Current Affairs 28 December 2021

We are here for you to provide the important Recent and Latest Current Affairs 28 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

GGI 2020-21: Gujarat tops the Index followed by Maharashtra, GoaOn December 25 2021, on the occasion of Good Governance day, Union Minister of Home Affairs and Minister of Cooperation, Amit Shah released the Good Governance Index 2020-21 (GGI 2021) which was a biannual exercise prepared by Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG).

• Gujarat has topped the composite ranking in the GGI covering 10 sectors 58 indicator index followed by Maharashtra and Goa.
• Note – December 25 is observed as the good governance day to commemorate the birth anniversary of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

The composite ranking GGI 2020-21:

About GGI:

i.GGI was introduced by DARPG in 2019 to measure the quality of governance across states and UTs.
ii.GGI provides a framework for a comprehensive assessment of States and Union Territories (UT) on good governance. The GGI 2020-21, has 10 Governance Sectors and the indicators have been revised to 58.
iii.DARPG has partnered with National Centre for Good Governance (NCGG) and Centre for Good Governance (CGG), Hyderabad in designing and developing GGI 2020-21.
About  Ministry of Home Affairs:
Union Minister – Amit Shah (Constituency – Gandhi Nagar, Gujarat)
Minister of State – Nityanand Rai (Constituency – Ujiarpur, Bihar), Ajay Kumar Mishra (Constituency – Kheri, Uttar Pradesh), Nisith Pramanik (Constituency – Coochbehar, West Bengal)
>> Read Full News

Defence Minister lays foundation stone for DTTC & BRAHMOS Manufacturing Centre of DRDO in LucknowOn  December 26, 2021 the Union Defence Minister, Rajnath Singh laid the foundation stone for Defence Technology & Test Centre (DTTC) and BrahMos Manufacturing Centre. The 2 defence manufacturing houses will be established by Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh (UP).

• The state-of-the-art DTTC is set up as a result of the MoU signed between Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA) & DRDO during DefExpo-2020 held in Lucknow.

Key points:
i.The first of its kind DTTC will be spread over 22 acres area.

• It aims to accelerate the growth of defence and aerospace manufacturing in Uttar Pradesh Defence Industrial Corridor (UP DIC).

ii.DTTC will consist of the 6 sub centres:

• Deep-Tech Innovation & Startup Incubation Centre
• Design & Simulation Centre
• Testing & Evaluation Centre
• Centre for Industry 4.0/Digital Manufacturing
• Skill Development Centre
• Business Development Centre

iii.The BrahMos Manufacturing Centre will be set up by BrahMos Aerospace in Lucknow & will produce the new BrahMos-NG (Next Generation) variant at a rate of 80-100 missiles per year.
About BrahMos missile:
i.BrahMos is a joint venture between India’s DRDO and Russia’s NPOM.
ii.BrahMos is named on the rivers Brahmaputra from India and Moskva from Russia.
iii.Flight range of around 300 km.
About Ministry of Defence:
 Union Minister- Rajnath Singh (Lucknow, UP)
Minister of state- Ajay Bhatt (Nainital-Udhamsingh Nagar, Uttarakhand)

GoI Sets up High-Level Committee to Examine Possibility of Lifting AFSPA in NagalandOn 26th December 2021 The Government of India(GoI) has decided to constitute a ‘five-member’ committee to look into the demand for withdrawal of Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act – AFSPA in Nagaland.

• The committee would submit its recommendations within 45 days

Head – Vivek Joshi, the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India
Secretary – Piyush Goyal, Additional Secretary in the Union Home Ministry
Other members – Chief secretary and Director-General of Police (DGP), Nagaland and DGP of the Assam Rifles.
Highlights:
i.Fourteen civilians were killed by security forces in firing incidents in Mon district, Nagaland in December 2021 which demanded the withdrawal of AFSPA from Nagaland.
ii.A court of inquiry will initiate the disciplinary action against the Army personnel who were directly involved in the counter-insurgency operation.

