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Highlights:

• The island nation Barbados has become the World’s newest republic, around 400 years after it became a British colony.
• Barbados, the Caribbean Island nation, removed Queen Elizabeth II as the head of the state.
• Dame Sandra Prunella Mason, took over as the President of Barbados.
• Mason was selected to become the first president of Barbados in October 2021.
• Mason was selected as President of Barbados, at a joint meeting of both the Houses of Parliament of Barbados.
• His name was announced by Speaker of the House of Assembly, Arthur Holder.
• Barbados is said to have been made a ‘slave society’ by the British. 
• It first became an English colony in 1625. In gained its independence in 1966.

• Since 2018, Mason has been the governor-general of the Barbados. 
• Mason completed her judicial education in London, after studying at Queen’s College. 
• She also completed a judicial fellowship in Canada. 
• She started her career as a teacher and worked in banking sector until 1978. 
• She then started working as Magistrate of the Juvenile and Family Court in Barbados. 
• In between 1991 to 1991, she served as Chair & Vice-Chair at UN Committee on Rights of Child. 
• She became the first female who sworn in as Court of Appeal Judge of the Barbados Supreme Court in 2018. In 2014, she became the first Barbadian to be a member of Commonwealth Secretariat Arbitral Tribunal (CSAT). 
• She also became the first female president of the SCAT in 2017.

Highlights:

• India is to develop jet engines for aircrafts like Light Combat Aircraft (LCA)  in association with the International Engine House.
• Presently, the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas is integrated with an imported engine.
• For this, indigenous engines will soon be developed.
• Such indigenous engines will also be used to power Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA).

• Flight Operational Clearance (FOC) configuration of LCA Tejas demands higher thrust as compared to the intended engine requirement. 
• Hence the Kaveri in present architecture cannot be integrated. 
• A modified engine version will be required to induct with LCA Tejas. 
• Thus, for development of proposed engine, technological capabilities built through Kaveri engine project will be used.
• The LCA FOC variant and the Mk1A variant are powered by GE-F404 engines. 
• On the other hand, LCA-Mk2 and AMCA will be powered by a more powerful GE-F414 engines, in initial phases.

• The Project Kaveri was sanctioned by Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) in 1989. 
• The project ran for 30 years with an expenditure of Rs 2035.56 crore. 
• It witnessed the development of nine full prototype engines as well as four core engines. 
• Under the project, 3217 hours of engine testing was conducted. 
• It also completed altitude tests and Flying Test Bed (FTB) trials.

Highlights:

• World’s tallest rail bridge pier will soon come up in North-eastern state of Manipur.
• This bridge is being constructed by Indian Railways at Noney Valley in Manipur. 

• Bridge is having the height of 141 metres.
• It is a part of ambitious 111 Kilometre long Jiribam-Imphal railway line.
• It is being constructed with the aim of connecting the capital of Manipur with broad gauge network of India.
• Bridge will break the record of Mala - Rijeka viaduct with height of 139 meters. 
• It is located in Montenegro, Europe.
• The bridge is likely to be completed by December 2023.
• The 111-kilometre-long project comprises of 61 % of tunnels.
• Distance between Jiribam and Imphal on NH-37, is presently 220 kilometres. 
• It takes around 10 to 12 hours of travelling. 
• Once the construction of bridge is complete, travel time will reduce to 2.5 hours.
• First phase of the bridge extends for 12 kilometres. 
• It has already been commissioned.
• In the second phase, about 98 % of the work is complete. Its construction will be completed by February 2022.
• Third phase of construction, on the section between Khongsang and Tupul, is likely to be completed by December 2023.
• The fourth and last phase of this bridge extends from Tupul to Imphal valley.
• The total cost of the bridge is Rs 374 crore.

Highlights:

• India marks the National Pollution Control Day on December 2 like every year.
•  The day is celebrated in remembrance of the people who lost their lives in the Bhopal Gas Tragedy.
• The National Pollution Control Day is commemorated in India to make the citizens aware of laws in India that help contain pollution.

• To create awareness in developing air pollution.
• To educate people on controlling and operating industrial disasters.
• To make everyone aware of pollution control laws in the country.
• To create awareness on ways to decrease the level of pollution.
• To prevent industrial pollution that is affected by human carelessness.
• The National Pollution Control Day, 2021 theme is to create awareness about the importance of pollution control and educate people on preventing pollution.

• The Bhopal gas tragedy happened on December 2nd and 3rd, 1984. 
• Poisonous chemical methyl isocyanate dripped from a pesticide plant union carbide India Limited in Bhopal during the accident.
• This endangered more than 500 thousand people to the poisonous gas. 
• Around 2259 people died immediately.
• Later the Government of India stated that the tragedy killed around 25,000 people. 
• It was deemed the most major industrial disaster in the world.

Highlights:

• Goa will host the 7th India International Science Festival From 10 to 13 December.
• From December 10 to 13, 2021, the 7th edition of the four-day India International Science Festival (IISF) will be placed in Panaji, Goa.
• "Celebrating Creativity in Science, Technology, and Innovation for a Prosperous India" is the festival theme for 2021. 
• In 2015, the inaugural IISF was conducted in New Delhi.
• The National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR) in Goa, which is part of the Ministry of Earth Sciences, is the organising body for IISF 2021.
• The festival will be hosted by the Departments of Atomic Energy (DAE), Science and Technology (DST), Biotechnology (DBT), and Space (DoS), as well as the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) (CSIR).

Highlights:

• On December 1, 2021, the BSF will commemorate its 57th Raising Day.
• On December 1, 2021, the Border Security Force (BSF) will mark its 57th Raising Day.
• After the Indo-Pak and India-China conflicts, the BSF was established on December 1, 1965, as a unified central agency to ensure the security of India's borders and related problems.
• It is one of the Union of India's five Central Armed Police Forces and the world's largest border guarding force.
• The Border Security Force (BSF) has been dubbed "India's First Line of Defense."
• Because of BSF’s robust domination and surveillance on the international border, there has been continued peace on the International Border of Jammu.
• Infiltration efforts by ANEs from Pakistan were thwarted by the BSF Jammu.  
• In June 2021, BSF personnel neutralised one Pakistani smuggler who was attempting to carry drugs across the Kathua border.
• BSF Jammu has consistently assisted the border community in the Jammu sector. 
• During the COVID-19 epidemic, the Border Security Force battalions took the lead in delivering medical aid and support to the border people.
• Pakistani drone operations were brought to the attention of the international border people by the BSF unit. 
• The Border Security Force also held drone awareness workshops.

Highlights:

• The Indian Athlete Anju Bobby George has accomplished the Woman of the Year Award from World Athletics.
• She has won the accolade for grooming young girls to take up sports.
• In the 2005 IAAF World Athletics Finals, she was a gold medallist and the first Indian contestant to win a bronze medal in the long jump at the World Championships in Athletics held in 2013 in Paris. 
• In the 2004 Olympics, she finished sixth.
• Anju was conferred the Arjuna award in 2002, Padma Shri in 2004, Khel Ratna in 2003.
• In 2021, she won the BBC lifetime achievement award under Best Athlete Category.
• In 2016, she formed a sports academy for young girls, helped India advance in sports, and inspired more women to follow in her footsteps.
• She is also presented with the award for advocating gender equality.

• Anju was born in Cheeranchira village in Kottayam, Kerala, in the Kochuparambil family, an orthodox family.
• She cultivated an interest in athletics from her father and started her career with Heptathlon.
• She won medals in the Delhi Junior Asian Championship, South Asian Federation Games (held in Nepal), Commonwealth games held in Manchester, and a gold medal at the Asian Games held in Busan.
• She is married to Robert Bobby George, a former national champion in triple jump and Anju’s coach.
• Currently, Anju is the Chairperson of TOPS (Target Olympic Podium Scheme) and the Executive member of the Khelo India project.

Highlights:

• The International Day For The Abolition Of Slavery was first observed on 2 december 1986 United Nations General Assembly.
• The day aims to eradicate any form of slavery that include trafficking in persons, sexual exploitation, the worst forms of child labour, forced marriage, and the forced recruitment of children for use in armed conflict.
• The International Day for the Abolition of Slavery, 2 December, marks the date of the adoption, by the General Assembly, of the United Nations Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others (resolution 317(IV) of 2 December 1949).
• An estimated 40.3 million people are in modern slavery, including 24.9 in forced labour and 15.4 million in forced marriage.
• There are 5.4 victims of modern slavery for every 1,000 people in the world. 1 in 4 victims of modern slavery are children.
• Out of the 24.9 million people trapped in forced labour, 16 million people are exploited in the private sector such as domestic work, construction or agriculture.
• 4.8 million people in forced sexual exploitation, and 4 million people in forced labour imposed by state authorities.
• Women and girls are disproportionately affected by forced labour, accounting for 99% of victims in the commercial sex industry, and 58% in other sectors.

Highlights:

• World Computer Literacy Day is celebrated on 2nd December every year worldwide.
• The day is marked as the world computer literacy day to create recognition and encourage digital literacy in underserved societies worldwide.
• The day encourages technological skills, notably in children and women, and strives to inspire them to discover more and make their work more accessible by utilising computers.
• The day was initially established by the Indian computer company NIIT to register its 20th anniversary in 2001.
• World Computer Literacy Day was first recognised and held in the year 2001 on 2nd December.
• The day is celebrated to create awareness and drive digital literacy in underserved communities worldwide.

