Daily Current Affairs December 18 2021 | Latest News | Download PDF

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CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL NEWS

Virendra Kumar inaugurates ‘Samajik Adhikarita Shivir’ for distribution of aids and assistive devices to ‘Divyangjan’ and Senior Citizens

• Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment, Dr. Virendra Kumar has virtually inaugurated ‘Samajik Adhikarita Shivir’for distribution of aids and assistive devices to ‘Divyangjan’ under the ADIP Scheme and to Senior Citizens under the ‘Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana’ of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India in District
• The Camp was organized by the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD) in association with Artificial Limbs Manufacturing Corporation of India (ALIMCO), a Miniratna-II PSU under Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India and District Administration, Bhadohi (U.P) at Vibhuti Narayan, Government Inter Collage, Gyanpur in Bhadohi District, Uttar Pradesh.
• Total 2818 number of Divyangjan and Senior Citizens beneficiaries have been identified under ADIP Scheme and Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana (RVY) of Government of India during the assessment camps organized by ALIMCO at different location from 8th November to 13th November 2021.
• The camps is conducted under the Scheme of Assistance to Disabled Persons (ADIP) for Purchase/Fitting of Aid/Appliances (ADIP) is one of the most popular scheme for providing assistive aids & appliance to Divyangjans and Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana for providing daily living assistive devices for senior citizens and is organized by Artificial Limbs Manufacturing Corporation of India (ALIMCO), a Public Sector Undertaking under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has been identified as the implementing agency of the ADIP scheme in association with states/districts authorities.

PM to lay foundation stone of Ganga Expressway in Shahjahanpur

• Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will lay the foundation stone of Ganga Expressway in Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh on 18 December 2021.
• The inspiration behind the Expressway is the vision of the Prime Minister to provide fast paced connectivity across the country.
• The 594 Km long six-lane Expressway will be built at a cost of over Rs 36,200 crore. Starting near the Bijauli village in Meerut, the Expressway will extend till near the Judapur Dandu village in Prayagraj.
• It will pass through Meerut, Hapur, Bulandshahr, Amroha, Sambhal, Budaun, Shahjahanpur, Hardoi, Unnao, RaeBareli, Pratapgarh and Prayagraj.
• Upon completion of work, it will become the longest expressway of Uttar Pradesh, connecting the western and eastern regions of the state.
• A 5 Km long air strip for assisting emergency take-off and landing of Air Force planes will also be constructed on the Expressway in Shahjahanpur.
• An industrial corridor is also proposed to be built along the Expressway.
• The Expressway will also give a fillip to multiple sectors including industrial development, trade, agriculture, tourism etc. It will provide a big boost to the socio-economic development of the region.

PM addresses farmers at National Conclave on Natural Farming

• Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi addressed farmers at the National Conclave on Natural Farming through a video conference.
• Union Ministers Shri Amit Shah, Shri Narendra Singh Tomer, Governor of Gujarat, Chief Ministers of Gujarat, and Uttar Pradesh were among those present on the occasion.
• Addressing the farmers, the Prime Minister called for the adaptation of agriculture according to new requirements, new challenges of the journey till the 100th year of independence.
• The Prime Minister noted that in the last 6-7 years, several steps have been taken, from seed to market to increase the income of the farmers.
• Measures from soil testing to hundreds of new seeds, from PM Kisan Samman Nidhi to fixing MSP at 1.5 times the cost of production, from irrigation to a strong network of Kisan Rail have taken the sector in that direction.
• The Government of Gujarat organized the National Conclave on Natural Farming. The three-day Summit was organized from 14th to 16th December 2021.
• It was attended by over 5000 farmers, apart from farmers connected Live through Central Institutes of ICAR, Krishi Vigyan Kendra’s and ATMA (Agricultural Technology Management Agency) network in the States.

MeitY organises 25th CISO Deep Dive Training program under Cyber Surakshit Bharat initiative

• With an aim to strengthen the cyber security ecosystem in Government organizations in the country, the National e-Governance Division under the Ministry of Electronics, and Information Technology (MeitY) is conducting a six-day deep dive training program for Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) and frontline IT officials from various Ministries & Departments, Government & Semi-Government organisations from Central and State Governments, PSUs, banks, among others.
• The training program is a part of a series of workshops organised by the National e-Governance Division at MeitY under the Cyber Surakshit Bharat initiative.
• It will help the CISOs and other participants to equip themselves with better understanding of the emerging cyber threat landscape, understand best practices in cyber security so that they are able to translate the benefits of a secure cyber space to individual organisations and citizens at large.
• The program is being conducted from December 13 – 18, 2021 and will cover topics such as Governance Risk & Compliance and Data Privacy, Network Security, End Point Security, Application & Data Security, Cloud Security, Mobile Security, Cryptography, Cyber Security related provisions in IT Act, Security audit, guidelines for preparing CCMP and operation and monitoring of Security Operation Centre (SoC) etc.

