Daily Current Affairs 10th December, 2021

Daily Current Affairs 10 December 2021 for Banking/Insurance/SSC and other related exams.

NATIONAL NEWS

Uttarakhand CM launches ‘Milk Price Incentive Scheme’ to benefit over 50,000 people
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami launched the ‘Milk Price Incentive Scheme’ which will benefit around 53,000 people in the state.
Around 53,000 people are going to benefit from the milk price incentive scheme.

• Further, he said that this amount would go directly into the accounts of the beneficiaries through Direct Bank Transfer (DBT).
• Dhami also informed that the state government will spend Rs 444.62 crore to open 500 milk sales centres in Uttarakhand.

UP Cabinet Approves Atma Nirbhar Krishak Development Scheme
Ahead of the upcoming 2022 Assembly elections in the state, the UP Cabinet has approved a scheme aimed at boosting the agriculture sector, which will be implemented from the current financial year. In a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, the Cabinet gave its nod to implement Atma Nirbhar Krishak Integrated Development Scheme in Uttar Pradesh from 2021-22.

• Under this scheme, 1,475 Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) will be formed in the next three years in each development block of the state.
• The state government is likely to bear an expenditure of Rs 1,220.92 crore for implementation of the scheme from financial year 2021-22 to 2031-32.
• The scheme will also help in achieving the target of utilising a budget of Rs 12,000 crore allotted to the state by the Centre under Agriculture Infrastructure Fund(AIF)

Cabinet approves Ken-Betwa interlinking project worth ₹44,605 cr
The Union Cabinet has approved the funding and implementation of Ken-Betwa inter-linking of rivers project in its meeting.

• The Ken-Betwa linking project is estimated to be implemented at a cost of ₹44,605 crore at 2020-21 price levels. The Cabinet has approved central support of ₹39,317 crore for the project, covering grant of ₹36,290 crore and loan of ₹3,027 crore.
• Th Ken-Betwa linking project involves transfer of water from the River Ken to the River Betwa through the construction of Daudhan Dam and a canal linking the two rivers, the Lower Orr Project, Kotha Barrage -and Bina Complex Multipurpose Project.The project will pave the way for more interlinking of river projects in India.

BANKING & FINANCE

Paytm Payments Bank gets scheduled bank status by RBI
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has recognised Paytm Payments Bank as a scheduled bank, allowing it to expand its banking operations.

• In a statement, Paytm Payments Bank said that it has been included in the Second Schedule of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934.
• Now the bank can participate in government d other large corporations issued Request for Proposals (RFP), primary auctions, fixed-rate and variable rate repos, and reverse repos, along with participation in Marginal Standing Facility. It would now also be eligible to partner in government-run financial inclusion schemes.

Bank of Maharashtra, NPCI tie up to launch RuPay credit card
Bank of Maharashtra (BoM) said it has tied up with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to launch its first credit card on card payment network RuPay.

• Titled ‘BOM Platinum RuPay Contactless Credit Card’, it offers 100 reward points as a welcome benefit to users on their first retail spending worth ₹1,000 or more and a complimentary annual membership fee for the first year.
• The card also comes with the card liability cover wherein customers will have zero liability post reporting of fraud. Card’s reward system accumulates 1 reward point for every ₹100 spent.

Aviva Life Insurance Launches Nivesh Bima Plan 
Aviva Life Insurance, a private insurance company, has announced the launch of Aviva Nivesh Bima.This is a non-linked, non-participating, individual savings life insurance plan that provides guaranteed moneyback at every fifth policy year, in addition to a lump sum payout at maturity.

• Aviva Nivesh Bima offers features such as fixed benefit pay-out on maturity or death, limited premium paying term, and an option to enhance the coverage through an add-on accidental death benefit
• This value proposition ensures that customers enjoy the protection of a life cover while building up a corpus to fulfil their short-term and long-term needs.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

Airtel launches Startup Innovation Challenge in partnership with Invest India
Bharti Airtel, India’s premier communications solutions provider, announced the launch of ‘Airtel India Startup Innovation Challenge in partnership with Invest India.

• As part of the ‘Startup Innovation Challenge’ early stage technology companies are invited to demonstrate differentiated solutions . The top 10 winners will win cash prizes, get access to Airtel’s Innovation Lab and will be able to leverage Airtel’s advanced technology infrastructure to scale up their use cases and even co-innovate with Airtel’s engineering teams.
• Capgemini’s 5G Lab within its Mumbai campus and Airtel’s 5G Lab in Manesar, Haryana, will be the development hubs.

Microsoft launches cybersecurity skilling programme to skill over 1 lakh learners in India
To address the skills gap and empower India’s workforce for a career in cybersecurity, Microsoft launched a cybersecurity skilling program that aims to skill over 1 lakh learners by 2022.

• The program is designed to give learners hands-on experience in the fundamentals of security, compliance, and identity.
• Microsoft will conduct these courses along with its strategic consortium of partners including Cloudthat, Koenig, RPS, and Synergetics Learning. The course modules are designed to support all levels of learners, regardless of where they are in their cybersecurity journey.

