DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS

By admin: Dec. 23, 2021

India added 33 Unicorns in 2021- the highest ever

Tags: Economics/Business

To the point:

• Hurun Research Institute has released the Hurun India Future Unicorn List 2021.
• According to the report India has displaced the United Kingdom to be  third in the list by adding 33 "unicorns" in a single year.
• The United States and China occupy the first two ranks. The top-two occupants are home to 74% of the unicorn universe.
• The U.S. added 254 unicorns and now totals 487 companies in the coveted list, while China added 74 to take its tally to 301 start-ups having a valuation of more than $1 billion.
• The U.K. added only 15 unicorns to take its total to 39, and hence got displaced by India.
• India is in the midst of a start-up boom, more than doubling its unicorns to take its official tally of unicorns to 54, and overtake the U.K. to third place in the world.

Hurun India Future Unicorn List:

This list highlights India’s fast growing start-up ecosystem to investors, governments, family offices, aspiring entrepreneurs and the international community.

• Hurun Research Institute has classified these start-ups as:
  • Unicorns (start-ups founded after the year 2000 with a valuation of US$1bn),
  • Gazelles (start-ups that are most likely to go Unicorn in the next 2 years) and
  • Cheetahs (could go Unicorn in the next 4 years).

The evaluation is based on regulatory filings, feedback from other entrepreneurs and some of the active India-focused VC funds and angel investors.

India’s quasi ballistic missile “Pralay” successfully conducted the second flight-test

Tags: Defence

To the Point:

• Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) on December 23, 2021, successfully conducted the second flight-test of indigenously developed conventional Surface-to-Surface missile ‘Pralay’ from Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Island off the coast of Odisha.
• For the first time, two consecutive flight tests of a ballistic missile have been conducted successfully on two consecutive days.
• In today’s launch, the ‘Pralay’ missile was tested for heavier payload and different range to prove the precision and lethality of the weapon.

Pralay, the short-range solid fuel surface-to-surface ballistic missile can hit the target at a range of 150 to 500 kilometres with an accuracy of less than 10 metres and can be launched by Mobile Launcher.

• The missile guidance system includes the latest navigation system and integrated avionics.

Vernacular Innovation Program (VIP)

Tags: National News

• Launched by - Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) under NITI Aayog.
• Aim - To enable innovators and entrepreneurs in India to have access to the innovation ecosystem in 22 scheduled languages by the Government of India.
• For this purpose, Vernacular Task Force (VTF) will be created in each of the 22 scheduled languages
• It will also have a Train-the-Trainer program in collaboration with IIT Delhi
• CSR Sponsors will support the program
• It will help India in building a strong local network of design experts and innovation practitioners, by removing the language barrier

What is VIP?

• Vernacular Innovation Program (VIP) is an initiative of the Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), NITI Aayog, targeted at separating creative expression from the language of transaction in India’s innovation ecosystem.
• This program is designed to lower the language barrier for vernacular innovators when learning design thinking and entrepreneurship, accessing markets, attracting investments, and influencing innovation policy. 
• To accomplish this objective a Vernacular Task Force(VTF) will be created in each of the 22 scheduled languages.
• Industry mentors will also lend design thinking expertise, and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) sponsors will generously support the program
• VIP will assist local entrepreneurs, artisans, and innovators to seamlessly assimilate the knowledge cum technical materials that AIM will develop, thus helping India in building a strong local network of design experts and innovation practitioners,

What is VTF?

• Vernacular Task Force(VTF) is an integral part of the Vernacular Innovation Program (VIP) for creating the necessary resources as well as the ecosystem activities.
• Each task force comprises vernacular language teachers, subject experts, technical writers, and the leadership of regional Atal Incubation Centers (AICs). 
• The VTF Team will learn, contextualize, implement & translate the Design Thinking and entrepreneurship concept in their respective languages. 
• Further, the Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) will launch a Train-the-Trainer program where it will collaborate with the Design Department of IIT Delhi to coach the VTF in design thinking and entrepreneurship and the adaptation of these subjects in the 22 languages and cultures.
• Post this training from December 2021 to April 2022, the ecosystem will be opened up to vernacular innovators with regular ecosystem services.

Niti Aayog’s Argument

As per the 2011 census, only 10.4% of Indians speak English, out of which only 0.02% as their first language, and the rest as their second, third, or fourth language. Ten years later these numbers are not likely to be very different.

So, there needs to be a platform which creates equal opportunity for the vernacular innovators who represent the staggering 90% of our population. After all, this excluded population, no matter which Indian language they speak, is at least as creative as the rest.

According to Niti Aayog, India may be the first nation in the world to launch such an initiative where an innovation ecosystem catering to 22 languages plus English is being built.

By providing access to learning in one’s language and culture, Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) looks forward to enriching the local, regional, national, and global innovation pipelines.

