1) PM Modi holds India-Russia Summit 2021
•Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin held the 21st India-Russia Annual Summit to discuss the entire gamut of relations, including regional and global issues. During his visit, India and Russia signed 28 agreements. The leaders discussed on International North-South Transport Corridor and also about the Chennai – Vladivostok Eastern Maritime Corridor (which is under the proposal).
•The visit of the Russian President is a reflection of the country’s commitment to its ties with India. This is in need of the moment. Because the ties between India and Russia were buffeted by New Delhi’s ties with the US. Also, Russia was getting closer with China on the back of US sanctions, CAATSA and its annexation of Crimea in 2014.
2) Union Minister S Jaishankar addressed 5th Indian Ocean Conference
•Union Minister of External Affairs (EAM) Subrahmanyam Jaishankar has visited Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE) to attend the 5th Indian Ocean Conference on December 4-5, 2021. The theme of the conference was ‘Indian Ocean: Ecology, Economy, Epidemic’. The Conference is chaired by Sri Lankan President, Gotabaya Rajapaksa & Vice Chairs are S.Jaishankar, Vivian Balakrishnan, Sayyid Badr Bin Hamad Bin Hamoud Al Busaidi.
3) India-Maldives joint military Exercise EKUVERIN in Maldives
•The 11th edition of Exercise EKUVERIN-21 between India and Maldives, held at Kadhdhoo Island, Maldives. Ekuverin means “Friends” in the Dhivehi language. It is an Indo – Aryan language. It is spoken in India, Lakshadweep and Maldives. The exercise enhances synergy and inter-operability between the Armed Forces of both nations in terms of understanding transnational terrorism both on land and at sea, conducting Counter-Terrorism and Counter-Insurgency Operations and sharing best military practices and experiences.
•Besides rigorous training, the joint military exercise will also include cultural and sports activities to enhance defence cooperation and bilateral relations. The exercise will go a long way in strengthening India’s relations with the Maldives amidst emerging security dynamics in the Indian Ocean Region. The Exercise is being conducted between India and Maldives since 2008. In 2019, the exercise was held in Pune, Maharashtra and in 2018, it was held in the Maldives.
4) Nilmani Phookan Jr and Damodar Mauzo receive Jnanpith Award
•Assamese poet Nilmani Phookan Jr won the 56th Jnanpith Award and Konkani novelist Damodar Mauzo won the 57th Jnanpith Award. The country’s highest literary award, the Jnanpith is bestowed on writers for “their outstanding contribution to literature”. Jnanpith Award is a literary award presented by the Bharatiya Jnanpith organization to Indian writers every year. This was instituted in 1961 and is given only to Indian writers who write in Indian languages and English.
5) PNB launched “PNB Pride-CRMD module” app for differently-abled employees
•Punjab National Bank (PNB) launched the PNB Pride-CRMD module tool, an android-based application for differently-abled employees to monitor and effectively follow up with the special mention account (SMA) borrowers. The Pride-CRMD module has built-in TalkBack software that allows the visually impaired to access the system freely and to interact with customers by tapping on their phones.
6) RBI Monetary Policy: Repo rate unchanged for the 9th consecutive time
•The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) headed by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das kept the repo rate unchanged at 4 per cent for the ninth consecutive time while maintaining an ‘accommodative stance’ as long as necessary. The reverse repo rate will continue to be 3.35 per cent. The central bank had last revised the policy rate on May 22, 2020, in an off-policy cycle to perk up demand by cutting the interest rate to a historic low. The meeting was held between December (6 to 8). The remaining will take place in February (7 to 9, 2022).
7) FICCI appoints Sanjiv Mehta as its President
•The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) announced that Sanjiv Mehta, the Chairman and Managing Director of Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL), will be appointed as its President. Mehta, presently the Senior Vice President of FICCI, will be succeeding media industry veteran Uday Shankar. Mehta is also the President of Unilever South Asia (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka & Nepal), and is a member of the ‘Unilever Leadership Executive’ which is Unilever’s Global Executive Board.
8) US announces diplomatic boycott of Beijing Winter Olympics
•The Biden administration has announced that US officials will not attend the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing after China pledged unspecified “countermeasures” against any such diplomatic boycott. The US cited that “China’s human rights ATROCITIES” is the main reason for its boycott. The US has named the boycott as “Diplomatic Boycott”. It means that the US is not sending any official or diplomatic representation to participate in the Olympics. However, the US is allowing American athletes to participate in the Olympics.
9) Russia defeated Croatia to win Davis Cup tennis tournament 2021
•The Davis Cup 2021 was won by the Russian Tennis Federation by a 2-0 lead over Croatia in the Davis Cup final in Madrid. Medvedev defeated Marin Cilic in the second singles match to give Russia an insurmountable 2-0 lead over Croatia and its first Davis Cup title since 2006. Croatia also was seeking its third title after triumphs in 2005 and 2018. Andrey Rublev was named the Most Valuable Player. The Russian team is officially being called RTF (Russian Tennis Federation) in the competition amid its ongoing doping suspension in international sport.
