Table of Contents
Important Days
National Mathematics Day: 22 December 2021
India observes the National Mathematics Day every year on 22 December since 2012. The day is celebrated to commemorate the birth anniversary of Mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan.
This year nation celebrates the 134th birth anniversary of Ramanujan. The main objective behind the celebration of National Mathematics Day is to make people aware of the development of mathematics and its importance in the growth of humanity.
Here is some information about Ramanujan’s life:
- Srinivasa Ramanujan was born on December 22, 1887 at Erode, Tamil Nadu in a Tamil Brahmin Iyengar family.
- Ramanujan studied at the Government College in Kumbakonam in 1903. In college, he failed exams due to his negligence for non-mathematical subjects.
- In 1912, Ramanujan started working as a clerk in the Madras Port Trust.
- Ramanujan joined Trinity College a few months before World War I began. In 1916, he received a Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree. He was elected to the London Mathematical Society in 1917.
- Ramanujan returned to India in 1919. A year later, he breathed his last at the age of 32.
- The 2015 movie ‘The Man Who Knew Infinity was released based on Srinivasa Ramanujan’s biography.
Good Governance Week 2021: 20-25 December
Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh has inaugurated the Good Governance Week campaign themed “Prashasan Gaon Ki Aur” aimed at showcasing and replicating the best governance practices to the grassroots level.
Good Governance Week is being celebrated on 20-25 December as part of the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav celebration. During the week-long event, over 700 Districts Collectors will visit Tehsil and Panchayat Samiti Headquarters in order to provide timely grievance redressal and improve service delivery.
It is being celebrated by the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG), Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances, and Pensions in collaboration with various other ministries and departments.
National
PM Narendra Modi launched development projects in Goa
On the occasion of Goa Liberation Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of several development projects worth over 650 crores rupees in Goa.
He felicitated freedom fighters and veterans of ‘Operation Vijay’ at the function. He appreciated Chief Minister Pramod Sawant for keeping the pace of development up in the state.
The re-development of Aguada Fort Jail Museum at a cost of over Rs 28 crore. A super specialty block at the Goa Medical College and Hospital, which has been constructed at a cost of over Rs 380 crores.
The New South Goa District Hospital, built at a cost of around Rs 220 crore. The Aviation Skill Development Centre at the upcoming Mopa Airport, built at a cost of around Rs 8.5 crore. A gas-insulated substation at Davorlim-Navelim, Margao, was constructed at a cost of around Rs 16 crores.
Useful notes for all competitive exams:
- Goa Capital: Panaji;
- Goa CM: Pramod Sawant;
- Goa Governor: S. Sreedharan Pillai.
Punjab CM gave tag of ‘state festival’ to Jagannath Rath Yatra
The Chief Minister of Punjab, Charanjit Singh Channi has declared Lord Krishna Balram Jagannath Rath Yatra as an annual state festival. The announcement for the same was made during flagging off the 25th Shri Lord Krishna Balram Jagannath Rath Yatra.
He also announced a grant of Rs 2.51 crore for the Iskcon Temple in Ludhiana, Punjab. Notably, Punjab Government is also developing the Bhagavad Gita and Ramayana Research Centre on a 20-acre land in Patiala.
This was not the first time that the Rath Yatra of Ludhiana set the stage for the elections. Ahead of the 2017 Punjab elections, Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia of AAP participated in the yatra. He also performed ‘Maha Aarti’ from the stage with party candidates.
Useful notes for all competitive exams:
- Punjab Capital: Chandigarh;
- Punjab Chief minister: Charanjit Singh Channi;
- Punjab Governor: Banwarilal Purohit.
UP govt to launch ‘Free Smartphone Yojana on Dec 25
The Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh is set to launch the ambitious ‘Free Smartphone Yojana on December 25, which is the birth anniversary of senior BJP leader and former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
Under the scheme, the state government will distribute smartphones and tablets to final year students of graduation and above. On December 25, the chief minister will distribute 60,000 smartphones and 40,000 tablets to the youths. More than 38 lakh youths have registered themselves on the Digi Shakti Portal. Further registration is going on.
Useful notes for all competitive exams:
- Uttar Pradesh Capital: Lucknow;
- Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister: Yogi Adityanath;
- Uttar Pradesh Governor: Anandiben Patel.
Haryana launches new Integrated Command and Control Center in Karnal
Haryana chief minister, Manohar Lal Khattar has opened the new Integrated Command and Control Center (ICCC) under the Karnal Smart City project.
