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English MediumDigest JANUARY - 2022

st stCoverage from 1 Dec. to 31 Dec. - 2021

UP Worst Performing State in the Index, Kerala topped

India ranks 66 in the Index among 195 countries, USA topped

Sworn in as new German chancellor.He succeeded Angela Merkel.

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Paytm Payments BankPaytm Payments BankPaytm Payments Bank Kidambi SrikanthKidambi SrikanthKidambi Srikanth Elon MuskElon MuskElon Musk

Paytm Payments Bank receives scheduled bank status from RBI

India's Harnaaz Sandhu crownedMiss Universe 2021

Catherine Russell appointed as the new head of UNICEF

He became the first Indian man to win a silver medal at BWF World Championship

Elon Musk Named Time Magazine 2021 Person of the Year

Harnaaz SandhuHarnaaz SandhuHarnaaz Sandhu Catherine RussellCatherine RussellCatherine Russell Bipin RawatBipin RawatBipin Rawat

India's first Chief of Defence Staff (CDS)General Bipin Rawat passed away

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CURRENT AFFAIRS DIGEST - JANUARY-2022

TABLE OF CONTENTS

S. No. Chapter Name Page No.

1. 4TH EDITION OF NITI AAYOG’S STATE HEALTH INDEX FOR 2019–20

1-2

2. INTERNATIONAL AND BILATERAL 3-5

3. NATIONAL 6-11

4. STATES 12-13

5. ECONOMY AND BANKING 14-19

6. RBI UPDATES 20-22

7. SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 23-25

8. DEFENCE 26-27

9. AWARDS AND HONOURS 28-31

10. SPORTS 32-35

11. OBITUARIES 36

12. REPORTS, INDICES AND RANKINGS 37-38

13. SUMMITS AND CONFERENCES 39-40

14. APPOINTMENTS 41-42

15. DAYS AND THEMES 43-45

16. BOOKS AND AUTHORS 46

18. CURRENT AFFAIRS PRACTICE QUESTIONS 47-55

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1. 4TH STATE HEALTH INDEX FOR 2019–20

On December 27, 2021, the 4th edition of NITI

Aayog’s State Health Index for 2019–20 was released

in the report titled ‘Healthy States, Progressive

India‘.It was released jointly by NITI Aayog’s Vice

Chairman Dr Rajiv Kumar, CEO (Chief Executive

Officer) Amitabh Kant, Additional Secretary Dr

Rakesh Sarwal, and World Bank Senior Health

Specialist Sheena Chhabra.

• The report has been prepared by NITI Aayog,

with technical assistance from the World Bank

(WB), and in close consultation with the Ministry

of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW).IPE

Global Private Limited worked as the independent

Validation agency.

• This edition of the report measured and

highlighted the overall performance and

incremental improvement of states and UTs

(Union territories) in health outcomes as well as

their overall status over the period 2018–19 (base

year) to 2019–20 (Reference year).

• This weighted composite index is premised upon

24 indicators grouped under the domains of health

outcomes, governance and information, and key

inputs/processes.

• The ranking is categorized as larger states, smaller

states and UTs.It has covered 19 larger states, 8

smaller states and 7 UTs.

• Three new indicators were added for larger states

viz. Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR), proportion

of pregnant women who received 4 or more

antenatal care checkups (ANC), and level of

registration of deaths.

• Among the larger states, West Bengal did not

participate.Data for Ladakh was not available as it

was established as a UT on October 31, 2019,

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prior to which it was part of the Jammu and

Kashmir state.

• This edition has not captured the impact of

COVID-19 because the time period for this

assessment is earlier to the pandemic.

Overall Performance ranking from 2018-19 to

2019-20

• Among the Larger States, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and

Telangana emerged among the best three

performers in terms of Overall Performance at 1st,

2nd and 3rd rank respectively. Uttar Pradesh (UP)

ranked at the bottom i.e. 19th.

• Among the Smaller States, Mizoram (1st), Tripura

(2nd), and Sikkim (3rd) emerged as the best

performer in Overall Performance. Nagaland

ranked 8th.

• Among the UTs, DH & DD-Dadra and Nagar

Haveli and Daman and Diu (1st), Chandigarh

(2nd) and Lakshadweep (3rd) are top performers.

Andaman & Nicobar ranked 7th.

Categorization on Incremental Performance and

Overall Performance

• Among the Larger States, in terms of annual

incremental performance, UP, Assam and

Telangana are the top three ranking states with

1st, 2nd and 3rd positions.Karnataka ranked 19th

with least incremental change.

• Among Smaller States, Mizoram (1st), Meghalaya

(2nd), and Nagaland (3rd) registered the

maximum annual incremental progress. Goa

ranked 8th with least incremental change.

• Among UTs, Delhi ranked top which is followed

by Jammu and Kashmir-J&K (2nd) and

Lakshadweep (3rd) showing best incremental

performance.Chandigarh ranked 7th with least

incremental change.

Key points

• For the 4th consecutive time, Kerala emerged as

the best performer in terms of Overall

Performance.

• Mizoram and Telangana were the only two states

that demonstrated strong Overall Performance and

showed most improvements.

• Rajasthan was the weakest performer both in

terms of Overall Performance and Incremental

Performance. In case of Smaller States, Arunachal

Pradesh and Manipur are the worst performers,

both in terms of Incremental and Overall

Performance.

• Among overall rankings, Assam made the

maximum improvement by moving up 3 ranks

(from 15 to 12).On the other hand Andaman &

Nicobar registered the maximum drop in rank

(down from 4th to 7th rank).

• The gap in the overall performance between the

best and the worst performing Larger State and

UTs narrowed in the current round of the Health

Index, while it increased for the smaller states.

• 14 out of the 19 Larger States, 4 out of the 8

Smaller States, and 5 out of the 7 UTs showed

improvement in Health Index Scores from 2018-

19 to 2019-20.

About Index

• The index, an annual tool to assess the

performance of states and UTs in health sector

outcomes is being compiled and published since

2017.It aims to nudge states/UTs towards building

robust health systems and improving service

delivery.






2. INTERNATIONAL AND BILATERAL

Egypt became fourth new member

of New Development Bank

• India on December 29, 2021, welcomed Egypt as

the new member of BRICS New Development

Bank. With this, Egypt has now become a fourth

new member to be admitted to BRICS NDB.

• Before Egypt joined the multilateral bank, earlier,

in September 2021, India had welcomed

Bangladesh, Uruguay and the United Arab

Emirates (UAE) as the new members of the

BRICS New Development Bank.

• NDB was established by BRICS (Brazil, Russia,

India, China,South-Africa) in 2015.

• The BRICS Countries represent 41 percent of the

global population, 24 percent of the global GDP

and 16 percent of the global trade.

• The total members of NDB :1.Brazil, 2.Russia,

3.India, 4.China, 5. South Africa, 6.Bangladesh,

7.United Arab Emirates, 8.Egypt, 9.Uruguay.

• Egypt President – Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi

• Capital – Cairo •Currency – Egyptian Pound

•NDB President – Marcos Prado Troyjo

•Headquarters – Shanghai, China

Belgium to close all nuclear plants

by 2025

• The Government of Belgium agreed in principle

on December 23, 2021, to close all its nuclear

power plants by the year 2025. However, the

country has left open the possibility of extending

the life of two reactors if it will not be able to

otherwise ensure the energy supply.

• In Belgium, the two nuclear power plants, with 7

reactors in total, are operated by the French

Utility. They account for almost half of the

country’s electricity production.

• Other Countries with the plan of Nuclear phase

out by 2030s: Germany, Spain,Switzerland

• Belgium PM – Alexander De Croo

• Capital – Brussels •Currency – Euro

Japan introduces world’s 1st Dual-

Mode Vehicle that can run on Roads

and Tracks

• Japan has introduced a minibus lookalike world’s

first dual-mode vehicle (DMV) in its town of

Kaiyo. The vehicle can run on normal rubber

tyres on the road but its steel wheels, which are

in its underbelly, descend when it hits the rail

tracks

• This feature of effectively changing into a train-

like module easily on a rail track is the first of its

kind.It runs on diese

• It runs along part of the coast of Shikoku island

in southern Japan, connecting several small

towns.

• Japan PM – Fumio Kishida

• Capital – Tokyo •Currency – Japanese yen

Vietnam’s H.E. Nguyen Van Hung

visit to India

• H.E. Nguyen Van Hung, Minister of Culture,

Sports and Tourism (MoCST) of Vietnam paid a

5-day official visit to India from December 15 to

19, 2021. India and Vietnam are celebrating 50

years of diplomatic ties in 2022 and the 5th

anniversary of the Indo-Vietnam Comprehensive

Strategic Partnership in 2021.

• In line with the comprehensive strategic and

economic partnership and growing relations

between India and Vietnam, the Ministers of both

countries signed a ‘Letter of Intent’ for enhanced

cooperation in the Postal Sector.

• Tran Hong Ha, Vietnam Natural resources &

Environment Minister, and Jitendra Singh, Union

Minister for Science & Technology, signed the

first-ever MoU (Memorandum of Understanding)

to promote the scientific and technical

cooperation in marine science and ecology.

• Vietnam President – Nguyen Xuan Phuc

• Capital – Hanoi •Currency – Dong






President Ram Nath Kovind’s 3-day

visit to Bangladesh

• On December 15-17, 2021, the President of India

Ram Nath Kovind was on a 3-day State visit to

Bangladesh to attend the 50th Victory Day (Bijay

Dibos or Vjay Diwas) celebrations at the

National Parade ground in Dhaka as a guest of

honour. He was the only foreign dignitary invited

to jointly commemorate these celebrations

reflecting a strong bond between two nations.

• The previous presidential visit from India to

Bangladesh was undertaken by Pranab

Mukherjee in 2013.

• India-Bangladesh celebrates 16th December as

Victory Day to commemorate the win over

Pakistan and their surrender to our joint forces in

1971 leading to the liberation of Bangladesh

(Bangladesh Liberation war of 1971).Both

countries are also celebrating the golden jubilee

of establishment of their diplomatic ties.

• The year 2021 commemorates the Golden Jubilee

of Bangladesh’s independence. It commemorates

50 years of the establishment of diplomatic

relations between our two countries.

• President Ram Nath Kovind presented a replica

of the 1971-era MIG 21 aircraft to his counterpart

Abdul Hamid to commemorate the joint

sacrifices made by the armed forces of India and

Bangladesh during the 1971 liberation war. The

original aircraft has been installed at the

Bangladesh National Museum.

• On December 17, the President inaugurated the

newly reconstructed Sree Sree Ramna Kali

Mandir in Dhaka that had been destroyed in

March 1971 by Pakistani forces.

• During the visit gifting of the Bangabandhu-

Bapu Digital Exhibition to the Liberation War

Museum in Dhaka; announcement of the first

occupant of the Bangabandhu Chair at Delhi

University; and; extension of the Nutan India –

Bangladesh Maitree Muktijoddha Sontan

Scholarship Scheme for a period of five years.

Dubai becomes world’s 1st 100%

paperless govt.

• In December 2021, Dubai became the world’s

first government to turn 100 percent paperless,

the announcement was made by the United Arab

Emirate (UAE) Crown Prince, Sheikh Hamdan

bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum

• It will save around 3 billion Dirham (USD 350

million) and 14-million-man hours.

• The Dubai Paperless Strategy was implemented

in five consecutive phases, each entity consisting

of a different group of the Dubai Government’s

entities

• Dubai President –Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan

• Capital – Abu Dhabi •Currency – – Dirham

UAE became the 1st Country to

transition to 4 and half-day work

week

• The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has announced

to change its 5-day work-week to a 4 and a half

day starting from 1st January 2022 and became

the first country to make the employee-friendly

transition as part of its efforts to improve

productivity and work-life balance.

• New Schedule: Monday to Thursday the work

timings would be from 7.30 am to 3.30 pm,

followed by a half-day on Friday from 7.30 am to

12.00 pm & Saturdays and Sundays are full-day

holidays.

UNGA granted Observer Status to

International Solar Alliance

• The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA)

granted Observer Status to the International Solar

Alliance (ISA) by adopting resolution 76/123.

This decision has been taken based on the

UNGA’s Sixth Committee report.

• The 4th UNGA of International Solar Alliance

(ISA) was held in October 2021 which saw the

participation of 108 countries including 74






Member Countries and 34 Observer and

Prospective Countries, 23 Partner Organizations

and 33 Special Invitee Organizations

About International Solar Alliance (ISA):

• In November 2015, ISA was jointly launched by

India and France during the 21st session of the

United Nations

• Climate Change COP-21 in Paris, France to

promote solar energy among its Member

Countries. The major objective of the

organization is the deployment of 1000 GW of

solar capacity and mobilization of US$ 1000

billion of investment in the solar energy sector by

2030.Currently, 80 countries have signed and

ratified the ISA Framework.

• ISA Director General– Dr. Ajay Mathur

• Headquarter– Gurugram, Haryana

• UNGA President– Abdulla Shahid (76th)

•India’s Permanent Ambassador to UN–

T S Tirumurti

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s

visit to India

• President of the Russian Federation H.E.

Vladimir Putin paid an official visit to India,

New Delhi on 6 December 2021 for the 21st

India–Russia Annual Summit.

• The Annual Summit was not held in 2020 due to

the COVID-19. Both sides exchanged views over

the bilateral cooperation over COVID-19

especially with respect to ‘Sputnik-V’ vaccine.

• • The summit marks the first face to face meeting

between Putin and PM Modi, after the meeting

on the sidelines of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia,

India, China and South Africa) summit in

Brasilia in November 2019.

• Both of them discussed things related to

terrorism and drug trafficking, including the

situation in Afghanistan.

• The Russian side has welcomed the Delhi

Regional Security Dialogue on Afghanistan of

National Security Advisors/Secretaries of

Security Council in New Delhi (i.e. the Delhi

Declaration on Afghanistan)

• During the summit Indian PM and Russian

President signed 28 MoUs (Memorandum of

Understanding) across a wide range of sectors

including trade, energy, culture, intellectual

property accountancy and education.

• In addition to the 28 MoUs, a programme of

cooperation in the field of defence for the next 10

years from 2021 to 2031 was also signed.

India assumed the chairmanship of

Council of Regional Anti-Terrorist

Structure of SCO

• India assumed the Chairmanship of Council of

Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure of Shanghai

Cooperation Organization (RATS SCO) for 1

year from October 28, 2021.

• The RATS, which is headquartered in Tashkent,

Uzbekistan, is a permanent organ of the SCO. It

serves to promote cooperation of member states

against terrorism, separatism and extremism.

• Each member state also sends a permanent

representative to RATS. The SCO Secretary

General and the Executive Director SCO RATS

are appointed for a term of 3 years.

• Director of the RATS SCO EC is Jumakhon

Giyosov.

Malta becomes first European

nation to approve cannabis for

personal use

• Malta became the first European country to allow

limited cultivation and possession of cannabis for

personal use, following a vote in parliament. The

Maltese parliament voted in favour of the reform

last week, with 36 votes in favour and 27 against.

Adults will be allowed to grow four plants at

home and carry seven grams of cannabis, with

smoking in public or in front of children

remaining illegal.

• Malta President – George Vella

• Capital – Valletta •Currency – Euro






3. NATIONAL

PM inaugurates Kanpur Metro Rail

Project & Bina-Panki Multiproduct

Pipeline Project in Kanpur

• On December 28, 2021, Prime Minister (PM) of

India Narendra Modi visited Kanpur, Uttar

Pradesh (UP) to inaugurate the completed section

of Kanpur Metro Rail Project; Bina-Panki

Multiproduct Pipeline Project; and to attend the

54th Convocation Ceremony of IIT (Indian

Institute of Technology) Kanpur

• PM inaugurated the completed 9 km long priority

section of Corridor-1 of the project from IIT

Kanpur to Moti Jheel (9 elevated stations). Its

construction work was initiated in November

2019.

• PM also inaugurated the 356 Km long Bina

(Madhya Pradesh-MP)-Panki (Kanpur, UP)(283

km in UP and 73 km in MP) Multiproduct

pipeline project with an outlay of Rs 1524 crore

(Rs. 1227 crore in UP and Rs. 297 crore in MP).

• Extending from Bina Refinery in MP to POL

((Petroleum, Oils and Lubricants) Terminal at

Panki in Kanpur, it has a capacity of around 3.45

million metric tonne per annum catering the

demand of petroleum products from northern

states.It will be operated by Bharat Petroleum

Corporation Limited (BPCL).

UP’s Jhansi Railway Station

renamed as ‘Veerangana Laxmibai

Railway Station’

• The government of UP has renamed the Jhansi

Railway Station, in Jhansi, UP as “Veerangana

Laxmibai Railway Station” after Rani Laxmibai,

the Maharani consort of the Maratha princely

state of Jhansi.

• The notification of the renaming was issued by

the UP Government following the no objection

given by the Ministry of Home Affairs on 24th

November 2021.

MHA extends AFSPA, 1958 in

Nagaland for 6 more months

• In exercise of the powers conferred by Section 3

of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act

(AFSPA), 1958 (No.28 of 1958) the Ministry of

Home Affairs (MHA) declared the entire

Nagaland as a ‘disturbed area’ for six more

months w.e.f. December 30, 2021 till June 30,

2022.

• This decision came days after the Union

Government constituted a 7-member high-level

committee headed by secretary-level officer

Vivek Joshi to examine the possibility of

withdrawing the controversial AFSPA, 1958

from Nagaland which has been operational since

decades, and it has not been withdrawn despite a

framework agreement signed in August 2015 by

Naga insurgent group NSCN-IM and the Central

Government.

• In December 2021, a unit of Army personnel

killed 14 unarmed civilians claiming that they

mistook them for armed insurgents. After that,

Nagaland Assembly unanimously adopted a

resolution to repeal AFSPA.

PM Modi inaugurated & laid

foundation stone of Rs 11,000 crore

worth hydropower projects in

Mandi, Himachal Pradesh

• PM Narendra Modi presided over the 2nd

groundbreaking ceremony of the Himachal

Pradesh Global Investors’ Meet in Mandi,

Himachal Pradesh (HP). He also inaugurated and

laid the foundation stone of the hydropower

projects worth ~Rs 11000 crore in Mandi, HP.

• The hydropower projects will assist Himachal

Pradesh to improve its economy and provide

additional power to the state.






• He also inaugurated the Sawra-Kuddu Hydro

Power Project, a 111 MW Project which has been

built at a cost of around Rs 2,080 crore.

• He also laid the foundation stone of the Renukaji

Dam project which has been kept pending for

around 3 decades. The 40 MW project will be

built at a cost of around Rs 7,000 crore

• He also laid the foundation stone for the Luhri

Stage 1 Hydro Power Project and Dhaulasidh

Hydro Power Project, the first hydropower

project of the Hamirpur district.

Central govt. sets up 2 Sub-

Committees to lower Crop

Insurance Premium under PMFBY

• The Central government has appointed 2 sub-

committees with separate groups of experts

comprising officials from Centre, key crop-

producing states and top executives of public

sector insurance companies to lower crop

insurance premium under Pradhan Mantri Fasal

Bima Yojana (PMFBY).

• The committee was formed to suggest suitable

working models with cost-benefit analysis to

lower crop insurance premium and technology in

crop yield estimation under the flagship PMFBY.

• 1st Committee is a ten-member committee under

scientist KR Manjunath of Indian Space Research

Organisation (ISRO).

• This committee is headed by Saurabh Mishra,

joint secretary in Ministry of Finance.

MoRTH launches 1st ‘Intelligent

Transport System’ on 6 lane

Eastern Peripheral Expressway at

Ghaziabad, UP

• On 23rd December 2021 Union Minister for

Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) Nitin

Gadkari launched the first Intelligent Transport

System (ITS) on the six-lane Eastern Peripheral

Expressway at Dasna, Ghaziabad,Uttar Pradesh.

• The ITS minimizes traffic problems, increases

efficiency in infrastructure usage, enriching users

with prior information about traffic, reducing

travel time and enhancing the safety and comfort

of commuters

PM Modi transferred Rs 1000 crore

under DAY-NRLM to bank accounts

of SHGs

• PM Modi addressed the gathering of women

beneficiaries of several government scheme at

Prayagraj district of Uttar Pradesh(UP) and

transferred Rs 1000 crore into the bank accounts

of the women Self Help Groups(SHGs) in UP.

