Current Affairs December 08th 2021| Current Affairs News

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CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL NEWS

Lok Sabha passes National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (Amendment) Bill, 2021

• The Lok Sabha has passed the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (Amendment) Bill, 2021
• The Government is taking all out efforts to make the country the pharma capital of the world. Pointing out the export of vaccines and medicines for Covid to over 80 countries.
• More than 40 percent of the generic medicines being made available in the US are made in India and also 60-percent of all vaccines in the world have been manufactured in India.
• The two product-linked incentives programmes that are being implemented have benefitted for the pharma industry a lot during the Covid times.
• The clinical trials of the DNA-based vaccine against Covid-19 have been completed and the manufacturing has begun and two more indigenous vaccines are undergoing clinical trials.

AAI to spend around INR 25,000 crores in next five years for expansion and modification of existing terminals

• The aviation sector in India has been affected due to severe disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The estimated losses incurred by airlines and airports in India in the financial year 2020-21 is approximately Rs.19,564 crore and Rs. 5,116 crores respectively.
• Airports Authority of India (AAI) has taken up a development programme to spend around INR 25,000 crores in next five years for expansion and modification of existing terminals, new terminals, expansion or strengthening of existing runways, aprons, Airport Navigation Services (ANS), control towers, technical blocks etc.
• Three Public Private Partnership (PPP) airports at Delhi, Hyderabad and Bengaluru have undertaken major expansion plan to the tune of INR 30,000 Crores by 2025. Additionally, INR 36,000 Crores have been planned for investment in the development of new Greenfield airports across the country under PPP mode.
• Government of India has accorded ‘in-principle’ approval for setting up of 21 Greenfield Airports across the country. So far, eight Greenfield airports namely, Shirdi in Maharashtra, Durgapur in West Bengal, Pakyong in Sikkim, Kannur in Kerala, Orvakal in Andhra Pradesh, Kalaburagi in Karnataka, Sindhudurg in Maharashtra and Kushinagar in Uttar Pradesh have been operationalized.
• Goods and Services Tax (GST) rate has been reduced from 18% to 5% for domestic Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) services.

Union Budget 21-22 provided capital outlay of Rs. 5.54 lakh crore, an increase of 34.5% over Budget Estimate of FY 2020-21, to boast economy after COVID-19 pandemic

• To initiate infrastructure development to boost the economy after COVID-19 pandemic, Union Budget 2021-22 has provided a capital outlay of Rs. 5.54 lakh crore, an increase of 34.5% over Budget Estimate of FY 2020-21.
• The Government has also made provision of more than Rs. 2 lakh crores for States & Autonomous Bodies towards their Capital Expenditure. 
• National Monetization Pipeline was also prepared to unlock the value of investments in public sector assets by tapping private capital and efficiencies for delivering infrastructure services.
• The National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP) was launched with projected infrastructure investment of around Rs. 111 lakh crores during FY 2020-2025 to provide world-class infrastructure across the country, and improve the quality of life for all citizens.
• NIP was launched with 6,835 projects, which has expanded to over 9,000 projects covering 34 sub- sectors.
• NIP is a first-of-its-kind, whole-of-government exercise and covers all infrastructure sub- sectors, including MSMEs working in infrastructure sector, as mentioned in Harmonized Master List of Infrastructure Sub-sectors notified by Department of Economic Affairs (DEA).

Scheduled Commercial Banks recover Rs 90 crore from financial frauds in last 5 years

• Cyber financial frauds in banking primarily relate to frauds that have taken place on ATM/ debit cards, credit cards and internet banking platforms.
• This was stated by Union Minister of State for Finance Dr Bhagwat Kisanrao Karad.
• As per RBI data on frauds reported by Scheduled Commercial Banks in the category “Card/Internet – ATM/Debit Cards, Credit Cards and Internet Banking Fraud” for the last five financial years, based on the date of occurrence of frauds, state-wise and bank-wise
• The Minister further stated that recovery against such financial frauds is an ongoing process and as per RBI data, SCBs have so far recovered an amount of Rs. 90 crore

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Swachh Technology Challenge launched to Create an Innovations’ Ecosystem in Waste Management

• Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban 2.0 (SBM-U 2.0), under the aegis of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), has launched the Swachh Technology Challenge.
• The Challenge seeks to harness the entrepreneurial potential of the waste management sector in India and promote an enabling environment for enterprise development under Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban 2.0.
• Swachh Technology Challenge, scheduled to run from 6th December 2021 to 15th January 2021, will particularly seek solutions in four thematic categories, viz.(i) social inclusion, (ii) zero dump (solid waste management), (iii)plastic waste management and (iv)transparency through digital enablement
• Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban 2.0, launched on 1^st October, 2021, aims to achieve the vision of ‘Garbage Free Cities’ over the next five years through remediation of legacy dumpsites, construction and demolition waste and plastic waste management.
• Additionally, sustainable sanitation through faecal sludge and used water management will be a key focus under SBM-U 2.0.
• Technology has played a critical role in achieving the outcomes under SBM-U’s journey in the last seven years with several key initiatives such as Swachhata App, SBM Toilets on Google Maps, etc.
• Recently, the integrated SBM-Urban MIS portal Swachhatam and the state-of-art GIS platform were launched under SBM-U 2.0 which will not only take the Mission closer to citizens but will also enable smart data driven decision making, transparency and robustness in Mission implementation.
• The Swachh Technology Challenge is another step towards ensuring smart governance in SBM-U 2.0 by incentivizing the innovations’ ecosystem to help realize the Prime Minister’s vision of ‘Garbage Free Cities’.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Bangladesh-India partnership has taken a dynamic, comprehensive and strategic shape

• Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina of Bangladesh has called for recommitting the two countries towards further strengthening the long-standing dynamic partnership between Bangladesh and India. 
• At the event has organised by the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA) in Delhi on the occasion of Maitri Diwas, Prime Minister Hasina, the golden jubilee of establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries is a milestone in the journey of bilateral relation between Bangladesh and India.
• It is not confined to the treaties, MoUs, bilateral agreements that provide the formal structure to the working relations between Bangladesh and India.
• This relationship has matured taking dynamic, comprehensive and strategic shape and is based on sovereignty, equality, trust and mutual respect.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: MOUS AND AGREEMENT

Tata Power and IIT Madras signed an MoU, to work on R&D projects, tech solutions

• Tata Power and Indian Institute of Technology Madras have entered into an agreement to collaborate in research and development, consultancy, policy advocacy, advisory, training, and commercialization of technologies and solutions.
• As a part of the MoU, Tata Power and IIT Madras will aim to pursue advanced research in areas of future technology.
• The agreement also includes campus recruitment opportunities to postgraduate students of IIT Madras
• A few objectives agreed upon by Tata Power and IIT M as a part of the tie-up are collaborative research projects including research-based and consulting projects supported by the Center for Industrial Consultancy and Sponsored Research (IC&SR), IIT Madras.
• The MoU provides for recruitment of IIT Madras graduates for full-time employment or as interns by Tata Power.
• This activity will be facilitated by the Placement Office, IIT Madras.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Indian Navy launches large survey ship ‘Sandhayak’

• Indian Navy, Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Ltd. (GRSE) a Defence PSU and a leading warship building company of India launched its first indigenously built Survey Vessel – ‘Sandhayak’ in the presence of Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt.
• It was formally launched by Pushpa Bhatt, wife of Ajay Bhatt, ‘Sandhayak’ is the first in the series of four ships under the Survey Vessel (Large) project for the Indian Navy.
• The ships are fully designed by the Design team of GRSE to meet the requirements of the Indian Navy and are being built and outfitted utilising the concepts of ‘Integrated Construction’.
• It is in compliance with applicable provisions and regulations of the Classification Society (IRS).
• The vessel has over 80 percent indigenous content by cost.
• The primary role of these survey ships would be to conduct full-scale coastal and deep-water hydrographic survey of ports and harbours, and determination of navigational channels and routes.
• These ships are also capable of undertaking surveys of Maritime limits and collection of Oceanographic and Geographical data for Defence applications.
• It would be capable of performing roles such as Search and Rescue and Disaster Relief, besides serving as hospital ships with limited facilities during emergencies.
• The ships will have a retractable hanger for stowage of a utility helicopter
• These ships are propelled by two Marine Diesel Engines combined with Fixed Pitch Propellers and fitted with Bow & Stern Thrusters for manoeuvring at low speeds during surveys.

Note:

• In October 2018, Indian Ministry of Defence and GRSE signed the contract to build the four survey ships.

