Weekly Current Affairs

By admin: Dec. 12, 2021

Important Days

Tags: Important Days

1. 5th December: World Soil Day

Theme of World Soil Day 2021 is ‘Halt soil salinization, boost soil productivity’.

2. 6th December: Mahaparinirvan Divas

India observes December 6 as Mahaparinirvan Divas every year to mark the death anniversary of Dr Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar.

3. 6th December: Armed Forces Flag Day

Since 1949, 7th December is observed as the Armed Forces Flag Day throughout the country to honour the martyrs and the men in uniform who valiantly fought & continue to fight on our borders to safeguard the country's honour.

4. 7 December: International Civil Aviation Day

The theme for International Civil Aviation Day 2021 is “Advancing Innovation for Global Aviation Development.” 

5. 9th December- International Anti-Corruption Day

Theme for 2021 is, “Your right, your role: say no to corruption.”

6. 10th December: Human Rights Day

2021 Theme : "EQUALITY - Reducing inequalities, advancing human rights."

7. 11th December: International Mountain Day

2021 Theme: “Sustainable Mountain Tourism.”

National News

Tags: National News

1. Ram Nath Kovind inaugurates centennial year celebration of the PAC

• President Ram Nath Kovind inaugurated the centennial year celebration of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) in the Central Hall of Parliament on 4th December. The PAC is one of the most powerful financial committees of Parliament.
• The Committee on Public Accounts is the oldest Parliamentary Committee and was first constituted in 1921.
• The Committee consists of 22 Members, 15 Members are elected by Lok Sabha and 7 Members of the Rajya Sabha are associated with it.

2. PM inaugrated Vyasi Hydroelectric Project

• The Prime Minister  inaugurated the 120 MW Vyasi Hydroelectric Project, built over Yamuna river at the cost of over 1,700 crore rupees.
• Located in Dehradun district and operated by Uttarakhand Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited, the Vyasi power project is a run-of-the-river scheme on the Yamuna.

3. India’s first privately build Cryogenic Engine

• Hyderabad­ based Skyroot Aerospace successfully tested Dhawan­1, thus making it country’s first privately developed, fully cryogenic rocket engine. 
• The Cryogenic engine has been named after Satish Dhawan, who was the third chairman of ISRO. He pioneered the development of advanced space launch capabilities of India.
• It runs on two high performance rocket propellants — liquid natural gas (LNG) and liquid oxygen (LoX).

4. 57th Raising Day of BSF held at Jaisalmer

• Union Home and Cooperation Minister Shri Amit Shah addressed the 57th Raising Day celebrations of the Border Security Force in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan.

5. Anemia in Children: leading to child growth failure

According to the 5th report of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) of 2019-2021, a higher proportion of children aged 6 to 59 months have been found to be anaemic compared to NFHS-4 (2015-2016).

Highlights:

• The share of anaemic children in NFHS-5 (2019-21) increased by 8.5% points compared to NFHS-4 (2015-16) and was closer to levels of NFHS-3 (2005-2006).
• In 30 out of 36 states/UT’s one half the children in age group 6-59 months are found to be anaemic.
• Assam, Mizoram and Chattisgarh recorded the highest increases.
• Gujarat had the highest share of children (79.7%) who were anaemic.

6. Russian President Visit to India

Russian President Vladimir Putin visited India on 6th December for the 21st  India – Russia Annual summit with Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi.

• first in-person meeting between Putin and Prime Minister Narendra Modi after their meeting on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Brasilia in November 2019.
• After their meeting in New Delhi both the country issued a Joint Declaration titled “India-Russia: Partnership for Peace, Progress and Prosperity”
• The two countries signed 28 agreements, including 9 government-to-government agreements and those that spanned areas of defence, space, finance, power, culture, scientific research, education and health among others.

7. Maitri Diwas

India and Bangladesh celebrate 6 December as  Maitri diwas to commemorate the recognition of the day when India recognised Bangladesh as an Independent country.

• The war to liberate Bangladesh began on December 3, 1971 and ended with the signing of the Instrument of Surrender by Pakistani General A.A.K. Niazi on December 16. 

8. India Crosses Covid Vaccination Milestone

• Half of the eligible population(18 Years and above ) in the country is now fully vaccinated against COVID. 
• In total, 85% of the eligible adult population has now received the first dose, while 50.35% are fully vaccinated.

