Important Current Affairs 4th December 2021

NATIONAL

2021 India-ITU joint CyberDrill for Indian entities

• International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the Department of Telecommunications operating under the Ministry of Communications conducted a Joint Cyber Drill 2021. The cyber drill was conducted for the Critical Network Infrastructure operators of India. The Critical Network Infrastructure are the systems, assets and networks that are essential to ensure the security of a country.

• It aims to improve the cyber security readiness of India. Also, it aims to improve the protection and incident response capability of the country.

• During the cyber drill, the cyberattacks and information security incidents were simulated. And the participants were trained to defend and respond against such incidents. Thus, the drill helped to test the cyber capabilities of an organisation.

Cyclone Jawad likely to reach north coastal Andhra Pradesh

• The low-pressure area in the Bay of Bengal is expected to intensify into Cyclone Jawad which is likely to reach the north Andhra Pradesh, south Odisha coasts and Some parts of West Bengal. The storm, once developed, will be called Jawad (pronounced Jowad), as named by Saudi Arabia. After Yaas in May and Gulab in September, this will be the third cyclone headed towards the east coast this year.

• A rotational list of the names of cyclones is maintained by the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), with the names specific for each tropical zone. If a cyclone is especially deadly then its name is never used and is replaced by another name. The list has a total of 169 names at present which will be used on a rotational basis.

APPOINTMENT & RESIGNATION

Gita Gopinath: From Mysuru to No. 2 Official at IMF, First Indian to Take up the Top Role

• International Monetary Fund Chief Economist, Gita Gopinath is set to take over from Geoffrey Okamoto as the institution’s No. 2 official. It is going to be a historic movement when International Monetary Fund has the female at its first two leading positions. The IMF has done some changes in the roles and responsibilities of the fund’s senior management team. In which they introduced deputy managing director for the first time and it is gone to the first female named Indian born economist Gita Gopinath.

• The move comes as a surprise because Gopinath, the first woman to serve as the IMF’s chief economist, had said in October she planned to rejoin Harvard University in January to retain her tenured facility post after three years of public service.

SUMMIT'S & MOU's

Walmart announces MoU with MP government to train and support MSMEs

• Walmart and its subsidiary Flipkart have signed an MoU with the Department of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises, Government of Madhya Pradesh to create an ecosystem of capacity building for MSMEs in Madhya Pradesh. Under this MoU, Walmart, Flipkart, and MSME Department will assist MSMEs to digitize their business and enable them to sell their products through online retail.

• This initiative comes under the Walmart Vriddhi Supplier Development Programme (Walmart Vriddhi), delivered by knowledge partner Swasti, which aims to train around 50000 Indian MSMEs with business skills to become successful as suppliers to Walmart, sellers on global marketplace platforms like Flipkart. Under this programme, Walmart and Flipkart have partnered with various states including Haryana and Tamil Nadu.

OBITUARY

Renowned Bangladesh’s Professor Rafiqul Islam passes away

• Renowned scholar and national professor of Bangladesh Professor, Rafiqul Islam passed away. Prof. Rafiqul Islam was one of the greatest scholars on the national poet of Bangladesh Kazi Nazrul Islam. He was honoured with Swadhinta Padak and the Ekushey padak, which is the highest civilian award of Bangladesh. He was a recipient of the Bangla Academy Literary Award. He had written close to 30 scholarly books. Prof. Rafiqul Islam was currently the President of the Bangla Academy.

IMPORTANT DAYS

India & Bangladesh will celebrate Maitiri Diwas on 6 December

• India and Bangladesh have decided to celebrate December 6, the day on which India formally recognized Bangladesh, as “Maitri Diwas” (Friendship Day). During the visit of PM Narendra Modi to Bangladesh in March 2021 to attend the national day of Bangladesh, it was decided to commemorate 6 December as Maitri Diwas (Friendship Day). Ten days before the liberation of Bangladesh, India had recognised Bangladesh on 6 December 1971. India was one of the first countries to establish bilateral diplomatic ties with Bangladesh.

• According to the joint statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs, Prime Minister Modi highlighted that Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, one of the greatest leaders of modern times, will be remembered for his courage and indelible contribution to Bangladesh’s emergence as a sovereign country.

Indian Navy Day 2021: 04 December

• In India, December 4 is observed as the National Navy Day every year, to celebrate the achievements and role of the naval force to the country. The theme of Indian Navy Day 2021 is ‘Swarnim Vijay Varsh’ signifying 50 years of India’s victory in the Indo-Pakistan war that took place in 1971.

• Indian Navy is a naval branch of Indian armed forces Led by the President of India (commander-in-chief). Back in 1971, during the Indo-Pakistan war, December 4 was chosen to launch Operation Trident against Pakistan. On December 4, the Indian Navy formally entered the war and attacks on Karachi were constantly showering. As we all know because of the Indian Navy the whole country rejoiced with success. The victory over Pakistan made our country proud and respect the Indian Navy even more.

AWARDS & RECOGNITION

President's Colour Award ceremony organised by HP Police

• Himachal Pradesh Police has conducted the ‘President’s Colour Award’ ceremony at Shimla’s historic Ridge Ground. The Governor bestowed the ‘President’s Color Award’ to the State Police on this occasion. Director-General of Police Sanjay Kundu received the award on the behalf of state police. The Chief Guest was Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar, while Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur was also there as a special guest. Himachal Pradesh Police is India’s eighth state police force to receive this honour.

• ‘President Colour’ is a special achievement, demonstrating that the state police ranks highly in the service of humanity, as well as performance, professionalism, integrity, human rights protection, and other factors.

RANKING

IFFCO ranks first among top 300 cooperatives in the world

• The Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited (IFFCO) has been ranked ‘number one Cooperative’ among the top 300 cooperatives in the world. The ranking is based on the ratio of turnover over the gross domestic product (GDP) per capita. It signifies that IFFCO is contributing significantly to the GDP and economic growth of the nation. The 2021 edition of the 10th Annual World Cooperative Monitor (WCM) report, withholding its position from the 2020 edition.

• The 2021 WCM report is published by the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA) and European Research Institute on Cooperative and Social Enterprises (Euricse). WCM is a project designed to collect robust economic, organizational, and social data about cooperatives worldwide.

• The report is the 10th annual one and explores the economic and social impact of the largest cooperatives and mutual worldwide, providing a ranking of the top 300, sector rankings, and an analysis of responses to the current global challenges: Covid and climate change.

BANKING AND ECONOMIC

DBS revises India's FY2023 growth forecast by 100 bps to 7%

• The Singapore-based DBS Bank’s economic research team has revised India’s FY23 growth forecast upwards to 7 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) (CY2022 6.5 per cent) from 6 per cent earlier. The DBS team assessed that into FY23, beyond the thrust from reopening gains, precautionary savings and sectoral normalisation to pre-pandemic levels, Capex generation is likely to be the next driver in raising and maintaining growth on a higher plane.