Current Affairs December 19th & 20th 2021| Current Affairs News

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CURRENT AFFAIRS: IMPORTANT DAYS

International Day to End Violence against Sex Workers 2021 – Dec 17

• Every year On December 17 is Observed as the International Day to End Violence against Sex Workers.

Purpose :

• To end violence and hate crimes against people doing sex work.
• The day was first observed in 2003, and was held as a memorial and vigil for the victims of the Green River Killer in Seattle Washington.
• The day was was founded by Dr Annie Sprinkle and the Sex Workers Outreach Project USA (SWOP-USA), an American sex worker rights organization.
• The red umbrella is an important symbol for sex worker rights & the International Committee on the Rights of Sex Workers in Europe (ICRSE) adopted the red umbrella as a symbol of resistance to discrimination in

World Arabic Language Day Observed on 18 December

• Globally World Arabic Language Day is observed on 18 December every year.
• Theme of 2021 is Arabic Language, a bridge between civilisations” reflects the role of Arabic as a connector between civilisations and its role in building peace and enhancing dialogue.

Aim :

• To highlight the importance of the language in connecting people, and knowledge systems, throughout history.

Purpose :

• To raise awareness of the history, culture and development of the language by preparing a program of special activities and events.
• To honor the Arabic language, which is spoken by over 400 million people globally.
• The United Nations decided to celebrate the Arabic language on December 18, being the day on which General Assembly resolution 3190 (XXVIII) of December 18, 1973, concerned the inclusion of the Arabic language among the official and working languages ​​of the United Nations.

About UNESCO :

• Headquarters: Paris, France
• Director-General; Audrey Azoulay
• Founded: 16 November 1945

Minorities Rights Day- Dec 18

• The National Minorities Rights Day is observed in India, every year on December 18, to safeguard the Constitutionally guaranteed rights of religious minorities in the country.
• In 1992, the United Nations adopted the Statement on the Individual’s Rights belonging to religious, linguistic, or ethnic minorities and the same year the National Commission for Minorities was set up by the Government of India.
• The Ministry of Minority Affairs was established on January 26, 2006.
• It was carved out of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
• On National Minorities Rights Day let us take a look at some of the rights and freedom guaranteed by the Constitution to the minorities in the country.
• For the benefit of the minority communities, the Ministry generates overall policy and planning, coordination, evaluation, and review of the regulatory framework and development programme.

International Migrants Day- Dec 18

• Every year, December 18, is celebrated as International Migrants Day.
• The day was designated by the General Assembly of the United Nations on December 4, 2000.
• The theme for the year 2021 is ‘Harnessing the potential of human mobility’.
• The day was selected to mark the anniversary of the 1990 adoption by UNGA of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families
• This year, the World Health Organization has marked the day with the launch of the “Refugee and migrant health: Global Competency Standards for health workers” (the Standards).
• The Standards and accompanying Knowledge Guide and Curriculum Guide aim to strengthen the health workforce and support the provision of quality people-centred and culturally sensitive health services to migrants and refugees.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL NEWS

Union cabinet gives nod to raise legal marriage age of women From 18 To 21 Years

• The union cabinet approved the proposal to raise the minimum age of marriage for women from 18 to 21 years old.
• The proposed reform will equalize legal marriageable ages for both genders.
• The move aimed at empowering women and not controlling the population.
• The government will introduce an amendment to the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006, and consequently bring amendments to the Special Marriage Act and personal laws such as the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955.
• The proposal was recommended by the task force headed by Jaya Jaitley in Niti Aayog.
• Section 5(iii) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 sets 18 years as the minimum age for the bride and 21 for the groom. The Special Marriage Act, 1954 and the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 also prescribe 18 and 21 years as the minimum age of consent for marriage for women and men, respectively.
• The task force made the recommendations after extensive consultations with experts, young adults, especially young women.
• The data released by NFHS 5 (National Family Health Survey) has already shown that the Total Fertility Rate is decreasing and the population is under control.
• The proposal was recommended by a task force set by the government to examine women-related matters pertaining to the age of motherhood, imperatives of lowering MMR (Maternal Mortality Rate), improvement of nutritional levels, among others.