Venkaiah Naidu inaugurates the National Parliamentary Conference on Tuberculosis among Women

• Vice President Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu inaugurated the National Parliamentary Conference on Tuberculosis among Women in the presence of Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya, Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Smt. Smriti Z. Irani, Union Minister for Women and Child Development, Dr. Bharati Pravin Pawar, Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare and Shri Munjapara Mahendrabhai, Minister of State for Women and Child Development.
• The Conference underlined that undernutrition along with its engendered pattern is an important and established risk factor for the progression of latent TB infection to active TB.
• Therefore, the battling of TB stigma, ensuring that women actively seek and complete TB care along with adequate nutritional support, and ensuring that there is whole-of-society participation in achieving the goal to eliminate TB by 2025 were highlighted.
• India is committed to end TB by 2025, five years ahead of the global Sustainable Development Goals target of 2030.
• Recognizing the need for accelerated and sustained focus to achieve the target of a TB Free India, the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare had launched the ‘TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan’ aimed at mass awareness generation and successive behaviour change of the community.

Three bills to be introduced in Lok Sabha

• The National Anti-Doping Bill, 2021, The Wild Life (Protection) Amendment Bill, 2021 and The Chartered Accountants, the Cost and Works Accountants and the Company Secretaries (Amendment) Bill, 2021 are scheduled to be introduced in the Lok Sabha.
• There will be further discussion and voting on the Supplementary Demands for Grants Second Batch for 2021-22 in the Lok Sabha.
• In the Rajya Sabha, The Mediation Bill, 2021 is scheduled to be introduced.

Giriraj Singh launches MIS portal for rankings of States,UTs in Land Acquisition Projects

• Rural Development Minister Giriraj Singh launched the Management Information System (MIS) portal for rankings of States and Union Territories in Land Acquisition Projects.
• As per the ranking and performance, the top three States and top three districts will be awarded.
• The MIS portal will not only show the data and figures, but it will also show the speed of the development in the country.
• This portal is a result of the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to give impetus to the government’s Gati Shakti Mission.
• Expressing concern over the delayed implementation of the projects in the country, the Minister, delay in completion of projects increases the project cost and hampers the speed of development.

MEA to organize second Atal Bihari Vajpayee Lecture

• The Ministry of External Affairs will be organizing the second Atal Bihari Vajpayee Lecture on 24 December 2021.
• The lecture will be delivered by Dr Michael Fullilove, Executive Director of the Lowy Institute of Australia.
• It will be on “Australia, India and the Indo-Pacific: The need for strategic imagination”.
• This is the second edition of this lecture series, which was instituted in memory of former Prime Minister and External Affairs Minister Late Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

About Ministry of External Affairs :

• Founded: 2 September 1946
• Headquarters: New Delhi
• Union Minister : Jaishankar
• Minister of State : Meenakshi Lekhi, V. Muraleedharan, Rajkumar Ranjan Singh

Ashok Leyland in pact with DRDO arm to develop combat vehicle engines

• India’s Ashok Leyland and the combat vehicles research and development establishment (CVRDE) have partnered to develop and manufacture the 600hp indigenous engine for combat vehicles.
• It also marks a key milestone in India’s successful week under Azadi Ka Amrut Mahotsav.
• The event was held at Ashok Leyland’s engine development center in Chennai, India.

Defense requirements :

• Pravin Kumar Mehta, Distinguished Scientist and Director General, Armament & Combat Engineering Systems (ACE), inaugurated on Wednesday the testing of the engine at the Engine Development Center of Ashok Leyland located near Chennai.
• The 600-HP engine will undergo rigorous testing in the lab and will be qualified for application in tanks.
• Ashok Leyland will undertake series production of the engine post induction into service.

About Ashok Leyland :

• CEO: Vipin Sondhi
• Founder: Raghunandan Saran
• Founded: 7 September 1948
• Headquarters: Chennai, Tamil Nadu
• Ashok Leyland is an Indian multinational automotive manufacturer & It is owned by the Hinduja Group.
• It is the development and production partner for the manufacturing of the engines.
• It is the second-largest manufacturer of commercial vehicles in India, the third-largest manufacturer of buses in the world, and the tenth-largest manufacturer of trucks.

