Current Affairs 11 December 2021

We are here for you to provide the important Recent and Latest Current Affairs 11 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

India Skills Report 2022: Maharashtra Retains Top Position for most Employable Talent 

As per the 9th edition of India Skills Report (ISR) 2022, released by Wheebox, Maharashtra has retained the top position in the list of states with the highest poll of employable talent followed by Uttar Pradesh and Kerala.

• The theme of ISR 2022 – ‘Rebuilding and Reengineering the Future of Work’.
• States with Maximum Hiring Activity: Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu are the 3 states that have a higher job demand.
• Pune is the city with the most highly employable resources with 78% of the test takers scoring above 60 percent.
• As per the current edition, the overall employability in India has improved with 46.2% of the youth being found to be highly employable compared to last year’s employability standing at 45.97%.

Top 5 States with Highest Employability:

About ISR 2022:
ISR is a full-fledged report about the future of work, education, and skilling to match the talent demand and supply in a growing India.
The India Skills Report 2022 was provided by Wheebox in partnership with AICTE (All India Council for Technical Education), AIU (Association of Indian Universities) ,Taggd, CII (Confederation of Indian Industry), Sunstone Eduversity, and UNDP (United Nations Development Program),Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE), Additional Skill Acquisition Programme (ASAP) Kerala were also part of the report, so mention it.
>> Read Full News

NITI Aayog releases reports on Country level status of Emergency & Injury Care in IndiaOn 10th December 2021 National Institute of Transforming India (NITI Aayog) released two comprehensive reports titled – Reports on current status on Country level (secondary & tertiary level) and district level emergency and injury care in India.

• These reports were launched in the presence of Dr V K Paul, Hon’ble Member (Health) NITI Aayog and Dr Rakesh Sarwal, Additional Secretary, and other dignitaries.
• These studies were carried out by the department of Emergency Medicine, Jai Prakash Narayan Apex Trauma Centre (JPNATC), All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS), New Delhi in collaboration with NITI Aayog.

Highlights – Prevailing gaps in ambulance services, health infrastructure, human resources and equipment in the provision of optimal care.
Key Points:
i.The report creates a world-class, efficient, professional, integrated emergency-care system, enabled by technology
ii.These studies have assessed the prevailing status of 100 emergency and injury care centres in government and private hospitals of 28 States and 2 Union Territories of India and 34 District Hospitals.
Report Analysis:
Domains – Ambulance services, Infrastructure, Human resources, Equipment status, Essential medicines, Definitive care and burden of various diseases.
i.It highlights the need for nation-wide standardized protocols for intensive care, world-class ambulance services along with effective paramedics and expansion of blood banks.
ii.Premature death and Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) can be prevented by establishing robust integrated emergency care systems with definitive care.
iii.The reports provide policy inputs to improve and strengthen the emergency care services at all tiers of the healthcare facilities in India.
About National Institute of Transforming India (NITI Aayog):
Chairperson – Narendra Modi
Vice-Chairperson – Rajiv Kumar
CEO- Amitabh Kant
Headquarters – New Delhi, Delhi

NEDFi Introduced Atmanirbhar Hastshilpkar Scheme for North-Eastern ArtisansOn December 09, 2021, the North Eastern Development Finance Corporation Ltd. (NEDFi), a premier financial institution in the North-Eastern (NE) Region, has introduced a new scheme named Atmanirbhar Hastshilpkar Scheme to the grass-root Artisans of the NE region under the Ministry of Doner (Development of NE Region).

• Objective: To develop the petty artisans of the NE Region by providing financial assistance in the form of term loans for income-generating activities for setting up/expansion/modernization/working capital requirement and other activities related to the sector.