About Ministry of women and child development :

• Union Minister : Smriti Irani
• Minister of State : Mahendra Munjapara

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India and the US announce new programme supporting innovations to tackle climate & clean energy challenges

• A programme to support India-US S&T-based entrepreneurial initiatives that address the development and implementation of next-generation clean and renewable energy, energy storage, and carbon sequestration has been announced to tackle climate and clean energy challenges.
• The programme titled ‘Technology-based Energy Solutions: Innovations for Net Zero’ constitutes a call for Ignition Grants by the United States-India Science & Technology Endowment Fund (USISTEF), in partnership with Social Alpha, a non-profit organization promoting S&T entrepreneurship.
• It will identify and support ‘technology showstoppers or promising joint India-US S&T-based entrepreneurial initiatives in this area.
• The launch of the U.S.-India Climate and Clean Energy Agenda 2030 partnership in April 2021 reiterated the commitment of both nations to work together to achieve their ambitious climate and clean energy targets and to strengthen bilateral collaborations.
• The new program aligns with the goals of the U.S.-India strategic Clean Energy Partnership and will be administered by the bi-national Indo-U.S. Science and Technology Forum (IUSSTF).
• The IUSSTF is a bilateral organization under the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India, and U.S. Department of State.

Ministry of Rural Development to launch Overdraft facility for women SHG members under DAY-NRLM

• As a part of the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, Shri Nagendra Nath Sinha, Secretary, Department of Rural Development, Ministry of Rural Development will launch the overdraft facility of Rs. 5,000 to verified women SHG members under DAY-NRLM, on 18th December 2021.
• The event will also include a “Discourse on Rural Financial Inclusion” in which top officials from Banks and State missions will participate.
• The annual awards for performance of Banks under DAY-NRLM, during the year 2020-21 will also be announced.
• All Public Sector Banks and State Rural Livelihoods Missions will participate in the launching programme which will be held through virtual mode.
• Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM), a flagship programme of Ministry of Rural Development aims at eliminating rural poverty through mobilizing poor women into community institutions like Self Help Groups (SHGs) and strengthening their livelihood base by accessing necessary credit from banks.
• The Mission was launched in June 2011 and as on 15th December, 2021, 8.04 crore rural women have been mobilized into 73.5 Lakh Self Help Groups and it is envisaged that by 2024, about 10 crore women would be mobilized into Self Help Groups.
• The outstanding balance is of more than Rs. 1,33,915 crores with just 2.49% NPA.
• During this Financial Year upto 30th November, 2021, 27.38 lakhs SHGs have been provided credit by banks to the extent of Rs 62,848 Crores and total credit accessed by the women SHGs is more than Rs.4.45 lakh crores since April, 2013, inter alia to make adequate investment in productive enterprises.

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DPIIT has launched the Unified Logistics Interface Platform’s (ULIP) Hackathon

• The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has launched the Unified Logistics Interface Platform’s (ULIP) Hackathon – ‘LogiXtics’ in order to crowdsource more ideas which will benefit the logistics industry.
• ULIP is designed to enhance efficiency and reduce logistics cost in India by creating a transparent platform that can provide real time information to all stakeholders and remove all asymmetry information.
• The ULIP Hackathon – LogiXtics is organised by NITI Aayog and Atal Innovation Mission and supported by National Industrial Corridor Development Corporation (NICDC) and NICDC Logistics Data Bank Services Limited (NLDSL).
• The ULIP Hackathon was launched by Shri Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog in the presence of Shri Amrit Lal Meena Special Secretary, Department of Logistics, Ministry of Commerce & Industry and CEO & MD, NICDC; Ms. Anna Roy, Senior Advisor, NITI Aayog and Shri Abhishek Chaudhary, Vice President, NICDC.
• ULIP is being developed as technology platform in the logistics sector which will provide real time information to all stakeholders and will converge visibility of multi-modal transport across the existing systems of various Ministries/Departments working in silos.
• Once completed, one can see huge efficiencies in the logistics sector, and which will transform it by bringing down the logistics cost and enhancing India’s competitiveness in the global trade.

