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29th December Daily Current Affairs 2021: Today GK Updates for Bank Exap

29 December 2021
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29th December Daily Current Affairs 2021: Today GK Updates for Bank Exap

Here is the Daily GK Update of 29th December 2021 covering the following news headlines: Alia Bhatt, 4th State Health Index, IndusInd Bank, Indipaisa, Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs, AFSPA, Somalia.

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 29th December 2021 to help you prepare the Current affairs part. After reading this section, you can successfully attempt Current Affairs Quiz.

Top 17 Daily GK Updates: National & International News

Here is providing below the top 17 important Daily General Knowledge GK 2021 updates with national & international news.

International News

1. China launches new camera satellite with 5m resolution

• China has launched a new satellite with a camera capable of taking photos of the ground with a resolution of five meters, according to the National Space Administration of China (CNSA).
• The satellite, called “Ziyuan-1 02E” or “Five Meter 02 Optical Satellite”. Beijing time by a Long March-4C rocket from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in Beijing Province. Shanxi (northern China).
• This is the 39th launch of the Longue Marche-4C rocket and the 403rd launch of the entire Long March series.
• The Ziyuan-1 02E weighs approximately 2.5 kilograms and is equipped with infrared, near-infrared and hyperspectral cameras. The cameras can take panchromatic color images of the Earth.

2. Somalia's President suspends PM Mohamed Hussein Roble

• Somalian Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble has been suspended. President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo has suspended the Prime Minister, who is facing allegations of involvement in the theft of land.
• Mohamed Roble accused the President of trying to stage a coup and said, he would continue in office. He urged the security forces to take orders from him rather than Mr Farmajo. The term of Farmajo officially ended in February but was extended because of disagreements over how to choose a new incumbent.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

• Somalia Capital: Mogadishu;
• Somalia Currency: Somali shilling.

State News

3. Govt set up high-level committee to examine of lifting Nagaland's AFSPA

• The Government of India has decided to constitute a ‘five-member’ committee to look into the demand for withdrawal of Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act “AFSPA” in Nagaland.
• The committee headed by Vivek Joshi, the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India, would submit its recommendations within 45 days. Additional Secretary in the Home Ministry Piyush Goyal will be its Member-Secretary. The Chief Secretary and DGP of Nagaland and the DGP of Assam Rifles will be the other members of the committee.
• The AFSPA empowers security forces to conduct operations and arrest anyone without any prior warrant. It also gives immunity to the forces if they shoot someone dead.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

• Chief Minister of Nagaland: Neiphiu Rio; Governor of Nagaland: Jagdish Mukhi.

Appointments News

4. IAS Praveen Kumar named as DG & CEO of Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs

• Govt of India has approved the appointment of Praveen Kumar, IAS, Former Secretary, Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship to the post of Director General & Chief Executive Officer, Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs (IICA).
• The proposal for setting up IICA was approved by Planning Commission in the year 2007. It was established in 2008 at Manesar, Haryana.
• Praveen Kumar is a 1987 batch retired IAS officer of Tamil Nadu cadre, and a former Secretary, Skill Development & Entrepreneurship.

5. Radhika Jha named as CEO of Energy Efficiency Services

• Radhika Jha has been appointed as the Chief Executive Officer in state-run Energy Efficiency Services (EESL). EESL is a joint venture between NTPC, Power Grid, Power Finance Corp and REC, working to promote energy efficiency in the country.
• Prior to the new posting, the IAS officer was serving as Secretary to the Government of Uttarakhand for the Education Department. She took charge of the post in July this year and navigated the operational guidelines for resuming classes post COVID.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

• Energy Efficiency ServicesHeadquarters: New Delhi;
• Energy Efficiency Services Founded: 2009;
• Energy Efficiency Services Chairmen: Arun Kumar Mishra.

6. GoI appoints Atul Kumar Goel as new MD & CEO of PNB

• The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the appointment of Atul Kumar Goel, MD & CEO of UCO Bank, as MD & CEO of Punjab National Bank (PNB) with effect from February 1 next year.
• Goel will serve as PNB chief until December 31, 2024, which is his attaining the superannuation age. Goel will replace Mallikarjuna Rao, incumbent MD & CEO of PNB.
• Rao was given a three-month extension that will end on January 31, 2022. Meanwhile, the ACC has appointed Soma Sankara Prasad, currently Deputy Managing Director at State Bank of India, as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer in UCO Bank.
• He will serve as MD & CEO of UCO Bank till the date of attaining the age of superannuation on May 31, 2023.

