1. “Israel”, first country to give 4 doses of COVID-19 vaccine
Tags: International News
- Israel approved a fourth dose of Covid vaccine for people with weakened immune systems.
- Israel’s Pandemic Expert Committee has recommended a fourth dose of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for all people aged over 60, medics and those with compromised immunity, at least four months after their third jab.
- The move was welcomed by Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, who said it would help the country get through a potential wave of the Omicron variant.
2. Center approves Rs 3,063.21 crore of additional Central assistance to six States
Tags: National News
The High Level Committee (HLC), under the Chairmanship of the Union Home Minister, Shri Amit Shah, has approved Rs 3,063.21 crore of additional Central assistance under the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF), to six States, which were affected by floods, landslides and cyclones during 2021.
Assistance to States:
- For Cyclone 'Tauke’- 2021, Rs.1,133.35 crore to Gujarat;
- For Cyclone ‘Yaas’- 2021, Rs.586.59 crore to West Bengal;
- For floods/landslides during the South West Monsoon, 2021
Rs. 51.53 crore to Assam, Rs. 504.06 Crore to Karnataka, Rs. 600.50 crore to Madhya Pradesh and Rs. 187.18 crore to Uttarakhand.
3. Goa Government allows the Export of low Grade Iron Ore
Tags: National News
The Pramod Samant led Government in Goa has allowed the mining companies to export low grade iron ores from Goa from dumps.
- There are about 10 to 20 million tonnes of low-grade iron ore lying at different locations outside the mining leases.
- Iron ores which are of low quality or waste were dumped by the mining companies on private or government lands are called dumps.
- Owner of the Dumps can now export these iron ores with the permission of the Indian Bureau of Mines.
- Supreme Court in 2018 halted iron ore mining operations in Goa which held the renewing of leasing mines without the process of auction was illegal
4. ARIIA 2021 Ranking Released
Tags: National News
- The Union Ministry of Education’s Innovation Cell released the 3rd Edition of Atal Ranking of Institutions on Innovation Achievements (ARIIA) 2021 on December 29.
- It was first launched in 2018 as a joint initiative of the Ministry of Human Resource Development and AICTE.
- ARIIA systematically ranks all the major higher education institutions and universities in India on indicators related to “Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development” amongst students and faculties.
- It aims to inspire Indian institutions to reorient their mindset and build ecosystems to encourage high-quality research, innovation, and entrepreneurship.
- What is new in the 3rd Ranking 2021
- This Third Edition of ARIIA has a special framework for non-technical institutions.
- There is a special sub-category in 2021 ranking– ‘HEI exclusively for Women Education’
- Highlights from the 2021 Rankings-
- Institute of National Importance and Central University Category
IIT Madras topped the list.
- University and Deemed to be University Category(Govt. & Govt. Aided) (Technical)
Panjab University, Chandigarh topped the list.
- University & Deemed to be University (Private/Self Financed) (Technical)
Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology, Khordha (Odisha) topped the list
- Colleges/Institutes (Govt. & Govt. Aided) (Technical)
College of Engineering Pune topped the list
- Colleges/Institutes (Private / Self Financed) (Technical)
G H Raisoni College of Engineering Nagpur topped the list
Institute of National Importance, Central University, CFI (Non-Technical)
- Centrally Funded Institute(CFI) (Non-Technical) and General (Non-Technical)
Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) New Delhi topped the list
General (Non-Technical)
Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India, Ahmedabad , Gujarat.
5. NITI Aayog releases North Eastern Region District SDG Index and Dashboard 2021-22
Tags: National News
- It is released by the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (MDONER) in collaboration with NITI Aayog
- The United Nations Development Programme(UNDP) has provided technical support for this index.
- The index measures the performance of the District of the eight NE States ( Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura, and Sikkim)
- The Index will be prepared and published annually.
- The top 5 districts of the SDG NER Index are
Rank 1 - East Sikkim, Sikkim with a score of 75.87,
Rank 2 - Gomati, Tripura & North Tripura, Tripura with a score of 75.73,
Rank 4 - West Tripura, Tripura with a score of 75.67
Rank 5 - Serchhip, Mizoram with a score of 74.87
The Index offers insights into the social, economic, and environmental status of the region and the districts in their march towards achieving the Social Development Goals(SDG) 2030.
6. India welcomes Egypt as 4th new member of BRICS New Development Bank
Tags: International News
- India on 29th December 2021 welcomed Egypt’s entry as the fourth new member of the New Development Bank (NDB) that was established by the BRICS countries six years ago.
- The NDB admitted Bangladesh, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Uruguay as its new members in September 2021.
BRICS New Development Bank
The New Development Bank (NDB), formerly referred to as the BRICS Development Bank, is a multilateral development bank established by the BRICS states (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa).
- Formed in: July 2014
- Headquarters: Shanghai, China
- President: Marcos Prado Troyjo
- Members: Egypt, Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Bangladesh, United Arab Emirates and Uruguay
7. Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh releases science magazine Dream 2047 in Hindi, Urdu and English
Tags: National News
- In order to promote the use of vernacular language in science , Vigyan Prasar and autonomous institution under the Department of Science and Technology,Government of India has launched an Urdu edition of its popular science magazine Dream 2047 as Tajassus (Curiosity).
