Delhi Has 125 New Cases, Xmas And New Year's Gatherings Banned: 10 Points

New Delhi: 

As Omicron cases steadily rise in the national capital, the Delhi government today banned all gatherings to celebrate Christmas and New Year. Cultural events were also prohibited on a day Delhi recorded 125 new cases, the highest in six months.

Here's your 10-point cheatsheet to this big story:

1. Delhi officials have yet to define the legal limit for gatherings.
2. All social, political, sports, entertainment, cultural, religious, and festival-related gatherings are banned. Banquet Halls can't function except for meetings, conferences, marriages, and exhibitions, that too with riders.
3. Potential Covid superspreader areas are being identified before the two big year-end celebrations. "All district magistrates shall conduct an intensive survey of the entire area falling under their jurisdiction and identify those pockets, colonies markets, and crowded places which have the potential of becoming superspreaders of Coronavirus and its Omicron variant," said an order of the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA).
4. Schools and colleges can operate if they strictly comply with SOP. Restaurants and bars will be allowed to open at half the seating capacity. 
5. Cinemas, theatres, and multiplexes can still run with 100% seating but auditoriums and assembly halls can seat only up to 50%. Exhibitions have also been allowed.
6. The Delhi Metro can function at 100% capacity, with up to 30 standing passengers per coach. Buses can also use 100% seating, with standing passengers allowed up to 50% of seating capacity. 
7. Weddings and funerals can have not more than 200 people.  
8. District administration officials and the Delhi police have been directed to tighten the enforcement machinery to ensure that people follow social-distancing norms and wear masks. District officials have been asked to submit daily reports. Market trade associations have also been directed to deny entry to customers without masks.  
9. Delhi has recorded 57 Omicron cases so far, the highest among all states and union territories in India. A total of 213 cases of the highly contagious strain of Covid have been detected in India. 
10. Amid signs of a rise in infections from the new variant, the Centre, in an advisory, has asked the states to activate "war rooms" and bring back curbs, including night curfews to contain it. It also listed a series of prevention and containment measures that included extensive testing and regulation of gatherings

Activate War Rooms, Night Curfews As Needed, Centre Tells States: 10 Points

New Delhi: 

Omicron is three times as infectious as Delta and "war rooms" are needed to contain it, the Centre has told states. It listed a series of prevention and containment measures that included extensive testing, night curfew and regulation of gatherings.

Here are the Top 10 points in this big story:

1. The letter from the health ministry said the measures taken should be based on local conditions, laying down the guidelines for what it called "threshold limits".
2. The thresholds, the Centre said, are test positivity of 10 per cent or more in the last one week or 40 per cent occupancy on oxygen supported or ICU beds.
3. The states and Union Territories can take "containment measures, curbs even before thresholds are reached" the Centre said.
4. Besides Omicron, the Delta variant is "still present" in different parts of the country, the letter read.
5. Calling for "greater foresight, data analysis, dynamic decision making and strict and prompt containment action", the letter said decision making at the State/UT and district level "must be very prompt and focused and take containment measures and restrictions even before these thresholds are reached".
6. As part of test and surveillance methods, the Centre has mentioned door-to-door case searches, contact tracing of all Covid-positive persons.
7. Samples from cluster infections must immediately be sent to INSACOG Labs for Genome Sequencing.
8. The states have also been asked to "accelerate and ensure" 100 per cent vaccination coverage.
9. It has also been suggested that emergency funds be used to ramp up medical infrastructure, including hospital beds, ambulances, oxygen equipment and medication.
10. The number of Omicron cases has crossed the 200-mark in India, the Health Ministry has said. Maharashtra and Delhi have reported the highest number of cases of the new variant -- 54. They are followed by Telangana (20 cases), Karnataka (19), Rajasthan (18), Kerala (15) and Gujarat (14). Of them, 77 patients have recovered or migrated, the ministry added.

