1 ICC ODI and T20 rankings: India’s star opener Smriti Mandhana reaches top three in batting rankings
The ICC has released the women’s ODI and T20 rankings . Mandhana has moved up three places to second in the ODI rankings and one place to third in the T20I rankings after her stellar performances against Australia and West Indies last week . South Africa’s Laura Wolvaardt tops the ODI rankings and Australia ‘s Beth Mooney tops the T20 .
2 Prime Minister Modi inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of 24 projects worth more than Rs 46 thousand 300 crore in Rajasthan
PM Modi attended the state-level function organized in Rajasthan to mark the completion of one year of the state government led by Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma . On December 17, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of 24 projects worth more than Rs 46,300 crore related to electricity, water, road and railways in Rajasthan. These include 16 central government and 8 state government projects . Apart from this, he also inaugurated the Parvati-Kalisindh-Chambal Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project (PKC-ERCP). This is expected to end the water crisis that has been going on for decades in 21 districts of Rajasthan . During this, an MoU was signed between Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh regarding PKC-ERCP. In January 2024, the Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project (ERCP) was renamed as PKC-ERCP i.e. Parvati-Kalisindh-Chambal Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project . PKC-ERCP includes Chambal and its tributaries Parvati, Kalisindh, Kuno, Banas, Banganga, Ruparel, Gambhiri and Mej . Parvati-Kalisindh-Chambal (PKC) Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project (ERCP) is a river linking project. The aim of this project is to send excess water of Parvati, Kalisindh and Nevaj rivers to Chambal river. It will supply drinking water, irrigation and industrial water to 21 districts of Rajasthan. This will provide water to Jhalawara, Baran, Kota, Bundi, Sawai Madhopur, Gangapur City, Karauli, Dholpur, Bharatpur, Deeg, Dausa, Alwar, Khairthal-Tijara, Jaipur, Jaipur Rural, Kotputli-Baharod, Ajmer, Beawar, Kekri, Tonk and Dudu districts. This is expected to reduce the water crisis in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. Under the project, about 158 dams, ponds and other water sources will be filled.
3 “One Nation, One Election” Bill introduced in Lok Sabha
During the winter session of Parliament, ‘ One Country, One Election Amendment Bill 2024 ‘ was introduced in the Lok Sabha on 17 December . This is the 129th Constitution Amendment Bill . Electronic voting was first conducted to introduce the bill. It got 269 votes in favour and 198 votes against. The Union Cabinet approved the ‘One Nation, One Election’ Bill on 12 December. A panel was constituted on 2 September 2023 under the chairmanship of former President Ram Nath Kovind to consider ‘One Nation One Election’. The panel submitted its report to President Draupadi Murmu on 14 March 2024 after discussions with all parties and experts and 191 days of research. In September 2024, the Central Government approved the recommendations of the High Level Committee constituted for ‘One Nation, One Election’, which proposed to conduct Lok Sabha, State Assembly and local body elections simultaneously in a phased manner. According to the recommendations, the first bill will amend Article 82A of the Constitution, so that the term of the Lok Sabha and the Legislative Assemblies ends simultaneously . According to the committee’s report, the term of many state assemblies will be reduced to implement ‘one country-one election’. The term of the states in which assembly elections have been held at the end of 2023 can be extended. Apart from this, Meghwal also introduced a bill to amend 3 laws related to Union Territories. These include ‘The Government of Union Territories Act- 1963’, ‘The Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi- 1991’ and ‘The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Act- 2019’. Through this, amendments can also be made to give full statehood status to Jammu and Kashmir.
4 NSA Ajit Doval will visit China
National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval will visit China on December 17. As India’s Special Representative (SR) on the India-China border dispute, he will hold the 23rd meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Beijing on December 18. Wang Yi is a member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the Foreign Minister of China. The SR mechanism, formed in 2003 to resolve the 3,488 km long India-China border dispute, has met 22 times in the past years. On October 23, 2024, Indian PM Modi held bilateral talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping during the BRICS Summit in Kazan, Russia. This was the first bilateral conversation between Modi and Jinping after the clash between India and China in Galwan in 2020. This is the first time since 2019 that any senior Indian official or leader will visit China. Earlier, External Affairs Minister Jaishankar visited China in August 2019.
5 ‘Kisan Kavach’ launched to protect farmers from health hazards caused by pesticides
Union Minister of State for Science and Technology Dr. Jitendra Singh on Tuesday launched India’s indigenous anti-pesticide suit ‘ Kisan Kavach ‘. Kisan Kavach will protect farmers from health hazards caused by pesticides . Its price is four thousand rupees and it can be washed 150 times. This armor will last for about two years. This armor is a suit made of special fabric and technology. It is worth noting that Kisan Kavach kit has been developed by Bengaluru-based company BRIC Insteam in collaboration with Sepio Health Private Limited. Anti-pesticide bodysuit Kisan Kavach will help protect farmers from health hazards caused by pesticides.
