Daily Current Affairs for State Exams: 27 December 2021

Daily Current Affairs 27/12/2021

Important News: India

Good Governance Index 2021

Why in News

Union Minister of Home Affairs and Minister of Cooperation, Amit Shah released the Good Governance Index 2021 prepared by DARPG (Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances) on Good Governance Day at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.

Key Points

Good Governance Index, GGI 2021 Framework covered 10 sectors and 58 indicators.
The sectors of GGI 2020-21 are 1) Agriculture and Allied Sectors, 2) Commerce & Industries, 3) Human Resource Development, 4) Public Health, 5) Public Infrastructure & Utilities, 6) Economic Governance, 7) Social Welfare & Development, 8) Judicial & Public Security, 9) Environment, and 10) Citizen-Centric Governance.
The GGI 2020-21 categorises States and UTs into four categories, i.e., (i) Other States – Group A; (ii) Other States – Group B; (iii) North-East and Hill States; and (iv) Union Territories.
Gujarat has topped the composite ranking in the 58 indicator index followed by Maharashtra and Goa.
Gujarat registered 12.3 percent increase over GGI 2019 indicators.
Uttar Pradesh has shown an incremental growth of 8.9 % over GGI 2019 performance.
In the Union Territories category, Delhi tops the composite rank registering a 14 percent increase over the GGI 2019 indicators.
Top ranking States in the Sectors as well as in Composite Ranks is as follows:

Sectors	Group A	Group B	NE & Hill States	UTs
Agriculture & Allied Sector	Andhra Pradesh	Madhya Pradesh	Mizoram	D & N Haveli
Commerce and Industry	Telangana	Uttar Pradesh	J & K	Daman & Diu
Human Resource Development	Punjab	Odisha	Himachal Pradesh	Chandigarh
Public Health	Kerala	West Bengal	Mizoram	A & N Island
Public Infrastructure and Utilities	Goa	Bihar	Himachal Pradesh	A & N Island
Economic Governance	Gujarat	Odisha	Tripura	Delhi
Social Welfare and Development	Telangana	Chhattisgarh	Sikkim	D & N Haveli
Judiciary and Public Safety	Tamil Nadu	Rajasthan	Nagaland	Chandigarh
Environment	Kerala	Rajasthan	Manipur	Daman & Diu
Citizen Centric Governance	Haryana	Rajasthan	Uttarakhand	Delhi
Composite	Gujarat	Madhya Pradesh	Himachal Pradesh	Delhi

Source: PIB

Hurun Global Unicorn Index 2021: With 54 unicorns, India overtakes UK to third spot

Why in News

India has a total of 54 unicorns, ranking it third in the world, and overtook the UK, according to Hurun Global Unicorn Index 2021.

Key Points

The USA and China still continue to bag the top ranks in the list.
India’s list of unicorns is led by which is valued at $21 billion, followed by mobile ad-tech platform InMobi valued at $12 billion and hospitality major OYO Rooms with a valuation of $9.5 billion.
In the global rankings, ByteDance tops the list with a valuation of $350 billion.

Note:

Indians founded 119 Unicorns (65 are Outside of India and 54 are in India).
The Hurun Research Institute’s Global Unicorn Index 2021 is a ranking of the world’s start-ups founded in the 2000s, are worth at least a billion dollars, and are not listed on a public exchange.

About Unicorns: A unicorn is a privately held startup company valued at over $1 billion.

Source: Business Today

Union Minister of Tribal Affairs inaugurates a pictorial chronicle on Van Dhan programme and 14 Honey Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs)

Why in News

Union Minister for Tribal Affairs Arjun Munda launched the ‘TRIFED Van Dhan- A Chronicle of Tribal Grit & Enterprise’.
He launched the formation of 14 Honey Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) and a MIS Portal for Minimum Support Price (MSP) for Minor Forest Produces (MFP).
He launched 9 promotional videos for promoting TRIBES INDIA and Van Dhan products.
In addition, UNICEF and TRIFED signed an MoU on Tribal Samvaad Network (Communication campaign).
The research report titled, ‘Tribal Livelihoods: From Sustenance to Sustainability’, has also been launched.

Key Points

In a short span of two years, it has successfully now sanctioned 52976 Van Dhan SHGs subsumed into 3110 VDVKCs covering 9.27 lakh beneficiaries & 27 States/UTs.

Formation of 14 Honey Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs):

Beekeeping activity has been recognized as one of the important activities by Govt of India for its promotion and development to achieve “Sweet Revolution” in the endeavor of enhancing income of farmers.
A central scheme titled “Formation and Promotion of 10,000 Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs)” was launched to ensure economies of scale for farmers over the next five years.
The National Bee Board (NBB), under the National Beekeeping & Honey Mission (NHBM), has planned to develop the scientific bee-keeping value chain for honey across 100 clusters in the country.
TRIFED has been made the implementing agency by the Ministry of Agriculture to undertake the formation of 14 Honey FPOs alongside NAFED and NDDB in the states of Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Gujarat.

