Daily Current Affairs December 28 2021 | Latest News

 

CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL NEWS

Good Governance Index 2021 launched on Good Governance Day by Amit Shah:

• Union Minister of Home Affairs and Minister of Cooperation, Mr Amit Shah has released the Good Governance Index 2021 prepared by DARPG on Good Governance Day at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.
• Good Governance Index, GGI 2021 Framework covered ten 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.,

• Other States – Group A;
• Other States – Group B;
• North-East and Hill States; and
• Union Territories.

Gujarat, Maharashtra and Goa top the composite rank score covering 10 sectors.

• GGI 2021 says that Gujarat registered 12.3 percent increase and Goa registered 24.7 percent increase over GGI 2019 indicators.
• Gujarat has performed strongly in 5 of the 10 sectors including economic governance, human resource development, public infrastructure and utilities, social welfare and development, judiciary and public safety.
• Maharashtra has performed strongly in agriculture and allied sector, human resource development, public infrastructure and utilities, social welfare and development.
• Goa has performed strongly in agriculture and allied sector, commerce and industry, public infrastructure and utilities, economic governance, social welfare and development and environment.

NITI Aayog to release the fourth edition of “The Healthy States, Progressive India” ranking States performance:

• NITI Aayog as the premier policy ‘Think Tank’ of the Government of India, believes in the mantra ‘what gets measured gets done.
• As a part of cooperative & competitive federalism, NITI Aayog and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) work to continuously nudge states/UTs towards improvements in health outcomes.
• In 2017 the National Institution for Transforming India (NITI Aayog) in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) and the World Bank initiated an annual Health Index for tracking Overall Performance and Incremental Performance on health across all states and Union Territories (UTs).
• The objective of the Annual Health Index is to track progress on health outcomes and health systems performance, develop a healthy competition and encourage cross-learning among states and UTs.
• Health Index Scores and rankings for states and UTs are generated to assess incremental performance (year-to-year progress) and overall performance (current performance).
• The exercise is expected to help drive state/UT’s efforts towards the achievement of health-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) including those related to Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and other health outcomes.
• Health Index is a weighted composite score incorporating 24 indicators covering key aspects of health performance.
• The importance of this annual tool is reemphasized by MOHFW’s s decision to link this Health Index to incentives under National Health Mission.

National Book Trust announces of 75 Selected Authors under the PM- YUVA Mentorship Scheme:

• National Book Trust, India, under Ministry of Education, has announced the results of the All-India Contest organized on the Theme ‘National Movement of India’ under the PM-YUVA Mentorship Scheme as part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav 
• As per the Scheme, 75 Authors were to be selected through this contest for a Scholarship-cum-Mentorship Scheme for the young authors below the age of 30 years.
• The All-India Contest was organized from 1^stJune-31^st July 2021 through MyGov and National Book Trust, India platforms.
• Nearly 16000 entries in 22 Official languages and English were received from all across the country including some from Indian Diaspora Community.
• All the book proposals were read by multiple panels of experts and went through three layers of scrutiny.
• It may be recalled that during his Mann Ki Baat address dated 31^stJanuary 2021, the Prime Minister Shri
• Out of the 75 selected authors, 38 are males and 37 are females.
• Further, two are below 15 years, whereas there are 16 authors in the age-group of 15-20 years, 32 fall in the age group of 21-25 years and 25 authors are in the age group of 26-30 years.

PM to visit Kanpur on 28 December and inaugurate Kanpur Metro Rail Project:

• Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will visit Kanpur on 28 December 2021 and inaugurate the completed section of Kanpur Metro Rail Project.
• During the programme, the Prime Minister will also inaugurate the Bina-Panki Multiproduct Pipeline Project. Prior to this, Prime Minister will attend the 54th Convocation Ceremony of IIT Kanpur.
• Improving urban mobility has been one of the key focus areas of the Prime Minister. The inauguration of the completed section of the Kanpur Metro Rail Project is yet another step in this direction.
• Prime Minister will inspect the Kanpur Metro Rail Project and undertake a metro ride from IIT metro station to Geeta Nagar.
• The entire length of the Metro Rail Project in Kanpur is 32 Km, and is being built at a cost of over Rs 11,000 crore.
• Prime Minister will inaugurate the Bina-Panki Multiproduct Pipeline Project.
• The 356 Km long project has a capacity of around 3.45 million metric tonne per annum.
• Extending from Bina refinery in Madhya Pradesh to Panki in Kanpur, the project has been built at a cost of over Rs 1500 crore.
• Prime Minister will be the Chief Guest of the 54th Convocation of IIT Kanpur.
• During the convocation, all the students will be issued digital degrees through an in-house blockchain-driven technology developed at the Institute under the National Blockchain Project.

PM to visit Mandi has inaugurated & lay foundation stone of hydropower projects:

• Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will visit Mandi, Himachal Pradesh on 27 December 2021. He will inaugurate and lay the foundation stone of hydropower projects worth over Rs 11,000 crore.
• Prior to the event, he will preside over the second ground breaking ceremony of Himachal Pradesh Global Investors’ Meet
• Prime Minister will lay the foundation stone of Renukaji Dam project. Lying pending for around three decades, the project was made possible through the vision of cooperative federalism of the Prime Minister, when six states viz Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand and Delhi were brought together by the Centre for making the project possible.
• The 40 MW project will be built at a cost of around Rs 7000 crore. It will prove to be immensely beneficial for Delhi, which will be able to receive around 500 million cubic metre water supply per year.
• Prime Minister will lay the foundation stone of the Luhri Stage 1 Hydro Power Project.
• The 210 MW project will be built at a cost of over Rs 1800 crore. It will lead to generation of over 750 million units of electricity per year.

• Prime Minister will also lay the foundation stone of Dhaulasidh Hydro Power Project. This will be the first hydropower project of Hamirpur district.
• The 66 MW project will be built at a cost of over Rs 680 crore.
• Prime Minister will inaugurate the Sawra-Kuddu Hydro Power Project. The 111 MW Project has been built at a cost of around Rs 2080 crore.

Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Rural Livelihoods Mission Overdraft facility for women SHG members launched:

• Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM) organised a special event called “Discourse on Rural Financial Inclusion” on 18^th December, 2021 through virtual mode to celebrate 75 years of the independence of the country under Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav.
• Executive Directors, Chief General Managers/ General Managers, other senior Officials of the banks and Chief Executive Officers/State Managing Directors from the State Rural Livelihoods Missions participated in the programme.
•  Charanjit Singh, Joint Secretary, Rural Livelihoods, Ministry of Rural Development welcomed all the participants and Sh. Nagendra Nath Sinha, Secretary, Department of Rural Development, Ministry of Rural Development, Govt. of India, New Delhi inaugurated the programme. 
• As a part of the event, the facility for overdraft (OD of Rs. 5,000/- to verified SHG members under DAY – NRLM having accounts under the prime Minister Jan Dhan Yojana with Banks was launched by Sh. Nagendra Nath Sinha, Secretary of Department of Rural Development.
• This facility has been initiated in pursuance of the announcement made by the finance minister in her budget speech of 2019-20.
• Six Women SHG members from three States i.e., Rajasthan, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh were provided with a cheque of Rs. 5,000 to mark the start of the scheme by the senior officials of the Banks in the presence of Chief Executive Officers/senior officers State Rural Livelihoods Missions at functions organised at State Head Quarters of the respective States.  
• It is estimated that about 5 crore women SHG members under DAY-NRLM would be benefitted from this facility evetually.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: STATE NEWS

Amp Energy India commissions 13.5 MW solar power project in Maharashtra:

• Renewable energy firm Amp Energy India has commissioned its second open access solar project in Maharashtra.
• Amp Energy India has recently commissioned a 13.5 MW solar power project for cement manufacturer Orient Cement
• The 13.5 MW project at Osmanabad, in Maharashtra will supply solar power to Orient Cement’s manufacturing facility in the State
• Amp Energy India has already developed large open access projects including some landmark projects such as the Largest Solar Open Access Project in Maharashtra (30MW), the First captive solar open access project in Uttar Pradesh (42MW) and its 3rd Open Access project in Karnataka (30 MW).