• The identified persons facing the investigation will be placed under suspension with immediate effect

About Nagaland:
Governor – Jagdish Mukhi
Chief Minister – Neiphiu Rio
Festivals – Ngada Festival, Hega Festival, Mim Kut Festival

BANKING & FINANCE

Indipaisa partners NSDL Payments Bank to launch a new Fintech platform targeting SMEsIndipaisa signed a partnership agreement with NSDL Payments Bank to launch  Financial Technology (Fintech) solutions targeting India’s 63 million Small & Mid-sized Enterprise (SME) sector.
Objective:
To empower SME owners & operators provide facilities and services that help them grow businesses, comply with government tax laws and build a sustainable future.
Highlights:
i.The partnership will offer  various convenient payment acceptance options to the merchants at very affordable costs.
ii.It will also enable the settlement of the customer payments into the merchant bank accounts very fast and at zero cost to the merchant.
iii.This partnership is inline with India’s target of exceeding USD 1.0 Trillion digital transactions, annually by the year 2025.
About Indipaisa:
Chairman-Nebil Ben Aissa
Head Office – Noida, Uttar Pradesh
About NSDL Payments Bank:
MD& CEO- Abhijit Kamalapurkar
Headquarters- Mumbai, Maharashtra

IndusInd Bank in partnership with NPCI became 1st Indian bank to offer cross-border payments via UPIIndusInd Bank has partnered with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) for offering real-time cross-border remittances to India using UPI (Unified Payment Interface) IDs for its Money Transfer Operator (MTO) partners.

• With this initiative, IndusInd Bank has become the first Indian bank to go live on Cross Border Payments/NRI Remittances.

Key Points:
i.As a part of partnership, the MTOs will use IndusInd Bank channel to connect with NPCI’s UPI payment systems for validation and cross-border payment settlement into beneficiary accounts.
ii.IndusInd Bank has started off with Thailand’s DeeMoney for Foreign Inward Remittance (FIR) through UPI. Customers using DeeMoney website can easily transfer funds just by adding the beneficiary’s UPI ID.
iii.The bank will add more partners in various other countries for cross border-payments via UPI in the near future.
About IndusInd Bank:
Managing Director & CEO– Sumant Kathpalia
Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra
Tagline– We Make You Feel Richer

HDFC Life enters Bancassurance partnership with South Indian BankOn 27th December 2021, HDFC Life  signed a bancassurance (Bank-Insurance) agreement with South Indian Bank to enable customers of the South Indian Bank to avail HDFC Life’s life insurance products and services to the customers of South Indian Bank.
Highlights:
i.HDFC Life is targeting to provide the customer with innovative products and superior levels of services through the physical and digital routes
ii.The customers of the  Bank can avail a wide range of  life insurance products including solutions for protection, savings and investment, retirement and critical illness.
Insurance Penetration in India:
i.Insurance penetration in India is currently at 3.7% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) compared to the world average of 6.31%.
ii.Indian insurance industry has 57 companies with 24 life insurance companies, & 34 non-life insurers. Among the life insurers, Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) is the sole public sector company.
About HDFC Life:
MD & CEO- Vibha Padalkar
Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra
About South Indian Bank:
Managing Director & CEO-Murali Ramakrishnan
Headquarters– Thrissur, Kerala

HDFC Bank Partners with IPPB to Offer Banking Services in Rural Areas

HDFC Bank has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) to offer banking services to over 4.7 crore customers of IPPB in semi-urban and rural areas.

• Under the MoU, Out of 4.7 Crore customers around 90 percent reside in rural areas.

