Current Affairs of December 2021 | The Hindu

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National Current Affairs

For the third consecutive year, the Indian Institute of Technology – Madras is ranked the most innovative educational institute in the country.

The Atal Ranking of Institutions on Innovation Achievements (ARIIA), mooted by the innovation cell of the Union Education Ministry, evaluates educational institutions across the country on various parameters. They include intellectual property rights, entrepreneurship, start-up, technology transfer and commercialisation of research on campus.

India has approved two more COVID-19 vaccines and the antiviral drug Molnupiravir under emergency use authorisation. Currently, India uses Covishield, Covaxin and Sputnik V for vaccination.

Corbevax, to be made by Hyderabad-based Biological E, is a protein subunit vaccine, and Covovax, to be manufactured by the Serum Institute of India, Pune, is a nanoparticle-based vaccine.
Molnupiravir, which was approved this month by the U.S. Food and Drugs Administration (USFDA), close on the heels of Paxlovid by Pfizer Inc, is said to be a promising drug for those with mild and moderate disease and also easily administered as a pill.

The Prohibition of Child Marriage (A) Bill, 2021 that seeks to raise the legal age of marriage for women from 18 to 21 years and bringing it at par with men.

A total of 52 petitions relating to “habeas corpus matters” are pending in the Supreme Court as on December 13, Law Minister Kiren Rijiju informed the Lok Sabha. 108 habeas corpus cases were pending in the Bombay High Court on Dec. 14.

A habeas corpus is a writ used to challenge the unlawful detention or imprisonment of a person and protects fundamental rights.

The Union Cabinet has cleared a Bill on electoral reforms, including the one to link electoral roll with Aadhaar on a voluntary basis to root out multiple enrolments.

The Supreme Court has directed States and Union Territories to immediately start the process of issuing voter ID cards, Aadhaar and ration cards to sex workers across the country.

The government spent a whopping 80% of funds under its flagship Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao (BBBP) scheme on media campaigns and must now revisit this strategy and invest in measurable outcomes in health and education for girls, noted the Parliamentary Committee on Empowerment of Women in its report tabled in Lok Sabha.

The Union Cabinet has approved the funding and implementation of the Ken-Betwa river interlinking project at a cost of ₹44,605 crore at the 2020-21 price level. The Centre would fund ₹39,317 crore for the project, with ₹36,290 crore as a grant and ₹3,027 crore as a loan.

The project involves transferring of water from the Ken river to the Betwa river through the construction of Daudhan dam and a canal linking the two rivers, the Lower Orr Project, Kotha Barrage and the Bina Complex Multipurpose Project.
The project is slated to irrigate 10.62 lakh hectares annually, provide drinking water supply to 62 lakh people and generate 103 MW of hydropower and 27 MW of solar power. The project is proposed to be ready in eight years.
The project will be of immense benefit to the water-starved Bundelkhand region, spread across Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.

This project will provide enormous benefits to the districts of Panna, Tikamgarh, Chhatarpur, Sagar, Damoh, Datia, Vidisha, Shivpuri and Raisen of Madhya Pradesh and Banda, Mahoba, Jhansi and Lalitpur of Uttar Pradesh.
The project is expected to boost socio-economic prosperity in the backward Bundelkhand region on account of increased agricultural activities and employment generation. It would also help in arresting distress migration from this region.

India stands out as a poor and very unequal country, with the top 1% of the population holding more than one-fifth of the total national income in 2021 and the bottom half just 13%, according to a report.

The report, titled ‘World Inequality Report 2022’, has been authored by Lucas Chancel, co-director of the World Inequality Lab, and coordinated by several experts, including French economist Thomas Piketty.

Two years after PepsiCo India provoked outrage by suing nine Gujarati farmers for allegedly infringing patent rights by growing its registered potato variety, the company’s registration has been revoked by the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers Rights’ Authority (PPV&FRA).

The deadline for completing projects under the Smart Cities Mission (SCM) was extended for all 100 participating cities to June 2023 due to the delays caused by COVID-19 and based on a NITI Aayog recommendation.

India on December 1, 2021, joined the G20 ‘Troika’.

With this move, India has started the procedure for taking over the G20 presidency next year.
Troika refers to the top grouping within the G20 that consists of the current, previous and the incoming presidencies — Indonesia, Italy and India.
India will assume the G20 presidency on December 1, 2022 from Indonesia, and will convene the G20 Leaders’ Summit for the first time in India in 2023.
Italy hosted the G20 summit during October 30-31 that was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi where India had raised the issue of Afghanistan’s future following the takeover by the Taliban.
Next year’s summit will be organised along the overall theme of “Recover Together, Recover Stronger”.