National Oxygen Stewardship Program

Tags: National News

·Nodal Ministry - Union Health Ministry

·Launched by - Dr. Bharati Pravin Pawar, Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare

• Aim - Repurpose, Re-orient and Upskill the existing manpower to ensure rational utilization and avoid any wastage of medical Oxygen and to be prepared for any upcoming Covid Surge without creating any undue stress on the health system.
• Identify and train at least one “Oxygen Steward” in each district across the country on Oxygen therapy and management

Detailed-

• Dr. Bharati Pravin Pawar, Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, inaugurated the National Oxygen Stewardship Program of the Union Health Ministry, at AIIMS New Delhi.
• The initiative aims to train all healthcare workers engaged in Oxygen management and administration with the essential knowledge and skills to ensure rational utilization and avoid any wastage of medical Oxygen, especially in resource constraint times. 
• It envisages to identify and train at least one “Oxygen Steward” in each district across the country. These trained professionals would be responsible for leading the training on Oxygen therapy and management in their respective districts and also support audit of oxygen delivery and preparedness for a surge scenario.
• Thus this program aims to “repurpose, re-orient and upskill the existing manpower” in order to make sure that any unforseen incident arising due to the pandemic gets managed professionally without any undue stress on the systems.

Government’s efforts in ensuring increased oxygen availability-

• Government of India has sanctioned more than 1500 Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) oxygen generation plants of which 1463 have been commissioned. It includes 1225 PSA plants which have been installed and commissioned under PMCARES Fund in every district of the country.
• The States have also been asked to install PSA plants in public and private health facilities.
• The recently launched ‘Oxycare’ dashboard is another important initiative towards oxygen administration.

Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare - Mansukh L. Mandaviya

Union Health Secretary - Rajesh Bhushan

Tolkāppiyam translated into Hindi

Tags: National News

• Translated by - Central Institute of Classical Tamil
• Released by  - Minister of State for Education, Dr. Subhas Sarkar
• Aim - To provide accessibility and wider readership to the Classical Tamil texts.
• Tolkappiyam is the most ancient text of Tamil grammar and poetics. It is part of the Sangam Literature that flourished under the royal patronage of the Pandya kings of Madurai around 3rd Century BC to 3rd Century AD.

Detailed-

Minister of State for Education, Dr. Subhas Sarkar released the Hindi translation of Tolkāppiyam and the Kannada translations of 9 books of Tamil Sangam literature.

Tolkappiyam

• Tolkappiyam is the most ancient Tamil grammar text and the oldest work of Tamil literature. 
• Some in the Tamil tradition place the text in the mythical second sangam, variously in 1st millennium BCE or earlier. 
• Tolkappiyam, a unique work on grammar and poetics, in its three parts of nine sections each, deals with Ezhuttu(letter), Col (word) and Porul (subject matter). 
• Almost all levels of the human language from the spoken to the most poetic lie within the purview of Tolkappiyar’s analysis as he treats in exquisitely poetic and epigrammatic statements on phonology, morphology, syntax, rhetoric, prosody and poetics.

Tamil Literature

• Tamil writing systems dates back to 250 BCE.
• According to the Tamil legends, there were three Sangams (Academy of Tamil poets) held in the ancient South India popularly called Muchchangam.
• The First Sangam, is believed to be held at Madurai, attended by gods and legendary sages. No literary work of this Sangam is available.
• The Second Sangam was held at Kapadapuram, only Tolkappiyam survives from this.
• The Third Sangam was also held at Madurai. A few of these Tamil literary works have survived and are a useful sources to reconstruct the history of the Sangam period.
• Tamil sangam poetry contains 2381 poems in Tamil composed by 473 poets, some 102 anonymous.
• Most scholars suggest the historical sangam literature era to be among the finest of world literature. 
• Out of the large body of literature, only a grammatical work in verse called Tolkāppiyam, the eight anthologies (Ettuttokai) and Ten Songs (Pattuppattu) have survived the ravages of time. 

Union Minster of Education - Dharmedra Pradhan

Central Institute of Classical Tamil (CICT) 

• CICT formerly known as the Centre of Excellence for Classical Tamil (CECT) is a body established by the Government of India with a view to promoting the cause of Classical Tamil. 
• Headquarters - Chennai.
• It awards the Kural Peedam Award, a lifetime achievement presidential award given to eminent scholars of classical Tamil since 2005.

