Current Affairs 25 December 2021

We are here for you to provide the important Recent and Latest Current Affairs 25 December 2021, which have unique updates of Latest Current Affairs 2021 events from all newspapers such as The Hindu, The Economic Times, PIB, Times of India, PTI, Indian Express, Business Standard and all Government official websites.

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NATIONAL AFFAIRS

Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda Launched Different Projects of TRIFEDOn December 23, 2021, the Union Minister of Tribal Affairs, Arjun Munda launched several ambitious projects of TRIFED (Tribal Co-operative Marketing Development Federation of India) including the launch of the TRIFED VanDhan Chronicle, 14 Honey Farmer Producer Organizations and an MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) with UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund) to boost Tribal Samvaad Network.

• Participants: Ramsinh Rathwa, Chairman TRIFED, Yasumasa Kimura, UNICEF India, and Pravir Krishna, Managing Director, TRIFED, have participated in the launch event.

Key Initiative Launched:
i.Arjun Munda has launched the ‘TRIFED Van Dhan: A Chronicle of Tribal Grit & Enterprise’.

• The TRIFED Van Dhan Chronicle documents the work done for the promotion of tribal enterprises in the country and the achievements of tribal entrepreneurs under the Van Dhan Vikas Yojana.

ii.9 Promotional Videos to spread the word and communicate effectively on Tribes India, TRIFOOD, MSP for MFP (Minor Forest Produce) & Van Dhan Vikas Yojana were also launched.
iii.The MIS Portal for ‘MSP for MFPs’ was launched as the dashboard for the authorised users of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs and TRIFED.
iv.Arjun Munda has launched 14 Honey Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs).
v.UNICEF and TRIFED have signed an MoU to launch ‘Tribal Samvaad network’ – Tribal network for Social and Behaviour Change (A people-to-people ‘prosperity’ platform built on the emergent digital, social, alternate and mobile revolution).
vi.Arjun Munda has unveiled a report titled, ‘Tribal Livelihoods: From Sustenance to Sustainability’, which highlights the creative capabilities of tribal groups and their interconnectedness with the surrounding environment.
About Ministry of Tribal Affairs:
Union Minister – Arjun Munda (Constituency – Khunti, Jharkhand)
Minister of State – Renuka Singh Saruta (Constituency – Surguja, Chhattisgarh),  Bishweswar Tudu (Constituency – Mayurbhanj, Odisha)
>> Read Full News

India and Maldives Jointly Launches Pilot Project On Pre-arrival Customs Data ExchangeOn 23rd December 2021 India and Maldives signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the customs of two countries for the joint launch of a pilot project on ‘pre-arrival customs data exchange’ in a virtual ceremony.

• It was Launched by Vivek Johri, Chairman Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) and Abdulla Shareef, Commissioner General, Maldives Customs Service.

Key Highlights:
i.This MoU helps in faster Export-Import (EXIM) clearances, fast-track customs payments and help identify frauds

• It also strengthens the supply chains to further enhance bilateral trade.

Relations Between India & Maldives:
i.The ties between Maldives and India are based on principles of mutual respect and understanding.
ii.India support’s Maldives in various fields such as search & rescue capabilities, casualty evacuation, coastal surveillance, and maritime reconnaissance.

• India particularly supported Maldivian government on marine security which aimed at deepening the strategic alliance and ensuring the safety and stability of the Indian Ocean region.

About Maldives:
Capital – Male
Currency – Maldivian Rufiyaa
President – Ibrahim Mohamed Solih

PM Modi Transferred Rs 1000 Crore under DAY-NRLM to Bank Accounts of SHGsNarendra Modi, Prime Minister(PM) of India addressed the gathering of women beneficiaries of several government scheme at Prayagraj district of Uttar Pradesh(UP) and transferred Rs 1000 crore into the bank accounts of the women Self Help Groups(SHGs) in UP. The amount was transferred under the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana- National Rural Livelihood Mission(DAY-NRLM).

• This will benefit around 16 lakh rural women in UP and make them self reliant and financially independent.
• 80000 SHGs received a Community Investment Fund(CIF) of Rs 1.10 lakh per SHG and 60000 SHGs received a Revolving Fund of Rs 15000 per SHG.

Highlights:
i.He also transferred a sum of Rs 4000, as the 1st-month stipend, into the accounts of 20000 banking correspondent Sakhis(BC Sakhis) to encourage them.

