National & International Appointments
1. Roberta Metsola becomes youngest President of EU Parliament
- Centre-right Maltese lawmaker Roberta Metsola (43 years) has been chosen as youngest President of European Union (EU) Parliament
- She is the only 3rd woman to head European Parliament, despite controversy over anti-abortion stance
- She is a member of the largest bloc, European People’s Party, who won large majority with 458 votes
- She first elected to as a Member of European Parliament in 2013, representing Malta, and became First VP of European Parliament in Nov 2020
National & International Organizations
2. OxFam India releases new study report ‘Inequality kills’
- Oxfam India has released report titled as ‘Inequality Kills’, which reveals that COVID-19 pandemic has heightened economic inequalities across the world.
- Key highlights:
- Wealth of world’s 10 richest men doubled since COVID began.
- Collective wealth of India’s 100 richest people hit a record high of Rs 57.3 lakh crore ($ 775 billion) in 2021.
- Number of Indian billionaires grew from 102 to 142 during COVID.
- 84% of households suffered a decline in their income in a year.
National & International Appointments
3. Meghalaya CM Conrad K Sangma re-elected as National People’s Party Chief
- Meghalaya Chief Minister, Conrad K Sangma has been re-elected as the Chief of National People’s Party (NPP) in the party’s main office in Shillong.
- Election was held for three positions in the party: National President, National General Secretary and National Party Treasurer.
- Conrad K Sangma was re-elected as the Party Chief and Thomas A. Sangma was elected as National General Secretary for 2022-2025 unopposed.
- There was no application for the post of treasurer.
Obituaries
4. Legendary Collarwali Tigress passes away in Pench Tiger Reserve
- India’s Supermom tigress, popularly known as ‘Collarwali’ (16 years) passed away at Pench Tiger Reserve (PTR) in Madhya Pradesh
- She was known for giving birth to 29 cubs during her lifetime, which is believed to be a world record.
- Official name given to the tigress by forest department was T-15 but she was fondly called ‘Collarwali’ by the native people
- She became the first tigress in the park to be fitted with a radio collar in 2008.
Obituaries
5. Cartoonist Narayan Debnath passes away in Kolkata
- Cartoonist Narayan Debnath (98 years) passed away at a private hospital in Kolkata.
- He was the creator of Bengali comic strips of Handa Bhonda (1962), Bantul the Great (1965) and Nonte Phonte (1969).
- He holds the record of longest running comics by an individual artiste for Handa Bhonda comics series.
- Awards: Padma Shri (2021), Sahitya Academy Award, President's Special Recognition Award (2007), Banga Bibhushan (2013), D. Litt. by Rabindra Bharati University (2015).
Books & Authors
6. JK Lt Governor releases book titled ‘Prakrtik, Vaidik avem Jaivik Kheti’
- Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha has released a book titled ‘Prakrtik, Vaidik avem Jaivik Kheti- Graameen Udyamita Ka Naya Swaroop’ at the Raj Bhavan, Jammu.
- The book was published by Chudamani Sanskrit Sansthan, Basohli, Kathua
- It was released as a souvenir after the successful conduct of the Annual Festival and foundation day celebrations
- In this research-oriented souvenir, scholars of Sanskrit-agricultural science, young researchers have written their research papers
Banking & Finance
7. MobiKwik launches ‘ClickPay’ in collaboration with NBBL for faster payment
- MobiKwik in collaboration with NPCI Bharat BillPay Ltd (NBBL) has launched a new facility titled ‘ClickPay’
- Aim: to enable its customers pay recurring online bills, such as mobile, gas, water, electricity, DTH, insurance, and loan EMIs, with ease
- It eliminates the need to remember individual bill details and due dates.
- It is a two-step payment feature wherein billers generate a unique payment link within the bill-pay message, so that customers can make payments directly
Honours & Awards
8. Winners of Best FIFA Football Awards 2021 announced
- Best FIFA Football Awards 2021 ceremony has been held virtually in Zurich to crown outstanding players for excellent achievement in football.
- List of Winners:
- Best FIFA Men’s Player: Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich, Poland)
- Best FIFA Women’s Player: Alexia Putellas (Barcelona, Spain)
- Best FIFA Men’s Goalkeeper: Édouard Mendy
- Best FIFA Women’s Goalkeeper: Christiane Endler
- FIFA Fair Play Award: Denmark national football team and medical staff
National & International Appointments
9. Shashank Goel appointed as Additional Secretary in Employment Ministry
- Shashank Goel (1990 batch IAS officer) has been appointed as the Additional Secretary in Ministry of Labor and Employment.
- Prior to this, he was serving as the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Telangana
- Apart from him, Shailesh Kumar Singh (IAS of 1991 batch) has been appointed as Additional Secretary and Development Commissioner, Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.
- Manish Kumar Gupta has been appointed as Vice-Chairman, Delhi Development Authority
National Affairs
10. Fifth edition of Pariksha Pe Charcha to be held in February
- Fifth edition of Pariksha Pe Charcha will be held in February 2020
- Pariksha Pe Charcha contest has been launched from 28th December 2021 till 20th January at MyGov portal
- Winners of this contest are likely to be called in person to participate in Pariksha Pe Charcha
- Participants: Teachers, Parents, Students
- Pariksha pe Charcha: programme in which the Prime Minister interacts with the cross-section of Students and Teachers from India and abroad to beat exam stress.
Summits & Conferences
11. India-UK meet on Sustaining Food Production under Environmental Stress
- Union Minister Jitendra Singh has virtually addressed joint India-UK meet on ‘Sustaining Food Production under Environmental Stress’ in New Delhi.
- Joint collaboration may include events like students exchange, basic research, technology and product development, process demonstration, among others.
- It is being jointly organized by National Agri-Food Biotechnology Institute, Mohali, and University of Birmingham, UK and supported by Newton Bhabha Fund and British Council.
National Affairs
12. ICAAP and NCDC jointly release Handbook on Good Practices for Cooperatives
- ICAAP and NCDC has jointly released a policy recommendation handbook on SAHAKAR PRAGYA Good Practices for Cooperatives based on ‘Brain Storming Session on International Good Practices Platform for Cooperatives’.
- It is a Compendium of Guidelines, Resources, Methodologies, Key Learning, and Case Studies of Best Performing Cooperatives in India and abroad
- It will help Cooperatives to Innovate and Adopt Best Models for Competitive and Successful Commercial Entities
Agreement
13. MSDE sign MoU with IGNOU to link vocational education with higher education
- Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship has signed MoU with Indira Gandhi Open University (IGNOU) to further strengthen the vocational and technical training framework
- Aim: to link vocational education and training with higher education, making India’s youth employable by creating avenues for them to access better work opportunities.
- The trainees attached to National Skill Training Institutes (NSTI), Industrial Training Institutes (ITI), PMKK and JSS
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