Current Affairs Quiz 23rd December 2021 : Daily GK Update Quiz

Exp. Maharashtra launched Chalo mobile app & smart card for convenient bus travel

Maharashtra Tourism and Environment Minister Aaditya Thackeray launched Chalo mobile application (app) and Chalo smart cards to facilitate digital and advance purchase of Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) bus tickets.

Chalo mobile app will allow passengers to buy online bus tickets and have access to bus passes through e-wallet. The contract worth Rs 85 crore has been given for the maintenance of the Chalo mobile application for six years.

He also launched the NCMC complaint smart card of BEST as well as new fare schemes for the passengers, one that provided 10 trips at Rs 70 and another called ‘Flexifare’.

Exp. UP government will launch ‘Free Smartphone Yojna’ on 25 December

The Uttar Pradesh government is set to launch the ambitious ‘Free Smartphone Yojana on December 25, which is the birth anniversary of senior BJP leader and former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Under the scheme, the state government will distribute smartphones and tablets to final year students of graduation and above.

On December 25, the chief minister will distribute 60,000 smartphones and 40,000 tablets to the youths. More than 38 lakh youths have registered themselves on the Digi Shakti Portal. Further registration is going on.

Exp. NITI Aayog & UN-WFP signed SoI to mainstream millets in government programmes

National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog has signed a Statement of Intent with the United Nations World Food Program for mainstreaming of millets and supporting India in taking lead globally in knowledge exchange using the opportunity of 2023 as International Year of Millets.

The Sol focuses on strategic and technical collaboration between NITI Aayog and WFP to strengthen climate-resilient agriculture for enhanced food and nutrition security in India.

Aim: To build resilient livelihoods for small-holder farmers and adopt the capacities to climate change and transforming food systems.

Exp. RBI empanelled CSB Bank as Agency Bank to undertake banking business of central, state govts

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced empanelment of CSB Bank, a private sector lender as an ‘Agency Bank’.

Through this appointment, the CSB Bank will undertake general banking business of the central and state governments under the guidelines set by the RBI.

As an Agency bank, CSB Bank will work with different state governments and central government departments for businesses such as tax collections, pension payment, collection of stamp duty, etc.

The bank will also handle a broad range of transactions in government business, such as tax deducted at source (TDS), goods and services tax (GST), stamp duty, registration, property tax, value-added tax (VAT).

Exp. CBI signed a co-lending agreement with U GRO Capital

Central Bank of India signed a co-lending agreement with U GRO Capital, a MSME lending fintech platform, to provide INR 1000 crore formal credit to underserved MSMEs at affordable rates across all product categories of U GRO Capital.

Under this partnership, it is aimed to disburse up to INR 1000 crore to U GRO Capital’s varied programmes like Pratham, Sanjeevani, Saathi, GRO MSME and Machinery financing.

Central Bank of India will provide co-lending support through GRO-Xstream platform with the loans originated by U GRO Capital’s distribution network.

Exp. Oriental Insurance Company Ltd categorised as Public Shareholder in Axis Bank

Axis Bank announced the approval to reclassify Oriental Insurance Company Ltd (OICL) from promoter category to public category shareholder in the bank.

At present, OICL holds a 0.16 per cent stake in Axis Bank. Currently, BSE & NSE gave approval for the reclassification of New Oriental Insurance Company to public category from promoter category.

Exp. Wipro has signed a USD 230 million deal to acquire Edgile

Wipro has signed an agreement to acquire Edgile, a transformational cyber security consulting provider, for $230 million.

Together, Wipro and Edgile will develop Wipro CyberTransform, an integrated suite that will help enterprises enhance boardroom governance of cyber security risk, invest in robust cyber strategies, and reap the value of practical security in action.

Founded in 2001, Edgile is recognised by security and risk leaders for its business-aligned cyber security capability, deep understanding of the changing regulatory environment and enabling cloud transformations that help secure the modern enterprise.

Exp. Pradeep Kumar Rawat appointed as India’s next Ambassador to China

Senior Indian diplomat Pradeep Kumar Rawat (1990 batch IFS officer) has been appointed as the India’s next Ambassador to China and, will take up the assignment shortly in Beijing.

He is currently India’s Ambassador to the Netherlands. He will replace Vikram Misri, who completed his three-year term earlier this month and has left for Delhi.

Exp. IOA named Harjinder Singh as India’s Chef de Mission for 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics

The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has appointed the Ice Hockey Association of India’s general secretary, Harjinder Singh, as the Chef de Mission of the country’s contingent for the upcoming 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.

Singh was the Chef de Mission of the Indian contingent for the 23rd Winter Olympic Games too, which was held in Pyeongchang, South Korea in 2018.

Exp. O.P. Jindal Global University won “Digital Innovation of the Year” award at the THE Asia Awards 2021

O.P. Jindal Global University (JGU) won the ‘Digital Innovation of the Year Award’ in the prestigious Times Higher Education (THE) Asia Awards 2021 for creating a free, cloud-based application to help schools and universities manage data.

JGU was the only Indian University to be shortlisted for the “Digital Innovation of the Year”. The university was awarded under the ‘Technological or Digital Innovation of the Year category’ for its transformative work in the last 2 years.

Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) bagged the prize for Asia’s ‘Leadership and Management Team of the Year’ category at THE Asia Awards 2021.

Exp. IAF deployed first S-400 air defence system in Punjab sector

The Indian Air Force (IAF) has deployed the first squadron of the S-400 air defence missile system in the western Punjab sector which will take care of aerial threats from Pakistan and China.

The S-400 air defence system was contracted for by India from Russia in a deal worth around Rs 35,000 crore and five squadrons would be provided to India for tackling air threats from up to 400 km.

Exp. DRDO conducted flight tests of indigenously developed surface-to-surface missile ‘Pralay’

DRDO successfully test fired short-range, surface to surface-guided ballistic missile ‘Pralay’ from APJ Abdul Kalam Island, off the coast of Odisha.

Pralay is the solid-fuel, battlefield missile based on Prithvi Defence Vehicle from the Indian ballistic missile programme, developed by Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO).

Pralay is a 350-500 km short-range, surface-to-surface missile with a payload capacity of 500-1,000 kg.

Exp. First book of Tusshar Kapoor ‘Bachelor Dad’ released

Tusshar Kapoor has written his first book titled ‘Bachelor Dad’. The actor became a single father to son Laksshya Kapoor via surrogacy in 2016.

He has shared his journey of being a single father in the new book. The actor has shared his journey of the ‘slightly unconventional road to fatherhood’ in his debut book, Bachelor Dad.

Exp. 23 December: National Farmer’s Day

National Farmers’ Day or Rashtriya Kisan Diwas is celebrated across the nation on December 23 to commemorate the birth anniversary of the fifth Prime Minister of India (28 July 1979 – 14 January 1980), Chaudhary Charan Singh.

In 2001, the government of India declared December 23, the day Chaudhary Charan Singh was born, to be celebrated as National Farmers’ Day and for all the right reasons.

Exp. Pritzker Prize winning architect Richard Rogers passed away

Pritzker Prize-Winning British-Italian Architect Richard Rogers, has passed away at his residence in London, United Kingdom.

He received the Pritzker Prize, known as the Nobel Prize of Architecture, in 2007. He received the Knight Bachelor in 1991 and he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II.

He was the architect of the new World Trade Center (3 World Trade Center) in New York City, United States, the Centre Pompidou in Paris, France and the Millennium Dome in London, UK.