DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS 28 December 2021
Pariksha Pe Charcha
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Pariksha Pe Charcha, which is held for students before their exams, will be held early next year.
- The registrations for the same will begin tomorrow and will go on till January 20. Mr. Modi announced the plans for the next Pariksha Pe Charcha in his ‘Mann Ki Baat’ program yesterday.
- Pariksha Pe Charcha is an annual event held every year since 2018. During the event Prime Minister of India interacts with students, teachers, and parents from across the country, and shares his “valuable tips” to take board and entrance exams in a relaxed and stress-free manner.
BRAHMOS Manufacturing Centre Inaugurated
- Defence Minister Rajnath Singh lays the foundation stone for Defence Technology, Test Centre, and BRAHMOS Manufacturing Centre of DRDO in Lucknow.
- The BrahMos is a medium-range ramjet supersonic cruise missile that can be launched from submarines, ships, aircraft, or land. It is notably one of the fastest supersonic cruise missiles in the world.
- It is a joint venture between the Russian Federation and India’s DRDO, who together have formed BrahMos Aerospace.
Mann Ki Baat: PM Modi Express Hope
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged people to stay guarded against COVID and the Omicron variant. Sharing his thoughts with the people in his Mann Ki Baat program on All India Radio yesterday, Mr. Modi said scientists are studying the new Omicron variant and getting new data every day. He called upon people to step in the year 2022 with this sense of responsibility.
- Mr. Modi said that it is because of everyone’s efforts that India could fight the pandemic. He took pride that when one compares India’s vaccination figures with the rest of the world, it feels that the country has achieved a huge feat. He said crossing the 140 Crore vaccine dose mark is an achievement of each Indian.
PM Modi @ Kanpur
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Kanpur today and inaugurate the completed section of the Kanpur Metro Rail Project.
- During the program, Prime Minister will also inaugurate the Bina-Panki Multiproduct Pipeline Project. Before this, Mr. Modi will attend the 54th Convocation Ceremony of IIT Kanpur.
- The completed section of the Kanpur Metro Rail Project is a 9 Km-long section from IIT Kanpur to Moti Jheel.
- Prime Minister will inspect the Kanpur Metro Rail Project and undertake a metro ride from the 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 11,000 crore rupees.
- Prime Minister will inaugurate the Bina-Panki Multiproduct Pipeline Project also. The 356 Km long project has a capacity of around 3.45 million metric tonnes per annum. Extending from the Bina refinery in Madhya Pradesh to Panki in Kanpur, the project has been built at a cost of over Rs 1500 crore.
- It will help the region access petroleum products from the Bina refinery.
- 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.
- Prime Minister will launch the blockchain-based digital degrees. These digital degrees can be verified globally and are unforgeable.
PM-YUVA Mentorship Scheme
- National Book Trust announced the results of the all-India contest organized on the theme ‘National Movement of India’ under the PM-YUVA Mentorship Scheme. As per the Scheme, 75 Authors were to be selected through this contest for a Scholarship-cum-Mentorship Scheme for young authors below the age of 30 years.
- The All-India Contest was organized from 1st June to 31st July through MyGov and National Book Trust platforms. Nearly 16 thousand entries in 22 Official languages and English were received from all across the country including some from the Indian diaspora community. All the book proposals were read by multiple panels of experts and went through three layers of scrutiny.
- In his Mann Ki Baat address on 31st January this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had called upon the youth to write about freedom fighters, and tales of valor during freedom struggle from their areas.
- 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 to 20 years. 32 of them fall in the age group of 21 to 25 years and 25 authors are in the age group of 26 to 30 years.
- The selected authors will undergo six months of Mentorship in which they would be provided research and editorial support under the guidance of eminent authors and the Editorial Team of National Book Trust. Their published books will be later translated into other Indian languages as well.
- During the mentorship, the selected authors will receive a scholarship of 50 thousand rupees per month for six months. A royalty of 10 percent will be payable to the authors on successful publications of their books
Afghanistan Crisis: Hard hit the Banking System
- In Afghanistan, amid the growing humanitarian needs, a senior Russian diplomat has said that UN personnel are forced to bring in cash to the country because the banking system is not working due to US sanctions. By the end of the year, donors have pledged to transfer 1.2 billion US dollars to humanitarian organizations, nearly double the 606 million dollars originally requested by the UN.
- Petr Ilichev, Director of the Department of International Organizations at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs told Sputnik said that the banking system in Afghanistan is not functioning, so it is impossible to transfer the promised money to the country’s population. He said UN personnel have to bring cash with them.
- Earlier this month, the US had said that it was allowing certain transactions involving the Taliban or Haqqani Network for governmental and non-governmental organizations doing humanitarian work in Afghanistan.
- The UN Security Council last week unanimously adopted a resolution clearing the way for aid to reach Afghans in desperate need of basic support while preventing funds from falling into the hands of the Taliban.
REVIEW QUESTIONS
- What is the name of the awareness campaign organized by the Petroleum Conservation Research Association (PCRA)?
- Utkarsh
- Utsaah
- Saksham
- Sanskrith
ANSWER: C
- Which Indian state/UT launched a new initiative named ‘Jail tourism’?
- Andaman & Nicobar Islands
- Maharashtra
- Gujarat
- West Bengal
ANSWER: B
- What is the name of the virtual intelligence tool recently launched, which can help in the Government’s policy decisions?
- Apna
- Tejas
- Surya
- Vishnu
ANSWER: B
- What is the name of India’s initiative to deliver Covid-19 vaccines to friendly countries?
- Covid Maitri
- Vaccine Maitri
- Helping Hands
- Friends in Need
ANSWER: B
- ‘MITRA’ scheme, which was announced in the recent Union Budget is related to which sector?
- Agriculture
- Textile
- MSME
- Banking
ANSWER: B
- Government is to frame design for Deep-Sea Fishing Vessels (DSFV), to implement which scheme?
- PM KISAN Yojana
- PM Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY)
- PM Fishery Kisan Yojana
- PM Machli Vikas Yojana
ANSWER: B
- A nodal agency called ‘Digital Intelligence Unit’ (DIU) is to be set up by which Union Ministry?
- Ministry of Finance
- Ministry of Communication
- Ministry of Corporate Affairs
- Ministry of Education
ANSWER: B
- “Sugamya Bharat App” is being launched as a part of which ministry?
- Ministry of Home Affairs
- Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment
- Ministry of External Affairs
- Ministry of Women and Child Development
ANSWER: B
- As per which policy, more than 20-year-old personal vehicles would be deregistered from June 1, 2024?
- New Vehicle Policy
- Emission Control Policy
- Bharat Stage 7
- Vehicle Scrapping Policy
ANSWER: D
- ‘DIKSHA’ web portal is associated with which Union Ministry?
- Ministry of Education
- Ministry of Labour and Employment
- Ministry of Skill Development
- Ministry of Agriculture
ANSWER: A
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