Highlights:

• India’s first privately built cryogenic rocket engine called Dhawan-1 was test-fired privately by Skyroot Aerospace.
• Skyroot Aerospace exhibited the upper stage of its Vikram-2 launch vehicle.
• The cryogenic rocket engine is 3D printed and made in India.
• It has been named after Satish Dhawan, the third chairman of ISRO, as he pioneered the development of advanced launch capabilities of India.
• Vikram Rocket has been identified after Vikram Sarabhai, who started India's space program and conducted advanced nuclear research.
• The rocket uses a mixture of Liquid Natural Gas, more than 90 % methane and Liquid Oxygen.
• It is called "Methalox", in the combined state, which forms a cryogenic rocket fuel.
• This provides high performance and a low cost. 
• The fuel is environmentally friendly, which is dubbed "Fuel of the future".

• The Dhawan-1 engine includes a vacuum thrust of about 1.5kN. 
• The engine was tested on a specially built testbed at Solar Industries in Nagpur.
• The engine is the upper stage of the Vikram-2 launch vehicle that uses environment-friendly compounds called LNG and LOX. It is entirely 3D printed.
• Pixxel 1 satellite is set to be launched in 2022, the first private satellite in an Earth Observation constellation in low Earth orbit.

Highlights:

• Every year on December 3, the International Day of Persons with Disabilities is observed around the world with the goal of promoting the rights and well-being of people with disabilities in all aspects of society.
• Nearly one billion individuals, or around 15% of the world's population, are disabled. Developing countries are home to 80% of the world's disabled people.
• There are more than 100 million handicapped children in the world. 
• The health, social, and economic consequences of global crises have disproportionately impacted people with disabilities (PwDs).
• As a result, the day is commemorated to encourage disabled individuals to participate in the world's long-term development. 

Highlights:

• One of the India's Veteran journalist Vinod Dua passed away on 4 December.
• He was one of the guides in Hindi broadcast journalism, operated with Doordarshan to show the youth programme Yuva Manch in the mid-’70s and later with many other television news channels.
• He was an integral part of NDTV’s journey, where ‘Zaika India Ka’ saw him crisscrossing the country just for the best taste.
• He was known for his political discourse in web shows for digital media platforms The Wire and HW News.
• Mr Dua was honoured with several awards for his contribution to journalism.
• In 1996, he was the first electronic media journalist to win the Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Award.
• He was also bestowed the Padma Shri for Journalism in 2008 by the Government of India.
• In June 2017, for his lifetime achievement in journalism, Mumbai Press Club awarded him the RedInk Award, which was presented to him by the former Chief Minister of Maharashtra.

Highlights:

• The Nizamuddin Basti Project just received two UNESCO Heritage Awards. 
• The project was recognized for its environmental efforts. 
• It received the Special Recognition for Sustainable Award as well as the Award of Excellence.
• More than 20 historic sites in the area of 14th century Sufi Saint Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya were repaired as part of the project.
• The Humayun and Batashewala tombs, as well as the tomb of a 16th-century poet Rahim, is located in the Nizamuddin region (Khan I Khanan). 
• These areas were divided and damaged. 
• The Nizamuddin Basti Project also renewed them.
• The Nizamuddin Basti Project is a restoration project in the city of Nizamuddin. 
• It successfully unified the divided zones of the Nizamuddin Basti's seven-century-old village and its surrounding 70 acres.
• In these places, it linked socio-economic development, conservation, and environmental development goals.
• Sundar Nursery, Nizamuddin Basti, and Humayun Tomb were all merged into one.
• The Aga Kahn Trust for Culture, the Archaeological Survey of India, the Delhi Urban Heritage Foundation, and the Delhi Municipal Corporation began working on the project in 2007.

Highlights:

• The Davis Cup 2021 was won by the Russian Tennis Federation.
• The Davis Cup finals happened between Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev of Russia.
• And Daniit Medvedev won the match, taking victory to the Russian Tennis Federation.
• The Davis Cup is also named the World Cup of Tennis as it is an international team competition in men's tennis.
• The Billie Jean King Cup is the women's equivalent of the Davis Cup. 
• The International Tennis Federation conducts it on hard courts.
• It first happened in 1900 as a trial between the US and Britain, and by 2016, 135 countries were participating in the tournament.
• The most victorious countries of the Davis cup are the USA, Australia, New Zealand, where the USA has won the Davis Title 32 times, Australia has won 28 times.
• It is a single-elimination tournament, as each match's loser is immediately eliminated from the tournament.
• The other type of tournament held is Playoff, where the top competitors determine the league champion.
• The most common type is the "regular season", also called Group Tournament. 
• The teams are divided into groups, and each group plays a specific number of games against their opponent.

• The International Tennis Federation manages the Davis Cup. 
• The ITF is the governing body of beach tennis, wheelchair tennis and world tennis. 
• It collaborates with the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) and Women's Tennis Association (WTA) to govern professional tennis.
• The ITF organizes Davis cup (of men), Billie Jean King Cup (of women), Grand Slam, Hopman Cup.

Highlights:

• The Prime Minister Narendra Modi is to inaugurate Delhi - Dehradun corridor.
• The PM will also launch several other projects along with the corridor, which will reduce the distance between the two cities from 248 - km to 180 - km.
• The primary purpose of the corridor is to decongest North East Delhi.
• The corridor will improve the Mandola Vihar Yojana of the Government of Uttar Pradesh and also the growth potential of Tronica city.
• PM Modi will set the foundation stone for the Delhi - Dehradun corridor, which will be built at Rs 8,300 crores.
• The project is to be executed in Engineering, Procurement and Construction mode, where the government pays the private developer for constructing roads. 
• And the toll revenue accrues to the government.
• The highway is divided into four sections, and Section 1 is to be developed as 6 lanes.
• Also, it is divided into two packages where package 1 falls in the Delhi portion, and Package 2 falls in the Uttar Pradesh portion.

• 120 MW Vyasi hydroelectric project
• 38 - km long all-weather Chardham road project between Shrikot and Devprayag
• 33 - km stretch between Kautilya and Brahmapuri
• State of perfumery and aroma laboratory in Dehradun.
• it will focus on developing high yielding superior varieties of aromatic plants.

Highlights:

• Padma Bhushan Dr Mamballaikalathil Sarada Menon Passed away at 98 on 5 December
• India’s 1st woman Psychiatrist and the long-term head of the Institute of Mental Health, Padma Bhushan Dr Mamballaikalathil Sarada Menon, has passed away.
• She was born on 5 April 1923 in a Malayali family in Mangalore, Karnataka. 
• She was bestowed with Padma Bhushan in 1992 for social works.

• Dr M Sarada Menon began her career as a Psychiatrist in the Institute of Mental Health in Kilpauk, Chennai, in 1959.
• She became the 1st woman Director of the Institute of Mental Health in 1961.
• She founded the Schizophrenia Research Foundation (SCARF India) in 1984 and psychiatrist R Thara.
• She also established ASHA, a community-based platform assisting the families of those affected by mental illnesses.

Highlights:

• According to RBI, Gujarat grew as India’s Largest Manufacturing Hub.
• Gujarat has left behind Maharashtra to grow as the country’s leading manufacturing hub.
• Next in line after Maharashtra, in terms of manufacturing, was Tamil Nadu with a GVA of Rs 3.43 lakh crore followed by Karnataka at Rs 2.1 lakh crore and Uttar Pradesh at Rs 1.87 lakh crore. 
• Data reveals that Gujarat witnessed its Gross Value Addition (GVA) in manufacturing increase by 15.9 % yearly amidst FY12 and FY20 to reach Rs 5.11 lakh crore.
• GVA is a financial metric that covers the supply of goods and services.
• Meanwhile, Maharashtra’s annual growth rate persisted at half of Gujarat’s at 7.5 % for the same period, and its GVA for manufacturing reached Rs 4.34 lakh crore in FY-20.
• Maharashtra is still the foremost provider of services in India, with the state’s services GVA growing by 12.6 % yearly, attaining Rs 15.1 lakh crore in FY-2020.

Highlights:

• Assamese poet Nilmani Phookan Jr won the 56th Jnanpith Award and Konkani novelist Damodar Mauzo won the 57th Jnanpith Award.
• Phookan is a Padma Shri and Sahitya Akademi awardee.
• He is a well-known poet from Guwahati who has penned Surya Henu Nami Ahe Ei Nodiyedi, Gulapi Jamur Lagna, and Kobita.
• In 1990, Phookan was given the Padma Shri, and in 2002, he was awarded the Sahitya Akademi Fellowship.
• Phookan is the third Assamese author to win the Jnanpith award.
• Birendra Kumar Bhattacharya received the award in 1979, and Mamoni Raisom Goswami received it in 2000.
• Mauzo is based in Majorda, Goa, and has won the Sahitya Akademi Award. 
• He is most known for his books Karmelin and Tsunami Simon and his short tales Teresa's Man and Other Goa Stories.
• This is the second Jnanpith Award for a Konkani writer, with Ravindra Kelekar receiving the first in 2006.

• The Jnanpith, the country's highest literary prize, is given to writers for "great contributions to literature."
•  The Bharatiya Jnanpith organization bestows the Jnanpith Award on a writer from India every year.
• This award, established in 1961, is only granted to Indian writers who write in both Indian languages and English.

Highlights:

• The BWF world Tour 2021 finals was held between PV Sindhu of India and Seyoung of Korea. 
• Seyoung won the cup and Sindhu settled in for a silver medal. 
• In Men’s Singles of the BWF World Tour 2021,Viktor Axelsen won the cup.
• The BWF World Tour is a Grade 2 Badminton tournament series. 
• It is held by the BWF, Badminton World Federation. 
• It is held among the top world ranked players in singles (men and women) and doubles (men, women and mixed).
• The tournament is held among top 15 single players and top 10 double pairs. 
• The BWF imposes a fine of 5000 USD per event, if a player fails to play. 
• However, a valid medical certification will exempt the fine. 
• These regulations do not apply to retired and suspended players.
• The title sponsor is HSBC Holdings. 
• It is a British Multinational investment Bank. It is the second largest in Europe. 
• It has offices in more than 64 countries including India.

