Weekly Current Affairs

By admin: Dec. 5, 2021

National News

Tags: National News

1. Panels are formed to look into EPFO functioning. 

For ad-hoc board-level committees to oversee the functioning of various aspects of the Employees' Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) approved by the Union Labor and Employment cabinet  Minister Bhupendra Yadav.

• The committee headed by  Labour Secretary “Sunil Barthwal”:
  • Committee on ‘pension reforms’  and 
  • Committee on ‘IT and Communications’
• The committee headed by Minister of State for Labour and Employment Rameswar Teli:
  • Committee on ‘EPFO’s internal human resources and establishment matters’ and
  • Committee on ‘finding ways to enhance EPFO’s coverage and reducing related litigation’.

2. National Health Accounts(NHA) report for 2007-18 released 

• There has been an increase in the share of government health expenditure from 1.15% in 2013-14 to 1.35%  of the GDP in 2017-18. 
•  The share of Government Health Expenditure in total health expenditure has also increased from 28.6%in 2013-14 to 40.8% in 2017-18.
• The government’s health expenditure as a share of total Government expenditure has increased from 3.78% to 5.12% between 2013-14 and 2017-18.
• In per capita terms, the government health expenditure has increased from Rs 1042 to Rs.1753 between 2013-14 to 2017-18.
• The share of primary healthcare in current government health expenditure has increased from 51.1% in 2013-14 to 54.7% in 2017-18.
• The out-of-pocket expenditure (OOPE) as a share of total health expenditure has come down to 48.8% in 2017-18 from 64.2% in 2013-14.  The fall in out-of-pocket expenditure is a good sign as it indicates that government expenditure on health is increasing.

3. Admiral R. Hari Kumar takes charge as the new Chief of Naval Staff

Admiral R Hari Kumar became the 25th Chief of Naval Staff succeeding Admiral Karambir Singh.

4. Accidental Death and Sucide Report 2020

The National Crimes Records Bureau (NCRB) released its report on ‘Accidental Deaths and Suicides in India’ (ASDI) for 2020.

Highlights of the report 

• The number of deaths by suicides rose by 10% from 2019, taking the total figure to an all-time high of 1,53,052.
• Accidental deaths fell by 11% from 2019 to 2020 to 374, 397, the lowest figure since 2009.
• Daily wage earners made up the largest proportion of people who died by suicide in the country in 2020 at 24.6%. 
• Tamil Nadu was the state with the highest number of deaths by suicides among daily wage earners with 6,495, followed by Madhya Pradesh (4,945), Maharashtra (4,176), Telangana (3,831) and Gujarat (2,745).

5. Supreme Court to allow setting up of medical board for Jayalalitha Death inquiry

The Supreme Court said it will pass orders to allow the setting up of a medical board of AIIMS doctors to help Justice A. Arumugasamy Commission of Inquiry to gather the facts on the death of former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa at Apollo Hospital in Chennai in 2016.

6. Center appoints committee to review EWS criteria

The  Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has appointed a three-member committee to review the criteria for 10% reservation for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) in educational institutions and government jobs in terms of the provisions of the Explanation to Article 15 of the Constitution (103rd Amendment) Act 2019.

• The  Central government gave an undertaking to the Supreme Court on a petition regarding EWS reservation in NEET(National Eligibility cum Entrance Test) to explain the reason behind fixing the criteria for EWS.
• The panel members are 
• Ajay Bhushan Pandey, former Finance Secretary 
• V.K. Malhotra; Member Secretary, Indian Council of Social Science Research, and 
• Sanjeev Sanyal Principal Economic Adviser to the Government of India.

7. Elephants Death

A whopping 1,160 elephants were killed in the country due to reasons other than natural causes in the past 10 years up to December 31, 2020, according to the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC).

8. UAPA Trials cannot be held indefinitely - Supreme Court

Hearing a petition of an undertrial arrested under UAPA(Unlawful Activities Prevention Act), the Supreme Court gave a landmark judgment on the right of the undertrials.

• The Supreme Court said that putting a person accused under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act behind bars for an unduly long time with no progress in the trial or appeal process is a violation of his or her fundamental right and a threat to public confidence in the administration of justice,
• The Court held that timely delivery of justice is part of human rights.

9. Paika Rebellion to be added as case study in NCERT book

Union Culture Minister, Mr. Kishen Reddy said in the Rajya  Sabha that the 1817 Paika Revolution of Odisha will be included in the NCERT textbook  as one of the beginnings of the popular uprising against the British.

• The Paika Rebellion, also called the Paika Bidroha, was an armed rebellion against Company rule in India in 1817.

