Daily Current Affairs and GK | 15 December 2021

By PendulumEdu | Last Modified: 31 Dec 2021 11:29 AM IST

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Topic: Summits/ Conferences/ Meetings

1. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar participated in 6th edition of Global Technology Summit (GTS).

  • External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has participated in the 6th edition of the Global Technology Summit.
  • The 6th edition of the Global Technology Summit (GTS) will be held from December 14-16.
  • Various topics including cryptocurrencies, encryption, vaccine supply chains, and cloud computing will be discussed during the Summit.
  • Over 2,500 participants from all around the globe have pre-registered for the Summit.
  • This year the Summit is being organized in a hybrid format. Global Technology Summit is the flagship event on geotechnology. It is being held since 2016.
  • It is a platform for policymakers and domain experts to discuss policy aspects of trending technology.
  • The theme of the 2021 Global Technology Summit is ‘Global Meets Local’.

Topic: Sports

2. India wins 6 medals at Asian Rowing Championship.

  • India wins a total of 6 medals including 2 gold, 4 silver at the Asian Rowing Championship in Thailand.
  • Senior rower Arvind Singh bagged a gold in the lightweight Men's single sculls event. India bagged silver medals in Men's Lightweight Double Sculls.
  • Ashish Phugat and Sukhjinder Singh won the silver in the Lightweight Men's Double Sculls category.
  • India's Bittu Singh, Jakar Khan, Manjeet Kumar and Sukhmeet Singh won the silver medal.
  • Earlier, the Men's double sculls pair of Arjun Lal Jat and Ravi won gold.

Topic: Banking System

3. India Post Payments Bank and NPCI collaborated launched doorstep bill payment service.

  • India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) and National Payments Corporation of India’s (NPCI) collaborated to launch doorstep bill payment service.
  • The main objective of the payment solution is to provide service to millions of customers located in rural areas.
  • The service will enable payments of mobile postpaid, D2H recharge, school fees, and other utility services by using the bank's mobile banking service.
  • With the help of this collaboration, NPCI Bharat BillPay Ltd and IPPB have empowered citizens to pay bill through a network of Gramin Dak Sevaks and Postal staff.

India Post Payments Bank:

It is a division of Indian Post. It was established in 2018.

It was registered as a public limited government company for setting up a payments bank.

India Post Payments Bank works under the Ministry of Communications.

Topic: Reports and Indices

4. Global Health Security (GHS) Index released on 8 December.

  • The new 2021 Global Health Security (GHS) Index has been released on 8 December.
  • In 2021, the world’s overall performance on the GHS Index score slipped to 38.9 (out of 100).
  • India scored 42.8 points out of 100. Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Maldvies have improved their score by 1-1.2 points.
  • Global Health Security (GHS) Index has been jointly released by the non-profits Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) and the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security.
  • 65% of countries had not published and implemented national public health emergency response plan for diseases with the epidemic.
  • 73 % of countries doesn’t have the ability to provide expedited approval for medical countermeasures.
  • GHS Index 2021 is based on the revised framework and updated data collection conducted between August 2020 and June 2021.
  • GHS Index aims to spur measurable changes in national health security and improve international capability.
 

Topic: Appointments

5. Gautam Raghavan elevated to the head of the White House Office of Presidential Personnel.

  • Indian-American political advisor Gautam Raghavan has been elevated to the head of the White House Office of Presidential Personnel.
  • White House Presidential Personnel Office (PPO) is also written as Office of Presidential Personnel. It is tasked with examining new appointees.
  • The post of White House PPO was held by Cathy Russell. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced his intent to appoint Cathy Russell as the next executive director of UNICEF.
  • Gautam Raghavan was posted as PPO Deputy Director since January 2020.
  • He is the editor of the book 'West Wingers: Stories from the Dream Chasers, Change Makers, and Hope Creators Inside the Obama White House'.