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CURRENT AFFAIRS: INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Russian President Putin affirms to attend the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing

• Russian president Vladimir Putin has pledged to attend the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.
• He became the first major western leader to indicate his attendance.
• His remarks came in a video call with Chinese President Xi Jinping, he looked forward to a get-together.
• It comes as a growing number of countries have joined a diplomatic boycott of the Games.
• This is due to alleged human rights abuses in China, which Beijing denies.
• The US, UK, Australia and Canada have said their high-level officials will not be attending the winter Games, which will take place in February, as a result.
• However, athletes from these countries will still be in attendance. Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida also added that he had no plans to attend the Games at the moment.

About Russia:

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

CURRENT AFFAIRS: STATE NEWS

NECBDC Guwahati has organized a Two-Day Youth Conclave for Empowering the Youth of Northeast India

• North East Cane And Bamboo Development Council(NECBDC) Guwahati organised a Two-Day Youth Conclave organized by Chandra Prabha Saikiani Centre for Women Studies Tezpur University (A Central University),
• Under the aegis of Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Youth Development, an Institute of National Importance under the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu, Govt. of India. Empowering the Youth of Northeast India through the Advancement of Technology and Skill.

About Assam:

• Capital: Dispur
• Chief minister: Himanta Biswa Sarma
• Governor: Jagadish Mukhi
• Rivers: Brahmaputra River, Barak River , Dhansiri River         , Manas River, Kameng River, Bhogdoi River.

Haryana Government Launches ‘Khel Nursery Scheme’

• Haryana Minister of State for Sports and Youth Affairs Sandeep Singh had started ‘Khel Nursery Scheme 2022-23’ to promote sports in the state.

About the Scheme :

• To build sports nurseries in government, private educational institutions, and private sports institutes in order to develop sports in the state.
• For this, applications have been invited by the department till January 20, 2022.
• The sports nurseries are being opened for the sports included in the Olympic, Asian and Commonwealth Games.

About Haryana :

• Governor: Bandaru Dattatreya
• Capital: Chandigarh
• Chief minister: Manohar Lal Khattar
• National Parks : Kalesar National Park, Sultanpur National Park
• Wildlife Sanctuaries : Bhindawas Wildlife Sanctuary, Khaparwas Wildlife Sanctuary, Nahar Wildlife Sanctuary, Chhilchhila Wildlife Sanctuary, Saraswati Wildlife Sanctuary, Abubshahar Wildlife Sanctuary, Khol Hi-Raitan Wildlife Sanctuary, Bir Shikargah Wildlife Sanctuary, Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BANKING AND ECONOMY

ICICI Prudential Life Insurance signs the UN’s Principles of Responsible Investing

• ICICI Prudential Life Insurance (IPRULIFE) has become the first Indian insurance company to sign the United Nations-supported Principles for Responsible Investment (UNPRI), demonstrating its commitment towards the environment, social and governance (ESG) issues.
• In its journey towards promoting sustainability, the company is integrating ESG factors into its investment management framework.
• This private life insurer has also adopted sustainability principles across its business activities.
• With assets under management of over ₹37 trillion, IPRULIFE is a key institutional investor and believes integrating the ESG framework in its investment management practices will ensure sustainable value creation for all stakeholders.
• The UNPRI is an investor initiative in partnership with the two bodies of United Nations – UN Environment Programme Finance Initiative and UN Global Compact.
• Its goals are to understand the investment implications of environmental, social and governance issues and support signatories in integrating these issues into investment and ownership decisions.
• Currently, it has over 4,000 signatories from 60 countries collectively representing over $120 trillion of assets committed to integrating ESG considerations into their investment practices and ownership policies.