• The BC Sakhis are paid a stipend of Rs 4000 for 6 months when they start their work to provide doorstep financial services at the grassroots level.

ii.PM also released over Rs 20 crore to around 1 lakh beneficiaries under the Mukhya Mantri Kanya Sumangala Scheme, which aims to provide a conditional cash transfer to a girl child at different stages of her life.

• The total remittance is Rs 15000 per beneficiary.

iii.He also laid the foundation stone of 202 supplementary nutrition (take-home ration) manufacturing units in 43 districts of UP.

• The units funded by SHGs will be constructed at a cost of Rs 1 crore per unit.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

WADA Report: India Ranked 3rd Among Dope Violators; Russia Tops

World Anti Doping Agency(WADA) has published its latest Report titled “2019 Anti-Doping Rule Violations (ADRVs) Report”, compiled based on decisions received by WADA before 31 January 2021. India ranked 3rd among dope violators in the world with 152 (17 per cent of the world total) ADRVs.

• Bodybuilding(57), Weightlifting(25), and Athletics(20) has recorded the more number of dope offenders in India.
• Russia tops the list with 167 ADRVs, followed by Italy with 157 ADRVs. Brazil (78) and Iran(70) has ranked 4th and 5th respectively.

BANKING & FINANCE

RBI Extends CoF Tokenisation Deadline till June 2022On December 23, 2021, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) extended the card-on-file (CoF) tokenisation deadline by 6 months i.e. to June 30, 2022. Earlier the deadline was fixed till December 31, 2021.
Background: 
i.In March 2020, RBI had issued guidelines for the regulation of payment aggregators and payment gateways, prohibiting payment aggregators and merchants to store customer card credentials within their database or server from 30 June 2021. Click here to know more

• At the request of merchants and payment aggregators, card companies, and banks, the timeline was extended until December 31, 2021.

ii.In September 2021, RBI extended the scope of tokenization from device-based tokenization to CoF tokenization services and barred merchants from storing actual card data while online transactions. RBI has fixed the deadline for card tokenization to January 1, 2022.
Additional Direction:
i.In addition to tokenisation, RBI has directed the industry stakeholders to devise alternate mechanisms to handle any use case (including recurring e-mandates, EMI option, etc.) or post-transaction activity (including chargeback handling, dispute resolution, reward/loyalty programme, etc.) that currently involves/requires the storage of CoF data by entities other than card issuers and card networks.
ii.This directive was issued by RBI under Section 10 (2) read with Section 18 of Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007 (Act 51 of 2007).
Cause for extending the deadline: Industry bodies including Merchant Payments Alliance of India (MPAI) and the Alliance of Digital India Foundation (ADIF) had sent representations to the RBI seeking an extension of the deadline.
About Tokenization: The process of replacing a card’s sensitive information like card number, expiration date, security code with a device-specific alternate code, or ‘Token’ is called Tokenization.
About Reserve Bank of India (RBI):
Establishment– April 1, 1935
Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra
Governor– Shaktikanta Das
Deputy Governors– Mahesh Kumar Jain, Michael Debabrata Patra, M. Rajeshwar Rao, T. Rabi Sankar

SEBI Signs EMMoU of International Organization of Securities Commissions

On December 22, 2021, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has signed the Enhanced Multilateral Memorandum of Understanding (EMMoU) of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO).

• Objective: To have a suitable cooperation arrangement, the EMMoU was introduced by IOSCO to expand the range of enforcement powers that signatories may use to safeguard the integrity and stability of markets, protect investors and deter misconduct and fraud.

Key Points:
i.The EMMoU was signed by Ajay  Tyagi, Chairman of SEBI, on behalf of  SEBI. With the signing of EMMoU SEBI joins a select group of securities regulators that are signatories to EMMoU.
ii.In 2002, IOSCO established its first MMoU (‘2002 MMoU’) and since its establishment, there has been an increase in globalisation, interconnectedness of financial markets, and advancements in technology leading to the change in the way the securities markets operate.
iii.SEBI was already a signatory to MMoU since 2003.
About Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI):
Establishment – 1992
Headquarter – Mumbai, Maharashtra
Chairman – Ajay Tyagi

SEBI Restructures its Advisory Committees on Secondary Markets, Mutual Funds, Corporate BondsSecurities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has restructured its  advisory committees that includes the secondary market, mutual funds, corporate bonds and securitisation, Information Systems.
Key Points:
i.Secondary Market Advisory Committee (SMAC):

• Member – 17 Members
• Current Chairperson – Madhabi Puri Buch, ex-whole time member of SEBI
• New Members – SEBI rearranged the committee with Zerodha’s co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO) Nithin Kamath as new inducted members of the panel.