• This ranking is created by the BWF. 
• It uses the BWF tournaments, Summer Olympic games and World Championships to rank the players. Currently, Viktor Axelsen of Denmark holds the top rank in Men’s singles. 
• Srikanth of India holds 14th rank. Tai Tzu - ying holds the top rank in women’s singles. 
• PV Sindhu holds seventh rank. In doubles, Satwiksairaj and Chirag Shetty of India hold the ninth rank. 
• In world ranking of countries, India is holding ninth place. 
• China is on the top, followed by Japan, Indonesia, Thailand.

Highlights:

• Recently, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) signed a Memorandum of Understanding with UNDP.
• The agreement was signed under the Swachh Bharat Mission Urban 2.0.
• It was signed to strengthen the waste management sector in the country.
• Under the MoU, the UNDP will help in setting up 75 Smart Swachhata Kendras in the country.
• Also, the UNDP will help India on integrating the informal waste pickers.
• It will assist India in linking them with government welfare schemes.
• The MoU also included digitizing the waste flow and streamlining activities in Swachhata Kendras.
• It will encourage the use of machine learning and Artificial Intelligence in measures adopted under Swachh Bharat Mission Urban 2.0.
• According to the MoU, the UNDP will assist India in solid waste management and used water management.
• Also, the UNDP will help India to promote and replicate sustainable model for waste management.
• The MoU will help Swachh Bharat Mission Urban 2.0 to achieve its zero waste target. Also, it was signed to bring about improvement in the lives of informal waste pickers.

• Solid waste management is the key focus of Swachh Bharat Mission - Urban.
• It focuses on scientific processing of municipal solid waste and source segregation of waste. The MoU will further strengthen the solid waste management.
• It will aid India in achieving its vision of making cities “Garbage Free”.
• It will help in achieving 100% waste processing as aimed by Swachh Bharat Mission - Urban 2.0.
• The MoU aims to realize the vision of “Clean Air, Clean Water, Clean Land” in urban India.
• This is to be achieved through a circular approach based on 3R (reduce, reuse and recycle) principle.

Highlights:

• The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) announced that Sanjiv Mehta, the Chairman and Managing Director of Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL), will be designated, president.
• Mehta, now the Senior Vice President of FICCI, will be replacing media veteran Uday Shankar.
• Mehta is also the President of Unilever South Asia (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka & Nepal) and is a part of the ‘Unilever Leadership Executive’, Unilever’s Global Executive Board.

• Mehta has completed his Bachelors in Commerce (India), Chartered Accountancy (India) and has also achieved his Advanced Management Program (Harvard Business School).
• Mr Mehta is married to Mona Mehta, a Chartered Accountant, and they have twin daughters Naina and Roshni, who have studied at MIT, Cornell, and Harvard Universities.
• A firm believer that ‘doing well’ and ‘doing good’ are two sides of the same coin, he develops the cause of compassionate capitalism.
• Mr Mehta was bestowed an honorary ‘Doctorate in Business Management by Xavier University, Bhubaneswar.
• It is noted that FICCI was Founded in 1927 with its Headquarters, New Delhi.
• The current FICCI President is Harshavardhan Neotia, and Secretary-General is Arun Chawla.

Highlights:

• Former chief election commissioner, Sunil Arora is requested to join the International  IDEA
• Former chief election commissioner (CEC) Sunil Arora is requested to join the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance board, also known as International IDEA.
• IDEA has a 15-member board of directors. 
• All are prominent personalities from various backgrounds.
• The election commission of India officially announced that Sunil Arora has rich administrative experience, knowledge, and skills to contribute significantly to the working of the International Institute.
• Sunil Arora is India's 23rd Chief Election Commissioner from December 2018 to April 2021.
• It was under his leadership that the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections were conducted.

• The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) happened to be founded in 1995.
• It is an intergovernmental body located in Stockholm, Sweden. 
• India is one of the founding members of the institute.
• The vital mission of International IDEA is to promote sustainable democracy worldwide.
• It has 34 member countries, including new, old, small and large governments from all continents.
• International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance Secretary-General is Kevin Casas-Zamora.

Highlights:

• “She is a Changemaker, a pan-India capacity building program, was launched on 7 December By National Commission for Women.
• "She is a Changemaker" program was launched for women in Politics.
• It is a capacity-building program initiated in cooperation with region-wise training institutes.
• It will be fulfilled to offer capacity building of women political leaders and enhance their decision making & communication skills.
• The Launch of training programs for the "She is a Changemaker" program in collaboration with Rhambhau Mhalgi Prabodhini happened in Thane, Maharashtra. 
• Programs were launched by the Chairperson of NCW, Rekha Sharma.

• NCW is the sanctioned body of the Government of India, ordinarily concerned with encouraging the government on all policy matters related to women.
• NCW was founded on January 31, 1992, by the National Commission for Women Act, 1990. 
• The first chairperson of the committee was Jayanti Patnaik.

• Representing the rights of women in India
• To provide a voice for issues and concerns related to women.
• Subjects of campaigns
• The subjects of campaigns of NCW include politics, equal representation for women in jobs, dowry, religion, and exploitation of women for labor.

Highlights:

• In Asia Power Index 2021, India Ranked as the fourth most powerful country in the Asia-Pacific region for comprehensive power
• India has been ranked the 4th most powerful country in the Asia-Pacific region for comprehensive power out of 26 countries.
• According to the Lowy Institute Asia Power Index 2021, Indians have an overall score of 37.7 out of 100.
•  In comparison to 2020, India's overall score dropped by two points.
• In 2021, India will once again fall short of the major power benchmark. India is one of 18 Asian countries with a declining overall score in 2021.
• The yearly Asia Power Index assesses the relative power of Asian states by measuring resources and influence.
•  It's a tool that rates 26 countries and territories based on what they have and how they use it, with countries as far west as Pakistan, as far north as Russia, and as far into the Pacific as Australia, New Zealand, and the United States included.
• The 2021 edition, which contains four years of data, is the most complete analysis of Asia's evolving power distribution to date.

• United States
• China
• Japan
• India
• Australia
• South Korea
• Singapore
• Indonesia
• Thailand

Highlights:

• Nirmala Sitharaman, India's Finance Minister, has been rated 37th on Forbes' list of the World's 100 Most Powerful Women for 2021.
• For the third year in a row, she has been included on the list. In 2020, she was ranked 41st, while in 2019, she was ranked 34th.
• Falguni Nayar, founder and CEO of Nykaa, was rated 88th on the list as India's eighth woman billionaire and wealthiest self-made billionaire.
• Only four Indian women made Forbes' list of the world's 100 most powerful women in 2021.
• Roshni Nadar Malhotra, Chairperson of HCL Technology and India's first female CEO of a publicly traded IT business, was ranked 52nd on the list.
• The executive chairperson and creator of Biocon, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, was ranked 72nd on the list. In 1978, she launched India's largest publicly traded biopharmaceutical company.
• Forbes' list of World's 100 Most Powerful Women
• Forbes' 2021 World's 100 Most Powerful Women was topped by MacKenzie Scott, philanthropist, novelist, and ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, replacing outgoing German chancellor Angela Merkel, who led the list 15 times out of 17 versions.
• Second on the list was Kamala Harris, the first woman and the first person of colour (Black) to be elected Vice President of the United States of America.
• Janet Yellen, the first woman to be named Treasury Secretary in the United States, is rated 39th on the list.
• Others on the list include Oprah Winfrey (number 23), Jacinda Ardern (number 34), Rihanna (number 68), and others.
• The youngest woman on the list is Taylor Swift (31 years old), who is ranked 78th, and the oldest is Queen Elizabeth II (95 years old), who is placed 70th.

Highlights:

• Recently, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) signed a Memorandum of Understanding. 
• The agreement was signed under the Swachh Bharat Mission Urban 2.0. 
• It was signed to strengthen the waste management sector in the country.

• Under the MoU, the UNDP will help in setting up 75 Smart Swachhata Kendras in the country.
• Also, the UNDP will help India on integrating the informal waste pickers. 
• It will assist India in linking them with government welfare schemes.
• The MoU also included digitizing the waste flow and streamlining activities in Swachhata Kendras. 
• It will encourage the use of machine learning and Artificial Intelligence in measures adopted under Swachh Bharat Mission Urban 2.0.
• According to the MoU, the UNDP will assist India in solid waste management and used water management.
• Also, the UNDP will help India to promote and replicate sustainable model for waste management.
• The MoU will help Swachh Bharat Mission Urban 2.0 to achieve its zero waste target. 
• Also, it was signed to bring about improvement in the lives of informal waste pickers.

• Solid waste management is the key focus of Swachh Bharat Mission - Urban. 
• It focuses on scientific processing of municipal solid waste and source segregation of waste. 
• The MoU will further strengthen the solid waste management.
• It will aid India in achieving its vision of making cities “Garbage Free”.
• It will help in achieving 100% waste processing as aimed by Swachh Bharat Mission -Urban 2.0.
• The MoU aims to realize the vision of “Clean Air, Clean Water, Clean Land” in urban India. 
• This is to be achieved through a circular approach based on 3R (reduce, reuse and recycle) principle.
• The UNDP facilitated the processing of 82,000 MT of plastic since 2018.
• It has helped India in establishing 20- Swachhata Kendras or Material Recovery Facilities.
• Along with Niti Aayog, UNDP developed a Handbook on Sustainable Urban Plastic Waste Management. 
• It gives insight on comprehending the main challenge of SBM-U, which is, stress on urban local bodies on delivering the waste management services. 
• It also discusses successful national and international cases.

Highlights:

• PANEX-21 is a Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief Exercise. 
• It is to be held for the BIMSTEC countries.

