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CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL NEWS
Prime Minister to lay foundation stone of Major Dhyan Chand Sports University at Meerut:
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation stone of Major Dhyan Chand Sports University at Meerut.
- The University will be established at Salawa and Kaili villages of Sardhana town in Meerut at an estimated cost of about 700 Crore rupees.
- The Sports University will be equipped with modern and state-of-the-art sports infrastructure including synthetic Hockey ground, Football ground, Basketball, Volleyball, Handball, Kabaddi ground, Lawn tennis court, Gymnasium Hall, Synthetic running stadium, Swimming pool, Multipurpose Hall and a Cycling Velodrome.
- The University will also house facilities for Shooting, Squash, Gymnastics, Weightlifting, Archery, Canoeing and Kayaking, among other facilities.
- The University will have the capacity of training 1080 sportspersons, including 540 female and 540 male sportspersons.
- One of the key areas of focus for the Prime Minister is inculcating sporting culture and establishing world-class sporting infrastructure in all parts of the country.
- The establishment of Major Dhyan Chand Sports University at Meerut will be a major step towards fulfilling this vision.
CCI approves acquisition of 96.42% equity shareholding in Jindal Power Limited by Worldone Private Limited:
- The Competition Commission of India (CCI) approves acquisition of 96.42% equity shareholding in Jindal Power Limited by Worldone Private Limited.
- Worldone Private Limited (Worldone) is an investment holding company which has investments in various listed and unlisted companies.
- Jindal Power Limited (JPL) is primarily engaged in the business of generating thermal power by using coal as a fuel source.
- The Proposed Combination relates to acquisition of 96.42% equity shareholding in JPL by Worldone.
- The relevant markets associated with the transaction are
- Market for coal-based thermal power generation in India
- Market for power transmission in India.
CURRENT AFFAIRS: STATE NEWS
Drinking Water Supply schemes of Rs. 15,381.72 Crore approved for Madhya Pradesh under Jal Jeevan Mission:
- Drinking water supply schemes of Rs. 15,381.72 Crore were approved under Jal Jeevan Mission in the State of Madhya Pradesh in the State-level Scheme Sanctioning Committee (SLSSC) meeting.
- 22 multi-village schemes were sanctioned to provide tap water connection to more than 1.09 Crore rural population.
- These 22 schemes will benefit 9,240 villages in Rewa, Satna, Sehore, Sidhi, Alirajpur, Badwani, Jabalpur, Panna, Mandla, Sagar, Katni, Dhar, Sheopur, Umaria and Khargone districts.
- Since the State plans to provide tap water supply to all rural households by 2023, approval of these schemes is very important at this juncture.
- All these villages face drinking water problem in summer.
- It is expected that more than 22 lakhhouseholds living in these9,240 villages will get adequate clean tap water supply for next 30-40 years on regular basis.
Central Grant of Rs 831 Crore released to Odisha under Jal Jeevan Mission:
- With a focus to expedite the implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission in Odisha, the Governmentof India has released Rs 830.85 Crore to Odisha.
- Odisha plans to become ‘HarGhar Jal’ Statein 2024. Out of 85.67 lakh rural households in the State, 35.37 lakh (41.28%) households have tap water supply in their homes.
- Water supply work is in full swing to make provision of tap water supply in villages. Provision has been made for ensuring 100% tap water connectivity to all rural households.
- Union Government led by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has accorded top priority to make provision of tap water connection in every rural household across the country under Jal Jeevan Mission.
- There is a massive increase in budgetary allocation to Rs. 3,323.42 Crore in 2021-22, from Rs. 812.15 Crore in the preceding year for Odisha.
- Jal Jeevan Mission is implemented in a decentralized manner following the ‘bottom-up’ approach, wherein the local village community plays a key role starting from planning to implementation and from management to operation & maintenance.
- For this, the State undertakes community activities like engaging with the community and strengthening the Pani Samitis.
CURRENT AFFAIRS: BANKING AND ECONOMY
Bank of Maharashtra launches WhatsApp Banking service:
- Bank of Maharashtra (BoM) has launched WhatsApp banking service for its customers as well as non-customers.
- The Pune-headquartered public sector bank will offer services such as balance inquiry, mini statement, cheque status inquiry, cheque book request, locate branch/ ATM, opt-in, opt-out, contact us information on WhatsApp.
