DAILY GK 20,21 DEC
1.
INDIA LAUNCHES ‘GROUP OF
FRIENDS’ TO PROMOTE ACCOUNTABILITY FOR CRIMES AGAINST PEACEKEEPERS
·India, the President of the
United Nations Security Council (UNSC), has launched a ‘Group of
Friends’ to promote accountability for crimes against
peacekeepers.
·The co-chairs of the ‘Group of Friends’ are
India, Bangladesh, Egypt, France, Morocco and Nepal.
·Peacekeeping is one of the key tools that is available with the UNSC to
maintain international peace and security.
·India, among the largest troop-contributing countries to UN
peacekeeping, which has lost around 177 peacekeepers in
the line of duty and is notably the largest among other countries.
2.
GOOGLE PARTNERS DIGILOCKER
TO BRING ON-DEVICE STORING OF GOVERNMENT IDS
·During the Google for India
2022 (8th edition) conference, Google announced a
partnership with DigiLocker, a government-authorised
identification storage system, to bring local storage of government-issued IDs
on Android devices.
·Google’s AI offering includes, on-device processing of text and images
to identify important documents and organise them in a locally stored ‘Files’
folder.
·In March 2022, DigiLocker’s user base topped 100 million. To retrieve,
digitize, and store government-issued papers, it makes use of an Application
Programming Interface (API).
·DigiLocker is a flagship initiative of the Ministry of Electronics &
IT (MeitY) under the Digital India programme.
3.
INDIA’S SARGAM KOUSHAL
CROWNED AS MRS WORLD 2022
·India’s Sargam
Koushal was crowned Mrs World 2022 held at the Westgate Las Vegas
Resort & Casino, Nevada, United States of America(USA). She brought the
crown back to India, 21 years after Aditi Govitrikar (Mrs
World 2001).
·She was crowned by Shaylyn Ford, Mrs World 2021
from the United States (US)
·Mrs Polynesia was named the 1st runner-up, followed by Mrs Canada as the
2nd runner-up.
4.
LEO VARADKAR ELECTED AS
IRELAND’S PRIME MINISTER
·Indian origin Leo
Varadkar leader of the Fine
Gael party has been elected Prime Minister of Ireland (Taoiseach) for the second
time in December 2022.
·Leo Varadkar was appointed as new Prime Minister by Irish President
Michael D. Higgins
·The former Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin is
the new deputy prime minister and minister for foreign affairs and defence.
·The Republic of Ireland is a parliamentary representative democracy,
with the Legislative power vested in the Oireachtas and
the executive Executive power vested on Taoiseach (Prime Minister),
along with Tánaiste (Deputy Prime Minister).
·Ireland
Capital – Dublin,Currency
– Euro
5.
‘INS MORMUGAO’: STEALTH
GUIDED MISSILE DESTROYER COMMISSIONED INTO INDIAN NAVY
·The Indian
Naval Ship (INS) Mormugao (D67), the second of four “Visakhapatnam”-class destroyers, also known
as the “Project 15B” class of stealth guided-missile
destroyers, was commissioned at Naval Dockyard, Mumbai, Maharashtra.
·It underwent sea trials on December 19, 2021, when Goa commemorated 60
years of independence from Portuguese rule.
·Goa
Liberation Day is
observed annually on December 19, to commemorate the
armed forces operation known as “Operation Vijay,” which
was launched in 1961 in an effort to liberate the state by defeating the Portuguese.
·The INS Mormugao is named after Mormugao, a historic
port city in Goa on the west coast.
6.
22ND FIFA MEN’S WORLD
CUP 2022
·The 22nd FIFA Men’s World
Cup 2022 was held from November 20, 2022 – December 18, 2022 in Qatar.
·It was the first World Cup
held in the Middle Eastern country and the second
held entirely in Asia after the 2002 tournament jointly hosted by South Korea
and Japan.
·Argentina grabbed the top spot. It was its
3rd title.
·The runner up was France while
the 3rd and 4th place was secured by Croatia, and Morocco respectively.
·Argentina’s Captain,
and Seven-time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi was
named as tournament’s best player, winning the Golden Ball.