About CVRDE :

• Director: Balamurugan V
• Location: Avadi, Chennai
• Established: March 1976
• Combat Vehicles Research and Development Establishment (CVRDE) is a laboratory of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

CURRENT AFFAIRS: INTERNATIONAL NEWS

ISRO signed six agreements with four countries for launching foreign satellites during 2021-2023

• Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology; Minister of State (Independent Charge) Earth Sciences; MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh, ISRO has signed six agreements with four countries for launching foreign satellites during 2021-2023.
• Jitendra Singh informed that about 132 million Euros would be earned through launching of these foreign satellites on a commercial basis.
• Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) through its commercial arm, New Space India Limited (NSIL), a Govt. of India company under Department of Space (DOS), has been launching satellites belonging to other countries on-board Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), on a commercial basis.
• NSIL as on date has signed six Launch Service Agreements with customers from four countries for launching foreign satellites into space on-board PSLV during 2021-2023.
• A total number of 124 indigenous satellites have been put into Earth’s orbit including 12 student satellites.

About ISRO:

• Headquarters: Bengaluru
• Founder: Vikram Sarabhai
• Founded: 15 August 1969
• Administrator: Kailasavadivoo Sivan

Bilateral meeting to be held between India and Vietnam to strengthen collaboration in Telecommunications and Postal Sector

• A Bilateral meeting is scheduled to be held between the Ministry of Communications, Government of India and the Ministry of Information and Communications, Socialist Republic of Vietnam in Sanchar Bhawan, New Delhi to strengthen collaboration in the Telecommunications and Postal Sector.
• The Indian side will be headed by Minister of State for Communications, Shri Devusinh Chauhan while the Vietnamese delegation will be led by, HE Nguyen Manh Hung, Minister of Information and Communications, Viet Nam.
• In line with the comprehensive strategic and economic partnership and growing relations between the Republic of India and Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Ministers of the two countries will be signing a “Letter of Intent” for enhanced cooperation in the Postal Sector.

About Vietnam:

• Capital: Hanoi
• Currency: Vietnamese dong
• Prime minister: Pham Minh Chinh

CURRENT AFFAIRS: STATE NEWS

7th edition of India International Science festival begins in Panaji, Goa

• Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology, Dr Jitendra Singh inaugurated the seventh edition of India International Science Festival (IISF- 2021) at Panaji, Goa.
• The theme of 4-day IISF 2021 is ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ – “Celebrating Creativity, Science, Technology and Innovation for a prosperous India”.

Aim :

• To bring into use the innovations by the people and develop technology that is affordable to the masses.
• India International Science festival (IISF) is a joint program of the Ministry of Science & Technology, Ministry of Earth Sciences and Vijnana Bharati (VIBHA) a swadeshi movement of Bharat.
• IISF will provide a platform to young students, scientists and technocrats from across India for exchange of knowledge and ideas
• It also supporting flagship programmes like ‘Swach Bharat Abhiyan’, Swasth Bharat Abhiyan ‘Make in India’, ‘Digital India’, ‘Smart Villages’, ‘Smart Cities’ ‘ Namami Gange’, ‘Unnath Bharat Abhiyan’ initiated by the Prime Minister in the last 7 years.

Note :

• The first program of IISF was held in 2015 and the sixth edition of this annual event was organized in 2020.

About Ministry of Science & Technology :

• Founded: May 1971
• Headquarters: New Delhi
• Union Minister : Harsh Vardhan
• Minister of State : S. Chowdary

PM Modi chairs All India Mayors’ Conference in Varanasi

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi has chaired the All-India Mayors’ Conference in Varanasi via video conferencing.
• He urged the mayors to work towards cleanliness in their wards and there should be beauty competition between the wards.
• UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanand and the Urban Development Minister, Hardeep Singh participated apart from other dignitaries.
• Mayors from various states across the country participated in the conference, being organised by the Department of Urban Development, Uttar Pradesh.
• The theme of the Conference is “New Urban India”. It has been the constant endeavour of the Prime Minister to ensure ease of living in urban areas.
• The government has launched multiple schemes and initiatives to address the issues of dilapidated urban infrastructure and lack of amenities.
• A special focus of these efforts has been the state of Uttar Pradesh, which has witnessed tremendous progress and transformation of the urban landscape, especially in the last five years.