• It is a multi national disaster relief exercise.
• The exercise is to be held among the BIMSTEC countries: Bhutan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand.
• The main aim of the exercise is to build regional cooperation in responding to natural disasters.
• It is to be conducted in Pune from December 20 to December 22.
• The participants of the exercise will be divided into eight syndicates. 
• One syndicate from the participating countries and two from Indi
•  the capabilities of member states in responding to natural disaster. 
• The countries will share their best practices.
• The exercise will review the procedures of preparedness and response. 
• It will then recommend the evolution of organised structure.
• During the exercise, the countries will discuss military - to - military cooperation protocol.
• Recently, the cyclones in Bay of Bengal are becoming more disastrous. 
• This is mainly due to climate change. 
• The increase in surface sea temperature is making the cyclones more powerful. 
• The increase in sea - surface temperature increases the wind speeds of the cyclones. 
• The devastation caused by Cyclone Amphan was 13 billion USD.
• The unplanned development in Ecological Sensitive Zones fail to address the risks posed by the increasing intense cyclones.
• For these reasons, it is essential to remain prepared. 
• Therefore, there is a need for international cooperation among the coastal countries.

Highlights:

• Recently, the Central government has signed two loan agreements for Projects in the state of Uttarakhand and Tamil Nadu.
• The loan agreement of Rs 2,074 crore will be used for - affordable housing project in Tamil Nadu and water sanitation programme in Uttarakhand.
• Government and ADB signed a USD 150 million loan agreement to provide access to resilient, inclusive, and sustainable housing for the urban poor in Tamil Nadu.
• USD 125 million loan agreement was inked to improve access to safe & affordable drinking water supply as well as citywide inclusive sanitation services in Dehradun and Nainital of Uttarakhand.
• The affordable housing project is in line with government’s development priorities and policies on urban sector development, especially with the flagship programme PMAY-Housing for All (Urban). 
• This project was launched as rapid urbanization and growth in Tamil Nadu has led to housing shortfall for low-income households. 
• This project will help in providing access to affordable housing infrastructure and services to disadvantaged households. 
• It will also catalyze private sector investment in affordable housing.
• Number of housing units under the project
• The affordable housing project will be used to construct housing units in nine separate locations, through the Tamil Nadu Urban Habitat Development Board. 
• It will relocate around 6,000 households vulnerable to natural hazards to safer locations. State government of Tamil Nadu will invest a portion of ADB loan as equity into the Tamil Nadu Shelter Fund.

• Loan assistance for Uttarakhand project will address the need of upgrading urban services in fast-expanding capital city of Dehradun and Nainital. 
• Improved water and sanitation services under the project will help in promoting better hygiene practices will help in protecting people from future pandemic and epidemic diseases. 
• Under the project, 136 kilo-meters (km) of water pipe system will be constructed in a bid to replace defective water networks in South Dehradun for ensuring reliable & continuous water supply. 
• Water meters will also be installed across 5,400 households for supporting efficient water use and consumption billing.

Highlights:

• According to annual survey results, released by Indian Institute of Human Brands (IIHB), Chairman of Reliance Industries, Mukesh Ambani and his wife Nita Ambani have topped the list of power couples.
• Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone were ranked at Number 2.
• Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma occupied the third place.
• Five other couples from the corporate world, who made it to the list are:
• Infosys founder Narayana Murthy & Sudha Murthy at 10th
• Adar and Natasha Poonawala (Head of Serum Institute) at 11th
• Azim and Yasmeen Premji (Head of Wipro) at 16th
• Anand and Anuradha Mahindra (Head of Mahindra Group) at 19th
• Kumar Mangalam and Neerja Birla (Head of Aditya Birla Group) at 20th
• This result was prepared after covering a sample size of 1,362 respondents aged between 25-40 years.
• For the first time, IIHB included business couples in the list this year.

Highlights:

• Parliament of Germany has elected Olaf Scholz as the ninth post-World War II chancellor, on December 8, 2021.
• This has opened a new era for Germany after 16-year tenure of Angela Merkel.
• Detailed analysis:
• Government of Olaf Scholz took office with high hopes of modernising Germany and combating climate change. however, it faces the immediate challenge of handling Covid-19 pandemic.
• Scholz was voted by Lawmakers by 395-303 for the office of chancellor, with six abstentions.
• Olaf’s three-party coalition has won 416 seats in the 736-seat lower house of parliament.
• The Chancellor of Germany is officially called as the federal chancellor of Federal Republic of Germany. 
• He is the head of federal government of Germany. 
• He also acts as the commander in chief of German Armed Forces during wartime. 
• He is the chief executive of Federal Cabinet and heads its executive branch.

• Olaf Scholz is a German politician, who is serving as Chancellor of Germany since December 8, 2021. 
• He is the member of Social Democratic Party (SPD). 
• He earlier served as the vice chancellor to Angela Merkel, as well as the finance minister from 2018 to 2021. He also held the office of First Mayor of Hamburg in between 2011 to 2018.

Highlights:

• The 56th and 57th Jnanpith Awards were announced recently, for the year 2020 and 2021 respectively.
• Assamese Poet Nilmani Phookan Jr. and Konkani Novelist Damodar Mauzo have emerged as the winners of 56th and 57th Award respectively. 
• They were selected for their contribution to Indian literature.
• Jnanpith Awards are India’s highest literary honour, which is bestowed on the writers for their outstanding contribution in Literature.
• Both Phookan and Mauzo are also the winners of Sahitya Akademi Award. 
• They are known for their significant contribution to the respective regional literature.
• Damodar Mauzo is from Majorda in Goa while Nilmani Phookan is from Guwahati in Assam.

• Assamese Poet Nilmani Phookan received the highest literary honour ‘Jnanpith Award’, honouring his lifelong devotion to literature.
• Other Assamese to won the award
• Assam has received Jnanpith Award for the third time. Before Nilmani Phookan, Birendra Kumar Bhattacharya won the award in 1979 while Mamoni Raisom Goswami won it in 2000.

• Damodar Mauzo is a 77 years old Konkani writer. 
• He has been awarded the 57th Jnanpith Award. 
• He is known for his novels like Tsunami Simon and Karmelin as well as for short stories like Other Stories from Goa and Teresa’s Man.

• Jnanpith Award is the oldest and highest literary award. 
• The Award is honoured annually by Bharatiya Jnanpith to an author for their contribution to literature. 
• The award was established in 1961. 

Highlights:

• The United Nations General Assembly observes Human Rights Day on December 10, every year.
• The day is observed to raise awareness regarding people’s social, cultural and physical rights as well as to ensure the welfare people across the world.
• The day encourages nations to create equal opportunities for everyone.
• It also addresses the issues of exclusion, inequality, and discrimination.

• United Nations General Assembly had adopted the Universal Declaration of the Human Rights in 1948. 
• The Allies of World War II, also known as the United Nations, adopted four freedoms viz., freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom from fear and freedom from want. 
• They created the Charter of United Nations on the basis of faith in fundamental human rights. 
• Thus, Universal Declaration of Human Rights is significant and forms one of the bases of the United Nations.
• The Human Rights Day signifies the absolute rights to which all humans are entitled, irrespective of their race, religion, colour, language, sex, political or other opinions, poverty, national or social origin, birth or another status. 
• Equality and non-discrimination are at the heart of human rights. 
• Human Rights Day has become more significant in the aftermath of covid-19, as it has deepened poverty and raised inequality, discrimination & other gaps in human rights protection.

Highlights:

• Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Ltd. has launched an electronic spot platform, “BSE E-Agricultural Markets Ltd (BEAM)”, for agricultural commodities through its subsidiary BSE Investments Ltd.
• The BSE e-Agricultural Markets Ltd (BEAM) platform will act as an institutionalised, electronic, open, national level commodity spot trading platform in line with the vision of the prime minister to establish a single market.
• The platform aims to boost the competitiveness of the Indian agricultural market by enhancing the strength of the BSE in financial markets, market technology and its vibrant ecosystem.
• BSE is Asia’s first & world’s fastest Stock Exchange with a speed of 6 microseconds. It is one of India’s leading exchange groups
• BSE  was established in the year 1875.
• It's Headquarters located in Mumbai.

Highlights:

• The US Senate recently passed the 740.5 billion USD of National Defence Authorisation Act. 
• The act allocates funds for military ships, construction projects, aircrafts, nuclear weapons and other national security initiatives.

• Pacific Deterrence Initiative to counter China"
• The act has allocated 2.2 billion USD to the Pacific Deterrence Initiative. 
• The initiative aims to enhance the American deterrence and increase the capability and readiness of US forces in the Indo-Pacific region. 
• Also, it will deepen US cooperation with its allies and partners such as Australia, India, China and Japan.
• Space:
• The Space Force is to start research and development projects to promote competition in the National Security Space Launch Programme.
• Cyber Security and Artificial Intelligence:
• The act is full of Artificial Intelligence and Cyber security.
• The NDAA contains the AI Initiative Act, National AI Research Resource Task Force Act and the Cyber security legislations.
• The act holds many of the recommendations made by the Cyberspace Solarium Commission. 
• This includes the creation of National Cyber Director position in White House.
• The act also holds new standards for cybersecurity maturity model certification.

• The National Defence Authorisation Act of 2020 brought India at par with the NATO allies of America and other countries like South Korea and Israel.
• National Defence Authorisation Act is one of the two bills used by the US Congress to oversee the defence budget of the USA (the other bill is Defence Appropriation Bill). 
• It specifies the annual budget and expenditure of the country’s defence department. 
• This is a yearly bill. This bill has been passed by the Congress for 60 years in a row. 
• This year’s bill includes mandatory sanctions on Turkey for its acquisition of Russian missile defence system, renaming of bases that currently honor Confederate leaders from pro-slavery states, pay raises for service members, etc.