Local Brand from North East - “Namdapha Goodness”

Tags: National News

• Launched by - North Eastern Region Community Resource Management Society (NERCRMS), Meghalaya in collaboration with Changlang Community Resource Management Society (CCRMS), Arunachal Pradesh
• NERCRMS is a registered society under the aegis of North Eastern Council (NEC) and Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (MDoNER), Govt. of India
• It is named after iconic Namdapha National Park located in the Changlang district, Arunachal Pradesh.
• Aim - To boost the sale of locally produced goods of the Community Based Organization (CBO) members and to generate sustainable employment opportunities among the village communities and unemployed youths through the manufacturing, marketing and distribution related activities

Detailed-

Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (MDoNER)

• Established in 2001
• It is the nodal Department of the Central Government to deal with matters related to the socio-economic development of the eight States of Northeast India: Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura and Sikkim
• Minister of Development of North Eastern Region is G. Kishan Reddy

North Eastern Council (NEC) 

• It is a statutory advisory body constituted under the North Eastern Council Act 1971.
• The eight States of Northeast India viz. Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura and Sikkim, are members of the council.
• Chief Ministers and Governors of each state represents them.
• The headquarters of the council is situated in Shillong , Meghalaya.
• Nodal Ministry - Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DONER)
• It acts as the regional socio economic planning body since 2002.

Namdapha National Park

• It lies at the international border between India and Myanmar within Changlang District in the state of Arunachal Pradesh.
• It is the only Park in the World to have the four species of big cat namely the Tiger (Panthera Tigris), Leopard (Panthera Pardus), Snow Leopard (Panthera Uncia) and Clouded Leopard (Neofelis Nebulosa).
• Hoolock Gibbons, the only ‘ape’ species found in India is found in this National Park.

Cabinet approves Minimum Support Price (MSP) for Copra for 2022 season

Tags: National News

• The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has given its approval for the Minimum Support Prices (MSPs) for copra for 2022 season. 
• The decision is based on recommendations of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP)
• It assures a minimum of 50 percent as margin of profit as one of the important and progressive steps towards making possible doubling of farmers' incomes by 2022.
• Copra refers to the dried sections of the meet of coconut from which coconut oil is expelled. The MSP declared is for Fair Average Quality (FAQ) of both ball copra and milling copra (for coconut oil).

Detailed

Minimum Support Price (MSP)

• MSP is the rate at which the government purchases crops from farmers, and is based on a calculation of at least one-and-a-half times the cost of production incurred by the farmers.
• MSP is a “minimum price” for any crop that the government considers as remunerative for farmers and hence deserving of “support”.
• MSP is fixed twice a year separately for Kharif and Ravi Seasons.
• MSP doesnt have any legal backing.
• The Commission for Agricultural Costs & Prices (CACP) recommends MSPs for 22 mandated crops and fair and remunerative price (FRP) for sugarcane.
• CACP is an attached office of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.
• The mandated crops are-

• Cereals - Paddy, Wheat, Maize, Sorghum, Pearl millet, Barley, Ragi
• Pulses - Chickpea / Gram, Tur, Moong, Urad, Lentil
• Oilseeds - Peanut, Rapeseed, Soyabean, Sesame, Sunflower, Safflower, Niger seed
• Commercial crops - Copra, Sugarcane, Cotton, Raw jute

• Factors for Recommending the MSP:

     The CACP considers various factors while recommending the MSP for a commodity, including cost of cultivation.

• The supply and demand situation for the commodity, 
• Market price trends (domestic and global) and parity vis-à-vis other crops
• Implications for consumers (inflation)
• Environment (soil and water use) and 
• Terms of trade between agriculture and non-agriculture sectors.

Winter Session, 2021 of Parliament adjourned sine die, a day ahead of schedule

Tags: National News

• The Winter Session, 2021 of Parliament has been adjourned sine die on Wednesday, 22nd December 2021. 
• The Session was curtailed 1 day earlier than scheduled on completion of Essential Government Business. .
• 11 Bills were passed by both the Houses of Parliament which includes one Appropriation Bill relating to the Supplementary Demands for Grants for the year 2021- 22 
• One Bill namely the Biological Diversity (Amendment) Bill, 2021 was referred to the Joint Committee of both Houses of Parliament and five Bills are being referred to Standing Committees.

Detailed

Termination of Parliament Session:

• A sitting of Parliament can be terminated by adjournment or adjournment sine die or prorogation or dissolution (in the case of the Lok Sabha).
• Adjournment: It suspends the work in a sitting for a specified time, which may be hours, days or weeks.
• Adjournment sine die: It means terminating a sitting of Parliament for an indefinite period. In other words, when the House is adjourned without naming a day for reassembly.
• The power of adjournment as well as adjournment sine die lies with the presiding officer (Speaker or Chairman) of the House.
• Prorogation: The word Prorogation means discontinuing without dissolving. The President issues a notification for prorogation of the session after the business of a session is completed and the presiding officer declares the House adjourned sine die. 
• The President can also prorogue the House while in session.
• Dissolution: Only the Lok Sabha is subject to dissolution. Rajya Sabha, being a permanent House, is not subject to dissolution.
• A dissolution ends the life of the existing House, and a new House is constituted after general elections are held. The President is empowered to dissolve the Lok Sabha.