About GRSE:

• Chairman & MD: Rear Admiral Vipin Kumar Saxena
• Headquarters: Kolkata, West Bengal
• Founded: 1884

About Indian Navy:

• Headquarters: New Delhi
• Founded: 26 January 1950
• Commander-in-Chief: President Ram Nath Kovind
• Chief of Defence Staff : General Bipin Rawat
• Chief of the Naval Staff : Admiral R. Hari Kumar
• Vice Chief of the Naval Staff : Vice Admiral Satish Namdeo Ghormade
• Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff : Vice Admiral Ravneet Singh

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CURRENT AFFAIRS: BOOKS & AUTHORS

Vice President releases book on ‘Public Service Ethics’ by Prabhat Kumar

• The Vice President, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu, released the book, titled ‘Public Service Ethics’ written by Shri Prabhat Kumar, former Governor of Jharkhand and former Cabinet Secretary to the Government of India, & published by IC Centre for Governance at Upa-Rashtrapati Nivas.

About the Book:

• The book deals with ethics in governance and public service and proposes a collective quest for ethical India or Naitik Bharat.

About Prabhat Kumar:

• Prabhat Kumar was born on 5 October 1940, Uttar Pradesh.
• He is an Indian politician and retired civil servant.
• He is an Indian Administrative Service of the 1963 batch, he served as the Cabinet Secretary between 1998 and 2000.
• Kumar served as secretary to the Ministry of Textiles before his appointment as the cabinet secretary.
• Upon creation of the State of Jharkhand in November 2000, he was made the first governor.

Venkaiah Naidu launches Gautam Chintamai’s book ‘The Midway Battle: Modi’s Roller-coaster Second Term’

• Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu launched Gautam Chintamani‘s book ‘The Midway Battle: Modi’s Roller-coaster Second Term’ at Upa-Rashtrapati Nivas in New Delhi.

Key People:

• Senior Journalist and Senior Adviser in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Mr. Kanchan Gupta, Editor of Bloomsbury India Mrs. Prerna Vohra and many others were present at the book launch ceremony.

About the Book:

• The new book analyzes the Prime Minister Narendra Modi government’s second term.
• The Book would give readers a deeper understanding of the contemporary period and its many challenges.

About Gautam Chintamani:

• Gautam Chintamani is a film historian.
• He is the author of;

Rajneeti (Penguin-Random House, 2019), the first biography of Rajnath Singh

1. Dark Star: The Loneliness of Being Rajesh Khanna (HarperCollins, 2014)
2. Pink- The Inside Story (HarperCollins, 2017)
3. Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak: The Film That Revived Hindi Cinema (2016)

• Gautam’s documentary film SRI: Challenging Traditions, Transforming Lives won the Best Documentary Award at the Asia Pacific Rice Film Festival, Malaysia.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: SPORTS NEWS

Saudi Arabian Grand Prix: Lewis Hamilton wins

• Mercedes Driver Lewis Hamilton won the inaugural Saudi Arabian Grand Prix at Jeddah Corniche Circuit, Saudi Arabia.
• He has eight wins in the F1 season who ties up with Max Verstappen.
• The Top position shared by Max Verstappen & Lewis Hamilton with 369.5 points each.

F1 Saudi Arabian GP 2021:

1. L. Hamilton (D) Mercedes
2. M. Verstappen (M) Red Bull
3. V. Bottas (M) Mercedes
4. E. Ocon (D) Alpine
5. D. Ricciardo (M) McLaren
6. P. Gasly (D) AlphaTauri
7. C. Leclerc (D) Ferrari
8. Carlos Sainz (M) Ferrari
9. A. Giovinazi (D) Alfa Romeo

10.L. Norris (D McLaren

About Lewis Hamilton:

• Sir Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton was born on 7 January 1985 in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, England.
• He is a British racing driver & so far he is the only, black driver to race in the series.
• In Formula One, Hamilton has won a joint-record seven World Drivers’ Championship titles (tied with Michael Schumacher), and holds the records for the most wins (103), pole positions (103), and podium finishes (181), among others.

About Saudi Arabian Grand Prix:

• The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix is a Formula One motor racing event which took place for the first time in 2021.
• The inaugural edition of the race was held in Jeddah, in Saudi Arabia.

Argentina beat Germany in FIH Men’s Junior Hockey World Cup 2021       

• On Dec 05, 2021, Argentina defeated six-time winners Germany 4-2 in the FIH Men’s junior hockey world cup 2021 final at the Kalinga Stadium in Odisha.
• Argentina has become the only third team after Germany (six wins) and India (2001, 2016) to win multiple Junior Hockey WC titles.
• France and the Indian hockey team finished third and fourth, respectively.
• This was Argentina’s second title, after their maiden win in 2005.