6 District level climate risk assessment maps for India released
The report titled ‘ Mapping Flood and Drought Risks using District Level Climate Risk Assessment IPCC Framework for India ‘ was released on 13 December 2024 at IIT Delhi . It includes an in-depth analysis of flood and drought risks across 698 districts in the country. Developed by Indian Institute of Technology Mandi , Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati and CSTEP Bengaluru and supported by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) in collaboration with the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), the report provides district-level flood and drought hazard, risk and vulnerability maps to create maps depicting flood and drought risk in the country. A detailed user manual has also been released along with the report. It also includes district-level flood and drought hazard, risk and vulnerability maps for each Indian state and union territory, which can help in capacity building of State Climate Change Cells and allied departments in climate change risk assessment for any future planning. Nearly 85 per cent of the districts in the ‘very high’ or ‘high’ flood risk category are located in Assam, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Gujarat, Odisha and Jammu and Kashmir. More than 85 per cent of the districts in the ‘very high’ or ‘high’ drought risk category are located in Bihar, Assam, Jharkhand, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh, Kerala, Uttarakhand and Haryana.
7 Google appoints Preeti Lobana as new country manager for India
American tech giant ‘Google’ has appointed Preeti Lobana as the new country manager and vice president for India . She will replace former Google country manager Sanjay Gupta . Gupta recently took over as chairman of Google’s Asia-Pacific region. Lobana has worked as vice president of Google’s gTech team. She has more than 30 years of experience in technology and financial industries.
8 CBIC Chairman Sanjay Kumar Agarwal launches four new initiatives to enhance taxpayer-related services
Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) Chairman Sanjay Kumar Agarwal launched four new initiatives to enhance taxpayer related services . These four citizen-centric initiatives include revised Citizen Charter , revised Citizen Corner for complete tax related information , Ease of Doing Business tab for suggestions and CBIC Archives for tax collection .
9 DPIIT signs MoU with HDFC Bank to strengthen startup ecosystem and promote innovation
The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has partnered with HDFC Bank, India’s largest private sector bank by assets, by signing a Memorandum of Understanding to empower startups with world-class banking and financial services . The partnership aims to strengthen the entire startup ecosystem by offering knowledge sharing, mentoring and capacity building programs to foster innovation and growth. Startups will benefit from banking and financial products tailored to meet their needs such as working capital, credit access and cash flow management. In addition, startups will also have access to HDFC Bank’s vast network and resources, enabling them to scale up their operations, attract investments and establish their market presence more effectively.
10 DPIIT signs MoU with Tally Solutions Pvt Ltd to mentor manufacturing startups
To empower startups in the manufacturing sector , the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Tally Solutions Pvt Ltd, a leader in business management software . This strategic partnership primarily aims to launch a comprehensive module-based workshop series designed to address critical challenges faced by startups in areas such as financial management, compliance, marketing, digitisation and investment readiness.
11 C-DOT and Silicium Circuits sign agreement for ‘Design and Development of LEO Satellite Components and GNSS RF Front End ASIC’
In a move towards developing cutting edge indigenous telecom technology , Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT) , the premier telecom R&D centre of Department of Telecommunications has signed an agreement with Silicium Circuits Pvt. Ltd. for ‘ Design and Development of LEO Satellite Components and GNSA RF Front End ‘. Silicium Circuits is a fabless semiconductor IP and CoC startup under Fabless Chip Design Incubator (FABCI) of IIT Hyderabad . The agreement has been signed under the Telecom Technology Development Fund (TTDF) scheme of Department of Telecommunications. The scheme, designed to provide funding to startups, academia and R&D institutions, is a key vehicle for design, development and commercialization of telecom products and solutions. It aims to enable affordable broadband and mobile services, which are playing a vital role in bridging the digital divide across India. With the support of Telecom Technology Development Fund (TTDF), Silicium Circuits is set to develop advanced semiconductor solutions for LEO satellite components. The initiative aims to drive innovation in India’s satellite communications ecosystem by addressing key challenges such as power efficiency, high-speed data transmission and robust signal integrity.
12 Young children and professionals from 65 countries participated in the global AI competition in Russia
Young children and professionals from 65 countries, including India, took part in the AI Challenge, an international AI competition for children organised by Sberbank and AI Alliance Russia . India ranked second in the number of registered participants in the AI Challenge . The participants included participants from BRICS countries as well as Ethiopia, Egypt and South Africa. The children worked on technical business cases in 16 areas including metallurgy, agriculture, investment, creative industry. The AI Challenge winners will also receive a number of benefits. These include scholarships from leading Russian universities Innopolis, Central and ITMO University. These universities are academic partners of the competition. Participants took part in three categories of varying complexity. Everyone, regardless of their level of knowledge and skills in the field, was able to prove themselves by working on business challenges using AI solutions. The winners of the AI Challenge were from Russia, Kazakhstan and Canada . The youngest AI Challenge winner, Oleg Zamkov from Moscow , is 10 years old.
13 NTA will not conduct any recruitment exam from 2025, will focus only on higher education entrance exams
The National Testing Agency ( NTA) conducts recruitment examinations for many departments in addition to admission to educational institutions in the country . In such a situation, now Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Tuesday that the National Examination Agency (NTA) will not conduct any recruitment examination from 2025 and will focus only on higher education entrance examinations . The Ministry of Education is also in talks with the Ministry of Health about whether the examination should be conducted in the traditional pen and paper based mode or should be changed to Computer Based Test (CBT).