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YUVA PLUS MONTHLY CURRENT AFFAIRS BOOSTER | DECEMBER 2021Page

YUVA PLUS MONTHLY CURRENT AFFAIRS BOOSTER | DECEMBER 2021

CONTENT

Topic PageNational News 3

International News 14

Banking & Finance 20

Appointments & Resignation 33

Sports 38

Books and Authors 40

Importance Day 43

Awards & Honors 47

Defence News 51

Obituaries 53

YUVA PLUS MONTHLY CURRENT AFFAIRS BOOSTER | DECEMBER 2021Page3

UP government will launch ‘Free SmartphoneYojna’ on 25 December

The Uttar Pradesh government is set to launch theambitious ‘Free Smartphone Yojana on December 25,which is the birth anniversary of senior BJP leader andformer Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Under the scheme, the state government will distributesmartphones and tablets to final year students of graduationand above.

On December 25, the chief minister will distribute60,000 smartphones and 40,000 tablets to the youths. Morethan 38 lakh youths have registered themselves on the DigiShakti Portal. Further registration is going on.

About Uttar Pradesh:Capital: LucknowChief Minister: Yogi AdityanathGovernor: Anandiben PatelPM Modi launched development projects worth

Rs 2,095 crore in Varanasi, UPPM Narendra Modi has laid the foundation stones of

27 developmental projects worth Rs 2,095 crore includinglaying of the foundation stone for Banas Dairy in hisparliamentary constituency Varanasi.

Banas Dairy Sankul at UP State Industrial DevelopmentAuthority Food Park, Karkhiyaon, Varanasi will be built ata cost of about Rs 475 crore and will have a facility forprocessing 5 lakh litre of milk per day.

He also laid the foundation stone for Biogas basedElectricity generation plant for the Milk ProducersCooperative Union Plant at Ramnagar.

PM inaugurated the Union Education Ministry’s Inter-University Centre for Teachers Education, built at a cost ofaround Rs 107 crore, and a teachers’ education center atthe Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies, built at acost of over Rs 7 crore.

About Uttar Pradesh:Capital: LucknowChief Minister: Yogi AdityanathGovernor: Anandiben PatelWorld Sangeet Tansen festival organized in

Gwalior, MPIn Madhya Pradesh, the 97th edition of the World

Sangeet Tansen festival started in Gwalior.The festival will be organized till 30th December The

stage of the program has been constructed on the themeof the Siddhanath temple situated in Omkareshwar.

Popular Festivals of Madhya Pradesh:ChilliTansenMaanduKhajuraho

NATIONAL NEWS

Nagaland police launched ‘Call your Cop’ mobileApp for citizens

T John Longkumer, Director-General of Police (DGP)Nagaland, launched the Nagaland Police’s mobile appnamed ‘Call Your Cop’ at the Police headquarters (PHQ)in Kohima, Nagaland.

The app was developed by the Police HeadquartersCID branch in collaboration with Excellogics Tech SolutionsPvt Ltd, Nagaland.

Aim: To enable all the citizens, especially those whoare under stress, to get in touch with the police.

About Nagaland:Capital: KohimaChief Minister: Neiphiu RioGovernor: Jagdish Mukhi (additional charge)Centre extended Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan

Anna Yojana till March 2022Under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana, the

Centre is providing five-kilogram food grains per personper month free of cost to all beneficiaries covered underthe National Food Security Act.

The scheme is a food security welfare scheme that wasenvisaged by PM Modi to provide assistance and helpmitigate the economic impact of COVID-19.

The government will be incurring an expenditure ofnearly two lakh 6000 crore rupees on Pradhan Mantri GaribKalyan Anna Yojana.

Maharashtra launched Chalo mobile app & smartcard for convenient bus travel

Maharashtra Tourism and Environment MinisterAaditya Thackeray launched Chalo mobile application(app) and Chalo smart cards to facilitate digital and advancepurchase of Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport(BEST) bus tickets.

Chalo mobile app will allow passengers to buy onlinebus tickets and have access to bus passes through an e-wallet. A contract worth Rs 85 crore has been given for themaintenance of the Chalo mobile application for six years.

He also launched the NCMC complaint smart card ofBEST as well as new fare schemes for the passengers, onethat provided 10 trips at Rs 70 and another called ‘Flexifare’.

About Maharashtra:Capital: MumbaiGovernor: Bhagat Singh KoshyariChief minister: Uddhav Thackeray

YUVA PLUS MONTHLY CURRENT AFFAIRS BOOSTER | DECEMBER 2021 Page

Namaste OrchhaTamil Nadu Government launched CM

Dashboard monitoring system “CM Dashboard TamilNadu 360”

Tamil Nadu government launched the Chief Minister(CM) Dashboard monitoring system, “CM Dashboard TamilNadu 360” in Chennai.

It will enable CM to track all welfare schemes, includingthe status of their implementation, fund allocation, and thenumber of beneficiaries along with updates on the storageof water in dams and rainfall patterns.

About Tamil Nadu:Capital: ChennaiChief minister: K. StalinGovernor: N. RaviCentre formed a committee to review criteria

for reservation for EWS: headed by Ajay BhushanPandey

Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment hasformed a three-member committee to review the criteriafor reservation for the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS)category in terms of the provisions of the explanation toArticle 15 of the Constitution.

Former Finance Secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey willhead the committee.

The members of the committee:Ajay Bhushan Pandey – former finance secretary, GOI

(Chairman)V K Malhotra – Member secretary of Indian Council of

Social Science Research (ICSSR)Sanjay Sanyal – Principal economic advisor to GOI

(Member Convenor)List of Latest Committee and Headed by

SC’s committee to Probe unauthorizedsurveillance using Pegasus in India: R V Raveendran

Reconstituted Economic Advisory Council to the PM:Bibek Debroy

SEBI formed IT Projects Advisory Committee (IT-PAC):Abhay Karandikar

SEBI reconstituted Technical Advisory Committee:Deepak B Phatak

Technology Innovation Group on 6G formed by DoT:K Rajaraman

Committee to determine RoDTEP rates for exports fromSEZs, EOUs: Gopal Krishna Pillai

‘Central Vista Oversight Committee’ to expedite paceof project: Ratan P Watal

NITI Aayog committee released a report onOnline Dispute Resolution; headed by Arjan KumarSikri

NITI Aayog has released a report on Online DisputeResolution (ODR) titled as ‘Designing the future of disputeResolution: the ODR Policy Plan for India’ to advanceaccess to justice and ensure that cases do not end up beforehigher courts.

It recommends increasing digital infrastructure, buildingcapacity, regulatory framework.

For the initiation of ODR, NITI Aayog constituted acommittee in 2020 to formulate an action plan for ODR,headed by Justice (Retd) Arjan Kumar Sikri.

About NITI Aayog:Formed: 1 January 2015Headquarters: New DelhiChairperson: Narendra ModiVice Chairperson: Rajiv KumarCEO: Amitabh KantHornbill Festival celebrated in Naga Heritage

village Kisama, NagalandThe biggest cultural extravaganza of Nagaland, the

Hornbill Festival has kicked off with colorful renditions oftraditional music, dances, and contemporary in one roofat Naga Heritage village Kisama.

It is the 22nd edition of the Hornbill festival and will becelebrated in 6 districts of Nagaland. It was held for thefirst time in

The opening ceremony culminated with the flight ofthe Hornbill- A musical presentation by Task Force for Musicand Arts Nagaland.

Popular Festivals of Nagaland:Hornbill festivalMoatsu festivalNgada festivalMonyu festivalAoleng FestivalWalmart & Flipkart signed an MoU with MP govt

to train and support MSMEsWalmart and its subsidiary Flipkart have signed an MoU

with the Department of Micro, Small, and MediumEnterprises, Government of Madhya Pradesh to create anecosystem of capacity building for MSMEs in MadhyaPradesh.

Under this MoU, Walmart, Flipkart, and MSMEDepartment will assist MSMEs to digitize their business andenable them to sell their products through online retail.

This initiative comes under the Walmart VriddhiSupplier Development Programme (Walmart Vriddhi),delivered by knowledge partner Swasti, which aims to trainaround 50000 Indian MSMEs with business skills to becomesuccessful as suppliers to Walmart, sellers on globalmarketplace platforms like Flipkart.

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Under this programme, Walmart and Flipkart havepartnered with various states including Haryana and TamilNadu.

About Madhya Pradesh:Capital: BhopalGovernor: Mangubhai C. PatelChief Minister: Shivraj Singh ChouhanADB approved USD 500 million loan to GoI for

enhancing quality of school educationAsian Development Bank (ADB) has approved USD

500 million (about Rs 3,752 crore) loan to help thegovernment of India improve the quality of the country’sschool education and mitigate the impact of the coronavirusdisease (COVID-19) pandemic on students’ learning.

The loan supports the Integrated Scheme for SchoolEducation (Samagra Shiksha) and the new ExemplarSchool Initiative of the Ministry of Education (MOE) toimprove education quality by focusing on inclusive andequitable learning outcomes.

List of Loan approved by ADB in 2020-21$100 million: to promote agribusiness network, reduce

food losses in Maharashtra$250 million: to support India’s National Industrial

Corridor Development Program (NICDP)$61 Mill ion: loan under ‘Agartala City Urban

Development Project’USD 300 million: loan to improve access to healthcare

in urban areasUSD 1.5 billion: to India for COVID-19 vaccine

procurement$125 million: for Uttarakhand water supply and

sanitation projectsJharkhand CM launched ‘Hamar Apan Budget’

Web Portal & Mobile App for Budget SuggestionJharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren launched a

web portal named ‘Hamar Apan Budget’ and a mobileapplication prepared by the state finance Department fromthe Chief Minister’s residential office in Ranchi.

Through this portal, the general public of the state canshare their suggestions for the 2022-23 budget.

About Jharkhand:Capital: RanchiChief minister: Hemant SorenGovt will launch SRESHTA scheme for

development of SC studentsThe government will launch Scheme for Residential

Education for Students in High Schools in Targeted Areas(SRESHTA) for socioeconomics upliftment and overalldevelopment of Scheduled Castes students.

It will be launched on 6th December on MahaparinirvanDiwas of Dr B R Ambedkar. It will enable bright SC students

to have a better future by getting a high-quality education.It will also aid in controlling dropout rates of SC studentsfrom class 9th to 12th.

Earth Station of Doordarshan Kendrainaugurated in Gorakhpur, UP

Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting AnuragSingh Thakur and UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanathinaugurated Earth Station of Doordarshan Kendra inGorakhpur.

This will be the second earth station of Doordarshan inUttar Pradesh and it is being built at a cost of Rs. 7 crores.Three FM stations of All India Radio were also inauguratedvirtually on the occasion.

Smart Cities Mission’s implementation timelinehas been extended to June 2023

Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA)extended the timeline for the implementation of the SmartCities Mission (SCM) for all 100 participating cities to June2023 due to the COVID-19 induced slowdown and otherfactors.

The Mission was launched in the year FY2015-16 &set a target of five years i.e., FY2019-20.

This decision is also based upon the recommendationsmade by NITI (National Institution for Transforming India)Aayog in August 2021.

The central government has released Rs 27,235 croresto states and union territories (UTs) for their smart cities.

PM Modi inaugurated multiple projects worthRs 18,000 crore at Dehradun, Uttarakhand

PM Modi has inaugurated and laid foundation stoneof multiple projects worth Rs 18,000 crore at Dehradun.

The 7 projects inaugurated consist of initiatives focusingon making travel safer including 120 MW VyasiHydroelectric Project, along with Himalayan Culture Centrein Dehradun.

The 11 projects for which the foundation has been laidinclude Delhi-Dehradun Economic Corridor which will bebuilt at a cost of Rs 8,300 crore. It will have Asia’s largestwildlife elevated corridor (12 kilometers) for unrestrictedwildlife movement.

PM Modi laid the foundation stone for the Dehradun –Paonta Sahib (Himachal Pradesh) road project, beingconstructed at a cost of around Rs 1700 crore.

About Uttarakhand:Capitals: Dehradun (Winter), Gairsain (Summer)Governor: Lt Gen Gurmit SinghChief minister: Pushkar Singh DhamiIREDA signed an MoU with THDCIL to support

Renewable Energy projectsThe Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency

Limited (IREDA), under the Ministry of New & Renewable

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Energy has signed an MoU with the THDC India Limited(THDCIL), to provide financial and technological supportto develop renewable energy projects.

The IREDA has also signed an MoU with BrahmaputraValley Fertilizer Corporation Limited (BVFCL), under theMinistry of Chemicals & Fertilizers to provide techno-financial expertise to develop RE energy projects andfundraising.

About Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency(IREDA):

Founded: 11 March 1987Headquarters: New DelhiChairman and Managing Director: Pradip Kumar DasGujarat became India’s Largest Manufacturing

Hub: RBIIn accordance with the data by the Reserve Bank of

India (RBI), Gujarat has surpassed Maharashtra to becomeIndia’s leading manufacturing hub. Its Gross Value Addition(GVA) in manufacturing grew 9% annually between FY12to FY20 to Rs 5.11 lakh crore.

In terms of manufacturing, Maharashtra is followed byTamil Nadu with a GVA of Rs 3.43 lakh crore at 3rd spot,Karnataka (4th) at Rs 2.1 lakh crore, and Uttar Pradesh-UP (5th) at Rs 1.87 lakh crore.

GVA indicates economic growth in supply of goods andservices. It is GDP minus net product taxes.

About Gujarat:Capital: GandhinagarGovernor: Acharya DevvratChief minister: Bhupendrabhai PatelGovernment expanded Steering Committee for

Advancing Local Value-Add and Exports with 3 NewMembers; headed by Pawan Goenka

The government has expanded the Steering Committeefor Advancing Local Value-Add and Exports (SCALEcommittee) by adding three new members from differentindustries.

The SCALE Committee is formed by the Ministry ofCommerce and Industry, working closely with theDepartment for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade(DPIIT) under Ministry’s guidance.

Current Members: 14 (Headed by former MahindraCEO Pawan Goenka)

3 New Members:Manish Sharma, Panasonic India Chairman and CEOVikram S Kirloskar, Toyota Kirloskar Vice-ChairmanJalaj Dani, Asian Paints co-promoter and Chairman

Addverb TechnologiesList of Latest Committee and Headed byCommittee to determine RoDTEP rates for

exports from SEZs, EOUs: Gopal Krishna Pillai


Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment’scommittee to review criteria for reservation for EWS: AjayBhushan Pandey

NITI Aayog’s committee to formulate an action planfor Online Dispute Resolution (ODR): Arjan Kumar Sikri

RBI’s advisory committee to assist RCL’s administratorNageswar Rao: Sanjeev Nautiyal, Srinivasan Varadarajan,Praveen P Kadle

Kazhuveli Wetland declared as 16th BirdSanctuary of Tamil Nadu

The Kazhuveli wetland situated in Villupuram districtof Tamil Nadu has been declared as the 16th Bird Sanctuaryby Surpiya Sahu, Environment and Forest Secretary, atthe Minister of Environment Forest and Climate Change.

The declaration was made under subsection (1) ofsection 18 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. TheKazhuveli wetlands is referred to as the 2nd largest BrackishWater Lake in South India, only after Pulicat lake.

About Tamil Nadu:Capital: ChennaiChief minister: K. StalinGovernor: N. RaviUttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami launched

‘Milk Price Incentive Scheme’The Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, Pushkar Singh

Dhami launched the ‘Milk Price Incentive Scheme‘ inDehradun.

The scheme is aimed to provide incentives benefitingaround 53,000 people of Uttarakhand. The stategovernment is targeting to spend INR 444.62 crore to open500 milk sales centers in Uttarakhand.

It is a Direct Bank Transfer (DBT) scheme, the amountunder the scheme would go directly into the accounts ofthe beneficiaries through their linked bank accounts.

About Uttarakhand:Capitals: Dehradun (Winter), Gairsain (Summer)Governor: Lt Gen Gurmit SinghChief minister: Pushkar Singh DhamiNITI Aayog launched “e-Sawaari India Electric

Bus Coalition” with CESL & WRI IndiaNITI Aayog has launched e-Sawaari India Electric Bus

Coalition in partnership with Convergence Energy ServiceLimited (CESL), World Resources Institute, India (WRIIndia), and with the support from Transformative UrbanMobility Initiative (TUMI).

Aim: To share knowledge of various stakeholders –Central & State Govt. agencies, transit service providers,original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), on accelerating

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the process towards seamless adoption of e-bus services inIndia.

About NITI Aayog:Formed: 1 January 2015Headquarters: New DelhiChairperson: Narendra ModiVice Chairperson: Rajiv KumarCEO: Amitabh KantAirtel partnered with Invest India to launch

“Airtel India Startup Innovation Challenge”Bharti Airtel and Invest India, National Investment

Promotion and Facilitation Agency jointly launched ‘AirtelIndia Startup Innovation Challenge’ for Startups to developsolutions in 5G, IoT.

Under the Startup Innovation Challenge, early-stagetechnology companies are being invited to demonstratedifferentiated solutions in areas such as 5G, Cloudcomputing, Internet of Things (IoT), and digi talentertainment.

About Airtel:Founded: 1995Headquarters: New Delhi, IndiaChairman: Sunil BhartiMD & CEO: Mittal Gopal VittalFortune India’s Most Powerful Women in India

List 2021: Nirmala Sitharaman toppedFortune India released the list of most powerful women

in India 2021 in which Union Minister, Ministry of Finance& Ministry of Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman ranked1st.

She is followed by Reliance Foundation Chairpersonand Goodwill Ambassador Nita Ambani in 2nd position,and Soumya Swaminathan, Chief Scientist, World HealthOrganization (WHO) at 3rd.

Maharashtra govt passed Shakti Criminal LawsAct

Maharashtra Assembly passed Shakti Criminal Laws(Maharashtra Amendment) Act unanimously.

With this, Maharashtra became the second state in Indiaafter Andhra Pradesh to approve death penalty for heinousoffences of rape and gangrape.

The Act has amended existing criminal laws to includedeath penalty as punishment in cases of rape and gangrape.Existing law on rape had provisions for death penalty onlyin cases of repeated offences.

About Maharashtra:Capital: MumbaiGovernor: Bhagat Singh KoshyariChief minister: Uddhav ThackerayUP’s Jhansi Railway Station renamed as

‘Veerangana Laxmibai Railway Station’

Yogi Adityanath, Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh hasannounced that the government of UP has renamed theJhansi Railway Station, in Jhansi, UP as “VeeranganaLaxmibai Railway Station” after Rani Laxmibai.

Governor of Sikkim Ganga Prasad has inaugurated the“Narendra Modi Marg” named after Prime MinisterNarendra Modi. The Narendra Modi Marg is the 2nd roadconnecting the Tsomgo lake and Nathula border pass withGangtok, Sikkim.

Note: List of Some Important Renamed PlaceAirport in Ayodhya: Maryada Purshottam Shriram

Airport.Gorewada International Zoo: Balasaheb Thackeray

Gorewada International Zoological ParkMohali International Hockey Stadium: Olympian Balbir

Singh Senior International Hockey Stadium.Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF): Indian

Broadcasting and Digital Foundation (IBDF).Faizabad Railway Junction: Ayodhya CanttMP’s Bhopal Habibganj railway station: Rani Kamlapati

railway stationIndore’s Patalpani Railway Station: Tribal Icon Tantya

Bhil railway stationPM Modi launched blockchain-based digital

degrees at IIT KanpurUnder the National Blockchain Project, Prime Minister

Narendra Modi has launched blockchain-based digitaldegrees at the 54th Convocation Ceremony of IIT Kanpur.

These digital degrees can be verified globally and areunforgeable. The blockchain technology being used by IITKanpur to award digital degrees has been developed in-house. The technology has been developed by the instituteunder the National Blockchain Project.

Odisha launched Digital Life Certificate systemfor pensioners

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik launched DigitalLife Certificate system for pensioners virtually whileattending the orientation programme for newly recruited153 officers of Odisha Civil Services.

Odisha is the first state in the country to implementsuch a digital service for pensioners.

Under the Digital Life Certificate system, identificationand life certificates can be submitted by the pensioners usingan Artificial Intelligence-based video-verification process.

About Odisha:Capital: BhubaneswarGovernor: Ganeshi LalChief minister: Naveen PatnaikNITI Aayog to establish 1,000 Atal Tinkering

Labs in J&K

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The NITI Aayog has planned to establish 1000 AtalTinkering Laboratories in Jammu and Kashmir. Out of 1000Atal Tinkering Laboratories, 187 will be established by theend of the financial year 2021-22.

Out of 187 ATLs, 31 are being established acrossgovernment schools of J&k while 50 will be established inseveral educational institutions like KVs, JNVs, and Privateschools.

Atal Tinkering Labs (ATL) is a sub-mission under theAtal Innovation Mission (AIM) of the Central Governmentin India. It is the flagship initiative of AIM, that seeks tonurture an innovative mindset amongst high school studentsacross India.

About NITI Aayog:Formed: 1 January 2015Headquarters: New DelhiChairperson: Narendra ModiVice Chairperson: Rajiv KumarCEO: Amitabh KantUP cabinet approved “AtmaNirbhar Krishak

development scheme”Uttar Pradesh Cabinet has approved the Atma Nirbhar

Krishak development scheme for boosting the agriculturesector. The scheme will be implemented from the currentfinancial year.

Under this scheme, 1,475 Farmer ProducerOrganisations (FPOs) will be formed in the next three yearsin each development block. Rs 1 lakh crore will be providedby banks and financial institutions as loans to PrimaryAgricultural Credit Societies, Marketing CooperativeSocieties, Self Help Groups, farmers, and joint liabilitygroups.

All loans will be provided with an interest subventionof 3 percent per annum up to a limit of Rs 2 crore. Thescheme will be funded through the Agriculture InfrastructureFund (AIF).

About Uttar Pradesh:Capital: LucknowChief Minister: Yogi AdityanathGovernor: Anandiben PatelCabinet approved Ken-Betwa River Interlinking

ProjectKen-Betwa inter-linking of rivers project has been

approved by the Union Cabinet, which is chaired by PrimeMinister Shri Narendra Modi.

At 2020-21 price levels, the overall cost of the Ken-Betwa link project has been estimated at 44,605 crores. Itwill cover the states of UP and MP.

The Union Cabinet has approved central support forthe project in the amount of Rs. 39,317 crores, which

includes a grant of Rs. 36,290 crores and a loan of Rs.3,027 crores.

The project will be implemented through a SpecialPurpose Vehicle (SPV) known as the Ken-Betwa LinkProject Authority (KBLPA). The project will irrigate 62 lakhhectares annually, provide drinking water to a populationof 62 lakhs, and generate 103 MW of hydropower and 27MW of solar power.

India Skills Report 2022: Maharashtra retainedtop position

As per the 9th edition of India Skills Report (ISR) 2022,released by Wheebox, Maharashtra has retained the topposition in the list of states with the highest poll ofemployable talent followed by Uttar Pradesh and Kerala.

Pune is the city with the most highly employableresources with 78% of the test takers scoring above 60percent.

As per the current edition, the overall employability inIndia has improved with 46.2% of the youth being foundto be highly employable compared to last year’semployability standing at 45.97%.

States with Maximum Hiring Activity: Maharashtra,Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu are the 3 states that have ahigher job demand.

Theme of ISR 2022: ‘Rebuilding and Reengineeringthe Future of Work’.

Haiderpur wetland in Uttar Pradesh recognizedas India’s 47th Ramsar Site

The Haiderpur Wetland abutting the Madhya Gangabarrage, about 10 km from Bijnor in western Uttar Pradesh,has been recognized under the 1971 Ramsar Conventionon Wetlands.

Uttar Pradesh is now home to 9 Ramsar wetlands. Thewetland, which is a part of Hastinapur Wildlife Sanctuary,has also been identified under Namami Gange, a centralflagship, as a model wetland along the Ganga. With this,there are now a total of 47 such designated areas in thecountry.

List of Ramsar Sites in Uttar Pradesh:Nawabganj Bird SanctuaryParvati Agra Bird SanctuarySaman Bird SanctuarySamaspur Bird SanctuarySandi Bird SanctuarySarsai Nawar JheelSur Sarovar or Keetham LakeUpper Ganga RiverHaiderpur wetlandHimachal Pradesh govt set up General Category

Commission (Samanya Varg Aayog)

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Himachal Pradesh govt announced setting up aCommission for upper castes, on the lines of MadhyaPradesh.

The Commission, to be named as ‘Samanya VargAayog’, will be formalized through a legislative enactmentin three months.

A Scheduled Caste Commission is already in operationin Himachal Pradesh and is chaired by former Shimla MPVirendra Kashyap.

About Himachal Pradesh:Capital: Shimla (Summer), Dharamshala (Winter)Governor: Rajendra ArlekarChief Minister: Jai Ram ThakurKarnataka & UNDP signed LoU as a part of

‘Code-Unnati’ to improve entrepreneurship & youthemployment

Department of Youth Empowerment & Sports,Government of Karnataka has signed a Letter ofUnderstanding (LoU) with the United Nations DevelopmentProgramme (UNDP) as a part of the State-level initiative‘Code-Unnati’ to improve the access to entrepreneurshipand employment opportunities among the youths, includingwomen.

The initiative involves United Nations Volunteers (UNV)and is supported by SAP India Lab’s CSR Strategies willbe implemented in 4 districts of Bengaluru Rural,Ramanagara, Dakshina Kannada and Raichuru.

About United Nations DevelopmentProgramme(UNDP):

Founder: 1965Headquarters: New York, United StatesAdministrator: Achim SteinerUttar Pradesh holds the top spot in Total

Registered EVs in India: Ministry of Road Transport& Highways

During the Winter Session of the Parliament, NitinGadkari, Union Minister of Road Transport & Highways,informed the Rajya Sabha on the state of Electric Vehicles(EV) in India.

