GK Fact Bytes

Contents

Updates reported from 16-30 April 3

Updates reported from 1-15 April 11
Updates reported from 16-31 March 21
Updates reported from 1-15 March 31
Updates reported from 16-28 February 44
Updates reported from 1-15 February 59
Updates reported from 16-31 January 75
Updates reported from 1-15 January 92
Updates reported from 16- 31 December 105
Updates reported from 1- 15 December 115
Updates reported from 16- 30 November 129
Updates reported from 1- 15 November 139
Updates reported from 16- 31 October 149
Updates reported from 1- 15 October 159
Updates reported from 16- 30 September 170
Updates reported from 1- 15 September 179
Updates reported from 16- 31 August 189
Updates reported from 1-15 August 195
Updates reported from 16-31 July 197
Updates reported from 1-15 July 198
Updates reported from 16-30 June 200
Updates reported from 1-15 June 201
Business Awareness 202
Key Corporate Positions 202

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 Business, economy & trade 203
General Awareness 205
Personalities 205
Book Releases & Authors 210
Sports 211
Awards 211
Honours 216
Government Schemes 216
Government News 218
Legal GK 222
Science & Hi-Tech 224
Aerospace & Defence 225
India’s Global Rankings 231
World News 232
Global Superlatives 237
International Appointments 238
World Forums 239
Important Days 240

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Updates reported from 16-30 April
News
National Panchayati Raj Day 2022
John F. Kennedy Award
UN ‘Champion of the
Achievement award’
Narration
National Panchayati Raj Day is a national holiday in India that
honours the Panchayati Raj system. Every year on April 24th, it
is commemorated. The 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act,
which was passed in 1992, is also commemorated on this day.
The Panchayati Raj system, which is one of the country's oldest
governing organisations, governs about 6 lakh communities in
India.
Importance:
The day is significant because, in 1957, a committee was formed
under the head of Balwantrai Mehta with the goal of bringing
about reforms in the central electricity system. The committee
suggested a decentralised Panchayati Raj hierarchy, with Gram
Panchayats at the village level, Panchayat Samiti at the block
level, and Zila Parishad at the district level, according to the
study.
The John F. Kennedy Library Foundation, for the first time ever,
awarded the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award 2022 to
five individuals. These five individuals are:
• Ukrainian President: Volodymyr Zelenskyy
• United States (US) Representative: Liz Cheney
• Michigan Secretary of State: Jocelyn Benson
• Arizona Representative: Russell “Rusty” Bowers
• Fulton County, Georgia, elections worker: Wandrea “Shaye”
Moss
About the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award:
John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award was created by the
family of the late president John Fitzgerald Kennedy to honour
public figures who risk their careers by embracing unpopular
positions for the greater good, and is named after Kennedy’s
1957 Pulitzer Prize-winning book, ”Profiles in Courage”.
Earth Lifetime United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has named Sir
David Attenborough, English natural history broadcaster and
naturalist, as the recipient of the Champions of the Earth Award
2021 under the Lifetime Achievement category. This award is
given to him for his dedication to research, documentation, and
advocacy for the protection of nature and its restoration.
Other Winners of 2021 Champions of the Earth Awards:
Category Winners Country
Policy Leadership Mia Mottley Barbados
(Prime Minister,
Barbados)
Inspiration And Sea Women of Papua New
Action Melanesia Guinea and the
Solomon Islands
Science And Dr Gladys Uganda
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 Innovation KalemaZikusoka
Founder and CEO
of Conservation
Through Public
Health (CTPH)

Entrepreneurial Maria Kyrgyz Republic

Vision Kolesnikova

National News 1. The Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi has

unveiled a 108 ft statue of Lord Hanuman ji in Morbi,
Gujarat, at the Ashram of Bapu Keshvanand ji, via
video conferencing, on the occasion of Hanuman
Jayanti. This statue is the second among the four
statues being built in the four directions across the
country, as part of the ‘Hanumanji Char Dham’ project.

State News 1. India’s first-ever radio channel for the visually

impaired, named ‘Radio Aksh’ has been launched in
Nagpur, Maharashtra. Nagpur’s 96-year-old
institution, The Blind Relief Association Nagpur
(TBRAN) and Samdrushti Kshamata Vikas Avam
Anusandhan Mandal (Saksham) are the organisations
behind this idea.
2. Rich tributes were paid in Manipur to the valiant sons
of the state who made tremendous sacrifices fighting
against the British in the battle of Khongjom during the
1891 Anglo-Manipuri War to maintain Manipur’s
independence.
3. Tamil Nadu government has announced that December
18, every year will be observed as Minorities Rights
Day at the state level. The state government promotes
the upliftment and economic advancement of the
minorities through effective implementation of
schemes and welfare measures.
4. Jamtara in Jharkhand has become the only district in
the country where all gram panchayats have
community libraries. This district with a population of
about eight lakh has a total of 118-gram panchayats
under six blocks and each panchayat has a well-
equipped library that is open for students from 9 a.m.
to 5 p.m.

International News 1. According to a United Nations report released, the

pandemic pushed 77 million additional people into
severe poverty last year, and many developing nations
are unable to recover due to the heavy cost of loan
repayments — and that was before the extra burden of
the crisis in Ukraine.
2. Tropical Storm Megi wreaked havoc on the
Philippines, killing at least 167 people in landslides and
floods. According to the national disaster organisation,
another 110 persons are missing, and 1.9 million
people have been impacted. Hillside avalanches and
overflowing rivers wreaked havoc on the villages
surrounding Baybay city in central Leyte province.
3. Tropical Storm Megi wreaked havoc on the

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Books
Science and Technology
Reports and Indices
Banking/Economy/Business News
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Philippines, killing at least 167 people in landslides and
floods. According to the national disaster organisation,
another 110 persons are missing, and 1.9 million
people have been impacted. Hillside avalanches and
overflowing rivers wreaked havoc on the villages
surrounding Baybay city in central Leyte province.
4. The USA has put India & 6 other countries including
China & Russia on its annual 'Priority Watch List' for
intellectual property protection & enforcement. Other
countries on the watch list include: Argentina, Chile,
Indonesia, and Venezuela. These countries will be the
subject of particularly intense bilateral engagement
during the coming year said the Office USTR.
5.
1. President Emmanuel Macron Joint Statement released
in 2018 during the French President’s visit to New
Delhi, India has been designated as the Guest of
Honour Country at the Paris Book Festival 2022, which
will take place from April 21 to April 24, 2022.
2. Padma Bhushan Vinod Rai, former(11th) Comptroller
and Auditor General of India (CAG) India, has
authored a new book titled “Not Just A
Nightwatchman: My Innings in the BCCI”. The book
features his 33-month stint as the Chairman of the
Supreme Court-appointed Committee of
Administrators (CoA) of the Board of Control for
Cricket in India (BCCI).
1. IndiGo becomes the first airline in Asia to land its
aircraft using the indigenous navigation system
GAGAN. This is a huge leap for Indian Civil Aviation
and a firm step toward Aatmanirbhar Bharat, as India
becomes the third country in the world to have its own
SBAS system after the USA and Japan.
1. The extreme poverty rate in India fell from 22.5% in
2011 to 10.2% in 2019 as per World Bank Policy
Research Working Paper. This represents a decline of
12.3 percentage points in extreme poverty count
between 2011 to 2019 in the country. The decline in
rural areas was much higher than in urban areas.
2. Chairman and Managing Director of Serum Institute of
India(SII), Dr Cyrus S. Poonawalla has topped the
Hurun Global Healthcare Rich List 2022 and became
the richest billionaire in the healthcare sector 2022. He
has topped the list with a new value of USD 26 billion
(up 41%).
1. Manappuram Finance Limited was fined Rs 17.63 lakh
by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for failing to
comply with Know Your Customer (KYC) and Prepaid
Payment Instruments regulations (PPIs).
2. HDFC Ltd, a mortgage lender, announced the sale of a
10% share in its private equity arm, HDFC Capital
Advisors, to an Abu Dhabi Investment Authority
(ADIA) wholly-owned subsidiary for Rs 184 crore on
Wednesday.

Appointments and Resignations
Places in the news
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3. For the collection of taxes, Dhanlaxmi Bank has signed
a memorandum of understanding with the Central
Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) and the Central Board
of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC). Dhanlaxmi
Bank said in a regulatory filing that the Reserve Bank
of India (RBI) has authorised the bank to collect
different taxes based on a recommendation from the
Controller General of Accounts.
4. Tata-owned Air India has reached out to the antitrust
regulator Competition Commission of India (CCI) for
the merger of its low-cost subsidiary AirAsia India.
AirAsia India, a low-cost Indian carrier, is run by the
Tata Group. Presently, Tata Sons holds 83.67 per cent
of the company.
5. BJP leader and former Union minister Vijay Sampla
has been appointed as the chairperson of the National
Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) for a
second time.
1. Patrick Achi has been re-appointed as Prime Minister
of Ivory Coast by President Alassane Ouattara. He was
appointed prime minister in March 2021. He was the
third prime minister in the West African state (Ivory
Coast) in the last three years after Amadou Gon
Coulibaly (who died in 2020) and Hamed Bakayoko
(who died in 2021).
2. IT major Wipro has announced the appointment of
Satya Easwaran as the Country Head for India. He will
be in charge of strengthening Wipro’s business in India
across segments through strategic consulting,
transformation and modernisation engagements.
3. The 35-year-old, New Zealand pacer (fast bowler)
Hamish Bennett, has announced his retirement from his
17-year-old cricket career with the 2021/22 season as
the last one.
4. West Indies all-rounder Kieron Pollard has announced
his retirement from international cricket. Pollard, who
was the captain of West Indies’ limited overs teams,
played a total of 123 ODIs and 101 T20Is.
5. Robert Golob has defeated three-time prime minister
Janez Janša in the Slovenia Prime Minister election.
6. French President Emmanuel Macron was re-elected as
he defeated his far-right rival Marine Le Pen. Macron,
44, has become the third French president who has
managed to secure a second term.
1. BRO Director General Lieutenant General Rajeev
Chaudhary announced that the Border Roads
Organisation will build the world’s highest tunnel at
Shinku La Pass, at 16,580 feet, to connect Himachal
Pradesh and Ladakh. He said this while opening the
strategically crucial Himachal to Zanskar Road at
Shinku La Pass, where more than a half-dozen vehicles
crossed from the Zanskar side towards Manali.
2. Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated a 500 KV
solar plant to the nation in the unassuming hamlet of
Palli in Jammu and Kashmir’s border region of Samba
making it the country’s first ‘carbon neutral
 panchayat.’
3. Guadalajara, Mexico was named World Book Capital
for the year 2022 by the Director-General of UNESCO,
Audrey Azoulay, on the recommendation of the World
Book Capital Advisory Committee.
4. According to the Ministry of Culture, India entered the
Guinness Book of World Records by simultaneously
waving 78,220 flags at the ‘Veer Kunwar Singh
Vijayotsav’ programme in Bhojpur, Bihar.

Personalities in the News 1. Dr BR Ambedkar’s 131st birth anniversary, a new

book titled “The Boy Who Wrote a Constitution: A
play for Children on Human Rights” authored by
Rajesh Talwar, a fact-based drama on Bhimrao Ramji
Ambedkar’s own recollections of his childhood has
been released. It is published by Ponytale Books.
Talwar’s also authored books include “The Vanishing
of Subhash Bose”, “Gandhi, Ambedkar, and the Four-
Legged Scorpion”, and “Aurangzeb”.
2. Deepika Padukone will grace the Cannes Film Festival
as a member ofthe jury,this year. The actressproducer
has attended the prestigious film festival several times
in the past, in the capacity of an ambassador of the
beauty brand L’Oreal. The jury for the 75th edition of
the film festival is headed by French actor Vincent
Lindon, who won Best Actor at Cannes in 2015.

Summits/ MoUs 1. Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, agreed to acquire
Twitter for $44 billion, ending a drama that included
hostile takeover threats before handing him personal
control of one of the world’s most powerful social
media networks

Awards and Honours
1. F1 champion Max Verstappen has been named the
2022 Laureus Sportsman of the Year while Jamaican
Olympic sprinter Elaine Thompson-Herah has been
named Sportswoman of the Year. The awards
recognise the greatest sporting achievements of 2021,
one of the highlights of which was the European
Championship victory by the Italian Men’s Football
Team who won their second Laureus Team of the Year
Award as a result.
2. Noted snow leopard expert and wildlife conservationist
Charudutt Mishra has won the prestigious Whitley
Gold Award for his contribution to involving
indigenous communities in the conservation and
recovery of big cat species in Asia’s high mountain
ecosystems. Princess Anne presented the award to
Mishra at London’s Royal Geographic Society. This is
his second Whitley Fund for Nature (WFN) Award. He
got the first in 2005.

Sports news 1. The Wisden Almanack has named India captain Rohit
Sharma and bowler Jasprit Bumrah among the “Five
Cricketers of the Year ” for 2022.
2. Top Indian swimmer Sajan Prakash won the men’s
200m butterfly gold at the Danish Open swimming
meet in Copenhagen, Denmark.

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 3. Haryana has emerged as the champions of the 12th
Senior Men’s National Hockey Championship by
defeating Tamil Nadu 3-1 in the shootout after the final
ended 1-1 in the regulation time.
4. In a first-of-its-kind initiative, the second edition of the
Khelo India University Games to be held in the tech
capital Bengaluru will have its own mobile application.
A brainchild of the Department of Youth
Empowerment and Sports (DYES) and hosts Jain
Deemed-to-be University, the unique ‘Khelo India Uni
Games 2021’ mobile app.
5. The 30-member Indian contingent participated at the
35th Edition of Asian Wrestling Championships 2022
held in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Indian wrestlers
secured a total of 17 medals, that includes (1-Gold, 5-
Silver, and 11-Bronze medals). Gold Medalist: Ravi
Kumar Dahiyais the only Gold medalist representing
India, in the men’s 57kg freestyle category, beating
Kazakhstan’s Rakhat Kalzhan on technical superiority.

Days and dates 1. Every year on April 18, the United Nations
commemorates World Heritage Day. The Day is
observed to preserve the human heritage and recognize
the efforts of the organizations working for it.
Monuments and ancient buildings are an asset to the
world. The theme for World Heritage Day 2022 is
“Heritage and Climate”.
2. World Liver Day is observed on 19 April annually to
spread awareness about the causes of liver disease and
tips for its prevention so as to take holistic care of the
liver. The liver is the second largest and the second
most complex organ in the body, after the brain.
3. The UN Chinese Language Day is observed on April
20 annually. The day has been chosen to pay tribute to
Cangjie, who is a mythical figure who is presumed to
have invented Chinese characters about 5,000 years
ago.
4. World Earth Day, also known as International Mother
Earth Day, is celebrated every year on April 22. World
Earth Day 2022 will mark the 52nd Anniversary.
5. Every year on April 23, World Book and Copyright
Day is observed to promote the love of reading.
6. Every year on April 23, the United Nations celebrates
English Day. The date of April 23 was chosen for
English Language Day because it is "traditionally
honoured as both the birthday and date of death of
William Shakespeare."
7. Every year on April 25th, World Malaria Day is
commemorated to raise awareness about this life
threatening disease that continues to be a menace to
humanity. Malaria affects over half of the world’s
population, with the chances of people living in poor
nations catching the disease being substantially higher.
The theme for World Malaria Day this year is “Harness
innovation to reduce the malaria disease burden and
save lives”.
8. World Intellectual Property Day is celebrated on the
26th of April to learn about the role that intellectual

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 property (IP) rights play in encouraging innovation and
creativity. This year, World Intellectual Property Day
2022’s theme focuses on IP and Youth innovating for
a Better Future.
9. International Chernobyl Disaster Remembrance Day is
observed every year on April 26 to raise awareness of
the consequences of the 1986 Chernobyl disaster and
the risks of nuclear energy in general.
10. World Immunization Week is celebrated worldwide in
the last week of April, to highlight the collective action
required and to promote the use of vaccines to protect
people of all age groups against disease. This year,
WHO is going to celebrate World Immunization Week
from April 24 to April 30. To commemorate the day,
WHO has decided the theme of this year’s
Immunization Week as “Long Life for All”

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10
Updates reported from 1-15 April
News
Grammy Awards 2022
Forbes Billionaires 2022
Pradhanmantri Sangrahalaya
Narration
The 64th annual Grammy Awards are being held for the first
time at the MGM Grand Garden Arena with Trevor Noah as
host. The 64th GRAMMY Awards recognizes recordings
(including musical artists, compositions and albums) released
between September 01, 2020, to September 30, 2021. Jon
Batiste received the most nominations with eleven and Batiste
also received the most awards with five.
1. Album Of The Year: ‘We Are’ by Jon Batiste
2. Record Of The Year: ‘Leave the door open’ by Bruno Mars
and Anderson Paak
3. Best New Artist: Olivia Rodrigo
4. Song Of The Year: “Leave the Door Open,” Silk Sonic
History of Grammy Award: The Grammy Award is an award
presented by the Recording Academy to recognize achievements
in the music industry. The first Grammy Awards ceremony was
held on May 4, 1959, to honour and respect the musical
accomplishments of performers for the year 1958. The trophy
represents a gilded gramophone.
The Forbes billionaires 2022 list is out, which compiles the list
of the world’s richest, who this time was hit by the impact of the
Russia-Ukraine conflict, coronavirus pandemic and sluggish
markets. Elon Musk, the Tesla and SpaceX founder topped
Forbes’ list for the first time ever with a net worth of $219
billion. Elon Musk is leading the Forbes billionaires list with a
net worth of $219 billion, followed by Amazon chief Jeff Bezos
at $171 billion.
America has most number of billionaires at 735 worth a
collective net worth of $4.7 trillion, including Elon Musk, who
tops the World’s Billionaires list for the first time. China
(including Macau and Hong Kong) remains number two, with
607 billionaires worth a collective $2.3 trillion. Forbes uses
stock prices and exchange rates from March 11, 2022, to
calculate net worths.
Forbes Billionaires 2022 Men billionaires of India: Ambani
ranked at the 10th position on the global list, followed narrowly
by fellow industrialist and Adani Group founder Gautam Adani,
whose fortune climbed by almost $40 billion over the past year,
to an estimated $90 billion.
The Sangrahalaya, located at the iconic Teen Murti complex,
was inaugurated as part of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav — a 75-
week celebration launched to mark 75 years of Independence.
The museum will become a source of inspiration for the youth
who will be able to witness the hardships each PM faced and
how they overcame them to lay the foundations of a new India.
The museum will reflect the shared heritage of each
government.
Key Features of Pradhanmantri Sangrahalaya:
● The project to build the new museum faced stiff
opposition when the government announced its plan in
2018.
11

NITI Aayog’s State Energy and Climate Index
National News
● The museum building integrates the Teen Murti
Bhawan in New Delhi, designated as Block I, with the
newly-constructed Block II. The total area of the two
blocks is over 15,600 square metres. There are 43
galleries in the Sangrahalaya.
● The logo of the Sangrahalaya, meanwhile, shows hands
holding the dharma chakra, symbolising the nation and
democracy.
NITI Aayog has launched the State Energy & Climate Index
(SECI) Round I. The State Energy & Climate Index (SECI)
Round I ranks the states’ performance on 6 parameters, namely,
(1) DISCOM’s Performance
(2) Access, Affordability and Reliability of Energy
(3) Clean Energy Initiatives
(4) Energy Efficiency
(5) Environmental Sustainability; and
(6) New Initiatives.
These parameters are further divided into 27 indicators. Based
on the composite score of SECI Round I, the states and UTs have
been ranked as larger states, smaller states, and UTs, based on
size and geographical differences. States and UTs are
categorized into three groups: Front Runners, Achievers, and
Aspirants.
Top Three States among Larger States Category
Gujarat
Kerala
Punjab
Top Three States among Smaller States Category
Goa
Tripura
Manipur
Top Three UTs Category
Chandigarh
Delhi
Daman & Diu/Dadra & Nagar Haveli
2. The Minister of State for Culture and External Affairs,
Meenakshi Lekhi has launched a website ‘Temple
360’. Temple 360 is a digital platform where anyone
can visit or do darshan of 12 Jyotirlinga and Char Dham
from any location, making everyone’s life convenient
while also keeping people connected. The ‘Operation
Upalabdh’ push was launched following the
reinstatement of long-distance train services, with the
expectation that the festival and summer rush would
result in a sharp increase in demand for reserved train
tickets.
3. In the presence of Union Minister of Environment,
Forest & Climate Change, Shri Bhupender Yadav, the
mascotto ‘Prakriti’ was launched today to raise public
awareness about small changes that can be made to our
lifestyle for a better environment.
4. President Ram Nath Kovind landed in Amsterdam for
the final leg of his two-nation journey — his first visit
to the Netherlands in 34 years — during which he
would hold talks with the Dutch top leadership names
a new yellow tulip variety ‘Maitri‘.
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 5. Stand-Up India scheme has completed its six years on
5th April 2022.
6. The government announced the formation of a
Semicon India advisory committee, which will include
top government officials, established academicians, as
well as industry and domain specialists. The Minister
of Electronics and IT, Ashwini Vaishnaw, will head the
Committee, with Rajeev Chandrashekhar, Minister of
State, Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY), as Vice-
Chairperson. The convenor will be MeitY, the
Secretary.
7. The Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana, or PMMY, is
celebrating its seventh anniversary. Prime Minister
Narendra Modi announced the initiative on April 8,
2015, with the goal of granting loans up to ten lakh
rupees to non-corporate, non-farm small, or
microenterprises. Since the inception of the Pradhan
Mantri Mudra Yojana, more than 34 crore 42 lakh
loans worth 18.60 lakh crore rupees have been
sanctioned as per the official statement.
8. The National Commission for Women launched an
Anti-Human Trafficking Cell to improve effectiveness
in tackling cases of human trafficking, raising
awareness among women and girls, capacity building
and training of Anti Trafficking Units and increasing
responsiveness of law enforcement agencies.

State News 5. YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, the Chief Minister of Andhra

Pradesh, inaugurated 13 new districts in the state via
video conference on Monday, April 4 in Tadepalli,
Guntur district. As a result, there will be a total of 26
districts in the state. The new districts were created
using Parliamentary constituencies as a guide. With the
addition of 13 new districts, Andhra Pradesh now has a
total of 26 districts.
6. Himachal Pradesh’s Kangra Tea will soon get a
European Commission Geographical Indication Tag
(GI Tag); this tag helps Kangra tea to get an
opportunity to enter the European market. Kangra tea
received the Indian GI tag in 2005.
7. Himachal Day is observed on the 15th of April in
Himachal Pradesh. The state became a full-fledged
state on this day. Four districts of Mandi, Chamba,
Mahasu and Sirmour were integrated with over two
dozen princely states, leading to the formation of
Himachal Pradesh as a Union Territory in 1948.
Decades later, in 1971, Himachal Pradesh became the
18th state in India with Shimla as its capital.
8. In Ladakh, a community museum opened in the Gya –
Sasoma villages of the Leh district to preserve and
promote the region’s rich cultural history. Tashi
Gyaltson, Chairman of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill
Development Council (LAHDC), Leh, inaugurated the
Community Museum.

International News 6. Ecuador, a South American Country, became the first

country in the world to give legal rights to wild
animals. The highest court in the country has ruled in

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 favour of the case that focused on a woolly monkey
named “Estrellita” who was taken from her home to a
zoo, where she passed just a week later.

Books 3. Devika Rangachari has authored a new novel titled

“Queen of Fire”, which explores the story of Rani
Lakshmibai of Jhansi.
4. Shri Dharmendra Pradhan released a book titled “Birsa
Munda – Janjatiya Nayak”. The book has been written
by Prof. Alok Chakrawal, Vice-Chancellor, Guru
Ghasidas Vishwavidyalaya, Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh.
5. “The Maverick Effect”, tells the untold story of how in
the 1970s and 80s a ‘band of dreamers’ joined hands to
create NASSCOM and pave the way for the IT
revolution in India.
6. Vinod Rai has penned a book titled as, "Not Just A
Nightwatchman: My Innings with BCCI" in which the
former bureaucrat encapsulates his 33-month stint at
the BCCI.

Science and Technology 2. China successfully launched a new Earth observation

satellite Gaofen-3 03 on April 07, 2022, from Jiuquan
Satellite Launch Centre on board a Long March-4C
rocket. The new satellite will become part of its landsea
radar satellite constellation by forming a network with
the orbiting Gaofen-3 and Gaofen-3 02 satellites.
3. Pixxel, a space data startup, launched its first fully
operational satellite, TD-2, on SpaceX’s Transporter4
mission. TD-2 is Pixxel’s first full-fledged satellite,
carrying one of the highest-resolution hyperspectral
commercial cameras ever flown, taking the company
one step closer to developing a global health
monitoring system that operates 24 hours a day, seven
days a week.
4. Astronomers have discovered an identical twin of
Jupiter dubbed as K2-2016-BLG-0005Lb, Which has a
similar mass and is at a similar location (420 million
miles away) from its star as Jupiter is from our Sun
(462 million miles away).
5. A study led by experts from the Indian Institute of
Science (IISc), Bengaluru, discovered that
microplastics and other contaminants may be causing
growth abnormalities and skeletal deformities in fish in
the Cauvery river. In the states of Tamil Nadu and
Karnataka, the Cauvery provides a source of drinking
water for humans and animals, as well as agriculture.
Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety is the
publication where the research was published.
6. According to the most recent report of NASA’s Orbital
Debris Program Office’s Orbital Debris Quarterly
News, there are 25,182 pieces of space debris larger
than 10 cm in lower earth orbits near 2,000 kilometres
of the planet’s surface. India is responsible for only 114
space debris items, whereas the United States has 5,126
space debris objects in Earth’s orbit and China has
3,854 space debris objects in Earth’s orbit, including
spent rocket bodies.

14
Reports and Indices
4.
5.
3. The Airports Council International (ACI) released the
list of the top 10 busiest airports worldwide for 2021.
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL)
has topped the list with 75.7 million passengers.
Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) 62.5
million passengers) is second, followed by Denver
International Airport (DEN, 58.8 million passengers) at
the third spot. Among the top 10 airports for passenger
traffic, 8 are in the United States with the two
remaining in China
According to the list of Hurun Richest Self-Made
Women In The World 2022 released by the Hurun
Research Institute. Wu Yajun co-founder of Longfor
(China has topped the list); Falguni Nayar, Founder and
Chief Executive Officer of Nykaa, is ranked 10th with
a wealth of USD 7.6 billion. She is the only Indian
among the top 10.
QS Quacquarelli Symonds released the 12th edition of
the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2022,
the subject-wise rankings of institutes across the world
are compilations of multiple lists. Indian Institute of
Technology(IIT)-Bombay ranked 65th and Indian
Institute of Technology (IIT)- Delhi ranked 72nd, are
the only Indian institutes to be featured among the top
100 ranks under the Engineering and Technology
category. IIT Bombay has scored 79.9 and IIT Delhi
has scored 78.9.

Banking/Economy/Business News 1. The six-member Monetary Policy Committee (MPC)

voted unanimously to keep the repo rate unchanged at
4 per cent. MPC committee keeps the reverse repo rate
unchanged at 3.35 per cent as Russia’s invasion of
Ukraine added to a rise in inflation. The Reserve Bank
of India’s Monetary Policy Committee headed by
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta
Das kept the repo rate unchanged for the 11th
consecutive time.
2. Three public sector general insurance businesses –
National Insurance Company Limited, Oriental
Insurance Company Limited, and United India
Insurance Company – have had their authorised share
capital increased by the government. This will allow
for a capital inflow of Rs. 5,000 crore into these
businesses.
3. Punjab National Bank, India’s second-largest bank has
celebrated its 128th Foundation Day on April 12, 2022.
On the occasion of foundation day, MD & CEO of
PNB, Atul Kumar Goel has launched a cardless cash
withdrawal service and a virtual debit card for its
customers. Bank also launched various services on its
mobile app named PNB One for safe banking
transactions.
4. ICICI Bank has signed an MoU with GIFT SEZ
(Special Economic Zone), India’s first International
Financial Services Centre (IFSC), located at GIFT City
in Gandhinagar, Gujarat. The MoU aims to promote the
GIFT SEZ to Indian and international businesses,
particularly in the areas of information technology (IT),

15
 IT-enabled services (ITeS), and financial services.

Appointments and Resignations
7. Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orban won a fourth
successive term in office by a landslide victory in the
country’s general elections for 2022. His right-wing
Fidesz party secured 53.1% of the total 98% of the
count complete.
8. The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC)
has appointed Dr Ian Fry as the world’s first
independent expert for human rights and climate
change. Dr Fry has been appointed for a period of three
years. He holds dual citizenship of Tuvalu and
Australia. The first to hold the post will be Ian Fry, who
holds both Australian and Tuvaluan nationality.
9. Aleksandar Vučić has been re-elected as the President
of Serbia. The pollster organizations CeSID and Ipsos
had predicted victory for Vucic. The proEuropean and
centrist Alliance for Victory coalition was represented
by Zdravko Ponos, a retired army general.
10. Pakistan’s opposition leader, Shehbaz Sharif has been
elected unopposed as the 23rd Prime Minister of the
country through voting in the National Assembly. The
70-year old Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) Chief
will succeed Imran Khan, who has been removed by a
no-trust vote recently in the National Assembly.
Shehbaz Sharif is the brother of former Pakistan Prime
Minister Nawaz Sharif.
11. Foreign secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla will take
over next month as G20 chief coordinator, the
government officially announced. The appointment is
significant as India will assume the G20 presidency on
December 1, 2022, from Indonesia, and will convene
the G20 Leaders Summit for the first time in India in
2023.
12. The central government has re-appointed retired
Punjab-cadre IPS officer Iqbal Singh Lalpura as the
chairperson of the National Commission for
Minorities.

Places in the news 5. Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated that the Umiya
Mata Temple, a religious site in Gujarat’s Junagadh,
has now become a central focus for social
consciousness. He explained that the temple helps the
underprivileged members of the community by
providing free health treatment as well as religious and
social activities.
6. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation
(FAO) and Arbor Day Foundation have jointly
recognised Mumbai and Hyderabad as the ‘2021 Tree
City of the World. The two Indian cities have won the
recognition for their “commitment to growing and
maintaining urban trees and greenery in building
healthy, resilient and happy cities”.
7. On World Health Day and the 75th day of the
countdown to International Day of Yoga, the Ministry
of Ayush is hosting a magnificent programme for the
presentation of the Common Yoga Protocol in the
backdrop of 15th August Park, Lal Quila, (Red Fort)

16
 Delhi.

Personalities in the News 3. PharmEasy, a consumer healthcare “super app,” has

unveiled its new campaign, which introduces
Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan as its brand
ambassador. API Holdings Limited is in charge of the
PharmEasy brand.

Summits/ MoUs 2. Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. (IOCL) and Nepal Oil
Corporation Ltd. signed agreements on Nepal
becoming the 105th member of the International Solar
Alliance (ISA), technical cooperation in railways,
petroleum product delivery, and technical experience
sharing in the petroleum sector.
3. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken and Secretary of
Defense Lloyd J. Austin III welcomed Ministers of
Defense Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Dr S.
Jaishankar to Washington, D.C. for the fourth USIndia
2+2 Ministerial Dialogue. A virtual conference
between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President
Joseph Biden preceded the Dialogue. With a shared
commitment to democracy and pluralism, a
multifaceted bilateral agenda, and growing
convergence of strategic interests, the United States
and independent India are celebrating 75 years of
diplomatic relations. Both countries seek to maintain a
resilient, rules-based international order that protects
sovereignty and territorial integrity, upholds
democratic values, and promotes peace and prosperity
for all.
4. The 20th edition of the India-France Joint Staff talks
focused on new initiatives within the framework of the
existing bilateral defence cooperation mechanism, as
well as improving current defence engagements. The
two-day talks took place in a nice, warm, and courteous
setting in Paris.

Defence Exercises/ Aerospace news
1. Israel successfully tested a new laser missile-defence
system ‘Iron Beam‘ which can destroy any airborne
object including drones. Iron Beam is the world’s first
energy-based weapons system that uses a laser beam to
shoot down incoming UAVs, rockets, mortars, long-
range missiles, anti-tank missiles etc.
2. The Indian Air Force organised a conclave at Air Force
Station, Hakimpet on 02 April 2022, to commemorate
60 years of glorious service by Chetak Helicopter in
IAF. The conclave was inaugurated by Raksha Mantri
Shri Rajnath Singh.
3. Vice Chief Lieutenant General, Manoj Pande is all set
to become Chief of the Army Staff as the incumbent
Army Chief General M.M. Naravane, who is being
seen as the frontrunner for the Chief of Defence Staff’s
post, is due to retire by the end of this month.
4. The 9th Edition of the India-Kyrgyzstan Joint Special
Forces Exercise was held in March-April, 2022 at
Special Forces Training School, Bakloh (HP). Special
Forces contingents from India and Kyrgyzstan have
shared their experience and best practices in terms of

17
 tactics, techniques, and procedures for countering
present and emerging threats throughout the conflict
spectrum.
5. The Defence Research and Development Organisation
(DRDO) successfully flight tested “Solid Fuel Ducted
Ramjet” (SFDR) booster on April 08, 2022, at the
Integrated Test Range (ITR), Chandipur off the coast
of Odisha.
6. The Defence Research and Development Organisation
and Indian Army successfully flight tested a new
version of the Pinaka rocket system at the Pokhran
firing ranges. These included Pinaka Mk-I (Enhanced)
Rocket System (EPRS) and Pinaka Area Denial
Munition (ADM) rocket systems.
7. A team of scientists from the Defence Research and
Development Organisation (DRDO), Indian Army and
Indian Air Force (IAF) jointly conducted the successful
flight test of the indigenously developed helicopter
launched Anti-Tank Guided Missile ‘HELINA’ at
high-altitude ranges.

Awards and Honours 1. A journalist from Mumbai, Aarefa Johari was awarded
the Chameli Devi Jain Award for an Outstanding
Woman Media person 2021. It was announced by the
Media Foundation.
2. Indian-American singer Falguni Shah won a Grammy
Award for A Colorful World in the Best Children’s
Album category. Falguni Shah has even performed and
collaborated with music maestro AR Rahman and she
is the only Indian-origin woman to be nominated in the
Best Children’s Music Album category at the
Grammys twice.
3. Veteran Bengali author Amar Mitra was awarded this
year’s O.Henry prize for a short story he wrote 45 years
back. He bagged the award for his short story titled
‘Gaonburo’- a Bengali short fiction, which was
translated into English (The Old Man Of Kusumpur)
earlier. The translated work was published in an
American magazine in 2020.
4. Assam Chief Minister, Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma
presented the country’s highest literary award, the 56th
Jnanpith for the year 2021 to one of the most celebrated
poets of Assam, Nilamani Phookan.
5. Novelist Damodar Mauzo was chosen for the 57th
Jnanpith Award 2022 for his contribution to Indian
literature. The 77-year-old writer was conferred with
the country’s highest literary award for his
“outstanding contribution to literature”.
6. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be honoured with
the inaugural Lata Deenanath Mangeshkar Award
which is instituted in the memory of the veteran singer
of Lata Mangeskar. PM Modi will receive the award
for selfless service to the nation and society.
7. Falguni Nayar has been named as the EY Entrepreneur
of the Year 2021, at the 23rd edition of the EY
Entrepreneur of The Year India awards.
8. In the 80th SKOCH Summit and SKOCH Awards, held
recently in New Delhi, India’s largest iron ore

18
 producer, National Mineral Development Corporation
(NMDC), under the Ministry of Steel, received one
gold and one silver medal. The SKOCH Summit’s
subject was ‘State of BFSI & PSUs.’

Sports news 6. Australia beat England by 71 runs in the finals to claim

their seventh Women’s World Cup on April 03, 2022,
at Hagley Oval in Christchurch, New Zealand. The
Player of the Tournament went to Alyssa Healy. Sophie
Ecclestone of England was the leading wicket-taker in
the tournament, with 21 dismissals. The 2022 ICC
Women’s Cricket World Cup was the 12th edition of
the Women’s Cricket World Cup.
7. New Zealand announced awards for Men and
Women’s cricketers. New Zealand speedster Trent
Boult and White Ferns skipper Sophie Devine won the
‘T20 International Player of the Year’ in the recently
announced New Zealand Cricket Awards 2022. New
Zealand pace bowler Tim Southee has been awarded
the Sir Richard Hadlee Medal at the New Zealand
Cricket (NZC) Awards on April 14, 2022. This is
Southee’s first Sir Richard Hadlee Medal in his 14-
yearlong career. He has been awarded for his
consistency throughout the 2021-22 season. Sir
Richard Hadlee’s medal is the highest cricketing
honour of New Zealand (Black Cap).
8. The 15-member Indian boxing contingents ended their
campaign at the Thailand Open International Boxing
Tournament 2022 in Phuket with 10 medals, including
three golds, four silvers, and three bronze.
9. Rajasthan Royals all-rounder, Ravichandran Ashwin
became the first player in IPL history to get retired out
during the high-octane clash against Lucknow Super
Giants.
10. The first Khelo India National Ranking Women
Archery will be held in Tata Archery Academy,
Jamshedpur, Jharkhand.
11. The Netherlands has lifted their fourth title of FIH
Junior Women’s Hockey World Cup 2022 after beating
Germany at Potchefstroom, South Africa. The
Netherlands is the most successful team. England
claimed the bronze medal.
12. India is ready to host the Street Child Cricket World
Cup in 2023. This world is organized by Street Child
United and Save the Children India, the Street Child
Cricket World Cup 2023 will welcome 22 teams from
16 countries to India next year.
13. Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has unveiled the
logo of the 2023 FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup at the
Kalinga stadium in the capital Bhubaneswar. To be
held in the twin cities of Bhubaneswar and Rourkela.

Days and dates 11. The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) Valour Day
(Shaurya Diwas) is observed on 9 April every year, as
a tribute to the brave men of the Force. The year 2022
marks the 57th CRPF Valour Day. It was on this day in
1965, a small contingent of CRPF created history by
defeating an invading Pakistani army, several times

19
 larger, at the Sardar Post located in the Rann of Kutch,
Gujarat. The CRPF men eliminated 34 Pakistani
soldiers and captured four alive. In the conflict, CRPF
lost six personnel who had attained martyrdom.
12. National Maritime Day in India is observed on 5 April
every year. This year is the 59th edition of the National
Maritime Day. The theme of the National Maritime
Day is “Sustainable Shipping beyond Covid-19’’.
13. The International Day of Sport for Development and
Peace (IDSDP) is observed globally on April 6. The
global theme of IDSDP 2022 is, “Securing a
Sustainable and Peaceful Future for All: The
Contribution of Sport,”.
14. World Health Day is a global health awareness day
celebrated on the 7th April every year. Every year,
World Health Day focuses on contemporary health
issues that require immediate attention, with varied
themes. The theme for World Health Day 2022 is ‘Our
Planet, Our Health’.
15. The International Day of Human Space Flight is
celebrated annually on April 12 to mark the
anniversary of the first human space flight by Yuri
Gagarin on April 12, 1961.
16. International Turban Day is celebrated every year on
April 13 since 2004 to bring awareness of the strict
requirement on Sikhs to put the turban as a mandatory
part of their religion. The 2022 Turban Day marks the
553rd birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev and the
festival of Baisakhi.
17. Indian Army marks Siachen Day on April 13 every
year. The day is observed to commemorate the courage
of the Indian Army under “Operation Meghdoot”.
18. The Jallianwala Bagh massacre, also known as the
Amritsar massacre, took place on 13 April 1919. This
year we commemorate the 103rd anniversary of the
terror that shook the entire country to a standstill.
19. Save the Elephant Day is celebrated on April 16 every
year to raise awareness about the dangers elephants
face and the various difficulties they have to overcome
to live.

Obituaries 1. Pulitzer Prize awardee American poet, Richard

Howard passed away at age of 92. Richard Joseph
Howard was born on 13 October 1929 in Cleveland,
Ohio, United States (US). He was an American poet,
literary critic, essayist, teacher, and translator.
2. Actor-screenwriter Shiv Kumar Subramaniam has
passed away, he was known for his roles in the serial
Mukti Bandhan and Meenakshi Sundareshwar. He
started his career by writing a screenplay for the 1989
film Parinda which was directed by Vidhu Vinod
Chopra.

20
Updates reported from 16-31 March
News
Miss World 2021
Hurun Global Rich List 2022
Sportstar Aces 2022
Narration
Karolina Bielawska from Poland has won the title of Miss World
2021. She was crowned by 2019 Miss World Toni-Ann Singh of
Jamaica. She beat the USA, Indonesia, Mexico, Northern
Ireland and Cote d’Ivoire to clinch the coveted title. Indian-
American Shree Saini from the United States bagged the first
runner-up title, followed by Olivia Yace from Cote d'Ivoire. The
70th edition of the Miss World international beauty pageant was
held in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Miss World 2019 Toni-Ann
Singh performed 'The Prayer' during the 70th Miss World
pageant to express solidarity with Ukraine amid the Russia-
Ukraine crisis.
Indian Contender
Femina Miss India World 2020 Manasa Varanasi represented
India at the Miss World 2021. Manasa Varanasi reached the Top
13 contestants but could not make it to the Top 6 finalists.
SpaceX and Tesla founder Elon Musk has bagged the top
position on the 2022 M3M Hurun Global Rich List, with a total
net worth of $205 billion. The 2022 M3M Hurun Global Rich
List is published by research and luxury publishing group Hurun
India in association with realty firm M3M
Other persons in the list:
● Amazon.com Inc executive chairman Jeff Bezos
ranked second with $188 billion in net worth.
● With a net worth of $153 billion, Bernard Arnault, the
chief executive of LVMH Moët Hennessy – Louis
Vuitton SE, the world’s largest luxury-goods company,
ranked third.
● From India, Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) Chairman
Mukesh Ambani was the only Indian to feature in the
top 10 list of 2022 Hurun Global Rich List’ to emerge
as India’s as well as Asia’s richest man. Ambani
occupied the ninth rank globally with a net worth of
$103 billion
Tokyo Olympic gold medallist, Neeraj Chopra claimed the
coveted ‘Sportstar of the Year (Male)’ award at the 2022
Sportstar Aces Awards. Weightlifter Mirabai Chanu, who
claimed the silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics, received the
‘Sportstar of the Year (Female)’ award. The Aces Awards
celebrate the spirit of excellence in sport and hope to inspire our
athletes and sportspersons to continue to strive to break new
records and reach new pinnacles of glory.
Other awardee’s in the list:
● Lovlina Borgohain (Sportswoman of the Year,
Individual Sports),
● Avani Lekhara (Parathlete of the Year, Female),
● Pramod Bhagat (Special Recognition award),
● Savita (Sportswoman of the Year, Team Sports), and
Rupinder Pal Singh (Sportsman of the Year, Team
Sports).
● Arif Khan wins Special Recognition Award at
21

UN World Happiness Report 2022
India GDP projected for FY22 (2021-2022)
National News
Sportstar Aces 2022.
● Former Indian hockey team captain Ajit Pal Singh was
conferred the ‘Lifetime Achievement award.
India has improved its rank by three spots to acquire 136th
position in the United Nations’ World Happiness Report for the
year 2022, which ranked 146 countries. In 2021, India’s rank
was 139. Finland has topped the 2022 World Happiness Report,
for the fifth continuous year. Afghanistan has been ranked as the
unhappiest country in the world, at 146th position.
About the report:
● The 2022 World Happiness Report was released on
March 18, 2022. It is the 10th edition of the report.
● The World Happiness Report is being published by
United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions
Network, since 2012, to rank countries by how happy
their citizens perceive themselves to be.
● The Report is based on two key ideas, (1) happiness or
life evaluation measured through opinion surveys and
(2) identifying key elements that determine wellbeing
and life evaluation across countries.
1. Morgan Stanely has projected India’s GDP growth
forecast for 2022-23 (FY23) at 7.9%.
2. Rating agency Moody’s has revised downwards the
economic growth forecast of India by 40 basis points to
9.1 per cent in the Calendar Year 2022 (CY2022), due
to adverse effects of the Russia-Ukraine conflict on the
global economy.
3. Fitch Ratings has slashed India’s GDP growth forecast
for the fiscal FY 2022-2023 to 8.5 per cent in its Global
economic Outlook-March 2022.
4. Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD) has retained the outlook for
India’s real gross domestic product (GDP) at 5.5% in
FY24, lower than 8.1% in 2022-23.
5. The UN Conference on Trade and Development
(UNCTAD) has pegged India’s economic growth rate
for 2022 to 4.6 percent due to the ongoing
UkraineRussia conflict.
9. Kerala has yet again emerged on top when it comes to
maternal and child health, with the State recording the
lowest Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) of 30 (per one
lakh live births) in the country. According to the latest
data, India’s maternal mortality ratio (MMR) has
improved to 103 for the period 2017-19. Kerala,
Telangana, and Maharashtra are included in the top 3
states with the lowest MMR in India
10. India has been picked as the host nation for the FIDE
Chess Olympiad 2022. The 44th edition of the
Olympiad is scheduled to be held in Chennai, from
26th July 2022 to 8th August 2022.
11. Union Minister of Women and Child Development,
Smriti Irani inaugurated the ten-day mega Red Fort
Festival, ‘Bharat Bhagya Vidhata’ at Red Fort in Delhi.
The Red Fort festival has been organised by the Union
Ministry of Culture, as part of Azadi ka Amrit
22
 Mahotsav. The ministry has collaborated with the
Dalmia Bharat Group (DBG) to organise the event as
DBG has adopted the Red Fort as its Monument Mitra.
The festival will commemorate the heritage, culture
and diversity of every part of India.
12. The Governor of Haryana, Bandaru Dattatraya and
Chief Minister of Haryana, Manohar Lal Khattar
formally inaugurated the 35th edition of the
worldfamous Surajkund International Crafts Mela at
Surajkund in Faridabad district of Haryana. In 2022,
the ‘Theme State’ in Jammu & Kashmir and
Uzbekistan is the partner nation.
13.

State News 9. According to the National Family Health Survey

(NFHS)-5, Odisha became the top state in the list of
full immunizations in India with 90.5% coverage under
Mission Indradhanush.
10. Mumbai, Maharashtra announced its detailed
framework to ‘zero out carbon emissions by 2050’ and
became the first city in South Asia to set such a target.
Mumbai’s target is 20 years ahead of India’s target to
reach net zero emissions by 2070.
11. Bihar Diwas 2022 marks the 110th anniversary of the
state’s founding. The annual Bihar Diwas is no longer
limited to festivities hosted by the state government;
citizens from the state living throughout the country
and overseas have begun to commemorate the
occasion.
12. Senior BJP leader N Biren Singh took the oath as Chief
Minister of Manipur for a second consecutive five-year
term on March 21, 2022. The ruling BJP party
contested all 60 seats in the Manipur Assembly election
in 2022 and won 32 seats.
13. Bihar Diwas 2022 marks the 110th anniversary of the
state’s founding. The annual Bihar Diwas is no longer
limited to festivities hosted by the state government;
citizens from the state living throughout the country
and overseas have begun to commemorate the
occasion.
14. Pushkar Singh Dhami has taken oath as 11th Chief
Minister of Uttarakhand. He will take over the reins of
the state for the second time in a row. Governor
Lieutenant General Gurmit Singh administered him the
oath of office and secrecy at the Parade Ground in
Dehradun.
15. Nagaland has created history by becoming the first
State Assembly in the country to implement the
National e-Vidhan Application (NeVA) programme to
become completely paperless.
16. Kerala is set to become the first state in the country to
introduce carbon-neutral farming methods in selected
locations, for which the government has set aside Rs 6
crore in the 2022-23 Budget.
17. Yogi Adityanath takes oath as chief minister of Uttar
Pradesh for his second term in office. Governor
Anandiben Patel administered the oath of office and
secrecy to Adityanath at Lucknow’s Atal Bihari

23
 Vajpayee Ekana Stadium in the presence of Prime
Minister Narendra Modi, Union Ministers Amit Shah,
Rajnath Singh and other central ministers. Keshav
Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak also took oath as
the Deputy Chief Ministers in the new government.
18. Geographical Indication tag has been awarded to the
Narasingapettai Nagaswaram under the category of
musical instruments of class 15. Narasinghapettai
nagaswaram is a classical wind music instrument that
is traditionally made in a village near Kumbakonam,
Tamil Nadu.

International News 7. The Indian government has issued a USD 1 billion line
of credit (LoC) for Sri Lanka to aid in the import of
food, necessary products, and medication. On March
15, 2022, Sri Lankan Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa
will visit India to finalise the agreement. Sri Lanka is
currently experiencing a serious economic crisis.
8. President Biden announced that the United States—
along with the G7, the European Union, and NATO—
will revoke Russia’s Most Favored Nation (MFN) trade
status. Revoking Russia’s PNTR status will allow the
United States to increase and impose new tariffs on all
Russian imports. In the US, the “most favoured nation”
status is also known as permanent normal trade
relations (PNTR). Only North Korea and Cuba do not
enjoy the “most favoured nation” status from the US.
9. Bangladesh tops the list in South Asia in terms of
women on board of listed companies, says a study
conducted by International Finance Corporation (IFC)
and Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE).
10. Mahatma Gandhi Green Triangle’ has been unveiled in
Madagascar to mark Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav.
Ambassador of India to Madagascar, Abhay Kumar
celebrated the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav by
inaugurating a Green Triangle, along with Mayor of
Antananarivo Naina Andriantsitohaina.
11. The World Bank (International Bank for
Reconstruction and Development, IBRD) has issued
the Wildlife Conservation Bond (WCB) to support of
South Africa’s efforts to conserve endangered species
of Black Rhino. Wildlife Conservation Bond (WCB) is
also known as “Rhino Bond”. It is a five-year $150
million Sustainable Development Bond. It includes a
potential performance payment from the Global
Environment Facility (GEF).

Books 7. Padma Awardee Dr Tehemton Erach Udwadia has

authored a new book titled “More than Just Surgery:
Life Lessons Beyond the OT”, a personal account of
people, incidents, mentors, failures, and absurdities
against the backdrop of surgery.
8. Sportstar and The Hindu group released a coffeetable
book, ‘Road to 1000’, at the 2022 Sportstar Aces
Awards at The Taj Mahal Palace hotel. The book is a
520-page, special collection with 1000 pictures to
commemorate Indian cricket’s journey.
9. A picture book edition co-authored by Nobel Peace

24
 Prize winners 14th Dalai Lama (Tenzin Gyatso) &
Archbishop Desmond Tutu, titled “The Little Book of
Joy” will be released in September 2022. This book
focuses on the meaning of true happiness, which is not
in the materialistic world but lies in the nature of human
beings.
10. The Reserve Bank of India has instructed regulated
entities (REs) lending to the microfinance sector to
ensure that loans are collateral-free and not secured by
a lien on the borrower’s deposit account, that
repayment obligations are capped, that interest rates are
not usurious, and that there is no prepayment penalty.

Reports and Indices 6. As per Bloomberg’s recent data on Market

capitalization, for the 1st time, India’s equities market
has entered the world’s top 5 in terms of market
capitalization. India is ranked 5th with an overall
market capitalization of USD 3.21 trillion. The total
world market cap stands at USD 109.22 trillion. The
US topped the ranking with an overall market cap of
USD 47.32 trillion, followed by China (USD 11.52
trillion), Japan (USD 6 trillion) and Hong Kong (USD
5.55 trillion).
7. According to the London & Partners analysis of
Dealroom. co-investment data, India is the
secondlargest global venture capital investment hub for
digital shopping companies, growing by a whopping
175% from $8 billion in 2020 to $22 billion in 2021.
On a global scale, India came in second to the US last
year, which attracted $51 billion in investment,
followed by China at third with $14 billion and the UK
at fourth with $7 billion.
8. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute
(SIPRI) has released its latest report on Trends in
International Arms Transfer, 2021. As per the report,
India and Saudi Arabia emerged as the largest
importers of arms between 2017-21. Both two
countries accounted for 11% of all global arms sales.
Egypt (5.7%), Australia (5.4%) and China (4.8%) were
the next three largest importers respectively in the top
5.
9. RailTel Corporation of India Limited (RailTel), owned
by the Indian Railways, Ministry of Railways, has
ranked 124th in the 8th Edition Fortune India The Next
500 (2022 edition) of top midsize companies operating
in India.
10. India has improved its rank by five spots to be placed
at 51st position in the ‘Global House Price Index Q4
2021’ released by property consultant Knight Frank.
India was placed at 56th position in Q4 of 2020.
11. New Delhi has been ranked the world’s most polluted
capital city for the second consecutive year as per
IQAir’s 2021 World Air Quality Report. New Delhi is
followed by Dhaka (Bangladesh), N’Djamena (Chad),
Dushanbe (Tajikistan) and Muscat (Oman) as the top
five most polluted capital cities respectively.
Meanwhile, Bhiwadi was the most polluted city in
India, followed by Ghaziabad, Delhi and Jaunpur.

25
 12. Gujarat has retained the top position in the second
edition of NITI Aayog’s Export Preparedness Index
2021. The first edition was released in 2020.
Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Uttar
Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh and
Telangana are the other top 10 states in the 2021 index
respectively. Across the Union Territories, Delhi has
performed the best, followed by Goa, Jammu and
Kashmir, Chandigarh and Puducheery. Among the
Himalayan states, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh,
Tripura, Sikkim and Manipur were at the top
respectively

Banking/Economy/Business News
5. The RBI has stopped Paytm Payments Bank from
accepting new customers because it broke the laws by
allowing data to transit to servers in other countries and
failing to properly authenticate its consumers.
According to a report, annual inspections by the
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) discovered that the
company’s servers were sharing information with
China-based organisations that indirectly held an
interest in Paytm Payments Bank.
6. IIFL Securities Limited (Formerly India Infoline
Limited) launched ‘OneUp’, India’s first primary
markets investment platform. Through this platform,
investment can be made in initial public offerings
(IPOs), non-convertible debentures (NCDs) and
sovereign gold bonds (SGBs), among others. On the
OneUp platform, the IPO applications are accepted
24×7 and up to three days before the IPO bidding
opens.
7. The Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL), a subsidiary
of Coal India, has announced that it has become the
country’s largest coal producer.
8. The HSBC CRISIL IBX 50:50 Gilt Plus SDL Apr 2028
Index Fund (HGSF), an open-ended Target Maturity
Index Fund that tracks the CRISIL IBX 50:50 Gilt Plus
SDL Index – April 2028, has been introduced by HSBC
Mutual Fund. According to the fund house, the
programme has a high interest rate risk and a low credit
risk.
9. The Reserve Bank of India has instructed regulated
entities (REs) lending to the microfinance sector to
ensure that loans are collateral-free and not secured by
a lien on the borrower’s deposit account, that
repayment obligations are capped, that interest rates are
not usurious, and that there is no prepayment penalty.
10. DBS Bank India has announced the launch of its Green
Deposit Programme for corporate clients providing a
simple way for companies to support environmentally-
friendly projects or avenues.
11. HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and Axis Bank
have each purchased a 7.84 percent stake in ONDC, an
open public digital infrastructure framework business.
HDFC Bank said it now owns 7.84 percent of ONDC’s
equity share capital after allotting 10 lakh equity shares
for Rs 10 crore.
12. FinMapp, a financial services firm, announced that it

26
 has been granted a licence under the National Pension
Scheme by the Pension Fund Regulatory and
Development Authority (PFRDA).
13. According to a news release from the DPIIT, the
government has extended the deadline for companies
to convert debt financing into equity shares by up to 10
years, a measure that is likely to provide comfort to
emerging enterprises dealing with the impact of the
Covid-19 pandemic. Previously, convertible notes may
be converted into equity shares for up to five years after
the initial convertible note was issued. That time frame
has now been increased to ten years.

Appointments and Resignations
13. Bhagwant Mann was sworn in as the 18th chief
minister of Punjab at Khatkar Kalan, the ancestral
village of Bhagat Singh in the presence of Governor
Banwarilal Purohit.
14. Gabriel Boric Font has been appointed as the new and
36th President of Chile. The 36-year-old leftist is the
youngest leader to hold the office in Chile’s history. He
succeeds Sebastián Piñera. Boric will hold the office
for the period between 2022-2026.
15. Ajay Bhushan Pandey has been appointed as the
chairman of the National Financial Reporting
Authority (NFRA) for a period of 3 years.
16. The chairman of Tata Sons, N Chandrasekaran has
been appointed as the chairman of Air India. In
February 2022, N Chandrasekaran was reappointed as
chairman of Tata Sons for a second term of five years.
17. Serdar Berdimuhamedow has been sworn in as the
President of Turkmenistan. Berdimuhamedow
succeeds his father and former president Gurbanguly
Berdimuhamedov, who became president in 2006 and
served till 2022. It must be noted that the presidential
elections in Turkmenistan are held every seven years.
18. The board of IT major, Tata Consultancy Services
(TCS) has announced the re-appointment of Rajesh
Gopinathan as the Managing Director (MD) and Chief
Executive Officer (CEO) of the company for five years.
19. United Nations (UN) Secretary-General, Antonio
Guterres has announced the appointment of Indian
development economist Jayati Ghosh as a member of
the UN’s newly established Advisory Board on
Effective Multilateralism.
20. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has
approved an extension in the tenure of its Secretary-
General Jens Stoltenberg by a year until September 30,
2023.

Places in the news 8. Ahimsa Vishwa Bharti organisation established by

Ambassador of Peace, Eminent Jainacharya Dr
Lokeshji will establish India’s first World Peace Center
in Gurugram, Haryana. For this, the Haryana
Government has allotted a plot to the organization in
Sector 39 of Gurugram opposite Medanta Hospital and
adjacent to Delhi-Jaipur Highway. ‘
9. The country’s first Artificial Intelligence & Robotics
Technology Park (ARTPARK) was launched in

27
 Bengaluru, Karnataka. It is promoted by a not-forprofit
foundation set up by the Indian Institute of Science
(IISc) Bengaluru.
10. Kuwait reached a scorching temperature of 53.2
degrees Celsius (127.7 degrees Fahrenheit), making it
among the hottest places on earth.

Personalities in the News 4. Games24x7 Private Limited, India’s leading digital

skill games company, has appointed Indian cricketers
Shubman Gill and Ruturaj Gaikwad as its new brand
ambassadors for its My11Circle fantasy gaming
platform.

Summits/ MoUs 5. Ministry of Civil Aviation (MOCA) and FICCI are

jointly organizing Asia’s largest event on Civil
Aviation (Commercial, General and Business
Aviation), titled ‘WINGS INDIA 2022’. The theme of
the event: India@75: New Horizon for Aviation
Industry.
6. The 73rd Annual National Conference of Indian
Psychiatric Society (ANCIPS) has been organized in
Visakhapatnam. The theme is chosen for ANCIPS –
2022 ‘Bridging minds … Connecting generations’ was
very appropriate in view of the growing generation gap
and its impact on society.

Defence Exercises/ Aerospace news
8. The MV Ram Prasad Bismil has become the longest
vessel ever to sail from Ganga to the Brahmaputra. The
90 meters long and 26 meters wide flotilla, loaded with
a draft of 2.1 meters, achieved the feat on March 15,
2022, when it successfully completed the pilot run of
heavy cargo movement from Syama Prasad Mookerjee
Port in Haldia, to Pandu port in Guwahati.
9. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has
organised the massive military drill ‘Cold Response
2022’ in Norway from March 14, 2022, and will
continue till April 01, 2022.
10. Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) has celebrated its
83rd Raising Day with zeal and ceremonial fervour on
19 March 2022. The 83rd Raising Day parade was
organised at the Maulana Azad Stadium in Jammu.
11. The 9th edition of the Joint Military Exercise
‘LAMITIYE-2022’ between the Indian Army and
Seychelles Defence Forces (SDF) was held from
March 22 to 31, 2022 at Seychelles Defence Academy
(SDA), Seychelles.
12. The 3rd edition of the joint training exercise named
EX-DUSTLIK between the Indian army and
Uzbekistan army begins at Yangiarik, Uzbekistan from
22 to 31 March 2022. The last edition of DUSTLIK
was conducted in Ranikhet (Uttarakhand) in March
2021.
13. Malaysia will host armed forces from 4 nations namely,
Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and the United
Kingdom in the annual Bersama Shield 2022 training
exercise. The exercise, referred to as BS22, is
conducted within the framework of the Five Power
Defense Arrangements (FPDA) – a series of bilateral

28
 and multilateral defence agreements established in
1971. Bersama means together in Malay.

Awards and Honours 9. India’s third-largest private sector bank, Axis Bank has
been awarded IFR Asia’s Asian Bank of The Year, for
its breadth of coverage and depth of expertise in the
Asian investment banking space.
10. Professor Narayan Pradhan has been selected for the
31st GD Birla Award for Scientific Research for his
outstanding contribution in the field of material
sciences.
11. Former India cricketer Suresh Raina has been awarded
the prestigious ‘Sports Icon’ award at the Maldives
Sports Awards 2022. The Maldives government
felicitated Raina for his various achievements
throughout his career.
12. Architect, educator and social activist Francis kéré has
been announced as the 2022 laureate of the Pritzker
architecture prize 2022, the award often referred to as
architecture’s highest honour.
13. The Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP) of the
NITI Aayog organised the 5th edition of the Women
Transforming India Awards (WTI). As part of the
Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, to celebrate 75 years of
India’s independence, the WTI Awards have been
conferred 75 women achievers for their contribution
towards a ‘Sashakt Aur Samarth Bharat’
14. The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters has
awarded the Abel Prize for the year 2022 to American
Mathematician Dennis Parnell Sullivan.
15. Devendra Jhajharia became the first para-athlete to
receive the Padma Bhushan award. He has won many
Paralympic medals, including gold at the 2004
Paralympics in Athens and 2016 Rio Games, and a
silver medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Sports news 14. Indian cueist Pankaj Advani has defeated Dhruv
Sitwala to win his eighth title at the 19th Asian 100 UP
Billiards Championship 2022. It was held in Doha,
Qatar.
15. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari- Monaco) has won the
Formula One Bahrain Grand Prix 2022 at the Bahrain
International Circuit, a motor racing circuit in the west
of Bahrain.
16. Hyderabad FC has clinched their maiden Indian Super
League title after defeating Kerala Blasters in the
penalty shoot-out in the summit clash.
17. Australian female tennis player Ashleigh Barty has
announced retirement from tennis at the age of 25
years. She has won three Grand Slam singles titles —
the French Open in 2019, Wimbledon in 2021 and the
Australian Open in 2022. Apart from playing tennis,
she has also played semi-professional cricket during
her break from tennis between 2014-2016.

Days and dates 20. International Day of Mathematics (IDM) is observed

globally on the 14th of March every year. It is also
known as the Pi Day because the mathematical

29
 constant π (pi) can be rounded down to 3.14.
21. World Consumer Rights Day is celebrated on March 15
every year. The day marks an opportunity to urge that
all consumers’ rights be recognised and safeguarded, as
well as to protest market abuses and social injustices
that jeopardise those rights. The day highlights the
power of consumers and their rights for a fair, safe and
sustainable marketplace for everyone.
22. In India, the National Vaccination Day (also known as
National Immunisation Day (IMD)) is observed on 16
March every year, to convey the importance of
vaccination to the entire nation. The day was first
observed in the year 1995. The theme for National
Vaccination Day or National Immunisation Day 2022
is “Vaccines Work for all”.
23. The U.N. General Assembly approved a resolution to
proclaim March 15 as the International Day to Combat
Islamophobia every year, starting from 2022. The
resolution, adopted by the 193-member UN General
Assembly, was introduced by Pakistan’s ambassador
Munir Akram on behalf of the Organisation of Islamic
Cooperation (OIC), on March 15, 2022. It marks the
day when a gunman entered two mosques in
Christchurch, New Zealand, killing 51 worshippers and
wounding 40 others in the terror attack.
24. The Global Recycling Day is observed every year on
the 18th of March to recognise the importance of
recycling as a resource, not waste. This year, the
event’s focus will be on the “recycling fraternity” –
those who put themselves on the frontline to collect
waste and recycling during the multiple lockdowns.
25. International Day of happiness is observed every year
around the world on March 20. The United Nations
started celebrating this day in 2013, but the resolution
for the same was passed on July 12, 2012. The theme
for Happiness Day 2022 is Keep Calm, Stay Wise and
Be Kind.
26. International Day for the Elimination of Racial
Discrimination is observed annually on 21 March to
remind people about the negative consequences of
racial discrimination. The 2022 edition of the
International Day focuses on the theme “VOICES FOR
ACTION AGAINST RACISM”.
27. World Water Day is celebrated globally on 22nd March
every year. The day aims to highlight the importance
of freshwater. It is used to advocate for the sustainable
management of freshwater resources. The World Water
Day theme 2022 is “Groundwater, Making the
Invisible Visible”.
28. World Tuberculosis Day is observed every year on 24
March to create awareness among the public about the
global epidemic of tuberculosis (TB) and efforts to
eliminate the disease. The theme of World TB Day
2022 – ‘Invest to End TB. Save Lives.’

Obituaries 3. The former President of Zambia, Rupiah Banda has

passed away after a two-year battle with cancer. He was
85. Banda had served as the fourth president of Zambia

30

Updates reported from 1-15 March
News
Knight Frank’s latest edition of The Wealth India is ranked 3rd in terms of most number of billionaires’
Report 2022.
National Science Day 2022: 28 February
from 2008 and 2011.
4. The two-time WWE Hall of Famer, Scott Hall has
passed away, due to heart attack. He was 63. With
WWE, he was famously known by his ring name as
‘Razor Ramon’. He went on to become a four-time
WWE Intercontinental champion.
5. The former Governor of Andhra Pradesh, Kumudben
Manishankar Joshi has passed away. She was 88. Ms
Joshi served as the Governor of Andhra Pradesh from
26 November 1985 to 7 February 1990.
6. American Astrophysicist Eugene Newman Parker, who
contributed to solar physics, has passed away at the age
of 94. Eugene Parker witnessed the launch of National
Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)’s
Parker Solar Probe in 2018, the first NASA mission
named after a living person, and became the first person
to witness the launch of a spacecraft named after them.
7. The former Prime Minister of Mali, Soumeylou
Boubèye Maïga has passed away due to illness. Maiga
served as prime minister of Mali from 2017 until 2019.
8. Shahabuddin Ahmed, the former President of
Bangladesh has passed away at the age of 92 in Dhaka,
Bangladesh.
9. Former Chief Justice of India Ramesh Chandra Lahoti
passed away at the age of 81 years. Justice Lahoti was
appointed as the 35th chief justice of India on June 1,
2004.
10. Stephen Wilhite, the creator of the Graphics
Interchange Format (GIF) format passed away at the
age of 74 years due to Covid-19 related issues.
Narration
population globally in 2021, as per Knight Frank’s latest edition
of The Wealth Report 2022. The number of ultra-high-net-
worth-individuals (UHNWIs) in India increased by 11% YoY in
2021 to 145 billionaires, the highest percentage growth in the
Asia Pacific (APAC) region. UHNWIs are individuals with net
assets of US$ 30m or more (Rs 226 crore).
Globally:
The list has been topped by the United States (748) and China
(554) respectively.
Indian City-wise:
Bengaluru recorded the highest growth in the number of
UHNWIs in 2021 at 17.1% to 352 billionaires. It was followed
by Delhi (12.4% to 210) and Mumbai (9% to 1596) in 2021.
Top 5 countries with the most number of billionaires in 2021:
United States, China, India, Germany and Russia.
The National Science Day is celebrated on 28 February each
year in India to spread the message about the importance of
science in the daily life of the people. On this day, Sir CV Raman
had announced the discovery of the Raman Effect for which he
was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1930. The government of India
31

President Kovind Presents
Puraskar’ for 2020 and 2021
Freedom of the World 2022 report
2022 ISSF World Cup
designated 28 February as National Science Day (NSD) in 1986.
The National Science Day theme for 2022: ‘Integrated
Approach in S&T for Sustainable Future’. The day also
commemorates the discovery of the Raman effect. To honour
the renowned scientist, India has commemorated this day as
National Science Day since 1987.
Significance of the day:
National Science Day is celebrated to raise awareness on the
importance of science. Educational institutions celebrate
National Science Day by organising public speeches, radio, TV,
science movies, science exhibitions on themes and concepts,
debates, quiz competitions, lectures and science model
exhibitions.
‘Nari Shakti The President of India, Ram Nath Kovind has conferred the
‘Nari Shakti Puraskar’ for the years 2020 and 2021, on the
occasion of International Women’s Day on March 08, 2022,
at Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi. Overall 29 women have
been conferred the award for the years 2020 and 2021 in
recognition of their outstanding and exceptional work
towards the empowerment of women, especially the
vulnerable and marginalised. There were a total of 28 awards
which included 14 awards each for the years 2020 and 2021. The
award ceremony for the year 2020 could not be held in 2021 due
to the COVID-19 pandemic.
For the second consecutive year, India has been termed as
‘partly free’ country in terms of democracy and free society,
according to the annual report. The report titled “Freedom in
the World 2022 – The Global Expansion of Authoritarian
Rule” by Freedom House, a US-based NGO that assesses
political rights and civil liberties. India scored 66 out of 100 in
2022. The country had scored 67 in 2021. India was a free
country till 2020 when its score was 71.
India’s freedom scores are similar to that of Bolivia, Hungary
and Albania. The countries that have scored the worst include
South Sudan, Syria, Tibet, Turkmenistan, Eritrea and North
Korea.
Sixty-nine countries are currently not free worldwide. This
makes the situation worse than in 1973 when only 63
countries were not free. Apart from the worst scorers, the list
also includes Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Turkey,
Thailand and Qatar. This is an increase from last year when only
54 countries were not free.
At the same time, there is an increase in free countries from
82 to 85, compared to 2021. In this category, Finland, Sweden
and Norway have achieved a perfect 100, besides New Zealand,
Canada, Uruguay, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Ireland and
Denmark.
India has taken first place in the medal standings at the ISSF
World Cup 2022 in Cairo, organised by the International
Shooting Sport Federation. By winning a total of seven medals,
the Indian team took first place in the medals tally, with four
gold, two silver, and one bronze. Norway took second place in
the medals tally with six medals (three gold, one silver, and two
bronze). France came in third place with three gold medals out
of a total of twenty.
32

ACI World's ASQ Awards 2021
2022 Fortune India The Next 500 list
British Academy Film Awards
On the final day of the ISSF World Cup 2022 in Cairo, Egypt,
Indian shooters took home two medals.
India won their third World Cup gold on Sunday, defeating
Singapore 17-13 in the women’s 25m pistol team event final.
From India, six airports have found a place among the ‘Best
Airport by Size and Region’, by the Airports Council
International (ACI), in its Airport Service Quality (ASQ)
survey for the year 2021. The airports have been adjudged
among the Asia Pacific region in different categories based on
annual passenger traffic. The ACI Airport Service Quality
(ASQ) Awards takes into account 33 parameters related to
passenger amenities to recognize airport excellence in customer
experience.
The six Indian airports include: Category –
Over 40 million passengers per year
• Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA),
Mumbai (5th consecutive year)
• Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi (4th
consecutive year)
Category – 15 to 25 million passengers per year
• Rajiv Gandhi International airport, Hyderabad
Category – 5 to 15 million passengers per year
• Cochin International Airport, Cochin
• Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, Ahmedabad
Category – 2 to 5 million passengers per year
• Chandigarh Airport, Chandigarh
RailTel Corporation of India Limited (RailTel), owned by the
Indian Railways, Ministry of Railways, has ranked 124th in the
8th Edition Fortune India The Next 500 (2022 edition) of top
midsize companies operating in India. It is the only Telecom
Public Sector Undertakings (PSU) of the Government of
India (GoI) on the list. It was ranked 197 in the 2021 list of
top midsize companies operating in India. Apart from RailTel,
IRCTC is the only Railway PSU featuring in the list, at the
rank of 309. This Fortune India The Next 500 is published
annually by Fortune India English Monthly magazine.
RailTel is one of the largest neutral telecom infrastructure
services providers in the country.
The 75th edition of the British Academy Film Awards, often
shortened to BAFTA or Bafta, was held at the Royal Albert
Hall, London. The awards, the British equivalent of the
Oscars, honour the best in national and international cinema.
The awards, presented by the British Academy of Film and
Television Arts (BAFTA), honours the best national and
foreign films of 2021. The ceremony was hosted by actress and
comedian Rebel Wilson. The film that received maximum
nominations was Dune, with 11 nominations. The film that
received the maximum number of awards was Dune as well with
5 awards.
● Best Film: The Power of the Dog
● Best Director: Jane Campion, The Power of the Dog
● Best Actress in Leading Role: Joanna Scanlan, After
Love
● Best Actor in Leading Role: Will Smith, King
Richard
33
 ● Best Supporting Actress: Ariana DeBose, West Side
Story
● Best Supporting Actor: Troy Kotsur, CODA

India GDP projected for FY22 (2021-2022) ● SBI-8.8%

● RBI: 9.5%
● IMF-9.0%
● S&P Global Ratings-5%
● Care Rating– 8.8 to 9%
● Economic Advisory Council to PM: 0-7.5% in FY23,
5% in FY22
● Goldman Sachs: 9.1% in FY22
● Economic Survey 2021-22: 8-8.5% for FY23

National News 14. The government of India has launched an evacuation

mission named Operation Ganga to evacuate Indian
nationals from Ukraine due to the Russia-Ukraine
tension. Due to the ongoing tension between Ukraine
and Russia, Ukraine has been declared as a no-fly zone
by the authorities for the safety and security of the
nations.
15. The Government of Jammu and Kashmir has
launched a quick response (QR) code for its GI-
tagged Kashmiri carpet, to preserve the authenticity
and genuineness of the hand-knotted carpets. It must be
noted that the Kashmiri carpets were granted GI-tag
in June 2016 by the Geographical Indication Registry
of the Department of Industry Promotion and Internal
Trade, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, but the
registered carpets were certified from 2022.
16. Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL) has become the
leading coal-producing company in the country. It is
a unit of Coal India Limited. It has crossed 157
million tonnes (MT) in coal production in the
financial year of 2021-22. The company produced
7.62 lakh tonnes of dry fuel which is the highest in a
day during the current financial year reaching 157.7
MT with a growth of around 16 percent over the last
financial year.