Topic: Sports

6. India inducts 148 athletes in the first list of TOPS athletes for 2024 Paris Games.

  • 148 athletes in seven Olympic disciplines and six Paralympic disciplines have been identified for support under Target Olympic Podium Scheme.
  • The 148 athletes have been identified at a meeting of the Mission Olympic Cell (MOC) of Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports on 13 December. This includes 20 new inductees.
  • The list includes players across seven sport disciplines. They are Cycling, Sailing, Shooting, Swimming, Table Tennis, Weightlifting, and Wrestling.
  • The MOC also approved the lists in Para Sports (Archery, Athletics, Badminton, Shooting, Swimming, and Table Tennis).
  • Archery, Athletics, Badminton, Boxing, Equestrian, Fencing, Golf, Gymnastics, Judo, Rowing and Tennis will be taken up in the next meeting later in December 2021.
  • Seven athletes have earned elevation from the Khelo India Scheme and are among the new inductees to TOPS Development Group.

Target Olympic Podium Scheme:

TOPS is flagship programme of Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports to add to support given under the Annual Calendar for Training and Competition.

To uplift the performance at the Olympics and the Paralympic, The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports started the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) in September 2014.

Target Olympic Podium Scheme

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: International News

7. India voted against UNSC draft resolution to securitise climate action.

  • India voted against the United Nations Security Council's (UNSC) draft resolution that seeks to link climate change with global security challenges.
  • India argued that Security Council is not a place to discuss this issue. It can undermine the consensus reached at the recently concluded Glasgow Summit.
  • India said that the resolution would only sow the seeds of discord among members of the UN Security Council.
  • The resolution, led by Ireland and Niger, called for the inclusion of information on the security impacts of climate change.
  • India argued that many of the UNSC members are the main contributors of climate change so the Security Council couldn’t take the decision wisely on the climate-related issues.
  • India was backed by Russia as both highlighted concerns about a "securitised" approach to the issue.

UN Security Council (UNSC):

It is one of the six major organs of the United Nations.

Its main function is to ensure international peace and security.

It was established on 24 October 1945.

The Security Council consists of ten elected members, and five permanent members--China, the United States, France, the United Kingdom, and Russia.

Topic: Geography

8.  Undersea earthquake in Indonesia triggered tsunami warnings in the region.

  • A 7.3 magnitude undersea earthquake struck off Indonesia's Flores Island has triggered tsunami warning in the region.
  • According to the US Geological Survey, the earthquake has hit at a depth of 18.5 kilometers (11.5 miles) under the sea and it is located 112 kilometers away from the town of Maumere.
  • National Disaster Mitigation Agency of Indonesia has said that people have felt the earthquake strongly.
  • Indonesia is a vast archipelago of 270 million people. It is very prone to earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and tsunamis.
  • Indonesia is part of the Ring of Fire, an arc of volcanoes and fault lines in the Pacific.
  • The last major earthquake in Indonesia had struck with a magnitude of 6.2. It had killed 105 people and injured nearly 6,500 in West Sulawesi province.

Earthquake:

The shaking of the Earth's surface is called earthquake. The motion of tectonic plates is the most common cause of earthquakes.

Earthquakes are caused by the energy released through seismic waves. These waves are generally of two types- Body waves and Surface Waves.

Earthquakes in the sea can lead to tsunami.

Topic: Government Schemes and Initiatives

9. Government launched Second edition of ‘Animal Husbandry Startup Grand Challenge’.

  • The Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying in association with Startup India launched the Second edition of ‘Animal Husbandry Startup Grand Challenge’.
  • It has been launched at an event celebrating ‘National Milk Day’ in Anand, Gujarat to commemorate the birth centenary of Dr. Varghese Kurien.
  • The event has been organized in the presence of the Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Shri Parshottam Rupala.
  • Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has launched the first edition of the startup grand challenge in 2019.
  • The registration of the challenge can be done on the Startup India portal. For each of the 6 problem areas, a winner will be awarded with INR 10 Lakh and a runner-up with INR 7 Lakh as cash prizes.
  • 12 winners of the challenge will get incubation. The incubator would be responsible for the virtual incubation of these startups for up to 3 months.
  • A dedicated mentor from the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying would be assigned to each winner for 6 months.
  • All startups will help in resolving the following problems:
    • Cost-effective, Long-term, and User-friendly Alternatives for Storage and Supply of Semen Doses
    • Development of Cost-effective Animal Identification (RFID) and Traceability Technology
    • Development of Heat Detection Kits

Topic: Summits/ Conferences/ Meetings

10. 6th Edition of the India Water Impact Summit concluded on 14th December.