Award	Player
Player of the tournament	Timothée Clément
Goalkeeper of the tournament	Anton Brinckman
Top goalscorer	Miles Bukkens
Fair play award	Chile

About 2021 Men’s FIH Hockey Junior World Cup:

• The 2021 Men’s FIH Hockey Junior World Cup was the 12th edition of the Men’s FIH Hockey Junior World Cup.
• It is the biennial men’s under-21 field hockey world championship organized by the International Hockey Federation. 
• It was held at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar, India from 24 November to 5 December 2021.

About FIH:

• President: Leandro Negre
• Headquarters: Lausanne, Switzerland
• CEO: Thierry Weil
• Founded: 7 January 1924, Paris, France

CURRENT AFFAIRS: OBITUARIES

Sarada Menon, India’s First Woman Psychiatrist Passes away                         

• On Dec 05, 2021, India’s first woman psychiatrist and the longest-serving head of the Institute of Mental Health, Sarada Menon passed away at the age of 98.

About Sarada Menon:

• Mambalikalathil Sarada Menon born on 5 April 1923 in Mangalore, Karnataka.
• Menon joined the Institute of Mental Health (then known as Government Mental Hospital) in Kilpauk in 1959 and superannuated from the institution in 1978.
• She became its first woman Superintendent in 1961.
• In 1984, Sarada Menon founded the Schizophrenia Research Foundation (SCARF) with psychiatrist R. Thara.
• Menon served as the vice-president of the Chennai chapter of the Red Cross Society and was a member of the state government panel set up for proposing prison reforms.
• She was also associated with the World Fellowship for Schizophrenia and Allied Disorders (WFSAD).

About SCARF:

• Headquarters: Chennai
• SCARF is a non-governmental organization that works towards rehabilitating people with Schizophrenia and other mental disorders.

Awards & Honours:

• For her work and contribution towards the field of mental health research, Dr Sarada Menon was honoured with the Padma Bhushan in 1992.
• In 2016, she was given the prestigious Avvaiyar award.
• She was also a recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award of Madras Neuro Trust.

The Chief Justice of India proposed creation of a National Judicial Infrastructure Authority of India (NJIAI):

• Chief Justice of India N V Ramana pressed for establishing a new body to improve judicial infrastructure.
• The government has received a proposal from him to set up the National Judicial Infrastructure Authority of India (NJIAI)
• According to the proposal, there will be a governing body with CJI as patron-in-chief, the other salient features in the proposal are that NJIAI will act as a central body in laying down the roadmap for planning, creation, development, maintenance and management of functional infrastructure for the Indian court system, besides, identical structures under all the (25) high courts
• The scheme is being implemented since 1993-94. Till date, the central government has sanctioned Rs 8709.77 crore under the scheme to states and UTs.
• The scheme has been extended from time to time. Under the scheme, funds are released by the central government for construction of court buildings and residential accommodations for judicial officers of district and subordinate judiciary.
• The government has extended the scheme for a further period of five years from April 1, 2021.

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MSDE launches ASEEM portal to help skilled people:

• In an endeavour to improve the information flow and bridge the demand-supply gap in the skilled workforce market, the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) has launched ‘Aatamanirbhar Skilled Employee Employer Mapping (ASEEM)’ portal to help skilled people find sustainable livelihood opportunities.
• Apart from recruiting a skilled workforce that spurs business competitiveness and economic growth, the Artificial Intelligence-based platform has been envisioned to strengthen their career pathways by handholding them through their journeys to attain industry-relevant skills and explore emerging job opportunities especially in the post COVID era.

Benefits of ASEEM portal:

• Envisaging the rapidly changing nature of work and how it impacts the workforce is crucial in restructuring the skilling ecosystem with the new normal settling post-pandemic.
• It will provide real-time granular information by identifying relevant skilling requirements and employment prospects.