State News 19. India’s first ambulance for street animals has been
launched in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It has been started
by the Blue Cross of India in collaboration with the
international animal welfare organization “Four Paw”.
Madras High Court Justice Dr Anitha Sumanth
launched the ambulance. The Stray Animal Care
programme will be a “hospital on wheels” with an
onboard veterinarian to provide on-site treatment to
injured and sick street animals.
20. The Assam government has extended the contentious
Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 (AFSPA) in
the state for six more months. The notification came
into effect from February 28. Initially, it was the Assam
Disturbed Area Act of 1955 during the agitation by
Nagas in undivided Assam. This Act gave freehand to
some extent to the Army that was repealed with the
incorporation of the Armed Forces (Special Power)
Act, 1958.

34
 21. Telangana became the top-performing state in India
with a population over one crore in terms of the growth
rate of Per Capita Net State Domestic Product at
Current Prices by the Ministry of Statistics and
Programme Implementation (MoSPI). It succeeded
other states like Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Tamil
Nadu.
22. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, M K Stalin has
inaugurated India’s largest floating solar power plant
constructed at a cost of Rs 150.4 crores. The floating
plant is established in Southern Petrochemicals
Industries Corporation Limited (SPIC) factory at
Thoothukudi in Tamil Nadu to provide clean energy. It
aims to provide environmentally sustainable power
generation and to reduce carbon footprint.
23. The government of Karnataka has launched
‘Women@Work’ program to provide five lakh jobs
within 2026 to women with necessary employable
skills. The program aims to focus on the efforts of
corporate programs on attracting women workforce. It
has been developed by Karnataka Digital Economy
Mission (KDEM) in association with KTECH,
Karnataka Skill Development Corporation.
24. Maharashtra government has announced to set up
India’s first medical city titled ‘Indrayani Medicity’
in Pune, to provide all kinds of specialized treatment
under one roof. Indrayani Medicity will have hospitals,
centres for medical research, pharmaceutical
manufacturing, wellness, and physiotherapy, and
will be the first-of-its-kind city in the country to have
all the treatments available at one place.

International News 12. Russian invasion to Ukraine, Russia destroyed the

largest plane in the world called “Ukraine’s
Antonov225 cargo plane”. The plane was destroyed
outside Kyiv. According to weapons manufacturer
Ukroboronprom, restoring “AN-225 Mriya” would
cost over USD 3 billion and could take over five years.
The aircraft was unique to the world.
13. The International Olympic Committee has stripped
Russian President Vladimir Putin of the Olympic Order
award in response to the invasion of Ukraine.
14. The United Nations Environment Assembly was
hosted by the UN Environment Programme. It brings
together representatives from the UN’s 193 member
countries, corporations, civil society, and other
stakeholders to agree on policies to address the world’s
most serious environmental concerns.
15. The global money laundering and terrorist financing
watchdog, Financial Action Task Force (FATF),
retained Pakistan in the grey list and asked the country
to work on money laundering investigations and
prosecutions. FATF also added the United Arab
Emirates (UAE) to its grey watchlist.
16. Russia has become the most sanctioned country in the
world, due to its invasion on Ukraine, according to a
New York-based sanctions watchlist site Castellum.AI.
Russia faced 2,778 new sanctions since February 22,

35
 2022, led by the US and European nations, bringing the
total sanctions to 5,530. The country already had 2,754
sanctions in place before February 22.
17. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved
$1.4 billion in emergency support for Ukraine to
finance expenditures and shore up the balance of
payments. Ukraine has turned to financing from allies
and international institutions to support its economy
after the Russian invasion began on February 24.
18. India and Canada have formally re-launched the
negotiations for India-Canada Comprehensive
Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) during
the fifth Ministerial Dialogue on Trade & Investment
(MDTI). Interim Agreement or Early Progress
Trade Agreement (EPTA) for commercial gains to
both the countries was also launched. Interim
Agreements include high-level commitments in goods,
services, rules of origin, sanitary and phytosanitary
measures, dispute settlement, etc.
19. Stockholm International Peace Research Institute
(SIPRI) has released its latest report titled Trends in
International Arms Transfer, 2021. As per the
report, India and Saudi Arabia emerged as the
largest importers of arms between 2017-21. Both two
countries accounted for 11% of all global arms sales.
85% of India’s overall imports were from three
countries. Russia (46%), France (27%), and the USA
(12%) were the top three largest exporters of arms to
India during the period. Largest Arms Importers in
2017-21: India, followed by Saudi Arabia, Egypt
(5.7%), Australia (5.4%), and China (4.8%).

Books 11. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi launched the first

volume of Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin’s
autobiography Ungalil Oruvan (One Among You) in
Chennai. The first part of the autobiography contains
his early life experiences. In it, he traces his school and
college days, adolescence, early political contributions,
marital life and the MISA struggle, recalling 23 years
up to 1976.
12. Rafa: My Story’ is the new book launched by John
Carlin and Rafael Nadal. It is his an autobiography of
his international tennis career, in which he remembers
his early years and tells about the things that gave him
the strength to reach this position in international
tennis.
13. The biography of pop icon Usha Uthup titled “The
Queen of Indian Pop: The Authorised Biography of
Usha Uthup” was released. The book was originally
written in Hindi titled “Ullas Ki Naav” by author Vikas
Kumar Jha
14. A new biography, titled “Soli Sorabjee: Life and
Times” was announced, during the occasion of the
92nd birth anniversary of Soli Sorabjee. It is authored
by advocate and legal scholar Abhinav Chandrachud
and will be released in April 2022.

Reports and Indices 13. NITI Aayog is in the process to develop a National

36
 Gender Index. The objective of the National Gender
Index is to measure the progress and identify the
persisting gaps in gender equality to make informed
policy decisions. It will serve as a tool to map the
progress of India’s States and UTs on defined gender
metrics and build the foundation for positive change.
The information was released in the Annual Report
2021-22 of NITI Aayog.
14. Extreme climatic conditions are threatening the food
security in South Asia with escalated floods and
droughts making India and Pakistan the most
vulnerable to climate change, cautioned the latest IPCC
report released. If emissions are not dramatically
reduced, ‘wet bulb’ temperatures in India, which
measure both heat and humidity, will exceed 31
degrees Celsius, which is fatal for humans, according
to the paper. Despite the fact that India is one of the
South Asian countries with the greatest urban
adaptation measures, these plans are hampered by
inequitable funding and “priority,” with larger cities
receiving more attention.
15. India has been ranked at 120th position in the
Sustainable Development Report 2021 or Sustainable
Development Index 2021. In this Index, countries are
ranked by a score out of 100. India has a score of 60.07.
Last year India’s rank was 117. The Index measures the
country’s total progress towards achieving the 17
Sustainable Development Goals. The Index has been
topped by Finland.
16. The latest edition of Democracy Report was released
recently by the V-Dem Institute at Sweden’s University
of Gothenburg. The study was titled ‘Democracy
Report 2022: Autocratisation Changing Nature?’. It
classifies India as an electoral autocracy ranking it 93rd
on the LDI, out of 179 countries. Top 5 LDI Countries:
Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Costa Rica and New
Zealand.
17. Andhra Pradesh has retained its number one spot in the
SKOCH State of Governance rankings for the second
consecutive year. According to a release, the State
retained the first rank for the second consecutive year.
The second rank was bagged by West Bengal and
Odisha was ranked 3, Gujarat was ranked 4 and
Maharashtra was ranked 5. Neighbouring Telangana
was ranked 6.

Science and Technology
1. On the occasion of National Science Day 2022, Union
Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science &
Technology; Minister of State (Independent Charge)
Earth Sciences; MoS PMO, Personnel, Public
Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr
Jitendra Singh, launched the International Monsoons
Project Office (IMPO) through a highlevel virtual
event. For the first five years, the International
Monsoons Project Office (IMPO) will be housed at the
Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune,
which is part of the Ministry of Earth Sciences of the
Indian government.

37
 2. On the occasion of National Science Day 2022, Union
Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science &
Technology; Minister of State (Independent Charge)
Earth Sciences; MoS PMO, Personnel, Public
Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr
Jitendra Singh, launched the International Monsoons
Project Office (IMPO) through a highlevel virtual
event. For the first five years, the International
Monsoons Project Office (IMPO) will be housed at the
Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune,
which is part of the Ministry of Earth Sciences of the
Indian government.
3. US space agency, NASA, successfully launched the
third in a series of four next-generation weather
satellites, Geostationary Operational Environmental
Satellite (GOES), from Cape Canaveral Space Force
Station, Florida. The satellite is named as GOES-T.
4. Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)
Kanpur have created a biodegradable nanoparticle that
can be used as an alternative to chemical-based
insecticides to protect crops from bacterial and fungal
illnesses.

Banking/Economy/Business News
14. New Development Bank (NDB) will become the first
multilateral agency to open an office in the Gujarat
International Finance Tech City (Gift). New
Development Bank (NDB) has received the approval
for the same and will open the office in May 2022 in
GIFT City.
15. Japan and India have renewed the Bilateral Swap
Arrangement (BSA) the size of which is up to USD 75
billion. The BSA is a two-way arrangement where both
authorities can swap their local currencies in exchange
for the US Dollar. The interest rate charged in this case
is fixed at the time of signing the agreement and hence
it reduces the risk caused due to fluctuations in the
exchange rate. The actual Bilateral Swap Arrangement
(BSA) was signed between the Bank of Japan and the
Reserve Bank of India in 2018.
16. Canada, U.S.A. and their European allies have come to
a conclusion to remove the key Russian banks from the
Interbank messaging system (IMS) of SWIFT. This is
a very big step that will cut off the country from much
of the worldwide financial system.
17. Public sector lender, Bank of Maharashtra (BoM) has
announced the launch of “Project Banksakhi” in
Odisha in collaboration with Mahagram & Sunivesh
India Finance Services Pvt. Ltd. for Online Bank
Account opening. It will provide doorstep and
hasslefree access to the people of Odisha for opening
bank accounts.
18. Ambit Finvest has announced the signing of a
colending agreement with Union Bank of India (UBI)
for financing to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise
(MSME) customers. Ambit Finvest is the Ambit
Group’s non-deposit-taking Non-Banking Financial
Company (NBFC). This collaboration will enable
underwriting for businesses in 11 states now served by

38
 Ambit Finvest.
19. As per the sources, the Cabinet approved up to 20%
FDI in the LIC’s IPO-bound Life Insurance
Corporation of India (LIC) via the automatic route on
Saturday, February 26. The government hopes that by
doing so, it will make it easier for India’s largest insurer
to be disinvested.
20. India has become the second country after China to
implement the T+1 stock settlement mechanism in a
phased manner from 25 February. The system will be
starting with select stocks and then gradually adding
others to the fold. Instruction regarding this was issued
by SEBI on January 01, 2022. Before this, the
settlement period of stocks in India was T+2, i.e. two
days after the actual buy/selling of stock.
21. The Banks Board Bureau (BBB) has launched a
development programme for public sector bank
management with the goal of boosting the quality of
bank boards. The nine-month Directors’ Development
Programme (DDP) is made for directors of Public
Sector Banks and financial institutions with the main
objective of improving director effectiveness and
increasing their impact on boards, according to the
Banks Board Bureau.
22. Reserve Bank of India has launched two initiatives
related to digital payments. One is UPI123pay- which
provides a UPI payment facility on feature phones and
the second is “DigiSaathi” which is a 24×7 Helpline for
Digital Payments.
23. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI)
has raised the investment limit for retail investors
applying in public debt securities issuance via the
universal payments interface (UPI) mechanism to Rs 5
lakh from Rs 2 lakh previously. The move comes after
the National Payments Corporation of India NPCI
decided to increase the per transaction limit for UPI-
based applications supported by blocked amount
ASBA initial public offering.
24. Domestic rating agency CRISIL retained its real GDP
growth forecast at 7.8% for the fiscal year 2023, as
compared with the 8.5% projected in the Economic
Survey.
25. IDBI Bank became one of the stakeholders in
NARCL by executing an investment agreement to
participate in the equity share capital and NCDs
(non-convertible debentures) proposed to be issued by
NARCL. It will invest over Rs 272 crore to acquire
an equity stake and subscribe to its bonds. The bank
will invest cash of Rs 137.50 crore to acquire a 5%
equity stake and Rs 135 crore to invest in the NCDs
of NARCL. It will also invest Rs 4.50 crore in
tranches to acquire 9% equity capital of The bank’s
final holding in NARCL and IDRCL will be 5% &
9% respectively.

Appointments and Resignations 21. Madhabi Puri Buch has been appointed as the new
Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI)
chairman, replacing Ajay Tyagi. She is the first woman

39
 chief of SEBI and also the first non-IAS to head the
regulatory body.
22. Samiran Gupta will lead microblogging platform
Twitter’s public policy and philanthropy efforts in
India and South Asia. Prior to joining Twitter, Gupta
was the head of stakeholder engagement in South Asia
for ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names
and Numbers).
23. Ashneer Grover, co-founder and Managing Director
(MD) of BharatPe, a leading Indian fintech company,
has resigned as the MD and director of the board of
BharatPe. Ashneer Grover, who owns a 9.5% stake
worth Rs 1915 crore in BharatPe, will continue as the
single largest individual shareholder of the company.
BharatPe became the 19th Indian startup to become a
unicorn in 2021.
24. Junaid Kamal Ahmad, the World Bank’s India
Director, has been named a Vice President of the
international lending agency.
25. LIC Mutual Fund has announced the appointment of
TS Ramakrishnan as its Managing Director & CEO,
effective.
26. Bharti AXA Life Insurance has appointed National
Award-winning actress VidyaBalan as its Brand
Ambassador. She as the brand ambassador will help in
promoting the #DoTheSmartThing champion of Bharti
AXA Life Insurance.
27. Yoon Suk-yeol has been declared as the winner of the
2022 South Korean presidential election to be elected
as the new President of the country. He is scheduled to
assume office as president on May 10, 2022, for a fixed
term of five years. Yoon Suk-yeol will succeed
incumbent President Moon Jae-in.
28. The Hungarian parliament has elected Katalin Novak,
a close ally of Prime Minister Viktor Orban, as the EU
member’s first-ever female president. Novak, who
most recently served as a minister for family policy,
portrayed her election as a victory for women.
29. The Central Government has appointed Justice
Dhirubhai Naranbhai Patel, Chief Justice of Delhi High
Court, as the Chairperson of Telecom Disputes
Settlement and Appellate Tribunal(TDSAT).
30. T Raja Kumar, a Singaporean, has been named
president of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF),
the world’s anti-money laundering and antiterrorism
financing agency.
31. Debasish Panda has been appointed as the chairman of
the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority
of India (IRDAI). He is a former financial services
secretary.
32. Tata Sons executive chairman N Chandrasekaran
has been officially named as the chairman of Air
India, the airline which was acquired by Tata Group
from the central government last year.
33.

Places in the news 11. Ministry of Culture and Ministry of Textiles are
organising a programme called

40
 “JharokhaCompendium of Indian handicraft/
handloom, art and culture” to celebrate the traditional
Indian handicrafts, handlooms, and art & culture. To
begin with, the first event under this celebration has
been organized in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh at Rani
Kamlapati Railway Station, on March 08, 2022, which
also marks International Women’s Day.
12. India`s largest reclining statue of Lord Buddha is being
built in Bodh Gaya. Built by Buddha International
Welfare Mission, the statue will be 100 feet long and
30 feet high. Lord Buddha is in the sleeping posture in
the statue. The construction of the giant statue started
in the year 2019.
13. The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister
Narendra Modi has approved the establishment of a
World Health Organization Global Centre for
Traditional Medicine (WHO GCTM) at Jamnagar,
Gujarat.
14. India‘s first fully owned by women industrial park
opened its doors in Hyderbad. The park, that is
promoted by the FICCI Ladies Organization – FLO in
collaboration with the State government, consists of 25
units which represent 16 different sectors of green
category, and all of them are owned and controlled
completely by women.

Environment 1. Adani Green Energy Ltd stated that its subsidiary

Adani Renewable Energy Holding Fifteen Limited has
obtained a letter of award (LOA) to build a 150-
megawatt solar power plant. For a period of 25 years,
the fixed rate for this project capacity is $2.34/kWh.
2. The Delhi Cabinet has approved setting up India’s first
of its kind electronic-waste eco-park. It has also agreed
to devise ‘Delhi Film Policy 2022’, as a thrust to
promote tourism. The electronic waste eco-friendly
park is to be built on 20 acres of land in Delhi.
3. A subsidiary of Reliance Infrastructure, SES Yamuna
Power Limited (BYPL) has commissioned India’s first
‘Smart Managed EV Charging Station’ in the New
Delhi. BYPL is backed by Bombay Suburban Electric
Supply (BSES). It is executed by Fortum Charge &
Drive, and it will be the first ever BYPL managed
Smart EV Charging Station.
4. First Digital Water Bank of India ‘AQVERIUM’
has been launched in Bengaluru, which is an
innovative initiative aimed at better water
management. It is formed by AquaKraft Group
Ventures. It is a very unique innovation combining
sustainable & green technologies along with
information technology, skill development &
entrepreneurship. It is a curated list of water data from
all institutions and sources, that will help tackle some
common development challenges.

Personalities in the News 5. Indian women cricket captain, Mithali Raj has become
the first woman to appear in six World Cups. She is the
only third cricketer overall to play six world cup after
Sachin Tendulkar and Javed Miandad. She has played

41
 in the ICC women’s cricket world cup events in 2000,
2005, 2009, 2013, 2017 and now in 2022.
6. 19-year-old Priyanka Nutakki has secured her final
WGM-norm at MPL’s forty-seventh National Women
Chess Championship. She became India’s twentythird
Woman Grandmaster.
7. A national-level shooter and an environmentalist
hailing from Delhi, Aarushi Verma has been selected
to represent India at the 2041 Climate Force Antarctica
Expedition which is set to be held in March 2022.

Summits/ MoUs 7. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed

on February 24, 2022 in New Delhi between Hindustan
Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) and Solar
Energy Corporation of India Limited (SECI) to
accomplish green energy targets and the Government
of India’s efforts towards a carbonneutral economy.
8. Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), New Delhi in
partnership with the Department of Science &
Technology (DST), GoI hosted the 28th edition of the
DST – CII Technology Summit on 23rd and 24th of
February 2022. The Summit was held virtually.
Singapore is the Partner Country for this year’s
Technology Summit. Technology Summit has been
very crucial in providing significant opportunities to
build and improve bilateral technology partnerships
over a period of more than two decades.
9. Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras and
National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT),
Chennai, are jointly conducted OCEANS 2022
Conference and Exposition, the bi-annual event for
global marine researchers, technologists and engineers,
students, and policymakers.
10. The German government has stated that it will hold a
virtual meeting of G7 agriculture ministers to explore
the implications of the conflict between Russia and
Ukraine on global food security. The meeting,
according to Cem zdemir, Germany’s Minister of
Agriculture and Food, will also focus on ways to
stabilise food markets.
11. For Election Management Bodies (EMBs) from
approximately 32 countries and four international
organisations, the Election Commission of India (ECI)
convened the virtual International Election Visitors
Programme (IEVP) 2022. More than 150 EMB
Delegates who were participating online were given an
overview of the ongoing elections for Legislative
Assemblies in Goa, Manipur, Punjab, Uttarakhand, and
Uttar Pradesh.
12. The 3rd edition of the National Youth Parliament
Festival (NYPF) has been organised jointly by the Lok
Sabha Secretariat and the Ministry of Youth Affairs
and Sports on March 10 and 11, 2022, in the Central
Hall of Parliament, New Delhi.

Defence Exercises/ Aerospace news 14. China’s second Long March 8 rocket launched carrying
a domestic record 22 satellites for a range of
commercial Chinese space companies. The Long

42
 March 8 lifted off from Wenchang Satellite Launch
Center at 10:06 p.m. Eastern Feb. 26, with the China
Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation
(CASC) later confirming launch success.
15. The Indian Air Force (IAF) has decided not to send its
aircraft in the multilateral air exercise ‘Cobra Warrior-
22’ in the United Kingdom, due to the deepening crisis
in Ukraine, arising out of the Russian military attack in
that country.
16. In April, 2022, General Manoj Mukund Naravane will
be retiring from the post of 27th chief of the Indian
Army.
17. Indian Air Force (IAF) will conduct the Exercise Vayu
Shakti that will take place at Pokharan range in
Jaisalmer, Rajasthan on March 7. Prime Minister
Narendra Modi will be the Chief Guest of this event. A
total of 148 aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) will
participate in this exercise.
18. The 19th edition of the India-US Military Cooperation
Group (MCG) meeting was conducted in Agra, Uttar
Pradesh. The discussion was cochaired by Air Marshal
BR Krishna, Chief of Integrated Defence Staff to the
Chairman Chiefs of Staff Committee (CISC), and
Lieutenant General Stephen D Sklenka, Deputy
Commander, US IndoPacific Command, represented
the US side.
19. Indian Air Force (IAF) will conduct the Exercise Vayu
Shakti that will take place at Pokharan range in
Jaisalmer, Rajasthan on March 7. Prime Minister
Narendra Modi will be the Chief Guest of this event. A
total of 148 aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) will
participate in this exercise.
20. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)
successfully launched a military satellite, Noor-2, into
orbit at an altitude of 500 kilometres (311 miles) from
the earth. This is the second military satellite launched
by the Islamic Republic.
21. The 9th edition of India – Sri Lanka Bilateral Maritime
Exercise named SLINEX (Sri Lanka–India Naval
Exercise) is held at Visakhapatnam from 07 Mar to 10
Mar 2022. The aim of the exercise is to enhance
interoperability and improve mutual understanding
between the navies of the two neighbouring countries
in the strategically significant Indian Ocean Region.

Awards and Honours 16. Deepak Dhar has become the first Indian to be awarded
the Boltzmann Medal. The Commission on Statistical
Physics of the International Union of Pure and Applied
Physics (IUPAP) presents this medal once in three
years for contributions in the field of statistical physics.
The medal presentation ceremony will be held during
the StatPhys28 conference scheduled to be held in
Tokyo in August this year. He shares the medal with
John J Hoefield of Princeton University.
17. National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) has been
awarded the ‘Special Jury Award’ at the 7th India
Industry Water Conclave and the 9th edition of the
FICCI Water Awards. NMCG has been awarded for its

43
 effort in reviving River Ganga and bringing about a
paradigm shift in water management. The 9th edition
of the FICCI Water Awards were organised at the
FICCI’s 7th India Industry Water Conclave, held
virtually on March 02 and 03, 2022.
18. Bangladeshi environmental lawyer, Rizwana Hasan
has been selected for the International Women of
Courage (IWOC) Award for 2022. She is among the 12
women from around the world who will be honoured
by the US Department of State with the award for
showing exceptional courage and leadership to make a
difference in their communities.

Sports news

Days and dates

Obituaries

Updates reported from 16-28 February

News Narration

Russia- Ukraine Conflict
The attack on Ukraine by Russia is potentially the onset of war
in Europe on top of Russia's behest for an end to NATO's
eastward expansion. The launch of the major invasion by Russia
on Ukraine, that started with air and missile assaults on
Ukrainian military targets before sending troops and tanks
across the country's northern, eastern, and southern borders. On
many fronts, the Ukrainian military fought back. In a video
speech delivered early Friday, February 25, President
Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that 137 people had been
killed, including troops and civilians, and that hundreds more
had been injured.
Russian President, Vladimir Putin has recognised the
independence of separatist regions in eastern Ukraine – Donetsk
and Luhansk. Putin’s announcement paved the way for Russia
to openly send troops and weapons to the long-running conflict
pitting Ukrainian forces against Moscow-backed rebels.
Russian-backed rebels have been fighting Ukrainian troops in
Donetsk and Luhansk since 2014, with regular violence despite
a ceasefire agreement.

ESPNcricinfo ‘Test Batting Award’ 2021
In the 15th Edition of ESPN cricinfo Awards, India’s
wicketkeeper-batsman, Rishabh Pant wins the ‘Test Batting’
award by scoring 89 not out, helped India to win the Border
Gavaskar Trophy 2021 by (2-1) and shattered Australia’s
unbeaten record at Gabba after 32 years. Rishabh Pant was the
top scorer of the series for the Indian team, scoring (274 runs).
Other awardee’s:
● New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson was adjudged
‘Captain of the Year’.
● The Test bowling award went to Kyle Jamieson (New
Zealand) for his 5 wickets leaving just 31 runs, which

44
 helped New Zealand in becoming the first World Test
champions (2019-2021).
● England fast bowler Ollie Robinson was named
Debutant of the Year
● Saqib Mahmood’s 4 for 42 in a nine-wicket win over
Pakistan got him the top ODI bowling prize.
● Jos Buttler won the T20I batting award.
● The ODI batting and T20I bowling awards went to
Pakistan. Fakhar Zaman won the top batting prize.
Shaheen Afridi won the T20I bowling award for his
annihilation of India in the 10-wicket win for Pakistan
at the T20 World Cup.

17th IBA’s Annual Banking Technology Awards Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) has announced the IBA’s 17th
2021 announced Annual Banking Technology Awards 2021. In total South Indian
Bank has won 6 awards in the event. This year’s IBA Awards
celebrating “Next Gen Banking” has recognized technologies
and practices in the banking industry that have demonstrated a
high degree of innovation over the past year.
The list of winners in different categories is given below:
Best Technology Bank of the Year
● In Large Banks segment: Bank of Baroda
● In Small Banks segment: The South Indian Bank
● In Foreign Banks segment: Citibank N.A.
● Regional Rural Banks: Baroda Rajasthan Kshetriya
Gramin
Best Digital Financial Inclusion Initiatives
● Large Banks: State Bank of India
● Small Banks: The Jammu & Kashmir Bank
● Regional Rural Banks: Baroda Rajasthan Kshetriya
Gramin
Best Payments Initiatives
● Public Banks: State Bank of India
● Private Banks: ICICI Bank
Best Fintech Adoption
● Large Banks: ICICI Bank
● Medium Banks: Federal Bank
● Small Banks: The South Indian Bank
● Regional Rural Banks: Baroda Rajasthan Kshetriya
Gramin

Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival
Awards 2022
The prestigious ceremony of Dadasaheb Phalke International
Film Festival Awards 2022 was held on February 20. The event
was held in Mumbai and the best performances from last year
were honoured in the event this time. This year Dadasaheb
Phalke International Film Festival Awards 2022 celebrated the
opulence of Indian Cinema and also commemorated the 75 years
of Independence or Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav. Best Film, Best
Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Role, and Best Negative
Role, were among the other titles that were given to the
personalities of the Indian film fraternity.
Here is a complete list of winners of Dadasaheb Phalke
International Film Festival Awards 2022:
● Film of the Year Award: Pushpa: The Rise
● Best Film Award: Shershaah
● Best Actor Award: Ranveer Singh for film 83
● Best Actress Award: Kriti Sanon for film Mimi
● Outstanding Contribution to Films: Asha Parekh

45

Winter Olympics Games 2022
International IP Index 2022
National News
● Critics Best Actor Award: Sidharth Malhotra
● Critics Best Actress Award: Kiara Advani
The closing ceremony of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic
Games was held on February 20, 2022, at National Stadium
(known as the Bird’s Nest) in Beijing. The 2022 Winter
Olympics in Beijing, China, was held from 4 to 20 February
2022. The Games featured a record 109 events across 15
disciplines in 7 sports. The venues of the Games were distributed
across three zonesBeijing, Yanqing and Zhangjiakou. The
Presidency of the Games was formally handed over to Milan and
Cortina d’Ampezzo, in Italy, to host the 2026 Winter Olympics.
The top country in Winter Olympics 2022 in Beijing:
• Norway has topped the medal table for the second successive
Winter Olympics, winning a total of 37 medals, including 16
golds. This is a new record for the most gold medals won at a
single Winter Olympics.
• Germany finished second with 27 medals overall, while the
host nation China finished third with 15 medals.
India at the 2022 Winter Olympics:
• The Indian team at the game was represented by one male
alpine skier, Arif Khan.
• He was the country’s flag bearer during the opening ceremony,
meanwhile, a volunteer was the flag bearer during the closing
ceremony. India could not win any medal at the games.
India has improved its overall IP score from 38.4 percent to 38.6
per cent, and the country is ranked 43 out of 55 countries on the
International Intellectual Property Index 2022. This index was
released by the Global Innovation Policy Center of the U.S.
Chamber of Commerce. In July 2021, the Parliamentary
Standing Committee on Commerce released a Review of the
Intellectual Property Rights Regime in India. This review is a
welcome development and offers a comprehensive and detailed
study of the strengths and weaknesses of India’s national IP
environment.
The top five countries in the ranking are:
• Rank 1- United States
• Rank 2- United Kingdom
• Rank 3- Germany
• Rank 4- Sweden
• Rank 5- France
17. Union Power Minister R K Singh has announced that
India will achieve zero-diesel use in agriculture and
replace fossil fuel with renewable energy by 2024. For
this, states should develop action plans to achieve the
assigned targets and specific agencies dedicated to
energy efficiency and conservation. This initiative is a
part of the government’s commitment to increase the
share of non-fossil fuels by 2030 and become a net-zero
emitter by 2070.
18. The government of India has banned 54 apps of
Chinese origin citing security concerns. The apps
include Sea Ltd.’s marquee game Free Fire and other
apps related to tech firms like Tencent, Alibaba and
NetEase. Under Section 69A of the Information
Technology (IT) Act, 2000 provides government
46
 power to issue directions for blocking public access of
any information through any computer resource. This
section allows the government to block websites.
19. Ministry of Education has approved a new scheme
named “New India Literacy Programme” for the period
FYs 2022-2027 to cover all the aspects of Adult
Education. The scheme aims to align Adult Education
will all aspects of National Education Policy 2020 and
Budget Announcements 2021-22. The government has
now replaced the term “Adult Education” as
‘Education for All’ in the country.
20. The Union Minister for Social Justice &
Empowerment, Dr Virendra Kumar has launched the
Central Sector scheme titled “SMILE”. SMILE stands
for Support for Marginalized Individuals for
Livelihood and Enterprise. The new umbrella scheme
aims to provide welfare measures to the Transgender
community and the people engaged in the act of
begging.
21. Under the Saubhagya scheme, Rajasthan has the
maximum number of households electrified through
the solar-based standalone system. In hill states of
Himachal Pradesh and Sikkim and the Union Territory
of Jammu and Kashmir had nil beneficiaries under the
initiative.
22. India will hold the Presidency of the G20 from 1
December 2022 to 30 November 2023 and the G20
Summit will be held in India in 2023 (18th edition). For
its preparation, the government has approved the
setting up of a G20 Secretariat and its reporting
structures. The G20 Secretariat will be guided by an
Apex Committee headed by Prime Minister.
23. Government has approved the implementation of the
Inter-Operable Criminal Justice System (ICJS) project
during the period 2022-23 to 2025-26. The ICJS is a
national platform for enabling integration of the main
IT system used for the delivery of Criminal Justice in
the country.
24. Home Ministry has declared Delhi headquarters of
Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India
Ltd. (SPMCIL) as a ‘prohibited place’ under Section 2
of the Official Secrets Act, 1923. This prevents the
entry of unauthorized persons into it. It is the only
currency and banknotes manufacturer of India, that
printed new series of notes of denomination Rs 2,000
and Rs 500 in 2016.

State News 25. The Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways,
Nitin Gadkari and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar
jointly inaugurated the 14.5-kilometre long ‘Railcum-
Road-Bridge’ in Bihar. The much-awaited bridge is
constructed over the River Ganga on NH 333B in
Bihar’s Munger region.
26. Maharashtra’s Health Minister, Rajesh Tope has
announced that “Hope Express” will be launched in the
state to prevent cancer.
27. In Madhya Pradesh, the Central Jail of Indore has
started its own radio channel ‘Jail Vaani-FM 18.77’.

47
 Through this radio channel, the jail inmates will get to
know about the happening in the world. The radio
channel will also provide the jail inmates with
information on health and social issues.
28. The 17th edition of the Mumbai International Film
Festival for Documentary, Short Fiction and Animation
films (MIFF-2022) is scheduled to take place from 29
May to 4 June, 2022 at the Films Division complex,
Mumbai.
29. Kerala’s first Caravan park is all set to come up in
Vagamon, a scenic hill station located in the Idukki
district. The park, as part of the state governments new
Caravan Tourism policy, would be thrown open to
travellers. Caravan Tourism was introduced by the
state Tourism department as a safe means for
holidaying at a time when people are unable to step out
or travel due to the outbreak of COVID-19.
30. Nagaland is all set to host the South Asian Athletic
Federation (SAAF) cross country championship and
56th National Cross-Country athletics championships
from 26th of next month in Kohima. Meanwhile, the
official mascot of the South Asian Cross Country
Championships and 56th National Cross Country is a
joyous happy running ‘Hornbill’. The name of the
Mascot is Akimji – a connotation of the word
AMBITION derived from Sumi dialect of Naga tribe
which exemplifies the ambition of the new generation
of Naga youth.
31. Northern States Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh
celebrate their Foundation Day on February 20, since
1987. Arunachal Pradesh is the extreme northern part
of the country, which is also known as the ‘land of the
rising sun’. The state at the edge of the Himalayas is
proud to be called the land of dawn and lit mountains.
Arunachal Pradesh became the 24th state of India.
32. Madhya Pradesh Governor, Mangu Bhai Patel has
inaugurated the 48th ‘Khajuraho Dance Festival2022’
at world-famous tourist destination Khajuraho on the
occasion of ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’. The event
will be organized till 26 February.
33. Chief Minister of Assam, Himanta Biswa Sarma has
launched India’s first Night Navigation mobile
application for ferry services on the Brahmaputra River
in Guwahati, Assam. It was developed by the State
Transport Department in association with K Raju, the
principal scientist of IIT Madras.
34.

International News 20. Israel becomes the first-ever country to allow drone
flights in civilian airspace. The certification was issued
to the Hermes Starliner unmanned system by the Israeli
Civil Aviation Authority and was manufactured and
developed by Elbit Systems, an Israeli defence
electronics company.
21. Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau has invoked
never-before-used emergency powers to support
provinces in ending the blockades and public disorder
that have gripped Ottawa for 18 days at the hands of

48
 participants in the so-called “Freedom Convoy.”
22. World Health Organization (WHO) South-East Asia
Region (SEAR) has launched a ‘Quit Tobacco App’.
This application helps people to give up the use of
tobacco in all forms, including smokeless and other
newer products. The App was launched by Dr Poonam
Khetrapal Singh, Regional Director, WHO-SEAR,
during WHO’s year-long ‘Commit to quit’ campaign,
is the latest tobacco control initiative by the WHO
South-East Asia Region.
23. The World Health Organization (WHO) launched a
‘Quit Tobacco App’ to help people kick the cigarette
butt and give up tobacco in all forms, including
smokeless and other newer products. The app, the first
such by WHO, and the first that targets all forms of
tobacco, helps users identify the triggers, set their
targets, manage cravings and stay focused to quit
tobacco.
24. Nepal will be the first country to adopt India’s UPI
system, which will play a pivotal role in transforming
the digital economy of the neighbouring country, the
National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) said.
NPCI International Payments Ltd (NIPL), the
international arm of NPCI, has joined hands with
Gateway Payments Service (GPS) and Manam
Infotech to provide the services in Nepal.
25. French president, Emmanuel Macron has announced
that France and its European partners will start the
military withdrawal from Mali after more than nine
years fighting a jihadist insurgency.
26. India and France have inked a roadmap to enhance their
bilateral exchanges on the blue economy and ocean
governance. Dr S Jaishankar is on a threeday visit to
France, from February 20 to 22, 2022, to attend EU
Ministerial Forum for Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific
scheduled for February 22. The agreement on
‘Roadmap on Blue Economy and Ocean Governance’
was signed between India’s External Affairs Minister
Dr. S Jaishankar’s and his French counterpart Jean-
Yves Le Drian.
27. World Economic Forum (WEF) and the National
Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA) have signed a
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaborate
on a jointly designed ‘Sustainable Cities India
program’. The program aims to create an enabling
environment for cities to generate decarbonization
solutions across the energy, transport, and built
environment sectors
28. Mumbai, India will host the International Olympic
Committee session in 2023. The IOC Session for 2023
will be held at Jio World Convention Centre, Mumbai.
The last such session was hosted by India in the year
1983 in New Delhi. In 2022, the IOC session was held
in Beijing, China.

Books 15. A book titled ‘How to Prevent the Next Pandemic’ has
authored by Bill Gates will be published this year in
May 2022.

49
 16. A new book titled “Humane: How the United States
Abandoned Peace and Reinvented War” authored by
Samuel Moyn was released.
17. A new book titled “Dignity in a Digital Age: Making
Tech Work for All of Us” has authored by Ro Khanna
released. The book highlights the effects of changing
lifestyle patterns of Americans due to technological
progress.

Reports and Indices 18. The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM)

2021/2022 report, unveiled at the Dubai Expo, India is
among the top five easiest places to start a new
business. The survey of Indian respondents, who
answered questions on their entrepreneurial activity,
attitudes to enterprise and view of their local
entrepreneurial ecosystem, found that 82% think it is
easy to start a business, placing India fourth globally.
It was topped by Saudi Arabia and followed by
Netherlands & Sweden
19. The US Green Building Council (USGBC) has released
the 9th annual ranking of top 10 countries outside of
the United States (US) for Leadership in Energy and
Environmental Design (LEED) in 2021 in which India
ranked 3rd with 146 projects. It has been topped by
China with 1,077 LEED projects certified in 2021,
which is followed by Canada at 2nd position with 205
projects.
20. Indian businesses have ranked fifth based on their
concern for climate change and Indian companies are
more likely to be implementing tougher climate actions
compared with their global counterpart, advisory firm
Deloitte said in a report. The Deloitte survey, done
across 21 countries during September-October 2021,
has found a higher number of top-level executives in
India responding to the issue of climate change
compared to the survey conducted in January-February
2021.
21. According to the latest Hurun India Wealth Report
2021, the number of dollar-millionaire households in
India increased by 11 per cent to 4,58,000 households
in 2021, as compared to 2020. A household having a
net worth of at least INR 7 crore ($1 million), is
referred to as a dollar-millionaire household.
Meanwhile, in the list of cities with the most
millionaires, Mumbai has topped with 20,300
millionaires households. Mumbai is followed by Delhi
with 17,400 and Kolkata with 10,500 millionaire
households, respectively.

Science and Technology 5. Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)

successfully launched an Earth Observation Satellite,
EOS-04 and two small satellites into the intended orbit.
This was the first launch mission of ISRO in the year
2022. The satellites were launched onboard the launch
vehicle PSLV-C52 rocket from the First Launch Pad of
Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota in Andhra
Pradesh.
6. The Indian mining major Vedanta has tied up with

50
 Taiwanese electronics manufacturing company, Hon
Hai Technology Group (better known as Foxconn) to
form a joint venture (JV) for manufacturing
semiconductors in India. Anil Agarwal, the
nonexecutive Chairman of Vedanta, will be the
Chairman of the JV company.
7. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare announced
that India’s first Biosafety level-3 containment mobile
laboratory was launched in Nashik, Maharashtra. The
mobile laboratory has been set up to investigate newly
emerging and re-emerging viral infections that are
highly infectious and of lethal potential to human
beings.

Banking/Economy/Business News
26. RBL Bank has partnered with Creditas Solutions for its
‘Neo Collections’ platform. The bank will utilise the
SaaS-based platform to accelerate efficiency in
collections across the loan cycle.
27. Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has booked
ABG Shipyard for an alleged Rs 22,842-crore financial
fraud. ABG Shipyard is the flagship entity of ABG
Group. It has cheated a consortium of 28 banks and
financial institutions of Rs. 22,842 crore. This is the
biggest bank fraud case ever registered by the CBI. The
case pertained to funds gotten and misused during the
2012-17 period. Rishi Agarwal, the then CMD of ABG
Shipyard has been named in the FIR.
28. Bank of Baroda will acquire Union Bank of India’s
21% stake in IndiaFirst Life Insurance Company. It is
a joint venture between the Bank of Baroda, Union
Bank of India, and Carmel Point Investments.
29. JPMorgan has become the world’s first bank to set up
shop in the metaverse. The largest bank in the US has
opened a lounge in the blockchain-based world
Decentraland. Users can create their virtual avatars,
build virtual spaces and roam in the lounge christened
‘Onyx Lounge’ after its suit of Ethereumbased
services. The lounge also features a digital image of the
bank’s CEO Jamie Dimon.
30. Paisabazaar.com, a digital platform for consumer
credit, has partnered with RBL Bank Limited to offer
‘Paisa on Demand’ (PoD), a credit card that will be
exclusively available on the Paisabazaar platform. To
build products that offer integrated services for the
large under-served segments across India.
31. Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) board
has decided to make provision for separation of the
roles of chairperson and MD/CEO as ‘voluntary’
against ‘mandatory’ earlier. The market regulator had
in June 2017 set up a committee on corporate
governance under Uday Kotak with a view to seek
recommendations to further enhance corporate
governance norms for listed companies.
32. Twitter Inc has partnered with Paytm’s payment
gateway to ramp up the support for its ‘Tips’ feature in
India. Through ‘Tips’, users can send cash payments to
their favourite content creators on the microblogging
platform or small business owner.

51
 33. The largest buyer, the Central Bank of Thailand,
bought 90 metric tonnes of gold while RBI bought 77.5
metric tonnes taking its total gold reserve to 754.1
tonnes at the end of December 2021. When it comes to
gold buying, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) emerged
as the second-largest buyer of yellow metal among the
world’s Central Banks in 2021. As per Goldhub,
India’s official gold reserves is the ninth-largest in the
world. Goldhub is the official website of the World
Gold Council that maintains all the data regarding
precious metals.
34. JPMorgan has become the world’s first bank to set up
shop in the metaverse. The largest bank in the US has
opened a lounge in the blockchain-based world
Decentraland. Users can create their virtual avatars,
build virtual spaces and roam in the lounge christened
‘Onyx Lounge’ after its suit of Ethereum-based
services. The lounge also features a digital image of the
bank’s CEO Jamie Dimon.
35. The Government of India, the State Governments of
Karnataka and Odisha and the World Bank have signed
a $115 million (INR 869 crore) Rejuvenating
Watersheds for Agricultural Resilience through
Innovative Development (REWARD) Programme.
36. State Bank of India (SBI), Punjab National Bank
(PNB), Bank of Baroda (BoB), Union Bank of India
(UBI), Canara Bank, and Bank of Maharashtra (BoM)
have announced their subscription to the shares of India
Debt Resolution Company Ltd (IDRCL). Public Sector
Banks (PSBs) and Public FIs will hold a maximum of
49% in stake of IDRCL while the remaining stake will
be with private-sector lenders. The NARCL has been
incorporated under the Companies Act, and public
sector banks will hold 51 per cent in NARCL.

Appointments and Resignations
34. In Burkina Faso, the military junta has appointed
lieutenant colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba as the
interim President of the country following the military
coup. The 2022 Burkina Faso military coup took place
on January 24, 2022, which was led by Damiba.
35. German President, Frank-Walter Steinmeier has been
re-elected for a second term of five years by a special
parliamentary assembly. This is also the final term for
Steinmeier, which he won with 71% of the vote.
36. Veteran environmentalist Ravi Chopra has resigned as
chairman of the Supreme Court’s High Powered
Committee (HPC) on the Char Dham project. His belief
that the HPC could protect this fragile (Himalayan)
ecology has been shattered.
37. Ilker Ayci has been appointed as the new CEO and MD
of Air India. He will assume his responsibilities on or
before 1st April 2022. Ilker Ayci is a former chairman
of Turkish Airlines.
38. The Delhi High Court has appointed former Chief
Justice of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court, Gita
Mittal as the Chairperson of the Committee of
Administrators which will run the Table Tennis
Federation of India (TTFI).

52
 39. Retired Vice Admiral, G Ashok Kumar has been
appointed as India’s first national maritime security
coordinator by the government.
40. International Olympic Committee (IOC) Athletes’
Commission re-elected ice hockey player Emma Terho
of Finland as its Chair and table tennis player Seung
Min Ryu of the Republic of Korea as its First Vice-
Chair. The commission also elected cyclist Sarah
Walker of New Zealand as the second VC of the
Commission.
41. Japanese auto major Honda Motor Co. Ltd. has
announced the appointment of Takuya Tsumura as the
new President & CEO of Honda Cars India Ltd (HCIL)
with effect from 1 April 2022.
42. Finance Ministry’s Principal Economic Advisor,
Sanjeev Sanyal has been inducted as a full-time
member of the Economic Advisory Council to the
Prime Minister (EAC-PM), the panel’s chairman Bibek
Debroy announced. The appointment is for a tenure of
two years.

Places in the news 15. Ministry of Railways has approved to set up a state of-
art wrestling academy in Indian Railways, at
Kishanganj, Delhi.
16. The Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government of India,
has sanctioned Rs. 2.26 Crores for Medaram Jatara
2022 Festival in Telangana. In 2022, the festival will
be held from February 16 to 19, 2022. Medaram Jatara
is the second-largest fair in India, after the Kumbh
Mela. Medaram Jatara is conducted in honour of the
Goddesses Sammakka and Saralamma. It was declared
a State Festival in 1998.
17. The renowned Jaisalmer Desert Festival, also known as
Maru Mahotsav of the Golden City started from 13 to
16 February 2022 at Pokaran village in Jaisalmer,
Rajasthan
18. Kerala’s first Caravan park is all set to come up in
Vagamon, a scenic hill station located in the Idukki
district. The park, as part of the state government's new
Caravan Tourism policy, would be thrown open to
travellers.
19. Nepal will be the first country to adopt India's UPI
system, which will play a pivotal role in transforming
the digital economy of the neighbouring country, the
National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).
20. The 48th Khajuraho Dance Festival commenced in
Madhya Pradesh. The week-long festival will be held
till February 26th. The festival is being organized in
Khajuraho, located in Chhatarpur district of Madhya
Pradesh.
21. Himachal Pradesh gets the first biodiversity park to
make its contribution towards the conservation of
endangered Himalayan herbs. This park is set to come
up at Mandi’s Bhulah valley. With the cost of Rs 1
crore, the biodiversity park is set up under the National
Mission on Himalayan Studies (NMHS) by HP’s forest
department.

53
Environment 5. Dabur India has become the first Indian consumer
goods company to become completely plastic waste
neutral. It has done this by collecting, processing and
recycling around 27,000 metric tonnes of
postconsumer plastic waste during FY21-22. Dabur has
achieved the landmark of surpassing its plastic
packaging usage with recycling.
6. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated The
Energy and Resources Institute’s (TERI) latest edition
of the World Sustainable Development Summit
(WSDS) that will deliberate on the planetary resilience
in wake of the multitude of extreme weather events
across the globe in the recent years. Curated on the
theme ‘Towards a Resilient Planet: Ensuring a
Sustainable and Equitable Future’, the experts at the
Summit will confer on a range of pressing issues from
climate change, sustainable production and energy
transitions to global commons and resource security,
among others.
7. The first biodiversity park of Himachal Pradesh has
been established at a cost of Rs 1 crore at Bhulah in
Janjehli Valley of Mandi district, which would prove to
be a boon for researchers and tourists and also help
conserve endangered Himalayan herbs.
8. Tata Power and Germany-based RWE Renewables
GmbH have joined hands to explore the potential for
joint development of offshore wind projects in India.
The MoU between Tata Power Renewable Energy and
RWE becomes significant in the light of the
Government of India’s announcement of achieving 30
gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind installations by 2030
to meet the country’s growing power demand.
9. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated a 550-
tonne capacity “Gobar-Dhan (Bio-CNG) Plant” in
Indore, Madhya Pradesh, through video conferencing.
This is the biggest Bio-CNG plant in Asia. It has been
set up at a cost of Rs 150 crore. The gobardhan plant is
based on the concept of waste-to wealth innovation.
Wet urban household waste and waste from cattle and
farm is Gobar Dhan.
10. Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare,
Bharati Pravin Pawar has inaugurated India’s first
Biosafety level-3 containment mobile laboratory in
Nashik, Maharashtra. The mobile laboratory will help
to investigate newly emerging and re-emerging viral
infections, by specially trained scientists from ICMR.
11.

Personalities in the News
8. A23, the gaming application owned by Head Digital
Works, an online skill gaming company, has named in
Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan as its brand
ambassador. Shahrukh Khan will feature in A23’s
‘Chalo Saath Khele’ campaign.
9. Bhojpuri singer and BJP MP, Manoj Tiwari will be the
brand ambassador of Khadi and other handicrafts of
Bihar. He will be the “brand ambassador” for Khadi
and other handicrafts of Bihar.
10. A23, an app owned by online skill gaming company

54
 Head Digital Works, has announced that it has roped in
Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan as its brand
ambassador. The actor will feature in its ‘Chalo Saath
Khele’ campaign along with a first-of-its-kind
responsible gaming campaign, which showcases skill
games such as rummy, fantasy sports, carom and pool.
11. Table Tennis player, Manika Batra was named as the
brand ambassador of Adidas.
12.

Summits/ MoUs 13. Reliance Jio has tied up with Luxembourg-based

satellite and telecom services provider SES to provide
satellite-based broadband communication services in
India. Under the agreement, Jio Platforms has formed
a joint venture with SES, named as Jio Space
Technology Ltd.
14. Twitter Inc has partnered with Paytm’s payment
gateway to improve the support for its ‘Tips’ feature in
India.
15. The 4th India-Australia Energy Dialogue was
cochaired by Union Minister for Power and New &
Renewable Energy, RK Singh and Australian Energy
and Emissions Reduction Minister Angus Taylor.
Energy Transition was a major area of discussion in the
dialogue and both the Energy Ministers.
16. India will hold the Presidency of the G20 from 1
December 2022 to 30 November 2023 and the G20
Summit will be held in India in 2023 (18th edition).
17. The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) is organising a
“Darkathon-2022” to find solutions to counter drug
trafficking through the darknet. The initiative aims at
involving students, youth and technical experts to find
effective solutions to unravel the anonymity of darknet
markets.
18. The Prime Minister, Narendra Modi has delivered the
inaugural address at The Energy and Resources
Institute’s (TERI) World Sustainable Development
Summit. The theme for this year’s summit is Towards
a Resilient Planet: Ensuring a Sustainable and
Equitable Future.
19. The Indian Institute of Technology will establish its
first branch outside India in the United Arab Emirates
(UAE) as part of the India-UAE trade deal signed. The
Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement
(CEPA) signed between the UAE and India will usher
in a new phase of joint strategic cooperation in all
sectors.
20. Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) of Ministry of
Culture, Government of India is organizing a twoday
international conference ‘Devayatanam – An odyssey
of Indian temple architecture on 25th – 26th February
2022 at Hampi, Karnataka. The Union Minister for
Culture, Tourism and DoNER, G Kishan Reddy
inaugurates the conference.

Defence Exercises/ Aerospace news 1. The air forces of Bangladesh and the United States will
conduct a joint tactical airlift exercise ‘Cope South 22’.
The six days exercise has been sponsored by Pacific

55
 Air Forces (PACAF). The bilateral exercise will be
held at Bangladesh Air Force (BAF) Kurmitola
Cantonment, Dhaka; and Operating Location-Alpha,
Sylhet, Bangladesh.
2. The 44-member contingents of the Indian Air Force
(IAF) has reached the Changi International Airport in
Singapore on February 12, 2022, to participate in the
‘Singapore Air Show-2022’
3. To bolster operational efficiency through
interoperability, the Indian Air Force (IAF) and Royal
Air Force of Oman (RAFO) are participating in a
bilateral exercise named ‘Eastern Bridge-VI’ from 21
to 25 February 2022 at Air Force Station Jodhpur. The
6th edition of the exercise is aimed at providing an
opportunity to enhance operational capability and
interoperability between the two Air Forces.
4. Israel successfully tested a new naval air defence
system “C-Dome,” to be used on the Israeli Navy’s
Sa’ar 6-class corvettes. C-Dome is the naval version of
the Iron Dome, an all-weather air defence system of
Israel to intercept and destroy short-range rockets and
missiles, from the Gaza Strip.
5. Indian Air Force will participate in a multi-nation air
exercise named ‘Exercise Cobra Warrior 22’ at
Waddington, in the United Kingdom from March 06 to
27, 2022.
6. The latest edition of the Indian Navy’s multilateral
exercise MILAN 2022 is commencing from 25 Feb 22
in the ‘City of Destiny’, Visakhapatnam. MILAN 22 is
being conducted over a duration of 9 days in two phases
with the harbour phase scheduled from 25 to 28
February and Sea Phase from 01 to 04 March.
7. Chief of Army Staff General MM Naravane has
presented Presidential Colours to four parachute
battalions at Parachute Regiment Training Centre in
Bengaluru. The four battalions are the 11 Para (Special
Forces), 21 Para (Special Forces), 23 Para, and 29 Para
battalions. The award of President’s Colours or the
‘Nishan’ is one of the highest honours bestowed upon
a military unit in recognition of its exceptional service
to the nation, both during the war and in peace.

Awards and Honours 19. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma conferred
the state’s highest civilian award ‘Assam Baibhav’ to
eminent industrialist Ratan Tata at a function held in
Mumbai. The award has been conferred on Tata, who
is also the chairman of Tata Trust, for his exceptional
contribution towards furthering cancer care in Assam.
20. South African batter Keegan Petersen pipped under-19
star and compatriot Dewald Brevis and Bangladesh
pacer Ebadot Hossain to claim the ICC men’s Player of
the Month award for January following a phenomenal
Test series against India. For the women’s award,
England skipper Heather Knight beat off competition
from Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu and West
Indies star Deandra Dottin to clinch the honour.
21. Coal India Limited, a Maharatna company of the

56
 Government of India, has been awarded the ‘India’s
Most Trusted Public Sector Company’ award. Coal
India received this honor at the “Energy Meet and
Excellence Award” function organized by Industry
Chamber “ASSOCHAM” in Kolkata.
22. Microsoft founder and philanthropist, Bill Gates has
been conferred with Hilal-e-Pakistan, the second-
highest civilian honour in the country, for his efforts to
help eradicate polio in Pakistan.
23. Sandeep Bakhshi, managing director (MD) and chief
executive officer (CEO) of ICICI Bank, is the Business
Standard Banker of the Year 2020-21 for turning
around the private sector lender and changing the
perception about it during his tenure of the past three
and a half years.

Sports news 18. South Africa’s Test sensation Keegan Petersen and
England women’s team captain Heather Knight were
voted ICC Players of the Month for January 2022. In
the men’s category, South African batter Keegan
Petersen was a sensation during the home Test series
against India.
19. English club, Chelsea has defeated Brazilian club
Palmeiras, 2-1, to win the 2021 FIFA Club World Cup
final. Chelsea has won the FIFA Club World Cup for
the first time. The decisive goal was scored by Kai
Havertz with 3 minutes of extra time to go. Kai
Havertz’ nerveless 117th-minute penalty settled a
gruelling Club World Cup final. The final was held at
Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi.
20. Haryana team defeated the Indian Railway 3-0, to win
the Men’s title in Senior National Volleyball
Championship 2021-22. Similarly, in the women’s
category, the Kerala team defeated the Indian Railway
3-1, to lift the trophy.
21. Ladakh Scouts Regimental Centre, LSRC, has lifted
the 15th CEC Cup Men’s Ice Hockey Championship –
2022. In a seesaw final in NDS Indoor Ice Hockey rink,
LSRC beat Indo Tibetan Border Police, ITBP by 3-2
goals.
22. India won the right to host the 2023 IOC session in
Mumbai during the 139th IOC session that was held in
Beijing, China, on the sidelines of the Winter
Olympics. This will be the second time India hosts an
IOC session, having done so in 1983 in New Delhi.
India won the bid unopposed.
23. Bihar’s Sakibul Gani become the first player in the
history of the game to score a triple century on his first-
class debut. He scored 341 off 405 balls, hitting 56
fours and two sixes, in the Plate Group Ranji Trophy
fixture against Mizoram at the Jadavpur University
Campus ground, Jadavpur, Bengal.
24. Indian weightlifter and 2020 Tokyo Olympics silver
medallist, Mirabai Chanu has won the gold medal in
the 55kg weight category at the Singapore
Weightlifting International 2022 on February 25, 2022.
Chanu lifted 191kg (86kg+105kg) to stand on top of
the podium.

57
National insignia and Establishments 1. Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman has launched
the first colour souvenir coin on ‘Panchtantra’ on the
occasion of the 17th foundation day of Security
Printing and Minting Corporation of India Limited
(SPMCIL).
2. In a breakthrough development, the main tunnel of the
Katra-Banihal section, T-49, was successfully
connected between Sumber and Arpinchala stations,
the Northern Railways said. Once completed, the
Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL)
mega project will be the longest tunnel of the Indian
Railways. Tunnel T-49 of the Udhampur-Srinagar-
Baramula Rail Link (USBRL) project is 12.75 kms
long.
3. The long-awaited water taxi services connecting the
twin cities, Mumbai and Navi Mumbai, first of its kind
in India, was flagged off by Union Shipping Minister
Sarbananda Sonowal in the presence of Chief Minister
Udhav Thackeray.

Days and dates 29. International Epilepsy Day is observed every year on
the Second Monday of February across the world. In
2022, International Epilepsy Day falls on February 14,
2022. International Epilepsy Day seeks to raise
awareness and educate the general public on the true
facts about epilepsy and the urgent need for improved
treatment, better care, and greater investment in
research.
30. The FICCI’s Committee Against Smuggling and
Counterfeiting Activities Destroying the Economy
(CASCADE) has taken the initiative to launch
AntiSmuggling Day, which will be marked on 11
February every year. The inaugural Anti-Smuggling
Day is being observed on February 11, 2022.
31. Every year, February 15 is observed as International
Childhood Cancer Day (ICCD) to raise awareness
about the evil that entails this issue and the ways to deal
with the same. The day is a global collaborative
campaign to raise awareness about childhood cancer
and to express support for children and adolescents
with cancer, the survivors and their families.
32. World Day of Social Justice is celebrated annually all
over the world on 20 February. The International
Labour Organization unanimously adopted the ILO
Declaration on Social Justice for a Fair Globalization
on 10 June 2008.
33. The 6th Anniversary of the launch of Shyama Prasad
Mukherji Rurban Mission is being observed on
February 21,2022. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had
launched the Mission on this day in 2016 to develop
300 clusters in the country holistically by providing
economic, social and physical infrastructure facilities.
So far, Rural Development Ministry has approved 296
clusters under the Mission.
34. The International Mother Language Day (IMLD) is
observed annually on the 21st of February. The day
aims to raise awareness regarding linguistic and
cultural diversity and to promote multilingualism. The

58
 2022 theme is “Using technology for multilingual
learning: Challenges and opportunities”.
35. Central Excise Day, which is observed on February 24
commemorates the Central Excise and Salt Act which
was enacted on 24th February 1944.
36. World Sustainable energy day 2022 is observed on
27th February across the world. It hosts events centered
on sustainable energy production and use, which
covers energy efficiency and renewable energy sources
for buildings, industry, and transport.

Obituaries 11. Noted industrialist and former chairman of Bajaj Auto,

Rahul Bajaj, has passed away, due to pneumonia and a
heart problem. He was awarded the third-highest
civilian award Padma Bhushan in 2001.
12. Veteran singer and composer, Bappi Lahiri has passed
away at the age of 69. He was lovingly called Bappi Da
in the industry is known for delivering iconic songs in
several films of the late 1970s-80s like Chalte Chalte,
Disco Dancer, and Sharaabi.
13. Legendary Bengali singer, Sandhya Mukherjee has
passed away at the age of 90 years due to cardiac arrest.
Her full name was Geetashree Sandhya
Mukhopadhyay.
14. Former journalist with ET and a reputed political
reporter and editor, Ravish Tiwari passed away after a
battle with cancer.
Updates reported from 1-15 February

News Narration

Union Budget 2022-23: Key highlights of Union
Budget
Union Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman is presenting the
Union Budget 2022 for the 4th time in a row. She will be
presenting the financial statements and tax proposals for the
fiscal year 2022-23 (April 2022 to March 2023). A Made in
India tablet has replaced the traditional ‘Bahi Khata’ as Union
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman leaves the Finance
Ministry’s office to go to the Parliament to present the Budget.
● The total size of the budget 2022-23 is Rs 39.45 Lakh
Crore. This figure also represents Total Receipt and
Total expenditure as per the Budgeted Estimates for
2022-23. Total receipts other than borrowings in 2022-
23 estimated at Rs. 22.84 lakh crore.
● Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, while
presenting the Budget, said that the country is expected
to grow at 9.27 per cent.
● Two parallel tracks for the next 25 years: public
investments in infrastructure and a budget that is
inclusive and futuristic.
● 7 focus areas: PM Gati Shakti, Inclusive Development,
Productivity Enhancement, Sunrise Opportunities,
Energy Transition, Climate Action and Financing of
investments.

Economic Survey 2022: Key highlights of Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman has presented Economic
Economic Survey Survey 2021-22 in the Parliament on 31st January 2022. The
pre-budget Economic Survey, which is tabled in Parliament

59
 ahead of the Union Budget to present the state of the economy
and suggest policy prescriptions. The pre-Budget Economic
Survey is authored by a team led by Chief Economic Advisor
(CEA). Days before the presentation, the Centre appointed
economist V Anantha Nageswaran as the new CEA.
● Economic Survey is an annual document of the
Ministry of Finance. It reviews the economic progress
of the country and issues in the last 12 months.
● The survey provides information related to the
performance of key developmental schemes launched
by the government. The document also explains the
performance of major government policies and their
impact.
Theme of Economic Survey 2021-22 is the “Agile approach”

Australian Open 2022 Rafael Nadal (Spain) has defeated Daniill Medvedev (Russia)
2-6,6-7,6-4,6-4,7-5 to win the Men’s Singles title at the
Australian Open 2022. This is his 21st Major title, becoming the
first male player to do so. In women’s tennis, Margaret Court
(Australian) has 24 singles majors, an all-time record. In
women’s, World Number 1 Ashleigh Barty of Australia
defeated Danielle Collins of the US, 6-3 7-6, to win women’s
singles final title at the Australian Open 2022.

Republic Day parade 2022 The tableau of Uttar Pradesh has been picked as the best tableau
among the 12 States/UTs which participated in the Republic
Day parade on January 26, 2022. The theme of the tableau of
Uttar Pradesh was ‘One District One Product and Kashi
Vishwanath Dham’. A total of 12 states and union territories had
participated in the Republic Day parade on January 26. The
second place went to Karnataka for its tableau based on 'cradle
of traditional handicrafts' while the third position went to
Meghalaya for its tableau based on ‘Meghalaya’s 50 years of
Statehood and its tribute to women-led cooperative societies &
SHGs’.
Other winners of Republic Day parade 2022:
Best marching contingent among three Services: Indian Navy
Best marching contingent among CAPF/other auxiliary forces:
Central Industrial Security Force (CISF)
The tableaux of the ministry of education and the ministry of
civil aviation have been declared as joint winners in the category
of central ministries and departments. The theme of the tableau
of the ministry of education and the ministry of skill
development and entrepreneurship was 'National Education
Policy. The tableau of the ministry of civil aviation was based
on the theme 'Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik'.

Statue of Equality Prime Minister Narendra Modi has dedicated to the nation 216-
feet tall ‘Statue of Equality in Hyderabad to commemorate the
11th-century Bhakti saint Ramanujacharya. The statue has been
conceptualised by Chinna Jeeyar Swami of Sri Ramanujacharya
Ashram. The inauguration of the statue is a part of the 12-day
Sri Ramanuja Sahasrabdi Samaroham, the ongoing 1000th birth
anniversary celebrations of the Bhakti saint. A 3D presentation
on the life and teachings of the saint will also be showcased
during the event.
Structure of the Statue:
● The statue is made of ‘panchaloha’, a combination of

60

U19 World Cup 2022
Indian National Women’s Day
National News
five metals- gold, silver, copper, brass, and zinc. It is
among one of the tallest metallic statues in sitting
positions in the world.
● The 216-feet tall 'Statue of Equality statue is mounted
on a 54-feet high base building, called ‘Bhadra Vedi’.
● The floors of the building are dedicated to a Vedic
digital library and research centre, ancient Indian texts,
a theatre, an educational gallery detailing works of Sri
Ramanujacharya.
India defeated England by four wickets to clinch a record-
extending fifth title at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium,
Antigua. India added the fifth title to their collection, having
previously won the trophy in 2000, 2008, 2012, 2018. Yash
Dhull becomes the fifth Indian captain to win the title after
Mohammad Kaif, Virat Kohli, Unmukt Chand and Prithvi
Shaw.
● India’s Raj Angad Bawa was announced Player of the
Match of the ICC Under19 World Cup 2022 Final
between India and England.
● South Africa’s Dewald Brevis who broke all records to
score 506 runs in only six innings, the most for any
batter in any Under19 World Cup ever, was named
Player of the Series for his record-breaking showing.
Indian National Women’s Day is observed every year on 13
February to commemorate the birth anniversary of Sarojini
Naidu. This year Nation celebrates its 143rd Birth Anniversary.
She was born on February 13, 1879. She was famous for her
nickname ‘Nightingale of India’ or ‘Bharat Kokila’ because of
her poems. Sarojini Naidu is well-known across the globe for
her contributions to literature.
About Sarojini Naidu:
● Sarojini Naidu, born in Hyderabad and educated in
Cambridge was the powerful face of Women in the
Indian Independence struggle.
● Anti-imperialistic, Universal Suffragist, Women rights
activist Mrs. Naidu paved the path for women’s
movements in India.
● Indian Nightangle Sarojini Naidu shines both as an
activist and as a poet.
● In 1925 Sarojini Naidu became the president of the
Indian National Congress.
● Sarojini Naidu was one of the forefront leaders who led
the Civil Disobedience Movement and the Quit India
Movement.
● When she graces the United Provinces as Governor in
1947, she rewrites the history by becoming the first
woman to hold the office of Governor in the Dominion
of India.
● For Women’s Rights, suffrage and representation in
organizations and assemblies she established the
Women’s India Association in 1917.
1. India has become the first country in the world to
administer a DNA vaccine against COVID-19. The
ZyCoV-D which is the World’s first plasmid DNA
vaccine has been produced by Ahmedabad-based
61
 vaccine manufacturer Zydus Cadila and it was
administered for the first time in Patna.
2. Securities and Exchange Board of India has
restructured its advisory committee on Investor
Protection and Education Fund (IPEF), under the
chairmanship of G Mahalingam.

State News 1. The first geological park of India will be built in

Lamheta, Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh. Approval for
the park was given by the Geological Survey of India,
under the ministry of mining.
2. Chief Electoral Officer’s office of Punjab unveiled its
election mascot, “Shera” (Lion). It aims to increase
voter awareness, participation and promote ethical
voting in the Punjab Assembly polls that is scheduled
on 20 February 2022. The mascot “Shera”, depicting a
lion. It represents the rich cultural heritage of Punjab.
3. Social activists have built a temple for Mahatma
Gandhi and freedom fighters’ Smrithi Vanam at the
Municipal Park in Srikakulam, Andhra Pradesh to
inculcate patriotism among the youth by remembering
the sacrifices of freedom fighters. Statues of freedom
fighters and social activists were erected in the park
with the help of donors.
4. India’s first commercial-scale biomass-based
hydrogen plant will come up at the Khandwa district
of Madhya Pradesh.
5. Kerala Government has signed an MoU with the Social
Alpha’s Energy Lab – “Clean Energy International
Incubation Centre (CEIIC)” to support innovative and
clean energy technology programmes in Kerala. The
Government of Kerala signed this agreement through
Kerala Development & Innovation Strategy Council
(KDISC) and Energy Management Centre (EMC).
6. The Government of Telangana and the British Council,
an international organisation for educational
opportunities and cultural exchange, have signed a 3-
year MoU to renew the partnership in education,
English and arts.
7. The Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project will be
India’s first bullet train route. While Surat city will get
India’s first bullet train station. National High-Speed
Rail Corporation Ltd (NHSRCL) will be constructing
this project that is scheduled to be completed by
December 2024. The cost of the project is estimated to
be more than Rs 1 lakh crore of which Rs 88,000 crores
will be funded by the Japan International Cooperation
Agency (JICA).
8. Jammu & Kashmir has become the first Union
Territory to integrate with the National Single Window
System (NSWS) which marks a major leap in Ease of
Doing Business (EoDB) in the UT. Lieutenant
Governor of J&K Manoj Sinha launched the J&K
Single Window Clearance System integrated with
NSWS. NSWS is linked with the India Industrial Land
Bank (IILB) which hosts 45 industrial parks of J&K
that will help Investors to discover available land
parcels in J&K.