18th December Daily Current Affairs 2021: Today GK Updates for Bank Exam

18 December 2021
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18th December Daily Current Affairs 2021: Today GK Updates for Bank Exam

Here is the Daily GK Update of 18th December 2021 covering the following news headlines: ISRO, SAHAY scheme, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Kumar Mangalam Birla, National Minorities Rights Day, International Migrants Day. 

Daily GK updates are incorporated with the important news that made the current affairs headlines for banking or other competitive exams. Daily GK Update is the complete bag of the important news that is held all day long. One should have complete knowledge about banking terms, current affairs news, etc. So, here is the GK update of 18th December 2021 to help you prepare the Current affairs part. After reading this section, you can successfully attempt Current Affairs Quiz.

Top 10 Daily GK Updates: National & International News

Here is providing below the top 10 important Daily General Knowledge GK 2021 updates with national & international news.

State News

1. Jharkhand CM 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.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

• Chief Minister of Jharkhand: Hemant Soren; Governor: Ramesh Bais.

Banking News

2. RBI imposes penalty on PNB and ICICI Bank

• 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.

Science and Technology News

3. ISRO signed six agreements with four countries for launching foreign satellites

• 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 takeaways for all competitive exams:

• ISRO Chairman: K.Sivan;
• ISRO Headquarters: Bengaluru, Karnataka;
• ISRO established: 15 August 1969.

Ranks and Reports News

4. YouGov: PM Modi world's 8th most admired man in 2021

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi has ranked 8th on the list of the world's top 20 most admired men, in a survey carried out by data analytics company YouGov. PM Modi is ahead of Shah Rukh Khan, Amitabh Bachchan and Virat Kohli. The list has been compiled taking feedback from 42,000 people in 38 countries.
• Apart from PM Modi, the other Indian men who, according to the survey, were the most admired in 2021 include Sachin Tendulkar, Shah Rukh Khan, Amitabh Bachchan and Virat Kohli.
• The list also includes the most admired Indian women of 2021 has Priyanka Chopra, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Sudha Murty.

Awards News

5. Kumar Mangalam Birla receives Global Entrepreneur of the Year Award

• 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.

Schemes News

6. Union cabinet approves Rs 76,000 crore push for semiconductor manufacturing

• 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.

Books and Authors News

7. A book title "Rewinding the first 25 years of MeitY! 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.

Important Days 

8. International Migrants Day 2021: 18th December

• The International Migrants Day is observed globally on 18 December every year. The day is marked by the United Nations, through the UN-related agency International Organization for Migration (IOM).
• The day is observed to highlight the contributions made by the  272 million migrants, which includes more than 41 million people who are internally displaced persons, and the challenges they face. The theme of International Migrants Day 2021 is Harnessing the potential of human mobility.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

• International Organization for Migration Headquarters: Grand-Saconnex, Switzerland;
• International Organization for Migration Founded: 6 December 1951;
• International Organization for Migration Director General: António Vitorino.

9. National Minorities Rights Day 2021

• Every year, December 18 is observed as the Minorities Rights Day to uphold the right to freedom and equal opportunities for the ethnic minorities in India and create awareness about the respect and dignity of the minorities.
• India has faced many obstacles since the British Rule regarding basic human rights. However, these rights were safeguarded after the independence and people must be made aware of it. Thus we celebrate Minorities Rights Day on 18th December every year.
• The Minority Rights Day 2021 aims to uplift all the minority sections of society and back them to voice their opinion. Considering the COVID-19 pandemic, all the sessions, seminars, and debates are likely to take place digitally.

10. World Arabic Language Day: 18 December

• World Arabic Language Day is observed globally on 18th December every year. The Arabic language is one of the pillars of the cultural diversity of mankind. It is one of the most widely used languages ​​in the world, spoken daily by more than 400 million people.
• The purpose of this day is to raise awareness of the history, culture and development of the language by preparing a program of special activities and events.
• The theme of this year's World Arabic Language Day is "The Arabic Language and Civilizational Communication", and it is considered as a call to reaffirm the important role that the Arabic language plays in building bridges of connection between people on the rise of culture, science, literature and many other fields.

All the Best BA’ians for the Bank exam!