Features:

• The portal consists of three IT based interfaces
• Employer Portal – Employer onboarding, Demand Aggregation, candidate selection ​
• Dashboard – Reports, Trends, analytics, and highlight gaps ​
• Candidate Application – Create & Track candidate profile, share job suggestion ​
• For workers/candidates : The portal and App will have provision for registration and data upload for workers across job roles, sectors and geographies. The skilled workforce can register their profiles on the app and can search for employment opportunities in their neighbourhood.
• Employers : Through ASEEM, employers, agencies and job aggregators looking for skilled workforce in specific sectors will also have the required details at their fingertips.
• Policy makers : It will also enable policymakers take more objective view of various sectors.

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Olaf Scholz to be nominated as Germany’s next Chancellor by Parliament:

• In Germany, Social Democratic Party of Germany leader Olaf Scholz will be nominated as the country’s next Chancellor by Parliament, bringing the curtain down on Angela Merkel’s 16-year reign.
• Olaf Scholz has cleared the final hurdle on his path to majority after Green Party members approved their coalition deal with his Social Democrats, SPD, and the Free Democrats, FDP.
• Now the three parties have approved the coalition deal, this political grouping will be sworn in tomorrow and the era of Angela Merkel will officially give way to a new age under Social Democrat Scholz.
• While support of at least 369 lawmakers is required in the 736-seat lower house to take up the top job, the three coalition partners have 416 seats together, giving them a comfortable majority in the house.
• Germany’s environmentalist Green party, 86 per cent of about 71,000 members who voted backed the 177-page coalition accord, which includes an ambitious climate agenda and plans to upgrade Germany’s technology infrastructure.
• The coalition aims to modernize Europe’s biggest economy, tackling surge in COVID-19 infections, step up efforts against climate change and introduce more liberal social policies.

About Germany:

• President: Frank-Walter Steinmeier Trending
• Capital: Berlin
• Currency: Euro
• Chancellor: Angela Merkel

India, Russia set target of trade worth 30 billion dollars, investment worth 50 billion dollars by 2025:

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi has the first 2 Plus 2 dialogues between defence and foreign ministers which took place earlier, starts a new mechanism to improve behavioural cooperation.
• Russia is adopting a long-term vision to strengthen bilateral partnership in economic affairs.
• Also, they have set a target of trade worth 30 billion dollars and investment worth 50 billion dollars by 2025.
• Under Make In India, co-development and co-production are strengthening India Russia partnership in the defence sector and they are also heading closer in cooperation in space and civil nuclear sectors.
• Four agreements were signed after this meeting, including contract for procurement of over six lakh AK-203 Assault Rifles and agreement on Program for Military Technical Cooperation from 2021 to 2031.
• AK-203 Assault Rifles will tremendously augment the operational capability of our soldiers. Hence, this contract ends the long quest of Indian Army to replace aging INSAS Rifle with a modern weapon.
• AK-203 Rifle, having an effective range of 300 meters is a light weight and easy to use Modern Assault weapon with proven technology.
• This will enhance the combat potential of our soldiers to meet the operational challenges. On the other hand, the unit located in Korwa, in Amethi will boost the manufacturing eco-system in Uttar Pradesh Defence Corridor.
• It will also generate local employment opportunities and the economic growth will see an upswing.

About Russia:

• President: Vladimir Putin Trending
• Capital: Moscow
• Currency: Russian ruble

British Airways becomes first airline to use sustainable aviation fuel:

• British Airways signed a multi-year agreement with Phillips 66 Limited becoming the first airline to use sustainable aviation fuel produced on a commercial scale in the UK.
• It had reached the agreement with a refinery in north Lincolnshire to purchase thousands of tonnes of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), which would add up to the equivalent of 700 transatlantic flights on a Boeing 787 with net zero carbon emission.
• Thousands of tonnes of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) will be produced for the first time in the UK at the Phillips 66 Humber Refinery near Immingham and will be supplied to British Airways to power a number of its flights from early 2022.
• SAF is a lower carbon-intensity fuel that can be produced from renewable feedstocks such as waste vegetable oils, fats and greases.
• The airline, which is driving to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, will purchase enough sustainable fuel to reduce lifecycle CO2 emissions by almost 100,000 tonnes, the equivalent of powering 700 net zero CO2 emissions flights between London and New York on its fuel-efficient Boeing 787 aircraft

About British Airways:

• CEO: Sean Doyle
• Headquarters: Harmondsworth, United Kingdom

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Central grant of ₹170 Crore released to Meghalaya under Jal Jeevan Mission:

