1) National Mathematics Day : 22 December 2021
•India observes the National Mathematics Day every year on 22 December since 2012. The day is celebrated to commemorate the birth anniversary of Mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan. This year nation celebrates his 134th birth anniversary of Ramanujan. The main objective behind the celebration of National Mathematics Day is to make people aware of the development of mathematics and its importance in the growth of humanity.
2) PM Narendra Modi launched development projects in Goa
•On the occasion of Goa Liberation Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of several development projects worth over 650 crores rupees in Goa. He felicitated freedom fighters and veterans of ‘Operation Vijay’ at the function. He appreciated Chief Minister Pramod Sawant for keeping the pace of development up in the state.
3) Punjab CM gave tag of ‘state festival’ to Jagannath Rath Yatra
•The Chief Minister of Punjab, Charanjit Singh Channi has declared Lord Krishna Balram Jagannath Rath Yatra as an annual state festival. The announcement for the same was made during flagging off the 25th Shri Lord Krishna Balram Jagannath Rath Yatra. He also announced a grant of Rs 2.51 crore for the Iskcon Temple in Ludhiana, Punjab. Notably, Punjab Government is also developing the Bhagavad Gita and Ramayana Research Centre on a 20-acre land in Patiala.
•This was not the first time that the Rath Yatra of Ludhiana set the stage for the elections. Ahead of the 2017 Punjab elections, Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia of AAP participated in the yatra. He also performed ‘Maha Aarti’ from the stage with party candidates.
4) Gabriel Boric elected as youngest-ever President-elect of Chile
•35-year-old, Gabriel Boric, has won Chile presidential elections, to become the youngest-ever President-elect of Chile. He defeated his opposition Jose Antonio Kast in the elections. Gabriel Boric will assume office in March 2022, will become the youngest president in Chile’s history. Official results gave Mr Boric 56% of the votes against Mr Kast’s 44%. Mr Kast conceded defeat barely an hour-and-a-half after polls closed, and with around half of ballots counted.
•The president-elect also promised to block a controversial proposed mining project which he said would destroy communities and the national environment. Chile’s currency, the peso, plunged to a record low against the US dollar after Mr Boric’s victory. Stock markets fell by 10%, with mining stocks performing particularly badly.
5) Indian Navy’s 2nd indigenous stealth destroyer ‘Mormugao’ sailed
•On Goa Liberation Day, Indian Navy’s indigenous stealth guided-missile destroyer ‘Mormugao’ went for her maiden sea trials. This second indigenous stealth destroyer of the Project 15 B (P15B) class, is planning to be commissioned in mid-2022. Mormugao is being built at Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd as part of Project 15B destroyers and incorporates several indigenous technologies.
6) Equitas Small Finance Bank became Partner of Maharashtra state govt
•Equitas Small Finance Bank has empanelled as the banking partner of the state government of Maharashtra with an aim to offer its services to employees of the State Government. The Bandhan Bank, Karur Vysya Bank, and the South Indian Bank have been assigned the role of distributing salaries and allowances to the government employees.
•This partnership will enable the ESFBL to distribute salaries and allowances to the existing employees apart from making provision of pension to pensioners. The state government has authorised the Equitas SFB to open salary and pension accounts for the existing and retired employees across 58 branches of the bank across the state.
7) Atul Dinkar Rane appointed as BrahMos Aerospace CEO & MD
•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. His pioneering contributions and techno-managerial leadership has been transformative for the successful development and induction of BrahMos Supersonic Cruise Missile into Armed Forces.
•Rane is renowned for his decades of sustained R&D contributions in the indigenous design and development of mission-critical Onboard Computers (OBC), hardware in loop simulation studies, systems analysis, development of mission software and avionics technologies for defence applications. His pioneering contributions and techno-managerial leadership has been transformative for the successful development and induction of BrahMos Supersonic Cruise Missile into Armed Forces.
8) UP govt to launch ‘Free Smartphone Yojna’ on Dec 25
•The Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh is set to launch the ambitious ‘Free Smartphone Yojana on December 25, which is the birth anniversary of senior BJP leader and former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Under the scheme, the state government will distribute smartphones and tablets to final year students of graduation and above.
•On December 25, the chief minister will distribute 60,000 smartphones and 40,000 tablets to the youths. More than 38 lakh youths have registered themselves on the Digi Shakti Portal. Further registration is going on.
9) Pradeep Kumar Rawat appointed as India’s new envoy to China
•Senior Indian diplomat Pradeep Kumar Rawat, who is well-versed in negotiating with Chinese diplomats, has been appointed as India’s next Ambassador to China. Rawat’s appointment comes amid the lingering border stand-off in eastern Ladakh. Rawat is currently the country’s envoy to the Netherlands.
10) Harjinder Singh named India’s Chef de Mission for Beijing Olympics
•The Indian Olympic Association of India (IOA) has appointed the Ice Hockey Association of India’s general secretary, Harjinder Singh, as the Chef de Mission of the country’s contingent for the upcoming 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. Singh was the Chef de Mission of the Indian contingent for the 23rd Winter Olympic Games too, which was held in Pyeongchang, South Korea in 2018.
•Harjinder Singh is the general secretary of the Ice Hockey Association and has also led the Indian contingent at the 2018 Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, where India had two representatives – cross-country skier Jagdish Singh, and six-time Olympian luger Shiva Keshavan.
11) PV Sindhu among 6 appointed members of BWF Athletes Commission till 2025
•Former world champion PV Sindhu has been appointed as a member of the Badminton World Federation’s (BWF) Athletes’ Commission, along with five other people. The Chair and Deputy Chair will be decided among the six members. The Chair of the BWF Athletes’ Commission, following a vetting process as required for all Council members, will become a member of the Council until the next elections in 2025.
