1.Center constitutes a committee to look into the issue of removal of AFSPA in Nagaland
The Center has constituted a committee to look into the issue of repeal of Armed Forces Special Powers Act-AFSPA in Nagaland . This step has been taken after a meeting of the representatives of the Nagaland government with Home Minister Amit Shah. The committee will submit its report within 45 days. Registrar General of India and Census Commissioner Vivek Joshi will be the chairman of the five-member committee . Piyush Goyal , Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs Its members will be the Secretary. Other members of the committee include the Chief Secretary and Director General of Police of Nagaland and the DGP of the Assam Rifles. This committee has been formed because recently 6 civilians were killed by the army in Nagaland. After this incident, the demand for abolishing AFSPA is rising loudly. It will examine the possibility of withdrawing the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) from Nagaland. AFSPA is an act that gives the armed forces the power to arrest without warrant and even shoot under specific circumstances in ‘disturbed areas’. AFSPA was imposed on the northeastern states, Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir during the period when some states were under the influence of terrorism. Punjab was the first state to repeal this act. It is followed by Tripura and Meghalaya. Presently, this Act is applicable to Nagaland, Assam, Manipur, Applicable in parts of Jammu and Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh. In Assam, three districts and four police stations are covered under this Act. The Union Home Ministry had completely removed the AFSPA from Meghalaya in March 2018.
2.PM inaugurates and lays foundation stone for hydro projects worth over Rs 11,000 crore at Mandi, Himachal Pradesh
Prime Minister Narendra Modi ‘s Rs 11,000 crore over hydropower projects inaugurated and laid foundation stones. He laid the foundation stone of Dhaulasiddh Hydroelectric , Luhri Phase-I Hydroelectric Project and Renukaji Dam Project and inaugurated Savra Kuddu Hydroelectric Project . Earlier, PM Modi presided over the second ground breaking ceremony of Himachal Pradesh Global Investors Meet. The meeting is expected to boost investment in the sector through the launch of projects worth about Rs 28,000 crore.
Renukaji Dam Project
To make this project possible, the central government brought together six states namely Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand and Delhi. The 40 MW project will be constructed at a cost of about Rs 7000 crore. This will prove to be very beneficial for Delhi. Through this, Delhi will be able to supply about 500 million cubic meters of water per year.
Luhri Phase I Hydroelectric Project This
210 MW project will be constructed at a cost of over Rs 1800 crore. This will generate more than 750 million units of electricity per year. This modern and reliable grid will also prove beneficial for the states around the region.
Dhaulasiddha Hydroelectric Project
This will be the first hydroelectric project of Hamirpur district. The 66 MW project will be constructed at a cost of over Rs 680 crore. This will generate more than 300 million units of electricity per year.
Savra-Kuddu Hydroelectric Project This
111 MW project has been constructed at a cost of about Rs 2080 crore. This will generate more than 380 million units of electricity per year, and help the state generate revenue of over Rs 120 crore annually.
3.Inauguration of Center for Skill Development, Rehabilitation and Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities at Imphal, Manipur
Social Justice and Empowerment Minister statue Bhowmick said Manipur ‘s Imphal in skills development, rehabilitation and divyanga empowerment joint regional center was inaugurated. A camp was also inaugurated on the occasion for distribution of assistive devices to the differently-abled. Manipur government has given three acres of land free of cost for the construction of a new building of the Joint Regional Centre.
4.India’s aid to Mozambique
On 25 December, Indian Naval Ship carrying 500 tonnes of food aid as part of Kesari Sagar Mission (SAGAR Mission) reached Maputo, Mozambique.reached the port. 500 tonnes of food aid sent to support the Mozambican government’s efforts to address the challenges of drought and the COVID-19 pandemic. India is also committed to supporting the capacity building efforts of the Mozambican Armed Forces. Thus to support, INS Kesari handed over two fast interceptor craft and self defense equipment to the armed forces of Mozambique. Providing assistance to Mozambique was the eighth such deployment in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘SAGAR’ vision. It is being organized in collaboration with the Ministry of External Affairs and other agencies. Such deployment was conducted in solidarity with India’s extended maritime neighbourhood. It also highlights the importance of these special relations by India.
5.Sri Lanka to sign agreement with India to jointly develop ‘Trinkomalee Oil Tank Farm’
Sri Lanka soon ‘ Trincomalee oil tank farm ‘ ( Trincomalee Oil Tank Farm ) to jointly develop India is going to sign a long-standing agreement with. The Trincomalee oil tank farm deal is a prestigious project that has long remained controversial. India and Sri Lanka have been in talks for 16 months on this project. For this purpose, Sri Lanka’s Energy Minister Uday Gammanapila has directed Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) to form a subsidiary called Trinco Petroleum Terminal Limited . The move comes after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa ‘s approval to set up a special purpose vehicle. British World War IIThe Trincomalee Oil Tank Farm was built to serve as a refueling station during the It was built adjacent to the port of Trincomalee , which is a deep natural harbor. However, centuries-old oil tanks need to be repurposed for reuse, at a cost of millions of dollars. The proposal for renewal of the oil farm was envisaged in the Indo-Lanka agreement 35 years ago. The agreement states that, “the restoration and operation of the Trincomalee Oil Tank Farm will be undertaken by India and Sri Lanka as a joint venture”. Despite this agreement, work barely lasted until 2003. In 2003, Indian Oil Corporation established its Sri Lankan subsidiary, Lanka IOC.