As per the data release, India has a total of 870,141registered EVs, with Uttar Pradesh (UP) holding the topspot with 255,700 registered EVs. UP is followed by Delhi(125,347), Karnataka (72,544), Bihar (58,014) andMaharashtra (52,506) in successive positions.

About Uttar Pradesh:Capital: LucknowChief Minister: Yogi AdityanathGovernor: Anandiben PatelPM Modi inaugurated Kashi-Vishwanath Dham

project in Varanasi

PM Narendra Modi inaugurated the first phase of theKashi Vishwanath Dham Corridor The project is spreadover 5 lakh square feet and connects the temple premisesto the River Ganga.

Project is constructed at a cost of ¹ 339 crore and isdone with a vision to create an easily accessible pathwayconnecting the temple to the banks of river Ganga. A totalof 23 buildings will be inaugurated in phase 1 of the project.

About Uttar Pradesh:Capital: LucknowChief Minister: Yogi AdityanathGovernor: Anandiben PatelPM Narendra Modi inaugurated Saryu Nahar

National Project in Balrampur, UPThe 40-year long pending project, Saryu Nahar

National Project, is inaugurated by Prime Minister of IndiaNarendra Modi in Balrampur, Uttar Pradesh (UP) onDecember 11, 2021.

The outlay of the project is over Rs 9,800 crore, out ofwhich more than Rs 4,600 crore was provisioned in thelast four years.

It will cater to the problem of water shortage mainly ineastern UP/ Purvanchal with assured water for irrigation toover 14 lakh hectares of land and benefit about 29 lakhfarmers.

Geographical Indications Registry acceptedproposal to grant Mithila Makhana GI Tag

The Geographical Indications Registry (GIR) under theMinistry of Commerce and Industry accepted the proposalto rename Bihar Makhana or fox nut as Mithila Makhanaand retain its Geographical Identification (GI) tag.

It also suggested amendments in the brand logo tohighlight its origins and protect the product’s GeographicalIndications (GI) rights.

The Sabour based Bihar Agriculture University (BAU)initiated an application on behalf of the MithilanchalMakhana Utpadak Sangh (MMUS) to name their produceas Mithila Makhana for the welfare of fox nut growers inthe Mithila region.

Some GI tags of Bihar:Shahi LitchiBhagalpuri ZardaluKatarni RiceMagahi PaanSilao KhajaMadhubani PaintingsList of Some recent GI TagMoira bananas, Harmal Chillies, Khaje- GoaTezpur Litchi: AssamSweet cucumber: NagalandAlibaug white onion: Maharashtra

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Wada Kolam Rice or Zhini: Palghar district, MaharashtraKaruppur kalamkari paintings and Kallakurichi wood

carvings: Tamil NaduMithila Makhana: BiharMaharashtra topped the list of state with

maximum of beneficiaries under Atmanirbhar BharatRojgar Yojana

Maharashtra tops the list of states with maximumnumber of beneficiaries under Atmanirbhar Bharat RojgarYojana (ABRY). It is followed by Tamil Nadu and Gujarat.

The government had launched ABRY to incentivizeemployment generation in Employees’ Provident FundOrganisation (EPFO) registered establishments duringCOVID-19 for a period from October 1, 2020 to March31, 2022.

Auto settlement of Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF)claims was introduced by EPFO in Jan, 2020.

About Maharashtra:Capital: MumbaiGovernor: Bhagat Singh KoshyariChief minister: Uddhav Thackeray

Delhi Police launched e-learning platform“Unnati” to Skill School Dropouts

Rakesh Asthana, Police Commissioner of Delhilaunched an e-learning platform ‘Unnati’, under the DelhiPolice’s flagship scheme ‘YUVA’ at the All India Councilfor Technical Education (AICTE) Auditorium, New Delhi,Delhi.

Unnati is an e-learning and certification initiative bytheDelhi Police-South West District to help educate youthsand impart skill training to school dropouts from the weakersections of society.

The courses offered under ‘Unnati’ include digitalliteracy courses comprising basic computer courses andtyping training, preparatory courses for competitive examsand sports courses, among others.

First Drone Mela in the country was organisedat Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh

In Madhya Pradesh, the first drone fair in the countrywas organized at Gwalior.

Gwalior Drone Mela was organized jointly by theMinistry of Civil Aviation, the Government of India, the

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Government of Madhya Pradesh, and the Federation ofIndian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI).

Addressing the youths and farmers present at the“Drone Mela” in Gwalior, MP Chief Minister said thatMadhya Pradesh will be made a leading state by usingdrone technology. Mr Scindia said that five Drone Schoolswill be opened in Gwalior, Bhopal, Indore, Jabalpur, andSatna in Madhya Pradesh.

About Madhya Pradesh:Capital: BhopalGovernor: Mangubhai C. PatelChief Minister: Shivraj Singh ChouhanGovt laid foundation stone for Maa Umiya Dham

Development Project in Ahmedabad, GujaratUnion Home Minister Amit Shah laid the foundation

stone of Umiya Mata Dham temple and temple premisesunder Maa Umiya Dham Development Project at UmiyaCampus in Sola in Ahmedabad, Gujarat along with severaldevelopmental projects including a railway bridge.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has virtually attendedand addressed the foundation stone laying of the projecton 13th December 2021. He stated the Project as anexample of the notion of ‘SabkaPrayas’ (Efforts ofeveryone).

Umiya Mata is located in the center of Unjha in theMehsana district of Gujarat which celebrated its silver jubileein November 2009. They will be developed at a cost of Rs1,500 crore on 74,000 square yards of land.

About Gujarat:Capital: GandhinagarGovernor: Acharya DevvratChief minister: Bhupendrabhai PatelOdisha inked agreement with UNCDF to launch

“Mission Shakti Living Lab” for financialempowerment of women

An agreement has been inked between the stategovernment of Odisha and the United Nations CapitalDevelopment Fund’s (UNCDF), a Global Centre forFinancial Health, to launch Mission Shakti Living Labempowering women economically and drive genderequality.

With the use of digital technologies and e-commerce,it will increase the income and financial well-being ofwomen, self-help groups (SHGs) and households by helpingthem in the factors of plan, save, borrow or spend better. Itwill address the barriers related to autonomy and financialfreedom of women.

Mission Shakti was launched in 2001 to enhance theholistic development of women, there are 6.02 lakh self-help groups (SHGs) comprising 70 lakh members acrossrural and urban areas of Odisha under the initiative.

This initiative led to an increase in income of SHGmembers from Rs 3,000 to 15,000 per month in Odisha.

About UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF):Founded: 1966Headquarters: New York, New York, United StatesExecutive Secretary: Preeti SinhaAskot Wildlife Sanctuary in Uttarakhand

declared as Eco-Sensitive ZoneAccording to the gazette of India issued by the Ministry

of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC),an area of 454.65 square kilometres around the boundaryof Askot Wildlife Sanctuary in the Pithoragarh district ofUttarakhand has been declared as the Askot WildlifeSanctuary Eco-sensitive Zone (ESZ).

The notified area extends from 0 to 22 km around theAskot Wildlife Sanctuary.

The Askot Wildlife Sanctuary was established to protectthe endangered flagship species Musk Deer and its habitat.The Askot Wildlife Sanctuary is also known as Musk DeerPark.

About Uttarakhand:Capitals: Dehradun (Winter), Gairsain (Summer)Governor: Lt Gen Gurmit SinghChief minister: Pushkar Singh DhamiGovt launched National Helpline to report

Atrocities against SCs, STsThe Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment

launched a National Helpline Against Atrocities (NHAA)to prevent atrocities on members of Scheduled Castes (SCs)and Scheduled Tribes (STs).

The NHAA will ensure proper execution of theScheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention ofAtrocities) Act, (POA) 1989. The NHAA will be available24×7 on toll-free number 14566 across the country.

Aim: To build an informed awareness about theprovisions of the law that are aimed at ending discriminationand providing protection to members of the community.

Andhra Pradesh inked pact with UN-FAO &ICAR for sustainable agriculture

An agreement on Technical Cooperation Project hasbeen inked by Andhra Pradesh Government with the UnitedNations Food and Agriculture Organisation (UN-FAO) andIndian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) to help thestate farmers in adopting a sustainable agriculture foodsystem.

FAO will provide training to farmers, Rythu BharosaKendram (RBK) staff, officials, and scientists on newtechnologies in agricultural allied sectors and training tofarmers on best cultivation management practices.

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In 2020, Rythu Bharosa Kendram (RBK) or farmersupport centres were set up in AP as part of an effort toweed away fake seeds, pesticides and fertilisers from themarkets.

About United Nations Food and AgricultureOrganization (UN-FAO):

Founded: 16 October 1945, Quebec City, CanadaHeadquarters: Rome, ItalyDirector-General: Qu DongyuNTPC will set up India’s 1st Green Hydrogen

Microgrid Projects at Simhadri, APNational Thermal Power Corporation Limited (NTPC)

has awarded a project of Standalone Fuel-Cell based Micro-grid with hydrogen production using electrolyzer inSimhadri, near Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh.

It is India’s 1st Green Hydrogen based Energy StorageProject and one of the largest in the world. India targets tobecome carbon neutralby2070.

The hydrogen will be produced by using the advanced240 kW Solid Oxide Electrolyser by taking input powerfrom the nearby Floating Solar project. The hydrogenproduced during sunshine hours would be stored at highpressure and would be electrified using a 50 kW Solid OxideFuel Cell.

NTPC Renewable Energy Limited (NTPC REL) has alsoinked a pact with the Union territory of Ladakh for a greenhydrogen mobility project, with the company along withNVVN jointly executing the project.

About NTPC Limited:Founded: 1975Headquarters: New Delhi, IndiaChairman & MD: Gurdeep SinghDurga Puja on UNESCO’s ‘Intangible Cultural

Heritage of Humanity’ listUnited Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural

Organisation (UNESCO) has added Kolkata’s Durga Pujafestival to its ‘Representative List of the Intangible CulturalHeritage of Humanity’.

India now has 14 intangible cultural heritage elementson the UNESCO list. Other Indian entries that werepreviously inscribed include Nowrouz (2016), Ramlila(2008), Yoga (2016), and Kumbh Mela (2017).

UNESCO established its Lists of Intangible CulturalHeritage in 2008 with the aim of ensuring better protectionof important intangible cultural heritages worldwide andthe awareness of their significance.

About UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientificand Cultural Organization):

Founded: 16 November 1945Headquarters: Paris, FranceMembers:193 countries

Head: Audrey AzoulayJharkhand CM launched Sports Action toward

Harnessing Aspiration of Youth (SAHAY) schemefor maoist-hit areas

The Chief Minister of Jharkhand Hemant Soren haslaunched Sports Action toward Harnessing Aspiration ofYouth (SAHAY) scheme aimed at nurturing young sportingtalents in Maoist-hit districts of the state.

This scheme has been launched to curb the Left WingExtremism (LWE) which affected 19 of the state’s 24districts.

Boys and girls in the 14-19 age group from villages toward level will be registered under the scheme, and will begiven opportunities to display their skills in basketball,volleyball, hockey and athletics.

About Jharkhand:Capital: RanchiChief Minister: Hemant SorenGovernor: Ramesh BaisNational Parks: Hazaribagh National Park, and Betla

National Park7th India International Science Festival 2021

held at Panaji, GoaDr Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State (I/C) Science

& Technology, inaugurated the 7th edition of the IndiaInternational Science festival, IISF at Panaji, Goa held from10th December to 13th December 2021.

IISF is a joint program of the Ministry of Science &Technology, Ministry of Earth Sciences, and Vijnana Bharati(VIBHA), a swadeshi science movement of Bharat.

Nodal Agency for organizing IISF 2021 was the NationalCentre for Polar and Ocean Research, an autonomousinstitute under the MoES.

Theme 2021: ‘AzadiKaAmritMahotsav’ – celebratingCreativity, Science, Technology, and Innovation for aprosperous India.

About Goa:Capital: PanajiCM: Pramod SawantGovernor: S. Sreedharan PillaiPFC signed agreement with GreenCell Mobility

for deployment of 350 electric buses in UttarPradesh

Power Finance Corporation (PFC), a Maharatnacompany signed an agreement with GreenCell Mobility (e-mobility platform supported by Govt of India and UK), tolend INR 275 crore for deployment of 350 electric busesacross nine cities of Uttar Pradesh.

The initiative is part of the Faster Adoption andManufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles (FAME)-IIscheme. The buses will be deployed in key cities of UP

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including Agra, Meerut, Aligarh, Bareilly, Ghaziabad &Mathura.

Government of India has launched FAME-II schemewith an allocation of INR 3500 crore for promotion ofadoption of electric buses.

About Power Finance Corporation Ltd (PFC):Founded: 16 July 1986Headquarters: New DelhiChairman & MD: Ravinder Singh DhillonRajasthan signed MoU with Rays Power Infra to

generate 500 MW of green electricityRajasthan government has signed an MoU with Rays

Power Infra to build an avant-garde PV Photovoltaic (PV)Power Station (commonly called solar power plant) and togenerate 500 MW of green electricity.

This MoU is an instrumental step towards an eco-friendly future. The MoU was finalized during the ongoingDubai Expo, to reduce traditional electricity consumptionderived from non-renewable sources.

Rays Power has already started constructing 500 MWof solar energy commissioning in the next 9 months to offsetthe power requirements of 50 percent for corporatecustomers and 50 percent for utility projects.

Out of this 500 MW, India develops 220MW and theremaining 280 MW will be developed at Rays Power’sinternational portfolio.

About Rajasthan:Capital: JaipurGovernor: Kalraj MishraChief Minister: Ashok GehlotMeta expanded partnership with CBSE to

provide a curriculum on digital safety and onlinewell-being and AR

Meta (formerly Facebook) is set to expand itspartnership with the Central Board of Secondary Education(CBSE) to provide a curriculum on digital safety and onlinewell-being and Augmented Reality (AR) for around 1 crorecollege students and 10 lakh educators across India overthe next 3 years.

This was announced by Mark Zuckerberg, Founder andCEO of Meta at Meta’s Fuel for India 2021. This is in linewith the vision of the Indian government to UniversalizeEducation.

In line with National Education Policy (NEP) 2020,meta and CBSE will collaborate on content curation anddevelopment of curriculum integrating immersivetechnologies, AR and Virtual Reality (VR).

Haryana launched ‘Khel Nursery scheme 2022-23’ to promote sports

Haryana’s Minister of State for Sports and Youth AffairsSandeep Singh launched ‘Khel Nursery Scheme 2022-23’to promote sports in the state.

The scheme promotes sports nurseries that will bestarted in government, private educational institutions andprivate sports institutions.

The sports nurseries are being opened for the sportsincluded in the Olympic, Asian and CommonwealthGames.

About Haryana:Capital: ChandigarhGovernor: Bandaru DattatreyaChief Minister: Manohar Lal KhattarCentre granted ‘in-principle’ approval for 6

Nuclear Reactors at Jaitapur, MaharashtraUnion Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science

and Technology Dr. Jitendra granted ‘In-Principle’ approvalfor setting up 6 Nuclear Reactors at Jaitapur in Maharashtra.

The approval is for setting up 6 nuclear power reactorsof 1650 MW each, making Jaitapur as India’s largest nuclearpower generating site with a total capacity of 9900 MW.

Technical cooperation is provided by the French Firm–Électricité de France (EDF).

About Maharashtra:Capital: MumbaiGovernor: Bhagat Singh KoshyariChief minister: Uddhav ThackerayTiger Reserves: Bor Tiger Reserve, Tadoba-Andhari,

Navegaon – Nagzira, Melghat Tiger Reserve, Sahyadri TigerReserve

Cabinet cleared proposal to raise women’smarriage age from 18 to 21 years

Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister NarendraModi has given its nod for proposal to bring uniformity inthe minimum age of marriage for men and women, thereby,increasing the legal age of marriage of women from 18 to21 years. The legal age to get married for men is 21.

In this regard, a Bill will be introduced to amend theProhibition of Child Marriage Act (PCMA), 2006, SpecialMarriage Act, 1954 and personal laws such as the HinduMarriage Act 1955 in the ongoing winter session ofParliament (November 29- December 23, 2021).

Rural Development Minister launchedManagement Information System portal named‘Vikas Portal’ for rankings of States/UTs in LandAcquisition Projects

On the lines of Central Government’s Gati ShaktiMission, Union Minister Giriraj Singh, Ministry of RuralDevelopment (MoRD) launched Management InformationSystem (MIS) portal namely ‘Vikas Portal’ for rankings of

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The Asian Development Bank approved a loan of $125million (around Rs 938 crore) for water supply andsanitation projects in Uttarakhand.

The funds will be utilized to improve access to qualitywater supply and sanitation services to the entire populationof about 154,000 people. About 17,410 households inDehradun will be connected to the sewerage system.

Aim: To build cost-effective city-wide sanitation, wider-reach, and less water-dependent, and to engage the privatesector in building the skills of concerned urban local bodies.

About Asian Development Bank (ADB):Founded: 19 December 1966Headquarters: Mandaluyong, PhilippinesPresident: Masatsugu AsakawaMembers: 68 countriesList of Loan approved by ADB in 2020-21$4.5 million: for Mizoram to support Urban Mobility$251 million: Integrated Urban Flood Management in

Chennai$100 million: to promote agribusiness network, reduce

food losses in Maharashtra$250 million: to support India’s National Industrial




procurementHurun’s Global Unicorn Index 2021: India

ranked 3rd; US toppedAs per the Global Unicorn Index 2021 report released

by the Hurun Research Institute, India ranked at third (byadding 33 ‘unicorns’) in 2020 by displacing the UnitedKingdom (UK) to the 4th spot.

The United States and China still continue to bag thetop two ranks in the list by adding 254 and 74 unicorns,respectively. US, China comprise 74% of unicorns.

Unicorns are privately held start-up companies havinga valuation of more than $1 billion.

NITI Aayog & UN-WFP signed SoI to mainstreammillets in government programmes

National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayoghas signed a Statement of Intent with the United NationsWorld Food Program for mainstreaming of millets andsupporting India in taking lead globally in knowledgeexchange using the opportunity of 2023 as InternationalYear of Millets.

The Sol focuses on strategic and technical collaborationbetween NITI Aayog and WFP to strengthen climate-

States/Union Territories (UTs) in Land Acquisition Projectsunder RFCTLARR Act, 2013.

It is developed by the National Informatics Centre (NIC)team of Department of Land Resources (DoLR), MoRDwith zero cost.

RFCTLARR is an acronym for Right to FairCompensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition,Rehabilitation and Resettlement.

In this regard, awards will be conferred upon top 3States and top 3 districts by capturing the data, figures,and speed of the development in the country. It will promotehealthy competition among States/UTs.

PM Modi inaugurated Bina (MP)-Panki (UP)Multiproduct pipeline project & Kanpur Metro RailProject in Kanpur, UP

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the 356 Kmlong Bina Refinery (Madhya Pradesh)- POL Terminal atPanki (Kanpur, UP) Multiproduct pipeline project (has acapacity of 45 million metric tonne per annum) with anoutlay of Rs 1524 crore (Rs. 1227 crores in UP and Rs.297 crores in MP).

PM has also inaugurated the completed section ofKanpur Metro Rail Project and undertook a metro ride fromthe IIT metro station to Geeta Nagar. Entire length of theMetro Rail Project in Kanpur is 32 Km and is being built ata cost of around ¹ 11,000 crores.

PM also attended the 54th Convocation Ceremony ofIIT (Indian Institute of Technology) Kanpur.

About Uttar Pradesh:Capital: LucknowChief Minister: Yogi AdityanathGovernor: Anandiben PatelARIIA Rankings 2021: IIT Madras topped under

Institute of National Importance categoryMinistry of Education has released Atal Rankings of

Institutions on Innovation Achievements (ARIIA) 2021 onDecember 30, 2021.

IIT Madras has again emerged as the best institute underthe “CFTIs, Central University, & Institute of NationalImportance” category in the ARIIA 2021 list, followed byIIT Bombay and IIT Delhi.

This 3rd edition of ARIIA has introduced a specialframework for non-technical institutions that furtherstrengthen the innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystemin Indian higher education institutions.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

ADB approved $125 million loan forUttarakhand water supply and sanitation projects


resilient agriculture for enhanced food and nutrition securityin India.

Aim: To build resilient livelihoods for small-holderfarmers and adopt the capacities to climate change andtransforming food systems.

About NITI Aayog:Formed: 1 January 2015Headquarters: New DelhiChairperson: Narendra ModiVice Chairperson: Rajiv KumarCEO: Amitabh KantWorld’s longest Metro line opened in Shanghai,

ChinaShanghai has opened two new metro lines, upholding

its rank as the city with the largest Metro network in theworld.

With the inauguration of the new Metro lines, theShanghai subway network will expand largely along 831km.

Now, Shanghai city boasts 508 stations. Over 10 millionpeople use the system on an average workday.

About China:Capital: BeijingCurrency: RenminbiPresident: Xi JinpingIndia and Maldives signed an MoU to launch pilot

project on ‘pre-arrival customs data exchange’India and Maldives signed an MoU between the customs

of two countries for the joint launch of a pilot project on‘pre-arrival customs data exchange’ in a virtual ceremony.

It was launched by Vivek Johri, Chairman CentralBoard of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), and AbdullaShareef, Commissioner General, Maldives CustomsService.

This MoU helps in faster Export-Import (EXIM)clearances, fast-track customs payments, and help identifyfrauds.

About Maldives:Capital: MaleCurrency: RufiyaaPresident: Ibrahim Mohamed Solih“2019 Anti-Doping Rule Violations (ADRVs)

Report: India ranked 3rd; Russia toppedWorld Anti Doping Agency (WADA) has published its

latest report titled “2019 Anti-Doping Rule Violations(ADRVs) Report”, compiled based on decisions receivedby WADA before 31 January 2021.

India ranked 3rd among dope violators in theworld with 152 (17 percent of the world total)ADRVs.

Bodybuilding (57), Weightlifting (25), and Athletics (20)have recorded more number of dope offenders in India.

Russia tops the list with 167 ADRVs, followed by Italy with157 ADRVs. Brazil (78) and Iran (70) have ranked 4th and5th respectively.

List of India’s Rank Different Index 2021Global Drug Policy Index 2021: 18thClimate Change Performance Index 2022: 10th2021 TRACE global Bribery Risk Rankings: 82ndWorld Talent Ranking report 2021: 56thGlobal Health Security Index 2021: 66th5th Truecaller’s Global Spam & Scam Report 2021:

4th Hurun’s Global Unicorn Index 2021: 3rdIndia & Uzbekistan partnered to promote

cooperation & intensify interregional cooperationIndia & Uzbekistan decided to promote cooperation &

intensify interregional cooperation, especially betweenAndijan (Uzbekistan) and Gujarat (India).

The direct interaction for the implementation of jointprojects in the investment, trade and cultural-humanitarianspheres will be established between Uzbekistan’s Ferganaregion and Haryana, the cities of Bukhara and Hyderabad,and also between Tashkent and New Delhi.

About Uzbekistan:Capital: TashkentCurrency: Uzbekistani somPrime Minister: Abdulla AripovIndia & Vietnam signed agreement to establish

partnership in Digital Media and in the field of ITGovernment of India signed a Letter of Intent (LoI)

with Government of Vietnam, to enable collaboration inthe field of digital media and strengthen the partnershipbetween India and Vietnam.

The LoI anticipates sharing of information andexperience in establishing policies and regulatoryframeworks on digital media and social networks.

India and Vietnam also signed agreement forcooperation in the field of Information Technology (IT).

Ministers signed an agreement to extend India- VietnamMoU on cooperation in Information Technology. The MoUseeks to foster active cooperation and exchange betweenGovernments, private entities & institutions involved inenhancing capacity building and other public & privateorganizations from both sides in the field of ICT.

About Vietnam:Capital: HanoiCurrency: Vietnamese dongPresident: Nguyen Xuan PhucPrime Minister: Pham Minh ChinhWorld’s Most Admired Men 2021: PM Modi

secured 8th spot

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi has ranked 8th onYougov’s Annual list of the world’s top 20 most admiredmen.

PM Modi is ahead of Shah Rukh Khan, AmitabhBachchan and Virat Kohli. The list has been compiled takingfeedback from 42,000 people in 38 countries.

Apart from PM Modi, the other Indian men who,according to the survey, were the most admired in 2021include Sachin Tendulkar, Shah Rukh Khan, AmitabhBachchan and Virat Kohli.

South Korea will build world’s first floating cityby 2025

South Korea is soon going to get the world’s first floatingcity, to deal with the problem of floods due to rising sealevels.

The floating city project is a joint effort by the UNHuman Settlement Programme (UN-Habit) and the citywill be built off the coast of Busan in South Korea and islikely to be completed by 2025.

About South Korea:Capital: SeoulCurrency: South Korean wonPresident: Moon Jae-inMagdalena Andersson appointed as the 1st

Female PM of SwedenOn 29 November 2021, the former Finance Minister

of Sweden, Eva Magdalena Andersson from the SocialDemocratic Party (SDP) won her 2nd election and becamethe 1st female Prime Minister (PM) of Sweden.

On 24 November 2021, she was first elected as the PMbut later resigned after her coalition partner (Green Party)quit the government and the budget failed to pass.

About Sweden:Capital: StockholmCurrency: Swedish kronaIndia joined the G20 ‘Troika’ with Indonesia and

ItalyIndia has joined ‘G20 Troika’ and will work closely with

Indonesia and Italy to ensure consistency and continuity ofG20’s agenda.