10. Government seeks  62000 Crore for Air India

• The Government has sought Parliament’s nod to infuse ₹62,000 crore as a supplementary grant to Air India Assets Holding Limited (created for disinvestment of Air India and its subsidiaries), for debt and other liabilities of Air India.

11. Government seeks  Rs 25,000 crore for MGNREGS from Parliament  

Central Government has put before the parliament a supplementary demand of grant in the amount of Rs 25000 Crore for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme

• Initial budgetary allocation for MGNREGA in the financial year 2021-22 was Rs 73000 Crore

12. "6 Lakh Indians renounced citizenship in last 5 years"

• More than Six lakh Indians renounced citizenship in the past five years, as per the data shared by the Ministry of Home Affairs to Lok Sabha. 
• About 40% of the citizenship renunciation requests come from the United States, followed by Australia and Canada, which amount to a chunk of around 30% of such requests.

13. Indian Government brings bills to extend the tenure of ED and CBI

The  Government of India has introduced two bills, the Central Vigilance Commission (Amendment) Bill 2021 and Delhi Special Establishment (Amendment) Bill 2021 in the Lok Sabha which seek to replace theThe Central Vigilance Commission (Amendment) Ordinance, 2021  and The Delhi Special Police Establishment (Amendment) Ordinance, 2021  promulgated on 14 November  2021.

• The bill was introduced by the Minister of State for Personnel and Training Dr. Jitendra Singh.

State News

Tags: State News

Kerala

1. Norovirus Cases in Thrissur

Norovirus cases have been reported for the first time in India from Kerala. 

Norovirus:

Norovirus causes inflammation of the stomach or intestines. This is called acute gastroenteritis.

2. Kerala  accuses Tamilnadu of causing flood 

Kerala government has accused Tamil Nadu of releasing 5000 cusecs of water to the Periyar River from Mullaperiyar reservoir, without any sufficient warning to Kerala, causing flood in Vallakadavu, Vandiperiyar, Chappathu and Upputhara.area of Kerala.

Rajasthan

3. “Back to work” scheme of Rajasthan Government for women:

The Congress government of Rajasthan has come up with a unique scheme to provide regular employment to women who have had to quit their earlier jobs due to personal/family issues.

Delhi 

4. Role of Stubble burning in Delhi Pollution 

As per SAFAR (System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research) data, the average contribution of stubble burning in neighboring states of Punjab, Haryana and Western Uttar Pradesh  to Delhi’s PM 2.5 level in November was 14.6%.

Telangana

5. Padma Shri awardee ‘Sirivennela’ Seetharama Sastry passed away.

Veteran Telugu film lyricist 'Sirivennela' Sitarama Sastry (66), a recipient of the Padma Shri and numerous other awards, died due to lung cancer-related complications on November 30.

Uttrakhand 

6. Uttarakhand  government frees the temples from government control

The Uttarakhand Government took back the The Uttarakhand Char Dham Devasthanam Management Act, 2019 that sought to extend control over 51 temples in Uttarakhand  and have  been opposed tooth and nail by their seers and managements.

International News

Tags: International News

1. Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir to form the new government in Iceland

• Katrin Jakobsdottir has been chosen by the coalition parties in Iceland to be their leader and the Prime Minister of Iceland.
• She became the Prime minister of Iceland in 2017for the first time.
• Capital of Iceland: Reykjavík

2. Barbados  becomes a Republic 

The Caribbean island nation of Barbados declared itself a republic on 30 November, a move that coincides with the 55th anniversary of its independence from Britain.

Barbados capital  Bridgetown 

Currency: Barbados Dollar 

Prime Minister: Mia Mottley 

3. EU announces BRI alternative

• European Union (EU) plans 300 Billion Euro Infrastructure Fund to Counter China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) by 2027.
• Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission calls it “The Global Gateway Plan” and describes it as “roadmap for major investment in infrastructure development around the world”

4. Sri Lanka Finance Minister Visit to India 

India has agreed to help Sri Lanka to deal with its food and energy crisis .

This was agreed by the visiting Sri Lankan Finance Minister  Mr. Basil Rajapaksa and the Finance Minister Mrs. Nirmala Sithraman and External Affairs minister Mr. S. Jaishanker.

5. Russia warns US to stop NATO’s Eastward Expansion

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken that Moscow needed “long-term security guarantees” that would halt NATO’s eastward expansion.

Mr. Lavrov and Mr. Blinken was in Stockholm for a meeting of the ministerial level meeting of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

Economics/Business

Tags: Economics/Business

1. Visa complains to US govt about India backing local rival RuPay

• The Visa company issued a statement to the U.S. during a meeting between company executives, including U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Catherine Tai and CEO Alfred Kelly. It has complained to the government that domestic payments rival RuPay is promoting India's "informal and formal" manner. Due to this, American Visa Company has suffered loss in India.