- The WhatsApp banking service is available on both Android and iOS based mobile phones.
- the WhatsApp banking service can be activated by a user by saving the Bank’s WhatsApp number (7066036640) in their phone and sending a ‘hi’ message on this number.
- A message with Menu will appear as a response and a user can start performing Banking operations instantly using the menu.
About BOM:
- Headquarters: Pune
- CEO: A. S. Rajeev
- Founded: 16 September 1935
LIC, GIC Re and New India systemically important insurers: IRDAI
- Insurance regulator Irdai announced that the state-owned LIC, GIC Re and New India continue to be identified as Domestic Systemically Important Insurers (D-SIIs) for 2021-22.
- D-SIIs refer to insurers of such size, market importance and domestic and global inter connectedness, whose distress or failure would cause significant dislocation in the domestic financial system.
- LIC, GIC Re and New India continue to be identified as Domestic Systemically Important Insurers (D-SIIs), as in the 2020-21 list of D-SIIs,” Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai).
- Life Insurance Corporation of India; General Insurance Corporation of India; and New India Assurance Co. Ltd, are on the list of D-SIIs for the year 2021-22.
About IRDAI:
- Founded: 1999
- Headquarters: Hyderabad
- Chairperson: Subhash Chandra Khuntia
About LIC:
- Chairperson: M R Kumar
- Headquarters: Mumbai
- Founded: 1 September 1956
IDFC, holding firm to merge with IDFC FIRST Bank:
- IDFC FIRST Bank its board of directors, in-principle, favours the merger with itself of IDFC Ltd and IDFC Financial Holding Company Ltd (Promoter Group).
- This merger is subject to the approval of the board of directors, shareholders, creditors, of the respective entities as also statutory and regulatory nod, IDFC First Bank .
- The bank’s board has constituted and authorised a ‘Capital Raise and Corporate Restructuring Committee’ to work on the terms of the proposed merger including finalising the scheme, valuation, and hiring advisors.
- The boards of IDFC and IDFC FHCL, at their respective meetings, considered and noted the letter received from IDFC FIRST Bank regarding the merger and decided to give “in principle” approval for the proposed merger.
SBI to acquire 9.95% stake in GIFT-IFSC-based Clearing Corp:
- State Bank of India announced that it will acquire up to 9.95 per cent stake in India International Clearing Corporation (IFSC) Ltd subject to maximum investment of ₹03 crore.
- The Clearing Corporation is a GIFT City (Gandhinagar, Gujarat) based Market Infrastructure Institution (MII).
- The Corporation is the first international clearing corporation to be set up at Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT) International Financial Services Centre (IFSC).
- India’s largest bank said the requisite approvals required for the acquisition have been received from the Reserve Bank of India (in July 2021) and IFSC Authority (in July 2021).
- Per the filing, initial subscription is estimated to be completed by March 31, 2022.
- Thereafter, the Clearing Corporation may call up the residual commitment from SBI in accordance with the transaction documents and applicable law.
CURRENT AFFAIRS: AWARDS AND HONOUR
Sahitya Akademi announces awards in 20 languages:
- The Sahitya Akademi has announced its awards for 2021 for literary works in 20 languages, including novels in Assamese and English by Anuradha Sarma Pujari and Namita Gokhale respectively.
- the national academy of letters informed that seven books of poetry, five of short stories, two plays, one each of biography, autobiography, criticism and epic poetry had won the Sahitya Akademi Awards 2021.
- The awards for works in Gujarati, Maithili, Manipuri and Urdu would be announced at a later date.
- The award ceremony would also be held later.
- Gokhale was awarded for her novel Things to Leave Behind and Ms. Pujari for Iyat Ekhan Aaronya Asil.
- Among the winners for poetry were Mwdai Gahai (Bodo), Sanjiv Verenkar (Konkani), Hrushikesh Mallick (Odia), Meethesh Nirmohi (Rajasthani), Vindeshwariprasad Mishr ‘Vinay’ (Sanskrit), Arjun Chawla (Sindhi) and Gorati Venkanna (Telugu).