Highlights:

• Recently, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) has granted Observer Status to International Solar Alliance (ISA).
• It is a historic decision and ISA has become an example of positive global climate action through partnerships in order to benefit global energy growth & development.
• The fourth general assembly of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) was held in October 2021. 
• In the event, a total of 108 countries participated, including 74 member countries and 34 observer & prospective countries participated. 
• Apart from that, 23 partner organisations and 33 special invitee organisations also participated.

• ISA is an alliance of 124 countries. 
• This initiative was started by India. Most of these countries are sunshine countries.
• These countries are located either completely or partly between Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn.
• ISA was established with the objective of working for efficient consumption of solar energy in a bid to reduce dependence on fossil fuels.
• ISA was first proposed by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2015.
• It is a treaty-based inter-governmental organization.
• After the United Nations, ISA is the largest grouping of states world-wide.
• Members of the ISA
• Most of the members of ISA are countries located around tropics. 
• However, countries that do not fall within the Tropics can also join the alliance and avail all benefits as other members. Though, they would not get voting rights.

Highlights:

• Like every year, International Universal Health Coverage Day observed On 12 December this year.
• The Day is a United Nations’ recognized international day.

• International Universal Health Coverage Day seeks to raise awareness of the need for robust and resilient health strategies and universal health range with multi-stakeholder partners.
• Each year on 12 December, UHC supporters boost their voices to convey the accounts of the millions of people still waiting for health, champion what we have accomplished so far, call on leaders to make more effective and more innovative investments in health, and encourage diverse groups to make commitments to help move the world closer to UHC by 2030.

• On 12 December 2012, the United Nations General Assembly approved a resolution urging countries to revive progress toward universal health coverage (UHC)  as an essential priority for international development.
• On 12 December 2017, the United Nations declared 12 December as International Universal Health Coverage Day.

Highlights:

• International Day of Neutrality is a day Identified By United Nations held on 12 December each year.
• It boosts public awareness of the importance of neutrality in international relations.
• It was officially announced by a UN General Assembly explanation adopted in February 2017 and first celebrated on 12 December 2017.
• On 2 February 2017, the UN General Assembly embraced without a vote resolution 71/275 - presented by Turkmenistan, recognized by the UN as a permanently neutral state since 12 December 1995
• It noted the connection between the preservation of peace and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and announced 12 December as the International Day of Neutrality.
• Neutrality defined as the legal status stemming from the abstention of a state from all participation in a war between other states, the upkeep of a perspective of objectivity toward the belligerents, and the recognition by the contentious of this non-voting and objectivity is critically vital for the United Nations to achieve and retain the confidence and cooperation of all to operate independently and mainly in situations that are politically charged.

Highlights:

• Prime Minister Naftali Bennett started the first official visit by an Israeli leader to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on 12 December.
• This was done to support Gulf ties at increased regional tension, as global powers tried to revive the nuclear deal with Iran.
• Naftali Bennett took office as the head of the Israeli coalition government in June 2021.
• He has scheduled to hold talks with the UAE’s de facto leader, Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan.
• This diplomatic outreach has come when world powers negotiate with Iran on the 2015 nuclear deal, which Israel opposes.
• The nuclear deal was also left in 2018 by US President Donald Trump.
• Naftali Bennett took office as the head of the Israeli consolidation government in June 2021.
• He has scheduled to hold talks with the UAE’s de facto leader, Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan.
• This diplomatic outreach has come when world forces negotiate with Iran on the 2015 nuclear deal, which Israel opposes.
• The nuclear deal was also abandoned in 2018 by US President Donald Trump.
• Following the Baghdad Airport Airstrike in January 2020, which targeted and killed Iranian general Qassem Soleimani, Iran declared that it would no longer abide by the limitations of the nuclear deal.
• Still, it would continue to coordinate with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
•  Again, in December 2020, Iranian officials voiced their willingness to rejoin the deal on the requirement that US officials make commitments to lift sanctions & rejoin the deal.

• The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action is generally known as the Iran nuclear deal or Iran deal.
• It is an accord on the Iranian nuclear program, inscribed on 14 July 2015 in Vienna.
• Legal negotiations on JCPOA signed the deal between Iran and the P5+1.
• Formal negotiations on JCPOA started with embracing the Joint Plan of Action, an interim agreement between Iran and P5+1 countries, signed in November 2013.

• To destroy its stockpile of medium-enriched uranium
• To clip down a stockpile of low-enriched uranium by 98%
• To decrease the number of gas centrifuges by two-thirds.
• Under the agreement, Iran will only increase uranium up to 3.67% for the next 15 years.
• Iran also agreed not to make any new heavy-water facilities for 15 years.

Highlights:

• Prime Minister Naftali Bennett started the first official visit by an Israeli leader to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on 12 December.
• This was done to support Gulf ties at increased regional tension, as global powers tried to revive the nuclear deal with Iran.
• Naftali Bennett took office as the head of the Israeli coalition government in June 2021.
• He has scheduled to hold talks with the UAE’s de facto leader, Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan.
• This diplomatic outreach has come when world powers negotiate with Iran on the 2015 nuclear deal, which Israel opposes.
• The nuclear deal was also left in 2018 by US President Donald Trump.
• Naftali Bennett took office as the head of the Israeli consolidation government in June 2021.
• He has scheduled to hold talks with the UAE’s de facto leader, Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan.
• This diplomatic outreach has come when world forces negotiate with Iran on the 2015 nuclear deal, which Israel opposes.
• The nuclear deal was also abandoned in 2018 by US President Donald Trump.
• Following the Baghdad Airport Airstrike in January 2020, which targeted and killed Iranian general Qassem Soleimani, Iran declared that it would no longer abide by the limitations of the nuclear deal.
• Still, it would continue to coordinate with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
•  Again, in December 2020, Iranian officials voiced their willingness to rejoin the deal on the requirement that US officials make commitments to lift sanctions & rejoin the deal.

• The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action is generally known as the Iran nuclear deal or Iran deal.
• It is an accord on the Iranian nuclear program, inscribed on 14 July 2015 in Vienna.
• Legal negotiations on JCPOA signed the deal between Iran and the P5+1.
• Formal negotiations on JCPOA started with embracing the Joint Plan of Action, an interim agreement between Iran and P5+1 countries, signed in November 2013.

• To destroy its stockpile of medium-enriched uranium
• To clip down a stockpile of low-enriched uranium by 98%
• To decrease the number of gas centrifuges by two-thirds.
• Under the agreement, Iran will only increase uranium up to 3.67% for the next 15 years.
• Iran also agreed not to make any new heavy-water facilities for 15 years.

Highlights:

• Karnataka & United Nations Development Programme signed Letter of Understanding as a part of ‘Code-Unnati’.
• Department of Youth Empowerment & Sports, Government of Karnataka has signed a Letter of Understanding (LoU) with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) as a neighbourhood of the State-level initiative 'Code-Unnati'.
• This enhances access to entrepreneurship and employment opportunities among the youths, including women.
• The initiative involves United Nations Volunteers (UNV).
• It is supported by SAP India Lab's CSR Strategies to be implemented in 4 Bengaluru Rural, Ramanagara, Dakshina Kannada and Raichur districts.
• Fifty colleges, including government pre-university, ITIs, polytechnics and humanities & Science colleges, have already been identified to figure with the school members and student communities in areas of coaching and Capacity Building, Training within the 21st Century & Digital Skills, Entrepreneurship Development, Innovation Challenges, Boot Camps, Corporate Volunteering and Industry Connect.
• United Nations Development Programme Founded in  1965 with its headquarters in NY, United States.
• The United Nations Development Programme Administrator is  Achim Steiner.

Highlights:

• India ranked 66 in the Global Health Security Index 2021 with an overall Index score of 42.8.
• As per the worldwide Health Security (GHS) Index 2021, the world’s average overall GHS Index score was reduced to 38.9 (out of 100) in 2021, from 40.2 within the GHS Index 2019.
• GHS Index is developed in partnership with the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) and the Johns Hopkins Centre for Health Security at the Bloomberg School of Public Health.
• India ranked 66 out of 195 countries with an overall Index score of 42.8 alongside a change of -0.8 from 2019.
• The US of America (USA) ranked 1st on the index with a score of 75.9, followed by Australia and Finland.

• Rank                         Country               Score
• 1                               USA                     75.9
•  2                             Australia              71.1
•  3                             Finland                 70.9
• 4                              Canada                 69.8
• 5                              Thailand               68.2
• 6                              India                     42.8
• 7                              Somalia               16.0 

Highlights:

• Maharashtra has outdone the states with the highest beneficiaries under the Atmanirbhar Bharat Rojgar Yojana.
• In Maharashtra, there are 17 524 beneficiary establishments. 
• During the covid-19, the Government rolled out the Atmanirbhar Bharat Rojgar Yojana pandemic to generate jobs.
• Gujarat and Karnataka follow Maharashtra. Gujarat has 12,379 beneficiary establishments, while Karnataka has 8,024 beneficiary establishments.
• As per Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Rameshwar Teli, funds disbursed under Atmanirbhar Bharat Rojgar Yojana (ABRY) amounts to 11 % of Rs 2612 crores of Rs 22810, which was targeted to be spent till March 31, 2024.
• There are about 1,17,016 beneficiary establishments under the scheme. 
• It has benefitted 39,72,551 new employees.
• The central government has set a mark to generate 5.85 million formal jobs by March 31, 2022. The average time to process claims under the scheme was 7.7 days, which decreased from 11.5 days in 2019-20.

• This scheme was established in October 2020 as part of the Atmanirbhar Bharat package 3.0.
• It was established to motivate employers, supply them with social security benefits, and repair the loss of employment amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
• Under the scheme, the central Government refunds 24-12 % for employees and employers for two years for all new jobs made in enterprises with up to 1,000 employees.
• This scheme is suitable for employees earning less than Rs.15,000 in a month.
• The scheme also developed benefits for workers who had lost jobs during a covid pandemic, from March 1, 2020, to September 30.
• For companies with more than 1,000 workers, a refund is fixed to 12% of the employees’ contribution.