Apart from India, Troika consists of Indonesia and Italy.India will assume G20 Presidency in December 2022 fromIndonesia and will convene the G20 Leaders’ Summit forthe first time in 2023.

Troika refers to the top grouping within G20 that consistsof the current, previous, and incoming presidencies – Italy(December 2020-2021); Indonesia (December 2021-2022);India (December 2022-2023).

The theme for G20 Leaders’ Summit 2022: “RecoverTogether, Recover Stronger”.

About Group of Twenty (G20):

Established: 1999Members: 20 (19 countries + European Union)EIU’s Worldwide Cost of Living Index 2021: Tel

Aviv, Israel ranked 1stAccording to the Economist Intelligence Unit’s (EIU)

Worldwide Cost of Living Index 2021, Tel Aviv, Israel hasbecome the most expensive city in the world to live in 2021,pushing Paris, France, and Singapore jointly to occupy thesecond spot with Zurich and Hong Kong at the fourth andfifth spots respectively.

Syria’s Damascus was ranked as the world’s cheapestcity. The Worldwide Cost of Living Index examines the costof living in 173 cities and measures impactful global eventsthat are conducted twice a year.

World Cooperative Monitor report 2021: IFFCOranked 1st among Top 300 cooperatives in the world

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The Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited(IFFCO) has been ranked ‘number one Cooperative’ amongthe top 300 cooperatives in the world in the 2021 editionof the 10th Annual World Cooperative Monitor (WCM)report, withholding its position from 2020 edition.

The 2021 WCM report is published by the InternationalCooperative Alliance (ICA) and European Research Instituteon Cooperative and Social Enterprises (Euricse).

WCM is a project designed to collect robust economic,organizational, and social data about cooperativesworldwide.

About Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited(IFFCO):

Founded: 1967Headquarters: New Delhi, DelhiMD & CEO: DR. U. S. AwasthiIndia and EU will set up Clean Energy and

Climate PartnershipIndia and European Union (EU) have agreed to step

up Clean Energy and Climate Partnership at India-EUEnergy Panel meet.

They jointly agreed on a detailed work program until2023 to implement the 2016 India-EU Clean Energy andClimate Partnership. They agreed on increased technicalcooperation in energy efficiency, renewable energy, greenhydrogen, etc.

The meet was co-chaired by Reenat Sandhu from Indiaand Mechthild Wörsdörfer from European Commission.

About European Union:Founded: 1 November 1993, Maastricht, NetherlandsHeadquarters: BrusselsMember states: 27Official languages: 24President of the Commission: Ursula von der LeyenPresident of the Parliament: David SassoliPresident of the European Council: Charles MichelWorld Bank has approved $135 million loan to

improve efficiency, reliability of electricity supplyin West Bengal

International Bank for Reconstruction andDevelopment (IBRD), the lending arm of World BankGroup, has approved a USD 135 million loan to WestBengal to improve the operational efficiency and reliabilityof electricity supply in selected areas in the state.

The variable spread loan or floating interest loan willhave a maturity of 17 years, including a grace period of 7years.

Aim: To strengthen distribution networks, invest insmart-grid technologies, and ensure financial sustainabilityof the state discom (distribution companies).

About International Bank for Reconstruction andDevelopment (IBRD):

Founded: 1944Headquarters: Washington DC, USAMembers: 189 countriesList of Loan approved by World Bank 2021$250 Million: Project to make existing dams safe and

resilient$300 Million (Additional Loan): Maharashtra Rural

Connectivity Improvement Project for upgrading rural roads$150 Million: Chennai’s Sustainable Urban Services$40 million: to strengthen health systems in MeghalayaRs 770 crore: for Assam to promote river transportation$250 million: to improve quality of learning in Andhra

PradeshADB got Rs 15 crore grant from JFPR to improve

urban primary health care in IndiaAsian Development Bank has received a grant of

around Rs 15 crore (USD 2 million) from the Japan Fundfor Poverty Reduction (JFPR).

The grant is aligned with the $300 million (Rs 2,249crore) loan support from ADB to the Government of Indiato strengthen CPHC under the Pradhan Mantri AtmanirbharSwasth Bharat Yojana (PM-ASBY), which is recentlyrenamed to Pradhan Mantri Ayushman Bharat HealthInfrastructure Mission (PM-ABHIM).

The fund will be used to enhance urban primaryhealthcare usage across India.

Aim: To strengthen the Comprehensive Primary HealthCare (CPHC) system in urban areas across India.

About Asian Development Bank (ADB):Founded: 19 December 1966Headquarters: Mandaluyong, PhilippinesPresident: Masatsugu AsakawaMembers: 68 countriesEAM S Jaishankar addressed 5th Indian Ocean

Conference in Abu DhabiThe union minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Ministry

of External Affairs (EAM) visited Abu Dhabi, United ArabEmirates (UAE) to attend the 5th Indian Ocean Conferenceon December 4-5, 2021.

The theme of the conference was ‘Indian Ocean:Ecology, Economy, Epidemic’.

The Conference is chaired by Sri Lankan President,Gotabaya Rajapaksa & Vice Chairs are S.Jaishankar, VivianBalakrishnan, Sayyid Badr Bin Hamad Bin Hamoud AlBusaidi.

The conference is being organised by India Foundationin collaboration with the RSIS Singapore, Institute ofNational Security Studies (INSS), Sri Lanka, and the

17


Emirates Centre for Strategic Studies and Research(ECSSR), UAE.

Adama Barrow won second term as President ofGambia

The President of Gambia, Adama Barrow, won thesecond term as President during Gambia’s presidentialelection by achieving over 53% votes from 50 of 53constituencies.

He defeated his main challenger Ousainou Darboe whowon 27.7% of the vote. The results of the election weredeclared by Electoral commission Chairman Alieu MomarrNjai.

About Gambia:Capital: BanjulCurrency: Gambian dalasiOlaf Scholz appointed as Germany’s new

chancellorSocial Democratic Party of Germany leader, Olaf Scholz

has sworn as the new Chancellor of Germany, replacingAngela Merkel’s 16-year reign.

Scholz, 63, Germany’s vice-chancellor and financeminister since 2018, brings a wealth of experience anddiscipline to an untried coalition of his centre-left SocialDemocrats, the environmentalist Greens and the pro-business Free Democrats.

About Germany:Capital: BerlinCurrency: EuroPresident: Frank-Walter SteinmeierAsia Power Index 2021: India ranked as 4th most

Powerful Country in AsiaAs per the Lowy Institute Asia Power Index 2021, India

Ranked 4th most powerful country in Asia forcomprehensive power out of 26 countries, with an overallscore of 37.7 out of 100.

The top 10 countries for overall power in the Asia-Pacificregion are the US, China, Japan, India, Russia, Australia,South Korea, Singapore, Indonesia, and Thailand.

India’s overall score declined by 2 points compared to2020. India again falls short of the major power thresholdin 2021. India is one of 18 countries in Asia to trenddownward in its overall score in 2021.

Lowy Institute Asia Power Index 2021:Rank Country Score out of 1001 United States (US) 82.22 China 74.63 Japan 38.74 India 37.75 Russia 33.0

Forbes’ 2021 World’s 100 Most Powerful Women:FM Nirmala Sitharaman ranked 37th; Nykaa’sFalguni Nayar ranked 88th

Finance Minister of India, Nirmala Sitharaman hasranked 37th on the Forbes’ list of the World’s 100 MostPowerful Women 2021 or 18th Edition of Forbes’ list ofthe World’s 100 Most Powerful Women.

She has been featured on the list for the 3rd year in arow. She was ranked 41st on the list in 2020 and 34th in2019.

India’s seventh woman billionaire and the wealthiestself-made billionaire, Falguni Nayar, founder and CEO,Nykaa was ranked 88th on the list. Only 4 Indian Womenranked in Forbes 2021 World’s 100 Most Powerful WomenList.

Other Indian women on the list:Roshni Nadar Malhotra, Chairperson of the HCL

Technology, was ranked 52nd on the list.Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, executive chairperson and

founder of Biocon was ranked 72nd.World Inequality Report 2022: India among most

unequal countriesParis-based World Inequality Lab has released World

Inequality Report 2022, authored by Lucas Chancel, co-director of World Inequality Lab, and was coordinated byfamed French economist Thomas Piketty.

As per the report 2022, India is now among the mostunequal countries in the world with an affluent elite.

The average national income of the Indian adultpopulation is Rs 204,200. While the bottom half of theIndian population earns Rs 53,610, the top 10% earnstwenty times more (around Rs 11,66,520). Top 10% andtop 1% hold respectively 57% and 22% of total nationalincome, while share of the bottom 50% has gone down to13%. The ratio in the richest nation that is the US, is 1 to17.

List of India’s Rank Different Index 20212021 Mercer CFS Global Pension Index (MCGPI)

survey: 40thWorld Justice Project’s (WJP) Rule of Law Index 2021:

79th‘Five years on: Global climate tech investment trends

since the Paris Agreement’ report: 9thGlobal Drug Policy Index 2021: 18thClimate Change Performance Index 2022: 10th2021 TRACE global Bribery Risk Rankings: 82nd

India assumed the chairmanship of Council ofRegional Anti-Terrorist Structure of SCO

India assumed the Chairmanship of Council of RegionalAnti-Terrorist Structure of Shanghai Cooperation

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Organization (RATS SCO) for 1 year from October 28,2021.

The National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS),Government of India, in association with Data SecurityCouncil of India (DSCI), as a Knowledge Partner, organizeda 2-day Practical Seminar on ‘Securing Cyberspace in theContemporary Threat Environment’ (on December 7 and8, 2021) for delegates from SCO member States.

The seminar is the 1st event to be hosted by India duringits Chairmanship of Council of RATS SCO.

About Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO):Headquarters: Beijing, ChinaFounded: 15 June 2001Secretary-General: Vladimir NorovWorld Talent Ranking report 2021: India ranked

56th; Switzerland retained top spotIMD World Competitive Centre published its “World

Talent Ranking Report” on December 9, 2021. In the report,Europe has dominated the ranking in 2021. Global top 10countries are from this region. Switzerland has retained itstop spot. India has been ranked at 56th position.

In the Middle East & North Africa, UAE maintained itssecond position, following Israel (first in this region). Israelhas been ranked 22nd . In the Arab world, UAE maintainedits top position. The UAE have improved its global talentranking by one position to 23rd.

Taiwan has been ranked at third place in Asia while at16th place In Asia, Taiwan has been ranked behind HongKong (11) and Singapore (12) but ahead of South Korea(34), China (36), and Japan (39).




since the Paris Agreement’ report: 9thGlobal Drug Policy Index 2021: 18thClimate Change Performance Index 2022: 10th2021 TRACE global Bribery Risk Rankings: 82ndUNGA granted observer status to International

Solar Alliance (ISA)The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) granted

Observer Status to International Solar Alliance (ISA) byadopting resolution 76/123.

This decision has been taken based on the UNGA’sSixth Committee report. In November 2015, ISA was jointlylaunched by India and France during the 21st session ofthe United Nations Climate Change COP-21 in Paris, Franceto promote solar energy among its Member Countries.

About International Solar Alliance (ISA):

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Founded: 30 November 2015Headquarters: GurugramMembership: 124 members of UNDirector-General: Ajay MathurGlobal Health Security Index 2021: India ranked

66th; USA toppedAs per the Global Health Security (GHS) Index 2021,

the world’s average overall GHS Index score was reducedto 38.9 (out of 100) in 2021, from a score of 40.2 in theGHS Index, 2019.

India ranked 66 out of 195 countries with an overallIndex score of 42.8 and along with a change of -0.8 from2019. The United States of America (USA) ranked 1st onthe index with a score of 75.9 followed by Australia andFinland.

GHS Index is developed in partnership with the NuclearThreat Initiative (NTI) and the Johns Hopkins Center forHealth Security at the Bloomberg School of Public Health.




since the Paris Agreement’ report: 9thGlobal Drug Policy Index 2021: 18thClimate Change Performance Index 2022: 10th2021 TRACE global Bribery Risk Rankings: 82ndWorld Talent Ranking report 2021: 56thIndia re-elected to International Maritime

Organisation Council for 2022-2023India has been re-elected to International Maritime

Organisation (IMO) Council for the 2022-2023 bienniumunder category B states.

The Assembly of the International Marit imeOrganization has elected the Members of its Council forthe 2022-2023 biennium. The Council is the executiveorgan of IMO and is responsible, under the Assembly, forsupervising the work of the Organization.

Candidates for IMO Council:Category (a)/ 10 States with the largest interest in

providing international shipping services: China, Greece,Italy, Japan, Norway, Panama, Republic of Korea, RussianFederation, United Kingdom of Great Britain and NorthernIreland, and United States.

Category (b)/ 10 State with the largest interest ininternational seaborne trade: India, Argentina, Australia,Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Netherlands, Spain,Sweden, United Arab Emirates.

UAE became the 1st Country to transition to 4and half-day work week


The domestic card offers an ATM withdrawal limit of 1lakh along with a purchase of up to Rs.3 lakh at Point onSale (POS) or E-Commerce.

International card users can also withdraw up to 75,000at ATMs abroad and perform purchases globally worth upto Rs. 3 lakh at Point On Sale (POS) or E-Commerce andinternational online merchants.

Other Benefits includes Purchase Protection coverageof 2 lakh, Accidental death coverage worth Rs. 10 lakh,and Air accident coverage Rs. 20 lakh.

About Central Bank of India:Founded: 21 December 1911Headquarters: Mumbai, MaharashtraMD & CEO: Matam Venkata RaoTagline: ‘Central’ to you since 1911RBI extended restrictions on PMC Bank for 3

months till March 2022Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has extended restrictions

on Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank foranother three months till 31 March 2022.

The move has been taken as further action on the draftscheme for the takeover of the crisis-hit bank by Delhi-based Unity Small Finance Bank (USFB) is in process.

RBI had superseded the board of PMC Bank inSeptember 2019 and placed it under regulatory restrictions,including a cap on withdrawals by its customers.

About Reserve Bank of India (RBI):Founded: April 1, 1935Headquarters: Mumbai, MaharashtraGovernor: Shaktikanta DasDeputy Governors: Mahesh Kumar Jain, Michael

Debabrata Patra, M Rajeshwar Rao, T Rabi SankarRBI released report on “Trend and Progress of

Banking in India 2020-21”; GNPAs of banks dippedto 6.9% by September 2021

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released the ‘Report onTrend and Progress of Banking in India 2020-21’, whichpresents the performance of the banking sector, includingco-operative banks, and non-banking financial companies(NBFCs) during FY21 and FY22 (till December 2021).

The gross non-performing assets (GNPA) ratio of SCBs(Scheduled Commercial Banks) declined from 8.2% at endof March 2020 to 6.9% at the end-September 2021.

The share of RSA (Restructured Advances) hasincreased to 1.8 percent at end of September 2021 (from0.8 percent as at end-March 2021 and 0.4 percent at end-March 2020) due to the restructuring scheme 2.0 for retailloans and MSMEs which does not entail an assetclassification downgrade.

The increase in deposit insurance from Rs 1 lakh to Rs5 lakh augmented the share of co-operative depositors’

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has announced tochange its 5-day work-week to a 4 and a half-day startingfrom 1st January 2022 and became the first country tomake the employee-friendly transition as part of its effortsto improve productivity and work-life balance.

The government’s move is expected to make it comecloser to the timings of the US, the UK, and Europe,boosting commerce. The Emirati govt of Dubai and AbuDhabi have already announced the four-and-a-half dayworkweek.

About UAE:Capital: Abu DhabiCurrency: United Arab Emirates dirhamPresident: Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan Dubai became world’s 1st 100% paperless

governmentDubai became the world’s first government to turn

100% paperless, the announcement was made by theUnited Arab Emirate (UAE) Crown Prince, Sheikh Hamdanbin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

It will save around 3 billion Dirham (USD 350 million)and 14-million-man hours. The digitization will provide allthe govt. services to customers & reduce paper consumptionby more than 336 million papers.

All the exceptional digital services can be accessed bythe Citizens through “Dubai Now application’’.

About UAE:Capital: Abu DhabiCurrency: United Arab Emirates dirhamPresident: Khalifa bin Zayed Al NahyanEgypt became the 4th new member of New

Development BankEgypt added as the fourth new member of BRICS New

Development Bank. Bangladesh, UAE, and Uruguay joinedBRICS New Development Bank in September 2021.

Membership expansion enables New DevelopmentBank to position itself as a premier development institutionfor emerging economies.

About New Development Bank:Founded: 15 July 2014, Fortaleza, State of Ceará, BrazilHeadquarters: Shanghai, ChinaPresident: Marcos Prado Troyjo

BANKING & FINANCE

CBI partnered with NPCI to launch ‘RuPayBusiness Platinum Debit Card’ for Corporates

Central Bank of India has partnered with the NationalPayments Corporation of India (NPCI) to launch ‘RuPayBusiness Platinum Debit Card’ for corporates.


coverage from 42.7 percent (at end March 2019) to 69.4percent (at end-March 2021).


Debabrata Patra, M Rajeshwar Rao, T Rabi SankarIndusInd Bank launched ‘Green FDs’ to support

United Nations Sustainable Development GoalsIndusInd Bank launched Green Fixed Deposits (FDs)

where the deposit proceeds will be used to finance projectsand firms supporting the United Nations SustainableDevelopment Goals (UN-SDGs).

With this, the bank has entered the list of few globalbanks which offer integrating SDG into a regular FDproduct. IndusInd Bank is the only bank in India to secure‘band A’ in the Carbon Disclosure Project.

Some of the features and benefits of Green FD areHigher rate of interest up to 6% per annum, Deposits backedby insurance for up to Rs 5 lakh, Low pre-maturewithdrawal charges of only 1%, etc.

About IndusInd Bank:Founded: 1994Headquarters: Mumbai, MaharashtraMD & CEO: Sumant KathpaliaTagline: We Make You Feel RicherIndipaisa partnered with NSDL Payments Bank

to launch a new Fintech platform targeting SMEsIndipaisa signed a partnership agreement with NSDL

Payments Bank to launch Financial Technology (Fintech)solutions targeting India’s 63 million Small & Mid-sizedEnterprise (SME) sector.

Aim: To empower SME owners & operators providefacilities and services that help them grow businesses,comply with government tax laws and build a sustainablefuture.

About NSDL Payments Bank:Founded: 1996Headquarters: Mumbai, MaharashtraMD & CEO: Abhijit KamalapurkarHDFC Bank partnered with IPPB to offer

banking services in rural areasHDFC Bank has signed an MoU with India Post

Payments Bank (IPPB) to offer banking services to over4.7 crore customers of IPPB in semi-urban and rural areas.

Under the MoU, out of 4.7 crores customers around90 per cent reside in rural areas. HDFC Bank aims to boostits financial inclusion drive by leveraging IPPB’s networkof 650 branches and over 136,000 banking access points.

About India Post Payments Bank (IPPB):

Founded: 2018, under the Department of Posts,Ministry of Communication

Headquarters: New Delhi, DelhiMD & CEO: J VenkatramuTag line: Aapka Bank, Aapke DwaarHDFC Life signed bancassurance partnership

with South Indian BankHDFC Life signed a bancassurance (Bank-Insurance)

agreement with South Indian Bank to enable customers ofthe South Indian Bank to avail HDFC Life’s life insuranceproducts and services to the customers of South IndianBank.

HDFC Life is targeting to provide the customer withinnovative products and superior levels of services throughthe physical and digital routes.

About South Indian Bank:Founded: 29 January 1929Headquarters: Thrissur, KeralaMD & CEO: Murali RamakrishnanIndusInd Bank and NPCI partner to offer cross-

border payments through UPIIndusInd Bank has partnered with the National

Payments Corporation to offer real-time cross-borderremittances to India using UPI IDs, for its Money TransferOperator (MTO) partners.

It is the first Indian bank to go live on UPI for cross-border payments/NRI remittances.

Under this arrangement, the MTOs will be using theIndusInd Bank channel to connect with NPCI’s UPIpayment systems for validation and cross-border paymentsettlement into beneficiary accounts.

IndusInd Bank has started off with Thailand’sDeeMoney for Foreign Inward Remittance (FIR) throughUPI.

About National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI):Founded: 2008Headquarters: Mumbai, MaharashtraMD & CEO: Dilip AsbeRBI imposed monetary penalty on payment

operators One Mobikwik & Spice MoneyReserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed monetary

penalty on two payment system operators, One MobikwikSystems Private Limited and Spice Money Limited, forviolation of norms.

Both the payment companies have been slapped witha fine of Rs 1 crore, as per the order issued by the centralbank.

In a statement, the RBI said it has imposed the penaltyon the two payment system operators for “committingoffences of the nature referred to in Section 26 (6) of thePayment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007 (PSSAct).”

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List of Banks who has been imposed penalty by RBIRecently

RBI imposed a penalty of 2 lakh on Pune People’s Co-operative Bank Limited, Pune for non-compliance with‘know your customer’ norms

RBI imposed Rs 1 crore penalty on SBI for non-compliance

RBI imposed a fine of Rs 1.95 crores on StandardChartered Bank

RBI imposed ¹ 1 crore penalty on Paytm Payments BankRBI imposed monetary penalty of Rs. 1 crore on State

Bank of IndiaRBI imposed Rs. 1 crore penalty on Union Bank of

IndiaRBI imposed a penalty of Rs 1.8 crores on Punjab

National Bank (PNB), and Rs 30 lakh on ICICI BankSIDBI signed MoU with West Bengal to develop

MSME ecosystemSmall Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI)

signed an MoU with the government of West Bengal todevelop the Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME)ecosystem in the state.

According to the MoU, a project management unit(PMU) of SIDBI will work with the state government.

PMU will study the existing framework and guidestakeholders for the cluster, sector-specific products,interventions for MSMEs by placing an expert agency ofSIDBI with the state MSME department.

About Small Industries Development Bank of India(SIDBI):

Founded: 2 April 1990Headquarters: Lucknow, Uttar PradeshCMD: Sivasubramanian Ramann

GoI signed 140 mn Euro loan agreement withKfW bank for energy reforms in MP

The Government of India signed agreements with theGerman-based KfW Development bank a 140 million Euroreduced interest loan & a 2 million Euro grant for an energyreform program in Madhya Pradesh.

The project consists of two components,implementation of Smart Meters & Advanced MeteringInfrastructure (AMI) and separation of agriculture and non-agriculture feeders.

List of Loan approved by KfW recentlyGoI & KfW signed Euro 442.26 mn loan for Surat Metro

Rail ProjectREC Ltd signed USD 169.5 million agreement with KfW

Development Bank to finance Power Sector & RE projects

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SEBI restructured its advisory committees onSecondary Markets, Mutual Funds, Corporate Bonds

Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) hasrestructured its 3 advisory committees that include thesecondary market, mutual funds, corporate bonds andsecuritization, Information Systems.

Secondary Market Advisory Committee (SMAC):Member:17 MembersCurrent Chairperson: Madhabi Puri Buch, ex-whole-

time member of SEBI (earlier headed by Jayanth R Varma)New Members: SEBI rearranged the committee with

Zerodha’s co-founder and chief executive officer NithinKamath as new inducted members of the panel

Advisory Committee on Mutual Funds:Members:24-membersChairperson: Usha Thorat, former deputy governor of

the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)Corporate Bonds and Securitization Advisory

Committee (CoBoSAC):Members:23-membersChairperson: G Mahalingam, former Whole Time

Member, SEBIInformation Systems Security Committee (ISSC):Member:5 membersChairperson: Prof H Krishnamurthy, Principal Research

Scientist, IISC BangaloreList of Latest Committee and Headed by‘Central Vista Oversight Committee’ to expedite pace

of project: Ratan P WatalMinistry of Social Justice and Empowerment’s

committee to review criteria for reservation for EWS: AjayBhushan Pandey



Steering Committee for Advancing Local Value-Addand Exports (SCALE committee): Pawan Goenka

SEBI set up Advisory Committee for LeveragingRegulatory and Technology Solutions (ALeRTS): MadhabiPuri Buch

IFSCA set up committee for creating a framework forthe transfer of stressed loans: G Padmanabhan

PM Modi transferred Rs 1000 Crore under DAY-NRLM to Bank Accounts of SHGs

Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India addressed thegathering of women beneficiaries of several governmentscheme at Prayagraj district of Uttar Pradesh and transferredRs 1000 crores into the bank accounts of the women SelfHelp Groups in UP.

The amount was transferred under the DeendayalAntyodaya Yojana- National Rural Livelihood Mission(DAY-NRLM).

This will benefit around 16 lakh rural women in UPand make them self-reliant and financially independent.

80000 SHGs received a Community Investment Fund(CIF) of Rs 1.10 lakh per SHG and 60000 SHGs receiveda Revolving Fund of Rs 15000 per SHG.

RBI extended CoF Tokenisation deadline tillJune 2022

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) extended the card-on-file(CoF) tokenization deadline by 6 months i.e., to June 30,2022. Earlier the deadline was fixed till December 31, 2021.

In March 2020, RBI had issued guidelines for theregulation of payment aggregators and payment gateways,prohibiting payment aggregators and merchants to storecustomer card credentials within their database or serverfrom 30 June 2021

In September 2021, RBI extended the scope oftokenization from device-based tokenization to CoFtokenization services and barred merchants from storingactual card data while online transactions. RBI has fixedthe deadline for card tokenization to January 1, 2022.


Debabrata Patra, M Rajeshwar Rao, T Rabi SankarBOB Financial and Indian Navy launched a co-

branded credit cardBOB Financial Solutions Ltd, a wholly-owned

subsidiary of Bank of Baroda, and the Indian Navy havelaunched a co-branded credit card for navy personnel.

The credit card will be offered on the RuPay platformand will be equipped with contactless features.

