Current GK on 22 December 2021

Divya Hegde Wins UN Women’s Award For Leadership Commitment

Divya Hegde, an Indian Climate Action Entrepreneur from Udupi, coastal Karnataka, has won the United Nation (UN) Women’s Award for Leadership Commitment at the 2021 Regional Asia-Pacific Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEP) Awards ceremony.

• She has been recognised for her sustained efforts in advancing gender equality through climate action efforts.

• Baeru Environmental Services, Divya’ s organisation works towards waste management, creation of livelihoods for rural women, and developing a circular economy in the region.

Other Winners –
i.Youth Leadership – Pallavi Sherring

ii.Gender-inclusive Workplace – NatWest Group
iii.Gender-Responsive Marketplace – Dharma Life
iv.Community Engagement & Partnerships – The Very Group
v.Transparency & Reporting – Biocon Ltd India vi.SME Champions – Namita Vikas

PV Sindhu Re-elected as Member of BWF’s Athletes’ Commission for 2nd term till 2025

Former World Champion and India’s 2-time Olympic medallist shuttler PV Sindhu (Pusarla Venkata Sindhu) was re-elected as a member of the Badminton World Federation (BWF)’s Athletes’ Commission for a 2nd term till 2025. She is among the 6 appointed members of the Commission.

• PV Sindhu was first elected as a member of the BWF’s Athletes’ Commission in 2017. She is the only member who stood for re-election.

• PV Sindhu was the 2nd Indian to become a member of the BWF’s Athletes Commission. In 2017, Sana Nehwal joined the commission as a representative of the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) Athletes’ Commission.

Member of BWF’s Athletes Commission 2021-2025:
i.P V Sindhu (India)
ii.Kim So-yeong (South Korea)
iii.Iris Wang (United States of America-USA)
iv.Robin Tabeling (Netherlands) v.Greysia Polii (Indonesia)
vi.Zheng Siwei (China)
DRDO Scientist Atul Dinkar Rane Appointed DG BrahMos Aerospace Limited

Senior DRDO(Defence Research and Development Organisation) Scientist Atul Dinkar Rane has been appointed as the Director-General(DG) of the BrahMos Aerospace Private Limited, Which manufactures the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile.

• He was a part of the core team of BrahMos Aerospace, since its foundation as a joint venture with Russia.

About Atul Dinkar Rane:
Career:
i.Atul Dinkar Rane joined DRDO in 1987 and started his career as System Manager at Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL).

ii.He has served as the Director of International Cooperation & Joint Venture at DRDO Headquarters, New Delhi.
iii.He led the development of Onboard Mission Software for Agni-I missile, as part of the OBC division, Research Centre Imarat (RCI).

iv.He has also established the integrated testbed facility for seamless test and evaluation of Onboard Systems for various missile projects.

Amit Shah released a Book titled ‘Sahakar Sandarbha’ at VAMNICOM Pune

Union Home Minister, Amit Shah released a book titled ‘Sahakar Sandarbha’ at the convocation ceremony of Vaikunth Mehta National Cooperative Management Institute (VAMNICOM) in Pune, Maharashtra.

• The book highlights various sectors of cooperative governance and its need for expansion in the field of agriculture and rural areas.

i.Amit Shah, who also served as the Union Minister of Cooperation, has announced the formulation of India’s new ‘Cooperative Sector Policy’.
ii.He also unveiled the statue of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar & also laid the foundation stone of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Smarak in Pune.

iii.The Home Minister also inaugurated a new building of the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) and the campus of 5th Battalion of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) in Pune.

Multinational Exercise PANEX-21 inaugurated at Pune, Maharashtra comprising BIMSTEC Nations

On December 20-22, 2021, the 3rd edition of multi-national – multi-agency exercise, PANEX-21, was organized at Pune (Maharashtra) to develop capabilities in Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) operations among BIMSTEC nations.

• BIMSTEC is an acronym for Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation. It is an international organisation of seven South Asian and Southeast Asian nations comprising Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Thailand.

• The inaugural address for this exercise was delivered by Lt Gen Jai Singh Nain, Army Commander, Southern Command at Armed Forces Medical College, Pune. Gen Manoj Mukund Naravane, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) also addressed over video conference.

Participants:

It is being attended by delegates and subject matter experts from BIMSTEC nations along with subject matter experts like Dr Soumya Swaminathan, Chief Scientist WHO (World Health Organization), Dr. Vinod Kumar Paul, NITI (National Institution for Transforming India) Aayog amongst others attended the meet.

GIS based ‘Automatic Water Supply System’, 1st of its kind in India launched by Rajnath Singh

On the occasion of Defence Estates Day 2021 i.e. December 16, 2021, Union Minister Rajnath Singh, Ministry of Defence has launched India’s first of its kind Geographic Information System (GIS) Based ‘Automatic Water Supply System’ for citizens of Cantonment Boards under eChhawani project. It is an easy and fast application with 100% automatic process.

• The module for this system has been developed by Bhaskaracharya Institute for Space Applications and Geo informatics (BISAG) under the guidance of Defence Secretary and Director General of Defence Estates (DGDE), Delhi.

• Its integration with the e-Chhawani portal is done by Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL).

India’s EAM S.Jaishankar & Tajikistan’s FM Sirojiddin Muhriddin Signs Agreements on Diplomatic Training

In December 2021, External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar met Tajikistan foreign minister Sirojiddin Muhriddin who was on an official visit to India from 18 to 20 December 2021 to attend the 3rd meeting of the India-Central Asia Dialogue.

• They have signed agreements on diplomatic training and program of cooperation.

• Both of them exchanged views on expanding bilateral cooperation in energy, connectivity, trade, security and capacity building.

India-Central Asia Dialogue:

i.EAM S. Jaishankar hosted the 3rd meeting of the India-Central Asia Dialogue in New Delhi from 18-19 December 2021. Foreign Ministers of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan participated in the meeting.
ii.The Ministers discussed strengthening of relations between India and Central Asian countries with particular focus on trade, connectivity and development cooperation.

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