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International News 1. The United States was India’s top trading partner in the
calendar year 2021 with a trade of $112.3 billion. The
US is followed by China on second. The value of trade
between India and China was $110.4 billion.
2. The 2022 Winter Olympics kicked off on February 04,
2022, in Beijing, China and will continue till February
20, 2022. The Opening Ceremony was held at
Beijing’s National Stadium, also known as the Bird’s
Nest. However, India had announced the diplomatic
level boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics opening
and closing ceremony. This means that no Indian
officials will attend the opening and closing ceremony.
However, the country has sent one of its athletes, Arif
Khan (skier), to attend the event.
3. Dubai firm, THE JET ZeroEmission announced the
launch of the World’s first hydrogen-powered flying
boat ‘THE JET’ in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. ‘THE
JET’ features cutting-edge characteristics and
technologies, making it capable of flying in silence
over the waters at a cruising speed of 40 knots and also
has a capacity of carrying 8-12 passengers.
4. China is celebrating the Spring Festival, it’s the most
important annual festival as it entered the Lunar new
“Year of the Tiger”. Last year was celebrated as the
Lunar Year of the Ox.
5. Instagram has announced the launch of ‘Take a Break’
in all countries, including India, to empower people to
make informed decisions about the way they are
spending their time. T
6. India has agreed to provide a grant to Sri Lanka to
implement a ‘Unitary Digital Identity framework’,
apparently modelled on the Aadhaar card. The
Rajapaksa government will “prioritise” the
implementation of the Framework as a national-level
programme.
7.

Books 1. The book titled ‘Fearless Governance’ authored by Dr

Kiran Bedi has been released.
2. A book titled ‘Operation Khatma’ has been released
which is authored by journalists RC Ganjoo and
Ashwini Bhatnagar. The book is based upon the
operation by the Special Operations Group of Jammu
& Kashmir Police which led to the killing of 22
terrorists of the Jammu & Kashmir Liberation Front
(JKLF).
3. India’s first-ever season style book titled ‘The Class of
2006: Sneak Peek into the Misadventures of the Great
Indian Engineering Life’, written by Akash Kansal
4. A Trilogy book series titled, ‘India, That is Bharat:
Coloniality, Civilisation, Constitution’ is authored by
J Sai Deepak and published by Bloomsbury India.
5. A short biography of Indian athlete Neeraj Chopra has
titled ‘Golden Boy Neeraj Chopra’ authored by sports
author Navdeep Singh Gill has been released. Neeraj
Chopra won a Gold medal in Javelin Throw at the 2020
Tokyo Olympics.
6. Virzu Studios in association with MIDAS Deals Pvt

63
 Ltd has released the motion poster of its upcoming
graphic novel, Atharva – The Origin. Cricketer
Mahendra Singh Dhoni has been portrayed as the
superhero Atharva in this graphic novel.
7. A book titled “Atal Bihari Vajpayee” authored by
Sagarika Ghose has been launched. It is a biography of
the former Prime Minister of India.
8. Ambassador Rajiv Kumar Bhatia, a Distinguished
Fellow, Foreign Policy Studies Programme at Gateway
House, has authored a new book (his 3rd book) titled
“India-Africa Relations: Changing Horizons”.

Reports and Indices 1. Maharashtra has topped India’s list in the number of
micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) owned
by entrepreneurs from the Scheduled Castes with as
many as 96,805 enterprises. Tamil Nadu with 42,997
enterprises and Rajasthan with 38,517 units occupy the
second and third slots, according to the data furnished
by the Office of the Development Commissioner in the
Union Ministry of MSME.
2. As per a brand valuation report released by Brand
Finance, Life Insurance Corporation has been ranked
at 10th in the list of insurance brands globally. LIC is
the only Indian insurance company in the top 10 list.
LIC has a valuation of USD 8.656 billion (around Rs
64,722 crore).
3. The unemployment rate in India in January 2022 fell
sharply to 6.57%, according to the data from the
economic think-tank, the Centre for Monitoring Indian
Economy (CMIE).
4. The India Press Freedom Report 2021 was recently
released by the Rights and Risks Analysis Group.
According to the report, 13 media houses and
newspapers were targeted in the country, 108
journalists were attacked, and 6 journalists were killed.
Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh
and Tripura topped the list of States and Union
Territories where journalists and media houses were
targeted in 2021.
5. Salesforce, a leading player in Customer Relationship
Management (CRM), published the Global Digital
Skills Index 2022 which highlights the growing global
digital skills crisis and the need for action. India has
scored 63 out of 100, leads the digital skills readiness,
and has the highest readiness index among the 19
countries. The average global readiness score was 33
out of 100.
6. In accordance with the Bloomberg Billionaires Index,
Gautam Adani net worth reached $88.5 billion
overtaking Mukesh Ambani’s $87.9 billion becoming
Asia’s richest person as on 8th February 2022.
7. As per the TomTom Traffic Index Ranking 2021,
Mumbai has been ranked at 5th, Bengaluru at 10th in
terms of the most congested cities in the world in 2021.
Delhi and Pune ranked 11th and 21st among 404 cities
across 58 countries, according to TomTom Traffic
Index’s global top 25 lists. Istanbul, Turkey has been
declared as the most congested city in the world as per

64
 the ranking. while Moscow came in second.

Science and Technology 1. South Korean electronics manufacturing giant,

Samsung Electronics surpassed U.S chipmaker Intel to
become the world’s leading chipmaker by revenue in
2021, according to a report released by research firm
Counterpoint Technology Market Research.
2. The Global Center of Excellence in Affordable and
Clean energy was recently launched at IIT Dharwad.
The center will enhance the research in affordable and
clean energy. The center will create, incubate
technologies, physical infrastructure.
3. The Indian Institute of Science (IISc.), Bengaluru, has
installed and commissioned Param Pravega, one of the
most powerful supercomputers in India. It is also the
largest supercomputer in an Indian academic
institution. Param Pravega has a total supercomputing
capacity of 3.3 petaflops (1 petaflop equals a
quadrillion or 1015 operations per second).
4. The Indian Institute of Technology (IITHyderabad)
has launched the beta version of ‘Swarajability’, a job
portal powered by artificial intelligence that helps
people with disabilities acquire relevant skills and find
jobs.
5. According to NASA, the International Space Station
will continue its operation until 2031 and then crash
into an uninhabited area in the Pacific Ocean known as
Point Nemo. It will be replaced with three free-flying
space stations to continue the work after ISS’s
retirement. NASA also selected Houston-based Axiom
Space to provide the ISS’s first commercial module.
6. Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has
decommissioned the INSAT-4B, an Indian
communications satellite that forms part of the Indian
National Satellite System. The INSAT-4B underwent
Post Mission Disposal (PMD) at the end of its service,
followed by decommissioning on January 24.

Banking/Economy/Business News 1. The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) Monetary Policy

Committee (MPC) headed by Reserve Bank of India
(RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das kept the repo rate
unchanged at 4 per cent for the 10th consecutive time
while maintaining an ‘accommodative stance’ as long
as necessary. The reverse repo rate will continue to be
3.35 per cent.
2. Social media giant Meta has partnered with industry
body the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce
& Industry (FICCI) to support five lakh women-led
small businesses across India. Meta will undertake this
initiative under its #SheMeansBusiness programme, in
partnership with FICCI’s ‘Empowering the Greater
50%’ initiative.
3. The Government of India has joined hands with the
Government of Israel to create 150 ‘Villages of
Excellence’ in 12 States of the country, to help farmers
to adopt the latest technology in the farm sector.
4. Vedanta Ltd has tied up a facility of Rs 8,000 crores
(replacement facility) with Union Bank of India at

65
 7.75% to take over the majority of the syndicated
facility after discussions with lenders.
5. Kotak Mahindra General Insurance Company has
signed an agreement with Cars24 Financial Services
Private Limited (CARS24 Financial Services) to
provide motor insurance services to used car buyers.
Under the partnership, used car buyers from Cars24
will be directly provided with Kotak General
Insurance’s comprehensive motor insurance plans.
6. Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) has tied up with
Policybazaar to digitally offer a wide range of Life
Insurance and investment products to its customers
across India.
7. Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India
Limited (SPMCIL) has set up ‘new banknote printing
lines’ at its Currency Note Press, Nashik and Bank
Note Press, Dewas.
8. State Bank of India (SBI) has issued $300 million
Formosa bonds and listed the issuance on India INX
GIFT IFSC. The lender is the first Indian entity to raise
money through Formosa Bond, which is a bond issued
in Taiwan. SBI was the first issuer whose Green bonds
were dually listed in November 2021 on Luxembourg
Stock Exchange through an MOU that has been
entered into by both Exchanges.
9. Reserve Bank of India has imposed several restrictions
on Indian Mercantile Cooperative Bank Ltd, Lucknow,
including a cap of Rs 1 lakh on withdrawals.
10. Punjab National Bank (PNB) and Patanjali Ayurved
Limited (PAL) have launched co-branded contactless
credit cards in partnership with the National Payments
Corporation of India (NPCI). The cobranded credit
cards are offered on NPCI’s RuPay Platform and are
available in two variants – PNB RuPay Platinum and
PNB RuPay Select.
11. As per SBI Chairman Dinesh Kumar Khara, National
Asset Reconstruction Company Ltd (NARCL) or bad
bank and IndiaDebt Resolution Company Ltd
(IDRCL) are ready to commence operations. A total of
38 Non-Performing Asset (NPA) accounts.
12. The Reserve Bank of India has cancelled the license of
Independence Co-operative Bank Ltd., Nashik,
Maharashtra w.e.f February 03, 2022. The major
reason for the cancellation of the license by RBI is that
bank does not have adequate capital and earning
prospects.
13. Tata Group has chosen State Bank of India, Bank of
Baroda and HDFC Bank as preferred bankers for Air
India.
14. Paytm Money has introduced “India’s first” intelligent
messenger called ‘Pops’. The company has launched
‘Pops’, with which users can receive specific
information related to their stocks, analysis about their
portfolio, market news, and important market
movements in an easy to consume format, all in one
place.
15. Tata Group company, Tata Steel Long Products Ltd’s
(TSLP) has acquired Odisha-based Neelachal Ispat

66
 Nigam Ltd (NINL) for Rs 12,100 crore. Neelachal
Ispat Nigam Ltd (NINL) is a steel plant located in
Kalinganagar in Odisha and was shut in March 2020
due to continued losses.
16. Sony Group Corp. is purchasing Bungie Inc., the U.S.
video game developer behind the popular Destiny and
Halo franchises, for $3.6 billion to bolster its stable of
game-making studios.
17. Export-Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) on behalf of
the government of India, extended a line of credit of
$500 million to the government of the socialist
republic of Sri Lanka for financing the purchase of
petroleum products.
18. The Reserve Bank of India had introduced the
Voluntary Retention Route (VRR) for investments by
Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) in debts in 2019
with an investment limit of Rs 1,50,000 crore. Out of
this, around Rs, 1,49,995 crore have been availed so
far in three tranches. Now RBI has increased this
investment limit in VRR from Rs. 1,50,000 crore to Rs.
2,50,000 crore.
19. The State Bank of India (SBI) has announced a
partnership with NSE Academy to launch five online
courses that promote financial literacy as a necessary
life skill.
20. The largest buyer, the Central Bank of Thailand,
bought 90 metric tonnes of gold while RBI bought 77.5
metric tonnes taking its total gold reserve to 754.1
tonnes at the end of December 2021. When it comes to
gold buying, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) emerged
as the second-largest buyer of yellow metal among the
world’s Central Banks in 2021.
21. ICICI Lombard General Insurance has partnered with
Airtel Payments Bank to offer cyber insurance to
customers of the bank. This Cyber Insurance policy
provides financial protection to customers against
potential financial fraud relating to banking, credit or
debit card; identity theft; phishing or email spoofing
etc.
22. Razorpay has expanded into South-East Asia with the
acquisition of a majority stake in a Malaysian fintech
firm Curlec, valuing the company between $19-20
million.
23. Tata Sky has dropped the ‘sky’ brand name after 15
years and has rechristened itself as Tata Play. The DTH
company has joined hands with Netflix to offer new
OTT (over the top) content-centric channel packs as
well. The new name of the company will be visible to
the viewers.

Appointments and Resignations 1. In Honduras, the Freedom and Refoundation Party

(Libre) member Xiomara Castro has been sworn in as
the first female President of the country.
2. The Prime Minister of Portugal, Antonio Costo has
been re-elected after his centre-left Socialist Party
secured a landslide victory in the 2022 Portuguese
legislative election.
3. Professor Dinesh Prasad Saklani has been appointed as

67
 the new Director of the National Council of
Educational Research and Training (NCERT).
4. Lieutenant General GAV Reddy has been appointed as
the new head of the Defence Intelligence Agency.
General Reddy would be succeeding Lt Gen KJS
Dhillon.
5. Former Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor, Urjit
Patel has resigned from the post of non-executive and
independent director of Britannia Industries Limited,
citing a full-time work assignment starting next month.
6. Dr. Madan Mohan Tripathi has joined as
DirectorGeneral of the National Institute of
Electronics & Information Technology (NIELIT).
7. The former secretary, Department of Sports, Ravi
Mittal has been appointed as the Chairman of
Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI), as
per the notification issued by the Ministry of Corporate
Affairs.
8. Senior scientist GA Srinivasa Murthy has been
appointed director of Defence Research and
Development Laboratory (DRDL) of the Defence
Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in
Hyderabad.
9. The Government of India has appointed Sonali Singh
to hold the additional charge of the Controller General
of Accounts (CGA), under the Department of
Expenditure, Ministry of Finance.
10. The low-cost Indian airline, IndiGo has appointed its
co-founder and promoter Rahul Bhatia as the
Managing Director (MD) of the company with
immediate effect. He is the first-ever MD of Indigo,
because before this the company never had a managing
director. Ronojoy Dutta is the CEO of the Indigo.
11. Scientist and launch vehicle specialist, Dr S
Unnikrishnan Nair took charge as the director of
Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC). VSSC is a
keyspace research centre of the Indian Space Research
Organisation (Isro) and specialises in rocket and space
vehicles for satellite programs.
12. Pfizer India has appointed Pradip Shah as the chairman
of its board following the resignation of RA Shah. He
is the ex-managing director and a founding member of
Crisil.
13. The board of Tata Sons Pvt Ltd has approved the
reappointment of N Chandrasekaran as the Executive
Chairman of the company for the second five years
term.

Environment 1. State Bank of India (SBI) has launched a dedicated

centralized processing cell named ‘Surya Shakti Cell’
with the objective of strengthening the existing
financing arrangement for solar power projects. SBI
has collaborated with Tata Power Solar Systems Ltd.
(a Tata Power Company) for financing solar power
projects.
2. The Khijadiya Bird Sanctuary near Jamnagar in
Gujarat and Bakhira Wildlife Sanctuary in Uttar
Pradesh have been listed as Wetlands of International

68
 Importance by the Ramsar Convention. With this, the
total number of Ramsar sites in India goes up to 49.
Khijadiya has become the fourth wetland of Gujarat to
get the Ramsar tag. Nalsarovar Bird Sanctuary, Thol
Wildlife Sanctuary and Wadhwana wetland are the
other Ramsar sites in the state. The last two were
included in April last year
3. The Aravalli Biodiversity Park in Gurugram, Haryana,
has been declared as India’s first “other effective area-
based conservation measures” (OECM) site. This was
informed by the Union ministry of environment, forest
and climate change on the occasion of World Wetlands
Day. The International Union for Conservation of
Nature (IUCN) gives OECM tag to those areas that are
not protected but support rich biodiversity. The tag
designates the area as a biodiversity hotspot on the
international map.

Personalities in the News 1. Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, Pushkar Singh Dhami

has appointed Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar as the
brand ambassador of Uttarakhand ahead of the 2022
Assembly Elections.
2. The United Kingdom has marked the 70th anniversary
of Queen Elizabeth II’s rule, the queen looked to the
future of the monarchy. She surpassed Louis XIV of
France as the longest-reigning monarch of a sovereign
state. She became the longest-lived British monarch on
21 December 2007
3. Veteran Sri Lankan fast bowler Suranga Lakmal has
announced to retire from international cricket, after Sri
Lanka’s upcoming tour of India. The 34-year-old right-
arm fast bowler and right-handed batsman aim to join
the English county club Derbyshire after retirement.

Summits/ MoUs 1. The State Bank of India (SBI) has signed a tripartite
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Indira
Gandhi Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) and National
Culture Fund (NCF) of the Ministry of Culture, for
Development of Atmanirbhar Bharat Centre for
Design (ABCD) at L1 Barrack, Red Fort, in Delhi. The
main objective of Project ABCD is to highlight,
promote and celebrate the products that have the
Geographical Indication sign to give a boost to
Economic Value Addition to GI products from India.
2. Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), NITI Aayog, and the
U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)
have announced a new partnership under the
Sustainable Access to Markets and Resources for
Innovative Delivery of Healthcare (SAMRIDH)
initiative.
3. Amazon India signed an MoU with Karnataka State
Rural Livelihood Promotion Society (KSRLPS) to
support the growth of women entrepreneurs.
4. India and ASEAN nations have approved a work plan
titled India-ASEAN Digital Work Plan 2022, during
the second ASEAN Digital Ministers’ (ADGMIN)
Meeting held virtually. The ADGMIN meeting was
cochaired by Devusinh Chauhan, Minister of State for

69
 Communications, Government of India, and Admiral
Tin Aung San, Myanmar’s Minister of Transport and
Communications.
5. Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has addressed 30th
National Commission for Women Foundation Day
programme on January 31, 2022, via video conference.
The event was organised to celebrate the achievements
of women in different fields. The theme of the
programme was ‘She The Change Maker’.
6. The Union Ministry of Culture will organize a first-
ofits-kind Global Summit on ‘Reimagining Museums
in India’ on February 15-16, 2022. The summit will be
inaugurated by Union Culture Minister G. Kishan
Reddy. The Global Summit is being organised in
partnership with Bloomberg.
7. Union Minister of Power, R K Singh has launched
Powerthon-2022, a hackathon competition to find
technology-driven solutions to solve the complex
problems in power distribution and to ensure quality
and reliable power supply.
8. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has addressed the high-
level segment of the One Ocean Summit. The high-
level segment of the summit will also be addressed by
several other heads of states and governments
including Germany, the United Kingdom, South
Korea, Japan and Canada.

Defence Exercises/ Aerospace news
1. North Korea successfully tested its Hwasong-12
intermediate-range ballistic missile from the Jagang
Province area. This was the first nuclear-capable
missile testing undertaken by the country since 2017.
The Hwasong-12 has an estimated range of 4,500 km
(2,800 miles).
2. The Indian Navy‘s brand-new submarine, the fifth of
the six French-designed Scorpene-class submarines
named “Vagir”, sailed out on its first sea sortie and will
now undergo rigorous trials before it is delivered to the
Navy later this year. The submarine-designated “Yard
11879” during its construction by Mazagon Dock
Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) in collaboration with the
Naval Group of France will be named “Vagir” after it
is commissioned into service.
3. India’s Goa Shipyard Ltd delivered the 5th and final
vessel of the 5 Coast Guard Offshore Patrol Vehicle
(CGOPV) Project ahead of contractual schedule. The
vessel was named ICGS ‘Saksham’. The point to be
underlined- all 5 vessels have been delivered before
time to the Indian Coast Guard. The contract for 5
CGOPVs was signed by GSL with the Ministry of
Defence on 26 August 2016
4. Ministry of Defence had launched the Services eHealth
Assistance and Teleconsultation (SeHAT) medical
teleconsultation service for all entitled armed forces
personnel and their families in May 2021.
5. India and Philippines signed a 375 million dollar deal
for the sale of BrahMos supersonic anti-ship cruise
missiles to the Philippines Navy. Defence Secretary of
Philippines Delfin Lorenzana and Indian Envoy to

70
 Philippines Shambhu Kumaran signed the contract in
Manila.

Awards and Honours 1. New Zealand cricketer, Daryl Mitchell has been named
the winner of the International Cricket Council (ICC)
Spirit of Cricket Award 2021.
2. Tokyo Olympics gold medallist, Neeraj Chopra has
been nominated for the prestigious 2022 Laureus
World Breakthrough of the Year Award.
3. A Telugu short film ‘Street Student’ by Akula Sandeep
depicting the story of a street urchin with a strong
message on right to education has bagged the first prize
in a competition organised by the National Human
Rights Commission (NHRC).
4. Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways,
Nitin Gadkari will be facilitated for the first time with
the 18th late Madhavrao Limaye award in the category
of Karyakram Khaasdar (Efficient Member of
Parliament) for the year 2020-21. This award will be
facilitated by Nashik Public Library, Sarvajanik
Vachanalay.

Sports news 1. India defeated China, 2-0 to win the bronze medal at
the 2022 Women’s Hockey Asia Cup tournament. The
2022 Women’s Hockey Asia Cup was the 10th edition
of the quadrennial Women’s Hockey Asia Cup.
2. Argentina defeated Chile, 4-2 to win its 6th women’s
field hockey championship title at the 2022 Women’s
Pan American Cup. The Women’s Pan American Cup
is the quadrennial international championship of the
Americas organized by the Pan American Hockey
Federation.
3. Indian men’s hockey player PR Sreejesh has won the
World Games Athlete of the Year award for 2021. He
is the second Indian after Rani Rampal to win this
award.
4. Chennai Super Kings (CSK), has become the country’s
first sports Unicorn with its market cap having touched
a high of Rs 7,600 crores and its share in the grey
market trading in the Rs 210-225 price band.
5. International Olympic Committee (IOC) has approved
a proposal to include Surfing, Skateboarding and Sport
Climbing for the 2028 Summer Olympics Games that
will be organized in Los Angeles, United States. The
2028 Summer Olympics are officially known as the
Games of the XXXIV Olympiad, or Los Angeles 2028
is a forthcoming event scheduled to take place from
July 21 – August 6, 2028, in Los Angeles, California,
US.
6. China PR (People’s Republic) defeated South Korea
(Korea Republic), 3-2, to win the AFC Women`s Asian
Cup India 2022 final title at the D.Y. Patil Stadium in
Navi Mumbai. This is the record-extending 9th AFC
Women`s Asian Cup title won by China.
7. Senegal has defeated Egypt in the Africa Cup of
Nations championship winning the continental
championship for the first time on penalty kicks at
Olembe Stadium in Yaoundé, Cameroon.

71
 8. Gujarat Titans is the official name of the new
Ahmedabad franchise owned by CVC Capital as
Hardik Pandya is all set to lead the franchise in the
Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022. The naming of the
Ahmedabad franchise comes days after Lucknow,
owned by RPSG Group, announced its official name
as Lucknow Super Giants. The Lucknow team will be
led by KL Rahul.
9. Indian teenager Unnati Hooda beat compatriot Smit
Toshniwal, 21-18, 21-11, to claim the women’s singles
title at the 2022 Odisha Open badminton tournament.
The 14-year old Unnati is the youngest Indian to win
the tournament. In men’s singles, India’s 21-year-old
Kiran George beat Priyanshu Rajawat 21-15, 14-21,
21-18 to emerge as the winner. The 2022 Odisha Open
is a BWF Super 100 tournament, organized at the
Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium, Cuttack, Odisha
10. World Champion Grand Master Magnus Carlsen has
secured his victory in Wijk Aan Zee (Netherlands)
with a round to spare. The world champion defeated
GM Fabiano Caruana and now leads the 2022 Tata
Steel Chess Tournament by a full point.
11. The Government has decided to continue the scheme
of ‘Khelo India – National Programme for
Development of Sports’ over the 15th Finance
Commission Cycle — 2021-22 to 2025-26 — at an
outlay of Rs 3165.50 crore. Khelo India Scheme
Allocation increases by 48 per cent in Budget 2022 and
includes it in the Prime Minister’s Award Scheme.”

Arts and culture 1. The three days long Torgya Festival of the Monpa
tribal community of Arunachal Pradesh is celebrated at
Tawang Monastery, Arunachal Pradesh. The main
attraction of the festival is the ‘Sha-na Cham’, the
ritual dance performed by monks to showcase the
Choe-Gyal Yap & Yum Tsa-Munde deity.
2. Spituk Gustor Festival, a two-day annual celebration
of Ladakhi culture and traditional heritage celebrated
on 30th & 31st January 2022 in Leh and Ladakh Union
Territory. To witness the colourful festivities, devotees
arrive at the Spituk Monastery every year and attend
the colourful mask dance locally called “Chams”
3. The ancient festival of Kanchoth is annually
celebrated, mainly by the Nag followers, during the
Shukla Paksha of Magh month which usually falls in
January or February. The festival is celebrated with
religious fervour across the Chenab valley region of
Jammu and Kashmir (J&K).

Days and dates 1. National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and

the UPI ecosystem (comprising of leading banks and
fintechs) have announced the UPI Safety and
Awareness initiative, to create awareness amongst
consumers. Under this initiative, NPCI and the UPI
ecosystem will observe February 1-7 as ‘UPI Safety
and Awareness Week’ and the whole of February as
‘UPI Safety and Awareness Month’.
2. The Reserve Bank of India will observe February 14-

72
 18, 2022 as Financial Literacy week 2022. Reserve
Bank of India (RBI) has been conducting Financial
Literacy Week (FLW) every year since 2016 to
propagate financial education messages on a particular
theme across the country.
3. World Neglected Tropical Diseases Day (World NTD
Day) is observed on January 30 every year to raise
awareness about neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) as
a critical public health challenge so that we can
progress towards their elimination. 2022 theme is
‘Achieving health equity to end the neglect of poverty-
related diseases’. The 2022 slogan is “From neglect to
care”.
4. World Leprosy Day is observed globally on the last
Sunday of January every year. In 2022, the World
Leprosy Day falls on January 30, 2022. This year
theme of World Leprosy Day 2022 is “United for
Dignity”.
5. Indian Coast Guard is celebrating its 46th Raising Day
on 01 Feb 2022. As the fourth largest Coast Guard in
the world, the Indian Coast Guard has played a
significant role in securing the Indian Coasts and
enforcing regulations in the Maritime Zones of India.
6. World Wetlands Day is observed every year on
February 2 all over the world. 2022 marks 51 years of
the Convention on Wetlands. The international theme
for World Wetlands Day 2022 is ‘Wetlands Action for
People and Nature’.
7. World Interfaith Harmony Week is an annual event
observed during the first week of February (1-7
February), after General Assembly designation in
2010.
8. The ‘International Day of Human Fraternity’ is
celebrated across the world on 4th February.
9. World Cancer Day is observed every year globally on
4th February by the Union for International Cancer
Control. By raising worldwide awareness, improving
education and catalysing personal, collective and
government action.
10. International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female is
observed on 6th February globally. This day is
sponsored by the United Nations for their efforts to
eradicate female genital mutilation.
11. Safer Internet Day is observed every year on the
second day of the second week of February with the
aim of providing a safer and better internet, where
every user gets to use the internet responsibly and
without getting their data leaked. This year February 8
is being celebrated as Safer Internet Day across the
world. This year marks the 19th edition of Safer
Internet Day with actions taking place right across the
globe. This year, the occasion is being marked under
the theme ‘Together for a better internet’.
12. The United Nations designated World Pulses Day is
observed every year on 10 February. The day has been
established by the Food and Agriculture Organization
(FAO).
13. International Day of Women and Girls in Science is

73
 observed globally on 11 February. The 7th
International Day of Women and Girls in Science
Assembly, taking place on 11 February 2022, aims to
recognize the role of women and girls in science, not
only as beneficiaries but also as agents of change,
including in view of accelerating progress towards the
achievement of SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation).
The 2022 theme of the Day is “Equity, Diversity, and
Inclusion: Water Unites Us”.
14. World Unani Day is observed on February 11 every
year to mark the birth anniversary of “Hakim Ajmal
Khan”, an eminent Indian Unani physician. The first
Unani Day was celebrated in 2017 at the Central
Research Institute of Unani Medicine (CRIUM),
Hyderabad.
15. World Radio Day is celebrated on 13 February each
year to recognize radio as a powerful medium, which
brings people together from every corner of the globe,
to promote diversity and help build a more peaceful
and inclusive world.

National Insignia and Establishments
1. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched the Pandit
Jasraj Cultural Foundation on the occasion of the 92nd
birth anniversary of the Indian classical vocalist.
2. West Bengal government has launched an open-air
classroom programme Paray Shikshalaya
(Neighbourhood Schools) for primary and pre-primary
students. Under the ‘Paray Shikshalaya’ project,
primary and pre-primary students of government
schools will be taught in open spaces.
3. Rajasthan Chief Minister, Ashok Gehlot and BCCI
President Sourav Ganguly laid the foundation stone of
the world’s third-largest cricket stadium in Jaipur.
4. Atal Tunnel has been officially certified as ‘World’s
Longest Highway Tunnel above 10,000 Feet’ by the
World Book of Records. Atal tunnel is a Highway
tunnel built under Rohtang Pass in eastern Pir Panjal
Himalayan range on Leh-Manali Highway.

Obituaries 1. Iqbal Singh Kingra, who was an Indian socio-spiritual

leader of the Sikh community and an educationalist
passed away at the age of 95 years. He was conferred
with the Padma Shri in 2022 for his contributions in
the field of social work.
2. Senior advocate and Additional Solicitor General
(ASG), Rupinder Singh Suri has passed away. He was
appointed the ASG in June 2020. He was designated as
a senior advocate in 2009 and also served as the
President of the Supreme Court Bar Association and
the Supreme Court Advocates on Record Association.
He served as standing counsel in the Supreme Court
for Punjab for about 15 years.
3. Actor and filmmaker Amitabh Dayal has passed away
after suffering a heart attack at the age of 51.
4. Veteran Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader,
Chandupatla Janga Reddy has passed away in
Hyderabad following health issues. He was a native of
Warangal and a former MLA in Andhra Pradesh. He is

74
 best known for his time as a Member of Parliament in
the 8th Lok Sabha in 1984, which also marked the
BJP’s debut in the Lok Sabha, following Indira
Gandhi’s assassination.
5. Former Greek President Christos Sartzetakis has
passed away at the age of 92 years due to respiratory
failure in Athens, Greece. He was a Greek jurist and a
judge of the Supreme Court, who resisted against the
militants during the 1967-1974 Rule of the Colonels.
6. Professor R Rajamohan, who was an astronomer at the
Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), Bengaluru, for
decades, passed away. He is best known for his Kalki
Project, which aimed to discover asteroids using the
48-cm Schmidt telescope in Kavalur VBO and
discovered a new asteroid, number 4130, from India.
This was the first asteroid discovered in India in 104
years.
7. Legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar has passed away at
the age of 92 after suffering a multi-organ failure. The
Bharat Ratna awardee was admitted to the hospital
after being diagnosed with pneumonia and tested
positive for the coronavirus disease in January. She is
survived by her 3 sisters – Usha Mangeshkar, Asha
Bhosle, Meena Khadikar and brother Hridaynath
Mangeshkar.

Updates reported from 16-31 January

News Narration

India Celebrating 73rd Republic Day on 26 India is celebrating the 73rd Republic Day on 26 January 2022.
January 2022 The celebrations this year are special as India is in the 75th year
of Independence – being celebrated as ‘Azadi ka Amrit
Mahotsav’. Republic Day marks the date on which the
Constitution of India came into effect on 26 January 1950. It
replaced the Government of India Act (1935) as the governing
document of India.
Republic Day Of India: Importance
• India became independent on 15th of august, 1947. Even after
independence, the country did not have a sound constitution.
• The laws, before the enactment of the constitution, were
running on the basis of Government of India Act 1935. Having
realized the need for a permanent constitution and its own
governing body, the government of India appointed a Drafting
Committee on 28th of August 1947 to draft it and Dr, B. R.
Ambedkar as the Chairman of the Drafting Committee.
• After almost 3 years, the 308 members of the Assembly, after
many consultations and a few modifications, finally signed a
constitution on 24th of January 1950, which came into effect on
26th of January 1950.

International Cricket Council announced ICC
Awards 2021
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced the
winners of the 17th edition of ICC Awards for the year 2021
to recognise and honour the best international cricket players of
the previous 12 months, between January 01, 2021, and
December 31, 2021. Notably, these awards honour players for
their performances for their respective national side in a year.

75

Ministry of Home Affairs Padma Awards 2022
announced
RBI released Annual Report of Ombudsman
Schemes, 2020-21
The Best FIFA Football Awards 2021 announced
The apex international cricket governing body has named the
winners in the different categories such as: Emerging Cricketer
of the Year, T20I Cricketer of the Year and Associate Cricketer
of the Year for both men’s and women’s cricket.
Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy for ICC Women’s Cricketer of
the Year: Smriti Mandhana (India)
Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for ICC Men’s Cricketer of the
Year: Shaheen Afridi (Pakistan)
ICC Men’s T20I Cricketer of the Year: Mohammad Rizwan
(Pakistan)
ICC Women’s T20I Cricketer of the Year: Tammy Beaumont
(England)
ICC Men’s ODI Cricketer of the Year: Babar Azam (Pakistan)
ICC Women’s ODI Cricketer of the Year: Lizelle Lee (South
Africa)
ICC Men’s Test Cricketer of the Year: Joe Root (England)
The Union ministry of home affairs announced the Padma
awards on the eve of the country’s 73rd Republic Day. The
Awards are given in three categories: Padma Vibhushan (for
exceptional and distinguished service), Padma Bhushan
(distinguished service of higher-order) and Padma Shri
(distinguished service). The award seeks to recognize
achievements in all fields of activities or disciplines where an
element of public service is involved. These awards are
conferred by the President of India at ceremonial functions
which are held at Rashtrapati Bhawan usually around March/
April every year.
Notable awards:
General Bipin Rawat (Posthumous) was awarded the Padma
Vibhushan in Civil Service.
Satya Narayana Nadella was awarded the Padma Bhushan in
Trade and Industry.
Sundararajan Pichai was awarded the Padma Bhushan in Trade
and Industry.
Cyrus Poonawalla was awarded the Padma Bhushan in Trade
and Industry.
Reserve Bank of India has released the Annual Report of the
Ombudsman Schemes for 2020-21, which has been prepared
for the 9-month period (July 1, 2020 to March 31, 2021) in
alignment with the change in the Financial Year of RBI from
‘July – June’ to ‘April – March’ with effect from July 1, 2020.
The Annual Report covers the activities under the Banking
Ombudsman Scheme, 2006 (BOS), the Ombudsman Scheme
for Non-Banking Financial Companies, 2018 (OSNBFC)
and the Ombudsman Scheme for Digital Transactions, 2019
(OSDT).
Major areas of complaints:
Under the scheme, major areas of complaints are related to
ATM or debit cards, mobile or electronic banking and credit
cards. This area collectively accounted for 42.74 per cent of the
total complaints. This year, RBI changed the reporting period to
AprilMarch.
The Best FIFA Football Awards 2021 ceremony was held
virtually in Zurich, Switzerland to crown outstanding players
76

GoI merges eternal flame of Amar Jawan Jyoti
with National War Memorial flame
National News
for excellent achievement in football. Spain midfielder Alexia
Putellas and Poland/Bayern Munich striker Robert
Lewandowski were awarded the Best FIFA Players in women’s
and men’s football respectively. Lewandowski won the Best
FIFA Men’s Player Award for the second straight year, after
getting the first one in 2020.
Here is the Complete List of Winners:
Category Winner Best FIFA Men’s Player: Robert
Lewandowski (Bayern Munich, Poland)
Best FIFA Women’s Player: Alexia Putellas (Barcelona,
Spain)
Best FIFA Men’s Goalkeeper: Édouard Mendy (Chelsea,
Senegal)
Best FIFA Women’s Goalkeeper: Christiane Endler (Paris
Saint-Germain and Lyon, Chile)
Best FIFA Men’s Coach: Thomas Tuchel (Chelsea, Germany)
Best FIFA Women’s Coach: Emma Hayes (Chelsea, England)
FIFA Fair Play Award: Denmark national football team and
medical staff
FIFA Special Award for an Outstanding Career Achievement:
Christine Sinclair (Female) & Cristiano Ronaldo (Male)
The government of India has merged the flame of the Amar
Jawan Jyoti at Delhi’s India Gate with the flame at the
adjoining National War Memorial on January 21, 2022,
ahead of Republic Day. The ceremony was led by the Integrated
Defence Staff chief, Air Marshal Balabadhra Radha Krishna.
The decision to merge the two flames was taken keeping in
mind that flame at Amar Jawan Jyoti paid homage to the martyrs
of 1971 but none of their names are present there, while names
of all Indian martyrs from all the wars, including 1971 and wars
before and after it are housed at the National War Memorial. So
housing the flame at the same place along with the names will
serve as a true tribute to martyrs. This will also do away with
upkeeping two flames for the same purpose. This means that
after 50 years of continuous lightning, the flame at Amar Jawan
Jyoti will no longer be present there.
The Amar Jawan Jyoti was inaugurated on the Republic Day of
1972 by the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. The eternal
flame of Amar Jawan Jyoti was lit in memory of soldiers who
laid their lives during the 1971 IndoPakistan war.
25. As part of the ongoing Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav
celebrations, Hon’ble Union Minister for Heavy
Industries, Dr. Mahendra Nath Pandey dedicated
India’s first, BHEL-built Coal to Methanol (CTM)
pilot plant which was built by the Bharat Heavy
Electricals Limited (BHEL) in BHEL’s Hyderabad
unit, to the Nation. The pilot project is the first that
uses the gasification method for converting high-ash
coal into methanol. With the capital goods industry
seen as the country’s backbone, this is one more step
towards making the country ‘self-reliant’ with the help
of an indigenously developed CTM plant.
26. Over 76 thousand 500 ‘Agri Nutri Gardens’ have
been established under the Agri Nutri Garden Week’
as against the target of 76 thousand 500. Deendayal
Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihood
77
 Mission (DAY-NRLM) observed this week from 10th
to 17th of January. It is the Mission’s agenda to support
every rural poor household to have Agri Nutri Garden
to fulfill the family’s nutritional needs. Excess
production can also be sold for income generation.
27. In order to commemorate the 125th birth anniversary
of the great freedom fighter Netaji Subhas Chandra
Bose and as part of the year long celebrations, the
government has decided to install a grand statue of
Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose at India Gate in New
Delhi.
28. India has emerged as the largest exporter of
cucumber and gherkins in the world. India has
exported cucumber and gherkins to the tune of over
one lakh 23 thousand Metric Tonnes with a value of
114 million US dollar during April to October 2020-
21.
29. Suriya’s ‘Jai Bhim’ and Mohanlal’s ‘Marakkar:
Arabikadalinte Simham’ have been included in the
long list of films eligible for the Oscars 2022. The two
films found a place in the shortlist of 276 films which
are in contention to get nominated at the 94th Academy
Awards.
30. Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology
(MeitY) has released a 5-year roadmap and Vision
Document 2.0 for the electronics sector. The Vision
Document 2.0 titled “$300 bn Sustainable
Electronics Manufacturing & Exports by 2026” has
been prepared by MeitY in association with the India
Cellular & Electronics Association (ICEA). It is the
second volume of a two-part Vision Document. Vision
Document 2.0 provides a year-wise break-up and
production projections for the various products.
31. India and Israel will work together to create 150
‘Villages of Excellence’ that will help farmers to adopt
latest technology in the farm sector. The 150 villages
that are located around Centres of Excellence (CoEs)
will be converted into ‘Villages of Excellence, Union
Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said.
32. India’s largest electric vehicle (EV) charging
station, with 100 charging points for four-wheelers,
was commissioned in Sector 52, Gurugram. Before
this, the country’s largest EV charging station was in
Navi Mumbai, with 16 AC and 4 DC charging ports
for such vehicles.
33. Home Minister Amit Shah unveiled a grand wall
mural of Mahatma Gandhi made from 2,975 clay
kulhads (earthen cups) at Sabarmati Riverfront in
Ahmedabad on the 74th death anniversary of ‘Father
of the Nation’.

State News 35. A village Kumbalangi in Kerala which won acclaim

as India’s first model tourism village, is set to become
the country’s first sanitary-napkin-free panchayat.
The achievement is part of a unique campaign
underway in Ernakulam constituency.The initiative
titled ‘Avalkayi’, meaning ‘for her’ is being
implemented in the constituency, said Hibi Eden, MP,

78
 following a tie-up with HLL Management Academy’s
‘Thingal’ scheme and Indian Oil Corporation.
36. Reliance Industries has signed a preliminary
agreement with Gujarat to invest Rs 5.95 lakh crore,
mainly in green energy, in the state. Aimed at making
Gujarat ‘net zero’ and carbon free, RIL proposes to
invest Rs 5 lakh crore in the state over the next 10-15
years to set up 100 gigawatts (GW) of renewable
energy power projects and develop green hydrogen
eco-system.
37. The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP)
and the Odisha government have joined hands to
improve the food security of small and marginal
farmers by strengthening their resilience to climate
change. In a pilot initiative, advisories will be provided
to small farmers of the state, which is particularly
prone to cyclones, to help them adapt to impact of the
climate crisis.
38. In the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, the
administration has declared Jerri settlement in Reasi
district as the first ‘Milk Village’ of the Union
Territory and sanctioned 57 more dairy farms under the
Integrated Dairy Development Scheme (IDDS) for the
hamlet.
39. With the aim to improve India’s medal prospects at the
2024 Paralympics, the country’s first state-of-the-art,
high-performance para-badminton academy with
advanced equipment and facilities has been set up in
Lucknow. The centre has been launched by
Dronacharya awardee and head national coach of
Indian para-badminton team, Gaurav Khanna, in
association with Ageas Federal Life Insurance.
Khanna also unveiled the Ageas Federal ‘Quest for
Fearless Shuttlers’ programme to spot and nurture new
talent for the 2028 and 2032 Paralympics.
40. The Ladakh women’s team has won the ninth
national women’s ice hockey championship
organised by the Ice Hockey Association of India in
Himachal Pradesh. The championship was held in
Kaza area of Himachal Pradesh from January 15 – 21.
41. India’s first innovation centre for graphene will be
set up in Kerala by the Digital University Kerala
(DUK), along with Centre for Materials for Electronics
Technology (C-MET) in Thrissur, for Rs 86.41 crore.
This will be the first graphene Research and
Development (R&D) incubation centre in the country.
Tata Steel Limited is set to be the industrial partner of
the centre.
42. The Andhra Pradesh government has revised the
number of districts in the state, increasing it from the
existing 13 to 26. The new districts include Manyam
district, Alluri Sitharama Raju district, Anakapalli,
Kakinada, Kona Seema, Eluru, NTR district, Bapatia,
Palnadu, Nandyal, Sri Satyasai district, Annamayya
district, Sri Balaji district.
43. The government of Assam has decided to honour
renowned industrialist Ratan Tata with the award of
‘Asom Baibhav’ which is the highest civilian honour

79
 of the state. Ratan Naval Tata is a well-known Indian
Industrialist and also a philanthropist serving as the
head of the Tata Group’s charitable trusts.

International News 29. India has announced a USD 900 million loan to Sri
Lanka to build up its depleted foreign reserves and for
food imports, amidst a shortage of almost all essential
commodities in the island nation. The governor of the
Central Bank Ajith Nivard Cabraal said that the island
nation is negotiating a USD one billion loan from India
to import goods from the country.
30. The first BRICS Sherpas meeting of 2022 was held
virtually under the Chinese chairship with the
members thanking India for its BRICS chairship in
2021 and China has taken on the rotating chairmanship
of BRICS in 2022.
31. India will host five events this year as part of the
BRICS Science Technology Innovation (STI)
Steering Committee, the government said. The five
events are – BRICS Startups Forum Meeting; Working
Groups Meetings on Energy; Biotechnology &
Biomedicine; ICT & High-Performance Computing;
STIEP (Science, Technology, Innovation and
Entrepreneurship Partnership) Working Group
Meeting and the launching of BRICS innovation
Launchpad as a microsite (Knowledge Hub), it said.
The decision was made at the 15th meeting of the
BRICS Science Technology Innovation (STI) Steering
Committee.
32. Global unemployment is expected to remain above
pre-Covid-19 levels until at least 2023 and is estimated
at 207 million this year, almost 21 million more than
in 2019, according to a report from the International
Labour Organisation that gives assessments on how
labour market recovery has unfolded worldwide. The
Geneva-based United Nations agency has downgraded
its forecast for labour market recovery in 2022,
projecting a deficit in hours worked globally
equivalent to 52 million full-time jobs, relative to the
fourth quarter of 2019. The previous full-year estimate
in May 2021 projected a deficit of 26 million full-time
equivalent jobs.
33. Gujarat government has launched a helpline for senior
citizens. Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment
Pradip Parmar has launched this helpline with a toll-
free number 14567. This helpline known as Elder Line
has been activated with immediate effect. Senior
Citizens will get information related to various
government schemes, different social issues, details of
Old-age homes and Senior Citizens Act 2007 through
this helpline number.
34. The Indonesian Parliament has passed a law to
relocate the country’s capital from Jakarta to
Nusantara. This is the most significant advancement
of an idea the country’s leaders have been toying with
for years. The new state capital law, which provides a
legal framework for President Joko Widodo’s
ambitious $32 billion mega project, also stipulates

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 how development of the capital will be funded and
governed. The name of the new capital will be
Nusantara, which means “archipelago” in Javanese. It
will be based in the regions of North Penajam Paser
and Kutai Kartanegara.
35. Poet and activist Maya Angelou has become the first
Black woman to appear on the US quarter, in a new
version of the coin unveiled by the US Mint. Angelou,
author of “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” will
also be the first figure commemorated through the
American Women Quarters Program, which was
signed into law in January 2021.
36. United Nations Development Programme India
announced their partnership with leading content
creator and actress Prajakta Koli who embraces the
moniker MostlySane as their first UNDP India Youth
Climate Champion.
37. India and Israel have launched a commemorative
logo to mark the 30th anniversary of the
establishment of diplomatic ties between the two
countries. The logo features the Star of David and the
Ashoka Chakra- the two symbols that adorn the
national flags of both countries- and forms the numeral
30 depicting the 30th anniversary of bilateral relations.
38. In an important milestone in S&T Cooperation
between India and France, an MoU has been signed
between CSIR and Institut Pasteur with scope for
cooperation in health research. The MoU calls for the
development of potential scientific and technological
cooperation and networking in advanced and emerging
areas of Human Health between CSIR scientists and
institutes/laboratories and the Institut Pasteur and its
international network.
39. Adding another marvel to its truly incredible
architecture, Dubai has thrown the ‘Infinity Bridge’
open to traffic for the first time. First announced in
2018, the Infinity Bridge is part of a Al Shindagha
Corridor Project. Consisting of six lanes in each
direction, the bridge has an arch shaped like the infinity
symbol – which symbolises Dubai’s unlimited
ambitions.
40. A $150-million India-UAE venture capital fund to
fuel growth of start-ups in India and the UAE was
launched from the India Pavilion at EXPO2020 Dubai.
The VC Fund is a first-of-its-kind to be set up in the
UAE to source, invest and nurture promising start-ups
through an accelerator to fuel the growth of India-UAE
start-ups. It will be funded by investors across UAE,
India and wider GCC countries.
41. The world’s largest canal lock was inaugurated by
Dutch King Willen-Alexander at Ijmuiden The
Netherlands. $338 million amount has been spent on
the construction on this project. The Ijmuiden sea lock
is 500-meter (1,640-feet) long and 70-meter wide.
Construction on the massive infrastructure project
began in 2016 and was meant to be done by 2019.

Books 18. A new biography titled “Bose: The Untold Story of

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 An Inconvenient Nationalist” authored by
Chandrachur Ghose will be released in February
2022. The book contains the thoughts and opinions of
Subhas Chandra Bose about the development of
independent India, communalism, geopolitics and
political ideology.
19. Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari
released the book ‘The Legend of Birsa Munda’
authored Tuhin A Sinha and Ankita Verma at Raj
Bhavan, Mumbai. The book based on true events is a
tribute to Birsa Munda who in a very short life
mobilized the tribal community, rebelled against
forced conversions, envisioned a fair and just society
and died fighting for it.
20. The book titled ‘Operation Khatma’ has been
released. It is an eyewitness account by two journalists
R C Ganjoo and Ashwini Bhatnagar.
21. As the country celebrated Republic Day recently,
Ruskin Bond’s new book, ‘A Little Book of India:
Celebrating 75 years of Independence’ came in.
22. Minister of State for Culture Meenakashi Lekhi has
released the pictorial comic book ‘India’s Women
Unsung Heroes’ in New Delhi. The book has been
prepared by Culture Ministry in partnership with Amar
Chitra Katha. The book portrays the tales of valour of
our forgotten women freedom fighters.

Reports and Indices 22. Prime Minister, Narendra Modi has emerged as the
most popular leader worldwide. According to a US-
based global leader approval tracker, Morning
Consult Political Intelligence, Mr. Modi topped with
71 percent approval ratings among the 13 world
leaders while US President, Joe Biden is ranked at
number six with 43 percent rating.
23. India is among the top 10 nations in the world in
terms of technological advancements and funding in
artificial intelligence, according to findings from a
study published by The Brookings Institution. While
India is outside the top 10 in terms of commercial and
research initiatives, it ranks sixth in terms of spending
and investments on AI made by public, governmental
initiatives, as well as private institutes and
organisations. The nations leading AI achievements
ahead of India are the US, China, the UK, France,
Japan and Germany. Canada, South Korea and Italy are
behind India in the top 10 AI adopters list, as per the
study.
24. With a score of 40, India ranks at 85th position in the
Transparency International’s Corruption
Perceptions Index (CPI), 2021. The report cites
India’s case as “particularly worrying”. India’s
neighbours Pakistan has got a score of 28 and stands at
140th position whereas Bangladesh has 26.
Bangladesh, Pakistan, Cambodia, and Singapore have
also been marked as countries that have increased
digital surveillance to silence those trying to hold
governments accountable during the pandemic.

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Science and Technology
Banking/Economy/Business News
83
8. India successfully test fired an advanced version of
the Brahmos missile with enhanced capabilities,
adding to a series of tests conducted from Integrated
Test Range, Chandipur off the coast of Odisha by the
Defence Research and Development Organisation
(DRDO).
9. Gaming giant Activision Blizzard, under the gun from
investors over sexual harassment controversies and
ongoing executive turmoil, has pulled the escape cord.
The company has agreed to be acquired by Microsoft
in a $68.7 billion all-cash deal, inclusive of the
company’s net cash.
10. Astronomers have discovered a new planet that has
expanded our understanding of planets. An
international team of astronomers published their
findings in the Astronomy & Astrophysics journal
where they shared details of a planet with a weird
shape for the first time. The planet WASP-103b,
located around an F-type star 1500 light-years away
from Earth has a potato-like shape and not the usual
globe shape as pointed out by the study.
11. Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry
Som Parkash launched the country’s first virtual
platform for spice exports Spice Xchange India at a
hybrid event held in Kochi. Launched by the Spices
Board, spicexchangeindia.com is a 3D virtual
platform aimed at connecting India’s spice exporters
with buyers from around the world. The portal uses
artificial intelligence (AI)-based technology to connect
spice buyers with exporters in India.
12. Facebook’s parent company Meta said that it has
created a new artificial intelligence supercomputer
that it believes will be the fastest in the world. Meta
said it believed the computer will be the fastest in the
world when completed in mid-2022. According to the
company, developing the next generation of AI will
require supercomputers capable of “quintillions of
operations per second”.
13. The Lok Sabha secretariat has launched a new app,
Digital Sansad, that will make it easier for people to
follow proceedings in Parliament, and also their own
lawmakers.
37. Paytm Payments Bank has emerged as the biggest
receiver of UPI amount with 926.17 million
transactions while public sector bank SBI topped the
chart of being the biggest remitter in December,
according to data released by the National Payments
Corporation of India (NPCI).
38. Marwadi Financial Services (MFS) announced a
partnership with NSDL Payments Bank. This will
allow MFS to offer its clients an integrated 3-in-1
savings account that combines the features of savings,
demat and trading accounts. Using this account,
investors will be able to seamlessly transfer funds in
real time and execute trades in almost no time.
39. Hyderabad-based blockchain startup Kling Trading
India and Cosmea Financial Holdings’ joint venture
 Torus Kling Blockchain IFSC has signed an MoU
with India INX to launch India’s first Bitcoin and
Ethereum Futures ETFs and Metaverse US listed
Large-cap Discount Certificates. This Bitcoin /
Ethereum Futures / ETFs said, will be the first crypto
backed futures ETF outside of the US and the first
Asian Discount certificates tracking Metaverse Large
Cap stocks in US and Europe markets. The ETF
Futures will be launched under a Sandbox construct of
IFSCA.
40. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Company has
entered into a collaboration with the US-based First
Trust Advisors, which is into actively-managed
exchange-traded funds, to launch a slew of global
fund of funds. Under the agreement, ICICI Prudential
AMC will first launch a strategic metal & energy
equity fund of funds, which will invest in an offshore
fund managed by First Trust Advisors.
41. Fintech major MobiKwik has launched ‘ClickPay’ in
collaboration with NPCI Bharat BillPay Ltd. (NBBL).
NPCI Bharat BillPay is a wholly owned subsidiary of
National Payments Corporation of India.
42. Fintech company Lendingkart announced that it has
entered into a co-lending partnership with Canara
Bank to provide low-cost business loans of up to ₹10
lakh to micro, small and medium enterprises
(MSMEs) across the country. The loans will be
provided with fast turnaround time for approvals
powered by “Lendingkart 2gthr” platform using ‘zero
touch’ technology.
43. Reliance Jio has overtaken state-run Bharat Sanchar
Nigam Limited (BSNL) to become the top service
provider in the fixed landline broadband segment,
according to the monthly telecom subscribers report
published by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India
(TRAI).
44. E-commerce platform Snapdeal has partnered with
Bank of Baroda subsidiary BOB Financial and NPCI
to launch a co-branded contactless RuPay credit
card. The co-branded credit card will be equipped with
contactless features and will be offered on the RuPay
platform. The partnership aims to popularise the
adoption & usage of credit cards among the growing
number of online buyers from India’s smaller cities
and towns.
45. India Post Payments Bank, IPPB, has crossed the five-
crore customer mark in just 3 years of commencement
of its operations to become one of the fastest growing
digital payments bank in the country.
46. India Ratings & Research (Ind-Ra) expects gross
domestic product (GDP) to grow 7.6 per cent in fiscal
year 2022-23 (FY23), helped partly by continued
government spending and a favourable global trade
outlook, the ratings agency said. After a gap of two
years, the Indian economy will show a meaningful
expansion, as the real GDP in FY23 will be 9.1%
higher than the FY20 (pre-Covid level) GDP level, the
agency said.

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 47. Multilateral bank Asian Infrastructure Investment
Bank (AIIB), will invest $150 million in the
development of data centers that mostly serve
emerging Asia. Beijing-based AIIB, where India is a
key founding member, will channelise funds through
the Keppel Data Centre Fund II (KDCF II), a private
equity vehicle managed by Alpha Investment Partners
Limited (Alpha). This is AIIB’s first data center
project.
48. To offer lending products to MSMEs and consumers
Fullerton India and One97 Communications (Paytm)
have announced a partnership to provide lending
products to merchant partners and consumers.
With the partnership, the two established institutions
will leverage data-driven insights and wide reach to
bring credit to new-to-credit users.
49. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has cut
India’s economic growth forecast to 9 per cent for
the current fiscal year ending March 31, joining a host
of agencies which have downgraded their projections
on concerns over the impact of a spread of new variant
of coronavirus on business activity and mobility. In its
latest update of World Economic Outlook, the
Washington-based international financial institution,
which had in October last year projected a 9.5 per cent
GDP growth for India, put the forecast for the next
fiscal FY23 (April 2022 to March 2023) at 7.1 per
cent. The Indian economy had contracted by 7.3 per
cent in the 2020-21 fiscal year.
50. Apple retained the title of the world’s most valuable
brand in 2022, with a valuation of $355.1 billion
(about Rs. 26,72,600 crore), according to a report. The
valuation of the Cupertino company increased by
35%, thanks to the growth of its recognition in the
market. After Apple, Amazon and Google were
named among the three most valuable brands of the
year. TikTok, on the other hand, has become the
fastest growing brand in the world, with its valuation
increasing by 215% in 2022.
51. Max Life Insurance Co. Ltd announces protection
offering for Indian homemakers by extending its Max
Life Smart Secure Plus Plan* (UIN: 104N118V02),
a Non-Linked Non-Participating Individual Pure Risk
Premium Life Insurance Plan, as an independent term
insurance cover to them.
52. National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) said
its international payments arm NPCI International
Payments Limited (NIPL) has signed a memorandum
of understanding with TerraPay, Netherlands-based
global payments infrastructure company to allow
Indians with an active UPI ID to receive real-time,
international payments into their bank accounts via
TerraPay’s secure payments technology.
53. Malaysia’s AirAsia Group said it has changed the
name of its listed holding company to Capital A to
reflect the diversity of its business portfolio as it seeks
to grow its non-airline revenue. The airline retains the
AirAsia brand name. But the group will focus more on

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 expanding other businesses including logistics, aircraft
engineering, venture capital, education and mobile
applications for payments, travel and lifestyle.
54. Alphabet Inc’s Google (GOOGL.O) will invest up to
$1 billion in India’s Bharti Airtel (BRTI.NS) as the
U.S. technology giant expands its hold in India,
sending shares of the telecom operator as much as
6.6% higher. The investment is part of Google’s plans
announced under two years ago to infuse $10 billion in
India via its digitisation fund over five to seven years
through equity deals and tie-ups.
55. Ola Electric said it will invest over USD 100 million
(about Rs 750 crore) over the next five years and set
up a global centre for advanced engineering and
vehicle design in the UK. This centre – called the Ola
Futurefoundry – will be based in Coventry, UK, and
work in sync with the design and engineering teams
based at Ola Campus in Bengaluru.
56. Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency,
IREDA in New Delhi signed a Memorandum of
Understanding with Goa Shipyard Limited, GSL, to
set-up a rooftop solar power project at GSL
headquarter in Vasco da Gama, Goa. Under the MoU,
IREDA will also extend its techno-commercial
expertise to GSL for Environmental and Social due
diligence of rooftop solar and other projects as per the
international standards.
57. TVS Motor Company said it has acquired a 75 per
cent stake in Switzerland’s largest e-bike player, Swiss
E-Mobility Group AG (SEMG), for USD 100 million.
58. The Reserve Bank of India(RBI) said it has imposed
several restrictions on Indian Mercantile
Cooperative Bank Ltd, Lucknow, including a cap of
₹1 lakh on withdrawals.
59. Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India
Limited (SPMCIL), under its modernisation
initiatives, has set up ‘new bank note printing lines’
each at Currency Note Press, Nashik and Bank Note
Press, Dewas. In India, four printing presses for
printing and supply of Banknotes. These are at Dewas
in Madhya Pradesh, Nasik in Maharashtra (owned by
SPMCIL), Mysore in Karnataka, and Salboni in West
Bengal (owned by Bharatiya Reserve Bank Note
Mudran Private Limited (BRBNMPL)).
60. A joint venture of billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s
Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) and energy major
BP has opened one of the country’s largest EV
charging hubs in Delhi, as the duo scale up the fuel-
retail network, offering multiple fuel choices,
including EV charging infrastructure.
61. Social media giant Meta said it has, under its
#SheMeansBusiness programme, partnered with
industry body FICCI to support five lakh women-led
small businesses across India. The announcement was
made during Meta’s inaugural National Women
Entrepreneurship Summit to encourage industry
dialogue and steps to support the micro, small and
medium enterprises (MSMEs) across sectors.

86
 62. The central government had approved the proposed
merger Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative
(PMC) Bank with Unity Small Finance Bank
(USFB).

Appointments and Resignations
43. Virat Kohli has stepped down as the Test captain of
the Indian Men’s cricket team. The decision comes
after the series defeat against South Africa. Kohli
replaced MS Dhoni as the captain of the Indian team
and became the most successful Test captain with 40
wins in 68 matches. Under his dynamic captaincy India
became a formidable force and dominated every team
at home. He became the first-ever Asian captain to win
a Test series in Australia.
44. North Macedonia’s parliament has elected Dimitar
Kovacevski as prime minister of a Social Democrat-
led government after two months of political crisis.
45. Roberta Metsola, Centre-right Maltese lawmaker,
was chosen to head the European Union Parliament.
Metsola has become the only third woman to hold the
position. She is also viewed as a political moderate
despite the controversy over her anti-abortion stance.
She has also become the youngest president ever to run
the chamber.
46. Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley was sworn in
for a second term after her party appeared to have
swept every legislative seat in the first elections the
island nation held as a republic since casting off the
British monarchy. Mottley’s Barbados Labor Party
seemed to have secured all 30 seats in the House of
Assembly, the lower house of the island’s Parliament,
giving the island’s first female leader a second term as
prime minister. A majority of 16 seats was required for
a win.
47. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) approved the
appointment of former comptroller and auditor general
(CAG) of India Vinod Rai as independent chairman
of Unity Small Finance Bank (Unity SFB), the
newest private lender in India.
48. The Government approved the proposal for
appointment of Eastern Army Commander Lieutenant
General Manoj Pande as the next Vice Chief of
Army Staff. General Pande would be the successor to
Lt Gen CP Mohanty who is scheduled to
superannuate on January 31.
49. Vinodanand Jha, a 1983-batch retired IRS officer has
been appointed as the chairperson of the PMLA
Adjudicating Authority located in the national
capital.
50. Armenian President Armen Sarkissian has
announced his resignation, citing the inability of his
office to influence policy during times of national
crisis. Sarkissian, president since 2018, was at the
centre of a domestic political crisis last year that
erupted in the wake of a war between Armenia and its
longstanding rival Azerbaijan for control of the
disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.
51. Pushp Kumar Joshi has been picked by government

87
 headhunter PESB to be the new chairman and
managing director of Hindustan Petroleum
Corporation Ltd (HPCL), the nation’s third largest oil
refining and fuel marketing company.
52. Fairfax and Capital Group-backed non-banking
finance company IIFL Finance appointed former
State Bank of India boss Arun Purwar as chairman
of its board effective from April 1.
53. Dr V. Anantha Nageswaran has been appointed
Chief Economic Advisor to the government of India.

Environment 12. Ramgarh Vishdhari Wildlife Sanctuary, which is

among the proposed five sites in the country, is
expected to be formally notified as tiger reserve (TR)
soon before the Global Tiger Summit, which is to be
held at Vladivostok, Russia.
13. The Kerala Bird Atlas (KBA), the first-of-its-kind
state-level bird atlas in India, has created solid
baseline data about the distribution and abundance of
various bird species across all major habitats giving an
impetus for futuristic studies. Conducted as a citizen
science-driven exercise with the participation of over
1000 volunteers of the bird watching community,
KBA was prepared based on systematic surveys held
twice over 60 days a year during the wet (July to
September) and dry (January to March) seasons
between 2015 and 2020.

Personalities in the News
13. Sania Mirza, the most successful woman in Indian
tennis history, has decided that she is bidding adieu to
the sports at the end of 2022. The 35-year-old had
already bowed out of singles competitions in 2013.
14. Pakistan skipper Babar Azam was named ICC ODI
Cricketer of the Year following his exploits in 2021
when he scored 405 runs in six games at an average of
67.50. The 27-year-old was the second-highest run-
scorer with 228 runs and was the Player of the Match
in both of Pakistan’s wins in the 2-1 series victory
against South Africa.

Summits/ MoUs 21. Prime Minister Narendra Modi host the first India-
Central Asia Summit in a virtual format during which
the leaders are expected to deliberate on steps to take
forward relations to newer heights as well as the
evolving regional security situation. The first meeting
of the India-Central Asia Summit, with the
participation of the Presidents of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz
Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, in
a virtual format. This will be the first engagement of
its kind between India and the Central Asian countries
at the level of leaders.
22. India and France have signed an MoU with a scope
for cooperation in health research. Science and
Technology Ministry said, the MoU was signed
between Council of Scientific and Industrial Research,
CSIR and Institut Pasteur, France.

Defence Exercises/ Aerospace news 8. The navies of India and Russia conducted a passing

88
 exercise in the Arabian Sea, the Indian Navy said.
Indian Navy’s indigenously designed and built guided
missile destroyer INS Kochi exercised with Russian
Federation Navy’s destroyer Admiral Tributs.
9. An Indian Navy P-8I long-range maritime
reconnaissance aircraft participated in multinational
Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) Exercise Sea
Dragon-22 at Guam in the U.S. that saw the
participation of Quad countries, Canada and South
Korea. The exercise was aimed to enhance
interoperability among participating nations by
evolving common tactics in response to emerging
traditional and non-traditional security challenges in
maritime domain.
10. Israel said it has successfully tested a system designed
to intercept ballistic missiles outside the earth’s
atmosphere. The Arrow Weapon System is part of an
array of missile defences Israel has developed in recent
years to protect itself in any future conflict with
archenemy Iran or regional militant groups, such as the
Lebanese Hezbollah or the Palestinian Hamas in the
Gaza Strip, both allies of Iran.
11. The NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization)
member countries conducting a 12-day maritime
exercise in the Mediterranean Sea. The name of the
maritime exercise is “Neptune Strike ’22”. The naval
drill will end on February 04, 2022.
12. A joint maritime exercise involving all three wings
of Indian armed forces and also the Coast Guard,
that provided the participants an opportunity to operate
together under realistic conditions and enhance inter-
service synergy, has concluded. The exercise,
‘Paschim Lehar (XPL-2022)’, involving the Navy,
the Air Force, the Army and the Coast Guard
concluded off the West Coast.
13. Iran, Russia and China began a joint naval drill in
the Indian Ocean aimed at boosting marine security,
state media reported. Navies from Iran’s armed forces
and Revolutionary Guards are taking part in the “2022
Marine Security Belt” exercise over an area of
17,000 square kilometres (6,560 square miles), Rear
Admiral Mostafa Tajoldini, spokesman for the drills,
told.
14. Indian Naval Ships Shivalik & Kadmatt undertook
Maritime Partnership Exercise with Japan
Maritime Self-Defence Force Ships Uraga and Hirado
in the Bay of Bengal. The precision, coordination and
high level of interoperability reflected not only the
high standards of professionalism and preparedness
the two navies maintain to counter threats at sea, but
also the high level of trust and understanding that they
have built over the years.
15. Russia has delivered to India all the contracted
70,000 AK-203 Kalashnikov assault rifles as
envisaged under a contract signed late last summer
between India and Kalashnikov. The Indian Ministry
of Defence intends to procure 670,000 AK-203 assault
rifles, and the 70,000 delivered are part of that total.

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 16. INS Khukri, the lead ship of the Indian Navy’s Khukri
class missile corvettes which was decommissioned last
December, was handed over to the Diu administration
to be converted into a museum. The ship is planned
to be developed as a full-scale museum.
17. The Indian space agency successfully conducted a 25-
second qualification test for its liquid propellant-
based Vikas engine to be used under the Gaganyaan
mission. The test, which was conducted at the Indian
Space Research Organisation((ISRO) Propulsion
Complex in Mahendragri, Tamil Nadu, was done to see
how the engine performed in conditions that were not
optimal, such as change in the fuel-oxidiser ratio or
pressure in the fuel chamber.
18. Hindustan Aeronautics Limited’s ALH MK III
aircraft was formally inducted at INS Utkrosh in Port
Blair by Commander-in-Chief, Andaman and Nicobar
Command (CINCAN), Lieutenant General Ajai Singh.

Awards and Honours 24. Actor Harshaali Malhotra recently received the
Bharat Ratna Dr Ambedkar National Award for
her performance in the 2015 film Bajrangi Bhaijaan.
She received the award from Maharashtra governor
Bhagat Singh Koshyari. Harshaali Malhotra played the
role of Munni in the Salman Khan starrer Bajrangi
Bhaijaan. Her role of a mute young girl from Pakistan
who gets lost in India was loved by the audience.
25. Albert Bourla, chairman and CEO of Pfizer, has been
awarded the 2022 Genesis Prize for his “leadership,
determination and especially for his willingness to
assume great risks” in developing a coronavirus
vaccine in record time. The Genesis Foundation
recognises individuals for their contribution to
humanity and commitment to Jewish values.
26. Children have chosen ‘anxiety’ as their word of the
year for 2021, according to new research from Oxford
University Press (OUP). In comparison, teachers have
chosen ‘resilience’.
27. P S Vinothraj directed film Koozhangal from India
won the best film award in the Asian Film
Competition section at the 20th Dhaka
International Film Festival in Dhaka. Apart from
this, four more Indian entries were included among the
17 awards given away for the films during the
concluding session. The best actor award was given to
Jayasurya for Ranjith Sankar-directed film Sunny.
The Best Script Writer Award went to Indranil
Roychowdhury and Sugata Sinha for Indranil
Roychowdhury-directed India-Bangladesh film Mayar
Jonjal. The special audience award was given to
Aimee Baruah Directed film Semkhor. Sujit Bidari
directed film Aina Jhyal Ko Putali from Nepal got the
best director award.
28. Former Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was
conferred with the Netaji Award 2022 by Netaji
Research Bureau. Consul General of Japan in Kolkata
Nakamura Yutaka received the honour on behalf of
Abe at a function at the Elgin Road residence of Netaji

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 Subhas Chandra Bose on his 125th birth anniversary.
29. Olympian Neeraj Chopra honoured with Param
Vishisht Seva Medal. Neeraj Chopra is the first track
and field athlete to win a gold medal for India at the
Olympics. President Ram Nath Kovind honoured 384
defence personnel with Gallantry and other awards at
the Rashtrapati Bhawan. The awards include 12
Shaurya Chakras, 29 Param Vishisht Seva Medals,
four Uttam Yudh Seva Medals, 53 Ati Vishisht Seva
Medals, 13 Yudh Seva Medals, three Bar to Vishisht
Seva Medals.
30. Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve (STR) in Erode
district has been given the prestigious TX2 award
after its tiger numbers doubled to 80 since 2010. Apart
from the STR, the Bardia National Park in Nepal has
won this year’s TX2 award for doubling the population
of wild tigers.
31. The Jammu and Kashmir Police have retained the
distinction of bagging the highest number of
gallantry medals among all States, Union Territories
and Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) across the
country on this years Republic Day.
32. The Maharashtra Directorate of National Cadet
Corps (NCC) has won the Prime Minister’s banner
at the Republic Day Camp. The prestigious PM banner
has been won by the State Directorate after seven
years. The last time the state won the banner was in
2014.Maharashtra State Directorate had also fielded a
Contingent of 57 Cadets, both Boys and Girls, drawn
from various districts.