Haryana Govt starts Khel Nursery Scheme to promote sports in state

• The Haryana government has started the Khel Nursery Scheme to promote sports in the state. This was stated by Minister of State for Sports and Youth Affairs Sandeep Singh.
• Under the scheme, sports nurseries will be started in government, private educational institutions, and private sports institutions.
• For this, applications have been invited by the department till January 20, 2022.
• With this scheme, sports talent will get an opportunity to emerge at the grassroots level.
• Under the scheme, sports nurseries are being opened for the sports included in the Olympic, Asian and Commonwealth Games.

About Haryana:

• Governor: Bandaru Dattatreya
• Capital: Chandigarh
• Chief minister: Manohar Lal Khattar

AIIB to help Chennai make urban services green and resilient

• The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has approved the $150 million ‘Chennai City Partnership: Sustainable Urban Services Programme’ that seeks to strengthen institutions and improve the quality and financial sustainability of selected urban services in Chennai.
• Tamil Nadu is an economic powerhouse and is one of India’s most urbanized States. Chennai dominates the State’s demographic and economic landscape and is experiencing rapid physical growth and changes in its boundaries.
• However, Chennai faces tremendous infrastructure deficits and low service quality in core urban sectors such as water resource management, water supply and sanitation, urban mobility, solid waste management and public health
• AIIB’s mission is to finance ‘Infrastructure for Tomorrow’ (i4t)-green infrastructure with sustainability, innovation, and connectivity at its core.
• India, in their mission to increase the resilience of Chennai and transforming the city into a green, livable, competitive, and resilient capital.

About AIIB:

• Headquarters: Beijing, China
• Membership: 104 Members
• Formation: 16 January 2016
• President: Jin Liqun

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BUSINESS NEWS

India registers highest-ever annual FDI inflow of 81.97 billion dollars in 2020-21

• India has registered the highest ever annual Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflow of 81.97 billion dollar in 2020-21.
• Commerce and Industry Ministry, FDI inflows in the last seven financial years is over 440 billion dollar, which is nearly 58 percent of the total FDI inflow in last 21 financial years.
• The Ministry, top five countries from where FDI Equity Inflows were received during 2014 to 2021 are Singapore, Mauritius, USA, Netherlands and Japan.
• Computer Software and Hardware sector attracted the largest share of FDI inflows, followed by Service, Trading and Telecommunications and the government has taken various steps to boost domestic and foreign investments in India.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BANKING AND ECONOMY

HomeFirst enters into co-lending partnership with Union Bank

• Home First Finance Company India Ltd (HomeFirst) has entered into a strategic co-lending partnership with Union Bank of India (UBI) to offer home loans to customers.
• The partnership aims at leveraging the strengths of both entities to provide a seamless experience to retail home loan customers in the priority sector
• Under this partnership, HomeFirst will originate loans as per the agreed credit policy of UBI in line with the provisions of RBI’s Co-Lending Model.
• HomeFirst will retain minimum 20 per cent of the loan on its book while 80 per cent will be on UBI’s book.
• The housing finance company will act as a servicing agent for the loan accounts sourced under this partnership throughout the life cycle of the loan, as per the filing.
• This partnership will enable HomeFirst to expand its product offerings to customers in the geographies it operates

About UBI:

• Headquarters: Mumbai
• CEO: Rajkiran Rai G.
• Founded: 11 November 1919, Mumbai
• Tagline: Good People to Bank with

PhonePe tokenized cards on Visa, Mastercard and Rupay

• Digital payments platform PhonePe has announced that it has tokenised cards on all three major payment networks – Visa, Mastercard and Rupay.
• PhonePe’s tokenisation solution will help businesses save time and effort by removing the need to integrate with multiple card networks while complying with RBI guidelines
• The Reserve Bank of India has asked payment aggregators and the merchants onboarded by them to not store actual credit card data.
• Starting January 1, 2022, no entity in the card transaction or payment chain, other than the card issuers and/or card networks, shall store the actual card data. Instead, cardholders can get digital tokens to complete their online transactions.
• PhonePe is offering its tokenisation solution “PhonePe Safecard” to enable businesses to offer tokenisation on their own platforms via an API integration.
• PhonePe also takes care of any additional authentication for users, if needed. Merchants will also get a dedicated and secured vault in a PCI-DSS (Payment Card Industry – Data Security Standard) compliant environment.