2. Government approves strategic disinvestment of Central Electronics Ltd.

• The Union Government announced that it has approved the strategic divestment of Central Electronics Ltd (CEL) - a CPSE under the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR).
• The winning bid was by Nandal Finance and Leasing Ltd for Rs 210 crore.
• The Alternative Mechanism (AM) on strategic disinvestment comprises Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Minister of State for Science and Technology Jitendra Singh.

3. Direct tax collection grew by 68%

• According to the Union Minister of State of Finance, the Net Direct Tax Collection figures for the FY- 2021-22 as on 23.11.2021 are at Rs 6,92,833.6 crore showing a growth of 67.93 percent and 27.29 percent over the net collection figures for the corresponding period FY 2020-21 and FY 2019-20.

4. RBI Supersede Reliance Capital Board

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on November 29 said it has superseded the board of Reliance Capital due to the defaults of the company in meeting various payment obligations.

RBI has appointed  Nageswar Rao Y, former executive director of Bank of Maharashtra as the Administrator of the Company.

5. Indian Economy grew by 8.4% in July-September 2021-22(2nd Quarter). 

The National Statistics Office, under the  Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, has released the economic data regarding the second quarter (July-September) of  2021-22. 

• The Gross Domestic Product(GDP)at constant price grew by 8.4% as compared to the same period last financial year.
• The growth rate in the first six month of the current financial year is 13.7 %.

6. GST Collection Increased

Gross Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections hit ₹1,31,526 crore in November, the second highest since the GST was implemented in July 2017 and the second month in a row that collections have crossed ₹1.3 lakh crore.

• Revenues for November were 25% higher than the same month last year and 27% over the pre-pandemic levels of 2019-20.

7. 30 Billion Dollar of India-China Trade Deficit in First two quarters of Financial Year 2021-22

• India’s trade deficit with China stood at $30.07 billion during April­-September 2021 as per Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

8. Debt to GDP Ratio of States Worrying as per Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Report

The Combined Debt ­to GDP ratio of states is expected to remain at 31% by end­ March 2022

This is published by RBI in its report ‘State Finances: A Study of Budgets of 2021­-22’

According to the report the target was 20% for 2021-22, so the estimated figures are really worrying.

9. Export Dip widens Trade Deficit to record 23.27 Billion Dollars

• India’s merchandise exports (also known as tangible exports or retail exports) slipped below the $30 ­billion mark for the first time in eight months in November to $29.88 billion, even as imports rose sharply

Summit

Tags: Summits

INDIA Joins G20 Troika

India recently joined G20 Troika and started the procedure for taking over the G20 presidency next year. Currently the troika is made of Italy, Indonesia and India.

Science and Technology

Tags: Science and Technology

COVID-19

1. Omicron, “variant of concern”: Impact on World

With the emergence of Omicron and its virulence yet uncertain, concerns have emerged about whether the third dose of COVID vaccines should be administered in India.

• The United States and the United Kingdom have approved booster doses for all adults, six months after the completion of their second dose.

2. No International flights from India

The Government cited concerns over the Omicron variant of the coronavirus and indefinitely postponed the full resumption of scheduled international flights from December 15.

3. First Case of Omicron in India

India has confirmed two cases of the Omicron variant of coronavirus in Karnataka.

• The announcement was made following confirmation from the Indian SARSCoV­2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) that monitors the genomic variations of the pandemic.

4. The Indian SARS­CoV­2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) advises booster dose

Top Indian genome scientists have suggested booster doses of Covid vaccines for those above 40 years of age with preference to high risk and high exposure population.

• The recommendations to administer booster dose to those above 40 years of age was made in INSACOG’s weekly bulletin on November 29, before it confirmed the first cases of the new variant in India.

5. ZyCoV-D to be launched in seven States

The first COVID vaccine ZyCoV-D is cleared by India’s drug regulator for those aged 12 and above.

• This is the first COVID-19 vaccine candidate developed on a plasmid DNA platform to be commercially introduced anywhere in the world.

6. Cyclone Jawad  to hit Eastern coastal area of India 

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a warning that the deep depression in the Bay of Bengal will develop into a cyclonic storm “Jawad” and it will affect north Andhra Pradesh and south Odisha and north-northeast of  West Bengal.

The cyclone has been named “Jawad” by Saudi Arabia.

7. Facial recognition at airports from 2022

• AAI is working on a project of FRT-based Biometric Boarding System as part of the first phase of DigiYatra Implementation at four airports, including Varanasi, Pune, Kolkata, and Vijayawada.