• With a focus to expedite the implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission in Meghalaya, the Government of India released 169.60 Crore to the State. Central fund of ₹39 Crore has been allocated to the State for 2021-22 for the implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission, which is nearly four times the allocation for 2020-21.
• There are 5.90 lakh rural households in the State, out of which 1.88 lakh households (31.94%) have tap water connection.
• Top priority is accorded by the Union Government to the Jal Jeevan Mission as evidenced by the massive increase in budgetary allocation to ₹92,309 Crore in 2021-22, from ₹23,022 Crore in the preceding year.
• Further in 2021-22, 82 Crore is allocated to Meghalaya as 15th Finance Commission grant for water & sanitation to Rural Local Bodies/ PRIs and there is an assured funding of Rs. 426 Crore for the next five years i.e. up to 2025-26 to the rural local bodies.
• Announced by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi on 15th August, 2019, with the aim to provide assured tap water supply to every rural home by 2024, Jal Jeevan Mission is being implemented in partnership with States.
• Despite challenges faced due to COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns, over 5.38 Crore (28%) households have been provided with tap water supply since the launch of the mission.
• As on date, 8.62 Crore (45%) rural households receive potable water through household taps.
• Goa, Telangana, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu, Puducherry and Haryana have become ‘Har Ghar Jal’ State/ UT i.e., 100% coverage of tap connections in rural households. Meghalaya aims to become ‘Har Ghar Jal’ State in 2022.

About Meghalaya:

• Capital: Shillong
• Governor: Satya Pal Malik
• Chief minister: Conrad Sangma

Central Grant Of ₹402 Crore Released to Punjab Under Jal Jeevan Mission:

• With a focus to expedite the implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission in Punjab, the Government of India released 402.24 Crore to the State.
• Central fund of ₹1,656.39 Crore has been allocated to the State for 2021-22 for the implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission, which is nearly four times the allocation for 2020-21.
• There are 41 lakh rural households in the State, out of which 31.55 lakh rural households (91.68%) have tap water connection.
• In 2021-22, the State plans to provide tap water connections to 8.69 lakh rural households.
• Top priority is accorded by the Union Government to the Jal Jeevan Mission as evidenced by the massive increase in budgetary allocation to Rs. 92,309 Crore in 2021-22, from Rs. 23,022 Crore in the preceding year.
• Further in 2021-22, 616 Crore is allocated to Punjab as 15th Finance Commission grant for water & sanitation to Rural Local Bodies/ PRIs and there is an assured funding of Rs 3,246 Crore for the next five years i.e., up to 2025-26 to the rural local bodies.

About Punjab:

• Capital: Chandigarh
• Governor: Banwarilal Purohit
• Chief minister: Charanjit Singh Channi
• WLS: Abohar Wildlife Sanctuary, Bir Aishwan (Aishban) Wildlife Sanctuary, Bir Bhadson Wildlife Sanctuary, Bir Bhunerheri Wildlife Sanctuary, Bir Dosanjh Wildlife Sanctuary, Bir Gurdialpura Wildlife Sanctuary, Bir Mehaswala Wildlife Sanctuary.

Yes Bank launches credit cards on RuPay platform:

• Private sector lender Yes Bank has launched credit cards on the RuPay platform.
• Yes Bank has partnered National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to offer RuPay branded credit cards to its customers on the indigenously developed payment platform
• The partnership is aligned with our ongoing efforts to expand and diversify our credit offering to customers, ensuring that their payment journeys are contactless, enjoyable and more rewarding.
• The private sector lender previously had an exclusive tie up with Mastercard but its credit card issuances had been impacted after the Reserve Bank of India had barred Mastercard from onboarding new customers on its domestic card network.
• In September this year, it had also announced a partnership with Visa to offer credit card to customers.

About YES Bank:

• CEO: Prashant Kumar
• Headquarters: Mumbai
• Founded: 2004
• Tagline: Experience Our Expertise

Karnataka Bank signed pact with Toyota for vehicle financing:

• Karnataka Bank Ltd has signed a memorandum of understanding with Toyota Kirloskar Motor Pvt Ltd (TKM) to introduce financing options for its customers to purchase Toyota vehicles.
• Under this agreement, Karnataka Bank becomes one of the preferred financiers for the vehicles sold by TKM.
• A media statement, the customers can get loans through the digital platform of the bank with interest rate linked to External Benchmark Lending Rate (EBLR) for purchasing TKM vehicles for both private and commercial use.
• The tenure of the loan will be up to 84 months.
• The bank offers car loans through its extensive branch network with an indigenously developed end-to-end digital platform for existing as well as new customers.
• The platform is enabled with simplified and faster processing capabilities.