About PhonePe:

• Founded: December 2015
• CEO: Sameer Nigam
• Headquarters location: Bengaluru

CURRENT AFFAIRS : APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS

Mandiant Appoints Balaji Rao as Country Manager to Head India Operations

• Mandiant Inc, a Nasdaq-listed cyber security solutions company, has appointed Balaji Rao as the new country manager for India and SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) markets.
• Rao will be responsible for revenue generation, strategic business development, and operations.
• An industry veteran with over 25 years’ experience Balaji will be spearheading the team to help organizations in India gain their cyber security advantage.

About Mandiant :

• Headquarters: Milpitas, California, United States
• Founder & CEO : Kevin Mandia
• Founded: 2004
• It is a Nasdaq-listed cyber security solutions company.

Arvind Kumar joins Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) as Director General

• Arvind Kumar, has been appointed as the director-general of the Software Technology Parks of India (STPI).
• Before joining STPI, Arvind Kumar was working in the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) in 2004.
• As an advisor in TRAI, he was responsible for broadband, data security and privacy issues, manufacturing, DTH, IPTV, TV broadcasting and OTT, after having worked since 1997 in the Indian Government-run premier technology center, C-DoT.

About STPI :

• Founded: 1991
• Director General: Omkar Rai
• Headquarters: New Delhi
• Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) is an autonomous body under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Government of India that focuses on building technology entrepreneurship and innovation in the country.
• STPI is fuelling the culture of tech entrepreneurship and innovation in the country by launching 25+ Centers of Entrepreneurship in emerging technology domains.

Indian Army Chief Gen Naravane takes charge as chairman of Chiefs of Staff Committee

• The government has appointed General MM Naravane, Chief of Army Staff, as the Chairman of Chiefs of Staff Committee (Chairman, CoSC).
• The post fell vacant following the death of the Chief of Defense Staff Gen Bipin Rawat in the IAF helicopter crash on December 8.
• The Chief of Indian Air Force V R Chaudhari and the Chief of Indian Navy Admiral R Hari Kumar took over their respective positions on September 30 and November 30, 2021.

Note :

• General Rawat as the CDS had become the first permanent CoSC.
• CDS is the fourth and permanent member of the CoSC.

About MM Naravane :

• General Manoj Mukund Naravane is an Indian Army General who is currently serving as the 27th Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) & the 58th Chairman of the Chiefs Staff Committee.
• General Naravane is the senior-most chief of the Staff.
• Prior to his appointment as the COAS, the general served as the 40th Vice Chief of Army Staff (VCOAS) of the Indian Army, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C) of Eastern Command and General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Army Training Command.
• He has been awarded the Param Vishisht Seva Medal (2019), Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (2017), Sena Medal, Vishist Seva Medal (2015).

CURRENT AFFAIRS: MOUS AND AGREEMENT

Tata Steel has signed a pact for new rail line to Kalinganagar plant

• Tata Steel has entered into a long-term agreement with Angul Sukinda Railway (ASRL) to invest ₹400 crore for construction, operation, and maintenance of additional rail line to meet the logistic needs of its Kalinganagar Steel plant.
• Angul Sukinda Railway is a public limited company incorporated as a special purpose vehicle by the Ministry of Railways for developing, financing, construction, operation and maintenance of a 104.24-km-long broad gauge single railway line between Angul and Sukinda in Odisha.
• Tata Steel will fund the ₹400-crore expenditure in a phased manner by subscribing to 40 crore non-convertible, non-cumulative, redeemable preference shares of ASRL.
• The railway line provides direct link between iron-ore rich areas of Joda-Barbil in Odisha to steel and sponge iron industries in the Angul region.
• It also connects coal mining region in Talcher to industries in Jakhapura, Joda-Barbil and areas in Kendujhar district,
• Angul Sukinda Railway will meet Kalinganagar Steel plant logistics requirements for a period of 20 years.

About TATA steel:

• Founded: 25 August 1907, Jamshedpur
• CEO: T. V. Narendran
• Founder: Jamsetji Tata
• Headquarters: Mumbai

CURRENT AFFAIRS : SUMMITS & CONFERENCE

India hosts 8th Indian Ocean Dialogue

• India hosted the 8th Edition of the Indian Ocean Dialogue
• Theme of the edition : ‘Post Pandemic Indian Ocean: Leveraging Digital Technologies for Health, Education, Development and Trade in IORA Member States’.
• The eighth Indian Ocean Dialogue (IOD) is hosted by Indian Council for World Affairs (ICWA), the Ministry of External Affair and the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA).

