1 Riya Shirish Thatte of Aurangabad won the gold medal in the final of the women’s 25m pistol event at the 67th National Shooting Championship
Aurangabad’s Riya Shirish Thatte won the gold medal in the women’s 25m pistol event final at the 67th National Shooting Championship in New Delhi . She defeated Simranpreet Kaur Brar of Punjab 7-2. This is Riya’s first title in the senior national event. Olympic player and former Asian Games champion Rahi Sarnobat finished third in this competition . In the National Shooting Championship, short gun and pistol events are being held in New Delhi while rifle events are being held in Bhopal.
2 Sri Lankan President visits India on first foreign visit, appreciates India’s continued support
India and Sri Lanka have reiterated their commitment to work together to counter traditional and non-traditional threats as well as ensure a free, open, secure and protected Indian Ocean region. In this regard, Sri Lankan President Anura Kumar Dissanayake has reiterated his country’s established policy and assured that he is committed to India’s security as well as regional stability. PM Modi and Sri Lankan President Anura Kumar Dissanayake held extensive and useful discussions in their meeting in New Delhi on Monday during his state visit to India. The joint statement issued by the two countries said that taking cognizance of various security threats such as terrorism, drug/narcotics trafficking, money laundering, the two leaders agreed to further strengthen efforts in training, capacity building, intelligence and information sharing. Two MoUs were signed between India and Sri Lanka on Wednesday – amendment to the protocol related to the prevention of fiscal evasion in respect of taxes on income and training and capacity building for 1500 civil servants of Sri Lanka .
3 Moldova joins the International Solar Alliance
Moldova joined the International Solar Alliance (ISA) as the 105th country . ISA is an international group of countries located between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn . These are solar resource-rich countries, called sunshine countries. The agreement to join the International Solar Alliance (ISA) was signed between External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Moldova’s Deputy Prime Minister Mihai Popsoi. Earlier, Armenia had announced to become the 104th full member of the International Solar Alliance i.e. ISA on November 21, 2024. ISA is a treaty-based intergovernmental organization aimed at transforming the field of solar energy. Along with this, it is to achieve energy security by emphasizing solar energy, a clean, climate-friendly and renewable energy resource. It was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in November 2015 at COP-21 in Paris, France. Its headquarters is in Gurugram, Haryana, India. ISA is also called the International Agency for Solar Policies and Applications. More than 120 countries have signed the ISA Framework Agreement. The first summit of the International Solar Alliance was held in 2018 under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi and then President of France Emmanuel Macron .
4 Two important MoUs were signed during Amit Shah’s Raipur visit
Two important MoUs were signed during the visit of Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah to Raipur in Chhattisgarh . An MoU was signed between the Government of Chhattisgarh and the National Dairy Development Board- NDDB for the development of the dairy sector. Apart from this , another MoU was signed between Chhattisgarh State Minor Forest Produce Cooperative Federation Limited and National Cooperative Organic Limited .
5 Shri Dharmendra Pradhan presides over MoU signing ceremony between NCERT and Flipkart
Union Education Minister Shri Dharmendra Pradhan performed the Bhoomi Pujan for the new NCERT auditorium which can accommodate around 900 people. He also presided over the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between NCERT and e-commerce marketplace Flipkart . The agreement aims to ensure affordable and seamless availability of NCERT publications across the country, especially in tier 2 and 3 cities . The Union Minister also inaugurated the Google Learning Centre which will facilitate capacity building of teachers and educators on digital tools including AI. This state-of-the-art lab has been built for 40 people, with adequate computer and networking facilities. Along with this, 200 YouTube channels have been created for broadcasting PMEvidya DTH TV channels. The Union Minister also released NISHTHA Integrated Teacher Training Modules, NISHTHA-ET, Kaushal and Edu-Leader.
6 Government launches ‘Credit Guarantee Scheme’ for e-NWR based pledge financing
The government has launched ‘ Credit Guarantee Scheme for e-NWR based Pledge Financing ‘. Under this scheme, farmers will now be able to get loans through their produce . After farmers deposit their produce in warehouses registered with the Warehousing Development and Regulation Authority , an electronic negotiable warehouse receipt will be issued. This receipt can be used as a guarantee against default to obtain low-interest loans from banks and other lending institutions. Farmers, Farmer Producer Organisations, Agricultural Cooperative Societies and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises will be eligible under this scheme. Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Minister Pralhad Joshi while launching the scheme in New Delhi said that this is another important initiative of the government to bring farmers into the institutional network of banking and finance.
7 10th International Forest Festival starts in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh
The 10th International Forest Festival is starting from 17 December in Bhopal , Madhya Pradesh . This festival, which will run till 23 December , will provide a broad platform for dialogue between producers, traders, entrepreneurs, scientists, administrators and policy makers associated with forest wealth.