Sports news 25. India is all set to host the football AFC Women’s
Asian Cup India 2022. Addressing a virtual press
conference, AIFF President Praful Patel said, the
tournament will help in building women’s football in
India. The tournament, which will be held in Mumbai,
Navi Mumbai, and Pune, will witness 12 teams
competing for the trophy.
26. Indian star Virat Kohli moved up two places to
seventh after scores of 79 and 29 in his last Test as
captain in the latest ICC rankings for batters in the
five-day format. Wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant’s
unbeaten century in the second innings of the series-
deciding third Test against South Africa lifted him 10
places to 14th, while fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah’s
six wickets in Cape Town took him back to the top 10
in the bowling chart.
27. Japan continued their impressive run at the 2022
Hockey Asia Cup as they thrashed the mighty South
Koreans 4-2 at Muscat last night. India won bronze
medal beating China 2-0 for third and fourth place play
off. Sharmila Devi in the 13th minute and Gurjit Kaur
in the 19th minute scored goals for India.
28. GM Magnus Carlsen secured his eighth victory in
Wijk aan Zee with a round to spare. The world
champion defeated GM Fabiano Caruana and now
leads the 2022 Tata Steel Chess Tournament by a full
point.

91
 29. Decorated Indian woman boxer and Olympian
Sarjubala Devi has decided to enter the professional
arena and has signed a deal with leading Indian
boxing promoter Mujtaba Kamal and Grassroot
Boxing Promotions and Management in Imphal.
30. World Number one Ashleigh Barty, won her first
Australian Open title after defeating Danielle Collins
of the United States in the Women’s Singles final at
the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne.

Days and dates 37. Republic Day Celebrations will now begin every
year from 23rd January instead of 24th.The step was
taken to include the birth anniversary of freedom
fighter Subash Chandra Bose. Birth anniversary of
Subhas Chandra Bose is celebrated as Parakram
Divas across the country.
38. Rangoli Utsav ‘Umang’ to celebrate National Girl
Child Day on January 24,2022 under Azadi ka Amrit
Mahotsav.
39. Kokborok Day, also known as Tripuri Language
Day, is observed annually on January 19th
throughout the Indian state of Tripura with the goal of
developing the Kokborok language.
40. With an aim to encourage adoption of open data and
promote innovation across India’s urban ecosystem,
the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA)
announced the initiation of the Open Data Week from
17 January to 21 January.

Obituaries 15. Former President of Mali, Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta,

who was elected during a historic election following a
destabilising coup and only to be deposed seven years
later by another military coup, passed away at the age
of 76.
16. Saoli Mitra, eminent theatre personality and daughter
of legendary actor Sombhu Mitra and Tripti Mitra died
at her residence in South Kolkata. He was 73.
17. Cartoonist Narayan Debnath, the creator of Bengali
comic characters ‘Bantul The Great’, ‘Handa Bhonda’
and ‘Nonte Phonte, passed away after prolonged
illness. He was 97. The cartoonist was conferred with
the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award in
India, in 2021 but could not visit New Delhi to collect
the award.
18. Former Pakistan Test cricketer Aftab Baloch, who is
remembered for his innings of 428 in a first-class
match in 1970s, died. He was 68.
19. Former Olympic gymnastic champion Szilveszter
Csollany died at the age of 51 after spending weeks
hospitalized with COVID-19.
20. Captain of India’s 1964 Tokyo Olympics gold medal-
winning hockey team, Charanjit Singh, 93, passed
away in Una, Himachal Pradesh, after suffering a heart
attack.

Updates reported from 1-15 January

News Narration

92
Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism The Indian Express Group has announced the Ramnath Goenka
awards announced
3rd National Water Awards for 2020
Golden Globe Awards 2022 announced
National News
Excellence in Journalism Awards (RNG Awards) for journalists
across the country, for their work done in 2019. RNG awards
are one the most prestigious awards in India in the field of
journalism, held annually since 2006. The photo stories of our
winners appeared in our print and digital editions between
December 24, 2021, and January 4, 2022.
About the Awards:
The award is given to honour journalists across the country from
print, broadcast and digital media who have maintained the
highest standards of their profession and, despite immense
challenges, produced work that sustains public trust in the media
and impacts the lives of people. The award is named after
Ramnath Goenka, the founder of “The Indian Express” and
Indian Express Group in 1932
Union Minister of Jal Shakti, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat has
declared the winners of the third National Water Awards for the
year 2020. Uttar Pradesh has been adjudged as the Best State in
water conservation efforts in the National Water Awards 2020.
It is followed by Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu respectively. The
award comes with a citation, trophy and cash prize.
Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh received the best district award
in the northern zone followed by Shahid Bhagat Singh Nagar in
Punjab.
About the Award:
The National Water Award was launched by the Jal Shakti
Ministry in 2018 to recognise and motivate individuals and
organizations doing exemplary work in the field of water
resources management.
Overall 57 awards have been announced in 11 categories. These
include: Best State, Best District, Best Village Panchayat, Best
Urban Local Body, Best Media (Print & Electronic), Best
School, Best Institution/RWA/Religious organization for
Campus usage, Best Industry, Best NGO, Best Water User
Association, and Best Industry for CSR Activity.
The Golden Globe Awards 2022 ceremony was held to
recognise excellence in film, both American and international,
and American television. This was the 79th edition of the annual
event, which honoured the best in American television, as well
as film in 2021 as chosen by the Hollywood Foreign Press
Association. Two of the films namely The Power of the Dog
and the West Side Story, won the most number of awards with
3 each.
34. The government has approved the issuance of the 19th
tranche of electoral bonds, which will be open for sale
from January 1 to 10, 2022, ahead of assembly
elections in five states Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand,
Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Goa. In the 19th tranche
of sale, the State Bank of India (SBI), has been
authorised to issue and encash electoral bonds through
its 29 specialised branches. There is no limit on the
number of bonds an individual or company can
purchase. An electoral bond will be valid for 15 days.
35. Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has
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 launched a 100-day reading campaign ‘Padhe Bharat.
The launch of the 100 Days Reading Campaign is in
alignment with the National Education Policy (NEP)
2020 which lays emphasis on the promotion of joyful
reading culture for children by ensuring the availability
of ageappropriate reading books for children in
local/mother tongue/regional/tribal language.
36. The parliamentary standing committee constituted to
examine “The Prohibition of Child Marriage
(Amendment) Bill, 2021” comprise of a total of 31
members, including only one women representative.
Out of the total 31 members, TMC MP Sushmita Dev
is the sole woman representative in the committee. The
Bill seeks to raise the legal age of marriage for women
in India from 18 to 21 to bring it at par with men.
37. India has announced financial assistance of USD 900
million loans to Sri Lanka to help the island nation in
building up its depleted foreign reserves and for food
imports. It must be noted that Sri Lanka is currently
facing a shortage of almost all essential commodities
due to a shortage of dollars to pay for the imports.
38. The Supreme Court of India has constituted a
fivemember committee to probe the security breach
during the recent visit of Prime Minister Narendra
Modi to Punjab. The committee will be headed by
former apex court judge Justice Indu Malhotra.

State News 44. Puducherry has been handpicked by Prime Minister

Narendra Modi to host the 25th National Youth
Festival. The 25th National Youth Festival is going to
be held in Puducherry from 12th to 16th January 2022.
45. Telangana stood first in the country in the list of the
highest number of open defecation free (ODF Plus)
villages under the Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen)
Phase-II programme.
46. Odisha’s Ganjam has declared itself a child marriage
free district, the first in the State. The district
administration has been able to stop as many as 450
child marriages and video-record 48,383 marriages in
two years — 2020 and 2021
47. Himachal Pradesh became the first LPG enables, also,
smoke-free state. This milestone was achieved due to
the Ujjwala Scheme and Grahini Suvidha Yojana by
Centre.
48. The Kerala High Court is all set to become India’s first
paperless court. Supreme Court judge Justice DY
Chandrachud inaugurated the smart courtrooms on 1
January 2022.
49. In Kerala, the first battery-powered electric boat built
for the Kochi Water Metro Project was handed over to
the Kochi Metro Rail Limited. The fully airconditioned
boat is among the 23 boats being built by the Cochin
Shipyard for the 747-crore rupee Kochi Water Metro
project.
50. The Losar Festival in Ladakh is celebrated at the onset
of the New Year in the traditional schedule of Tibetan
Buddhism. It is celebrated by the Buddhist Community
in the Ladakh region. The Losar is a 15 days festival,

94
 from the start of the Tibetan Lunar calendar, marking
the 1st day of the 11 months in the Tibetan Calendar.
Losar is a Tibetan word that means ‘New Year’.
51. Kerala Arts and Crafts Village Organization (KACV)
from Kovalam, Kerala was awarded the ‘International
Craft Award for 2021’ for the best craft village in the
world by the World Crafts Council International.
52. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has inaugurated
Kalpana Chawla Centre for Research in Space Science
and Technology (KCCRSST) at Chandigarh
University.
53. Losoong (Namsoong) is annually celebrated across the
Indian State of Sikkim on the 18th day of the 10th
month of the Tibetan Lunar Calendar, which also
marks the beginning of the harvest season. The
Namsoong festival begins on the 1st day of the new
moon phase Kurneet Lovo, as per the Lepcha lunisolar
Calendar known as Dungkit Karchu.
54. The 18th edition of the two days long Kachai Lemon
Festival began in Manipur at the Local Ground of
Kachai Village in Ukhrul district. The Kachai Lemon
Festival is organised annually to promote this unique
kind of lemon fruit and to encourage lemon farmers.
This year the festival is being organised under the
theme ‘Organic Kachai Lemon for Safe Environment
and Rural Transformation’.
55. The 9th edition of the North East Festival concluded in
Guwahati, Assam. The main purpose of this festival is
to promote and highlight the commercial and tourism
potential of the North East region

International News 42. India’s Permanent Representative to the UN, T S

Tirumurti has been appointed as the Chair of the UN
Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee for
2022. India has assumed the chairmanship of the
United Nations Security Council’s Counter-Terrorism
Committee (UNSC-CTC) for one year, beginning from
January 01, 2022.
43. Shanghai has opened two new metro lines, upholding
its rank as the city with the largest Metro network in
the world. With the new lines, the total length of
Shanghai’s metro network has extended to 831 km,
continuing to be the longest in the world. China’s
Shanghai opened two new metro lines – Line 14 and
Phase One of Line 18.
44. France has assumed the rotating presidency of the
Council of the European Union with effect from
January 01, 2022. The country will continue to hold the
EU presidency for the next six months till June 30,
2022. This is the 13th time that France has taken over
the rotating presidency. The motto of France as EU
President is “recovery, strength, belonging.”
45. The Caribbean nation of Antigua and Barbuda joined
the International Solar Alliance (ISA) as the 102nd
member by signing the International Solar Alliance
Framework Agreement, the India-led global green
energy initiative.
46. China’s senior diplomat Zhang Ming has taken charge

95
 as the new Secretary-General of the Shanghai
Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in which India is a
member. He has taken charge from Vladimir Norov,
former Foreign Minister of Uzbekistan for a threeyear
term.
47. Pakistan has moved closer to appointing the first
woman judge of the Supreme Court, after a highpower
panel approved the elevation of Lahore High Court
judge Ayesha Malik to the apex court
48. The leaders of Japan and Australia signed a
“landmark” defence agreement that allows closer
cooperation between their militaries and stands as a
rebuke to China’s growing assertiveness in the
IndoPacific region. Australian Prime Minister Scott
Morrison and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida
met in a virtual summit to sign the Reciprocal Access
Agreement, the first such defence pact signed by Japan
with any country other than the United States.
49. The 20th Dhaka International Film Festival begins at
Dhaka, Bangladesh. The festival will showcase 225
films from 70 countries under 10 categories will be
screened across various venues in Dhaka between 15-
23 January.

Books 23. HarperCollins Publishers India is set to publish a new

book titled “Mamata: Beyond 2021”, authored by
political journalist Jayanta Ghosal and translated by
Arunava Sinha. The announcement about the release
of the book was made on 5th January 2022, the
birthday of Mamata Banerjee, the Chief Minister (CM)
of West Bengal and the leader of the Trinamool
Congress (TMC) party.
24. Dhirendra K. Jha, a Delhi-based journalist, has
authored a new book titled “Gandhi’s Assassin: The
Making of Nathuram Godse and His Idea of India”.
The book explores Godse’s relationship with the
organizations that influenced his view and gave him a
sense of purpose and draws out the gradual hardening
of Godse’s resolve that led to Mahatma Gandhi’s
assassination.
25. Tata Sons emeritus Chairman, veteran industrialist and
philanthropist Ratan Tata’s authorized biography titled
‘Ratan N. Tata: The Authorized Biography’ is set to hit
the stands in November 2022. The biography is penned
by a former senior bureaucrat and retired IAS officer
Dr Thomas Matthew. I
26. HarperCollins is set to publish “Indomitable: A
Working Woman’s Notes on Life, Work and
Leadership” the autobiography of Arundhati
Bhattacharya, retired Indian banker and former first-
ever woman Chairperson of the State Bank of India.

Reports and Indices 25. The Chennai International Airport is one of the top 10
large international airports in the world that ensures
‘on-time’ departures. In a review conducted by Cirium,
an organisation that specialises in offering aviation
data to travel, finance, aerospace, and aviation
industries, the airport has been ranked 8th for ‘on-time

96

Science and Technology
Banking/Economy/Business News
97
performance’ for the year 2021.
26. India has improved its position by seven places to rank
at 83rd place among 111 countries in the latest Henley
Passport Index, released for Q1 of 2022. Oman and
Armenia are the latest destinations where Indian
passport holders can visit without obtaining a visa.
Japan and Singapore have retained the joint top
position in the Henley Global Mobility Report 2022
Q1. Their passports holders are allowed to travel
visafree to 192 countries. Afghanistan has the world’s
least powerful passports, with a visa-free score of 26.
14. Scientists and experts in France have reportedly
identified a new variant of COVID-19 termed ‘IHU’.
The new variant is said to be a more mutated strain than
Omicron. The B.1.640.2 or IHU variant was first
identified by the academics at institute IHU
Mediterranee Infection and contains 46 mutations,
which is more than Omicron.
15. Crypto Wire, a global crypto super app that is a special
business unit of TickerPlant, announced the launch of
India’s first index of Cryptocurrencies – IC15, which
is a rule-based broad market index by market
capitalisation. The IC15 tracks and measures the
performance of the top 15 widely traded liquid
cryptocurrencies listed on leading crypto exchanges of
the world, the company stated.
16. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has
approved a testing kit for detecting the Omicron
variant of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. The covid kit
developed by Tata is called 'OmiSure' and will be an
enhancement for the detection of the Omicron variant.
The kit is manufactured by Tata Medical and
Diagnostics.
17. Cyprus has detected a new variant dubbed as
“Deltacron”, that has a similar genetic background to
the Delta variant, coupled with 10 mutations from
Omicron. The variant has already affected 25 people in
Cyprus.
18. A US man has become the first person in the world to
get a heart transplant from a genetically-modified pig.
David Bennett, 57, is doing well three days after the
experimental seven-hour procedure in Baltimore.
63. The stock market value of Apple Inc. hit $3 trillion and
became the world’s first company to do so. The market
cap of Apple hit $182.86 per share, which made it the
world’s first company to touch the $3 trillion mark.
However shortly after hitting the mark, the share value
dipped below it and did not rise again until the market
closed. The iPhone maker passed $2 trillion in 2020
and over $1 trillion in 2018.
64. Reserve Bank of India has retained State Bank of India,
ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank as Domestic
Systemically Important Banks (D-SIBs). These three
banks have continued to be on the D-SIBs list
published by RBI, since Sep 04, 2017.
65. Airtel Payments Bank has been categorised as a
 scheduled bank by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in
the second schedule of the Reserve Bank of India Act,
1934.
66. Reserve Bank of India has issued a framework for
facilitating small-value digital payments in offline
mode using cards, wallets, mobile devices, etc, to push
digital transactions in rural and semi-urban areas. The
upper limit of an offline payment transaction was fixed
at Rs 200, with a total limit of Rs 2,000 at any point in
time.
67. The rating agency India Ratings and Research (IndRa)
has downgraded the GDP of India for the current fiscal
FY 2021-2022. Ind-Ra expects the GDP to clock a
growth rate of 9.3% y-o-y in FY22. Meanwhile,
Brickworks Ratings has also revised India’s GDP
growth forecast for the current fiscal (FY22) to 8.5-
9%.
68. Insurance regulator, Insurance Regulatory and
Development Authority of India (Irdai) has stated that
LIC, GIC Re and New India continue to be identified
as Domestic Systemically Important Insurers (D-SIIs)
for 2021-22.
69. Tech Mahindra has approved a proposal for the
acquisition of a 100 per cent stake in Allyis India and
Green Investments, for a total consideration of up to
USD 125 million.
70. Nippon Life India Asset Management Limited, asset
manager of Nippon India Mutual Fund (NIMF), has
announced the launch of India’s First Auto sector ETF
– Nippon India Nifty Auto ETF.
71. Alphabet Inc-owned, Google has acquired Israeli
cybersecurity startup Siemplify, in a deal worth $500
million. This acquisition will expand the U.S. tech
giant’s security offerings in the country amid rising
cyber-attacks.
72. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued eligibility criteria
for entities that harness data from credit information
companies (CICs) or credit bureaus. These newly-
formed guidelines said that a company’s net worth
must be at least Rs 2 crore and owned and controlled
by resident Indian citizens to become a designated user
with a credit bureau, which comes amid accusations of
lending applications with Chinese ties functioning in
India.
73. The Reserve Bank of India has increased the threshold
limit for Banks to maintain the Liquidity Coverage
Ratio (LCR) on deposits and other ‘extension of funds’
received from non-financial small business customers
from Rs 5 crore to Rs 7.5 crore. This is applicable on
all Commercial Banks other than Regional Rural
Banks, Local Area Banks, and Payments Banks. To
better align RBI’s guidelines with the Basel
Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) standard
and enable banks to manage liquidity risk more
effectively.
74. Reserve Bank of India has set up a separate internal
department for fintech (Financial technology). The
new department has been created with effect from

98
 January 04, 2022, by subsuming the FinTech Division
of Department of Payment and Settlement Systems,
Central Office (DPSS, CO). Ajay Kumar Choudhary,
who was recently promoted as the Executive Director
of RBI was appointed as head of the department.
75. National Statistical Office (NSO) has estimated India’s
GDP to grow at 9.2 per cent in the current fiscal, 2021-
22.
76. Swiss brokerage UBS Securities has lowered the
growth forecast of the Indian economy for the current
financial year (FY22) to 9.1 per cent due to a massive
surge in Omicron infections.
77. The World Bank has projected the Indian economy to
grow at the following rate in its ‘Global Economic
Prospects’ report released on January 11, 2022. The
World Bank retained its FY22 growth forecast for
India at 8.3 per cent but upgraded it to 8.7 per cent for
FY23.
78. The GDP growth forecast of India in fiscal 2022 is
estimated to grow at 6.5 per cent as per the United
Nations World Economic Situation and Prospects
(WESP) 2022 report.
79. Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) has announced the
acquisition of a controlling stake of 73.37% in
Mandarin Oriental New York, a premium luxury hotel
in midtown Manhattan.
80. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has signed an
agreement with Tata Consultancy Services Limited
(TCS) for the second phase of the Passport Seva
Programme (PSP-V2.0).
81. The Central Government of India is set to become the
largest shareholder in Vodafone Idea.
82. Paytm Payments Bank Ltd (PPBL) became the largest
and fastest-growing UPI beneficiary bank in India. It
becomes the first beneficiary bank in the country to
achieve the landmark of over 926 million UPI
transactions in a single month.

Appointments and Resignations
54. V.S. Pathania took over as the 24th Director General
(DG) of the Indian Coast Guard from Krishnaswamy
Natarajan who retired from service.
55. Tesla founder and CEO Elon Musk, who has been
using social media to recruit people, has disclosed that
Indian-origin Ashok Elluswamy was the first
employee to be hired for his electric vehicle company’s
Autopilot team.
56. Director HR in ONGC, Alka Mittal has been given the
additional charge as the new interim chairman and
managing director (CMD) of Oil and Natural Gas
Corporation (ONGC), the largest oil and gas producer
in India. She is the first woman to head the top post at
the Maharatna company.
57. Additional Secretary under the Ministry of Jal Shakti,
G Asok Kumar was appointed as the new
DirectorGeneral of the National Mission for Clean
Ganga (NMCG) under the Ministry of Jal Shakti. He
succeeded Director-General, Rajiv Ranjan Mishra.
58. State-owned Bank of Baroda has signed cricketer

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Places in the news
Personalities in the News
100
Shafali Verma as its brand endorser.
59. The parliament of Kazakhstan has unanimously
approved the appointment of Alikhan Smailov as the
new Prime Minister of the country.
60. Nicaraguan President José Daniel Ortega Saavedra,
leader of the Sandinista National Liberation Front
(FSLN), was sworn in for a new presidential term. This
marks his 5th term and 4th consecutive term as the
President of Nicaragua.
61. The Government of India has extended the tenure of
Navrang Saini as interim Chairperson of Insolvency
and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) for three more
months till March 05, 2022.
62. Former Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor, Urjit
Patel has been appointed as Vice President of the
multilateral funding institution Asian Infrastructure
Investment Bank (AIIB) for a period of three years. He
will be one of the five Vice Presidents of the AIIB.
63. Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas has been named as the next
chief economist of the International Monetary Fund
(IMF). He will succeed Gita Gopinath, the first woman
to serve as the Fund’s chief economist.
64. Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has
announced the appointment of the eminent rocket
scientist Dr S Somanath as its new chairman and Space
Secretary.
65. Reserve Bank of India has approved the appointment
of Ittira Davis as managing director & chief executive
officer of (MD & CEO) of Ujjivan Small Finance Bank
for one tenure
14. Union Minister of State for Science and Technology,
Dr Jitendra Singh has inaugurated India’s first Open
Rock Museum in Hyderabad, Telangana. Museum
displays around 35 different types of rocks from
different parts of India with ages ranging from 3.3
billion years to around 55 million years of the Earth’s
history.
15. The Ministry of Railways has approved the renaming
of the Kevadiya railway station in the Narmada district
of Gujarat, as Ekta Nagar railway station.
16. Kochi, Kerala has become India’s first city to have a
Water Metro Project after the launch of its first boat in
December 2021, namely ‘Muziris,’ among the 23
battery-powered electric boats being manufactured by
Cochin Shipyard Limited.
17. Haryana Deputy CM Dushyant Chautala announced
that Gurugram will get India’s 1st heli-hub with all
aviation facilities. The heli-hub will be the first of its
kind in India to have all facilities at one place for
helicopters.
15. Prime Minister of Sudan, Abdalla Hamdok has
announced his resignation on January 02, 2022. The
decision follows a military coup that caused political
deadlock and widespread pro-democracy protests in
the country. The 66-year-old Hamdok served as the
15th Prime Minister of Sudan from 2019 to 2022.
 16. Pakistani all-rounder, Mohammad Hafeez has
announced his retirement from international cricket on
January 03, 2022, to end his career spanning more than
18 years.
17. Captain Harpreet Chandi, Indian-origin British Sikh
Army officer and physiotherapist, also known as Polar
Preet, has created history by becoming the first woman
of colour to complete a solo unsupported trek to the
South Pole.

Summits/ MoUs 23. United Nations’ World Food Programme (WFP) in

India, has partnered with The Akshaya Patra
Foundation (TAPF), a not-for-profit organization, to
enhance the effectiveness of the Pradhan Mantri –
Poshan Shakti Nirman (PM POSHAN) scheme (earlier
known as National Programme for Mid-Day Meal in
Schools).
24. Union Minister of Science and Technology, Dr
Jitendra Singh has inaugurated the 24th National
Conference on e-Governance in Hyderabad,
Telangana. The theme of the two-day Conference is
‘India’s Techade: Digital Governance in a Post
Pandemic World’.
25. Adani Group and South Korea’s largest steelmaker
POSCO have signed a non-binding memorandum of
understanding (MoU) to explore business
opportunities in India. This includes the establishment
of a green, environment-friendly integrated steel mill
at Mundra, Gujarat.
26. LazyPay, a Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) solution by
PayU Finance, announced its partnership with SBM
Bank India to launch LazyCard, a prepaid payment
instrument backed by a credit line that works on the
Visa payment network. To empower financially
underserved Indians with easy access to credit as their
card has limited credit options.
27. Axis Bank has tied up with MinkasuPay to offer a
biometric authentication solution for net banking
payments in merchant apps using Fingerprint or Face
ID, without the need for usernames, passwords, and
One-Time Passwords (OTPs). This Solution will
reduce the time of payment from 50-60 seconds to just
2-3 seconds and also increase the transaction success
rate.
28. Small businesses-focused online lending platform
Indifi Technologies has collaborated with Google Pay
to provide instant loans to eligible medium, small and
micro enterprises (MSMEs) merchants through the
Google Pay platform.
29. Union Minister of Science and Technology, Dr
Jitendra Singh has inaugurated the 24th National
Conference on e-Governance in Hyderabad,
Telangana. The theme of the two-day Conference is
‘India’s Techade: Digital Governance in a Post
Pandemic World’
30. The 19th meeting of the National Tiger Conservation
Authority (NTCA) was held under the chairmanship of
the union minister for Environment, Forest & Climate

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 Change Bhupender Yadav. Currently, there are 51
Tiger Reserves in India and more than 35 rivers
originate from those areas which are crucial for water
security.

Defence Exercises/ Aerospace news
19. Russia successfully test-fired around 10 new Tsirkon
(Zircon) hypersonic cruise missiles from a frigate and
other two missiles from a submarine. The Zircon
missile would be capable of flying at nine times the
speed of sound and have a range of 1,000 kilometres
(620 miles). The Tsirkon Cruise Missile will join
Avangard glide vehicles and the air-launched Kinzhal
(Dagger) missiles in Russia’s hypersonic arsenal.
20. India has invited a total of 46 friendly foreign countries
to participate in the multinational naval exercise Milan
in Visakhapatnam, scheduled from February 25, 2022.
The theme of this 11th edition of exercise Milan is
camaraderie, cohesion and collaboration. This exercise
was initiated in 1995 and held biennially and
conducted with friendly navies.
21. India and its partners in the Quadrilateral Security
Dialogue or Quad along with Canada and South Korea
are participating in the multinational exercise Sea
Dragon 2022 at Guam in the Western Pacific. The six
nations that are participating in the exercise are the
United States, Australia, Canada, India, Japan and
South Korea.
22. Philippines has become the first foreign country to
place an order for the purchase of the BrahMos Shore-
Based cruise Missile System for its navy. This
agreement will give a big boost to India’s defence
manufacturing system. The estimated deal cost is
worth $374,9 million
23. Defence Research and Development Organisation
(DRDO) successfully test-fired an extended range sea-
to-sea variant of the BrahMos supersonic cruise
missile for the Indian Navy.
24. Defence Research and Development Organisation
(DRDO) successfully flight tested the Man-Portable
Anti-Tank Guided Missile (MPATGM), in its final
“deliverable configuration”. MPATGM will be
manufactured by Bharat Dynamics Limited at its
facility in Bhanoor, Telangana.
25. Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has
successfully conducted the qualification test of
Cryogenic Engine for Gaganyaan programme for a
duration of 720 seconds at ISRO Propulsion Complex
(IPRC), Mahendragiri, Tamil Nadu

Awards and Honours 33. Photojournalist Danish Siddiqui, who died during an
assignment in Afghanistan, has been posthumously
awarded as the ‘Journalist of the Year’ for 2020 by the
Mumbai Press Club. CJI N V Ramana presented the
annual ‘RedInk Awards for Excellence in Journalism’.
Senior journalist Prem Shankar Jha, 83, was bestowed
with the lifetime achievement award “for his long and
distinguished career of incisive and analytical
writing”.

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 34. India’s one of the top numerologists, JC Chaudhry has
achieved the first-ever Guinness World Record in
Numerology and the first world record of 2022 by
educating about ancient science to around 6000
participants, enthusiasts of numerology joined from
the United States, the United Kingdom, Middle East,
and India. The Guinness World Record London office
has opened a new category, “Numerology” for this
achievement.
35. A professor in the clinical embryology department at
Kasturba Medical College (KMC), under Manipal
Academy of Higher education (MAHE), Dr Satish
Adiga has been selected by the Indian Council of
Medical Research (ICMR) for its national award. He
will receive Dr Subhas Mukherjee Award from ICMR
in recognition for his outstanding contribution to the
field of in-vitro fertilization (IVF).
36. The Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) won SKOCH
Award in the Silver category for its work towards
combating Crime and Violence against Children. The
award was given out at the 78 SKOCH Summit. The
“State of Governance” was the theme of the summit.
37. The 2015 film Bajrangi Bhaijaan fame actress,
Harshaali Malhotra has been awarded the 12th Bharat
Ratna Dr Ambedkar Award 2022.

Sports news 31. India has lifted the under-19 Asia cricket Cup by
defeating Sri Lanka by nine wickets in a
raininterrupted One-Day International final in Dubai
through the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method. In the
match, Sri Lanka opted to bat first and scored 106 for
nine in the stipulated 38 overs. India, who have won a
record seven Asia Cup titles, looked a far superior team
32. Tamil Nadu’s Bharath Subramaniyam became India’s
73rd chess Grandmaster. He secured the third and final
Grandmaster norm at an event at Cattolica in Italy. He
scored 6.5 points from nine rounds along with four
others and finish seventh in the event.
33. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has
informed that Tata group has replaced Chinese mobile
phone manufacturer Vivo as the title sponsor of the
Indian Premier League (IPL) for the 2022 and 2023
seasons. The multinational conglomerate will pay Rs.
300 crore per year.
34. The All India Sports Council of the Deaf has got
approval from the International Committee of Sports
for the Deaf (ICSD) to host the first World Deaf T20
Cricket Championship in Kerala from January 10-20,
2023.

Days and dates 41. The Defence Research and Development Organisation
(DRDO) has observed the 64th Foundation Day of its
establishment on January 01, 2022. DRDO was
established in 1958 with just 10 laboratories to enhance
the research work in the Defence sector.
42. World Braille Day is observed globally on 4th January
since 2019. The day aims to recognize the right of
access to braille by blind people and raise awareness

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 of the importance of braille as a means of
communication in the full realization of the human
rights for blind and partially sighted people.
43. Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi has declared
that starting from the year 2022, December 26 will be
observed as ‘Veer Baal Diwas’ every year. The day
will be commemorated as a tribute to the courage of
the 4 Sahibzades (the four sons of Guru Gobind Singh
Ji), who attained martyrdom in the 17th century
44. World Hindi Day is celebrated on January 10 since
2006 to promote the language at the global stage. The
day marks the anniversary of the first World Hindi
Conference which was inaugurated on January 10,
1975, by the then prime minister Indira Gandhi.
45. This year National Human Trafficking Awareness Day
is observed on January 11, 2022, which is on Tuesday.
The day aims at raising awareness of the plight of
human trafficking victims, and promoting and
protecting their rights.
46. In India, the National Youth Day is celebrated on 12
January annually to commemorate the birth
anniversary of Swami Vivekananda.
47. In India, the Armed Forces Veterans Day is observed
each year on 14 January since 2017. The day aims to
acknowledge and honour the selfless devotion and
sacrifice of our veterans in the service of the nation.
2022 marks the 6th Armed Forces Veterans Day.
48. The Army Day in India is celebrated on 15 January
every year, to salute the valiant soldiers who sacrificed
their lives to protect the country and its citizens. This
year marks the 74th Indian Army Day.
49. The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal
Trade (DPIIT) and the Ministry of Commerce and
Industry have decided to organise a week-long virtual
innovation celebration called ‘Startup India Innovation
Week’ to showcase the spread and depth of
entrepreneurship across India. The virtual event will be
organised from January 10 to January 16, 2022.

Obituaries 21. Bollywood film producer Vijay Galani has passed

away.
22. World-renowned Kenyan politician, conservationist
and fossil hunter Richard Leakey has passed away. The
legendary paleoanthropologist is credited for the
discovery of ‘Turkana Boy’ in 1984.
23. Social worker Sindhutai Sapkal, who was called as
‘Mother of Orphans’ passed away at the age of 73
years. She was also referred to just as ‘Sindhutai’ or
‘Mai’. She was awarded the Padma Shri in 2021 in the
Social Work category.
24. The Olympic triple jump 3-time gold medalist and
former world record holder, Viktor Danilovich
Saneyev passed away in Australia. He was a triple long
player who represented the Union of Soviet Socialist
Republic (USSR) in the Olympic games. Later he
worked as a coach in Australia
25. European Parliament President, David Sassoli has
passed away due to health issues. He had served as the

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 President of the European Parliament from July 2019
until his death in January 2022. He was first elected as
a member of the European Parliament (MEP) in 2009.
26. India’s oldest female sloth bear, whose name was
Gulabo, has passed away at the Van Vihar National
Park and Zoo, located in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh.

Updates reported from 16- 31 December

News Narration

India’s Harnaaz Sandhu crowned 70th Miss Actor-model Harnaaz Sandhu made history as she was crowned
Universe 2021 Miss Universe 2021 beating contestants from 80 countries, 21
years after India last brought home the title. While Paraguay’s
Nadia Ferreira, 22, finished second, South Africa’s Lalela
Mswane, 24, came third.
History of India in Miss Universe title:
Only two Indians before Ms Sandhu have won the title of Miss
Universe— actors Sushmita Sen in 1994 and Lara Dutta in
2000. The 70th edition of the event was held in Eilat, Israel,
where the 21-year-old bagged the coveted pageant.

Google trends: See what was trending in 2021
Google has published its annual overview of key search trends,
which provides a somewhat dizzying reminder of all the things
that have happened in 2021 – which really feels like it’s only
lasted for a few months. Google’s 2021 Search Trends mini-site
includes data on all the key topics of interest, including overall
searches and news events. Google’s long-time tradition of
releasing “Year in Search” annually has become a norm for
those who are curious over the most searched topics on the
platform.

Google India has announced the results for its year in search
2021 mentioning the top search trends of 2021 in India. The
listing of top google trends in India has revealed what Indians
searched in the year 2021 across Overall, sports, news,
personalities, among other categories. As per Google India’s
‘Year in Search 2021’, the Indian Premier League (IPL) has
filled the top spot for the trending query overall in 2021.

National News 39. Union Minister Social Justice and Empowerment, Dr

Virendra Kumar has launched National Helpline
against atrocities on SCs, STs. The objective of the
helpline, reportedly, is to build awareness about the
provisions of the Act that are aimed at ending
discrimination and providing protection to all. The
Helpline will be available 24-7 on toll-free number –
14566
40. The proposal to raise the minimum age of marriage for
women from 18 to 21 was cleared by the Union
Cabinet. Presently, the minimum age of marriage for
men is 21 but for women, it is 18. The government will
now look to introduce amendments to the Prohibition
of Child Marriage Act, Special Marriage Act, and the
Hindu Marriage Act to bring the plan into action. This
will give a chance to the girls to study more. They will
be able to enjoy their independence. They will also get

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 better employment opportunities.”

State News 56. Department of Youth Empowerment & Sports,

Government of Karnataka has signed a Letter of
Understanding (LoU) with the United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP) as a part of the
State-level initiative ‘Code-Unnati’ to improve the
access to entrepreneurship and employment
opportunities among the youths, including women.
57. The Geographical Indications Registry (GIR) under
the Central Ministry of Commerce has accepted the
petition to rename Bihar Makhana as Mithila Makhana
and has also suggested further changes to the brand
logo to better reflect its origins. It also suggested
amendments in the brand logo to highlight its origins
and protect the product’s Geographical Indications
(GI) rights.
58. UNESCO has added Durga Puja in Kolkata to its 2021
list of Intangible Cultural Heritage, giving
international recognition to the biggest religious
festival of the 331-year-old city and the state of West
Bengal.
59. 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. Goa Liberation Day is observed on 19
December every year in India and it marks the day
Indian armed forces freed Goa in 1961 following 450
years of Portuguese rule. The year 2021 marks the 60
years of Goa’s independence.
60. Tamil Nadu government has announced ‘Tamil Thaai
Vaazhthu’ as the state anthem.
61. 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.
62. The Chief Minister of Punjab, Charanjit Singh Channi
has declared Lord Krishna Balram Jagannath Rath
Yatra as an annual state festival.
63. 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.
64. Chief Minister of Odisha, Naveen Patnaik has
inaugurated the state’s longest bridge, ‘T-Setu’, built
over the Mahanadi River in Cuttack District, Odisha.
The bridge in the shape of the English alphabet ‘T’ was
constructed at a cost of Rs 111 crore.

International News 50. The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) has
granted Observer Status to International Solar Alliance
(ISA) by adopting resolution 76/123. This decision has
been taken based on the UNGA’s Sixth Committee
report. In November 2015, ISA was jointly launched
by India and France during the 21st session of the

106
 United Nations Climate Change COP-21 in Paris,
France to promote solar energy among its Member
Countries.
51. India assumed the Chairmanship of Council of
Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure of Shanghai
Cooperation Organization (RATS SCO) for 1 year
from October 28, 2021.
52. India has been re-elected to International Maritime
Organisation (IMO) Council for the 2022-2023
biennium under category B states. The Assembly of
the International Maritime Organization has elected
the Members of its Council for the 2022-2023
biennium.
53. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a
$112 million loan to strengthen skills education and
training through the establishment of the Assam Skill
University (ASU).
54. The United Arab Emirates has announced to change its
existing five-day workweek to a four-and-a-half day
starting January 1, becoming the world’s first country
to make the employee-friendly transition as part of its
efforts to improve productivity and worklife balance.
Dubai became the world’s first government to turn
100% paperless, the announcement was made by the
United Arab Emirate (UAE) Crown Prince, Sheikh
Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.
55. Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a Rs
2653.05 crore (USD 350 million) policy-based loan to
improve urban services in India. This loan supports the
policies formulated by the Ministry of Housing and
Urban Affairs (MoHUA) to benefit the urban poor,
economically weaker sections, and low-income
groups.
56. Malta became the first European country to allow
limited cultivation and possession of cannabis for
personal use, following a vote in parliament. The
Maltese parliament voted in favour of the reform last
week, with 36 votes in favour and 27 against.

Environment news 1. India’s TVS Motor Company will develop electric

vehicles (EV) with BMW’s motorcycle brand in India,
joining a host of Indian automakers that have sought to
expand their clean mobility offering. The tie-up comes
at a time when new-age start-ups like Ola Electric &
Ather are ramping up investment in electric scooters
2.

Books 27. Former union minister and Lok Sabha Member of

Parliament Dr. Shashi Tharoor‘s 23rd book titled
‘Pride, Prejudice and Punditry’ was launched in
Hyderabad, Telangana
28. Vice President of India, M Venkaiah Naidu has
released the book titled ‘Raj Kapoor: The Master At
Work’ authored by Rahul Rawail. The book launch
event was held at India Habitat Centre in New Delhi,
coinciding with Raj Kapoor’s 97th birth anniversary.

Reports and Indices 27. International Institute for Management Development

107
 (IMD) World Competitive Centre published its
“World Talent Ranking Report”. In the report, Europe
has dominated the ranking in 2021. Global top 10
countries are from this region. Switzerland has retained
its top spot. India has been ranked at 56th position.
28. Winter Session of the Parliament, Nitin Gadkari,
Union Minister of Road Transport & Highways,
informed the Rajya Sabha on the state of Electric
Vehicles (EV) in India. As per the data, India has a
total of 870,141 registered EVs, with Uttar Pradesh
(UP) holding the top spot with 255,700 registered EVs.
UP is followed by Delhi (125,347), Karnataka
(72,544), Bihar (58,014) and Maharashtra (52,506) in
successive positions.
29. As per the Global Health Security (GHS) Index 2021,
the world’s average overall GHS Index score was
reduced to 38.9 (out of 100) in 2021, from a score of
40.2 in the GHS Index, 2019. India ranked 66 out of
195 countries.
30. Maharashtra has topped the list of states with the
maximum number of beneficiaries under the
Atmanirbhar Bharat Rojgar Yojana (ABRY), followed
by Tamil Nadu and Gujarat.
31. Spam call rates in India have spiked again, with the
country moving up in global rankings from 9th
position to 4th position owing to a significant in sales
and telemarketing calls in 2021, according to the latest
insights by callerID, spam detection and blocking
company, Truecaller.
32. Reliance Industries Ltd, India’s largest corporate by
revenues, profits and market value, topped the 2021
Wizikey News Score ranking as India’s most-visible
corporate in the media.
33. India is among the world’s top three dope violators
country in the world. Indian athletes were involved 152
times in dope-related activities in the year 2019. The
report has revealed the latest report published by the
World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada), which has put
India into the top-three of the world’s biggest violators
behind Russia (167) and Italy (157). Brazil (78) is at
fourth and Iran (70) fifth positions.
34. Adding 33 "unicorns" in a single year has helped India
displace the United Kingdom to be third in the list of
countries that are home to such enterprises valued at
over $1 billion each. The US and China, who occupy
the first two ranks, are way ahead, according to the data
compiled by Hurun Research Institute.

Science and Technology
19. The NITI Aayog has planned to establish 1000 Atal
Tinkering Laboratories in Jammu and Kashmir. Out of
1000 Atal Tinkering Laboratories, 187 will be
established by the end of the financial year 2021-22.
20. Scientists have resumed tagging of Olive Ridley sea
turtles at Rushikulya rookery along the Odisha coast,
which would help them identify the migration path and
places visited by the marine reptiles after congregation
and nesting. The exercise was undertaken in Odisha in
January 2021 after a span of about 25 years and 1,556

108
 turtles had been tagged.
21. Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati
researchers have developed hybrid pervksite solar or
photovoltaic devices in order to produce electricity
from sunlight. These machines are highly efficient and
easy to manufacture. According to officials, hybrid
pervksite are easily recyclable too.

Banking/Economy/Business News
83. India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) has tied up with
National Payments Corporation of India’s (NPCI) bill
payments system Bharat BillPay to facilitate cash-
based bill payments service at customer’s doorstep.
Payments for various utility bills can be done on the
Bharat BillPay platform and the facility will be made
available to non- IPPB customers as well.
84. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) made Legal Entity
Identifier (LEI) mandatory for cross-border
transactions for capital or current account transactions
of Rs 50 crore and above, from October 1 next year.
The LEI is a 20-digit number used to uniquely identify
parties to financial transactions worldwide to improve
the quality and accuracy of financial data systems.
85. Bank of Baroda (BoB) has launched a solution for
digital banking payments, named bob World Wave.
Wearable technology is witnessing the rise of
tremendous interest across the world and lenders are
using this opportunity to adopt the more convenient
and cashless digital payments systems.
86. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has introduced a
prompt corrective action (PCA) framework for large
non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) with effect
from October 2022, putting restrictions on para-banks
whenever vital financial metrics dip below the
prescribed threshold.
87. Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) has received
approval from the Reserve Bank of India to increase its
stake to 9.99 per cent in IndusInd Bank of the total
issued and paid-up capital of the private sector lender.
88. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI)
has set up an Advisory Committee for Leveraging
Regulatory and Technology Solutions (ALeRTS) to
enhance technological capabilities and explore suitable
technology solutions for the early detection of market
anomalies. ALeRTS is a 7-member committee headed
by Madhabi Puri Buch, a former whole-time member
of SEBI and has experts from various technology
domains as members.
89. A penalty of Rs 1.8 crores has been imposed on Punjab
National Bank (PNB) by the Reserve Bank of India
(RBI), while ICICI Bank has been fined Rs 30 lakh for
deficiencies in regulatory compliances.
90. Reserve Bank of India, in consultation with the
Department of Financial Services, the Ministry of
Finance, has decided to make the Scheduled payments
banks and scheduled small finance banks (SFBs)
eligible to conduct Government agency business.
91. Bank of Baroda has announced it has won the #1
position in overall digital transactions amongst large

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 banks for FY20-21. The bank showed the exceptional
growth of digital payment transactions achievement
and was felicitated by the Ministry of Electronics &
Information Technology (MeitY), Govt. of India at the
Digital Payments Utsav.
92. ICICI Prudential Life Insurance became the first
Indian insurance company to sign United
Nationssupported Principles for Responsible
Investment (UNPRI), to demonstrate commitment
towards the environmental, social and governance
(ESG) issues. In order to promote sustainability,
IPRULIFE is integrating ESG factors into its
investment management framework.
93. 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.

Appointments and Resignations 66. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has appointed

Catherine Russell as the head of UN children’s agency
UNICEF, also known as the United Nations Children’s
Fund.
67. French fashion house Chanel named Leena Nair, an
executive from Unilever, as its new global CEO. Nair’s
career at Unilever spanned 30 years, most recently as
the chief of human resources and a member of the
executive committee.
68. 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.
69. 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.
70. 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.
71. 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.
72. 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.
73. IFFCO-TOKIO General Insurance has announced the
appointment of HO Suri as its new managing director
and chief executive officer.

Places in the news 18. Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science

110
 & Technology, Dr Jitendra Singh inaugurated the
seventh edition of the India International Science
Festival at Panaji, Goa. The theme of the 4-day science
festival is ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ – “Celebrating
Creativity, Science, Technology and Innovation for a
prosperous India”. First India International Science
Festival was held in 2015 at IIT Delhi.
19. Chief Justice of India (CJI) Justice NV Ramana, and
Chief Minister of Telangana K Chandrasekhar Rao has
inaugurated India’s First International Arbitration and
Mediation Centre (IAMC) at Phoenix VK Tower at
Nanakramguda, Hyderabad, Telangana.

Personalities in the News
18. The prestigious TIME magazine has named Elon
Musk, the CEO of Tesla, as the “2021 Person of the
Year. In 2021, US-based electric-vehicle startup Tesla
became $1 trillion company as Musk became the
world’s richest person with an estimated net worth of
around US $255 billion.
19. Simone Biles was named Time magazine’s 2021
Athlete of the Year. The world’s most decorated
gymnast, a four-time Olympic medalist, was hailed for
putting her mental health first when she withdrew from
four event finals at the Tokyo Olympics.
20. 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.

Summits/ MoUs 31. IIT-Delhi signed an MoU with Indian Air Force (IAF)
to support requirements towards indigenous solutions
in various weapon systems. Under the MoU, The IAF
has identified key focus areas involving the
development of technology and finding indigenous
solutions towards the sustenance of various weapon
systems. The partnership between IIT Delhi and IAF
will also boost the efforts by Base Repair Depots
(BRDs) of Maintenance Command IAF.
32. The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the
United Nations has signed an agreement with the
Andhra Pradesh Government to train the farmers in
good farm management practices and sustainable
agricultural methods.
33. NITI Aayog has signed a Statement of Intent with the
United Nations World Food Program (WFP). The
partnership focuses on mainstreaming millets and
supporting India in taking lead globally in knowledge
exchange using the opportunity of 2023 as an
International Year of Millets. The government of India
observed 2018 as a year of millets.

Defence Exercises/ Aerospace news
26. Defence Research and Development Organisation
(DRDO) has successfully test-fired Pinaka Extended
Range (Pinaka-ER), Area Denial Munitions (ADM),
and indigenously developed fuzes. The test was
conducted at Integrated Test Range (ITR), Chandipur
off the Odisha coast.
27. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has inaugurated

111
 Swarnim Vijay Parv commemorating 50 years of
India’s victory in the 1971 war. He inaugurates ‘Wall
of Fame -1971 Indo-Pak War’ at the inaugural
ceremony.
28. Army Chief General M.M. Naravane has assumed the
charge as the chairman of the Chiefs of Staff
Committee that comprises the three service chiefs.
29. NASA’s Parker Solar Probe has entered the Sun’s
upper atmosphere for, first time in history. In 2018,
launched the Parker Solar Probe aims to unravel the
mysteries of the Sun by travelling closer to it. After
three years of launching, Parker has finally arrived in
the solar atmosphere.
30. Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has signed a Rs
2,400 crores contract with Bharat Electronics Limited
(BEL) for the development and supply of 20 types of
systems for 83 LCA (Light Combat Aircraft) Tejas
Mk1A fighter aircraft programme. The duration of the
contract is 5 years i.e., from 2023 to 2028.
31. The nuclear-capable ballistic missile ‘Agni Prime’ was
successfully tested off the coast of Odisha by the
Defence Research and Development Organisation
(DRDO). Recently, DRDO has successful test-firing
of the air version of the BrahMos supersonic cruise
missile on December 7 was a “significant milestone”
in BrahMos’ development.
32. 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

Awards and Honours 38. The Sports Journalists’ Federation of India (SJFI) has
decided to honour former Indian Cricketer and cricket
commentator Sunil Manohar Gavaskar with its
prestigious ‘SJFI Medal 2021’ at SJFI Annual General
Meeting (AGM) in Guwahati, Assam. SJFI Medal is
the highest honour of SJFI. SJFI was founded on 27th
February 1976 at the Eden Gardens, Calcutta (now
Kolkata), West Bengal.
39. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has ranked 8th on the
list of the world's top 20 most admired men, in a survey
carried out by data analytics company YouGov. PM
Modi is ahead of Shah Rukh Khan, Amitabh Bachchan
and Virat Kohli. The list has been compiled taking
feedback from 42,000 people in 38 countries. Apart
from PM Modi, the other Indian men who, according
to the survey, were the most admired in 2021 include
Sachin Tendulkar, Shah Rukh Khan, Amitabh
Bachchan and Virat Kohli. The list also includes the
most admired Indian women of 2021 has Priyanka
Chopra, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Sudha Murty.
40. Indian Mathematician Neena Gupta has received the
2021 DST-ICTP-IMU Ramanujan Prize for Young
Mathematicians from Developing Countries for her
outstanding work in affine algebraic geometry and
commutative algebra.
41. Azim Premji, founder chairman of Wipro Limited and

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 founder of Azim Premji Foundation is this year’s
recipient of the 10th annual Dr Ida S. Scudder
Humanitarian Oration, jointly established by Christian
Medical College Vellore (CMC) and the U.S.- based
Vellore CMC Foundation.
42. Bhutan has honoured PM Modi with its highest civilian
award, Ngadag Pel gi Khorlo. Bhutan’s Prime Minister
Lotay Tshering has announced PM Modi’s name for
Bhutan’s highest honour.
43. Lewis Hamilton has picked up a new title only days
after losing one on the track. The seven-time Formula
One champion received a knighthood at Windsor
Castle, London.
44. Aditya Birla Group’s chairman, Kumar Mangalam
Birla has received the Global Entrepreneur of the Year
Award- Business Transformation from The Indus
Entrepreneurs (TiE) based out of Silicon Valley. Birla
is the first Indian Industrialist to receive the award for
global entrepreneurship along with top global business
leaders Satya Nadella, Elon Musk, and Jeff Bezos.
45. 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.
46. O. P. Jindal Global University (JGU) has won the
‘Digital Innovation of the Year Award’ in the
prestigious Times Higher Education (THE) Asia
Awards 2021 for creating a free, cloud-based
application to help schools and universities manage
data. JGU was the only Indian University to be
shortlisted for the “Digital Innovation of the Year”.
The university was awarded under the ‘Technological
or Digital Innovation of the Year category for its
transformative work in the last 2 years. This award is
also a reflection of JGU’s commitment to ensure
continued education for its students during the ongoing
pandemic. In March 2020, we were faced with one of
the most unprecedented crises of our time.
47. Indian shooter Avani Lekhara, who has created history
by winning India’s first Gold medal in Shooting at the
2020 Tokyo Paralympics, won the “Best Female
Debut” honour at the 2021 Paralympic Sport Awards.
48. Steel Authority of India Ltd. (SAIL), under the
Ministry of Steel, has been awarded with 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.
49. 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

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 Institutions category this year.
50. Divya Hegde, an Indian Climate Action Entrepreneur
from Udupi, Karnataka, has won UN Women’s Award
for Leadership Commitment at the 2021 Regional
Asia-Pacific Women’s Empowerment Principles
Awards Ceremony.
51. Environmentalist Dr Anil Prakash Joshi, who was
conferred upon the Padma Bhushan this year, has been
awarded the Mother Teresa Memorial Award for
Social Justice 2021. Vidyut Mohan, the winner of the
Earth shot Prize, and Ridhima Pandey, a young
environmental activist from Uttarakhand, were also the
recipients of the award.

Sports news 1. Reigning world chess champion Magnus Carlsen of

Norway defended his title and won the FIDE World
Championship in Dubai.
2. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen won his maiden F1
Drivers’ championship title by beating Lewis
Hamilton of Mercedes in the season-ending Abu Dhabi
GP 2021.
3. India won a total of six medals, including two gold and
4 silver medals in the Asian Rowing Championship in
Thailand.
4. The International Boxing Association has changed its
acronym from AIBA to IBA, promising to adopt a set
of governance reforms so as to keep the sport’s
inclusion at the 2028 Olympics.
5. The 2021 Badminton World Federation (BWF) World
championship (officially known as the TotalEnergies
BWF World Championships 2021), an annual
tournament was held between 12th December 2021
and 19th December 2021 in Huelva, Spain. Loh Kean
Yew of Singapore won the Men’s Singles title and
Akane Yamaguchi of Japan won the Women’s Singles
title of BWF World Championship 2021.
6. India concluded the Commonwealth Weightlifting
Championships 2021 with 16 medals – 4 Gold, 7
Silver, and 5 Bronze, held at Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
7. 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.
8. Bangladesh women team has won the SAFF U 19
Women’s Championship by defeating India in the
finals. Shaheda Akter Ripa of Bangladesh scored the
maximum number of goals in the tournament. She
received the ‘most valuable player’ award.

Days and dates 50. International Day of Neutrality is a United Nations

recognized day held on December 12 each year to raise
public awareness of the value of neutrality in
international relations.
51. Every year, UNICEF Day is observed on December 11
to raise awareness about saving children’s lives by
defending and helping them to fulfil their wishes. The
theme for this year is to help children recover from

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 interruptions and learning losses experienced through
pandemics in the last two years.
52. In India, Vijay Diwas (also called Victory Day) is
celebrated every year on December 16. The country is
celebrating the 50th Vijay Diwas in 2021. The Indo-
Pakistan war of 1971 which began on December 3
lasted for 13 days and officially ended on December
16, after which Pakistan surrendered to India.
53. International Human Solidarity Day is observed
globally on 20 December every year to celebrate unity
in diversity and raise awareness about the importance
of solidarity.
54. Kisan Diwas or National Farmers’ Day is celebrated
across the nation on December 23 to commemorate the
birth anniversary of the fifth Prime Minister of India,
Chaudhary Charan Singh.
55. National Consumer Rights Day is observed every year
on December 24. On this day in 1986, the Consumer
Protection Act 1986 received Presidential assent and
thus came into force.
56. 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 his 134th birth anniversary of Ramanujan.
57. In India, Good Governance Day (Sushasan Divas) is
observed annually on 25th December. In this day
nation celebrates the birth anniversary of Bharat Ratna
and former-Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Obituaries 27. American gothic-fiction writer Anne Rice, best known

for The Vampire Chronicles novel series, passed away.

Updates reported from 1- 15 December

News Narration

52nd International film festival of India and 6th The 52nd edition of the International film festival of India
BRICS Film Festival Awards 2021
concluded in Goa. For the first time, the BRICS film festival
was hosted alongside IFFI, OTT platforms participated and 75
creative young minds of cinema were felicitated at IFFI. The
event was attended by Manoj Bajpayee, Randhir Kapoor,
Madhuri Dixit Nene as well as Uni n Information and
Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur and Goa CM Pramod
Sawant.
List of award winners in IFFI Goa:
Most friendly State for film shooting: Uttar Pradesh
Silver Peacock for Best Actor (Male): Jitendra Bhikulal
Joshi (Godavari)
Best actor (female): Angela Molina (Paraguay) for
Charlotte
Best director: Vaclav Kadrnka (Czech Republic) for
‘Saving One Who Was Dead’
Golden Peacock Award for Best Film: Japanese film Ring
Wandering (Masakazu Kanyeko)
The Special Jury award: Renata Carvalho (Brazil)
Indian Film Personality of the Year Awar : Prasoon Joshi

115

RBI Monetary Policy: Repo rate unchanged for
the 9th consecutive time
Global Health Security Index 2021
Centre to launch National Helpline against Union Minister Social Justice and Empowerment, Dr
atrocities on SCs, STs
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth forecast
Jury Special Mention for Debut Feature ilm: The Wealth of
the World
Best Debut Feature Film of a Director: Director Mari
Alessandrini’s Zahori
ICFT UNESCO Gandhi Award: Lingui: The Sacred Bonds
The 6th edition of the BRICS Film Festival awards was
announced at the 52nd International Fil Festival of India
in Goa. For the first time, BRICS Film Festival was held
alongside IFFI from November 20 to November 28, 2021. The
Jury for this competitive festival had 5 members, one from
each of the BRICS countries. The jury selected the awards
under five categories after examining twenty films.
Indian actor Dhanush won Best Actor (Male) for his role in
‘Asuran’
The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) Monetary Policy
Committee (MPC) headed by Reserve ank of India (RBI)
Governor Shaktikanta Das kept the repo rate unchanged at 4
per cent for the ninth consecutive time while maintaining an
‘accommodative stance’ as long as necessary. The reverse repo
rate will continue to be 3.35 per cent. The central bank had last
revised the policy rate on May 22, 2020, in an off-policy cycle
to perk up demand by cutting the interest rate to a historic low.
The meeting was held between Dece ber (6 to 8). The
remaining will take place in February (7 t 9, 2022).
As per the Global Health Security (G S) Index 2021, the
world’s average overall GHS Index score was reduced to 38.9
(out of 100) in 2021, from a score of 40.2 in the GHS Index,
2019.GHS Index is developed in partnership with the Nuclear
Threat Initiative (NTI) and the Johns Hopkins Center 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 and along with a change of -0.8 from 2019. The
United States of America (USA) ranked 1st on the index
with a score of 75.9 followed by Australia and Finland.
Virendra Kumar has launched National Helpline against
atrocities on SCs, STs. The objecti e of the helpline,
reportedly, is to build awareness about the provisions of the
Act that are aimed at ending discrimination and providing
protection to all. The Helpline will be available 24-7 on toll-
free number – 14566. The objective of this helpline is to spread
awareness about the provision of t e Scheduled Castes and
the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
1. S&P Global Ratings has retained the Gross Domestic
Product (GDP) growth forecast of India unchanged at 9.5
percent for the financial year 2021- 22 (FY22) and 7.8 per
cent for the year ending FY23. GDP growth projection of
India was revised for FY 24 to 6 per cent from 5.7 percent
estimated earlier.
2. Wall Street brokerage, Goldman Sachs has estimated
India’s GDP growt at 9.1 per cent in 2022. After India’s
economy co tracted by a sharp 7 per cent in 2020, Goldman
Sachs pegged the economy to grow at 8 per cent in 2021 and
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 9.1 per cent in 2022.
3. Fitch Ratings has slashed India’s economic growth
forecast in the financial year 2 21-22 (FY22) to 8.4 per
cent and raised the growth projection to 10.3 per cent for
FY23, compared to ctober 2021 rating projections of 8.7 per
cent (FY22) and 10 per cent (FY23).
4. The rating agency, India Ratings and Research
(IndRa) expects India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in
the Second Quarter of Financial Year- 2022 (Q2 FY22)
at 3 per cent and in FY22 at 9.4 per cent.
5. The Singapore-based DBS Bank’s economic research
team has revised India’s FY23 growth forecast upwards to
7 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) (CY2022 6.5 per cent) from
6 per cent earlier.

State News 1. The three-day Shillong Cherry Blossom Festival

2021 was inaugurated by Chief Minister of
Meghalaya, Conrad K Sangma, and Ambassador of
Japan to India, Satoshi Suzuki.
2. Nagaland DGP T. John Longkumer officially
launched the ‘Call your Cop’ obile App at Police
Headquarters in Kohima.
3. Kerala Tourism launched the ‘STREET’ project to
promote and take tourism deep into the interiors and
rural hinterland of Kerala. T e STREET is an
acronym for Sustainable, Ta gible, Responsible,
Experiential, Ethnic, Tourism ubs.
4. India has a total of 870,141 registered EVs, with Uttar
Pradesh (UP) holding the top spot with 255,700
registered EVs. UP is followed by Delhi (125,347),
Karnataka (72,544), Bihar (58,014) and
Maharashtra (52,506) in successive positions.

International News 1. South Korea is soon going to get the world’s first
floating city, to deal with the problem of floods due
to rising sea levels. The floating city project is a joint
effort by the UN Human Settlement Programme
(UN-Habit) and OCEANIX. The city will be built
off the coast of Busan in South Korea and is likely to
be completed by 2025.
2. Barbados has become the World’s newest republic,
around 400 years after it became a British colony.
Barbados is said to have been made a ‘slave society
by the British. It first became an English colony in
1625. It gained its independence in 1966. Barbados,
the Caribbean Island nation, removed Queen
Elizabeth II as the head of the state.
3. The Biden administration has announced that US
officials will not attend the 2022 Winter Olympics
in Beijing after China pledged unspecified
“countermeasures” against any such diplomatic
boycott. The US cited that “China’s human rights
ATROCITIES” is the main reason for its boycott.
The US has named the boycott as “Diplomatic
Boycott”. Canada will join the United States, the
United Kingdom and Australia diplomatic boycott
of the Beijing Winter Olympics over human rights
concerns.

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 4. Myanmar’s ousted civilian leader, Aung San Suu
Kyi was sentenced to four years imprisonment
after being found guilty on two charges, the first
verdicts in a raft of criminal cases that the country’s
military has brought against her since seizing power
10 months ago. Ms Suu Kyi was convicted of charges
of incitement and violating pandemic rules. The 76-
year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate is facing a total
of 11 charges which can bring in a maximum
imprisonment of 102 years.
5. India has been re-elected to the International
Maritime Organisation (IMO) Council for the
2022-2023 biennium under category B states. The
Assembly of the International Maritime Organization
has elected the Members of its Council for the 2022-
2023 biennium. The Council is the executive organ of
IMO and is responsible, under the Assembly, for
supervising the work of the Organization.
6. The United Arab Emirates has announced the
change of its existing five-day workweek to a four-
and-a-half day starting January 1, becoming the
world’s first country to make the employee-friendly
transition as part of its efforts to mprove productivity
and work-life balance.

Environment news 1. The low-pressure area in the Bay of Bengal is

expected to intensify into Cycl ne Jawad which is
likely to reach the north An hra Pradesh, south
Odisha coasts and Some parts of West Bengal. The
storm, once developed, will be called Jawad
(pronounced Jowad), as named by Saudi Arabia.
2. The Kazhuveli wetland situated in Villupuram
district of Tamil Nadu has been declared as the 16th
Bird Sanctuary by Surpiya Sahu, Environment and
Forest Secretary, at the Minister of Environment
Forest and Climate Change. The Kazhuveli wetlands
is referred to as the 2nd largest Brackish Water
Lake in South India, only after Pulicat lake
3. The Haiderpur Wetland, a part of the Madhya
Ganga barrage, about 10 km from Bijnor in
western Uttar Pradesh, has been recognised under
the 1971 Ramsar Convention on Wetlands. Uttar
Pradesh is now home to 9 Ramsar wetlands.India
and the European Union (EU) have agreed to step
up their Clean Energy and Climate Partnership. They
jointly agreed on a detailed work program until 2023
to implement the 2016 India-EU Clean Energy and
Climate Partnership. The Panel agreed on increased
technical cooperation in energy efficiency, renewable
energy, green hydrogen, grid integration, storage,
power market design, interconnection, cold chain, and
sustainable financing.

Books 1. Former Vice Chairman/Founder/Promoter, Ambuja

Cements Ltd, Narotam Sekhsaria has authored his
autobiography titled ‘The Am uja Story: How a
Group of Ordinary Men Created an
Extraordinary Company’ which is set to be released

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Reports and Indices
Science and Technology
119
in December 2021.
2. A new book that unearths true stories of the 1971
IndoPak war, ’1971: Charge of the Gorkhas and
Other Stories, written by Rachna Bisht Rawat, was
released.
1. The government think tank Niti Aayog has released
the first-ever Multi-dimensional Poverty Index
(MPI) to measure poverty at the national, State/UT,
and district levels. As per the inaugural index, Bihar
has been adjudged as the state with the highest level
of multidimensional poverty.
2. According to Kantar’s BrandZ India 2021 report,
Amazon, Tata Tea and Asian Paints emerged as
the most purposeful brand in India across
technology, FMCG, and no -FMCG categories
respectively. In technology ranking Amazonleads the
index followed by Zomato, YouTube, and Google,
and Swiggy jointly in 4th place.
3. 3. Economist Intelligence Unit’s (EIU) has
announced the Worldwide Cost of Living Index
2021. According to the Index, Tel Aviv, Israel has
become the most expensive city in the world to live
in in 2021, pushing Paris, France and Singapore
jointly to occupy the second spot with Zurich and
Hong Kong at the fourth and fifth spots respectively.
4. 4. The Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative
Limited (IFFCO) has been ranked 'number one
Cooperative' among the top 300 cooperatives in the
world. The ranking is based on the ratio of turnover
over the gross domestic product (GDP) per capita.
5. 5. France-based World Inequality Lab published
its report titled “World Inequality Report 2022”.In
2021 the top 10 percent and top 1 percent of the
Indian population hold 57 percent and 22 percent of
total national income respectively, whereas the share
of the bottom 50 percent has gone down to 13
percent. The Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
are the most unequal regions in the world, whereas
Europe has the lowest inequality levels.
6. Fortune India released the list of most powerful
women in India 2021 in which Union Minister,
Ministry of Finance & Ministry of Corporate
Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman ranked 1st. She is
followed by Reliance Foundation Chairperson and
Goodwill Ambassador Nita Ambani in 2nd position,
and Soumya Swaminathan, Chief Scientist, World
Health Organization (WHO) at 3rd.
1. The nation will have nine nuclear reactors by 2024
and a new nuclear project, the first in northern India,
will come up 150 kms away from Delhi in
Gorakhpur of Haryana, the government informed
the Rajya Sabha. By 2024, India will have nine
nuclear reactors plus 12 new additional ones which
were approved during the Covid times with a
capacity of 9000 MW.
2. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has classified
 the new COVID-19 variant B.1.1.529 as Omicron.
New COVID-19 variant B.1.1.529 was first reported
to WHO from South Africa on 24 November 2021.
3. Skyroot Aerospace, a space technology startup
based in Hyderabad, has successfully test-fired
Dhawan-1, India’s first privately developed fully
cryogenic rocket engine. This will power the upper
stages of its upcoming Vikram-2 orbital launch
vehicle. The rocket engine Dhawan-1 is named
after Satish Dhawan, an Indian rocket scientist.
4. The 7th edition of the four-day India International
Science Festival (IISF) is scheduled to be held in
Panaji, Goa, from December 10 to 13, 2021. The
festival theme in 2021 is “Celebrating Creativity in
Science, Technology and Innovation for Prosperous
India”. The first IISF was held in New Delhi in 2015.
5. 5. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated
and laid the foundation stone of multiple projects
worth Rs 18,000 crore at Dehradun, Uttarakhand.
The 7 projects inaugurated consist of initiatives
focusing on making travel safer including the 120
MW Vyasi Hydroelectric Project, along with
Himalayan Culture Centre in Dehradun.
6. Union Minister of State for Education, Dr Subhas
Sarkar has informed that the government is all set to
launch Bhasha Sangam mobile app. The app has
100+ sentences, designed on different themes that
allow people to learn basic conversation in 22 Indian
languages, test themselves and generate online
certificates.

Banking/Economy/Business News 1. State Bank of India (SBI) has signed an agreement

with Usha International Limited (UIL) for
empowering women entrepreneurs by providing
financial assistance. The financial assistance will be
provided under the Joint Liability Group model.
2. Reserve Bank of India had formed an Internal
Working Group (IWG) in June 2020, to review the
extant guidelines on ownership and corporate
structure for Indian private sector banks. The IWG
had 5 members with Shrimohan Yadav as the
convenor. The initial lock-in requirements will
continue as a minimum of 40 per cent of the paid-
up voting equity share capital of the bank for the
first five years. The cap on promoters’ stake in the
long run of 15 years has been raised from 15 per cent
(earlier) to 26 per cent of the paid-up voting equity
share capital of the bank.
3. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed a
monetary penalty of Rs 1 crore on the State Bank of
India (SBI), for violating subsection (2) of section 19
of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949. SBI held shares
in the borrower companies of an amount exceeding 30
percent of the paid-up share capital of those
companies
4. Bajaj Allianz General Insurance announced its
partnership with deep-tech startup TropoGo for the
distribution of a drone Insurance product. With this

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 Bajaj Allianz General Insurance becomes the 4th
insurer to offer drone cover. HDFC Ergo was the
first insurer to launch a drone insurance cover in
June 2020, followed by ICICI Lombard in August
2021, and Tata AIG last month.
5. HSBC India has launched Ind a’s 1st credit card
made from recycled PVC (Polyvinyl chloride)
plastic.
6. India1 Payments has crossed a milestone on
deploying 10000 white-label ATMs, which was
called as “India1ATMs”. India1 ATM has become
the second-largest white label ATM brand on semi-
urban and rural areas. With the deployment of 10000
ATMs, India1 Payments has become the largest
player in this segment.
7. 7. Paris-based Organisation for Economic
Cooperation and Development (OECD) decreased
India’s growth forecast to 9.4% for FY22 from
9.7% estimated in September 2021.
8. 8. State Bank of India (SBI) listed its USD 650-
million green bonds simultaneously on the India
International Exchange (India INX) and the
Luxembourg Stock Exchange (LuxSE).
9. 9. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has given its
approval to Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) to
raise its stake in private lender Kotak Mahindra
Bank to 9.99 per cent.
10. 10. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) superseded the
Board of Directors of Reliance Capital Ltd (RCL), a
NonBanking Financial Company (NBFC), by
exercising its power conferred under Section 45-IE
(1) of the RBI Act, 1934.
11. Gujarat has left behind Maharashtra to become the
country’s leading manufacturing hub, according to
data from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Gujarat
saw its Gross Value Addition (GVA) in
manufacturing grow by 15.9 per cent annually
between FY12 to FY20 to stand at Rs 5.11 lakh crore,
data shows. GVA is an economic metric that
measures the supply of goods and services in an
economy.
12. Paytm Payments Bank has been given the
scheduled bank status by the Reserve Bank of
India. The bank has been included in the Second
Schedule to the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 and
the approval will help it to bring more financial
services and products.
13. National Commission for Women (NCW) has
launched a pan-India capacity building
programme, ‘She is a Changemaker’ for women
representatives at all levels, gram panchayats to
parliament members and political workers including
office bearers of National/State political parties. The
programme was launched by Ms Rekha Sharma,
Chairperson of the National Commission for
Women. To improve leadership skills of grassroots
women political leaders.