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BANKING AND ECONOMY

IndusInd Bank, NPCI tie-up to offer remittances to India using UPI IDs:

• IndusInd Bank has joined hands with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) for offering real-time cross-border remittances to India using UPI IDs for its Money Transfer Operator (MTO) partners.
• The private sector bank, has become the first Indian bank to go live on UPI for Cross Border Payments/NRI Remittances.
• Under this arrangement, the MTOs will be using the IndusInd Bank channel to connect with NPCI’s UPI payment systems for validation and cross-border payment settlement into beneficiary accounts.
• This collaboration will enable partners of IndusInd Bank to facilitate remittances from Non-Resident Indians (NRI) and People of Indian Origin (PIO) living across the globe to transfer money to their Non-Resident External (NRE) and Non-Resident Ordinary (NRO) accounts as well as to their families and relatives back in India.
• IndusInd Bank has started off with Thailand for Foreign Inward Remittance (FIR) through UPI.

HDFC Life Insurance announces bancassurance tie-up with South Indian Bank:

• HDFC Life Insurance Company has announced a bancassurance tie-up with South Indian Bank (SIB).
• This bancassurance arrangement will enable customers of SIB to avail HDFC Life’s life insurance products, including solutions for protection, savings and investment, retirement and critical illness.
• HDFC Life aims to provide SIB’s customer base with innovative products and superior levels of service via both the physical and digital routes.
• With insurance getting paramount importance especially during the pandemic, South Indian Bank’s strong customer connect and HDFC Life’s product suite, will ensure the customer is getting the best-in-class insurance solutions on offer.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : AWARDS & HONORS

JGU wins “Digital Innovation of the Year” at the Times Higher Education Asia Awards 2021

• P. Jindal Global University (JGU) has won the “Digital Innovation of the Year” award at the distinguished Times Higher Education (THE) Asia Awards 2021.
• JGU was the Only Indian University to be Shortlisted for the “Digital Innovation of the Year”
• The winner in the Technological or Digital Innovation of the Year category, India’s O.P. Jindal Global University, created a free, cloud-based application to help schools and universities manage data – especially useful given India’s digital divide.”
• JGU’s win at the THE Awards is a recognition of JGU’s successful digital transformation and impact over the last 2 years.
• The university also translated (e)learnings into a detailed “Covid-19 Response-Toolkit for Indian Higher Education Institutions: Institutional Resilience for Academic Planning & Continuity”.
• Tou, which is an amalgamated version of the internal software tools that JGU uses to operate the University online.
• It has enabled digital transformation of educational institutions across 12 states of India.

Times Higher Education Awards Asia 2021 winners :

• Leadership and Management Team of the Year – Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT)
• Workplace of the Year – Saint Joseph University of Beirut
• International Strategy of the Year – Hangzhou Dianzi University
• Teaching and Learning Strategy of the Year – National University of Singapore
• THE Data Points Social Impact Award – Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember
• THE Data Points Improved Performance Award – University Utara Malaysia
• Excellence and Innovation in the Arts – Hong Kong Baptist University
• Technological or Digital Innovation of the Year – O.P. Jindal Global University
• Outstanding Support for Students – Universiti Teknologi Petronas
• Student Recruitment Campaign of the Year – Hanoi University of Science and Technology

HDFC Life wins ‘Best Governed Company Listed Segment: Large Category’ award

• HDFC Life, one of India’s leading life insurance companies, has been adjudged the ‘Best Governed Company Listed Segment: Large Category’ at the 21st edition of the ICSI National Awards for Excellence in Corporate Governance.
• The award was presented by Hon’ble Union Minister of Home Affairs and Minister of Cooperation, Shri Amit Shah.
• The eminent Jury was headed by the Hon’ble Shri Justice P. Sathasivam, Former Chief Justice of India, who evaluated numerous companies to choose the best governed company in Large, Medium & Emerging categories in both listed and unlisted segments.
• The awardees were selected through a rigorous and comprehensive six-step evaluation process that covered the evaluation of responses on various compliance and governance parameters.
• A further evaluation based on principles of good corporate governance was conducted.
• This was followed by a corroboration of the Independent Directors and the regulatory response confirming the credentials of the company.
• Prior to final selection by the Jury, the screening of shortlisted companies was done by experts.

