NATIONAL UPDATES:
1.
Centre declares Soya Meal as an Essential Commodity up to 30th June, 2022: The Centre imposed
stock holding limits on soya meal, which is used as a raw material in the
poultry feed industry, till June 2022 to curb hoarding as well as check price
rise. The limits will be in place till June 30, 2022 and an order in this
regard was issued with effect from December 23. Besides, the government has
notified an order under the Essential Commodities Act to declare ‘soya meal’ as
an essential commodity up to June 30, 2022 by amending the Schedule of the
Essential Commodities Act, 1955.
2.
Good Governance Index 2021: Gujarat topped the ranking: Good Governance
Index 2021 was launched by Union Minister Amit Shah on the occasion of the Good
Governance Day. GGI 2021 was prepared by the Department of Administration
Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG). The GGI 2021 framework covered 10
sectors and 58 indicators. The aim of the Good Governance Index is to create a
tool that can be used uniformly across the states for assessing the impact of
various interventions that are taken up by Central and State Governments.
Top ranking states in sectors as
well as composite ranks:
|
Sectors |
Group A |
Group B |
NE & Hill States |
UTs |
|
Agriculture and Allied
Sectors |
Andhra Pradesh |
Madhya Pradesh |
Mizoram |
D & N Haveli |
|
Commerce &
Industries |
Telangana |
Uttar Pradesh |
J&K |
Daman & Diu |
|
Human Resource and
Development |
Punjab |
Odisha |
Himachal Pradesh |
Chandigarh |
|
Public Health |
Kerala |
West Bengal |
Mizoram |
A & N Island |
|
Public Infrastructure
and Utilities |
Goa |
Bihar |
Himachal Pradesh |
A & N Island |
|
Economic Governance |
Gujarat |
Odisha |
Tripura |
Delhi |
|
Social Welfare &
Development |
Telangana |
Chhattisgarh |
Sikkim |
D & N Havelli |
|
Judicial & Public
Security |
Tamil Nadu |
Rajasthan |
Nagaland |
Chandigarh |
|
Environment |
Kerala |
Rajasthan |
Manipur |
Daman & Diu |
|
Citizen-Centric
Governance |
Haryana |
Rajasthan |
Uttarakhand |
Delhi |
|
Composite |
Gujarat |
Madhya Pradesh |
Himachal Pradesh |
Delhi |
3.
Nitin Gadkari Launches ‘Intelligent Transport System’ On Delhi Expressway: In an attempt to
to minimize traffic woes and enhance safety of commuters, Union Minister for
Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari launched the first Intelligent
Transport System on Eastern Peripheral Expressway at Dasna, Ghaziabad. Nitin
Gadkari said India needs to improve its road engineering as every year, around
1.5 lakh people are killed in 5 lakh accidents across the country. The ITS can
detect any accident and receive alerts to ensure that ambulance reaches the
spot within 10-15 minutes. While the speed limit on the 135-km expressway is
120 kmph for cars, the road ministry is working to revise speed limits for
different categories of vehicles.
4. A
new book titled “The Modi Gambit: Decoding Modi 2.0” by Sanju Verma: Sanju Verma, an
economist and the BJP National Spokesperson, has authored a new book titled
“The Modi Gambit: Decoding Modi 2.0”. The book features the various achievement
in the last 2 years of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 2nd term as PM of India.
The foreword of the book is written by Padma Shri Mohandas Pai and the
Afterword is written by ace journalist, Anand Narasimhan, Managing Editor at
CNN News 18.
5.
DRDO Celebrates 64th Foundation Day on 1st January 2022: The Defence
Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has observed the 64th Foundation
Day of its establishment on January 01, 2022. DRDO was established in 1958 with
just 10 laboratories to enhance the research work in the Defence sector. At
that time, it was tasked with designing and developing cutting edge defence
technologies for the Indian Armed Forces.
