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By admin: Dec. 22, 2021

22nd December: National Mathematics Day

Tags: Important Days

National Mathematics Day is celebrated on 22 December every year to commemorate the birth anniversary of Mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan.

• The National Mathematics Day in India was announced in 2012 by then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to mark the 125th birth anniversary of Srinivasa Ramanujan.

Special Package for Andhra instead of Special Category Status

Tags: National News

• The central government has extended a special financial package in place of the Special Category Status (SCS) to Andhra Pradesh.

• The Special Assistance Measure to the successor State of Andhra Pradesh was extended, keeping in mind-

• The obligation arising from the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014

• The recommendations of the Finance Commission

• NITI Aayog, report on ‘Developmental support to the successor State of Andhra Pradesh under Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014’ 

• The special assistance measure would provide for the additional Central share the State might have received between the 2015-­16 and the 2019­-20 financial year, if the funding of Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS) had been shared in the ratio of 90:10 between the Centre and the State.

• The Special assistance would be provided by way of repayment of loan and interest for the Externally Aided Projects (EAP) approved during the above period.

Special Category Status (SCS) 

• It is a classification given by the Centre to assist the development of states that face geographical and socio-economic disadvantages.

• SCS was first accorded in 1969 to Jammu and Kashmir, Assam, and Nagaland. 

• There is no provision of SCS in the Constitution.

• It was granted in the past by the National Development Council (NDC)

• The 14th Finance Commission has done away with the 'special category status’ for states, except for the Northeastern and three hill states.

National Development Council (NDC)

• It is the apex body for decision creating and deliberations on development matters in India, presided over by the Prime Minister. It was set up on 6 August 1952.NDC has been proposed to be abolished. But to date, no resolution has been passed to abolish it. Since the inception of NITI Aayog's Governing Council (which has almost the same composition and roles as NDC), the NDC has had no work assigned to it nor did it have any meetings

The word “Anti-National” is not defined in Indian law

Tags: National News

• The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) informed the Lok Sabha, that the word ‘anti­national’ has not been defined under any legislation or rule or any other legal enactment that is enforced in this country.
• The 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1976 inserted the word ‘antinational activity’ in Article 31D of the Indian Constitution (during Emergency) which was. subsequently, omitted by the 43rd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1977.
• According to the Union Home Ministry, ‘Public Order’ and ‘Police’ are State subjects as per the 7th Schedule of the Constitution and so, the “data about the number of people arrested for indulging in anti-­national activities is not maintained centrally.
• National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) in its annual ‘Crime in India’ report for 2017, created a chapter on ‘Crime Committed by Anti National Elements’ in which they listed “North East insurgents, Left Wing Extremists, and Terrorists (including Jihadi terrorists)” as the three anti­national elements.

Union Minister of Home Affairs - Amit Shah

Union Home Secretary - Ajay Kumar Bhalla

National Crime Records Bureau(NCRB)

• NCRB is an Indian government agency set up in 1986.
• It acts as a repository of information on crime and criminals so as to assist the investigators in linking crime to the perpetrators. 
• It is part of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Government of India. 
• Headquarters - New Delhi
• Current Director - Ramphal Pawar (IPS).

Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla’s 2-day visit to Myanmar

Tags: International News

• Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla flew for a two ­day visit to Naypyitaw and Yangon, in Myanmar to meet the State Administration Council (SAC) chaired by General Min Aung Hlaing.
• Shringla is expected to speak to the Tatmadaw (military) about India’s growing security concerns over insurgent groups based along the 1,600­km India-Myanmar border which have carried out attacks in recent months
• This visit along with appointment of Mr. Vinay Kumar as the new Ambassador to Myanmar last November is an official acknowledgment of India’s recognition of the coup in Myanmar.
• State Administration Council”, is an 11­ member group of military officials and civilians set up by Min Aung Hlaing, who toppled the elected National Unity Government of Aung San Suu Kyi last February and subsequently named himself “Prime Minister”.

Myanmar (Burma)

Capital - Naypyidaw

Currency - Kyat

Legislature - Assembly of the Union

Prime Minister - Min Aung Hlaing

Nobel Laureate - Aung San Suu Kyi of the National League of Democracy (NLD) party, was awarded Nobel Peace Prize in 1991, for her non-violent struggle for democracy and human rights.

Covishield Effect wanes after 3 months: Lancet Study

Tags: Science and Technology

• According to the study published in The Lancet Journal, the protection offered by the Oxford-AstraZeneca (known as Covishield in India) COVID-19 vaccine declines after three months of receiving two doses of the preventive.
• The findings drawn from datasets in Brazil (for 42 million people) and Scotland (for 2 million people) suggest that booster programmes are needed to help maintain protection from severe disease in those vaccinated with AstraZeneca.

The Lancet is a weekly peer-reviewed general medical journal. It was founded in 1823 by Thomas Wakley, an English surgeon who named it after the surgical instrument called a lancet.

11th Hockey India Senior Men National Championship

Tags: Sports News

•  Hockey Punjab  defeated   Hockey Uttar Pradesh 2-1 to clinch the 11th Hockey India Senior Men National Championship.
• The   tournament was  held at Pimpri Chinchwad , Pune from 11 to 21 December.
• Karnataka defeated Maharashtra 5-2 to finish third .
• Hockey India plans, directs and conducts all the activities for both men and women hockey in India. It is recognized by the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports, Govt. of India as the sole body responsible towards promoting Hockey in India.

Founded in: 2009; 

Headquarters: New Delhi, India

President: Gyanendro Nigombam

Zverev named Germany’s Sportsman of the Year

Tags: Awards Person in news Sports News

World’s No. 3, Alexander Zverev (24 years old tennis player) of Germany was awarded with the German’s Sportsman of the year at the 2021 German Athlete Awards.

• He became the first tennis player, since 1991, to win the award.
• The 75th edition of the awards was organized by the Internationale Sport-Korrespondenz (ISK), a sports journalist agency in Germany.
• It was held  on 19th December 2021 at the prestigious Kurhaus Baden-Boden.