9. Government has constituted Tribal Advisory Council in all states having Scheduled Areas

Tribes Advisory Council (TAC) have been constituted in 10(Ten) states having Scheduled Areas there namely Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha and Rajasthan. 

10. India adds Ghana and Tanzania in the list of “at-risk” countries

Countries in Europe, including the U.K., and South Africa, Brazil, Botswana, China, Ghana, Mauritius, New Zealand, Zimbabwe, Hong Kong, Singapore, Tanzania and Israel have been placed in the “at risk” category. 

• Passengers from “at-risk” countries have to follow additional COVID-19 testing and quarantine measures.

11. Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) and 12 others killed in Chopper Crash

Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) and 12 others killed in Chopper Crash

India’s first Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Laxman Singh Rawat, his wife Madhulika Rawat, an army Brigadier, Lieutenant, Wing Commander, Squadron Leader and 7 others were killed in a chopper crash in Coonoor, Tamil Nadu. 

• The helicopter Mi-17-V5  had taken off from Sulur Air Force base in Coimbatore ,Tamil Nadu to the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington, Tamil Nadu to address the faculty and student officers of the ‘Staff Course’.

IAF has ordered tri-service investigation into chopper crash

The Indian Air Force (IAF) has ordered a tri-service investigation led by Air Marshal Manavendra Singh, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Training Command, in the Mi 17 V5 chopper crash in Tamil Nadu.

Black box of the ill-fated chopper has been recovered by the investigation team.

12. Cabinet Nod for Ken-Betwa River Linking Project

The Union Cabinet approved the funding and implementation of the Ken­-Betwa river interlinking project. It is the first out of the 30 projects of the National Perspective Plan for interlinking of rivers.

Highlights-

• Benefit Water Starved Districts of the Bundelkhand region of MP and UP like Panna, Tikamgarh, Chhatarpur, Sagar, Damoh, Datia, Vidisha, Shivpuri and Raisen of Madhya Pradesh, and Banda, Mahoba, Jhansi and Lalitpur of Uttar Pradesh,
• The total cost of the project Rs 44,605 crore at the 2020­-21 price level. The Centre would fund Rs 39,317 crore for the project, with Rs 36,290 crore as a grant and Rs 3,027 crore as a loan.
• The project is slated to irrigate 10.62 lakh hectares annually, provide drinking water supply to 62 lakh people and generate 103 MW of hydropower and 27 MW of solar power. 
• The project will partly submerge the Panna Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh and affect the habitat of vultures and jackals, which is the major environmental and wildlife concern hindering the progress of the project for all these years.
• The two states signed a tripartite agreement with the Centre on World Water Day (22nd March) to finally implement this ambitious project.

13. Human Rights Violation Data by Ministry of Home Affairs

According to data provided by the Ministry of Home Affairs to the Rajya Sabha on 8th December 2021, around 40% of human rights violation cases lodged annually by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in the past three financial years till this October 31 were from Uttar Pradesh.

• Current Chairman of the NHRC : Justice Arun Kumar Mishra

14. Bills on Assisted Reproductive Technology, surrogacy passed

• The Rajya Sabha passed two Bills to regulate and supervise assisted reproductive technology clinics and surrogacy on December 8.
• The Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Bill, 2021 was passed by the Lok Sabha on December 1. It was passed by a voice vote in the Upper House

15. Only 56% Funds of Poshan Abhiyaan Used

• State Governments and Union Territories utilized only 56% of the total funds released under the Poshan Abhiyan or Nutrition Mission in the past three years.
• Out of a total amount of Rs, 5,312 crores disbursed by the Centre between financial years 2019 to 2021, a sum of Rs 2,985 crores was utilized.

16. International flights to be resumed after 31st Jan. 2022

Directorate General of Civil Aviation announced on 09th December that full resumption of international flights stands postponed at least till January 31, 2022.\

17. Government of India extends PMGAY-G till March 2024

The Government of India has extended the Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana-Gramin(PMAY-G) beyond March 2021  till March 2024 so as to provide financial assistance for the construction of the remaining 155.75 lakh houses under the scheme.