President Ram Nath Kovind has given his assent to the Bill that completes the process of repealing the three contentious farm laws. The Law Ministry has notified The Farm Laws Repeal Law, 2021, which negates all the farm laws passed by Parliament last year.

Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat, his wife Madhulika Rawat, an Army Brigadier, and ten others perished when an Indian Air Force (IAF) Mi-17V5 helicopter carrying them crashed into a heavily wooded area of the Coonoor ghat in the Nilgiris in western Tamil Nadu.

State Current Affairs

The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) has been extended in Nagaland for another six months by the Union Home Ministry. In exercise of the powers conferred under Section 4 of the Act, “the Central government hereby declares that whole of the State of Nagaland to be ‘disturbed area’ for a period of six months with effect from 30th December, 2021, for the purpose of the said Act”, it stated.

For the fourth year in a row, Kerala has topped a ranking of States on health indicators. Uttar Pradesh has come in at the bottom. The “Health Index” is part of a report commissioned by the NITI Aayog, the World Bank and the Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry. Kerala is followed by Tamil Nadu and Telangana, which improved its ranking. U.P. at bottom in the list.

International Current Affairs

China had issued “standardised” names for 15 places in the Indian State of Arunachal Pradesh, to be used henceforth on official Chinese maps, part of broader recent moves by Beijing to step up its territorial claims. Arunachal Pradesh is shown on Chinese maps as “Zangnan” or “South Tibet”. India’s Ministry of External Affairs said the move by Beijing “does not alter” the fact that Arunachal Pradesh is an integral part of India.

Israel has approved a fourth vaccine dose for people most vulnerable to COVID-19, becoming the first country to do so.

Israel unveiled a package of “confidence-building measures” for the occupied West Bank, after Defence Minister Benny Gantz hosted talks with Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas on his first visit in years.

India on December 30 welcomed Egypt’s entry as the fourth new member of the New Development Bank (NDB) that was established by the BRICS countries six years ago.

The NDB admitted Bangladesh, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Uruguay as its new members in September.

Saudi Arabia has banned the Tablighi and Da’wah group, also known as Al Ahbab, calling it ‘danger to society and one of the gates of terrorism’.

President Ram Nath Kovind has inaugurated the renovated Sri Ramna Kali Mandir, which was completely destroyed by Pakistani forces during heinous Operation Searchlight in 1971.

China opened an embassy in Nicaragua on December 31 for the first time since 1990, acting just over three weeks since President Daniel Ortega’s government broke off relations with Taiwan.

China has launched the first cross-border train of its multi-billion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) from Laos, which Beijing says will help the small and only landlocked country in South East Asia turn into a land-linked hub, boost regional connectivity and supply chain resilience.

Economy Current Affairs

The gross non-performing asset (GNPA) of commercial banks may increase to 9.5% by September 2022 under a severe stress scenario, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said in a report. This compares with 6.9% seen in September this year.

The Indian economy is expected to maintain real GDP growth of 9% both in FY22 and in FY23, amid the uncertainty triggered by the Omicron variant of the Covid-19-causing virus, ICRA said in a report.

Sony Pictures Networks India Private Ltd. (SPNI) and Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. (ZEEL) have agreed to merge ZEEL with and into SPNI and combine their linear networks, digital assets, production operations and program libraries.

IKEA India (part of the Ingka Group), a leading Swedish home furnishings retailer, said it will open its first City Store in the country at Worli, Mumbai.

Budget- carrier IndiGo is the 8th largest airline in the world in terms of number of flights scheduled in the month of December, according to global travel data provider OAG’s monthly report.

The combined debt-to-GDP ratio of states is expected to remain at 31% by end-March 2022, which is worryingly higher than the target of 20% to be achieved by 2022-23, according to an RBI report.

The Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India has set up ‘LIC Digi Zone’ at BKC in Mumbai to enhance its digital operations such as sales and services for its customers.

India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with HDFC Bank to offer various banking products and services to its [IPPB] customers in semi-urban and rural areas, focussing on unbanked and underserved segments.

State Bank of India (SBI) said it is ready to embrace new recommended interest rate benchmarks (ARR-Alternate Reference Rates) necessitated from LIBOR cessation for its day-to-day businesses and in product pricing from January 1.

The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), based on an assessment of the macroeconomic situation and outlook, on Wednesday voted unanimously to maintain status quo with regard to the policy repo rate, and by a majority of 5 to 1 decided to retain the accommodative policy stance.

Consequently, the policy repo rate remains unchanged at 4%, and the stance remains accommodative as long as necessary to revive and sustain growth on a durable basis and continue to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on the economy, while ensuring that inflation remains within the target going forward.

The marginal standing facility (MSF) rate and the bank rate remain unchanged at 4.25%. The reverse repo rate also remains unchanged at 3.35%.