A navy personnel up to the age of 64 years will beeligible to choose from 3 variants of the co-branded creditcard.

About Bank of Baroda (BoB):Founded: 20 July 1908Headquarters: Vadodara, GujaratManaging Director & CEO: Sanjiv ChadhaTagline: India’s International BankAmalgamated Banks: Dena Bank & Vijaya Bank in

2019REC Ltd signed agreement with KfW

Development Bank to finance Power Sector & REprojects

REC Limited (Rural Electrification Corporation Limited)signed an agreement with KfW Development Bank to avail

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an Official Development Assistance (ODA) term loan worthUSD 169.5 million under the Indo-German bilateralpartnership.

Both organisations will jointly undertake variousprojects in Power sector & Renewable Energy (RE) projects.

This is the fifth line of credit signed between KfW Bankand REC Limited to finance power sector projects and thethird line of credit for financing renewable energy (RE)projects.

About REC Limited:Headquarters: New DelhiFounded: 25 July 1969CMD: Sanjay MalhotraGoI signed an agreement with EIB for 1st tranche

loan of Euro 250 mn for Agra Metro Rail projectThe Government of India (GoI) signed an agreement

with European Investment Bank (EIB) for a FinanceContract for the first tranche loan of Euro 250 million forAgra Metro Rail Project, Uttar Pradesh.

The Project is working under the Ministry of Housingand Urban Affairs (MoHUA) and Uttar Pradesh Metro RailCorporation Ltd. (UPMRCL) is the implementing agency.

The EIB approved a total loan of Euro 450 million tofund the Agra Metro Rail Project. The project will improvemobility and provide support for planned urbandevelopment in Agra.

About European Investment Bank (EIB):Founded: 1958Headquarters: LuxembourgPresident: Werner HoyerPaytm Payments Bank partnered with

MoneyGram to enable international fund transferPaytm Payments Bank has partnered with MoneyGram,

a peer-to-peer remittance company to enable internationalfund transfer directly to Paytm Wallet.

Under the Partnership, MoneyGram users abroad cannow transfer money to any full Know Your Customer (KYC)-compliant Paytm wallet.

MoneyGram transactions in India received digitallystands at nearly 50 percent of all transactions received inthe country.

About Paytm Payments Bank:Founded: 2015Headquarters: Noida, UPFounder & CEO: Vijay Shekhar SharmaRBI empanelled CSB Bank as Agency Bank to

undertake banking business of central, state govtsReserve Bank of India (RBI) announced the

empanelment of CSB Bank, a private sector lender as an‘Agency Bank’.

Through this appointment, the CSB Bank will undertakethe general banking business of the central and stategovernments under the guidelines set by the RBI.

As an Agency bank, CSB Bank will work with differentstate governments and central government departmentsfor businesses such as tax collections, pension payment,collection of stamp duty, etc.

Banks recently empanelled as Agency Bank of RBI:South Indian bankKarnataka bankDCB BankRBL BankDhanlaxmi BankIndusInd BankBandhan BankCBI signed a co-lending agreement with U GRO

CapitalCentral Bank of India signed a co-lending agreement

with U GRO Capital, an MSME lending fintech platform,to provide INR 1000 crore formal credit to underservedMSMEs at affordable rates across all product categories ofU GRO Capital.

Under this partnership, it is aimed to disburse up toINR 1000 crore to U GRO Capital’s varied programs likePratham, Sanjeevani, Saathi, GRO MSME, and Machineryfinancing.

Central Bank of India will provide co-lending supportthrough GRO-Xstream platform with the loans originatedby U GRO Capital’s distribution network.

About Central Bank of India:Founded: 21 December 1911Headquarters: Mumbai, MaharashtraMD & CEO: Matam Venkata RaoOriental Insurance Company Ltd categorised as

Public Shareholder in Axis BankAxis Bank announced the approval to reclassify Oriental

Insurance Company Ltd (OICL) from promoter categoryto public category shareholder in the bank.

At present, OICL holds a 0.16 percent stake in AxisBank. Currently, BSE & NSE gave approval for thereclassification of New Oriental Insurance Company to thepublic category from the promoter category.

About Axis Bank:Founded: 3 December 1993Headquarters: MumbaiMD & CEO: Amitabh ChaudharyChairperson: Shri Rakesh MakhijaTagline: Badhti Ka Naam ZindagiWipro has signed a USD 230 million deal to

acquire Edgile

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Wipro has signed an agreement to acquire Edgile, atransformational cyber security consulting provider, for$230 million.

Together, Wipro and Edgile will develop WiproCyberTransform, an integrated suite that will helpenterprises enhance boardroom governance of cybersecurity risk, invest in robust cyber strategies, and reap thevalue of practical security in action.

Founded in 2001, Edgile is recognized by security andrisk leaders for its business-aligned cyber security capability,deep understanding of the changing regulatoryenvironment, and enabling cloud transformations that helpsecure the modern enterprise.

About Wipro:Founded: 29 December 1945, IndiaHeadquarters: BengaluruFounder Chairman: Azim PremjiExecutive Chairman: Rishad PremjiCEO: Thierry DelaporteCCI approved acquisition of 100% stake in Air

India by Tata SonsThe Competition Commission of India (CCI) approved

the acquisition of 100% shareholding in Air India Limited,Air India Express Limited and 50% shares in Air India SATS(AISATS) by Talace Private Limited.

Talace Private Limited is a wholly-acquired subsidiaryof Tata Sons. In October 2021, the Central Governmentapproved the INR 18000 crore bid provided by TalacePrivate Limited for acquiring Air India & its subsidiaries.

The government will retain INR 44,679 crore debt ofAI through an SPV (Special Purpose Vehicle), which willbe paid off gradually by monetising its non-aviation assetslike land and buildings.

About Competition Commission of India (CCI):Founded: 14 October 2003Headquarters: New DelhiChairperson: Ashok Kumar GuptaIOCL acquired 4.93% equity share in Indian Gas

Exchange LtdIndian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) acquired a 93

percent equity share in Indian Gas Exchange (IGX) Limited,the country’s first automated national level gas exchange.

It was approved by the Board of Directors of Indian Oilin the meeting held on 20th December 2021.

The deal is for the acquisition of 36,93,750 equity shareswith the face value of 10 each that could equate to 4.93percent of the share capital in IGX Limited. Indian Oil alsoannounced an investment of Rs. 9,028 crores for settingup a crude oil pipeline from Mundra to Panipat.

About Indian Oil Corporation Ltd:Founded: 30 June 1959

Headquarters: Mumbai, MaharashtraChairman: Shrikant Madhav VaidyaSBI acquired minority stake in JSW Cement for

INR 100 crore via CCPSThe State Bank of India(SBI) acquired a minority stake

(less than 50 percent) in JSW Cement Limited for aninvestment of INR 100 crore through CompulsoryConvertible Preference Shares (CCPS).

The SBI is working as a strategic investor at JSWCement and has invested in the company through CCPS.

About State Bank of India (SBI):Founded: 1 July 1955Headquarters: MumbaiChairman: Dinesh Kumar KharaSBI MDs: Ashwani Bhatia, C.S. Setty, Swaminathan

Janakiraman and Ashwini Kumar TewariBank of Baroda grabbed top spot in Digital

Payments for FY20-21Bank of Baroda (BoB) grabbed the top spot in overall

digital transactions among large banks for FY20-21.It was felicitated by the Ministry of Electronics &

Information Technology (MeitY) at the Digital PaymentsUtsav which was held to commemorate 75th anniversaryof the Independence of India.

BoB has been conferred with five DigiDhan awards forFY 2019-20 & 2020-21 in various categories.


2019NPCI partnered with Udemy Business to

encourage skill development of its employeesNational Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) signed

a partnership agreement with Udemy Business, toencourage innovative learning and skill development foremployees of NPCI.

The 3-year partnership with Udemy Business will offercourses on in-demand skills such as tech, domain,behavioural, and leadership skills to all NPCI employees.

Through the mission ‘Talent Development for All’ ofNPCI, it provides capacity building programmes in ArtificialIntelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), Blockchain,Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT), Robotic ProcessAutomation (RPA), etc.

About National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI):Founded: 2008Headquarters: Mumbai, MaharashtraMD & CEO: Dilip Asbe

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Google Pay partnered with Mastercard onTokenisation for Card-Based Payments

Mastercard and Google announced a tokenizationmethod that enables Google Pay users to safely transactusing their Mastercard credit cards and debit cards.

Android users of Google Pay can scan and pay acrossall Bharat QR-enabled merchants, tap-and-pay, and makein-app transactions through their Mastercard debit andcredit card.

About Mastercard:Founded: 16 December 1966, United StatesHeadquarters: Purchase, Harrison, New York, United

StatesCEO: Michael MiebachExecutive Chairman: Ajay BangaGoI & KfW signed Euro 442.26 mn loan for Surat

Metro Rail ProjectGovernment of India and the Germany Development

Bank- KfW (Kreditanstalt fur Wiederaufbau) signed a 26million euros loan for a 40.35 km Surat Metro Rail projectin Gujarat.

The total cost of the project is Euro 1.50 billion, out ofwhich KfW is financing Euro 442.26 million.

The project is co-financed by French DevelopmentAgency, AFD (Agence Française de Développemet) withEuro 250 million.

About KfW (Kreditanstalt fur Wiederaufbau):Founded: 1948Headquarters: Frankfurt, GermanyCEO: Stefan WintelsEquitas Small Finance Bank became Banking

Partner of Maharashtra state govtEquitas Small Finance Bank has empanelled as the

banking partner of the state government of Maharashtrawith an aim to offer its services to employees of the StateGovernment.

The Bandhan Bank, Karur Vysya Bank, and the SouthIndian Bank have been assigned the role of distributingsalaries and allowances to the government employees.

This partnership will enable the ESFBL to distributesalaries and allowances to the existing employees apart frommaking provision of pension to pensioners. The stategovernment has authorised the Equitas SFB to open salaryand pension accounts for the existing and retired employeesacross 58 branches of the bank across the state.

About Equitas Small Finance Bank Ltd:Founded: 2016Headquarters: Chennai, Tamil NaduMD & CEO: Vasudevan Pathangi NarasimhanTagline: It’s Fun Banking

Edelweiss General Insurance partnered withPhonePe to offer digital motor insurance

Edelweiss General Insurance has partnered withPhonePe, a fintech firm in the digital payments space, tooffer quick and easy, digital motor insurance products toall its customers.

The partnership offers PhonePe customers simple, end-to-end digital solutions in the motor insurance segment.

PhonePe customers can purchase EGI’s motorinsurance policy with Zero paperwork and can opt for add-on benefits like depreciation protection, engine protection,consumable expense protection, roadside assistance, keyand lock protection according to individual needs.

About PhonePe:Founded: 2015Headquarters: Bangalore, KarnatakaFounder & CEO: Sameer NigamIFSCA set up committee for creating a

framework for the transfer of stressed loans: headedby G Padmanabhan

IFSCA set up committee for creating a framework forthe transfer of stressed loans: headed by G Padmanabhan

International Financial Services Centres Authority(IFSCA) set up a committee for creating a framework forthe transfer of stressed loans from domestic lenders tofinancial institutions.

Former executive director of Reserve Bank of India GPadmanabhanwill chair the committee along with expertisein banking and legal firms.

The committee examines the provisions of the RBIdirections that require further clarification for transferringstressed loans, for identifying areas or issues of the directionsfrom RBI.

List of Latest Committee and Headed byMinistry of Social Justice and Empowerment’s

committee to review criteria for reservation for EWS: AjayBhushan Pandey




SEBI set up Advisory Committee for LeveragingRegulatory and Technology Solutions (ALeRTS): MadhabiPuri Buch

RBI authorised RBL Bank to collect indirecttaxes

Based on the recommendation from the ControllerGeneral of Accounts, the Ministry of Finance, the Reserve

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Bank of India has granted permission to RBL Bank to collectindirect taxes on behalf of the Central Board of IndirectTaxes and Customs (CBIC).

RBL Bank has already got permission from RBI inNovember 2021 to collect direct taxes. So, the currentannouncement enables the bank to collect both direct andindirect taxes.

About RBL Bank:Founded: 1943Headquarters: Mumbai, MaharashtraCEO & MD: Vishwavir AhujaTagline: Apno Ka BankRBI allowed scheduled payments banks, SFBs

as Agency Bank to conduct Govt BusinessReserve Bank of India (RBI), in consultation with the

Department of Financial Services (DFS), the Ministry ofFinance, has decided to make the Scheduled paymentsbanks and scheduled small finance banks (SFBs) eligibleto conduct Government agency business.

On May 10, 2021, RBI, revised the existing guidelineson ‘Appointment of Scheduled Private Sector Banks asAgency Banks of RBI’ for authorising Scheduled PrivateSector Banks as agency banks of RBI for conducting govtbusiness (Central and/or State).

Thus, any payment bank or small finance bank whichintends to undertake govt agency business could beappointed as an agent of RBI only upon execution of anagreement with RBI and also in compliance with theregulatory framework prescribed for those banks.


Debabrata Patra, M Rajeshwar Rao, T Rabi SankarRBI imposed Rs 1.8 crores and 30 lakh penalty

on PNB and ICICI BankReserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed a penalty of

Rs 1.8 crores on Punjab National Bank (PNB), while ICICIBank has been fined Rs 30 lakh for deficiencies in regulatorycompliances.

According to a statement issued by the central bank,PNB was found guilty of contravening provisions of theBanking Regulation Act, 1949, related to pledge of sharesby it.

List of Banks who has been imposed penalty by RBIRecently

RBI imposed a penalty of 2 lakh on Pune People’s Co-operative Bank Limited, Pune for non-compliance with‘know your customer’ norms

RBI imposed Rs 1 crore penalty on SBI for non-compliance

RBI imposed a fine of Rs 1.95 crores on StandardChartered Bank

RBI imposed ¹ 1 crore penalty on Paytm Payments BankRBI imposed monetary penalty of Rs. 1 crore on State

Bank of IndiaRBI imposed Rs. 1 crore penalty on Union Bank of

IndiaICICI Prudential Life Insurance became 1st

Indian insurance company to sign UN’s Principlesfor Responsible Investment

ICICI Prudential Life Insurance became the first Indianinsurance company to sign United Nations-supportedPrinciples for Responsible Investment (UNPRI), todemonstrate commitment towards the environmental,social and governance (ESG) issues.

In order to promote sustainability, IPRULIFE isintegrating ESG factors into its investment managementframework.

The UNPRI is an investor initiative in partnership withthe two bodies of the United Nations – the UN EnvironmentProgramme Finance Initiative and the UN Global Compact.

About ICICI Prudential Life Insurance:Established: 2000Headquarters: Mumbai, MaharashtraCEO & MD: Narayanan Srinivasa KannanUnion Bank of India partnered with Home First

Finance to offer home loansUnion Bank of India has entered into a strategic co-

lending partnership with Home First Finance CompanyIndia Ltd (HomeFirst) to offer home loans to customers atcompetitive interest rates.

HomeFirst will retain a minimum of 20 percent of theloan while 80 percent will be retained by UBI.

Aim: To provide a seamless experience to retail homeloan customers in the priority sector and to strengthen bothcompanies.

About Union Bank of India:Founded: 1919Headquarters: Mumbai, MaharashtraMD & CEO: Rajkiran Rai GTagline: Good People to Bank withTVS Motor, BMW Motorrad join hands for EVsTVS Motor Company and global auto giant BMW

Motorrad expanded their co-operation with a tie-up in theelectric vehicle space.

TVS Motor Company will develop electric vehicles (EV)with BMW’s Motorrad brand in India. The first productunder the enhanced co-operation, an electric model suited

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for the urban ecosystem, is expected to make its debut inthe next 24 months.

About TVS Motor Company:Founded: 1978Headquarters: ChennaiCEO: N. RadhakrishnanCMD: Venu SrinivasanADB approved $112 million loan to establish

Assam Skill UniversityThe Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a

$112 million loan to strengthen skills education and trainingthrough the establishment of the Assam Skill University(ASU).

The Loan will create a path for skill development toenhance the productivity and competitiveness of Assam’seconomy and industries.

An additional $1 million grant from the Japan Fundfor Poverty Reduction will support the introduction oftechnologies for smart campus management, integratedteaching, learning, and career development management.

List of Loan approved by ADB in 2020-21$250 million: to support India’s National Industrial




procurement$125 million: for Uttarakhand water supply and

sanitation projectsUSD 500 million: to GoI for enhancing quality of school

education mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemicon students’ learning

USD 350 million: to improve urban services in IndiaSEBI set up Advisory Committee for Leveraging

Regulatory and Technology Solutions; headed byMadhabi Puri Buch

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI)has set up an Advisory Committee for LeveragingRegulatory and Technology Solutions (ALeRTS) to enhancetechnological capabilities and explore suitable technologysolutions for the early detection of market anomalies.

ALeRTS, is a 7-member committee headed by MadhabiPuri Buch, former whole-time member of SEBI and hasexperts from various technology domains as members.

ALeRTS will recommend future roadmaps andimprovements in the various ongoing technology projects.It will also guide SEBI in designing and framingrequirements for the different in-house systems

List of Latest Committee and Headed by

Committee to determine RoDTEP rates for exports fromSEZs, EOUs: Gopal Krishna Pillai


Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment’scommittee to review criteria for reservation for EWS: AjayBhushan Pandey




RBI introduced PCA framework for large NBFCsRBI has introduced prompt corrective action (PCA)

framework for large non-banking financial companies(NBFCs) with effect from October 2022.

The PCA framework will be applicable to All Deposit-Taking NBFCs (NBFCs-D) and All Non-Deposit TakingNBFCs (NBFCs-ND) in the Middle, Upper, and Top Layers.It will put restrictions on para-banks whenever vital financialmetrics dip below prescribed threshold.

The move will bring NBFCs almost on a par with banksin terms of supervision and regulatory reach. This followsscale-based regulations and revision in non-performingasset norms brought in by the regulator for the sector.


Debabrata Patra, M Rajeshwar Rao, T Rabi SankarLIC launched ‘Dhan Rekha’ individual savings

life insurance planLife Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) has

introduced a new Non -Linked, Non-Participating,Individual Savings Life Insurance Plan named ‘DhanRekha’.

The plan will offer special premium rates for femalelives and it is also allowed for the third gender. Theminimum sum assured under this plan is Rs 2 lakh andthere is no limit for the maximum sum assured.

The minimum age at entry ranges from 90 days to 8years and the maximum age at entry ranges from 35 yearsto 65 years based on the chosen policy term.

Sum assured: 2,00,000Maximum amount: NilSurvival benefits:20 years- 10% of Basic Sum Assured at the end of

each of 10th and 15th policy year.

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30 years- 15% of Basic Sum Assured at the end ofeach of 15th, 20th and 25th policy year

About Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC):Founded: 1956Headquarters: Mumbai, MaharashtraChairperson: M R KumarCabinet approved incentive scheme for

promotion of RuPay Debit Cards and low-valueBHIM-UPI transactions

Union Cabinet has approved an incentive scheme topromote RuPay Debit cards and low-value (upto Rs. 2,000)BHIM-UPI transactions (Person-to-Merchant (P2M)] inIndia.

With this, Digital Modes of Payment will becomeaccessible to unbanked and marginalized populationsoutside the formal banking-financial system.

The financial outlay for one year: 1,300 crores (for 1year i.e., FY22).

Cabinet approved ¹ 76,000 crore scheme toboost semiconductor manufacturing

Union Cabinet approved a Rs 76,000-crore productionlinked incentive (PLI) scheme for boosting semiconductorand display manufacturing in India.

With this, the total amount of production linkedincentive (PLI) announced for the electronics sector increaseto Rs 2.30 lakh crore.

This scheme was approved in order to position Indiaas a global hub for hi-tech production, as well as to attractlarge chip makers. It would also strengthen India’s ambitionsto be self-reliant in electronics manufacturing and bringhuge investments.

The government will also set up an independent ‘IndiaSemiconductor Mission (ISM)’, for driving the long-termstrategies to develop a sustainable semiconductors anddisplay ecosystem in India.

Paytm launched ‘Paytm Wealth Academy’ EdTechplatform to train traders, investors

Paytm launched the first of its kind Artificial Intelligence(AI) powered Educational Technology (EdTech) platformnamed, ‘Paytm Wealth academy’ for traders and investors.

The educational platform will offer courses andwebinars on trading and financial concepts according tothe needs of individuals.

Paytm Wealth Academy will be initially available onthe Paytm Money app, owned by Paytm’s wholly-ownedsubsidiary Paytm Money, to selected users (soon to everyuser).

About Paytm:Founded: August 2010Headquarters: Noida, Uttar Pradesh, IndiaCEO: Vijay Shekhar Sharma

WPI inflation at record high; surges to 14.23%in November

Producers’ inflation based on the Wholesale Price Index(WPI) has reached an all-time high in the current series at23 percent in November from 12.54 percent in Octoberon a year-on-year basis.

Wholesale Price-based Index (WPI) inflation base yearis 2011-12. Also, the spike is highest since April 2005.

This is the eighth successive month of double digits WPI(mainly due to the hardening of prices of mineral oils, basicmetals, crude petroleum, and natural gas).

Axis Bank tied up with Swift to provide digitalbanking solution

Axis Bank is working with new digital services fromprovider Swift to provide a comprehensive digital solutionto clients.

The bank is integrating with different digitizationinitiatives by government bodies and service providers toextend an end-to-end service to business clients.

Axis bank’s B2B (business-to-business) digitizationefforts are being supported by Swift, a cooperative of globalbanks that acts as an intermediary between banks and setsstandards.

About Axis Bank:Founded: 3 December 1993Headquarters: MumbaiMD & CEO: Amitabh ChaudharyChairperson: Shri Rakesh MakhijaBoB partnered NPCI to launch wearable payment

solution “bob World Wave”Bank of Baroda in partnership with National Payments

Corporations of India (NPCI) launched bob World Wave,a wearable line of products for payments, integrated witha complete health ecosystem.

A bob World Wave wearable device will allowcustomers to monitor their Saturation of Peripheral Oxygen(SpO2), body temperature, heart rate and blood pressure.

The device will provide contactless payments of up toRs. 5,000 in all Near-Field Communication (NFC) enabledPoint of Sale (PoS) devices and also enable payments aboveRs 5000 using the PIN.


2019Bajaj Allianz General Insurance launched

‘#Care4Hockey’ Campaign

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Bajaj Allianz General Insurance, a leading privategeneral insurer in India has launched its ‘#Care4Hockey’Campaign to elevate field Hockey’s recognition in India.

The company has partnered with Padma Shri (2020)Rani Rampal, Indian Women’s Hockey Team Captain, whowill be the face of the campaign.

‘#Care4Hockey’ is a one of its kind campaign whichaims to support the development of Hockey in India fromthe grass-root level.

About Bajaj Allianz General Insurance:Founded: 2001Headquarters: Pune, MaharashtraCEO & MD: Tapan SinghelIPPB and NPCI Bharat BillPay Limited

collaborated for Doorstep Bill Payments ServiceIndia Post Payments Bank (IPPB) partnered with NPCI

Bharat BillPay Limited (NBBL) to facilitate pan Indiadoorstep bill payments service for IPPB and non-IPPBcustomers.

NBBL is a wholly-owned subsidiary of NationalPayments Corporation of India (NPCI). The platformenables customers to pay bills for various utilities and otherrecurring services.

About India Post Payments Bank (IPPB):Founded: 2018, under the Department of Posts,

Ministry of CommunicationHeadquarters: New Delhi, DelhiMD & CEO: J VenkatramuTag line: Aapka Bank, Aapke DwaarADB approved a USD 350 million loan to

improve urban services in IndiaAsian Development Bank (ADB) approved

~Rs.2653.05 crore (USD 350 million) policy-based loanto improve urban services in India.

This loan supports the policies formulated by theMinistry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) to benefitthe urban poor, economically weaker section, and low-income groups.

ADB will also provide knowledge and advisory supportto MoHUA in program implementation, monitoring andevaluation.

List of Loan approved by ADB in 2020-21$250 million: to support India’s National Industrial




procurement

$125 million: for Uttarakhand water supply andsanitation projects

USD 500 million: to GoI for enhancing the quality ofschool education mitigate the impact of the COVID-19pandemic on students’ learning

RBI approved LIC to increase stake up to 9.99%in IndusInd Bank

Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) has receivedapproval from the Reserve Bank of India to increase itsstake to 99 percent in IndusInd Bank of the total issuedand paid-up capital of the private sector lender.

The approval will be valid for 1 year i.e., up toDecember 8, 2022. At present, LIC holds a 4.95 percentstake in the IndusInd Bank.

Recently, LIC had also received a similar kind ofapproval from RBI to increase its stake in Kotak MahindraBank to 9.99 percent.

About IndusInd Bank:Founded: 1994Headquarters: Mumbai, MaharashtraMD & CEO: Sumant KathpaliaTagline: We Make You Feel RicherFederal Bank entered into Bancassurance

Partnership with Star Health InsuranceFederal Bank entered into a Bancassurance partnership

with Star Health and Allied Insurance Co Ltd as a corporateagent to provide health insurance products for the Bank’s8.90 million customers across India.

The Bank’s customers can avail benefits of Star Health’sretail products and group affinity products through thebank’s various distribution channels which help thecustomers to address their complete financial needs underone roof.

About Federal Bank:Founded: 23 April 1931 (as Travancore Federal Bank)

at Nedumpuram, Thiruvalla, 2 December 1949; 71 yearsago (as Federal Bank)

Headquarters: Aluva, KeralaMD & CEO: Shyam SrinivasanTagline: Your Perfect Banking PartnerBank of Baroda signed an MoU with Centrum

Housing Finance for Housing LoansBank of Baroda signed an MoU with Centrum Housing

Finance Limited (CHFL) for sourcing and financing housingloan borrowers under Co-Lending Model (CLM)mechanism.

