Current Affairs Quiz 22nd December 2021 : Daily GK Update Quiz

Exp. Odisha CM inaugurated Odisha’s longest bridge over Mahanadi River ‘T-Setu’ in Cuttack

Naveen Patnaik, Chief Minister of Odisha inaugurated state’s longest bridge, ‘T-Setu’, built over the Mahanadi River in Cuttack District, Odisha.

The foundation stone of the bridge was laid on 28th February 2014. The bridge in the shape of the English alphabet ‘T’ was constructed at a cost of Rs 111 crore.

The 3.4-km-long bridge connecting Gopinathpur in Badamba, Baideswar in Banki to Singhanath Pitha in Cuttack, will cut the distance between Badamba and Banki Baideshwar by almost 45 km.

Exp. J&K Govt signed MoU with University College Birmingham for skill development of students

The Jammu and Kashmir government signed an MoU with University College Birmingham (UCB) at India Global Forum, held in Taj Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Aim: To achieve skill development of students in a variety of different subject areas and levels and to provide opportunities in teaching and research fields.

Exp. DPIIT launched Unified Logistics Interface Platform Hackathon “LogiXtics”

The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has launched the Unified Logistics Interface Platform (ULIP) Hackathon – ‘LogiXtics’ with an aim to crowdsource ideas to benefit the logistics industry in India.

LogiXtics is organised by NITI (National Institution for Transforming India) Aayog and Atal Innovation Mission and supported by National Industrial Corridor Development Corporation (NICDC) and NICDC Logistics Data Bank Services Limited (NLDSL).

Aim: To promote the Startup community, individuals or anyone with the strategic skills and domain knowledge of the sector.

Exp. CCI approved acquisition of 100% stake in Air India by Tata Sons

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) approved acquisition of 100% shareholding in Air India Limited, Air India Express Limited and 50% shares in Air India SATS (AISATS) by Talace Private Limited.

Talace Private Limited is a wholly-acquired subsidiary of Tata Sons. In October 2021, the Central Government approved the INR 18000 crore bid provided by Talace Private Limited for acquiring Air India & its subsidiaries.

The government will retain INR 44,679 crore debt of AI through a SPV (Special Purpose Vehicle), which will be paid off gradually by monetising its non-aviation assets like land and buildings.

Exp. IOCL acquired 4.93% equity share in Indian Gas Exchange Ltd

Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) acquired a 4.93 percent equity share in Indian Gas Exchange (IGX) Limited, the country’s first automated national level gas exchange.

It was approved by the Board of Directors of Indian Oil in the meeting held on 20th December 2021.

The deal is for the acquisition of 36,93,750 equity shares with the face value of Rs.10 each that could equate to 4.93 percent of the share capital in IGX Limited. Indian Oil also announced an investment of Rs. 9,028 crores for setting up a crude oil pipeline from Mundra to Panipat.

Exp. SBI acquired minority stake in JSW Cement for INR 100 crore via CCPS

The State Bank of India (SBI) acquired a minority stake (less than 50 percent) in JSW Cement Limited for an investment of INR 100 crore through Compulsory Convertible Preference Shares (CCPS).

The SBI is working as a strategic investor at JSW Cement and has invested in the company through CCPS.

Exp. Bank of Baroda grabbed top spot in Digital Payments for FY20-21

Bank of Baroda (BoB) grabbed the top spot in overall digital transactions among large banks for FY20-21.

It was felicitated by the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY) at the Digital Payments Utsav which was held to commemorate 75th anniversary of Independence of India.

BoB has been conferred with five DigiDhan awards for FY 2019-20 & 2020-21 in various categories.

Exp. NPCI partnered with Udemy Business to encourage skill development of its employees

National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) signed a partnership agreement with Udemy Business, to encourage innovative learning and skill development for employees of NPCI.

The 3-year partnership with Udemy Business will offer courses on in-demand skills such as tech, domain, behavioural, and leadership skills to all NPCI employees.

Through the mission ‘Talent Development for All’ of NPCI, it provides capacity building programmes in Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), Blockchain, Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT), Robotic Process Automation (RPA), etc.

Exp. Google Pay partnered with Mastercard on Tokenisation for Card-Based Payments

Mastercard and Google announced a tokenization method that enables Google Pay users to safely transact using their Mastercard credit cards and debit cards.

Android users of Google Pay can scan and pay across all Bharat QR-enabled merchants, tap-and-pay, and make in-app transactions through their Mastercard debit and credit card.

Exp. Atul Dinkar Rane appointed as DG of BrahMos Aerospace Pvt Ltd

Senior Defence Research and Development Organisation Scientist Atul Dinkar Rane has been appointed as the Director-General of the BrahMos Aerospace Private Limited, which manufactures the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile.

He was a part of the core team of BrahMos Aerospace, since its foundation as a joint venture with Russia.

Exp. PV Sindhu re-elected as member of BWF’s Athletes’ Commission till 2025

India’s 2-time Olympic medallist shuttler PV Sindhu was re-elected as a member of the Badminton World Federation (BWF)’s Athletes’ Commission for a 2nd term till 2025.

She is among the 6 appointed members of the Commission. PV Sindhu was first elected as a member of the BWF’s Athletes’ Commission in 2017. She is the only member who stood for re-election.

Exp. Divya Hegde won UN Women’s Award for Leadership Commitment 2021

Divya Hegde, an Indian Climate Action Entrepreneur from Udupi, Karnataka, has won UN Women’s Award for Leadership Commitment at the 2021 Regional Asia-Pacific Women’s Empowerment Principles Awards Ceremony.

She has been recognized for her sustained efforts in advancing gender equality through climate action efforts with her organization, Baeru Environmental Services

Exp. BWF World Championships 2021; Loh Kean Yew won Men’s singles & Akane Yamaguchi won Women’s singles title

The 2021 Badminton World Federation (BWF) World championship (officially known as the TotalEnergies BWF World Championships 2021), an annual tournament was held between 12th December 2021 and 19th December 2021 in Huelva, Spain.

Loh Kean Yew of Singapore won Men’s Singles title and Akane Yamaguchi of Japan won Women’s Singles title of BWF World Championship 2021.

Exp. 22 December: National Mathematics Day

India observes the National Mathematics Day every year on 22 December to commemorate the birth anniversary of Mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan.

This year nation celebrates 134th birth anniversary of Ramanujan. The main objective behind the celebration of National Mathematics Day is to make people aware of the development of mathematics and its importance in the growth of humanity.

The day was announced on 26 February 2012 by the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to mark the 125th anniversary of the birth of the Indian mathematical genius Srinivasa Ramanujan (22 Dec 1887- 26 Apr 1920). 2012 was also observed as National Mathematics Year.

Exp. 20-25 December: Good Governance Week 2021

Jitendra Singh has inaugurated the Good Governance Week campaign from 20 – 25 December aimed at showcasing and replicating the best governance practices to the grassroots level.

It is being celebrated by the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG), Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions.

“Good Governance Day will be celebrated on December 25, 2021.

Moto: to redress and dispose of public grievances and improvise service delivery down to the village level.

Theme: “Prashasan Gaon Ki Aur”A film on “Prashasan Gaon Ki Aur” will also be screened.