CURRENT AFFAIRS : APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS
Sanjay Kumar Singh Assumes Charge as Secretary Steel:
- Sanjay Kumar Singh has assumed charge as the Secretary, Ministry of Steel in New Delhi.
- He is a 1987 batch IAS officer of Madhya Pradesh
- Shri Singh succeeds Shri P.K. Tripathi, Secretary, Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT).
- Shri Tripathi was holding the additional charge of Secretary Steel.
- Shri Sanjay Kumar Singh was appointed as Steel Secretary as part of a major top-level bureaucratic reshuffle effected by the Centre
- Before assuming the present post, Shri Sanjay Kumar Singh was holding the post of Secretary, Department of Administrative Reforms & Public Grievances (DARPG) and Department of Pensions & Pensioners Welfare (DoPPW).
IBBI cancels registration of insolvency professional:
- Insolvency regulator IBBI has cancelled registration of Vimal Kumar Grover as an insolvency professional (IP) for violation of various provisions of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC).
- It has also debarred him from seeking fresh registration as an IP or providing any service under the IBC for a period of one year from December 29.
Vikram Misri appointed deputy National Security Advisor
- Vikram Misri has been appointed as the Deputy National Security Advisor in the National Security Council Secretariat from 1 January 2022, succeeding Pankaj Saran.
- The appointment of Misri came after he served as the Indian ambassador to China from January 2019 to December 2021.
- At present, Rajinder Khanna, Pankaj Saran and Dattatray Padsalgikar are serving as deputy NSAs.
About Vikram Misri :
- Misri was born on 7 November 1964 in Srinagar.
- A career diplomat from the 1989 batch of the Indian Foreign Service.
- Between 1991 and 1996, he served in various capacities in the Indian missions in Brussels and Tunis.
- He has served in various capacities at the Ministry of External Affairs, in the Prime Minister’s Office in New Delhi.
- He was made India’s ambassador to Spain in 2014, and Myanmar in 2016.
- He has served at the Ministry of External Affairs, in the Prime Minister’s Office, and in several Indian missions in Europe, Africa, Asia, and North America.
- He has served as private secretary to three Prime Ministers – Inder Kumar Gujral in 1997, Manmohan Singh in 2012, and Narendra Modi in 2014.
Indian Forest Service Officer CP Goyal appointed Director-General of Forests & Special Secretary
- Indian Forest Service officer Chandra Prakash Goyal has been appointed as the Director-General of Forests & Special Secretary (DGF&SS), Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change.
- The Appointments Committee of the Union Cabinet approved the appointment of the IFoS officer.
- He had returned to UP after being on central deputation as Joint Secretary in the Indian Department of Biotechnology .
About Chandra Prakash Goyal :
- Chandra Prakash Goyal is a 1986 batch IFS officer and has served as the Principal Chief Conservator of Forest under the Uttar Pradesh Department of Forest.
About Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change :
- Founded: 1947
- Headquarters : New Delhi, Delhi, India
- Union Minister : Bhupender Yadav
- Minister of State : Ashwini Kumar Choubey
J&K Bank appoints Baldev Prakash as MD, CEO
- Jammu & Kashmir Bank’s board of directors has appointed Baldev Prakash as the MD & CEO for three years.
- His appointment was slated from the date of taking charge or April 10, 2022.
- Previously, K Chhibber was the Chairman and Managing Director of J&K Bank, who assumed charge of the bank in June 2019.
About Baldev Prakash :
- Prakash has over 30 years of experience in banking in various roles at small and large size branches at SBI.
- He had joined SBI as a probationary officer in 1991 and he is currently the Chief General Manager (Digital and Transaction Banking Marketing Department) at SBI, Mumbai.
About J&K Bank :
- CEO: R K Chhibber
- Headquarters: Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India
- Founded: 1 October 1938
Anupam Ray appointed to be India’s new permanent representative at UN Conference on Disarmament
- The Ministry of External affairs announced that Senior diplomat Anupam Ray has been appointed as India’s next permanent representative to the UN Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, Switzerland.
- Ray will succeed Pankaj Sharma.
About Anupam Ray :
- Ray, a 1994-batch Indian Foreign Service officer, is currently serving as a joint secretary in the MEA’s headquarters in Delhi.
- He also served as the Consul General of India in Houston, USA.
