1.Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan launched a hundred-day nationwide reading campaign – Padhe India
Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan launched a hundred-day nationwide reading campaign – Padhe India . This campaign National Education Policy – 2020which emphasizes the promotion of a joyful reading culture for children. For this, the availability of books in their mother tongue, regional and local languages will be ensured for the children of the appropriate age group to read. Pathan Abhiyan aims at necessitating the participation of all stakeholders at the national and state level including children, teachers, parents, community and educational administrators. This campaign marks the beginning of an important step in improving the learning levels of the students as it develops creativity, critical thinking, vocabulary and the ability to express in oral and written forms. This will help children to connect with their surroundings and real life situations. Children from Balvatika to Class VIII will be a part of this campaign. There will be one activity for each group per week during the campaign, Emphasis will be placed on enjoyable reading and developing a lifelong relationship with it. Children will be able to do the activity with the help of their teachers, parents, siblings or other family members. The reading campaign will be organized till April 10 this year.
2.India and Pakistan share lists of their nuclear installations and stations with each other
India and Pakistan have shared lists of their nuclear installations and stations with each other . This has been done under an agreement between the two countries on the prevention of attacks on nuclear installations and facilities. According to the agreement, the two countries share this information about nuclear installations and stations on January 1 every year. This tradition has been going on since January 1992.
3.India and Pakistan exchange lists of civil prisoners and fishermen in each other’s custody
India and Pakistan have exchanged lists of civil prisoners and fishermen detained with each other . According to the provisions of the 2008 agreement, on January 1 and July 1 every year, both countries hand over lists of such prisoners to each other. India has given a list of 282 civil prisoners and fishermen lodged in its jail to Pakistan. Pakistan has handed over a list of 51 Indian civil prisoners and 577 fishermen detained in its custody to India, some of whom are suspected Indians.
4.Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked farmers to keep innovating in agriculture, released the tenth installment of Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana
Prime Minister Narendra Modi released the tenth installment of financial benefits under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana . More than 20 thousand crore rupees were transferred to more than 10 crore farmer families . Prime Minister Narendra Modi today released the tenth installment of financial benefits under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana through video conferencing. More than 20 thousand crore rupees were transferred to more than 10 crore farmer families. This amount is transferred in three installments of two thousand rupees. This amount is directly transferred to the bank account of the beneficiaries. Shri Modi also released equity grant of more than Rs 14 crore to about three hundred 51 Farmer Producer Organizations, which would benefit more than one lakh 24 thousand farmers.
5.Defense Minister congratulates scientists and employees on 64th Foundation Day of DRDO
Defense Research and Development Organization-DRDO celebrated its 64th Raising Day on 1 January . Defense Minister Rajnath Singh has congratulated the scientists and employees of DRDO on the occasion. The Defense Minister said that all of them are working hard to strengthen the defense capabilities of the country and make it self-reliant. He expressed hope that the scientists and employees of DRDO would continue to serve the nation with the same spirit.
6.30 white rhinos on board Boeing 747 transferred from South Africa to Rwanda
Recently Boeing 747 chartered aircraft aboard 30 white rhinos in South Africa from Rwanda was transferred. He was transferred due to the increasing threat of poaching. This was the largest single transfer of white rhinos ever. The scientific name of the white rhinoceros is Ceratotherium simum. They are the largest extant species of rhinoceros. They are considered to be the most social of all the rhinoceros species.
7.19th tranche of electoral bonds approved
The government has five states in elections before December 31, 2021 , the 19th installment of the bond electionissuance approved. The sale of electoral bonds will be open from January 1 to January 10, 2022. State Bank of India (SBI) has been authorized to issue and encash bonds through its 29 authorized branches. Assembly elections are to be held in 5 states of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Goa. Electoral bonds are financial instruments used to make donations to political parties. These bonds are issued in multiples of Rs 1000, 10000, 1 lakh, 10 lakh and 1 crore without any maximum limit. SBI is the only authorized bank to issue these bonds. From the date of issue, these bonds are valid for fifteen days. They can be redeemed in the designated account of a registered political party. It does not mention the name of the person giving the donation.