The amount was transferred under the Deendayal

Antyodaya Yojana- National Rural Livelihood

Mission (DAY-NRLM).

• This will benefit around 16 lakh rural women in

UP and 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 received a revolving fund of Rs 15000 per

SHG.

Cabinet approves MSP for Copra for

2022 season

• On the basis of the recommendations provided by

the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices

(CACP), The Cabinet Committee on Economic

Affairs (CCEA) chaired by the PM Narendra

Modi has given its approval for the Minimum

Support Prices (MSP) for Copra for 2022 season

• In this regard, the MSP for Fair Average Quality

(FAQ) of milling Copra has been increased to Rs

10,590 per quintal from Rs 10,335 per quintal,

showing a 2.46% increase.

• The MSP for ball Copra has been increased to Rs

11,000 per quintal for 2022 season from

Rs.10,600 per quintal in 2021, a 3.77% hike.

• This is on the line with the Budget 2018-19

announcement of fixing the MSP at a level of at

least 1.5 times the all India weighted average cost






of production in order to double farmers’

incomes by 2022.

NITI Aayog & UN-WFP signed SoI to

Mainstream Millets & Support India

in Knowledge Exchange

• On 20th December 2021, the National Institution

for Transforming India, known as NITI Aayog

has signed a Statement of Intent(SoI) with the

United Nations(UN) World Food Program(WFP)

for mainstreaming of millets and supporting India

in taking lead globally in knowledge exchange

using the opportunity of 2023 as International

Year of Millets.

‘Durga Puja in Kolkata’ inscribed on

UNESCO’s representative list of ICH

of Humanity

• The Intergovernmental Committee (IGC) of

UNESCO’s (United Nations Educational,

Scientific and Cultural Organization) 2003

Convention on Safeguarding of the Intangible

Cultural Heritage (ICH) has inscribed ‘Durga

Puja in Kolkata’ on the Representative List of

ICH of Humanity during its 16th session of IGC

which was held in Paris, France from 13 to 18

December 2021.

• With the inscription of Durga Puja in Kolkata,

India now have 14 ICH elements on the

prestigious UNESCO Representative List of ICH

of Humanity.

• This inscription of Durga Puja in Kolkata

represents the recognition of the confluence of

India’s rich heritage, culture, rituals & practices

and a celebration of feminine divinity & the spirit

of womanhood.

• Before Durga Puja, the two latest inscriptions in

the ICH list from India are Kumbh Mela

(inscribed 2017) and Yoga (inscribed 2016).

• .Durga Puja is an annual festival celebrated in

September or October, most notably in Kolkata,

in West Bengal of India, but also in other parts of

India and amongst the Bengali diaspora.

PM Modi lays Foundation stone of

Ganga Expressway in UP

• On December 18, 2021, Prime Minister (PM)

Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of the

longest highway in India, the Ganga Expressway

in Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh (UP) to offer fast-

paced connectivity in India.

• The six-lane 594 km long expressway will be

built at a cost of about Rs 36200 crore will

connect the western and eastern regions of UP.

• The highway will pass through different districts

of UP such as Meerut, Hapur, Bulandshahr,

Amroha, Sambhal, Budaun, Shahjahanpur,

Hardoi, Unnao, Rae Bareli, Pratapgarh and

Prayagraj.

• A 3.5 km long airstrip was also planned to be

built in Shahjahanpur for assisting emergency

landing and take-off of Air Force planes.

• An industrial corridor will also be built along the

expressway for the socio-economic development

of the region.

CJI NV Ramana inaugurated India’s

1st IAMC in Telangana

• On 18th December 2021, Justice NV Ramana,

Chief Justice of India (CJI) and K Chandrasekhar

Rao, Chief Minister of Telangana has

inaugurated India’s First International Arbitration

and Mediation Centre(IAMC) at Phoenix VK

Tower at Nanakramguda, Hyderabad, Telangana.

• IAMC has been established to quickly resolve the

issues that arise due to the Lack of sufficient

judges.

• IAMC will settle commercial disputes and it will

also look into the disputes of ordinary people.

• The benefits of arbitration over traditional

litigation are fewer delays, less expenditure and

more involvement of the parties in the process.

• The centre will get support from the state, centre

and other Asian countries.






Central government grant ‘In-

Principle’ approval for 6 nuclear

reactors at Jaitapur, Maharashtra

• On 16th December 2021 Union Minister of State

(Independent Charge) Science and Technology

Dr. Jitendra granted ‘In-Principle’ approval for

setting up 6 Nuclear Reactors at Jaitapur in

Maharashtra.

• The approval is for setting up 6 nuclear power

reactors of 1650 MW each, making Jaitapur as

India’s largest nuclear power generating site with

a total capacity of 9900 MW

• Technical cooperation is provided by the French

Firm – Électricité de France (EDF).

• Currently, 6780 MW of Nuclear Power Capacity

is established in India. The share of nuclear

power in the total electricity generation in India

is about 3.1 percent in the year 2020-2021.

Union Cabinet gives nod to raise

women’s marriage age to 21 from

18 years

• The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister

(PM) of India, Narendra Modi has given its nod

for proposal to bring uniformity in the

marriageable age of men and women, thereby,

increasing the legal age of marriage of women

from 18 to 21 years.

• In this regard, a Bill will be introduced to amend

the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act (PCMA),

• 2006, Special Marriage Act, 1954 and personal

laws such as the Hindu Marriage Act 1955 in the

ongoing winter session of Parliament (November

29- December 23, 2021).The legal age to get

married for men is 21.

• This decision will not only boost gender equity

and gender empowerment but also enable girls to

complete their college studies and start earning.

Current Scenario:

• Section 5(iii) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955

sets 18 years as the minimum age for the bride

and 21 for the groom. The Special Marriage Act,

1954 and the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act,

2006 also prescribe 18 and 21 years as the

minimum age of consent for marriage for women

and men, respectively.

• Women’s age of marriage was increased from 15

years to 18 years in 1978, by amending the

erstwhile Sharda

• The proposals in the Bill have been made based

on the recommendations submitted to the Prime

Minister’s Office (PMO) in December 2020 by

the Ministry of Women and Child Development

(MoWCD) constituted 10-member task force,

headed by Jaya Jaitly, Samata Party chief.

Cabinet approved incentive scheme

to promote RuPay debit cards and

BHIM-UPI transaction

• The cabinet has approved an incentive scheme

with an estimated financial outlay of Rs 1,300

crore (for 1 year i.e. FY22) to promote

RuPayDebit cards and low-value (up to Rs 2,000)

BHIM-UPI (Bharat Interface for Money –

Unified Payments Interface) transactions

(Person-to-Merchant (P2M)) in India.

• Under the scheme, the acquiring banks will get

small amounts of incentives (a certain percentage

of the value of transactions) from the

Government for transactions (P2M) that has been

done through RuPay Debit cards and low-value

BHIM-UPI modes of payments.

Cabinet approved Rs 76,000 crore

scheme for Semiconductor

manufacturing

• Cabinet approved a production linked incentive

(PLI) scheme with an outlay of Rs 76,000 crore

to boost semiconductor and display

manufacturing in India, making the total amount

of incentives announced for the electronics sector

to Rs 2.30 lakh crore.

• Objective: To provide incentive support to

companies / consortia that are engaged in Silicon






Semiconductor Fabs (Fabrication plant), Display

Fabs, Compound Semiconductors / Silicon

Photonics / Sensors (including MEMS (Micro

Electro-Mechanical System)) Fabs,

Semiconductor Packaging (ATMP (Assembly –

TestingMarking-and Packaging)/OSAT

(Outsourced Semiconductor Assembly and

Test)), Semiconductor Design.

Cabinet approved implementation

of PMKSY for 2021-26

• Cabinet has approved the extension of

implementation of Pradhan Mantri Krishi

Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) for 2021-26 with an

outlay of Rs 93,068 crore to benefit about 22 lakh

farmers, including 2.5 lakh Scheduled Caste and

2 lakh Scheduled Tribe farmers.

• The scheme was launched in 2015-16 with a total

of 99 projects identified, out of the 99, 46 have

been completed. The rest of the projects will be

completed by 2024-25.

• During PMKSY 2016-21 the Cabinet Committee

on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved

central support of Rs 37,454 crore to States and

Rs 20,434.56 crore of debt servicing for loans

availed by the Government of India for irrigation

development.

PM Modi inaugurated 1st phase of

Kashi-Vishwanath Corridor Project,

Varanasi

• Prime Minister(PM) Narendra Modi inaugurated

the 1st phase of the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor

project (Kashi Vishwanath Dham project) which

connects the Kashi Vishwanath temple and

Ganga ghats in Varanasi.23 building spread over

around 5 lakh square feet area was inaugurated as

a part of the 1st phase of the Rs 339 crore Kashi

Vishwanath Corridor project.

• The foundation stone of the project was laid on

8th March 2019.

• These buildings will provide a variety of

facilities to pilgrims, including yatri suvidha

kendras, tourist facilitation centre, vedic kendra,

mumukshu bhavan, bhogshala, city museum,

viewing gallery, food court, among others.

• The project involved the purchase and acquisition

of more than 300 properties around the temple.

PM Narendra Modi inaugurated

Saryu Nahar National Project in

Balrampur, UP

• The 40-year long pending project, Saryu Nahar

National Project, was inaugurated by PM

Narendra Modi in Balrampur, Uttar Pradesh (UP)

on December 11, 2021.

• The outlay of the project is over Rs 9,800 crore,

out of which more than Rs 4,600 crore was

provisioned in the last four years.

• It will cater to the problem of water shortage

mainly in eastern UP/ Purvanchal with assured

water for irrigation to over 14 lakh hectares of

land and benefit about 29 lakh farmers.

• The Saryu canal project also involves interlinking

of five rivers viz. Ghaghara, Saryu, Rapti,

Banganga and Rohini to ensure optimum usage

of water resources of the region.

Uttar Pradesh’s Haiderpur Wetland

recognized as 47th Ramsar Site in

India

• Haiderpur Wetland, the human-made wetland of

around 6908 hectares in Bijnor, Uttar Pradesh

(UP) has been recognised as the 47th Ramsar Site

of India and 2,463rd site internationally. The

wetland is located within the boundaries of

Hastinapur Wildlife Sanctuary, Uttar Pradesh.

• .Haiderpur Wetland, a human-made wetland

formed in 1984 by the construction of the

Madhya Ganga Barrage on a floodplain of the

River Ganga.

• This provides habitat for various animals and

plant species including around 30 species of

plants, 300 species of birds (102 water birds), 40

fish and more than 10 mammals.






• Other RAMSAR Sites in UP:1. Nawabganj Bird

Sanctuary,2. Parvati Arga Bird Sanctuary,3.

Saman Bird Sanctuary,4. Samaspur Bird

Sanctuary,5. Sandi Bird Sanctuary,6. Sarsai

Nawar Jheel,7. Sur Sarovar,8. Upper Ganga

River.

• The Convention on Wetlands (RAMSAR

Convention) is the oldest of the modern global

intergovernmental environmental agreements that

unite 172 countries to protect and use wisely the

wetlands and the resources they provide.

• The convention was adopted in Ramsar, Iran, in

1971 and came into force in 1975.

Central Govt. accepts plea to

grants Mithila Makhana GI tag

• The Geographical Indications Registry (GIR)

under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry

accepted the proposal to rename Bihar Makhana

as Mithila Makhana and retain its Geographical

Identification (GI) tag.

• It also suggested amendments in the brand logo

to highlight its origins and protect the product’s

Geographical Indications (GI) rights.

• The development ended the controversy over the

branding of the mithila region’s makhana or fox

nut.

India re-elected to International

Maritime Organisation Council for

2022-2023

• India has been re-elected to International

Maritime Organisation (IMO) Council for the

2022-2023 biennium under category B states.

• The Assembly of the International Maritime

Organization has elected the Members of its

Council for the 2022-2023 biennium.

• The Council is the executive organ of IMO and is

responsible, under the Assembly, for supervising

the work of the Organization.

• The Council performs the functions of the

Assembly, except that of making

recommendations to governments on maritime

safety and pollution prevention.

• IMO is the United Nations’ specialized agency

with responsibility for the safety and security of

shipping and the prevention of marine and

atmospheric pollution by ships.

• IMO currently has 175 Member States and three

Associate Members.

Centre to launch National Helpline

against atrocities on SCs, STs

• Union Minister Social Justice and Empowerment,

Dr Virendra Kumar has launched National

Helpline against atrocities on SCs, STs. The

objective of the helpline, reportedly, is to build

awareness about the provisions of the Act that are

aimed at ending discrimination and providing

protection to all. The Helpline will be available

24-7 on toll-free number – 14566.

• This Service will be available in Hindi, English,

and Regional languages of the States. The

objective of this helpline is to spread awareness

about the provision of the Scheduled Castes and

the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities)

Act.

Bhasha Sangam mobile app

launched with 22 languages

• Union Minister of State for Education, Dr Subhas

Sarkar has informed that the government is all set

to launch Bhasha Sangam mobile app. The

mobile app is developed to give users familiarity

with common expressions of daily conversation

in scheduled Indian languages. The app has 100+

sentences, designed on different themes that

allow people to learn basic conversation in 22

Indian languages, test themselves and generate

online certificates. The app aims to foster the

spirit of Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat by enabling

people across India to learn the different

languages of different states of India and come

closer to their culture.






4. STATES

Odisha launches digital life

certificate for pensioners

• On 29th December 2021, Odisha Chief Minister

Naveen Patnaik launched Digital Life Certificate

system for pensioners virtually while attending

the orientation programme for newly recruited

153 officers of Odisha Civil Services.

• Odisha is the first state in the country to

implement such a digital service for pensioners

• .Under the Digital Life Certificate system,

identification and life certificates can be

submitted by the pensioners using an Artificial

Intelligence-based video-verification process.

Karnataka govt partners with NPCI

& SBI to implement ‘e-RUPI’ for

Payment of Scholarships

• The Karnataka government has partnered with

the National Payments Corporation of India

(NPCI) & State Bank of India to enable and

implement the ‘e-RUPI’ payment solution to

students under its scholarship programme.

• For redeeming e-RUPI, the identified institutes

will scan the QR code or SMS string displayed

by the students using an Application

• The e-RUPI is a cashless and contactless

payment solution provided by NPCI and It will

be used to ensure leakproof delivery

transactions.The e-vouchers will be delivered by

the govt. to the mobiles of eligible students.

Telangana tops in highest number of

ODF villages

• Telangana stood first in the country in the list of

the highest number of open defecation free (ODF

Plus) villages under the Swachh Bharat Mission

(Grameen) Phase-II programme till December

31, 2021. As many as 13,737 out of 14,200

villages in the State are on the ODF Plus list,

which is 96.74%. This was followed by Tamil

Nadu with 4,432 villages (35.39%) and

Karnataka with 1,511 villages (5.59%). Gujarat

took the 17th position with only 83 villages

(0.45%).

Odisha CM Inaugurated ‘T-Setu’

Over Mahanadi river in Cuttack

• Naveen Patnaik, Chief Minister of Odisha

inaugurated Odisha’s longest bridge, ‘T-Setu’,

built over the Mahanadi river at Gopinathpur,

Cuttack District, Odisha.

• The bridge will benefit more than 5 lakh people

and contribute to the development of tourism,

agriculture and commerce in the region.

• The 3.4-km-long bridge connecting Gopinathpur

in Badamba, Baideswar in Banki to Singhanath

Pitha in Cuttack, will cut the distance between

Badamba and Banki Baideshwar by almost 45

km.

Nagaland govt creates 3 new

districts namely Tseminyu, Nuiland

and Chumukedima

• The State Government of Nagaland has created

three new districts namely Tseminyu, Nuiland

and Chumukedima, reaching the total district

tally of the state to 15. Tseminyu became the

13th district followed by Nuiland and

Chumukedima as 14th and 15th Districts

respectively.

• The decision was taken during a state cabinet

meeting held under the leadership of Chief

Minister Neiphiu Rio today at Kohima.

• Niuland and Chumukedima have been formed

out of Dimapur district, while Tseminyu is the

sub-division of the Kohima district.

Punjab CM Channi declares Krishan

Balram Rath Yatra as State Festival

• The Chief Minister (CM) of Punjab Charanjit

Singh Channi declared Lord Krishna Balram

Jagannath Rath Yatra as an annual state festival.






• The announcement for the same was made

during flagging off the 25th Shri Lord Krishna

Balram Jagannath Rath Yatra. The yatra, which

was carried out after a gap of two years due to

coronavirus restrictions

• He also announced a grant of Rs 2.51 crore for

the Iskcon Temple in Ludhiana, Punjab.

Uttarakhand State appoints

Rishabh Pant as brand ambassador

• On 19 December 2021,Uttarakhand Chief

Minister (CM) Pushkar Singh Dhami appointed

Indian cricketer Rishabh Pant as the ‘State Brand

Ambassador’ with the aim of encouraging the

youth of the state towards sports and public

health.

• Rishabh Rajendra Pant is a 24 year old cricketer,

who was born in Roorkee, Uttarakhand.

• ii.He is an Indian cricketer who plays as a middle

order wicket-keeper batsman for India, and the

Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League

(IPL).

• In 2015, he was named in India’s squad for the

2016 Under-19 Cricket World Cup.

AP inked pact with UN-FAO & ICAR

for sustainable agriculture

• An agreement on Technical Cooperation Project

has been inked by Andhra Pradesh (AP)

Government with the United Nations Food and

Agriculture Organisation (UN-FAO) and Indian

Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) to help

the state farmers in adopting a sustainable

agriculture food system.

• Through this agreement, there will also be

strengthening the capacities of the state

government in the agriculture sector

Uttarakhand’s Askot Wildlife

Sanctuary declared as Eco-

Sensitive Zone

• According to the gazette of India dated 2nd

December 2021 issued by the Ministry of

Environment, Forest and Climate

Change(MoEF&CC), an area of 454.65 square

kilometres around the boundary of Askot

Wildlife Sanctuary in the Pithoragarh district of

Uttarakhand has been declared as the Askot

Wildlife Sanctuary Ecosensitive Zone(ESZ).

• The notified area extends from 0 to 22 km around

the Askot Wildlife Sanctuary.

Kazhuveli Wetland declared as 16th

Bird Sanctuary of Tamil Nadu

• The Kazhuveli wetland situated in Villupuram

district of Tamil Nadu has been declared as the

16th Bird Sanctuary by Surpiya Sahu,

Environment and Forest Secretary, at the

Minister of Environment Forest and Climate

Change (MoEFCC).The declaration was made

under subsection (1) of section 18 of the Wildlife

(Protection) Act, 1972.

• The Kazhuveli wetlands is referred to as the 2nd

largest Brackish Water Lake in South India, only

after Pulicat lake.

Goa’s Liberation Day 2021

• Goa Liberation Day is observed on 19 December

every year in India and it marks the day Indian

armed forces freed Goa in 1961 following 450

years of Portuguese rule. The year 2021 marks

the 60 years of Goa’s independence. Goa

Liberation Day is marked by an abundance of

events and festivities in Goa though this time

because of the pandemic the celebrations are

expected to be muted. A torchlight procession is

ignited from three different locations in the state,

eventually all meeting at the Azad Maidan.

Himachal govt set up General

Category Commission

• Himachal Pradesh govt announced setting up a

Commission for upper castes, on the lines of

Madhya Pradesh. The Commission, to be named

as ‘Samanya Varg Aayog’, will be formalised

through a legislative enactment in three months’

time when the state assembly meets next in

February-March 2021 for the budget session of

the House.






5. ECONOMY AND BANKING

SBI Card, Paytm join hands for card

tokenization to protect cardholders’

data

• SBI (State Bank of India) Cards and Payment

Services has collaborated with Paytm to enable

their cardholders to tokenize their cards on

devices and make payments through Paytm.

• Currently, only cards issued in the Indian

Territory are enabled on Paytm network but this

partnership enables SBI Cardholders to transact

through Paytm network in international locations.

• The card tokenization facility is available only on

Android NFC (near field communication)

devices.

LIC, GIC, New India Assurance

continue to be identified as D-SIIs

for 2021-22: IRDAI

• Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC),

General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC)

and New India Assurance continued to be

identified by Insurance Regulator and

Development Authority of India (IRDAI) as

Domestic Systemically Important Insurers (D-

SIIs) for 2021-22.