Appropriation Bill

• A Money Bill passed annually (or at various times of the year) providing for the withdrawal or appropriation from and out of the Consolidated Fund of India, of moneys, voted by  Lok Sabha and moneys charged on the Consolidated Fund for the services of a financial year or a part of a financial year. 
• It is passed by Lok Sabha, transmitted to Rajya Sabha and will be deemed to have been passed by both Houses after expiry of 14 days under Article 109(5).

PM inaugurates and lays the foundation of multiple projects in Varanasi

Tags: State News

• In an endeavour to strengthen the rural economy and help farmers of the region, PM lays foundation stone of ‘Banas Dairy Sankul’ at the UP State Industrial Development Authority Food Park, Karkhiyaon, Varanasi.
  • Spread across 30 acres of land, the Dairy will be built at a cost of about Rs 475 crores and will have a facility for processing 5 lakh litre of milk per day. 

• The Prime Minister also laid the foundation stone for the Biogas based Electricity generation plant for the Milk Producers Cooperative Union Plant, Ramnagar, Varanasi.
• The Prime Minister launched a Portal and Logo dedicated to the Conformity Assessment Scheme of milk products, developed by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) with the help of National Dairy Development Board (NDDB).
• PM distributes rural residential rights record ‘Gharauni’ under the Swamitva scheme of the Union Ministry of Panchayati Raj to over 20 lakh residents of UP.
• The PM also inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of developmental Projects worth over Rs. 1500 crores in Varanasi.
• He paid tribute to “Chaudhary Charan Singh on Kisan Diwas”.

CM Dashboard inauguration by the CM of Tamil Nadu

Tags: State News

To the point:

• The Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu Thiru M.K. Stalin launched the state-of-the-art "CM Dashboard - Tamil Nadu 360" monitoring system on 23rd December.
• This dashboard would track, analyze and increase the efficiency of the government and would avoid delay in decision making.
• This dashboard will provide real-time information on all State government departments, storage levels of key reservoirs, rainfall patterns, price mesh, which monitors the price stability over 25 food grains/vegetables/fruits, and it will provide projections on possible increases in price, enabling government intervention.
• Across the country, the Chief Ministers of a few States, including Orissa, Punjab, Haryana have dashboards which provide available information.

23rd December Krishi Diwas

Tags: Important Days

Farmer’s Day also known as Krishi Diwas is celebrated every year on 23 December on the birthday of the 5th Prime Minister of India, Choudhary Charan Singh.

Men’s Asian Championship Trophy 2021

Tags: Sports News

To the point:

• Indian Hockey team beat Pakistan’s Hockey team with a scoreline of 4-3 and secured the third position (bronze medal) in Men’s Asian Champions trophy 2021.
• South Korea emerged as the champion after beating Japan.
• The Men’s Asian Champions trophy 2021 was held at the Maulana Bhasani Hockey Stadium in Dhaka, Bangladesh from 14th to 22nd December 2021.
• The tournament was organized by the Asian Hockey Federation.

Asian Championship Trophy

The Men's Asian Champions Trophy is an event held annually by the Asian Hockey Federation (since 2011). It features Asia's top six field hockey teams competing in a round robin format.

• Asia’s top six hockey teams are:
  • India
  • South Korea
  • Japan
  • Pakistan
  • China
  • Malaysia

Professional Squash Association’s (PSA) new president

Tags: Person in news

To the point:

• India’s Saurav Ghosal has been named as the Professional Squash Association’s (PSA) men’s president.
• Ghosal replaced World No.1 Ali Farag who had stepped down after four years in the role.
• Sarah-Jane Perry will begin another term as PSA women’s president.

Professional Squash Association’s (PSA):

• The Professional Squash Association (PSA) is the governing body for the men's and women's professional squash circuit.
• Over 800 players from all the 5 continents (over 60 different countries represented) are registered with the PSA and rankings are updated monthly based on players' performances.
• Founded in 1975.
• Chairman: Ziad Al-Turki
• Location: Leeds, England, United Kingdom

Junior US Open Squash title winner

Tags: Person in news

To the point:

• Indian teenager Anahat Singh has won the prestigious Junior US Open Squash tournament in the Under-15 girls' category.
• The 13-year-old Delhi girl defeated Jayda Marei of Egypt.
• The US Junior Squash Open was held at the Arlen Spectre Centre in Philadelphia from 18th to 21st December 2021.

United States Junior Open Squash Championship

The United States Junior Open Squash Championship is the largest individual junior squash tournament in the world and is considered the third most prestigious junior open squash championship after the World Junior and the British Junior Open squash championship.