NATIONAL UPDATES:
1.
Jharkhand assembly passes Bill to prevent mob violence, lynching: Jharkhand Assembly
has passed the Prevention of Mob Violence and Mob Lynching Bill, 2021, which
aims at providing “effective protection” of constitutional rights and the
prevention of mob violence in the state. After including one amendment, the
Bill was passed and sent to the Governor for his assent. Once notified,
Jharkhand will become the fourth state to bring in such a law after West
Bengal, Rajasthan and Manipur. About the bill:
(1) The bill provides a jail term of three
years to life imprisonment and fines of up to ₹25 lakh against those involved
in mob lynching leading to “injury or death”.
(2) The Bill defines lynching as “any act
or series of acts of violence or death or aiding, abetting or attempting an act
of violence or death, whether spontaneous or planned, by a mob on the grounds
of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth, language, dietary practices,
sexual orientation, political affiliation, ethnicity or any other ground”.
(3) In case of a lynching incident leading
to the victim suffering hurt, the convicts will be punished with imprisonment
up to 3 years and a fine between ₹1 lakh to ₹3 lakh.
Note: Chief Minister of Jharkhand: Hemant
Soren; Governor: Ramesh Bais.
2.
Odisha CM inaugurated Odisha’s longest bridge ‘T-Setu’ in Cuttack: Chief Minister of
Odisha, Naveen Patnaik has inaugurated the state’s longest bridge, ‘T-Setu’,
built over the Mahanadi River in Cuttack District, Odisha. The bridge in the
shape of the English alphabet ‘T’ was constructed at a cost of Rs 111 crore.
The 4-km-long bridge connecting Gopinathpur in Badamba, Baideswar in Banki to
Singhanath Pitha in Cuttack, will cut the distance between Badamba and Banki
Baideshwar by almost 45 km. Chief Minister had laid the foundation stone T-setu
on February 28, 2014. But, due to some technical issues, construction work was
delayed and started in 2018. The bridge will facilitate communication for some
five-lakh people from nearby localities. It will also improve agriculture,
business and tourism activities in the area. It will benefit devotees, who are
visiting Baba Singhanath’s Bali Makar Jatra in Badamba block.
Note: Odisha Capital: Bhubaneswar; Odisha
Governor: Ganeshi Lal; Odisha Chief Minister: Naveen Patnaik.
3.
NITI Aayog tie-up with UN WFP to diversify food basket: NITI Aayog has
signed a Statement of Intent with the United Nations World Food Program (WFP).
The partnership focuses on mainstreaming millets and supporting India in taking
lead globally in knowledge exchange using the opportunity of 2023 as an
International Year of Millets. The government of India observed 2018 as a year
of millets. Key Points:
(1) The partnership between NITI Aayog and
UN WEP focuses to mainstream the millets and supporting India in taking a lead
internationally in knowledge exchange amid the recognition of 2023 as an
International Year of Millets.
(2) This partnership also aims to build
resilient livelihoods for small farmers and adaptation capacities towards
climate change as well as transforming food systems.
(3) The Statement of Intent focuses on
strategic and technical collaboration between both parties, in order to
strengthen climate-resilient agriculture for enhanced food & nutrition
security across India.
Note: NITI Aayog Formed: 1 January 2015;
NITI Aayog Headquarters: New Delhi; NITI Aayog Chairperson: Narendra Modi; NITI
Aayog Vice Chairperson: Rajiv Kumar; NITI Aayog CEO: Amitabh Kant;
United Nations World Food Programme
Founded: 1961; United Nations World Food Programme Headquarters: Rome, Italy;
United Nations World Food Programme Executive Director: David Beasley.
4.
World Sangeet Tansen festival organized in Madhya Pradesh: In Madhya Pradesh,
the 97th edition of the World Sangeet Tansen festival started in Gwalior. A
five-day World Sangeet Tansen festival starts from December 25 to December 30
in the city. The stage of the program has been constructed on the theme of the
Siddhanath temple situated in Omkareshwar. Many artists not only from India but
also from abroad will participate in the music festival. The first seven
concerts were held at the stage prepared at the mausoleum of Tansen and the
tomb of Mohammad Ghaus. The eighth concert will be held on the banks of the
Jhilmil river, in Behat (Birthplace of Tansen) on December 30. The last brief
concert will be held at Gwalior Fort on the same day.
Note: Madhya Pradesh Capital: Bhopal;
Madhya Pradesh Governor: Mangubhai C. Patel; Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister:
Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:
1.
India replace the UK to be 3rd top country hosting unicorns: Adding 33
“unicorns” in a single year has helped India displace the United Kingdom to be
third in the list of countries that are home to such enterprises valued at over
$1 billion each. The US and China, who occupy the first two ranks, are way
ahead, according to the data compiled by Hurun Research Institute. US and China
are home to 74 per cent of the unicorn universe. The US added 254 unicorns and
now totals 487 companies in the coveted list, while China added 74 to take its
tally to 301 start-ups having a valuation of over $1 billion. The UK added only
15 unicorns to take its total to 39, and hence got displaced by India.
OTHER UPDATES:
SPORTS
1.