About Pankaj Sharma :
- Pankaj Sharma is a 1991-batch Indian Foreign Service officer, who has been appointed as India’s next ambassador to Mexico.
- He has previously served as the Joint Secretary and Head of the Disarmament and International Security Affairs (D&ISA) at the Ministry of External Affairs of India from November 2016 to October 2018.
- He had been serving on deputation to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons(POCW) in The Hague from March 2012 to November 2016.
About Conference on Disarmament :
- The Conference on Disarmament (CD) is a multilateral disarmament forum established by the international community to negotiate arms control and disarmament agreements based at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.
- The Conference meets annually in three separate sessions in Geneva.
- Headquarters : Palais des Nations
- Secretary General : Tatiana Volovaya
- Membership : 65 Countries
About Ministry of External affairs :
- Union Minister :Subrahmanyam Jaishankar
- Minister of State : Meenakshi Lekhi, Muraleedharan, Rajkumar Ranjan Singh
Durga Shankar Mishra becomes U.P. chief secretary
- The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved Housing and urban affairs secretary Durga Shankar Mishra, who took over as the new Chief Secretary of Uttar Pradesh.
- He replaces Rajendra Kumar Tiwari, a 1985 batch IAS officer who is due to retire in February 2023.
- Meanwhile Senior bureaucrat Manoj Joshi took charge as the new secretary of the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry.
- Outgoing secretary Durga Shankar Mishra handed over the charge to Joshi, a 1989-batch Kerala cadre IAS officer.
About Durga Shankar Mishra :
- Durga Shankar Mishra is a 1984 batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre.
- He is also the Chairman of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation.
About Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs :
- Union Minister : Hardeep Singh Puri
- Minister of State : Kaushal Kishore
About UP :
- Governor: Anandiben Patel
- Capital: Lucknow
- Chief minister: Yogi Adityanath
- National Parks : Dudhwa National Park
- Wildlife Sanctuaries : Bakhira WLS, Chandraprabha WLS, Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar Bird WLS, Hastinapur WLS, Kaimur WLS, Katerniaghat WLS, Kishanpur WLS, Lakh Bahosi Bird WLS, Mahavir Swami WLS, National Chambal WLS, Nawabganj WLS, Okhala Bird WLS, Parvati Aranga WLS, etc
- Uttar Pradesh is home to three World Heritage Sites: the Taj Mahal, Agra Fort, and the nearby Fatehpur Sikri.
CURRENT AFFAIRS : SUMMITS & CONFERENCES
NITI Aayog to Hold National Workshop on Bamboo Development
- Government think-tank Niti Aayog is organizing a daylong national-level workshop on bamboo development.
Key People :
- NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Dr Rajiv Kumar, Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Science and Technology and Earth Sciences Dr Jitendra Singh, NITI Aayog Member Dr VK Saraswat and CEO Amitabh Kant will inaugurate the workshop.
- The workshop will have four technical sessions.
- Production, Value Addition and International Experience of Bamboo
- Government Policies, Programmes and Opportunities in Different Sectors
- Circular Economy in Bamboo
- National and International Best Practices’.
- Several stakeholders from India and abroad will attend the workshop to understand the opportunities and challenges in bamboo development, explore missing linkages in the entire value-chain of the bamboo sector, and accordingly develop strategies and a road map for the sector.
CURRENT AFFAIRS : RANKING & INDEX
NITI Aayog releases North Eastern Region District Sustainable SDG Index and Dashboard 2021-22
- The Ministry of Development of the North Eastern Region in collaboration with NITI Aayog released the North Eastern Region District Sustainable Development Goal, SDG Index, and Dashboard 2021-22.
- The index measures the performance of the District of the eight NE States.
- This is the first time a District wise index is being prepared in the country.
- The SDG Index will be used as a base for planning of development and welfare activities, education, and health care.
Top 5 performer of the index :
- East Sikkim ( Sikkim)
- Gomati ( Tripura )
- North Tripura ( Tripura )
- Serchhip ( Mizoram )
- South Sikkim ( Sikkim )
- Meanwhile, the kiphire district of Nagaland is the worst performer of the index.