Key Points:
i.HDFC Bank aims to boost its financial inclusion drive by leveraging IPPB’s network of 650 branches and over 136,000 banking access points.
ii.The agreement offers various citizen-centric services with increased digital technologies.
About India Post Payments Bank (IPPB):
Launched on – 30 January 2017 in Ranchi, Jharkhand and Raipur, Chattisgarh (as a Pilot project)
MD & CEO – J Venkataramu
i.IPPB was set up under the Department of Post, Ministry of Communication, with 100 percent equity owned by the government.
ii.IPPB offers services such as savings and current account, 24×7 instant money transfer, Aadhaar enabled Payment System, DBT (Direct Benefit Transfer), utility payments, digital life certificate, among others.
About HDFC Bank:
Incorporated – 1994
Headquarters – Mumbai, Maharashtra
CEO & MD – Sashidhar Jagdishan
Tagline – We Understand Your World

ECONOMY & BUSINESS

CEBR’s World Economic League Table 2022: India to become 3rd largest economy in 2031; China to be 1st As per the Centre for Economics and Business Research’s (CEBR) World Economic League Table 2022, India was predicted to become the 6th largest economy (by overtaking France) in 2022 and become the 3rd largest economy in 2031.

• The annual league table also predicted that China will overtake the US to be the largest economy in 2030 (two years later than the forecast in World Economic League Table 2021).
• The world economy is set to surpass $100 trillion for the first time in 2022.

Note – The World Economic League Table 2022, shows the economic forecasts for 191 countries to 2036.
League Table ranking:

About Center for Economic and Business Report (CEBR):
Chairman – Martin Piers
Headquarters – London, United Kingdom
>> Read Full News

DRDO Selected Paras Defence for Handing Over Technology of Border Surveillance Systems 

Defence Research Development Organization (DRDO) has selected Paras Defence & Space Technologies Ltd as one of the companies for handing over technology of border surveillance systems developed by Instruments Research & Development Establishment (IRDE)and DRDO.
This technology has been transferred by a licensing agreement for transfer of technology (ToT) for border surveillance Systems entered between Paras Defence, IRDE and DRDO.

• Paras Defence is involved in designing, developing, manufacturing and testing of a wide range of defence and space engineering products and solutions.
• Its products offer to 4 major sectors of Indian defence: defence and space optics, defence electronics, electro-magnetic pulse (EMP) protection solution and heavy engineering for defence and niche technologies.

AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS       

Greenman Viral Desai Won the Global Environment And Climate Action Citizen Award 2021Viral Sudhirbhai Desai, an industrialist from Surat, who is popularly known as the Greenman or green man of Gujarat has been honoured with the Global Environment and Climate Action Citizen Award 2021. 
Among the 28 personalities from 11 countries (which includes the United Kingdom(UK), the United States(US), New Zealand, France, and Malaysia,) who were honoured with this award, Viral Desai was the only Indian to win the honour for climate change

• The winners of the 8th Edition of the “Bharat Gaurav Awards” Lifetime achievement award, were felicitated at Atlantis, The Palm Island, Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) with the Bharat Gaurav Samman by Sanskruti Yuva Sansthan.
• Sheikh Awad Mohammed Mugrin, Director-General of the Foreign Trade and Economic Development Department, UAE participated in the event.

The other winners include motivational speaker Padma Shri Gaur Gopaldas, polo player Ashvini Kumar Sharma, Akshaya Patra Foundation’s chairman Padma Shri Madhu Pandit Dasa, instrumentalist Padma Bhushan Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, Padma Shri Ramkishore Chhipa, Nirbhaya’s mother Asha Devi, investor banker Saket Mishra, Dr Jitendra Matlani, a renowned social icon of Dubai and others
Bharat Gaurav Award:
Bharat Gaurav Award” Lifetime achievement award recognises the prestigious people across the globe who achieve a landmark in their working area and make India proud.
The 1st ‘Bharat Gaurav Award” Ceremony was held in 2012.
The award is presented by the Sanskriti Yuva Sanstha is a Non-Governmental Organisation(NGO) working with the vision of the rise of Indian Culture and society through various social programs. 

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS 

Vishwavir Ahuja Steps down as the MD & CEO of RBL Bank; Rajeev Ahuja takes overThe board of the RBL Bank has accepted to proceed with the medical leave of Vishwavir Ahuja, the Managing Director(MD) and Chief Executive Officer(CEO) of RBL Bank Ltd, the erstwhile Ratnakar Bank Ltd. Vishwavir Ahuja will step down from the post of MD & CEO and go on leave with immediate effect.
Rajeev Ahuja, Executive Director of the RB L Bank has been appointed as the interim managing director & CEO of the RBL Bank, with immediate effect, subject to regulatory and other approvals.