Key Points:
i.Under the launch of the scheme, around 17 artisans have been provided with credit assistance of Rs 1 lakh per artisan.
ii.The credit facility is collateral-free and carries a subsidized interest rate of 6 percent per annum which is repayable in 24 months.
iii.On regular repayment, an incentive of 1 percent on the interest rate will be refunded to the artisans (on successful repayment of loans).
iv.Eligibility: The artisan should have a valid qualification or practice of any art form and the individual should not have an existing loan from any other bank/ financial institution.
About North Eastern Development Finance Corporation Ltd. (NEDFi):
Headquarters – Guwahati, Assam
Chairman and Managing Director – PVSLN Murty

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

World Malaria Report 2021: Worldwide Malaria Cases in 2020 Estimated at 241 million 

According to WHO’s (World Health Organisation) latest World Malaria Report 2021, globally there were an estimated 241 million malaria cases and 627000 malaria deaths in 85 malaria-endemic countries in 2020, increasing from 227 million in 2019.

• As per the report, there are about 14 million more cases in 2020 compared to 2019 and 69000 more deaths.

Key Points:
i.Globally, India accounts for 1.7 percent of malaria deaths in 2020. As per the report, India was the only high-burden country to have sustained a reduction in the disease burden.
ii.South-East Asia: India shares over 83 percent of the malaria cases and 82 percent of all malaria deaths in the WHO South-East Asia Region, from about 18 cases per 1000 population at risk in 2000 to about 3 cases in 2020.
iii.In 2021, WHO certified two countries – China and El Salvador – as malaria-free, and a further 25 are on track to end malaria transmission by 2025.
About World Health Organisation (WHO):
Establishment – 1948
Headquarters – Geneva, Switzerland
Director-General – Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus
>> Read Full News

UNGA granted Observer Status to International Solar Alliancei.The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) 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.ii.In November 2015, ISA was jointly launched by India and France during the 21st session of the United Nations Climate Change COP-21 in Paris, France to promote solar energy among its Member Countries.
About United Nations General Assembly (UNGA):
It is the policy-making body of the United Nations (UN).
President– Abdulla Shahid (76th)
India’s Permanent Ambassador to UN– T S Tirumurti
>> Read Full News

India Assumed the Chairmanship of Council of Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure of SCO

India assumed the Chairmanship of Council of Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (RATS SCO) for 1 year from October 28, 2021.
The National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS), Government of India, in association with Data Security Council of India (DSCI), as a Knowledge Partner, organized a 2-day Practical Seminar on ‘Securing Cyberspace in the Contemporary Threat Environment’ ( on December 7 and 8, 2021) for delegates from SCO member States.

• The seminar is the 1st event to be hosted by India during its Chairmanship of Council of RATS SCO.
• This is the second time India is hosting such the Seminar event. At 1st time the seminar was held in Hyderabad, India in August 2019 and it was not held in 2020 due to COVID-19.

Key Points:
i.The Seminar addressed the key areas like Policies and Strategies, Cyber Terrorism, Ransomware, and DigitalForensics amongst others.
ii.The program focused on the changing nature of online crime and criminal behaviour in order to understand the threats, trends, issues, responses and ethical questions associated with, mainly terrorists using technology.
iii.The Seminar provided Hands-on Practical experience to the participants to enhance the capabilities of respective Law Enforcement Agencies in securing cyberspace from Terrorism, Separatism and Extremism.

• It also examined issues related to the cyber-realm from an interdisciplinary and multi-dimensional perspective.

iv.The event acted as effort of India to improve the collaboration among RATS SCO Member States to overcome the misuse of internet by Terrorists, Separatists and Extremists.
Participants: The representatives from the Executive Committee (EC) of RATS SCO and all SCO member countries participated in the Seminar.
About the Council of Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure of SCO (RATS SCO):
i.The RATS, which is headquartered in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, is a permanent organ of the SCO. It serves to promote cooperation of member states against terrorism, separatism and extremism.
ii.Each member state also sends a permanent representative to RATS. The SCO Secretary General and the Executive Director SCO RATS are appointed for a term of 3 years
iii.Director of the RATS SCO EC is Jumakhon Giyosov

BANKING & FINANCE

RBI granted Scheduled Payment Bank Status to Paytm Payments Bank LimitedOn December 9, 2021, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) granted a scheduled payment bank status to the Paytm Payments Bank Limited (PPBL) by including it into the Second Schedule to the RBI Act, 1934.