About ICICI Prudential Life Insurance:

• CEO: N. S. Kannan
• Founded: 2000

IFSCA sets up committee for creating a Framework for transfer of stressed loans from domestic lenders to permitted financial institutions in IFSC

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has recently Directions, 2021 dated September 24, 2021 replaced the existing instructions on the matter of sale/transfer of loan exposures by lending institutions.
• The RBI directions, inter- alia, permit transfer of loan exposures to any class of entities that are under the regulatory purview of any financial sector regulator in subject to certain conditions.
• The RBI directions also call for the respective financial regulator to put in place a framework for this purpose in consultation with RBI.
• IFSCA has set up a committee of experts to examine and recommend measures to create such a framework for transfer of stressed loans from domestic lenders to permitted financial institutions in IFSC.
• Shri G. Padmanabhan, Former Executive Director, Reserve Bank of India, shall be chairing the committee which will also include representative from Law firm and other market participants possessing expertise in Banking and Legal issues.
• The Committee has been mandated to examine the provisions of the RBI directions pertaining to transfer of stressed loans by lending institutions to entities in IFSCA, identify areas/issues of the directions which require further clarification from RBI, suggest both the contents of the framework to be put in place by IFSCA to enable such transfers and amendments/additions to the RBI directions to make it easier to affect such transfers.

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NPCI enables the market on Tokenization for RuPay users with NTS

• Ahead of the deadline for card tokenisation, National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has joined hands with brands and aggregators such as bigbasket, Goibibo, MakeMyTrip, JioPay, Juspay, Paytm, and PhonePe to introduce a tokenisation facility supported by the recently launched NPCI Tokenisation System (NTS).
• This facility will help millions of customers maintain the security of their card financial data for online transactions, as their RuPay card details will now be completely safe and secure in a secure vault within NTSSeveral other merchants and aggregators are expected to enable this functionality of Card token-on-File soon.
• With NTS, these brands can now save the token reference number (token reference on file) against all existing stored card numbers, which enhances safety and further strengthen the digital payments ecosystem in the country.
• The deadline for card tokenisation is December 31, 2021 and effective January 1, 2022, no entity in the card transaction or payment chain, other than the card issuers and / or card networks, shall store the actual card data.

About NPCI:

• Headquarters: Mumbai
• Founded: 2008
• Chairman: Biswamohan Mahapatra

CURRENT AFFAIRS: APPOINTMENTS AND RESIGNATION

Hyundai appoints Unsoo Kim as new MD

• Hyundai Motor India (HMIL) Unsoo Kim has been appointed as the new Managing Director effective January 1.
• He will take up responsibilities from Seon Seob Kim who will lead a global role at Hyundai Motor Company headquarters, Seoul after his successful stint of three years in India
• During his tenure as the MD of HMIL, SS Kim has taken a multi-pronged approaches during his tenure including Hyundai’s mobility strategy in India like transformation from an automobile brand to a Smart Mobility Solutions company.

SIAM appoints Vinod Aggarwal as new Vice President

• The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) its executive committee has elected Vinod Aggarwal, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Volvo Eicher Commercial Vehicles (VECV) as its new Vice President for the current year 2021-22.
• VE Commercial Vehicles (VECV) is a joint venture between the Volvo Group and Eicher Motors.
• The change in Vice Presidentship has been done due to the resignation of Vipin Sondhi from his position at Ashok Leyland.
• Sondhi, MD and CEO, Ashok Leyland, served as the Vice President of SIAM from September 2020.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : AWARDS & HONORS

Seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton receives knighthood at Windsor Castle

• Seven times Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton received his knighthood from Prince Charles at Windsor Castle for his services to motorsport at Windsor Castle, London.
• The 36 year old Lewis became just the fourth F1 driver to receive the honor after Sir Jackie Stewart in 2001, Sir Stirling Moss in 2000, and Sir Jack Brabham in 1979.
• He is the only one to have received the award while still racing.