- The Udru edition was launched by Vigyan Prasar in association with the Central University of Kashmir.
- The monthly Magazine was earlier published only in English and Hindi.
- The Urdu edition was launched by the Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology; Minister of State (Independent Charge) Earth Sciences; MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh.
- He also said that Vigyan Prasar will launch the Kashmiri, Dogri and other Indian language versions of the magazine soon .
- Vigyan Prasar has started IndiaScience TV, India's only OTT (Over the Top) science channel in Hindi and English.
8. PM Modi inaugurates and lays the foundation stone of 23 projects worth over 17,500 crore rupees in Uttarakhand.
Tags: National News
Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Haldwani in Uttarakhand to inaugurate and lay the foundation stone of 23 projects worth over 17 thousand 500 crore rupees.
- Among the 23 projects, foundation stone will be laid for 17 projects worth over 14 thousand 100 crore rupees.
Main Highlight of the Visit:
- He inaugurated 5 MegaWatt capacity Suringad-II run of the river hydroelectric project built by Uttarakhand Jal Vidyut Nigam (UJVN) Limited.
- It is built on river Munsiyari in Pithoragarh district at a cost of about Rs 50 crore.
- Prime Minister will lay the foundation stone of the Lakhwar Multipurpose Project
- It will be built on Yamuna River at the cost of about Rs 5750 crore.
- This project of national importance, will enable irrigation of about 34,000 hectare additional land, produce 300 MW hydro power and supply drinking water to the six states of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan.
- He laid the foundation in line with the Prime Minister’s vision to create new avenues for tapping the inherent potential of a region, the foundation stone of a 41 acre Aroma Park at Kashipur and a 40 acre Plastic Industrial Park at Sitarganj.
- The two projects will be developed by State Infrastructure & Industrial Development Corporation Uttarakhand Limited (SIIDCUL) at a cumulative cost of about 100 crore.
- The Prime Minister will lay the foundation stone of AIIMS Rishikesh satellite centre in Udham Singh Nagar district and Jagjivan Ram Government Medical College at Pithoragarh.
- These two hospitals are being built at a cost of about Rs 500 crores and Rs 450 crore respectively
He also inaugurated host of projects in the road sectors:
- 99 kms of road widening work on Nagina to Kashipur NH-74
Road widening Chyurani to Ancholi NH-125, All weather roads project - 32km.
9. PM Modi launches blockchain-based digital degrees at IIT Kanpur
Tags: National News
- The technology has been developed by IIT Kanpur under the National Blockchain Project.
- These digital degrees can be verified globally and are unforgeable.
- The blockchain system works on the principle of decentralization. This means that the control is not in the hands of a central agency, but in a distributed network of nodes. This will help in keeping the data safe even if any specific node is compromised.
- Also, the information in a blockchain is recorded and stored sequentially along with an exact timestamp. The previous information can’t be altered, only amended by adding a new block. This makes tampering with a transcript very hard.
- Blockchain technology can simplify the tedious task of maintaining the records of students by making them digitized. Also, the students will be able to access their records remotely.
- Blockchain technology will simplify the verification process. Any institute can do so with a few clicks instead of going through lots of paper documentation, in cases of transfer students, or sharing records with employers, or issuing degrees.
10. Centre notifies the Consumer Protection (Direct Selling) Rules, 2021
Tags: National News
- On December 28, the central government issued new regulations for the direct selling business, paving the way for the formalization of the direct selling industry while also intending to keep a check on this so-far unregulated segment.
- This is notified by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food, and Public Distribution.
- It is notified under the Consumer Protection Act 2019.
- The direct selling industry’s major participants in India include companies like Tupperware, Amway, Herbalife, and Oriflame.
Highlights-
- Existing Direct Selling entities need to comply with these rules within ninety days.
- The rules apply to all India-based direct selling companies as well as to any direct selling entity that is not established in India but offers goods or services to consumers in India.
- Direct selling entities and direct sellers using e-commerce platforms for sale, should also comply with the Consumer Protection (e-Commerce) Rules, 2020.
- Direct selling entities and direct sellers are prohibited from:
- Promoting a Pyramid Scheme or enroll any person to such scheme or participate in such arrangement in any manner whatsoever in the garb of direct selling business;
- Participate in money circulation scheme in the garb of doing direct selling business.
- State Government to set up a mechanism to monitor or supervise the activities of direct sellers and direct selling entity.
- Direct sellers must have at least one physical location as their registered office within the country.
- Direct selling entities to be liable for the grievances arising out of the sale of goods or services by its direct sellers.
As per data published by the World Federation of Direct Selling Association (WFDSA), the retail size of the Indian direct selling industry was valued at $3 billion, or about Rs 22,500 crore, in 2020 with year-on-year growth of 28.3%, making it the fastest-growing market in the world. The sector employs over 7.4 million active direct sellers.