• With this approval, PPBL becomes the 3rd Scheduled Payments Banks
• This status will help PPBL to explore new business opportunities, including participation in government and other large corporations issued request for proposals (RFP), primary auctions, fixed-rate and variable rate repos, and reverse repos.
• This will also enable the PPBL to offer more financial services and products.

Key Points:
i.It can participate in Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) and will be eligible to partner in government-run financial inclusion schemes.
ii.The bank supports 33.3 crore Paytm Wallets and enables consumers to make payments at over 87,000 online merchants and 2.11 crore in-store merchants.
iii.PPBL is the largest beneficiary bank and one of the top remitter banks for UPI (Unified Payment Interface) transactions in the country.
iv.In the FY21, PPBL also became the largest issuer and acquirer of FASTags in India.
Points to be noted:
i.Apart the PPBL, other payment banks that are in the List of Second Schedule of the RBI Act are India Post Payments Bank Limited (IPPBL), and Fino Payments Bank Limited (FPBL).
ii.Currently, the list of Scheduled Commercial Banks (SCBs) include 12 Public Sector Banks (PSBs), 22 Private Sector Banks, 11 Small Finance Banks (SFBs), 3 Payments Banks, 43 Regional Rural Banks (RRBs), and 46 Foreign Banks in India. Click here for Official List
About Paytm Payments Bank:
Parent Company– One97 Communications
MD and CEO- Satish Kumar Gupta
Headquarter– Noida, Uttar Pradesh

ADB approves USD350mn loan to Improve Urban Services in IndiaOn December 9, 2021, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved ~Rs.2653.05 crore (USD 350 million(mn)) 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 section and low-income groups.
How will this loan be utilized?
ADB will help MoHUA to select low-income states and urban local bodies to implement its policy reforms viz. universal coverage of piped water supply and improved sanitation under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) 2.0, to provide affordable housing to all under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY).

• ADB will also provide knowledge and advisory support to MoHUA in program implementation, monitoring and evaluation.
• ADB will also provide recommendations on cross-cutting issues like climate change, environmental and social safeguards assessment, and gender equality and social inclusion.

Points to be noted:
India’s current estimated urban population is 460 million which is second-largest in the world and is projected to reach nearly 600 million by 2030. It is growing at an annual rate of over 2%.
About Asian Development Bank (ADB)
Headquarters– Manila, Philippines
President– Masatsugu Asakawa
Members Countries– 68

Bank of Baroda signs MoU with Centrum Housing Finance for Housing LoansOn 9^th November 2021, Bank of Baroda (BoB) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Centrum Housing Finance Limited (CHFL) for sourcing and financing housing loan borrowers under Co-Lending Model (CLM) mechanism.
Signatories – Harshadkumar T. Solanki, General Manager, Mortgage and Other Retail Assets, Bank of Baroda, and Sanjay Shukla, MD & CEO of CHFL.
Key Highlights:
i.CHFL is one of the leading housing finance companies that provides long-term housing finance.
ii.The Bank will penetrate deep into the markets of tier 2 & tier 3 cities at very competitive interest rates.
iii.Bank extends upto of Rs.1000 crore as Housing finance in one financial year.
About Centrum Housing Finance Limited (CHFL):
MD & CEO – Sanjay Shukla
Headoffice – Mumbai, Maharashtra
About Bank of Baroda (BoB):
Managing Director (MD) & CEO – Sanjiv Chadha
Headquarters – Vadodara, Gujarat
Amalgamated Banks – Dena Bank & Vijaya Bank in 2019