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) invoked Section 36 AB (power of RBI to appoint additional directors) contained in Part 2A (Control over Management) of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, to appoint Yogesh Dayal, chief general manager of RBI, as an additional director on the board of RBL Bank for a period of 2 years till 23rd December 2023 or until further orders, whichever is earlier.

About Vishwavir Ahuja:
i.Vishwavir Ahuja was appointed as the MD and CEO of the RBL Bank in June 2010.
ii.He has previously served as the MD and Country CEO of Bank of America for India.
About Rajeev Ahuja:
i.Rajeev Ahuja has previously worked as the MD of investor sales business (South Asia) with Citigroup, India
ii.He has also worked with capital markets and investment banking divisions of Deutsche Bank in Asia.
About RBL Bank Limited;
MD & CEO(interim)– Rajeev Ahuja
Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra  

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Japan launches Inmarsat-6 F1 Communications Satellite into Geostationary OrbitJapan has launched Inmarsat-6 F1, a communication satellite, through a Mitsubishi Heavy Industries’ (MHI) H-IIA204 rocket from Japan’s Tanegashima Space Center that will enter geostationary orbit, about 22,240 miles (35,790 kilometers) above earth.

• It is developed by the London-based company Inmarsat as a part of its next-generation satellite broadband service.
• The satellite is 12,060-pound (5,470 kilograms) and is the first of two ‘I-6’ spacecraft.

Key Points:
i.Designated H-IIAF45, Inmarsat-6 F1 launch is Japan’s third orbital flight of 2021 and H-IIA’s second mission of the year, marking the 45th flight of the H-IIA vehicle overall.
ii.It is dual-payload satellites featuring both L-band (ELERA) and Ka-band (Global Xpress).

• It is the world’s largest and most sophisticated commercial communications satellite ever launched.

iii.H-IIA is Japan’s longest-serving liquid-fueled rocket (since 2001) and currently largest rocket operated by MHI for the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).

China Launches New Camera Satellite ‘Ziyuan-1 02E’ to Find ResourcesOn 26^th December 2021, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) stated about China’s launch of a new satellite with a high-resolution camera that can take pictures of the ground with a resolution of 5 meters.

• The satellite, named ‘Ziyuan-1 02E’ or ‘five-meter optical satellite 02’ was launched by a Long March-4C rocket from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Centre in north China’s Shanxi province.

About ‘Ziyuan-1 02E’ or ‘five-meter optical satellite 02’:
i.The Ziyuan-1 02E weighs about 2.5 kilograms and it is equipped with infrared, near-infrared and hyperspectral cameras that can take full-colour panchromatic images of the Earth.

• Pictures taken by the satellites will help engineers survey China’s geological environment and search for minerals.
• It also helps in other areas like transportation, agriculture and disaster mitigation.

ii.The satellite will work with the 5-meter optical satellite 01 and shorten the revisit time of Chinese territory from three days to two days.
Highlights:
i.The Long March-4C carrier rocket also sent a small satellite that belongs to Beijing 101 Middle School into orbit.
ii.It carries payloads such as a small imaging camera, intelligent processing equipment, and equipment for conducting experiments on semiconductor thermoelectric generation, state-run Xinhua.
iii.It will carry out auxiliary geography teaching, scientific and technological experiments and other popular science activities for middle school students.
About China:
Capital – Beijing
President – Xi Jinping
Currency – Renminbi

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope launched from French Guiana, South Americai.On December 25, 2021, NASA’s (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), an infrared telescope, launched through the Arianespace’s heavy-lift Ariane 5 rocket from the European Space Agency’s (ESA) spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, on South America’s northeast coast.
ii.It is named after James Edwin Webb, one of the architects of the Apollo Moon programme.
iii.It will be positioned at a spot called Lagrange Point 2 (L2), 1.5million kilometre from earth or more than four times beyond the moon.
iv.Its commissioning in space will take 6 months.
v.The mission span is between 5-15 years.
About NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration):
Administrator– Sen. Bill Nelson
Headquarters– Washington, D.C., United States (US)
>> Read Full News

OBITUARY

Nobel Peace Prize Winner Desmond Tutu Dies at 90 YearsOn 26th December 2021 Archbishop Desmond Tutu, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate and a veteran of South Africa’s struggle against white minority rule, died at the age of 90 in Cape town.

