Current Affairs, December 2021

30th December, Current Affairs:

• Sahitya Akademi announced its prestigious Sahitya Akademi Awards, Yuva Puraskar and Bal Sahitya Puraskar 2021 in various languages. The award was given to 20 other authors in various languages. Author Namita Gokhale won the Sahitya Akademi Award 2021 in English for her novel ‘Things to Leave Behind’.
• The State of Telangana has become India’s first state to compete 100 per cent 1st dose Covid-19 vaccination.

29th December, Current Affairs:

• India has approved two more vaccines named Corbevax and Covovax under emergency use authorisation. The Indian drug regulator today also cleared the first anti-viral Covid-19 pill: Molnupiravir.
• Mohammed Shami becomes the fifth Indian pacer to take 200 Test wickets. Shami achieved the feat on Day 3 of the first India-South Africa Test match in Centurion.

26th December, Current Affairs:

• Vaccination for children between 15 and 18 years of age will start from 3rd of next month. The government has also decided that it will begin precaution doses for the healthcare workers and frontline workers from 10th of January. Citizens above 60 years of age with co-morbidities will also have the option of precaution dose of the vaccine on the advice of their doctor from 10th January onwards.
• Bharat Biotech's COVID-19 vaccine ‘Covaxin’ received approval for Emergency use in children between 12 and 18 years of age.
• Himachal Pradesh created history by winning their first ever Vijay Hazare Trophy in a thrilling final against former champions Tamil Nadu in Jaipur.

25th December, Current Affairs:

• Christmas is being celebrated across the globe today.
• The James Webb Space Telescope will launch from Europe's Spaceport in Fench Guiana today. The observatory, set to be the most powerful after the Hubble, will operate from a distance nearly 15,00,000 kilometres away from Earth.

24th December, Current Affairs:

• Kisan Diwas or National Farmers' Day is observed on 23rd December. It is celebrated to commemorate the birth anniversary of the fifth Prime Minister of India, Chaudhary Charan Singh.
• India off-spinner Harbjahan Singh announced his retirement from all forms of cricket. The 41-year-old picked up 417 wickets in 103 Tests, 269 wickets in 236 ODIs and 25 scalps in 28 T20Is in his career.

22nd December, Current Affairs:

• Defence Research and Development Organisation, DRDO today successfully conducted maiden flight test of indigenously developed surface-to-surface missile - Pralay, from Dr A P J Abdul Kalam Island off the coast of Odisha.
• India won bronze medal beating Pakistan 4-3 in Dhaka today in the Asian Champions Trophy Hockey tournament.

20th December, Current Affairs:

• The Election Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2021, has been passed in Lok Sabha through voice vote. The bill provides linking of Aadhar number with electoral rolls besides giving four opportunities to enroll in a calendar year as voter upon attaining 18 years of age.
• The death toll from the strongest typhoon to hit the Philippines this year has increased to 208.
• In Badminton, Kidambi Srikanth bagged silver medal after losing to Loh Kean Yew of Singapore 15-21, 20-22 in the Men’s singles final of BWF World Championships at Huelva in Spain. Srikanth is the first Indian to finish runners-up.

18th December, Current Affairs:

• Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) today successfully tested the new generation nuclear-capable ballistic missile ‘Agni P’ from Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Island off the coast of Odisha.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi today laid the foundation stone of the longest expressway of Uttar Pradesh Ganga Expressway in Shahjahanpur district.
• The third India-Central Asia Dialogue will begin today in New Delhi.

17th December, Current Affairs:

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been conferred with the highest civilian honour of Bhutan, Ngadag Pel gi Khorlo.
• West Bengal topped the chart in the 'large states' category on the 'Index on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy'. It is an indicator of literacy among children below 10 years. In the ’small states’ category, Kerala grabbed the top spot.

16th December, Current Affairs:

• President Ram Nath Kovind today attended the 50th Vijay Diwas celebrations of Bangladesh as the guest of honour.
• On the occasion of 50th Vijay Diwas, Prime Minister Narendra Modi participated in the Homage and Reception Ceremony of Swarnim Vijay Mashaals at National War Memorial in New Delhi.
• Army Chief Gen MM Naravane has assumed the charge as the chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee that comprises the three service chiefs.

15th December, Current Affairs:

• United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNSECO) today adds Durga Puja to its ‘Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.’
• Barcelona and Argentina striker Sergio Aguero announced his retirement from football just over a month after the 33-year-old was diagnosed with a heart problem.

14th December, Current Affairs:

• National Energy Conservation Day is observed today.
• India has invited the five central Asian countries namely Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, as the chief guest for Republic Day celebrations, 2022.
• Parliament has passed a bill to extend the tenure of the director of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to a maximum of five years from the present two years.