Highlights:

• Max Verstappen won his first “Formula One (F1) world title”, leaving behind Lewis Hamilton, at Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
• Max Emilian Verstappen, a Belgian-Dutch racing driver, competes in Formula One with Red Bull Racing under the Dutch flag.
• He was the youngest driver to compete in Formula One at the 2015 Australian Grand Prix at 17 years old.
• At the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, he was the first Dutch driver to succeed in the Formula One Championship.
• He is the 34th Formula One World Drivers’ Champion and the son of former F1 driver Jos Verstappen.
• Verstappen has achieved 19 more victories, including first for a Honda-powered driver since 2006.
• In the 2019 and 2020 championships, he finished in third place.
• Under a contract extension, Verstappen at Red Bull will stay until the 2023 season ends.

• Formula one is the loftiest class of international auto racing, managed for single-seater formula racing cars.
• It is authorized by the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA).
• FIA Formula One World Championship was before known as World Drivers’ Championship, till 1981 and has been one of the exclusive forms of racing worldwide since its first season in 1950.

Highlights:

• Harnaaz Sandhu from India has become the new Miss Universe 2021, 21 years after Lara Dutta on 12 December.
• The 70th Miss Universe 2021 was held in Eilat, Israel, where Ms. Harnaaz Sandhu represented India.
• Ms. Sandhu, 21-year-old and from Punjab, claimed the Miss Universe crown, defeating Nadia Ferreira from Paraguay and Lalela Mswane from South Africa.
• Crown was presented to Ms. Sandhu by Andrea Meza, former Miss Universe 2020, Mexico.
• Before Ms. Sandhu, only two Indians have won Miss Universe's title, Sushmita Sen in 1994 and Lara Dutta in 2000.

• Ms. Sandhu had begun her journey at the age of 17 in pageantry. She has previously won  Femina Miss India Punjab 2019, Miss Diva 2021, and She was placed in Top 12 at Femina Miss India 2019.
• She has also performed in Punjabi movies like  Yaara Diyan Poo Baran and Bai Ji Kuttange.

• Miss Universe is a yearly international beauty pageant conducted by the United States-based Miss Universe Organization.
• This pageant is one of the most-streamed pageants worldwide, with an audience of 500 million spectators across 190 territories.
• Apart from Miss World, Miss International, Miss Earth, and Miss Universe are the Big Four international beauty pageants.
• Miss Universe Organization and its brand are now held by Endeavor and  Telemundo hold the license to air the pageant for the following 5 years.

Highlights:

• The prestigious TIME magazine has marked Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, the "2021 Person of the Year.
• In 2021, US-based electric-vehicle startup Tesla became a $1 trillion company as Musk became the world's richest person with an estimated net worth of around US $255 billion.
• Musk is also the founder and CEO of rocket company SpaceX and leads brain-chip startup Neuralink and infrastructure firm The Boring Company.
• Musk established SpaceX in 2002 and also had his hand in the creation of the alternative energy company SolarCity in addition to Tesla, the most valuable car company in the world.
• The magazine highlights its annual acknowledgment for recognizing the person who had the most influence on the year's events, for good or for ill.
•  Recently, he passed Amazon founder Jeff Bezos as the world's wealthiest person . 
• Calling him a “clown, genius, edgelord, visionary, industrialist, showman," 

Highlights:

• Ministry of Environment, Forest, and global climate change (MoEF&CC) proclaimed Askot Wildlife Sanctuary as Eco-sensitive Zone.
• A neighborhood of 454.65 square kilometers around the boundary of Askot Wildlife Sanctuary within the Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand has been declared because of the Askot Wildlife Sanctuary Eco-sensitive Zone (ESZ).
• The notified area extends from 0 to 22 km around the Askot Wildlife Sanctuary.
• The Askot Wildlife Sanctuary was established to guard the endangered flagship species Moschus moschiferus and its habitat.
• The Askot Wildlife Sanctuary is additionally referred to as Moschus moschiferus Park.
• Minister of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change is Bhupender Yadav.

Highlights:

• Every year on 18 December, International Migrants Day is commemorated worldwide.
• The United Nations, through the UN-affiliated International Organization for Migration, commemorates the day (IOM).
• The day is commemorated to honor the contributions of the world's 272 million migrants, including more than 41 million internally displaced people, and the problems they encounter.
• Harnessing the possibilities of human mobility is the theme of International Migrants Day 2021.
• The General Assembly adopted a resolution on the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families on 18 December 1990, to recognize the contributions made by millions of migrants to the economies of their host and home countries, as well as to promote respect for their fundamental human rights.
• The inaugural commemoration of the day took place in 1990.
• In addition, Filipino and other Asian migrant organizations began commemorating and promoting 18 December as International Day of Solidarity with Migrants in 1997.

Highlights:

• Every year on 18 December, India commemorates Minorities Rights Day.
• This day is commemorated to promote the right to freedom and equal opportunity for ethnic minorities in India and raise awareness about minorities' respect and dignity.
• Since British rule, India has encountered numerous challenges in fundamental human rights.
• These rights, however, were protected after independence, and people must be made aware of them.
• As a result, every year on 18 December, we commemorate Minorities Rights Day.
• Minority Rights Day 2021 aims to promote all minority groups in society and encourage them to express themselves. 
• Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, all workshops, seminars, and discussions will most likely be held online.

• The United Nations designated 18 December as Minorities Rights Day in 1992.
• Individuals belonging to religious or linguistic national or ethnic minorities had their rights recognized by the United Nations.
• The National Commission for Minorities (NCM) in India is organizing the events on this day.
• The National Commission for Minorities (NCM) was founded by the Union Government in 1992 under the National Commission for Minorities Act.

Highlights:

• The Economic Times's Mohit Jain was chosen president of the Indian Newspaper Society (INS) at the INS's 82nd Annual General Meeting (AGM), which was held via video conference on 17, 2021 Dec .
• He succeeds Health & The Antiseptic's Lakshmipathy Adimoolam.
• The Secretary-General is Mary Paul.
• Outgoing President Adimoolam stressed about the value of newspapers in his address during the meeting.
• As the fourth estate, the media is held in high regard, and newspapers are seen as the defenders of democracy. 
• It keeps the public updated about daily events in our country as well as the rest of the world.
• Adimoolam went on to explain that the Society was founded on particular beliefs and aims, and that cooperation is a highly effective survival strategy.
• Much more can be accomplished to accelerate the growth of the industry as a whole if we stand united behind an unified vision and goal.

Highlights:

• On the occasion of Bhutan's National Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi received the country's highest civilian award, the Ngadag Pel gi Khorlo.
• Bhutan celebrate 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.

Highlights:

• Every year on 20 December, the world commemorates International Human Solidarity Day to celebrate unity in variety and promote awareness about the value of solidarity.
• According to the United Nations Millennium Declaration, Solidarity is one of the core concepts necessary to international interactions.
• The International Human Solidarity Day is to,
• to celebrate our diversity
• to remind governments to honor their international commitments
• to raise public awareness of the importance of solidarity
• to encourage debate on how to promote solidarity for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, including poverty eradication
• of action to encourage new poverty eradication initiatives.
• Solidarity is a psychological sense of togetherness and relationships in a society that binds people together as one.
• It is noted that by resolution 60/209, adopted on 22 December 2005, the United Nations General Assembly identified solidarity as one of the fundamental and universal values that should underpin relations between peoples in the twenty-first century and declared 20 December as International Human Solidarity Day.

Highlights:

• West Bengal and Kerala were toppers in the large and small states categories respectively, in the 'Index on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy,.
• The index is an indicator of literacy among children below 10 years.
• The report was prepared by 'Institute for Competitiveness' and released by Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) chairman Bibek Debroy.
• The categories that were considered for rankings are- large states, small states, Union Territories and North East.
• Among large states, West Bengal bagged top honours with a score of 58.95, while Bihar finished at the bottom with 37.
• Among the small states, Kerala finished on top with 68, while Jharkhand languished at the bottom with 45.
• Lakshadweep (52.69) and Mizoram (51.64) were the top-scoring regions in the Union Territory and Northeast state category, respectively.
• Ladakh has featured at the bottom in the list of UTs, while Arunachal Pradesh came last in the North East category.
• The overall national score was
• The index includes five pillars comprising 41 indicators.
• The five pillars are- educational infrastructure, access to education, basic health, learning outcomes and governance.
• States have performed particularly worse in governance, the report noted.
• More than 50 per cent of the states have scored below the national average, i.e. 28.05, the lowest across all pillars.
• The UTs of Delhi, Chandigarh and Daman & Diu performed well in educational infrastucture, with scores of 92.98, 92.97 and 91.24 respectively.

Highlights:

• The Steel Authority of India Ltd. (SAIL)  has been granted the coveted Golden Peacock Environment Management Award 2021, the third year in a row.
• The Maharatna Company SAIL is part of the Ministry of Steel.
• Since 1998, the Environment Foundation (WEF) has granted the award to organizations for notable achievements in environmental management.
• The company's environmental protection efforts are focused on upgrading pollution control facilities, water conservation efforts with the goal of achieving Zero Liquid Discharge, efficient handling of various solid wastes (viz. process waste, hazardous waste, canteen/township waste), carbon sequestration through afforestation, eco-restoration of the mined-out area, and other environmental measures.
• The company's corporate policies and practices have made carbon footprint reduction a priority.
• Deployment of cutting-edge environmentally friendly technologies, R&D projects in collaboration with reputable academic institutes for resource efficiency, large plantation drives to create carbon sinks, gradual shift to LED lighting, increasing the share of renewable energy, and so on.
• It is noted that SAIL was founded on 19 January 1954, headquartered in New Delhi. 