• They were also consequently subject to enhanced

regulatory supervision and IRDAI has asked the

three insurers to raise the level of corporate

governance, identify all relevant risks and

promote a sound risk management culture.

LIC inaugurated “Digi Zone” to

enhance its digital footprint

• Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India has

inaugurated “Digi Zone”, at Bandra Kurla

Complex, Mumbai, Maharashtra, as part of its

effort to enhance its digital footprint. LIC’s Digi

Zone can be used by the customers to purchase

policies online, pay the premium and avail of

other services.

• As a part of its efforts to become a tech-driven

life insurer, LIC will offer information related to

its products and services through kiosks installed

on the Digi Zone premises

Central govt approved 19th tranche

of electoral bonds

• Ahead of assembly elections in five states such as

Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Himachal

Pradesh and Goa, the government has approved

the issuance of the 19th tranche of electoral

bonds, which will be open for sale from January

1 to 10, 2022.

• In the 19th tranche of sale, the State Bank of

India (SBI), has been authorised to issue and

encash electoral bonds through its 29 specialised

branches. SBI is the only authorised bank to issue

electoral bonds.

Electoral Bonds

• These are the alternative financial instruments

that could be used for making donations to

political parties, it was formed as part of efforts

to bring transparency in political funding.These

bonds will be issued in multiples of Rs 1,000, Rs

10,000, Rs 100,000 , 10,00,000 and Rs 1 crore

(the range of a bond is between Rs 1,000 to Rs 1

crore).

• Electoral Bonds can be purchased by a person

who is a citizen of India or entities incorporated

or established in India

Reliance New Energy Solar

Acquires 100% Stake in Faradion

• Reliance New Energy Solar Limited (RNESL), a

wholly-owned subsidiary of Reliance Industries,

has signed a definitive agreement to acquire 100

percent shareholding in Faradion Ltd. through

secondary transactions for a total value of British

Pound Sterling (GBP) 94.42 million based on an

enterprise value of £100 million.






• Faradion is one of the leading global battery

technology companies based out of Sheffield and

Oxford in the United Kingdom and with patented

sodium-ion battery technology.

SBI to Acquire around 10% stake in

IICC

• State Bank of India (SBI) is set to acquire around

10% stake in the India International Clearing

Corporation (IICC), the first international

clearing corporation set up at GIFT-IFSC that

acts as a central counterparty providing clearing

and settlement and risk management services.

• This clears and settles index and single stock

derivatives, currency derivatives and debt

securities.

• SBI is expected to complete up to a 9.95% stake

subject to a maximum investment of Rs 34.03

crore, in IICC by March 2022,

• With this strategic investment, IICC is aimed at

strengthening the financial markets infrastructure

Central Bank of India & NPCI

Jointly Launches RuPay Debit Card

for Corporates

• Central Bank of India has partnered with the

National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI)

to launch ‘RuPay Business Platinum Debit Card’

for corporates.

• Domestic – The card offers an ATM withdrawal

limit of Rs.1 lakh along with a purchase of up to

Rs.3 lakh at Point on Sale (POS) or E-

Commerce.

• International – The card users can also withdraw

up to Rs. 75,000 at ATMs abroad and perform

purchases globally worth up to Rs. 3 lakh at Point

On Sale (POS) or E-Commerce and international

online merchants

India’s Green Energy Economy Gets

$7.27 Billion FDI since 2014-15

• India’s green energy industry received foreign

direct investment (FDI) worth $7.27 billion from

2014-15 till June 2021.

• According to the Ministry of New and

Renewable Energy (MNRE) , out of $7.27 billion

FDI, $797.21 million was received during 2020-

21.

• India’s renewable energy programme is driven by

private sector investment. The installed power

capacity from non-fossil fuels will reach up to 66

percent by 2030

IndusInd Bank launches ‘Green

Fixed Deposits’ to support UN-SDGs

• IndusInd Bank launched Green Fixed Deposits

(FDs) where the deposit proceeds will be used to

finance projects and firms supporting the United

Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN-

SDGs).

• With this, the bank has entered the list of few

global banks which offer integrating SDG into a

regular FD product.

• These FDs will be offered to both retail and

corporate customers.

• IndusInd Bank is the only bank in India to secure

‘band A’ in the Carbon Disclosure Project.

Wholesale price inflation spikes to

12-year high of 14.23% in November

2021

• As per Department for Promotion of Industry and

Internal Trade, Ministry of Commerce and

Industry, India’s annual wholesale price index

(WPI) inflation rises to 12-year high to 14.23%

in November 2021 as compared to last year due

to base effect.

• This WPI inflation is dominated by the prices of

mineral oils, basic metals, crude petroleum,

natural gas, chemicals and food products.It was

12.54% in October 2021.

• WPI measures factory-gate inflation, or what

producers charge wholesalers excluding taxes.

• The consumer price index (CPI) for November

2021 climbed to 4.91% compared with 4.48 per

cent registered in October 2021.






IndusInd Bank became 1st Indian

bank to offer cross-border

payments via UPI

• IndusInd Bank has partnered with the National

Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) for

offering real-time crossborder remittances to

India using UPI (Unified Payment Interface) IDs

for its Money Transfer Operator (MTO) partners.

• With this initiative, IndusInd Bank has become

the first Indian bank to go live on Cross Border

Payments/NRI Remittances.

• The bank will add more partners in various other

countries for cross border-payments via UPI in

the near future

HDFC Bank Partners with IPPB to

Offer Banking Services in Rural

Areas

• HDFC Bank has signed a Memorandum of

Understanding (MoU) with India Post Payments

Bank (IPPB) to offer banking services to over 4.7

crore customers of IPPB in semi-urban and rural

areas.

• Under the MoU, Out of 4.7 Crore customers

around 90 percent reside in rural areas.

• HDFC Bank aims to boost its financial inclusion

drive by leveraging IPPB’s network of 650

branches and over 136,000 banking access

points.

• The agreement offers various citizen-centric

services with increased digital technologies.

CEBR: India to become 3rd largest

economy in 2031; China to be 1st

• As per the Centre for Economics and Business

Research’s (CEBR) World Economic League

Table 2022, India was predicted to become the

6th largest economy (by overtaking France) in

2022 and become the 3rd largest economy in

2031.

• The annual league table also predicted that China

will overtake the US to be the largest economy in

2030

GOI declares Soya Meal as an

Essential Commodity up to June

2022 with Stock Limit

• On December 23, 2021, the Central Government

has notified the order under the Essential

Commodities Act to declare ‘Soya Meal’ as an

Essential Commodities up to 30th June 2022 by

amending the Schedule of the Essential

Commodities Act, 1955, to cool down the

domestic prices of Soya Meal.

• The decision would empower the Union

Government and all States/Union Territories to

regulate production, distribution etc. of Soya

Meal and to smoothen the sale and availability of

it in the market.

• As India’s Soya meal is produced from non-

genetically modified sources it is in high demand

in the world markets.

BOB Financial and Indian Navy

launch Co-branded Credit card

• BOB Financial Solutions Ltd, a wholly-owned

subsidiary of Bank of Baroda, and the Indian

Navy have launched a co-branded credit card for

navy personnel.

• The credit card will be offered on the RuPay

platform and will be equipped with contactless

features.

• A navy personnel up to the age of 64 years will

be eligible to choose from 3 variants of the

cobranded credit car.

Paytm Partners with MoneyGram

for International Fund Transfer

• Paytm Payments Bank has partnered with

MoneyGram, a peer-to-peer remittance company

to enable international fund transfer directly to

Paytm Wallet

• Under the Partnership, MoneyGram users abroad

can now transfer money to any full Know Your

Customer (KYC)-compliant Paytm wallet.

• This is MoneyGram’s first mobile wallet

partnership in India






GoI & EIB sign Finance Contract for

1st tranche loan of Euro 250 million

for Agra Metro Rail project

• The Government of India (GoI) signed an

agreement with European Investment Bank (EIB)

for a Finance Contract for the first tranche loan

of Euro 250 million for Agra Metro Rail Project,

Uttar Pradesh (UP).

• The Project is working under the Ministry of

Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) and Uttar

Pradesh Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. (UPMRCL)

is the implementing agency.

Akasa Air Unveiled its Symbol ‘The

Rising A’ & Tagline ‘It’s Your Sky’

• India’s new Airline, ‘Akasa Air’, operated by

SNV Aviation Private Limited and backed by

billionaire Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, has unveiled its

logo “The Rising A” and its aircraft livery. The

airline also unveiled its tagline “It’s Your Sky”,

which highlights the brand’s promise to embrace

everyone and to create an inclusive environment

for all Indians.

• Brand colours: ‘Sunrise Orange’ and ‘Passionate

Purple’ reflect the airline’s warm, youthful, and

respectful nature.

• The symbol and tagline were crafted by 26FIVE

India Lab, a Mumbai-based brand engagement

firm

UAE committed $100 billion for

investment and infrastructure

creation in India

• The Union Minister Piyush Vedprakash Goyal,

Ministry of Commerce and Industry chaired an

interaction with the heads of Indian industry and

Export Promotion Councils in Mumbai,

Maharashtra. It was held to discuss global

expansion opportunities for Indian businesses

through business platforms and infrastructure

offered by the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

• During the meeting it was revealed that UAE has

committed $100 billion for investment and

infrastructure creation in India.

• UAE will become a gateway for Indian trade to

the Middle East and Africa.

HDFC Life Wins the ‘Best Governed

Company Listed Segment: Large

Category’

• HDFC Life, one of India’s leading life insurance

companies has won the ‘Best Governed

Company Listed Segment: Large Category’ at the

21st edition of the Institute of Company

Secretaries of India (ICSI) National Awards for

Excellence in Corporate Governance.

• The award was presented by Union Minister of

Home Affairs and Minister of Cooperation, Amit

Shah.

• The eminent Jury was headed by Justice

P.Sathasivam, Former Chief Justice of India.

NPCI ties up with Udemy Business

to upskill its Employees

• National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI)

signed a partnership agreement with Udemy

Business, to encourage innovative learning and

skill development for employees of NPCI.

• The 3-year partnership with Udemy Business will

offer courses on in-demand skills such as tech,

domain, behavioural, and leadership skills to all

NPCI employees

• Through the mission ‘Talent Development for

All’ of NPCI, it provides capacity building

programmes in Artificial Intelligence (AI),

Machine Learning (ML), Blockchain, Distributed

Ledger Technology (DLT), Robotic Process

Automation (RPA), etc

Bajaj Allianz General Insurance

launches ‘Health Prime’ rider

• In December 2021, Bajaj Allianz General

Insurance launched the ‘Health Prime’ wellness

rider, which can be availed by its Customers who

are registered with the health insurance &






personal accident policies of Bajaj Allianz

General Insurance.

• The rider is collaborating with Bajaj Finserv

Health to provide the benefit of 90,000 doctors to

the customers of Bajaj Allianz General

Insurance.

• It covers four key areas including tele-

consultation cover, doctor consultation cover,

investigations cover for pathology or radiology

expenses and annual preventive health check-up

cover in a cashless manner.

NIPL & Western Union sign MoU to

enable real-time cross-border

transactions

• NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL),

international payments arm of National Payments

Corporation of India (NPCI) signed a

Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with

Western Union to enable real-time bank account

payout in India

• The agreement will enable bank account holders

in India to receive cross-border money transfers

instantly using UPI IDs

It will benefit millions of Indian citizens to

seamlessly receive money from across the world.

Pine Labs partners with AU Small

Finance Bank for EMI offerings

• Pine Labs, a merchant commerce platform, has

partnered with AU Small Finance Bank, to

enable the bank’s credit cardholders to avail

equated monthly instalments (EMI) offers.

• The Partnership offers EMI at the point of sale

(PoS) and converts their customer’s regular

purchase into interest-free EMIs across the over 2

lakh merchant base of Pine Labs, pan India.

IMF Announces Global Debt Record

as $226 Trillion in 2020

• The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has

announced that the Global debt raised a record

$226 trillion in 2020 as the world was hit by the

Covid-19 pandemic and a deep recession.

• Global debt rose by 28 percentage points to 256

percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2020

• IMF’s latest Global Debt Database figures the

2020’s debt as the largest 1-year debt surge since

World War II.

• According to IMF, the public debt rose from 70

percent of GDP in 2007 to 124 percent of GDP in

2020 and the private debt rose at a moderate pace

from 164 percent to 178 percent of GDP in 2020.

CBDT rolls out ‘e-Verification

Scheme, 2021’ for taxpayer’s info e-

verification

• The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has

issued new rules namely ‘e-Verification Scheme,

2021’ for faceless collection of information from

taxpayers, where mismatches are detected.

• The scheme is notified under a provision in

Income Tax Act 135A that proposes faceless

information gathering aimed at imparting

efficiency, transparency and accountability. It

eliminates the interface between the income-tax

authority and the assessee.

• The scheme also focuses on the optimal use of

the department’s resources

ADB extends $112 million loan to

establish a skill university in Assam

• The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has

approved a $112 million loan to strengthen skills

education and training through the establishment

of the Assam Skill University (ASU).

• The Loan will create a path for skill development

to enhance the productivity and competitiveness

of Assam’s economy and industries

Paytm launches EdTech platform to

train traders, investors – ‘Paytm

Wealth Academy’

• India’s Leading online payment ecosystem

Paytm launched the first of its kind Artificial

Intelligence (AI) powered Educational

Technology (EdTech) platform named, ‘Paytm

Wealth academy’ for traders and investors.






BoB launches Wearable Payment

Solution – bob World Wave

• Bank of Baroda (BOB) in partnership with

National Payments Corporations of India (NPCI)

launched bob World Wave, a wearable line of

products for payments, integrated with a

complete health ecosystem.

• A bob World Wave wearable device will allow

customers to monitor their Saturation of

Peripheral Oxygen (SpO2), body temperature,

heart rate and blood pressure.The device will

provide contactless payments of up to Rs. 5,000

in all Near-Field Communication (NFC) enabled

Point of Sale (PoS) devices and also enable

payments above Rs 5000 using the PIN.

• It is anticipated that 10 percent of the small ticket

payments will be made through wearable

devices, in the next 2 years.The Bob wave world

line of products will be priced between Rs. 100

and Rs. 5,000.

LIC introduced individual savings

life insurance plan – ‘Dhan Rekha’

• On December 13, 2021, the Life Insurance

Corporation of India (LIC) has introduced a new

Non -Linked, NonParticipating, Individual

Savings Life Insurance Plan named ‘Dhan

Rekha’.

• The plan will offer special premium rates for

female lives and it is also allowed for the third

gender.The minimum sum assured under this

plan is Rs 2 lakh and there is no limit for the

maximum sum assured.

• The minimum age at entry ranges from 90 days

to 8 years and the maximum age at entry ranges

from 35 years to 65 years based on the chosen

policy term.

Axis Bank tie up with Swift to

provide digital banking solution

• Axis Bank is working with new digital services

from provider Swift to provide a comprehensive

digital solution to clients. The bank is integrating

with different digitisation initiatives by

government bodies and service providers to

extend an end-to-end service to business clients.

NABARD Projects 12% increase in

Assam’s Credit Potential to INR

36,292 Cr for FY23

• The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural

Development (NABARD) projected a 12%

increase in credit potential of Assam to INR

36,292 crore for the 2022-23 financial year (FY).

• The amount will be used as a base for preparation

of the annual credit plan for priority sector

lending (PSL) for FY23

• According to a report titled State Focus Paper for

2022-23 released by the NABARD, around 52%

of the total projected credit potential is estimated

for the agriculture and allied activities, and 36%

for the MSME (Micro,Small and Medium

Enterprises) sector.

Shivalik SFB & Indiagold partner to

launch India’s 1st loan against

‘Digital Gold’

• On 6 December 2021, Shivalik Small Finance

Bank (SSFB) signed a partnership agreement

with fintech firm, Indiagold to launch India’s first

Loan against Digital Gold.

• This agreement will enable customers to use their

digital gold balance to avail instant and digital

loans upto Rs. 60,000 and also seamlessly access

gold loans starting at a monthly interest of just

1%.

ICICI Bank partners with Flipkart to

offer instant overdraft facility

• On 7th December 2021, ICICI 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 businesses

registered on Flipkart.

• The OD is renewable on an annual basis,

depending on the repayment track records of the

seller.






6. RBI UPDATES RBI’s 24th FSR 2021: Banks GNPA

may rise to 8.1% by September

2022

• On December 29, 2021, Reserve Bank of India

(RBI) released the 24th issue of its Financial

Stability Report (FSR) 2021. It estimated the

Scheduled Commercial Banks (SCBs) Gross

Non-Performing Assets (GNPAs) to rise from 6.9

percent in September 2021 to 8.1 percent of total

assets by September 2022 (under a baseline

scenario) and to 9.5 percent (under severe stress

scenario).

• FSR is the bi-annual collective assessment of the

Sub-Committee of the ‘Financial Stability and

Development Council’ (FSDC-SC) on risks to

financial stability.

RBI extends deadline for periodic

KYC update till March 31, 2022

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has extended

the deadline for periodic Know Your Customer

(KYC) updation in bank accounts till March 31,

2022, from the previous deadline of December

31, 2021, due to the Omicron variant of the

COVID-19 in India.

• Periodic updation of KYC needs to be carried out

at least once every 2 years for high-risk

customers, once in every 8 years for medium risk

customers and once in every 10 years for low risk

customers from the date of opening of the

account or last KYC updation.

• Section 38 of the Master Direction on KYC dated

February 25, 2016, mandated the REs (Regulated

Entities) to carry out periodic updation of KYC

of existing customers.

RBI Extends Direction for PMC Bank

till March 2022

• On 28 December 2021,the Reserve Bank of India

(RBI) extended the restrictions for Punjab and

Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank for

another three months from January 1 2022 to

March 31 2022.

• In exercise of the powers conferred on it by Sub–

section (4) of Section 45 read with Section 56 of

the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, the Reserve

Bank of India had prepared a draft scheme of

amalgamation of The Punjab and Maharashtra

Cooperative (PMC) Bank with Unity Small

Finance Bank Ltd. (USFB.

RBI Extends CoF tokenisation

deadline till June 2022

• On December 23, 2021, the Reserve Bank of

India (RBI) extended the card-on-file (CoF)

tokenisation deadline by 6 months i.e. to June 30,

2022. Earlier the deadline was fixed till

December 31, 2021.

• Tokenization: The process of replacing a card’s

sensitive information like card number,

expiration date, security code with a device-

specific alternate code, or ‘Token’ is called

tokenization.

RBI empaneled CSB Bank as

agency bank to undertake

government businesses

• On 21 December 2021, the Reserve Bank of

India (RBI) announced empanelment of CSB

Bank, a private sector lender as an ‘Agency

Bank’ to undertake general banking business of

central and state governments.

• Through this appointment, the CSB Bank will

undertake general banking business of the central

and state governments under the guidelines set by

the RBI.

• As an Agency bank, CSB Bank will work with

different state governments and central

government departments for businesses such as

tax collections, pension payment, collection of

stamp duty, etc.






RBI authorised RBL Bank to collect

indirect taxes

• Based on the recommendation from the

Controller General of Accounts, the Ministry of

Finance, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has

granted permission to RBL Bank to collect

indirect taxes on behalf of the Central Board of

Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC).

• RBL Bank has already got permission from RBI

in November 2021 to collect direct taxes. Thus

the current announcement enables the bank to

collect both direct and indirect taxes.

• After technical integration, the banks’ corporate

and individual customers could pay their indirect

taxes through the bank’s mobile banking, net

banking platforms and branch banking network.

RBI allows payments banks, SFBs

as agency bank to conduct govt

business

• On December 15, 2021, in consultation with the

Department of Financial Services (DFS), the

Ministry of Finance, Reserve Bank of India

(RBI) has decided to make the Scheduled

payments banks and scheduled small finance

banks (SFBs) eligible to conduct Government

(govt) agency business.

• In February 2021, the Finance Ministry had

removed the embargo (an official ban) imposed

in September 2012 on the allocation of govt

business to private sector banks

• Thus any payment bank or small finance bank

which intends to undertake govt agency business

could be appointed as an agent of RBI only upon

execution of an agreement with RBI and also in

compliance with the regulatory framework

prescribed for those banks.