8 Flight services to 150 destinations now available from Delhi International Airport
Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA ) of the national capital New Delhi has become the first airport in the country to operate flight services to 150 destinations . Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) gave this information on Monday. DIAL said in a statement that Delhi Airport has become the first airport in the country to provide connectivity to 150 destinations. On Sunday, Thai Air Asia X started direct flights between Delhi and Bangkok-Don Muang (DMK), which is the 150th destination connected to Delhi airport. The new route will operate twice a week with Airbus A330 aircraft, with plans to increase the frequency to four times a week by mid-January 2025.
9 Gati Shakti University and Indian Navy sign MoU for logistics related education, research and training
Gati Shakti University, Vadodara has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Indian Navy in New Delhi . The MoU aims to enhance logistics education, research and training for the Indian Navy . This collaboration is set to strengthen the logistics infrastructure of the Indian Navy by focusing on supply chain management, multimodal transportation and sustainability in logistics. It is also aligned with national development initiatives such as PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan 2021 and National Logistics Policy 2022.
10 Sri Lanka-India Naval Exercise-24
The bilateral naval exercise SLINEX-24 (Sri Lanka-India Naval Exercise) under the aegis of Eastern Naval Command will be conducted in Visakhapatnam from 17 to 20 December 2024. The exercise will be conducted in two phases-harbour phase from 17 to 18 December and sea phase from 19 to 20 December. Initiated in 2005, SLINEX-24 is an important edition of bilateral naval exercises that have strengthened maritime cooperation between India and Sri Lanka over the years.
11 C-DOT and Trois Infotech signed agreement to develop technology for “Facial Recognition using Drones” under TTDF scheme
In a significant step towards advancing indigenous, cutting edge, next generation telecom technology , Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT) , the premier telecom R&D centre under the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) , Government of India has signed an agreement with Trois Infotech for “ Face Recognition using Drones ” technology . The agreement has been signed under the Telecom Technology Development Fund (TTDF) programme of Universal Service Obligation Fund – USOF of Department of Telecommunications, in which C-DOT is the implementing agency of Government of India.
12 Victory Day
On 16 December 1971, Bangladesh, which was once a part of Pakistan as East Pakistan , was born as an independent nation . Due to India’s victory over the Pakistani army and the formation of Bangladesh , this day is celebrated as Vijay Diwas in India and Bangladesh every year on 16 December . During this war, the Indian Army demonstrated its strategy, bravery and unwavering resolve and completely defeated more than 93,000 Pakistani soldiers in just 13 days. On this day in 1971, Lieutenant General A A Khan Niazi of the Pakistani Army surrendered unconditionally to the Indian Army and Mukti Bahini along with 93 thousand soldiers.
13 Padma Shri awarded ‘Vriksha Mata’ Tulsi Gowda passed away
Vriksha Mata Tulsi Gowda, who received the Padma Shri award barefoot and in tribal attire in front of many eminent personalities including the President, Prime Minister , is no more among us. 86-year-old Tulsi Gowda was a member of the Halakki community , was suffering from old age-related ailments and died on Monday in her home village Hannali in Ankole taluk of Uttara Kannada district . She was awarded the Padma Shri in 2021 for her extraordinary hard work and dedication. Tulsi Gowda was born in a family of Halakki tribe of Karnataka .
14 Padma Shri awarded Baiga painter Jodhiya Amma passed away
Madhya Pradesh ‘s famous Baiga painter and Padma Shri awardee Jodhaiya Amma passed away on 15 December. She was a resident of Lodha village in Umaria district . She breathed her last in her village at the age of 86 at around 6 pm on Sunday evening. Jodhaiya Amma was awarded the Padma Shri by President Draupadi Murmu on March 22, 2023. Apart from this, on March 8, 2022, the then President Ram Nath Kovind honored her with the Nari Shakti Samman . Jodhaiya Amma’s journey of painting started in 2008 with Jana Gan Tasveer Khana. The paintings made by her started being displayed at the state, national and international level. She participated in the programs of Shanti Niketan Vishwa Bharati University, National School of Drama, Adirang etc. A permanent wall has been built in the name of Jodhaiya Bai in the Madhya Pradesh Tribal Museum located in Bhopal . Her paintings are displayed on it. Jodhaiya Bai’s paintings are based on the concept of Devlok in Indian tradition, Lord Shiva and tiger. It shows the importance of environmental protection and wildlife. Her paintings made on the culture of Baiga tribe are liked by foreigners a lot. Her paintings made on this tradition have been displayed in countries like Italy, France, England, America and Japan etc. The then Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan honored her in Vindhya Maikal Utsav in Umaria in 2016 .