  • 6th Edition of the India Water Impact Summit (IWIS) was concluded on 14th December.
  • The five-day long India Water Impact Summit had started on 9th December.
  • The summit was based on theme for River Resources Allocation- Planning and Management at the Regional Level.
  • National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG), New Delhi and Centre for Ganga River Basin Management and Studies (cGanga), Kanpur conducted valedictory session in a hybrid mode.
  • During the session, Shri Bisweshwar Tudu, Minister of State, Ministry of Jal Shakti congratulated NMCG and c-Ganga for the remarkable effort of organizing the 6th IWIS.
  • During the session a Memorandum of Understanding was also signed MoU between NMCG and the Centre for Policy Research (CPR), New Delhi.
  • Shri Mike Pandey, three-time recipient of the Green Oscar Award also joined the session at the Summit through a video message on ‘Sunderbans – A fragile Ecosystem’.
  • During 5-day Summit, an MoU between C-Ganga and Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research (NIBIO) for the development of a sludge management framework was signed.

6th Edition of the India Water Impact Summit

(Source: PIB)

Topic: State News/Gujarat

11. PM Modi spoke at the foundation stone laying of MaaUmiya Dham Development Project.

  • PM Modi spoke at the foundation stone laying of Maa Umiya Dham Development Project involving Umiya Mata Dham temple and temple premises in Gujarat, via video conferencing on 13 December.
  • PM Modi exhorted people to take up organic farming and adopt new cropping patterns and crops.
  • Union Home Minister had inaugurated a three-day ceremony to lay the foundation stone for Umiyadham temple at the Sola Umiya campus on the Sarkhej-Gandhinagar highway in Ahmedabad on December 11.
  • MaaUmiya is the reigning deity of the Kadva Patidar community. Umiya Mata temple in Unjha is considered as a place of pilgrimage and centre of faith of Patidar community, especially the Kadva Patidars.

Topic: MoUs/Agreements

12. Odisha government signed agreement with UNCDF and launched ‘Mission Shakti Living Lab’ project.

  • Odisha government has signed agreement with United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) and launched ‘Mission Shakti Living Lab’ project.
  • The agreement has been signed by Department of Mission Shakti of Odisha government to economically empower women.
  • Odisha government and UNCDF have jointly designed ‘Mission Shakti Living Lab’ to empower women economically and drive gender equality.
  • There are 6.02 lakh SHGs comprising 70 lakh members organised under Mission Shakti across rural and urban areas of the state.
  • The Mission Shakti Living Lab will incubate, scale and drive innovative digital solutions to create conditions for women to be financially healthy.

Topic: Economy

13. In November, WPI Inflation Hits Record High of 14.23% as crude and metal prices rose.

  • The wholesale price-based inflation rate jumped to 14.23 percent in November, up from 12.45 percent in October, owing to a hardening of mineral oil, basic metals, crude petroleum, and natural gas prices.
  • With wholesale price inflation running in double digits for the eighth month in a row. The WPI was 2.29 percent in November 2020.
  • In November, inflation in fuel and power has been 39.81 percent, up from 37.18 percent in October. The food index increased by more than a quarter to 6.70 percent, up from 3.06 percent the previous month.
  • In November, Crude petroleum inflation was at 91.74%, compared to 80.57 percent in October. However, inflation in manufactured goods has moderated to 11.92 percent from 12.04 percent in October.
  • Among food items, fruit (15.5%) and protein-rich foods like eggs, milk, and fish (9.66%) witnessed rapid price increases compared to a year ago.
  • Core inflation, which is non-food, non-fuel, hit a new high of 12.3 percent in November.
  • The data about WPI and WPI based inflation are released by the office of economic adviser in Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade.

Topic: State News/ Bihar

14. Mithila Makhana of Bihar receives a GI Tag after the government accepts plea.

  • The Central Ministry of Commerce's Geographical Indications Registry (GIR) has accepted the petition to rename Bihar Makhana as Mithila Makhana.
  • The ministry also suggested further amendments of the brand logo to better reflect its origin.
  • The development has put an end to the controversy over the branding of one of the Mithila region's most famous makhana or fox nut products.

GI Tag:

A geographical indicator (GI) is a name or sign that appears on certain items and refers to a specific geographic location or origin.

The Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999, protects products having a GI tag.

The Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999, was adopted by India as a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO), and it went into effect on September 15, 2003.

Article 22 (1) of the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) defines Geographic Indications.

In 2004–2005, Darjeeling tea became India's first GI-tagged product.

 

 

 

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