Other active sportsmen who have received a knighthood :

• Bradley Wiggins (Cycling’s Tour de France winner)
• Mo Farah (Olympic 5,000 and 10,000 meters gold medallist)
• Andy Murray (Tennis)
• Alastair Cook (England cricketer)

About knighthood :

• A knighthood is a title that is conferred on a person by a British king or queen for their high achievement and services to their country within their industry.

About Lewis Hamilton :

• Sir Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton was born on 7 January 1985 in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, England.
• He currently competes in Formula One for Mercedes, having previously driven for McLaren from 2007 to 2012.
• Hamilton is the first, and so far only, black driver in the F1 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 (182), among others.
• He had been awarded the MBE, a Member of the Order of the British Empire, in 2009 after he won his first championship.

Bhutan confers highest civilian award on PM Modi

• On the occasion of 114th National Day of Bhutan (Dec 17, 2021) Prime Minister Narendra Modihas been conferred with the highest civilian award of Bhutan, Ngadag Pel gi Khorlo or Order of the Druk Gyalpo.
• PM Modi is the first foreign head of government to receive Bhutan’s highest civilian award.
• The King of Bhutan, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, conferred honor on PM Modi for his outstanding contribution to bilateral relations and his services to the Bhutanese nation and people.

List of International Awards received by Narendra Modi:

1. Order of Abdulaziz Al Saud (Saudi Arabia) – 2016
2. State Order of Ghazi Amir Amanullah Khan (Afghanistan) – 2016
3. Grand Collar of the State of Palestine Award (Palestine) – 2018
4. Order of Zayed Award (United Arab Emirates) – 2019
5. Order of St. Andrew award (Russia) – 2019
6. Order of the Distinguished Rule of Nishan Izzuddin (Maldives) – 2019
7. King Hamad Order of the Renaissance (Bahrain) – 2019
8. Legion of Merit (United States) – 2020

Note :

• The 114th National Day of Bhutan which commemorates the Coronation of His Majesty the First King of Bhutan, Druk Gyalpo Ugyen Wangchuck on December 17, 1907.

About Bhutan :

• King: Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck
• Prime minister: Lotay Tshering
• Capital: Thimphu
• Currency : Ngultrum

Kumar Mangalam Birla named ‘Global Entrepreneur of the Year’

• The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE) based out of Silicon Valley awarded the Global Entrepreneur of the Year Award- Business Transformation to Mr Kumar Mangalam Birla, the Chairman of the Aditya Birla Group.
• The award was presented at the TiE Global Summit Awards ceremony held in Dubai.
• With this, he became the first Indian industrialist to receive this prestigious award.
• The awardees were selected by an independent jury chaired by venture capitalist Tim Draper, who founded the Draper University.

Note :

• The 2-day TiE Global Summit in Dubai was attended by policymakers, industry eagles and entrepreneurs from over 30 countries.

Other awardees :

• Elon Musk (Global Entrepreneur of the Year – Immigrant Entrepreneur)
• Jeff Bezos (Global Entrepreneur of the Year – First Generation),
• Satya Nadella (Global Entrepreneur of the Year – Entrepreneurial CEO).
• Techstars (Best Global Accelerator for Startups)
• MIT (Global University Promoting Student Entrepreneurship)
• Accel (Best Global VC Fund)

About Mr Kumar Mangalam Birla :

• Kumar Mangalam Birla is the chancellor of the Birla Institute of Technology & Science.
• He is the chairman of the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi &Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad.
• According to Forbes, he has an estimated net worth of US $16.7 billion, as of October 2021.