Aim of the Dialogue :

• To trigger cooperation among IORA Member States in the field of digital technologies while ensuring digital inclusion and bridging the digital device.
• It highlights new digital needs and innovative approaches for harnessing these technologies for achieving the UN 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals.

Note :

• The 7th edition of Indian Ocean Dialogue was hosted by the United Arab Emirates and held virtually on 2-3 February 2021 around the theme ‘Fostering a New Era of Cooperation in the Indian Ocean’.

About IORA :

• Founded: 7 March 1997
• Headquarters: Ebene, Mauritius
• Membership : 23 Countries
• The Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA), formerly known as the Indian Ocean Rim Initiative and the Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC).
• The IORA is a regional forum, tripartite in nature, bringing together representatives of Government, Business and Academia, for promoting co-operation and closer interaction among them.
• It is based on the principles of Open Regionalism for strengthening Economic Cooperation particularly on Trade Facilitation and Investment, Promotion as well as Social Development of the region.

About ICWA :

• Headquarters : New Delhi
• Board Of Directors : Venkaiah Naidu, S Jaishankar, Shashi Tharoor
• Founded : 1943
• Director General : Dr. T C A Raghavan
• It was India’s first independent international affairs think tank.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : RANKING & INDEX

Maharashtra tops List Of States With Maximum Number Of Beneficiaries to be Assisted Under ABRY

• Maharashtra has topped the list of states with the maximum number of beneficiaries under the Atmanirbhar Bharat Rojgar Yojana (ABRY), with 6,49,560 new employes in 17,524 (Estts), Beneficial amount of 4,09,72,34,366.
• It is followed by Tamil Nadu 5,35,615 new employees and Gujarat 4,44,741.

Top 3 States :

Rank	States	Estts	New Employes	Beneficial amount ( Rs)
1	Maharashtra	17,524	6,49,560	4,09,72,34,366
2	Tamil Nadu	12,803	5,35,615	3,00,46,76,607
3	Gujarat	12,379	4,44,741	2,78,63,52,624

The average time taken to process claim settlement year wise is as follows:-

Financial Year	Average time taken to process claim (in days)
2019-20	11.5 days
2020-21	8.4 days
2021-22 (as on 06.12.2021)	7.3 days

About ABRY :

• The government had launched ABRY to incentivize employment generation in Employees’ Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) registered establishments during COVID-19 for a period from October 1, 2020, to March 31, 2022.
• The scheme is being implemented through the Employees’ Provident Fund Organization (EPFO), reduces the financial burden of the employers of various sectors/industries including MSME and will encourage them to hire more workers.
• Under ABRY, the Government of India is bearing both the employees’ share (12% of wages) and employers’ share (12% of wages) of contribution payable or only the employees’ share, depending on employment strength of the EPFO registered establishments.

About Ministry of Labor & Employment :

• Union Minister : Bhupender Yadav
• Minister of State : Rameswar Teli
• Agency executive : Sunil Barthwal
• Headquarters : New Delhi

CURRENT AFFAIRS : BOOKS & AUTHORS

VP releases book ‘Gandhi Topi Governor’ by Shri Yarlagadda Lakshmi Prasad

• The Vice President, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu released the book ‘Gandhitopi Governor’ by the Chairman, Official Language Commission, Andhra Pradesh, Shri Yarlagadda Lakshmi Prasad at Upa Rashtrapati Nivas, New Delhi.
• The Book is Published by Emesco Books.
• Former Governor of Tamil Nadu, Shri P.S. Rammohan Rao, author of the book, Shri Yarlagadda Lakshmi Prasad, CEO of Emesco Books, Shri Vijay Kumar and others were present during the event.

About the Book :

• The book chronicles the life of Shri Edpuganti Raghavendra Rao.

About Yarlagadda Lakshmi Prasad :

• Yarlagadda Lakshmi Prasad is an Indian writer and
• He is the Chairman of the A.P. Hindi Academy; Professor in Hindi at Andhra University, Visakhapatnam, India, and is a former Rajya Sabha Member.
• Some of his Literary works are Attadugu nundi Agrasthanam varaku, Doctor Karan Singh (biography), Draupadi, Harivamsrai Bachhan (biography), Kathanala Venuka Kathalu, Mana Governor Narayanadutt Tiwari, Puchalapalli Sundarayya (biography), Satyabhama (novel), Pakisthan lo Padi Rojulu.

Awards & Honors :

• Padma Shri – 2003
• Sahitya Akademi Award – 2010
• Ganga Sharan Singh Award – 2012
• Padma Bhushan – 2016

About Shri Edpuganti Raghavendra Rao :

• He is a prominent freedom fighter, legislature and Governor of Central Provinces in the British administration.