The new Command and Control Center will enable the functioning of advanced systems such as adaptive traffic control, automatic number plate recognition, detection of red-light violation, and speed violation.
With the inauguration of ICCC, a slew of smart traffic management systems in the city went alive. Over 500 CCTV cameras at various locations now enable the functioning of advanced systems such as adaptive traffic control, automatic number plate recognition, detection of red-light violation, and speed violation.
Useful notes for all competitive exams:
- Haryana Capital: Chandigarh;
- Haryana Governor: Bandaru Dattatreya;
- Haryana Chief Minister: Manohar Lal Khattar.
Nagaland creates 3 new districts Niuland, Tseminyu, Chumukedima
Nagaland government has announced the creation of three new districts, namely Tseminyu, Niuland and Chumoukedima. This comes less than a year after the 12th district of the state—Noklak—was inaugurated.
With the addition of the three new districts, Nagaland will now have 15 districts. While the Tseminyu sub-division in Kohima district has been upgraded to a district, Niuland and Chumukedima have been carved out of the Dimapur district.
Though there were demands from at least 11 tribes for the creation of new districts, the Cabinet could consider only three of them as some districts are inhabited by only one tribe and those cannot be divided.
Useful notes for all competitive exams:
- Chief Minister of Nagaland: Neiphiu Rio; Governor of Nagaland: Jagdish Mukhi.
Rishabh Pant named as Uttarakhand’s brand ambassador
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has announced that Indian wicket-keeper batsman Rishabh Pant has been appointed as the brand ambassador of the state.
The 24-year Pant, who was rested for the New Zealand Tests, is currently in South Africa as the Indian Team is all set to face Proteas in the three-match Test series, starting December 26.
Rishabh Rajendra Pant is an Indian cricketer who plays as a middle-order wicket-keeper batsman for India, Delhi, and the Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League. In December 2015, he was named to India’s squad for the 2016 Under-19 Cricket World Cup.
Useful notes for all competitive exams:
- Uttarakhand Capitals: Dehradun (Winter), Gairsain (Summer);
- Uttarakhand Governor: Lt Gen Gurmit Singh;
- Uttarakhand Chief minister: Pushkar Singh Dhami.
International
Gabriel Boric was elected as the youngest-ever President-elect of Chile
35-year-old, Gabriel Boric, has won Chile presidential elections, to become the youngest-ever President-elect of Chile. He defeated his opposition Jose Antonio Kast in the elections. Gabriel Boric will assume office in March 2022, will become the youngest president in Chile’s history.
Official results gave Mr. Boric 56% of the votes against Mr. Kast’s 44%. Mr. Kast conceded defeat barely an hour-and-a-half after polls closed, and with around half of ballots counted.
Useful notes for all competitive exams:
- Chile Capital: Santiago;
- Chile Currency: Peso.
Karl Nehammer was sworn in as Chancellor of Austria
Karl Nehammer was sworn in as new Austria’s chancellor by Alexander Van der Bellen, President of Austria in a ceremony in Hofburg Palace, Vienna, Austria. He is succeeding the career diplomat Alexander Schallenberg who took charge as chancellor in October 2021.
He is the 3rd person to hold the role of Austria’s Chancellor in the last two months. Nehammer, from the ruling conservative Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP), was formerly the country’s interior minister.
The Vienna-born Nehammer worked in the army for several years. He then started working as a communications adviser before becoming a politician in 2017. He was made an interior minister in January 2020. While he was in office, Austria experienced its first Islamist terrorist attack, in which four people were killed last November.
Useful notes for all competitive exams:
- Austria Capital: Vienna;
- Austria Currency: Euro;
- Austria President: Alexander Van der Bellen.
Appointments
Pradeep Kumar Rawat appointed as India’s new envoy to China
Senior Indian diplomat Pradeep Kumar Rawat, who is well-versed in negotiating with Chinese diplomats, has been appointed as India’s next Ambassador to China. Rawat’s appointment comes amid the lingering border stand-off in eastern Ladakh. Rawat is currently the country’s envoy to the Netherlands.
An Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer of the 1990 batch, Rawat is currently the country’s envoy to the Netherlands. He was joint secretary (East Asia) in the MEA when the Doklam border stand-off took place in 2017. He was involved in the negotiations during the early days before he moved to Indonesia as ambassador.
Rawat served as India’s envoy to Indonesia and Timor-Leste from September 2017 to December 2020. He had earlier served in Hong Kong and Beijing and speaks fluent Mandarin.