About Ministry of Development of North-East Region :
- Cabinet Minister : Kishan Reddy
- Minister of State : B. L. Verma
About NITI Aayog :
- Formed: 1 January 2015
- Headquarters : New Delhi, Delhi, India
- Chairperson: Narendra Modi
- Vice Chairperson : Rajiv Kumar
- CEO : Amitabh Kant
CURRENT AFFAIRS : SPORTS NEWS
New Zealand’s Ross Taylor announces retirement from international cricket
- Veteran New Zealand batter Ross Taylor confirmed that he will retire from international cricket after the two-Test series against Bangladesh and the ODI against Australia and the Netherlands in February and March 2022.
About Ross Taylor :
- Ross Taylor born on 8 March 1984, Lower Hutt, Wellington, New Zealand.
- He is an international cricketer and former captain of the New Zealand national team.
- The 37-year-old has been a mainstay in the New Zealand batting since making his debut in 2006, & becoming the highest run scorer (18,074) for New Zealand in international cricket and appearances (445) charts.
- Taylor also became the first cricketer to play in 100 matches in all three formats of international cricket.
- He was picked up by the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the 2008 Indian Premier League auction.
- He holds the nation’s record in one-day international runs (8,581) and centuries (21), and was the world’s first to play in 100 internationals in all formats.
- Taylor has scored the most runs for New Zealand in Tests (7584) .
- He is one of only four New Zealanders to play 100 Tests at 110 Tests; he joins Daniel Vettori 112, Stephen Fleming 111 and Brendon McCullum 101 on the list.
Daily CA On Jan 01 :
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation stone of Major Dhyan Chand Sports University at Meerut.
- The Competition Commission of India (CCI) approves acquisition of 96.42% equity shareholding in Jindal Power Limited by Worldone Private Limited.
- Drinking water supply schemes of Rs. 15,381.72 Crore were approved under Jal Jeevan Mission in the State of Madhya Pradesh in the State-level Scheme Sanctioning Committee (SLSSC) meeting.
- With a focus to expedite the implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission in Odisha, the Governmentof India has released Rs 830.85 Crore to Odisha.
- Bank of Maharashtra (BoM) has launched WhatsApp banking service for its customers as well as non-customers.
- Insurance regulator Irdai announced that the state-owned LIC, GIC Re and New India continue to be identified as Domestic Systemically Important Insurers (D-SIIs) for 2021-22.
- IDFC FIRST Bank its board of directors, in-principle, favours the merger with itself of IDFC Ltd and IDFC Financial Holding Company Ltd (Promoter Group).
- State Bank of India announced that it will acquire up to 9.95 per cent stake in India International Clearing Corporation (IFSC) Ltd subject to maximum investment of ₹03 crore.
- The Sahitya Akademi has announced its awards for 2021 for literary works in 20 languages, including novels in Assamese and English by Anuradha Sarma Pujari and Namita Gokhale respectively.
- Insolvency regulator IBBI has cancelled registration of Vimal Kumar Grover as an insolvency professional (IP) for violation of various provisions of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC).
- Sanjay Kumar Singh has assumed charge as the Secretary, Ministry of Steel in New Delhi.
- Vikram Misri has been appointed as the Deputy National Security Advisor in the National Security Council Secretariat from 1 January 2022, succeeding Pankaj Saran.
- Indian Forest Service officer Chandra Prakash Goyal has been appointed as the Director-General of Forests & Special Secretary (DGF&SS), Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change.
- Jammu & Kashmir Bank’s board of directors has appointed Baldev Prakash as the MD & CEO for three years.
- The Ministry of External affairs announced that Senior diplomat Anupam Ray has been appointed as India’s next permanent representative to the UN Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, Switzerland.
- The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved Housing and urban affairs secretary Durga Shankar Mishra, who took over as the new Chief Secretary of Uttar Pradesh & he replaces Rajendra Kumar Tiwari, a 1985 batch IAS officer who is due to retire in February 2023.
- Government think-tank Niti Aayog is organizing a daylong national-level workshop on bamboo development.
- The Ministry of Development of the North Eastern Region in collaboration with NITI Aayog released the North Eastern Region District Sustainable Development Goal, SDG Index, and Dashboard 2021-22.
- Veteran New Zealand batter Ross Taylor confirmed that he will retire from international cricket after the two-Test series against Bangladesh and the ODI against Australia and the Netherlands in February and March 2022.