‘Rewinding of First 25 years of Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology’ book unveiled

• The former adviser at the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) Shri S.S. Oberoi authored a Book titled Rewinding of First 25 years of Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.

About the Book :

• The Book narrates the first 25 years of MeitY.

About S.S. Oberoi :

• Shri S. S. Oberoi is a retired adviser, Government of India, Department of Electronics (DoE).
• He was the first head of the Software Development Agency and the first adviser of Information Technology.
• He conducted the first major Software Export Promotion Campaigns, ‘Software India’, jointly with the Indian Embassy, USA, in 1987, at six major cities.
• He established and was the chairman of the first three Software Technological Parks in India, in Bangalore, Pune and Bhubaneswar.
• He headed the computer activities of the Government continuously from 1978 to 1997, till his retirement with a short break.
• He coordinated the Super Computer Program of the Government and was on the Governing Council of C-DAC.
• He represented India in the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in the early 1980s.
• He was also the national project director of UNDP project ERNET, CAD, CAM, and the fifth-generation computers.

About Ministry of Electronics & IT :

• Founded: 1991
• Headquarters: New Delhi
• Union Minister : Ashwini Vaishnaw
• Minister of State : Rajeev Chandrasekhar
• Secretary : Ajay Prakash Sawhney

CURRENT AFFAIRS : SPORTS NEWS

Sports Minister Anurag Thakur launches 1st edition of Khelo India Women’s U-21 Hockey League

• On Dec 15, 2021, Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports Anurag Singh Thakur inaugurated the first edition of Khelo India U21 Women’s Hockey League at the iconic Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium in New Delhi.
• The hockey tournament is slated to be held from December 15 to 21 & it is Organized by the Sports Authority of India in collaboration with Hockey India.
• As many as 14 teams will be competing in 42 matches during the first phase of the tournament, Meanwhile the second and third phase will be held in early 2022.
• The league holds a cash prize of Rs 30 lakh for the winners – 15 lakh from the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports and 15 lakh from Hockey India.

About SAI :

• Headquarters : Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Delhi, India
• Founded: 1984
• Sports Secretary cum Director General : Sandip Pradhan
• SAI has 2 Sports Academic institutions, 11 “SAI Regional Centers” (SRC), 14 “Center of Excellence” , 56 “Sports Training Centers” (STC) and 20 Special Area Games (SAG).

About Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports :

• Founded: 27 May 2000
• Headquarters : New Delhi
• Union Minister : Anurag Thakur
• Minister of State : Nisith Pramanik

Olympics India inducts 148 athletes in first list of TOPS athletes for 2024 Games

• The central government has identified a total of 148 athletes, including 20 new inductees, in seven Olympic disciplines and six Paralympic disciplines for support under the Target Olympic Podium Scheme(TOPS) at a meeting of the Mission Olympic Cell of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.
• The MOC approved lists in Cycling, Sailing, Shooting, Swimming, Table Tennis, Weightlifting and Wrestling as well as Para Sports (Archery, Athletics, Badminton, Shooting, Swimming, Table Tennis).
• Archery, Athletics, Badminton, Boxing, Equestrian, Fencing, Golf, Gymnastics, Judo, Rowing and Tennis athletes list will be announced soon.

About Target Olympic Podium Scheme :

• The Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) was launched in 2014 under the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (MYAS), Government of India.

The scheme provides:

(i) Training from top coaches at well-equipped sport institutions,

(ii) Assistance to purchase sport-specific equipment,

(iii) Providing support staff such as physical trainers, physiotherapists, etc,

(iv) Aid athletes in participating in the Paris, Tokyo, and Los Angeles Olympic Games and Paralympic Games.

(v) provide out-of-pocket allowance per month

About Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports :

• Founded: 27 May 2000
• Headquarters : New Delhi
• Union Minister : Anurag Thakur
• Minister of State : Nisith Pramanik

Daily CA On Dec 18 :

• Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment, Dr. Virendra Kumar has virtually inaugurated ‘Samajik Adhikarita Shivir’for distribution of aids and assistive devices to ‘Divyangjan’ under the ADIP Scheme and to Senior Citizens under the ‘Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana’ of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India in District
• Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will lay the foundation stone of Ganga Expressway in Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh on 18 December 2021.
• Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi addressed farmers at the National Conclave on Natural Farming through a video conference.
• The National e-Governance Division under the Ministry of Electronics, and Information Technology (MeitY) is conducting a six-day deep dive training program for Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) and frontline IT officials from various Ministries & Departments, Government & Semi-Government organisations from Central and State Governments, PSUs, banks, among others.
• Vice President Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu inaugurated the National Parliamentary Conference on Tuberculosis among Women in the presence of Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya, Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Smt. Smriti Z. Irani, Union Minister for Women and Child Development, Dr. Bharati Pravin Pawar, Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare and Shri Munjapara Mahendrabhai, Minister of State for Women and Child Development.
• The National Anti-Doping Bill, 2021, The Wild Life (Protection) Amendment Bill, 2021 and The Chartered Accountants, the Cost and Works Accountants and the Company Secretaries (Amendment) Bill, 2021 are scheduled to be introduced in the Lok Sabha.
• Rural Development Minister Giriraj Singh launched the Management Information System (MIS) portal for rankings of States and Union Territories in Land Acquisition Projects.
• The Ministry of External Affairs will be organizing the second Atal Bihari Vajpayee Lecture on 24 December 2021.
• India’s Ashok Leyland and the combat vehicles research and development establishment (CVRDE) have partnered to develop and manufacture the 600hp indigenous engine for combat vehicles.
• Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology; Minister of State (Independent Charge) Earth Sciences; MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh, ISRO has signed six agreements with four countries for launching foreign satellites during 2021-2023.
• A Bilateral meeting is scheduled to be held between the Ministry of Communications, Government of India and the Ministry of Information and Communications, Socialist Republic of Vietnam in Sanchar Bhawan, New Delhi to strengthen collaboration in the Telecommunications and Postal Sector.
• Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology, Dr Jitendra Singh inaugurated the seventh edition of India International Science Festival (IISF- 2021) at Panaji, Goa.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi has chaired the All-India Mayors’ Conference in Varanasi via video conferencing.
• The Haryana government has started the Khel Nursery Scheme to promote sports in the state. This was stated by Minister of State for Sports and Youth Affairs Sandeep Singh.
• The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has approved the $150 million ‘Chennai City Partnership: Sustainable Urban Services Programme’ that seeks to strengthen institutions and improve the quality and financial sustainability of selected urban services in Chennai.
• India has registered the highest ever annual Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflow of 81.97 billion dollar in 2020-21.
• Home First Finance Company India Ltd (HomeFirst) has entered into a strategic co-lending partnership with Union Bank of India (UBI) to offer home loans to customers.
• Digital payments platform PhonePe has announced that it has tokenised cards on all three major payment networks – Visa, Mastercard and Rupay.
• Mandiant Inc, a Nasdaq-listed cyber security solutions company, has appointed Balaji Rao as the new country manager for India and SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) markets.
• Arvind Kumar, has been appointed as the director-general of the Software Technology Parks of India (STPI).
• The government has appointed General MM Naravane, Chief of Army Staff, as the Chairman of Chiefs of Staff Committee (Chairman, CoSC).
• Tata Steel has entered into a long-term agreement with Angul Sukinda Railway (ASRL) to invest ₹400 crore for construction, operation, and maintenance of additional rail line to meet the logistic needs of its Kalinganagar Steel plant.
• India hosted the 8th Edition of the Indian Ocean Dialogue virtually & the Theme of the edition : ‘Post Pandemic Indian Ocean: Leveraging Digital Technologies for Health, Education, Development and Trade in IORA Member States’.
• Maharashtra has topped the list of states with the maximum number of beneficiaries under the Atmanirbhar Bharat Rojgar Yojana (ABRY), with 6,49,560 new employes in 17,524 (Estts), Beneficial amount of 4,09,72,34,366 & It is followed by Tamil Nadu 5,35,615 new employees and Gujarat 4,44,741.
• The Vice President, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu released the book ‘Gandhitopi Governor’ by the Chairman, Official Language Commission, Andhra Pradesh, Shri Yarlagadda Lakshmi Prasad at Upa Rashtrapati Nivas, New Delhi.
• The former adviser at the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) Shri S.S. Oberoi authored a Book titled Rewinding of First 25 years of Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
• On Dec 15, 2021, Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports Anurag Singh Thakur inaugurated the first edition of Khelo India U21 Women’s Hockey League at the iconic Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium in New Delhi.
• The central government has identified a total of 148 athletes, including 20 new inductees, in seven Olympic disciplines and six Paralympic disciplines for support under the Target Olympic Podium Scheme(TOPS) at a meeting of the Mission Olympic Cell of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.