Harjinder Singh was named India’s Chef de Mission for Beijing Olympics
The Indian Olympic Association of India (IOA) has appointed the Ice Hockey Association of India’s general secretary, Harjinder Singh, as the Chef de Mission of the country’s contingent for the upcoming 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.
Singh was the Chef de Mission of the Indian contingent for the 23rd Winter Olympic Games too, which was held in Pyeongchang, South Korea in 2018.
Harjinder Singh is the general secretary of the Ice Hockey Association and has also led the Indian contingent at the 2018 Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, where India had two representatives – cross-country skier Jagdish Singh, and six-time Olympian luger Shiva Keshavan.
Atul Dinkar Rane appointed as BrahMos Aerospace CEO & MD
Atul Dinkar Rane has been appointed as the new Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of the BrahMos Aerospace Limited that manufactures the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile.
His pioneering contributions and techno-managerial leadership has been transformative for the successful development and induction of BrahMos Supersonic Cruise Missile into Armed Forces.
Rane is renowned for his decades of sustained R&D contributions in the indigenous design and development of mission-critical Onboard Computers (OBC), hardware in loop simulation studies, systems analysis, development of mission software, and avionics technologies for defense applications.
Useful notes for all competitive exams:
- BrahMos Aerospace Limited Founder: A. Sivathanu Pillai;
- BrahMos Aerospace Limited Founded: 12 February 1998;
- BrahMos Aerospace Limited Headquarters: New Delhi.
Agreements
GACL, GAIL team up to establish bioethanol plant in Gujarat
Gujarat Alkalies and Chemicals Limited (GACL) and GAIL (India) Limited have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for setting up a bioethanol plant with a production capacity of 500-kilo liter per day (KLD) in Gujarat.
This MoU was signed on the lines of the roadmap launched by Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi for 20% Ethanol Blending in Petrol by 2025 in order to reduce the import of crude oil.
The estimated project cost is Rs. 1,000 crores and it is expected to generate annual revenue of approximately Rs. 1500 crores. An estimated savings of USD 70 million per year in Foreign Exchange are also expected through this project.
Useful notes for all competitive exams:
- GAIL (India) Limited Founded: August 1984;
- GAIL (India) Limited Headquarters: New Delhi, Delhi;
- GAIL (India) Limited CMD: Manoj Jain.
Economy
India registers highest-ever annual FDI inflow of 81.97 bn dollars in 2020-21
India has registered the highest ever annual Foreign Direct Investment inflow of $ 81.97 bn in 2020-21. FDI inflows in the last seven financial years are over $ 440 bn, which is nearly 58 % of the total FDI inflow in the last 21 financial years.
The top five countries from where FDI Equity Inflows were received during 2014-2021 are Singapore, Mauritius, USA, Netherland & Japan.
Awards
IIT Roorkee bags first position among most innovative institutions by CII
IIT Roorkee has been selected by the prestigious Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) for the Industrial Innovation Awards.
IIT Roorkee bagged the first position under the Most Innovative Research Institutions category this year. Last year, IIT Roorkee was adjudged as ‘The Most Innovative Institute of the Year’ for its innovation quotient.
The following parameters define the innovation ecosystem:
- Institutional strategies and research depth.
- Innovation portfolios (sponsored research, IPR generation, translational research).
- Initiatives by the institution to promote and champion innovation.
- Innovation Impact (industry-academia partnership, international collaboration, technology transfer, societal impact, etc.)
PV Sindhu among 6 appointed members of BWF Athletes Commission till 2025
Former world champion PV Sindhu has been appointed as a member of the Badminton World Federation’s (BWF) Athletes’ Commission, along with five other people. The Chair and Deputy Chair will be decided among the six members.
The Chair of the BWF Athletes’ Commission, following a vetting process as required for all Council members, will become a member of the Council until the next elections in 2025.
Iris Wang (USA), Robin Tabeling (NED), Greysia Polii (INA), Kim Soyeong (KOR), Pusarla V Sindhu (IND), and Zheng Si Wei (CHN) are the ones appointed as members of the BWF Athletes’ Commission.
Emma Raducanu wins BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2021
Tennis star Emma Raducanu is the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year for 2021. She beat Tom Daley(diver) and Adam Peaty (swimmer) into second and third place, while England’s men’s footballers were named team of the year and Gareth Southgate the coach, as a triumphant period for British sport across the board was commemorated at a ceremony in Salford. Tom Daley won gold for the first time at his fourth Olympics in Tokyo.
