19th December 2021

Let’s go through the highlights of Current Affairs 19th December 2021

• Avani Lekhara wins ‘Best Female Debut’ honour at Paralympic Awards
• Goa Liberation Day: 19 December
• SS Oberoi’s book ‘Rewinding the first 25 years of MeitY’ launched,
• Gymnast Simone Biles named Time’s 2021 Athlete of the Year
• Karnataka Bank bags two DigiDhan award from MeitY

Lakshya Sen bags bronze medal in BWF World Championships

• Lakshya Sen won a bronze medal at the BWF World Championships in Huelva, Spain on 18 December 2021.
• Kidambi Srikanth became the first Indian man to reach a World Championship final after beating Lakshya Sen and being assured of at least a silver medal.
• This is the first time that India will have two medals in the men’s singles in the same edition of the badminton world championships.

Centre grants Geographical Indication (GI) tag to Mithila Makhana

• The Geographical Indications Registry (GIR) under the Central Ministry of Commerce has accepted the plea to rename GI-tagged Bihar Makhana as Mithila Makhana.
• It has also suggested amendments in the brand logo to better reflect its origins apart from protecting the product’s GI rights.
• Mithila region is known for a specific type of aquatic crop fox nut, which is identified with its culture.

Check what is GI tags in India Here.

MoRTH, IIT Madras, MapmyIndia sign MoU to launch an app service

• Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), IIT Madras, and MapmyIndia have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).
• They have jointly launched an indigenously developed, free-to-use navigation app service.
• The MapmyIndia app provides road safety alerts to users about upcoming accident hazards while driving.
• By using this navigation app, users will get voice and visual alerts.

SAIL receives Golden Peacock Environment Management Award 2021

• The Steel Authority of India Ltd. (SAIL) has been awarded the Golden Peacock Environment Management Award for 2021 in the Steel Sector by the Institute of Directors.
• SAIL has been the winner of this award for successive three years.
• The company’s environmental protections measures are focused on adopting various environmental measures including upgrading pollution control facilities.

National Cadet Corps and NHAI sign MoU to reuse plastic waste

• The National Cadet Corps (NCC) and the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) signed an MoU in December 2021.
• They will reuse plastic wastes collected by NCC Cadets during Puneet Sagar Abhiyan and other Swachhta activities for the construction of roads by NHAI throughout the country.
• A total of 3,40,000 cadets from 127 Coastal Area NCC Units are participating in the month-long activity.

Download Yearly Review of MoU and Agreements PDF.

Jharkhand CM launches SAHAY scheme for Maoist-hit areas

• Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren launched a scheme aimed at nurturing young sporting talents in Maoist-hit districts, in December 2021.
• The scheme is called Sports Action toward Harnessing Aspiration of Youth (SAHAY).
• Boys and girls in the 14-19 age group from villages to ward level will be registered under the scheme and given opportunities to display their skills in basketball, volleyball, etc.

Uttarakhand’s Askot wildlife sanctuary declared eco-sensitive zone

• Askot Wildlife Sanctuary in Uttarakhand’s Pithoragarh has been declared as an Eco-Sensitive Zone (ESZ) by the Union Environment Ministry.
• The sanctuary area is now limited from the original area of 599.93 square km to only 454.65 square km giving a comparatively little area for the fauna to move around.
• Known as ‘Green Paradise on the Earth’, the sanctuary was established in 1986.

Learn more about the latest Environmental Issues here!

DBS Bank India clinches two awards at ET BFSI Excellence Awards 2021

• DBS Bank India has been awarded the ET BFSI Excellence Awards 2021.
• The bank has won two awards – for the ‘DBS Rapid (Real-time API)’ solution in the ‘Innovative API/Open Banking model’ category and ‘for ‘Intelligent Banking’ in the ‘Best Digital Customer Experience initiative’ category.
• The bank has designed a real-time, digital payments solution for Transport Corporation of India Ltd.

Read more Business Current Affairs Here!

Odisha tie-up with UNCDF to launch “Mission Shakti Living Lab”

• Odisha has launched the Mission Shakti Living Lab project with an aim to empower women economically and drive gender equality.
• The Department of Mission Shakti and United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) have signed an agreement in this regard.
• It will help 10,000 women-led micro-enterprises get better access to affordable market opportunities, capital for business promotion, etc.

