Daily Current Affairs and GK | 18 December 2021

Topic: Awards and Prizes

1. Bhutan announces to give highest civilian award to PM Modi.

• Bhutan has decided to confer its highest civilian award Ngadag Pel gi Khorlo or The Order of The Druk Gyaplo to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
• Many countries have honoured him with their highest civilian awards. In 2016, he received the highest civilian awards from Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan.
• He was conferred the highest honour of Palestine in 2018. Russia, Bahrain, and the Maldives also conferred Prime Minister Narendra Modi with their respective highest civilian awards.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi received the prestigious Legion of Merit from the United States of America.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also received the Philip Kotler Presidential award, Global Goalkeeper’ Award.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi received the Seoul Peace Prize and Champions of the Earth Award.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Important Days

2. International Migrants day: 18 December

• Every year, 18th December is celebrated as International Migrants day to create awareness regarding the plight of migrants across the world.
• In December 2000, the UN General Assembly proclaimed 18 December as International Migrants Day.
• In 1990, the Assembly adopted the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families.
• Migration is a global phenomenon driven by many forces. The theme for the year 2021 is 'Harnessing the potential of human mobility'.
• International Migrants Day was created to commemorate the importance of strengthening international cooperation and migration bilaterally, regionally, and globally.
• The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has assisted millions of migrants.

Topic: National News

3. Union Cabinet gives nod to raise women’s marriage age to 21.

• The government has decided to raise the legal age of marriage of women from 18 to 21 years.
• The government will bring the legislative amendments in the ongoing winter session of Parliament.
• Union Cabinet cleared a proposal to bring uniformity in the marriageable age of men and women. The bill will amend the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act (PCMA), 2006.
• The bill contains amendments to various personal laws related to the marriage of various communities.
• At present, the legal age of marrying women is 18 years and for men is 21 years.
• A four-member task force led by former Samata Party chief Jaya Jaitly recommended to increase the marriage age of women to 21 years.
• The panel was constituted in June 2020. It was also tasked to suggest measures for promoting higher education among women.
• According to the National Family Health Survey-5, in 2019-2021 23.3% of women between the age of 20 to 24 were married before the age of 18.

Topic: State News/ Haryana

4. Haryana Government launched Khel Nursery Scheme to promote sports in state.

• Haryana government has started Khel Nursery Scheme to promote sports in the state.
• Under this scheme, sports nurseries will be started in government, private educational institutions, and private sports institutions.
• Under the scheme, sports nurseries will be opened for the sports included in the Olympic, Asian and Commonwealth Games.
• ‘Khel Nursery Scheme 2022-23’ has been started to establish sports nurseries in government, private educational institutions, and private sports institutions.
• For this, applications have been invited by the department till 20 January 2022.

Topic: State News/Uttar Pradesh

5. PM Modi lays foundation stone of Ganga Expressway in Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh.

• PM Modi has laid foundation stone of Ganga Expressway in Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh.
• PM Modi also addressed a rally at Railway Ground, Rouza on the occasion.
• Ganga Expressway is 594 Km long six-lane Expressway. It will be built at a cost of over Rs 36,200 crore.
• It starts near the Bijauli village in Meerut. It will extend till near the Judapur Dandu village in Prayagraj.
• It will pass through Meerut, Hapur, Bulandshahr, Amroha, Sambhal, Budaun, Shahjahanpur, Hardoi, Unnao, Rae Bareli, Pratapgarh and Prayagraj districts.
• After completion of work, it will become the longest expressway of Uttar Pradesh. It will connect western and eastern regions of the state.
• 35 Km long airstrip for emergency take-off and landing of Air Force planes will also be constructed on the Expressway in Shahjahanpur.

Topic: Summits/ Conferences/ Meetings

6. 3^rd India-Central Asia Dialogue to start today in New Delhi.

• 3rd India-Central Asia Dialogue will start today (18th December) in New Delhi.
• The 3-day dialogue from 18th to 20th December will be hosted by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. 
• Foreign Ministers of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan will take part in the meeting.
• The second meeting was organised by India in October last year via video conferencing.
• As part of 3rd meeting of India Central Asia Dialogue, the ministers will discuss further strengthening of relations between India and Central Asian countries.

Topic: Indian Polity

7. Parliament passed the Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2019.

• Parliament has passed the Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2019 on 17 December.
• The bill has provision to constitute a National Surrogacy Board and state surrogacy boards.
• Under its regulatory framework, Central and state governments have to appoint one or more appropriate authorities within 90 days for the regulation of the practice of surrogacy.
• According to the bill, only Indian couples who have been legally married for at least five years can opt for surrogacy.
• National Surrogacy Board will be responsible for advising the Central government on policy matters relating to surrogacy and laying down the code of conduct of surrogacy clinics.
• The new legislation prohibits commercial surrogacy but it will allow ethical altruistic surrogacy for the infertile Indian married couple between the age of 23-50 years.
• The Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill was first introduced by the then Minister of Health and Family Welfare Dr Harsh Vardhan in Lok Sabha on 15 July 2019.
• A child born under surrogacy procedure will be deemed to be the biological child of the intending couple.
• The Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2019 has various ranges of offenses and penalties for contraventions of the provisions of the Bill.