18. Rajya Sabha passes Pharma Education Bill

Rajya Sabha passed the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (Amendment) Bill, 2021 which amends the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research Act, 1998.  

19. No proposal under consideration to scrap Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC)

Stating the Government of India position ,Law Minister Kiren Rijiju informed the Lok Sabha that the  section 124 A of the Indian Penal Code(IPC) 1860 which deals with sedition in sub -judice before the Supreme Court and the government has no intention of scrapping the section.

20. India co-chairs Global Methane Initiative Steering Leadership Meeting

A Steering Leadership meeting of Global Methane Initiative (GMI) has been held virtually in which the Additional Secretary, Ministry of Coal, V.K. Tiwari as the Vice Chairman of this global initiative informed the participants about the work being carried out by India to mitigate the emission of methane.

State News

Tags: State News

1. Nagaland Government demands withdrawal of AFSPA form Nagaland

• Nagaland Chief Minister Mr. Neiphiu Rio  has demanded the withdrawal of the Armed Forces Special powers Act from the state following the death of 14 civilians in the Army operation against the Naga insurgents in the Mon district of Nagaland on 4 December 2021.Nagaland’s Mon district
• Nagaland’s Mon district borders Myanmar from where members of the NSCN (Khaplang-Yung Aung) are said to carry out hit-and-run operations.
• The Konyak Union, the apex body of the Konyak Naga Tribe from the Mon district of Nagaland has also demanded the repeal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act or, AFSPA, from the entire Northeast of India and withdrawal of Assam Rifles from the Mon district of Nagaland .

Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangama has   also demanded the withdrawal of AFSPA from Manipur .

• The Nagaland government has two member Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the circumstances leading to the killing of the civilians by the armed forces.

2. KVIC Rolls Out Project RE-HAB in Assam to Prevent Elephant – Human Conflicts Using Tiny Bees

Following the   success of its innovative Project RE-HAB (Reducing Elephant-Human Attacks using Bees) in Karnataka, Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) has now replicated the project in Assam. 

• Under Project RE-HAB, “Bee-fences” are created by setting up bee boxes in the passageways of elephants to block their entrance to human territories.
• It is a cost-effective way of reducing human-wild conflicts without causing any harm to the animals.
• It is scientifically recorded that elephants are annoyed by the honey bees.

3. Nagaland Government cancel Hornbill festival

Nagaland Government has cancelled the famous annual “Hornbill festival “ as a respect to the 14 villagers mistakenly killed by the army during an anti-insurgent operation in the Mon district of Nagaland on 4 December .   

• Chief Minister of Nagaland : Neiphiu Rio
• Governor : Jagdhish Mukhi

4. Bird Flu confirmed in Ducks

The Alappuzha district was put on alert, after an outbreak of bird flu was confirmed at Kunnumma South (ward 10) in Thakazhy grama panchayat.

Highlights:

• The presence of H5N1 subtype of the Influenza A virus was reported in ducks.

5. NEDFI Announces New Scheme Atmanirbhar Hastshilpkar Scheme for the Artisans under Ministry of Doner

With the objective to develop the petty artisans of the North Eastern Region by providing financial assistance in the form of term loan for income generating activities for setting up / expansion / modernization / working capital requirement and other activities related to the sector NEDFi has introduced Atmanirbhar Hastshilpkar Scheme to the grass root Artisans of the region.

International News

Tags: International News

1. Mount Semeru erupted in Indonesia

• Mt Semeru (3676 m above sea level) is the biggest mountain on the island of Java.
• Semeru is one of the most active volcanoes in Indonesia and a part of a chain of volcanic mountains stretching from northern Sumatra to the Lesser Sunda Islands. 

2. Suu Kyi sentenced to four years in prison

The military junta ruling Myanmar has sentenced the deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi  for four years for incitement against the military and breaching COVID-19 rules,

3. US to diplomatic boycott Beijing winter olympics

The US has announced a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in China because of concerns about China's human rights record especially its treatment of Uighur muslim in Xinjinag provinces, a move that has been heavily criticised by Beijing.

• However American sports persons will participate in the winter  olympic games.
• Following the US announcement, New Zealand  and Australia also announced a diplomatic boycott of the games though their athletes will be participating in the games.
• Canada will join the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia in a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics over human rights concerns, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on December 8.