About HDFC Life :

• CEO: Vibha Padalkar
• Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra
• Founded: 2000
• HDFC Life Insurance Company Limited is a joint venture between HDFC Ltd., India’s leading housing finance institution and abrdn plc (formerly Standard Life Aberdeen plc), Standard Life Aberdeen, a global investment company.

HDFC Bank Wins Coveted CII Award for Most Innovative Best Practice

• HDFC Bank has won the coveted CII Digital Transformation Award 2021 for ‘Most Innovative Best Practice’ for Financial Inclusion.
• The award was for HDFC Bank’s efforts in furthering financial inclusion through partnership with Government of India’s Common Service Centers (CSC).
• HDFC Bank focuses on financial inclusion by offering entire bouquet of its world-class products through CSC’s network of VLE centres.

About HDFC :

• Chairman : Atanu Chakraborty
• CEO: Sashidhar Jagdishan
• Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
• Founded: August 1994
• It is the third largest company by market capitalisation

About CII :

• Founded: 1895
• President: T. V. Narendran
• Director General: Chandrajit Banerjee
• Headquarters: New Delhi, India
• Motto: Charting Change Enabling Development

CURRENT AFFAIRS : RANKING & INDEX

Global Unicorn Index 2021 : US Tops, India ranks 3rd

• According to the Hurun Global Unicorn Index 2021, India has a total of 54 unicorns, ranking it third (up from 33 unicorns in 2020) in the world.
• The USA led with 487 unicorns, up 254, followed by China on 301, up 74, together accounting for 74% of the world’s unicorns.
• Top 10 make up 25% of the total value of the world’s unicorns. 4 are from the USA, 3 from China and 1 from each of Australia, UK and Sweden.

Top 3 in Hurun Global Unicorn Index 2021

Rank	Company	City	Country
1	ByteDance	Beijing	China
2	Ant Group	Hangzhou	China
3	SpaceX	Los Angeles	USA

Indian Companies in the index :

• BYJU’S 15th position – (Bengaluru)
• InMobi – 28 (Bengaluru)
• OYO – 49 (Gurugram)
• Ola – 79 (Bengaluru)
• Phareasy- 100 (Mumbai)
• Swiggy – 100 (Bengaluru)

Top 5 countries in Hurun Global Unicorn Index 2021 :

Rank	Country	No.of.Unicorns
1-	USA	487 (+254)
2-	China	301 (+74)
3↑	India	54 (+33)
4↓	UK	39 (+15)
5↑	Germany	26 (+16)

Top 10 Cities in Hurun Global Unicorn Index 2021 :

Rank	City	No.of.Unicorns
1↑	San Francisco	151 (+83)
2↓	Beijing	91 (-2)
3↑	New York	85 (+52)
4↓	Shanghai	71 (+24)
5-	Shenzhen	32 (+12)
6↑	London	31 (+15)
7↑	Bengaluru	28 (+20)
8↓	Hangzhou	22 (+2)
9↑	Paris	18 (+12)
10↑	Berlin	17 (+12)

Year	No.of.unicorns	New faces
2019	494	–
2020	586	142
2021	1,058	673

• Indians founded 119 unicorns, of which 65 are outside of India and 54 are in India.
• Financial Services, Business Management Solutions, Healthcare and Retail have seen the biggest increase in number of unicorns in the past year.
• However, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Poland are among 160 countries where no unicorns have been discovered.

About unicorn :

• A unicorn is a term used in the venture capital industry to describe a startup company with a value of over $1 billion.