ii.Advisory committee on Mutual Funds:
Members – 24-members
Chairperson – Usha Thorat, former deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
iii.Corporate Bonds and Securitization Advisory Committee (CoBoSAC):
Members – 23-members
Chairperson – The Committee would be headed by G Mahalingam, former Whole Time Member, SEBI.
iv.Information Systems Security Committee (ISSC):
Member – 5 members
Chairperson – The committee would be headed by Prof H Krishnamurthy, Principle Research Scientist, IISC Bangalore.
About Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI):
Chairperson – Ajay Tyagi
Established – 12th April 1992, in accordance with SEBI Act, 1992
Headquarters – Mumbai, Maharashtra
>> Read Full News

Govt signs 140 mn Euro loan Agreement with KfW for Energy Reforms in MPThe Government of India (GoI) signed agreements with the German based KfW Development bank for a 140 million Euro reduced interest loan & 2 million Euro grant for an energy reform programme in Madhya Pradesh (MP).
Highlights:
i.The project consists of two components, implementation of Smart Meters & Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) and separation of agriculture and non-agriculture feeders.

• The project will provide upgradation and strengthened  distribution of energy networks in MP.

ii.It will also contribute to an effective, technically and economically & ecologically sustainable energy supply.
Other Initiative:
Recently another loan agreement was also signed between GoI and European Investment Bank (EIB) for a  loan of Euro 250 million for the Agra Metro Rail project in Uttar Pradesh (UP).

• With this EIB has announced a total loan of 450 million Euro for the Agra Metro Rail project.

About KfW Development bank:
CEO- Stefan Wintels
Headquarters- Frankfurt, Germany
About Madhya Pradesh (MP):
i.India’s most ancient “Bhimbetka caves” are found in Raisen district of MP. They marked the oldest known rock art dating back more than 30,000 years.
ii.Bandhavgarh National Park, also called  ‘Land of the Tigers’ has  the highest density of Royal Bengal Tigers in India.

BOB Financial and Indian Navy Launch Co-branded Credit cardBOB Financial Solutions Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bank of Baroda, and the Indian Navy have launched a co-branded credit card for navy personnel.

• The credit card will be offered on the RuPay platform and will be equipped with contactless features.
• Eligibility: A navy personnel up to the age of 64 years will be eligible to choose from 3 variants of the co-branded credit card.
• Out of the 3 variants, the base variant will be offered as a lifetime free credit card and the other 2 variants will be offered at joining and annual fees, with easily achievable spend-based fee reversal/waiver.
• The 3 variant credit cards will also be applicable for personal accident insurance, lifetime free add-ons, EMI (Equated monthly installment) offers and periodic merchant offers through tie-ups done by BOB Financial and NPCI (National Payments Corporation of India).

About BOB Financial Solutions Ltd
Establishment – 1994
Headquarters – Mumbai, Maharashtra
MD & CEO – Shailendra Singh   

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS  

Harjinder Singh Appointed India’s ‘Chef de Mission’ for 2022 Winter Olympics

The Indian Olympic Association  (IOA)  appointed Harjinder Singh as the ‘Chef de Mission’ of the Indian contingent for the upcoming Winter Olympics 2022 that will be held from 4-20th February in Beijing, China.

• Harjinder Singh, currently serves as the General Secretary of Indian Ice Hockey Association.

i.Harjinder Singh was also the Chef de Mission of the Indian contingent at the  23dr Winter Games 2018 held in Pyeongchang, South Korea, where India had two representatives -Jagdish Singh, and Shiva Keshavan.
Note – The first edition of the Winter Games was held in 1924 at Chamonix, France.
ii.Alpine skier Mohammad Arif Khan is the only Indian to have earned a quota so far for Beijing 2022, who will compete in the men’s slalom event.
About Indian Olympic Association (IOA):
President – Narinder Dhruv Batra
Headquarters– New Delhi, Delhi       

ACQUISITIONS & MERGERS  

HSBC Asset Management Acquired LTIM from L&T Finance Holdings for Rs 3187 croreHSBC Asset Management(India), an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of HSBC Holdings PLC has acquired L&T Investment Management (LTIM), an investment manager of the L&T Mutual Fund (MF) from L&T Finance Holdings Limited for USD 425 million, about Rs 3187 crore. 

• As of September 2021, LTIM is ranked as the 12th largest mutual fund management company in India with assets under management (AUM) of Rs 80,300 crore and over 2.4 million active folios.