RBI introduces PCA Framework for

NBFCs

• On December 14, 2021, the Reserve Bank of

India (RBI) issued the Prompt Corrective Action

(PCA) Framework for Non-Banking Financial

Companies (NBFCs) to further strengthen the

supervisory tools .

• The provisions of the PCA framework will be

effective from October 2022 based on the

financial position of NBFCs on or after March

31, 2022. Until now, the RBI had imposed PCA

only on banks.

• Generally an NBFC will be placed under PCA

framework based on the audited Annual

Financial Results and/or the Supervisory

Assessment made by the RBI.

• However, the RBI may impose PCA on any

NBFC during the course of a year (including

migration from one threshold to another) in case

the circumstances so warrant.

• RBI may issue a press release when an NBFC is

placed under PCA as well as when PCA is

withdrawn.PCA framework for NBFCs will be

reviewed by RBI after 3 years.

RBI mandated 20-digit LEI for cross-

border transactions above Rs 50

crore

• In December 2021, the Reserve Bank of India

(RBI) has mandated the companies to quote the

20-digit Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) for cross-

border transactions for capital or current account

transactions of Rs 50 crore and above, from

October 1 2022.LEI is a number used to uniquely

identify parties to financial transactions

worldwide to improve the quality and accuracy

of financial data systems.

RBI granted scheduled payment

bank status to Paytm Payments

Bank Limited

• On December 9, 2021, the Reserve Bank of India

(RBI) granted a scheduled payment bank status

to the Paytm Payments Bank Limited (PPBL) by

including it into the Second Schedule to the RBI

Act, 1934. With this approval, PPBL becomes

the 3rd Scheduled Payments Banks.






• Apart the PPBL, other payment banks that are in

the List of Second Schedule of the RBI Act are

India Post Payments Bank Limited (IPPBL), and

Fino Payments Bank Limited (FPBL).

• Currently, the list of Scheduled Commercial

Banks (SCBs) include 12 Public Sector Banks

(PSBs), 22 Private Sector Banks, 11 Small

Finance Banks (SFBs), 3 Payments Banks, 43

Regional Rural Banks (RRBs), and 46 Foreign

Banks in India.

RBI fifth bi-monthly monetary policy

of FY21-22

• The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) 6-members

Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) had met on

6th, 7th and 8th December 2021 and released its

fifth bi-monthly monetary policy statement for

FY22 (April 2021 – March 2022).

• RBI kept the rates under the liquidity adjustment

facility (LAF) unchanged (maintains status quo)

for the 9th consecutive time i.e it decided to

continue with the accommodative stance to

mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on the

economy and to revive and sustain growth on a

durable basis.on the economy and to revive and

sustain growth on a durable basis.

The unchanged Policy rates are as follows

Category Rates

Policy Rates

Repo Rate 4.00%

Reverse Repo Rate 3.35%

Marginal Standing Facility (MSF)

Rate

4.25%

Bank Rate 4.25%

Reserve Ratios

Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) 4.00%

Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR) 18.00%

• The MPC has retained India’s real gross

domestic product (GDP) growth projection for

FY22 at 9.5 percent with 6.6 percent in Q3; and

6.0 percent in Q4. Real GDP growth for Q1

FY23 is projected at 17.2 percent and for Q2 at

7.8 percent.

• As per RBI data, India’s GDP has expanded by

13.7 percent in the first half of 2021-22.

• Consumer Price Index (CPI)/Retail inflation was

projected at 5.3 percent in FY22, with 5.1 percent

in Q3 and 5.7 percent in Q4.

• CPI inflation for Q1 and Q2 FY23 was projected

at 5.0 percent.

• The government retained the inflation target at 4

percent with the lower and upper tolerance levels

of 2 percent and 6 percent, i.e. within a band of

+/- 2 percent.

RBI plans to launch UPI-based

payment products for feature phone

users

• RBI has decided to launch a UPI (Unified

Payments Interface)-based payment product for

feature phone users to increase digital penetration

of financial services and support them to transact

digitally without access to smartphones or

reliable internet services.

• Feature phones – These are the basic phones,

which typically provide voice calling and text

messaging functionalities. Some of these devices

also have basic multimedia and internet

options.Currently, UPI requires a smartphone

with a working internet connection to send

money.

RBI to increase in UPI transaction

limit

• Over time, UPI has also become a popular

payment option for Initial Public Offerings

(IPOs) since its availability from January 01,

2019. It is reported that IPO applications of Rs 2

to Rs 5 lakh constitute ~10 percent of

subscription applications.The transaction limit in

the UPI system was enhanced from Rs 1 lakh to

Rs 2 lakh in March 2020.To further encourage

the use of UPI by retail investors, it is proposed

to enhance the transaction limit for payments

through UPI for Retail Direct Scheme and IPO

applications from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 5 lakh.






7.SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Russia launched 1st versatile

nuclear powered icebreaker ‘Sibir’

to Boost India’s arctic plans via

NSR

• Russia has launched its first in the series Project

22220 versatile nuclear-powered icebreaker

known as ‘Sibir’, which will support the growing

fleet of icebreakers to keep the Northern Sea

Route open for year-round shipping through the

Arctic and enable a wider presence of India in the

arctic region.

• Project 22220 nuclear-powered icebreakers are

the most powerful and the largest in the world.

Russia Successfully launched 3rd &

final demonstration mission of

Angara A5 rocket

• Russia has successfully launched its 3rd and final

demonstration flight of the Angara-A5/Persey

rocket from the state test cosmodrome of the

Russian Defence Ministry – Site 35/1 Plesetsk

cosmodrome, Mirny, ArkhangelskOblast, Russia.

• The Angara is being developed and built by the

Khrunichev State Research and Production Space

Center in Moscow, Russia.This marks the 3rd

launch of the rocket after its maiden launch in

2014

Japan launches Inmarsat-6 F1

Communications Satellite into

Geostationary Orbit

• Japan has launched Inmarsat-6 F1, a

communication satellite, through a Mitsubishi

Heavy Industries’ (MHI) HIIA204 rocket from

Japan’s Tanegashima Space Center that will enter

geostationary orbit, about 22,240 miles (35,790

kilometers) above earth.

• It is developed by the London-based company

Inmarsat as a part of its next-generation satellite

broadband service.

• The satellite is 12,060-pound (5,470 kilograms)

and is the first of two ‘I-6’ spacecraft.

China launches new camera

satellite ‘Ziyuan-1 02E’ to find

resources

• On 26th December 2021, the China National

Space Administration (CNSA) stated about

China’s launch of a new satellite with a high-

resolution camera that can take pictures of the

ground with a resolution of 5 meters.

• The satellite, named ‘Ziyuan-1 02E’ or ‘five-

meter optical satellite 02’ was launched by a

Long March-4C rocket from the Taiyuan Satellite

Launch Centre in north China’s Shanxi province.

NASA’s James Webb Space

Telescope launched from French

Guiana, South America

• This discovery work has been published in the

refereed journal Monthly Notices of the Royal

Astronomical Society, titled ‘Discovery of an

inflated hot Jupiter around a slightly evolved star

TOI-1789’.

• On December 25, 2021, NASA’s (National

Aeronautics and Space Administration) James

Webb Space Telescope (JWST), an infrared

telescope, launched through the Arianespace’s

heavy-lift Ariane 5 rocket from the European

Space Agency’s (ESA) spaceport in Kourou,

French Guiana, on South America’s northeast

coast.

• It is named after James Edwin Webb, one of the

architects of the Apollo Moon programme.

• This 14,000-pound (around 6350 Kg) instrument

is a successor to the Hubble Space Telescope

(1990-till date), and Spitzer space telescope

(2003-2020).






• It will be positioned at a spot called Lagrange

Point 2 (L2), 1.5million kilometers from earth or

more than four times beyond the moon.

• Its commissioning in space will take 6 months.

• The mission span is between 5-15 years.

• JWST is NASA’s largest and most powerful

space science telescope ever constructed

• The telescope is an international collaboration led

by NASA in partnership with the European space

agency (ESA) and Canadian Space Agency

(CSA).

• Astronomical operation of the telescope will be

managed from the Space Telescope Science

Institute (STScI) in Baltimore, Maryland, United

States (US). It will be initiated in summer of

2022.

DRDO successfully conducts flight-

test of indigenous aerial target

‘Abhyas’

• On 24th December 2021, Defence Research and

Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully

conducted the flight test of indigenously

developed High-speed Expendable Aerial Target

(HEAT) Abhyas, Integrated Test Range (ITR),

Chandipur off the coast of Odisha.

• The performance of the system during the entire

flight duration has been confirmed from the data

captured by various Range instruments deployed.

• Developed by – Aeronautical Development

Establishment (ADE), DRDO laboratory along

with other laboratories

• HEAT provides a high subsonic speed trajectory

at a very low altitude with high endurance that

meets the requirement of aerial targets of the

Indian Armed Forces

India successfully tests ‘Pralay’

missile off the coast of Odisha

• On 22nd December 2021 India successfully test

fired short-range, surface to surface-guided

ballistic missile ‘Pralay’ from APJ Abdul Kalam

Island off the coast of Odisha.

• Pralay is the solid-fuel, battlefield missile based

on Prithvi Defence Vehicle from the Indian

ballistic missile programme.

• Developed by – Defence Research Development

Organisation (DRDO).

• Pralay is a 350-500 km short-range, surface-to-

surface missile with a payload capacity of 500-

1,000 kg.

• The missile is powered with a solid propellant

rocket motor with state-of-the-art navigation

system and integrated avionics which can be

launched from a mobile launcher.

New generation ballistic missile

‘Agni P’successfully test-fired by

DRDO in Odisha

• Defence Research and Development

Organisation (DRDO) successfully test-fired its

new generation AgniPrime (Agni-P) missile. The

test was done from adefence base at Dr APJ

Abdul Kalam island off theOdisha coast in

Balasore.

• The Agni-P is a newgeneration advanced variant

of the Agni class ofmissiles. The missile was

designed and developedcompletely by the DRDO

is accurate and effective tothe point

India successfully test-fires vertical

launchshort range surface-to-air

missile

• India successfully test-fired the Vertically

LaunchedShort Range Surface to Air Missile

(VL-SRSAM) fromIntegrated Test Range (ITR)

in Chandipur off the coastof Odisha for

neutralising various aerial threats atclose ranges,

including sea-skimming targets.

• The VL-SRSAM is indigenously designed

anddeveloped by DRDO for the Indian Navy.

The test launch was monitored by senior officials

of the DRDO and Indian Navy.






Pakistan successfully test-fires

enhancedrange version Babur

Cruise Missile 1B

• Pakistan successfully test-fired an enhanced

rangeversion of its indigenously-built surface-to-

surfaceBabur cruise missile namely ‘Babur

Cruise Missile 1B’that can strike targets up to

900 kilometres from 450km of former

missile.The Babur missile is capable of engaging

targets at land and sea with high precision.

ISRO, Oppo India collaborates to

strengthen R&D of NavIC

messaging service

• An agreement has been inked between the

IndianSpace Research Organisation (ISRO) and

the Chinesesmart devices maker Oppo’s Indian

arm to strengthenthe Research and Development

(R&D) of the NavICmessaging service, an Indian

satellite navigationsystem.NavIC, an acronym for

Navigation with IndianConstellation, aims to

provide a user-friendly platform.

India Successfully Test-Fires Air

Version ofBrahMos Supersonic

Cruise Missile

• India successfully test-fired the air version of the

BrahMos supersonic cruise missile from the

integratedtest range of Chandipur, off the coast of

Odisha.The air version of the missile was test-

fired from supersonicfighter aircraft Sukhoi 30

MK-I. The launch paved theway for serial

production of air-version BrahMos missiles.

India successfully test-fires Supersonic

Missile Assisted Torpedo in Odisha

• India has successfully test-fired a long-range

Supersonic Missile Assisted Torpedo (SMART)

off the coast of Balasore in Odisha.The SMART

will enhance anti-submarine warfare capability

far beyond the conventional range of the

torpedo.The weapon system is a next-generation

missile-based standoff torpedo delivery system, it

is being developed by DRDO for the Indian

Navy.

China launches satellites for

spaceexploration – Shijian-6 05

• China successfully launched a new group of

satellitesShijian-6 05 into space from the Jiuquan

Satellite Launch Center in northwest China for

space exploration and new technology tests.The

satellites were launched by a Long March-4B

rocket whichmarked the 400th mission of Long

March series carrier rockets.

NASA’s Parker Solar Probe enters

the Sun’s upper atmosphere

• NASA’s Parker Solar Probe has entered the

Sun’s upper atmosphere for, first time in history.

In 2018, launched the Parker Solar Probe aims to

unravel the mysteries of the Sun by travelling

closer to it. After three years of launching, Parker

has finally arrived in the solar atmosphere. Parker

Solar Probe has flown through the Sun’s upper

atmosphere for the first time in history – the

corona. The probe sampled particles and

magnetic fields there.

• The new milestone marks one major step for

Parker Solar Probe and one giant leap for solar

science.

First Ship ‘Sandhayak’ under Survey

Vessel (Large) project for Indian

Navy launched in WB

• Sandhayak, the first of the four Survey Vessels

(Large)Project being built for the Indian Navy

(IN) waslaunched in Hooghly River of Kolkata,

West Bengal(WB) in the presence of Minister of

State (MoS) AjayBhatt, Ministry of Defence

(MoD).

• It is expected to be commissioned by October

2022. These Vessels havebeen designed and

developed by Defence Public Sector Undertaking

(DPSU), Garden Reach Shipbuildersand

Engineers (GRSE) Limited on the concept

of‘Integrated Construction’.






8.DEFENCE

Defence Minister lays foundation

stone for DTTC & BRAHMOS

manufacturing centre of DRDO in

Lucknow

• On December 26, 2021 the Union Defence

Minister, Rajnath Singh laid the foundation stone

for Defence Technology & Test Centre (DTTC)

and BrahMos Manufacturing Centre. The 2

defence manufacturing houses will be established

by Defence Research & Development

Organisation (DRDO) in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh

(UP).

• The state-of-the-art DTTC is set up as a result of

the MoU signed between Uttar Pradesh

Expressways Industrial Development Authority

(UPEIDA) & DRDO during DefExpo-2020 held

in Lucknow.

Indian Navy Decommissions INS

Khukri after 32 Years of Service

• On 23rd December 2021 INS Khukri (Pennant

number 49), the first indigenously built Missile

Corvette, was decommissioned after 32 years of

service at Visakhapatnam.

• The warship was built by the Mazagon Dock

Shipbuilders (MSD) & Commissioned on 23rd

August 1989 and had been part of both the

Western and Eastern Fleets.

• Commander (now Retired Vice Admiral) Sanjeev

Bhasin was the first Commanding Officer.

• The ship was commissioned in Mumbai by Shri

Krishna Chandra Pant, the then Raksha Mantri

• During the service, the ship was commanded by

28 Commanding Officers and travelled a distance

of over 6,44,897 nautical miles, which can be

equated to navigating around the world 30 times

or 3 times the distance between the Earth and the

Moon.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh

unveils indigenous Multi-terrain

Artillery Gun 155– BR

• On the lines of Government’s Make-in-India and

Atmanirbhar Bharat Mission, the Union Minister

Rajnath Singh, Ministry of Defence (MoD)

unveiled indigenously built Multi-terrain

Artillery Gun (MArG 155) – BR which is the

only 155mm 39 calibre gun system mounted on

4×4 HMV (High Mobility Vehicle) in the world.

• It was unveiled in the presence of Chief of the

Army Staff (COAS), Manoj Mukund Naravane.

• It is developed by Pune (Maharashtra)-based

Indian MNC (Multinational Company) Bharat

Forge Ltd.

Indian Army launches in-house

messaging application ASIGMA

• On 23 December 2021, The Indian Army,

launched a contemporary messaging application

named ‘ASIGMA’ (Army Secure IndiGeneous

Messaging Application). It is a new generation

web-based application developed entirely in-

house by a team of officers of the Corps of

Signals of the Army.

• It works as an alternative to Army Wide Area

Network (AWAN) messaging application which

has been in service for the past 15 years

Multinational exercise PANEX-21

inaugurated at Pune, Maharashtra

comprising BIMSTEC nations

• On December 20-22, 2021, the 3rd edition of

multi-national – multi-agency exercise, PANEX-

21, was organized at Pune (Maharashtra) to

develop capabilities in Humanitarian Assistance

and Disaster Relief (HADR) operations among

BIMSTEC nations. BIMSTEC is an acronym for

Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral

Technical and Economic Cooperation.






IAF deploys first S-400 air defence

system in Punjab sector

• The Indian Air Force (IAF) has deployed the

firstsquadron of the S-400 air defence missile

system inthe western Punjab sector which will

take care ofaerial threats from Pakistan and

China. It wasdeveloped by Russia’s Almaz

Central Marine DesignBureau.The S-400 air

defence system was contractedfrom Russia in a

deal worth around Rs 35,000 croreand five

squadrons would be provided to India fortackling

air threats from up to 400 km.

• Indian Army will soon induct a new range

oflandmines viz. Nipun, Vibhav, Vishal,

Prachandand Uluk which will act as the first line

ofdefence against enemy infantry and

armouredcolumns or terrorists trying to infiltrate

intoIndian territory.

Security of Offshore Assets

inVisakhapatnam, AP reviewed

during exercise‘Prasthan’

• The security of the Offshore Development Area

(ODA)in Krishna Godavari Basin on the East

Coast of India inVisakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh

(AP) was reviewed during exercise Prasthan,

conducted on December 21-22, 2021 for a

duration of 24 hours.

• This biannualexercise was coordinated and

controlled by NOICNaval Officer-in-Charge

(APD) from Joint OperationsCentre (JOC)

Visakhapatnam under the aegis of Indian Navy.

Army Chief Gen Naravane takes

charge asChairman of CoSC

• The Chief of Army Staff, General Manoj

Mukund (MM) Naravane, was appointed as the

chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee

(CoSC).The CoSC comprisesthe chiefs of the

Army, Navy, and the Air Force. Hesucceeded

General Bipin Rawat, Chief of Defence

Staff(CDS) who passed away in an accident in

TamilNadu.MM Naravane was a 27th Chief of

the Army Staff in 2019.

IAF-DRDO flight-tested Helicopter-

launched Stand-off Anti-Tank

Missile

• Defence Research and Development

Organisation(DRDO) and Indian Air Force (IAF)

successfully flighttested the indigenously

designed and developedHelicopter launched (air-

launched) Stand-off Anti-tank(SANT) Missile

from the Pokhran range in Rajasthan. Itshould be

noted that it is for the first time that thiswas

launched from a Russian origin Mi-35 helicopter

gunship.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh

inaugurates Swarnim Vijay Parv

• Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has inaugurated

Swarnim Vijay Parv commemorating 50 years of

India’s victory in the 1971 war. He inaugurates

‘Wall of Fame -1971 Indo-Pak War’ at the

inaugural ceremony. Swarnim Vijay Parv is an

event commemorating the valour &

professionalism of the Armed Forces and their

contribution to the liberation of Bangladesh in

the Indo-Pak 1971 war, at India Gate Lawns in

New Delhi on December 12, 2021.

• The event marks the culmination of year-long

celebrations of 50 years of India’s victory in

1971.

India-Maldives joint military

Exercise EKUVERIN in Maldives

• The 11th edition of Exercise EKUVERIN-21

between India and Maldives, held at Kadhdhoo

Island, Maldives. Ekuverin means “Friends” in

the Dhivehi language. It is an Indo – Aryan

language. It is spoken in India, Lakshadweep and

Maldives. The exercise enhances synergy and

inter-operability between the Armed Forces of

both nations in terms of understanding

transnational terrorism both on land and at sea,

conducting Counter-Terrorism and Counter-

Insurgency Operations and sharing best military

practices and experiences.






9. AWARDS AND HONOURS

PETA India has named actress Alia

Bhatt as “Person of the Year 2021”

• People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals

(PETA) India has named Indian Bollywood

actress Alia Bhatt as the ‘Person of the Year’

2021 to celebrate her work in supporting the

animal-friendly fashion industry and her

advocacy for dogs and cats in need. Alia Bhatt

has invested in Phool.co, an Indian Institute of

Technology (IIT) Kanpur-backed biomaterial

startup,that develops ‘fleather’ – bio-degradable

vegan leather.