Source: PIB

NMCG & TERI launch Centre of Excellence on Water Reuse

Why in News

The Director General of National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) and the Director General of the Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) launched the NMCG-TERI’s Centre of Excellence (CoE) on Water Reuse at the TERI Headquarters in New Delhi.
The CoE on Water Reuse is the first of its kind to be established in the country through collaboration between NMCG and TERI.

Key Points

The Centre is a quadripartite alliance between NMCG, TERI, industry partners and industry representative bodies, to come up at the TERI campus in Gwal Pahari, Gurugram, will be meeting the objectives of the Ganga Knowledge Centre (GKC) to design and foster research and innovation.
TERI has developed the TERI Advanced Oxidation Technology (TADOX^®) for wastewater treatment.

Source: PIB

Important News: Sports

Spinner Harbhajan Singh announces retirement from all forms of cricket

Why in News

Veteran Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh has announced retirement from all forms of cricket.

Key Points

The 41-year-old spinner from Punjab, who made his Test debut against Australia in Bangalore back in 1998, took a total of 417 wickets in 103 Tests.
He also scalped 269 wickets in 236 One Day International and 25 wickets in 28 T20 internationals during his over two-decades-long career.
Harbhajan last played for the country in March 2016 during a T20I against the UAE at Dhaka.

Source: newsonair

Important News: Polity

Karnataka Protection of Right to Freedom of Religion Bill, 2021

Why in News

The Karnataka legislative Assembly has passed the Karnataka Protection of Right to Freedom of Religion Bill, 2021, commonly referred to as the anti-conversion Bill.

Key Points

The Bill states, “No person shall convert or attempt to convert either directly or otherwise any other person from one religion to another by use of misrepresentation, force, undue influence, coercion, allurement or by any fraudulent means or by marriage, nor shall any person abet or conspire for conversions.”
According to the proposed legislation, complaints regarding conversions can be filed by family members or any other person who is related to the individual who is getting converted.
A jail term of three to five years and a fine of Rs 25,000 has been proposed for those violating the law in the case of people from general categories, and a jail term of three to 10 years and a fine of Rs 50,000 has been mooted for those converting minors, women or persons from SC/ST communities.

Anti-Conversion Laws in India:

Constitutional Provision: The Indian Constitution under Article 25 guarantees the freedom to profess, propagate, and practise religion, and allows all religious sections to manage their own affairs in matters of religion; subject to public order, morality, and health.
Existing Laws: There has been no central legislation restricting or regulating religious conversions.

Note: Other States like Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh have also passed laws restricting religious conversion.

Source: Indian Express

Important News: State

Amit Shah inaugurates 'Bharat Darshan Park' in Delhi

Why in News

Union Home Minister Amit Shah inaugurated the 'Bharat Darshan Park' in New Delhi which showcases attractive replicas of several iconic monuments of India built with scrap and waste material.

Key Points

The recreational garden was built by the South Delhi Municipal Corporation on the 'waste-to-wealth' model.
A total of 22 replicas have been put up in the park. These include replicas of 21 monuments and a tree.
The theme of the park is 'Unity and Diversity'.
These replicas have been built with scrap and waste material such as dumped old vehicles, fans, iron rods, nuts and bolts, lying unused or abandoned.
Like 'Waste to Wonder Park', 'Bharat Darshan Park' will also become a popular tourist spot of Delhi, where people will be able to see 'mini India' in one place.
'Waste-to-Wonder Park' in Sarai Kale Khan Area was opened in February 2019.

Source: Business Standard

Important News: Defence

DRDO successfully conducts flight test of indigenous Aerial Target ‘Abhyas’

Why in News

DRDO successfully conducted the flight test of indigenously developed High-speed Expendable Aerial Target (HEAT) Abhyas from Integrated Test Range (ITR), Chandipur off the coast, Odisha.

Key Points

Two boosters provided initial acceleration during launch and a small turbo jet engine is used to sustain high subsonic speed with long endurance.
The indigenous data link designed by Bengaluru based Industry partner has been successfully flown and tested during the flight.
Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), bengaluru based DRDO laboratory along with other DRDO laboratories has developed this indigenous unmanned aerial target system to meet the requirement of aerial targets of Indian Armed Forces.

Source: PIB

INS Khukri decommissioned after 32 years of service to the nation

Why in News

INS Khukri, the first of the indigenously built Missile Corvettes, was decommissioned after 32 years of glorious service.

Key Points

The corvette was built by the Mazagaon Dock Shipbuilders on 23 August 1989 and had the distinction of being part of both the Western and Eastern Fleets.
During her service, the ship was commanded by 28 Commanding Officers and traversed a distance of over 6,44,897 nautical miles.

Source: PIB

Important News: Important Day

December 25, Good Governance Day

Why in News

Good Governance Day is observed annually on December 25.

Key Points

On this day, the country celebrates the birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

History:

On December 23, 2014, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya (posthumously) were announced as recipients of India's highest civilian award, Bharat Ratna.
After the announcement, the newly elected Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced to celebrate 25 December as Good Governance Day.

Source: India Today