About Karnataka Bank:

• Headquarters: Mangalore
• CEO: Mahabaleshwara M. S
• Founded: 18 February 1924
• Tagline: Your Family Bank Across India

Ajith Kumar takes over as BPCL-Kochi Refinery Head:

• Ajith Kumar K has taken over as the head of BPCL Kochi Refinery. As Chief General Manager I/C (Kochi Refinery), he would lead the largest public sector refinery in the country.
• A Mechanical Engineer from the Government College of Engineering, Thrissur, and MBA from Indira Gandhi National Open University, Ajith Kumar began his career at the erstwhile Cochin Refineries Ltd in 1989.
• He has worked in Inspection, Safety, Projects and Maintenance departments of the Kochi Refinery.
• He also had a brief stint in Bharat Oman Refineries Ltd., Bina, Madhya Pradesh, and Kuwait National Petroleum Corporation, Kuwait.
• Prior to taking over the present position as Chief General Manager I/C (Kochi Refinery), he was holding the post of Chief General Manager (Projects) of Kochi Refinery.
• He was responsible for implementation of Integrated Refinery Expansion Project (IREP) and Motor Spirit Block Project (MSBP) of Kochi Refinery

FICCI appointed HUL’s Sanjiv Mehta as President:

• The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), that Hindustan Unilever Chairman & Managing Director, Sanjiv Mehta, will be appointed as the President next week.
• The industry chamber will be taking over the position at its Annual General Meeting on December 18.
• He will be succeeding media industry veteran Uday Shankar, who is the current President.
• Mehta is also the President of Unilever South Asia (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka & Nepal), and is a member of the ‘Unilever Leadership Executive’ which is Unilever’s Global Executive Board.
• He is also a Director on the Board of Indian School of Business, member of the Breach Candy Hospital Trust and the South Asia Advisory Board of Harvard Business School.
• He chairs Xynteo’s ‘Vikaasa’, a coalition of top Indian and MNC companies.

MoHUA and UNDP sign MoU for Strengthening Waste Management Sector in India under Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban 2.0:

• Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), Government of India has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) India to strengthen the waste management sector in India under the overall ambit of Swachh Bharat Mission- Urban 2.0.
• The MoU, operational for a period of five years (2021-26) was signed by Ms. Roopa Mishra, Joint Secretary and National Mission Director, Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban (SBM-U) representing MoHUA, and Ms. Shoko Noda, Resident Representative, representing UNDP India, in the presence of Shri Durga Shanker Mishra, Secretary, MoHUA.
• The MoU signed between MoHUA and UNDP India marks the beginning of a collaborative journey to strengthen collection, segregation, recovery and recycling of all kinds of non-biodegradable waste, and integrated plastic waste management under SBM-U 2.0.

• Through this MoU, UNDP India will also be facilitating setting up of 75 Smart Swachhata Kendras across the country, working with local partners and Urban Local Bodies (ULBs).

UNION GOVERNMENT SCHEME

MISSION KARMYOGI

Launched on:

• Mission Karmayogi was launched on September 20, 2020 by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Union Cabinet.

Ministry involved:

• Mission karmyogi is under the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions
• Minister of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions- Narendra modi

Objectives:

• To lay down the foundations for the Indian civil servants’ capacity building
• To enhance governance.
• To make civil servants more creative, constructive, imaginative, innovative, proactive, professional, progressive, energetic, enabling, transparent and technology-enabled.

Six pillars of mission:

“Mission Karmayogi” has been launched with the objective of enhancing governance through Civil Service Capacity Building.Mission Karmayogi will have the following six pillars: –

•  Policy Framework,
• Institutional Framework,
• Competency Framework,
• Digital Learning Framework (Integrated Government Online Training Karmayogi Platform (iGOT-Karmayogi),
• electronic Human Resource Management System (e-HRMS), and
• Monitoring and Evaluation Framework.

