1. Most searched on internet by Indians in 2021
Tags: National News
- The data is released by Google Trends.
- As per Google search data, Indian Premier League is the most searched topic in India in 2021 followed by CoWIN and ICC T20 World Cup.
- Whereas sporting events garnered interest only when they were streamed live, CoWIN or Covid Vaccine related searches sustained interest throughout the year.
Highest Searches as per categories -
- Near Me - Covid Vaccine near me followed by Covid test near me
- How To - How to register for Covid Vaccine followed by How to download vaccine certificate
- What Is - What is black fungus followed by what is the factorial of hundred
- Movies - Jai Bhim followed by Shershah
- News Events - Tokyo Olympics followed by Black Fungus
- Personalities - Neeraj Chopra followed by Aryan Khan
- Recipes - Enoki Mushroom followed by Modak
- Sports events - Indian Premier League followed by ICC T20 World Cup.
2. Covid Vaccination for 15-17 age group starts in India
Tags: National News
- The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare rolled out the first dose of vaccination for teenagers in the 15-17 age group in India on January 3, 2022. Those born in 2005, 2006, and 2007 are eligible for getting jabbed in this group.
- Registration for this age group started on January 1, 2022.
- The only covid vaccine approved for inoculation in this age group is Covaxin by Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech. This is an inactivated vaccine with the second dose after a gap of 28 days.
- Zydus Cadila’s ZyCov-D also received Emergency Usage Listing(EUL) from Drugs Controller General of India(DCGI) on August 20 for vaccination of children aged 12 and above, but this is not included in the government’s public immunization programme for children which started on the 3rd January. Zydus is India’s first needle-free DNA Vaccine.
- Beneficiaries can either take appointment online through the CoWin application or can directly walk-in at the notified centers for their dosage.
- Student-ID card is accepted as proof of identity.
- Parental Consent Form is also required for this age group.
- In many states, the vaccination programme is rolled out in collaboration with schools and pre-university colleges.
- As per CoWin dashboard, 4199584 youngsters were jabbed on the first day of the children’s mass vaccination programme.
3. China constructing bridge on pangong lake
Tags: International News
- Continuing with infrastructure build-up on its side of the area near the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh, China is building a new bridge on Pangong Tso.
- However, the construction of the bridge is taking place in China and is 25 to 30 kilometers away from India’s claim of Line of Actual Control.
- The bridge connects the North and South banks of the lake which will provide an additional axis to deploy troops faster and closer to the LAC.
Pangong Tso, an endorheic lake, is 135 km long, of which more than two-thirds is under Chinese control. Khurnak Fort, close to where China is building the new bridge, is near the halfway mark of the boomerang-shaped lake. Historically a part of India, Khurnak Fort has been under Chinese control since 1958. From Khurnak Fort, the LAC is considerably west, with India claiming it at Finger 8 and China claiming it at Finger 4
4. Ayush Minister lays foundation stone for Heartfulness International Yoga academy
Tags: National News
The Union Ayush Minister Shri Sarbananda Sonowal laid the foundation stone for the Heartfulness International Yoga academy at Hyderabad on 3rd January 2022.
- The Heartfulness International Yoga Academy comprises:
- Yoga halls that can accommodate 100 Yoga students in each hall,
- therapeutic Yoga rooms for consultation,
- one to one training spaces or small group classes;
- prenatal Yoga rooms;
- a lecture hall with 200 seating capacity;
- a full-fledged recording studio with editing suites for pre-recorded wellness programs;
- a recording Yoga hall fully equipped for Live online Yoga Classes;
- a Yoga library with books from every Yoga Institutions and access to Yoga research articles.
The “75-crores Suryanamaskar” Initiative as part of Azadi ka Amrit Mhotsav was also inaugurated at Kanha ShantiVanam the world headquarters of Heartfulness Meditation by Mr. Sonowal.
- It aims at creating the largest congregational Surya Namaskar event.
5. Fiji tops the NewsOnAir Radio Live-stream Global Rankings
Tags: National News
In the latest rankings of top countries in the world (excluding India) where All India Radio live-streams on NewsOnAir App are most popular, Fiji has toppled the United States to take the first position.