Highlights:

• Emma Raducanu, a tennis player, has been named the BBC Sports Personality of the Year for 2021.
• At a ceremony in Salford, she beat out Tom Daley (diver) and Adam Peaty (swimmer) for second and third place, respectively.
• Meanwhile, England's men's football team was named team of the year, and Gareth Southgate was named coach, as a triumphant period for British sport across the board was commemorated.
• At his fourth Olympics in Tokyo, Tom Daley won gold for the first time.
• 2021 BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award
• The BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2021 was held at the dock10 studios in Salford on December 19, 2021.
• BBC One broadcasted the event live. 
• The award's nominees were announced on December 13, 2021.

• Categories                                            Winners
• Helen Rollason Award                        Jen Beattie
• Coach of the Year                               Gareth Southgate
• Team of the Year                                England men’s football team
• World Sport Star                                 Rachael Blackmore
• Lifetime Achievement                        Simone Biles
• Unsung Hero                                       Sam Barlow

Highlights:

• India's First International Arbitration and Mediation Centre (IAMC) was launched at Phoenix VK Tower in Nanakramguda, Hyderabad, Telangana.
• It was inaugurated by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Justice NV Ramana and Chief Minister of Telangana K Chandrasekhar Rao.
• Internationally renowned arbitrators and mediators from countries such as Singapore and the United Kingdom are among those who have been appointed to the center.
• The International Arbitration and Mediation Center (IAMC) was formed to promptly settle conflicts that emerge owing to a lack of sufficient judges.
• IAMC will resolve commercial conflicts as well as disagreements between ordinary individuals.

Highlights:

• Since 2012, India has celebrated National Mathematics Day on the 22nd of December every year.
• The day is observed to honor Mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan's birth anniversary.
• This year, the nation commemorates Ramanujan's 134th birthday.
• The primary goal of National Mathematics Day is to raise public awareness about the evolution of mathematics and its significance in the advancement of humanity.
• The day was declared on February 26, 2012, by then-Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to commemorate the 125th birthday of Indian mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan (22 Dec 1887- 26 Apr 1920).
• The year 2012 was also designated as National Mathematics Month. Ramanujan's ideas revolutionized and reshaped mathematics in the twentieth century.
• The mathematics of the twenty-first century is still shaped by these notions.

• Srinivasa Ramanujan was born in a Tamil Brahmin Iyengar family in Erode, Tamil Nadu, on December 22, 1887.
• In 1903, Ramanujan attended the Government College in Kumbakonam. He failed non-mathematical topics in college due to his inattention.
• Ramanujan began working at the Madras Port Trust as a clerk in 1912.
• Ramanujan enrolled at Trinity College just before World War I broke out.
• He earned a Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree in 1916. In 1917, he became a member of the London Mathematical Society.
• In 1919, Ramanujan returned to India. At the age of 32, he passed away a year later.
• Based on Srinivasa Ramanujan's biography, the film "The Man Who Knew Infinity" was released in 2015.

Highlights:

• PV Sindhu is one of six new members of the BWF Athletes Commission, which will she serve until 2025.
• PV Sindhu, a former world champion, has been named to the Badminton World Federation's (BWF) Athletes' Commission, along with five other athletes.
• The six members will vote for the Chair and Deputy Chair.
• Following the screening procedure required of all Council members, the Chair of the BWF Athletes' Commission will be elected to the Council until the next elections in 2025.
• Members of the BWF Athletes' Commission include Iris Wang (USA), Robin Tabeling (NED), Greysia Polii (INA), Kim Soyeong (KOR), Pusarla V Sindhu (IND), and Zheng Si Wei (CHN).
• Sindhu, who earned a silver medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics, made history by winning a bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics earlier this year.
• Sindhu earned two silver medals, two bronze medals, and the coveted gold medal at the prestigious global championships in 2019.

Highlights:

• The Delhi Cabinet approved the establishment of Delhi Teachers' University on 20 December.
• After Class 12, the university will provide a four-year integrated teacher education program.
• BA & B.Ed, BSc & B.Ed, and BCom & B.Ed courses will all be included in the curriculum.
• Those enrolled in the institution would also be linked to Delhi government schools for training reasons while pursuing these courses.
• In the next session of the Delhi Assembly, the government will introduce the "Delhi Teachers University Bill 2021" to address the issue.

• The Delhi Teachers' University will be a state-run institution. It would be dedicated to preparing high-quality teachers for Delhi at all levels of education.
• For the duration of the course, university students will be assigned to Delhi government schools to gain hands-on experience. 
• It would assist students in gaining superior practical as well as theoretical understanding.
• In the fields of education studies, leadership, and policy, the University will serve as a center of excellence in pre-service and in-service teacher preparation.
• In teacher training, the university will endeavor to close the gap between practice, research, and policy. It will also keep up with the ever-changing concept and realities of quality education in Delhi.
• Admission to the new university will begin in the 2022-23 academic year. 
• Bakkarwala in west Delhi will be home to the Delhi Teacher's University.
• The four-year ITEP will begin in the academic year 2022-23. Initially, the course would be provided in a pilot mode at 50 interdisciplinary institutions in India.
•  The National Testing Agency (NTA) will administer a National Common Entrance Test to those interested in taking the course (NCET).

Highlights:

• Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik inaugurated Odisha's longest bridge over the Mahanadi river at Gopinathpur in Cuttack 
• T-Setu, built over the Mahanadi River in Cuttack district, is Odisha's longest bridge.
• It's a 3.4-kilometer-long, 7.5-meter-wide bridge.
• Gopinathpur in Badamba, Baideswar in Banki, and Singhanath Pitha in the middle of the Mahanadi River are connected by a bridge, which will cost Rs 111 crore in total.
• On both sides of the T-Setu bridge, there is a footpath. It has a width of 1.5 meters.
• T-Setu will help Cuttack and Khurda residents by cutting the distance between Badamba and Baideswar by 45 kilometers.
• Five lakh individuals from adjacent communities would communicate thanks to the bridge.
• It will also boost the area's agriculture, business, and tourism industries, and devotees visiting Baba Singhanath's Bali Makar Jatra in Badamba block will benefit from it.
• T-construction Setu's is notable because the state government constructs a 3-kilometer fair-weather road (pedestrian track) on the Mahanadi River every year at the cost of Rs 14-Rs15 million to facilitate communication for worshippers. During the monsoon season, this road is swept away.
• As a result, residents have been clamoring to construct this bridge for quite some time. 
• On 28 February 2014, the Chief Minister laid the foundation stone for T-setu. However, the building was delayed due to technical challenges and only began in 2018.

Highlights:

• The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will give a loan of USD 350 million to improve access to urban services in India.
• By expediting policy initiatives and reforms aimed at improving service delivery and by supporting performance-based central fiscal transfers to urban local governments, access to urban services will be improved (ULBs).
• For program execution, monitoring, and evaluation, the ADB will provide knowledge and advisory support to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.
• ADB will also assist ULBs, particularly in low-income states, in the areas of policy reform, investment planning, and cross-cutting concerns such as gender equality, climate change, social inclusion, and environmental and social safeguards evaluation.
• Under the Sustainable Urban Development & Service Delivery Programme, the finance ministry has inked a loan arrangement for the first sub-program for USD 350 million.
• The sub-program aims to develop key policies and principles for urban transformations at the national level.
• This program is consistent with the government's national flagship initiatives, encouraging cities as economic growth engines.

Highlights:

• Anukrti Upadhyay's novel, Kintsugi, was published by the Fourth Estate imprint and won the Sushila Devi Award 2021 for Best Book of Fiction.
• The Ratanlal Foundation and the Bhopal Literature and Art Festival's organizing committee have announced the winner of this prestigious award for fiction written by a woman author and published in 2020.
• The Shri Ratanlal Foundation has established this award. Anukrti Upadhyay holds master's degrees in management and literature, as well as a law degree.
• She is a bilingual writer who writes in both English and Hindi.
•  In 2019, she wowed readers and critics alike with the twin novellas Daura and Bhaunri, as well as the short story collection Japani Sarai, which she released in Hindi.

• Kintsugi is a novel about young women breaking boundaries, overcoming trauma, and challenging the social order.
• It is named after the ancient Japanese art of mending broken objects with gold. And what about men who are taken aback by unconventional, fearless, and self-sufficient women?
• It's the story of Meena, a rebellious and unquestioned character, and Yuri, a complex character as naive as Meena.
• Of Hajime, a cultural outsider, and Prakash, who is unable to see beyond his narrow horizons.

Highlights:

• KS Sethumadhavan, a legendary Malayalam filmmaker, has died at the age of 90.
• The Ace Malayalam film director K S Sethumadhavan, created many classic movies based on established literary works.

• K. S. Sethumadhavan was born on May 29, 1927, in Palghat, Madras Presidency, British India, to Subrahmanyam and Lakshmiyamma.
• He is the youngest of four siblings, with three sisters and one brother. He grew up in the Tamil Nadu towns of Palakkad and North Arcot.
• He earned his biology degree from Government Victoria College in Palakkad. He got his start in the film industry as K. Ramnath's assistant director.
• During his career, he directed over 60 films in five languages, including Tamil, Telugu, and Hindi. Odayil Ninnu, Anubhavangal Palichakal, Oppol, Aranazhikaneeram, Achanum Bappayum, and other popular films were directed by him.
• Sethumadhavan who won 10 national awards and 8 state awards was bestowed the J C Daniel Award for lifetime contributions in 2009.