121
Appointments and Resignations 1. Petr Fiala has been sworn in as the new Prime
Minister of the Czech Republic by President Milos
Zeman. Fiala succeeds Andrej abis.
2. The International Criminal olice Organization
(INTERPOL) has elected Inspector General
Ahmed Naser Al-Raisi (United Arab Emirates) as
its President for a 4-year term at the 89th Interpol
general assembly meeting held in Istanbul, Turkey.
He replaces Kim Jong Yan from South Korea.
3. The former Finance Minister of Sweden, Eva
Magdalena Andersson from the Social Democratic
Party (SDP) won her 2nd election and became the 1st
female Prime Minister (PM) of Sweden.
4. International Monetary Fund Chief Economist,
Gita Gopinath is set to take over from Geoffrey
Okamoto as the institution’s deputy managing
director for the first time and it has gone to the first
female named Indian bor economist Gita
Gopinath.
5. Two-wheeler major, Hero MotoCorp announced
the appointment of former chai man of State Bank
of India (SBI) Rajnish Kumar as an independent
non-executive director on the b ard of the company.
6. 6. Vivek Johri has been appointed as the new
Chairman of the Central Board of I direct Taxes
and Customs (CBIC). He will succeed M Ajit
Kumar who is completing his tenure.
7. Indian-origin technology executive, Parag Agrawal
has been appointed as the new CEO of Twitter
after the social media giant’s co-founder Jack Dorsey
stepped down. He is now the y ungest CEO in the
S&P 500 elbowing Meta Platf rm Inc. CEO Mark
Zuckerberg. However, Agrawal is 37 and the same
age as Mark Zuckerberg.
8. Sambit Patra has been appointed as the chairman of
India Tourism Development orporation (ITDC)
by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet. IAS
officer, G. Kamala Vardhana Rao will hold the post
of managing director of ITDC.
9. Former chief election commissioner (CEC) Sunil
Arora has been invited to join the board of advisers
at the International Institute for Democracy and
Electoral Assistance, also known as International
IDEA.
10. The President of Gambia, Adama Barrow, won the
second term as President during Gambia’s
presidential election by achieving over 53% votes
from 50 of 53 constituencies.
11. German lawmakers officially elected Social
Democrat, Olaf Scholz as the new chancellor,
putting an end to 16 years of conservative rule under
Angela Merkel. He will lead a g vernment composed
of his Social Democrat Party, the business-friendly
Free Democrats and the Greens, a coalition of parties
never tried before at the federal l vel in Germany.
12. The Centre has appointed Alka Upadhyaya as
chairperson of the National Highways Authority of
India (NHAI).

122
 13. IPO-bound hospitality unicorn Oyo Hotels and
Homes (Oyo) has appointed Rajnish Kumar, former
Chairman of State Bank of India (SBI) as Strategic
Group Advisor. He is currently a part of the boards
of HSBC Asia Pacific, L&T infotech, Hero
Motocorp and BharatPe.
14. BYJU’S announced a 2-year partnership with
Olympic medalists Neeraj Chopra and PV Sindhu
as the brand ambassadors for Disney BYJU’S Early
Learn app.
15. US President Joe Biden has elevated Indian-
American political advisor Gautam Raghavan as the
head of the White House Office of Presidential
Personnel.

Places in the news 1. Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting

Anurag Singh Thakur and Uttar Pradesh Chief
Minister Yogi Adityanath inaugurated the Earth
Station of Doordarshan Kendra at Gorakhpur.
Three FM stations of All India Radio were also
inaugurated virtually on the occasion. This will be the
second earth station of Doordarshan in Uttar Pradesh
and it is being built at a cost of Rs.7 crore.
2. The Arunachal Pradesh (AP) Government has
signed Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt as the brand
ambassador and award-winning filmmaker and
branding expert Rahul Mittra as brand advisor of the
occasion of their golden jubilee celebrations,
marking the 50th year of the naming of the state.
3. The biggest cultural extravaganza of Nagaland, the
Hornbill Festival has kicked off with colorful
renditions of traditional music, dances, and
contemporary in one roof at Naga Heritage village
Kisama. It is the 22nd edition of the Hornbill festival
and will be celebrated in 6 districts of Nagaland.
4. The Indian Railways is constructing the tallest pier
railway bridge of the world in Manipur. The
ambitious project of the Railways in Manipur is part
of the Jiribam-Imphal railway line, which
ultimately is part of a new broad gauge line being
constructed to connect the northeastern state with the
rest of the country. Currently, the tallest pier bridge
record is held by 139-metre high Mala-Rijeka viaduct
built at Montenegro in Europe
5. Kulgam district administration and the Department
of Tourism, Jammu & Kashmir organized the 1st
ever Aharbal Festival at Kulgam, J & K to promote
tourism in Kashmir, particularly at the Aharbal
waterfall. Aharbal falls, also known as “Niagara
Falls” of Kashmir, is a hill station in the southwestern
part of Kashmir Valley in the Jammu and Kashmir.
6. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has inaugurated
Swarnim Vijay Parv commemorating 50 years of
India’s victory in the 1971 war. He inaugurates
‘Wall of Fame -1971 Indo-Pak War’ at the
inaugural ceremony.

Personalities in the News 1. Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has

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 formed a three-member committee to review the
criteria for reservation for the Economically
Weaker Sections (EWS) category in terms of the
provisions of the explanation to Article 15 of the
Constitution. The committee has been asked to
complete its work within three weeks. Former
Finance Secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey will head
the committee.

Summits/ MoUs 1. India has joined ‘G20 Troika’ and will work closely
with Indonesia and Italy to ensure consistency and
continuity of G20’s agenda. Apart from India,
Troika consists of Indonesia and Italy. India will
assume G20 Presidency in D cember 2022 from
Indonesia and will convene the 20 Leaders’ Summit
for the first time in 2023. Troi a refers to the top
grouping within G20 that con ists of the current,
previous, and incoming pres dencies (Indonesia,
Italy and India).
2. 2. Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually
inaugurated a thought leadership forum on FinTech,
‘InFinity Forum’. The event was hosted by
International Financial Services Centres Authority
(IFSCA), under the aegis of the Government of India
in collaboration with GIFT City and Bloomberg.
Indonesia, South Africa and the United Kingdom
were the partner countries in the 1st edition of the
Forum. The Forum focused on the theme of ‘Beyond’
with various sub- themes.
3. 3. Union Minister of External Affairs (EAM)
Subrahmanyam Jaishankar has visited Abu Dhabi,
United Arab Emirates (UAE) to attend the 5th Indian
Ocean Conference on December 4-5, 2021. The
theme of the conference w s ‘Indian Ocean:
Ecology, Economy, Epidemic’.
4. 4. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian
President Vladimir Putin held the 21st I dia-Russia
Annual Summit to discuss the entire gamut of
relations, including regional and global issues. During
his visit, India and Russia signed 28 agreements.
5. 5. India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) has tied up
with National Payments Corporation of India’s
(NPCI) bill payments system Bharat BillPay to
facilitate cash-based bill payments service at
customer’s doorstep.
6. Department of Youth Empo erment & Sports,
Government of Karnataka has signed a Letter of
Understanding (LoU) with the United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP) as a part of the
State-level initiative ‘Code-Unnati’ to improve the
access to entrepreneurship and employment
opportunities among the youths, including women

Defence Exercises/ Aerospace news
1. US military personnel and Bangladesh Navy (BN)
began the 27th annual Cooperation Afloat
Readiness and Training (CARAT) maritime
exercise virtually from 1 December in the Bay of
Bengal.

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 2. Indian shipbuilder Garden Reach Shipbuilders &
Engineers (GRSE) has achieved a new milestone
with the launch of the first large survey vessel for the
Indian Navy. Called Sandhayak, the vessel is the
first in the series of four ships eing built under the
Survey Vessel Large (SVL) project. It has been built
at GRSE.
3. The 11th edition of Exercise EKUVERIN-21
between India and Maldives, held at Kadhdhoo
Island, Maldives. Ekuverin means “Friends” in the
Dhivehi language. It is an Indo – Aryan language. It
is spoken in India, Lakshadweep and Maldives.
4. PANEX-21 is a Humanitarian Assistance and
Disaster Relief Exercise. It is to be held for the
BIMSTEC countries. The exercise is to be held
among the BIMSTEC countries: Bhutan, Bangladesh,
Nepal, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand
5. President of India, Ram Nath Kovind has presented
the ‘President’s Standard’ to the 22nd Missile
Vessel Squadron of the Indian Navy, which is also
known as the Killer Squadron at the ceremonial
parade held at the Naval Dockyard, Mumbai,
Maharashtra.
6. India successfully test-fired th air version of the
BrahMos supersonic cruise missile from the
integrated test range of Chandipur, off the coast of
Odisha. The air version of the missile was test-fired
from supersonic fighter aircraft Sukhoi 30 MK-I.
BrahMos is a joint venture between DRDO (India)
and NPO Mashinostroyeniya (Russia) .
7. India has signed a contract with Indo-Russia Rifles
Pvt. Ltd., a Joint Venture betw en India and Russia
for the indigenous production.
8. Nasa-turned-SpaceX flight sur eon, Anil Menon is
among the 10 latest trainee astronauts who will join
the 2021 class of the American space agency as it
plans for the first human missions to the moon in more
than 50 years.

Awards and Honours 1. Legendary Indian long jumper Anju Bobby

George has won the Woman of the Year Award by
World Athletics at the World Athletics Awards
2021 for grooming talent in the country and
advocating gender equality. She s the first Indian to
be honoured by the sport’s world body during its
annual awards function.
2. The American publishing company MerriamWebster
has chosen the word “vaccine” as its 2021 Word of
the Year.
3. Nizamuddin Revival Project, India’s project on the
holistic urban revitalisation of the historic
Nizamuddin Basti community, in New Delhi has won
the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural
Heritage Conservation 2021.
4. Indian-American mathematician Nikhil
Srivastava, who teaches at the University of
California, Berkeley along with Adam Marcus and
Daniel Spielman were awarded the First Ciprian

125
 Foias Prize in Operator Theory by the American
Mathematical Society (AMS).
5. Assamese poet Nilmani Phookan Jr won the 56th
Jnanpith Award and Konkani novelist Damodar
Mauzo won the 57th Jnanpith Award. The
country’s highest literary award, the Jnanpith is
bestowed on writers for “their outstanding
contribution to literature”. Jnanpith Award is a
literary award presented by the Bharatiya Jnanpith
organization to Indian writers every year. This was
instituted in 1961 and is given only to Indian writers
who write in Indian languages and English.
6. Ropesh Goyal from IIT-Kanpur won the ‘Young
Geospatial Scientist’ award in recognition of his
unique contribution to developing the Indian Geoid
Model and computation software
7. The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA)
has announced that Indian architect Balkrishna
Doshi will be the recipient of the 2022 Royal Gold
Medal.
8. Perseverance, a word that captures the undaunted
will of people across the world to never give up,
despite the many challenges of the last 12 months, is
Cambridge Dictionary’s Word of the Year 2021.

Sports news 1. Indian Shuttler and 2-time Olympic medalist

Pusarla V Sindhu, world’s number 7, won the
silver at the 2021 adminton World Federation(BWF)
World Tour Finals, officially known as the HSBC
BWF World Tour Finals 2021. The reigning world
champion PV Sindhu has won the BWF World
Tour finals in 2018 and became the only Indian to
achieve the feat.
2. Argentina showcased its organised game to beat six-
time champion German side 4-2 nd win the title after
16 years in the men’s Hockey Junior World Cup at
the Kalinga Stadium. Argentina has become the only
third team after Germany (six wins) and India (2001,
2016) to win multiple Junior Hockey WC titles.
Defending champions India finished fourth in the
junior hockey world cup 2021 after losing 1-3 to
France in the third-place match.
3. New Zealand’s Ajaz Patel became the third
cricketer to scalp all 10 wickets in an innings. The
left-arm spun a web around India’s batting order and
bowled 47.5 overs, conceding 119 runs.
4. Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilt n (Britain) won the
inaugural edition of the Saudi rabian Grand Prix
(GP), by surpassing Max Verstappen (Netherlands) in
the event held at the 30-kilometre (18.6-mile) coastal
resort area in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
5. The Davis Cup 2021 was won by the Russian
Tennis Federation by a 2-0 lead over Croatia in the
Davis Cup final in Madrid. Medvedev defeated Marin
Cilic in the second singles match to give Russia an
insurmountable 2-0 lead over Croatia and its first
Davis Cup title since 2006. Croatia also was seeking
its third title after triumphs in 20 5 and 2018. Andrey

126
 Rublev was named the Most V luable Player.
6. India claimed 41 medals (12 Gold, 15 Silver, 14
Bronze) at the 4th Asian Youth Para Games
(AYPG), Asia’s biggest event held at Riffa city,
Bahrain. The event is organized by the National
Paralympic Committee (NPC) of Bahrain with the
support of the local government.
7. India won a total of six medals, including two gold
and 4 silver medals in t e Asian Rowing
Championship in Thailand.
8. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen won his maiden F1
Drivers’ championship title by beating Lewis
Hamilton of Mercedes in the season-ending Abu
Dhabi GP 2021.

Days and dates 1. India and Bangladesh have decided to celebrate

December 6, the day on w ich India formally
recognized Bangladesh, as “Maitri Diwas”
(Friendship Day).
2. Nagaland is celebrating its 59th Statehood Day on 1
December 2021. Nagaland was granted statehood on
December 1, 1963, with Kohima being declared as its
capital.
3. The National Cadet Corps (NCC), the youth wing
of the Indian Armed Forces and the largest
uniformed youth organisatio in the world, is
observing the 73rd anniversary of its raising on
November 28. NCC day is celebrated every year
on the 4th Sunday in November.
4. The Border Security Force (BSF) is celebrating its
57th Raising Day on 01 Dece ber 2021. BSF was
formed on December 1, 1965 as a unified central
agency after the Indo-Pak and In ia-China wars.
5. The International Press Institute (IPI) India
Award for Excellence in Journalism 2021 has been
awarded jointly to Sreenivasan Jain and Mariyam
Alavi of NDTV, and Lakshmi Subramanian and
Bhanu Prakash Chandra of “The Week”.
6. Lionel Messi has won the Ballon d’Or for a seventh
time after being named as the best player in 2021 by
France Football.
7. On the occasion of Assam Divas, the state
government of Assam has decided to accolade
renowned industrialist Ratan ata with the ‘Asom
Bhaibav’ award, the highest civilian state award
for his contribution to cancer car in the state.
8. The International Day of Solidarity with the
Palestinian People is an UN-organized day held
every year on November 29. It is observed to mark
the anniversary of resolution 181, wherein the
Assembly adopted the resolution on the partition of
Palestine on November 29, 1947.
9. World AIDS Day has been observed across the globe
on 1st December every year since 1988. This year
the theme of World AIDS Day is End inequalities.
End AIDS and End Pandemics.
10. National Pollution Control Day is observed on 2nd
December every year. The day is observed as a

127
 national pollution control day to commemorate the
lives of the people who died in the Bhopal gas
tragedy in 1984.
11. International Day for the Abolition of Slavery is
observed annually on 2nd December since 1986 by
the United Nations General Assembly.
12. World Handicapped day also known as the
International Day of Persons with disabilities is
observed every year on 3rd December globally.
13. Ministry of Power is celebrating Energy
Conservation Week from 8th to 14th December
2021 under “Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav”. Celebration
by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency will include three
major activities i.e. National Painting Competition for
school children, National Energy Conservation
Awards (NECA) for Industries and establishments
and National Energy Efficiency Innovation Awards
(NEEIA) to recognize innovative energy efficiency
technologies.
14. National armed forces day is also known as the
National flag day of India. The day is celebrated and
observed on 7th December.
15. International Anti-Corruption Day is observed
annually on 9 December to raise public awareness
for anti-corruption. The theme of International
AntiCorruption Day 2021: “Your right, your role: say
no to corruption”.
16. The South Asian Association for Regional
Cooperation (SAARC) Charter Day is observed
annually on 8th December t commemorate the
adoption of the SAARC Charter. This year marks the
37th anniversary of the regional group.
17. Human Rights Day is celebrated on 10 December
annually across the world. This Day came into
existence on December 10, 1948, when the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights was adopted by the
United Nations.
18. Every year on the 14th of December, National
Energy Conservation day is celebrated in India.
This occasion has been celebrated since 1991 when is
led by the Ministry of power.

Obituaries 1. Veteran composer and lyricist, Stephen Joshua

Sondheim has passed away a the age of 91 in
Connecticut, United States (US). He received 8 Tony
Awards, a Special Tony Award 2008 for lifetime
achievement in the theatre.
2. The renowned National Award-winning
choreographer and actor, Shiva Shankar Master
passed away in Hyderabad, Telangana.
3. Renowned scholar and national professor of
Bangladesh Professor, Rafiqul Islam passed away.
Prof. Rafiqul Islam was one of the greatest scholars
on the national poet of Bangladesh Kazi Nazrul
Islam.
4. Former Governor of Tamil Nadu and former
Chief Minister of the unifie State of Andhra
Pradesh, Konijeti Rosaiah (89-years) passed away.

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Updates reported from 16- 30 November
News
Centre To Roll Back 3 Farm Laws
Australia wins their maiden T20 World Cup title
President Ramnath Kovind Presents Swachh President of India, Ram Nath Kovind presented the Swachh
Survekshan Awards 2021
5. Veteran journalist Vinod Dua passed away
recently. He was one of the pioneers in Hindi
broadcast journalism, worked ith Doordarshan to
present the youth programme Yuva Manch in the
mid-’70s and later with several ther television news
channels.
6. Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat
has passed away in a helicopter crash near Coonoor in
Tamil Nadu.
Narration
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced that his
government will repeal the three contentious agricultural
laws and requested protesting farmers to go back to their fields
and homes. The announcement came on the
Gurupurab/Prakash Utsav festival, when Sikhism founder
Guru Nanak’s birthday is celebrated in the country. The
decision comes just ahead of state polls in Punjab and Uttar
Pradesh.
The three contentious bills are:
• The Farmer’s Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion
and Facilitation) Bill, 2020,
• The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement
of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 and
• The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion
and Facilitation) Bill.
Australia won their maiden T20 World Cup title as they
defeated New Zealand in the final by 8 wickets. Mitchell
Marsh was named as the player of the match.
ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 had begun on 17th October
2021 at the Oman Cricket Academy Ground, the final match
commenced on 14th November. The event which was to be held
in India shifted to UAE and Oman due to the COVID-19
situation in India. BCCI, however, will continue to be the host
of the event.
Survekshan Awards 2021 at the Swachh Amrit Mahotsav
organised by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs in New
Delhi. 2021 is the 6th edition of Swachh Survekshan awards in
which as many as 4,320 cities were surveyed.
Here is the complete List of Award-Winning Cities:
• Cleanest City: Indore
• Cleanest Ganga town: Varanasi
• Cleanest State (with more than 100 urban local bodies):
Chhattisgarh
• Cleanest State (with less than 100 urban local bodies):
Jharkhand
• Cleanest City (with less than one lakh population): Vita city of
Maharashtra
• Cleanest small city (1-3 lakh population): New Delhi
Municipal Council
• Cleanest medium city (3-10 lakh population): Noida
• Cleanest big city’ (10-40 lakh population): Navi Mumbai
129

President Kovind presents Vir Chakra, Kirti
Chakra and Shaurya Chakra
International Emmy Awards 2021 announced
Best performance state on occasion of the World The Department of Fisheries under the Ministry of
Fisheries Day
• Cleanest cantonment board: Ahmedabad cantonment
• Cleanest District: Surat
• Fastest Mover small city: Hoshangawad, Madhya Pradesh
• Best Small City in Citizens’ Feedback: Triputi, Maharashtra
• Top city in Safaimitra Suraksha Challenge: Navi Mumbai
President of India, Ram Nath Kovind presented Gallantry
Awards and Distinguished Service Decorations in Defence
Investiture Ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan.The order of
precedence of these awards is Vir Chakra, Kirti Chakra and
Shaurya Chakra.
Vir Chakra:
Group Captain Abhinandan Varthaman was accorded the
Vir Chakra by President Ram Nath Kovind for his role in
pushing back Pakistan’s fighter jets in February 2019.
Kirti Chakra:
President Kovind accorded the second-highest peacetime
gallantry award Kirti Chakra (posthumously) to Sapper
Prakash Jadhav for neutralising terrorists in an operation in
Jammu and Kashmir.
Shaurya Chakra:
a. Major Vibhuti Shankar Dhoundiyal
b. Naib Subedar Sombir
c. Major Maheshkumar Bhure
The 2021 International Emmy Awards was the 49th edition
of the annual ceremony held in New York City. The award
recognised excellence in television programs produced and
aired originally outside the U.S., and non-English language US
primetime programs between the dates of January 1, 2020, and
December 31, 2020.
List of Winners of 2021 International Emmy Awards:
1. Best Actor: David Tennant for Des (UK)
2. Best Actress: Hayley Squires for Adult Material (UK)
3. Best Drama Series: Tehran (Israel)
4. Best Comedy Series: Call My Agent Season 4 (France)
5. Best Documentary: Hope Frozen: A Quest To Live Twice
(Thailand)
6. Best Telenovela: The Song Of Glory (China)
7. Best TV Movie / Mini-Series: Atlantic Crossing (Norway)
8. Best Arts Programming: Kubrick By Kubrick (France)
9. Best Short-Form Series: INSiDE (New Zealand)
10. Best Non-Scripted Entertainment: The Masked Singer (UK)
11. Best Non-English Language U.S. Primetime Program: 21st
Annual Latin GRAMMY Awards (USA)
Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying awarded best
performing States for 2021-22 on 21 November 2021 on the
occasion of the World Fisheries Day, to recognise their
accomplishments in the field and their contribution to the
growth of the sector.
Top States:
Marine states: Andhra Pradesh;
Inland states: Telangana;
Hilly and North East states: Tripura.
Top Districts:
Best Marine District: Balasore in Odisha;
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 Best Inland District: Balaghat in Madhya Pradesh;
Best Hilly and NE District: Bongaigaon in Assam.

International Forum 57. India has been re-elected to the Executive Board of
UNESCO for the term 2021-25. India received 164
votes to get re-elected to a four-year term of office.
Apart from India, Japan, Philippines, Vietnam,
Cook Islands and China have also been elected in
Group IV Asian and Pacific States category. UNESCO
Executive Board consists of 58 member states each
with a four-year term of office.

Environment news 3. The government of Arunachal Pradesh approved the

‘Pakke Tiger Reserve 2047 Declaration on Climate
Change Resilient and Responsive Arunachal Pradesh’,
which aims to promote “climate-resilient
development” in the state. The announcement is the
first of its kind by any state government in the country.

Books 29. Union Minister of Women and Child Development,

Smriti Zubin Irani is set to release her first novel
titled “Lal Salaam: A Novel” in November 2021. The
novel is inspired by the killings of 76 Central Reserve
Police Force (CRPF) personnel during the Maoist
attack in Dantewada, Chhattisgarh in April 2010.
30. Indian-born American economist & Nobel laureate,
Abhijit Banerjee has authored a new book
(cookbook) titled “Cooking to Save your Life”.
31. A book titled ‘Resolved: Uniting Nations in a
Divided World’ is an autobiography of the Former
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. It
consists of life experiences and challenges that the
author faced in his life & elaborates his tenure in the
United Nations (UN). He served as the 8th Secretary-
General of the United Nations for a two 5-year term
(2007-2016).

Reports and Indices 35. According to the latest report by the World Bank
titled ‘World Bank’s Remittance Prices Worldwide
Database’, India became the world’s largest recipient
of remittances by receiving USD 87 billion in 2021.
The United States (US) was its biggest source,
accounting for over 20% of these funds. India is
followed by China, Mexico, the Philippines, and
Egypt.
36. According to the data from air quality and pollution
city tracking service from IQAir, a Switzerlandbased
climate group, Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai are
among the top ten most polluted cities of the world.
n. The cities with the worst AQI indices also include
Lahore, in Pakistan, and Chengdu, in China.
37. India has slipped to 82nd position (drop by 5 slots
from 2020) with a risk score of 44 in the global list of
2021 TRACE Bribery Risk Matrix (TRACE Matrix)
that measures business bribery risks, which was
released by TRACE International.
38. Andhra Pradesh Police has topped the ‘IPF Smart
Policing’ Index 2021, among 29 states and Union

131

Science and Technology
Banking/Economy/Business News
132
Territories, released by the Indian Police Foundation
(IPF). Telangana Police is in the second position while
Assam Police has secured the third position. Uttar
Pradesh is ranked at 28th position and Bihar has
occupied the last position.
39. NITI Aayog launched the inaugural SDG Urban
Index & Dashboard 2021-22, to further strengthen
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) localization
and institute robust SDG monitoring at the city level.
Shimla has topped among the 56 urban areas while
Dhanbad in Jharkhand is at the bottom.
40. All three radical findings are part of the summary
findings of the fifth round of the National Family
and Health Survey (NFHS), which were released by
the Union health ministry. India now has 1,020 women
for every 1000 men, is not getting any younger, and
no longer faces the threat of a population explosion.
22. Union Minister of Law and Justice, Kiren Rijiju has
launched the Citizen’s Tele-Law Mobile App. This
app would connect the beneficiaries directly with
panel lawyers offering legal advice and consultation.
23. India successfully launched the 41st Scientific
Expedition to Antarctica on November 15, 2021. The
first batch of its contingents of 23 scientists and
support staff has reached the Indian Antarctic station
Maitri.
24. Madhya Pradesh Cabinet has approved the proposal
to create cyber tehsils in the state of Madhya Pradesh.
After this, MP will become the first state in the country
to have a cyber tehsil.
25. The US space agency NASA has launched a first-of
its-kind mission named DART, from Vandenberg
Space Force Base in California atop a SpaceX Falcon
9 rocket, to change the path of an asteroid by
intentionally crashing a spacecraft into it. DART
stands for Double Asteroid Redirection Test.
94. The Reserve Bank of India has announced to introduce
the Internal Ombudsman mechanism for the
following two types of Non-Banking Financial
Companies (NBFCs). These two types of NBFCs are
Deposit-taking NBFCs (NBFCs-D) with 10 or more
branches and Non-Deposit taking NBFCs
(NBFCsND) with asset size of Rs.5,000 crore and
above having public customer interface.
95. BharatPe launched the World’s 1st Merchant
Shareholding Program (MSP) for its merchant
partners. It is a $100 million worth program, under
which the company offers its merchant customers an
opportunity to buy BharatPe’s equity shares and
become a partner.
96. The RBI has projected the CPI inflation at 5.3 per
cent for 2021-22.
97. TVS Motor Company, the flagship company of TVS
Group, has joined the United Nations Global
Compact (UNGC), the world’s largest voluntary
corporate sustainability initiative. TVS Motor has
 become the 1st Indian two-wheeler and three-wheeler
manufacturer to join the UNGC.
98. The Labour ministry has released the new series of
wage rate index (WRI) with the base year being 2016.
The government periodically revises the base year of
WRI for key economic indicators in order to provide
a clear picture of economic changes and record the
wage pattern of workers. The new series of WRI with
base 2016=100 will replace the old series with base
1963-65.
99. JPMorgan Chase has once again been named the
world’s most important bank to the health of the
wider financial system, according to the latest annual
ranking of top lenders by global regulators. The
Financial Stability Board (FSB), made up of regulators
from G20 countries, published its latest table of the
world’s 30 most systemic banks.
100. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) authorized RBL Bank
to collect direct taxes on behalf of the Central Board
of Direct Taxes (CBDT) based on a recommendation
from the Controller General of Accounts, Ministry of
Finance and Government of India.
101. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) revealed a draft
scheme for amalgamating the Punjab and
Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank with the
Delhi-based Unity Small Finance Bank Ltd (USFB).
Unity Small Finance Bank is a joint venture between
Centrum Group and Bharatpe.
102. The Central Board of Trustees (CBT) of the
Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO)
have approved that up to 5 per cent of the annual
deposits can be invested in alternative investment
funds (AIFs) including infrastructure investment trusts
(InvITs).

Appointments and Resignations
74. Professor Bimal Patel of India has been elected to the
International Law Commission for a period of five-
year.
75. Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI)
President, Sourav Ganguly has confirmed, that
former India batter VVS Laxman will be the next
head of the National Cricket Academy (NCA).
Laxman will take over from his former batting
colleague Rahul Dravid, who was recently
appointed as chief coach of the Indian team following
the end of Ravi Shastri’s tenure.
76. The President of BCCI, Sourav Ganguly has been
appointed as the Chairman of the ICC Men’s
Cricket Committee, during the ICC Board Meeting.
Ganguly will replace Anil Kumble who assumed the
charge in 2012.
77. The United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio
Guterres has appointed Shombi Sharp of the United
States (US), a sustainable development expert, as the
UN Resident Coordinator in India.
78. Sudan’s removed Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok
was reappointed after signing a political declaration
to end the current political crisis by Hamdok and Abdel

133
 Fattah Al-Burhan, general commander of the Sudanese
Armed Force.
79. Sheikh Sabah Al Khaled Al Hamad Al Sabah has
been appointed the new Prime Minister of Kuwait.
Sheikh Sabah also served as Kuwait’s Ambassador to
Saudi Arabia and Envoy at the Organisation of Islamic
Cooperation (OIC) from 1995 to 1998.
80. The International Cricket Council (ICC) has
appointed Geoff Allardice as the permanent CEO of
the International Cricket governing body.

Places in the news 20. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated the
341-km long Purvanchal Express in Sultanpur
district, Uttar Pradesh. The key feature of the
Expressway is the 3.2 km long airstrip to enable
landing and take-off of Indian Air Force fighter planes
in case of emergency.
21. Union Minister, Piyush Goyal virtually launched
India’s first Digital Food Museum in Thanjavur,
Tamil Nadu. It is a 1,860-sqft museum co-developed
by the Food Corporation of India (FCI).
22. Meghalaya state observed the 44th edition of
‘Wangala’, the festival of 100 Drums Festival begins.
It is a post-harvest festival of the Garos tribe.
23. State Cabinet of Arunachal Pradesh, headed by Chief
Minister Pema Khandu, approved “Kaiser-iHind” as
the state butterfly. Kaiser-i-Hind is scientifically
known as Teinopalpus imperialis.
24. India’s first ‘grass conservatory’ or ‘germplasm
conservation centre’ spread over an area of 2 acres
was inaugurated at Ranikhet in Almora district of
Uttarakhand. This conservatory is funded under the
Central Government’s CAMPA (Compensatory
Afforestation Fund Management and Planning
Authority) scheme.
25. Pochampally village in Yadadri Bhuvanagiri
district of Telangana, known for its famous
handwoven Ikat saris, was selected as one of the best
tourism villages by the United Nations World
Tourism Organisation (UNWTO). The award will be
given at the 24th session of the UNWTO general
assembly on December 2, in Madrid.
26. The Union Minister of Heavy Industries Mahendra
Nath Pandey has inaugurated the first air pollution
control tower of the state of Uttar Pradesh in Noida.
The Air Pollution Control Tower (APCT) prototype
has been developed by state-run Bharat Heavy
Electricals Ltd (Bhel).
27. The Habibganj railway station in Bhopal, Madhya
Pradesh has been renamed after 18th-century Gond
Queen of Bhopal, Rani Kamlapati.
28. The Border Roads Organisation has received the
Guinness World Record for constructing &
blacktopping the world highest motorable road
passing through the 19,024 feet 0.73 inches
(5798.251m) high Umlingla Pass in the Union
Territory of Ladakh.
29. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has laid the

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 Foundation Stone of Noida International Airport at
Jewar in Uttar Pradesh. The Jewar airport is the
second international aerodrome in Delhi-National
Capital Region (NCR). It is the fifth international
airport in Uttar Pradesh. Uttar Pradesh has now
become the state with the highest number of
international airports in India.
30. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister, Shivraj Singh
Chouhan has announced the renaming of Indore’s
Patalpani railway station after tribal icon Tantya
Bhil, who was well known as ‘Indian Robin Hood’
by the tribals.
31. El Salvador President Nayib Bukele has announced
that the country is planning to build the world’s first
“Bitcoin City”.
32. The Sadar Bazar police station in Delhi has been
ranked as the best police station of India for the year
2021 by the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Personalities in the News
21. Children’s footwear brand Plaeto has announced the
appointment of celebrated Indian cricketer Rahul
Dravid as its brand ambassador and mentor.
22. Olympic medallist and boxer Padma Vibhushan
MC Mary Kom was declared as the brand
ambassador of the TRIFED Aadi Mahotsav.

Summits/ MoUs 34. The WePOWER India Partnership Forum was held
through a virtual platform on November 9, 2021, to
boost the South Asia Women in Power Sector
Professional Network (WePOWER) in India. The
event was organized by the World Bank (WB) and
Asian Development Bank (ADB) in association with
the India Smart Grid Forum (ISGF).
35. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated the
82nd All India Presiding Officers Conference
(AIPOC) in Shimla. The first Conference was held in
Shimla in 1921 and the AIPOC is being held in
Shimla for the seventh time.
36. India reaffirmed its strong commitment to
strengthening Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA)
in the 21st Annual Council of Ministers (COM)
meeting. The largest and pre-eminent organization in
the Indian Ocean Region, is promoting peace, security,
and prosperity in the region as well as in the wider
Indo-Pacific. IORA COM was held in a hybrid
format in Dhaka.
37. The 13th edition of the ASEM (Asia-Europe
Meeting) Summit has been organised on November 25
and 26, 2021. The Summit is being hosted by
Cambodia as ASEM Chair.
38. The External Affairs Minister, S. Jaishankar led the
Indian delegations at the 20th Meeting of Shanghai
Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Council of Heads
of Government (CHG). The meeting was held in
Nur-Sultan in virtual format under the chairmanship
of Kazakhstan.

Defence Exercises/ Aerospace news 33. The Navies of India and France will carry out the 6th

135
 edition of the biennial training exercise “EX
SHAKTI 2021” from November 15 to 26, 2021 in
Frejus, France. Apart from this, India and France will
also carry out biennial airforce training exercise
‘Exercise GARUDA’ , and biennial maritime training
exercise ‘Exercise VARUNA’.
34. The 3rd edition of the Trilateral Maritime Exercise
named SITMEX–21 is being held from 15 to 16 Nov
21 in the Andaman Sea. The Navies of the India,
Singapore and Thailand will participate in the event.
35. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has handed over the
indigenously built light combat helicopters (LCH),
developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, to the
Indian Air Force chief Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari.
36. Russian Navy successfully test-fired the ‘Zircon’
Hypersonic Cruise Missile from Frigate – Admiral
Gorshkov warship, which rightly hit the test target
placed in the Russian Arctic waters.
37. Australia officially became a part of the new
Nuclear Powered Submarine defence alliance with
the United Kingdom and the United States after
signing a deal with the countries in Canberra,
Australia. Under the AUKUS deal, Australia will be
provided with 8 nuclear-powered submarines capable
of stealthy and long-range missions.
38. INS Visakhapatnam, a P15B stealth guided-missile
destroyer has been commissioned into the Indian Navy
at the Naval Dockyard, Mumbai. This is the first of
the four ‘Visakhapatnam’ class destroyers.
39. The 5-day long, 15th edition of the Maldives, India,
and Sri Lanka biennial Trilateral Exercise ‘Dosti’
was conducted in the Maldives from 20-24 November
2021. The Exercise is conducted biennially among the
Coast Guards of the 3 countries. This year marks the
30th year since the initiation of the exercise.
40. The 37th edition of India-Indonesia Coordinated
Patrol (CORPAT) is being held in the Indian Ocean
region from 23-24 November 2021. CORPAT is held
twice in a year to ensure safety and security. It was
conducted for the first time in 2002.
41. Indian Navy has commissioned indigenously built
Scorpene-class submarine Vela at Mumbai’s Naval
Dockyard. INS Vela is the fourth in Project 75 series,
following Kalvari, Khanderi, and Karanj.

Awards and Honours 52. Two Delhi-based teenage brothers Vihaan (17) and
Nav Agarwal (14) have won the 17th annual
KidsRights International Children’s Peace Prize
for tackling pollution in their home city by recycling
household waste.
53. Indian badminton legend Prakash Padukone has been
selected for the prestigious Lifetime Achievement
Award for 2021 by the Badminton World
Federation (BWF) Council.
54. Actor and BJP leader Hema Malini, and lyricist and
former CBFC chief Prasoon Joshi will be facilitated
with the Indian Film Personality of the Year award at
the International Film Festival of India 2021.

136
 55. Tamil film Koozhangal will be screened at the Indian
Panorama segment in the 52 International film
festival Goa. Koozhangal is also India’s official entry
for Academy Award for Oscars.
56. The 72nd edition of the National Book Award was
organized as a virtual event by the National Book
Foundation. Jason Mott won the 2021 National Book
Award for fiction for his novel “Hell of a Book”.
57. Anita Desai has been conferred with the Tata
Literature Live! Lifetime Achievement Award for
2021 to recognise her long literary career which spans
over 50 years. Meanwhile, the Poet Laureate award
for 2021 has been conferred upon Indian poet Adil
Jussawala.
58. Pratham NGO has been awarded the Indira Gandhi
Peace Prize 2021 for its work on expanding the scope
for education in India. Its pioneering work for more
than a quarter-century in ensuring that every child has
access to quality education.
59. Doordarshan and radio show by All India Radio
has received multiple awards at ABU – UNESCO
Peace Media Awards-2021 at Kuala Lumpur in
Malaysia. The awards were given by UNESCO in
collaboration with Asia Pacific Broadcasting Union
under the ‘Together for Peace’ initiative.
60. Dr S K Sohan Roy from Kerala, CEO, and founder
of Aries Group of Companies has become the first
Indian to be honoured with the Knighthood of Parte
Guelfa for his humanitarian and Environmental
protection efforts in business and movies.

Sports news 9. The International Cricket Council (ICC) has

announced the 14 host countries of the ICC men’s
white-ball events from 2024-2031. India is set to host
the 2029 Champions Trophy and co-host the 2026
ICC Men’s Twenty20 World Cup with Sri Lanka
and the 2031 ICC Men’s 50-over World Cup with
Bangladesh.
10. The State Bank of India has signed a strategic
agreement with Jamshedpur Football Club, a fully
owned subsidiary of Tata Steel, to promote and support
football in India. This is the first of its kind of
agreement by SBI in the game of football.
11. The International Cricket Council (ICC) announced
cricket legends Mahela Jayawardena (Sri Lanka),
Shaun Pollock (SA), and Janette Brittin (England)
were inducted into the hall of fame.
12. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-Great Britain), has won
the 2021 F1 Sao Paulo Grand Prix (earlier known as
Brazilian Grand Prix).
13. Former South Africa captain AB de Villiers has
announced his retirement from all forms of cricket.
He had already retired from international cricket in
2018.
14. The 5th edition of the Asian Youth Para Games
2025 will be hosted by Tashkent, the capital of
Uzbekistan, and the approval given by the Asian
Paralympic Committee’s (APC) Executive Board. For

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 the first time, ‘Asian Youth Games 2025’ and ‘Asian
Youth Para Games 2025’ will be hosted in the same
city & in the same venues.
15. In Tennis, Alexander Zverev of Germany beat World
No.2 Daniil Medvedev of Russia, 6-4, 6-4, in the
men’s singles finals to clinch the 2021 ATP Finals
title, held at Turin in Italy.

Days and dates 58. Audit Diwas is celebrated to mark the historic origin
of the institution of Comptroller and Auditor
General of India (CAG) and the contribution it has
made to the governance, transparency and
accountability over the past several years.
59. 3-day Rashtra Raksha Samparpan Parv will be held
in Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh as part of Azadi Ka Amrit
Mahotsav celebrations. 19th of November is the Birth
Anniversary of Rani Lakshmi Bai.
60. On 14th November, Children’s Day is celebrated
every year to mark the birth anniversary of India’s
first Prime Minister Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru.
Children’s Day is popularly known as ‘Baal Diwas’ in
India.
61. National Press Day is observed on 16th November
every year to celebrate free and responsible press in
India.
62. In India, November 17 is observed every year as
National Epilepsy Day by the Epilepsy Foundation,
to create awareness about epilepsy. Epilepsy is a
chronic disorder of the brain characterized by recurrent
‘seizures’ or ‘fits’.
63. World Toilet Day is observed as an official United
Nations international day across the world on 19th
November 2021.
64. Guru Nanak Jayanti is observed every year as the
birth anniversary of the Sikh founder, Guru Nanak
Dev Ji. This year marks the 552nd birth
anniversary of Guru Nanak, also known as Prakash
Utsav or Guru Purab, as it marks an important festival
for the Sikh community.
65. World Fisheries Day is celebrated on 21 November
every year by fishing communities across the world.
2021 is the fifth World Fisheries Day.
66. The United Nations designated International Day
for the Elimination of Violence Against Women is
celebrated worldwide on November 25.
67. Every year November 26 is celebrated as National
Milk Day in India. The day has been observed since
2014 to commemorate the birth anniversary of the
Father of India’s White Revolution, Dr Verghese
Kurien. He is also nicknamed as “Milkman of India”.
68. Constitution Day is observed every year on
November 26 to mark the anniversary of the adoption
of the Constitution of the country. In India, 26
November is celebrated as Constitution Day or
Samvidhan Diwas.
69. In India, the ‘National Organ Donation Day’ is
observed every year on 27 November since past 10
years. 2021 marks the 12th National Organ

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Obituaries
Updates reported from 1- 15 November
News
National Sports Awards 2021 Announced
Donation Day.
28. The eminent historian, orator and noted author from
Maharashtra, Balwant Moreshwar Purandare has
passed away. He was 99. The author was popularly
known as Babasaheb Purandare.
29. Renowned author Mannu Bhandari has passed
away. She was 90.
30. Internationally acclaimed Zambia-born South
African author, Wilbur Smith has passed away. He
was 88.
31. Veteran author, football journalist and sports
commentator Novy Kapadia has passed away due to
health complications. He was often called as ‘the voice
of Indian football’
32. The former president of South Korea Chun
Doohwan passed away at the age of 90 years due to
heart failure in Seoul, South Korea. He belonged to
the ‘Democratic Justice’ party. He became the 5th
President of South Korea.
33. Sahitya Akademi Award-winning, Eminent
Assamese poet, Sananta Tantyhas passed away.
Some of his works include Ujjwal Nakshatrar
Sondhanot, Moi Manuhar Amal Utsav, Nizor
Biruddhey Sesh Prastab, and Moi. He won the Sahitya
Akademi Award (Assamese) in 2018 for his
collection of poems titled “Kailoir Dinto Amar
Hobo”.
34. Renowned Punjabi folk singer Gurmeet Bawa has
passed away following a prolonged illness.She came
to fame after she started performing on Doordarshan
and thus became the first Punjabi female singer to
appear on the national television channel.
Narration
National Sports Awards are given every year to recognize and
reward excellence in sports.
‘Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award’ is given for the
spectacular and most outstanding performance in the field of
sports by a sportsperson over a period of previous four years.
‘Arjuna Award for outstanding performance in Sports and
Games’ is given for good performance over a period of previous
four years and showing qualities of leadership, sportsmanship
and a sense of discipline.
‘Dronacharya Award for outstanding coaches in Sports and
Games’ is given to coaches for doing outstanding and
meritorious work on a consistent basis and enabling
sportspersons to excel in International events.
‘Dhyan Chand Award for Lifetime achievement in Sports and
Games’ is given to honour sportspersons who have contributed
to sports by their performance and continue to contribute to
promotion of sports event after their retirement.
‘Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar’ is given to corporate
139

Public Affairs Index 2021
PM Modi Unveils Shri Adi Shankaracharya Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Kedarnath in
Samadhi and Statue in Kedarnath
75th Foundation Year of Amul
Edelgive Hurun India Philanthropy List 2021
PM Modi dedicates to nation multiple National
Highway and Road projects
entities (both in private and public sector), sports control boards,
NGOs including sports bodies at theState and National level
who have played a visible role in the area of sports promotion
and development.
Overall top performing university in inter-university
tournaments is given the Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (MAKA)
Trophy.
According to the 6th edition of the Public Affairs Index (PAI
2021) report by the Public Affairs Centre (PAC), a Bengaluru-
based non-profit think tank, the top three slots have been taken
by Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana among 18 large states.
Toppers among large states
• Kerala (1.618)
• Tamil Nadu (0.857)
• Telangana (0.891)
Toppers among small states
• Sikkim (1.617)
• Meghalaya (1.144)
• Mizoram (1.123)
Toppers among Union Territories
• Puducherry (1.182)
• Jammu and Kashmir (0.705)
• Chandigarh (0.628)
About the PAI 2021: Public Affairs Index (PAI 2021) ranks the
states and Union Territories based on three pillars of equity,
growth and sustainability along with 5 themes, 14 Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs) and 43 indicators.
Uttarakhand on November 05, 2021, to inaugurate key
infrastructure projects related to the redevelopment of
Kedarnath. The Samadhi was damaged in the 2013 Kedarnath
flood.
About the Statue:
The 12-feet long statue weighing around 35 tonnes (35,000kg)
has been constructed by Mysore-based sculptor Arjun Yogiraj.
The Union Minister of Cooperation, Amit Shah has launched
the “Dairy Sahakar” scheme at Anand, Gujarat during a function
organised by Amul to celebrate the 75th Foundation Year of
Amul. The total outlay of the Dairy Sahakar scheme is Rs 5000
crore. The scheme will be implemented by National
Cooperative Development Corporation ( NCDC) under the
Ministry of Cooperation.
Hurun India and EdelGive have jointly released the Edelgive
Hurun India Philanthropy List 2021. The list was topped by
Azim Premji, the founder chairman of Wipro, with a donation
of Rs 9,713 crore during fiscal 2020-21 which is around Rs 27
crore a day. HCL’s Shiv Nadar once again retained the second
spot on the list with an annual donation of Rs 1,263 crore,
marking a 59 per cent rise. Mukesh Ambani, the chairman of
Reliance Industries, and his family occupied the third spot on
the philanthropy list with an annual donation of Rs 577 crore.
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone
and dedicated various National Highway and Road projects to
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 the nation in the temple town of Pandharpur in Maharashtra,
through video conference.
These initiatives are aimed at improving connectivity in the
region to facilitate the hassle-free and safe movement of
devotees. PM laid the foundation stone for four laning of five
sections of Sreesanth Dnyaneshwar Maharaj Palkhi Marg (NH-
965) and four laning of three sections of Sant Tukaram Maharaj
Palkhi Marg (NH-965G).

44th Wangala festival begins in Meghalaya
Meghalaya state observed the 44th edition of ‘Wangala’, the
festival of 100 Drums Festival begins. It is a post-harvest
festival of the Garos tribe which is being held every year to
honour ‘Saljong’, the Sun God of Garos, which also marks the
end of the harvest season.
Celebrated since 1976, it’s the most important festival of the
Garo tribe and attracts a lot of tourists.

Australia wins their maiden T20 World Cup title Australia won their maiden T20 World Cup title as they
defeated New Zealand in the final by 8 wickets.
● Mitchell Marsh was named as the player of the match.
● David Warner was named as the player of the series.

Law Minister Kiren Rijiju launches Citizen’s Union Minister of Law and Justice, Kiren Rijiju has launched
Tele-Law mobile app the Citizen’s Tele-Law Mobile App. This app would connect
the beneficiaries directly with panel lawyers offering legal
advice and consultation. The app will connect the beneficiaries
directly with panel lawyers offering legal advice and
consultation. The app was launched as part of Azadi ka Amrit
Mahotsav celebrations, celebrated by the Department of Justice
from 8 to 14 November.

TVS Motor became 1st Indian 2-wheeler maker to TVS Motor Company, the flagship company of TVS Group, has
join UN Global Compact joined the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), the
world’s largest voluntary corporate sustainability initiative.
TVS Motor has become the 1st Indian two-wheeler and three-
wheeler manufacturer to join the UNGC. TVS Motor will also
engage in collaborative projects which will advance the
development goals of the UN, particularly the Sustainable
development goals (SDG).

Environment news 4. The Punjab Cabinet headed by chief minister Charanjit

Singh Channi approved the ‘Punjab Tissue Culture
Based Seed Potato Rules-2021’ to develop Punjab as a
standard potato seed centre. The Cabinet also approved
to introduce the ‘Punjab Horticulture Nursery Bill-
2021’ by amending ‘Punjab Fruit Nursery Act-1961‘.

Books 32. The chairperson of the Infosys Foundation and a

renowned author, Sudha Murty has published her new
book titled “The Sage with Two Horns: Unusual Tales
from Mythology”, the 5th and last book of the
“Unusual Tales from Mythology” series.
33. A new book titled ‘The Cinema of Satyajit Ray’
written by the author Bhaskar Chattopadhyay and
published by Westland details the life of legendary
Indian Filmmaker – ‘Satyajit Ray’.
34. Former union minister and Congress leader Salman
Khurshid, who recently launched his book on the

141

Reports and Indices
Science and Technology
142
Ayodhya verdict named “Sunrise over Ayodhya –
Nationhood in our Times”.
35. India’s Defence Secretary Dr Ajay Kumar has released
a book titled ‘FORCE IN STATECRAFT’ in New
Delhi.
41. QS (Quacquarelli Symonds) has released the 2022 QS
World University Rankings. The ranking has been
topped by the National University of Singapore (NUS)
for the 4th year in a row. It is followed by China’s
Peking University at 2nd position and Nanyang
Technological University in Singapore, and the
University of Hong Kong in Hong Kong at 3rd. Indian
Institute of Technology Bombay (IITB) (42nd
regionally) and IIT Delhi (45th regionally) are the only
two Indian institutions among the Top-50.
42. India ranked 18th out of 30 countries in the 1st edition
of the Global Drug Policy Index which was released
by the Harm Reduction Consortium in November
2021. The index ranked Norway, New Zealand,
Portugal, the United Kingdom (UK), and Australia as
the top 5 countries on humane and health-driven drug
policies.
43. The Logistics Ease Across Different States 2021 Index
was recently published by the Ministry of Commerce
& Industry. This is the third edition of the Index. In the
index, Gujarat, Haryana and Punjab emerged as the
best performing states with respect to mobility of
goods and efficiency of the logistics chain. This index
provides ranking to states on the basis of logistics
infrastructure.
44. India has been placed at 10th spot in the global Climate
Change Performance Index (CCPI) 2022 released by
Germanwatch on the side-lines of the COP26. In 2020
also India was at 10th position. India has retained its
position as the top 10 best-performing countries with
higher climate performance for the third year in a row.
26. Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin has got WHO approval as
the technical advisory team has recommended the
Indiamade vaccine for emergency use listing for 18
years and above.
27. Britain's health regulators have approved the world's
first pill to treat cases of symptomatic COVID-19.
Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory
Agency (MHRA) said, the antiviral molnupiravir has
been found to be safe and effective at reducing the risk
of hospitalisation and death in people with mild to
moderate COVID-19.
28. World’s richest person Elon Musk-owned SpaceX has
incorporated its wholly-owned subsidiary in India to
start local broadband operations. SpaceX’s satellite
broadband arm Starlink aims to start broadband
services in India from December 2022, with 2 lakh
active terminals subject to permission from the
government
29. China has launched the world’s first Earth-science
satellite, Guangmu or SDGSAT-1 into space from the
 Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in the northern Shanxi
Province. The satellite was launched by the Chinese
Academy of Sciences (CAS) and developed by the
International Research Center of Big Data for
Sustainable Development Goals (CBAS).

Banking/Economy/Business News
103. Microsoft Corp. has surpassed Apple Inc. to become
the world’s most valuable publicly-traded company by
market capitalisation. At market close on October 29,
2021, Apple stood at about $2.46 trillion while
Microsoft reached nearly $2.49 trillion. Apple had held
the top position for more than a year.
104. Yahoo Inc. has announced that the company has
stopped providing service in mainland China with
effect from November 01, 2021, due to the
increasingly challenging business and legal
environment in the country. With this Yahoo has ended
its 22-year presence in the Chinese market.
105. Kotak Mahindra Bank (KMB) has partnered with the
National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to
launch Kotak credit cards on the RuPay network
named ‘Veer’ for Indian armed forces i.e. the Army,
Navy, and Air Force personnel. In India’s 75th year of
Independence, the first credit card to be introduced by
KMBL on the RuPay network is the ‘Veer’ credit card,
exclusively for the armed forces.
106. The Reserve Bank of India has now appointed
Bandhan Bank as an Agency Bank of the RBI to
conduct government business.
107. Axis Bank signed an MoU with the Indian Navy to
offer a defence service salary package under ‘’Power
Salute’’ at New Delhi. Through the agreement, the
bank will provide several benefits to all ranks of Indian
Navy veterans and cadets.
108. The RBI has issued a revised Prompt Corrective
Action (PCA) framework for banks to enable
supervisory intervention at “appropriate time” and also
act as a tool for effective market discipline. Capital,
asset quality and leverage will be the key areas for
monitoring in the revised framework. The revised PCA
framework will be effective from January 1, 2022. The
framework was last revised in April 2017.
109. Digital Payment firm, PhonePe has launched a
tokenization solution named ‘SafeCard’ for online
debit and credit card transactions.
110. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has lifted restrictions
imposed on 23rd April 2021 with immediate effect on
credit card issuer Diners Club International Ltd to
onboard new customers. RBI restricted Diners Club
International Ltd. from onboarding new domestic
customers onto its card network from May 1, 2021, due
to non-compliance with RBI on the storage of Payment
System Data.
111. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched two
innovative customer-centric initiatives of the Reserve
Bank of India (RBI). These initiatives are the RBI
Retail Direct Scheme and the Reserve Bank –
Integrated Ombudsman Scheme. There will be a single

143
 point of reference for customers to file their
complaints, submit the documents, track status, and
provide feedback.
112. NPCI Bharat BillPay Ltd., the wholly-owned
subsidiary of National Payments Corporation of India
has tied up with ICICI Prudential Life Insurance to
provide its marquee offering – ClickPay to the
insurer’s customers.
113. The RBI has projected the CPI inflation at 5.3 per cent
for 2021-22. According to MoSPI data, inflation in the
food basket rose to 0.85 per cent in October, compared
to 0.68 per cent in the preceding month.
114. BharatPe launched the World’s 1st Merchant
Shareholding Program (MSP) for its merchant
partners. It is a $100 million worth program, under
which the company offers its merchant customers an
opportunity to buy BharatPe’s equity shares and
become a partner. The company plans a public listing
by 2024 and targets a public listing value of $1 billion.

Appointments and Resignations
81. The Centre has appointed former Supreme Court Judge
Justice Ashok Bhushan as the new Chairperson of the
National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT),
for a period of four years or until he attains the age of
70 years, whichever is the earliest.
82. Barclays new CEO is CS Venkatakrishnan, an
IndianAmerican and the first person of color to hold
that position.
83. Rajib Kumar Mishra shall exercise the power of
chairman and managing director of PTC India Ltd,
subsequent to relieving of Deepak Amitabh.
84. The International Human Rights Foundation (IHRF)
has appointed the Spaniard Daniel del Valle as the
High Representative for Youth due to his
achievements in the thematic area of youth
empowerment and youth participation for the United
Nations.IHRF, a non-governmental and non-profit
institution.
85. Amway India, a Direct Selling FMCG company
announced the appointment of Bollywood megastar
Amitabh Bachchan as its brand ambassador.
86. Vice Admiral R Hari Kumar has been named as the
next Chief of the Naval Staff by the Government of
India. He is presently posted as Flag Officer
Commanding-in-Chief Western Naval Command.
87. Trinidadian cricketer Dwayne Bravo, the former
captain of the West Indies cricket team has confirmed
his retirement from international cricket.
88. Fumio Kishida, leader of the Liberal Democratic Party
(LDP) has been re-elected as the Prime Minister (PM)
of Japan following the victory of the LDP in the 2021
Parliament election. Fumio Kishida succeeded
Yoshihide Suga who resigned as PM of Japan in
September 2021.
89. Spanish-German Actor Daniel Brühl has been named
the Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations
World Food Programme (UN-WFP). He has joined the
WFP’s mission to reach a world with Zero Hunger.

144
 90. Satya Narayan Pradhan has been appointed as the
Director-General (DG) of Narcotics Control Bureau
(NCB) on a deputation till the date of his
superannuation on 31st August 2024 or until further
orders.
91. 1982-batch retired IRS officer and former chairman of
the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), Pramod
Chandra Mody was appointed new Secretary General
Rajya Sabha, replacing P.P.K. Ramacharyulu.
92. Professor Bimal Patel of India has been elected to the
International Law Commission for a period of five-
year. His five-year term will start from January 1,
2023.
93. Children’s footwear brand Plaeto has announced the
appointment of celebrated Indian cricketer Rahul
Dravid as its brand ambassador and mentor. Plaeto is
India’s first D2C foot-health focused footwear brand
designed specifically for Indian children.

Places in the news
33. Chhattisgarh has observed the annual 2nd National
Tribal Dance Festival 2021 at Raipur’s Science
College ground as a part of the tourism development
plan of the state.
34. The first open-air rooftop drive-in movie theatre in
India has been inaugurated at Jio World Drive mall of
Reliance Industries in Mumbai, Maharashtra. The
drive-in theatre will be operated and managed by the
multiplex chain PVR Ltd. The facility can
accommodate around 290 cars. The first movie
screened at the theatre was Akshay Kumar’s
Sooryavanshi.
35. Bhadrachalam in Telangana has been added as a
destination in the IRCTC’s Ramayana Circuit train.
Bhadrachalam is home to Sree Sita Ramachandra
Swamy temple. The aim of the Ramayana Yatra Train
is to connect all the important locations of Lord
Rama’s journey during his lifetime, the inclusion of
Bhadrachalam Road Station will complete the
Ramayana Circuit.
36. The Habibganj railway station in Bhopal, Madhya
Pradesh has been renamed after 18th-century Gond
Queen of Bhopal, Rani Kamlapati. Prime Minister Shri
Narendra Modi will inaugurate the revamped Rani
Kamlapati railway station on November 15, during his
visit to Bhopal.

Personalities in the News
23. The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) has released the
list of 18 Cricketers who were selected for the MCC
awards Honorary Life Membership of the Club. The
list witnessed the names of 2 former Indian cricketers
– Harbhajan Singh and Javagal Srinath.
24. Maharashtra-based, 28-year old mountaineer Priyanka
Mohite was selected by the Ministry of Youth Affairs
and Sports for the prestigious ‘Tenzing Norgay
National Adventure Award 2020’ for outstanding
contribution in the field of land adventure.

Summits/ MoUs 39. Addressing the COP26 Glasgow Climate Summit held

145
 in Scotland, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said
that India will reach net-zero carbon emission by 2070.
PM Modi stressed on a five-point plan or ‘Panchamrit’
to fight the devastating effects of global warming and
climate change. More than 120 world leaders were
present at the COP26 Glasgow Climate Summit. India
is the last of the world’s major carbon polluters to
announce a net-zero target. China has said that it would
reach the net-zero carbon emission goal in 2060 while
the United States and the European Union are aiming
for reaching the goal by 2050.
40. The 2021 G20 (Group of Twenty) Summit was held in
Rome, Italy on October 30 and 31, 2021. It was the
16th meeting of the G20 group. The meeting was held
under the chairmanship of Italian Prime Minister
Mario Draghi.
41. Union Home Minister Amit Shah has announced that
the Central government has extended the benefits of
the “Ayushman CAPF healthcare scheme” to the
personnel of all Central Armed Police Forces
(CAPFs).
42. Chief of Defence Staff, General Bipin Rawat will
inaugurate the 14th edition of ‘c0c0n’, an annual
Hacking and Cyber Security Briefing, which will be
held virtually from Nov 10-13.
43. The United States of America (USA) has joined the
International Solar Alliance (ISA) as a member
country. U.S is now the 101st country to sign the
framework agreement of the ISA. The framework
agreement was formally signed by John Kerry, the
U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, at the
COP26 climate summit in Glasgow

Defence Exercises/ Aerospace news
42. The seventh Indian Navy frigate of the P1135.6 class
was launched at the Yantar Shipyard at Kaliningrad in
Russia. The ship has been formally named as Tushil, a
Sanskrit word that means protector shield.
43. A total of 84 Indian Air Force (IAF) personnel took
part in the international multilateral combat exercise
Blue Flag 2021, along with IAF’s Mirage 2000 aircraft
squadron at Israel’s Ovda Airbase. The theme of Blue
Flag 2021: Integration of fourth and fifth generation
aircraft in complex operational scenarios.
44. China had launched the Shenzhou-13 spaceship on
October 16, sending three astronauts on a six-month
mission to the under-construction space station which
was expected to be ready by next year. Wang Yaping
became the first Chinese woman astronaut to walk in
space as she moved out of the under-construction space
station and took part in extravehicular activities for
over six hours along with her male colleague Zhai
Zhigang.
45. US Space agency NASA and the Elon Musk-owned
private rocket company SpaceX have launched the
“Crew 3” mission on November 10, 2021. The “Crew
3” mission consists of Indian-origin NASA astronaut
Raja Chari as its mission commander.
46. The 32nd edition of the India-Thailand Coordinated

146
 Patrol (Indo-Thai CORPAT) between the Indian Navy
and the Royal Thai Navy is being conducted from 12–
14 November 2021.
47. 4th Scorpene submarine of the Project-75, Yard 11878
was delivered to the Indian Navy which will be
commissioned as INS (Indian Naval Ship) Vela.
Project-75 includes the construction of six submarines
of Scorpene design by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders
Limited (MDL) Mumbai (Maharashtra) in
collaboration with M/s Naval Group, France.
48. The Navies of India and France will carry out the 6th
edition of the biennial training exercise “EX SHAKTI
2021” from November 15 to 26, 2021 in Frejus,
France.

Awards and Honours 61. Vax’ has been chosen as the word of the year by the
Oxford English Dictionary (OED) in 2021. Vax is
derived from the Latin word Vacca, which means cow.
62. The Government of the United Kingdom (UK) has
unveiled a £5 coin to commemorate the life and legacy
of Mahatma Gandhi. It is the first time Mahatma
Gandhi has been commemorated on an official UK
coin.
63. Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir,
is among the 49 cities selected worldwide to join the
UNESCO creative cities network (UCCN).
64. Falguni Nayar, the CEO and founder of beauty and
fashion eCommerce platform Nykaa, has become the
richest self-made woman in India. She founded Nykaa
in the year 2012.

Sports news 16. Afghanistan leg-spinner Rashid Khan became the

youngest bowler to take 400 T20 wickets during his
team’s crucial Super 12 encounter against New
Zealand in Dubai. Martin Guptill became Rashid’s
400th victim in T20 cricket.
17. Max Verstappen (Red Bull – Netherlands) has won the
2021 Mexico City Grand Prix held at the Autódromo
Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City. Seven-times
world champion Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-Great
Britain) stood second while Sergio Perez (Mexico-
Red Bull) came third. Perez became the first Mexican
to stand on his home podium at a jubilant Autodromo
Hermanos Rodriguez.
18. 13-year-old Tajamul Islam is the first Kashmiri girl to
have represented India and won the gold medal in the
under-14 age category in World Kickboxing
Championship held at Cairo in Egypt.
19. Indian batter Rohit Sharma has completed 3000 T20I
runs and became the third cricketer in the world to
achieve this feat. Rohit reached the 3000 run mark in
the ICC men’s T20 World Cup match against Namibia.
Virat Kohli is at the top of the tally with 3227 runs,
which is followed by New Zealand’s Martin Guptill &
India’s Rohit Sharma with 3115 and 3008 runs
respectively.
20. Novak Djokovic (Serbia) has defeated Danill
Medvedev (Russia) in the finals to win his 6th Paris

147
 Title & the record 37th Masters Title at Paris, France.
In the finals, Djokovic, with an impressive 4-6, 6-3, 6-
3 defeating Daniil Medvedev.
21. International Master (IM) Mitrabha Guha from
Kolkata, West Bengal has become the 72nd
Grandmaster of India after securing his 3rd and final
Grandmaster (GM) norm at GM Third Saturday Mix
220, Novi Sad, Serbia.
22. The first matches for the Birmingham 2022
Commonwealth Games have been announced.
Women’s cricket is making its debut at the
Commonwealth Games with the T20 format.

Days and dates 70. The 5th edition of the three-day-long Ganga Utsav
has been organised from November 01 to 03, 2021
in virtual format. The “Ganga Utsav 2021 – The River
Festival “ will not only celebrate the glory of the river
Ganga but all the rivers of the country to promote the
celebration of ‘Nadi Utsav’ (River Festival).
71. Kerala is celebrating its 65th "Kerala Pirayi," the
formation day of the State. The State of Kerala was
created on November 1, 1956, amalgamating the
erstwhile provinces of Malabar, Cochin and
Thiruvithancoor.
72. The Indian Renewable Energy Development
Agency Ltd. (IREDA) has launched a ‘Whistle-
blower Portal’ as a part of the celebration of
‘Vigilance Awareness Week 2021’. The portal was
launched by Shri Pradip Kumar Das, Chairman &
Managing Director (CMD), IREDA on November 02,
2021.
73. World Vegan Day is observed globally on 1st
November every year.
74. The International Day to End Impunity for Crimes
against Journalists is an UN- recognized day
observed annually on 2 November.
75. World Tsunami Awareness Day was observed across
the world on 5 November.
76. India celebrates Ayurveda Day every year on the
auspicious occasion of Dhanteras. This year (2021)
Ayurveda Day is celebrated on November 2nd.
77. The International Day for Preventing the
Exploitation of the Environment in War and
Armed Conflict is an international day observed
annually on November 6.
78. The National Cancer Awareness Day is observed
annually in India on November 7, to spread awareness
on cancer, its symptoms and treatment.
79. In India, 09 November is celebrated as “National
Legal Services Day” every year by all Legal Services
Authorities, to commemorate the enactment of the
Legal Services Authorities Act 1987.
80. International Week of Science and Peace (IWOSP)
is a global observance celebrated every year from
November 9 to 14.
81. The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri
Narendra Modi has approved the declaration of
November 15 as Janjatiya Gaurav Divas. 15

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Obituaries
Updates reported from 16- 31 October
News
IPL 2021 won by Chennai Super Kings
November has been chosen as this date marks the birth
anniversary of Sri Birsa Munda who is revered as
Bhagwan (God) by tribal communities across the
country.
82. In India, the National Education Day is celebrated on
11 November every year to commemorate the birth
anniversary of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, the first
education minister of independent India.
83. Public Service Broadcasting Day is celebrated on
bevery year. The day is celebrated to commemorate the
first and only visit of the Father of the Nation,
Mahatma Gandhi, to the studio of All India Radio,
Delhi in 1947.
84. World Pneumonia Day is observed across the world
on November 12 every year to raise awareness,
promote prevention and treatment and produce action
to combat the disease. World Pneumonia Day 2021 is
an annual event that was first celebrated in the year
2009.
85. World Diabetes Day is observed on 14th November
every year. The campaign aims to raise awareness
around the crucial role that nurses play in supporting
people living with diabetes. The theme for World
Diabetes Day 2021-23: “Access to Diabetes Care ”.
86. On 14th November, Children’s Day is celebrated
every year to mark the birth anniversary of India’s first
Prime Minister Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru. Children’s Day
is popularly known as ‘Baal Diwas’ in India.
35. Kannada superstar Puneeth Rajkumar passed away
due to a fatal cardiac arrest. He was the son of
legendary actor Rajkumar. He will be posthumously
conferred the Basavashree award 2021 by the
Bruhanmutt.
36. Australian legend Alan Davidson has passed away.
The bowling allrounder, who made his Test debut
against England in 1953, represented Australia 44
times in the longest format
37. Ahmad Shah Ahmadzai, the former Prime Minister
(PM) of Afghanistan and a renowned jihadi leader
passed away at the age of 77 in Kabul, Afghanistan
38. FW (Frederik Willem) de Klerk, the former
president of South Africa and the last white person to
head the country, has passed away due to cancer.
39. Former Vice President of Vishwa Hindu Parishad
(VHP), Anand Shankar Pandya has passed away. He
was over 99 years old.
Narration
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) has defeated Kolkata Knight
Riders (KKR) in the finals to win the 2021 Indian Premier
League (IPL) title. This was the 14th edition of IPL which is
an India-based Cricket league in 20-20 format. This was the 4th
win of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in IPL, having previously
won the tournament in 2010, 2011, and 2018.
149
 a. M.S. Dhoni is the captain of CSK the winning team
b. The finals were held at Dubai International Stadium
c. Player of the Tournament: Harshal Patel (RCB
d. Highest Run Scorer (Orange Cap): Ruturaj Gaikwad
(CSK) (635 runs)
e. Highest Wicket Taker (Purple Cap): Harshal Patel
(RCB) (32 wickets)
f. Mumbai Indians team has won the IPL title the
highest number of times, i.e 5 times.

India gets re-elected to the UNHRC
India was re-elected to the United Nations Human Rights
Council (UNHRC) for a sixth term on October 14, 2021, with
an overwhelming majority. The new three-year term of India
will be effective from January 2022 to December 2024. India
received 184 votes of the 193 votes cast in the election.

India completed 100 crore doses of COVID-19 India completed 100 crore doses of COVID-19 vaccines on
vaccines 21st October, in about 9 months since the drive began. PM Modi
called the achievement “the triumph of Indian science,
enterprise and collective spirit of 130 crore Indians”. The Prime
Minister visited the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital here and
interacted with healthcare workers and people receiving the
vaccine.

Ecuador goes into a state of emergency
Ecuador’s President Guillermo Lasso has declared a 60-day
state of emergency in the South American country, due to the
rise in violent drug crimes. President Lasso has pointed to drug
trafficking and consumption as the main drivers behind an
increase in murders, home burglary, thefts of vehicles and
goods, and muggings.

Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has retained Global terror financing watchdog Financial Action Task Force
Pakistan on its 'Grey List' (FATF) has retained Pakistan on its 'Grey List' of countries. In
a briefing, FATF president Marcus Pleyer also said that three
new countries Turkey, Jordan, and Mali have also been added
to the Grey List. In June this year, the FATF had retained
Pakistan on its 'Grey List' for failing to check money laundering,
leading to terror financing.

High powered advisory committee on settlement The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), has
orders and compounding of offences constituted a four-member “high powered advisory committee
on settlement orders and compounding of offences”. The
Chairman of the committee will be Vijay C Daga, retired judge
of the High Court of Bombay. The terms of reference of the
Committee will be as per “Securities and Exchange Board of
India (Settlement Proceedings) Regulations, 2018”.