As of now, DRDO is working in multiple
cutting edge military technology areas, which include aeronautics, armaments,
combat vehicles, electronics, instrumentation, engineering systems, missiles,
materials, naval systems, advanced computing, simulation, cyber, life sciences
and other technologies for defence.
Note: Chairman DRDO: Dr G Satheesh Reddy;
DRDO Headquarters: New Delhi; DRDO Established: 1958.
INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:
1.
CEBR: India to become 3rd largest economy in 2031: The Centre for
Economics and Business Research (CEBR) from the United Kingdom has predicted
that the Indian economy will become the world’s third-largest by the year 2031.
In the year 2022, India is set to regain its sixth position in World Economic
League Table (WELT) from France, as per CEBR. In the year 2020, India’s GDP had
witnessed a contraction of 7.3% due to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent
lockdown leading to constraints on economic activity. India has witnessed a
large scale spread of infections and has the third-highest death toll
worldwide, behind US and Brazil. However, with the help of emergency aid and
prompt measures taken by the Indian government, the country has recovered from
the second wave of COVID-19.
In Global Scenario: The annual league table
also predicted that China will overtake the US to be the largest economy in
2030 (two years later than the forecast in 2021). The world economy is set to
surpass $100 trillion for the first time in 2022.
The World Economic League Table 2022 shows the
economic forecasts for 191 countries to 2036:
|
Ranking out of 191
countries |
2021 |
2022 |
2026 |
2031 |
2036 |
|
India |
7 |
6 |
5 |
3 |
3 |
|
United States |
1 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
|
China |
2 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
|
Japan |
3 |
3 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
|
Germany |
4 |
4 |
4 |
5 |
4 |
|
UK |
5 |
5 |
6 |
6 |
6 |
|
France |
6 |
7 |
7 |
7 |
7 |
Note: Center for Economic and Business
Report (CEBR) Chairman: Martin Piers; Center for Economic and Business Report
Headquarters: London, United Kingdom.
OTHER UPDATES:
SPORTS
1.
Paralympic Champion Krishna Nagar Wins 3 Gold at Nationals Championship: Paralympic
champion Krishna Nagar continued his good form as he won three gold medals at
the 4th National Para Badminton Championship. Nagar repeated his 2019
National’s feat of winning three gold as he emerged champion in all the
categories he participated in — singles, men’s doubles and mixed doubles.
Krishna easily beat Sudharshan 21-12 21-12 in the men’s singles SH6 category in
a game that lasted just 20 minutes. In mixed doubles, Nagar and Nithya Sre
breezed past Dhinagaran and Latatai Umrekar in 17 minutes.
BANKING AND FINANCE
1.
BOB Financial and Indian Navy unveil co-branded credit card: BOB Financial
Solutions Ltd. (BFSL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bank of Baroda (BoB) and
the Indian Navy have introduced a co-branded credit card for the personnel of
the Indian Navy. The card will be equipped with contactless features and
offered on the RuPay platform.
Eligibility:
(1) Indian Navy personnel up to the age of
64 would be eligible to choose from three variants of the card.
(2) While the base variant will be offered
as a lifetime free credit card, the other two variants will be offered at
joining and annual fees, with welcome gifts and easily achievable spend-based
fee reversal/waiver.
(3) As an introductory offer, the joining
fee will be waived off for applications in the first three months of launch.
The top variant will offer unlimited complimentary domestic airport lounge
access and reduced markup on international spends.
2.
RBI imposed penalty on payment operators One Mobikwik & Spice Money: Reserve Bank of
India (RBI) has imposed monetary penalties on two payment system operators, One
Mobikwik Systems Private Limited and Spice Money Limited, for violation of
norms. Both the payment companies have been slapped with a fine of Rs 1 crore,
as per the order issued by the central bank. In a statement, the RBI said it
has imposed the penalty on the two payment system operators for “committing
offences of the nature referred to in Section 26 (6) of the Payment and
Settlement Systems Act, 2007 (PSSAct).”