About the Acquisition:
i.HSBC Asset Management has entered into an agreement with LTFH to fully acquire LTIM.
ii.The will support HSBC to its widen asset management business in India.
iii.Following the completion of the acquisition, subject to regulatory approvals, HSBC is set to merge the operations of LTIM with its existing asset management business in India.      

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

DRDO Successfully Conducts Flight-Test of Indigenous Aerial Target ‘Abhyas’On 24th December 2021, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully conducted the flight test of indigenously developed High-speed Expendable Aerial Target (HEAT) Abhyas, Integrated Test Range (ITR), Chandipur off the coast of Odisha.

• The performance of the system during the entire flight duration has been confirmed from the data captured by various Range instruments deployed.

Developed by – Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), DRDO laboratory along with other laboratories.
Key Points:
i.HEAT provides a high subsonic speed trajectory at a very low altitude with high endurance that meets the requirement of aerial targets of the Indian Armed Forces.
ii.The Initial acceleration is provided by the two boosters during launch and a small turbo jet engine is used to sustain high subsonic speed with long endurance.
iii.The aircraft is controlled by a ground-based controller and an indigenously developed Micro-Electromechanical System (MEMS) based Inertial Navigation System

• Flight Control Computer helps to follow the pre-designated path in a fully autonomous mode.

About Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO)
Parent Ministry – Ministry of Defence (MoD)
Chairman – G Satheesh Reddy
Headquarters – New Delhi, Delhi

Indian Navy Decommissions INS Khukri after 32 Years of ServiceOn 23^rd December 2021 INS Khukri (Pennant number 49), the first indigenously built Missile Corvette, was decommissioned after 32 years of service at Visakhapatnam

• The national flag, naval ensign, and the decommissioning pennant were lowered at sunset in the presence of Vice Admiral Biswajit Dasgupta, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Naval Command the Chief Guest for the ceremony and some serving and retired former commanding officers of the ship.

Background:
i.The warship was built by the Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders (MSD) & Commissioned on 23rd August 1989 and had been part of both the Western and Eastern Fleets.
ii.The ship was commissioned in Mumbai by Shri Krishna Chandra Pant, the then Raksha Mantri and Mrs Sudha Mulla, wife of late Capt Mahendra Nath Mulla

• Commander (now Retired Vice Admiral) Sanjeev Bhasin was the first Commanding Officer.

Highlights:
i.During the service, the ship was commanded by 28 Commanding Officers and travelled a distance of over 6,44,897 nautical miles, which can be equated to navigating around the world 30 times or 3 times the distance between the Earth and the Moon.
ii.The ship was affiliated with the Gorkha Brigade of the Indian Army and Lt General PN Ananthanarayanan, SM, President Gorkha Brigade, also attended the ceremony.
About Indian Navy:
Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) – Admiral R Hari Kumar
Integrated Headquarters – New Delhi, Delhi

SPORTS

Veteran Indian spinner ‘Harbhajan Singh’ announced Retirement from All Forms of CricketOn 24 December 2021, the senior Indian off-spinner, Harbhajan Singh announced retirement from all forms of cricket.

• Major boost in his international career was when he snapped 32 wickets in three Tests, including a hat-trick, against Australia in March in 2001.
• Harbhajan was the 1st Indian Cricketer to take Hat-trick wickets in Test

i.Harbhajan Singh is a 41-year-old cricketer  from Jalandhar, Punjab who took 417 wickets in 103 Tests and is the 4th highest wicket taker for India in Test cricket.
ii.He made his debut to the national cricket team, during an ODI (One Day International) against New Zealand at Sharjah in 1998 and lastly represented India in 2016 during a T20 against the UAE at Dhaka, Bangladesh.

OBITUARY

Malayalam Director KS Sethumadhavan Passed Away at 90The legendary Malayalam filmmaker KS Sethumadhavan passed away at the age of 90 years in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
i.KS Sethumadhavan was born in 1931 in  Palakkad district of Kerala and became an assistant director to K Ramnath in the movie industry.
ii.He  directed over 60 movies in five languages including  Tamil, Telugu and Hindi during his career.
iii.He directed popular movies such as-  Odayil Ninnu, Anubhavangal Palichakal, Oppol, Aranazhikaneeram, Achanum Bappayum are considered landmark films in Malayalam.
Award–

• J C Daniel Award, the highest film Award by the Kerala government in 2009.
• He has won 10 National Film Awards, 9 Kerala State Awards among others.