·Morocco became the first
African country to reach the World Cup semifinals by beating Portugal 1-0.
·The FIFA World Cup is held every four years. This tournament was first held in 1930. No World Cup was
held in 1942 and 1946 due to World War II.
·Official
match ball- Adidas ‘Al Rihla’
(The Journey)
·Official match ball of last 3 matches
(semi-finals, third-place, and final)- Al
Hilm’ (Dream in Arabic)
·FIFA World Cup 2022 trophy unveiled by- Indian actor Deepika Padukone
·Total
Matches-64, Total Teams-32
·The official mascot of the FIFA World Cup 2022 La’eeb, which
is an Arabic word meaning “super-skilled player”.
·Kylian Mbappé is the top scorer in the 2022
FIFA World Cup with 8 goals get Golden
Boot Award
·Golden Glove Best Goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez (Argentina)
·FIFA Young Player Award Enzo Fernández (Argentina)
7.
FIH HOCKEY WOMEN’S NATIONS
CUP SPAIN 2022
·The Indian women’s hockey team won
the inaugural FIH Hockey Women’s Nations Cup 2022 by
defeating Spain in the final (1-0) held in Valencia, Spain.
·Spain is in the second position followed by Japan and Ireland in third
and fourth position.
·India and Spain had played in the FIH women’s Hockey Pro League 2021-22
season as replacement teams after pull-outs by Australia and New Zealand due to
COVID-19 related issues.
·FIH President –Mohammad Tayyab
Ikram,Headquarters – Lausanne, Switzerland
8.
INTERNATIONAL MIGRANTS DAY
2022 -DECEMBER 18
·The day(18th December) marks
the day on which the UNGA adopted the International Convention on the
Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families
in 1990.
·International
Organization for Migration (IOM)was first established as the
Provisional Intergovernmental Committee for the Movement of Migrants from
Europe (PICMME) in 1951 and was renamed as International Organization for
Migration(IOM) in 1980(after a series of name change).
·Headquarters–
Geneva, Switzerland
9.
MINORITY RIGHTS DAY 2022 –
18TH DECEMBER
·The day marks the day on
which the United Nations (UN) adopted and broadcast the Statement on the
individual’s Rights belonging to Religious or Linguistic National or Ethnic
Minorities in 1992.
·National
Commission for Minorities (NCM) Chairperson–
Iqbal Singh Lalpura
10.
MP GETS INDIA’S 1ST &
WORLD’S 2ND INFANTRY MUSEUM AT MHOW CANTONMENT, INDORE
·
On the eve of 75 years of raising of the
Infantry School and to commemorate the Vijay Diwas, India’s first & World’s
2nd Infantry Research Centre and Museum was inaugurated in the Mhow cantonment
in Indore district, Madhya Pradesh(MP).
·
The
museum was thrown open to the public on 17th December 2022.
·
The
Museum showcases the history of the Infantry Corps from 1747 to 2020 which
includes the sacrifice of valour and valiant soldiers preserved in statues,
murals and photo galleries of 30
theme zones.
·
National
Infantry Museum and Soldier Center, Maneuver Center of Excellence at Fort
Benning in Columbus Georgia, United States of America is the world’s first
National Infantry Museum.
11.
48TH MEETING OF THE GST
COUNCIL
·
The 48th Goods and Services Tax
(GST) Council Meeting was conducted virtually on December 17,
2022, in New Delhi, Delhi, and was presided over by Union Minister Nirmala
Sitharaman, Ministry of Finance (MoF).
·
The council has clarified the applicability
of a 22 % cess on Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs) provided four requirements are
fulfilled.
·
The GST on pulse husks has been decreased
from 5% to NIL.
·
In accordance with Section 132 of the Central
Goods and Services Tax (CGST) Act of 2017, the GST Council
suggested decriminalizing a number of offences.
12.
MEGHALAYA TOPS STATES IN
AVERAGE MONTHLY INCOME PER AGRICULTURAL HOUSEHOLD
·
According to the 77th round of the Situation
Assessment Survey (SAS) of Agricultural Households in the
rural areas of India, Meghalaya tops the list of Average monthly income per
agricultural household.
