PMJDY), has crossed the 44 crore mark. The total number of
accounts opened under PMJDY stood at 44.05 crores, with a total balance of
₹1,47,812 crore as on December 8. Uttar Pradesh tops the list with the highest
number of accounts followed by Bihar. Since its launch in 2014, the scheme has
been steadily expanding its base.
The PMJDY was launched on August 28, 2014,
with an aim to provide universal access to banking facilities to the people in
the country. According to the Reserve Bank of India’s guidelines, savings and
current accounts will be classified as dormant if there are no transactions in
the account for two years. The average balance in Jan Dhan accounts hovers at
about ₹2,700 across banks.
DEFENCE
1.
Indian Navy’s 2nd indigenous stealth destroyer ‘Mormugao’ sailed: Indian Navy’s
indigenous stealth guided-missile destroyer ‘Mormugao’ went for her maiden sea
trials. This second indigenous stealth destroyer of the Project 15 B (P15B)
class, is planning to be commissioned in mid-2022. Mormugao is being built at
Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd as part of Project 15B destroyers and incorporates
several indigenous technologies.
About the ‘Mormugao’: The destroyer is expected to add significantly to the capabilities of the Indian Navy, which got a major booster in the form of INS Visakhapatnam’s and the fourth stealth scorpene class submarine INS Vela’s commissioning. INS Vela was also constructed at MDSL Mumbai in collaboration with M/s Naval Group, France, and was delivered to the Indian Navy on November 9, 2021. A total of six submarines are to be built under the project.
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