BOOKS & AUTHORS

VP Venkaiah Naidu Released the Book Titled “The Turnover Wizard – Saviour Of Thousands”, an Autobiography of Arup Roy Choudhury M Venkaiah Naidu, Vice-President (VP) of India, released the book titled “The Turnover Wizard – Saviour Of Thousands”, an autobiography of Arup Roy Choudhury, the former Chairman and Managing Director(CMD) of NTPC Limited and NBCC (India) Limited.
The book is published by HP Hamilton Limited.
Key People:
Shekhar Dutt, former governor of Chhattisgarh; P K Gupta, CMD of NBCC Ltd, Gireesh Tripathi, director, NTPC School of Business; and A K Mittal, former CMD of NBCC Ltd took part in the launch ceremony held at the VP residence in New Delhi, Delhi.
About the Book:
i.The book consolidates Arup Roy Choudhury’s learnings from life and brings out the management lesson from his life.
ii.The book would assist the professionals and novices across the corporate world in handling crises.
iii.The book is also endorsed by E Sreedharan, The Metro Man of India.
About Arup Roy Choudhury:
i.Arup Roy Choudhury was appointed as the CMD of  NBCC (India) Limited (formerly National Buildings Construction Corporation Limited) in 2001 and became the  youngest ever CMD of a central public sector enterprise (CPSE).
ii.He also served as the CMD of NTPC, a Maharatna CPSE from 2010 to 2015.

IMPORTANT DAYS

5th National Siddha Day – 23rd December 2021Siddha day is annually observed across India on 23rd December to create awareness about the Siddha system of medicine. The day is annually organised by the Ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga, Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, Sowa-Rigpa and Homoeopathy(AYUSH) on the eve of the birthday of Siddhar Agathiyar, which falls during the Ayilyam star in the Tamil month of Margazhi.

• In 2021, the Siddha Day falls on 23rd December 2021.
• The year 2021 marks the celebration of the 5th Siddha Day.

The theme of the 5th Siddha Day is “Strength of Siddha in Communicable Diseases”, which sensitises the public on the importance of the Siddha system in tackling communicable diseases.
Ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga, Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, Sowa-Rigpa and Homoeopathy(AYUSH):
Union Minister– Sarbananda Sonowal(Rajya Sabha- Assam)
Minister of State– Dr. Munjpara Mahendrabhai Kalubhai(Constituency- Surendranagar, Gujarat)
>> Read Full News

Bharatiya Grahak Diwas or National Consumer Day 2021 – December 24 Bharatiya Grahak Diwas or National Consumer Day is annually observed across India on 24th December to create awareness about consumer rights and responsibilities.
The day also commemorates the enactment of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986, which received assent from the President of India on 24th December 1986.

• The National Consumer Day is also known as National Consumer Rights Day.

The theme of National Consumer Day 2021 is “Consumer – Know your Rights”.

About Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution:
Union Minister– Piyush Goyal (Rajya Sabha- Maharashtra)
Minister of State(MoS)– Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti (Constituency- Fatehpur, Uttar Pradesh); Ashwini Kumar Choubey (Constituency- Buxar, Bihar)
>> Read Full News

STATE NEWS

Tamil Nadu Government Launches CM Dashboard “CM Dashboard Tamil Nadu 360”On 23rd December 2021 The Tamil Nadu government launched the Chief Minister (CM) Dashboard monitoring system, “CM Dashboard Tamil Nadu 360” in Chennai.

• It will enable CM to track all welfare schemes, including the status of their implementation, fund allocation and the number of beneficiaries along with updates on the storage of water in dams and rainfall patterns.
• Minister for Water Resources Durai Murugan and IT Minister Mano Thangaraj  were present for the launch event.

Key Highlights:
i.CM Dashboard helps in proper monitoring, increased efficiency, elimination of delays in decision making.
ii.This also monitors the prices of more than 25 foodgrains, vegetables and fruits and projects a possible increase in the prices to facilitate government intervention.
About the Dashboard:
i.The status of the economy, including employment trends, and civil supplies will be available on the dashboard.
ii.The dashboards in the 1st batch covers,

• Water storage levels of all key reservoirs in the state and status of water availability as on date, rainfall patterns, current employment trends to indicate the status of the economy.
• Daily police report of major crimes in the state with reference to the districts that require attention.

Note – On a weekly basis more dashboards will be added and provided to enable the CM to have full knowledge and control over the functioning of all departments.
About Tamil Nadu:
Governor – R. N. Ravi
Bird Sanctuaries – Kanjirankulam Birds Sanctuary, Chitrangudi Birds Sanctuary, Koonthankulam-Kadankulam Birds Sanctuary
Festivals – Puthandu(Tamil New Year), Chithirai Thiruvizha, Karthigai Deepam

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