Anahat Singh becomes first Indian girl to win Jr Squash Open in US: Indian teenager
Anahat Singh has scripted history by winning the U-15 girls category of the
prestigious Junior US Open Squash tournament in Philadelphia. The 13-year-old
girl from Delhi overcame powerhouse Egypt’s Jayda Marei in the final match
11-9, 11-5, 8-11, 11-5 played at the Arlen Spectre Centre. More than 850 squash
junior players, representing 41 countries, participated in the World’s largest
junior individuals squash tournament.
BANKING AND FINANCE
1.
Bank of Baroda grabbed top spot in Digital Payments: Bank of Baroda has
announced it has won the #1 position in overall digital transactions amongst
large banks for FY20-21. The bank showed the exceptional growth of digital
payment transactions achievement and was felicitated by the Ministry of
Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY), Govt. of India at the Digital
Payments Utsav. To commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Independence of
India, MeitY is celebrating “Digital Payments Utsav”. As a part of the
celebration, the Bank of Baroda has been conferred with 5 DigiDhan awards for
FY 2019-20 & 2020-21 in various categories. BoB has been conferred with
five DigiDhan awards for FY 2019-20 & 2020-21 in various categories.
Note: Bank of Baroda Founded: 20 July 1908;
Bank of Baroda Headquarters: Vadodara, Gujarat; Bank of Baroda Managing
Director & CEO: Sanjiv Chadha; Bank of Baroda Tagline: India’s
International Bank; Bank of Baroda Amalgamated Banks: Dena Bank & Vijaya
Bank in 2019.
2.
Mastercard and Google Pay tie-up for tokenisation for card-based payments: Mastercard and
Google announced a tokenization method that enables Google Pay users to safely
transact using their Mastercard credit cards and debit cards. With this
collaboration, Google Pay Android users can scan and pay across all Bharat
QR-enabled merchants, tap-and-pay, and make in-app transactions through their
Mastercard debit and credit card. For a convenient registration, users will
have to do a one-time setup by entering their card details and their OTP to add
their card on the Google Pay app. Mastercard said this initiative is an
extension of Mastercard’s long-standing collaboration with Google and will go a
long way towards enabling India’s digital economy.
Note: Mastercard Founded: 16 December 1966;
Mastercard Headquarters: New York, United States; Mastercard CEO: Michael
Miebach; Mastercard Executive Chairman: Ajay Banga.
BUSINESS AND ECONOMY
1.
Advance tax collection rises 54% to Rs 4.60 lakh crore: According to the
finance ministry, advance tax collection increased by 53.50 per cent to Rs 4.60
lakh crore so far this fiscal year, indicating a recovery in the economy.
Direct tax collections for 2021-22, as of December 16, show that net
collections are at Rs 9.45 lakh crore compared to Rs 5.88 lakh crore over the
year-ago period, representing an increase of 60.8 per cent. The cumulative
advance tax collections for the primary, second and third quarter of 2021-22
stand at Rs 4,59,917.1 crore as on December 16, 2021, towards advance tax
collections of Rs 2,99,620.5 crore for the corresponding interval of 2020-21,
displaying a development of about 53.5 per cent.
2.
Wipro to acquire Edgile in USD 230-million deal: Wipro has signed an
agreement to acquire Edgile, a transformational cyber security consulting
provider, for $230 million. Founded in 2001, Edgile is recognised by security
and risk leaders for its business-aligned cyber security capability, deep
understanding of the changing regulatory environment and enabling cloud
transformations that help secure the modern enterprise. It has an onsite
workforce of 182 employees. Together, Wipro and Edgile will develop Wipro
CyberTransform, an integrated suite that will help enterprises enhance
boardroom governance of cyber security risk, invest in robust cyber strategies,
and reap the value of practical security in action.
Note: Chairman of Wipro Limited: Rishad
Premji. Wipro Headquarters: Bengaluru; Wipro MD and CEO: Thierry Delaporte.
AWARDS AND HNOURS
1.
Divya Hegde won UN Women’s Award for Leadership Commitment 2021: Divya Hegde, an
Indian Climate Action Entrepreneur from Udupi, Karnataka, has won UN Women’s
Award for Leadership Commitment at the 2021 Regional Asia-Pacific Women’s
Empowerment Principles Awards Ceremony. She has been recognized for her
sustained efforts in advancing gender equality through climate action efforts
with her organization, Baeru Environmental Services.
Other Winners:
Youth Leadership: Pallavi Sherring
Gender-inclusive Workplace: Natwaste Group
Gender-Responsive Marketplace: Dharma Life
Community Engagement & Partnerships:
The Very Group
Transparency & Reporting: Biocon Ltd
India
SME Champions: Namita Vikas
DEFENCE
1.
India successfully tests ‘Pralay’ missile off Odisha coast: India successfully
conducted the maiden flight test of the indigenously-developed,
surface-to-surface missile ‘Pralay’ off the Odisha coast. The solid-fuel,
battlefield missile developed by the Defence Research Development Organisation
is based on Prithvi Defence Vehicle from the Indian ballistic missile
programme. The missile, launched from the APJ Abdul Kalam Island.
About the Missile: The new missile followed the desired quasi ballistic trajectory and reached the designated target with high degree accuracy, validating the control, guidance and mission algorithms. With a range of 150 to 500 km, ‘Pralay’ is powered with the solid propellant rocket motor and other new technologies. The missile guidance system includes state-of-the-art navigation and integrated avionics.
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