The Bank will penetrate deep into the markets of tier 2& tier 3 cities at very competitive interest rates. Bank extendsupto of 1000 crore as Housing finance in one financialyear.

About Bank of Baroda (BoB):

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Founded: 20 July 1908Headquarters: Vadodara, GujaratManaging Director & CEO: Sanjiv ChadhaTagline: India’s International BankAmalgamated Banks: Dena Bank & Vijaya Bank in

2019Cabinet approved the continuation of PMAY-G

till March 2024Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra

Modi approved the continuation of Pradhan Mantri AwaasYojana – Gramin (PMAY-G) beyond March 2021 till March2024.

Under this, financial assistance is to be provided forthe construction of the remaining 155.75 lakh houses withintotal target of 2.95 crore houses.

The outlay for the construction of remaining houseswill be 2,17,257 crores with Central Share Rs.1,25,106crore and State Share Rs. 73,475 crores.

Paytm Payments Bank got scheduled bank statusfrom RBI

Paytm Payments Bank Limited (PPBL), an associateentity of Paytm, has gained the central bank’s approval tofunction as a scheduled payments bank, helping it to widenits financial services operations.

The bank has been included in the Second Scheduleto the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934. Apart from Paytm,Fino Payments Bank and India Post Payments Bank havealso been included in the second schedule.

Being a Scheduled Payments Bank, Paytm PaymentsBank can take part in government and other largecorporations issued Request for Proposals (RFP), primaryauctions, fixed-rate and variable rate repos, and reverserepos, along with participation in Marginal Standing Facility.

The bank supports 3 crore Paytm Wallets and enablesconsumers to make payments at over 87,000 onlinemerchants and 2.11 crore in-store merchants.

About Paytm Payments Bank:Founded: 2015Headquarters: Noida, IndiaFounder & CEO: Vijay Shekhar SharmaSBI signed MoU with Kendriya Sainik BoardState Bank of India (SBI) will sign an MoU with Kendriya

Sainik Board to support and educate the children of warveterans, ex-servicemen, and war widows.

India’s largest bank said it will provide a grant of ¹ 1,000per month to 8,333 war veterans’. The bank has contributed¹ 10 crores to the Armed Forces Flag Day Fund. The ArmedForces Flag Day is celebrated on December 7.

About State Bank of India (SBI):Founded: 1 July 1955Headquarters: Mumbai

Chairman: Dinesh Kumar KharaSBI MDs: Ashwani Bhatia, C.S. Setty, Swaminathan

Janakiraman, and Ashwini Kumar TewariCity Union Bank & NPCI launched ‘On-the-Go’

wearable keychainCity Union Bank (CUB), in collaboration with National

Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and itsmanufacturing partner Seshaasai, has announced thelaunch of RuPay On-the-Go contactless wearable keychainfor its debit card customers.

This contactless wearable keychain will be part of theirdaily lifestyle and enable customers to tap and makecashless payments securely.

This On-the-Go solution allows the bank’s customersto carry payment cards on their keychains, making for fastand convenient payments up to ¹ 5,000 at all Rupay-enabled point of sale devices (PoS) without entering a PIN.

About City Union Bank:Founded: 1904Headquarters: KumbakonamCEO: N. KamakodiPayPhi became the 1st certified tokenization

service for NTS to support tokenization of RuPaycards

On the lines of the guidelines issued by the ReserveBank of India (RBI) in September 2021 regardingtokenization of cards during online transactions, NPCIannounced the launch of NPCI Tokenization System (NTS).

In this regard, PayPhi, Phi Commerce’s API (Applicationprogramming interface) first digital payments platform,became the first certified tokenization service for NTSsupporting tokenization of RuPay cards. Tokenization ofcards as an alternate to storing card details with merchants.

NPCI’s NTS platform enables PayPhi Tokenizationservice to provide partner merchants and aggregators withTROF. Token Reference On File (TROF) turns sensitivecardholder data into randomly generated 16 digit numberscalled “token” with no meaningful value if breached.

About National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI):Founded: 2008Headquarters: Mumbai, MaharashtraMD & CEO: Dilip AsbeShivalik SFB & Indiagold partnered to launch

India’s 1st loan against ‘Digital Gold’Shivalik Small Finance Bank (SSFB) signed a

partnership agreement with fintech firm, Indiagold to launchIndia’s first Loan against Digital Gold.

This agreement will enable customers to use their digitalgold balance to avail instant and digital loans upto Rs.60,000 and also seamlessly access gold loans starting at amonthly interest of just 1%.

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universe just shortly after the Big Bang is targeted for blastofffrom the European Space Agency’s Kourou, FrenchGuiana.

The revolutionary world’s first-of-its-kind space-scienceobservatory of the next decade will capture the earliestgalaxies believed to have formed during the early universe’sformation. The new telescope will help scientists to probethe structures and origins of our universe and our place init.

Webb will be the premier space observatory forastronomers worldwide to extend the discoveries of theHubble Space Telescope. It will be the largest telescopeever placed in space and 100 times more powerful thanHubble, with a total mass of 6200 kg.

About NASA:Founded: 1 October 1958Headquarters: Washington D.C., United StatesAdministrator: Bill Nelson (14th Administrator)ISRO inked an agreement with Oppo India to

strengthen R&D of NavIC messaging serviceAn agreement has been inked between the Indian Space

Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Chinese smartdevices maker Oppo’s Indian arm to strengthen theResearch and Development (R&D) of the NavIC messagingservice, an Indian satellite navigation system.

NavIC, an acronym for Navigation with IndianConstellation, aims to provide a user-friendly platform.

As a part of pact, Oppo India will support ISRO with itsR&D capabilities to provide a seamless experience to theusers of the NavIC application.

Oppo will use NavIC messaging service in its futuremobile handset sold in India.

About ISRO:Founded: 15 August 1969Headquarters: BengaluruChairman: Kailasavadivoo SivanBPCL collaborated with BARC for Green

Hydrogen productionBharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) has

collaborated with Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC)to scale-up Alkaline Electrolyze technology for GreenHydrogen production.

This is a first of its kind initiative to support India’scommitment to achieve renewable energy targets andreduce greenhouse gas emissions.

About Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL)Headquarters: Mumbai, MaharashtraChairman & Managing Director: Arun Kumar SinghChina launches “Shijian-6 05” satellites for

Space Exploration

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Aim: To provide access to secure and affordable creditto the customers looking for quick liquidity against theirgold assets.

About Shivalik Small Finance Bank (SSFB):Headquarters: Noida, Uttar PradeshMD & CEO: Suveer Kumar GuptaICICI Bank partnered with Flipkart to offer

instant digital Overdraft FacilityICICI Bank partnered with Flipkart, an e-commerce

platform, to offer an instant and digital overdraft (OD)facility of up to 25 lakh to individual sellers and businessesregistered on Flipkart.

The OD is renewable on an annual basis, dependingon the repayment track records of the seller. The OD Facilityis enabled by Application Programming Interface (API) andthe process from application to sanction to disbursement iscompletely digital.

Sellers having a current account with ICICI Bank canimmediately avail OD and Customers of any bank can alsoavail of ODs from ICICI Bank if they are registered as sellerswith Flipkart.

About ICICI Bank:Founded: 1955 (Incorporated in 1994)Headquarters: VadodaraMD & CEO: Sandeep BakhshiChairperson: Girish Chandra ChaturvediTagline: Hum Hai Na, Khayal ApkaSCIENCE & TECHNOLOGYRussia launched 1st versatile nuclear-powered

icebreaker ‘Sibir’ to boost India’s Arctic Plans viaNSR

Russia has launched its first in the series Project 22220versatile nuclear-powered icebreaker known as ‘Sibir’,which will support the growing fleet of icebreakers to keepthe Northern Sea Route open for year-round shippingthrough the Arctic and enable a wider presence of India inthe arctic region.

The construction of Sibir was started in 2015 and theicebreaker was floated on 22nd December 2017. Sibir washanded over to the Rosatom State Atomiñ EnergyCorporation for exploitation; the Delivery-Acceptance Actwas signed on 24th December at Baltic Shipyard, St.Petersburg, Russia.

About Russia:Capital: MoscowCurrency: RoublePresident: Vladimir PutinNASA launched world’s largest telescope “James

Webb Space Telescope”NASA’s $10 billion telescopes James Webb Space

Telescope designed to capture the first glimpse of the


(Easy Trip Planners Ltd), an online travel company basedin India.

EaseMyTrip founded by Nishant Pitti and Rikant Pittiin 2008 was started as the Business-to-Business (B2B) portaland entered into the business-to-consumer (B2C) segmentin 2011.

About EaseMyTrip:Founded:2008Headquarters: New Delhi, DelhiCEO: Nishant PittiNote: List of brand ambassadorGUVI, an IIT-M incubated startup: Smriti Mandhana50th year Celebrations of Arunachal Pradesh: Sanjay

DuttUNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Cultural and

Creative Industries: Naomi KawaseKinara Capital: Ravindra JadejaUnix: Jasprit BumrahPiramal Realty: Farhan Akhtar, Rahul DravidDisney BYJU’s Early Learn App: Neeraj Chopra & PV

SindhuUttarakhand State Brand Ambassador: Rishabh PantRadhika Jha named as CEO of Energy Efficiency

Services LimitedRadhika Jha has been appointed as the Chief Executive

Officer of Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL).EESL is a joint venture between NTPC, Power Grid,

Power Finance Corp and REC, working to promote energyefficiency in the country.

Prior to the new posting, the IAS officer was serving asSecretary to the Government of Uttarakhand for theEducation Department.

About Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL):Founded: 2009Headquarters: New DelhiChairman: Arun Kumar MishraPraveen Kumar appointed as DG & CEO of

Indian Institute of Corporate AffairsThe government of India has approved the appointment

of Praveen Kumar, IAS, Former Secretary, Ministry of SkillDevelopment & Entrepreneurship to the post of DirectorGeneral & Chief Executive Officer, Indian Institute ofCorporate Affairs (IICA).

The proposal for setting up IICA was approved byPlanning Commission in the year 2007. It was establishedin 2008 at Manesar, Haryana.

Praveen Kumar is a 1987 batch retired IAS officer ofTamil Nadu cadre, and a former Secretary, SkillDevelopment & Entrepreneurship.

About Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs:Founded: 2012Headquarters: Gurgaon, New Delhi

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China successfully launched a new group of satellitesShijian-6 05 into space from the Jiuquan Satellite LaunchCenter in northwest China for space exploration and newtechnology tests.

The satellites were launched by a Long March-4B rocketwhich marked the 400th mission of Long March seriescarrier rockets.

About China:Capital: BeijingCurrency: RenminbiPresident:Xi Jinping

APPOINTMENT AND RESIGNATION

Arvind Kumar appointed DG of SoftwareTechnology Parks of India

Arvind Kumar has joined as Director General ofSoftware Technology Parks of India (STPI). STPI is anautonomous body under the Ministry of Electronics andInformation Technology (MeitY), Government of India.

Currently, STPI-registered units have reached IT/ITeS/ESDM exports of over Rs. 5 lakh crores. STPI is one of thelargest tech incubators in India with an area of approx.13lakh square feet spread across various Tier 1/2/3 cities.

About Software Technology Parks of India (STPI):Formation: 1991Headquarters: New DelhiBaldev Prakash appointed as MD & CEO of J&K

BankBaldev Prakash has been appointed as the Managing

Director & Chief Executive Officer (MD & CEO) of Jammu& Kashmir Bank for three years.

His appointment will be effective from the date of takingcharge or April 10, 2022, whichever is earlier.

Apart from him, R K Chhibber has been appointed asan additional director on the board of the bank.

About J&K Bank:Founded: 1 October 1938Headquarters: Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, IndiaChairman & MD: Baldev PrakashList of CEO of Other BankBank of Baroda: Sanjiv ChadhaBank of India: Atanu Kumar DasCentral Bank of India: Matam Venkata RaoIndian Bank: Shanti Lal JainUCO Bank: Soma Sankara PrasadIndian Overseas Bank: Partha Pratim SenguptaVijay Raaz & Varun Sharma appointed as Brand

Ambassadors of EaseMyTripBollywood actors Vijay Raaz & Varun Sharma have

been named as brand ambassador for EaseMyTrip. Com


Vikram Misri appointed as Deputy NationalSecurity Advisor of India

Diplomat Vikram Misri has been appointed as deputynational security adviser in the national security councilsecretariat.

Misri will report to national security adviser Ajit Doval.At present, Rajinder Khanna, Pankaj Saran and DattatrayPadsalgikar are serving as deputy NSAs.

The appointment of Misri, a 1989-batch Indian ForeignService (IFS) officer, came after he served as the Indianambassador to China for nearly three years.

Vasudevan PN reappointed as MD & CEO ofEquitas Small Finance Bank

Vasudevan Pathangi Narasimhan has been reappointedas the Managing Director (MD) & Chief Executive Officer(CEO) of Equitas Small Finance Bank Limited (ESFBL)for three years (from July 23, 2022, to July 22, 2025), bythe Board of Directors (BoD).

Vasudevan PN is currently serving as the MD and CEOof the bank. Earlier he was working as the MD of EquitasHoldings Limited.

About Equitas Small Finance Bank Ltd:Founded: 2016Headquarters: Chennai, Tamil NaduMD & CEO: Vasudevan Pathangi NarasimhanPart-Time Chairman: Arun RamanathanTagline: It’s Fun BankingAnupam Ray appointed as India’s Permanent

Representative at UN Conference on DisarmamentSenior diplomat Dr Anupam Ray, a 1994 batch of

Indian Foreign Service officer, has been appointed as India’snext permanent representative (or Ambassador) to theUnited Nations Conference on Disarmament in Geneva,Switzerland.

He is currently serving as the joint secretary in theMinistry of External Affairs (MEA).

He replaced Dr. Pankaj Sharma, a 1991 batch IFSofficer who has been serving as the Ambassador/PermanentRepresentative to the UN on Disarmament since 2018.

Dr Pankaj Sharma has been appointed as the nextAmbassador of India to Mexico.

About United Nations (UN):Founded: 24 October 1945, San Francisco, California,

United StatesHeadquarters: New York, New York, United StatesSecretary general: António GuterresChandra Prakash Goyal appointed Director-

General of Forests & Special SecretaryIndian Forest Service officer, Chandra Prakash Goyal

has been appointed as the Director-General of Forests &

Special Secretary (DGF&SS), Ministry of Environment,Forests & Climate Change.

Goyal, a 1986 batch IFS officer was previously thePrincipal Chief Conservator of Forest under Uttar PradeshDepartment of Forest.

Sanjaya Kumar Mishra appointed as acting ChiefJustice of the Uttarakhand High Court

President of India has appointed Justice Sanjaya KumarMishra, the senior-most judge of Uttarakhand High Courthas been appointed as the Acting Chief Justice of theUttarakhand HC with effect from 24th December 2021.

He was appointed following the retirement of JusticeRaghvendra Singh Chauhan, CJ of Uttarakhand HC.

HO Suri appointed as MD & CEO of IFFCO-TOKIO General Insurance

IFFCO-TOKIO General Insurance appointed H O Surias new Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer(CEO) effective October 1, 2021.

Earlier, Suri was the financial advisor, head, internalaudit & legal of the IFFCO-TOKIO General InsuranceCompany.

About IFFCO-TOKIO General Insurance Company:Founded: 2000Headquarters: Gurugram, HaryanaChairman: Srinivasa GowdaUnsoo Kim appointed as MD of Hyundai Motor

India LimitedHyundai Motor Company has appointed Unsoo Kim

as the Managing Director (MD) of Hyundai Motor IndiaLimited (HMIL), starting from 1st January 2022.

He will replace Seon Seob Kim (SS Kim), who will leadthe Global Operations Division in Hyundai headquartersin Seoul, South Korea.

HMIL, a wholly-owned subsidiary of HMC is India’sfirst smart mobility solutions provider and the number onecar exporter in India.

Ravinder Bhakar assumed charge of NFDC, filmsdivision and CFSI

CEO of Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC),Ravinder Bhakar has assumed charge of National FilmDevelopment Corporation (NFDC), Films Division, andChildren Films Society of India (CFSI).

He is a 1999-batch officer of the Indian Railway StoresService (IRSS). He has been assigned these charges inaddition to his present duties as CEO of the film certificationbody.

Catherine Russell appointed as the new head ofUNICEF

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has appointedCatherine Russell as the head of UN children’s agencyUNICEF, also known as the United Nations Children’s Fund.

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Catherine Russell is an assistant to US President JoeBiden. She also heads the White House Office ofPresidential Personnel. Russell will succeed Henrietta Fore,who resigned in July 2021 because of a family health issue.

About UNICEF:Founded: 11 December 1946, New York, United StatesHeadquarters: New York, USAPresident: Tore HattremGen MM Naravane appointed as Chairman of

Chiefs of Staff CommitteeThe Chief of Army Staff, General Manoj Mukund

Naravane, was appointed as the chairman of the Chiefs ofStaff Committee (CoSC).

The CoSC comprises the chiefs of the Army, Navy, andAir Force. He succeeded General Bipin Rawat, Chief ofDefence Staff (CDS) passed away in an accident in TamilNadu.

MM Naravane is the Senior most of the Chiefs of allThree Armed forces – Army, Navy & Air Force. MMNaravane took over as the 27th Chief of the Army Staff in2019, previously served as Vice Chief of the Army andprior to that headed the Eastern Command of the Armywhich takes care of India’s border with China.

About Indian Defence heads:Chiefs of Army Staff: Manoj Mukund NaravaneChief of Air Staff: V R ChaudhariChief of Navy Staff: Admiral R. Hari KumarChief of Defence Staff (CDS): Manoj Mukund NaravaneIttira Davis appointed as MD & CEO of Ujjivan

Small Finance BankThe Board of Directors of Ujjivan Small Finance Bank

(SFB) appointed Ittira Davis as the Managing Director (MD)and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for a period of 3 years.

Ittira Davis is succeeded by former MD and CEO NitinChugh. The bank has also appointed Rajesh Kumar Jogi,Harish Devarajan, and Umesh Bellur as additional directors.

About Ujjivan Small Finance Bank:Founded: 2017Headquarters: BengaluruMD & CEO: Ittira DavisRavindra Jadeja appointed as Brand Ambassador

of Kinara CapitalBangalore based innovative, fast-growing fintech,

Kinara Capital signed the Indian cricketer Ravindra Jadeja,as its official brand ambassador on the occasion of thecompany’s 10th anniversary.

Kinara Capital provide loan service to India’s MSMEs.Till date, Kinara Capital has disbursed 70,000 collateral-free loans.

Note: List of brand ambassadorKids’ footwear brand Plaeto: Rahul DravidTRIFED Aadi Mahotsav: MC Mary Kom

Maharashtra COVID vaccination ambassador: SalmanKhan

Century LED’s Magik range: Sourav GangulyGUVI, an IIT-M incubated startup: Smriti Mandhana50th year Celebrations of Arunachal Pradesh: Sanjay


Creative Industries: Naomi KawaseAlka Upadhyaya appointed Chairperson of

National Highways Authority of India (NHAI)Senior bureaucrat Alka Upadhyaya has been appointed

as the chairperson of National Highways Authority of India(NHAI) as part of a major bureaucratic reshuffle effectedby the Centre.

Upadhyaya, a 1990-batch IAS officer of MadhyaPradesh cadre, is currently Additional Secretary,Department of Rural Development.

About National Highways Authority of India (NHAI):Founded: 1988Headquarters: New DelhiSanjay Bandopadhyay appointed Chairman of

Inland Waterways Authority of IndiaA major bureaucratic reshuffle took place in the

government on 4 December 2021, when several top-ranking bureaucrats were transferred and given differentpostings by the Central Government.

Sanjay Bandopadhyay, Additional Secretary, Ministryof Ports, Shipping and Waterways, has been namedchairman, Inland Waterways Authority of India.

Pradip Shah appointed as chairman of NARCL& Sanjay Jain appointed as CEO of IDRCL

Pradip Shah, the founder of IndAsia Fund Advisors,has been appointed chairman of the National AssetReconstruction Company (NARCL).

While Aditya Birla Asset Reconstruction Companymanaging director Sanjay Jain will be the chief executiveofficer of India Debt Resolution Company (IDRCL), theprivately-owned asset management company (AMC)mandated to resolve bad loans acquired by NARCL.

Diwakar Gupta, former managing director of State Bankof India (SBI), also appointed as Chairman of IDRCL.

In May 2021, the chief general manager of SBI,Padmakumar Nair was appointed as the MD of NARCL.

Sambit Patra appointed as the new Chairman ofIndia Tourism Development Corporation

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson and leaderSambit Patra was appointed as the Chairman and part-time Non-Executive Director of India Tourism DevelopmentCorporation (ITDC) by the Appointment Committee ofCabinet for the next 3 years.

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Prior to this, Sambit Patra was working as anindependent director of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation(ONGC).

Ganji Kamala V Rao, IAS (Indian AdministrativeServices) Officer of 1990 batch, will be appointed asManaging Director of ITDC.

About India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC):Founded: 1966Headquarters: New Delhi, DelhiRBI superseded Reliance Capital board;

appointed Nageswar Rao as administratorReserve Bank of India (RBI) superseded the Board of

Directors of Reliance Capital Ltd (RCL), a Non-BankingFinancial Company (NBFC), by exercising its powerconferred under Section 45-IE (1) of the RBI Act, 1934.RCL is promoted by Anil Dhirubhai Ambani’s RelianceGroup.

In this regard, the apex bank has appointed NageswarRao Y (Ex-Executive Director, Bank of Maharashtra) asthe Administrator of the company under Section 45-IE (2)of the RBI Act.

The reason behind this is the defaults made by RCL forvarious debt obligations payments and serious governanceconcerns.

About Reserve Bank of India (RBI):

Founded: April 1, 1935Headquarters: Mumbai, MaharashtraGovernor: Shaktikanta DasDeputy Governors: Mahesh Kumar Jain, Michael

Debabrata Patra, M Rajeshwar Rao, T Rabi SankarManoj Kumar Mago appointed as Commandant

of National Defence CollegeLt General Manoj Kumar Mago took charge as the 34th

Commandant of National Defence College (NDC), NewDelhi. He succeeded Air Marshal D Choudhury, whosuperannuated on November 30, 2021.

Lt Gen Mago, who passed out of Indian MilitaryAcademy, Dehradun, was commissioned into the 7thBattalion of the Brigade of Guards in 1984. He latercommanded 16 Guards.

Smriti Mandhana appointed as BrandAmbassador of GUVI, an IIT-M incubated startup

GUVI, an Indian Institute of TechnologyMadrasincubated startup, has signed Indian Women’scricketer Smriti Mandhana as its brand ambassador.

As the brand ambassador of GUVI, Smriti Mandhanawill be the face of GUVI and feature across the onlinecampaigns of GUVI aimed to strengthen the importanceand scope of technological education & informationtechnology (IT) skills.

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Naomi Kawase named as UNESCO GoodwillAmbassador for Cultural and Creative Industries

United Nations Educational, Scientific and CulturalOrganization (UNESCO) Director-General Audrey Azoulayappointed Japanese film director Naomi Kawase as theUNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Cultural and CreativeIndustries.

She has been recognised for her commitment to cultureand creativity at the service of the development of morejust societies, especially for girls and women, and of hersupport for the objectives of UNESCO.

About UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientificand Cultural Organization):

Founded: 16 November 1945Headquarters: Paris, FranceMembers: 193 countriesHead: Audrey AzoulayPradeep Kumar Rawat appointed as India’s next

Ambassador to ChinaSenior Indian diplomat Pradeep Kumar Rawat (1990

batch IFS officer) has been appointed as India’s nextAmbassador to China and, will take up the assignmentshortly in Beijing.

He is currently India’s Ambassador to the Netherlands.He will replace Vikram Misri, who completed his three-yearterm earlier this month and has left for Delhi.

About China:Capital: BeijingCurrency: RenminbiPresident: Xi JinpingIOA named Harjinder Singh as India’s Chef de

Mission for 2022 Beijing Winter OlympicsThe Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has appointed

the Ice Hockey Association of India’s general secretary,Harjinder Singh, as the Chef de Mission of the country’scontingent for the upcoming 2022 Winter Olympics inBeijing.

Singh was the Chef de Mission of the Indian contingentfor the 23rd Winter Olympic Games too, which was held inPyeongchang, South Korea in 2018.

Sanjiv Mehta will be appointed as Federation ofIndian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI)President

Sanjiv Mehta, Chairman and Managing Director ofHindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) will be appointed asFederation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry(FICCI) President.

He will be succeeding Uday Shankar, the currentPresident of

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GUVI is India’s first vernacular Ed-tech Startup toimpart tech & programming skills to individuals in theirpreferred native languages (Tamil, Telugu, Hindi & Manyother Indian Languages).

Note: List of brand ambassadorsGoodwill Ambassador of UN- World Food Programme:

Daniel BrühlICICI Prudential’s new digital campaign ‘Agar taiyaari

sahi ho, toh jeet pakki hai’: Lovlina BorgohainKids’ footwear brand Plaeto: Rahul DravidTRIFED Aadi Mahotsav: MC Mary KomMaharashtra COVID vaccination ambassador: Salman

KhanCentury LED’s Magik range: Sourav GangulyGita Gopinath will be appointed as new First

Deputy Managing Director of IMFInternational Monetary Fund (IMF)Chief Economist,

Gita Gopinath is set to take over as the institution’s No.2official.

First Deputy Managing Director (FDMD) GeoffreyOkamoto will leave the Fund early next year and GitaGopinath will be IMF’s new First Deputy Managing Director.