About Global Unicorn Index :

• The Hurun Research Institute in association with the Guangzhou City Commercial Bureau and Huangpu District released the Global Unicorn Index.
• It is a ranking of the world’s start-ups that were created in the 2000s, have a market capitalization of at least a billion dollars, and are not publicly traded.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : BOOKS & AUTHORS

VP Venkaiah Naidu releases the book Titled ‘Dr V L Dutt: Glimpses of a Pioneer’s Life Journey’

• Vice-President M. Venkaiah Naidu released the book V.L. Dutt – Glimpses of a Pioneer’s Life Journey, written by V.L. Indira Dutt.

About the Book :

• The book is based on the life of Velagapudi Lakshmana Dutt, former Chairman KCP Group.

Key People :

• Governor of Tamil Nadu, Shri R.N. Ravi, Tamil Nadu Minister for Environment, Climate and Youth Welfare and Sports Development, Shri Siva V. Meyyanathan, Chairperson and Managing Director of KCP Limited, Dr. V.L. Indira Dutt, Joint Managing Director, Smt. V. Kavitha Dutt and other dignitaries participated in the event.

About Dr. V.L. Dutt :

• V.L. Dutt was born on December 27, 1937.
• He served as the Chairman & Managing Director of KCP Limited in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
• He headed industry body FICCI during the crucial years of 1991-92.

Awards & Honors :

• In 1989, the Government of Andhra Pradesh conferred him with the Yajamanya Ratna Award.
• The President of Vietnam presented him the Friendship Medal in 2017 for his positive contribution to the development of Socio Economy of Phu Yen Province and contribution to strengthen traditional relations and overall partnership between Vietnam and India.
• He was honored with the ASEAN-India Achievement and Excellence Award and Paul Harris Fellow award by Rotary International are some of the notable recognitions.

About Velagapudi Lakshmana Dutt :

• He was a respected industrialist, philanthropist and a visionary par excellence.

BJP national spokesperson Sanju Verma authored a New Book Titled The Modi Gambit: Decoding Modi 2.0

• Economist and BJP national spokesperson Sanju Verma, authored a Book Titled The Modi Gambit : Decoding Modi 2.0, is a massive book on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his outstanding body of work.
• The Book is published by Gaurav Book Center Private limited.
• The introduction to the book has been written by BL Santhosh, national general secretary (organisation) of the BJP
• Foreword has been written by the erudite Mohandas Pai, while the Afterword is by ace journalist Anand Narasimhan, who summarises the essence of the book.

About the Book :

• The book is divided into three parts.
• The first part of the book talks about Modi’s economic policies, bold reforms including denationalization of coal, labor code, asset monetisation, eRUPI, IBC, banking consolidation, Air India privatisation and other reforms undertaken during his second term in office, which sum up the essence of Modinomics.
• The second part of the book is an exhaustive analysis of the Prime Minister’s fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The third and final part of The Modi Gambit traces the meteoric rise of Brand Modi.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : SPORTS NEWS

Pankaj Advani wins 11th National Billiards title

• Ace cueist Pankaj Advani successfully defended his national billiards title after defeating PSPB teammate Dhruv Sitwala 5-2 in a best of nine games final in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh.
• This was Advani’s 11th national senior billiards title and his 35th title overall.

About Pankaj Advani :

• Pankaj Arjan Advani born on 24 July 1985 in Pune, Maharashtra, India.
• He is an Indian billiards and snooker player & he is a 23-time world champion.
• He has won the IBSF World Billiards Championship 15 times, the World Team Billiards Championship once.
• Advani is the only cueist to have won the Asian and World Championships in all formats of billiards and snooker.
• He won the 2014 IBSF World 6-Red Snooker Championship.

Awards & Honors :

• Arjuna Award in 2004
• Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna, India’s highest sporting honour, 2005–06
• Padma Shri in 2009
• Padma Bhushan, India’s third highest civilian honour, 2018

About National Billiards & snooker championship 2021 :

• It is the 88th National Billiards & snooker championship which is held in Bhopal (first time), organized by the Billiards and Snooker Federation of India (BSFI), the governing body for cue sports in India.