8.World’s longest metro line launched in Shanghai
December 31, 2021 the Shanghai province of China in the longest subway line of the world went open. With this opening, Shanghai has retained its rank as the city with the largest metro network worldwide. The city opened two new metro lines – Line 14 and the first phase of Line 18. With this, the total length of the metro network in Shanghai has reached 831 km. It remains the longest network in the world. The opening of the two new lines has increased the total number of fully automated metro lines in Shanghai to five, with an operational length of 167 km. Now Shanghai has 20 subway lines and 508 stations.
9.ITBP DG Sanjay Arora will take over the additional charge of Sashastra Seema Bal
ITBP Director General Sanjay Arora will hold the additional charge of another Border Security Force Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) . Arora, a 1988-batch officer of Tamil Nadu cadre, was appointed DG of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) in August and took charge of the Indo-China LAC Security Force on September 1. The SSB is primarily tasked with guarding the Indian borders with Nepal and Bhutan.
10.Anupam Ray to be the new Ambassador of India to the United Nations Conference on Disarmament
Senior diplomat Anupam Ray has been appointed as the next Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations Conference on Disarmament in Geneva . Ray, a 1994-batch Indian Foreign Service officer, is currently serving as Joint Secretary at the Headquarters of the Ministry of External Affairs in Delhi. Ray will replace Pankaj Sharma. Sharma, a 1991 batch Indian Foreign Service officer, has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to Mexico.
11.Russia’s first versatile nuclear-powered icebreaker to boost India’s Arctic plans
Russia has launched its first Project 22220 versatile nuclear-powered icebreaker in the series known as ‘ Sibir ‘. This icebreaker will support a growing fleet of icebreakers to keep the Northern Sea Route open for year-round shipping through the Arctic and enable India’s wider presence in the Arctic region. The construction of Sibir was started in 2015 and the icebreaker was ordered on 22 December 2017. Sibir was handed over to Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation for exploitation; The Delivery-Acceptance Act was signed on 24 December at the Baltic Shipyard, St. Petersburg, Russia. The icebreaker is 173.3 m (568.6 ft) long and 34 m wide with a displacement of 33,500 tonnes.
12.SBI to acquire 9.95% stake in GIFT-IFSC-based Clearing Corp
State Bank of India will acquire 9.95 per cent stake in India International Clearing Corporation (IFSC) Limited subject to a maximum investment of Rs 34.03 crore . Clearing Corporation is a GIFT City (Gandhinagar, Gujarat) based Market Infrastructure Institution (MII) . The Corporation is the first International Clearing Corporation to be set up at the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT) International Financial Services Center (IFSC). The Clearing Corporation acts as the central counterparty to India International Exchange (IFSC) Limited providing clearing and settlement and risk management services.
13.Vasudevan PN reappointed as MD and CEO of Equitas Small Finance Bank
Vasudevan Pathani Narasimhan has been reappointed by the Board of Directors (BOD) as the Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Equitas Small Finance Bank Limited (ESFBL) for three years (July 23, 2022 to July 22, 2025). has been appointed from He is currently serving as the MD & CEO of the bank. Prior to this he was serving as the MD of Equitas Holdings Limited. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Science (Physics) from the University of Madras. A qualified Company Secretary from the Institute of Company Secretaries of India, he has vast experience in the financial services sector.
14.Jasprit Bumrah completed 100 wickets on foreign soil
Jasprit Bumrah has achieved the milestone of taking 100 wickets away from home in 22 Tests . Van der Dussen became Bumrah’s 100th Test victim in overseas conditions. The 28-year-old now has 105 wickets, of which 101 have come from home. Bumrah, who made his Test debut in South Africa in 2018, has played a total of 25 Test matches, 23 of them away from home.
15.Quinton de Kock announces retirement from Test cricket
South African wicketkeeper-batsman Quinton de Kock has announced his retirement from Test cricket with immediate effect. His announcement came just hours after South Africa’s 113-run loss to India in the first Test of the three-match series.
16.New Zealand’s Ross Taylor announces retirement from international cricket
Veteran New Zealand batsman Ross Taylor has announced his retirement from international cricket at the end of the current domestic season. Taylor will play his final innings in the second Test against Bangladesh, where he will equal Daniel Vettori’s record of 112 Tests for New Zealand. He will be part of the ODI series to be held in Australia. He is the first cricketer to play more than 100 matches for New Zealand in all 3 formats.