India Post Payments Bank ties up with NPCI for bill paymnent service

• India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) has tied up with the National Payments Corporation of India’s (NPCI) bill payments system Bharat BillPay.
• It will facilitate cash-based bill payments service at the 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.

Azim Premji receives Dr. Ida S. Scudder Oration award

• Azim Premji, founder Chairman of Wipro Ltd and founder of Azim Premji Foundation, is the recipient of the 10th annual Dr. Ida S. Scudder Humanitarian Oration award, for 2021.
• The award was jointly established by Christian Medical College Vellore (CMC) and the US-based Vellore CMC Foundation.
• The award was presented to him in recognition of his contributions to society through the foundation.

Norway’s Magnus Carlsen won FIDE World Chess Championship

• Magnus Carlsen of Norway won the FIDE World Championship in December 2021 in Dubai.
• He beat Ian Nepomniachtchi of Russia by 7.5-3.5.
• This was Carlsen’s fifth world championship title.
• The contest came to life in game 6, won by Carlsen with the white pieces after seven hours 45 minutes, and 136 moves – the longest game in world championship history.

India ranks 56th in World Talent Ranking Report 2021

• International Institute for Management Development (IMD) World Competitiveness Center’s “World Talent Ranking Report 2021″ has been released.
• India ranks 56th in the report.
• Europe continues to dominate the rankings.
• Switzerland has retained its top position.
• In the Middle East and North Africa, UAE maintained its second position, following Israel (first in this region).

Karnataka Bank bags two DigiDhan award from MeitY

• Karnataka Bank has been conferred with two DigiDhan awards instituted by the Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).
• The bank received these awards for achieving the target with the highest percentage in BHIM-UPI transactions under the private sector bank category consecutively for two years – 2019-20 and 2020-21.

Read more Awards and Honours Current Affairs here!

RBI enforces 20-digit LEI for cross-border deals above Rs 50 crore

• RBI has 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, 2022.
• 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
• The LEI numbers are maintained in a global LEI database.

Learn more about RBI and its functions here!

Gymnast Simone Biles named Time’s 2021 Athlete of the Year

Gymnast Simone Biles from the USA has been named Time’s 2021 Athlete of the Year.She has won seven Olympic medals (4 gold, 1 silver, 2 bronze).She holds the record for most gold medals by a USA Gymnast in a single Olympics.She won four gold medals at Rio Olympics 2016 in team, all-around, vault, and floor events.She has 32 combined medals in the Olympics and World Championships.

Attempt Olympic Quiz Here

DRDE to set up advanced biological defence lab in Gwalior

A new laboratory will be set up at the Defence Research Development Establishment (DRDE) in Gwalior in MP.The proposed Advanced Biological Defence Research Centre (ABDRC) will focus on dangerous viruses, their effect on humans and come up with safeguards and develop equipment to fight them.ABDRC is going to be of Bio-Safety Level (BSL) – 4, which very few countries have right now.

Read more news from Defence Current Affairs Here!

SS Oberoi’s book ‘Rewinding the first 25 years of MeitY’ launched

Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) on 14 December 2021 launched the book — Rewinding of the first 25 years of MeitY.It has been authored by S S Oberoi, a former adviser at MeitY.Through the book, he has shared his life experiences and challenges working as an advisor under the MeitY.The book was launched by Ajay Prakash Sawhney, Secretary of MeitY.

Famous Books and Authors GK PDF – Download Now!

Goa Liberation Day: 19 December

Goa Liberation Day is observed on Dec 19 every year to mark the success of Operation Vijay undertaken by Indian armed forces that liberated Goa from Portuguese rule in 1961.Goa did not achieve independence in 1947 and was ruled by the Portuguese for nearly a decade more.PM Modi attended the Goa Liberation Day function in Goa and felicitated freedom fighters and veterans of Operation Vijay.

Avani Lekhara wins ‘Best Female Debut’ honour at Paralympic Awards

Indian shooter Avani Lekhara won the Best Female Debut honour at the 2021 Paralympics Awards on 16 Dec 2021.She is the first Indian to clinch a gold medal at the Tokyo Paralympics Games 2020.She also won a bronze in the 50m Rifle Three Positions Standing SH 1 event, becoming the first Indian female to win two medals in Games’ history.She was also awarded Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna.