Test: December 2021 Weekly Current Affair - 2 - UPSC MCQ

Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban 2.0 (SBM-U 2.0), the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) launched Swachh Technology Challenge for Entrepreneurial Skills in Waste Management Sector that can be further utilised by the Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) in implementing various components of SBM-U 2.0.

• MoHUA will also launch the Swachhata Start-Up Challenge in collaboration with France’s AgenceFrançaise de Développement (AFD). It will be an extension to the Swachh Technology Challenge in January 2022.

The Kazhuveli wetland situated in Villupuram district of Tamil Nadu has been declared as the 16th Bird Sanctuary by the Minister of Environment Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) and the sanctuary lies adjacent to the Bay of Bengal along the East coast of Tamil Nadu.

• The declaration was made under subsection (1) of section 18 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
• The Kazhuveli wetlands is referred to as the 2nd largest Brackish Water Lake in South India, only after Pulicat lake.

Iris Xiomara Castro Sarmiento, a presidential candidate, won the Presidential election of Honduras, after defeating her close competitor, Nasry Asfura in the General Election. She will succeed previous President Juan Orlando Hernandez.

• With this victory, Xiomara Castro became the 1st female president of Honduras.
  About Honduras:
  Capital- Tegucigalpa
  Currency- Honduran Lempira
  Continent- North America

Ravichandran Ashwin becomes the 2nd Indian to take 300 wickets at home for India while Anil Kumble, with 350 wickets, has the highest wickets at home for India.
i. Ajaz Patel created history by taking all 10-wickets of Indian players in the 1st innings which was played at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium.
ii. Shreyas Iyer becomes 1st Indian to score a Century & a Half-century on Test debut with 105-runs on Day 2 to become the 16th Indian to score a century on Test debut.

During the Digital Payment Utsav event City Union Bank launched Rupay-on-the-Go Contactless Solution in Collaboration with NPCI.

• Union Bank announced an android-based SOFTPOS mobile app for Point of Sales to the cause of digital payment adoption.
• Yes Bank launches YES Prosperity Rewards Plus credit card on Payment Platform in partnership with NPCI.

As per the Lowy Institute Asia Power Index 2021, India Ranked 4th most powerful country out of 26 countries while the US tops the Index.
i. India finishes in 4th place in four measures such as economic capability, military capability, resilience and cultural influence.
ii. India ranks 3rd in the future resources measure, behind only the United States and China.

The former Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sunil Arora has joined the board of advisers for the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA), a Stockholm based organization.
Note- Sushil Chandra is the current & 24th Chief Election Commissioner of India, who also chairs Association of World Election Bodies (AWEB).

India successfully test-fired the air version of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile from the integrated test range of Chandipur, off the coast of Odisha.

• The air version of the missile was test-fired from supersonic fighter aircraft Sukhoi 30 MK-I.

About Defence Research and development Organisation (DRDO):
Established – 1958
Chairman – G Satheesh Reddy
Headquarters – New Delhi, Delhi

The continuation of Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana Gramin (PMAY-G) till March 2024 to complete the 2.95 Crore houses in rural areas.
i. Funding & implementation of the Ken-Betwa inter-linking of rivers project was approved by the cabinet with an outlay of Rs 44,605 crore at 2020-21 price levels.
ii. Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana Gramin (PMAY-G) was launched in 2016 & previously known as Indira Awaas Yojana (IAY).

India claimed 41 medals, with 12 gold, 15 silver, and 14 bronze, at the 4th Asian Youth Para Games (AYPG), Asia’s biggest event that was held in Riffa, Bahrain.

• The event is organized by the National Paralympic Committee (NPC) of Bahrain.

About Asian Paralympic Committee:
President – Majid Rashed
Headquarters – Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE)

The United Nations (UN) International Anti-Corruption Day is observed annually on 9th December to raise awareness of corruption and of the role of the UN convention on combating and presenting corruption.

• Theme of 2021 – “Your right, your role: say no to corruption”.
• The UNGA declared 9th December as International Anti-Corruption Day in 2003.

Maharashtra retained the top position in the list of states with the Highest Employability talent followed by Uttar Pradesh & Pune, Maharashtra topped the position in City with Highest Employability.
i. The overall youth employability among test takers of the Wheebox National Employability Test stood at 48.7 percent which is higher than 2021.
ii.The theme of ISR 2022 is ‘Reengineering Education and Skilling-Building for the Future of Work’.