Defence Current Affairs

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has successfully conducted the maiden flight test of indigenously developed surface-to-surface missile ‘Pralay’, from Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Island off Odisha coast.

The new missile followed the desired quasi ballistic trajectory and reached the designated target with high degree accuracy.
Quasi missile trajectory is also ballistic but after certain range it changes the projectile path to defeat interceptors.
The solid-fuel, battlefield missile developed by the DRDO is based on Prithvi Defence Vehicle from the Indian ballistic missile programme.

New generation nuclear capable ballistic missile Agni-P was successfully tested from Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam island off the coast of Odisha. This is the second test of the missile.

Agni-P is a two-stage canisterised solid propellant missile with dual redundant navigation and guidance system and has a range of upto 2000 km.

Rustom-2 indigenous UAV has crossed a milestone by reaching an altitude of 25,000 feet and an endurance of 10 hours, Secretary R&D and DRDO Chairman Dr. Sateesh Reddy said.

A supersonic missile-assisted torpedo system developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) was successfully launched from the Wheeler Island in Odisha.

The system is a next generation missile-based standoff torpedo delivery system. During the mission, full-range capability of the missile was successfully demonstrated. The system has been designed to enhance anti-submarine warfare capability far beyond the conventional range of the torpedo.

Science Current Affairs

Astronomers led by researchers from the Netherlands have found no trace of dark matter in the galaxy AGC 114905. An ultra-diffuse dwarf galaxy, AGC 114905, is about 250 million light-years away. The word dwarf here refers to its luminosity.

A NASA spacecraft has officially “touched” the sun, plunging through the unexplored solar atmosphere known as the corona.

The Parker Solar Probe actually flew through the corona in April during the spacecraft’s eighth close approach to the sun. Launched in 2018, Parker was 13 million kilometers from the center of the sun when it first crossed the jagged, uneven boundary between the solar atmosphere and outgoing solar wind. Parker will keep drawing ever closer to the sun and diving deeper into the corona until its grand finale orbit in 2025.

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, built to give the world a glimpse of the universe as it existed when the first galaxies formed, was launched by rocket early on December 25 from South America’s northeastern coast, opening a new era of astronomy.

James Webb Space Telescope : Current Affairs

The revolutionary $9-billion infrared telescope, hailed by NASA as the premier space-science observatory of the next decade, was carried aloft inside the cargo bay of an Ariane5 rocket that blasted off from the European Space Agency’s (ESA) launch base in French Guiana.

The Indian Space Research Organisation has signed an agreement with Chinese smart devices maker Oppo’s Indian arm to strengthen the research and development of the NavIC messaging service.

The NavIC system provides regional navigation services covering the Indian mainland and an area up to 1,500 km beyond the Indian mainland. In addition to its primary function of providing PNT (position, navigation and timing) services, NavIC is also capable of broadcasting short messages.

Person in News : Current Affairs

Anupam Ray has been appointed as India’s next permanent representative to the UN Conference on Disarmament in Geneva.
V.S. Pathania took over as the 24th Director General (DG) of the Indian Coast Guard.
Famous American actress Betty White dies at 99.

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on December 10 announced the appointment of Catherine Russell, an assistant to U.S. President Joe Biden, as the next head of the U.N. children’s agency UNICEF.
Germany’s Parliament has officially elected Olaf Scholz as the country’s next Chancellor.
Indian-American Gita Gopinath, the chief economist of International Monetary Fund, is being promoted as IMF’s First Deputy Managing Director.
South African anti-apartheid icon Archbishop Desmond Tutu has died, sparking an outpouring of tributes for the outspoken Nobel Peace Prize winner.
BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra has been appointed as the Chairman of India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC).

Awards in News : Current Affairs

Bhutan conferred the Order of the Druk Gyalpo, its highest civilian honour, on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This was announced on the occasion of the 114th national day of Bhutan. This is Mr. Modi’s 10th international award given by various governments.

Architect Balkrishna Doshi will receive the Royal Gold Medal 2022, one of the world’s highest honours for architecture, the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) announced.

The Sahitya Akademi has announced its awards for 2021 for literary works in 20 languages. Namita Gokhale won the award for her English novel Things to Leave Behind .

Silicon Valley-based The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE) has conferred the Global Entrepreneur of the Year Award- Business Transformation on Kumar Mangalam Birla, Chairman Aditya Birla Group.

Actor-model Harnaaz Sandhu made history on December 13 as she was crowned Miss Universe 2021 beating contestants from 80 countries— 21 years after India last brought home the title.

Only two Indians before Ms. Sandhu have won the title of Miss Universe— actors Sushmita Sen in 1994 and Lara Dutta in 2000.
The 70th edition of the event was held in Eilat, Israel, where the 21-year-old bagged the coveted pageant.

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