Other award winners at Sports Personality 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 |
| Young Sports Personality of the Year | Sky Brown |
SAIL honored Golden Peacock Environment Management Award 2021
Steel Authority of India Ltd. (SAIL), under the Ministry of Steel, has been awarded the prestigious Golden Peacock Environment Management Award 2021 for successive three years.
The Award is given to organizations for significant achievements in Environment Management by Environment Foundation (WEF) since 1998.
The company’s environmental protections measures are focused on adopting various environmental measures including, upgrading of pollution control facilities, water conservation efforts with the aim to achieve Zero Liquid Discharge, efficient handling of different solid wastes (viz. process waste, hazardous waste, canteen/township waste), carbon sequestration through afforestation, eco-restoration of the mined-out area and etc.
Useful notes for all competitive exams:
- SAIL Founded: 19 January 1954;
- SAIL Headquarters: New Delhi;
- SAIL CEO: Soma Mondal.
Business
GoI & German Bank signed Euro 442.26 mn loan for Surat Metro Rail Project
Government of India and the Germany Development Bank- KfW (Kreditanstalt fur Wiederaufbau) signed a 26 million euros loan for a 40.35 km Surat Metro Rail project in Gujarat. The total cost of the project is Euro 1.50 billion, out of which KfW is financing Euro 442.26 million.
The project is co-financed by French Development Agency, AFD (Agence Française de Développemet) with Euro 250 million. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had launched the Ahmedabad Metro Rail Project Phase-II and the Surat Metro Rail Project in January this year. The project is aimed at reducing traffic congestion and long delays on major travel corridors in Surat city and urban areas.
CCI approves acquisition of a shareholding in Air India by Tata Sons
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has approved the acquisition of a shareholding in Air India by Talace Private Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tata Sons.
The regulator also approved stake acquisition by Talace in Air India Express and Air India SATS Airport Services along with the acquisition of shares in Air India. Currently, Air India is wholly owned by the government.
Tata Sons’ subsidiary Talace emerged as the highest bidder for AIR India, under the divestment process. Talace had quoted an enterprise value of Rs 18,000 crore for 100 percent equity shareholding of the Centre. Out of 18000 crores, Telace will retain Rs 15300 crore while the rest will be paid to the Central government as a cash component.
Banking
Equitas Small Finance Bank became Partner of Maharashtra state govt
Equitas Small Finance Bank has been impaneled as the banking partner of the state government of Maharashtra with an aim to offer its services to employees of the State Government. The Bandhan Bank, Karur Vysya Bank, and the South Indian Bank have been assigned the role of distributing salaries and allowances to the government employees.
This partnership will enable the ESFBL to distribute salaries and allowances to the existing employees apart from making provision of pension to pensioners. The state government has authorized the Equitas SFB to open salary and pension accounts for the existing and retired employees across 58 branches of the bank across the state.
Useful notes for all competitive exams:
- Equitas Small Finance Bank Ltd Founded: 2016;
- Equitas Small Finance Bank Ltd Headquarters: Chennai, Tamil Nadu;
- Equitas Small Finance Bank Ltd MD & CEO: Vasudevan Pathangi Narasimhan;
- Equitas Small Finance Bank Ltd Tagline: It’s Fun Banking.
Defence
Indian Navy’s 2nd indigenous stealth destroyer ‘Mormugao’ sailed
On Goa Liberation Day, Indian Navy’s indigenous stealth-guided-missile destroyer ‘Mormugao’ went for her maiden sea trials. This second indigenous stealth destroyer of the Project 15 B (P15B) class, is planning to be commissioned in mid-2022.
Mormugao is being built at Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd as part of Project 15B destroyers and incorporates several indigenous technologies. The destroyer is expected to add significantly to the capabilities of the Indian Navy, which got a major booster in the form of INS Visakhapatnam’s and the fourth stealth scorpene class submarine INS Vela’s commissioning.
INS Vela was also constructed at MDSL Mumbai in collaboration with M/s Naval Group, France, and was delivered to the Indian Navy on November 9, 2021. A total of six submarines are to be built under the project.
Summits and Conferences
Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade launches LogiXtics
The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has launched the Unified Logistics Interface Platform’s (ULIP) hackathon – ‘LogiXtics’ to crowdsource more ideas that will benefit the logistics industry.
The Unified Logistics Interface Platform (ULIP) Hackathon – LogiXtics is being organized by NITI Aayog and Atal Innovation Mission.
It is supported by National Industrial Corridor Development Corporation (NICDC) and NICDC Logistics Data Bank Services Limited (NLDSL).