BUSINESS AND ECONOMY
1.
SEBI named Aarati Krishnan as a member of MF advisory panel: Aarati Krishnan,
Editorial Consultant with BusinessLine, has been inducted as a member of the
Securities & Exchange Board of India’s Advisory Committee on Mutual Funds. The
committee, chaired by Usha Thorat, former Deputy Governor of Reserve Bank of
India, advises SEBI on matters related to mutual fund regulation to ensure
investor protection, development of the industry and disclosure requirements.
It suggests measures required to be taken to render the legal framework for
mutual funds transparent and simple for investors and constituents.
The committee has 24 members comprising
CEOs of leading mutual fund houses as well as representatives from academia,
exchanges, consumer interest groups, fund trustees, rating agencies,
distribution firms and media.
Note: Securities and Exchange Board of
India Founded: 12 April 1992; Securities and Exchange Board of India
Headquarters: Mumbai; Securities and Exchange Board of India Agency executive:
Ajay Tyagi.
2.
Eishin Chihana named as new chairman of Yamaha Motor India Group: India Yamaha Motor
(IYM) Pvt Ltd. has announced that Eishin Chihana has taken charge of the
Group’s India operations as its new Chairman. He has replaced Motofumi Shitara.
Chihana has been associated with Yamaha Motor Company and its group companies
across the globe since 1991.
Eishin Chihana holds strong expertise
across different verticals like Sales, Marketing and Business Management, with
a major focus on Motorcycle Business Operations in European, North American,
African, Middle Eastern and ASEAN markets. His experience also includes
managing overseas sales of a wide variety of Yamaha Motor’s product ranges, not
only Motorcycles but also ATVs, Marine Engines, Personal Watercrafts and
Generators.
AWARDS AND HNOURS
1.
Viral Desai bagged “Global Environment And Climate Action Citizen Award 2021”: Viral Sudhirbhai
Desai, an industrialist from Surat, who is popularly known as the Greenman or
green man of Gujarat has been honoured with the Global Environment and Climate
Action Citizen Award 2021. Among the 28 personalities from 11 countries (which
includes the United Kingdom(UK), the United States(US), New Zealand, France,
and Malaysia,) who were honoured with this award, Viral Desai was the only
Indian to win the honour for climate change.
2.
HDFC Bank won CII Dx award for ‘Most Innovative Best Practice’ 2021: HDFC Bank has been
named under ‘Most Innovative Best Practice’ at the coveted Confederation of
Indian Industry (CII) Digital Transformation Award 2021 or CII DX Award 2021.
It will be recognized for the HDFC’s efforts in world-class financial inclusion
in Village Level Executive (VLE) centres along with the Government of India’s
Common Service Centres (CSC).
DEFENCE
1.
DRDO successfully conducted flight test of HEAT ‘Abhyas’: Defence Research
and Development Organisation (DRDO) has successfully conducted a flight test of
Indigenously developed High-speed Expendable Aerial Target (HEAT) ‘Abhyas’ from
Integrated Test Range at Chandipur off Odisha coast. During its trial, a high
subsonic speed trajectory at a very low altitude with high endurance was
demonstrated. It is Developed by Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE),
DRDO laboratory along with other laboratories.
About the HEAT Abhyas:
(1) HEAT Abhyas demonstrated a high
subsonic speed trajectory at a very low altitude with high endurance during the
flight test. The two boosters provided initial acceleration during launch and a
small turbojet engine was used to sustain the high subsonic speed with long
endurance.
(2) The indigenous unmanned aerial target
system has been developed by DRDO’s Bengaluru-based laboratory- Aeronautical
Development Establishment (ADE). Other DRDO laboratories also supported its
development to ensure it meets the requirement of the aerial targets of the
Indian Armed forces.
Note: Chairman DRDO: Dr G Satheesh Reddy; DRDO Headquarters: New Delhi; DRDO Established: 1958.
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