THE’s World Reputation Rankings 2021 4 Indian institutes have made it to the Times Higher Education
announced (THE)’s World Reputation Rankings 2021, the annual
ranking of THE that features the top 200 universities based on
the votes from leading academics across the globe. Indian
Institute of Science (IISc) Bengaluru ranked among the top
100 (91-100) has topped the Indian Institutes. The other 3
Indian institutes are the IIT Bombay, the IIT Delhi, and the
IIT Madras. Harvard University of the United States of
America (USA) has topped the 2021 ranking. Massachusetts
Institute of Technology (MIT), USA and University of Oxford
from the United Kingdom (UK) has secured the 2nd and 3rd

150

Facebook is now “META”
Five years on: Global climate tech investment
trends since the Paris Agreement
2021 BNP Paribas Open held at Indian Wells
Reports and Indices
rank respectively.
Facebook is now called Meta, in a rebrand that focuses on
building the “metaverse,” a shared virtual environment that it
bets will be the successor to the mobile internet. The name
change, the plan for which was first reported by the Verge, is a
significant rebrand for Facebook, but not it’s first. In 2019 it
launched a new logo to create a distinction between the
company and its social app. The name change comes as the
world’s largest social media company battles criticisms from
lawmakers and regulators over its market power, algorithmic
decisions and the policing of abuses on its services.
In accordance with the report ‘Five years on: Global climate
tech investment trends since the Paris Agreement’ by
London & Partners, and Co, India ranked 9th in the list of
top 10 countries for climate technology investment from 2016
to 2021. Indian climate tech firms received USD 1 billion in
venture capital (VC) funding in this period. The report analyzed
the trends in the climate sector since the 2016 United Nations
Conference of Parties (COP) in Paris, France. The list has been
topped by the United States (US) with USD 48 billion which is
followed by China USD 18.6 billion.
The 2021 BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament, also known as
the 2021 Indian Wells Masters, was held from October 04 to 18,
2021 at Indian Wells, California, US. This marks the 47th
edition of the men’s BNP Paribas Open (ATP Masters) and the
32nd Edition of the women’s BNP Paribas Open (WTA
Masters).
The list of winners is given below:
a. Cameron Norrie won his maiden ATP Masters 1000
by winning the Men’s singles title at the 2021 BNP
Paribas Open
b. Paula Badosa defeats Victoria Azarenka to win the
Women’s Singles Title
c. Elise Mertens and Su Wei Hsieh won the Women’s
Doubles title
d. John Peers and Filip Polasek won the Men’s Doubles
title
45. Global Food Security Index: India has achieved the
71st position in the Global Food Security (GFS)
Index 2021 from among a list of 113 countries. The
GFS Index is designed and constructed by London-
based Economist Impact and is sponsored by Corteva
Agriscience. The overall score of India is 57.2 points
on the GFS Index 2021.
Ireland, Australia, the UK, Finland, Switzerland, the
Netherlands, Canada, Japan, France and the US shared
the top rank. Their overall GFS scores were in the
range of 77.8 and 80 points on the index.
46. Mercer Consulting, a leading global management
consulting firm, has released the 13th edition of the
Mercer Global Pension Index (2021 MCGPI). India
has been ranked at 40th position out of 43 countries.
Iceland has topped this ranking followed by the
Netherlands and Norway. . Thailand had the lowest
151

Science and Technology
Banking/Economy/Business News
152
overall index value.
47. India has ranked 106th in the FIFA (Fédération
Internationale de Football Association) Rankings
2021, the position of team India was increased to one
spot.
48. Karnataka has topped the State Energy Efficiency
Index 2020 (SEEI), on the back of several initiatives
to improve energy efficiency in the state. Rajasthan is
on second rank followed by Haryana on third. The
State Energy Efficiency Index (SEEI) 2020 was
released under the Ministry of Power.
30. Uddhav Thackeray, Chief Minister of
Maharashtra, inaugurated India’s 1st State
government-owned Wildlife DNA testing analysis
laboratory at Regional Forensic Science Laboratory
(RFSL) in Nagpur, Maharashtra. On the occasion,
he also launched 3 Fast Track DNA testing units in
Mumbai & Pune under the Nirbhaya scheme.
31. The Election Commission of India (ECI) has
launched the Garuda app for digital mapping of all
polling stations, to ensure faster, smarter, transparent
and timely completion of election work.
32. Road Transport and Highways Minister, Nitin
Gadkari has launched a knowledge App and platform
CUNSULT. Emphasizing innovation,
entrepreneurship, science technology, research and
skill for knowledge transformation.
115. The Government of Sri Lanka has sought a USD
500 million credit line from India to pay for its crude
oil purchases, as the country is facing a severe foreign
exchange crisis in the island nation after the pandemic
hit the nation’s earnings from tourism and remittances.
116. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed a
monetary penalty of Rs 1 crore on India’s largest
public lender State Bank of India (SBI). The penalty
has been imposed for non-compliance with the
directions contained in “RBI (Frauds classification and
reporting by commercial banks and select FIs)
directions 2016”
117. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) imposed a fine of
Rs 1.95 crore on the Standard Chartered Bank for
failing to report a cyber security incident within the
prescribed time period, and failure to credit the amount
involved in unauthorised electronic transactions,
among other reasons. Standard Chartered Bank was
penalised also for its noncompliance of RBI’s
directions on customer protection
118. The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural
Development (NABARD) has announced the creation
of an Rs. 1,000 crore Credit Guarantee Fund Trust
for FPOs (CGFTFPO), a dedicated fund for
providing credit guarantees to FPOs.
119. Reliance Industries Ltd’s Reliance Brands Ltd
(RBL) and famous designer Manish Malhotra have
announced a strategic partnership to acquire a 40 per
cent stake in Malhotra’s MM Styles Pvt Ltd.
 120. HDFC Bank, Mastercard, United States
International Development Finance Corporation
(DFC), and US Agency for International
Development (USAID) launched a $100 million
credit facility for MSMEs (Micro Small and Medium
Enterprises) in India.
121. IndiGo and Kotak Mahindra Bank (KMB) entered
into a strategic partnership for the launch of a co-
branded credit card named ‘Ka-ching’.
122. MeitY Startup Hub, an initiative of the Ministry of
Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY),
and Google have partnered to launch ‘Appscale
Academy’, a growth and development programme, to
train early to mid-stage startups across India
123. SBI General Insurance made a technological
partnership with Google Pay to enable users to buy SBI
General’s health insurance on the Google Pay app.
This collaboration marks Google Pay’s 1st
partnership with an insurer in India to offer health
insurance.
124. Private sector lender ICICI Bank has crossed the
market capitalization of Hindustan Unilever to
become the fifth-largest company by market value.
125. Private sector general insurer Future Generali India
Insurance (FGII) has entered into a bancassurance
tie-up with the Bank of India (BoI) for further
penetration of its general insurance products.
126. Competition Commission of India (CCI) approved
the acquisition of Parexel International Corporation
by Phoenix Parentco Inc. Phoenix Parentco is a
special purpose investment vehicle that operates solely
as an investment holding company.

Appointments and Resignations
94. Jonas Gahr Store, the Leader of the Labour Party in
Norway, has assumed the charge of the Prime Minister
of Norway with effect from October 14, 2021.
95. Barbados has elected its first-ever president as it
prepares to become a republic, removing Queen
Elizabeth as head of state. Dame Sandra Mason, 72,
is set to be sworn in on 30 November, which will mark
the country’s 55th anniversary of independence from
Britain.
96. The Reserve Bank of India has authorised Karur
Vysya Bank (KVB) to collect direct taxes on behalf
of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT).
97. Navrang Saini has been given the additional charge as
the Chairperson of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy
Board of India (IBBI).
98. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) approved the
reappointment of Amitabh Chaudhry as Managing
Director and Chief Executive Officer of private
lender Axis Bank for a period of three years.
99. Ayushmann Khurrana has become the latest
celebrity to venture into the cryptocurrency space
through his association with CoinDCX’s ‘Future
Yahi Hai’ campaign.
100. Director-producer Imtiaz Ali has been roped in as
the ambassador of the Russian Film Festival in

153
 India.
101. Invest India, a young startup within the Government
of India has been unanimously elected as the President
of the World Association of Investment Promotion
Agencies (WAIPA) for 2021-2023. Invest India is the
National Investment Promotion and Facilitation
Agency to help investors looking for investment
opportunities and options in India.
102. Shavkat Mirziyoyev, the incumbent President of
Uzbekistan has won a 2nd five-year term as the
President of Uzbekistan. He is a member of the
UzLiDeP (Uzbekistan Liberal Democratic Party).
103. Indo-Canadian Anita Anand became just the second
woman to be appointed Canada’s minister of
national defence as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
announced his new cabinet.
104. Ramnath Krishnan has been appointed as the new
Managing Director and Group Chief Executive
Officer (CEO) of rating agency ICRA
105. German sportswear brand Adidas has roped in
Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone as global
ambassador for women sports. She will represent
Adidas women globally.
106. FloBiz, a neobank for Indian Small to Medium-sized
Businesses (SMBs), announced Padma Shri
Awardee actor Manoj Bajpayee as the brand
ambassador for its flagship product.
107. The government of India has appointed K V Kamath
as chairperson of the National Bank for Financing
Infrastructure and Development (NaBFID). He is a
well-known banker in India and is the first head of the
New Development Bank (NDB).
108. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet
(ACC) has approved the reappointment of
Shaktikanta Das as the Governor of the Reserve
Bank of India ( RBI) for a further period of three years
with effect from December 10, 2021.

Places in the news 37. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated the
Kushinagar International Airport in Uttar
Pradesh. The airport has been built at an estimated
cost of Rs. 260 crore, by the Airport Authority of India.
Besides, it has the longest runway in Uttar Pradesh.
It will facilitate domestic & international pilgrims to
visit the Mahaparinirvanasthal of Lord Buddha in
Kushinagar.
38. A Russian film crew are back on Earth after
wrapping up scenes for the first movie shot in space.
Klim Shipenko and actor Yulia Peresild left the
International Space Station and landed in Kazakhstan
– to be met by a crew filming touchdown scenes.
39. The Uttar Pradesh government has decided to rename
the Faizabad Junction to Ayodhya Cantt railways
station. Opened in 1874, the Faizabad railway station
comes under the Northern Railway zone.
40. Uttarakhand gets India's largest aromatic garden in
the Nainital district. The research wing of the
Uttarakhand forest department inaugurated the biggest

154
 aromatic garden of India in Lalkuan of Nainital
district.
41. The first IVF calf of “Banni” breed of buffaloes,
found primarily in Gujarat’s Kutch region, was born at
a farmer’s house in the state’s Gir Somnath district.

Personalities in the News 25. The International Monetary Fund’s Chief

Economist and Director of the Research
Department, Gita Gopinath will leave the
organisation in January 2022.
26. “Writing for My Life”, an anthology of author
Ruskin Bond has been released. It contains some of
the most exemplary stories, essays, poems and
memories of Ruskin Bond.
27. In a major outreach to friendly foreign countries as also
to the defence manufacturing industries of the world,
Raksha Mantri, Rajnath Singh has chaired the
Ambassadors’ Round Table for Def Expo 2022, in
New Delhi.
28. Indian poet-lyricist-director Gulzar has come out with
his new book title “Actually… I Met Them: A
Memoir”.
29. National Award-winning actress Divya Dutta has
come up with her second book titled, “The Stars in
My Sky: Those Who Brightened My Film
Journey”.
30. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh launched the book
titled “Veer Savarkar: The Man Who Could Have
Prevented Partition” authored by Uday Mahurkar
and Chirayu Pandit at Ambedkar International Centre,
New Delhi.

Summits/ MoUs 44. India, Israel, United Arab Emirates and the United
States have decided to launch a new quadrilateral
economic forum. Quadrilateral builds on ongoing
cooperation between the U.S., Israel and UAE after the
Abraham Accords last year. This QUAD grouping
had decided to establish an international forum for
economic cooperation and discussed possibilities for
joint infrastructure projects expanding economic and
political cooperation in the Middle East and Asia.
45. RailTel Corporation has signed a Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) with the Centre for
Development of Telematics (C-DoT) to work together
in several areas to help expand telecom in the country.
RailTel works under the Ministry of Railways while
the C-DoT is a research centre that operates under the
Department of Telecommunications (DoT).
46. The Fourth General Assembly of the International
Solar Alliance (ISA) organised virtually between
October 18 and 21, 2021 was presided over by
President of the ISA Assembly RK Singh, who is also
the Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy.
47. The Union Minister of Finance & Corporate Affairs
Nirmala Sitharaman has participated in the 6th
Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of Asian
Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) through a
video conference from New Delhi. The theme of the

155
 Annual Meeting of AIIB was “Investing Today and
Transforming Tomorrow”.
48. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has participated in the
16th East Asia Summit (EAS) through a video
conference on October 27, 2021, during which he
reaffirmed India’s focus on a free, open and inclusive
Indo-Pacific and the principle of ASEAN Centrality in
the region. The 16th EAS was hosted under the
Chairmanship of Brunei. This was the 7th East Asia
Summit for Prime Minister Modi

Defence Exercises/ Aerospace news
49. The US space agency NASA has launched a first-of
its-kind mission called ‘Lucy Mission‘ to study
Jupiter’s Trojan asteroids.
50. China has successfully launched its 1st solar
exploration satellite into space from the Taiyuan
Satellite Launch Center in northern Shanxi Province
aboard a Long March-2D rocket.
51. A team from 5th Battalion-4 (5/4) Gorkha Rifles
(Frontier Force) representing the Indian Army won the
gold medal at the prestigious Cambrian Patrol Exercise
which was held in the United Kingdom.
52. South Korea recently launched its first indigenously
developed rocket, known as “Korean Satellite
Launch Vehicle II” or “Nuri”. The launch vehicle
lifted off from the Naro Space Center, in Goheung,
built on an island nearly 300 miles (500 kilometres)
south of Seoul.
53. China successfully launched a new satellite named
Shijian-21. The satellite will be used to test and verify
space debris mitigation technologies. Shijian-21 was
launched from the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre in
southwest China’s Sichuan Province on a Long March-
3B carrier rocket.
54. The Defence Research and Development
Organisation (DRDO) successfully flight-tested the
High-speed Expendable Aerial Target (HEAT)-
ABHYAS, from the Integrated Test Range (ITR),
Chandipur off the coast of Bay of Bengal in Odisha.
55. The Armed Forces of India and the United
Kingdom (UK) are undertaking the sea phase of the
maiden TriService exercise ‘Konkan Shakti 2021’
off the Konkan coast in the Arabian Sea.
56. The Defence Research and Development
Organisation (DRDO) carried successful test-firing of
surface-to-surface ballistic missile Agni-5 on October
27, 2021, from APJ Abdul Kalam Island in Odisha.

Awards and Honours 65. Vidyut Mohan is among the five global winners for
the inaugural ‘Earthshot Prize’, also known as the
‘Eco-Oscars’, that honours people trying to save the
planet. Vidyut has been awarded in the Clean our Air
category, for his technology called ‘Takachar’, a small
and portable device that uses crop residue to convert it
into bio-products like fuel and fertilisers to reduce
smoke emissions and combat air pollution.
66. The well known Kung Fu Nuns of the Drukpa order
of Buddhism have won the inaugural UNESCO’s

156
 Martial Arts Education Prize 2021, for their brave
and heroic acts of service and championing of gender
equality across the Himalayas.
67. The European Parliament has awarded the European
Union’s top human rights prize, Sakharov Prize for
Freedom of Thought for 2021, to the imprisoned
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
68. The Parambikulam Tiger Conservation
Foundation has bagged the Earth Guardian Award
instituted by the NatWest Group. The eight winners of
the award were felicitated by the UN Convention on
International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild
Fauna and Flora secretary-general Ivonne Higuero
through a virtual ceremony.
69. Hollywood veteran Martin Scorsese and celebrated
Hungarian filmmaker Istevan Szabo will be
honoured with the Satyajit Ray Lifetime
Achievement award at this year's International Film
Festival of India (IFFI). The 52nd edition of the film
festival will be held in Goa.
70. Goa has achieved Open Defecation Free (ODF) and
Electricity for every household. The original ODF
protocol was issued in the year 2016. According to it,
a city or ward is notified as ODF city or ward if not a
single person is found defecating in the open, at any
point of the day.
71. Actor Rajinikanth was honoured with the 51st
Dadasaheb Phalke Award at the 67th National Film
Awards ceremony, for his contribution as an actor,
producer and screenwriter.
72. Former Chief Scientist at CSIR-National Institute of
Oceanography (NIO), Dr. Rajiv Nigam has been
selected for the 2022 Joseph A. Cushman Award for
Excellence in Foraminiferal Research.
73. The Peace Prize of the German Book Trade 2021
has been awarded to the Zimbabwean author and a
filmmaker Tsitsi Dangarembga for a “new
Enlightenment”, a work on violence in her country and
all over the world by Börsenverein des Deutschen
Buchhandels, an association of German book
publishers and booksellers
74. The Tamil-language drama film Koozhangal
(internationally translated as Pebbles), has been
selected as India’s official entry for the 94th
Academy Awards (Oscars 2022). The film has been
directed by filmmaker Vinothraj PS and produced by
Vignesh Shivan and Nayanthara.
75. State-owned GAIL (India) Ltd will build India’s
largest green hydrogen-making plant as it looks to
supplement its natural gas business with carbon-free
fuel.

Sports news 23. Divya Deshmukh became India’s 21st Woman

Grand Master (WGM) after achieving her 2nd
International Master (IM) at Grand Master (GM) in
Budapest, Hungary.
24. Danish Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen won the
Mens’ single 2021 Denmark Open Badminton held

157
 at the Odense Sports Park, Denmark. He defeated
world number one Kento Momota of Japan. Akane
Yamaguchi of Japan won her second title in the
women’s category defeating An Se-young (South
Korea).
25. The 2022 South Asian Federation Cross Country
Championships is scheduled to be held in Kohima,
Nagaland on January 15, 2022. Besides this, the 56th
National Cross Country Championships will also be
clubbed with the South Asian Federation Cross
Country Championships. This will be the first-ever
national athletics event hosted by Nagaland.
26. Ahmedabad and Lucknow are the two new teams
that will be part of the Indian Premier League (IPL)
from 2022. Hence taking the total number of teams in
the competition to ten.
27. Max Verstappen (Red Bull – Netherlands) has won
the 2021 United States Grand Prix held at the Circuit
of the Americas in Austin, Texas, United States.
28. Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP’s Fabio
Quartararo became the ‘’2021 MotoGP World
Champion’’.
29. Former India captain and now Hyderabad Cricket
Association (HCA) president Mohd Azharuddin has
unveiled what is certified by the Guinness Book of
World Records to be the biggest cricket bat,
designed by Pernod Ricard India (P) Ltd, on Tank
Bund. The bat measures 56.10 feet, weighs 9-tonnes
and is made of poplar wood. This was to convey best
wishes to the Indian cricket team and bring back the T-
20 World Cup in Dubai.

Days and dates 87. The National Security Guard (NSG) force, popularly
known as Black Cats, observes its Raising Day on
October 16, every year. The year 2021 marks the 37th
anniversary of the establishment of the NSG.
88. The World Osteoporosis Day (WOD) is observed
annually on October 20.
89. World Statistics Day is celebrated around the globe
every year on 20 October to highlight the
achievements of the Fundamental Principles of
Official Statistics.
90. In India, the Police Commemoration Day is observed
on October 21 every year.
91. Every year 24 October has been celebrated as United
Nations Day since 1948. It was on this day in 1945
that the Charter of the United Nations came into force.
The year 2021 marks the 76th anniversary of the
United Nations and its founding Charter.
92. World Polio Day is celebrated annually on October
24, to raise awareness for polio vaccination and
eradication of polio. The Day was established by
Rotary International to commemorate the birth of
Jonas Salk, who led the first team to develop a vaccine
against poliomyelitis. 2021 theme for World Polio Day
is “Delivering on a Promise.”

Obituaries 40. Sri Lanka’s first-ever Test captain Bandula

158
 Warnapura passed away.
41. Colin Powell, the trailblazing soldier and diplomat
whose sterling reputation of service to Republican and
Democratic presidents was stained by his faulty claims
to justify the 2003 US war in Iraq, died of Covid-19
complications.
42. Former hockey international Saranjeet Singh has
passed away.
43. Padma Shri Dr Madhavan Krishnan Nair, an
eminent Oncologist and the founding director of the
Regional Cancer Centre (RCC), has passed away
44. Hiroshima nuclear bomb attack survivor, Sunao
Tsuboi has passed away. A leading Japanese
campaigner against nuclear weapons who survived the
world's first atomic bomb attack has died at the age of
96.
45. Former South Korean President Roh Tae-woo, who
took part in a military coup and later won the election
that was the country’s first move towards democracy
before he was imprisoned for corruption, died.
46. Eminent Gandhian and ambassador of peace in
Chambal region, Salem Nanjundaiah Subba Rao,
passed away in Sawai Man Singh Government
Hospital in Jaipur.

Updates reported from 1- 15 October

News Narration

PM Modi chairs 38th PRAGATI Meeting
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has chaired the 38th PRAGATI
meeting to review multiple projects, grievances and
programmes of the central and state government. PRAGATI
stands for Pro-Active Governance and Timely Implementation.
PRAGATI is an ambitious multi-purpose and multi-modal
platform, launched in March 2015, by PM Modi as a unique
integrating and interactive platform, aimed at addressing
common man’s grievances and simultaneously monitoring and
reviewing important programmes and projects of the
Government of India as well as projects flagged by State
Governments.

IFSCA Constitutes an Expert panel on International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA)
Sustainable Finance has constituted an Expert Committee to recommend an
approach towards the development of the Sustainable Finance
Hub at IFSC. The expert committee will be chaired by C.K.
Mishra, Former Secretary to Government of India,
Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change.
The committee consists of a total of 10 members including the
chairperson and the member secretary. The committee shall
study the current regulatory practices in Sustainable Finance
across major International financial jurisdictions and
recommend a robust framework to develop a world-class
sustainable finance hub at IFSC, along with a road map for the
same.

Hurun India Rich List 2021 Reliance Industries Chairman, Mukesh Ambani has topped the
IIFL Wealth Hurun India Rich List for the 10th consecutive

159

High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People
RBI Monetary Policy: Status Quo on rates
Indian hockey players sweep FIH Stars Awards
Henley Passport Index 2021
year.
In 2021, his total net worth was recorded at Rs 7,18,000 crore.
Meanwhile, Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani is in the
second spot with a net worth of Rs. 5,05,900 crore. Shiv Nadar
& the family of HCL technologies are third in the list with a net
worth of Rs 2,36,600 crore.
OTHER RICHEST INDIANS IN THE TOP 10:
● SP Hinduja & family moved down two positions to
the fourth rank in the list.
● LN Mittal & family moved up eight positions to the
fifth rank.
● Cyrus S Poonawalla of Serum Institute of India
occupies the sixth position.
● Radhakishan Damani of Avenue Supermarts retained
the seventh position.
● Vinod Shantilal Adani & family moved up twelve
places to the eighth rank.
● Kumar Mangalam Birla & the family of Aditya Birla
Group occupies the Ninth position.
● The tenth position in the list is secured by Jay
Chaudhry of cloud security company Zscaler.
India officially joined the High Ambition Coalition for
Nature and People, a group of more than 70 countries
encouraging the adoption of the global goal to protect at least
30 per cent of the world’s land and ocean by 2030 (30x30). India
is the first of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and
South Africa) to join the HAC.
The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) Monetary Policy Committee
(MPC) kept the repo rate unchanged in the fourth bi-monthly
policy meet for the financial year 2021-22 headed by RBI
Governor Shaktikanta Das has maintained the status quo.
The Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) rate and bank rates
remain unchanged:
• Policy Repo Rate: 4.00%
• Reverse Repo Rate: 3.35%
• Marginal Standing Facility Rate: 4.25%
• Bank Rate: 4.25%
• CRR: 4%
• SLR: 18.00%
Indian hockey players swept the 2020-21 edition of the FIH
Stars Awards, the international hockey federation (FIH)
announced.
FIH Stars Awards 2020-21:
Winners list
• Player of the Year: Harmanpreet Singh (men) and Gurjit
Kaur (women)
• Goalkeeper of the Year: PR Sreejesh (men) and Savita Punia
(women)
• Rising Star of the Year: Vivek Sagar Prasad (men) and
Sharmila Devi (women)
• Coach of the Year: Graham Reid (men) and Sjoerd Marijne
(women)
India’s rank has slipped by six places from last year to 90 on the
Henley Passport Index 2021, which lists the world’s most
160

Tax Inspectors Without Borders
Mahabahu Brahmaputra River Heritage Centre
Eight High Courts to get new Chief Justices
travel-friendly passports. Japan and Singapore hold the first
rank on the passport index. The index covers 227 destinations
and 199 passports. The rankings are based on the survey of the
International Air Transport Association (IATA) data. Top
countries in the Index:
• Rank 1: Japan, Singapore
• Rank 2: Germany, South Korea
• Rank 3: Finland, Italy, Luxembourg, Spain
World’s least powerful passports:
• Afghanistan
• Iraq
• Syria
The Tax Inspectors Without Borders (TIWB) has launched
its programme in Seychelles. India has been chosen as the
Partner Administration for this programme. The country will be
providing its Tax Expert in support of the initiative. The focus
of the 12-month programme will be on Transfer Pricing cases
of tourism and financial services sectors.
Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu has inaugurated the
Mahabahu Brahmaputra River Heritage Centre in the
presence of Governor Jagdish Mukhi and Chief Minister
Himanta Biswa Sarma in Guwahati in the state of Assam. The
centre originally served as the residence of the British deputy
commissioner of Kamrup. Nearly 150 years after it was
constructed, the iconic DC Bungalow of Guwahati was opened
to the public as a heritage centre.
Eight High Courts will get new Chief Justices, and five Chief
Justices have been transferred. Five Chief Justices have been
transferred:
• Chief Justice A.A. Kureshi has been appointed as the Chief
Justice of Rajasthan High Court.
• Justice Indrajit Mahanty has been appointed as the Tripura
Chief Justice.
• Chief Justice Mohammad Rafiq has been appointed as the
Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court.
• Chief Justice Biswanath Somadder has been transferred as
the Chief Justice of the Sikkim High Court.
• Justice A.K. Goswami has been appointed as the Chief
Justice of the Chhattisgarh High Court.
Newly appointed Chief Justice:
• Justice Rajesh Bindal: was appointed as the Chief Justice of
the Allahabad High Court.
• Justice Ranjit V. More: has been appointed as the Chief
Justice of the Meghalaya High Court.
• Justice Satish Chandra Sharma: has been appointed as the
Chief Justice of the Telangana High Court.
• Justice Prakash Srivastava: has been appointed as the Chief
Justice of the Calcutta High Court.
• Justice R.V. Malimath: has been appointed as the Chief
Justice of the Madhya Pradesh High Court.
• Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi has been appointed as the Chief
Justice of the Karnataka High Court.
• Justice Aravind Kumar has been appointed as the Chief
Justice of the Gujarat High Court.
• Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra would take over as the
161

Reliance Industries tops in Forbes World’s Best
Employer 2021 Ranking
India ranks 101 in Global Hunger Index 2021
Nine day floral festival in Telangana
Ropeway services in Varanasi
Germany launches the first self-driving train
Desh ke mentor
Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness Index
2021 Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) The 2021 Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) Report was
Report
Chief Justice of the Andhra Pradesh High Court
Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries has topped the Indian
corporates in the World’s Best Employers 2021 rankings
published by Forbes. Globally, Reliance is placed at 52nd
position among 750 global corporates. South Korean giant
Samsung Electronics has topped the overall ranking as World’s
Best Employers 2021, followed by US giants IBM, Microsoft,
Amazon, Apple, Alphabet and Dell Technologies.
India’s rank has dropped to the 101st position among 116
countries in the Global Hunger Index (GHI) 2021. In 2020,
India was placed at 94th spot, out of 107 countries. The 2021
GHI score of India is recorded at 27.5 out of 50, which comes
under the serious category. Neighbouring countries like Nepal
(76), Bangladesh (76), Myanmar (71) and Pakistan (92) are also
in the ‘alarming’ hunger category but have fared better at
feeding its citizens than India, according to the report.
The nine-day floral festival has begun in Telangana. The
festival began with excitement as the women were dressed in
traditional clothes and colourful processions were carried out in
Telangana, the Bathukamma festival is celebrated during Durga
Navratri. Bathukamma festival begins on the day of Mahalaya
Amavasya and the festival continues till nine days, ending on
the day of Durgashtami.
Varanasi of Uttar Pradesh will become the first city in India
to use ropeway services in public transportation. Overall,
Varanasi will be the third city in the world after Bolivia and
Mexico City to use the ropeway in public transportation.
German rail operator Deutsche Bahn and industrial group,
Siemens launched the first automated & driverless train of the
world. The self-driving train was launched in the city of
Hamburg. This project is being developed by ‘Siemens and
Deutsche Bahn’.
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has launched a programme
under which students of Delhi government schools will be
provided guidance on career choices by citizens who are
successful in their respective fields. The ‘Desh ke mentor’
programme entails ‘adopting’ one to 10 government school
students who can be mentored by citizens who are successful in
their respective fields
India has retained the third position in the 58th Renewable
Energy Country Attractiveness Index (RECAI) released by
the consultancy firm Ernst & Young (EY). According to the
report, the US, mainland China and India continue to retain the
top three rankings and Indonesia is a new entrant to the RECAI.
jointly released by UNDP and the Oxford Poverty and Human
Development Initiative (OPHI). The report provides estimates
on multidimensional poverty across 109 developing countries
(with data from surveys ranging 2009- 2019/2020); These
include 26 low-income countries, 80 middle-income countries
162
 and 3 high-income countries. The index measures each person’s
deprivations across 10 indicators divided into three equally
weighted dimensions.
GI tags awarded
Banking/Economy/Business News
India’s economic growth forecast
163
33. Judima, homemade rice wine from Assam
34. Sojat Mehndi (Henna) from Rajasthan
35. White onion of Alibag in Maharashtra
36. Wada Kolam, also known as Zini or Jhini rice, is a
traditional variety grown in the Wada tehsil of Palghar
127. State Bank of India (SBI) has announced the launch of
SBI’s NAV-eCash card on INS Vikramaditya, the
largest naval aircraft carrier of India.
128. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has granted the
National Asset Reconstruction Company (NARCL)
the licence to register as an asset reconstruction
company (ARC). The Licence is given under Section
3 of the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial
Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest
(SARFAESI) Act 2002.
129. Tata Group, the progenitor of the Air India airline,
reclaimed it, nearly 60 years after it was nationalised.
Tata Sons bid ₹180 billion for the government’s 100%
stake in Air India.
130. Online payment services provider, Paytm has acquired
a 100% stake in Mumbai-based digital lending startup
CreditMate.
131. Punjab National Bank (PNB) has launched ‘6S
Campaign’ under a customer outreach programme to
extend financial services at a concessional rate during
the festival season. The ‘6S Campaign’ encapsulates
different schemes such as – Swabhiman, Samruddhi,
Sampark and Shikhar, Sankalp and Swagat.
132. The Reserve Bank of India has granted a banking
licence to Unity Small Finance Bank Ltd (USFBL),
which was established jointly by the Centrum
Financial Services Ltd (CFSL) and Resilient
Innovations Private Limited (BharatPe), to carry on a
SFB business in India.
133. IndusInd Bank has announced, that it has been
authorised by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for the
collection of Direct and Indirect Taxes, on behalf of
the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) and the
Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC).
134. Gautam Adani-led Adani Group has took over the
responsibilities of the Jaipur International Airport from
the Airports Authority of India (AAI). The airport has
been leased out to the group by the government of
India for a period of 50 years.
135.
1. Rating agency Moody’s Investors Service has
upgraded India’s sovereign rating outlook to ‘stable’
from ‘negative’, on October 05, 2021, following an
improvement in the financial sector and faster-than-
expected economic recovery across sectors. Moody’s
expects real GDP growth to average around 6 per cent
over the medium term, reflecting a rebound in activity
 to levels at potential as conditions normalise.
2. The World Bank has estimated India’s real Gross
Domestic Product (GDP) in the current fiscal year
2021-22 to grow by 8.3% in its latest economic update
for South Asia.
3. Fitch Ratings has cut India’s economic growth forecast
to 8.7% for the current fiscal but raised GDP growth
projection for FY23 to 10%, saying the second
COVID-19 wave delayed rather than derail the
economic recovery.
4. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has estimated
the Indian economy to grow by 9.5% in the current
fiscal year, i.e 2021-22 (FY22) and 8.5% in FY23
(2022-23), in its latest World Economic Outlook
report, released on October 12, 2021. Meanwhile, IMF
expects the global gross domestic product (GDP) to
grow by 5.9 per cent in 2021 and 4.9% in 2022.

Appointments and Resignations 1. The Automotive Skills Development Council

(ASDC) has appointed automobile industry veteran
Vinod Aggarwal as its president. Aggarwal, who is
currently the managing director and CEO of VE
Commercial Vehicles Ltd (VECV), replaces Nikunj
Sanghi, who will leave ASDC after serving it for four
years.
2. The newly elected Executive Council of the Indian
Society of Advertisers (ISA) has elected Sunil
Kataria, Chief Executive Officer, India and SAARC,
Godrej Consumer Products Limited as the Chairman
of the ISA.
3. Padmaja Chunduru has been appointed as the
managing director and chief executive officer (MD &
CEO) of National Securities Depositories (NSDL).
4. The Olympic bronze medal-winning Indian hockey
player, Rupinder Pal Singh has announced his
retirement from international hockey to make way for
young and talented players.
5. After 26 years and 72 professional bouts, Former
world champion Manny Pacquiao announced his
retirement from professional boxing. He made his
professional debut in 1995 at age 16.
6. The National Basketball Association (NBA) has
named Bollywood actor Ranveer Singh as its brand
ambassador for India. He will work with the NBA to
help grow the league’s profile in India throughout its
landmark 75th anniversary season in 2021-22.
7. BC Patnaik has taken charge as Managing Director of
Life Insurance Corporation of India.
8. Najla Bouden Romdhane has been appointed as the
first-ever female Prime Minister of Tunisia. The 63-
year-old has also become the first female prime
minister in the whole Arab world.
9. The Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Abiy Ahmed has
been sworn in for a second five-year term. He was
administered the oath of office by Supreme Court
Chief Justice Meaza Ashenafi.
10. S V Sunil, the veteran forward and star striker of India
men’s field hockey team and Olympic bronze medal-

164

Places in the news
Personalities in the News
165
winning Indian hockey star defender Birendra Lakra
have announced their retirement from international
hockey.
11. Alexander Schellenberg was elected as Austrian
Chancellor after the resignation of Sebastian Kurz.
12. The fintech startup, BharatPe has appointed former
State Bank of India (SBI) Chairman Rajnish Kumar as
the Chairman of its board.
13. Former bureaucrat Amit Khare, who last month retired
as higher education secretary, has been appointed as
advisor to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for two years
on contract basis.
14. A K Goel, managing director and chief executive (MD
& CEO) of UCO Bank has been elected as the
chairman of Indian Bank’s Association (IBA) for
2021-22.
15.
42. The CSIR’s Institute of Himalayan Bioresource
Technology (IHBT) has introduced cinnamon
cultivation in Himachal Pradesh on a pilot basis.
True cinnamon or Cinnamomumverum is grown
mainly in Sri Lanka, while minor producing countries
include Seychelles, Madagascar, and India.
43. Dr MG Ramachandran Central (DRM) or Chennai
Central railway station will get 100 per cent of
energy through Solar Energy. The Chennai Central
railway station comes under the South Central Railway
(SCR) zone and which is going to become the world’s
largest green railway network. The station will now
become the first Indian Railways station, which will
get 100 per cent day energy through solar panels.
44. National Tiger Conservation Authority has
approved the Chhattisgarh government’s proposal to
declare the combined areas of the Guru Ghasidas
National Park & Tamor Pingla Wildlife Sanctuary
as a Tiger Reserve. It is located in the northern part of
the state, bordering Madhya Pradesh & Jharkhand.
This is the 4th Tiger Reserve in Chhattisgarh (Udanti-
Sitanadi, Achanakmar, Indravati).
45.
31. The Uttar Pradesh government led by Chief
Minister Yogi Adityanath has named veteran
Bollywood actor Kangana Ranaut as the brand
ambassador of the ambitious “One District One
Product (ODOP) scheme” of the state. CM Yogi also
presented Kangana with a silver coin which was used
for ‘Ram Janm Bhumi Pujan’.
32. Crypto exchange CoinDCX has roped in Amitabh
Bachchan as a brand ambassador to spread awareness
about cryptocurrencies.
33. The iconic Indian comic book cartoon character,
Chacha Chaudhary, whose brain works faster than a
computer, has been declared as the official mascot for
the centrally-sponsored NamamiGangeProgramme.
34. Indian wearable brand Fire-Boltt has named cricket
captain Virat Kohli as its new brand ambassador. Fire-
 Boltt had a few months earlier brought on board actor
Vicky Kaushal as its first brand ambassador.
35. World football body, FIFA has unveiled the official
mascot of the U-17 Women’s World Cup India 2022
“Ibha” an Asiatic lioness representing women power.
The tournament will be held in India from October 11-
30 next year. The announcement coincided with the
International Day of the Girl Child.

Summits/ MoUs 49. Bharti Airtel has conducted a 5G network trial in

partnership with Ericsson in a rural landscape,
achieving a speed of over 100 Mbps on a
smartphone, which was able to connect to the network
at a distance of over 10 km from the site.
50. PNB Housing Finance announced that it has joined
hands with CSC e-Governance Services India to
provide last-mile home loan facilities to individuals
living in tier 2 and 3 cities. CSC e-Governance
Services India Limited, a Special Purpose Vehicle,
has been set up by the Ministry of Electronics and IT
under the Companies Act, 1956.
51. In a significant development for the global power
sector, Electricite de France S.A. (EDF), one of the
world's leading power sector companies
headquartered in Paris, and NTPC Ltd, India's
largest energy integrated company signed a
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to explore
potential power project development opportunities in
the Middle East, Asia, Europe and Africa.
52. International Energy Agency (IEA) has invited India
to become its full-time member. This membership
invitation was given in the light that, India is the
world’s third-largest energy consumer.
53. India announced a $200-million line of credit for
Kyrgyzstan and signed an agreement to carry out
small but high impact projects for community
development in the Central Asian state.
54. The Memorandum of Understanding was signed
between All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA) &
Croatia’s Kvarner Health Tourism Cluster. AIIA is an
autonomous body under the Ministry of Ayush.
55. Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways
Shri Sarbanand Sonowal has announced forming of a
Special Purpose vehicle (SPV) for development of a
Multimodal Logistics Park (MMLP) at VOC Port in
Chennai.

Defence Exercises 57. The Russian military had successfully test-fired a

hypersonic "Tsirkon" missile from a submarine for
the first time. Hypersonic missiles fly much faster and
are more agile than standard ones, making them much
more difficult for missile defense systems to stop. The
U.S. military conducted its first flight test of a
hypersonic missile system in 2011.
58. The 8th edition of the India – Sri Lanka bilateral
joint Exercise “Mitra Shakti-21” is scheduled to take
place at Combat Training School, Ampara in Sri Lanka
from October 4 to 15, 2021.

166
 59. India and Australia have participated in the fourth
edition of the biennial maritime series
‘AUSINDEX’. The exercise will allow the Australian
Navy and Indian Navy to strengthen “inter-operability,
gain from best practices”.
60. The fifth edition of India – Japan Maritime
Bilateral Exercise JIMEX was held in the Arabian
Sea from 06 to 08 October 2021.
61. The 6th Edition of India–UK Joint Company Level
Military Training EXERCISE AJEYA WARRIOR
has commenced at Chaubatia, Uttarakhand.
62. The 17th edition of the Joint Military Training
Exercise “Ex Yudh Abhyas 2021” between the Indian
Army and the United States Army, is scheduled to take
place from October 15 to 29, 2021 at Joint Base
Elmendorf Richardson, Alaska in USA.
63.

Awards and Honours 76. The world’s largest national flag, made up of Khadi
cloth, has been installed in Leh, Ladakh, on the
occasion of the 152nd birth anniversary of
Mahatma Gandhi on October 02, 2021. The tricolour
is 225-feet long and 150-feet wide. It weighs around
1,000 kg.
77. The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2021 was
awarded jointly to David Julius and Ardem
Patapoutian “for their discoveries of receptors for
temperature and touch.”
78. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided
to award the Nobel Prize in Physics 2021. Syukuro
Manabe, Klaus Hasselmann, Giorgio Parisi jointly
won the 2021 Nobel Prize in Physics for
groundbreaking contributions to our understanding of
complex physical systems.
79. The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2021 was awarded
jointly to Benjamin List and David W.C. MacMillan
“for the development of asymmetric organocatalysis.”
This has had a great impact on pharmaceutical research
and has made chemistry greener.
80. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided
to award the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic
Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2021 with one
half to David Card (University of California, Berkeley,
USA) “for his empirical contributions to labour
economics”. The other half jointly to Joshua Angrist
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge,
USA) and Guido Imbens (Stanford University, USA)
“for their methodological contributions to the analysis
of causal relationships”.
81. The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to
award the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize to Maria Ressa
and Dmitry Muratov “for their efforts to safeguard
freedom of expression, which is a precondition for
democracy and lasting peace”
82. The Nobel Prize in Literature 2021 was awarded to
Abdulrazak Gurnah born in Zanzibar and active in
England, “for his uncompromising and compassionate
penetration of the effects of colonialism and the fate of

167
 the refugee in the gulf between cultures and
continents.”
83. Professor Eric A. Hanushek and Dr Rukmini
Banerji have been awarded the 2021 Yidan Prize for
Education Development for improving learning
outcomes in schools at scale.
84. The Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) Chairman
Mukesh Ambani has topped the Forbes India Rich
list for 2021, released. The list ranks India’s 100
richest Indians. He has retained his position as the
wealthiest Indian for the 14th consecutive year on the
Forbes India list, since 2008.
85. On the Occasion of the World Teachers’ Day (5th
October), the United Nations Educational, Scientific
and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) launched its
2021 State of the Education Report (SOER) for India:
“No Teacher, No Class”.
86. The Government of India has accorded ‘Maharatna’
status to the state-owned Power Finance Corporation
Ltd (PFC).
87. Indian American Microsoft CEO, Satya Nadella has
won the prestigious C K Prahlad award for Global
Business Sustainability Leadership for the year 2021,
along with three other top leaders of Microsoft. Apart
from Nadella, Microsoft’s President and Vice-Chair
Brad Smith, Chief financial officer Amy Hood and
chief environment officer Lucas Joppa have shared the
award for Global Business Sustainability Leadership.

Sports news 30. The first pink-ball day and night Test match between
India and Australian women team at the Carrara
Oval in Queenslandon, Australia on 30th September.
The BCCI and Cricket Australia wish to slot in a Test
in the full series they play going forward. The Indian
team lead by Mithali Raj.
31. FC Goa beat Mohammedan Sporting to win their
maiden Durand Cup football title, 1-0, in the final, held
at Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan, Kolkata.
32. In a historic moment in women’s cricket, Smriti
Mandhana became the first Indian woman to score a
Test hundred on Australian soil.
33. Germany has unveiled the logo for soccer’s 2024
European Championship during a ceremony with a
light show in the stadium that will hold the final. The
logo features an outline of the Henri Delaunay Cup —
the bulbous tournament trophy — set on a coloured
oval outline that resembles the Olympiastadion’s roof.
34. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes-Finland) has won the F1
Turkish Grand Prix 2021, held on October 10, 2021.
This is his first title of this season.
35.

Days and dates 93. International Day of Older Persons is observed

globally on 1st October every year. The day aims to
raise awareness about issues affecting the elderly, such
as senescence and elder abuse, and appreciate the
contributions that older people make to society. The
theme of International Day of Older Persons 2021:

168
 Digital Equity for All Ages. On 14 December 1990,
the United Nations General Assembly designated
October 1 as the International Day of Older Persons.
94. Every year, International Coffee Day is observed on
October 1, to celebrate and promote the use of coffee.
There are many who believe that coffee might pose ill
effects on their health, therefore, on this day people are
educated about the various benefits of this beverage.
95. World Day for Farmed Animals (WDFA) is observed
on October 02, which marks the birth anniversary of
Mahatma Gandhi.
96. The United Nations designated the first Monday of
October as World Habitat Day. In 2021, World Habitat
Day is being celebrated on October 04.
97. The ‘Ganga River Dolphin Day’ is observed every year
on October 5, to raise awareness and encourage
conservation of Ganga River Dolphins. It was on this
day in 2010, that Ganga Dolphins were declared
national aquatic animals. In 2012, the World Wide
Fund for Nature (WWF).
98. World Teachers’ Day, also known as International
Teachers Day, is held annually on October 5 since
1994.
99. World Cotton Day (WCD) is observed globally on 7th
October.
100. The full week between October 1–7 is observed as the
International Vegetarian Week (IVW).
101. National Wildlife Week is annually celebrated across
India between 2nd to 8th October with an aim to
protect and preserve the flora and fauna of India. The
Wildlife Week 2021 is celebrated from 2nd October to
8th October. In 2021, we are celebrating 67th Wildlife
Week. This year National Wildlife Week theme
2021: “Forests and Livelihoods: Sustaining People
and Planet”.
102. The World Space Week (WSW) is observed every
year from October 4 to 10, to celebrate science and
technology, and their contribution towards the
betterment of the human condition.
103. The International Organization of Securities
Commissions (IOSCO) is preparing to launch its fifth
annual World Investor Week (WIW) from 4 to 10
October 2021.
104. Every year the Breast Cancer Awareness Month
(BCAM) is observed in the month of October, from 01
to 31. The pink ribbon is an international symbol of
breast cancer awareness.
105. The World Day Against the Death Penalty is observed
every year on 10 October. The theme for 2021 is
“Women Sentenced to Death: An Invisible Reality.”
106. World Mental Health Day is observed every year on
10 October globally for global mental health
education, awareness and advocacy against social
stigma. The theme for World Mental Health Day 2021
is ‘Mental health in an unequal world’.
107. In India, the National Postal Day is celebrated annually
on 10 October, as an extension of World Post Day,
which is celebrated on 9 October. The Day aims to

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Obituaries
Updates reported from 16- 30 September
News
PM Modi, Mamata Banerjee among TIME’s 100
Most Influential People list
commemorate the role played by the Indian postal
department for the past 150 years, which was founded
in 1854 by Lord Dalhousie.
108. The International Day of the Girl Child (also known as
Day of Girls and the International Day of Girls) is
observed annually on October 11 since 2012.
109. The World Arthritis Day is observed every year on
October 12 to raise awareness about arthritis, an
inflammatory condition that causes pain and stiffness
in joints that can worsen with age.
110. World Food Day (WFD) is celebrated every year on 16
October across the globe to eradicate worldwide
hunger from our lifetime.
47. Women’s rights activist and noted author, Kamla
Bhasin, has passed away battling cancer. She started
working on developmental issues in the 1970s and her
work focused on gender, education, human
development and the media.
48. Veteran television actor Ghanashyam Nayak, who was
famous for his role as Nattu Kaka in the TV series
Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah has passed away
due to cancer
49. Veteran television actor Arvind Trivedi, who is
famously known for his iconic role of demon-king
Raavan in Ramanand Sagar’s TV serial Ramayan, has
passed away.
50. Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan, the man regarded as the
“Father of Pakistan’s nuclear bomb”, has passed away,
He was 85. The atomic scientist, Dr Khan was hailed
as a national hero for transforming Pakistan into the
world’s first Islamic nuclear power and for his
contributions in enhancing the country’s defence
capabilities.
51. Abolhassan Banisadr, Iran’s first president after the
country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution who fled Tehran
after being impeached for challenging the growing
power of clerics as the nation became a theocracy,
died.
52. National Award-winning actor Nedumudi Venu has
passed away. He won three National Film Awards, and
six Kerala State Film Awards for his performances.
53. Fertiliser major IFFCO’s Chairman Balvinder Singh
Nakai has passed away. He was an eminent farmer –
cooperator and was deeply involved in providing
strength to the Indian cooperative movement for the
last three decades.
Narration
TIME magazine has unveiled its annual list of ‘The 100 Most
Influential People of 2021’. Prime Minister Narendra Modi,
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Serum
Institute of India CEO Adar Poonawalla have been named
among the world’s 100 most influential people of 2021 by
170

US Open 2021 Concludes
73rd Emmy Award 2021 Announced
India ranks 46th in Global Innovation Index 2021
FSSAI’s 3rd State Food Safety Index 2021 Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Mansukh
released
TIME magazine. The list is divided into six categories – Icons,
Pioneers, Titans, Artists, Leaders and Innovators.
In the men’s category, Daniil Medvedev has lifted his first
Grand Slam trophy after defeating Novak Djokovic in the US
Open men’s singles final at the Arthur Ashe Stadium in New
York. In the women’s category, Great Britain’s tennis player
Emma Raducanu defeated Canada’s Leylah Annie
Fernandez to win the 2021 US Open women’s singles final
title.
Other winners:
Men’s Doubles: Rajeev Ram/ Joe Salisbury
Women’s Doubles: Samantha Stosur/ Zhang Shuai
Mixed Doubles: Desirae Krawczyk/ Joe Salisbury
The 73rd Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony was held on
September 19, 2021, in Los Angeles, California. The 73rd
edition of the Television Academy’s top honours is being hosted
by Cedric the Entertainer on CBS. Here are the winners for
the 2021 Emmy Awards:
• Outstanding Drama Series: The Crown
• Outstanding Comedy Series: Ted Lasso
• Outstanding Variety Talk Show: Last Week Tonight with John
Oliver
• Outstanding Limited Series: The Queen’s Gambit
• Outstanding Actor–Comedy: Jason Sudeikis (Ted Lasso)
• Outstanding Actor–Drama: Josh O’Connor
• Outstanding Actor–Limited Series or Movie: Ewan McGregor
(Halston)
An Emmy Award, or simply Emmy, is an American award that
recognizes excellence in the television industry.
India has been ranked at 46th place in the Global Innovation
Index 2021 released by World Intellectual Property
Organization (WIPO). India has jumped 2 spots from last
year’s ranking. Under the Lower middle income category group,
India has been ranked at the second spot after Vietnam. The
Global Innovation Index 2021 captures the innovation
ecosystem performance of 132 economies and tracks the most
recent global innovation trends.
Top 5 countries in Global Innovation Index 2021 rankings:
1. Switzerland: 65.5
2. Sweden: 63.1
3. United States of America: 61.3
4. United Kingdom: 59.8
5. Republic of Korea: 59.3
Mandaviya has released the Food Safety and Standards
Authority of India (FSSAI)’s 3rd State Food Safety Index
(SFSI) to measure the performance of States across five
parameters of food safety. The Minister felicitated nine leading
States/UTs based on the ranking for the year 2020-21 for their
impressive performance.
Here is the list of nine leading States/UTs in the Index:
Larger States:
• Gujarat
171
 • Kerala
• Tamil Nadu
Smaller States:
• Goa
• Meghalaya
• Manipur

Among UTs:
• Jammu and Kashmir,
• Andaman and Nicobar Islands
• New Delhi

Global Goalkeeper Award 2021
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced its annual
Goalkeepers ‘Global Goals Awards’ 2021, as part of its annual
Goalkeepers campaign. Goalkeepers is the foundation’s
campaign to accelerate progress towards the Sustainable
Development Goals (Global Goals).
The award were given in following categories:
The 2021 Global Goalkeeper Award: Phumzile Mlambo-
Ngcuka, former United Nations under-secretary-general and
executive director of UN Women.
The 2021 Progress Award:
Jenifer Colpas from Colombia, for her work which centres
around improving access to clean water and sanitation.
The 2021 Campaign Award:
Satta Sheriff of Liberia, for her work promoting gender equality.
Sheriff is the founder and executive director of Action for
Justice and Human Rights (AJHR), a youth-led NGO which
ensure access to justice and respect for human rights in Liberia,
with a focus on women and girls.

PM approves structural and process reforms in The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi
the Telecom sector has approved a number of structural and process reforms in the
Telecom sector, to provide relief to ailing telecom service
providers, struggling with high levels of debt. A total of 9
structural and 5 process reforms have been approved by the
Union Cabinet. The relief package is expected to protect and
generate employment opportunities, promote healthy
competition, protect the interests of consumers, infuse liquidity,
encourage investment and reduce the regulatory burden on
Telecom Service Providers (TSPs).

India’s largest open-air fernery
India’s largest open-air fernery has been inaugurated in
Ranikhet of Uttarakhand. The new centre will serve the dual
objective of ‘conservation of fern species as well as ‘create
awareness about their ecological role and promote further
research.

Medicine from the Sky Civil aviation minister Jyotiradtiya Scindia has launched a
first of its kind “Medicine from the Sky” project in Telangana.
The project has aimed at transporting vaccines and other
essential products to remote areas using drones. The Medicine
from the Sky project will be taken up on a pilot basis in 16 green
zones in Telangana and later scaled up on the national level
based on data

61st Software Technology Park of India (STPI) Nagaland’s first and India’s 61st Software Technology Park
centre of India (STPI) centre was inaugurated at Kohima. The

172
 inauguration of the STPI centre in Kohima is a fulfilment of
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of creating a technology
ecosystem in the northeast to create opportunities for future
generations in the region

Pradhan Mantri Digital Health Mission
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will announce the nationwide
roll-out of the National Digital Health Mission (NDHM), which
has been renamed as Pradhan Mantri Digital Health Mission
(PM-DHM), on September 27. Under this, a unique digital
health ID will be provided to the people, which will contain all
the health records of the person. The id will be created using
details such as Aadhaar and the user’s mobile number.

Geographical Indication granted to two products
in Manipur
Two famous products of Manipur, Hathei chilli, which is found
in Manipur’s Ukrul district and is known for its unique flavour,
and Tamenglong mandarin orange have been granted the
Geographical Indication (GI) tag. This is a historic milestone
in the history of Manipur and it will increase the income of
farmers in Manipur.

AUKUS United States, United Kingdom and Australia have

announced the new partnership “AUKUS” a new trilateral
security partnership for the Indo-Pacific region. The trilateral
grouping was formally announced by British Prime Minister
Boris Johnson, his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison and
US President Joe Biden with a vision for a safer and more secure
Indo-Pacific

24th Gaofen-series Earth observation satellite
China launched the 24th Gaofen-series Earth observation
satellite in a bid to monitor environmental protection efforts and
boost its natural resources surveillance. The satellite was
launched from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in Shanxi
province on a Long March 4C carrier rocket. The Gaofen
programme was launched by Beijing in 2010.

Iran admitted as a full member of Shanghai Iran was officially admitted as a full member of the Shanghai
Cooperation Organization Cooperation Organization (SCO). The decision to admit Iran
as a full member was declared in the 21st summit of the SCO
leaders in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.

Hungary has unveiled the statue of Bitcoin Hungary has unveiled the statue of Bitcoin founder Satoshi
founder Nakamoto. The imposing bronze statue was unveiled in
Hungary’s capital, Budapest. This is the first such statue across
the world to pay homage to the creator of Bitcoin digital
currency. It has been constructed in a business park near the
Danube River in Budapest.

Privateer Space Apple's co-creator Steve Wozniak has launched a new space
start-up called Privateer Space, bringing potential
competition to a field dominated by billionaires Elon Musk, Jeff
Bezos and Richard Branson. Privateer will be represented at the
Advanced Maui Optical and Space Surveillance Technologies
Conference, scheduled to run from September 14-17 in Hawaii.

World Bank Group decides to discontinue The World Bank Group has decided to discontinue publication
publication of its ‘Doing Business” rankings of its Doing Business” rankings of country business climates
after a review of data irregularities in the 2018 and 2020 reports.
The decision was taken by the Board of Executive Directors,

173

India becomes third largest importer by 2050
SVAMITVA Scheme: A Stepping-Stone Towards Union Minister for Panchayati Raj and Rural Development
Upliftment of Rural Economy
Fastest Indian to summit two peaks located in CISF official Geeta Samota became the “fastest Indian” to
Africa and Russia
The Himalayan Film Festival 2021
“Blue Flag” certification
Banking/Economy/Business News
World Bank Group management after data irregularities on
Doing Business 2018 and 2020 were reported.
India could become the world’s third-largest importer by 2050,
according to a report released by the UK’s Department of
International Trade. With a 5.9 per cent share of global
imports by 2050, the country will become the third-largest
importer, following China and the United States.
Giriraj Singh inaugurated a national meet on SVAMITVA
Scheme: A Stepping-Stone Towards Upliftment of Rural
Economy in New Delhi. SVAMITA is aimed to provide an
integrated property validation solution for rural India leveraging
property as a financial asset by the citizens with accurate land
records for rural planning.
summit two peaks located in Africa and Russia. Earlier this
month, Sub Inspector Geeta Samota had scaled Mount Elbrus in
Russia, the highest peak in Europe. While Mt Elbrus (5,642 mts)
is in Russia, the Kilimanjaro peak (5,895 mts) is located in
Tanzania and is Africa’s highest peak.
The first edition of ‘The Himalayan Film Festival 2021’
(THFF) will begin from 24 to 28 September at Leh, Ladakh.
The film festival is being organised by the Administration of
Union Territory of Ladakh in collaboration with the Directorate
of Film Festivals, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting,
Government of India.
Two more beaches in India have been awarded “Blue Flag”
certification, an international eco-level tag, taking the total
number of such beaches in the country to 10. The two beaches
to receive the certification this year are Kovalam in Tamil
Nadu and Eden in Puducherry.
1. DBS Bank has launched real-time online tracking for
cross-border payments for its corporate clients, in
partnership with SWIFT Global Payments
Innovation (GPI).
2. Paytm Payments Bank Ltd (PPBL) has launched
India’s first FASTag-based metro parking facility, at
the Kashmere Gate metro station in partnership with
Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC).
3. The leading power sector NBFC, Power Finance
Corporation Ltd (PFC), successfully issued its
maiden Euro Green Bond. The 7-year Euro 300
million Bond has been priced at 1.841 per cent. This
Euro Green Bond is the first-ever Euro denominated
Green bond issuance from India.
4. Flipkart, India's leading e-commerce platform, has
unveiled the introduction of 'Flipkart Boost,' an
integrated initiative designed to help new era digital
first consumer companies to expand their growth to the
next level.
5. The government has set up an asset management
company (AMC) named India Debt Resolution
174

India’s economic growth forecast
Appointments and Resignations
Summits/ MoUs
175
Company Ltd (IDRCL) with a paid-up capital of Rs.
80.5 lakh on an authorized capital of Rs 50 crore.
IDRCL will work in tandem with the National Asset
Reconstruction Company Ltd (NARCL) to clean up
bad loans.
6. Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) has
launched a new mobile app ‘PRAGATI’ for the
exclusive use of its Development Officers. PRAGATI
stands for “Performance Review Application, Growth
And Trend Indicator”.
1. The United Nations Conference on Trade and
Development (UNCTAD) has pegged India’s
economic growth rate to hit a four-year high of 7.2 per
cent for 2021 against a contraction of 7 per cent in
2020.
2. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development (OECD) has marginally lowered India’s
growth projection for the ongoing fiscal to 9.7%, a
reduction of 20 basis points (bps).
3. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has revised
downwards India’s economic growth forecast for the
current fiscal, 2021-22 (FY22) to 10 per cent. Earlier
this was projected at 11 per cent. The Manila-based
multilateral funding agency ADB has predicted the
GDP growth for fiscal 2022-23 (FY23) to 7.5 per cent.
1. Bhupendra Patel has been chosen as the new Chief
Minister of Gujarat at the BJP legislature meeting.
2. The Congress party has elected Charanjit Singh Channi,
the outgoing technical education minister, as the new chief
minister of Punjab after Captain Amarinder Singh resigned
from the post.
3. Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has won the
third term to serve as the PM of the country, after his party
won the 2021 parliamentary elections on September 20,
2021.
4. The web service provider, Yahoo has named Jim Lanzone
as its new chief executive officer (CEO).
5. Mahindra & Mahindra Pawan Kumar Goenka has been
appointed as the chairperson of the Indian National Space
Promotion Authorization Centre (In-SPACe).
6. Justice M. Venugopal has been named as the new Acting
Chairperson of the appellate tribunal, National Company
Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT).
7. Fino Payments Bank (FPBL) has appointed Indian actor
Pankaj Tripathi as its first brand ambassador, for a period
of two-year.
8. Vice Chief of the Indian Air Force Air Marshal, Vivek Ram
Chaudhari has been appointed the next Chief of Air Staff.
9. Facebook India has appointed former IAS officer Rajiv
Aggarwal as the Director of Public Policy.
10. Nobel Peace Laureate Kailash Satyarthi has been
appointed by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres as a
Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Advocate in the 76th
UN General Assembly.
1. India and Australia are undertaking their first-ever
 2+2 ministerial dialogue at the Hyderabad House in
New Delhi.
2. India and the United States of America (USA) have
launched the “Climate Action and Finance
Mobilization Dialogue (CAFMD)”. It will strengthen
India-US bilateral cooperation on climate and
environment. The dialogue was launched by Union
Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate
Bhupender Yadav and Mr John Kerry, U.S. Special
Presidential Envoy for Climate (SPEC) in New
Delhi.
3. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to attend the first-
ever in-person QUAD ( Quadrilateral Security
Dialogue) Leaders’ Summit at the White House, in
Washington D.C. on September 24, 2021. Quad
nation comprises India, Japan, the US and Australia.
4. The first IndiaAfrica Defence Ministers Conclave
(IADMC) was held at DefExpo in February 2020 in
Lucknow. The theme of the 2nd India Africa
Defence Dialogue will be ‘India – Africa: Adopting
Strategy for Synergizing and Strengthening
Defence and Security Cooperation.
5. India is set to host the first-ever Global Buddhist
Conference on November 19 and 20, 2021, in Nava
Nalanda Mahavihara campus, in Nalanda, Bihar.
The academic conference, being organised by Indian
Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR).
6. The 21st Meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation
Organisation (SCO) Council of Heads of State was
held in hybrid format on September 17, 2021, in
Dushanbe, Tajikistan.
7. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has embarked on a
three-day visit to the United States. PM Modi will
address the General Debate of the High-Level Segment
of 76th Session of UN General Assembly (UNGA) on
September 25 in New York.

Defence Exercises 1. India’s first nuclear-missile tracking ship, named

INS Dhruv, has been commissioned from
Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh. The 10,00
tonnes satellite and ballistic missile tracking ship has
been built by the Hindustan Shipyard Limited in
collaboration with the DRDO and National Technical
Research Organisation (NTRO).
2. The Indian military contingent comprising of an all
arms combined force of 200 personnel is participating
in the Exercise PEACEFUL MISSION -2021, a Joint
Counter Terrorism Exercise between Shanghai
Cooperation Organisation (SCO) member states.
3. The 15th edition of Indo–Nepal Joint Military Training
Exercise Surya Kiran will be held from September 20,
2021, at Pithoragarh in Uttarakhand.
4. The 3rd edition of Bilateral Exercise ‘Samudra Shakti’
is scheduled from September 20 to Sep 22. Indian
Naval Ships Shivalik and Kadmatt had already arrived
in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Awards and Honours 1. Guinness World Records has certified two Japanese

176
 sisters as the world’s oldest living identical twins at
107. Umeno Sumiyama and Koume Kodama were
born the third and fourth of 11 siblings on Shodoshima
island in western Japan on Nov. 5, 1913.
2. Author Susanna Clarke won the Women’s Prize for
Fiction 2021 for her novel ‘Piranesi’.
3. Mathematician Anand Kumar was conferred with the
Swami Brahmanand Award 2021 for his
contribution in the field of education through his
‘Super 30’ initiative, which prepares underprivileged
students for the IIT entrance exam.
4. The Florence Nightingale Award will be given to a
nurse, Bhanumati Gheewala, from Sir Sayajirao
General Hospital, Gujarat. Brigadier SV Sarasvati,
the Deputy Director-General of Military Nursing
Service has been honoured with the National Florence
Nightingale Award 2020.
5. Fairooz Faizah Beether of Bangladesh has been
chosen for the 2021 Changemaker Award for her
work promoting good health and well-being by the Bill
and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Sports news 1. Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren, Australian-Italian) has

won the Formula One Italian Grand Prix 2021 title
held at Autodromo Nazionale Monza track, Italy.
2. BCCI announced that the former India captain MS
Dhoni will mentor the team for the tournament, which
will be played in UAE and Oman in October and
November.
3. North Korea was formally suspended from the 2022
Beijing Winter Olympics by the International
Olympic Committee (IOC) on 10th Sept as
punishment for refusing to send a team to the Tokyo
Games citing the COVID-19 pandemic.
4. Lasith Malinga has announced his retirement from
T20 cricket after 295 matches where he picked 390
wickets. He had already retired from Tests in 2011 and
from ODIs in 2019.
5. Former Zimbabwe skipper and wicket-keeper
batsman, Brendan Taylor has announced his
retirement from international cricket.
6. India’s Pankaj Advani won the Asian Snooker
Championship 2021 by defeating Amir Sarkhosh. He
has won this title for a second consecutive time.
7. The Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics unveiled its
official motto, “Together for a Shared Future”,
during a ceremony at the city’s Capital Museum.

177
Days and dates 1. Hindi Diwas or Hindi Day is observed every year on 14
September to mark the popularity of Hindi as an official
language of India. The language was adopted under
Article 343 of the Indian Constitution. The first Hindi day
was celebrated on 14th September 1953.
2. Nuakhai Juhar, the agrarian festival of Western Odisha,
was celebrated with religious fervour and tradition. It is
celebrated 1 day after the celebration of Ganesh
Chaturthi. Nuakhai is a crop festival celebrated by people
of Western Odisha and Southern Chhattisgarh, to welcome
the new rice of the season. Nua means new and khai means
food. So, the festival of nuakhai is a festival to celebrate
newly harvested food by the farmers.
3. Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority
(PFRDA) will observe October 01, 2021 as the National
Pension System Diwas (NPS Diwas).
4. The Indian Army will organize “Bijoya Sanskritik
Mahotsav” from 26 to 29 September in Kolkata. This
Mahotsav will be observed to mark the golden jubilee of the
India-Pak war 1971.
5. World First Aid Day is observed on the second Saturday
of September every year. In 2021 the day is being observed
on September 11, 2021. The theme for World First Aid Day
2021 is ‘First aid and road safety’.
6. International Day for South-South Cooperation is
observed globally on 12th September every year.
7. The World Lymphoma Awareness Day (WLAD) is
observed globally on September 15 every year.
8. International Day of Democracy is observed globally on
15th September every year. The theme for 2021
International Day of Democracy is “Strengthening
democratic resilience in the face of future crises”.
9. The International Day for the preservation of the Ozone
layer (World Ozone Day) is observed annually on
September 16 to spread awareness of the depletion of the
Ozone Layer and search for solutions to preserve it. The
theme for 2021 World Ozone Day: ‘Montreal Protocol –
keeping us, our food and vaccines cool.’
10. The International Red Panda Day (IRPD) is celebrated on
the third Saturday of September every year to raise public
awareness and support for red panda conservation issues. In
2021, the IRPD will be observed on 18 September 2021.
11. Each year the International Day of Peace is observed around
the world on 21 September. The 2021 theme for the
International Day of Peace is “Recovering Better for an
Equitable and Sustainable World.”
12. Every year, the full week ending on the last Sunday of
September is observed as the International Week of the
Deaf (IWD). In 2021, IWD will be observed from September
20 to 26, 2021.
13. World Alzheimer’s Day is observed globally on September
21 every year. . The theme for World Alzheimer Day 2021
is “Know Dementia, Know Alzheimer’s”.
14. In India, the Antyodaya Diwas is observed every year on
September 25, to mark the birth anniversary of Pandit
Deendayal Upadhyaya.

Obituaries 1. Veteran Rajya Sabha MP and former Union minister Oscar

178

Updates reported from 1- 15 September
News
Tokyo Paralympics 2020: India finishes 24th with India finished their campaign at the Tokyo Paralympics 2020
record 19 medals
9 new judges inducted in Supreme Court
Fernandes has passed away.
2. Noted writer and former secretary of Jammu and Kashmir
Academy of Art, Culture and Languages Aziz Hajini passed
away.
3. Double Olympic hammer throw gold medallist Yuriy
Sedykh, a Ukrainian track and field athlete who represented
the Soviet Union until 1991, has passed away.
4. Former India footballer and Mohun Bagan captain, Bhabani
Roy passed away.
5. Eminent Odia litterateur, social worker and journalist
Manorama Mohapatra passed away.
6. Renowned Theoretical physicist and cosmologist Professor
Thanu Padmanabhan passed away. He was a distinguished
professor at the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and
Astrophysics (IUCAA).
7. Jimmy Greaves, one of England’s most prolific strikers and
Tottenham Hotspur’s record goalscorer, passed away.
8. President of the Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad, Mahant
Narendra Giri has passed away. It was in 2016 that Giri first
took over as chief of the Akhara Parishad.
Narration
with an all-time high of 19 medals which includes five gold,
eight silver, and six bronze. This is the best medal tally for
India in a single edition of the Paralympic Games.
India is placed at 24th position in the overall medal tally out of
a total of 162 nations. Indian Flag Bearers:
a. Javelin thrower Tek Chand was the flag bearer at the
opening ceremony of the Tokyo Paralympics.
b. Shooter Avani Lekhara was India’s flag-bearer at the
closing ceremony.
Tokyo Paralympics was the 16th Summer Paralympic
Games, held in Tokyo, Japan from August 24, to September
05, 2021.
Badminton and Taekwondo were inducted for the first time in
the Tokyo Paralympics.
Team China topped the final medal tally at the Tokyo
Paralympic Games. The country won a total of 207 medals (96
golds, 60 silvers and 51 bronzes). The United Kingdom (124)
gets the second position followed by the USA(104).
Nine new judges, including three women, have been
administered the oath of office as judges of the Supreme Court
by Chief Justice of India (CJI) NV Ramana. The strength of
the Supreme Court would go up to 33, including the CJI, out
of the sanctioned strength of 34. The following are the judges
inducted:
1. Justice Vikram Nath
2. Justice BV Nagarathna
3. Justice PS Narasimha
4. Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka
5. Justice Jitendra Kumar Maheshwari
179

Ramon Magsaysay Award 2021 names announced
“Bharat series (BH-series)” registration
University of Oxford tops Times World University The University of Oxford is at the top of the list, followed by
Rankings 2022
IIT Madras Retains Top Spot in Overall Category The Union Minister of Education, Dharmendra Pradhan
of NIRF India Ranking 2021
Neeraj Chopra Stadium
6. Justice Hima Kohli
7. Justice CT Ravikumar
8. Justice MM Sundresh
9. Justice Bela M Trivedi
(the names in bold are in line for becoming the Chief Justice of
India)
Ramon Magsaysay Award 2021 awardees have been
announced, the winners will be formally awarded the
Magsaysay Award during an event at the Ramon Magsaysay
Centre in Manila.
List of awardees of Ramon Magsaysay Awards 2021:
1. Muhammad Amjad Saqib- Pakistan
2. Firdausi Qadri- Bangladesh
3. Steven Muncy- United States
4. WatchDoc- Indonesia
5. Roberto Ballon- Philippines
Ministry of Road Transport & Highways has introduced a new
registration mark for new vehicles i.e. “Bharat series (BH-
series)”. The vehicles bearing the BH-series mark will not have
to require the assignment of a new registration mark when the
owner of the vehicle shifts from one State to another. This
facility is available on a voluntary basis to Defense personnel,
employees of Central Government/ State Government/
Central/ State Public Sector Undertakings and private
sector companies/organizations, which have their offices in
four or more States/Union territories
the California Institute of Technology and Harvard
University at the second and third positions, respectively.
The Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, is placed
between the 301-350 positions, it is also the only university in
the top 350 rankings.
The Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2022
includes a record 1,662 universities from 99 countries and
territories. The ranking is based on 13 balanced performance
indicators.
Three Indian educational institutes have found a place in the
top 400 list:
1. IISc Bangalore – 301-350 bracket
2. Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Ropar – 351-400
bracket.
3. IIT Indore – 401-500 bracket
released the NIRF India Rankings 2021, on September 09,
2021, through video conferencing. The NIRF India Rankings
2021 is the sixth edition of the annual list which ranks higher
educational institutions in the country based on objective
criteria to promote competitive excellence. In Overall Winner:
The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras has
retained the top spot in the overall category.
Rajnath Singh, Defence Minister, visited the Army Sports
Institute (ASI), Pune and named the Army Sports Institute
stadium as “Neeraj Chopra Stadium”. The focus of the Indian
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 Army (in the field of sports) is to identify and train promising
sportspersons in 11 disciplines

Jallianwala Bagh Smarak Prime Minister Narendra Modi has dedicated to the nation
the renovated complex of Jallianwala Bagh Smarak in
Punjab’s Amritsar, to mark 102 years of the Jallianwala Bagh
massacre. The historic garden is a memorial of national
importance, preserved in the memory of countless
revolutionaries, sacrificers, fighters, who were killed in the
Jallianwala Bagh Massacre, which occurred on the festival of
Baisakhi on 13 April 1919.