• He won the Nobel Peace prize in 1984 in recognition of his non-violent opposition to South Africa’s brutal apartheid regime.
• He chaired a Truth and Reconciliation Commission which was set up to unearth atrocities committed.

About Desmond Tutu:
i.He was born in Klerksdorp, Transvaal, who spent most of his life in Cape Town and led numerous marches and campaigns to end South Africa’s struggle.
ii.He officially retired from public life on his 79th birthday but he continued to speak out on a range of moral issues.

• He stood up for accusing the West in 2008 of complicity in Palestinian suffering by remaining silent.

iii.In 2013, he declared his support for gay rights.
iv.In 1985, he became the first Black Anglican bishop of Johannesburg & In 1986, he was named the first Black archbishop of Cape Town.
v.His famous Bibliography are “Crying in the Wilderness. The Struggle for Justice in South Africa”, “Hope and Suffering: Sermons and Speeches.”, “The Rainbow People of God: The Making of a Peaceful Revolution.”

Former President of Greece – Karolos Papoulias passed away at 92In  December 2021, the former President of  Greece, Karolos Papoulias passed away at the age of 92 years. He served as the President during the Financial Crisis of Greece that started in 2010, which led to a huge shift in the Debt-to-GDP ratio of the country.
i.Karolos Papoulias was a Greek politician, Born on 4 June 1929 in Ioannina, Greece.
ii.He served as President of Greece for 2 terms, from 2005 to 2015 under his PASOK party.
iii.He was also a member of the Panhellenic Socialist Movement of Greece.

BOOKS & AUTHORS

VP Venkaiah Naidu Launched the Book ‘Dr V L Dutt: Glimpses of a Pioneer’s Life Journey’ by V L Indira DuttM Venkaiah Naidu, Vice President(VP) of India, launched the book titled ‘Dr V L Dutt: Glimpses of a Pioneer’s Life Journey’ authored by Dr V L Indira Dutt, Chairperson and Managing Director(CMD) of KCP Group, in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.

• The book is based on the life of Late Velagapudi Lakshmana Dutt(V.L. Dutt), the former Chairman of KCP Group. He was an industrialist, philanthropist and visionary.

About VL Dutt:
i.VL Dutt was born on 27th December 1937 Tirunelveli, Madras State, British India (now Tamil Nadu).
ii.He has served as the Chairman & Managing Director of KCP Limited.
iii.He has also served as the President of Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) in 1991-92.
iv.He has also served as the Honorary Consul General of the Republic of Turkey in Chennai for Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Puducherry.
Honours:
i.Tran Dai Quang, President of Vietnam, honoured him with the Friendship Medal in 2017 for his contribution to the development of Socio Economy of Phu Yen Province and contribution to strengthen traditional relations and overall partnership between Vietnam and India.
ii.He was honoured with the ASEAN-India Achievement and Excellence Award in 2017.

IMPORTANT DAYS

International Day of Epidemic Preparedness 2021 – December 27 The United Nations(UN)’s International Day of Epidemic Preparedness is annually observed across the globe on 27th December to create awareness about the importance of the prevention of, preparedness for and partnership against epidemics.

• The 27th December 2021 marks the observance of the 2nd International Day of Epidemic Preparedness.

Background:
i.The United Nations General Assembly(UNGA) adopted the resolution A/RES/75/27 on 7th December 2020 and proclaimed the 27th December of every year as the International Day of Epidemic Preparedness.
ii.The 1st ever International Day of Epidemic Preparedness was held on 27th December 2020.
About World Health Organization(WHO):
Director-General– Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus
Founded in 1948
Headquarters–  Geneva, Switzerland
>> Read Full News

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