Greenman Viral Desai wins the

Global Environment and Climate

Action Citizen Award 2021

• Viral Sudhirbhai Desai, an industrialist from

Surat, who is popularly known as the Greenman

or green man of Gujarat has been honoured with

the Global Environment and Climate Action

Citizen Award 2021. Among the 28 personalities

from 11 countries who were honoured with this

award, Viral Desai was the only Indian to win the

honour for climate change.

• The winners of the 8th Edition of the “Bharat

Gaurav Awards” Lifetime achievement award

were felicitated at Atlantis, The Palm Island,

Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) with the

Bharat Gaurav Samman by Sanskruti Yuva

Sansthan.

Harmony Foundation felicitated the

17th Mother Teresa Memorial

Awards for Social Justice 2021

• Harmony Foundation hosted the 17th annual

Mother Teresa Memorial Awards (MTMA) for

Social Justice 2021 and felicitated the

winners.The award was given by Dr Abraham

Mathai, the founder chairman of the

foundation.The winners are

• Dr Anil Prakash Joshi (The environmentalist,

who was conferred upon the Padma Bhushan in

2021 ,Vidyut Mohan (the winner of the Earth

shot Prize) ,Ridhima Pandey (young

environmental activist from Uttarakhand) ,Tulsi

Gowda (A Padma Shree awardee) ,Aadya Joshi

(Recipient of the Children’s Climate Prize 2020)

,Paani Foundation –Awarded for the mission to

create a droughtfree Maharashtra,and Subojit

Mukherjee –Awarded for his efforts to amplify

the green cover in and around Mumbai.

• The other recipients of the award include –

Vinisha Umashankar (youth environmental

activist); Jamuna Tudu (for preserving the forests

of Jharkhand); WeForest; Pollution Coalition.

Divya Hegde wins UN Women’s

Award for Leadership Commitment

• Divya Hegde, an Indian Climate Action

Entrepreneur from Udupi, coastal Karnataka, has

won the United Nation (UN) Women’s Award

for Leadership Commitment at the 2021 Regional

Asia-Pacific Women’s Empowerment Principles

(WEP) Awards ceremony.

• She has been recognised for her sustained efforts

in advancing gender equality through climate

action efforts.

Other Winners

• Youth Leadership – Pallavi Sherring

• Gender-inclusiveWorkplace – NatWest Group

• Gender-Responsive Marketplace – Dharma Life

• Community Engagement & Partnerships –

The Very Group

• Transparency & Reporting – Biocon Ltd India

• SME Champions – Namita Vikas

Bank of Baroda achieves top

position in digital payments for

2020-21

• On December 20, 2021, Bank 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 payments Utsav which was held to

commemorate 75th anniversary of Independence

of India.

• BoB has been conferred with five DigiDhan

awards for FY 2019-20 & 2020-21 in various

categories.

• The award was received by Akhil Handa, chief

digital officer at BoB, which was presented by

Union minister Ashwini Vaishnav, MeitY and

MoS (Minister of State) Rajeev Chandrashekar,

MeitY.

SAIL receives prestigious Golden

Peacock Environment Management

Award 2021

• The Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL),

awarded with the prestigious Golden Peacock

Environment

• Management Award (GPEMA) 2021 in the Steel

Sector by the Institute of Directors (IOD). SAIL

received this

• award for the 3rd consecutive year

• Golden Peacock Environment Management

Award is a prestigious award that was instituted

by the World Environment Foundation in 1998.

.It encourages corporate companies to enhance

their environmental performances

PM Modi Becomes the 1st Foreigner

to Receive ‘Ngadag Pel gi Khorlo’,

Bhutan’s Highest Civilian Award

• On the occasion of Bhutan’s 114th National Day

(17th December 2021), The Kingdom of Bhutan

has honoured Narendra Modi, Prime

Minister(PM) of India with Bhutan’s highest

civilian award Ngadag Pel gi Khorlo also known

as Order of the Dragon King (Druk Gyalpo).

• PM Modi becomes the first foreigner to receive

the coveted award.

• King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck

conferred the award upon PM Modi.

• The announcement was made by Lotay Tshering,

Prime Minister of Bhutan.

Prof Neena Gupta awarded 2021

DST-ICTP-IMU Ramanujan Prize for

Young Mathematicians

• Professor Neena Gupta, a mathematician at the

Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) in Kolkata, West

Bengal has been awarded the 2021 DST-ICTP-

IMU Ramanujan Prize for Young

Mathematicians from developing countries. The

award recognized her outstanding work in affine

algebraic geometry and commutative algebra.

Elon Musk named Time Magazine’s

‘Person of the Year’ 2021

• The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Tesla &

SpaceX, Elon Musk named ‘Person of the Year

2021’ by Time magazine. He took over the title

from US President Joe Biden & Vice President

Kamala Harris, who received the title in 2020.

• In April 2021, NASA granted Elon Musk’s

rocket company SpaceX an exclusive contract to

put United States (US) astronauts on the moon

for the first time since 1972.

• .COVID-19 Vaccine scientists Kizzmekia

Corbett, Barney Graham, Katalin Kariko and

Drew Weissman named ‘Heroes of the year

2021’ by Time Magazine. They were involved in

developing the m-RNA for COVID-19 Vaccine.

India’s Harnaaz Sandhu Crowned

Miss Universe 2021

• 21 years old Indian Actor and Model, Harnaaz

Sandhu from Chandigarh, Punjab, has been

crowned Miss Universe 2021 at the 70th Edition

of the Miss Universe Competition held in Eilat,

Israel.Harnaaz Sandhu became the 3rd Indian to

be crowned Miss Universe after Sushmita Sen,

the 1st Indian to win Miss Universe (1994) and

Lara Dutta (Miss Universe 2000).






• Miss Universe 2020 Andrea Meza (Mexico)

presented the crown to Harnaaz Sandhu. Nadia

Ferreira(Paraguay) finished 2nd followed by

Lalela Mswane (South Africa) in 3rd.

• The first-ever Miss Universe pageant was held in

1952 in Long Beach, California, USA.

Architect Balkrishna Doshi to be

honoured with the Royal Gold Medal

2022

• Acclaimed Indian architect Balkrishna Vithaldas

Doshi (94) has been named for the Royal Gold

Medal 2022 which is one of the world’s highest

honours for architecture.

• The announcement for the same was made by

Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA).

• Notably, worked under Le Corbusier (Designed

Chandigarh) and Louis Kahn, he is a pioneer of

modernist and brutalist architecture in India. In

2018, he became the first Indian architect to

receive the Pritzker Architecture Prize.

Fortune India’s Most Powerful

Women List 2021: Union Minister

Nirmala Sitharaman tops

• Fortune India released the list of most powerful

women in India 2021 in which Union Minister

Nirmala Sitharaman (62), Ministry of Finance &

Ministry of Corporate Affairs ranked 1st.She is

followed by Reliance Foundation Chairperson

and Goodwill Ambassador Nita Ambani (58) in

2nd position, and Soumya Swaminathan (62),

Chief Scientist, World Health Organization

(WHO) at 3rd.

Nilmani Phukan & Damodar Mauzo

wins Jnanpith Awards

• Assamese poet Nilmani Phookan Jr & Konkani

novelist Damodar Mauzo won the country’s

highest literary award, the Jnanpith award for

their outstanding contribution to literature.

• Assamese poet Nilmani Phookan Jr won the 56th

Jnanpith Award and Konkani novelist Damodar

Mauzo won the 57th Jnanpith Award.

• Damodar Mauzo: Damodar Mauzo is 77 years

old, from Majorda, Goa has written many well

known books and his books have been translated

into several Indian languages.

• He has won the Vimala V Pai Vishwa Konkani

Sahitya Puraskar award for his novel ‘Tsunami

Simon’ in 2011.

• Damodar Mauzo is the second awardee of

Jnanpith Award for a Konkani writer. The first

being Ravindra Kelekar in 2006.

• Nilmani Phookan Jr:Phookan is 90 years old

from Guwahati, Assam and has won Sahitya

Akademi and Padma Shri awards.

• He is a poet of renown and has written Surya

Henu Nami Ahe Ei Nodiyedi, Gulapi Jamur

Lagna, and Kobita.

• He was one of the pioneering art critics from

Assam, and worked on folklore and folk art

• Phookan is the third Assamese writer to receive

the Jnanpith. The previous awardees were

Birendra Kumar Bhattacharya in 1979 and

Mamoni Raisom Goswami in 2000.

About Jnanpith Award:

• The award is recognized as the highest literary

award of the country for English and other Indian

languages. It is sponsored by the cultural

organization bharatiya jnanpith.

• t was instituted in 1961 by Bharatiya Jnanpith

trust founded by the Sahu Shanti Prasad Jain

family that owns the Times of India newspaper

group.The Award is open only for Indian citizens

and is awarded annually.

Nirmala Sitharaman ranked 37th on

Forbes’ 2021 World’s 100 Most

Powerful Women

• Finance Minister(FM) of India, Nirmala

Sitharaman has ranked 37th on the Forbes’ list of

the World’s 100 Most Powerful Women 2021 or

18th Edition of Forbes’ list of the World’s 100

Most Powerful Women. She has been featured on






the list for the 3rd year in a row. She was ranked

41st on the list in 2020 and 34th in 2019

• India’s seventh woman billionaire and the

wealthiest self-made billionaire, Falguni Nayar,

founder and CEO, Nykaa was ranked 88th on the

list.Only 4 Indian Women ranked in Forbes 2021

World’s 100 Most Powerful Women List.

• Roshni Nadar Malhotra, Chairperson of the HCL

Technology, the first woman to lead a listed IT

company in India was ranked 52nd on the list.

• Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, executive chairperson

and founder of Biocon was ranked 72nd on the

list. She founded India’s largest listed

biopharmaceutical firm in India in 1978.

Britain’s 7-times F1 Champion

Lewis Hamilton received Knight

Bachelor for Services to Motorsport

• British racing driver Lewis Hamilton, who has

won the Formula one(F1) Championship 7 times

has been honoured with Britain’s Knight

Bachelor, for Services to Motorsport.Lewis

Hamilton received Knighthood from Charles,

The Prince of Wales, in a ceremony at Windsor

Castle, Windsor, Berkshire, England.

• Hamilton is the 4th F1 driver to receive the

knighthood, the honorary title Sir in Britain after

Jack Brabham(Australian), Stirling Moss and

Jackie Stewart.

• He is the first and the only active racer to receive

the honours.

Other active sportsmen to receive knighthood:

• Bradley Wiggins (Road and track racing

cyclist) was knighted in 2013

• Andy Murray, (Tennis) was knighted in 2016

• Mo Farah (Track athlete) was knighted in 2017

• Alastair Cook (Cricket) was knighted in 2019

Simone Biles named Time

Magazine’s 2021 Athlete of the Year

• Simone Biles was named Time magazine’s 2021

Athlete of the Year. The world’s most decorated

gymnast, a four-time Olympic medalist, was

hailed for putting her mental health first when

she withdrew from four event finals at the Tokyo

Olympics. Despite the setback, the 24-year-old

managed to earn a team all-around silver and a

bronze in balance beam at the Tokyo Games.

Sunil Gavaskar honoured with SJFI

Medal 2021

• The Sports Journalists’ Federation of India (SJFI)

has decided to honour former Indian Cricketer

and cricket commentator 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 was founded on 27th

February 1976 at the Eden Gardens, Calcutta

(now Kolkata), West Bengal.

Other SJFI Awards

Kumar Mangalam Birla receives Global

Entrepreneur of the Year Award

• Aditya Birla Group’s chairman, Kumar

Mangalam Birla has received the Global

Entrepreneur of the Year Award- Business

Transformation from The Indus Entrepreneurs

(TiE) based out of Silicon Valley. Birla is the

first Indian Industrialist to receive the award for

global entrepreneurship along with top global

business leaders Satya Nadella, Elon Musk, and

Jeff Bezos.

Award Winner

SJFI Sportsman of the year 2021

Neeraj Chopra (Javelin)

SJFI Sportswoman of the year 2021

Mirabai Chanu (Weightlifting)

SJFI Team of the Year 2021

Indian Men’s Hockey team

SJFI Parathletes of the year 2021(Men)

Pramod Bhagat (Badminton) and Sumit Antil (Javelin)

SJFI Parathletes of the year 2021(Women)

Avani Lekhara (rifle shooter)

SJFI Special Recognition Award

Olympic Gold Quest (OGQ)






10. SPORTS

Pankaj Advani wins 2021 National

Billiards Title

• In December 2021, Pankaj Advani defended his

National Billiards Title— to win his 11th one—

after defeating his PSPB teammate Dhruv

Sitwala in a 5-2 game final that was held in

Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh (MP).

• He represented the Petroleum Sports Promotion

Board (PSPB) team in the National Billiards

Championship.

• The 88th National Billiards and Snooker

Championships 2021, held at Bhopal, MP. It was

organised by Billiards and Snooker Federation of

India (BSFI), the governing body for cue sports

in India

• Pankaj Arjan Advani is an Indian billiards and

snooker player, who was the only cueist to win

the Asian and World Championships in all

formats of billiards and snooker

Veteran Indian spinner ‘Harbhajan

Singh’ announced retirement from

all forms of cricket

• On 24 December 2021, the senior Indian off-

spinner, Harbhajan Singh announced retirement

from all forms of cricket.

• Major boost in his international career was when

he snapped 32 wickets in three Tests, including a

hattrick, against Australia in March in 2001.

• Harbhajan was the 1st Indian Cricketer to take

Hat-trick wickets in Test.

• Harbhajan Singh is a 41-year-old cricketer from

Jalandhar, Punjab who took 417 wickets in 103

Tests and is the 4th highest wicket taker for India

in Test cricket.

• He made his debut to the national cricket team,

during an ODI (One Day International) against

New Zealand at Sharjah in 1998 and lastly

represented India in 2016 during a T20 against

the UAE at Dhaka, Bangladesh.

South African cricketer Quinton de

Kock announced retirement from

test cricket

• South African cricketer (wicketkeeper &

Batsman) Quinton de Kock(29 years old) has

announced his retirement from Test Cricket with

immediate effect. He has committed to play

international limited-overs cricket (white-ball

cricket).

• Quinton de Kock hails from Johannesburg,

Gauteng, South Africa.

• He made his test debut against Australia in

Gqeberha, South Africa in 2014.

• He has also played in the Indian Premier League

(IPL) representing Sunrisers Hyderabad, Delhi

Daredevils, Royal Challengers Bangalore, and

Mumbai Indians.

New Zealand’s Ross Taylor

retirement from international

cricket

• Senior cricket player of New Zealand, Ross

Taylor announces to retire from international

cricket after playing in the Two-Test series

against Bangladesh and his last ODIs (One Day

Innings) against Australia and the Netherlands in

March 2022.Ross Taylor was the World’s 1st

player to play 100 international matches in all 3

formats of cricket.

WADA restores accreditation to

India’s National Dope Testing

Laboratory

• On 23rd December 2021, The World Anti-

Doping Agency (WADA) restored the

accreditation of National Dope Testing

Laboratory (NDTL) in accordance with the






International Standard for Laboratories (ISL),

which had been suspended since August 2019.

• This accreditation helps to boost India ‘s efforts

to achieve the highest global standards of

excellence in sport.

• Recently ‘The National Anti-Doping Bill 2021’

was introduced in the winter session of the

Parliament.

India wins bronze in Men’s Hockey

Asian Champions Trophy 2021

• On 22nd December 2021 Indian Men’s Hockey

team under the Captaincy of Manpreet Singh

won a bronze medal in the Men’s Asian

Champions Trophy Hockey tournament 2021 in

Dhaka, Bangladesh after defeating

Pakistan.Tournament Held at – Mawlana

Bhashani Hockey Stadium, Dhaka, Bangladesh

• The Men’s Asian Champions Trophy Hockey

Trophy 2021 was won by South Korea and silver

for Japan.

• India won the Men’s Asian Champions Trophy in

2016 and secured joint winners with Pakistan in

2018 which was held at Muscat, Oman.

• The Men’s Asian Champions Trophy is an event

held annually by the Asian Hockey Federation

(AHF) which features Asia’s top six field hockey

teams competing in a round robin format.

BWF Ranking Men’s Singles: India’s

Kidambi Srikanth ranked 10th,

Viktor Axelsen tops

• As on December 21, 2021, Indian badminton

player Kidambi Srikanth has re-entered the top

10 in the Badminton World Federation(BWF)

world rankings. He moved up 4 spots and

secured the 10th position in the ranking.

• He won the silver medal (men’s singles) in the

2021 BWF World Championship and became the

first Indian man to achieve the feat.

• Lakshya Sen, who won the bronze (men’s

singles) in the 2021 BWF World Championship

and B Sai Praneeth has ranked 17th and 18th

respectively.

• Sameer Verma and Prannoy Haseena Sunil

Kumar (Prannoy H. S.) has ranked 25th and 26th

respectively.

• The ranking is topped by Viktor Axelsen of

Denmark followed by Kento Momota of Japan

and Anders Antonsen of Denmark in 2nd and

3rd spot.

Argentina beat Germany to lift 12th

Men’s FIH Junior Hockey World Cup

2021 in Bhubaneswar, Odisha

• Argentina junior men’s hockey team defeated

Germany by 4-2 in the final of the 2021 Men’s

FIH Hockey Junior World Cup (WC) or 12th

edition of the Men’s FIH Hockey Junior WC to

clinch their second Junior Men’s

• Hockey WC title at the Kalinga Stadium in

Bhubaneswar, Odisha. This was held from

November 24, 2021-December 5, 2021.

• This makes them only the third team after

Germany (six titles) and India (2001, 2016) to

win multiple Junior Hockey WC titles.

• The third place was clinched by France after

defeating India by 3-1 in the Bronze medal match

• This biennial men’s under-21 field hockey world

championship was organized by the International

Hockey Federation (FIH).

BWF World Championships 2021

• The 2021 Badminton World Federation (BWF)

World championship (officially known as the

TotalEnergies BWF World Championships

2021), an annual tournament was held between

12th December 2021 and 19th December 2021 in

Huelva, Spain

• Venue – Palacio de los Deportes Carolina Marin,

Spain

• .Kidambi Srikanth has won India’s first medal at

the 2021 World Championships.

• Loh Kean Yew is the first player from Singapore

to win a world championship title.






Winners of Bwf World Championship

Category Winner Runner

Men’s Singles Loh Kean Yew

(Singapore)

Srikanth Kidambi

(India)

Women’s

Singles

AkaneYamaguchi

(Japan)

Tai – Tzu Ying

(Chinese Taipei)

Men’s

Doubles

Takuro Hoki &

Yugo Kobayashi

(Japan)

He Jiting & Tan

Qiang (China)

Women’s

Doubles

Chen Qingchen – &

Jia Yifan (China)

Lee So-hee &

Shin Seung-Chan

(South Korea)

Mixed

Doubles

Dechapol

Puavaranukroh &

Sapsiree

Taerattanachai

(Thailand)

Yuta Watanabe &

Arisa Higashino

(Japan)

India wins 16 medals in 2021

Commonwealth Weightlifting

Championship & 1 gold in World

Weightlifting Championship

• On 17th December 2021 India concluded the

Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships

2021 with 16 medals, including 4 golds held at

Tashkent, Uzbekistan while Bindyarani Devi was

India’s only medallist at the World Weightlifting

Championships 2021,that was also held parallelly

at Tashkent.Bindyarani Devi won the Gold

Medal in the 55 kg Clean & Jerk event.

• India ended the Commonwealth championships

with 16 medals – 4 Gold, 7 Silver, and 5 Bronze

with 19 representatives in different categories

participating in commonwealth games 2021.

• India’s 4 Commonwealth gold medallists –

(Jeremy Lalrinnunga, Achinta Sheuli, Ajay

Singh, Purnima Pandey) have qualified directly

for the 2022 Commonwealth Games in

Birmingham, United Kingdom (UK).

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen wins

Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2021

• Red Bull’s Max Emilian Verstappen (24) from

The Netherlands clinched the Formula 1 Etihad

Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2021 by

defeating Mercedes’ Lewis Carl Davidson

Hamilton of the United Kingdom (UK) at the Yas

Marina Circuit on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi,

United Arab Emirates (UAE).

• With this, Max Verstappen won his first Formula

One (F1) World Driver Championship.