India first country to launch Plastics Pact
India has become the first country in Asia to launch a Plastics
Pact, a new platform to promote a circular system for
plastics. The India Plastic Pact platform was launched on
September 03, 2021, by the British High Commissioner to India,
Alexander Ellis, at the 16th Sustainability Summit hosted by the
Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

International Monetary Fund and Special The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has made an
Drawing Rights allocation of Special Drawing Rights (SDR) 12.57 billion to
India. (approx USD 17.86 billion). With this, the total SDR
holding of India has gone upto SDR 13.66 billion (equivalent to
around USD 19.41 billion).

Sri Lanka has declared a state of emergency as the
food crisis
Sri Lanka has declared a state of emergency as the food crisis
worsened after private banks ran out of foreign exchange to
finance imports. With the country suffering a hard-hitting
economic crisis, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa said he
ordered emergency regulations to counter the hoarding of sugar,
rice and other essential foods. The Sri Lankan rupee has fallen
by 7.5% against the US dollar this year.

New Development Bank approves 3 new members The Shanghai-based New Development Bank (NDB) has
approved the United Arab Emirates, Uruguay and
Bangladesh as its new member countries. In 2020, the NDB
Board of Governors initiated the negotiation to expand its
membership. As a result UAE, Uruguay and Bangladesh have
been admitted as the first new member countries of the NDB.

Japanese PM to step down Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga would step down,
setting the stage for a new premier after a one year tenure
marred by an unpopular COVID-19 response and rapidly
dwindling public support. Suga, who took over after Shinzo Abe
resigned last September, citing ill health.

El Salvador adopts bitcoins as legal tender El Salvador has become the first country in the world to accept
Bitcoin as legal tender. The government of El Salvador
claimed that the move will give many citizens of the country
access to bank services for the first time.

BharatSwipe Axis Bank has partnered with BharatPe for the point of sale
(PoS) business of BharatPe named BharatSwipe. Under the
partnership, Axis Bank will be the acquiring bank for
BharatSwipe and will provide acceptance of credit and debit
cards for merchants associated with BharatPe. The partnership
will help BharatPe to expand its merchant acquiring business in
India.

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Reflecting, Recollecting, Reconnecting Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur
presented the first copy of the book titled Reflecting,
Recollecting, Reconnecting to the Vice President M
Venkaiah Naidu. The book chronicles Venkaiah Naidu’s
fourth year in office as the Vice President of India.

Indo-Nepal Remittance Facility Scheme
The Reserve Bank of India has increased the limit of fund
transfer under the Indo-Nepal Remittance Facility Scheme
from Rs 50,000 per transaction to Rs 2 lakh per transaction.
Earlier there was a ceiling limit of 12 transactions in a year.
Now, this limit has also been removed. However, for cash-based
transfers under the Indo-Nepal Remittance Facility, the per
transaction limit of Rs 50,000 will still be present with a
maximum number of transfers in a year allowed at 12.

Floating ATM on a Houseboat at Dal Lake in State Bank of India has opened a floating ATM on a
Jammu and Kashmir’s Srinagar Houseboat at Dal Lake in Jammu and Kashmir’s Srinagar
for the convenience of locals and tourists. The floating ATM
was inaugurated by SBI Chairman Dinesh Khare. This is not
the first time that SBI has launched a floating ATM as back in
2004, the bank took this initiative in Kerala.

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed a RBI has imposed monetary penalty of Rs 25 lakh on Axis
monetary penalty on Axis Bank Bank for violating certain provisions of Know Your
Customer (KYC) norms, on September 01, 2021. RBI had
carried out scrutiny during February 2020 and March 2020 in a
customer account maintained with the bank, where it was
observed that the bank failed to comply with the KYC norms.

RBI takes UCO bank out of Prompt Corrective
Action (PCA) framework
Reserve Bank of India has taken public sector lender UCO
Bank out of the Prompt Corrective Action (PCA)
framework on improvement in financial and credit profile. This
decision gives the bank more freedom for lending, especially to
corporations and grow the network, subject to prescribed norms.
The Kolkata-based lender was placed under PCA in May 2017
on account of high Net Net-Performing Assets (NPAs) and
negative Return on Assets (RoAs).

Merchant Bankers appointed for the IPO of LIC
The government of India has appointed 10 merchant bankers
for managing the Initial Public Offering of Life Insurance
Corporation of India (LIC). The IPO of LIC is likely to be
launched in the January-March quarter of 2022. The names of
these merchant bankers are- Goldman Sachs (India)
Securities, Citigroup Global Markets India, Nomura
Financial Advisory and Securities India, SBI Capital
Market, JM Financial, Axis Capital, BofA Securities, JP
Morgan India, ICICI Securities, and Kotak Mahindra
Capital Co Ltd.

Flipkart owned PhonePe receives broking licence
from IRDAI
Flipkart-owned digital payments platform PhonePe has
received an insurance broking licence from the Insurance
Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI). This
means that with the new ‘direct broking’ licence, PhonePe can
now distribute insurance products from all insurance companies
in India, on its platform.

BillDesk acquired by Netherlands-based Prosus Netherlands-based Prosus NV has announced plans to acquire
NV the Indian digital payments provider BillDesk and merge it with

182

Pension Fund Regulatory and Development The PFRDA has increased the entry age for the NPS from 65
Authority (PFRDA) increases entry age to years to 70 years. Earlier the eligible age to invest in NPS was
National Pension System (NPS)
24th meeting of the Financial Stability and Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala
Development Council
Growth forecasts for India
HDFC Life announces acquisition of Exide Life
insurance Corporation
Honorary Member of the
Astronomical Union
ICGS Vigraha
World’s highest movie theatre
its own fintech service business PayU. The size of the deal is
$4.7 billion. This acquisition will make the combined entity of
PayU and BillDesk as the leading online payment providers
globally and in India by total payment volume (TPV).
18-65 years which has now been revised to 18- 70 years.
Sitharaman has chaired the 24th meeting of the Financial
Stability and Development Council (FSDC). The Finance
Minister is the chairperson of FSDC. It must be noted that the
FSDC Sub-Committee is chaired by the Governor, RBI.
Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) is the
apex level forum set up by the Government of India for
strengthening and institutionalizing the mechanism for
maintaining financial stability, enhancing inter-regulatory
coordination and promoting financial sector development.
1. Moody’s Investors Service has retained India’s growth
forecast for the calendar year (CY) 2021 at 9.6 per cent, in
its August update to ‘Global Macro Outlook 2021-22’
report. The GDP growth forecast for calendar year 2022
is retained at 7 percent.
2. Morgan Stanley has maintained the GDP growth forecast
of India at 10.5 per cent for the financial year 2021-22
(FY2022). GDP growth is expected to move into positive
territory on a two-year CAGR basis from QE September.
3. S&P Global Ratings has revised India’s growth forecast
and now expects the economy to grow 9.5 per cent in 2021-
22 (FY22) and 7.0 per cent in 2022-23 (FY23).
HDFC Life has announced to acquire a 100 per cent stake in
Exide Life Insurance Company in a stock and cash deal, for
Rs 6,887 crore. Exide Life is a wholly-owned subsidiary of
battery maker Exide Industries. This acquisition will mark one
of the first and the largest acquisitions in the life insurance
space.
International Dorje Angchuk, an Engineer in charge at the Indian
Astronomical Observatory of the Indian Institute of
Astrophysics (IIA) at Hanle in the Ladakh region, has been
admitted as an Honorary Member of the International
Astronomical Union (IAU). Angchuk is the first and only
Indian to bag the position in the prestigious body.
Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh has dedicated to the nation,
the indigenously built Coast Guard Ship ‘Vigraha’ in Chennai,
Tamil Nadu. According to the defence ministry, the 98-meter
vessel will be based in Andhra Pradesh’s Visakhapatnam
(Vizag)
The world’s highest movie theatre has recently been
inaugurated in Ladakh, which got its first-ever mobile digital
movie theatre in the Paldan area of Leh, at an altitude of
11,562 feet. The inflatable theatre can operate in -28 degrees
Celsius.
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Appointments and Resignations this month 11. The former State Bank of India (SBI) chairman, Rajnish
Kumar has been appointed as an independent director of
the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC).
12. Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit has been given
the additional charge of Punjab and the Union Territory
of Chandigarh. Earlier, V P Singh Badnore was the
Governor of Punjab and the Administrator of Chandigarh.
13. Adidas has roped in Tokyo Olympic Mirabai Chanu as
the face of its ‘‘Stay in Play” campaign for its latest product
innovation designed to keep more menstruating women in
sports.
14. IRS officer JB Mohapatra was appointed as the
chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes.
15. Pankaj Kumar Singh, a 1988-batch IPS officer from the
Rajasthan cadre, has taken charge as the new Director
General (DG) of the Border Security Force (BSF).
16. Uttarakhand Governor Baby Rani Maurya has
announced her resignation from the position almost two
years before completing her term, citing personal reasons.
17. M Venkaiah Naidu has appointed Dr PPK
Ramacharyulu, who is the secretary in the Rajya Sabha
Secretariat since 2018, as the Secretary General.
18. Vartika Shukla took charge as the first woman
Chairperson and Managing Director of public sector
enterprise Engineers India Ltd.
19. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will set up a committee
to scrutinize applications and give recommendations on
New Umbrella Entity (NUE) licenses. The 5 member
committee will be headed by Shri. P. Vasudevan.
20. R.N.Ravi, presently the Governor of Nagaland, has been
made the Governor of Tamil Nadu.
21. Professor Jagdish Mukhi, Governor of Assam is
appointed to discharge the functions of the Governor of
Nagaland in addition to his own duties until regular
arrangements are made.
22. The central government has selected S.L.Tripathy as the
Chairman-cum-Managing Director of United India
Insurance Company Limited. He is currently General
Manager and Director at The New India Assurance
Company Limited.
23. The government has appointed Harsha Bhupendra
Bangari as the new Managing Director (MD) of the
Export-Import Bank of India (EXIM Bank).
24. Tata AIA Life Insurance has announced the signing of a
multi-year brand partnership with Indian athlete and
Olympic gold medallist Neeraj Chopra, as its brand
ambassador.
25. The Central Government has appointed G.S. Pannu as
President of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal.
26. The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India,
GC Murmu was elected as the chairman of the assembly
of the Asian Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions
(ASOSAI) for a period of three years from 2024 to 2027
27. Squash Rackets Federation of India (SRFI) Secretary
General, Cyrus Poncha has been unanimously elected as
Vice-President of the Asian Squash Federation (ASF)

Summits/ MoUs 8. India hosted the 8th Meeting of Agriculture Experts

184
 of Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral
Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC)
Countries through video conferencing. The meeting
was chaired by Dr Trilochan Mohapatra,
Secretary, Department of Agricultural Research &
Education & Director General of ICAR.
9. Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually addressed the
plenary session of the 6th Eastern Economic Forum
(EEF), organised in Vladivostok, Russia. An Indian
delegation led by Minister of Petroleum and Natural
Gas, Hardeep Singh Puri and comprising leading
Indian oil and gas companies are participating in the
EEF Summit 2021 in Russia.
10. HDFC Bank has signed a memorandum of
understanding (MoU) with the National Small
Industries Corporation (NSIC) for providing credit
support to the micro, small and medium enterprise
(MSME) sector. Under this, the country’s largest
private sector bank will also provide MSMEs with a
set of specially-tailored schemes to enhance their
competitiveness.
11. India will hold the G20 presidency from December 1,
2022, and will convene the G20 leaders’ summit in
2023 for the first time. Piyush Goyal, Union Minister
of Commerce and Industry Minister has been
appointed as India’s Sherpa for the G20 in 2023 (18th
edition). A sherpa is a diplomat who undertakes
preparatory work prior to a summit conference. The
2021 edition of the G20 meet will be held in Rome,
Italy. The 2022 G20 meet will be held in Bali,
Indonesia.
12. Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi has chaired
the 13th BRICS Summit, through video
conferencing. The theme of the India-led Summit was
“BRICS@15: Intra-BRICS Cooperation for
Continuity, Consolidation and Consensus.” The theme
chosen by India reflects the fifteenth anniversary of
BRICS, being observed in 2021.

Defence Exercises 5. The 28th edition of the Singapore-India Maritime

Bilateral Exercise (SIMBEX) took place from
September 02 to 04, 2021. The SIMBEX-2021
annual bilateral maritime exercise was hosted by the
Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) in the southern
fringes of the South China Sea.
6. The 4th edition of AUSINDEX, a bilateral navy
exercise between the Indian Navy and the Royal
Australian Navy has begun from September 06, 2021,
and will continue up to September 10, 2021.

Awards and Honours 1. Odisha-born neurosurgeon Dr Basant Kumar Misra

has been conferred the prestigious American
Association of Neurological Surgeons’
‘International Lifetime Achievement Award in
Neurosurgery’.
2. Power Grid Corporation of India Limited
(POWERGRID), a Maharatna CPSU under
Ministry of Power, Government of India has been

185
 awarded the coveted “Association for Talent
Development (ATD) 2021 BEST Award”.
POWERGRID securing 8th rank among the 71
organizations from around the globe, thus becoming
the only PSU to win this award and one of the only two
companies of India in the Top 20.
3. National Teachers’ Award 2021 was awarded by
President Ram Nath Kovind, September 5, 2021 to
44 of the finest teachers in the country. The award was
also bestowed upon Pramod Kumar Shukla of
Eklavya Model Residential School (EMRS),
Chhattisgarh. It is the second award in a row for an
EMRS established under the Ministry of Tribal
Affairs.
4. Writer Namita Gokhale has been chosen as the
recipient of the seventh Yamin Hazarika Woman of
Substance Award.
5. Indian biologist Shailendra Singh has been awarded
the Behler Turtle Conservation Award for bringing
three critically endangered turtle conservation species
back from the brink of extinction. Shailendra Singh
was named to lead the Turtle Survival Alliance (TSA)/
Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) India turtle
programme.
6. Indian advertising doyen Ramesh Narayan will be
inducted into the Asian Federation of Advertising
Associations (AFAA) Hall of Fame at AdAsia 2021.
7. The Golden Rock Railway Workshop (GOC),
Tiruchchirappalli has bagged 22nd National Award
for Excellence in Energy Management from the
Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) for having
adopted and implemented various energy conservation
measures.

Important Reports and indices 1. Amul, Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing

Federation (GCMMF) has dropped two places to rank
18th in Rabobank’s 2021 Global Top 20 Dairy
Companies list. Amul was placed at 16th spot in 2020.
French-based dairy company Lactalis has topped the
list as the world’s largest dairy company with a
turnover of US $23.0 billion
2. Hurun Research Institute has released the Hurun
India Future Unicorn List 2021, as per which India
is the third-largest Unicorn/startup ecosystem in
the world. The USA is on top followed by China on
second. India has 51 unicorns according to the list
3. Shanghai Ranking Consultancy has released the
Academic Ranking of World University 2021. IISc
Bangalore has been ranked as the best university in
the country while Calcutta University has been
ranked second in the 2021 ARWU ranking.

Sports news 8. In table tennis, Indian paddler Bhavinaben Patel has

claimed the historic silver medal at the 2020
India won 19 medals in the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games at Tokyo, in the women’s singles
Paralympics summit clash.
9. Max Verstappen (Red Bull – Netherlands) has been
declared the winner of the Belgian Grand Prix 2021.

186
 10. Shooter Avani Lekhara has scripted history as she
became the first Indian woman to win a gold medal
at the Paralympics.
11. India’s Nishad Kumar has clinched a silver medal in
the men’s high jump T47 event at the Tokyo
Paralympics 2020.
12. Indian Grandmaster S P Sethuraman has won the
2021 Barcelona Open chess tournament title.
13. India’s Sumit Antil has won the gold medal in the
men’s javelin throw F64 final event at the Tokyo
Paralympics.
14. Devendra Jhajharia won the silver medal in the
men’s javelin throw in Tokyo Paralympics 2020.
15. India’s discus thrower Yogesh Kathuniya has
clinched the silver medal at the ongoing Tokyo
Paralympics.
16. Indian shooter Singhraj Adana has won the bronze
medal in the P1 Men’s 10m Air Pistol at the Tokyo
Paralympics.
17. India’s Mariyappan Thangavelu has won the silver
medal in the men’s high jump (T63) at the Tokyo
Paralympics.
18. Praveen Kumar became India’s fourth medallist in
men’s high jump and 11th medallist overall at the
Tokyo Paralympics 2020.
19. Equitas Small Finance Bank (ESFB) has roped in
Indian women hockey player, Rani Rampal and
cricketer Smriti Mandhana as the brand
ambassadors of the company.
20. Max Verstappen (Red Bull – Netherlands) has won
the formula one Dutch Grand Prix 2021. Lewis
Hamilton (Mercedes-Great Britain) came second while
Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes-Finland) came third.
21. Former Australia pacer Shaun Tait has been roped in
as the bowling coach of the Puducherry cricket
team, sources in the Cricket Association of
Pondicherry.
22. The 130th edition of the Durand Cup kicked off at
the Vivekananda Yubabharati Krirangan in
Kolkata. West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee kicked
the ball and inaugurated the tournament.
23. Cristiano Ronaldo has broken the world record for
most goals scored in men’s international football.
Ronaldo surpassed Iranian striker Ali Daei’s long-
held record of 109 international goals by scoring a
brace against Ireland in a World Cup Qualifier. He is
now a Guinness world record holder of most
international goals of all time with 111 goals.

Days and dates 15. 29th August: National Sports Day in India.
16. 30 August: National Small Industry Day/International
Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances
17. 31st August: International Day for People of African
Descent. First ever celebration.
18. 2nd September: World Coconut Day; theme: Building a
Safe Inclusive Resilient and Sustainable Coconut
Community Amid COVID-19 Pandemic & Beyond’
19. 5th September: Teachers Day. Marks the birthday of Dr

187
 Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan who was the former president
of our country. He was the second President of India (1962
to 1967) and the first Vice President of India (1952– 1962).
20. 5th September: International Day of Charity. It was
declared by the United Nations General Assembly in 2012.
September 5 was chosen in order to commemorate the
death anniversary of Mother Teresa, who also won the
Nobel Peace Prize in 1979.
21. 8th September: International Literacy Day. The theme of
55th International Literacy Day is Literacy for a human-
centred recovery: Narrowing the digital divide.
22. 9th September: International Day to Protect Education
from Attack (established: 2020)/
International Day to Protect Education from Attack/
Himalayan Diwas (This year’s theme is ‘Contribution of
Himalayas and our responsibilities’. The event was part
of the ongoing celebration of ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’.)
23. 10th September: World Suicide Prevention Day.
Observed by International Association for Suicide
Prevention (IASP), the theme for the 2021 World Suicide
Prevention Day is “Creating hope through action”.
24. 6th to 12th September 2021: To commemorate 75 years of
India’s independence, the Government of India is
celebrating the ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav.’ As a part of
the celebration, the Ministry of Food Processing Industries
is observing ‘Food Processing Week’

Obituaries 9. Eminent Bengali writer Buddhadeb Guha, has passed

away. He also won several awards including Ananda
Purashkar in 1976, Shiroman Purashkar and Sharat Puraskar.
10. Former India cricketer and coach, Vasoo Paranjape has
passed away.
11. Bigg Boss 13 winner actor Sidharth Shukla has passed
away.
12. Veteran Kashmiri separatist leader and former chief of the
All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC), Syed Ali Shah
Geelani passed away.
13. Former Rajya Sabha MP and senior journalist Chandan
Mitra has passed away. He was the Editor and Managing
Director of The Pioneer newspaper in New Delhi.
14. Former President of the International Olympic Committee
(IOC), Jacques Rogge has passed away. He had spent 12
years as president of IOC, from 2001 to 2013, overseeing
three summer Games and three winter Games, as well as
creating the Youth Olympics. He was then succeeded by
Thomas Bach. He was the 8th President of IOC
15. Former France footballer Jean-Pierre Adams, who had
been in a coma for 39 years, has passed away. He made
appearances for the France National Football Team from
1972–1976.
16. Former Union health secretary Keshav Desiraju has
passed away, due to “acute coronary syndrome”. Desiraju
was the grandson of former president Dr Sarvepalli
Radhakrishnan.
17. Rajni Kaul who was the first News Broadcaster for BBC
Hindi passed away in Faridabad, Haryana. She was not only
the first woman to join BBC Hindi as a staff member but
she also became the first woman to read a news bulletin in

188

Updates reported from 16- 31 August
News
4 more sites in India added to Ramsar list
RBI launches the Financial Inclusion Index
National Gene Bank at the National Bureau of
Plant Genetic Resources
EASE Reforms Index Award 2021 announced
National Monetisation Pipeline
189
Hindi on the network in 1961. She was well-known for her
programme Indradhanush.
Narration
Four more wetlands from India have been added to the
list of Ramsar sites, giving it the status of ‘Wetland of
International Importance’. With this, the total number
of Ramsar sites in India have reached 46.
These sites are:
• Thol, Gujarat
• Wadhwana, Gujarat
• Sultanpur, Haryana
• Bhindawas, Haryana
Reserve Bank of India has introduced the Financial
Inclusion Index (FI-Index), which is a measure of the
extent of financial inclusion in India. FIIndex
incorporates the inclusion details of banking,
investments, insurance, postal and pension sector in
India. This was among the announcements made in the
first bimonthly monetary policy in April this year.
The Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers
Welfare, Narendra Singh Tomar has inaugurated the
world’s second-largest National Gene Bank at the
National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources
(NBPGR), Pusa, New Delhi. The refurbished stateof-
the-art National Gene Bank provides the facility for
germplasm, to secure the heritage of seeds for years in
minus 20 degrees Celsius temperature.
Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs,
Nirmala Sitharaman has announced the EASE 3.0
Awards. State Bank of India is the Overall winner
of the EASE Reforms Index Award 2021 (EASE 3.0
Awards). Bank of Baroda is second and Union Bank
of India is third. Indian Bank won the award for the
best improvement from the baseline performance.
State Bank of India (Tech-enabled ease of Banking),
Bank of Baroda (Smart Lending for Aspiring India
and Institutionalised Prudent Banking), Union Bank
of India(Governance and Outcome centric HR) ,
Punjab National Bank and Canara Bank won the
top awards in different themes of the PSB Reforms
Agenda EASE 3.0.
Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs,
Nirmala Sitharaman has launched the asset
monetisation pipeline of Central ministries and public
sector entities: ‘National Monetisation Pipeline’. The
pipeline has been developed by NITI Aayog, in
consultation with infrastructure line ministries, based
on the mandate for ‘Asset Monetisation’ under Union

First national park in India to be equipped with Kaziranga National Park (KNP) in Assam has
satellite phones
Forum for Decarbonizing Transport
Highest altitude herbal park
Prime Minister of Malaysia
Afghanistan President tenders his resignation
Cybersecurity Multi-Donor Trust Fund
World’s largest and tallest observation wheel
Budget 2021-22..
become the first national park in India to be equipped
with satellite phones. Assam Chief Secretary Jishnu
Barua handed over 10 satellite phones to the forest
personnel of the Kaziranga National Park. The satellite
phones will boost the anti-poaching measures in the
park. BSNL will be the service provider of these
phones.
NITI Aayog and World Resources Institute (WRI),
India, jointly launched the ‘Forum for Decarbonizing
Transport’ in India. NITI Aayog is the implementing
partner for India. The aim of the project is to bring
down the peak level of GHG emissions (transport
sector) in Asia (in line with a well below 2-degree
pathway), resulting in problems like congestion and
air pollution.
India’s highest altitude herbal park has been
inaugurated at Mana village in the Chamoli district of
Uttarakhand. The herbal park is situated at a height of
11,000 feet was and is close to the Indo-China border.
Mana is the last Indian village in Chamoli bordering
China and is adjacent to Badrinath temple.
The Prime Minister of Malaysia, Muhyiddin Yassin
and his cabinet resigned after losing a confidence vote
in parliament. The 74-year-old Muhyiddin came to
power in March 2020. He will however stay on as a
caretaker prime minister until a successor is named.
Malaysia’s king appointed Ismail Sabri Yaakob as the
prime minister on 20th Aug, replacing Muhyiddin
Yassin, who stepped down this week after losing his
parliamentary majority.
Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani will shortly
tender his resignation, as the government has
surrendered to the Taliban forces, which entered
Kabul and sought the unconditional surrender of the
central government. Following this, a new interim
government has been announced, which is likely to be
headed by Ali Ahamd Jalali, a US-based academic.
The World Bank has launched a new ‘Cybersecurity
Multi-Donor Trust Fund’, to better roll out
cybersecurity development agenda in a systematic
manner. The new fund has been developed as an
associated trust fund under the broader Digital
Development Partnership (DDP) umbrella program.
World Bank has partnered with four countries, namely
Estonia, Japan, Germany, and the Netherlands, to
launch the fund.
The world’s largest and tallest observation wheel is set
to be unveiled in Dubai, UAE on October 21, 2021.
The observation wheel called as ‘Ain Dubai’, is 250 m
190

Court of First Instance and Court of Appeal
Biography of Jayaprakash Narayan
Karnala Nagari Sahakari Bank Limited in The Reserve Bank of India has cancelled the license
Maharashtra
Appointments this month
(820 ft) in height, located at Bluewaters Island. The
record-breaking wheel is 42.5 m (139 ft) taller than the
current world’s tallest observation wheel, High Roller,
in Las Vegas, measuring 167.6 m (550 ft).
Dubai Courts announced the establishment of a
specialised court, focused on combating money
laundering, within the Court of First Instance and
Court of Appeal. This court ties into a string of
initiatives aimed at reducing financial crimes and
follows the recent establishment of the Executive
Office of the Anti-Money Laundering & Countering
the Financing of Terrorism.
A new biography of revolutionary leader and
independence activist Jayaprakash Narayan will hit
the stands on August 23, publisher Penguin Random
House India. The book, “The Dream of Revolution: A
Biography of Jayaprakash Narayan”, shares anecdotes
and never-before-told stories from the life of the man
who was known for his “emotional hunger for
transformative politics, shunning power and
incubating revolutionary ideas”.
of Raigad based Karnala Nagari Sahakari Bank
Limited in Maharashtra. As informed by the Reserve
Bank of India, the license of Karnala Nagari Sahakari
Bank was cancelled due to insufficient capital and
earning prospects and its continuance would have
adversely affected depositors.
28. Actor-producer Priyanka Chopra Jonas was
announced as the chairperson of Jio MAMI
Film Festival
29. Adi Godrej will step down as the chairman of
Godrej Industries on October 01, 2021. He
will be replaced by Nadir Godrej, his younger
brother. Godrej Industries (GIL) is the
holding company of the Godrej group
30. Direct selling FMCG firm Amway India has
announced that it has appointed Olympian
Saikhom Mirabai Chanu as the brand
ambassador for Amway and its Nutrilite
range of products.
31. Shanti Lal Jain has been appointed as the
Managing Director and Chief Executive
Officer of Indian Bank for a period of three
years.
32. The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC)
has announced the re-appointment of T M
Bhasin as chairman of the Advisory Board
for Banking and Financial Frauds (ABBFF).
33. Senior BJP leader from Tamil Nadu, La.
Ganesan, has been appointed as the new
Governor of Manipur.
34. Abhay Kumar Singh has been appointed as
joint secretary in the Ministry of
191

Defence India Startup Challenge (DISC) 5.0
Infosys becomes the 4th Indian Company to cross
$100 billion
11th Meeting of the BRICS High Representatives The 11th Meeting of the BRICS High
Responsible for National Security
Important Reports and indices
192
Cooperation. This ministry was recently
formed with an aim to strengthen the
cooperative movement in the country.
35. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has
approved the re-appointment of Sandeep
Bakhshi as the MD & CEO of ICICI Bank.
36. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has
approved the appointment of Hitendra Dave
as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of
HSBC Bank (India).
37. Union Minister for Health and Family
Welfare, Mansukh Mandaviya has taken over
charge as the Chairperson of Stop TB
Partnership Board. He has replaced Union
Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Dr
Harsh Vardhan as the chairman.
38. Union Home Ministry appointed Pankaj
Kumar Singh as the new Director General of
Border Security Force.
Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh launched Defence India
Startup Challenge (DISC) 5.0 under Innovations for
Defence Excellence – Defence Innovation
Organisation (iDEX-DIO) initiative, on August 19,
2021, in New Delhi.
The shares of Information Technology major, Infosys
hit a record high during intraday trading, which helped
the company cross $100 billion in market
capitalisation. Infosys is the fourth Indian company to
achieve this milestone. Reliance Industries (m-cap of
$140 billion), Tata Consultancy Services (m-cap $115
billion) and HDFC Bank (m-cap $100.1 billion) are
the other Indian firms in the club with Infosys.
Representatives Responsible for National Security
was held, via video conferencing. The National
Security Advisor of India Ajit Doval hosted the
meeting since India is the chair for the 2021 BRICS
summit.
4. Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad was adjudged the
second most polluted city out of the 50 ‘most
polluted cities’ in the world in 2020 by a
report prepared by British company
HouseFresh. Preceding Ghaziabad, the
Chinese city of Hotan in Xinjiang province
has been named the most polluted city
5. India has ranked second in terms of crypto
adoption worldwide behind Vietnam, but
ahead of countries such as the US, UK, and
China, according to the 2021 Global Crypto
Adoption Index by blockchain data platform
Chainalysis. This comes even as worldwide
crypto adoption grew by 880% between June
2020 and July 2021, according to the report.
6. Apple is the world’s most valuable company
 (USD 2,443 billion) according to the Hurun
Global 500 Most Valuable Companies list
2021. Reliance has been ranked at 57 and is
the top Indian company in the list.
7. Copenhagen, the capital city of Denmark,
has been named as the world’s safest city
from among 60 global cities, in Safe Cities
Index 2021, released by the Economist
Intelligence Unit (EIU). Delhi has been
ranked at 48 and Mumbai has been ranked at
50.
8. India has emerged as a global manufacturing
hub and effectively surpassed the United
States to become the world’s second most
desired manufacturing destination, in
Cushman & Wakefield’s 2021 Global
Manufacturing Risk Index. The index
ranks 47 countries across Europe, the
Americas, and the Asia Pacific.

First-ever G20 Ministerial Conference on The First-ever G20 Ministerial Conference on

Women’s Empowerment Women’s Empowerment was held at Santa Margherita
Ligure, Italy. The Union Minister of Women & Child
Development, Smt. Smriti Irani addressed the meet on
behalf of India.

Sports news 24. Princepal Singh became the first Indian to be

part of an NBA title-winning team when his
side Sacramento Kings clinched the 2021
NBA Summer League crown.
25. Lionel Messi joined star-packed Paris St
Germain after leaving Barcelona.
26. Mariyappan Thangavelu, 2016 Rio
Paralympic Games gold medalist will be
replaced by Asian Games gold medalist
Tekchand as the new flagbearer of India at
the opening ceremony.
27. The 20-year-old Chess player Harshit Raja
from Pune, Maharashtra has become the 69th
Grandmaster of India in Chess.
28. 2021 edition of the World Athletics U20
Championships has been started in Nairobi,
Kenya. The World U20 Championships were
held from 17 to 22 August, 2021.

Days and dates August 14: ‘Partition Horrors Remembrance

Day’ or ‘Vibhajan Vibhishika Smriti Diwas’
19 August: World Humanitarian Day (WHD)
20 August: Sadbhavana Diwas and Akshay Urja
Diwas (Renewable Energy Day)
21st August: International Day of Remembrance
and Tribute to the Victims of Terrorism.
August 19 to August 25, 2021: Sanskrit Week
August 22: International Day Commemorating
the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on
Religion or Belief
August 22: World Sanskrit Day- celebrated every
year on Shraavana poornima, which is the

193
 Poornima day of the Shraavana month in the
Hindu calendar, which is also marked as
Raksha Bandhan.
23 August: “International Day for the
Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its
Abolition”

23-27 August: World Water Week is an annual

event organized by Stockholm International
Water Institute (SIWI). Theme: ‘Building
Resilience Faster’

Obituaries 1. Former West Germany forward and the

Bayern Munich football legend, Gerd Muller.
2. Eminent India-international footballer
Chinmoy Chatterjee.
3. Maki Kaji, the creator of puzzle Sudoku
passed, the father of Sodoku and was from
Japan.
4. Former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh,
Kalyan Singh passed away.
5. O.M. Nambiar, the man who transformed a
village girl P.T. Usha into Asia’s Golden
Girl, passed away.
6. Syed Shahid Hakim, former India footballer
and member of the last national team that
played in the 1960 Rome Olympics, passed
away.
7. British comedian Sean Lock has passed
away.
8. Former India footballer O Chandrasekharan,
popularly known as Olympian
Chandrasekharan in his home state Kerala,
passed away.
9. Former England and Sussex captain Ted
Dexter has passed away

Largest floating solar PV project NTPC has commissioned the largest

floating solar PV project in India of
25MW power on the reservoir of its Simhadri
thermal station in Visakhapatnam, Andhra
Pradesh.

Operation Devi Shakti The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has

given a name to India’s complex mission of
evacuating its citizens from war-torn
Afghanistan, as ‘Operation Devi Shakti’.

MANTHAN 2021 The Bureau of Police Research and Development

(BPR&D) in collaboration with the All India
Council for Technical Education (AICTE) have
launched a unique national Hackathon named
‘MANTHAN 2021’.

First hospital to house a fire station All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS),
New Delhi has become the first hospital of India
to house a fire station inside the hospital premises,
to meet any emergency.

194
 De Jure Transfer day
First smog tower in the country
Updates reported from 1-15 August
News
Chandrayaan-2 detects water on Moon
US gives approval to extra vaccine dosage for
people with weakened immunity
Indore is the first Water Plus certified city
Gold Medalist Neeraj Chopra ranks No. 2 in World An Indian Javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra has been
Athletics Rankings
First case of Marburg Virus in West Africa
Mixing Covaxin and Covishield gets a nod from The Drugs Controller and General of India have
195
Puducherry on 16th August celebrated its De Jure
Transfer day. Speaker of the Puducherry
Assembly, R. Selvam, paid floral tributes at the
memorial in Kizhur, a remote hamlet in
Puducherry, where the transfer of power took
place on the same day in 1962. De Jure Transfer
Day is the day it really got independence. The
then Pondicherry was under French control well
after 1947.
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will inaugurate
the country’s first smog tower on August 23,
2021, at Baba Kharak Singh Marg, Connaught
Place.
Narration
Chandrayaan-2 has detected the presence of water
molecules on the lunar surface. As per the recently
published paper, the initial data analysis from IIRS
demonstrated the presence of lunar hydration and
detection of OH and H2O signatures on the moon.
The United States has given its approval to an extra
dose of the COVID-19 vaccine for people with
weakened immune systems. The US FDA granted
emergency use authorization for the third vaccine dose
of Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines. The move
came at a time when the US has been witnessing a
surge in Delta variant cases.
Indore in Madhya Pradesh has been declared as the
country’s first ‘Water Plus’ certified city under the
Swachh Survekshan 2021. Indore is MP’s commercial
capital and also the country’s cleanest city. The news
was shared by the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh
Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
ranked No. 2 in the latest World Athletics Rankings
after his performance in the Tokyo Olympics. Chopra
created history in the Olympics by becoming the first
Indian to win a gold in track and field. He had thrown
javelin at a distance of 87.58 km.
West Africa has confirmed the first case of the
contagious Marburg virus in Guinea. This virus
belongs to the family of the Ebola Virus. As per WHO,
the Marburg virus is a highly virulent disease and is
able to cause hemorrhagic fever, with a fatality rate of
up to 88%.
DCGI
Vinesh Phogat suspended for indiscipline
127th Constitution Amendment Bill
Veteran actor Anupam Shyam passes away
PM DAKSH mobile app and portal launched
Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award named as Major
Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award
Drones not allowed within 25 km of the
International border
Ayodhya’s Ram Temple to be opened by December
2023
Indian men’s hockey team wins bronze in The men’s hockey team of India has won the bronze
Olympics 2020
approved the study on mixing the Covaxin and
Covishield vaccines. A study conducted by ICMR
earlier had revealed that the combination of
Covishield and Covaxin can give better safety results.
The Wrestling Federation of India has suspended
Vinesh Phogat due to indiscipline during her Tokyo
Olympics campaign. The federation issued a notice to
Phogat announcing the temporary ban on three
charges. She has been given time to reply to the notice
until August 16.
The Government has introduced the 12th Constitution
Amendment Bill in Lok Sabha. The bill seeks to
restore the State Government’s power to make their
own OBC lists. The opposition parties have also given
their support to the bill.
Anupam Shyam, know for his role in the popular TV
series Man Ki Awaaz Pratigya, passed away at the age
of 63 due to multiple organ failure. He was admitted
to the hospital last week because of a kidney infection
and was put on a ventilator. He was also known for his
role in films like Bandit Queen and Slumdog
Millionaire.
The Government has launched the PM-Daksh portal
and mobile app in order to make the skill development
schemes accessible to the target groups. With this, the
youths of the target groups will be able to avail the
benefits of the skill development programmes more
easily. PM-Daksh Yojana is being implemented by the
government from 2021-22.
Prime Minister Modi announced that the Rajiv Gandhi
Khel Ratna Award will now be known as the Major
Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award. The highest honour
in sports has been renamed in honour of Hockey
wizard Dhyan Chand. The Prime Minister also
informed that the decision has been taken at the
request of citizens across India.
The Civil Aviation Ministry has said that no
Unmanned Aircraft System will be allowed to fly
within 25 km of International Borders. It includes Line
of Control, Actual Ground Position Line, and Line of
Actual Control.
Ram Temple in Ayodhya will be open for the devotees
by December 2023. The construction work of the
temple is scheduled to be completed by the year 2025.
Reportedly, the first floor of the temple and main
Garbha Griha will be ready by December 2023.
medal after a 5-4 victory over Germany at the Tokyo
Olympics Games 2020. The Indian hockey team has
brought home the country’s first Olympic medal in
196
 hockey after 41 years. India had won the last Olympic
medal (a gold medal) in Hockey in 1980.

Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Parliament has passed the Insolvency and Bankruptcy
Bill passed Code (Amendment) Bill, 2021. It was approved by
Rajya Sabha amidst uproar. The bill aims at
introducing an alternate insolvency resolution process
for MSMEs.

India’s third Olympic medal won by Lovlina Lovlina Borgohain (Assam) has won India’s third
Borgohain Olympic medal. Lovlina has become the second
Indian female boxer after Mary Kom (Manipur) to win
an Olympic Bronze medal. This is the country’s third
medal at the ongoing Olympics 2020 after PV Sindhu
(Andhra Pradesh) won bronze and Mirabai Chanu
(Manipur) won silver.

Bhubaneshwar first city to achieve 100% Bhubaneshwar in Odisha has become the first city in
vaccination the country to achieve 100% vaccination coverage
against Coronavirus. Reportedly, 18 lakh 16 thousand
people in the city have been vaccinated. Around 1 lakh
migrant population have also been vaccinated with the
first dose of COVID vaccine.

PV Sindhu wins bronze in Olympics 2020
PV Sindhu won a bronze medal in an Olympics match
on August 1, 2021. She defeated China’s He Bingjiao.
With this, Sindhu has also become the first woman
from India to clinch two Olympic medals. She has
become the second Indian after Sushil Kumar to win
two individual Olympics medals

India takes over Presidency of UNSC
India took over the Presidency of the UN Security
Council on August 1, 2021. The country assumed the
rotational presidency of the 15 nation UNSC from
France. This will be India’s first UNSC Presidency
during its 2021-22 tenure as a non-permanent member
of the Security Council. India last assumed the
presidency ten years ago.

Myanmar’s military leader declares himself PM
Myanmar’s military leader Min Aung Hlaing has
declared himself the Prime Minister of the country. He
also announced that he plans to be in charge for 2 years
during an extended state of emergency and will hold
elections in 2023. In February 2021, Myanmar’s
democratically elected government was overthrown
by a military coup.

Abdul Ghani Baradar likely to be the new Abdul Ghani Baradar, Taliban leader, is likely to be
President of Afghanistan the new President of Afghanistan. As the country faces
severe political turmoil with the collapse of its
government, Baradar is expected to be the new
President of the country. He is a co-founder of the
Taliban in Afghanistan.

Updates reported from 16-31 July

News Narration

197
 Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code Lok Sabha passed the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code
(Amendment) Bill, 2021, passed (Amendment) Bill, 2021. The bill aims at introducing an
alternative insolvency resolution process for MSMEs, called the
pre-packaged insolvency resolution process

Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of
Children) Amendment Bill, 2021 passed
Rajya Sabha passed the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of
Children) Amendment Bill, 2021. The bill amends the Juvenile
Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015. The
amendment was taken up after it was found that over 7,600
children were living in extremely poor conditions

Basavaraj Somappa Bommai is the new Senior BJP leader and son of the former CM of Karnataka,
Chief Minister of Karnataka Basavaraj Somappa Bommai has become the 23rd Chief
Minister of the state. His oath ceremony was administered by
Governor Thaawar Chand Gehlot. Former CM Yediyurappa had
earlier resigned because of internal party pressure

Najib Mikati became new PM of Lebanon This will be Mikati’s third time serving as the Prime Minister of
the country

Ariel Henry became the new Prime Minister Henry become the PM, amid the ongoing political turmoil
of Haiti because of the assassination of President Jovenel Moise. Aerial
Henry will lead the country until a new President is elected in
September 2021

2032 Olympics to be hosted by Brisbane
Brisbane won the right to host at the 138th session of IOC
members in Tokyo. With this, the Olympics will be back to
Australia after 32 years when Sydney had hosted it in 2000.
Melbourne was the first city in Australia to host the event in
1956

Saudi Arabia allowed women to attend Hajj Saudi Arabia also removed the requirement of a male guardian
without a male guardian for women attending Hajj. The move by Saudi has been hailed
by the female pilgrims, as it follows the Kingdom’s efforts to
expand women’s rights.
Updates reported from 1-15 July
News Narration

198
Cristiano Ronaldo won the Golden The captain of Portugal football team was honored after finishing as the
boot at Euro 2020 top goalscorer. Ronaldo scored five goals for Portugal, same as Patrick
Schick of the Czech Republic

Italy won UEFA Euro 2020 They beat England 3-2 in penalty shoot-out
championship

Copa America 2020 Argentina beat Brazil 1-0 to win the title

Sher Bahadur Deuba became new After the order of Nepal’s Supreme Court, President Bidya Devi
Nepal PM Bhandari issued a letter about Deuba’s announcement. As per the order,
the House of Representatives was also been reinstated

Ladakh became the first UT to The vaccinated population also includes the guest population in the UT.
achieve 100% first COVID-19 A total of 89,404 citizens from all the eligible groups have been
vaccine dose coverage vaccinated with the first dose

West Indies player Chris Gayle He achieved this feat during the third T20I match between West Indies
scored 14,000 runs in T20 history and Australia

Cryptocurrency Bill in the monsoon The bill suggests a ban on private cryptocurrencies in India & facilitates
session of Parliament the creation of an official digital currency. The new bill was taken up
in the budget session of the Parliament

Uttar Pradesh population bill, 2021
The UP Government announced a new population bill on World
Population Day on July 11, 2021. The draft of the population bill,
prepared by the UP Law Commission, aims at controlling the
population menace in the state. UP is India’s most populous state, with
a population of around 220 million

International Cricket Council CEO Sawhney came under the scanner for his conduct during an internal
Manu Sawhney to exit with audit by PricewaterhouseCoopers. Geoff Allardice will be the Acting
immediate effect CEO

Key portfolio changes after cabinet Law & Justice - Kiren Rijiju
reshuffle Railways - Ashwini Vaishnaw
PNG, Housing & Urban Affairs - Hardeep Singh Puri
Health - Mansukh Mandavia
Civil aviation - Jyotiraditya Scindia
Co-operation - Amit Shah
Education, Skill Development and Entrepreneurship - Dharmendra
Pradhan
Sports, I&B - Anurag Thakur

199
 Government formed Ministry of The ministry has been established with an aim of implementing the
Cooperation, headed by Amit Shah vision of ‘Sahkar se Samriddhi’ or prosperity through cooperation

Jeff Bezos stepped down as CEO of He resigned from his post 27 years after he founded the e-commerce
Amazon company in a garage in 1994. CEO of Amazon Web Services Andy
Jassy succeeded Bezos as the new Amazon CEO. Bezos served as its
CEO from April 2016 to July 2021

Updates reported from 16-30 June

News Narration

Atmanirbhar Krishi App launched
The Government has launched Atma Nirbhar Krishi App to
provide the farmers of the country with weather alerts and
actionable agricultural insights. It has been available on the
basic phone with the information comprehensible to the
farmers which will also help in enhancing the inclusivity in
decision making.

T20 World Cup in UAE The International Cricket Council has confirmed that the
ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 will be held in UAE and
Oman because of the ongoing COVID-19 situation in India.
The tournament will take place from October 17 till
November 14, 2021, and BCCI will retain the hosting rights.

Shafali Verma becomes the youngest cricketer Shafali Verma has become the youngest Indian cricketer to
to debut in all formats of cricket debut in all formats. She was picked for the first ODI against
England women. At the age of 17 years and 150 days, Verma
made her ODI debut to achieve the feat and became the 5th
youngest cricketer on the list which is headed by Mujeeb Ur
Rahman of Afghanistan

China launched bullet train near the Indian China inaugurated its first fully electrified bullet train in the
border Himalayan region of Tibet. It connects provincial capital
Lhasa and Nyingchi, a town close to Arunachal Pradesh.
The train near the Indian border will certainly give a
strategic advantage to the Chinese Government in case of a
conflict between the two countries

Montek Ahluwalia became a member of a group Montek Ahluwalia has become a member of the High-Level
formed by IMF, World Bank Advisory Group formed by the IMF and World Bank. The
group has been formed amid the crisis posed by pandemics
and climate change. Ahluwalia is a distinguished fellow at
the Center for Social and Economic Progress. He was also
the former deputy chairman of the Planning Commission of
India.

Ebrahim Raisi becomes 8th President of Iran Ebrahim Raisi, Iran’s ultra-conservative cleric and judiciary
chief, has been elected as the 8th President of the country.
As per Iran’s Interior Ministry, Ebrahim Raisi won 61.95%

200
 of the vote during the Presidential elections in the country.
The new President will take up office in early August 2021,
replacing the moderate President Hassan Rouhani.

Aashish Chandorkar appointed as Director at The Indian Government has appointed Aashish Chandorkar
India’s WTO mission as ‘Counsellor’ in India’s Permanent Mission in World
Trade Organisation for three years. It will be the first time
that a private person has been appointed to the mission.
Aashish Chandorkar is the co-founder of Bengaluru-based
think tank Smahi Foundation of Policy and Research.

Hydrogen Task Force launched by India and the This was a part of strategic Clean Energy partnership in
US order to boost India’s energy security efforts. The Hydrogen
Task Force will represent the government and industry
stakeholders. It will also study innovative policy options,
assess technology status and make recommendations

Naftali Bennett became new PM of Israel He ended the 12-year rule of Netanyahu. The 12 member
Knesset approved the new coalition government in the
country and voted the religious-nationalist as the new
premier of Israel

Serbian Tennis Player Novak Djokovic won the The star tennis player from Serbia, Novak Djokovic won the
19th Grand Slam 19th Grand Slam in the French Open Final. He became the
first tennis player to win all the four majors twice. In the
French Open Final, the player defeated 22 years old Stefanos
Tsitsipas

Social media giant Twitter lost intermediary Twitter, a social media giant, lost immunity in India as the
status platform failed to comply with the new social media
guidelines of the Indian Government. Twitter will no longer
be protected under Section 79 of the IT Act and will now be
liable for all the content on its platform

Satya Nadella became the new Microsoft Nadella, the current CEO replaced John Thompson from the
chairman position. Earlier in 2014, he had replaced Steve Ballmer as
the CEO

China sent three astronauts to its new Space
Station
The first three men crew was launched by China to its new
Space Station. This was the country’s first crewed mission
in five years. The 3 astronauts traveled in Shenzhou-12
spaceship. It was also the 3rd of the 11 missions required to
complete the country’s space station by 2022.

Updates reported from 1-15 June

Position Appointments

President, CII TV Narendran

Grievance Officer, WhatsApp Paresh B Lal

Election Commissioners Anup Chandra Pandey, Rajiv Kumar

Chairman (Interim), Central Board of Direct Taxes Jagannath Bidyadhar Mohapatra

201
 Director, CBI Subodh Kumar Jaiswal

Chairman, National Human Rights Commission of Arun Kumar Mishra

India
Chairman, National Committee of Scheduled Castes Vijay Sampla
Secretary General, UN Conference on Trade and Rebecca Grynspan
development
President, UN General Assembly Abdullah Shahid
New York

News Narration

French open 2021 Men’s singles - Novak Djokovic Beat Stefanos

Tsitsipas to win his 19th Grand Slam title. He has
become the first tennis player to win all the four
majors twice

Women’s singles - Barbora Krejčíková won the

Women's Singles tennis title at the 2021 French Open,
defeating Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the final, 6–1,
2–6, 6–4

Pulitzer Prize 2021 Megha Rajagopalan won the Prize for innovative
investigative reports exposing infrastructure of prisons
and mass internment camps which were built secretly
by China and detained Muslims in Xinjiang region

China ended two child policy The decision was taken by the government after the
data over the past decade indicated the slowest
population growth in the country

Business Awareness
Key Corporate Positions
Position Personality
Chairman, SBI Dinesh Kumar Khara
MD, SBI 1. Ashwani Bhatia, 2. C.S. Setty
3. J Swaminathan, 4. Ashwini Kumar Tewari
CEO, IBM Arvind Krishna
CEO, Alphabet Inc. Sundar Pichai
MD, Microsoft India Rajiv Kumar
MD & CEO, Vodafone-Idea Ravinder Takkar
Chairman & MD, ITC Sanjiv Puri
MD & CEO, Yes Bank Prashant Kumar

CMD, SIDBI S Ramann

CEO, HDFC Bank Shashidhar Jagdishan
CEO, Standard Chartered India Zarin Daruwala
Chairman, Tata Sons N. Chandrasekaran
CEO, Infosys Salil Parekh
MD & CEO, NSE Vikram Limaye
MD & CEO, BSE Ashishkumar Chauhan
MD & CEO, NCDEX Vijay Kumar Venkataraman
CEO & MD, MCX P S Reddy
Chairman, NASSCOM UB Pravin Rao

202
 Chairman, LIC M R Kumar
Head, Whatsapp India Abhijit Bose
MD & CEO, Paytm Payments Bank Satish Kumar Gupta
MD & CEO, IDBI Bank Rakesh Sharma
VP & MD, Facebook India Ajit Mohan
CEO & MD, Axis Bank Amitabh Chaudhry
COO & MD, ICICI Sandeep Bakshi
MD, Colgate-Palmolive India Ram Raghavan
President, FICCI Uday Shankar
President, ASSOCHAM Vineet Agarwal

Business Awards
Title Category Awardee
ASSOCHAM Award 2020 Enterprise of the Century Ratan Tata
EY Entrepreneur of The Lifetime Achievement Prathap Chandra Reddy, (Apollo
Year Awards 2020 Hospitals)
EY Entrepreneur of 2020 Harsh Mariwala (Marico)
Business Transformation award Byju Raveendran (BYJU’S)
Start-up category award Peyush Bansal (Lenskart Solutions)
Lifetime Achievement award Cyrus Poonawalla (Serum Institute of
India)
Forbes India Leadership Best CEO - Private Sector Salil Parekh (Infosys)
Awards 2020 Entrepreneur of the Year Byju Raveendran (Byju’s)
GenNext Entrepreneur of the Year Sharvil Patel (Cadila Healthcare)
Business, economy & trade
News Narration
Global predictions on Indian Global forecasting firm Oxford Economics lowered India’s GDP growth
economy forecast for FY 2021-22 from 11.8% to 10.2%. This follows earlier
projections by IMF - 12.5%, S&P Global Rankings - 11%, Economic
Survey of India - 11%, RBI - 10.5% for FY 2021-22

Flipkart acquired Cleartrip for USD All Cleartrip employees will be retained. Cleartrip will continue to operate
40 million in distress sale as a separate brand and work closely with Flipkart to further develop
technology solutions

China became world's leading FDI New investments by overseas businesses into the US, which held the top
destination, surpassing the US, as per spot for decades, fell by 49% in 2020. China, which was since long ranked
UNCTAD at the second spot, saw 4% upsurge in direct investments by foreign
companies

203
 The Indian Oil Corporation launched Octane ratings are a measure of a fuel's ability to avoid knock. It will
the first ever 100 Octane petrol ‘XP initially be available at select IOC outlets in 10 cities
100’ in the country

RBI’s Internal Working Group Internal Working Group (IWG) headed by PK Mohanty recommended the
(IWG) recommendations guarded entry of corporate houses into the banking space, conversion of
NBFCs into banks and Payment Banks into SFB, hike in promoters’ stake,
amongst others

Finance Minister announced Key Highlights

Economic Stimulus Package 4.0
● Production Linked Incentive Scheme for 10 sectors. Rs 1.46 trillion to
be allotted
● Rs 6,940 crore scheme to promote manufacture of API (Active
Pharmaceutical Ingredients)
● Rs 18,000 crores allocated to Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban).
The implementation of the programme will generate 7.8 million jobs
● Rs 10,200 crores for industrial infrastructure, green energy and defence
equipment
Rs 3,000 crores for IDEAS Scheme
Rs 10,000 crores to Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana, to be utilised
for MGNREGA or for Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana.
Rs 65,000 crores was allocated for fertilizer subsidies
Rs 6,000 crores for National Investment and Infrastructure Funds

Line of Credit for central Asia India announced an additional Line of Credit worth USD 1 billion for
development projects in Central Asian countries

India was the 9th largest recipient of In its World Investment Report 2020, The UN Conference on Trade and
FDI in 2019 Development (UNCTAD) reported that India received USD 51 billion of
foreign investments in 2019

Infosys acquired GuideVision for GuideVision, an enterprise service management consultancy specialised
Euro 30 Million in offering strategic advisory, consulting, implementations, training and
support on the ServiceNow platform.

Government announced 74% FDI in Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT)
defence sector through automatic announced increase from earlier 49% investment cap via automatic route
route

Launch news/Initiatives
News Narration

The Ministry of External Affairs The app aims to create a three-way communication between the Indian
launched Global Pravasi Rishta Portal missions, ministry, and the Indian diaspora.
and app

204
 Paytm launched its first pocket The PoS machine comes bundled with Paytm's 'Scan to Order' service,
Android PoS device for contactless which is said to be gaining traction in places like restaurants and takeaway
ordering and making payments, for joints. This product is also expected to make payments easier for logistic
SMEs. players, Kirana stores, and small shopkeepers.

The Government made use of Aarogya The Aarogya Setu app was developed to track COVID-19 positive cases,
Setu app compulsory for all the Centre their movement & contact with others, using Bluetooth and location data
Government
employees

General Awareness
Personalities
Key positions held
(a) Chief Ministers Personality (Post assembly elections)

Bihar Nitish Kumar

Tamil Nadu MK Stalin
West Bengal Mamta Banerjee
Assam Himanta Biswa Sarma
Puducherry N. Rangaswamy
Kerala Pinarayi Vijayan
Uttarakhand Tirath Singh Rawat

(b) Union cabinet Personality

Prime Minister Narendra Modi
Defence Raj Nath Singh
Home Ministry Amit Shah
External Affairs S Jaishankar
Road Transport and Highways; Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Nitin Gadkari
Finance & Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman
Chemicals and Fertilizers D.V. Sadananda Gowda
Law and Justice; Communications; Electronics and IT Ravi Shankar Prasad
Women and Child Development; Textiles Smriti Irani
Social Justice and Empowerment Thaawar Chand Gehlot
Agriculture and Farmers Welfare; Rural Development Narendra Singh Tomar
Textiles; Commerce and Industry and; of Consumer Affairs, Food and Piyush Goyal
Public Distribution
17th speaker of Lok Sabha Om Birla
Environment, Forest and Climate Change; Heavy industries Prakash Javadekar

Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya Scindia

Information and Broadcasting Anurag Thakur

(c) Government Personality

RBI Deputy Governors T Rabi Sankar

205
 Mukesh Kumar Jain
Rajeshwar Rao
Michael D Patra
Economic Affairs secretary Ajay Seth
Revenue secretary Tarun Bajaj
Finance secretary T V Somanathan
Chief Information Commissioner Yashvardhan Kumar Sinha
Central Vigilance Commissioner Sanjay Kothari
Chief of Defence Staff Bipin Rawat
Chief Army Staff Manoj Mukund Naravane
Foreign secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla
Chief Justice of India N V Ramana
CEO, Ayushman Bharat scheme R S Sharma
Law Secretary A K Mendiratta
Air Chief Marshal of India Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria
Principal Secretary to Prime Minister P K Mishra
Chairman, Press Trust of India Aveek Sarkar
Cabinet Secretary of India Rajiv Gauba
Defence secretary Ajay Kumar
Director General, BSF Rakesh Asthana
Home secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla
Chief, Research & Analysis Wing Samant Goel
Director, Intelligence Bureau Arvind Kumar
Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Karambir Singh

Chairman, Indian Banks Association Rajkiran Rai G

MD & CEO, Indian Post Payments Bank J Venkatramu
Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra
Chairman, UIDAI J Satyanarayana
CEO, UIDAI Saurabh Garg
Chairman, Central Admin. Tribunal (CAT) Justice L. Narasimha Reddy
Governor, RBI Shaktikanta Das
NITI Aayog Chairperson - Mr. Narendra Modi
CEO - Amitabh Kant
Vice Chairman - Rajiv Kumar
National Security advisor to the PM Ajit Doval
Director-General, CRPF Kuldiep Singh
Chairman, 7th pay commission Justice A K Mathur
Chairman, SEBI Ajay Tyagi
Attorney General of India K K Venugopal
Director General, National Security Guard Anup Kumar Singh
Chairman, University Grant Commission Dhirendra Pal Singh

206
 CMD, Air India Rajiv Bansal
Chairman, 15th Finance Commission N K Singh
Chairman, Economic Advisory Committee Bibek Debroy
Chairman, GSTN Ajay Bhushan Pandey
Comptroller & Auditor General of India G C Murmu
Chairperson, Competition Commission of India Ashok Kumar Gupta
Chairman, National Company Law Tribunal Justice B L Bhat
Chairman, Railway Board V K Yadav
Chief Economic Advisor Krishnamurthy Subramanian
Chairman, IRDA Subhash Chandra Khuntia
First CFO, RBI Sudha Balakrishnan
MD & CEO, NPCI Dilip Asbe
Chairman, Airports Authority of India Sanjeev Kumar
Chairman, National Green Tribunal (2010) Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel

(d) Science Related (Estb year) Name

ISRO (1969) K Sivan

TIFR (1945) Sandip Trivedi
BARC (1954) Director – A K Mohanty
Atomic Energy Commission of India Chairman – K N Vyas
DRDO (1958) Chairman - G Satheesh Reddy

Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (1963) Director - S Somanath

Director General, CSIR (1942) Shekhar Mande

(e) Others Personality

Chairman, FTII (1960) Shekhar Kapur
Chairman, CBFC (1951) Prasoon Joshi
Chairperson, National Commission for Women Rekha Sharma
Deaths
Name Narration
Rajan Mishra Renowned Hindustani classical vocalist & Padma Bhushan awardee belonged to
Banaras gharana

Soli Sorabjee Former Attorney General and leading human rights lawyer

Tarun Gogoi A congressman & the longest serving chief minister of Assam

Union Minister Ram Vilas The president of the Lok Janshakti Party & the current Rajya Sabha MP served
Paswan the portfolio of the Union Cabinet Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and
Public Distribution in the present Modi government. Earlier, he was elected to
the Lok Sabha eight times & was a major political face from Bihar

SP Balasubrahmanyam Padma Shri & Padma Bhushan awardee was a musician, playback singer, music
director, actor, dubbing artist and film producer who worked predominantly in
Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Hindi and Malayalam and sang around 40000 songs in
multiple languages

Jaswant Singh He handled critical portfolios like finance, defense and external affairs in
Vajpayee government from 1996-2004

S. Padmavati India’s first female cardiologist was awarded Fellowship of the American
College of Cardiology and FAMS, Padma Bhushan & Padma Vibhushan

207
 Gulshan Ewing She edited two of India's most popular magazines – women's journal Eve's
Weekly and film magazine Star & Style – between 1966 and 1989.

Pranab Mukherjee He was a 7-time MP & served in the cabinet of several prime ministers. In 2012,
Mukherjee was elected President of India. A Padma Vibhushan & Bharat Ratna
awardee handled finance, defence & external affairs portfolios in various
governments

People in news
Name Narration

Mountaineer Priyanka Mohite became first Priyanka also holds the record of being the first Indian woman to
Indian woman to scale Mt Annapurna scale Mt Makalu, the fifth highest mountain range in the world at
8,485 meters.

Kami Rati Sherpa scaled the summit of Mt. Kami Rita, 51, first scaled Everest in 1994 and has been making the
Everest for a 25th time trip nearly every year since then.

Former Zimbabwe captain Heath Streak banned Heath Streak accepted charges of breaching the ICC Anti-
for eight years Corruption Code. They include disclosing inside information under
both the ICC Code and various domestic Codes, in circumstances
where he knew or should have known that such information may
be used for betting purposes. It also includes directly or indirectly
soliciting, inducing, enticing, persuading, encouraging, or
intentionally facilitating any participant to breach the Code

UNEP extended Dia Mirza's term as Goodwill
Ambassador till 2022
One of Dia's big campaigns during her first tenure as the
ambassador was #BeatPlasticPollution that helped in highlighting
the issue at the highest levels and led to a clarion call from Prime
Minister Narendra Modi to make India Single Use Plastics free by
2022

Entities in News
Entities Narration
Mithali Raj became first Indian female cricketer to Mithali became the second international woman cricketer to
score 10,000 international runs achieve the feat after England’s Charlotte Edwards

World’s largest Cricket Stadium inaugurated in The president inaugurated the world's largest cricket stadium at
Gujarat Motera in Gujarat. The stadium was renamed Narendra Modi
Stadium and surpassed the Melbourne Cricket Ground in size

208
Hyderabad became first city to be recognised as Recognized by the Arbor Day Foundation and the UN Food and
Tree City of the World 2020 Agriculture Organisation- FAO, Hyderabad was recognized for
maintaining and growing the urban forest

Kumbh Mela 2021 was held in April
55 years old Chilahati-Haldibari rail
inaugurated
Held for 30 days this year in Haridwar, (Uttarakhand), the
religious festival is celebrated four times over 12 years at four
venues - Haridwar (Ganges), Ujjain (Shipra), Nashik (Godavari)
& Prayag (Confluence of the Ganges, the Jamuna, and the
mythical Sarasvati)
link Once cut off in Indo-Pak war in 1965, the link was reopened to
enhance the transport between the two nations. The railway link
will facilitate the movement of goods cargo & the passengers
can start traveling as soon as the required infrastructure is in
place

Tso Kar Wetland Complex of Ladakh was The Tso Kar Basin is a high-altitude wetland complex,
recognised as the 42nd Indian Ramsar wetland of consisting of two principal waterbodies, Startsapuk Tso, a
international importance & 2nd from Ladakh freshwater lake of about 438 hectares to the south, and Tso Kar
itself, a hypersaline lake of 1800 hectares to the north

Orchha and Gwalior cities of Madhya Pradesh This increases number of heritage sites in India to 40 (36 sites,
were added to UNESCO World Heritage City list 4 cities)

Statue of Peace unveiled in Pali, Rajasthan Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled the statue to mark the
151st Jayanti celebrations of Jainacharya Shree Vijay Vallabh
Surishwer Ji Maharaj

Bhubaneswar became the first Indian city to get an The state capital of Odisha received Certification for 'Fecal
ISO 9001:2015 certification Sludge and Septage Management (FSSM) services'.
Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) was the first civic
body to implement FSSM regulations in the state

The UNESCO included Panna National Park of UNESCO's recognition mentioned Panna Tiger Reserve as a
MP under its list of Biosphere reserves critical tiger habitat. The area has undergone substantial
ecosystem restoration in the buffer zone

Fossils of Dickinsonia discovered in Bhimbetka Researchers have discovered the fossils of the world’s oldest and
the earliest known living animal, Dickinsonia. The fossils have
been found on the roof of the Bhimbetka rock shelters which are
about 40 km from Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh

World’s longest highway tunnel was inaugurated The 9.02 km-long-tunnel, built by the Border Roads
at Rohtang Organisation (BRO), is the world’s longest highway tunnel and
connects Manali to Lahaul-Spiti valley. It provides all-weather

209
 connectivity to the landlocked valley of Lahaul-Spiti, which
remains cut-off for nearly six months in a year as the Rohtang
Pass is usually snow-bound between November and April.