4. ADB to provide loan to India

Government of India and Asian Development Bank(ADB) has signed two agreement for loan to projects in India 

• ADB will provide a $125 million loan to improve access to safe and affordable drinking water supply and citywide inclusive sanitation services in Dehradun and Nainital cities in the state of Uttarakhand.
• It will also provide a $150 million loan to provide access to inclusive, resilient, and sustainable housing for the urban poor in the state of Tamil Nadu.

5. India amongst the most unequal countries in the world

As per the 'World Inequality Report 2022' by World Inequality Lab, which aims to promote research on global inequality dynamics. India is among the most unequal countries in the world, with rising poverty and an 'affluent elite'.

• Distribution of Wealth: In India, the top 10% and top 1% hold 57% and 22% of the total national income respectively while the share of the bottom 50% has gone down to 13%.
• Gender inequality: The share of female labour income share in India is equal to 18% which is significantly lower than the average in Asia (21%, excluding China) & is among the lowest in the world. Although, the number is slightly higher than the average share in the Middle East (15%).

 6. Nicaragua cut its diplomatic relation with Taiwan

• The Central American country Nicaragua has become the latest country to cut diplomatic ties with Taiwan in favour of China.
• The decision was praised by China, which demands that any country that wants diplomatic relations with it must cut existing ties with Taipei.
• However, Taiwan sees itself as a democratically-governed, independent country, though it has never formally declared independence from the mainland.
• Before Nicaragua, the Pacific Island nations of Kiribati and the Solomon Islands were the latest countries to cut ties with Taiwan in favour of China in 2019.

Capital of Nicaragua: Managua

President of Nicaragua: Daniel Ortega 

Capital of Taiwan: Taipei

7. UN General Assembly Grants Observer Status To International Solar Alliance

• The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) has granted Observer Status to International Solar Alliance (ISA), India's Permanent Ambassador to the United Nations.
• A total of 108 countries participated in the Assembly, including 74 Member Countries and 34 Observer and Prospective Countries, 23 Partner Organizations and 33 Special Invitee Organisations.

Economics/Business

Tags: Economics/Business

1. Contribution of Manufacturing of MSME sector

In a statement to the Rajya Sabha the Union Minister for Micro Small and Medium Enterprise(MSME) Narayan Rane gave information about the contribution of the MSME sector in Indian Economy:

• The  share of the MSME manufacturing in All India manufacturing gross value output during the year 2018-19 and 2019-20 were 36.9% and 36.9% respectively.
• The share of export of specified MSME related products to All India exports during 2019-20 and 2020-21 was 49.8% and 49.4% respectively.

2. City Union Bank Launches payment keychain “On the Go”

• Private sector lender City Union Bank (CUB), in collaboration with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and manufacturing partner Seshaasai, has unveiled ‘On-the-Go’ contactless wearable keychains for debit cards.
• The device would enable customers to make fast payments up to ₹5,000 in all RuPay enabled point-of-sale devices without entering a PIN,
• For payments above ₹5,000, customers would need to tap and then enter the PIN.

Headquarters of City Union Bank :Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu.

3. RBI to extend UPI to feature ­phone users

The UPI facility will soon be extended to feature phone users. At the moment, the unified payments interface (UPI) — the single largest retail payments system in the country in terms of volume of transactions for small value payments — is available only for smartphones.

• It will help to further deepen digital payments and make them more inclusive, ease transactions for consumers, facilitate greater participation of retail customers in various segments of financial markets and to enhance the capacity of service providers.
• This will be done by leveraging innovative products from the RBI’s regulatory sandbox on retail payments.

4. RBI to mop up surplus liquidity as it ‘rebalances

The monetary policy panel of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) decided to increase the amount of money absorbed through variable-rate reverse repo (VRRR) auctions.

• Variable-rate reverse repo (VRRR)is a tool used by RBI to absorb excess liquidity from the banking system. Since Jan 2021, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has been taking out about ₹2 lakh crore from the banking system every two weeks. It has now decided to increase that figure substantially by around 14 Lakh Crore by the next two fortnights till the end of December 2021.