It is going to be a historic movement when InternationalMonetary Fund has the female at its first two leadingpositions.

About International Monetary Fund (IMF):Formation: 27 December 1945Headquarters: Washington, D.C., United StatesMember Countries: 190MD: Kristalina GeorgievaSanjay Dutt signed as Brand Ambassador for

50th year Celebrations of Arunachal PradeshThe Arunachal Pradesh Government has signed

Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt as a brand ambassador andaward-winning filmmaker and branding expert Rahul Mittraas brand advisor of the occasion of their golden jubileecelebrations, marking the 50th year of the naming of thestate.

Sanjay Dutt launched a media campaign for the month-long celebrations, from 20th January to 20th February 2022at the Mechuka valley of AP’s Shi-Yomi district.

Note: List of brand ambassadorICICI Prudential’s new digital campaign ‘Agar taiyaari

sahi ho, toh jeet pakki hai’: Lovlina BorgohainKids’ footwear brand Plaeto: Rahul DravidTRIFED Aadi Mahotsav: MC Mary KomMaharashtra COVID vaccination ambassador: Salman

KhanCentury LED’s Magik range: Sourav GangulyGUVI, an IIT-M incubated startup: Smriti Mandhana


Currently, Sanjiv Mehta is also the President of UnileverSouth Asia and is a member of the ‘Unilever LeadershipExecutive’ which is Unilever’s Global Executive Board.

Note: List of Chairman of Important OrganisationSIDBI: S RamannSEBI: Ajay TyagiNABARD: Chintala Govinda RajuluNHRC: Arun MishraUIDAI: Saurabh GargCentral Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT): B. MohapatraLeena Nair appointed as global CEO of ‘Chanel’Leena Nair has been appointed as the new global Chief

Executive Officer (CEO) of French fashion house ‘Chanel’.She will assume the office with effect from January

2021. She was working with Unilever for over 30 years,most recently as the chief of human resources and a memberof the company’s executive committee.

Chanel was founded in 1910 by fashion legendGabrielle “Coco” Chanel as a hat boutique on rue Cambonin Paris.

List of World’s Top Company Indian Born CEOMicrosoft- Satya NadellaGoogle– Sundar PichaiTwitter-Parag AgrawalIBM-Arvind KrishnaVimeo- Anjali SudSunil Arora joined Advisory board of

international democracy body IDEAFormer chief election commissioner (CEC) of India,

Sunil Arora, has joined the board of advisers of theInternational Institute for Democracy & Electoral Assistance(IDEA).

Sunil Arora was the 23rd chief election commissionerof India. His tenure was from December 2, 2018, to April12, 2021. IDEA is an inter-governmental organization,based in Stockholm.

IDEA has a 15-member board of advisers, all of whomare eminent personalities from a wide variety ofbackgrounds.

About International Institute for Democracy andElectoral Assistance:

Founded:27 February 1995Headquarters: Stockholm, SwedenSecretary-General:Kevin Casas-ZamoraFarhan Akhtar appointed brand ambassador of

Piramal RealtyPiramal Realty, the real estate arm of the Piramal Group,

has roped in actor Farhan Akhtar as a brand ambassadorfor its portfolio of residential projects in Mumbai and Thane.

In September, the company had appointed cricketerRahul Dravid as a brand ambassador for its portfolio ofresidential projects.

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Note: List of brand ambassadorCentury LED’s Magik range: Sourav GangulyGUVI, an IIT-M incubated startup: Smriti Mandhana50th year Celebrations of Arunachal Pradesh: Sanjay


Creative Industries: Naomi KawaseKinara Capital: Ravindra JadejaUnix: Jasprit BumrahNeeraj Chopra & PV Sindhu appointed Brand

Ambassadors of Disney BYJU’s Early Learn AppBYJU’S announced a 2-year partnership with Olympic

medalists Neeraj Chopra and PV Sindhu as the brandambassadors for Disney BYJU’S Early Learn app.

Javelin thrower, Neeraj Chopra is a Gold medallist andBadminton player, PV Sindhu is a Bronze medallist from2020 Tokyo Olympics.

The Disney BYJU’s Early Learn App has taken Disney-licensed characters for its early learning app for youngerchildren aged between 6-8 years.

About Byju’s:Founded: 2011Founder: Byju RaveendranHeadquarters: Bangalore, Karnataka

SPORTS

Bangladesh won SAFF U 19 Women’sChampionship 2021 by defeating India

Bangladesh Under-19 Women’s team won SAFF U-19Women’s Football Championship in Dhaka, after defeatingIndia by 1-0 at BSSS Mostafa Kamal Stadium, Dhaka inBangladesh.

2021 SAFF U-19 Women’s Championship was the 2ndedition of the international football competition for women’sunder-19 national teams organized by SAFF.

Shaheda Akter Ripa of Bangladesh scored themaximum number of goals in the tournament. She receivedthe ‘most valuable player’ award.

Harbhajan Singh announced retirement from allforms of cricket

Senior Indian off-spinner, Harbhajan Singh announcedretirement from all forms of cricket.

Major boost in his international career was when hesnapped 32 wickets in three Tests, including a hat-trick,against Australia in March in 2001. Harbhajan was the 1stIndian Cricketer to take Hat-trick wickets in Test Cricket.

He took 417 wickets in 103 Tests and is the 4th highestwicket-taker for India in Test cricket. He made his debut tothe national cricket team, during an ODI (One DayInternational) against New Zealand at Sharjah in 1998 and


lastly represented India in 2016 during a T20 against theUAE at Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Pankaj Advani won 2021 National Billiards TitlePankaj Advani defended his National Billiards Title by

winning his 11th on, after defeating his PSPB teammateDhruv Sitwala in a 5-2 game final that was held in Bhopal,Madhya Pradesh.

He represented the Petroleum Sports Promotion Board(PSPB) team in the National Billiards Championship. The88th National Billiards and Snooker Championships 2021,organised by Cue Sports India at Bhopal, MP.

Vijay Hazare Trophy 2021: Himachal Pradeshbeats Tamil Nadu to win first title

Himachal Pradesh created history by winning their first-ever Vijay Hazare Trophy in a thrilling final against formerchampions Tamil Nadu in Jaipur.

Tamil Nadu had set a target of 315 runs in front ofHimachal Pradesh in the final. Himachal had scored 299for four in 47.3 overs. After this, due to bad light, theumpires gave the result of the match by VJD rule (VJayadevan rule).

About Himachal Pradesh:Capital: Shimla (Summer), Dharamshala (Winter)Governor: Rajendra ArlekarChief Minister: Jai Ram ThakurPankaj Advani won 2021 National Billiards TitlePankaj Advani defended his National Billiards Title by

winning his 11th on, after defeating his PSPB teammateDhruv Sitwala in a 5-2 game final that was held in Bhopal,Madhya Pradesh.

He represented the Petroleum Sports Promotion Board(PSPB) team in the National Billiards Championship. The88th National Billiards and Snooker Championships 2021,organised by Cue Sports India at Bhopal, MP.

Vijay Hazare Trophy 2021: Himachal Pradeshbeats Tamil Nadu to win first title

Himachal Pradesh created history by winning their first-ever Vijay Hazare Trophy in a thrilling final against formerchampions Tamil Nadu in Jaipur.

Tamil Nadu had set a target of 315 runs in front ofHimachal Pradesh in the final. Himachal had scored 299for four in 47.3 overs. After this, due to bad light, theumpires gave the result of the match by VJD rule (VJayadevan rule).

About Himachal Pradesh:Capital: Shimla (Summer), Dharamshala (Winter)Governor: Rajendra ArlekarChief Minister: Jai Ram ThakurAanchal Thakur won bronze at FIS Alpine Skiing

Competition 2021

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Indian skier Aanchal Thakur has bagged bronze medalat the International Ski Federation (FIS) Alpine SkiingCompetition in Montenegro.

She finished 3rd with an overall timing of 1:54:30. Withthis, Aanchal has become first Indian Ski athlete to wintwo medals at the international level.

She has previously won the bronze medal in the 2018FIS Alpine 3200 Cup held in Turkey GeorgiaEpiphaniouwon silver medal and was just 2 seconds aheadof Anchal.

National Dope Testing Laboratory regainedWADA accreditation

World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) restored theaccreditation of National Dope Testing Laboratory (NDTL)in accordance with the International Standard forLaboratories (ISL), which had been suspended since August2019.

With this, NDTL’s Anti-Doping testing and activities willbe resumed with immediate effect.

NDTL has also been collaborating with other WADAaccredited laboratories for strengthening its researchactivities and anti-doping efforts.

About World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA):Founder: Dick PoundFounded: 10 November 1999Headquarters: Montreal, CanadaPresident: Craig ReedieBangladesh won SAFF U 19 Women’s

Championship 2021 by defeating IndiaBangladesh Under-19 Women’s team won SAFF U-19

Women’s Football Championship in Dhaka, after defeatingIndia by 1-0 at BSSS Mostafa Kamal Stadium, Dhaka inBangladesh.

2021 SAFF U-19 Women’s Championship was the 2ndedition of the international football competition for women’sunder-19 national teams organized by SAFF.

Shaheda Akter Ripa of Bangladesh scored themaximum number of goals in the tournament. She receivedthe ‘most valuable player’ award.

Harbhajan Singh announced retirement from allforms of cricket

Senior Indian off-spinner, Harbhajan Singh announcedretirement from all forms of cricket.

Major boost in his international career was when hesnapped 32 wickets in three Tests, including a hat-trick,against Australia in March in 2001. Harbhajan was the 1stIndian Cricketer to take Hat-trick wickets in Test Cricket.

He took 417 wickets in 103 Tests and is the 4th highestwicket-taker for India in Test cricket. He made his debut tothe national cricket team, during an ODI (One DayInternational) against New Zealand at Sharjah in 1998 and


lastly represented India in 2016 during a T20 against theUAE at Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Aanchal Thakur won bronze at FIS Alpine SkiingCompetition 2021

Indian skier Aanchal Thakur has bagged bronze medalat the International Ski Federation (FIS) Alpine SkiingCompetition in Montenegro.

She finished 3rd with an overall timing of 1:54:30. Withthis, Aanchal has become first Indian Ski athlete to wintwo medals at the international level.

She has previously won the bronze medal in the 2018FIS Alpine 3200 Cup held in Turkey GeorgiaEpiphaniouwon silver medal and was just 2 seconds aheadof Anchal.

Anahat Singh became 1st Indian girl to winJunior US Open Squash tournament

Indian teenager Anahat Singh has scripted history bywinning the U-15 girls’ category of the prestigious JuniorUS Open Squash tournament in Philadelphia.

The 13-year-old girl from Delhi overcame powerhouseEgypt’s Jayda Marei in the final match 11-9, 11-5, 8-11,11-5 played at the Arlen Spectre Centre.

India will host Women’s Under-18 and Under-19SAFF championships in 2022

India will host Women’s Under-18 and Under-19 SAFFchampionships in 2022, as announced by All India FootballFederation.

While SAFF Under-18 Women’s Championship will beheld from 3rd to 14th March and SAFF Under-19Championship will take place from July 25 to August 3.

About South Asian Football Federation (SAFF):Founded: 1997Headquarters: Dhaka, BangladeshPresident: Kazi SalahuddinNitesh Kumar won double gold at 4th Para-

Badminton National ChampionshipNitesh Kumar won doubled gold at the 4th Para-

Badminton National Championship, which concluded inBhubaneswar, Odisha.

Haryana’s Nitesh along with his partner Tarun Dhillondefeated World No. 1 Paralympic Games gold medallistPramod Bhagat and Manoj Sarkar in straight sets 21-19,21-11 in the Men’s doubles finals to win the gold. Earlier,Nitesh also won the gold medal in the Men’s singlescategory.

World No 1 SL3 Para-Badminton player Parul Parmarfrom Gujarat also secured gold while Mandeep Kaur fromUttarakhand won Silver and Mansi won bronze.

Uttar Pradesh won 11th Hockey India juniornational championship

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Uttar Pradesh won the 11th Junior National Men’sHockey Championship following a 3-1 victory overChandigarh in the finals at Kovilpatti, Tamil Nadu.

Tournament top scorer Sharda Nand Tiwari openedthe scoring for Uttar Pradesh. Uttar Pradesh Hockeymaintained its unbeaten record.

In the 3rd/4th Place playoff match, the HockeyAssociation of Odisha edged out Hockey Haryana 3 – 2 ina closely contested affair to clinch 3rd place in thecompetition.

New Zealand’s Ross Taylor retired frominternational cricket

Senior cricket player of New Zealand, Ross Taylorannounces to retire from international cricket after playingin the Two-Test series against Bangladesh and his last ODIs(One Day Innings) against Australia and the Netherlandsin March 2022.

Ross Taylor was the World’s 1st player to play 100international matches in all 3 formats of cricket.

Ross Taylor holds several records including scoring mostruns for New Zealand in ODI (8,581) & Test (7584).

About New Zealand:Capital: WellingtonCurrency: New Zealand dollar ($) (NZD)Prime minister: Jacinda ArdernIndia won Bronze in Men’s Hockey Asian

Champions Trophy 2021Indian Men’s Hockey team under the Captaincy of

Manpreet Singh won a bronze medal in the Men’s AsianChampions Trophy Hockey tournament 2021 in Dhaka,Bangladesh after defeating Pakistan.

The Men’s Asian Champions Trophy Hockey Trophy2021 was won by South Korea and silver for Japan. Thetournament was held at Mawlana Bhashani HockeyStadium, Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Kanta Tanaka of Japan was declared the best player ofthe tournament while Suraj Karkera of India was adjudgedthe best goalkeeper. Jang Jonghyun of Korea was the topscorer with 10 goals in the tournament.

BOOKS AND AUTHORS

An Autobiography of Arup Roy Choudhury titled“The Turnover Wizard – Saviour Of Thousands”released by M Venkaiah Naidu

Vice-President of India M Venkaiah Naidu released thebook titled “The Turnover Wizard – Saviour Of Thousands”,an autobiography of Arup Roy Choudhury, the formerChairman and Managing Director of NTPC Limited andNBCC (India) Limited.

The book consolidates Arup Roy Choudhury’s learningsfrom life and brings out the management lesson from his


Nouf: A Yogi in Saudi Arabia: A Preview,Dark Star: The Loneliness of Being Rajesh Khanna,Pink: The Inside StoryBala Krishna Madhur’s Autobiography titled ‘At

Home In The Universe’ releasedAn autobiography titled ‘At Home In The Universe’ by

Bala Krishna Madhur was released by R.C. Sinha, IAS (Rtd),advisor to the Ministry of Road Development in Mumbai,Maharashtra.

The book is the autobiography of B K Madhur, a formerChief Executive Officer at DHFL Property Services Ltd,and one of the key personalities in establishing DewanHousing.

The book offers an inside view into the policyenvironment in the 1980s and 1990s in the HousingFinance Sector. The book consists of early life hardships,experience and life lessons of the author.

A new book titled “Watershed: How WeDestroyed India’s Water And How We Can Save It”authored by Mriduala Ramesh

Mriduala Ramesh, the founder of Sundaram ClimateInstitute, which works on water and waste solutions andthe angel investor in cleantech start-ups, has authored anew book titled “Watershed: How We Destroyed India’sWater And How We Can Save It”.

Mriduala Ramesh is the author of “The ClimateSolution” and she writes regularly on climate issues.

She is also a member of the board of trustees of WorldWildlife Fund (WWF), India, and chairperson of the boardof governors at the National Institute of Technology, AndhraPradesh (AP).

A Book titled ‘Pride, Prejudice and Punditry’authored by Dr Shashi Tharoor was launched

Former union minister and Lok Sabha Member ofParliament Dr. Shashi Tharoor‘s 23rd book titled ‘Pride,Prejudice and Punditry’ was launched in Hyderabad,Telangana.

There are ten sections in this book, each devoted to aparticular topic such as modern Indian history, IndianPolitics, etc.

He has won ‘Sahitya Akademi Award’ for 2019,awarded to his book – ‘An Era of Darkness’.

Popular books by Shashi Tharoor:The Paradoxical Prime MinisterInglorious EmpireWhy I Am a HinduAn Era of Darkness: The British Empire in IndiaThe Great Indian NovelPax IndicaVice President released the book ‘Raj Kapoor:

The Master at Work’; authored by Rahul Rawail

life. The book is also endorsed by E Sreedharan, The MetroMan of India.

‘Naoroji: Pioneer of Indian Nationalism’ byDinyar Patel won NIF Book Prize 2021

A biography titled ‘Naoroji: Pioneer of IndianNationalism’, authored by Dinyar Patel and published byHarvard University Press selected as the winner of the 4thKamaladevi Chattopadhyay NIF (New India Foundation)Book Prize 2021.

The book marked the life events and legacy of DadaBhai Naoroji. It also contains the historical background ofIndia’s National Movement during the 19th century.

Previous winners of the prize are Milan Vaishnav (2018),Ornit Shani (2019), and Amit Ahuja and Jairam Ramesh(jointly, 2020).

The NIF Book prize is given for the high-quality non-fiction literature on modern and contemporary India andcarries a cash award of INR 15 lakh and a citation.

A new book titled ’1971: Charge of the Gorkhasand Other Stories’ Released; authored by RachnaBisht Rawat

A new book that unearths true stories of the 1971 Indo-Pak war, ’1971: Charge of the Gorkhas and Other Stories’,written by Rachna Bisht Rawat, was released.

The book includes, from the story of the flight lieutenantwho went missing after his plane crashed inside Pakistanto the ‘last khukri attack’ in modern military history.

A book titled “Public Service Ethics – A Questfor Naitik Bharat” authored by Prabhat Kumar

The book titled ‘Public Service Ethics’ has beenauthored by Prabhat Kumar, former Governor ofJharkhand.

The book was released by VP M Venkaiah Naidu. Thebook is published by IC Centre for Governance. It dealswith ethics in governance and public service and proposesa collective quest for ethical India.

It doesn’t just talk about the problems and the crisis ofethics – it gives practical and positive solutions and tellsyou how to head in the right direction.

A book titled ‘The Midway Battle: Modi’s Roller-coaster Second Term’ authored by GautamChintamani

Vice President Venkaiah Naidu launched a book titled‘The Midway Battle: Modi’s Roller-coaster Second Term’authored by Gautam Chintamani at Upa-Rashtrapati Nivas,New Delhi.

The book mentioned about the political scenario ofIndia. It marks the second tenure of the current PrimeMinister Narendra Modi.

Other Books of Gautam Chintamani:Rajneeti: A Biography of Rajnath Singh,Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak,


Vice President of India, M Venkaiah Naidu releasedthe book titled ‘Raj Kapoor: The Master At Work’ authoredby Rahul Rawail.

The book launch event was held at India Habitat Centrein New Delhi, coinciding with Raj Kapoor’s 97th birthanniversary. The vice president described the book as a“labour of love and dedication”.

A book titled ‘Rewinding of First 25 years ofMinistry of Electronics and Information Technology’launched; authored by SS Oberoi

The book titled ‘Rewinding of First 25 years of Ministryof Electronics and Information Technology’ authored by SS Oberoi, the former adviser at the Ministry of Electronicsand Information Technology (MeitY) was launched by AjayPrakash Sawhney, Secretary of MeitY.

The book consists of life experience, challenges workingas an advisor under the MeitY. He was the first head of theSoftware Development Agency and the first adviser ofInformation Technology.

A book on Yogi Adityanath “The Monk WhoTransformed Uttar Pradesh”; authored by ShantanuGupta

The book titled “The Monk Who Transformed UttarPradesh: How Yogi Aditynath Changed UP Waala Bhaiya’abuse to a Badge of Honour”, authored by ShantanuGupta.

The book underlines the journey of Uttar Pradesh ChiefMinister Yogi Adityanath, from being born in Uttarakhandto becoming a Nath Panthi saint, to CM of Uttar Pradesh.

Other books by Shantanu Gupta“BHARATIYA JANATA PARTY: Past, Present and

Future: Story of the World’s Largest Political Party” (2019)“The Monk Who Became Chief Minister” (2017)Venkaiah Naidu released Telugu book titled

‘Gandhi Topi Governor’ by Yarlagadda LakshmiPrasad

Vice President of India M Venkaiah Naidu released theTelugu book titled ‘Gandhi Topi Governor’ by PadmaAwardee Dr Yarlagadda Lakshmi Prasad, Chairman,Official Language Commission, Andhra Pradesh.

The book chronicles the life of Barrister IdpugantiRaghavendra Rao. I R Rao was a prominent freedom fighter,Legislator and the Governor of the Central Provinces inthe British Administration.

A book titled “India’s Ancient Legacy ofWellness” authored by Dr Rekha Chaudhari waslaunched

A book titled “India’s Ancient Legacy of Wellness”authored by Dr Rekha Chaudhari was launched in thepresence of the Governor of Maharashtra, Bhagat SinghKoshyari.

It was launched on the occasion of World Digital Day(WDD) celebration. The book highlights how important itis for human beings to be close to nature which helps torevive and recharge to do productive work.

First book of Tusshar Kapoor ‘Bachelor Dad’released

Tusshar Kapoor has written his first book titled ‘BachelorDad’. The actor became a single father to son LaksshyaKapoor via surrogacy in 2016.

He has shared his journey of being a single father inthe new book. The actor has shared his journey of the‘slightly unconventional road to fatherhood’ in his debutbook, Bachelor Dad.

An Autobiography of Arup Roy Choudhury titled“The Turnover Wizard – Saviour Of Thousands”released by M Venkaiah Naidu

Vice-President of India M Venkaiah Naidu released thebook titled “The Turnover Wizard – Saviour Of Thousands”,an autobiography of Arup Roy Choudhury, the formerChairman and Managing Director of NTPC Limited andNBCC (India) Limited.

The book consolidates Arup Roy Choudhury’s learningsfrom life and brings out the management lesson from hislife. The book is also endorsed by E Sreedharan, The MetroMan of India.

A new book titled “The Modi Gambit: DecodingModi 2.0” authored by Sanju Verma

Sanju Verma, an economist and the BJP NationalSpokesperson, has authored a new book titled “The ModiGambit: Decoding Modi 2.0”.

The book features the various achievement in the last2 years of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 2nd term asPM of India.

The foreword of the book is written by Padma ShriMohandas Pai and the Afterword is written by ace journalist,Anand Narasimhan, Managing Editor at CNN News 18.

A new book “The Kashmir Conundrum: TheQuest for Peace in a Troubled Land”, authored byGen Nirmal Chander Vij released

A new book by India’s former Chief of Army Staff, Gen.Nirmal Chander Vij (retd), “The Kashmir Conundrum: TheQuest for Peace in a Troubled Land”, claims to offer a“complete picture” of the conflicts in Jammu and Kashmir,and the way forward.

In the book, Gen. Vij argues that the conflicts in Jammuand Kashmir are “symptomatic of the India-Pakistan rivalry”post-Partition, and contextualises the issue by beginningthe book with a summation of the region’s history.

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4 December: Indian Navy DayNavy Day in India is observed on December 4 every

year to recognize the role and achievements of the IndianNavy.

The day was chosen to commemorate the launch ofOperation Trident against Pakistan during the Indo-PakistanWar in 1971. The Navy plans to celebrate 2021 as ‘SwarnimVijay Varsh’ as a part of commemorating the 50thanniversary of the victory in the 1971 war.

The Indian Navy was established by the East IndiaCompany in 1612. Later it was named as Royal India Navyand post-Independence, it was reconstituted as the IndianNavy in 1950.

4 December: International Day of BanksInternational Day of Banks is celebrated on December

4 to recognize the importance of multilateral andinternational development banks in financing sustainabledevelopments.

In 2019, the United Nations General Assemblydesignated December 4 as the International Day of Banks.It is celebrated for the first time in 2020.

United Nations also observes the day in recognition ofthe vital role of banking systems in Member State incontributing to the improvement of the standard of living.

5 December: World Soil DayWorld Soil Day (WSD) is held annually on 5 December

as a means to focus attention on the importance of healthysoil and to advocate for the sustainable management ofsoil resources.

In June 2013, the FAO Conference unanimouslyendorsed World Soil Day. It was also adopted officially inthe 68th United Nations General Assembly. As a result,World Soil Day was for the First time Officially celebratedon 5th December 2014.

Theme 2021: “Halt soil salinization, boost soilproductivity”

5 December: International Volunteer DayInternational Volunteer Day or International Volunteer

Day for Economic and Social Development is celebratedglobally on 5 December each year to recognize and promotethe tireless work and contributions of volunteers across theglobe.

Theme 2021: “Volunteer now for our common future”.6 December: India, Bangladesh celebrated

Maitiri DiwasIndia and Bangladesh have decided to celebrate

December 6, the day on which India formally recognizedBangladesh, as “Maitri Diwas” (Friendship Day).

Ten days before the liberation of Bangladesh, India hadrecognised Bangladesh on6 December 1971. India was one

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IMPORTANT DAYS

2 December: National Pollution Control DayNational Pollution Control Day is observed on 2nd

December every year. The main objective of this day is toeducate the people and to make them aware of pollutioncontrol acts and industrial disasters.

The day is observed in the memory of people who losttheir lives in the Bhopal gas disaster. The industrial accidentoccurred in 1984 when the gas Methyl Isocyanate leakedon the night of December 2–3 and killed thousands.

2 December: International Day for the Abolitionof Slavery

2 December marks the International Day for theAbolition of Slavery. The day commemorates the brutalhistory of slavery practiced by colonial rulers of pastcenturies and aims to eradicate modern forms of slavery,such as trafficking in persons, sexual exploitation, childlabor, etc.

The International Day for the Abolition of Slavery marksthe date of the adoption, by the General Assembly, of theUnited Nations Convention for the Suppression of theTraffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitutionof Others (resolution 317(IV) of 2 December 1949).