Federal Bank entered into Bancassurance Partnership with Star Health InsuranceIn December 2021, Federal Bank entered into a Bancassurance partnership with Star Health and Allied Insurance Co Ltd as a corporate agent to provide health insurance products for the Bank’s 8.90 million customers across India.
Key Points:
The Bank’s customers can avail benefits of Star Health’s retail products and group affinity products through the bank’s various distribution channels which help the customers to address their complete financial needs under one roof.
Bancassurance – It is a partnership between a bank and an insurance company that would enable them to offer insurance products to the bank’s customers.
About Federal Bank:
Establishment – April 23, 1931
Headquarters – Aluva, Kerala
Managing Director & CEO – Shyam Srinivasan
Tagline – Your Perfect Banking Partner
About Star Health and Allied Insurance:
Established – 2006
Chairman & CEO – V. Jagannathan
Head Office – Chennai, Tamil Nadu

AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS 

IMO Award for Exceptional Bravery at Sea to Indian Navy, ICG & MasterThe International Maritime Organisation (IMO) has established an annual Award to provide international recognition for individual’s and team’s exceptional bravery at sea. For 2021, IMO awarded Certificate of Commendation to the Indian Navy, Indian Coast Guard and Master along with crew members of tugboat Ocean Bliss.
i.They were awarded for exceptional and courageous efforts towards the rescue operation of M/T New Diamond ship that was caught in fire at the Sri Lankan Coast. 
Recognition – To those who, at the risk of losing their own life, perform acts of exceptional bravery, displaying outstanding courage in attempting to save life at sea or in attempting to prevent or mitigate damage to the marine environment.

• The act of bravery involves extraordinary seamanship skills in very difficult conditions or any other display of outstanding courage.

The recipient of 2021:
i.Tran Van Khoi, Search and Rescue Officer of the Regional Maritime Search and Rescue Coordination Center No.II, Viet Nam Maritime Administration is receiving the 2021 IMO award
ii.He is awarded for his extraordinary courage, determination and endurance displayed in rescuing four survivors from a sunken vessel between extreme weather and heavy seas.
Key Highlights:
i.Nominations are scrutinized by an Assessment Panel made up of members of non-governmental organizations in consultative status with IMO, under the Chairship of the Secretary-General.
ii.In Order to consider the recommendations of the assessment panel and to select the recipient of the award, a Panel of Judges meets.
About International Maritime Organisation (IMO):
Secretary-General – Kitack Lim (Republic of Korea)
Headquarters – London, United Kingdom

  Architect Balkrishna Doshi to be honoured with the Royal Gold Medal 2022Acclaimed Indian architect Balkrishna Vithaldas Doshi (94) has been named for the Royal Gold Medal 2022 which is one of the world’s highest honours for architecture.

• The announcement for the same was made by Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA).
• Notably, worked under Le Corbusier (Designed Chandigarh) and Louis Kahn, he is a pioneer of modernist and brutalist architecture in India.
• In 2018, he became the first Indian architect to receive the Pritzker Architecture Prize.

About Royal Gold Medal:
It recognizes lifetime’s work of person or group of people in the advancement of architecture. The medal is personally approved by the Queen Elizebth II.

• It is awarded annually by RIBA on behalf of the British monarch.
• 2022 Honours Committee was chaired by RIBA President Simon Allford and comprised of architects Alison Brooks and last year’s Royal Gold Medal recipient Sir David Adjaye OBE, architect and academic Kate Cheyne and cultural historian and museum director Dr Gus Casely-Hayford OBE selects the Royal Gold Medallist.

 About Balkrishna Doshi:
Born in 1927 in Pune, he studied at the JJ School of Architecture, Bombay (Mumbai, Maharashtra). He worked for four years with Le Corbusier as Senior Designer (1951-54) in Paris and four more years in India to supervise projects in Ahmedabad (Gujarat). He also worked with Louis Kahn as an associate to build the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ahmedabad.