6.Paytm Payments Bank ties up with MoneyGram to enable international fund transfer
Paytm Payments Bank has partnered with peer-to-peer remittance company MoneyGram to enable direct international fund transfers to Paytm Wallet . Under the partnership, MoneyGram users overseas can now transfer money to any full Know Your Customer (KYC)-compliant Paytm Wallet. MoneyGram transactions in India received digitally account for almost 50 per cent of all transactions received in the country. This is MoneyGram’s first mobile wallet partnership in India. MoneyGram transactions received digitally in India currently represent about 50 per cent of all transactions received in the country. The number of transactions sent directly to bank accounts is almost six times higher from just 10 per cent two years ago.
7.Kamlesh Gandhi appointed new co-chair of FIDC
The Finance Industry Development Council (FIDC) has announced new appointments to its Board of Directors. Besides Umesh Revankar , CEO and MD, Shriram Transport Finance Group , Kamlesh Gandhi , CMD , MAS Financial Services , has been appointed as the co-chairman of FIDC. Sanjay Chamria has resigned as co-chairman and director of FIDC.
8.Anukreethy Upadhyay won the Sushila Devi Award 2021 for the novel Kintsugi
Anukreethy Upadhyay has won the Sushila Devi Award 2021 for Best Book of Fiction for her novel, Kintsugi , which was published by Fourth Estate Chhap . Ratanlal Foundation and the organizing committee of Bhopal Sahitya and Kala Mahotsav announced the winner for this remarkable award for a novel written by a woman writer and published in 2020. The award has been instituted by Shree Ratanlal Foundation.
9.Mohamed Ben Sulayem elected president of the FIA
Mohamed Ben Sulayem of the United Arab Emirates has been elected to succeed Jean Todt as the first non-European president of motorsport’s world governing body, the International Automobile Federation (FIA) . The FIA is the governing body of Formula One, the World Rally Championship, World Endurance and Formula E, among other series. The 60-year-old former rally driver, born in Dubai, was pitted against British lawyer Graham Stoker, who has been Todd’s vice president for the sport since 2009.
10.Former Chief of Army Staff General Nirmal Chander Vij released his new book “The Kashmir Conundrum: The Quest for Peace in a Troubled Land”
A new book by former Indian Army Chief General Nirmal Chander Vij ( retd ) claims to present a complete picture of the conflicts in Jammu and Kashmir and the way forward. In General Vij’s book ‘ The Kashmir Conundrum: The Quest for Peace in a Troubled Land ‘ , published by HarperCollins India , General Vij argues that the conflicts in Jammu and Kashmir after Partition are “symptoms of India-Pakistan rivalry”. And let’s contextualize the issue by beginning the book with a summary of the region’s history. General Vij was the Director General of Military Operations during the Kargil War. After his retirement in 2005, he was the vice chairman of the National Disaster Management Authority and the director of the think tank Vivekananda India Foundation.
11.RBL Bank: Rajiv Ahuja appointed as new MD
RBL Bank Board has appointed Rajiv Ahuja , who is currently serving as Executive Director in the Bank, as Interim Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Bank with immediate effect, subject to regulatory and other approvals. The Board of Directors in its meeting has accepted the request of the Bank’s Managing Director and CEO Vishwavir Ahuja to go on leave with immediate effect.
12.27 December: Epidemic Preparedness Day
December 27 the recent UN first the international pandemic preparedness Day ( International Day Of Epidemic Preparedness ) is observed. Recently, the United Nations General Assembly approved a resolution to celebrate this day. The day aims to facilitate the exchange of information, dissemination of scientific knowledge and ensure the exchange of best practices at the international level. This will help prevent situations like COVID-19 in future. COVID-19 has had a devastating impact on human life. There is a need to build a strong health system to protect the vulnerable. At present, there is a need for exchange of information, knowledge and scientific practices.
13.The national anthem of India was sung for the first time on December 27, 1911.
The national anthem of India was first sung at the Calcutta session of the Indian National Congress on December 27, 1911 . ‘ Jana Gana Mana ‘ Rabindranath Tagore Bengali poem ‘ Barto Bagyo Bidhata first verses. Tagore’s niece, Sarala Devi Choudhurani , sang the song along with some school students in front of the then Congress President Bishan Narayan Dhar and other leaders like Bhupendra Nath Bose and Ambika Charan Majumdar. The Hindi version of the song was adopted as the national anthem of India by the Constituent Assembly of the country on 24 January 1950 .
14.JDU MP Mahendra Prasad passes away
In Bihar , the ruling JDU ‘s Rajya Sabha MP Mahendra Prasad alias King Mahendra has passed away. He was 81 years old and had been ill for a long time. King Mahendra was the owner of the country’s famous pharmaceutical company Aristo Pharmaceutical . He was a resident of Govindpur village of Jehanabad district. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar have condoled his death. King Mahendra became a Lok Sabha MP in 1980. Elected Rajya Sabha member for the first time in 1985. King Mahendra was in Congress first , then RJDReached Rajya Sabha on a ticket of Rs. Later he joined Nitish Kumar’s JDU and reached Rajya Sabha 3 times. He still had two years’ tenure left as a Rajya Sabha MP. He was a Rajya Sabha MP for 7 consecutive terms .
