Let’s go through the highlights of Current Affairs 22nd December 2021

 

India successfully tests ‘Pralay’ missile off Odisha coast

Hyderabad Airport wins National Energy Conservation Award 2021

Parliament passes Election Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2021

National Mathematics Day: 22 December

Indigenously developed next-generation AERVs inducted into Army

Atul Dinkar Rane appointed as BrahMos Aerospace chief

• 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.
• He was one of the core team members of BrahMos Aerospace right from its foundation as a Joint Venture with Russia. 
• BrahMos is the world’s fastest supersonic cruise missile system.

Check More Appointments Current Affairs Here!

National Stock Exchange launches new initiative ‘NSE Prime’

• The National Stock Exchange (NSE) has launched a new corporate governance initiative ‘NSE Prime’.
• It is a framework that prescribes higher standards of corporate governance for listed companies than those required by regulations.
• NSE-listed companies that voluntarily choose to be part of NSE Prime will need to comply with pre-defined norms on an ongoing basis, which will be monitored by NSE.

Karnataka government announces reservation for transgenders in police

• Karnataka govt has decided to give 1% reservation to transgenders across all the ranks in the Police Dept.
• It has called for applications for the post of special reserve sub-inspector in Karnataka Police and Indian Reserve Battalion (IRB).
• Karnataka is the first state to reserve jobs in public employment for transgender persons following a direction of the Karnataka High Court in July 2021.

Check Karnataka Public Service Commission Recruitment Details Here!

Defence Ministry imposes fine on European missile maker MBDA

• The Defence Ministry has imposed a fine of less than 1 mn euros on European missile maker MBDA for the delay in fulfilling its offset obligations under the Rafale aircraft deal.
• India had signed an inter-governmental agreement with France in Sept 2016 to procure 36 Rafale jets at a cost of ₹59,000 cr.
• 50% of total contract value has to be reinvested in India as offsets as part of the deal.

Check More Defence Current Affairs Here!

Central Bank of India signs co-lending deal with U GRO Capital

• MSME lending fintech platform, U GRO Capital has signed a co-lending agreement with the Central Bank of India.
• Under this partnership, the two entities aim to disburse up to ₹1000 crore to U GRO Capital’s varied MSME segments under its programmes like Pratham, Sanjeevani, Saathi, GRO MSME, and Machinery financing, in the next 12 months.

Check More Business Current Affairs Here!

Dr. Bharati Pravin inaugurates National Oxygen Stewardship Program

• Dr. Bharati Pravin Pawar, Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare inaugurated the National Oxygen Stewardship Program, at AIIMS New Delhi on 22 Dec’21.
• The program is of the Union Health Ministry.
• It aims to empower all healthcare workers engaged in oxygen management and administration with the essential knowledge and skills to ensure rational utilization of medical oxygen.

India successfully tests ‘Pralay’ missile off Odisha coast

• India on 22 December 2021 successfully test-fired short-range, the surface to surface guided ballistic missile ‘Pralay’ off the Odisha coast.
• The solid-fuel, battlefield missile developed by DRDO is based on Prithvi Defence Vehicle from the Indian ballistic missile programme. 
• ‘Pralay’ is a 350-500 km short-range, surface-to-surface missile with a payload capacity of 500-1,000 kg.

PV Sindhu appointed BWF’s Athletes’ Commission member

• PV Sindhu has been appointed as a member of the Badminton World Federation’s (BWF) Athletes’ Commission.
• She was named alongside five others who will serve as members till 2025.
• The six members of the BWF Athletes’ Commission 2021 – 2025 are Iris Wang, Robin Tabeling, Greysia Polii, Kim Soyeong, Pusarla V Sindhu, and Zheng Si Wei.
• Sindhu had won a bronze medal in the Tokyo Games in 2021.

Check More Sports Current Affairs Here!

Lok Sabha develops mobile app for live telecast of Parliament

• Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on 21 Dec’21 announced the launch of a mobile application.
• It will enable the users to watch the live telecast of the House proceedings.
• It will enable members of the House to access important parliamentary documents, papers, information related to legislative committees and bills, and written questions-answers and reports of various committees.