Avani Lekhara wins ‘Best Female

Debut’ honour at 2021 Paralympic

Sport Awards

• Indian shooter Avani Lekhara, who has created

history by winning India’s first Gold medal in

Shooting at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, won

the “Best Female Debut” honour at the 2021

Paralympic Sport Awards. The

• Awards were announced by the International

Paralympic Committee.

• She became the 1st Indian woman to win 2

Paralympic medals in a single edition of the

Paralympic Games.

• India won an unprecedented 19 medals at the

Paralympic Games including 5 Gold, 8 Silver &

6 Bronze.

Other Winners of 2021 Paralympic Sport Awards

Player Sport Category

Adam Peska

(Czech Republic)

Boccia Best Male Debut

Winner

Diede de Groot

(Netherlands)

Tennis Best Female

Athlete

Marcel Hug

(Switzerland)

Para

Athletics

Best Male

Athlete

Great Britain

Rugby team

Rugby Best Team

Dr Anja

Hirschmueller

(Germany)

– Best Official)

World Chess Championship 2021-

Magnus Carlsen wins his 5th Title

defeating Ian Nepomniachtchi

• On 10th December 2021, Norway’s Magnus

Carlsen, the defending Champion won his 5th

World Chess Championship after defeating






Russia’s Ian Nepomniachtchi in 2021’s World

Chess Championship that was organised by FIDE

(the International Chess Federation) at Dubai,

UAE.i.Magnus Carlsen won the finals, with 7.5-

3.5, against his Russian opponent Ian

Nepomniachtchi.

• Game 6 of the finals saw the longest game in the

history of the championship, which lasted a

record 136 moves, and for 15 minutes short of 8

hours.

• Magnus Carlsen has previously won the

Championship in 2013, 2014, 2016 & 2018

• Magnus Carlsen has been holding the

Championship since 2013, when he defeated

India’s Viswanathan Anand in the 2013

Championship finals.

• Magnus Carlsen is also the FIDE World No.1

Chess player since 2011

India wins 41 medals at Asian

Youth Para Games

• On 8th December 2021 at Indian’s claimed 41

medals, with 12 gold, 15 silver, and 14 bronze, at

4th Asian Youth Para Games (AYPG), Asia’s

biggest event that was held in Riffa, Bahrain

• The event is organized by the National

Paralympic Committee (NPC) of Bahrain.

• Over 700 athletes from around 30 countries

participated in the event from 2nd to 6th

December 2021.

• 9 Para Sports played- Para athletics, Para

badminton, boccia, goalball, Para powerlifting,

Para swimming, Para table tennis, Para

taekwondo, and wheelchair basketball.

• Indian Contingent took part in all the 9 sports.

• The 5th edition of the Asian Youth Para Games

2025 will be hosted by Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

Australia’s Ashleigh Barty won the

WTA Player of the Year for 2nd time

• Women’s Tennis Association(WTA)’s World

No.1 Ashleigh Barty, Australian professional

tennis player, has won the 2021 WTA Player of

the Year Award.She won the award for the 2nd

Time, previously she won the WTA Player of the

year in 2019.

• Apart from this, .Emma Raducanu, British

professional tennis player who made her Grand

Slam main draw debut at 2021 Wimbledon has

been named the WTA Newcomer of the Year

2021.

New Zealand’s Ajaz Patel becomes

3rd bowler to take 10 wickets in an

innings

• During the 2nd Test match between India & New

Zealand, the Mumbai-born Ajaz Patel created

history by taking all 10-wickets of Indian players

in the 1st innings which was played at Mumbai’s

Wankhede Stadium. He completed his spell with

an impressive 10 wickets for 119-runs

• Ajaz Patel became the 3rd player in the history of

Men’s Test cricket to take all 10 wickets in an

innings. He is also the 1st New Zealand Player to

hold this historic record.

• Other 2 players holding the record – England’s

Jim Laker in 1956 & India’s Anil Kumble in

1999.

Lewis Hamilton Wins inaugural

edition of Saudi Arabian GP

• On 5th December 2021 Mercedes Driver Lewis

Hamilton (Britain) won the inaugural edition of

Saudi Arabian Grand Prix (GP), by surpassing

Max Verstappen (Netherlands) in the event held

at the 30-kilometer (18.6-mile) coastal resort area

in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.






11.OBITUARIES

Nobel Peace Prize winner Desmond

Tutu passes pway

• Archbishop Desmond Tutu, a Nobel Peace Prize

laureate and a veteran of South Africa’s struggle

against white minority rule, died at the age of 90

in Cape town.He won the Nobel Peace prize in

1984 in recognition of his non-violent opposition

to South Africa’s brutal apartheid regime.He

chaired a Truth and Reconciliation Commission

which was set up to unearth atrocities committed.

• He was born in Klerksdorp, Transvaal, who spent

most of his life in Cape Town and led numerous

marches and campaigns to end South Africa’s

struggle.

Former Union Minister R. L. Jalappa

passes away

• L. Jalappa, a veteran leader of the Indian

National Congress(INC) and the former Union

Minister of Textiles has passed away in Kolar,

Karnataka.

• The Government of Karnataka honoured him

with the D Devaraj Urs Award in 2015 for his

contribution to the field of education and

development.

Pritzker Prize-winning British-Italian

Architect Richard Rogers passed

away

• Richard Rogers, Pritzker Prize-Winning British-

Italian Architect, has passed away at his

residence in London, The United Kingdom(UK).

He was born in Italy in 1933.He received the

Pritzker Prize, known as the Nobel Prize of

Architecture, in 2007.

• He received the Knight Bachelor in 1991 and he

was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II. He was the

architect of the new World Trade Center (3

World Trade Center) in New York City, United

States, the Centre Pompidou in Paris, France and

the Millennium Dome in London, UK.

Padma Shri awardee Nanda Kishore

Prusty passes away

• Padma Shri awardee who is a well-known

teacher from Odisha, Nanda Kishore Prusty

(Nanda Sir), passed away at bhubaneswar,

Odisha.He was conferred with the Padma Shri

award for his contributions in the field of

education.

India’s 1st CDS Bipin Rawat dies in

IAF Mi17 Helicopter Crash

• Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) of Indian Armed

Force General Bipin Rawat, India's most senior

defence official died in a helicopter crash near

Coonoor in Tamil Nadu.Gen Rawat was on board

an Indian Air Force (IAF) Mi17 V5 helicopter

from Russia along with his wife Madhulika

Rawat, and 11 other defence personnel. While

IAF Group Captain Varun Singh is the lone

survivor in the crash.

Senior Journalist Vinod Dua passed

away at 67

• Senior journalist Vinod Dua passed away at the

age of 67 years in Delhi’s Hospital.In 1996, he

became the first electronic media journalist to

receive the Ramnath Goenka Excellence in

Journalism Award.He was honoured with Padma

Shri for Journalism in 2008.

Sarada Menon, India’s 1st Woman

Psychiatrist, passed away

• Padma Bhushan Dr Mamballaikalathil Sarada

Menon, India’s 1st woman Psychiatrist and the

longest-serving head of the Institute of Mental

Health has passed away in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.

She was born in a Malayali family in Mangaluru,

Karnataka. She was honoured with Padma

Bhushan in 1992 for social works.






12. REPORTS, INDICES AND RANKINGS

Good Governance Index 2020-21:

Gujarat tops the Index followed by

Maharashtra, Goa

• On December 25 2021, on the occasion of Good

Governance Day, Union Minister of Home

Affairs and Minister of Cooperation, Amit Shah

released the Good Governance Index 2020-21

(GGI 2021) which was a biannual exercise

prepared by Department of Administrative

Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG).

• Gujarat has topped the composite ranking in the

GGI covering 10 sectors 58 indicator index

followed by Maharashtra and Goa.

Top ranking states in sectors as well as composite

ranks

3rd ARIIA 2021: IIT-Madras tops for

3rd consecutive year as most

innovative educational institute

• Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT

Madras) ranked 1st & recognized as the Most

Innovative Educational Institute in India in the

3rd edition of Atal Ranking of Institutions on

Innovation Achievements (ARIIA) 2021. It is for

the 3rd consecutive year that IIT Madras has

been recognized.

Telangana tops in the Implementation

of SPMRM

• Telangana has secured 1st place among the 34

states and Union Territories(UTs) that implement

the Shyama Prasad Mukherji Rurban Mission

(SPMRM), Tamil Nadu and Gujarat has secured

the 2nd and 3rd place on the list respectively.

• In the Ranking of the Cluster, among the 295

clusters, the Ryakal cluster of Sangareddy and

the Jukkal cluster of Kamareddy in Telangana

has secured the 1st and 2nd position respectively.

The Aibawk cluster of Aizawl in Mizoram has

secured the 3rd position.The ranking was made

based on the performance-based indicators as of

28th December 2021.

Global Unicorn Index 2021: India

Ranked 3rdReplacing UK

• As per the Global Unicorn Index 2021 report

released by the Hurun Research Institute, India

ranked at third (by adding 33 ‘unicorns’) in 2020

by displacing the United Kingdom (UK) to the

4th spot. In 2020, India ranked at the 4th spot.

• US, China comprise 74% of unicorns: The

United States (US) and China still continue to

bag the top two ranks in the list by adding 254

and 74 unicorns, respectively






India Skills Report 2022:

Maharashtra Retains Top Position

for most Employable Talent

• As per the 9th edition of India Skills Report

(ISR) 2022, released by Wheebox, Maharashtra

has retained the top position in the list of states

with the highest poll of employable talent

followed by Uttar Pradesh and Kerala.

• The theme of ISR 2022 – ‘Rebuilding and

Reengineering the Future of Work’.

• States with Maximum Hiring Activity:

Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu are the

3 states that have a higher job demand

World Malaria Report 2021:

Worldwide Malaria Cases in 2020

estimated at 241 million

• According to WHO’s (World Health

Organisation) latest World Malaria Report 2021,

globally there were an estimated 241 million

malaria cases and 627000 malaria deaths in 85

malaria-endemic countries in 2020, increasing

from 227 million in 2019. Globally, India

accounts for 1.7 percent of malaria deaths in

2020. As per the report, India was the only high-

burden country to have sustained a reduction in

the disease burden.

India ranked 66th at the Global

Health Security Index 2021; USA

tops

• As per the Global Health Security (GHS) Index

2021, the world’s average overall GHS Index

score was reduced to 38.9 (out of 100) in 2021,

from a score of 40.2 in the GHS Index, 2019.

India ranked 66 out of 195 countries with an

overall Index score of 42.8 and along with a

change of -0.8 from 2019.

• The United States of America (USA) ranked 1st

on the index with a score of 75.9 followed by

Australia and Finland.The 2021 GHS Index

assesses countries across 6 categories, 37

indicators, and 171 questions.

Asia Power Index 2021: India

Ranked as 4thmost Powerful

Country

• Index Name - Lowy Institute Asia Power Index

2021India ranked 4th most powerful country out

of 26 countries.India is one of 18 countries in

Asia to trend downward in its overall score in

2021. The top 10 countries for overall power in

the Asia-Pacific region are the US, China, Japan,

India, Russia, Australia, South Korea, Singapore,

Indonesia and Thailand.

India ranks 56th on IMD 2021 World

Talent Ranking; Switzerland tops

• Report Name - International Institute for

Management Development (IMD) 2021 World

Talent Ranking

• Published by - IMD World Competitiveness

Center

• India has ranked 56th in the report and it

evaluates the ability of the economies in

developing, attracting and retaining talent.

• The IMD World Talent Ranking 2021 shows the

overall ranking for 64 economies.

• In the Peer Group Ranking – Asia – Pacific, India

have ranked 12th.Switzerland tops the ranking

followed by Sweden in 2nd and Luxembourg in

3rd.

HAL, BEL, Indian Ordnance Factories

ranked among SIPRI Top 100 Arms-

Producing Companies 2020

• As per the report of Swedish think-tank

Stockholm International Peace Research Institute

(SIPRI) titled ‘Top 100 arms-producing and

military services companies, 2020’, 3 Indian

defence manufactures companies such as

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), Indian

Ordnance Factories, and Bharat Electronics

Limited (BEL) ranks among the top 100

manufacturers globally.The HAL, ranked 42nd,

and BEL, ranked 66th, Indian Ordnance Factories

ranked 60th.






13. SUMMITS AND CONFERENCES India hosts 8th Indian Ocean Dialogue

• India hosted the 8th Edition of the Indian Ocean

Dialogue virtually with the assistance of the

Indian Council for World Affairs and the Indian

Ocean Rim Association (IORA) Secretariat. The

Dialogue comprises 4 Sessions which focuses on

the Health, Education, Development and Trade

sectors that ensures digital inclusion and bridging

the digital device.

• The dialogue was jointly hosted by the External

Affairs Ministry and Indian Council of World

Affairs.

• Theme – Post Pandemic Indian Ocean:

Leveraging Digital Technologies for Health,

Education, Development and Trade in IORA

Member States.

3rd meeting of the India-Central Asia

Dialogue held in New Delhi

• The 3rd meeting of the India-Central Asia

Dialogue was held in New Delhi from 18th to

20th December 2021 under the chairmanship of

Dr S Jaishankar, External Affairs Minister

(EAM) of India.The Foreign Ministers of

Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan,

Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan participated in the

3rdMeeting of the India-Central Asia Dialogue.

• The Ministers of Central Asian countries have

agreed to hold the next meeting of the

IndiaCentral Asia Dialogue in 2022.

All-India Mayors’ conference held at

Varanasi

• Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India virtually

inaugurated the All India Mayors’ Conference

held at Pt Deendayal Upadhyay Trade

Facilitation Centre in Varanasi, Uttar

Pradesh(UP). Around 120 mayors from different

states attended the conference held in Varanasi

(also known as Kashi).

• The theme of the conference was ‘New Urban

India’.

The 1st Summit for Democracy

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi has participated

in the closed-door virtual Summit Session of the

1st summit for democracy which was convened

by United States President Joe Biden.India was

among the 12 countries invited to attend the

Summit for Democracy Leaders’ Plenary

Session.

India joins G20’s Troika with

Indonesia and Italy

• Indonesia assumed the Presidency of G20 (Group

of 20) from the outgoing Italy, which held the

presidency for the last 1-year. With this

Presidency change, India which is set to hold the

G20 Presidency from 1st December 2022 to 31st

November 2023 has entered the G20 Troika.G20

Troika is a group comprising theprevious, current

& the next G20 Presidencies of G20.

• Theme for G20 Leaders Summit 2022 –

“Recover Together, Recover Stronger”.

52nd IFFI 2021 held in Goa

• 52nd edition of the Asia’s oldest and largest film

festival, International Film Festival of India

(IFFI), held in Goa with support of Directorate of

Film Festivals (under Ministry of Information

and Broadcasting) and the Entertainment Society

of Goa.It was conducted in hybrid mode.

• Union Minister for Information and

Broadcasting, Anurag Singh Thakur,announced

that Hema Malini, Actor, Member of Parliament

from Mathura, UP and Prasoon Joshi, Lyricist

and Chairperson, CBFC (Central Board of Film

Certification) were the Indian Film Personality of

the Year Award for 2021.

• Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Award -

Hungarian film director Istevan Szabo and

American film director, producer, screenwriter

and actor Martin Scorsese have been conferred

with the award.






PM Modi holds India-Russia Summit

2021

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian

President Vladimir Putin held the 21st India-

Russia Annual Summit to discuss the entire

gamut of relations, including regional and global

issues. During his visit, India and Russia signed

28 agreements. The leaders discussed on

International North-South Transport Corridor and

also about the Chennai – Vladivostok Eastern

Maritime Corridor (which is under the proposal).

• The visit of the Russian President is a reflection

of the country’s commitment to its ties with

India. This is in need of the moment. Because the

ties between India and Russia were buffeted by

New Delhi’s ties with the US. Also, Russia was

getting closer with China on the back of US

sanctions, CAATSA and its annexation of

Crimea in 2014.

India to chair Counter Terrorism

Committee of UNSC in January

2022

• India will chair the Counter-Terrorism

Committee of UNSC in January 2022 after 10

years. The Counter-Terrorism Committee was

established by Security Council resolution 1373

adopted unanimously on 28 September 2001 in

the wake of the 9/11 terror attacks in the US. The

Committee was tasked with monitoring the

implementation of resolution 1373 which

requested countries to implement a number of

measures aimed at enhancing their legal and

institutional ability to counter terrorist activities

at home and around the world.

NMCG and c-Ganga organized 6th

India Water Impact Summit 2021 in

Hybrid mode

• The 6th edition of the India Water Impact

Summit (IWIS) 2021 was organized by the

National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG), and

Centre for Ganga River Basin Management and

Studies (c-Ganga) in a hybrid mode.

• Physically it was held at NMCG office, New

Delhi and IIT (Indian Institutes of Technology),

Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh.

• The theme of the summit is ‘River Resources

Allocation “Planning and Management at the

Regional Level’.

• It was inaugurated by Union Minister Gajendra

Singh Shekhawat, Ministry of Jal Shakti (MoJS)

along with Rajiv Ranjan Mishra, Director

General NMCG; and Dr Vinod Tare, Founding

Head, c-Ganga.

MoS of S&T Dr Jitendra Singh

Inaugurated 7thIndia International

Science Festival 2021

• Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State(MoS)

(Independent Charge) Science &

Technology(S&T), inaugurated the 7th edition of

the India International Science festival, IISF

2021 at Panaji, Goa.IISF is a joint program of the

Ministry of Science & Technology(MoST),

Ministry of Earth Sciences(MoES) and Vijnana

Bharati (VIBHA), a swadeshi science movement

of Bharat.

• Nodal Agency for organising IISF 2021 was the

National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research,

an autonomous institute under the MoES.

MeitY organized ‘Digital Payment

Utsav’ in New Delhi; Yes Bank

launched RuPaybranded Credit Card

on Payment Platform

• Ministry of Electronics and Information

Technology (MeitY) organized ‘Digital Payment

Utsav’ in New Delhi, Delhi as a part of the week-

long ‘Azadi Ka Digital Mahotsav’ to

acknowledged the rise of digital payments in

India by bringing together leaders from the

Government, Banking, financial services and

insurance (BFSI), and startups. Union Minister

launched various initiatives viz.






14. APPOINTMENTSVishwavir Ahuja Steps down as the

MD & CEO of RBL Bank; Rajeev

Ahuja takes over

• The board of the RBL Bank has accepted to

proceed with the medical leave of Vishwavir

Ahuja, the Managing Director (MD) and Chief

Executive Officer(CEO) of RBL Bank Ltd, the

erstwhile Ratnakar Bank Ltd. Vishwavir Ahuja

will step down from the post of MD & CEO and

go on leave with immediate effect.Rajeev Ahuja,

Executive Director of the RB L Bank has been

appointed as the interim managing director &

CEO of the RBL Bank, with immediate effect,

subject to regulatory and other approvals.

Atul Kumar Goel appointed as new

MD & CEO of PNB

• Atul Kumar Goel was appointed as the Managing

Director (MD) & Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of

Punjab National Bank (PNB). He will serve as

PNB chief until December 31, 2024.He will

succeed Mallikarjuna Rao, the incumbent MD &

CEO of PNB, who will retire on 31st January

2022.

Vasudevan reappointed as MD &

CEO of Equitas Small Finance Bank

for 3 years

• The Board of Directors (BoD) of Equitas Small

Finance Bank Limited (ESFBL) reappointed

Vasudevan Pathangi Narasimhan (PN) as the

Managing Director (MD) & Chief Executive

Officer (CEO) for three years (from July 23,

2022 to July 22, 2025). Vasudevan PN is

currently serving as the MD and CEO of the

bank. Earlier he was working as the MD of

Equitas Holdings Limited.

EaseMyTrip appointed actors Vijay

Raaz & Varun Sharma as brand

ambassadors

• EaseMyTrip.com (Easy Trip Planners Ltd), an

online travel company of India has appointed

bollywood actors Vijay Raaz and Varun Sharma

as its brand ambassadors. This is the first time for

EaseMyTrip to appoint any brand ambassador.