ULIP has been designed to enhance efficiency and reduce logistics costs in India by creating a transparent platform that can provide real-time information to all stakeholders.
The cost of logistics in India is about 14% which is higher than in other countries in the world. National Industrial Corridor Development Corporation (NICDC) was mandated by NITI Aayog in January 2021 to develop ULIP.
Sports
India won 16 medals in Commonwealth Weightlifting Championship 2021
India concluded the Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships 2021 with 16 medals – 4 Gold, 7 Silver, and 5 Bronze, held at Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
Bindyarani Devi was India’s only medallist at the World Weightlifting Championships 2021, that was also held parallelly at Tashkent.
India’s Medal Winners:
Gold medal
- Jeremy Lalrinnunga (67kg) (Men)
- Achinta Sheuli (73kg) (Men)
- Ajay Singh (81kg) (Men)
- Purnima Pandey (+87kg) (Women)
Silver medal
- Guru Raja (61kg) (Men)
- Lovepreet Singh (109kg) (Men)
- Jhili Dalabehera (49kg) (Women)
- S Bindyarani Devi (55kg) (Women)
- Hazarika Popy (59kg) (Women)
- Harjinder Kaur (71kg) (Women)
- Punam Yadav (76kg) (Women)
Bronze medal
- Vikas Thakur (96kg) (Men)
- Gurdeep Singh (+109kg) (Men)
- Lalchhanhimi (71kg) (Women)
- R Arockiya Alish (76kg) (Women)
- Anuradha Pavunraj (87kg) (Women)
BWF World badminton championship: K Srikanth won silver
Shuttler Kidambi Srikanth became the first Indian man to win a silver medal at BWF World Championships. In the final, Kidambi was defeated by Singapore’s Loh Kean Yew by 21-15, 22-20.
This was the first time that a men’s player from Singapore won gold at BWF World Championships. The badminton tournament was held from December 12 to 19, 2021 in Huelva, Spain.
2021 BWF World Championships is officially known as “TotalEnergies BWF World Championships 2021” for sponsorship purposes. The badminton tournament was held from December 12 to 19, 2021 in Huelva, Spain. Huelva was awarded this event in November 2018, when the announcement was made for 18 major badminton event hosts from 2019 to 2025.
Useful notes for all competitive exams:
- Badminton World Federation Founded: 5 July 1934;
- Badminton World Federation Headquarters: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia;
- Badminton World Federation President: Poul-Erik Høyer Larsen.
Books and Authors
A book titled “India’s Ancient Legacy of Wellness” by Dr. Rekha Chaudhari
A book titled “India’s Ancient Legacy of Wellness” authored by Dr Rekha Chaudhari was launched in the presence of the Governor of Maharashtra, Bhagat Singh Koshyari. It was launched on the occasion of the World Digital Day (WDD) celebration.
The book highlights how important it is for human beings to be close to nature which helps to revive and recharge to do productive work.
Obituary
Former SC Judge Justice GT Nanavati Who Headed ‘2002 Godhra Riots’ passes away
Former Supreme Court judge, Justice Girish Thakorlal Nanavati who headed two inquiry commissions formed to probe into the 2002 Godhra Riots & 1984 Anti-Sikh Riots, passed away.
Justice Girish Thakorlal Nanavati was 86. He was elevated as the Judge of the Supreme Court of India with effect in March 1995 and he retired as an SC Judge in February 2000.
Former Union Minister R L Jalappa passes away
A veteran leader of the Indian National Congress (INC) and the former Union Minister of Textiles, RL Jalappa has passed away. RL Jalappa was founder and Chairman of Devaraj Urs Medical College in Kolar and RL Jalappa Institute of Technology, Doddaballapur.
In 1979 he quit Congress to form the Karnataka Kranti Ranga with former Chief Minister D Devaraj Urs and he again joined congress in 1998.
- Daily Current Affairs in English 11 Sep 2022 – Useful for all Competitive Exams
- Hindu Editorial with Vocabulary: Sep Month – Day 10
- 11 Sep 2022 Daily Current Affairs in Hindi – सभी प्रतियोगी परीक्षाओं के लिए महत्वपूर्ण
- 10 Sep 2022 Daily Current Affairs in Hindi – सभी प्रतियोगी परीक्षाओं के लिए महत्वपूर्ण
- Hindu Editorial with Vocabulary: Sep Month – Day 9
- Daily Current Affairs in English 10 Sep 2022 – Useful for all Competitive Exams