About Aditya Birla Group :

• Owner: Kumar Mangalam Birla
• Founder: Seth Shiv Narayan Birla
• Director & CEO : Santrupt Misra
• Founded: 1857
• Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra

About TiE :

• Founder: Kanwal Rekhi
• Chairman : Praveen Tailam
• Founded: 1992

CURRENT AFFAIRS: MOUS AND AGREEMENT

Tata Motors signs MoU with Maharashtra to set up vehicle scrapping facility

• Tata Motors, India’s largest commercial vehicle manufacturer, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Maharashtra government to support setting up a registered vehicle scrapping facility.
• The proposed scrappage centre in Maharashtra will have the capacity to recycle up to 35,000 vehicles a year for end-of-life passenger and commercial vehicles.
• The MoU, which was signed through the Industries, Energy and Labour Department, was concluded at the Conference on Investment Opportunities in Highway, Transport and Logisticsin Mumbai, in the presence of Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, and other delegates
• Tata Motors had earlier signed a MoU with the Gujarat government for setting up a registered vehicle scrapping facility in Ahmedabad.

About Tata Motors:

• CEO: Marc Llistosella
• Headquarters: Mumbai
• Founder: J. R. D. Tata
• Founded: 1945, Mumbai

CURRENT AFFAIRS : PERSONS IN NEWS

Gymnast Simone Biles named Time Magazine’s 2021 Athlete of the Year

• The United States gymnast Simone Biles has been chosen as the TIME magazine’s 2021 Athlete of the Year.
• The world’s most decorated gymnast was hailed for putting her mental health first when she withdrew from four event finals at the Tokyo Olympics.
• The 24-year-old managed to earn a team all-around silver and a bronze in balance beam at the Tokyo Games.

Note :

• Meanwhile, SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been named Time’s Person of the Year.

About Simone Biles :

• Biles was born on March 14, 1997, in Columbus, Ohio, US.
• She is the four-time Olympic medalist.
• She is the tenth female gymnast and first American female gymnast to win a World medal on every event, and the first female gymnast since Daniela Silivaș in 1988 to win a medal on every event at a single Olympic Games or World Championships, having accomplished this feat at the 2018 World Championships in Doha.
• In 2017, Biles was awarded the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement.
• In 2019, Biles won the People’s Choice Award for The Game Changer of 2019.
• In 2020 Biles was awarded the Laureus World Sports Award for Sportswoman of the Year.
• In September 2021, she appeared on the Time 100, an annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world, for “championing mental health.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : DEFENSE NEWS

HAL Obtains ADE-DRDO Supply Order For ABHYAS Target Platform

• On Dec 17, 2021, The Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has secured an order for manufacturing, assembly, integration, testing and supply of High-Speed Expendable Aerial Target (HEAT) System known as ABHYAS from the Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE) wing of the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO).
• After successful completion of this initial order, HAL would be identified as Development-cum-Production Partner (DcPP) for supply of this target system along with a private firm (50% of the volume).
• The platform is estimated to have a large requirement from the tri-services for evaluation trials of missile programs.

About ABHYAS :

• ABHYAS was designed and developed by DRDO’s Aeronautical Development Establishment in Bengaluru.
• The air vehicle is launched using twin under-slung boosters which provide the initial acceleration to the vehicle.
• It is powered by a gas turbine engine to sustain a long endurance flight at subsonic speed.
• The target aircraft is equipped with Micro Electro Mechanical System (MEMS)-based Inertial Navigation System (INS) for navigation along with the Flight Control Computer (FCC) for guidance and control.
• The vehicle is programmed for fully autonomous flight.
• The check-out of the air vehicle is done using a laptop-based Ground Control Station (GCS).

About HAL :

• Founded: 23 December 1940
• Headquarters: Bengaluru
• Founder: Walchand Hirachand

CURRENT AFFAIRS : BOOKS & AUTHORS

Shantanu Gupta authored a Book Titled The Monk Who Transformed UP : Book on Yogi Adityanath

• Shantanu Gupta authored a Book Titled The Monk Who Transformed Uttar Pradesh: How Yogi Aditynath Changed UP Waala Bhaiya’ abuse to a Badge of Honour.
• The Book is published by Garuda Prakashan.

About the Book :

• The book chronicles how Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath transformed the state in various aspects like law and order, connectivity, education, health infrastructure, and overall growth.

