National
Energy Conservation Week
⇒ The Ministry of Power celebrated Energy Conservation Week under Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav from 8th to 14th December 2021. Various activities were undertaken by Power CPSUs as part of the celebrations.
Certification Course on Home Energy Audit:
The Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) virtually launched “Certification Course on Home Energy Audit (HEA)”, during “National Energy Conservation Week.
- The certification program will create awareness on importance and benefits of energy audit and energy efficiency and conservation among students from engineering/diploma colleges.
- This will increase employability of youth in the domain of energy efficiency, climate change mitigation, and sustainability.
- Energy Management Centre, Kerala has been identified as Mentor SDA for the initiative.
- Other 11 SDAs namely Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Daman & Diu, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Sikkim, and Telangana have expressed their willingness to run the Certification Course on HEA for respective stakeholders in their states.
'SAMPANN' Project
⇒ More than One Lakh pensioners are currently being serviced by Principal Controller of Communication Accounts/ Controller of Communication Accounts offices all over India via ‘SAMPANN’.
SAMPANN has improved the service delivery to pensioners by providing a single window setup ensuring the following benefits:
- Timely settlement of pension cases
- Provision of e-Pension Payment Order
- Login for each pensioner enables access to key information like payment history
- Online submission of grievances and timely SMS alerts
» It has ensured recurring monthly savings to the Government of India on account of Commission being paid to Banks/Post Offices for payment of Pension which approximately amounts to Rs.11.5 Crores as of June, 2021.
About SAMPANN:
- ‘SAMPANN’ was dedicated to the nation by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi on 29th December, 2018.
- ‘SAMPANN’ – ‘System for Accounting and Management of Pension’ is an ambitious project of Government of India being implemented by Controller General of Communication Accounts, Department of Telecommunications, Ministry of Communications.
- It is a seamless online pension processing and payment system for Department of Telecommunications pensioners.
- It provides direct credit of pension into the bank accounts of pensioners.
Chairman of India Tourism Development Corporation
⇒ BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra has been appointed as the chairman of India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet on 01 December 2021.
- The ACC has approved the appointment of Dr Sambit Patra as Part-Time Non-Executive Director and Chairman of ITDC for a period of three years from the date of assumption of charge, or until further orders, whichever is earlier.
» The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the proposals of the Ministry of Tourism of splitting of the post of Chairman and Managing Director (CMD), India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) into two posts of Chairman, ITDC and Managing Director ITDC.
- It also continued the tenure of 1990 batch IAS officer Ganji Kamala V. Rao to the post of MD, ITDC, till further orders.
International
Federal Chancellor of Germany
⇒ Mr Olaf Scholz has been elected as the Federal Chancellor of Germany. Olaf Scholz has been been sworn in as Germany’s new chancellor on 08 December 2021.
- He was formally appointed as the ninth federal chancellor by President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
- The German parliament, the Bundestag, backed him as chancellor by 395 votes to 303.
G20 Troika
⇒ India has joined the G20 Troika on 01 December 2021. Apart from India, Troika consists of Indonesia and Italy.
» Indonesia has assumed the G20 Presidency on 01 December 2021. Indonesia will convene various G20 meetings throughout the year culminating with the G20 Leaders’ Summit in October 2022 under the overall theme of Recover Together Recover Stronger.
During this, the External Affairs Ministry said:
- India will assume the G20 Presidency in December 2022 from Indonesia and will convene the G20 Leaders’ Summit for the first time in the country in 2023.
- India will work closely with Indonesia and Italy to ensure consistency and continuity of the G20’s agenda as a Troika member.
Sports
World Athletics Awards 2021
⇒ The World Athletics Awards 2021 ceremony held virtually on 01 December 2021. Ten awards were presented at the World Athletics Awards.
Indian Winner:
Legendary Indian athlete Anju Bobby George has been bestowed with the Woman of the Year Award by World Athletics for grooming talent in the country and for her advocacy of gender equality.
Read More About World Athletics Awards 2021
Death
Veteran journalist Vinod Dua
⇒ Veteran journalist Vinod Dua passed away on 04 December 2021. He was 67.
Mr Dua was honored with several awards for his contribution to journalism.
In 1996, he became the first electronic media journalist to win the Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Award. He was also awarded the Padma Shri for Journalism in 2008. In June 2017, for his lifetime achievement in the field of journalism, Mumbai Press Club awarded him the RedInk Award.