- The top three countries where the News on Air app are most popular are Fiji, United States and Australia
- More than 240 Radio Services of All India Radio are live-streamed on NewsOnAir App, Prasar Bharati’s official App.
6. Defence Minister inaugurates Kalpana Chawla Research Centre at Chandigarh
Tags: National News
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated Kalpana Chawla Centre for Research in Space Science & Technology (KCCRSST) at Chandigarh University on January 03, 2022.
- The state-of-the-art KCRESST would be the Ground Control Station for the Chandigarh University's Student Satellite (CUSat), an in-house developed nano-satellite being designed by the students of the university and a Geo-Spatial Centre for research, besides other projects.
- The CUSat will be among the 75 student-built satellites to be launched into space on the eve of the 75thIndependence Day in 2022.
- The Chandigarh University has joined the list of 13 institutes like Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur, IIT Bombay and became the first university in North India to design and develop its own satellite.
Kalpana Chawla
- She was an American Indian who was born at Karnal, Haryana.
- She was the first woman of Indian origin to go to space in 1997 on board the Columbia space shuttle.
She died in a space disaster when her space shuttle Columbia crashed in 2003.
7. Fire ravages South African parliament
Tags: International News
A massive fire in South Africa’s Parliament in Cape Town has completely destroyed its lower house , the National Assembly on 2 January 2022.l
- The name of South Africa’s Parliament is: “The Parliament of the Republic of South Africa ''.
- The South African Parliament consists of two houses
- The lower house is called the National Assembly and the Upper House is called the National Council of Provinces .
South Africa
President: Cyril Ramaphosa
Capitals: Cape Town (Legislative), Pretoria (Executive), Bloemfontein (Judicial)
Currency : Rand
8. Vice President’s visit to Lakshadweep and Kerala
Tags: National News
- The Vice President is on a 5 days state visit to Lakshadweep and Kerala from 31st December 2021 to 4th January 2022.
Important highlights of his Lakshadweep visit:
- He visited Lakshadweep on 31st December, 2021.
- He inaugurated two Colleges of Arts & Sciences in the Kadmat and Andrott islands of Lakshadweep on 1st January, 2022.
He then visited Kerala on 2nd January 2022:
- He visited Kochi, where India’s Indigenous Naval Aircraft Carrier INS Vikrant is under construction at the Cochin Shipyard Ltd.
- Addressing an event later at Naval Physical and Oceanographic Laboratory (NPOL), a DRDO facility in Kochi he unveiled Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Memorial.
- He also laid the foundation stone of a Towed Array Integration Facility and handed over an Automated Sonar Trainer to the Navy.
INS VIKRANT :
The motto of the ship is "Jayema Saṁ Yudhi Spr̥dhaḥ", which is taken from Rigveda and means "I defeat those who fight against me".
- INS Vikrant, also known as Indigenous Aircraft Carrier 1 (IAC-1) is the first aircraft carrier to be built in India, it is being constructed by the Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) for the Indian Navy.
- It is named 'Vikrant' as a tribute to India's first aircraft carrier, Vikrant (R11).
9. Denmark not to use fossil fuels on Domestic flights by 2030
Tags: International News
- The Prime Minister Mette Frederilksen has announced that by 2030 the domestic airlines will not use fossil fuels in order to meet its emission target .
- The Danish Government has set a target of reducing its carbon emission by 70 % by 2030.
- Airline uses ATF(Aviation Turbine Fuel) is derived from hydrocarbons which are either Kerosene type or naphtha type.
- Green fuel for airlines or Sustainable Aviation Fuels is produced from agricultural residues , waste oil from a biological origin etc .
10. Haldia Jetty and Inland Terminal to be operational soon
Tags: National News
- Union Minister for Ports, Shipping & Waterways, and Ayush Shri Sarbananda Sonowal announced that the contract has been awarded for the Haldia inland waterway terminal in West Bengal.
- This will facilitate export-import and inland cargo movement to Pandu terminal in Guwahati connecting the northeast with Kolkata.
- This will provide an alternative to the chicken neck route for easy and cost-effective movement of cargo to and from the northeast to the foreign countries and other states of India.
- This is a unique opportunity of using the sea and river route combinations (National Waterway 1 and National Waterway 2) via Kolkata port.
For more details on National Waterways kindly refer to the link below.