• His career spanned in seven decades, with over 100 built projects, across India.
• Many of his iconic works include Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore(Karnataka); Sangath, his studio in Ahmedabad; Ahmedabad School of Architecture (renamed CEPT University in 2002); and Aranya Low Cost Housing (1989), Indore, which won the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 1995.
• He is also an awardee of Padma Shri and the Padma Bhushan.

Karnataka Bank gets 2 DigiDhan Awards by MeitY for Highest BHIM-UPI TransactionsKarnataka Bank has been conferred with two DigiDhan awards instituted by the Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).  The awards were given during Digital payment Utsav in New Delhi. Click here to read about Utsav

• The award recognized banks 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.
• Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, MeitY and Minister of State (MoS) Rajeev Chandrasekhar, MeitY presented the award to bank’s General Manager Raja BS and Deputy GM Jagadeesh KS.

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS   

FICCI appoints HUL Chairman – Sanjiv Mehta as President-electFederation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) is set to appoint Sanjiv Mehta, the Chairman & Managing Director of Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL), as its New President after the conclusion of FICCI’s 94th Annual General Meeting on 18th December 2021.

• Currently, Sanjiv Mehta also serves as the Senior Vice President of FICCI and will be succeeding Uday Shankar, the current President of FICCI.

About Sanjiv Mehta:
i.He is also the President of Unilever South Asia (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka & Nepal), and a member of the ‘Unilever Leadership Executive’, a Unilever’s Global Executive Board.
ii.He is also the Director on the Board of Indian School of Business, member of the Breach Candy Hospital Trust and the South Asia Advisory Board of Harvard Business School.
About Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL):
Established – 1933
Headquarters – Mumbai, Maharashtra
Note – During Sanjiv Mehta’s tenure, Forbes has rated HUL as the most innovative company in India and the 8th most innovative company in the world.
About Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI):
Established – 1927
Headquarters – New Delhi, Delhi       

ACQUISITIONS & MERGERS     

LIC got Approval from RBI to hike stake up to 9.99% in IndusInd Bank

In December 2021, Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) has received approval from the RBI (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.

• The approval will be valid for 1 year i.e. up to December 8, 2022. At present, LIC holds a 4.95 percent stake in the IndusInd Bank.

Key Points:
i.The approval is subjected to compliance with the provisions of – (i) the Master Direction on ‘Prior approval for the acquisition of shares or voting rights in private sector banks’ dated November 19, 2015, (ii) Master Direction on ‘Ownership in private sector banks’ dated May 12, 2016, (iii) regulations issued by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), and (iv) the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999.
ii.As per the norms of RBI under Master Direction on ‘Prior approval for the acquisition of shares or voting rights in private sector banks’, every person/entity who intends to make an acquisition in private banks of more than 5 percent stake, has to take prior approval from RBI.
Note – Recently, LIC had also received a similar kind of approval from RBI to increase its stake in Kotak Mahindra Bank to 9.99 percent.
About IndusInd Bank:
Establishment – 1994
Headquarters – Mumbai, Maharashtra
MD&CEO – Sumant Kathpalia
Tagline – We Make You Feel Richer

IMPORTANT DAYS

Human Rights Day 2021 – December 10The United Nations (UN) Human Rights Day 2021 is observed annually on December 10, as the Day marks the anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in 1948.
The Theme – ‘Equality – Reducing inequalities, advancing human rights’
Aim – To raise awareness about people’s social, cultural, and physical rights and to ensure the welfare of everyone.
Human Rights & SDG Goals:
Human rights is the vital part of the sustainable development goals (SDG)
Goal 10 – Reduced inequalities – Paves way for achievement the goal of 2021 human rights day.
Note – On 10th December the five-yearly United Nations Prize in the Field of Human Rights and Nobel Peace Prize is awarded.
About United Nations General Assembly (UNGA)
President – Abdulla Shahid
Headquarters – New york, United States (US)
>> Read Full News

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