The UN General Assembly conferred Observer Status on the International Solar Alliance in December based on the UNGA’s Sixth Committee report.
i.The ISA was jointly launched by India & France in 2015 during the 21st session of the United Nations Climate Change COP-21 to promote solar energy among countries.
ii.ISA Headquarters in Gurugram, Haryana (India) & nearly 80 countries have signed and ratified the ISA Framework.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved USD 350 million 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 under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) 2.0, to provide affordable housing to all under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY).

Acclaimed Indian architect Balkrishna Vithaldas Doshi has been named for the Royal Gold Medal 2022 which is one of the world’s highest honours for architecture.

• The announcement was made by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA).

In 2018, he became the first Indian architect to receive the Pritzker Architecture Prize & He is also an awardee of Padma Shri and the Padma Bhushan.

Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) has received approval from the RBI to increase its stake to 9.99 % in IndusInd Bank of the total issued and paid-up capital of the private sector lender The approval will be valid for 1 year (December 8, 2022).
At present (Dec’21), LIC holds a 4.95 percent stake in the IndusInd Bank.
About IndusInd Bank:
Establishment – 1994
Headquarters – Mumbai, Maharashtra
MD & CEO – Sumant Kathpalia
Tagline – We Make You Feel Richer

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) & Chinese smart devices maker Oppo’s India signed a MoU to strengthen the Research and Development (R&D) of the NavIC messaging service, an Indian satellite navigation system.

• NavIC, an acronym for Navigation with Indian Constellation, aims to provide a user-friendly platform.
• There will be an exchange of technical information between ISRO and Oppo.

India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) partnered with NPCI Bharat BillPay Limited (NBBL) to facilitate pan India doorstep bill payments service for IPPB and non-IPPB customers.
NBBL is a wholly-owned subsidiary of National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).
About NPCI Bharat BillPay Ltd (NBBL):
Establishment– 2021
Chief Executive Officer (CEO)– Noopur Chaturvedi

Professor Neena Gupta, a mathematician at the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) in Kolkata, West Bengal has been awarded the 2021 DST-ICTP-IMU Ramanujan Prize for Young Mathematicians from developing countries.

• The award recognized her outstanding work in affine algebraic geometry and commutative algebra.
• With this, she became the 3rd woman to receive the Ramanujan Prize after Sujatha Ramdorai, in 2006 and Brazil’s Carolina Bhering de Araujo in 2020.

The Extended Range Pinaka (Pinaka-ER) Multi Barrel Rocket Launcher System was successfully tested at Pokhran Range, Rajasthan.

• The system has been designed by the DRDO’s Armament Research and Development Establishment (ARDE) laboratory, Pune, Maharashtra & High Energy Materials Research Laboratory (HEMRL), Pune.
• The new Pinaka ER gives it a range of around 70 km, over the 45 km existing range of the missile which has been with the Indian forces for nearly a decade.

In December 2021, PM Narendra Modi inaugurated the project in Balrampur, Uttar Pradesh & it will cover nine Eastern UP districts.
i. The Saryu canal project also involves interlinking of five rivers viz. Ghaghara, Saryu, Rapti, Banganga and Rohini to ensure optimum usage of water resources of the region.
ii. Saryu Nahar National Project was initially launched in 1978 & In 2016, it was brought under the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY).

Haiderpur Wetland, the human-made wetland of around 6908 hectares in Bijnor, Uttar Pradesh(UP) has been recognised as the 47th Ramsar Site of India and 2,463rd site internationally.

• The wetland is located within the boundaries of Hastinapur Wildlife Sanctuary, Uttar Pradesh.

About Convention on Wetlands:
Secretary General– Martha Rojas Urrego
Headquarters– Gland, Switzerland

The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) projected a 12% increase in credit potential of Assam to INR 36,292 crore for the 2022-23 financial year (FY).

• The amount will be used as a base for preparation of the annual credit plan for priority sector lending (PSL) for FY23.

About National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD):
Chairman- G.R Chintala
Founded-12 July 1982
Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra

Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Indian Air Force (IAF) successfully flight-tested the indigenously designed and developed Helicopter launched Stand-off Anti-tank (SANT) Missile from the Pokhran range in Rajasthan.

• It should be noted that it is for the first time that this was launched from a Russian origin Mi-35 helicopter gunship.
• It has been designed and developed by Research Centre Imarat (RCI), Hyderabad in coordination with other DRDO labs and participation from industries.

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen (Netherlands) clinched the Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2021 by defeating Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton (United Kingdom) at the Yas Marina Circuit on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE).

• Max Verstappen won his first Formula One (F1) World Driver Championship.
• Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2021 was the 22nd & final round of the 2021 F1 World Championship.