5. Paytm Payments Bank gets ‘scheduled bank’ status from RBI

• Reserve Bank of India(RBI) has included “Paytm Payments Bank Limited”, a subsidiary of One97 Communications, in the Second Schedule to the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934.
• As per RBI Act 1934, banks satisfying the RBI that its affairs are not being conducted in a manner detrimental to the interests of its depositors, are included in the second schedule.

6. Imports made up 86% of India's gold supply between 2016-2020: WGC

According to the   World Gold Council(WGC)’s ‘Bullion Trade in India’ report:

• Imports made up 86% of India’s gold supply between 2016-2020, and inbound shipments continue to grow despite high import duty.
• In 2020, India imported 377 tonnes of gold bars and dore from over 30 countries, of which 55% came from just two countries — Switzerland (44%) and the UAE (11%).

Summits

Tags: Summits

1. 5th Indian Ocean Conference

• The fifth Indian Ocean Conference is being   held in Abu Dhabi from 6-10 December 2021.
• The Theme of the Conference is “Ecology,, Economy,Epidemic”
• The Chairman of the conference is the Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajpakse 
• India Is represented by the External Affairs Minister   Mr. S. Jaishankar 

2. Summit for Democracy

Theme of the Summit: “combating authoritarianism, fighting corruption and promoting human rights”.

• Organised by the State Department of the United States
• Biden announced plans for the U.S. to spend up to $424 millions around the world to support Independent media, anti-corruption work and more.

PM Modi Addresses Democracy Summit

Indian Prime Minister Mr Narender Modi also participated in the summit virtually .

The PM said that the “four pillars of Indian democratic governments” are “sensitivity, accountability, participation and reform orientation”.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that Democracies should jointly deal with social media and cryptocurrencies.

The PM further added that, we all need to constantly improve our democratic practices and systems. And, we all need to continuously enhance inclusion, transparency, human dignity, responsive grievance redressal and decentralization of power.

• Major countries like Russia, China, Saudi Arabia have not been invited to the summit.
• Pakistan was invited to the summit but it chose to back off from the summit over the fear that it will offend its close ally China.

Defence

Tags: Defence

1. India -Maldives military exercise

11th Edition of Exercise EKUVERIN between India & Maldives will be conducted at Kadhdhoo Island, Maldives from 06 to 19 December 2021.

• The exercise will enhance synergy & inter-operability between Armed Forces of both the Nations in terms of understanding transnational terrorism both on land & at sea, conducting Counter Terrorism & Counter Insurgency Operations and sharing best military practices and experiences.

2. DRDO successfully tests VL-SRSAM

Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) on 7th December successfully flight tested Vertical Launch Short Range Surface to Air Missile(VL-SRSAM) by Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) from Integrated Test Range, Chandipur, off the coast of Odisha. 

3. Air version of BrahMos supersonic cruise missile successfully test-fired from Sukhoi 30 MK-I off Odisha coast

Air version of BrahMos supersonic cruise missile was successfully test fired from the supersonic fighter aircraft Sukhoi 30 MK-I at 1030 hrs on 7th December, from Integrated Test Range, Chandipur off the coast of Odisha .

4. Lockheed Martin to make fighter aircrafts wings prototype in India

• US defence company Lockheed Martin has selected Tata Lockheed Martin Aerostructures Ltd (TLMAL) as a potential future co-producer of fighter aircraft wings in India.
• TLMAL, is a joint venture between Tata Advanced Systems Ltd and Lockheed Martin Aeronautics of the United States.
• Lockheed Martin is a major defence company of the United States which manufactures a number of defence products like F-16,F-21,F-22,F-35.

5. DRDO Successfully test Multi-barrel rocket launcher Pinaka ER

• Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has successfully tested multi barrel rocket launcher Pinaka Extended Range at Pokhran, Rajasthan 
• The system is jointly designed by laboratories of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) - Armament Research & Development Establishment (ARDE), Pune and High Energy Materials Research Laboratory (HEMRL), Pune.
• The enhanced range version of the Pinaka Rocket System can destroy targets at distances up to 45km.

Science and Technology

Tags: Science and Technology

1. Two wild plant species are now extinct!

According to the Journal of Threatened Taxa two species of plants Boesenbergia rubrolutea and Boesenbergia albolutea, first collected by botanists more than 125 years ago from Meghalaya and the Andaman Islands are now extinct in the wild.

