Important Current Affairs 19th December 2021

NATIONAL

Hemant Soren launched SAHAY scheme for maoist-hit areas

• The Chief Minister of Jharkhand, Hemant Soren has launched a Sports Action toward Harnessing Aspiration of Youth (SAHAY) scheme aimed at nurturing young sporting talents in Maoist-hit districts of the state. This scheme has been launched to curb the Left Wing Extremism (LWE) which affected 19 of the state’s 24 districts. Boys and girls in the 14-19 age group from villages to ward level will be registered under the scheme and will be given opportunities to display their skills in basketball, volleyball, hockey and athletics.

• In order to instil a culture of sports and identify talent in the state, CM Hemant Soren had earlier given directions to sports department officials to work on a special sports scheme named Sahay for youth from Naxalite-affected areas. Officials were asked to work extensively to connect youth below the age of 19 with the Jharkhand Sahay Scheme. Under Sahay Yojana, potential sports talent will be identified from the panchayat level and taken to the block level and district level where they will be prepared for national and international sports events.

Union Cabinet approved a ₹76,000 crore scheme to boost semiconductor and display manufacturing in the country

• Union Cabinet approved a Rs 76,000-crore production linked incentive (PLI) scheme for boosting semiconductor and display manufacturing in India. With this, the total amount of production linked incentive (PLI) announced for the electronics sector increase to Rs 2.30 lakh crore.

• This scheme was approved in order to position India as a global hub for hi-tech production, as well as to attract large chip makers. It would also strengthen India’s ambitions to be self-reliant in electronics manufacturing and bring huge investments.

• The government will also set up an independent ‘India Semiconductor Mission (ISM)’, for driving the long-term strategies to develop a sustainable semiconductor and display ecosystem in India.

SUMMIT'S & MOU's

ISRO Inks Deal With 4 Countries For Commercial Satellite Launches In 2021-2023

• The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has signed six agreements with four countries for launching foreign satellites during 2021-2023. About 132 million Euros would be earned through the launching of these foreign satellites on a commercial basis. The ISRO-Indian space agency, founded in 1969 to develop an independent Indian space program. Minister of State for Atomic Energy and Space Dr Jitendra Singh has said that ISRO has launched a total of 342 satellites from 34 countries since 1999.

• ISRO through its commercial arm, New Space India Limited (NSIL), has been launching satellites belong to other countries from Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV). Total 124 indigenous satellites have been put into Earth’s orbit including 12 student satellites.

IMPORTANT DAYS

Goa’s Liberation Day 2021: 19th December

• Goa Liberation Day is observed on 19 December every year in India and it marks the day Indian armed forces freed Goa in 1961 following 450 years of Portuguese rule. The year 2021 marks the 60 years of Goa’s independence. Goa Liberation Day is marked by an abundance of events and festivities in Goa though this time because of the pandemic the celebrations are expected to be muted. A torchlight procession is ignited from three different locations in the state, eventually all meeting at the Azad Maidan.

• The Portuguese colonised several parts of India in 1510 but by the end of the 19th-century Portuguese colonies in India were limited to Goa, Daman, Diu, Dadra, Nagar Haveli and Anjediva Island.

• The Goa liberation movement, which sought to end Portuguese colonial rule in Goa, started off with small scale revolts.

• On August 15, 1947, when India gained its Independence, Goa was still under the Portuguese rule.

AWARDS & RECOGNITION

TiE Global Summit Awards: KM Birla named Global Entrepreneur of the Year

• Aditya Birla Group’s chairman, Kumar Mangalam Birla has received the Global Entrepreneur of the Year Award- Business Transformation from The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE) based out of Silicon Valley. Birla is the first Indian Industrialist to receive the award for global entrepreneurship along with top global business leaders Satya Nadella, Elon Musk, and Jeff Bezos. The awardees were selected by an independent jury chaired by Venture Capitalist, Tim Draper, Founder, Draper University.

BOOKS & AUTHOR

Book ‘Gandhi Topi Governor’ released by Vice President of India  

• Vice President of India M Venkaiah Naidu has released the Telugu book titled ‘Gandhi Topi Governor’ by Padma Awardee Dr Yarlagadda Lakshmi Prasad, Chairman, Official Language Commission, Andhra Pradesh. The book chronicles the life of Barrister Idpuganti Raghavendra Rao. I R Rao was a prominent freedom fighter, Legislator and the Governor of the Central Provinces in the British Administration.

Book “Rewinding the first 25 years of MeitY! authored by SS Oberoi

• The book titled ‘Rewinding of First 25 years of Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology’ authored by S S Oberoi, the former adviser at the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) was launched by Ajay Prakash Sawhney, Secretary of MeitY. The book consists of life experience, challenges working as an advisor under the MeitY. He was the first head of the Software Development Agency and the first adviser of Information Technology.

BANKING AND ECONOMIC

RBI imposes penalty on ICICI Bank and PNB for rule violations

• A penalty of Rs 1.8 crores has been imposed on Punjab National Bank (PNB) by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), while ICICI Bank has been fined Rs 30 lakh for deficiencies in regulatory compliances. According to a statement issued by the central bank, PNB was found guilty of contravening provisions of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, related to pledge of shares by it.

• In the case of ICICI Bank, the RBI said that after conducting a statutory inspection for supervisory evaluation of the bank, it found non-compliance with directions related to levy of charges for non-maintenance of minimum balance in saving accounts. The RBI however made it clear that in both the cases, penalties were levied on deficiencies in regulatory compliances and it was not a pronunciation on the validity of any transaction or agreement entered into by the banks with their respective customers.