About Shantanu Gupta :

• Shantanu Gupta is an Indian author and political analyst & he is also the founder of The Ramayana School.
• Gupta’s previously authored books include

1. “BHARATIYA JANATA PARTY: Past, Present and Future: Story of the World’s Largest Political Party” (2019)
2. “The Monk Who Became Chief Minister” (2017) : biography of the 22nd and current Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh – Yogi Adityanath.

UNION GOVERNMENT SCHEME

SAHKAR MITRA NCDC’s Scheme on Internship Programme (SIP)

The “SAHKAR MITRA Scheme on Internship Program” (SIP) is an arrangement where NCDC will provide short term (not exceeding four months) opportunity to young professionals acquire learning experience by applying skills and knowledge in organizational context to facilitate professional development.

The programme aims at providing an opportunity to professional graduates to get experience in areas of functioning of NCDC and related aspects of cooperatives.

LAUNCHED ON:

The Sahkar Mitra scheme was launched on 11 June 2020

MINISTRYINVOLVED:

Ministry Of Co-Operation

Minister of co-operation – Amit Shah

Sahkar Mitra scheme is formulated by national cooperative development corporation  (NCDC).

NCDC was under the administration control of the ministry of Agriculture and Farmers welfare at time of launch; but now NCDC IS UNDER the new ministery named Ministry of co-operation  which was formed during the cabinet expansion happened in July 2021.

NCDC IS AN apex level statutory autonomous institution set up by the Government of India under the Act of the Parliament in 1963.it has been created for the purpose of planning and promoting programmes, for the production, processing, marketing, storage, export and import of agriculture produce, foodstuff, industrial goods, livestock, certain other commodities, also services like hospitals and healthcare and education.

OBJECTIVES:

To provide a deep immersion opportunity to professional graduates on the role, contribution and impact of NCDC and also cooperatives.

To enable the professional graduates, learn the context and practical working of NCDC and cooperatives.

To orient professional graduates to the cooperative business model and engage themselves in start-up cooperatives.

To enable professional graduates take up leadership and /or entrepreneur roles in FPO organized under Cooperative Acts.

To assist needy cooperatives in preparation of business plans and projects.

ELIGIBILITY:

Person with any of the following qualifications will be eligible for consideration:-

Professional graduates with minimum qualification as Bachelor’s degree in Agri/ Dairy/ Animal Husbandry/ Veterinary Sciences/ Fisheries / Horticulture/ Textiles/ Handloom / IT duly recommended by the Head of the Department of the UGC / AICTE / ICAR recognized Universities / Institutions as applicable.

Professionals (pursuing or completed) MBA AgriBusiness / MBA Coop / M.Com / MCA / MBA Fi nance / MBA International Trade / MBA Forestry / MBA Rural Dev / MBA Project Management / Inter ICAI / Inter ICWA qualification duly recommended by the Head of the Department of the UGC / AICTE / ICAR recognized Universities / Institutions as applicable.

TARGET GROUP:

The scheme is for both cooperatives as well as for the young professionals.

ABOUT INTERNSHIP AND SELECTION PROCESS:

Internship period shall not exceed four months for a person.

A person cannot be taken as an intern more than once.

Recommendation can be done by Head of the Department of the UGC / AICTE / ICAR recognized Universities / Institutions as applicable

Online application only shall be received.

Prospective interns will be shortlisted by committees, as may be prescribed by MD from time to time, on the basis of screening of their bio-data and recommendations of the sponsoring institutions.

Placement of interns will be made at HO / LINAC / ROs depending upon the preference of the interns and requirement of NCDC.