Diplomat Anupam Ray appointed as

India’s permanent representative at

UN Conference on Disarmament

• Senior diplomat Dr Anupam Ray, a 1994 batch

of Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer, has been

appointed as India’s next permanent

representative(PR)/Ambassador to the United

Nations(UN) Conference on Disarmament(CD)

in Geneva, Switzerland.He is currently serving as

the joint secretary in the Ministry of External

Affairs(MEA).He replaces Dr Pankaj Sharma.He

has been appointed as the next Ambassador of

India to Mexico

PV Sindhu re-elected as member of

BWF’s Athletes’ commission for 2nd

term till 2025

• PV Sindhu was re-elected as a member of the

Badminton World Federation (BWF)’s Athletes’

Commission for a 2nd term till 2025. She is

among the 6 appointed members of the

Commission.Sindhu was first elected as a

member of the BWF’s Athletes’ Commission in

2017. She is the only member who stood for re-

election.

DRDO Scientist Atul Dinkar Rane

appointed DG BrahMos Aerospace

Limited

• Senior DRDO (Defence Research and

Development Organisation) Scientist Atul Dinkar

Rane has been appointed as the Director-

General(DG) of the BrahMosAerospace Private

Limited, Which manufactures the BrahMos

supersonic cruise missile. He was a part of the

core team of BrahMos Aerospace, since its

foundation as a joint venture with Russia.






Gabriel Boric becomes youngest

president elect of Chile

• Gabriel Boric, 35-year-old, won Chile

presidential elections, to become the youngest-

ever President elect of Chile. He defeated his

oppositionJose Antonio Kast in the elections.He

will become the youngest president in Chile’s

history

UN appoints Catherine Russell as

executive director of UNICEF

• United Nation (UN) Secretary-General Antonio

Guterres appointed Catherine Russell as the

Executive Director of United Nations

International Children’s Emergency Fund

(UNICEF). Russell will succeed Henrietta Fore,

who resigned in July 2021. Russell, a lawyer, has

worked in Democratic politics since the mid-

1980s.Catherine Russell is an assistant to US

President Joe Biden and she also heads the White

House Office of Presidential Personnel.

FICCI appoints HUL Chairman -

Sanjiv Mehta as President-elect

• Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and

Industry (FICCI) is set to appoint Sanjiv Mehta,

the Chairman & Managing Director of Hindustan

Unilever Limited (HUL), as its New President

after the conclusion of FICCI's 94th Annual

General Meeting on 18th December 2021.

Olaf Scholz appointed as German

Chancellor; succeeds Angela

Merkel

• The Parliament of Germany has appointed Olaf

Scholz (63) as the 9th post-World War II

Chancellor of Germany succeeding Angela

Dorothea Merkel whoretires from her services

after 16 years (since 2005) of tenure as

Chancellor.The ceremony for the same took

place at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany

Disney BYJU’s early learn app signs

Neeraj Chopra & PV Sindhu as

brand ambassadors

• In December 2021 BYJU’S announced a 2 year

partnership with Olympic medalists Neeraj

Chopra and PV Sindhu as the brand ambassadors

for Disney BYJU’S Early Learn app.Javelin

thrower, Neeraj Chopra is a Gold medallist and

Badminton player, PV Sindhu is a Bronze

medallist from 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Alka Upadhyaya appointed as New

Chairperson of NHAI

• Alka Upadhyaya, IAS officer (1990 batch) of

Madhya Pradesh cadre appointed as Chairperson

of National Highways Authority of India (NHAI)

under Ministry of Road Transport & Highways

(MoRTH) by the Government of India.She

succeeded Giridhar Aramane, who was given

additional charge of the Chairperson of NHAI

after Sukhbir Singh Sandhu steps down.

Pradip Shah appointed NARCL

Chairman & Sanjay Jain joins as the

CEO of IDRCL

• The founder of IndAsia Fund Advisors,Pradip

Shah appointed as the Chairman of National

Asset Reconstruction Company Ltd (NARCL)

and Managing Director of Aditya Birla Asset

Reconstruction Company (ABARC), Sanjay Jain

appointed as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

of India Debt Resolution Company Ltd

(IDRCL).Diwakar Gupta, former managing

director of State Bank of India (SBI), also

appointed as Chairman of IDRCL.

Gita Gopinath appointed as the

IMF’s first deputy managing

director

• Indian-American and the first female Chief

Economist of the International Monetary Fund

(IMF), Gita Gopinath is promoted as the IMF’s

First Deputy Managing Director (FDMD) serving

under IMF Chief Kristalina Georgieva. She will

succeed FDMD Geoffrey Okamoto who is set to

be relived from IMF.She hails from

Kannur,Kerala.






15. IMPORTANT DAYS AND THEMES International Day of Epidemic

Preparedness 2021 – December 27

• United Nations (UN)’s International Day of

Epidemic Preparedness is annually observed across

the globe on 27th December to create awareness

about the importance of the prevention of,

preparedness for and partnership against epidemics.

Good Governance Day 2021 – December

25

• The Good Governance Day is annually observed

across India on 25th December to commemorate the

birth anniversary of Bharat Ratna Atal Bihari

Vajpayee.

• 25th December 2021, the ‘8th Good Governance

Day’ marks the 97th birth anniversary of former

Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Bharatiya Grahak Diwas or National

Consumer Day 2021 – December 24

• Bharatiya Grahak Diwas or National Consumer

Day is annually observed across India on 24th

December to create awareness about consumer

rights and responsibilities.

• The National Consumer Day is also known as

National Consumer Rights Day.

• Theme: “Consumer – Know your Rights”

5th National Siddha Day – 23rd

December 2021

• Siddha day is annually observed across India on

23rd December to create awareness about the

Siddha system of medicine.

• Theme: “Strength of Siddha in Communicable

Diseases”.

Kisan Diwas or National Farmers’ Day

2021 – December 23

• The Kisan Diwas or National Farmers’ Day is

annually observed across India on 23rd December

to commemorate the birth anniversary of

Chaudhary Charan Singh, the 5th Prime Minister of

India (1979- 1980)

• He is popularly known as the “champion of India’s

peasants”.

National Mathematics Day 2021 –

December 22

• National Mathematics Day is annually celebrated

across India on 22nd December to mark the birth

anniversary of renowned Indian mathematician

Srinivasa Ramanujan.

• 2021 SASTRA Ramanujan Prize was awarded to

Dr Will Sawin of Columbia University, United

States of America (USA).

International Human Solidarity Day 2021

– December 20

• United Nations(UN)’s International Human

Solidarity Day is annually observed across the

globe on 20th December to create awareness about

the importance of solidarity.

Minorities Rights Day 2021 – December

18

• Minorities Rights Day is annually observed across

India on 18th December to create awareness on the

Constitutionally-assured rights of religious

minorities and aims to uphold the right to freedom

and equal opportunities for the ethnic minorities in

India.

UN World Arabic Language Day observed

on December 18 2021

• This day honors the Arabic language, which is

spoken by over 400 million people globally and

celebrates the cultural diversity of the Middle

Eastern region.

• Theme: ‘Arabic Language, a bridge between

civilisations’.

International Migrants Day 2021 –

December 18

• United Nations (UN)’s International Migrants Day

is annually observed across the world on December

18th to increase the interest of the international

community on effective and full protection of the

human rights of the migrants.






• Theme: “Harnessing the Potential of Human

Mobility”

International Day to End Violence

Against Sex Workers 2021 - December 17

• Sex Workers 2021 - December 17 International Day

to End Violence Against Sex Workers is annually

observed across the globe on 17th December to

focus attention on the hate crimes committed

against sex workers across the globe.

• ‘Red Umbrella’ is the symbol for sex workers’

rights across the globe.

50th Vijay Diwas – 16th December 2021

• Vijay Diwas is annually observed across India and

Bangladesh on December 16th to commemorate the

victory of Indian armed forces against Pakistan in

the 1971 Indo Pak War, also known as the 1971

Liberation War and pays tribute to the soldiers who

sacrificed their lives for nation.

National Energy Conservation Day 2021 –

December 14

• National Energy Conservation Day is annually

observed across India on 14th December to create

awareness about the importance of energy

conservation and the benefits of replacing

nonrenewable resources with renewable energy.

• The day is annually organised by the Ministry of

Power.

International Day of Neutrality 2021 –

December 12

• United Nations (UNs) International Day of

Neutrality is annually observed globally on 12th

December to promote neutrality among countries

and to lay emphasis on raising awareness levels in

public about the value of neutrality in international

relations.

International Universal Health Coverage

Day 2021 – December 12

• United Nations(UN)’s International Universal

Health Coverage Day (UHC Day) is annually

observed across the globe on 12th December to

create awareness about the need for strong and

resilient health systems and Universal Health

Coverage (UHC).

• Theme: “Leave No One’s Health Behind: Invest in

health systems for all.”

• UNICEF Day 2021 – December 11

• UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund) Day is

annually observed across the globe on 11th

December to create awareness on saving children’s

lives, defending their rights and helping them to

fulfil their potential from childhood to adolescence

• UNICEF was originally known as the “United

Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund”.

• International Mountain Day 2021 –

December 11

• United Nations (UN)’s International Mountain Day

is annually observed across the globe on 11th

December to create awareness about the importance

of preserving the mountains across the globe.

• Theme: “Sustainable mountain tourism”.

• United Nations General Assembly(UNGA) has

declared the year 2002 as the “International Year of

Mountains”.

Human Rights Day 2021 – December 10

• United Nations (UN) Human Rights Day 2021 is

observed annually on December 10, as the Day

marks the anniversary of the adoption of the

Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)

by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA)

in 1948 to raise awareness about people’s social,

cultural, and physical rights and to ensure the

welfare of everyone.

• Theme:‘Equality – Reducing inequalities,

advancing human rights.

International Day of Commemoration and

Dignity of the Victims of the Crime of

Genocide & the Prevention of this Crime

- December 9

• International Day of Commemoration and Dignity

of the Victims of the Crime of Genocide and of the

Prevention of this Crime is marked annually on 9th

December.






• 2021 marks the 73rd anniversary of the adoption of

the 1948 ‘Genocide Convention’ by the United

Nations General Assembly (UNGA)

International Anti-Corruption Day 2021 –

December 9

• United Nations (UN) International Anti-Corruption

Day is observed annually on 9th December to raise

awareness of corruption and of the role of the UN

convention on combating and presenting

corruption.

• Theme: “Your right, your role: say no to

corruption”.

International Civil Aviation Day 2021 –

December 7

• United Nations(UN)’s International Civil Aviation

Day(ICAD) is annually observed across the globe

on December 7th to create awareness about the

importance of international civil aviation towards

the social and economic development of the states

and its importance in creating a globally transit

network.

• Theme: “Advancing Innovation for Global Aviation

Development”.

India & Bangladesh Celebrates Maitri

Diwas on December 6

• India and Bangladesh will jointly observe Maitri

Diwas/Divas or friendship day on December 6 in

New Delhi (India) and Dhaka (Bangladesh).

• 2021 marks the 1st Maitri Diwas of India and

Bangladesh.

International Volunteer Day for

Economic and Social Development 2021

– December 5

• United Nations(UN)’s International Volunteer Day

for Economic and Social Development, which is

commonly referred to as the International Volunteer

Day(IVD) is annually observed across the globe on

5th December to create awareness about the

important contribution of volunteer service and

encourage more people to offer their service as

volunteers.

• Theme: “Volunteer now for our common future”.

World Soil Day 2021 – December 5

• United Nations(UN)’s World Soil Day(WSD) is

annually observed across the globe on December

5th to highlight the importance of healthy soil and

to advocate the sustainable management of soil

resources.

• Theme: “Halt soil salinization, boost soil

productivity”

Indian Navy Day 2021 – December 4

• ndian Navy Day is annually observed across India

on 4th December to commemorate the victory of

India Navy’s Operation Trident, launched during

the 1971 Indo-Pak war and to pay homage to the

martyrs who lost their lives in the line of duty

• Theme: ‘Swarnim Vijay Varsh’.

International Day of Banks 2021 –

December 4

• United Nations (UN)’s International Day of Banks

is annually observed across the globe on 4th

December to recognize the vital role of the banking

systems in the UN Member States in contributing to

the improvement of their standard of living.

International Day of Persons with

Disabilities 2021 – December 3

• United Nations (UN)’s International Day of Persons

with Disabilities is annually observed across the

globe on 3rd December to create awareness about

the situation of persons with disabilities in every

aspect of political, social, economic and cultural

life.

• Theme: “Leadership and participation of persons

with disabilities toward an inclusive, accessible and

sustainable post-COVID-19 world.”

• World AIDS Day 2021 – December 1

• World AIDS (Acquired ImmunoDeficiency

Syndrome) Day is annually observed across the

globe on 1st December to create awareness about

HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus), a major

public health issue that affects millions of people

across the globe.

• Theme: “Ending the HIV Epidemic: Equitable

Access, Everyone’s Voice”.






16. BOOKS AND AUTHORSBook Title - “The Modi Gambit: Decoding

Modi 2.0”

• Author– Sanju Verma, an economist and the BJP

National Spokesperson

• Subject: The book features the various

achievement in the last 2 years of Prime Minister

(PM) Narendra Modi’s 2nd term as PM of India.

Book Title – “ Glimpses of a Pioneer’s

Life Journey’ by V L Indira Dutt”

• Author– Dr V L Indira Dutt, Chairperson and

Managing Director(CMD) of KCP Group, in

Chennai, Tamil Nadu.

Book Title - ‘Rewinding of First 25 years

of Ministry of Electronics and

Information Technology’

• Author S.S Oberoi, the former adviser at the

Ministry of Electronics and Information

Technology (MeitY).

Book Title - ‘Gandhi Topi Governor’

• Author– Dr Yarlagadda Lakshmi Prasad

• Subject: The book is the autobiography of B K

Madhur, a former Chief Executive Officer at DHFL

Property Services Ltd, and one of the key

personalities in establishing Dewan Housing.

Book Title - "The Monk Who Transformed

Uttar Pradesh: How Yogi Adityanath

Changed UP Waala Bhaiya' abuse to a

Badge of Honour"

• Author– Shantanu Gupta





Book Title - “India’s Ancient Legacy of

Wellness”

• Author– Dr Rekha Chaudhari





Book Title - “The Turnover Wizard –

Saviour of Thousands”

• Author– Arup Roy Choudhury, the former

Chairman and Managing Director(CMD) of

NTPC Limited and NBCC (India) Limited.

Book Name - “Watershed: How We

Destroyed India’s Water and How We Can

Save It”

Author– Mriduala Ramesh, the founder of Sundaram

Book Name - ‘Pride, Prejudice and Punditry’ Climate

Institute.

Publisher- Hachette India

Book Name - ‘Pride, Prejudice and

Punditry’

Author– Dr.Shashi Tharoor, Former union minister

and Lok Sabha Member of Parliament.

Publisher- Aleph Book Company.

Book Name - ‘Raj Kapoor: The Master at

Work’

Author– Rahul Rawail.

Publisher- Bloomsbury India.

Book Title - ’1971: Charge of the Gorkhas

and Other Stories’

Author– Rachna Bisht Rawat

Publisher- Penguin Random House India (PRHI)

Subject: The book includes, from the story of the flight

lieutenant who went missing after his plane crashed

inside Pakistan to the ‘last khukri attack’ in modern

military history.

Book Title - ‘The Midway Battle: Modi’s

Roller-coaster Second Term’

Author– Gautam Chintamani.

Publisher- Bloomsbury India.

Subject: The book mentioned about the political

scenario of India.It marks the second tenure of the

current Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi.

Book Title - ‘At Home In The Universe’

Author– Bala Krishna Madhur.

Publisher- Bookworld Enterprises of Mumbai.

Subject:The book is the autobiography of B K Madhur,

a former Chief Executive Officer at DHFL Property

Services Ltd, and one of the key personalities in

establishing Dewan Housing.






17. CURRENT AFFAIRS PRACTICE QUESTIONS

1. Which of the following is/are identified as

Domestic Systemically Important Insurers (D-SIIs)

for 2021-22 by IRDAI?

a) Life Insurance Corporation of India

b) General Insurance Corporation of India

c) New India Assurance

d) Both 1 & 3

e) All 1, 2 & 3

2. Name the company that recently (in Dec’21)

launched “Digi Zone” in Mumbai to provide all

insurance services online.

a) General Insurance Corporation of India

b) Life Insurance Corporation

c) The Oriental Insurance Company

d) National Insurance Company

e) New India Assurance

3. Government of India approved the issuance of 19th

tranche of electoral bonds in January 2022.

Which of the following points are correct with

respect to the Electoral Bonds?

A) The 19th tranche comes ahead of assembly

elections in 5 states in 2022 - Uttar Pradesh,

Uttarakhand, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh & Goa.

B) State Bank of India is the only authorized bank

to issue and encash electoral bonds through its

29 specialized branches

C) The Electoral Bond Scheme was introduced

with the Finance Bill in 2017, later notified as the

‘Electoral Bond Scheme 2018’, making the 1st sale

in March 2018.

a) Only A

b) Only B

c) Only C

d) Only A & C

e) All A, B & C

4. Cricketer Quinton de Kock recently (in Dec’21)

announced his retirement from Test Cricket.Which

country did he represent in International Cricket?

a) West Indies

b) New Zealand

c) England

d) South Africa

e) Australia

5. Which of the following Institute has topped the 3rd

edition of Atal Ranking of Institutions on Innovation

Achievements (ARIIA) 2021 & also recognized as the

Most Innovative Educational Institute in India for the

3rd consecutive year?

a) IIT Madras

b) IIT Bombay

c) IIT Delhi

d) IISc Bengaluru

e) IIT Kanpur

6. In exercise of the powers conferred by Section 3 of

the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 ____

Ministry extended the entire State of Nagaland as a

“disturbed area” for _________ months with effect

from December 30, 2021.

a) Ministry of Home Affairs; 6months

b) Ministry of Defence; 1year

c) Ministry of Home Affairs; 8months

d) Ministry of Law & Justice; 1year

e) Ministry of Defence; 6months

7. In December 2021, which country became the 4th

new member of the New Development Bank?

a) Maldives

b) Malaysia

c) Egypt

d) Indonesia

e) Sri Lanka

8. 11. In December 2021, RBI extended the deadline

for Know Your Customer (KYC) updation in bank

accounts till __________.

a) 1st February, 2022

b) 1st September, 2022

c) 31st March, 2022

d) 30st July, 2022

e) 1st April, 2022

9. Which Bank recently (in Dec’21) signed a MoU

with Schwing Stetter India to Offer Customized

Financial Solutions?

a) YES Bank

b) HDFC Bank

c) ICICI Bank

d) Federal Bank

e) Axis Bank






10. In December 2021, __________ became the 1st

Indian state to launch the ‘Life Certificate system’

for pensioners.

a) Odisha

b) Karnataka

c) Uttarakhand

d) West Bengal

e) Uttar Pradesh

11. In December 2021, Simone Biles was named Time

Magazine’s 2021 Athlete of the year. He belongs to

which field of sports?

a) Badminton

b) Cycle Race

c) Gymnastics

d) Chess

e) Boxing

12. In December 2021, Cumbre Vieja volcanic eruption

was over after three months of daily explosions &

Earthquakes. In which country Cumbre Vieja

volcano is located?

a) Botswana

b) Spain

c) Egypt

d) Italy

e) Indonesia

13. PM Modi has inaugurated Sawra-Kuddu Hydro

Power Project, in which state?

a) Gujarat

b) Uttar Pradesh

c) Himachal Pradesh

d) Maharashtra

e) Madhya Pradesh

14. Prime Minister Narendra Modi launches

blockchain-based digital degrees at ________.

a) IIT Delhi b) IIT Kanpur

c) IIT Bombayd) IIT Roorkee

e) IIT Madras

15. Which of the following designation is associated

with Vikram Misri ?

a) Attorney General

b) Solicitor General

c) Chiefs of Staff Committee

d) Chief Information Commissioner

e) Deputy National Security Advisor

16. Which state has secured 1st place in the

implementation of the Shyama Prasad Mukherji

Rurban Mission?

a) Bihar b) Assam

c) Tamil Nadu d) Kerala

e) Telangana

17. . In which city of Madhya Pradesh, Indian Army

recently (in Dec’21) launched ‘Quantum Lab’ in

the Military Headquarters Of War?

a) Bhopal

b) Jabalpur

c) Indore

d) Gwalior

e) Ujjain

18. SEBI approved the Alternative Investment Funds,

Regulations, 2012, to introduce Special

Situation Funds (SSF) that invest in ____________

& also fixed the minimum investment by an

investor to ___________.