Sports News

Tags: Sports News

1. Perfect ten for Ajaz Patel

• New Zealand bowler Ajaz Patel became the third player in the history of test Cricket to take all ten wickets in an innings.
• He took all ten Indian wickets in the first innings of the India In the Second Test Match of the series being played at   Mumbai, Wankhede Stadium.

2. BWF World Tour Finals: Sindhu settles for silver

Indian badminton star PV Sindhu lost the final of the BWF World Tour Finals to South Korea's An Seyoung in straight games 21-16 21-12.

• The season-ending HSBC BWF World Tour Finals was held in Bali, Indonesia, from 01-05 December 2021.

3. India win the Test Series against New Zealand

• India defeated New Zealand in the second test   by a record 372 runs to win the series 1-0.
• The second test match was held at Wankhede stadium, Mumbai.

4. Russia wins Davis Cup

The Russian Tennis Federation defeated Croatia in the final  held at Madrid, Spain.

• 18 teams were competing in the tournament which was held from 25 november to 5 December 2021 at Innsbruck, Austria, Madrid, Spain and Turin, Italy. 

5. Lewis Hamilton wins Saudi Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes team won the Saudi Arabia Formula 1 racing title at Jeddah. He is from Great Britain.

• Saudi Arabia hosted the Formula 1 race for the first time.

6. Rohit Sharma becomes new white ball-captain

The BCCI, cricket selection  committee has appointed Rohit Sharma as the captain of the ODI side till 2023 World Cup to be held in India  and was made the Vice-Captain of the Test team removing Ajinkya Rahane as the Test team Vice-Captaincy.

7. India A wins 2021–22 BCCI Senior Women's Challenger Trophy Title

• It was held at the Mulapadu Cricket Complex in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh.
• It took place from 4 to 9 December 2021.

8. Manipur Claims 26th Senior Women’s National Football Championship title

Manipur defeated Railways 2-1 on penalties in the final of 26th Senior Women's National Football Championship held at EMS Corporation Stadium, Kozhikode, Kerala. The league consisted of 32 teams for the 2021-22 season.

9. FIDE World Chess Championship 2021

Magnus Carlsen of Norway defeated Ian Nepomniachtchi of Russia and won the World Chess championship 2021.

Awards

Tags: Awards

1. Assam’s highest civilian award for Ratan Tata

On the occasion of Asom Divas or Assam Day, the state Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced to confer the most prestigious 'Asom Baibhav' award to the industrialist Ratan Tata.

2. U.S. maths prize for Nikhil Srivastava

Eminent Indian-American mathematician Nikhil Srivastava has been jointly selected for the inaugural $5,000 Ciprian Foias Prize awarded by the American Mathematical Society (AMS) for “highly original work” in Operator Theory.

3. Balkrishna Doshi receives U.K Royal Gold Medal 2022.

Acclaimed Indian architect Balkrishna Doshi has been selected for the Royal Gold Medal 2022, one of the world’s highest honours for architecture.

Nobel Prize 2021

Nobel prize 2021 winners were conferred with the prize on 10 December on the birth anniversary of  Alfred Nobel.

Nobel Prize Winner 2021.

Physics 

Syukuro Manabe of Japan  and Klaus Hasselmann of Germany and Girogio Parisi of Italy 

 “for the physical modelling of Earth’s climate, quantifying variability and reliably predicting global warming”

Giorgio Parisi of Italy 

 “for the discovery of the interplay of disorder and fluctuations in physical systems from atomic to planetary scales”

Chemistry 

Benjamin List   of Germany and David W.C. MacMillan of Scotland 

- “for the development of asymmetric organocatalysis”

Medicine/Physiology 

David Julius of U.S and Ardem Patapoutian of   U.S 

- “for their discoveries of receptors for temperature and touch”

Peace 

Maria Ressa  of Philippines and Dmitry Andreyevich Muratov of Russia 

Maria Ressa in 2012,   co-founded Rappler, a digital media company for investigative journalism.

Dmitry Andreyevich Muratov was the co-founder of the independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta.Novaya Gazeta is the most independent newspaper in Russia today. 

Literature 

Abdulrazak Gurnah of Britain . He was born in Tanzania, Africa.