SPORTS

India win 41 medals, including 12 golds at Asian Youth Para Games
Indian para-athletes returned from Bahrain after claiming a whopping 41 medals in their best-ever show at the Asian Youth Para Games.The Indian contingent won 12 gold, 15 silver, and 14 bronze medals at the continental Para youth games held in Riffa city.

• India won most medals in athletics with 22 players finishing at the podium — eight won gold, six bagged silver, and eight secured bronze.The Indian para shuttlers returned claimed 15 medals with Tokyo Paralympian Palak Kohli, Sanjana Kumari, and Hardik Makkar claiming three medals each.
• In swimming, India won three medals, including one silver and two bronze, while the country also secured a silver in powerlifting.

Manipur beats Odisha win senior woen’s national football championship
Manipur made it 21 out of 26 at the National senior football championship. It defeated Railways in a final that failed to produce a goal in 120 minutes.

• The players on either side had so forgotten how to put the ball into the net, they struggled to do it even from the penalty spot in the shoot-out. Railways struggled more as it finished runner-up for the second time in a row.

India’s weightlifter Jeremy Lalrinnunga clinches gold at Commonwealth C’ships
Ajay Singh clinched India’s third gold of the Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships by winning the men’s 81kg category.

• Singh lifted a total of 322kg and also set a national record in snatch (147kg).He became the third Indian weightlifter to directly qualify for next year’s Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
• Jeremy Lalrinnunga (67kg) and Achinta Sheuli (73kg) have already qualified for the 2022 CWG after winning gold in their respective competitions.

APPOINTMENTS

Disney Byju’s early learn app signs Neeraj Chopra as brand ambassador
Olympics gold medallist Neeraj Chopra, represented by JSW Sports, has been announced as brand ambassador for Disney Byju’s Early Learn App.

• Think And Learn Private Limited, which runs Byju’s has taken Disney-licensed characters for its early learning app for younger children.
• As part of this two-year commitment, Chopra will inspire the young learners to learn in a more creative and interactive way and most importantly, help them understand the importance of sports in their lives.

Indian origin NASA Astronaut, SpaceX’s first flight surgeon
Nasa-turned-SpaceX flight surgeon Anil Menon is among the 10 latest trainee astronauts who will join the 2021 class of the American space agency as it plans for the first human missions to the moon in more than 50 years. Menon is a lieutenant colonel in the US air force and was SpaceX’s first flight surgeon.

• Apart from Anil Menon, a firefighter turned Harvard professor, a former member of the national cycle team and a pilot who led the first-ever all-woman F-22 formation in combat have been picked by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration for its new astronaut candidate class in four years.
• They were chosen among the more than 12,000 applicants and will now report for duty in January at the Johnson Space Center in Texas, where they will undergo two years of training.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 

South Korean Defence Ministry unveils model for hypersonic weapon prototype
The South Korean Defense Ministry has unveiled a model for a hypersonic weapon prototype months after North Korea tested its own weapon. Just days ago while in South Korea, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin criticized Chinese hypersonic weapons tests for destabilizing the region.

• The model for the weapon, named Hycore, was revealed by the Defense Ministry’s Agency for Defense Development (ADD). Seoul is reportedly aiming to begin testing in 2022.

Bhasha Sangam mobile app launched with 100 sentences, 22 languages
Union Minister of State for Education, Dr Subhas Sarkar has informed that the government is all set to launch Bhasha Sangam mobile app.

• The mobile app is developed to give users familiarity with common expressions of daily conversation in scheduled Indian languages. The app has 100+ sentences, designed on different themes that allow people to learn basic conversation in 22 Indian languages, test themselves and generate online certificates.
• The app aims to foster the spirit of Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat by enabling people across India to learn the different languages of different states of India and come closer to their culture.

OBITUARIES

Chief of defence staff Gen Bipin Rawat passes away
Chief of defence staff (CDS) Gen Bipin Rawat died after an Indian Air Force (IAF) chopper he was on board crashed near Coonoor in Tamil Nadu’s Nilgiris district. His wife Madhulika Rawat and 11 others were also killed in the mishap, the Indian Air Force (IAF) said.

• Rawat had taken over as India’s first chief of defence staff (CDS) on December 31, 2019, after serving as the army chief for a full three-year term.
• He survived a Cheetah crash in Dimapur on February 3, 2015. He was then a lieutenant general.

Serum Institute of India’s ED Suresh Jadhav passes away
Serum Institute of India’s Executive Director Dr Suresh Jadhav – who played a key role in the development of Covid-19 vaccine Covishield – passed away in Pune. He was 72.

• Dr Jadhav was most instrumental in securing WHO accreditation for various vaccines of SII, which is today one of the largest vaccine manufacturers in the world and caters to more than 140 countries.
• He was part of several national and international bodies and associations.He was President of Developing Countries Vaccine Manufacturers Network (DCVMN) for 5 years from 2004 to 2008, a Member of the DCVMN Steering Committee since its inception in 2000 AD and responsible for making DCVMN a globally recognised entity.

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