a) Stressed Assets; 10 crore

b) International Stocks; 10 crore

c) International Stocks; 5 crore

d) Stressed Assets; 50 crore

e) International Stocks; 50 crore

19. Which Bank recently (in Dec’21) partnered with

NPCI to Launch ‘RuPay Debit Card’ for

Corporates?

a) Bank of Maharashtra

b) Central Bank of India

c) Punjab National Bank

d) Indian Bank

e) Bank of Baroda

20. In December 2021,Who was named as the PETA

India’s ‘Person of the Year 2021’?

a) Priyanka Chopra

b) Alia Bhatt

c) Deepika Padukone

d) Akshay Kumar

e) Bhumi Pednekar

21. In December 2021, ________ was reappointed as

the Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer

of Equitas Small Finance Bank Limited (ESFBL)

for _________ terms.

a) Ittira Davis; 5 years

b) Arun Ramanathan; 4 years

c) Vasudevan PN; 3 years

d) Ittira Davis; 3 years

e) Vasudevan PN; 5 years

22. Name the 1st series of Project 22220 versatile

nuclear-powered icebreaker which was recently (in

Dec’21) launched by Russia to Boost India’s Arctic

Plans in the Northern Seas Route.

a) Arktika

b) Lenin

c) Sibir

d) Himadri

e) Xuelong






23. Which state has topped among the Larger States in

the NITI Aayog’s fourth edition of the State Health

Index for 2019–20?

a) Tamil Nadu

b) Karnataka

c) Kerala

d) Andhra Pradesh

e) Odisha

24. Which bank has signed an MoU with India Post

Payments Bank (IPPB) to offer banking services of

IPPB in semi-urban and rural areas?

a) RBL Bank

b) ICICI Bank

c) State Bank of India

d) HDFC Bank

e) Axis Bank

25. Recently, which edition of Hockey India Junior

Men National Championship was crowned by

________.

a) Haryana

b) Chandigarh

c) Uttar Pradesh

d) Odisha

e) Tamil Nadu

26. Which country launched the World's 1st Dual-

Mode Vehicle (in Dec’21) that can run on both

roads & tracks?

a) Indonesia b) Japan

c) China d) USA

e) UK

27. What was the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) of

November 2021 that reached a 12 years high?

a) 10.47 % b) 11.54 %

c) 14.23 % d) 12.54 %

e) 16.50 %

28. In December 2021, Who was appointed as the

Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer of

Punjab National Bank (PNB)?

a) S.C. Gupta

b) Sunil Mehta

c) Atul Kumar Goel

d) Gauri Shankar

e) Mallikarjuna Rao

29. In which year ‘Shyama Prasad Mukherji Rurban

Mission’ (SPMRM) was launched by the Ministry

of Rural Development to deliver Infrastructure

Projects in Rural areas?

a) 2019

b) 2005

c) 2016

d) 2014

e) 2012

30. Which Country will chair the Counter Terrorism

Committee of United Nations Security Council

(UNSC) in January 2022?

a) Russia

b) China

c) USA

d) India

e) Pakistan

31. Which state has topped the composite ranking in

the Good Governance Index (GGI) 2021?

a) Tamil Nadu

b) Karnataka

c) Uttar Pradesh

d) Gujarat

e) Punjab

32. Name NASA’s $10 billion world’s largest space

telescope designed to capture the first glimpse of

the universe just shortly after the Big Bang.

a) Herschel Space Observatory

b) Spitzer Space Telescope

c) Hubble Space Telescope

d) Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope

e) James Webb Space Telescope

33. Which cricket team has won their first ever Vijay

Hazare Trophy in 2021?

a) Gujarat b) Karnataka

c) Tamil Nadu d) Himachal Pradesh

e) Punjab

34. Who has authored a new book titled “The Modi

Gambit: Decoding Modi 2.0”?

a) Sanju Verma

b) Yarlagadda Lakshmi Prasad

c) Shantanu Gupta

d) SS Oberoi

e) Rahul Rawail

35. Name the Nobel Peace Prize laureate anti-apartheid

campaigner African Archbishop who passed away

recently.

a) Richard Rogers

b) Desmond Tutu

c) Anne Rice

d) Ahmad Shah Ahmadzai

e) Wilbur Smith

36. Who has been honoured with the Global

Environment and Climate Action Citizen Award

2021?

a) Vinod Kumar Rana

b) Viral Sudhirbhai Desai

c) Saurabh Singh

d) Vikram Sharma

e) Soniya Dhana






37. In which city did Union Defence Minister Rajnath

Singh lay the foundation stone (in Dec’21) for

Defence Technology & Test Centre (DTTC) &

BRAHMOS Manufacturing Centre of DRDO?

a) Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh

b) Patna, Bihar

c) Gandhinagar, Gujarat

d) Dehradun, Uttarakhand

e) Bhubaneswar, Odisha

38. Name the Bank that was recently (in Dec’21)

became the 1st Indian Bank to offer cross-border

payments via UPI along with NPCI.

a) ICICI Bank b) HDFC Bank

c) Axis Bank d) IndusInd Bank

e) YES Bank

39. Which of the following points are correct with

respect to the World Economic League Table 2022

released in December 2021?

A) The report was released by UK-based Centre for

Economics and Business Research’s (CEBR).

B) India will move to 6th position in 2022

overtaking France & become the 3rd World’s

largest economy in 2031.

C) The Table predicted that China will overtake the

United States of America to be the World’s largest

economy in 2030.

a) Only A b) Only B

c) Only A & B d) Only B & C

e) All A, B & C

40. Which state became the 1st state to achieve 100%

Vaccination of its Adult eligible population in

December 2021?

a) Maharashtra

b) Uttar Pradesh

c) Gujarat

d) Himachal Pradesh

e) Assam

41. In which state 97th edition of the World Sangeet

Tansen festival 2021 was celebrated?

a) Maharashtra

b) Gujarat

c) Madhya Pradesh

d) Assam

e) Uttar Pradesh

42. Name the first indigenously built Missile Corvette

Indian Navy Ship that was decommissioned after

32 years of service at Visakhapatnam recently.

a) INS Visakhapatnam

b) INS Tushil

c) INS Vikrant

d) INS Kalinga

e) INS Khukri

43. In December 2021, the Central Government has

appointed ______ sub-committees to lower crop

Insurance premiums under ________________.

a) 2; Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana

b) 4; Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana

c) 2; Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana

d) 4; Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana

e) 3; Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana

44. In which city of Uttar Pradesh did the Ministry of

Road Transport & Highways recently (in Dec’21)

launched the 1st Intelligent Transport System (ITS)

on the 6-lane Eastern Peripheral Expressway?

a) Kanpur

b) Ghaziabad

c) Meerut

d) Noida

e) Gorakhpur

45. Which of the following was recently (in Dec’21)

declared as an Essential Commodity till 30th June

2022 by the Central Government?

a) Cottonseed meal

b) Soya Meal

c) Corn

d) Bran

e) Palm oil

46. Name the billiards player who recently (in Dec’21)

won his 7th National Billiards Title during 88th

National Billiards and Snooker Championships

2021?

a) Babar Masih b) Pankaj Advani

c) Aditya Mehta d) Dhruv Sitwala

d) Geet Sethi

47. Where is the Headquarters of the International

Energy Agency (IEA)?

a) Geneva, Switzerland

b) Montreal, Canada

c) Paris, France

d) Vienna, Austria

e) Rome, Italy

48. What is the share of sponsor banks in the regional

rural banks?

a) 15% b) 35%

c) 20% d) 50%

e) 25%

49. Who among the following has won the Mother

Teresa Memorial Award for Social Justice 2021?

a) Sushil Kumar

b) Vipin Tiwari

c) Saurab Rawat

d) Anil Prakash Joshi

e) Mhd. Akram






50. In December 2021, RBI extended the card-on-file

(CoF) tokenization deadline upto _________,while

‘Tokenization’ was issued based on the directives

of RBI’s Payment and Settlement Systems Act,

_______.

a) 1st April 2022; 2007

b) 31st March 2022; 2005

c) 30th June 2022; 2007

d) 1st May 2022; 2005

e) 30th July 2022; 2008

51. Indian Off- spinner ‘Harbhajan Singh’ announced

Retirement from All Forms of Cricket.He

is_________ highest wicket taker for India in Test

cricket.

a) 6th

b) 4th

c) 2nd

d) 3rd

e) 5th

52. Every year National Consumer Day is observed

across India on __________.

a) 21st December

b) 24th December

c) 22nd December

d) 25th December

e) 23rd December

53. Jingkieng Jri got UNESCO World Heritage Site tag

in December 2021. In which state is Jingkieng Jri

located?

a) Nagaland

b) Mizoram

c) Tripura

d) Meghalaya

e) Assam

54. Chief Minister of Odisha Naveen Patnaik has

inaugurated state’s longest bridge, ‘T-Setu’, built

over which of the following river?

a) Mahanadi

b) Brahmani

c) Godavari

d) Rushikulya

e) Krishna

55. Which bank has grabbed the top spot in overall

digital transactions among large banks for FY 20-

21?

a) Punjab National Bank

b) State Bank of India

c) HDFC Bank

d) Axis Bank

e) Bank of Baroda

56. ________ has written his first book titled ‘Bachelor

Dad’.

a) Shahrukh Khan

b) Karan Johar

c) Tusshar Kapoor

d) Akshay Kumar

e) Sunil Shetty

57. As per the Global Unicorn Index 2021 report

released by the Hurun Research Institute, India

secured ______ rank with 54 Unicorns, while the

United States tops the Index with 487 Unicorns.

a) 5th

b) 3rd

c) 2nd

d) 1st

e) 6th

58. Which Bank recently (in Dec’21) partnered with

MoneyGram to enable International Fund Transfer?

a) India Post Payments Bank

b) Paytm Payments Bank

c) Airtel Payment Bank

d) Jio Payment Bank

e) Fino Payment Bank

59. What is the Tagline of Akasa Air that was crafted

by 26FIVE India Lab in December 2021?

a) Your Palace in the Sky

b) Touch the Sky

c) It’s Your Sky

d) Great way to Fly

e) Fly the High

60. In December 2021, Who was awarded with the

BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2021 Award?

a) Emma Raducanu

b) Serena Williams

c) Novak Djokovic

d) Roger Federer

e) Naomi Osaka

61. The Maturity Period of Certificate of Deposit (CD)

is between 7days to _______.

a) 2 years

b) 1 years

c) 8 Months

d) 6 months

e) 4 months

62. Gabriel Boric has become the youngest-ever

President of which of the following country?

a) Chile

b) Equador

c) Bolivia

d) Austria

e) Venezuela






63. In Men’s Single BWF world rankings (as of 21st

Dec), Kidambi Srikanth from India secured ______

rank, while ________ tops the ranking

a) 8th; Anders Antonsen

b) 10th; Viktor Axelsen

c) 8th; Kento Momota

d) 10th; Anders Antonsen

e) 5th; Viktor Axelsen

64. India has won 16 medals in Commonwealth

Weightlifting Championship 2021 held at

___________.

a) Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan

b) Dushanbe, Tajikistan

c) Tashkent, Uzbekistan

d) New Delhi, India

e) Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan

65. Which of the following state government has

recently announced that the creation of three new

districts, namely Tseminyu, Niuland and

Chumoukedima?

a) Assam

b) Nagaland

c) Arunachal Pradesh

d) Mizoram

e) Tripura

66. In 2020-21, India has registered the highest ever

annual Foreign Direct Investment inflow of

_______________.

a) $ 111.97 bn

b) $ 71.97 bn

c) $ 61.97 bn

d) $ 51.97 bn

e) $ 81.97 bn

67. Which of the following state has appointed Rishabh

Pant as its brand ambassador?

a) Uttar Pradesh

b) Uttarakhand

c) Himachal Pradesh

d) Bihar

e) Odisha

68. Name the former Supreme Court judge, who

headed two inquiry commissions formed to probe

into the 2002 Godhra Riots & 1984 Anti-Sikh

Riots, passed away.

a) Justice S.C. Agrawal

b) Justice K. Ramaswamy

c) Justice Yogeshwar Dayal

d) Justice Girish Thakorlal Nanavati

e) Justice G.N. Ray

69. Name the Multinational Exercise that was recently

(in Dec’21) organized in Pune, Maharashtra to

develop capabilities in disaster management aspects

of the BIMSTEC?

a) PANEX-21

b) MILEX-21

c) KAZIND-21

d) SIMBEX-21

e) JIMEX-21

70. Which International Organization recently (in

Dec’21) signed a Statement of Intent with NITI

Aayog to promote Millet Production in India?

a) United Nation Development Programme

b) World Trade Organization

c) International Food Policy Research Institute

d) World Food Program

e) World Health Organization

71. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided to make

the Scheduled payments banks and scheduled small

finance banks (SFBs) an agency banks. What is the

maximum balance limit per account in Payments

Banks?

a) Rs 1 lakh

b) Rs 1.5 lakh

c) Rs 2 lakh

d) Rs 2.5 lakh

e) Rs 5 lakh

72. Who is the author of the Telugu book titled

‘Gandhi Topi Governor’, released by Venkaiah

Naidu?

a) Ayaz Memon

b) Sanjay Baru

c) C K Garyali

d) Rajnish Kumar

e) Y Lakshmi Prasad

73. On which date, Goa Liberation Day is celebrated

every year?

a) 16 December

b) 17 December

c) 19 December

d) 20 December

e) 21 December

74. Which of the following was inscribed on the

Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage

of Humanity during 16th session of IGC 2021?

a) Chhath

b) Bathukamma

c) Kathok Chenmo

d) Durga Puja

e) Kolattam






75. Which state declared the Lord Krishna Balram

Jagannath Rath Yatra as the State festival in

December 2021?

a) Madhya Pradesh

b) Punjab

c) Uttarakhand

d) Rajasthan

e) Haryana

76. Union Cabinet approved a Rs ___________ crore

production linked incentive (PLI) scheme for

boosting semiconductor.

a) Rs 46,000 crore

b) Rs 56,000 crore

c) Rs 66,000 crore

d) Rs 76,000 crore

e) Rs 86,000 crore

77. In December 2021, PM Narendra Modi laid the

foundation stone of the Ganga Expressway in

which district?

a) Dhanbad, Jharkhand

b) Birbhum, West Bengal

c) Dehradun, Uttarakhand

d) Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh

e) Sheikhpura, Bihar

78. Where was the 11-day long 24th Edition of

Lokrang 2021 held?

a) Dispur, Assam

b) Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh

c) Mumbai, Maharashtra

d) Gandhinagar, Gujarat

e) Jaipur, Rajasthan

79. . Chief Justice of India, Justice NV Ramana

inaugurated India’s 1st (IAMC) International

Arbitration and Mediation Centre in which City?

a) Surat, Gujarat

b) Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh

c) Bangalore, Karnataka

d) Hyderabad, Telangana

e) Chennai, Tamil Nadu

80. Who authored the book, “India’s Ancient Legacy of

Wellness”?

a) Aseem Chawla b) Syed Akbaruddin

c) Rekha Chaudhari d) Jerry Rao

e) Surya Prakash

81. In December 2021, CCI suspended Amazon to

acquire a stake in _____________ & imposed Rs

202 crore penalty on the e-commerce sectors.

a) Hinduja Group

b) ITC Limited

c) Bajaj Group

d) Godrej Group

e) Future Group

82. What is the theme of the International Migrants

Day 2021?

a) Reimagining Human Mobility

b) Harnessing the potential of human mobility

c) #WeTogether

d) Migrants and Refugees Challenge Us

e) We live in the ‘age of mobility

83. RBI has introduced prompt corrective action

framework for large non-banking financial

companies. The provisions of the PCA framework

will be effective from ______________.

a) December 2021

b) October 2022

c) March 2022

d) December 2022

e) March 2023

84. Who is the author of the book titled ‘Raj Kapoor:

The Master at Work’, released by Vice President M

Venkaiah Naidu?

a) Amit Ranjan

b) Subhadra Sen Gupta

c) Rahul Rawail

d) Pradeep Magazine

e) Aseem Chawla

85. Name the NASA spacecraft, which has become the

first spacecraft to pass through the Sun’s outer

atmosphere.

a) Space Solar Probe

b) Parker Solar Probe

c) American Solar Probe

d) RedPlanet Solar Probe

e) SunPlanet Solar Probe

86. Which organization has approved a $112 million

loan to strengthen skills education and training

through the establishment of the Assam Skill

University (ASU)?

a) Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank

b) New Development Bank

c) Asian Development Bank

d) World Bank

e) Organisation for Economic Co-operation and

Development

87. Who is the author of the new book titled ‘Pride,

Prejudice and Punditry’?

a) C K Garyali

b) Bhalchandra Mungekar

c) Shashi Tharoor

d) Anuradha Roy

e) Amish Tripathi






88. Which edition of the India International Science

festival commences in Panaji, Goa?

a) 10th

b) 11th

c) 4th

d) 6th

e) 7th

89. Wholesale inflation surges to 14.23% in November,

highest in current series. What is the base year for

calculating WPI inflation in India?

a) 2004 – 2005

b) 2005 – 2006

c) 2010 – 2011

d) 2009 – 2010

e) 2011 – 2012

90. Saryu Nahar National Project has been inaugurated

by Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi in which

of the following state?

a) Gujarat

b) Karnataka

c) Tamil Nadu

d) Punjab

e) Uttar Pradesh

91. Which of the following has become the world’s

first government to turn 100% paperless?

a) Dubai, United Arab Emirates

b) Lausanne, Switzerland

c) Montreal, Canada

d) Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

e) Munich, Germany

92. Who has been named ‘Person of the Year’ for 2021

by TIME Magazine?

a) Joe Biden

b) Elon Musk

c) Vladimir Putin

d) Jeff Bezos

e) Kamala Harris

93. A long-range Supersonic Missile Assisted Torpedo

(SMART) was successfully test fired off Balasore

coast in Odisha. The SMART weapon system is

developed by which country?

a) Russia

b) India

c) USA

d) Israel

e) France

94. What was the rank of India in the Global Health

Security (GHS) Index 2021?

a) 49 b) 55

c) 66 d) 74

e) 81

95. India has been re-elected to International Maritime

Organisation Council for 2022-2023. Where is the

headquarters of International Maritime

Organisation (IMO)?

a) Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur

b) Jakarta, Indonesia

c) Shanghai, China

d) London, United Kingdom

e) New York, United States

96. Which country became the first country to

transition to 4 and half-day work week?

a) Qatar

b) Oman

c) Kuwait

d) Saudi Arabia

e) United Arab Emirates

97. Who among the following has won the 2021 Miss

Universe crown?

a) Adline Castelino

b) Sanjana Vij

c) Vartika Singh

d) Harnaaz Sandhu

e) Andrea Meza

98. Which country topped the Global Health Security

Index 2021?

a) Finland

b) Thailand

c) Canada

d) USA

e) Australia

99. What is the rank of India in the “World Talent

Ranking Report 2021” published by IMD World

Competitive Centre?

a) 42

b) 53

c) 56

d) 66

e) 74

100. Who among the following has been appointed as

the head of United Nations Children’s Fund

(UNICEF)?

a) Catherine Russell

b) Audrey Azoulay

c) Henrietta H Fore

d) Rafael Grossi

e) Achim Steiner






Answers

1 e 11 c 21 c 31 d 41 c 51 b 61 b 71 c 81 e 91 a

2 b 12 b 22 c 32 e 42 e 52 b 62 a 72 e 82 b 92 b

3 e 13 c 23 c 33 d 43 b 53 d 63 b 73 c 83 b 93 b

4 d 14 b 24 d 34 a 44 b 54 a 64 c 74 d 84 c 94 c

5 a 15 e 25 c 35 b 45 b 55 e 65 b 75 b 85 b 95 d

6 a 16 e 26 b 36 b 46 b 56 c 66 e 76 d 86 c 96 e

7 c 17 c 27 c 37 a 47 c 57 b 67 b 77 d 87 c 97 d

8 c 18 a 28 c 38 d 48 b 58 b 68 d 78 e 88 e 98 d

9 d 19 b 29 c 39 e 49 d 59 c 69 a 79 d 89 e 99 c

10 a 20 b 30 d 40 d 50 c 60 a 70 d 80 c 90 e 100 a




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