Sports News

Tags: Sports News

1. Ram Kumar wins his maiden Challenger Tennis title 

• Indian tennis player Ram Kumar Ramanathan won his maiden Challenger level singles title at the first edition of the Association of tennis professionals (ATP’S) Bahrain ministry of interior tennis challenger 2021 held in Manama, Bahrain.
• He defeated Evgeny Karlovskiy from Russia.
• He secured 186th rank with his victory.
• He became the highest ranked India on the ATP Singles ranking chart.

2. FIFA Club World Cup to be held in UAE in February 2022

World Football’s Governing Body announced that the FIFA Club World Cup which was initially set to be held in December 2021 - January 2022 in Japan, will now be held in the United Arab Emirates in February 2022.

3. Ravichandran Ashwin breaks Harbhajan’s Record 

Indian Off Spinner  Ravichandran Ashwin broke the record of Harbhajan Singh to become the third-highest test wicket-taker in India.

He took his 418 test wicket when he dismissed New Zealand player Tom Latham in the  first Test match played at Green Park Stadium, Kanpur.

4. WTA suspends event in China over Peng issue 

The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) has taken the unprecedented step of immediately suspending all of its events in China, citing the failure of the authorities to take up Chinese star Peng Shuai’s allegations of sexual abuse by a former senior Communist Party leader.

5. FIFA  announces Women Football  World cup 2023 schedule 

• It will be co-hosted by Australia  and New Zealand 

6. Sage National Billiards & Snooker Champions 2021

Ladies’ 6-Red Snooker Champion:

Vidya Pilai

Mens’ 6-Red Snooker Champion:

S. Shrikrishna

Awards

Tags: Awards

1. Ballon d‘Or football  award 2021:

• Ballon d‘Or  Men: Lionel Messi of Argentina.
• Ballon d‘Or Feminin(women): Alexia Putellas of Spain.

2. Yashin Trophy : It is given to the best goalkeeper.

• Gianluigi Donnarumma of Italy  

3. Kopa Trophy for the best Under-21 player.

• Pedri of Spain.

4. World Athletics Award 2021

• Woman of the year award
• Anju Bobby George for grooming talents in the country and for advocating talents in the country.
• Other winners 
• World Athlete of the year: Male 
• Karsten Warholm of Norway. 
• World Athlete of the year: Female
• Elaine Thompson-Herah  of Jamaica. 

Appointments

Tags: Person in news

1. New Prime minister of Czech Republic

• Petr Fiala was appointed as the Prime Minister of Czech Republic .

2. New CEO of Twitter

• Parag Agrawal, 37, an IIT-Bombay graduate, has replaced Jack Dorsey as the new Twitter chief executive officer, becoming the youngest CEO in top 500 companies.

3. Sweden Prime Minister: 

• Magdalena Andersson, who last week was appointed Sweden’s first woman Prime Minister for a few hours, was again re-elected as the Prime Minister by the Swedish Parliament Riksdag. 

4. New Chairman of AFAA

Sriniwasan Swamy (a chairman of R K Swamy Hansa group) was elected as a new chairman of Asian Federation of Advertising Associations (AFAA) for a term of four years, at its General Board Meeting held on December 1st.

Books and Authors

Tags: Books and Authors

1. Bangladesh Liberation @50 years: ‘Bijoy’ with Synergy India Pakistan War 1971

• Author: V.K. Ahluwalia and A.N. Jha

2. The Fractured Himalaya : India China Tibet 1949-1962 

• Author:  Nirupama Rao

3. Translating myself and Others 

• Author : Jhumpa Lahiri 

4. 400 days 

• Author  : Chetan Bhagat

5. Indian Innings: The Journey of Indian Cricket from 1947

• Author: Ayaz Memon

6. The Long Game: How the Chinese Negotiate with India

• Author: Vijay Gokhale

7. My Life in Full: Work, Family and Our Future

• Author: Indira Nooyi 

8. 10 Flashpoints; 20 Years: National Security Situations that Impacted India

• Author: Manish Tewari

Important Days

Tags: Important Days

1. 29 November - International Day of Solidarity with Palestinian People

2. 1st December- World AIDS Day,

• 2021 Theme: End Inequalities, End AIDS

3. 1st December: BSF Raising Day

• 1st December 2021: 57th Raising Day

4. 2nd December - National Pollution Control Day

• Theme of National Pollution Control Day 2021: 
• To create awareness about the importance of pollution control
• To educate people on how to prevent pollution

5. 2nd December - World Computer Literacy Day

• 2021 Theme: “Literacy for human-centred recovery: Narrowing the digital divide.”

6.  3rd December - International Day of person with disability

• 2021 Theme: “Leadership and Participation of persons with disabilities towards an inclusive, accessible and sustainable post-COVID-19 world.”

7. 4th December - Indian Navy Day