Niti Aayog launches first of its kind Vernacular Innovation Program

• Atal Innovation Mission, Niti Aayog on 22 December 2021, launched the first of its kind Vernacular Innovation Program.
• It will enable innovators and entrepreneurs to have access to the innovative ecosystem in 22 mother tongue languages.
• The first leg started on 22 December in partnership with IIT Delhi and will focus on design thinking and entrepreneurship.
• It is divided into three phases.

Hyderabad Airport wins National Energy Conservation Award 2021

• The GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd. has been awarded the Certificate of Merit by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency under ‘National Energy Conservation Awards 2021’ (NECA 2021).
• It has been awarded for its excellent efforts in the areas of energy conservation.
• The GMR Hyderabad International Airport was the only airport in the Airport Sector that received this distinct recognition. 

Check More Environment Current Affairs Here!

JGU wins “Digital Innovation of the Year” at THE Asia Awards 2021

• O.P. Jindal Global University (JGU) has won the “Digital Innovation of the Year” award at the Times Higher Education (THE) Asia Awards 2021.
• JGU was the only Indian university to be shortlisted for the “Digital Innovation of the Year” award.
• Its application called Tou has enabled the digital transformation of educational institutions across 12 states of India.

Check More Science & Technology Current Affairs Here!

Government appoints non-official directors on boards of various banks

• The central government has appointed independent directors on board of various public sector banks, including Union Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, and Canara Bank
• The government has appointed Non-Official Director (NOD) for three years.
• Bank of Maharashtra has appointed Shashank Shrivastava and Sardar Baljit Singh as NOD.
• Nalini Padmanabhan was appointed on board of Canara Bank.

Pakistan conducts test launch of Babur Cruise Missile 1B

• The test launch of an enhanced range version of Pakistan’s indigenously developed Babur Cruise Missile 1B was conducted successfully on 21 Dec’21.
• In Feb’21, Pakistan had conducted a successful training launch of the earlier version of this missile that had the limited capacity to strike targets up to 450 km.
• The missile is capable of engaging targets at land and sea with high precision.
• Parliament passes Election Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2021

Parliament on 21 December 2021 passed the Election Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2021.It seeks to link electoral rolls with Aadhaar and remove fake voters from electoral rolls.It proposes to allow election commission officials to seek Aadhaar details of registered voters on a voluntary basis and make the language of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, gender-neutral.

Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla on a 2-day visit to Myanmar

Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla is on a two-day working visit to Myanmar on December 22 and 23, 2021.During the visit, Foreign Secretary will hold discussions with the State Administration Council, extend humanitarian assistance and strengthen security partnerships.This is the first high-level visit from India since the army took over power in Myanmar on February 1, 2021.

IOC acquires 4.93 per cent equity stake in Indian Gas Exchange

Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) has acquired a 4.93 percent stake in Indian Gas Exchange Ltd (IGX).IGX is the country’s first automated national-level exchange for the trading of natural gas.It started operation in 2020 as a gas trading platform.Major equity holders of IGX include Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL), Adani Total Gas, and Torrent Gas.

National Mathematics Day: 22 December

India celebrates National Mathematics Day on December 22 every year.The day marks the birth anniversary of famous mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan.In 2012, PM Manmohan Singh declared the date National Mathematics Day to honour him.He became the first Indian to be elected a Fellow of Trinity College, in 1918.He discovered his own theorems and independently compiled 3900 results.

Former Supreme Court Judge GT Nanavati passes away

Justice Girish T Nanavati, the retired Supreme Court judge passed away in December 2021.He headed the inquiry commissions into the 1984 anti-Sikh riots and the 2002 Gujarat riots.He was appointed as permanent Judge of the Gujarat High Court in July 1979.He was elevated as the Judge of the Supreme Court of India with effect in March 1995 and retired as an SC Judge in February 2000.

Indigenously developed next-generation AERVs inducted into Army

The first set of indigenously developed next-generation Armoured Engineer Reconnaissance Vehicle (AERV) was inducted into the Corps of Engineers of the Indian Army on 21 Dec 2021.Army Chief General M M Naravane flagged them off in a ceremony at the Bombay Engineer Group (BEG) at Khadki near Pune.The system has been designed by DRDO and manufactured by Ordnance Factory Medak and BEL, Pune.