About BSFI :

• Founded : 1926
• Headquarters : Bangalore, Karnataka
• President : M.C. Uthappa
• Secretary : Devendra Joshi

FIS Alpine Skiing Competition 2021 : Ace Indian skier Aanchal Thakur wins Bronze medal

• Indian skier Aanchal Thakur won the bronze medal in the giant slalom category at a Federation Internationale de Ski (FIS) meet held at Kolasin, Montenegro.
• She finished 3rd with an overall timing of 1:54:30. Georgia Epiphaniou, who won the Silver medal.
• Croatia’s Dora Ljutic (1:50.61) won the gold medal while Cyprus skier Georgia Epiphaniou (1:52.71) clinched silver.

Note :

• With this, Aanchal has become the first Indian Ski athlete to win two medals at international level.

About Aanchal Thakur :

• Aanchal Thakur born on 28 August 1996 in Manali, Himachal Pradesh, India.
• She represented India at the 2012 Winter Youth Olympics that took place in Innsbruck.
• In the 2012 Youth Winter Olympics she took part in the Alpine skiing – Girl’s Slalom and Girl’s Giant Slalom events.
• In 2018, Thakur became the first Indian skier ever to claim a medal in the international skiing event.
• She has previously won a bronze medal in the 2018 FIS Alpine 3200 Cup held in Turkey.

About Federation Internationale de Ski :

• President: Johan Eliasch
• Headquarters: Oberhofen, Switzerland
• Founded: 2 February 1924, Chamonix, France
• Membership: 132 members
• The Fédération internationale de ski (International Ski Federation) is the highest international governing body for skiing and snowboarding.

WADA restores India’s National Dope Testing Laboratory (NDTL) accreditation

• The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has restored the accreditation of the National Dope Testing Laboratory (NDTL), which had been suspended since August 2019.
• The Restoration of accreditation is a boost to India’s efforts to achieve the highest global standards of excellence in sport.
• The suspension prohibited the Delhi-based NDTL from carrying out anti-doping activities, including all analysis of urine and blood samples.

Note :

• The WADA first suspended NDTL in August 2019 for six months and extended the de-recognition period after its inspections showed that non-conformities still existed.
• The National Anti-Doping Bill 2021, introduced in the Parliament on 17 December 2021, is another step in India’s quest to become a sporting powerhouse.
• India is currently third in the WADA’s global list of dope violators, led by Russia.

About NDTL :

• The National Dope Testing Laboratory (NDTL) is a premier analytical testing & research organization established as an autonomous body under the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India.
• It is the only laboratory in the country responsible for human sports dope testing.
• Director : Dr. Puran Lal Sahu

About WADA :

• Headquarters: Montreal, Canada
• President: Craig Reedie
• Founder: Dick Pound
• Founded: 10 November 1999

About Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports :

• Founded: 27 May 2000
• Headquarters : New Delhi
• Union Minister : Anurag Thakur
• Minister of State : Nisith Pramanik

CURRENT AFFAIRS : OBITUARIES

South Africa’s Nobel Peace winner Desmond Tutu Passes away

• On Dec 26, 2021, Human rights activist & the South Africa’s Nobel Peace winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu Passed away at the age of 90.

About Archbishop Desmond Tutu :

• Desmond Tutu born on 7 October 1931 in Klerksdorp, South Africa.
• Tutu was nicknamed “the Arch ” & an iconic spiritual leader, anti-apartheid activist and global human rights campaigner”.
• He also chaired a Truth Reconciliation Commission which was set up to unearth the atrocities.
• He published a collection of his sermons and speeches, Crying in the Wilderness: The Struggle for Justice in South Africa; another volume, Hope and Suffering, appeared in 1984.
• He became bishop of Lesotho, chairman of the South African Council of Churches and, in 1985 the first Black Anglican bishop of Johannesburg and then in 1986, the first Black archbishop of Cape Town.
• He ordained women priests and promoted gay priests.

Awards & Honors :

• Desmond Tutu won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984 in recognition of his non-violent opposition against the rule by the white minority in the country.
• In 2012, Tutu was awarded a $1 million grant by the Mo Ibrahim Foundation for “his lifelong commitment to speaking truth to power.”

Former Greek President Karolos Papoulias Passes away

• On Dec 26, 2021 Former President of Greece Karolos Papoulias Passed away at the age of 92.

About Karolos Papoulias :

• Karolos Papoulias was born on 4 June 1929 in Ioannina, northwestern Greece.
• Papoulias a long-time socialist lawmaker and minister, was close to Andreas Papandreou, the founder of the Socialist PASOK party
• He served two terms as president between 2005 and
• He previously was Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1985 to 1989 and again from 1993 until 1996.
• He served as President of Athens-based Ethnikos Athletic Club for 25 years.

Daily CA On Dec 28^th:

• Union Minister of Home Affairs and Minister of Cooperation, Mr Amit Shah has released the Good Governance Index 2021 prepared by DARPG on Good Governance Day at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.
• NITI Aayog as the premier policy ‘Think Tank’ of the Government of India, believes in the mantra ‘what gets measured gets done.
• National Book Trust, India, under Ministry of Education, has announced the results of the All-India Contest organized on the Theme ‘National Movement of India’ under the PM-YUVA Mentorship Scheme as part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav programmes.
• Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will visit Kanpur on 28 December 2021 and inaugurate the completed section of Kanpur Metro Rail Project.
• Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will visit Mandi, Himachal Pradesh on 27 December 2021. He will inaugurate and lay the foundation stone of hydropower projects worth over Rs 11,000 crore.
• Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM) organised a special event called “Discourse on Rural Financial Inclusion” on 18^th December, 2021 through virtual mode to celebrate 75 years of the independence of the country under Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav.
• Renewable energy firm Amp Energy India has commissioned its second open access solar project in Maharashtra.
• IndusInd Bank has joined hands with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) for offering real-time cross-border remittances to India using UPI IDs for its Money Transfer Operator (MTO) partners.
• HDFC Life Insurance Company has announced a bancassurance tie-up with South Indian Bank (SIB).
• O.P. Jindal Global University (JGU) has won the “Digital Innovation of the Year” award at the distinguished Times Higher Education (THE) Asia Awards 2021.
• HDFC Life, one of India’s leading life insurance companies, has been adjudged the ‘Best Governed Company Listed Segment: Large Category’ at the 21st edition of the ICSI National Awards for Excellence in Corporate Governance.
• HDFC Bank has won the coveted CII Digital Transformation Award 2021 for ‘Most Innovative Best Practice’ for Financial Inclusion.
• According to the Hurun Global Unicorn Index 2021, India has a total of 54 unicorns, ranking it third (up from 33 unicorns in 2020) in the world & the USA led with 487 unicorns, up 254, followed by China on 301, up 74, together accounting for 74% of the world’s unicorns.
• Vice-President M. Venkaiah Naidu released the book Dr. V.L. Dutt – Glimpses of a Pioneer’s Life Journey, written by V.L. Indira Dutt.
• Economist and BJP national spokesperson Sanju Verma, authored a Book Titled The Modi Gambit : Decoding Modi 2.0, is a massive book on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his outstanding body of work.
• Ace cueist Pankaj Advani successfully defended his national billiards title after defeating PSPB teammate Dhruv Sitwala 5-2 in a best of nine games final in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh.
• Indian skier  Aanchal Thakur won the bronze medal in the giant slalom category at a Federation Internationale de Ski (FIS) meet held at Kolasin, Montenegro.
• The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has restored the accreditation of the National Dope Testing Laboratory (NDTL), which had been suspended since August 2019.

• On Dec 26, 2021, Human rights activist & the South Africa’s Nobel Peace winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu Passed away at the age of 90.
• On Dec 26, 2021 Former President of Greece Karolos Papoulias Passed away at the age of 92.