13th December, Current Affairs:

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi today inaugurated the first phase of the Kashi Vishwanath Dham in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh.
• Elon Musk has been declared "Person of the Year" by the Time magazine for the year 2021.
• Retail inflation rises to 4.91% in November 2021 from 4.48% in October.
• Indian Architect Balkrishna Doshi will receive the Royal Institute of British Architect's (RIBA) Royal Gold Medal 2022, one of the world’s highest honours for architecture.
• India's Harnaaz Sandhu crowned Miss Universe 2021 title. The 21-year-old bagged the coveted pageant at the 70th edition of the event held in Eilat, Israel.
• Max Verstappen clinched his first Formula One world title after winning the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

12th December, Current Affairs:

• Indian-origin Gautam Raghavan has been appointed as the Head of the White House personnel office.
• Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Indian Air Force flight-tested the indigenously designed and developed Helicopter-launched Stand-off Anti-tank (SANT) Missile from Pokhran range.

11th December, Current Affairs:

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Saryu Canal National Project which will provide assured water for irrigation to over 14 lakh hectares of land and benefit about 29 lakh farmers.
• Australia wicketkeeper Alex Carey on Saturday became the first wicketkeeper to take 8 catches (both innings combined) on Test debut, surpassing Rishabh Pant and five others, who had taken 7 catches each on their respective Test debuts.

10th December, Current Affairs:

• Human Rights Day is observed today.
• General Bipin Rawat and his wife, Madhulika Rawat, were cremated with full military honours at Delhi's Brar Square Crematorium.
• India's S Bidyarani Devi won silver at the women's 55kg category at the ongoing Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships at Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

9th December, Current Affairs:

• Olaf Scholz has been sworn in as Germany's new chancellor, bringing to an end Angela Merkel's historic 16 years as leader.
• Samyukta Kisan Morcha has announced to suspend their agitation against the three farm laws and related issues.
• United Kingdom, Canada and Australia have joined the US-led diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing over concerns about human rights in China.

8th December, Current Affairs:

• General Bipin Rawat, India's first Chief of Defence Staff and his wife died today after a military chopper crashed in Tamil Nadu, killing 13 on board.
• The Reserve Bank of India’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) on Wednesday held the repo rate steady at 4.00 per cent.
• Air version of BrahMos supersonic cruise missile was successfully test-fired from the supersonic fighter aircraft Sukhoi-30 MK-I from Integrated Test Range, Chandipur off the coast of Odisha.
• Forbes announced its 17th annual ranking of the World's Most Powerful Women. Four women from India - Nirmala Sitharaman, Roshni Nadar Malhotra, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw and Renuka Jagtiani have managed to secure a place for themselves in this prestigious Forbes list. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman ranked 41st on the list while HCL Enterprise CEO, Roshni Nadar Malhotra secured the 55th spot.

7th December, Current Affairs:

• International Civil Aviation Day is observed today.
• Assamese poet Nilmani Phookan Jr and Konkani writer Damodar Mauzo was awarded the Jnanpith award. While Damodar Mauzo received the prize for this year, Phookan won the award for last year.

6th December, Current Affairs:

• Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in New Delhi today on an official visit to India for the 21st India-Russia Annual Summit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
• The Nation is paying tributes to Bharat Ratna Dr B R Ambedkar on his 65th death anniversary today.
• Argentina won the Junior Men's Hockey World Cup after defeating Germany, 4-2 in the Summit Clash in Bhubaneswar.
• India has won the two-test series against New Zealand by 1-0.

5th December, Current Affairs:

• The Puducherry Administration has made it compulsory for the residents to get vaccinated for covid 19 in the Union Territory with immediate effect to achieve 100 % vaccination.
• Indian badminton ace P V Sindhu settled for a silver medal at the BWF World Tour finals after going down against Korean An Seyoung in the summit clash.

4th December, Current Affairs:

• Indian Navy Day is celebrated today.
• Indian-American Gita Gopinath, Chief Economist of the International Monetary Fund, has been promoted as its First Deputy Managing Director, or FDMD, after the current FDMD Geoffrey Okamoto announced she will leave early next year.
• New Zealand spinner Ajaz Patel took all 10 wickets to fall in India's first innings in Mumbai, on day 2 of the second Test at the Wankhede Stadium. Ajaz Patel became only the third player in the history of Test cricket to take all 10 wickets in an innings. He joins England's Jim Laker and former Indian captain Anil Kumble to dismiss 10 opposition players in an innings.
• Former Governor of Tamil Nadu and former Chief Minister of the unified State of Andhra Pradesh Konijeti Rosaiah passed away in Hyderabad.
• Indian Athlete Anju Bobby George has won the Woman of the Year Award from World Athletics.
• Veteran journalist Vinod Dua passed away today at the age of 67.

2nd December, Current Affairs:

• National Pollution Control Day is observed today. It is observed annually on December 2 to remember the people who lost lives during 1984 Bhopal Gas Tragedy.
• Two COVID-19 cases of the Omicron variant have been detected in Karnataka. It is the first Omnicron virus case detected in India.

1st December, Current Affairs:

• World AIDS Day is observed today.
• Nagaland is celebrates its 59th Statehood day today.
• The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCI) postponed indefinitely the date of resumption of international flights in view of the new variant of COVID-19 virus called Omicron.