Highlights:                       

• The "Good Governance Index 2020-21" was released by the central government on 25 December.
• The Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances compiled the index (DARPG).
• The top three states are Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Goa. Indicators recorded by these states increased by 12% in Gujarat and around 25% in Goa in comparison to 2019.
• In comparison to the previous year, Uttar Pradesh saw an increase of around 9%. Uttar Pradesh has taken the lead in the commerce and industry sector.
• In addition to citizen-centric governance parameters, Uttar Pradesh has improved in the areas of social welfare and development, as well as the judiciary and public safety.
• Twenty states improved their composite 'Good Governance Index (GGI) scores in this year's index.
• The GGI indicators improved by 3.7 % in J&K. 
• It had a strong showing in the commerce and industry sector.
• Agriculture and allied sectors, commerce and industry, public infrastructure and utilities, environment, economic governance, and social welfare and development were all strong areas for Goa.
• In comparison to the GGI 2019 performance, Jharkhand saw a 12.6 % increase. It excelled in seven different areas.
• Rajasthan saw a 1.7 % increase in growth. 
• Mizoram excelled in commerce and industry, public health, human resource development, and economic governance in this category.
• Among the union territories, Delhi came out on top. Agriculture and related sectors, public infrastructure & utilities, commerce and industry, and social welfare & development all performed well.

• The Good Governance Index 2021 included 58 indicators and ten sectors. 
• GGI is a comprehensive and easy-to-implement framework for assessing the state of governance in states and union territories, as well as ranking states and districts.
• The goal of GGI is to create a tool that can be used uniformly across States and UTs to assess the impact of various interventions undertaken by the Central and State Governments.

Highlights:

• The INS Khukri (P49), India's first indigenously built missile corvette, was decommissioned on December 24, 2021, after 32 years of service at Visakhapatnam.
• The national flag, decommissioning pennant, and naval ensign were all lowered at sunset during the decommissioning ceremony.
• On August 23, 1989, the Mazagon Dock shipbuilders completed the INS Khukri.
• It was unique in that it served in both the Western and Eastern Fleets.
• The ship was commanded by 28 commanding officers during her service with the Indian Navy.
• It traveled over 6,44,897 nautical miles, which is the equivalent of 30 times around the world or three times the distance between the Moon and the Earth. 
• The ship was assigned to the Indian Army's Gorkha Brigade.

• The Indian Navy's INS Khukri was a Type 14 (Blackwood-class) frigate. During the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, the ship was sunk off the coast of Diu, Gujarat, by Pakistan's Daphne-class submarine Hangor.
• Since World War II, the INS Khukri was the first warship to be sunk by a submarine. 
• It is the only warship of the Indian Navy that has ever been lost in battle.
• INS Khukri (P49) was named after the battleship INS Khukri (F149). 
• It was the flagship of her corvette class, serving with the Indian Navy.

Highlights:

• Mother Teresa Memorial Award is presented to Padma Bhusan Anil Prakash Joshi.
• The Mother Teresa Memorial Award for Social Justice 2021 has been given to environmentalist Dr. Anil Prakash Joshi, who was awarded the Padma Bhushan this year. 
• The award went to Vidyut Mohan, the winner of the Earth Shot Prize, and Ridhima Pandey, a young environmental activist from Uttarakhand.
• Each year, the Mother Teresa Memorial Awards are given out by the Harmony Foundation, which selects a theme and honors individuals and organizations who work to improve environmental sustainability.
• Dr. Abraham Mathai, the foundation's founder, and chairman congratulated the honorees.
• Dr. Joshi was recognized for his work as a changemaker in the environmental sustainability sector, having impacted over 10,000 villages in the Himalayan region through his Himalayan Environmental Studies & Conservation Organization.
• Through his social enterprise Takachar, Vidyut was recognized for his pioneering and ingenious efforts in combating air pollution.
• Ridhima was honored for her extraordinary bravery and unwavering spirit as a young environmental activist who has sparked national action to combat climate change.

Highlights:

• Madhya Pradesh hosts the World Sangeet Tansen Festival from 25 to 30 December.
• The 97th edition of the World Sangeet Tansen festival began in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh. 
• The city will host a five-day World Sangeet Tansen festival from December 25 to December 30 at Gwalior.
• The program's stage was built around the theme of Omkareshwar's Siddhanath temple.
• The music festival will feature many artists from India as well as from other countries.
• The first seven concerts took place on the stage set up at Tansen's mausoleum and Mohammad Ghaus' tomb.
• On December 30, the eighth concert will take place on the banks of the Jhilmil river in Behat (Tansen's birthplace).
• On the same day, the last brief concert will be held at Gwalior Fort.
• Ms. Usha Thakur, the State Culture Minister, will preside over the event. During the inauguration ceremony, the National Kalidas Awards will be presented.

Highlights:

• Docprime Technology has launched India's first health locker, which is connected to the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM).
• ABDM was established in August 2020 with the goal of creating a countrywide digital health infrastructure.
• The ABDM integrated Health Locker will offer users a free digital and self-contained health data management system. 
• It will electronically store and manage health records.
• On the ABDM integrated Health Locker, users can create digital Health IDs for themselves and their family members.
• For activating their ABDM integrated Health Locker, Health Locker received ABDM Sandbox approval.
• The ABDM integrated Health Locker also allows users to retrieve and store their Cowin vaccination certificates.
• The health locker was initially only available in a few Union Territories, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced its national rollout on August 27.
• Docprime Health Locker received ABDM Sandbox approval and became India's first ABDM integrated Health Locker on August 6.

Highlights:

• In January 2022, India will chair the UNSC counterterrorism committee, after 10 long years.
• The Counter terrorism committee is of a greater significance for India, because, India has been pitching pertinent measures to fight terrorism across the global platform.
• India last chaired the committee in 2012.
• India’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Ambassador TS Tirumurti had announced on January 8, 2021 that, India will chair three important communities at the UNSC in 2021-22. 
• The three committees are- Taliban Sanctions Committee, Counter-terrorism Committee and Libya Sanctions Committee.
• TS Tirumurti had announced in November 2020 that, India’s annual resolution on counter-terrorism issue was co-sponsored by more than 75 countries. 
• The resolution was adopted by consensus in the First Committee of the UNSC.
• India has encouraged stronger international cooperation for preventing terrorists from acquiring weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems in the annual resolution called “Measures to Prevent Terrorists from Acquiring Weapons of Mass Destruction.”
• India has been at the forefront of emphasising the treat to international peace and security that terrorist groups pose, because India has been a victim of state-sponsored cross-border terrorism.
• At United Nations, India had called for stronger national measures for addressing this issue before the UN Security Council’s adoption of Resolution 1540.

• UNSC Resolution 1540 requires all states to refrain from supporting non-state stakeholders in developing, manufacturing, acquiring, possessing, transferring, transporting, or using nuclear, biological or chemical weapons.

• Counter-Terrorism Committee is a subsidiary body of United Nations Security Council. 
• It is a 15-member committee, established in the aftermath of 9/11 attack in United States to monitor the UNSC resolution 1373. 
• The resolution was adopted mandates all States to criminalize assistance for terrorist activities, share information on groups planning terrorist attacks and deny financial support & safe haven to terrorists.

Highlights:

• The National Breed Conservation Award for 2021 was presented, recently.
• The award has been bagged by “All-India Co-ordinated Research Project (AICRP)” on poultry breeding, Mannuthy, which carried under the Kerala Veterinary and Animal Science University (KVASU).
• It received the prestigious award from ICAR - the National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources (NBAGR) for the cause of conservation and research activities on Tellicherry breed.
• Tellicherry breed is the only registered native chicken breed in the state of Kerala.
• The award carries a prize money of Rs 10,000 and a citation.
• Award was presented at the Kisan Divas celebrations, which was organised by ICAR-NBAGR recently.

• The National Breed Conservation Award was established by ICAR - NBAGR. 
• It was established for centres or projects which contribute towards conservation and improvement of registered Indian breeds of domestic poultry and livestock.

• The AICRP started conserving the Tellicherry breed in 2014. 
• This breed started laying eggs in five months through scientific selection and management. 
• As a result of the research, annual egg production increased to 160-170 eggs.
• AICRP also started the genetic characterisation of the Tellicherry breed. 
• It played an important role in recognition of the breed.

• Tellicherry breed of Chicken derives its name from the name of a place in Kerala called Tellicherri, which is also known as Thalassery in Kannur district. 
• The breed is found mainly in Kozhikode district, while few are available in surrounding areas of Kannur and Malappuram districts. 
• They are reared mainly for meat. 
• They are also used in preparation of ayurvedic medicines to treat asthma and worm infestation.

Highlights:

• Harmony Foundation hosted the Mother Teresa Memorial Awards for Social Justice.
• The Awards in its 16th year is the only award endorsed by Sister Prema, the Superior General of the Missionaries of Charity, the organization started by Mother Teresa.

• Dr Anthony Fauci (USA) is the Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, USA. 
• He and his task force were among the first ones to realize the seriousness of this pandemic.
• Father Fabio Stevenazzi (Milan,Italy), decided to return to medical practice in order to help those infected with COVID 19 has thrust him to be the modern-day example of St Charles Borromeo who in 1576 during the Great Plague that hit the city of Milan and cut the population by half, stayed behind to nurse the sick and renovate hospitals.
• Dr. Pradeep Kumar (Chennai) took it upon himself to give a befitting burial to his colleague with the help of two ward boys, at a cemetery in the city in the middle of the night.
• IPS Sanjay Pandey (DG Home Guards, Maharashtra) went beyond the call of duty as a police officer to open the first relief camp in the Mumbai city suburbs for migrant workers whose livelihood were disrupted by the lockdown to contain the pandemic.
• Vikas Khanna (Manhattan, USA) heart still moves to serve the lonely and underprivileged here in India.
• KK Shailaja (Minister of Health, Kerala), her extraordinary efforts and pro-activeness in dealing with the pandemic by following experts and scientific advice helped countless Keralites survive the terrors of this pandemic, serving as an example for governments of other states countries to follow.