Theme 2021: “Ending Slavery’s Legacy of Racism: AGlobal Imperative for Justice”

2 December: World Computer Literacy DayWorld Computer Literacy Day is observed on 2nd

December every year all over the world. The day iscelebrated as the world computer literacy day to createawareness and drive digital literacy in underservedcommunities worldwide.

The day was originally founded by the Indian computercompany NIIT to mark its 20th anniversary in 2001. WorldComputer Literacy Day was first observed and held in theyear 2001 on 2nd December.

3 December: International Day of Persons withDisabilities

International Day of Persons with Disabilities or WorldHandicapped day is a global observance celebrated everyyear on December 3 with a motive to promote the rightsand well-being of persons with disabilities in all spheres ofsociety.

The annual observance of this day was proclaimed in1992 by United Nations General Assembly resolution 47/3with an aim to increase awareness of the issues faced bypersons with disabilities in every aspect of political, social,economic and cultural life.

Theme 2021: “Leadership and participation of personswith disabilities toward an inclusive, accessible andsustainable post-COVID-19 world.”


of the first countries to establish bilateral diplomatic tieswith Bangladesh.

The Maitri Diwas is being commemorated in 18countries around the world apart from Dhaka and Delhi.These countries are Belgium, Canada, Egypt, Indonesia,Russia, Qatar, Singapore, UK, Australia, France, Japan,Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Switzerland,Thailand, UAE and USA.

6 December: Mahaparinirvan DiwasIndia observes December 6 as Mahaparinirvan Divas

every year to mark the death anniversary of Dr BhimraoRamji Ambedkar, who fought for economic and socialempowerment of Dalits in the country.

On this day each year, millions of people throng to DrAmbedkar’s Samadhi in Mumbai, which is called Chaityabhoomi to pay respect to the father of Indian Constitution.

7 December: International Civil Aviation DayInternational Civil Aviation Day is celebrated every year

on December 7 to recognize the importance of aviation tothe social and economic development of the world.

The Day was established in 1994 to celebrate the 50thanniversary of the establishment of the International CivilAviation Organization (ICAO). The United Nations GeneralAssembly proclaimed the day in

Theme 2021-23: “Advancing Innovation for GlobalAviation Development”

7 December: National Armed Forces Flag DayNational Armed Forces Flag Day, also known as the

National flag day of India is celebrated and observed everyyear in India on 7th December.

A committee was set up on August 28, 1949, underthe then Defense Minister of India. The committee decidedto observe a Flag Day annually on December 7.

The aim to observe this day as the national armed forcesday is to collect funds from the people for the bettermentof armed forces.

9 December: International Anti-Corruption DayInternational Anti-Corruption Day is observed on

December 9 every year to raise awareness on theimportance of getting rid of corruption.

Corruption affects every area in our society andpreventing corruption unlocks progress towards sustainabledevelopment goals.

The United Nations took its first step to fight againstInternational Corruption in December 2003. The UNCACUnited Nations Convention Against Corruption was draftedon October 31, 2003.

Theme 2021: “Your right, your role: say no tocorruption”

9 December: International Day ofCommemoration and Dignity of the Victims of the

Crime of Genocide and of the Prevention of thisCrime

The International Day of Commemoration and Dignityof the Victims of the Crime of Genocide and of thePrevention of this Crime is observed annually on December9.

It is observed to raise awareness about genocide andthe role of the United Nations’ Genocide Convention inpreventing it.

On 9 December 1948, the UN General Assemblyadopted the Convention on Prevention and Punishmentof the Crime of Genocide, also known as the GenocideConvention.

8 December: SAARC Charter DayThe South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation

(SAARC) Charter Day is observed annually on 8thDecember to commemorate the adoption of the SAARCCharter.

The charter was signed by the Leaders of SAARCCountries Heads of State or Government of Bangladesh,Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lankaat the First SAARC Summit held in Dhaka, Bangladesh on8 December 1985.

South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation(SAARC):

Founded: 8 December 1985Headquarters: Kathmandu, NepalCurrent Chair: NepalSecretary-General: Esala Ruwan Weerakoon (Sri

Lanka)10 December: International Human Rights DayDecember 10 every year is observed as International

Human Rights Day.The day marks the anniversary of the adoption of the

Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the UnitedNations on 10 December 1948.

Theme 2021: “Equality – Reducing inequalities,advancing human rights.”

11 December: UNICEF DayUNICEF Day is observed on December 11 every year,

to spread awareness on saving children’s lives, defendingtheir rights and helping them fulfil their potential fromchildhood to adolescence.

The United Nations General Assembly passed aresolution to create UNICEF on 11 December 1946 toprovide assistance to children who suffered the impact ofWorld War II globally.

Theme 2021: “to help children to recover frominterruption and learning losses experienced through thepandemic in the last two years”.

11 December: International Mountain Day

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International Mountain Day (IMD) is observed globallyon December 11 every year to create awareness about theimportance of mountains to life.

The day was established by the UN General Assemblyin 2003 to encourage the sustainable development ofmountains. United Nations had declared 2002 as the UNInternational Year of Mountains.

Theme 2021: “Sustainable Mountain Tourism.”12 December: International Day of NeutralityInternational Day of Neutrality is a United Nations

recognized day held on December 12 each year to raisepublic awareness of the value of neutrality in internationalrelations.

It was officially declared by a UN General Assemblyresolution adopted in February 2017 and first observed onDecember 12, 2017.

12 December 2021: Manipur observed 82ndNupi Lal Memorial Day

On 12th December 2021, the State of Manipurobserved the 82nd Nupi Lal Day or Nupi Lal MemorialDay to commemorate the 2 Nupi Lals of 1904 and 1939,the 2 historic movements led by the women of Manipuragainst mass exploitation and the famine triggered by theBritish.

The day, also known as Nupee Lal Day or Nupi Landay, pays homage to the sacrifices made by the bravemothers of Manipur. Nupi Lan, which translates to ‘women’swar’ in English, is an important movement in the history ofManipur.

12 December: Universal Health Coverage DayDecember 12 is observed as International Universal

Health Coverage Day, which aims at raising awareness onthe need for strong and resilient health systems and universalhealth coverage with multi-stakeholder partners.

The United Nations General Assembly endorsed aresolution on December 12, 2012, urging countries to makerapid progress toward universal health coverage (UHC).The United Nations declared December 12 as InternationalUniversal Health Coverage Day on this day in

Theme 2021: “Leave No One Behind When It Comesto Health: Invest in Health Systems for All”

14 December: National Energy Conservation DayEvery year on December 14, the Union Ministry of

Power’s Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) observesNational Energy Conservation Day.

This day is celebrated to raise awareness regarding theconservation of energy as it is the best way to have a greenerand brighter future.

The BEE implemented the India Energy ConservationAct in 2001. BEE is a constitutional body that advises the

government of India on energy-saving policies andstrategies.

15 December: International Tea DayInternational Tea Day is observed every year on

December 15 in countries like Bangladesh, Sri Lanka,Nepal, Vietnam, Indonesia, Kenya, Malawi, Malaysia,Uganda, India, and Tanzania.

It was first observed in New Delhi in India in 2005. Thereason for the UN celebrating May 21 as International TeaDay is that the season of tea production begins in May inmost of the tea-producing countries.

Aim: to draw global attention of governments andcitizens to impact of global tea trade on workers andgrowers, and has been linked to requests for price supportsand fair trade.

16 December 2021: 50th Vijay Diwas observedIn India, Vijay Diwas (also called Victory Day) is

celebrated every year on December 16 to commemoratethe victory of the Indian armed forces over Pakistan in the1971 war.

The country is celebrating the 50th Vijay Diwas in 2021.The Indo-Pakistan war of 1971 which began on December3 lasted for 13 days and officially ended on December 16,after which Pakistan surrendered to India.

It was on this day in 1971, the chief of the Pakistaniforces, General AA Khan Niazi, along with 93 thousandtroops, had surrendered unconditionally to the allied forcesconsisting of the Indian Army and Mukti Bahini. The endof the war also resulted in the subsequent secession of EastPakistan into Bangladesh.

17 December: International Day to End ViolenceAgainst Sex Workers

International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workersis annually observed across the globe on 17th Decemberto focus attention on the hate crimes committed againstsex workers across the globe.

The day has empowered the workers to come togetheragainst discrimination and remember the victims ofviolence.

‘Red Umbrella’ is the symbol for sex workers’ rightsacross the globe. In 2005 the International Committee onthe Rights of Sex Workers in Europe adopted the redumbrella as its symbol for the rights of sex workers.

18 December: Minorities Rights DayIndia observes Minorities Rights Day on December 18

every year to ensure the Constitutionally-assured rights ofreligious minorities in the country are safeguarded.

The Minorities Rights Day in India was first observedon December 18, 2013. On 18th December 1992, theUnited Nations had declared the Statement on the

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anniversary of the birth of the Indian mathematical geniusSrinivasa Ramanujan (22 Dec 1887- 26 Apr 1920). 2012was also observed as National Mathematics Year.

20-25 December: Good Governance Week 2021Jitendra Singh has inaugurated the Good Governance

Week campaign from 20 – 25 December aimed atshowcasing and replicating the best governance practicesto the grassroots level.

It i s being celebrated by the Department ofAdministrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG),Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions.

“Good Governance Day will be celebrated onDecember 25, 2021.

Moto: to redress and dispose of public grievances andimprovise service delivery down to the village level.

Theme: “Prashasan Gaon Ki Aur” A film on “PrashasanGaon Ki Aur” will also be screened.

23 December: National Farmer’s DayNational Farmers’ Day or Kisan Diwas is celebrated

across the nation on December 23 to commemorate thebirth anniversary of the fifth Prime Minister of India (28July 1979 – 14 January 1980), Chaudhary Charan Singh.

In 2001, the government of India declared December23, the day Chaudhary Charan Singh was born, to becelebrated as National Farmers’ Day and for all the rightreasons.

24 December: National Consumer Rights DayDecember 24 is observed every year in India as National

Consumer Rights Day, also called National Consumer Day.On this day in 1986, the Consumer Protection Act 1986

received Presidential assent and thus came into force. WorldConsumer Rights Day is celebrated annually on March 15.

Theme 2021: “Tackling Plastic Pollution”.23 December: National Siddha Day 20215th Siddha Day has been observed across India on

23rd December 2021 to create awareness about the Siddhasystem of medicine.

The day is annually organized by the Ministry ofAyurveda, Yoga, Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, Sowa-Rigpa,and Homoeopathy (AYUSH) on the eve of the birthday ofSiddhar Agathiyar, which falls during the Ayilyam star inthe Tamil month of Margazhi.

Theme 2021: “Strength of Siddha in CommunicableDiseases”

24 December: National Consumer Rights DayDecember 24 is observed every year in India as National

Consumer Rights Day, also called National Consumer Day.On this day in 1986, the Consumer Protection Act 1986

received Presidential assent and thus came into force. WorldConsumer Rights Day is celebrated annually on March 15.

Theme 2021: “Tackling Plastic Pollution”.

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Individual’s Rights belonging to Religious or LinguisticNational or Ethnic Minorities.

18 December: World Arabic Language DayWorld Arabic Language Day is observed globally on

18th December every year since 2012 by the United Nations(UN).

This day honors the Arabic language, which is spokenby over 400 million people globally, and celebrates thecultural diversity of the Middle Eastern region.

Theme 2021: “Arabic Language, a bridge betweencivilizations”

18 December: International Migrants DayInternational Migrants Day is observed worldwide on

18 December every year, by the United Nations, throughthe UN-related agency International Organization forMigration (IOM).

The day is observed to highlight the contributions madeby the 272 million migrants, which includes more than 41million people who are internally displaced persons, andthe challenges they face.

Theme 2021: Harnessing the potential of humanmobility

19 December: Goa Liberation DayGoa Liberation Day is observed annually in India on

December 19. The year 2021 marks the 60 years of Goa’sindependence.

Goa Liberation Day is celebrated on December 19every year to mark the success of ‘Operation Vijay’undertaken by the Indian Armed Forces that liberated Goafrom Portuguese rule on 19th December 1961.

20 December: International Human SolidarityDay

United Nations observes December 20 as theInternational Human Solidarity Day (IHSD) to honor ‘unityin diversity’.

The IHSD aims to promote sol idarity for theachievement of the Sustainable Development Goalsincluding poverty eradication. It was on December 22,2005, the UN General Assembly declared ‘solidarity’ to beone of the most crucial pillars of human relationship.

22 December: National Mathematics DayIndia observes National Mathematics Day every year

on 22 December to commemorate the birth anniversaryof Mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan.

This year nation celebrates 134th birth anniversary ofRamanujan. The main objective behind the celebration ofNational Mathematics Day is to make people aware of thedevelopment of mathematics and its importance in thegrowth of humanity.

The day was announced on 26 February 2012 by thethen Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to mark the 125th


the Year category’ for its transformative work in the last 2years.

Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) baggedthe prize for Asia’s ‘Leadership and Management Team ofthe Year’ category at THE Asia Awards 2021.

Nilmani Phookan Jr & Damodar Mauzo wonJnanpith Award

Sahitya Akademi and Padma Shri awardee Assamesepoet Nilmani Phookan Jr won the 56th Jnanpith Awardand Sahitya Akademi Awardee Konkani novelist DamodarMauzo won the 57th Jnanpith Award.

Jnanpith Award is a literary award presented by theBharatiya Jnanpith organization to Indian writers every year.This was instituted in 1961 and is given only to Indian writerswho write in Indian languages and English.

The country’s highest literary award, the Jnanpith isbestowed on writers for “their outstanding contribution toliterature”.

Ropesh Goyal won the “Young GeospatialScientist” Award 2021

Ropesh Goyal from IIT-Kanpur won the ‘YoungGeospatial Scientist’ award in recognition of his uniquecontribution to developing the Indian Geoid Model andcomputation software.

The ‘Young Geospatial Scientist’ award and a goldmedal have been presented every year since 2011 topromising scientists below 35 years of age in memory ofRachapudi Kamakshi, a strategic analyst with a stronginclination towards geography and geospatial studies.

Member of Space Commission, Government of India,and former ISRO Chairman AS Kiran Kumar presentedthe award to Goyal during the inaugural event of theDigiSmart India 2021 conference hosted by the GeospatialWorld.

Ashleigh Barty won the WTA Player of the Yearaward 2021 at WTA Award 2021

Women’s Tennis Association’s World No.1 AshleighBarty, Australian professional tennis player, has won the2021 WTA Player of the Year Award.

She won the award for the 2nd Time, previously shewon the WTA Player of the year in 2019.

Emma Raducanu, British professional tennis player whomade her Grand Slam main draw debut at 2021Wimbledon has been named the WTA Newcomer of theYear 2021.

Alia Bhatt named PETA India’s 2021 ‘Person ofthe Year’

Alia Bhatt has been named 2021 ‘Person of the Year’by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA)India. Her vegan kidswear line, Ed-a-Mamma, also won

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25 December: Good Governance DayGood Governance Day or Sushasan Divas is observed

every year on 25th December in India.On this day nation commemorates the birth anniversary

of Bharat Ratna and former Prime Minister Atal BihariVajpayee.

On 23rd December 2014, former Prime Minister AtalBihari Vajpayee, and Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya wereannounced to receive the highest civilian award of thenation, Bharat Ratna. After the announcement, the newlyelected prime minister Narendra Modi has announced 25thDecember to be celebrated and observed as the GoodGovernance Day.

27 December: International Day of EpidemicPreparedness

The United Nations and World Health Organizationmarked December 27 as the International day for EpidemicPreparedness.

The day was first observed on December 27, 2020,when the United Nations General Assembly hademphasized on the need to advocate the importance ofpreparedness for, prevention of, and partnership againstepidemics.

AWARDS & HONORS

Anil Prakash Joshi, Vidyut Mohan and RidhimaPandey won Mother Teresa Memorial Award 2021

Environmentalist Dr Anil Prakash Joshi, who wasconferred upon the Padma Bhushan this year, has beenawarded the Mother Teresa Memorial Award for SocialJustice 2021.

Vidyut Mohan, the winner of the Earth shot Prize, andRidhima Pandey, a young environmental activist fromUttarakhand, were also the recipients of the award.

The Harmony Foundation identifies a theme each yearfor the Mother Teresa Memorial Awards and felicitatesindividuals and organisations who work in the realm ofaugmenting environmental sustainability.

O.P. Jindal Global University won “DigitalInnovation of the Year” award at the THE AsiaAwards 2021

P. Jindal Global University (JGU) won the ‘DigitalInnovation of the Year Award’ in the prestigious TimesHigher Education (THE) Asia Awards 2021 for creating afree, cloud-based application to help schools anduniversities manage data.

JGU was the only Indian University to be shortlistedfor the “Digital Innovation of the Year”. The university wasawarded under the ‘Technological or Digital Innovation of


2021 PETA India fashion award for helping to nurture kids’love for animals and nature.

Alia Bhatt has invested in co, an Indian Institute ofTechnology (IIT) Kanpur-backed biomaterial startup, thatdevelops ‘fleather’– bio-degradable vegan leather.

She was awarded this prestigious title to celebrate herwork in support of an animal-friendly fashion industry andher advocacy for dogs and cats in need.

PETA has recognised actors Akshay Kumar and BhumiPednekar as the ‘Most Beautiful Vegetarian celebrity’ of2021.

Karnataka Bank won 2 DigiDhan Awards byMeitY for Highest BHIM-UPI Transactions

Karnataka Bank has been conferred with two DigiDhanawards instituted by the Union Ministry of Electronics andInformation Technology (MeitY). The awards were givenduring Digital payment Utsav in New Delhi.

The award recognized banks for achieving the targetwith the highest percentage in BHIM-UPI transactions underthe private sector bank category consecutively for two years2019-20 and 2020-21.

Indian architect Balkrishna Doshi honored withthe 2022 Royal Gold Medal

Acclaimed Indian architect Balkrishna Vithaldas Doshihas been named for the Royal Gold Medal 2022 which isone of the world’s highest honours for architecture.

The announcement for the same was made by theRoyal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). Notably, workedunder Le Corbusier (Designed Chandigarh) and LouisKahn, he is a pioneer of modernist and brutalist architecturein India.

In 2018, he became the first Indian architect to receivethe Pritzker Architecture Prize. He is also an awardee ofPadma Shri and the Padma Bhushan.

India’s Harnaaz Sandhu named winner of MissUniverse 2021

India won the Miss Universe crown after 21 years after21-year-old Harnaaz Sandhu from Chandigarh was namedthe winner of the 70th Miss Universe event held in

Paraguay’s Nadia Ferreira was named first runner-upand South Africa’s Lalela Mswane was the second runner-up.

Previously, only two Indians have worn the crown –Sushmita Sen in 1994, and Lara Dutta in 2000.

DBS Bank India won 2 awards at ET BFSIExcellence Awards 2021

DBS Bank India has won two awards – for the ‘DBSRapid (Real-time API)’ solution in the ‘Innovative API/OpenBanking model‘ category and for ‘Intelligent Banking’ inthe ‘Best Digital Customer Experience initiative’ category,at the ET BFSI Excellence Awards 2021.

The award is an initiative of The Economic Times, ETBFSI Excellence Awards, and honours the best innovations& practices implemented by the Banking Financial Services& Insurances (BFSI) industry in a dynamic and competitiveenvironment.

About DBS Bank India:Headquarters: Mumbai, MaharashtraMD & CEO: Surojit ShomeSunil Gavaskar honoured with SJFI Medal 2021The Sports Journalists’ Federation of India (SJFI) has

decided to honour former Indian Cricketer and cricketcommentator Sunil Manohar Gavaskar with its prestigious‘SJFI Medal 2021’ at SJFI Annual General Meeting (AGM)in Guwahati, Assam.

SJFI Medal is the highest honour of SJFI. SJFI wasfounded on 27th February 1976 at the Eden Gardens,Calcutta (now Kolkata), West Bengal.

Kumar Mangalam Birla receives GlobalEntrepreneur of the Year Award from The IndusEntrepreneurs (TiE)

Aditya Birla Group’s chairman, Kumar Mangalam Birlareceived the Global Entrepreneur of the Year Award-Business Transformation from The Indus Entrepreneurs(TiE) based out of Silicon Valley on Thursday.

Birla is the first Indian Industrialist to receive the awardfor global entrepreneurship along with top global businessleaders Satya Nadella, Elon Musk, and Jeff Bezos.

The awardees were selected by an independent jurychaired by Venture Capitalist, Tim Draper, Founder, DraperUniversity.

Others who were awarded in 2021:Elon Musk (Global Entrepreneur of the Year-Immigrant

Entrepreneur)Jeff Bezos (Global Entrepreneur of the Year-First

Generation)Satya Nadella (Global Entrepreneur of the Year-

Entrepreneurial CEO)Techstars (Best Global Accelerator for Startups)MIT (Global Universi ty Promoting Student

Entrepreneurship)F1 champion Lewis Hamilton received

knighthoodSeven times Formula One (F1) champion Lewis Carl

Davidson Hamilton has received “knighthood” for servicesto motorsport. Hamilton is the fourth F1 driver to beknighted.

Before him, late Australian Jack Brabham, Stirling Mossand triple champion Jackie Stewart have been knighted.Lewis Hamilton holds the record for most race wins with103.

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A knighthood is a title that is conferred on a person bya British king or queen for their high achievement andservices to their country within their industry.

Other sportsmen who have received a knighthoodinclude: Cycling’s Tour de France winner Bradley Wiggins,Olympic 5,000 & 10,000 metres gold medallist Mo Farah,Two times Wimbledon champion Andy Murray and,England cricketer Alastair Cook.

Simone Biles named Time Magazine’s 2021Athlete of the Year

Simone Biles was named Time magazine’s 2021 Athleteof the Year. The world’s most decorated gymnast, a four-time Olympic medalist, was hailed for putting her mentalhealth first when she withdrew from four event finals at theTokyo Olympics.

Despite the setback, the 24-year-old managed to earna team all-around silver and a bronze in balance beam atthe Tokyo Games.

Elon Musk named TIME Magazine’s ‘Person ofthe Year’ for 2021

The prestigious TIME magazine has named Elon Musk,the CEO of Tesla, as the “2021 Person of the Year.

Musk is also the founder and CEO of rocket companySpaceX, and leads brain-chip start-up Neuralink andinfrastructure firm The Boring Company.

In 2021, US-based electric-vehicle startup Tesla became$1 trillion company as Musk became world’s richest personwith an estimated net worth of around US $255 billion.

US President Joe Biden and Vice President KamalaHarris were named as the Person of the Year for 2020 byTime magazine.

HDFC Bank won CII Dx award for ‘MostInnovative Best Practice’ 2021

HDFC Bank has been selected under ‘Most InnovativeBest Practice’ at the coveted Confederation of IndianIndustry (CII) Digital Transformation Award 2021 or CIIDX Award 2021.

It will be recognized for the HDFC’s efforts in world-class financial inclusion in Village Level Executive (VLE)centers along with the Government of India’s CommonService Centres (CSC).

About HDFC Bank:Headquarters: MumbaiFounded: August 1994CEO: Sashidhar JagdishanChairman: Atanu ChakrabortyTagline: We understand your worldViral Desai won the Global Environment and

Climate Action Citizen Award 2021Viral Sudhirbhai Desai, an industrialist from Surat, who

is popularly known as the Greenman or green man of

Gujarat has been honoured with the Global Environmentand Climate Action Citizen Award 2021.

The winners of the 8th Edition of the “Bharat GauravAwards” Lifetime achievement award, were felicitated atAtlantis, The Palm Island, Dubai, United Arab Emirates(UAE) with the Bharat Gaurav Samman by Sanskruti YuvaSansthan.

The other winners include motivational speaker PadmaShri Gaur Gopaldas, polo player Ashvini Kumar Sharma,Akshaya Patra Foundation’s chairman Padma Shri MadhuPandit Dasa, instrumentalist Padma Bhushan Pandit VishwaMohan Bhatt, Padma Shri Ramkishore Chhipa, Nirbhaya’smother Asha Devi, investor banker Saket Mishra, DrJitendra Matlani, a renowned social icon of Dubai andothers

Anukrti Upadhyay won Sushila Devi Award 2021for her novel, Kintsugi

Anukrti Upadhyay has won the Sushila Devi Award2021 for the Best Book of Fiction for her novel, Kintsugi.

The Ratanlal Foundation and the organizing Committeeof the Bhopal Literature and Art Festival announced thewinner, for this notable award for fiction written by a womanauthor and published in 2020. This prize has been institutedby the Shri Ratanlal Foundation.

Avani Lekhara won ‘Best Female Debut’ honourat 2021 Paralympic Sport Awards

Indian shooter Avani Lekhara, who has created historyby winning India’s first Gold medal in Shooting at the 2020Tokyo Paralympics, won the “Best Female Debut” honourat the 2021 Paralympic Sport Awards.

The Awards were announced by the InternationalParalympic Committee.

She became the 1st Indian woman to win 2 Paralympicmedals in a single edition of the Paralympic Games. Indiawon an unprecedented 19 medals at the Paralympic Gamesincluding 5 Gold, 8 Silver & 6 Bronze.

PM Modi received Bhutan’s highest civilian awardPrime Minister Narendra Modi was conferred Bhutan’s

highest civilian award, Ngadag Pel gi Khorlo also knownas Order of the Dragon King (Druk Gyalpo), on the occasionof Bhutan’s 114th National Day (17th December 2021).

PM Modi becomes the first foreigner to receive thecoveted award. The honour comes as an appreciation forIndia’s friendly approach to Bhutan under PM Modi’sgovernance.

King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck conferred theaward upon PM Modi. The announcement was made byBhutan’s Prime Minister Lotay Tshering.