Benefits:

• To Support Transition from ‘Rules based’ to ‘Roles based’ HR Management.
• Work allocation of civil servants by matching their competencies to the requirements of the post.
• Emphasize on ‘on-site learning’ to complement the ‘off-site’ learning
• Create an ecosystem of shared training infrastructure including that of learning materials, institutions and personnel
• It will Calibrates all Civil Service positions to a Framework of Roles, Activities and Competencies (FRACs) approach
• Mission will Provides an opportunity to continuously build and strengthen their Behavioral, Functional and Domain Competencies in their self-driven and mandated learning paths.
• Mission Enable all the Central Ministries and Departments and their Organizations to directly invest their resources towards co-creation and sharing the collaborative and common ecosystem of learning through an annual financial subscription for every employee
• To Encourage and partner with the best-in-class learning content creators including public training institutions, universities, start-tips and individual experts.

Implementation of the scheme:

For implementation and monitoring of the programme, following institutional framework has been approved:

• Prime Minister’s Public Human Resource Council (PMHRC): A Council under the chairmanship of Hon’ble Prime Minister is conceived to be the apex body for driving and providing strategic direction to civil service reforms and capacity building.
• Cabinet Secretariat Coordination Unit: It will monitor the implementation of NPCSCB, align stakeholders and provide mechanism for overseeing capacity building plans.
• Capacity Building Commission– It will be set up for functional supervision of training institutions and facilitate in preparation of annual capacity building plans.
• Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV, an autonomous company) under Section 8 of the Companies Act, 2013 – It will own and operate all the digital assets created for NPCSCB on behalf of the Government of India.
• Programme Management Unit (PMU) – It will provide Program Management and Support services to the Department.

Target group:

• Mission Karmayogi is the National Programme for Civil Services Capacity Building (NPCSCB). It is a reform in Indian Bureaucracy.
• Target area of the mission is Indian civil servants

iGOT Karmayogi Platform

• This is a large-scale comprehensive learning and career management platform, built indigenously in India, to suit the unique needs of the Indian government.
• The platform creates an environment of continuous, frictionless, and guided learning for all segments of the Indian civil service and provides mechanisms for networking, peer-to-peer interactions, and competency and career management.
• Envisaged as a multi-channel digital platform – where FRAC understands the competencies required by an individual, and a content marketplace enables learning – iGOT Karmayogi will enable tailored competency development for all valid civil service officials.
• It shall also form the backbone and starting point of linking and amplifying an intelligent government approach to capacity building and HR management.

Apex Body of the Mission Karmayogi:

• Union Ministers
• Chief Ministers
• Eminent public HR practitioners
• Thinkers
• Global thought leaders and
• Public Service functionaries

Daily CA On Dec 08:

• The Lok Sabha has passed the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (Amendment) Bill, 2021
• AAI to spend around INR 25,000 crores in next five years for expansion and modification of existing terminals
• To initiate infrastructure development to boost the economy after COVID-19 pandemic, Union Budget 2021-22 has provided a capital outlay of Rs. 5.54 lakh crore, an increase of 34.5% over Budget Estimate of FY 2020-21.
• Scheduled Commercial Banks recover Rs 90 crore from financial frauds in last 5 years
• Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban 2.0 (SBM-U 2.0), under the aegis of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), has launched the Swachh Technology Challenge.
• Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina of Bangladesh has called for recommitting the two countries towards further strengthening the long-standing dynamic partnership between Bangladesh and India. 
• Tata Power and Indian Institute of Technology Madras have entered into an agreement to collaborate in research and development, consultancy, policy advocacy, advisory, training, and commercialization of technologies and solutions.
• Indian Navy, Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Ltd. (GRSE) a Defence PSU and a leading warship building company of India launched its first indigenously built Survey Vessel – ‘Sandhayak’ in the presence of Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt.
• The Vice President, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu, released the book, titled ‘Public Service Ethics’ written by Shri Prabhat Kumar, former Governor of Jharkhand and former Cabinet Secretary to the Government of India, & published by IC Centre for Governance at Upa-Rashtrapati Nivas.
• Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu launched Gautam Chintamani‘s book ‘The Midway Battle: Modi’s Roller-coaster Second Term’ at Upa-Rashtrapati Nivas in New Delhi.
• Mercedes Driver Lewis Hamilton won the inaugural Saudi Arabian Grand Prix at Jeddah Corniche Circuit, Saudi Arabia.
• On Dec 05, 2021, Argentina defeated six-time winners Germany 4-2 in the FIH Men’s junior hockey world cup 2021 final at the Kalinga Stadium in Odisha.
• On Dec 05, 2021, India’s first woman psychiatrist and the longest-serving head of the Institute of Mental Health, Sarada Menon passed away at the age of 98.