National
Keraleeyam-V K Madhavan Kutty Puraskaram-2020
⇒ The Vice President, Shri M Venkaiah Naidu presented ‘Keraleeyam-V K Madhavan Kutty Puraskaram-2020’ in different categories to four journalists at Upa-Rashtrapati Nivas in Delhi on 17 December 2021.
Recipients of the award:
- Shri Prasanth Reghuvamsam Resident Editor Asianet News Television Channel at Delhi
- Shri Kamal Varadoor, Chief Editor of Chandrika Malayalam News daily
- Shri Anu Abraham, Senior Sub Editor Mathrubhumi Malayalam News daily
- Shri Alex Raj Senior Reporter of 24 News, a Malayalam language Television Channel
Raksha Mantri Awards for Excellence 2021
⇒ Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh gave away Raksha Mantri Awards for Excellence 2021 on the occasion of 96th Raising Day of Directorate General Defence Estates in New Delhi on December 16, 2021.
The recipients were awarded for innovation and digital achievements in the fields of health, education and sanitation along with public service and land management.
A new award has been instituted by the Raksha Mantri for achievement in implementation of ‘e-Chhawani’ project in the year 2021.
These categories are:
- Swachh Chhawani Swasth Chhawani
- Digital Accomplishments
- Innovation in Public Services
- Land and Record management
- Improvement in Cantonment General Hospital
- Implementation of ‘e-Chhawani’ Project
» On the occasion, the Raksha Mantri also inaugurated Centre of Excellence in the field of survey technology for capacity building, set up by National Institute of Defence Estates Management (NIDEM).
- National Institute of Defence Estates Management is the apex Central Training Institute to provide professional training to the officers and employees of the Defence Estates department.
- The Centre will focus on new techniques of survey i.e., Drone Surveying and Simultaneous Localisation and Mapping (SLAM) technologies.
» Shri Rajnath Singh also launched Geographic Information System (GIS)-based automated water supply pipeline system under e-Chhawani.
LogiXtics - Unified Logistics Interface Platform’s (ULIP) Hackathon
⇒ The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has launched the Unified Logistics Interface Platform’s (ULIP) Hackathon – ‘LogiXtics’ in December 2021.
- The hackathon ‘LogiXtics’ has been launched in order to crowdsource more ideas which will benefit the logistics industry.
Organized by:
The ULIP Hackathon – LogiXtics is organized by NITI Aayog and Atal Innovation Mission and supported by National Industrial Corridor Development Corporation (NICDC) and NICDC Logistics Data Bank Services Limited (NLDSL).
About ULIP:
» ULIP is designed to enhance efficiency and reduce logistics cost in India by creating a transparent platform that can provide real time information to all stakeholders and remove all asymmetry information.
» ULIP is being developed as technology platform in the logistics sector which will provide real time information to all stakeholders and will converge visibility of multi-modal transport across the existing systems of various Ministries/Departments working in silos.
There are three key components which are defining the ULIP platform:
- Integration with existing data sources of ministries
- Data exchange with private players
- Unified document reference in the supply chain
» The proposed Hackathon is a competitive event where participants can get to showcase their strategic, coding and domain skills on a national-level platform.
- The real usability of ULIP will further get enhanced through this Hackathon as it aims to crowdsource more ideas which will benefit the logistics industry.
International
PM Modi conferred with the highest civilian decoration of Bhutan
⇒ The King of Bhutan, His Majesty Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, conferred its highest civilian award, the Order of the Druk Gyalpo, on Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi on the occasion of the country’s National Day.
National Day of Bhutan:
- Bhutan celebrated its 114th National Day on 17 December 2021.
- National Day of Bhutan commemorates the Coronation of His Majesty the First King of Bhutan, Druk Gyalpo Ugyen Wangchuck on December 17, 1907.
Loan signed between Government of India and the Germany Development Bank
⇒ The Government of India and the Germany Development Bank – KFW (Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau) signed a Euro 442.26 million loan for Surat Metro Rail project on 17 December 2021.
About Project:
- The total cost of the project is Euro 1.50 billion, out of which KfW is financing Euro 442.26 million.
- The project is being co-financed by French Development Agency, AFD (Agence Française de Développemet). The Agreement with AFD for Euro 250 million was signed on 28 January 2021.
- The 40.35 km Surat Metro project aims to strengthen & augment the transport infrastructure of the Surat urban agglomeration.
Important Day
Goa Liberation Day
⇒ Goa Liberation Day is observed every year in India on 19 December. Goa celebrated its 60th liberation day on 19 December 2021.
Goa Liberation Day is celebrated to mark the success of ‘Operation Vijay’ undertaken by the Indian Armed Forces that liberated Goa from Portuguese rule.
Sports
BWF World Championships 2021
⇒ The 2021 Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Championships (officially known as the TotalEnergies BWF World Championships 2021) was an annual badminton tournament held in Huelva, Spain from 12 December to 19 December 2021.
- India won a total of 2 medals including 1 silver and 1 bronze in the championship.