SAIL received Golden Peacock EnvironmentManagement Award 2021

Steel Authority of India Ltd. (SAIL), under Ministry ofSteel has been awarded with the prestigious Golden

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Danish Siddiqui’s wife Frederike Siddiqui received theaward. Senior journalist Prem Shankar Jha bestowed withthe lifetime achievement award “for his long anddistinguished career of incisive and analytical writing”.

Divya Hegde won UN Women’s Award forLeadership Commitment 2021

Divya Hegde, an Indian Climate Action Entrepreneurfrom Udupi, Karnataka, has won UN Women’s Award forLeadership Commitment at the 2021 Regional Asia-PacificWomen’s Empowerment Principles Awards Ceremony.

She has been recognized for her sustained efforts inadvancing gender equality through climate action effortswith her organization, Baeru Environmental Services.

Azim Premji received 10th Dr. Ida S. ScudderHumanitarian Oration award

Azim Premji, founder chairman of Wipro Limited andfounder of Azim Premji Foundation is this year’s recipientof the 10th annual Dr Ida S. Scudder Humanitarian Oration,jointly established by Christian Medical College Vellore(CMC) and the U.S.-based Vellore CMC Foundation.

The award is presented to Mr Premji in recognition ofhis contributions to society. Established in 2001, theFoundation has contributed immensely towards education,runs Azim Premji University in Bengaluru and also supportsseveral not-for-profit organisations with financial grants.

The previous recipients of the Dr Ida S. ScudderHumanitarian Oration include former president of IndiaA.P.J. Abdul Kalam.

Neena Gupta received the 2021 DST-ICTP-IMURamanujan Prize for Young Mathematicians

Indian Mathematician Neena Gupta has received 2021DST-ICTP-IMU Ramanujan Prize for Young Mathematiciansfrom Developing Countries for her outstanding work inaffine algebraic geometry and commutative algebra.

She is the third woman to receive Ramanujan Prize,which was first awarded in 2005 and is administered byAbdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physicsjointly with Dept Science and Technology and InternationalMathematical Union.

Mathematician Nikhil Srivastava and 2 othersselected for inaugural AMS’s Ciprian Foias Award

Indian-American Mathematician Nikhil Srivastavanominated for American Mathematical Society (AMS) forthe first Ciprian Foias Award in Operator Theory.

Along with Nikhil Srivastava, who teaches at theUniversity of Cali fornia, Berkeley, Adam Marcus(Switzerland) and Daniel Spielman (United States) are theother two recipients.

The $5,000 award has been given for Nikhil Srivastavafor his work in developing and introducing techniques to

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Peacock Environment Management Award 2021forsuccessive three years.

The Award is given to organizations for significantachievements in Environment Management byEnvironment Foundation (WEF) since 1998.

Major initiatives by SAIL: Carbon footprint reduction,R&D, creation of carbon sinks, gradual shift to LED,enhancing share of renewable energy, etc.

About Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL):Founded: 19 January 1954Headquarters: New DelhiCEO: Soma MondalEmma Raducanu won BBC Sports Personality

of the Year 2021Tennis star Emma Raducanu won the BBC’s top sports

prize “Sports Personality of the Year” for 2021.She beat Tom Daley (diver) and Adam Peaty (swimmer)

into second and third place. England’s men’s football teamwas named BBC team of the year and Gareth Southgateas the coach of the year.

Other BBC award 2021 winners:Helen Rollason Award: Jen BeattieCoach of the Year: Gareth SouthgateTeam of the Year: England men’s football teamWorld Sport Star: Rachael BlackmoreLifetime Achievement: Simone BilesUnsung Hero: Sam BarlowYoung Sports Personality of the Year: Sky BrownSahitya Akademi Award 2021 announcedSahitya Akademi announced its prestigious “Sahitya

Akademi Awards, Yuva Puraskar as well as Bal SahityaPuraskar” for 2021 in various languages.

7 books of poetry, 2 novels, 5 short stories, 2 plays, 1biography, 1 autobiography, 1 critique, and 1 Epic Poetryhave won the Sahitya Akademi Awards 2021.

Assamese writers Anuradha Sarma Pujari and NamitaGokhale have won the award in the novel category. NamitaGokhale won in English for her novel ‘Things to LeaveBehind’.

According to the board, an engraved copper plate,shawl and an amount of Rs 1 lakh will be given to the mainSahitya Akademi prize winner and an engraved copperplate and an amount of Rs 50,000 each will be given tothe Yuva Puraskar and Bal Sahitya Puraskar.

Author Megha Majumdar won the Sahitya AkademiYuva Puraskar 2021 in English for her debut book ‘ABurning’, published in 2020.

Danish Siddiqui posthumously awarded MumbaiPress Club’s RedInk Award 2020

Photojournalist Danish Siddiqui, who died during anassignment in Afghanistan, has been posthumouslyawarded as the ‘Journalist of the Year’ for 2020 by theMumbai Press Club. CJI N V Ramana presented the annual‘RedInk Awards for Excellence in Journalism’.


DRDO successfully test-fired short-range, surface tosurface-guided ballistic missile ‘Pralay’ from APJ AbdulKalam Island, off the coast of Odisha.

Pralay is the solid-fuel, battlefield missile based onPrithvi Defence Vehicle from the Indian ballistic missileprogram, developed by Defence Research DevelopmentOrganisation (DRDO).

Pralay is a 150-500 km short-range, surface-to-surfacemissile with a payload capacity of 500-1,000 kg.

A joint military exercise PANEX-21 withBIMSTEC countries will be held in Pune

The Indian Army is organising a multi-nationHumanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief Exercise witha special focus on relief in the backdrop of the Covid-19pandemic.

The exercise has been called PANEX 21 and will involveBangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar,Thailand, and India—BIMSTEC countries.

The aim of the exercise is to foster joint planning andbuild regional cooperation for responding to naturaldisasters. PANEX 21 is planned to be conducted at Punefrom Dec 20-22.

Some Important Exercise:KAZIND: India and KazakhstanDharma Guardian: India and JapanShinyu Maitri: India and JapanJIMEX: Indian and JapaneseDustlik: India-UzbekistanIndian Army set up Quantum Lab at MCTE in Military

Headquarters Of War, Indore, MPThe Indian Army has established the Quantum Lab at

the Military College of Telecommunication Engineering(MCTE), in Military Headquarters Of War (Mhow), Indore,Madhya Pradesh.

The Quantum Lab was established with the support ofthe National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS) tospearhead research and training in this key developing field.

Indian Army has also established an ArtificialIntelligence (AI) Centre at the MCTE, Mhow with morethan 140 deployments in forward areas and active supportof industry and academia.

Indian Army launched in-house messaging appASIGMA

The Indian Army launched a contemporary messagingapplication named ‘ASIGMA’ (Army Secure IndiGeneousMessaging Application).

It is a new generation web-based application developedentirely in-house by a team of officers of the Corps of Signalsof the Army.

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understand the characteristic polynomial of matrices,including the iterative sparsification.

ESAF SFB got Honorable Mention in Best Bankfor Women Entrepreneurs at 4th Global SME FinanceAwards 2021

The 4th Global SME Finance Awards 2021, constitutedby the United States (US)-based SME Finance Forum,conferred Honorable mention in the Best Bank for WomenEntrepreneurs category on the Thrissur, Kerala (India)basedESAF Small Finance Bank (SFB) Limited.

This acknowledgement is due to the gender equalopportunities provided by SFB through universal financialaccess, livelihood and economic development includingproviding microloans to women in unserved andunderserved households in India.

About ESAF Small Finance Bank:Founded: 2017Headquarters: Thrissur, KeralaManaging Director and CEO: Kadambelil Paul Thomas

DEFENCE NEWS

HAL signed Rs 2,400 crores contract with BELfor 83 LCA Tejas Mk1A fighters

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) signed a Rs2,400 crores contract with Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL)for development and supply of 20 types of systems for 83LCA (Light Combat Aircraft) Tejas Mk1A fighter aircraftprogramme.

The duration of the contract is 5 years i.e., from 2023to 2028. Notably, this is HAL’s biggest order on any Indiancompany thus boosting the ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ campaign.

The order for supply of these systems will be executedby two units of BEL at Bengaluru (Karnataka), andPanchkula (Haryana).

About Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL):Founded: 1940Headquarter: Bengaluru, KarnatakaCMD: R MadhavanIAF deployed the first S-400 air defence system

in Punjab sectorThe Indian Air Force (IAF) has deployed the first

squadron of the S-400 air defence missile system in thewestern Punjab sector which will take care of aerial threatsfrom Pakistan and China.

The S-400 air defence system was contracted for byIndia from Russia in a deal worth around Rs 35,000 croresand five squadrons would be provided to India for tacklingair threats from up to 400 km.

DRDO conducted flight tests of indigenouslydeveloped surface-to-surface missile ‘Pralay’


It works as an alternative to Army Wide Area Network(AWAN) messaging application which has been in servicefor the past 15 years.

About Indian Army:Founded: 1 April 1895Chief of the Army Staff: Manoj Mukund NaravaneDRDO test-fired air version of the BrahMos

supersonic cruise missile from Sukhoi 30 MK-Iaircraft

India successfully test-fired the air version of theBrahMos supersonic cruise missile from the integrated testrange of Chandipur, off the coast of Odisha. The air versionof the missile was test-fired from supersonic fighter aircraftSukhoi 30 MK-I.

BrahMos is a joint venture between DRDO (India) andNPO Mashinostroyeniya (Russia) for the development,production, and marketing of the supersonic cruise missilewhich has been inducted into the Indian Armed Forces.

The missile derives its name from the rivers ofBrahmaputra in India and Moskva in Russia.

About Defence Research and DevelopmentOrganisation (DRDO):

Founded:1958Headquarters: DRDO Bhavan, New DelhiChairman:G Satheesh ReddyAshok Leyland partnered with CVRDE, a DRDO

arm to develop combat vehicle enginesAshok Leyland has partnered with Combat Vehicles

Research and Development Establishment (CVRDE), apremier lab of Defence Research and DevelopmentOrganisation (DRDO), to develop and manufacture 600-HP indigenous engines.

The partnership will power futuristic combat vehiclesunder the Atma Nirbhar Bharat mission.

The 600-HP engine will undergo rigorous testing in theEngine Development Centre of Ashok Leyland, nearChennai and will be qualified for application in tanks.

About Ashok Leyland:Founded: 1948Headquarters: Chennai, Tamil NaduCEO: Vipin SondhiIndia inked deal with Russia for procurement of

AK-203 assault riflesIndia has signed a contract with Indo-Russia Rifles Pvt.

Ltd., a Joint Venture between India and Russia for theindigenous production of over 6 Lakh AK-203 Assault Riflesat Korwa, UP.

It envisages the complete transfer of technology toIRRPL by Kalashnikov in the manufacturing of the first70,000 weapons.

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Rest of the 5.31 lakh weapons will be completelyindigenous realizing Govt’s vision of Make in India andexpanding defence exports. The whole order will beproduced in 10 years.

About Russia:Capital: MoscowCurrency: RoublePresident: Vladimir PutinDRDO successfully conducted flight test of

Indigenously developed HEAT AbhyasDefence Research and Development Organisation

(DRDO) has successfully conducted flight test ofIndigenously developed High-speed Expendable AerialTarget (HEAT) ‘Abhyas’ from Integrated Test Range atChandipur off Odisha coast.

During its trial, high subsonic speed trajectory at a verylow altitude with high endurance was demonstrated.

It is Developed by Aeronautical DevelopmentEstablishment (ADE), DRDO laboratory along with otherlaboratories.

Recent Tests by DRDO:Indigenously developed helicopter-launched stand-off

anti-tank (SANT) missileExtended Range Pinaka rocket system (Pinaka-ER)Area Denial Munitions (ADM) and indigenously

developed fuzesAir version of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile

from Sukhoi 30 MK-I aircraftIndigenously-developed Smart Anti-Airfield Weapon

(SAAW)Indian Navy decommissioned INS Khukri after 32 years

of serviceIndian Navy decommissioned INS Khukri after 32 years

of serviceINS Khukri (Pennant number 49), the first indigenously

built Missile Corvette, was decommissioned after 32 yearsof service at Visakhapatnam.

The warship was built by the Mazagon DockShipbuilders (MSD) and commissioned on 23rd August1989 and had been part of both the Western and EasternFleets.

The ship was commissioned in Mumbai by Shri KrishnaChandra Pant, the then Raksha Mantri and Mrs. SudhaMulla, wife of late Capt Mahendra Nath Mulla. Commander(now Retired Vice Admiral) Sanjeev Bhasin was the firstCommanding Officer.

About Indian Navy:Integrated Headquarters: New Delhi, DelhiChief of Naval Staff (CNS): Admiral R Hari KumarDRDO successfully test-fired Pinaka-ER, ADM

& indigenous Fuzes


Defence Research and Development Organisation(DRDO) has successfully test-fired Pinaka Extended Range(Pinaka-ER), Area Denial Munitions (ADM), andindigenously developed fuzes.

Pinaka-ER is the upgraded version of the earlier versionof Pinaka which has been in service with Indian Army. Ithas been designed in the light of emerging requirementswith advanced technologies.

ARDE, Pune has developed different fuzes for Pinakarocket for different types of applications.

Launch Missile with range by DRDO IN NEWS“Prithvi II”-350 Km“Brahmos”-400Km“Shaurya”-1000Km“Pranash”-200Km“K-4 nuclear”-3500Km“Nirbhay”: 1500KmAgni P Ballistic Missile: 1000 to 2000KM‘Akash-NG’: 60 KMAgni-5: 5000 KMIIT-Delhi signed MoU with IAF to improve

indigenisation effortsIIT-Delhi signed an MoU with Indian Air Force (IAF) to

support requirements towards indigenous solutions invarious weapon systems.

Under the MoU, The IAF has identified key focus areasinvolving development of technology and findingindigenous solutions towards sustenance of various weaponsystems.

The partnership between IIT Delhi and IAF will alsoboost the efforts by Base Repair Depots (BRDs) ofMaintenance Command IAF.

About Indian Air Force (IAF):Establishment: 8 October 1932Headquarters: New Delhi, DelhiChief of the Air Staff: Vivek Ram ChaudhariMotto: Touch the Sky with GloryDRDO successfully test-fired Supersonic Missile

Assisted Release of Torpedo System (SMART)DRDO has successfully launched a long-range

Supersonic Missile Assisted Release of Torpedo (SMART)System from Abdul Kalam Island, off the Odisha coast.

SMART has been designed to enhance anti-submarinewarfare capability far beyond the conventional range oftorpedo.

The weapon system is a next-generation missile-basedstandoff torpedo delivery system, it is being developed byDefence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO)for the Indian Navy.

Recent Tests by DRDO:

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Indigenously developed helicopter-launched stand-offanti-tank (SANT) missile

Extended Range Pinaka rocket system (Pinaka-ER)Area Denial Munitions (ADM) and indigenously

developed fuzesAir version of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile

from Sukhoi 30 MK-I aircraftIndigenously-developed Smart Anti-Airfield Weapon

(SAAW)Indigenously-designed Abhyas – High-speed

Expendable Aerial Target (HEAT)Bangladesh, US conducted bilateral exercise

CARATUS military personnel and Bangladesh Navy began the

27th annual Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training(CARAT) maritime exercise virtually and also in the Bay ofBengal.

The nine-day exercise focuses on a wide range of navalcapabilities and includes cooperative actions thatdemonstrate the US and Bangladesh’s capacity to worktogether to ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific.

Since 2011, the Bangladesh Navy has beenparticipating in the CARAT exercise, which is celebratingits 27th anniversary this year.

OBITUARIES

Malayalam Director KS Sethumadhavan passedaway

The legendary Malayalam filmmaker KSSethumadhavan passed away at the age of 90 years inChennai, Tamil Nadu.

He directed over 60 movies in five languages includingTamil, Telugu, and Hindi during his career. He directedpopular movies such as Odayil Ninnu, AnubhavangalPal ichakal, Oppol, Aranazhikaneeram, AchanumBappayum, etc.

He has won 10 National Film Awards, 9 Kerala StateAwards among others.

Padma Shri awardee Telugu film lyricist‘Sirivennela’ Seetharama Sastry passed away

The renowned Telugu film lyricist and Padma Shriawardee ‘Sirivennela’ Chembolu Seetharama Sastry passedaway at the age of 66 years in Hyderabad Telangana.

In 1986 the movie ‘Sirivennela’ directed by K Viswanathmade him famous and which also gave him a second nameas ‘Sirivennela’ Seetharama Sastry.

He won “Filmfare Award for Best Lyricist- Telugu”,“Padma Shri (2019)”, and ‘Nandi Awards’ several times.He got the first ‘Nandi Award for best lyricist’ for


‘Sirivennela’, presented by the Andhra Pradesh stategovernment.

Former Andhra Pradesh CM Konijeti Rosaiahpassed away in Hyderabad

Former Governor of Tamil Nadu and former ChiefMinister of the unified State of Andhra Pradesh KonijetiRosaiah (89-years) passed away in Hyderabad.

Rosaiah had served as MLA, MLC, Lok Sabhamembers. He held several key portfolios including finance,transport, energy in the cabinets headed by KotlaVijayabhaskhara Reddy, Channa Reddy, and YSRajasekhara Reddy.

Pulitzer-winning American scholar Martin JSherwin passed away

Martin J Sherwin, an American scholar of atomicweapons passed away in Washington, DC, The UnitedStates of America.

He won the 2006 Pulitzer Prize in Biography with KaiBird for the book ‘American Prometheus: The Triumph andTragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer’, the first full-scalebiography of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the father of theatomic bomb.

Veteran journalist Vinod Dua passed away

Veteran journalist Vinod Dua passed away recently. In1996, he became the first electronic media journalist towin the Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Award.He was also awarded the Padma Shri for Journalism in2008 by the Government of India.

He was one of the pioneers in Hindi broadcastjournalism, worked with Doordarshan to present the youthprogramme Yuva Manch in the mid-’70s and later withseveral other television news channels.

He was an integral part of NDTV’s journey as well. Hismuch-loved food show ‘Zaika India Ka’ saw himcrisscrossing the whole country just for the best taste.

India’s 1st woman psychiatrist Sarada Menonpassed away

Padma Bhushan Dr Mamballaikalathil Sarada Menon,India’s 1st woman Psychiatrist and the longest-serving headof the Institute of Mental Health has passed away inChennai, Tamil Nadu.

She was born in a Malayali family in Mangaluru,Karnataka. She became the 1st woman Superintendent ofthe Institute of Mental Health in 1961.


She established the Schizophrenia Research Foundation(SCARF India) in 1984 along with psychiatrist R Thara.She was honored with Padma Bhushan in 1992 for socialworks.

Chief of Defence Staff Bipin Rawat and his wifepassed away in IAF Chopper Crash in Tamil Nadu

Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Bipin Rawat, his wifeMadhulika Rawat, and 11 others died in an IAF Mi-17V5helicopter crash on Wednesday, 8 December, the IndianAir Force has confirmed in a tweet.

An IAF Mi-17V5 helicopter, with General Bipin Rawat,his wife, the pilot Wing Commander Prithvi Singh Chauhan,and staff, as well as other senior officials on-board, crashedin Tamil Nadu’s Coonoor.

World’s Oldest Test Cricketer, Eileen Ash passedaway

World’s oldest Test Cricketer, former English legend,Eileen Ash passed away at the age of

The right-arm seamer made her debut to the nationalside in 1937 against Australia and in a career spanning till1949, she took 10 wickets in the seven matches she played.

Eileen Ash was given the honour of ringing the bell atLord’s in the Finals of the 2017 ICC Women’s World Cupwhere the host, England have crowned the champions afterbeating India in a thrilling Finals.

Former president of Greece Karolos Papouliaspassed away

Former president of Greece Karolos Papoulias, whoserved two terms between 2005 and 2015 passed away.

Papoulias, who was also foreign minister in 1985-89and 1993-96, was a high-ranking member of socialistPASOK party and a close associate of its late leader andformer prime minister Andreas Papandreou.

About Greece:Capital: AthensCurrency: EuroPresident: Katerina SakellaropoulouPrime Minister: Kyriakos MitsotakisSerum Institute of India Executive Director

Suresh Jadhav passed awaySerum Institute of India (SII) Executive DirectorSuresh

Jadhav (72 years) passed away in Pune, Maharashtra aftera long illness.

He was instrumental in the development of theCovishield vaccine for Covid-19, and in setting up theDeveloping Countries Vaccine Manufacturing Network.

He represented the Serum Institute of India on the GAVIboard and was also instrumental in the liaison between thenational and international regulatory authorities.

Padma Shri awardee Nanda Kishore Prustypassed away

A well-known teacher from Odisha and Padma Shriawardee Nanda Kishore Prusty (Nanda Sir), passed awayat Bhubaneswar, Odisha.

On 9th November 2021, he was conferred with thePadma Shri award for his contributions in the field ofeducation.

Nanda Kishore Prusty, a Class 7 pass out has dedicatedseveral decades of his life in providing free education tochildren and adults in Jajpur and thus best known for hisselfless dedication towards eradicating illiteracy in Odisha.

Coonoor helicopter crash’s survivor Group CaptainVarun Singh passed away

Group Captain Varun Singh, who was rescued afterthe helicopter crash that killed Chief of Defence StaffGeneral Bipin Rawat and 12 others, has passed away.

He was being treated for severe burns at a Bengalurumilitary hospital after he was moved from Wellington inTamil Nadu’s Coonoor.

In August this year, Group Captain Varun Singh wasconferred the Shaurya Chakra for averting a possible mid-air accident after his Tejas light combat aircraft developeda major technical snag last year.

Famous American author Anne Rice passed awayFamous American gothic-fiction writer Anne Rice, best

known for The Vampire Chronicles novel series, passedaway in Rancho Mirage, California.

She was widely known for her bestselling gothic novel,Interview with the Vampire, published in 1976 and waslater adapted into a movie starring Tom Cruise in 1994.

She went on to wrote sequels to the book, formingseries called The Vampire Chronicles, Queen of theDamned.

Other works: Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt, The Feastof All Saints, Pandora, Violin, The Witching Hour etc.

INC Leader & former Union Minister R L Jalappapassed away

Jalappa, a veteran leader of the Indian NationalCongress (INC) and the former Union Minister of Textileshas passed away in Kolar, Karnataka.

RL Jalappa was founder and Chairman of Devaraj UrsMedical College in Kolar and RL Jalappa Institute ofTechnology, Doddaballapur.

In 1979 he quit Congress to form the Karnataka KrantiRanga with former Chief Minister D Devaraj Urs and heagain joined congress in 1998.

Former SC Judge Justice GT Nanavati passedaway

Former Supreme Court judge, Justice Girish ThakorlalNanavati who headed two inquiry commissions formed to


probe into the 2002 Godhra Riots & 1984 Anti-Sikh Riots,passed away.

He was elevated as the Judge of the Supreme Court ofIndia with effect in March 1995 and he retired as an SCJudge in February 2000.

Pritzker Prize-winning architect Richard Rogerspassed away

Pritzker Prize-Winning British-Italian Architect RichardRogers has passed away at his residence in London, UnitedKingdom.

He received the Pritzker Prize, known as the Nobel Prizeof Architecture, in 2007. He received the Knight Bachelorin 1991 and he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II.

He was the architect of the new World Trade Center (3World Trade Center) in New York City, United States, theCentre Pompidou in Paris, France and the MillenniumDome in London, UK.

Malayalam Director KS Sethumadhavan passedaway

The legendary Malayalam filmmaker KSSethumadhavan passed away at the age of 90 years inChennai, Tamil Nadu.

He directed over 60 movies in five languages includingTamil, Telugu, and Hindi during his career. He directedpopular movies such as Odayil Ninnu, AnubhavangalPal ichakal, Oppol, Aranazhikaneeram, AchanumBappayum, etc.

He has won 10 National Film Awards, 9 Kerala StateAwards among others.

South African anti-apartheid campaignerArchbishop Desmond Tutu passed away

Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Nobel Peace Prize laureateand veteran of South Africa‘s struggle against white minorityrule, has died aged 90.


He was awarded Nobel Peace Prize in 1984 for hisnon-violent opposition to apartheid.

Former England Test Captain Ray Illingworth passedaway

Former England captain Ray Illingworth has died atthe age of 89, his county, Yorkshire.

Illingworth played 61 Tests for England between 1958and 1973 and captained the country 31 times, winning 12matches and an Ashes series in Australia in 1970-1. Hewas an all-rounder who scored 1,836 Test runs at anaverage of 23.24 and claimed 122 wickets with his off-spinbowling at 31.20.

He was chairman of the England selectors between1993 and 1996 and coached the team in 1995-96.

‘He-Man’ artist and toy designer Mark Taylorpassed away

Mark Taylor, artist and toy designer for the He-Manand the Masters of the Universe franchise as well as theTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles passed away.

He-man was the muscled frontman for toymanufacturer Mattel’s Masters of the Universe franchise.He-Man was the epitome of hulking superhero warrior butalso became an icon within the LGBTQ+ community.

Pulitzer Prize winner biologist E.O. Wilson,known as Father of Biodiversity, passed away

E. O. Wilson, the former Harvard University biologist,professor, author, and Pulitzer Prize winner whose study ofants and human behaviour made him one of the world’smost influential scientists, has passed away.

Study of insects and clarion call to protect earth earnedhim the nickname “Darwin’s natural heir”, “modern-dayDarwin”. He was also known as “father of biodiversity”.

He was the author of hundreds of scientific papers andmore than 30 books, two of which won him Pulitzer Prizesfor nonfiction: 1978’s On Human Nature, and The Ants in1990. He established a new field of science known as‘sociobiology’.

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