FINANCIAL SUPPORT FROM NCDC:

The intern will be offered the following financial benefits during the course of SIP (4 months):-

Consolidated monthly amount of Rs. 10,000/- for 4 months towards partly meeting his/her out of pocket expenses.	Rs. 40,000
Expenses related to report preparation (lumpsum amount towards data collection, analysis and preparation of report)	Rs. 5,000
Total	Rs. 45,000

Daily CA On Dec 19th & 20th  :

• Every year On December 17 is Observed as the International Day to End Violence against Sex Workers.
• Globally World Arabic Language Day is observed on 18 December every year with the Theme of 2021 is Arabic Language, a bridge between civilisations” reflects the role of Arabic as a connector between civilisations and its role in building peace and enhancing dialogue.
• The National Minorities Rights Day is observed in India, every year on December 18, to safeguard the Constitutionally guaranteed rights of religious minorities in the country.
• Every year, December 18, is celebrated as International Migrants Day with the theme of ‘Harnessing the potential of human mobility’& the day was designated by the General Assembly of the United Nations on December 4, 2000
• The union cabinet approved the proposal to raise the minimum age of marriage for women from 18 to 21 years old.
• A programme to support India-US S&T-based entrepreneurial initiatives that address the development and implementation of next-generation clean and renewable energy, energy storage, and carbon sequestration has been announced to tackle climate and clean energy challenges.
• As a part of the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, Shri Nagendra Nath Sinha, Secretary, Department of Rural Development, Ministry of Rural Development will launch the overdraft facility of Rs. 5,000 to verified women SHG members under DAY-NRLM, on 18th December 2021.
• The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has launched the Unified Logistics Interface Platform’s (ULIP) Hackathon – ‘LogiXtics’ in order to crowdsource more ideas which will benefit the logistics industry.
• Russian president Vladimir Putin has pledged to attend the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.
• North East Cane And Bamboo Development Council(NECBDC) Guwahati organised a Two-Day Youth Conclave organized by Chandra Prabha Saikiani Centre for Women Studies Tezpur University (A Central University),
• Haryana Minister of State for Sports and Youth Affairs Sandeep Singh had started ‘Khel Nursery Scheme 2022-23’ to promote sports in the state.
• ICICI Prudential Life Insurance (IPRULIFE) has become the first Indian insurance company to sign the United Nations-supported Principles for Responsible Investment (UNPRI), demonstrating its commitment towards the environment, social and governance (ESG) issues.
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has recently Directions, 2021 dated September 24, 2021 replaced the existing instructions on the matter of sale/transfer of loan exposures by lending institutions.
• Ahead of the deadline for card tokenisation, National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has joined hands with brands and aggregators such as bigbasket, Goibibo, MakeMyTrip, JioPay, Juspay, Paytm, and PhonePe to introduce a tokenisation facility supported by the recently launched NPCI Tokenisation System (NTS).
• Hyundai Motor India (HMIL) Unsoo Kim has been appointed as the new Managing Director effective January 1.
• The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) its executive committee has elected Vinod Aggarwal, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Volvo Eicher Commercial Vehicles (VECV) as its new Vice President for the current year 2021-22.
• Seven times Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton received his knighthood from Prince Charles at Windsor Castle for his services to motorsport at Windsor Castle, London.
• On the occasion of 114th National Day of Bhutan (Dec 17, 2021) Prime Minister Narendra Modihas been conferred with the highest civilian award of Bhutan, Ngadag Pel gi Khorlo or Order of the Druk Gyalpo &He is the first foreign head of government to receive Bhutan’s highest civilian award.
• The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE) based out of Silicon Valley awarded the Global Entrepreneur of the Year Award- Business Transformation to Mr Kumar Mangalam Birla, the Chairman of the Aditya Birla Group.
• Tata Motors, India’s largest commercial vehicle manufacturer, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Maharashtra government to support setting up a registered vehicle scrapping facility.
• The United States gymnast Simone Biles has been chosen as the TIME magazine’s 2021 Athlete of the Year.
• On Dec 17, 2021, The Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has secured an order for manufacturing, assembly, integration, testing and supply of High-Speed Expendable Aerial Target (HEAT) System known as ABHYAS from the Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE) wing of the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO).
• Shantanu Gupta authored a Book Titled The Monk Who Transformed Uttar Pradesh: How Yogi Aditynath Changed UP Waala Bhaiya’ abuse to a Badge of Honour.