His famous works are Paradise, By the Sea,Desertion

The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences 

David Card of Canada, Joshua D. Angrist  of the U.S and Guido W. Imbens of Holland   David Card  got this award - “for his empirical contributions to labour economics”

Joshua D. Angrist   of the U.S and Guido W. Imbens of Holland  for 

 - “ their methodological contributions to the analysis of causal relationships”

Person in News

Tags: Person in news

1. Veteran Kannada actor Shivaram passes away

Shivaram was associated with the Kannada  film industry since the late 1950s. He was the recipient of several awards, including Padma Bhushan,  Dr. Rajkumar Lifetime Achievement Award.

2. Former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Rosaiah passes away

Former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh Konijeti Rosaiah passed away in Hyderabad.

He became the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh in 2009 after the death of Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy in 2009 in a helicopter crash.

3. Senior journalist Vinod Dua dies at 67

Vinod Dua was a prominent Hindi journalist who worked in Doordarshan and NDTV India. In 1996, he became the first electronic media journalist to be bestowed with the Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Award. He was awarded the Padma Shri for Journalism in 2008 by the Government of India.

4. New Provident Fund Commissioner

Madhya Pradesh cadre IAS officer Neelam Shammi Rao is appointed as new Provident Fund Commissioner in the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) on 4th December 2021 by the Government of India.

5. Sunil Arora joins advisory body of IDEA

• Former Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora has been appointed to the advisory council of the International Institute for    Democracy  and Electoral Assistance (IDEA).

6. Padma Shri awardee Nanda Kishore Prusty passes away

Nanda Prusty was a 98-year-old school teacher from Jajpur, popularly known as Nanda Sir who provided free education to generations of children since independence.

• He was awarded Padma Shri 2021 under the "Literature and Education" category by President Ram Nath Kovind in November.

7. Olaf Scholz sworn in as Germany’s new chancellor

Social Democratic Party leader and Germany’s Finance Minister Olaf Scholz was elected by the German Parliament as the next Chancellor of the country on 8th December 2021.

• Olaf Scholz succeeded outgoing chancellor Angela Merkel.
• He will lead a three-party coalition government in Germany.

8. New French Open Director

Former world number one Amelie Mauresmo, 42, will succeed Guy Forget, as a new Director of French Open.

• Mauresmo is French Open’s first female director.

9. Indian Weightlifters in Commonwealth Games

Indian weightlifters Jeremy Lalrinnunga and Achinta Sheuli clinched gold medals in their respective categories at the 2021 Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships in Uzbekistan on Friday.

10. Yash Dhull named captain of Indian Team in U-19 Asia Cup

Delhi batsman Yash Dhull will lead a 20 ­member India squad in the upcoming Under­19 Asia Cup scheduled to be held in the UAE from December 23.

11. Indian Mathematician receives 2021 DST-ICTP-IMU Ramanujan Prize for Young Mathematicians from Developing Countries

Professor Neena Gupta, a mathematician at the Indian Statistical Institute in Kolkata, has been awarded the 2021 DST-ICTP-IMU Ramanujan Prize for Young Mathematicians from developing countries for her outstanding work in affine algebraic geometry and commutative algebra.

Books and Authors

Tags: Books and Authors

1. Public Service Ethics

It has been written by Prabhat  Kumar,former Governor of Jharkhand and former Cabinet Secretary to the Government of India.

2. 1971: Charge of the Gorkhas and Other Stories

Author: Rachna Bisht Rawat

Rachna Bisht Rawat is the author of six other books, including the bestsellers The Brave and Kargil. Her other works are: 

• The Brave: Param Vir Chakra Stories
• Kargil: Untold Stories from the War
• Insomnia: Army Stories
• Shoot, Dive, Fly: Stories of Grit and Adventure from the Indian Army
• Guns, Guts and Glories
• 1965: Stories from the Second Indo-Pakistan War

3.  At Home in the Universe

Author: Bala Krishna Madhur

4. The Midway Battle: Modi’s Roller-Coaster Second Term

Author: Gautam Chintamani

Other popular works of Gautam Chintamani are:

• Rajneeti: A Biography of Rajnath Singh
• Dark Star: Loneliness of being Rajesh Khanna
• Nouf: A Yogi in Saudi Arabia