Topic: State News/ Tamil Nadu

8. Tamil Nadu government announced ‘Tamil Thaai Vaazhthu’ as state song.

• The Tamil Nadu government has announced ‘Tamil Thaai Vaazhthu’ as the state anthem.
• Recently, the Madras High Court has ruled that ‘Tamil Thai Vaazhthu’ is a prayer song and not an anthem.
• It should be sung before the start of any functions in all educational institutions, universities, government offices, and public sector undertakings.
• The ‘Tamil Thai Vaazhthu’ enjoy official status since 1970.  It is the official song of union territory of Puducherry as well.
• Jaya Bharata Jananiya Tanujate is the official state anthem of Karnataka and Bande Utkal Janani is the official state anthem of Odisha.

Topic: Books and Author

9. Vice President launched Rahul Rawail's Book On Raj Kapoor.

• On the 97th Birth Anniversary of Raj Kapoor, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu released the book "Raj Kapoor: The Master At Work".
• It will be published by Bloomsbury India. It is written by filmmaker Rahul Rawail.
• Rahul Rawai was assistant director in many films of Raj Kapoor. It has been launched at India Habit Centre's Stein Auditorium.
• This book is about the Journey of Raj Kapoor in the Film Industry.
• Ranbir Kapoor, Randhir Kapoor, and Venkaiah Naidu unveiled the book. The vice president described the book as a "labour of love and dedication".

Topic: Infrastructure and Energy

10. Centre grants in principle approval for setting up of 6 nuclear power reactors at Jaitapur.

• Centre has granted in principle approval for setting up of 6 nuclear power reactors at Jaitapur in Maharashtra.
• Six nuclear power reactors will be set up with technical cooperation from France. They will have a capacity of 1,650 MW each.
• The site will be India’s largest nuclear power generating site with a total capacity of 9,900 MW.
• Jaitapur is located in Ratnagiri district, Maharashtra. Minister of State for Atomic Energy Jitendra Singh said that present installed nuclear power capacity in the country is 6,780 MW.
• The minister also said that the share of nuclear power in the total electricity generation in 2020-21 is about 3.1%.
• He said that present nuclear power capacity of 6,780 MW is expected to be increased to 22,480 MW by 2031.

Topic: Awards and Prizes

11. Kumar Mangalam Birla gets Global Entrepreneur of the Year Award from TiE.

• Kumar Mangalam Birla have got Global Entrepreneur of the Year Award- Business Transformation from The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE).
• Kumar Mangalam Birla is the chairman of Aditya Birla Group. Birla is first Indian industrialist to get the award.
• The awards were given out to Techstars for Best Global Accelerator for Startups, MIT for Global University Promoting Student Entrepreneurship and Accel as Best Global VC Fund.
• The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE) is a Silicon Valley non-profit organization. It supports start-ups through networking and raising of capital.

Topic: MoUs/Agreements 

12. Tata Motors and Maharashtra government sign MoU for establishing vehicle scrapping facility.

• Tata Motors and Maharashtra government have signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for establishing vehicle scrapping facility.
• The proposed scrappage centre will have the capacity of recycling up to 35,000 vehicles a year.
• Tata Motors will set up the centre in Maharashtra in association with a partner.
• Industries, energy and labour department will support in facilitating the necessary approvals as per the rules and regulations of the state government.
• Tata Motors had earlier signed a similar agreement with the Gujarat government.
• In August, PM Modi had launched the national vehicle scrappage policy.  As per the policy, old vehicles will have to pass a fitness test before re-registration.

Topic: Environment and Ecology

13. India and the US have announced their support for innovative solutions to climate and clean energy challenges.

• India and the United States have unveiled a new programme to boost climate and clean energy innovation.
• The United States-India Science and Technology Endowment Fund has issued a call for Ignition Grants under the programme titled "Technology-based Energy Solutions: Innovations towards Net Zero."
• It would identify and assist 'technology showstoppers,' or India-US Science and Technology-based entrepreneurial projects in this field.
• The announcement of the US-India Climate and Clean Energy Agenda 2030 partnership in April this year reaffirmed both countries' resolve to work together to meet their ambitious climate and clean energy goals.
• The new program will be administered by the bi-national Indo-US Science and Technology Forum (IUSSTF) and will fit with the goals of the US-India strategic Clean Energy Partnership.
• IUSSTF is a joint initiative between India's Department of Science and Technology (DST) and the US Department of State.

(Source: PIB)

Topic: Important Days

14. Goa Liberation Day: 19 December

• Every year on December 19, Goa Liberation Day is celebrated.
• Goa was part of Portuguese colonies since 1510. It was liberated by the Indian Army in 1961.
• Indian military had started ‘Operation Vijay’ on 18 December 1961 to liberate Goa from the Portuguese rule. After 36 hours of operation, Indian troops reclaimed the Goa territory on 19 December.
• Portuguese governor, Manuel Antonio Vassalo e Silva, signed the certificate of surrender, which ended Portuguese rule in Goa. Goa was granted statehood on 30 May 1987.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi will also visit Goa on December 19 for the 'Goa Liberation Day' celebrations, where he would lay the foundation stone for a number of development projects totalling over 650 crores.
• At the event, PM Modi will honor the freedom fighters and veterans of 'Operation Vijay.'
• The Prime Minister will inaugurate several development projects including the renovated Fort Aguada Jail Museum, Super Specialty Block at Goa Medical College, New South Goa District Hospital, Aviation Skill Development Center at Mopa Airport, and a gas-insulated substation at Dabolim-Navelim, Margao.
• He will also lay the foundation stone for the Bar Council of India Trust's India International University of Legal Education and Research in Goa.