·
Meghalaya topped the list with a monthly agriculture
household income of Rs 29,348 followed by Punjab with
Rs 26,701 and Haryana with Rs 22,841.
·
The
77th round of the survey was conducted by the National Statistical Office (NSO)
under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI)
from January 2019 to December 2019 with reference to the agricultural
year July 2018-June 2019.
13.
2022 UN BIODIVERSITY
CONFERENCE HELD IN MONTREAL CANADA
·
The United Nations (UN) Biodiversity
Conference was held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada to acknowledge new set of goals
to guide global action through 2030 in order to prevent nature loss.\
·
It comprised of the 15th meeting of the
Conference of the Parties (COP 15) to the Convention on Biological Diversity
(CBD)
·
The president
of COP15 was China.
·
India was represented by Union Minister Bhupender Yadav,
Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change (MoEF&CC).
·
The conference saw the adoption of the
Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) that addresses the key drivers of nature
loss, and promotes health and well-being of mankind and planet. It will
replace the Aichi Biodiversity Targets.
·
A number of Small Island Developing States
(SIDS) has agreed to form a ‘Coalition for Nature’ for the implementation and
adoption of GBF. It will be led by Cabo Verde, Samoa and Seychelles.
14.
SCIENCE & ENGINEERING
INDICATORS 2022 RANKING
·
India has improved its position in the global
ranking of scientific publications from 7th in 2010 to 3rd in 2020,
according to the “Science & Engineering Indicators 2022” report
by the National Science Foundation (NSF) of the United States (US).
·
The
amount of scholarly output produced in India has increased, going from 60,555
papers in 2010 to 1,49,213 papers in 2020.
·
The
National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent US government agency that
supports fundamental research and education in all non-medical fields of
science and engineering.
15.
US-AFRICA LEADERS SUMMIT WASHINGTON DC
·
Nigeria and Rwanda became
the first African nations to sign the Artemis
Accords during the first-ever US-Africa Space Forum, which
was held on the sideline of the US-Africa Leaders Summit in Washington DC,
United States (US).
·
Nigeria
& Rwanda have become the 22nd and 23rd signatories of the Artemis Accords.
·
The Artemis Accords are the broad non-binding framework that was
launched jointly by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and
the U.S. State Department along with eight
other nations in 2020 with an aim of
advancing bilateral and multilateral space cooperation between the signatories.
·
With
the signing of Nigeria and Rwanda, there are now total 23 signatories to the
accord.
16.
NITIN GADKARI LAUNCHES
FIRST-EVER ‘SURETY BOND INSURANCE’ FOR INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS
·
Union Minister for Road Transport and
Highways Nitin Gadkari launched
India’s first-ever ‘Surety Bond Insurance’ product
from Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company to
reduce the dependence of infrastructure developers on bank guarantees.
·
The
product was introduced in response to the demand identified by the
Infrastructure sector and the Government of India (GoI).
17.
DINESH KUMAR SHUKLA
APPOINTED AS CHAIRPERSON OF AERB
·
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet
(ACC) has approved the appointment of Senior Nuclear Scientist Dinesh Kumar
Shukla to the post of Chairperson of the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB).
He has been appointed to the post for a period of three years.
·
Dinesh
Kumar Shukla, who has been the Executive Director of the AERB, succeeds G
Nageswara Rao to the post of Chairperson.
18.
3RD T20 WORLD CUP FOR THE
BLIND 2022
·
The Indian National Blind
Cricket Team won the 3rd T20 World Cup for the blind
2022 by defeating Bangladesh in the final held at M Chinnaswamy
Stadium, Bengaluru, Karnataka.
·
Team India has won the title for the third consecutive time(previously won
in 2012 and 2017). Indian blind cricket team was led by Ajay Kumar Reddy.
·
Sunil
Ramesh was awarded man of the match.
19.
INTERNATIONAL HUMAN
SOLIDARITY DAY 2022 – DECEMBER 20
·
United Nations (UN)’s International
Human Solidarity Day is annually observed across the globe
on December 20 to raise public awareness of the
value of solidarity
·
The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA)
adopted the resolution A/RES/60/209 on
22nd December 2005 and proclaimed December 20 of each year as International
Human Solidarity Day.