Served for 30 Years, INS Viraat will be dismantled It had served in the UK's Royal Navy as HMS Hermes and was
at Alang in Gujarat named INS Viraat after being inducted in the Indian Navy

Cyclone Amphan caused havoc in India and A powerful super-cyclone Amphan made landfall between
Bangladesh Digha in West Bengal and Hatiya island in Bangladesh. It killed
at least 22 people, destroying thousands of homes
Bengaluru airport was voted by customers as the It was voted so for the third time in four years at the 2020 World
best regional airport in India and Central Asia Airport Awards.
Changi Airport Singapore was voted the World's Best Airport
2020 by international air travellers for the eighth consecutive
year
Book Releases & Authors
Book Author
One Arranged Murder Chetan Bhagat

The India Way: Strategies for an Uncertain S Jaishankar

World
Overdraft: Saving the Indian Saver Urjit Patel
Hop On: My Adventures on Boats, Trains and Ruskin Bond
Planes
The Third Pillar: How Markets and the State Raghuraman Rajan
Leave the Community Behind
Mind Master: Winning Lessons from a Vishwanath Anand
Champion Life
Grandparents’ Bag of Stories Sudha Murthy
The daughter from the Wishing tree: Unusual Sudha Murthy
Tales About Women in Mythology
Listening, Learning and Leading Venkaiah Naidu
Gutsy Women Hilary Clinton and Chelsea Clinton
Lessons Life Taught Me, Unknowingly Anupham Kher

210
Sports
Individual Sports
Tennis
Event Location Highlights
The US open 2020 The US Men’s singles - Austria's Dominic Thiem claimed maiden Grand Slam
title with a stunning comeback to beat Germany's Alexander Zverev 2-6,
4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6(6) in the US Open final.
Women’s singles - Naomi Osaka defeated Victoria Azarenka in 3 sets
Australian Open 2021 Australia Men’s singles - Novak Djokovic defended the title & claimed his 18th
Grand Slam title by defeating Daniil Medvedev in straight sets

Women’s singles - Naomi Osaka claimed her fourth Grand Slam title by
defeating Jennifer Brady in straight sets

Cricket
Tournament Location Narration
Vijay Hazare Trophy Multiple Mumbai beat UP by 6 wickets
2020-21

Badminton
Event Location Narration
ITTF Women’s World Cup’20 Weihai, China Chen Meng is the world’s No.1 women’s tennis player at
present. She defeated her Chinese compatriot Sun Yingsha
Denmark Open Odense Japan’s Nozomi Okuhara defeated three-time badminton world
champion Carolina Marin in women's singles

Upcoming events Location Mascot

Summer Olympics 2020 Tokyo Miraitowa
(Motto - United by Emotion)
(Pushed to 2021)
Summer Paralympics 2020 Tokyo Someity
(Pushed to 2021)
Winter Olympics 2022 Beijing Bing Dwen Dwen
ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2021 UAE --
Summer Olympics 2024 France Logo - Marianne
Awards
Title Awardee Narration
Gandhi Peace Prize 2019 & Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Bangladesh's Father of the Nation (Bangabandhu)
2020
Late Sultan of Oman, Qaboos Recognition of his outstanding contributions for social,
bin Said Al Said economic and political transformation through non-
violent methods
Green Urja Award Renewable Energy Leading Public Institution in Financing Institution for
Development Agency Ltd. Renewable Energy
(IREDA)
World Food prize 2021 Shakuntala Haraksingh Groundbreaking research, critical insights, and
(Dubbed Nobel Prize for food Thilsted landmark innovations in developing nutrition-sensitive
and agriculture) approaches to aquatic food systems, including fisheries
and aquaculture, and integrated food production from
land and water
Abel Prize 2021 Avi Wigderson & László Foundational contributions to theoretical computer
Lovász science and discrete mathematics
International Children’s Peace Sadat Rahman (Bangladesh) Involvement in setting up his social organization and
Prize 2020 mobile app ‘Cyber Teens’ to stop cyberbullying

Israel's prestigious Dan David Prof Alison Bashford History of heath and medicine
Prize 2021 Prof Katherine Park

211
 Prof Keith Wailoo
Dr. Anthony Fauci Public Health
Prof Zelig Eshaar Molecular Medicine
Dr. Carl June
Dr. Steven Rosenberg
Von Karman Award by K Sivan Recognition of outstanding lifetime achievement in any
International Academy of branch of science
Astronautics (IAA)

Inaugural Gulbenkian Prize for Greta Thunberg Swedish teen climate activist pledged to donate USD
Humanity 1.15 million prize money to groups working to fight
climate change

“Top Publicist" award in the Sachin Awasthi He organised a 5-day long clean Ganga awareness
Global Humanitarian Awards journey which was begun from Haridwar to Varanasi,
2020 it's also called as Vande Gange Swachhata Jan Jagran
Yatra

P.C. Mahalanobis Lifetime C. Rangarajan Former RBI governor was recognized for his
Achievement Award contribution to official statistics
Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Sir David Attenborough Renowned naturalist and Broadcaster won the award
Disarmament, and (England) for his work to "awaken humankind to the need, to
Development for 2019 preserve and protect the biodiversity on Earth, to live
in a sustainable and harmonious way with all life
UN Nelson Mandela 2020 Mrs. Marianna Vardinoyannis Advocate for human rights and the protection of
(Greece) children’s health and welfare

Dr. Morissanda Kouyaté Eforts to address violence against women with the
(Guinea) African Union Commission, leading to the Maputo
Protocol
The UN’s highest Frank Bainimarama (Fiji) Global climate action work and commitment to
environmental honour climate-responsive national development
‘Champions of the Earth’ 2020 Dr. Fabian Leendertz Discoveries in zoonotics
(Germany)
Mindy Lubber (USA) Commitment to turning capital markets green by
mobilizing top investors and companies
Nemonte Nenquimo (Ecuador) Leadership and unifying work with indigenous
communities
Yacouba Sawadogo (Burkina Teaching farmers his traditional nature-based solution
Faso) to regenerate their soil
Prof Robert D. Bullard (USA) Lifetime Achievement award for his commitment and
service to environmental justice.
2020 Alternative Nobel (Right Ales Bialiatski (Belarus) Human rights activist
Livelihood) award
Lottie Cunningham Wren Lawyer & human rights activist
(Nicaragua)
Bryan Stevenson Civil rights lawyer
(The US)
Nasrin Sotoudeh (Iran) Political prisoner

Nobel Prizes 2020

Subject Winners
Economics Paul R. Milgrom and Robert B. Wilson (Improvements to auction theory and inventions of new
auction formats)

212
Chemistry Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer A. Doudna (Development of a tool for genome editing).
The scientists discovered CRISPR/Cas9 genetic scissors that help to edit or change the DNA
of plants, animals and other microorganisms
Physics Roger Penrose, Reinhard Genzel & Andrea Ghez (Discovery about the black holes, revealing
the ‘darkest secrets of the universe’)
Literature Louise Gluck (American poet) has published twelve poetry collections and some volumes of
essays on poetry. All her written pieces are characterized by a striving for clarity
Peace World Food Programme (Efforts to combat hunger)
Medicine Harvey J. Alter, Charles M. Rice, and Michael Houghton (Discovery of the Hepatitis C virus)

Movie Awards Category Winners

(Institution year)
66th Filmfare awards Best Film Thappad

Best Director Om Raut (Tanhaji)

Actor In A Leading Role (Male) Irrfan Khan (Angrezi Medium)
Actor In A Leading Role Tapsee Pannu (Thappad)
(Female)
Lifetime Achievement Award Irrfan Khan
Dada Saheb Phalke award 2020 Outstanding contribution to the Rajinikanth
(1969) growth and development of
Indian cinema

National Film Awards 2020 Best Actor Manoj Bajpayee for Bhonsle (Hindi), and
Dhanush for Asuran (Tamil)
Best Actress Kangana Ranaut for Panga (Hindi) and
Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi (Hindi)
Best Feature Film Marakkar: Lion of the Arabian Sea
(Malayalam)
Best Director Sanjay Puran Singh Chauhan for Bahattar
Hoorain (Hindi)
Academy Awards (Oscar) Best Film Nomadland
2021 Best Director Chloe Zhao (Nomadland)
Best Actor Anthony Hopkins(The Father)
Best Actress Frances McDormand (Nomadland)

Music/Theatre Awardee Achievement

63st Grammy Awards 2021 Folklore (Taylor Swift) Album of the year
I can’t breathe Song of the Year
Everything I Wanted ( Billie Record of the Year
Eilish)

Tansen Samman 2020 Satish Vyas Santoor exponent

Sports Awards Awardee Narration

(Inception Yr)
Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Rohit Sharma Cricketer
Awards (1992) Vinesh Phogat Wrestler
Rani Rampal Hockey
Manika Batra Table Tennis
Mariyappan Thangavelu Para athlete
Dronacharya awards (Regular) Jude Felix Sebastian Hockey
Yogesh Malviya Mallakhamb

213
 Jaspal Rana Shooting
Kuldeep Kumar Handoo Wushu
Gaurav Khanna Para Badminton
Dronacharya awards (1985) Dharmendra Tiwary Archery
(Lifetime achievement) Purushotham Rai Athletics
Shiv Singh Boxing
Romesh Pathania Hockey
Krishan Kumar Hooda Kabaddi
Vijay Bhalchandra Munishwar Para Powerlifting
Naresh Kumar Tennis
Om Parkash Dahiya Wrestling
Arjuna Awards (1961) Ishant Sharma Cricket
(27 awardees, Representative Manu Bhaker Shooting
list) Saurabh Chaudhary
Dutee Chand Sprinter
Shiva Keshavan Luge
Chirag Shetty Badminton
ICC Awards of the decade Virat Kohli ICC Player
(Sir Garfield Sobers award)
Ellyse Perry Rachael Heyhoe Flint Award for ICC Female
Cricketer
Steve Smith Test Cricketer
Virat Kohli ODI Cricketer
Rashid Khan T20I cricket
MS Dhoni Spirit of Cricket Award
IAAF World Athlete of the Mondo Duplantis Swedish pole vaulter
Year 2020 Yulimar Rojas Venezuelan triple jumper
Best player in Europe by Robert Lewandowski (Bayern & Football
UEFA for 2019/20 Poland)
European Golden Shoe Robert Lewandowski Football
Award, 2021
Player of the Year – World Robert Lewandowski Football
Soccer Awards 2020

Civilian Gallantry Awards 2021 Awardees

Mahavir Chakra Col. Mahavir Babu (Posthumous)
Kirti Chakra Subedar Sanjiv Kumar, 4 Para (SF) (Posthumous)
Shaurya Chakra Maj Anuj Sood, Guards, 21 RR (Posthumous)
Vir Chakra 5 winners

Padma Awards 2021 Awardees Field

Padma Vibhushan Shinzo Abe Public Affairs

SP Balasubramaniam (Posthumous) Art

Dr. Belle Monappa Hegde Medicine

214
 Narinder Singh Kapany (Posthumous) Science and
Engineering
Maulana Wahiduddin Khan Spiritualism
B.B. Lal Archaeology
Sudarshan Sahoo Art
Padma Bhushan Krishnan Nair Shantakumari Chithra Art

Tarun Gogoi (Posthumous) Public Affairs

Chandra Shekhar Kambara Literature and
Education
Sumitra Mahajan Public Affairs
Nripendra Mishra Civil Service
Ram Vilas Paswan (Posthumous) Public Affairs
Keshubhai Patel (Posthumous) Public Affairs
Kalbe Sadiq (Posthumous) Spiritualism
Rajnikant Devidas Shroff Trade & Industry
Tarlochan Singh Public Affairs

Literature Awardees Narration

(Inception year)
2020 Tata Literature Live! Ruskin Bond Lifetime Achievement Award

2020 Mathrubhumi Literary K Satchidanandan ‘Thadhagatham’, ‘Nilkkunna Manushyan’,

Award Dukham enna veedu’,
‘Samudrangalekkurich mathramalla’ are
some of his important works
Booker Prize 2020 Douglas Stuart Debut novel ‘Shuggie Bain’

International Booker Prize Marieke Lucas Rijneveld The Dutch author’s “The Discomfort of
2020 (The youngest winner) Evening,” was announced as the winner
(English translation - Michele Hutchison)

Saraswati Samman, 2020 Sharankumar Limbale Book titled ‘Sanatan’

(1991)
Vyas Samman 2020 Sharad Pagare Novel - Patliputra Ki Samagri

55rd Jnanpith Award 2020 Akkitham Achuthan Namboodiri The Malayalam poet published more than 45
(1962) books based on poetry, anthologies, plays
and short stories
FT & Mckinsey business Sarah Frier ‘No Filter’
book award 2020

215
 UNESCO King Sejong
Literacy Prize 2020
UNESCO Confucius Prize
for Literacy 2020
Ageing Nepal
United World Schools
Just Commit Foundation (Ghana)
The Nepalese group was recognized for its
innovative and instructive classes
UK-based charity that works in Cambodia,
Myanmar and Nepal to provide free
education to children
For ‘Inspirational Business Stories’
programme

University Center for Social For ‘Literacy programme: learning by

Commonwealth short story
prize 2020
Participation (Mexico)
General Literacy Office in Sanaa
(Yemen)
Kritika Pandey (India)
teaching’;
For ‘Educating and integrating refugees in
literacy classes in Yemeni society’
programme.
Short story - The Great Indian Tee and
Snakes

Journalism Awardee
UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Maria Ressa (Philippines)
Prize 2021, Helsinki

Honours
Personality/Entity Narration
Ravindra Jadeja named as the India's With an MVP rating of 97.3, he was also rated as the second-most
Most Valuable Player of the 21st valuable Test player worldwide for his all-round performance, behind Sri
century by Wisden Lankan legend Muttiah Muralitharan

Dwayne Johnson topped Forbes list of Dwayne Johnson, the wrestler turned actor, again topped Forbes’s list of
world's highest-paid male actors for the highest-paid actors having made an estimated USD 87.5m in FY 2020
year 2020

Apple is the most valuable brand in Reliance Industries was ranked the second biggest brand after Apple on
the world as per FutureBrand Index the FutureBrand Index 2020
2020

Reliance Industries entered the top The oil-to-telecom conglomerate is ranked 96th in the 2020 ranking
100 on Fortune Global 500 list released by Fortune. This is the highest any Indian company has been
(August 2020). ranked on the Fortune Global 500 list

Virat Kohli named Wisden In the 2021 edition, one cricketer from each decade ranging from 1971 to
Almanack’s ODI Cricketer of Decade 2021 were named. Sachin Tendulkar was awarded the ODI Cricketer of
the 1990s
Reliance's Jio Platforms and e- As per TIME magazine, the companies shaping the future are at the heart
learning startup Byju's featured in of the first-ever TIME 100 Most Influential Companies
Time Magazine's 2021 list of 100
most influential companies

Government Schemes
Name Narration
Union government launched The lack of real-time data on the migrants has prevented the central
‘ShramShakti’ portal to collect data and state governments from formulating effective policy decisions
related to tribal migrant workers and strategies for the welfare of migrant workers

216
Union government released Rs. 18,000
crore under PM-KISAN Scheme
Led by Ministry of Agriculture and
Farmers Welfare
PM Modi launched the Social Endeavour
for Health and Telemedicine- SEHAT
scheme in J&K
Operation Greens Scheme
Led by Ministry of Food Processing
Industries
Atma Nirbharat Bharat Rozgar Yojana
Kisan Suryodaya Yojana
Mission Shakti
Vivad se Vishwas
Led by Ministry of Finance
Atal Bhujal Yojana (ATAL JAL)
Led by Ministry of Jal Shakti
PAHAL scheme (Pratyaksh Hanstantrit
Labh)
Led by Ministry of Petroleum & Natural
Gas
Ayushman Bharat Scheme (National
Health Protection Scheme or NHPS)
Led by Union Government
Unnat Bharat Abhiyaan 2.0
Led by Ministry of Education
Expansion of Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala
Yojana (PMUY)
Led by Ministry of Petroleum and Natural
Gas
PMAY (Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana)
Led by the Ministry of Housing and
Urban Poverty Alleviation
Saubhagya - Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli
Har Ghar Yojana
Revived by Ministry of Power
AMRUT (Atal Mission for Rejuvenation
and Urban Transformation)
The money was released directly into the accounts of over 9 crore
farmers under PM-KISAN Scheme through the Direct Benefit
Transfer via video conferencing. The day, 25th December, also
marked the birth anniversary of former PM late Atal Bihari
Vajpayee (Observed as Good Governance Day)
The scheme will cover the remaining one crore population that
wasn’t covered under the Ayushman Bharat Scheme
The ministry announced that a 50% transport subsidy is being
provided to 41 notified fruits and vegetables from the Himalayan
and the North Eastern states
This will incentivise creation of new employment opportunities
during COVID-19 recovery phase. The beneficiaries of the scheme
include employees in EPFO registered establishments who were on
monthly wages less than Rs 15,000
Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually launched Kisan Suryodaya
Yojana in Gujarat, under which, farmers will be able to avail of
power supply from 5 am to 9 pm
Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath launched the 'Mission Shakti'
programme to ensure the safety of women in the state. It was
implemented for six months till the 'Basant Navratri' in April 2021
The direct tax scheme was announced in Budget 2020, for settling
tax disputes between individuals and the income tax department.
Earlier, the scheme offered complete waiver on interest and penalty
to the taxpayers with a full and final settlement of the dispute if the
scheme was availed by March 31, 2020, was extended till 31 Dec
2020
Implementation of the scheme is expected to benefit 8350 Gram
Panchayats in 78 districts in 7 States. ATAL JAL will promote
panchayat led ground water management and behavioural change
with primary focus on demand side management.
Under modified scheme, LPG consumer can receive subsidy in his
bank account by Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT)
The biggest health financing scheme in the world with an insurance
cover of Rs 5 lakh.
1.5 lakh wellness centers will be opened across the country for about
55 crore beneficiaries from 10 crore poor families
The scheme aims to link higher education institutions with a set of
at least five villages, so that they can contribute to economic &
social betterment of village communities
● Government has set a target to provide 8 crore free LPG connections
to poor families under Ujjwala scheme
The scheme was launched in 2015 to ensure housing for all by 2022.
The Union Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs announced that
30.76 lakh houses for the urban poor have been sanctioned. 15.65
lakh houses are at various stages of construction and 4.13 lakh
houses have been constructed
● Its aim was to complete the electrification process by December
2018. The total outlay of the project is Rs.16, 320 crore, while
the Gross Budgetary Support (GBS) is Rs. 12,320 crore. The
outlay for the rural households is Rs. 14,025 crore while the GBS
is Rs. 10,587 crore
Providing basic services, including water supply, sewerage, urban
transport & building of amenities in cities to improve quality of life.
217

Led By Ministry of Urban Development
PMUY (Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana)
Led by Ministry of Petroleum & Natural
Gas
Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana
(Crop insurance)
Led by Ministry of Agriculture &
Farmers Welfare (MoA&FW)
Sagarmala Project
Led by the Ministry of Shipping
Namami Gange – National Mission for
Clean Ganga
Led by Ministry of water resources
Skill India
Led by Ministry of Skill Development
and Entrepreneurship
PMYY (Pradhan Mantri Yuva Yojana)
for entrepreneurs
Led by Ministry of Skills Development &
Entrepreneurship (MSDE)
Swasth Bachche, Swasth Bharat
UJALA
Government News
News Narration
It aims to transform 500 cities and towns into efficient urban living
spaces over a period of five years
Replacing the unclean cooking fuels mostly used in rural India with
the clean and more efficient LPG (Tagline – ‘Swachh Indhan,
Behtar Jeevan’)
Targets 5 crore LPG connections to be distributed to BPL
households over 3 yrs
Replaced existing National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (NAIS)
and Modified NAIS (MNIAS)
Farmers will have to pay a uniform premium of 2% for kharif crops,
1.5% for rabi crops, 5% for annual commercial & horticultural crops
The remaining share of the premium will continue to be borne
equally by the Centre & respective state governments
Transforming existing Ports into modern world class ports.
Integrating port development, the Industrial clusters & hinterland
and efficient evacuation systems through road, rail, inland and
coastal waterways
231 projects have been launched under the Namami
Gange programme. The idea is to maintain minimum ecological
flows in the river Ganga with the aim of ensuring water quality and
environmentally sustainable development
Aim to train 40 crore Indians in different skills by 2022. It includes
various initiatives like National Skill Development Mission,
National Policy for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, 2015,
Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) & the Skill Loan
scheme
Scheme will span over 5 years (2016-17 to 2020-21) with a project
cost of 500 crores
It will provide entrepreneurship education and training to over 7
lakh students in 5 years through 3,050 institutes (Include higher
learning schools, ITIs, schools and entrepreneurship development
centres)
● The programme is an initiative of Kendriya Vidyalaya
Sangathan (KVS) to prepare a physical Health & Fitness Profile
Card for more than 12 lakhs of Kendriya Vidyalaya students
● Energy Efficiency Services Limited ( EESL), under the
Ministry of Power, Government of India has launched UJALA
(Unnat Jyoti by Affordable Lighting for All) Scheme in the
State of Melaka, Malaysia
218
Shimla, Bengaluru ranked most In the Ease of Living Index 2020 released by the Ministry of Housing and
livable cities Urban Affairs, Bengaluru was ranked at the top in the category of million-plus
population cities, while Shimla was at number one in the less than a million-
population category

Haryana reserves jobs for locals
in the private sector
India’s first geothermal power
project set up in Ladakh
Samagra Shiksha scheme
renamed after Netaji Subhas
Chandra Bose
FASTag compulsory at all toll
plazas
Launch of e-Chhawani portal
Government to celebrate
January 23 as Parakram Diwas
every year
India Innovation Index 2020:
Karnataka topped among major
states, Delhi topped among UT/
city states
Haryana government approved a bill to offer 75% reservation in the private
sector jobs to the state locals. The reservation will be applicable for the jobs
with a salary of up to Rs. 50,000 per month
Puga village of eastern Ladakh was identified as the hotspot of geothermal
energy by the scientists. The project will be completed in four phases
Under this scheme, financial assistance is given to states and union territories
to open and run residential schools and hostels in hilly terrain, small and
sparsely populated areas for children who are in need of shelter and care.
Preference is given to educationally backward blocks, left wing extremism
affected districts, special focus districts & aspirational districts identified by
NITI Aayog
The Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH) issued orders to make
FASTag compulsory at all toll plazas to promote fee payment using the digital
mode, reduce the waiting time and fuel consumption
Via this portal, the residents of Cantonment areas can register their complaints
with respect to the civic issues
This year is the 125th Birth Anniversary year of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose
and the government of India has decided to celebrate it in a befitting manner
at the national and international level
Karnataka retained its position as the most innovative major state in the index
released by NITI Aayog. It was followed by Maharashtra & Tamil Nadu. Bihar
was ranked last in the index with 14.5 score

Arunachal Pradesh to be India’s Vanadium is a high-value metal used to strengthen titanium and steel. During
prime Vanadium producer an exploration by the Geological Survey of India, Arunachal Pradesh was
placed on the vanadium map and it is likely that the geologists will soon find
a deposit
PM Narendra Modi inaugurated The virtual, flagship event helped in engaging and connecting with the
16th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas overseas citizens. The day commemorates the return of Mahatma Gandhi from
Convention South Africa
The Union External Affairs The website aims at providing relevant information on major central and state
Minister, S Jaishankar launched government policies as well as on economic indicators
the Economic Diplomacy
website

UMANG International App Unified Mobile Application for New-age Governance or UMANG completed
launched its third year in 2020. On this occasion, an international version of the App
was launched by Union Minister of Electronics and Information Technology,
Ravi Shankar Prasad in collaboration with the Ministry of External Affairs
Bihar was awarded with the The award was conferred for undertaking innovative digital initiatives amid
Digital India Award 2020 the COVID-19 lockdown to reach out to its citizens

Madhya Pradesh Cabinet The law was passed to regulate and prohibit forced religious conversions. The
approved the new anti- MP Freedom of Religion Bill 2020 introduced imprisonment of up to 2 to 10
conversion law years and a minimum fine of Rs 50,000 in case of forced and unlawful
conversion of a minor, woman or a SC/ST

219
Kerala government and the UN
women joined hands to establish
India's first gender data hub
India and the World Bank signed
the USD 500 million loan
agreement for development of
green national highway
corridors
The Ministry of sports included
four indigenous games in Khelo
India Youth Games 2021
Nongpok Sekmai (Manipur)
was ranked as the best
performing police station in the
country
Odisha topped the Urban
Governance Index (UGI) 2020
Submarine optical fibre cable
connectivity between Kochi and
Lakshadweep islands
Government will start 1000
Khelo India centres across the
country
Lakshadweep was declared as
Organic Agricultural Area
India’s first Climate Change
knowledge portal launched
National Portal for Transgender
persons launched
WHO announced traditional
medicine centre in India
Village water supply project
based on solar energy
Right to recall bill passed in
Haryana
The collaboration will help in deepening and broadening the various
pioneering initiatives for gender equality and women empowerment
These corridors will be constructed in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Andhra
Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh. The loan carries a tenor of 18.5 years and a 5
years grace period
To be held in Haryana, the event will hold Gatka, Mallakhamb, Thang-Ta and
Kalaripayattu
Union government selects best performing Police Stations across the country
every year to incentivize more effective functioning of police stations and
bring healthy competition among them
The ranking from Praja Foundation was based on a urban governance reforms
study spanning over three years across 40 cities in 28 states and NCT of Delhi.
The UGI ranked states to indicate where they stand in terms of real
empowerment of local self-government and grass root democracy
With an estimated cost of implementation of Rs. 1072 crore including
operational expenses for 5 years, the project would be funded by Universal
Service Obligation Fund
The Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Kiren Rijiju mentioned that
these centres will help retired sports persons get employment or play some
role in shaping the sports culture of the country
The UT was second after Sikkim & the first among UTs to achieve the status
of 100% organic region
The knowledge portal will help in disseminating knowledge among citizens
about all the major steps Government is taking at both national and
international levels to address climate change issues
Developed under the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Rules, 2020,
the portal will help the transgender community to apply for identity card and
certificate online
The new centre of traditional medicines will support efforts of WHO to
implement its strategy of Traditional Medicines 2014-23. The strategy aims to
develop policies and action plans to strengthen the role of traditional
medicines in universal health coverage
Union Minister of Jal Shakti, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat launched the
country’s first solar-based Integrated Multi-Village Water Supply Project
(IMVWSP) in Arunachal Pradesh
The Haryana Government passed a bill that provides a right to recall an elected
member of Panchayati Raj Institutions if they fail to perform their duties well.
The state government also provided 50% reservation to women in these bodies
220
Renaming of Shipping Ministry
Launch of six Khelo India
Centres of Excellence
India Trans Fat free by 2022
The Ministry of Shipping was renamed to the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and
Waterways. PM Modi made the announcement at the inaugural virtual event
of Ro-Pax terminal at Surat’s Hazira
The sports ministry approved six Khelo India Centres of Excellence in six
different states, with an intent to upgrade the existing sports infrastructure in
all states and Union Territories
Country’s top food regulator, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India
(FSSAI) that recently notified trans fatty acid rules, aims to limit industrial
trans fat in all fats and oils to not more than 2% by January, 2022, a year ahead
of the target set by the World Health Organization

World’s biggest zinc smelter Gujarat government decided to set up the world’s biggest zinc smelter project
project in Dosawada in Tapi district of Gujarat

PM-SVANidhi Scheme Uttar Pradesh secured the first place under PM-SVANidhi Scheme by
approving the highest number of loans in the country. It is one of the most
ambitious schemes, meant to benefit street vendors in rural, urban and pre-
urban areas

The Union Home Ministry The Union Government had amended the Unlawful Activities (Prevention)
declared 18 more individuals as Act, 1967 in August 2019, to include the provision of designating an individual
terrorists under the Unlawful as a terrorist. Prior to this amendment, only organizations could be designated
Activities (Prevention) Act as terrorist organizations

Anemia Muky Bharat rankings Haryana was ranked at the top in the Anemia Mukt Bharat (AMB) Index
among the 29 states in India

Panchayati Raj Law in J&K The Union Cabinet approved the adoption of J&K Panchayati Raj Act, 1989.
The decision has paved the way for local body elections in the Union territory

Violent clashes between Assam The boundary issue between Assam and Mizoram dates back to the formation
& Mizoram citizens over 50-old of Mizoram, first as a UT in January 1972 when it was separated from Assam,
border dispute and later as a full-fledged state in 1987.

India's longest ropeway on The state government of Assam inaugurated a 1.8 km ropeway across the river
Brahmaputra to opened for Brahmaputra and described it as the country’s longest river ropeway
public in Assam

Textiles Minister launched Union Minister of Textiles Smriti Irani launched the first-ever brand for
Kasturi Cotton brand and logo India’s premium cotton on the occasion of Second World Cotton Day on
October 7, 2020. The Indian cotton will now be known to the world by the
name ‘Kasturi Cotton’.

India-Nepal Border Dispute
Nepal released a new political map that claims Kalapani, Limpiyadhura and
Lipulekh of Uttarakhand as part of Nepal’s territory. The area of Susta (West
Champaran district, Bihar) is also in the new map. India rejected the new map
of Nepal saying that Nepal's unilateral act involves artificial enlargement of
territories, not based on historical facts and evidence

HRD Ministry is now officially The renaming followed a suggestion provided in the latest draft of the New
Ministry of Education as it gets National Education Policy, NEP 2020, prepared by K Kasturirangan
President’s nod

221
Centre launched online delivery- Indian Gas Exchange (IGX) will be the first nationwide online delivery-based
based gas trading platform, gas trading platform. It will act as a delivery-based trading platform to deliver
Indian Gas Exchange (IGX) natural gas. IGX launch aims to help the nation move towards free-market
pricing of natural gas

Indore was awarded the cleanest As per ranking announced by ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Indore
city in the country in the Swachh is the cleanest city of India (> 10 Lakh population) for the fourth time in a row.
Survekshan 2020 The second and third positions were held by Surat and Navi Mumbai

India's first 'Kisan Rail' flagged This is the first ever multi commodity train of Indian Railways that carries
off from Nasik fruits like Pomegranate, Banana, Grapes etc and vegetables like Capsicum,
Cauliflower etc. The train will run on a weekly basis

The launch of Kisan Rail is a step towards achieving the target of doubling the
income of farmers by 2022.
The train is in pursuance of an announcement made by Finance Minister
Niramala Sitharaman in Union Budget 2020-21
‘Nisarg’ cyclone created mass The cyclone led to mass destruction & property damage in coastal Maharashtra
destruction in coastal districts
Maharashtra
Senior Akali Dal leader & The move was protest against proposed farm bill legislations that will
minister of Food Processing supposedly destroy the agriculture sector & harm farmers’ interest in the long
Industries Harsimrat Kaur Badal run
resigned from the union cabinet
Haryana launched 15-20 lakh families with a monthly income below Rs 15,000 will benefit from
Mukhyamantri Parivar Samridhi the scheme.
Yojana to provide financial
assistance of Rs. 6000 to Eligible beneficiaries will get Rs 500 per month, of which Rs 330 will be paid
families below the poverty line as life insurance premium of at least one member in the family falling in the
(BPL) age group of 18 to 50 years
Union Cabinet approved the The NEP, approved by the union cabinet, makes sweeping reforms in school
National Education Policy 2020 and higher education including teaching. Some of the biggest highlights of the
NEP 2020 are, 1) a single regulator for higher education institutions, 2)
multiple entry and exit options in degree courses, 3) discontinuation of MPhil
programmes, 4) low stakes board exams, 5) common entrance exams for
universities.

Supreme Court approved In January 2020, the Supreme Court had allowed the Central Vista Project to
Central Vista Project go ahead. It aims to renovate 86 acres of land in the Lutyens Garden in New
Delhi. It includes Landmark structures of Indian government such as
Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament, India Gate and North and South Block

Legal GK
News Narration
Vanita Gupta became the first Indian- The US Senate confirmed Vanita Gupta to be the Associate
American Associate Attorney General of Attorney General in a narrow 51-49 vote in support of the US
US President's Justice Department nominee

222
President approved Insolvency and The key aim of the amendment is to provide an efficient alternative
Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Ordinance, insolvency resolution framework for corporate persons classified
2021 as micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) under the Code

National Bank for Financing Infrastructure It aims at establishing an institution known as the National bank
and Development Bill passed for Financing Infrastructure and Development to provide support
to the development of long-term infrastructure financing in the
country

National Capital Territory of Delhi The bill was passed to define the responsibilities of the elected
(Amendment) Bill passed government and Lieutenant Governor (LG). As per the act
(presidential assent received), the word government for Delhi
would mean the LG

Medical Termination of Pregnancy Bill, The bill will ensure the safety and well-being of pregnant women
2021 passed by Parliament and the proposed increase in gestation limit (24 weeks) will
provide dignity to women who need to terminate their pregnancy

Supreme Court put a stay on While giving out the ruling on petitions challenging the farm laws
implementation of three farm laws and seeking removal of farmers from Delhi borders, the apex court
criticised the central government's handling of farmers' protests

The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) The court stated that India failed to uphold its obligations that were
in the Hague ruled against the Indian agreed under the India-UK bilateral investment treaty and
Government in the retrospective taxation international laws. This is the second such case that went against
case against Cairn Energy Plc. Indian Government, after Vodafone Group PLC

223
 The Election Commission proposed the use Voting could be done using the ETPBS or Electronically
of postal ballot to enable NRIs (Non- Transmitted Postal Ballot System. The NRIs got voting rights only
Resident Indians) to cast their votes in 2011 by an amendment to the Representation of Peoples Act,
1950

National Green Tribunal’s decision over The NGT ruled that the environmental clearance granted to the
Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project in Telangana was in violation
of legal requirements

The Moira bananas & Harmal Chillies of Earlier Goan products to receive GI tag were feni, the Khola chilli,
Goa recently received GI tag and khajem

New Zealand Climate Change law for New Zealand recently introduced a bill on Climate Change for
Financial firms financial firms. The bill is the first of its kind in the world. New
Zealand has fixed 2050 as the deadline to become carbon neutral.

SC ruled ‘Daughters have equal heirship The Supreme Court has ruled that the daughters in the Hindu
rights in joint Hindu family property’ families have equal coparcenary rights in the joint Hindu family
property even if the father died before the Hindu Succession
(Amendment) Act, 2005. This has been done in order to ensure the
equality of women in the property rights of the family.

Science & Hi-Tech

News Narration
Mumbai's Haffkine Institute was given a The central government gave Maharashtra one year to carry out the
go-ahead to produce Covaxin production of the vaccine in the Haffkine Institute

Most powerful supercomputer in the Microsoft and the UK’s Meteorological Office have decided to team
world to forecast weather and climate up to create this supercomputer. It will most likely be operational in
change 2022

Airtel became India's first telecom Airtel did this over existing liberalised spectrum in the 1,800 MHz
company to operate 5G network in band through the NSA (non-standalone) network technology. Using
Hyderabad dynamic spectrum sharing, it seamlessly operated 5G and 4G
concurrently within the same spectrum block

224
 BSNL & Skylotech India announced the The new ‘Made in India’ Solution, indigenously developed by Skylo,
world’s first satellite based Narrow Band will connect with BSNL’s satellite-ground infrastructure & provide
Internet of Things network in India PAN-India coverage, including Indian seas. It will also provide
critical data for the logistics sector to enable effective distribution of
COVID-19 vaccine in 2021

China successfully powered the ‘artificial HL-2M Tokamak reactor is China’s largest and most advanced
Sun’ nuclear fusion experimental device. It uses a powerful magnetic field
to fuse hot plasma and can reach temperatures of over 150 million
degrees Celsius, around ten times hotter than the core of the sun. It
has the potential to unlock a powerful clean energy source

Nokia began production of next
generation of 5G Equipment in India
Nokia was the first to manufacture 5G New Radio in India, and is
now producing the cutting-edge Nokia AirScale massive Multiple
Input Multiple Output (mMIMO) solution. The equipment is already
being exported to many countries which are in advanced stages of 5G
deployment

Mega Scope launched by IIT Alumni IIT Alumni Council launched “MegaScope” for personalized
Council healthcare. It will to include testing, data analysis and genomics to
precisely diagnose infections and to prescribe personalised medicines

WhatsApp Pay launched The National Payment Corporation of India approved the Facebook
owned messaging Application, WhatsApp to “Go Live” on UPI. This
is to be achieved through a new feature of WhatsApp called
“WhatsApp Pay”

Vistara became the first domestic airline The service is available on Boeing 787 flights between Delhi and
to offer in-flight wi-fi London Heathrow

India, the US & Israel collaborate for 5G The branching out of this trilateral initiative in development and
technological arena is a result of the people-to-people collaboration,
in particular those by Indian diaspora in the US and Israel, that was
initiated by the PM during his 2017 visit

India became the first country to control Under the Make in India initiative, the Department of Agriculture,
locusts through drones Cooperation & Farmers’ Welfare (DAC&FW), Agriculture Ministry
indigenously developed a vehicle-mounted Ultra-low volume (ULV)
sprayer for locust control

Aerospace & Defence

Aerospace
News Narration

225
NASA’s ‘Ingenuity’ took first NASA's Ingenuity helicopter made the first powered flight on another
powered flight on Mars planet, more than 117 years after the Wright brothers' historic flight on
this planet

Russia to revisit Moon after 45 years The last spacecraft ‘Luna 24’ was launched in August in 1976 by the
Soviet Union. Luna 25 is set to launch in October 2021

China launched robot prototype NEO- The NEO-01 will peer into deep space to observe small celestial bodies.
01 that can catch space debris with net It was launched on the government's Long March 6 rocket along with a
handful of satellites. The 30kg robot developed by Shenzhen-based
Origin Space will pave the way for future technologies capable of mining
on asteroids

ISRO launched 19 satellites including This was the first mission of New Space India Limited, a government
Amazonia-1 of Brazil company under ISRO. It consisted of Brazil’s Amazonia-1 satellite and
18 other satellites of India and the US

NASA's Perseverance rover landed on The rover landed successfully at Jezero Crater of Mars, nearly seven
Mars months after its takeoff. The Perseverance rover is the fifth rover of
NASA to touch down on Mars. The other four rovers were Sojourner,
Spirit, Opportunity and Curiosity

China’s Tianwen-1 probe entered the The probe entered the Mars Orbit after making the journey of 6 and a half
Mars Orbit months from the Earth. This mission is China’s first independent mission
to the red planet

First military exercise in space The French exercise will help the country in testing its ability to protect
launched its satellites & other defence equipment from other space forces

226
SpaceX launched 143 satellites on A rocket from Elon Musk’s SpaceX created a new record by launching
single rocket, a new world record 143 satellites into space in January 2021. The Falcon 9 rocket lifted off
from the Space Launch Complex 40 at Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space
Force Station. SpaceX beat the record of ISRO, that deployed 104
satellites in 2017 in a single launch

NASA captured portraits of ‘Lost The Hubble Space Telescope of NASA captured the stunning image of
Galaxy’ in Virgo Constellation ‘Lost Galaxy’ in the Virgo constellation. Also known as ‘NGC 4535’, the
galaxy is one of the largest of the 2000 or so galaxies in the Virgo cluster
and is located about 50 million light-years from Earth

JAXA to launch H3 rocket in 2021 Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) will launch its flagship
rocket H3, with an aim to achieve high flexibility and higher-cost
performance

ISRO launched Communications The 42nd Communications Satellite of India has transponders to provide
Satellite CMS-01 from PSLV-C50 service with the use of Extended-C Band. The satellite will cover the
mainland area & the island territories that are far for communication
purposes

Indian Regional Navigation Satellite India became the fourth country in the world to have an independent
System (IRNSS) regional navigation satellite system developed by ISRO. The Indian
Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) with its operational name
of NavIC (Navigation with Indian Constellation) was recognised by the
International Maritime Organization (IMO) as a part of the World Wide
Radio Navigation System (WWRNS) for operation in the Indian Ocean
Region

Chang’e 5 launched for lunar rocks China launched its ambitious robotic lunar mission, Chang’e 5, which
would collect pristine moon samples and return to Earth in mid-
December. This feat hasn’t been achieved since the Soviet Union’s Luna
24 mission was launched in 1976

China launched the first 6G The satellite will test the technology of Terahertz waves in space. It was
experimental satellite launched into orbit along with 12 other satellites. The satellite weighs 70
kgs

ISRO launched earth observation ISRO launched an all weather Earth Observation Satellite, EOS-01 using
satellite EOS-01 PSLV-C49 rocket, with nine customer satellites. It is a Radar Imaging
Satellite & the third of the three-spacecraft constellation. The other two
are RISAT-2B and RISAT-2BR1

First-ever cellular network on the NASA selected Nokia as a partner to build the first-ever cellular network
Moon by Nokia on the Moon, helping pave the way towards a sustainable human presence
on the lunar surface

227
 The Swedish Institute of Space The Shukraya-1 is scheduled for launch at the end of 2023 from
Physics (IRF) will explore Venus for Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh
the second time through India's first
Venus Mission Shukrayaan-1

Indo-French satellites to trace illegal The constellation of satellites will constitute the first space-based system
oil spillage by ships in the world that is capable of tracking ships continuously. The satellites
have been designed by a joint team of ISRO and CNES

Russia announced to take first tourist Russia's Energia space corporation will take the first tourist on a
on space walk in 2023 spacewalk in 2023, under the terms of a new contract with Space
Adventures, a US partner. This was announced after NASA signed a deal
with Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic space tourism company
SpaceX & NASA launched manned Using a Falcon 9 rocket, Crew Dragon spacecraft took off from Florida.
Crew Dragon aircraft Demo-2 is the first time humans (Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken) took
off for International Space Station (ISS) from American soil, since the
NASA Space Shuttle program’s final mission in 2011

Defence
News Narration

19th edition of the Indian and French The exercise in Arabian Sea showcased the increased level of
Navy bilateral exercise ‘Varuna- coordination, synergy and interoperability between the friendly navies of
2021’ India and France

5th generation Python-5 Air-to-Air India's indigenous Light Combat Aircraft, Tejas added 5th generation
Missile Python-5 Air-to-Air Missile in its air-to-air weapons capability

INS Karanj: Indian Navy received A total of 6 submarines are being developed under Project 75, of which,
third Scorpene Submarine 3 submarines are delivered by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited
(MDL), other two being INS Khanderi and Kalvari

India, French Rafale fighters started The Indian Air Force started the first major international wargames
Desert Knight wargames in Exercise involving its Rafale fighter jets along with their French counterparts in
Desert Knight-21 Jodhpur

Women to be inducted as pilots in They will also be a part of operations at the borders. The information was
Army Aviation Corps, 2022 onwards shared by Chief General of Indian Army, Manoj Mukund Naravane. So
far, women have only been performing the ground duties in the Army
Aviation Corps

228
Indian Army, DRDO developed first The pistol, jointly developed by the Indian Army and DRDO was named
indigenous 9mm Machine Pistol as 'Asmi', which implies hard work, self respect and pride. 3D printing
process was used to design various pistol parts

Indian Army, ideaForge signed Under 20 million USD contract, the company will deliver drones (i.e.
contract for SWITCH drones UAV or Unmanned Air Vehicles) over a period of 1 year. The deal places
ideaForge as the largest manufacturer of drones in the country for its
security and industrial applications

Prime Minister Narendra Modi The mashaal was lit on December 16, 2020 at National War Memorial,
lighted up the ‘Swarnim Vijay Delhi to mark the celebrations for the 50th anniversary of India’s victory
Mashaal’ in the Indo-Pakistan war of 1971. This war led to the creation of
Bangladesh

The Union Cabinet 2020 approved the The export version of Akash will be different from the System currently
export of Akash Missile System deployed with the Indian Armed Forces. It aims to achieve the target of
USD 5 billion of defence exports

Varunastra Torpedo launched In a major boost to Atma Nirbhar Bharat, the first Production unit of
Heavy Weight Torpedo (HWT), Varunastra, developed by BDL
Visakhapatnam for Indian Navy was flagged off

De-escalation at Pangong Tso On November 11, 2020, India and China agreed to implement a three step
disengagement in Pangong Tso. Under the new plan, the military forces
of the countries are to move back to their respective positions before
April-May 2021.

INS Sindhuvir for the Myanmar Navy INS Sindhuvir was renamed as UMS Minye Theinkhathu by the
Myanmar Navy. This is the first submarine in the Myanmar Navy’s
arsenal. It is a diesel-electric Kilo-class submarine under Indian naval
operations since 1988

Anti-radiation ‘Rudram’ missile Anti-radiation missiles are meant to debilitate enemy air defence systems,
tested by taking out radars, communication sites, and other radio frequency
emitting targets, thereby foiling any plans to launch surface-to-air
missiles.

INS Kavaratti commissioned The Indian Army Chief General, Manoj Mukund Naravane
commissioned the last of the four indigenously built Anti-Submarine
Warfare-ASW stealth corvette ‘INS Kavaratti’ into Indian Navy at Naval
Dockyard, Visakhapatnam

229
 Secure Application for the Internet SAI is similar to commercially available messaging applications like
(SAI) messaging app by the Indian WhatsApp, Telegram, SAMVAD and GIMS, and uses end-to-end
Army encryption messaging protocol. It supports end-to-end secure voice, text
and video calling services for Android platform over internet

SMART weapon system successfully SMART is a missile assisted release of a lightweight anti-submarine
flight tested by DRDO torpedo system for anti-submarine warfare (ASW) operations far beyond
the torpedo range. This launch and demonstration is significant in
establishing anti-submarine warfare capabilities. It was tested from APJ
Abdul Kalam Island (Earlier called Wheeler Island), off Odisha coast

India observed Kargil Vijay Diwas on 26 July pays tribute to India’s brave martyrs & commemorates the
26 July success of ''Operation Vijay'', launched by the Indian Army to recapture
the strategic Indian territories held by the Pakistani intruders in the
Kargil-Drass sector in 1999.

Indian Army inducted first batch of The Indian Army inducted its first batch of 83 women soldiers as part of
women in military police its military police, after successful completion of 61 intense weeks of
basic military training, provost training, policing duties, management of
prisoners of war, ceremonial duties, skill development including driving,
maintenance of vehicles and signal communications

Military & Naval Exercises

News Narration

11th Indo-US Joint Special Forces It was held to enhance interoperability between both the nations. It also
Exercise Vajra Prahar 2021 leads to explore cooperation in the areas like joint mission planning and
operational tactics

Indian Navy joined ‘Iran-Russia It was held in the Northern Indian Ocean. The aim of this naval exercise is
Maritime Security Belt 2021’ Naval to boost international maritime trade security, combat maritime terrorism
Exercise and enhance partnership among nations to share information with each
other

2nd Edition of ‘Sea Vigil-21’ The biennial pan-India coastal defence exercise is conducted to assess
India’s preparedness for coastal defence and maritime security. The ‘Sea
Vigil-21’ is also a build-up towards TROPEX (Theatre-level Readiness
Operational Exercise), held every two years by the Indian Navy

230
 16th Yudh Abhyas
SITMEX-20
SLINEX-20
CT-TTX, first ever exercise for ‘Quad’
countries
India’s Global Rankings
Rating/Index
Climate Change Performance
Index 2020
EIU Democracy Index 2020
Corruption Perception Index 2020
Ease of Doing Business ranking
2020
Human Development Index 2020
Bribery Risk Matrix 2020
Global Hunger Index 2020
Human Capital Index 2020
Global Innovation Index 2020
Global Peace Index 2020
World Press Freedom Index 2020
Inclusive Internet Index 2020
IMD World Talent Ranking 2020
The Yudh Abhyas Indo-US military exercise helped to strengthen the
defence relations of both nations. The Indian side was represented by:
BMP-II Mechanized Infantry Combat Vehicles. US side was represented
by: Indigenous Advanced Light Helicopter WSI RUDRA, MI-17,
Chinooks, Stryker Vehicles
A two-day maritime drill between India-Singapore-Thailand was meant to
strengthen relations among three nations. Participating Indian Navy ships
included indigenously built Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) corvette INS
Kamorta and missile corvette INS Karmuk
The 8th edition of the annual Indian Navy (IN) and Sri Lankan Navy (SLN)
bilateral maritime exercise SLINEX-20 took place in Trincomalee, Sri
Lanka
National Investigation Agency hosted the first ever counter-terrorism
cooperation exercise (CT-TTX) for 'Quad' countries like India, the US,
Japan and Australia
Released by India’s Ranking
Germanwatch, an independent 10/57 countries +EU
German NGO and Climate Action (9 in 2019)
Network, Europe
Economic Intelligence Unit 53 (51 in 2019)
Transparency International 86/180 (80 in 2019)
World Bank 63/190 (77 in 2019)
UN Development Programme 131/189 (129 in 2019)
Rank 1 - Norway
TRACE 77/194 (78 in 2019)
International Food Policy Research 94/117 (102 in 2019)
Institute (IFPRI)
World Bank 116/174 countries
(115 in 2019)
WIPO, Cornell University 48/131 countries
and INSEAD (52 in 2019)
Institute for Economics and Peace 139/163 (141 in 2019)
(IEP)
Reporters Without Borders 142/180 (140 in 2019)
Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) 46/100 (47 in 2019)
for Facebook
IMD 62/63 (59 in 2019)
Rank 1 - Switzerland
231
Sustainable Development Goals Sustainable Development Solutions 117/120
Index 2020 Network (SDSN) & the Rank 1 - Sweden
Bertelsmann Stiftung
World Economic Freedom Index Centre for Civil Society, a public 105/162 (79 in 2019)
2020 policy think tank along with
Canada’s Fraser Institute
Environmental Performance Yale University and Columbia 168/180 countries (177 in 2018, its
Index (EPI) 2020 University in collaboration with the biennial report)
WEF & the Joint Research Centre
of the European Commission
World Competitiveness Index The IMD Digital 43 (63 in 2019)
2020 Rank 1 - Singapore

World News
News Narration
Russia’s exit from the Open Skies Russia signed a law that formalized the country’s exit from the Open
Treaty Skies Treaty. The decision was announced after the US informed that it
will not be rejoining the treaty

India elected to three key UN India was elected to (a) Executive Board of UN Women, (b)
ECOSOC bodies Commission on Crime Prevention and (c) Criminal Justice- CCPCJ, and
Executive Board of the World Food Programme

Violence in Jerusalem The violence relates to Israel’s half-century military occupation and
ever-deepening grip over Palestinian life. Long-building anger has
exploded because a series of events have converged at once

Bill passed to make Washington DC The new state would be named “Washington, Douglass
the 51st state of the US Commonwealth” after George Washington, the first U.S. president, and
Frederick Douglass, a former enslaved person who became a famous
abolitionist

First ship tunnel of the world to be built The project is expected to start in 2022 and will be completed by 2025-
in Norway 26. The ship tunnel has been planned to run underneath the mountains
in the Stadhavet peninsula in Norway

232
Bangladesh to have death penalty as Bangladesh Cabinet approved a draft law to include the death penalty as
the highest punishment for rape the highest punishment for rape. The law amends the Prevention of
Women and Children Repression Act-2000. India, Pakistan and Saudi
Arabia have also prescribed death penalty for rape

Remains of Ice Age Woolly Rhino The scientists find these remains as one of the best-preserved specimens
discovered in Siberia of an Ice Age animal with many of its internal organs still intact

40th scientific expedition to Antarctica The expedition was flagged off from Goa on the ice-class vessel MV
launched in India Vasiliy Golovnin with 43 members on board. The vessel will reach
Antarctica in 30 days

UN declared 2023 as International
Year of Millets
The resolution considers the "urgent need to raise awareness of the
climate-resilient and nutritional benefits of millets and to advocate for
diversified, balanced and healthy diets through the increased sustainable
production and consumption of millets. It also recognises the vast
"genetic diversity" of millets and their adaptive capacities to a range of
production environments

India & Afghanistan signed a deal to With a storage capacity of 147 million cubic metres, the dam should
build Shahtoot Dam meet drinking water requirement of 1/3rd of Kabul residents & irrigate
about 400 hectares of agricultural land

US set to re-join UNHRC The Joe Biden administration is all set to re-join the UN Human Rights
Council, after 2018 withdrawal under the Donald Trump Presidency,
supposedly due to its ‘disproportionate focus’ on Israel

US government announced sanctions The sanctions were put by the Biden’s administration to prevent the
on Myanmar military leaders Myanmar’s generals from accessing the USD 1 billion of government
funds held in the US. This is following military coup that deposed
democratically elected members of the National League for Democracy
(NLD) party

233
Mexico wall’s construction stopped The President of the US, Joe Biden, revoked the emergency order issued
by former President Donald Trump to construct the US-Mexico border
wall

Iran and six other nations lost voting Iran, Libya, Niger, Congo Brazzaville, the Central African Republic,
rights in UNGA Zimbabwe and South Sudan lost their voting rights for non-payment of
dues

US President Joe Biden signed order to One order recommits the US States to the Paris Climate Accord, from
return the US to Paris Agreement & which former President Trump had formally withdrawn in 2020
WHO

China announced sanctions on 28 The list includes former State Secretary Michael Pompeo for violating
American officials of former Trump Beijing’s sovereignty. The decision came moments after Joe Biden took
Administration oath as the 46th President of the US. China claimed that the former
Trump officials made crazy moves that seriously disrupted the ties
between the US and China

Twitter permanently suspended US Twitter removed President Trump's tweets from his official @POTUS
President Donald Trump's account account but the account will be kept active. Twitter will though be
monitoring the account closely

India to chair three subsidiary bodies of India will chair Counter-Terrorism Committee, Libya Sanctions
the UN Security Council committee and Taliban Sanctions Committee in 2022

The European Union approved the The vaccine was approved for use among individuals of 16 years or
Pfizer-BioNTech's COVID-19 above. The 27-nation bloc began the first phase of mass vaccination
Vaccine against the COVID-19 pandemic

The street food of Singapore was added The hawker culture of Singapore joined the likes of Yoga from India &
to the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Tango from Argentina. Singapore's Hawker culture is community of
Humanity List of UNESCO vendors who make & sell meals at 114 hawker centres

234
The UK became the first country to roll The British government rolled out the covid-19 vaccine developed by
out the covid-19 vaccine in the world Pfizer and BioNTech

New height of the Mount Everest The foreign ministers of China and Nepal certified the elevation of Mt
measured Everest at 8,848.86 metres above sea level. The new height is 86
centimetres higher than the height of the Mountain recognized since
1954

Doha (Qatar) will host the Asian The announcement regarding this was made by Olympic Council of Asia
Games 2030 and Riyadh (Saudi
Arabia) will host the 2034 edition

US President Donald Trump honoured The award was given for Mr. Modi’s role in uplifting the US-India
Prime Minister Narendra Modi with strategic partnership. The award was received by Taranjit Singh Sandhu,
the 'Legion of Merit' award the Indian Ambassador to the US, on behalf of PM Modi. It was also
awarded to Australian PM, Scott Morrison and former Japanese PM
Shinzo Abe

BRICS Summit 2020 The 12th BRICS 2020 Summit was virtually held & hosted by Russia.
The theme was ‘Global Stability, Shared Security, and Innovative
Growth’

Indo-ASEAN summit 2020 Prime Minister Modi virtually participated in the 17th ASEAN-India
Summit at the invitation of Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan
Phuc, the current chair of ASEAN. The Summit saw the participation of
all ten ASEAN members.

India to host the G20 in 2023 The G20 summit of 2020 was hosted by Saudi Arabia. The subsequent
G20 summits will be held in Italy (2021), Indonesia (2022), India
(2023) and Brazil (2024)

SCO Summit 2020 The 20th SCO Summit was attended by PM Modi. India has been an
observer at the SCO since 2005. Since 2017, the Indian delegation is
being led by PM Modi at the summit

235
Indian smart cities selected by WEF to The WEF selected 36 cities from 22 countries, being developed under
pioneer smart city policy roadmap the G20 Global Smart Cities Alliance. Out of them, Indian cities are
Bengaluru, Faridabad, Indore and Hyderabad

The UAE announced major changes to The changes include loosening of alcohol restrictions, allowing
Islamic laws unmarried couples to cohabitate and loosening criminalization of honour
killings

Typhoon Goni hit eastern Philippines Ghani is considered to be the strongest typhoon in the world. It brings
in catastrophic violent winds and is thus being considered as the hardest
landfall on record

Ethiopia’s Tigray Crisis
The Ethiopian National Defense Force conducted airstrikes against the
forces of the Tigray region as a result of the conflict between the
Ethiopian government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).
Military operations & air strikes have been conducted against the forces
of the Tigray region since November 2020

Operation Thunder by INTERPOL
The INTERPOL and the World Customs Organization conducted
Operation Thunder, 2020 in 103 countries. The operation was conducted
against environmental crimes. The India Customs along with
INTERPOL and WCO seized 18 tonnes of red sandalwood that were
destined for the UAE. The seizures included 1.3 tonnes of ivory, 1
tonnes of pangolin scales, 1,700 killed pangolins, 87 truckloads of
timber, 56,200 kg of marine products and 15,878 kg of plants

Aung San Suu Kyi led NLD party won The National League for Democracy (NLD) party claimed to have won
elections in Myanmar the Myanmar elections. Around 38 million voted to select the National
League of Democracy (NLD) Party for a second term. The NLD was
required to win at least 2/3rd of the elected seats to win.

World’s longest serving Prime He was the Prime Minister of Bahrain for almost five decades after the
Minister Khalifa Bin Salman Al country’s independence
Khalifa, Bahrain PM died

The UN launched Food Coalition to The UN created a new alliance to prevent COVID-19 food crisis. It was
prevent COVID-19 Food crisis proposed by Italy and led by the Food and Agriculture Organization.
The coalition was inaugurated by the Italian Prime Minister Guiseppe
Conte and Netherlands Deputy Prime Minister Carola Schouten. Both
countries agreed to deliver the financial resources and technical support
to the coalition. Italy has initially contributed 1.2 million USD

Armenia and Azerbaijan signed peace
deal
In November 2020, Armenia and Azerbaijan signed a peace deal to end
the ongoing conflict between the countries over Nagorno Karabakh
region, since 1988. According to the deal, the countries will maintain
positions in the areas where they currently hold. This is a significant gain
to Azerbaijan

UK Internal Market Bill The House of Lords voted against the controversial clauses of the
Internal Market Bill. The House voted by 433 to 165 against the bill that
allows the UK to go back on the obligations made in the Brexit

236
 Withdrawal Agreement. The bill will not return to the house before the
end of November

World War II bomb detonated A large World War II bomb was detonated underwater by the Polish
Navy during a delicate operation. The bomb, nicknamed 'Tallboy'
weighed about five tonnes. It was dropped by the British Royal Air
Force in an attack on a Nazi warship in 1945

Sudan normalised relations with Israel Sudan became the third Arab nation to normalise relations with Israel
this year after Bahrain and the UAE

Japan to achieve zero carbon emissions The new Prime Minister, Yoshihide Suga announced that Japan will
by 2050 achieve zero carbon emissions by 2050. Suga portrayed the need to shift
away from fossil fuels to counter climate change as an opportunity. The
EU and Britain have already set similar targets for net-zero greenhouse
gas emissions, and China recently announced it would become carbon-
free by 2060

BECA Agreement between India & the India and the US signed the BECA Agreement (Basic Exchange and
US Cooperation Agreement for Geo-Spatial Cooperation) during the third
round of 2+2 Ministerial dialogue in Delhi

UAE opened a consulate in West The UAE become the first Arab state to open a consulate in the disputed
Africa West African region controlled by Morocco

India, Japan, US and Australian foreign The four QUAD foreign ministers included India's external affairs
ministers met in Tokyo for the QUAD Minister S Jaishankar, Japanese foreign minister Toshimitsu Motegi,
summit Australian foreign minister Marise Payne and US Secretary of State
Mike Pompeo

36th ASEAN Summit chaired by 2020 event theme was “Cohesive and Responsive ASEAN”. It was
Vietnam held via video conference; 1st chaired by the Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc. The
session on Women Empowerment in focus of the meet was on COVID-19 response, post-pandemic recovery
the Digital Age held and further cooperation with partners

More than 3,000 people in northwest Those at higher risk of contracting Brucellosis include farmers, butchers,
China tested positive for brucellosis, a hunters, veterinarians and laboratory personnel. It spreads due to contact
highly contagious bacterial disease with livestock

Singapore topped IMD’s Global Smart The 2020 Smart City Index (SCI) was topped by Singapore, followed by
City Index 2020 Helsinki and Zurich in the second and the third place respectively

Lebanon PM Hassan Diab's The massive blast in August 2020 decimated the Beirut port and
government resigned in wake of deadly devastated large parts of the city. The explosion is believed to have been
Beirut blast caused by a fire that ignited a 2,750-ton stockpile of explosive
ammonium nitrate, stored since 2013

Mauritius declared an emergency over
an oil spill from a grounded ship
Hong Kong protests against Beijing’s
National Security Law
Mauritius PM Pravind Kumar Jugnauth declared a state of
environmental emergency after a Japanese bulk carrier ran aground on
a reef on the coast of the island. Environmentalists fear the Mauritius oil
spill could be a major ecological disaster
The announcement that China would impose the national security laws
stunned Hong Kong’s residents, millions of whom marched through the
city over the past year to protest against another hated bill, now shelved,
that would have allowed extradition to the mainland

Global Superlatives
News Narration

237
 India became the first nation to be Blue Flag is awarded by an International Jury comprising of eminent
awarded Blue Flag certification for members of the UNEP, UNWTO, FEE, and IUCN
all 8 recommended beaches in a
single attempt

World's highest-altitude cloud China is building the world's highest-altitude cloud computing data centre
computing data centre in Tibet in Lhasa, located at 3,656 metres
First ever energy field island in Denmark approved the plan to construct the world’s first ever energy field
Denmark island. It will be built in the North Sea

International Appointments
Personality Narration
K P Sharma Oli was sworn in as the On May 14, 2021, K P Sharma Oli was sworn in as the Prime Minister of
Prime Minister of Nepal for the Nepal for the third time. President Bidya Devi Bhandari administered his oath
third time of office. He was re-appointed as the Prime Minister as the opposition
couldn’t prove their majority
UNCDF appointed Preeti Singh as Preeti is an Indian-origin investment and development banker. Her goal will
executive secretary be to empower developing nations, local governments and small businesses to
help with economic recovery while building resilience and inclusive
economies.

Micheál Martin Elected as the New The Fianna Fail party leader Micheál Martin took over the office from Leo
Prime Minister of Ireland Varadkar

Jean Castex was appointed as Prime He replaced the former french Prime Minister Edouard Philippe who resigned
Minister of France from the post ahead of a government reshuffle

Carmen Reinhart appointed as Carmen was a Senior Policy Advisor and Deputy Director at the IMF and Vice
World Bank Group Chief President and Chief Economist of the investment bank Bear Stearns.
Economist

Thomas Bach re-elected to IOC International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach was re-
elected for an additional four-year term

Jacinda Ardern re-elected The incumbent Prime Minister of New Zealand won a landslide victory in
general elections. Her Labour Party won 49% of votes, which is the biggest
vote share in the nation since the 1930s

India assumed ILO chairmanship Mr. Apurva Chandra, Secretary (Labour and Employment) was elected as the
after 35 yrs Chairperson of the Governing Body of the ILO for October 2020- June 2021.
The Governing Body decides ILO policies, programmes, agenda, budget

India re-elected as ISA president for France was elected as the Co-President at the virtual meeting of ISA’s Third
2-yr term Assembly

Communist Party of Cuba chose With his appointment, Mr. Miguel sealed a political dynasty that held power
Miguel Diaz-Canel as leader since the revolution of 1959

Woochong Um was appointed as Um joined ADB in 1993. Since June 2018, he served as Director General and
ADB MD concurrently Chief Compliance Officer of ADB's sustainable development
and climate change department

238
 Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is the first The Nigerian is an international development professional and global finance
ever female & African to head expert, with over 30 years of working with governmental and international
WTO organizations in Asia, Africa, Europe, Latin America & North America

Dutch Prime Minister won the The Conservative VVD party of the PM Mark Rutte won the fourth
fourth consecutive term consecutive victory with 35 seats in the Parliament. He is one of Europe’s
longest-serving leaders, having spent 10 years in the office

Ajay Mathur took over as Director ISA, co-founded by India and France, has become a significant public policy
General of International Solar tool for India and is considered a counter to China’s ambitious One Belt One
Alliance Road initiative

Joe Biden took over as 46th US Joe is the oldest US President (78) to take oath. Kamala Harris created history
President, Kamala Harris sworn-in by becoming the first female, African-American and Asian-American to be
as first female US Vice President sworn in as Vice President

Biden cleared the desired majority mark of 270 Electoral Votes. The Electoral
College vote count was resumed by the Congress leaders after the protestors
supporting President Trump breached the security of US Capitol building

World Forums
Organization HQ Headed by 2020 convention
(Established in)
United Nations (1945) New York Secretary General – Antonio Multiple conventions
Guterres
UNFCCC Bonn, Germany Executive Secretary - COP 26 (Glasgow, Scotland,
Patrica Espinosa Nov 2021)
International Court of Netherlands Joan E. Donoghue (The US) ---
Justice (1945)
World Bank (1945) Washington D.C CEO - David Mapass ---

IMF (1945) Washington D.C MD & Chairwoman - ---

Kristalina Georgieva
WTO (1995) Geneva, Director-General - Ngozi ---
Switzerland Okonjo- Iweala (Nigeria)
UNESCO (1945) Paris, France Director-General - Audrey Multiple conventions
Azoulay
UNCTAD (1964) Geneva, Secretary General - Isabelle ---
Switzerland Durant
World Economic Forum Geneva, Executive Chairman - Klaus Davos,Switzerland
(1971) Switzerland Schwab
Commonwealth of Nations London, UK Chair-in-office - Boris ---
(1949) Johnson
World Intellectual Geneva, Director-General – Daren __
Property Organization Switzerland Tang
(1967)
New Development Bank Shanghai, China Marcos Troyjo ---
(2015)

239
 BRICS (2009) Shanghai, China 2020 Host - Russia, 2021 - India

BIMSTEC (1997) Dhaka, Secretary General - Tenzin 2021 Host - Sri Lanka
Bangladesh Lekphell (Bhutan)
WHO (1948) Geneva, Director General –Dr ---
Switzerland Tedros Adhanom
Ghebreyesus
ASEAN Summit (1967) Jakarta, Secretary General – Lim 37th Summit (November 2020),
Indonesia Jock Hoi (Brunei) Host - Vietnam

UNICEF (1946) New York Exec Director - ---

Henrietta Fore
OPEC (1960) Vienna, Austria Secretary General – ---
Mohammed Sanusi
Barkindo (Nigeria)
NATO (1949) Brussels Secretary General – Jens ---
Stoltenberg
SAARC (1985) Kathmandu Secretary General –Esala ---
Ruwan Weerakoon (Sri
Lanka)
NAM (1961) Jakarta Secretary General – Ilham ---
Aliyev (Azerbaijan)
G7/G8 (1976) ---- ---- 45th summit, France (2019)
G20 (1999) ---- Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Host - Saudi Arabia
Saud (Saudi Arabia)
SCO (2001) Beijing Secretary General – ---
Vladimir Norov
International Maritime London, UK Secretary General – Kitack ---
Organization (1948) Lim (South Korea)
International Labour Geneva, Director General – Guy ---
Organization (1919) Switzerland Ryder (UK)
Asia-Pacific Economic Singapore Executive Director – ---
Cooperation (APEC) Rebecca Fatima Santa Maria
Forum (1989)

Important Days
Global Days
Description Date About it
National Youth Day 2020 12 January 2021 Theme -”Channelizing Youth Power for Nation
Building”
World Leprosy Day Last Sunday of Observance of the day focuses on target of zero cases of
January leprosy-related disabilities in children
2021 Theme - “Beat Leprosy, End Stigma and advocate for
Mental Wellbeing”
World Cancer Day 4 February 2021 Theme - “I Am & I Will,” represents the
extraordinary spirit and the strength of the cancer
community.
World Radio Day 13 February On this day in 1946, UN Radio broadcasted first call sign
2021 Theme - “'New World, New Radio”
International Mother 21 February 2021 Theme - “Restore Our Earth”
Language Day
World Wildlife Day 3 March 2021 Theme - “Forests and Livelihoods: Sustaining People
and Planet"
International Women’s Day 8 March 2021 Theme - “Choose To Challenge”
PI Day 14 March 3,1,4 are significant digits of PI, i.e. 3.14), so 14/03, i.e. 14
March

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World Consumer Rights Day
International Day of
Happiness
World Water Day
World Meteorological Day
World Tuberculosis Day
World Health Day
World Earth Day
English Language Day/World
Book & Copyright Day
World Malaria Day
World Intellectual Property
Day
World Press Freedom Day
World Information Society
Day
No Tobacco Day
World Milk Day
World Environment Day
World Food Safety Day
World Oceans Day
World Day Against Child
Labour
15 March The day is observed to pay solidarity with the international
consumer movement and give more attention to promote
basic rights of consumers
2021 Theme - “Tackling Plastic Pollution”
20 March The International Day of Happiness (“Happiness Day”)
was founded by UN adviser Jayme Illien on June 28, 2012
2021 Theme - “Happiness For All, Foreverr”
22 March The day focuses attention on the importance of fresh water
& advocates for the sustainable management of freshwater
resources
2021 Theme - “Valuing Water”
23 March It marks establishment of World Meteorological
Organization
2021 Theme - “The Ocean, Our Climate and Weather”
24 March WHO has placed special focus on uniting efforts to “Leave
no one behind” including actions to address stigma,
discrimination, marginalization and overcome barriers to
access care
2021 Theme - “The Clock is Ticking”
7 April 2021 Theme - ”Building a fairer, healthier world”
22 April 2021 Theme - “Restore Our Earth!”
23 April Birth anniversary of William Shakespeare
World Book Day 2021 Theme - “To share a story”
25 April 2021 Theme - "Reaching the zero malaria target"
26 April 2021 Theme - “Taking your ideas to the market'”
3 May 2021 Theme - “Information as a Public Good”
17 May 2021 Theme - “Accelerating Digital Transformation in
challenging times”
The day marks foundation of International
Telecommunication Union on 17 May 1865
31 May 2021 Theme - “Commit to Quit”
1 June 2020 Theme Drink Milk: Today and Everyday
5 June 2021 Theme - “Ecosystem Restoration”
7 June 2021 Theme - “Safe food today for a healthy tomorrow”
8 June 2021 Theme - “The Ocean: Life and Livelihoods”
12 June 2021 Theme - “Act now: end child labour!”
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 International Yoga Day/World 21 June 21 June – The longest day of the year in the Northern
Hydrography Day Hemisphere

2020 Theme - “Yoga at Home and Yoga with Family”

World Population Day 11 July World’s population reached almost five billion people on
11 July 1987

2020 Theme - How to safeguard the health and rights of

women and girls now

International Youth Day 12 August 2020 Theme –“Youth Engagement for Global Action”
International Literacy Day 8 September 2020 Theme - “Literacy teaching and learning in the
COVID-19 crisis and beyond”
International Day of Peace 21 September 2020 Theme - “Shaping peace together“
World Tourism Day 27 September 2020 Theme - “Tourism and Rural Development”
International Day of Older 1 October 2020 Theme - “Pandemics: Do They Change How We
Persons Address Age and Ageing?”
International Girl Child Day 11 October 2020 Theme -My voice, our equal future
International Day for Disaster 13 October 2020 Theme -It's all about governance
Risk Reduction
International Day of Rural 15 October 2020 Theme -Building rural women's resilience in the
Women wake of COVID-19
Global Handwashing Day 15 October 2020 Theme - Hand Hygiene for All
World Food Day 16 October 2020 Theme -Grow, nourish, sustain. Together. Our
actions are our future
World Statistics Day 20 October 2020 Theme -Connecting the world with data we can trust
United Nations Day 24 October 2020 Theme -The Future We Want, the UN We Need:
Reaffirming our Collective Commitment to
Multilateralism
World Science Day for Peace 10 November 2020 Theme - Science for and with Society
and Development
World Diabetes Day 14 November 2020 Theme - Nurses make the difference for Diabetes
World Toilet Day 19 November 2020 Theme - “Sustainable sanitation and climate change”
Universal Children’s Day 21 November -----
World AIDS Day 1 December 2020 Theme - ‘Ending the HIV/AIDS Epidemic:
Resilience and Impact’
World Computer Literacy Day 2 December -----
International Day of Persons 3 December 2020 Theme - Building back better: towards an inclusive,
with Disabilities accessible and sustainable post COVID-19 world by, for
and with persons with disabilities
World Soil Day 5 December 2020 Theme - Keep soil alive, protect soil biodiversity
Human Rights Day 10 December 2020 Theme - Recover Better - Stand Up for Human
Rights.
International Migrants Day 18 December 2020 Theme- Reimagining Human Mobility

Indian Days
Day Date Narration

Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 7-9 January The day commemorates the return of Mahatma
Gandhi from South Africa to Mumbai on 9 January
1915
National Youth Day 12 January It marks birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda

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National Voters Day
National Science Day
National Maritime Day
National Civil Services Day
National Statistics Day
National Doctors Day (India)
National Handloom Day
National Sports Day
National Hindi Divas
Rashtriya Ekta Diwas
National Education Day
National Constitution Day,
National Milk Day
National Mathematics Day
Good Governance Day
25 January Marks Election commission’s foundation on 25
January 1950
28 February Marks discovery of the Raman Effect.
2018 theme - "Science and Technology for a
Sustainable Future”
5 April On this day in 1919, navigation history was created
when SS Loyalty, the first ship of The Scindia Steam
Navigation Company Ltd, journeyed to the UK
21 April All officers of Central and State Governments are
honoured for excellence in public administration by
the Prime Minister. The 'Prime Minister Award for
Excellence in Public Administration' is presented
29 June Birth anniversary of Prof. Prasanta Chandra
Mahalanobis, an Indian scientist and applied
statistician
1 July Birth anniversary of Dr Bidhan Chandra Roy, the
legendary physician
7 August Union Minister of State, Textiles, Shri Ajay
Tamta celebrated this at Guwahati
29 August Birth anniversary of Dhyan Chand, the Olympic Gold
medallist hockey player by organizing friendly hockey
matches in New Delhi
14 September On this day in 1949, the Constituent Assembly of
India had adopted Hindi written in Devanagari script as
the official language of the Republic of India
31 October Rashtriya Ekta Diwas (National Unity Day) was
introduced by the Government of India and inaugurated
by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014 for
celebrating Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.
11 November Birth anniversary of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, the
first education minister of independent India
26 November Birth anniversary of Dr.Verghese Kurien, Father of the
White Revolution
22 December Birth anniversary of Indian
mathematical genius Srinivasa Ramanujan
25 December Marks birth day of India’s Ex-Prime Minister Mr. Atal
Bihari Vajpayee
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