Agreements News

7. Indipaisa tie-up with NSDL Payments Bank to launch a new Fintech platform

• Indipaisa has signed a partnership agreement with NSDL Payments Bank to launch Financial Technology (Fintech) solutions targeting India’s 63 million Small & Mid-sized Enterprise (SME) sector.
• To empower SME owners & operators to provide facilities and services that help them grow businesses, comply with government tax laws and build a sustainable future.
• Indipaisa's mission is to empower SME owners and operators to take charge of their finances as well as give them facilities and services that help them grow their businesses, comply with government tax laws, and build a better future for their families.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

• NSDL Payments Bank Founded: 1996;
• NSDL Payments Bank Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra;
• NSDL Payments Bank MD & CEO: Abhijit Kamalapurkar.

8. HDFC Bank tie-up with IPPB to offer banking services in rural areas

• HDFC Bank has signed an MoU with India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) to offer banking services to over 4.7 crore customers of IPPB in semi-urban and rural areas. Under the MoU, out of 4.7 crores, customers around 90 per cent reside in rural areas.
• The HDFC bank aims to boost its financial inclusion drive by leveraging IPPB’s network of 650 branches and over 136,000 banking access points.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

• India Post Payments Bank Founded: 2018;
• India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) Headquarters: New Delhi, Delhi;
• India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) MD & CEO: J Venkatramu;
• India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) Tag line: Aapka Bank, Aapke Dwaar.

Banking News

9. HDFC Life signed bancassurance partnership with South Indian Bank

• HDFC Life signed a bancassurance (Bank-Insurance) agreement with South Indian Bank to enable customers of the South Indian Bank to avail HDFC Life’s life insurance products and services to the customers of South Indian Bank.
• This bancassurance arrangement will enable customers of the South Indian Bank to avail HDFC Life’s wide range of life insurance products which include solutions for protection, savings and investment, retirement and critical illness. This bancassurance partnership will further strengthen HDFC Life’s business across India.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

• South Indian Bank Founded: 29 January 1929;
• South Indian Bank Headquarters: Thrissur, Kerala;
• South Indian Bank MD & CEO: Murali Ramakrishnan.

10. IndusInd Bank and NPCI tie-up to offer cross-border payments through UPI

• IndusInd Bank has partnered with the National Payments Corporation to offer real-time cross-border remittances to India using UPI IDs, for its Money Transfer Operator (MTO) partners. It is the first Indian bank to go live on UPI for cross-border payments/NRI remittances.
• Under this arrangement, the MTOs will be using the IndusInd Bank channel to connect with NPCI’s UPI payment systems for validation and cross-border payment settlement into beneficiary accounts.
• IndusInd Bank has started off with Thailand’s DeeMoney for Foreign Inward Remittance (FIR) through UPI.

Ranks and Reports News

11. NITI Aayog released 4th State Health Index

• NITI Aayog has released the fourth edition of the State Health Index for 2019–20 that provides incremental performance in health outcomes and status. The index is developed by: NITI Aayog, World Bank, and Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW).
• The report, titled “Healthy States, Progressive India”, ranks states and Union Territories on their year-on-year incremental performance in health outcomes as well as their overall status.
• Among the ‘Larger States’, in terms of annual incremental performance, Uttar Pradesh, Assam and Telangana are the top three ranking states.
• Among ‘Smaller States’, Mizoram and Meghalaya registered the maximum annual incremental progress.
• Among UTs, Delhi, followed by Jammu and Kashmir, showed the best incremental performance.
• On overall ranking based on the composite index score in 2019–20, the top-ranking states were Kerala and Tamil Nadu among the ‘Larger States’, Mizoram and Tripura among the ‘Smaller States’, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu and Chandigarh among the UTs.

Awards News

12. PETA: Alia Bhatt India's 2021 Person of the Year

• People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India has named Bollywood star Alia Bhatt its 2021 Person of the Year. She is an animal lover and often shares pictures with her pets. This year, Alia Bhatt invested in Phool, the company behind Fleather, which is vegan leather made from discarded temple flowers.
• Her vegan kidswear line, Ed-a-Mamma, also won a 2021 PETA India fashion award for helping to nurture kids’ love for animals and nature.
• Alia also starred in a pro-adoption PETA India campaign to help cats and dogs. She has used her position to call for stronger animal protection laws.

Sports News

13. Uttar Pradesh won 11th Hockey India junior national championship

• Uttar Pradesh has crowned the winners of the 11th Junior National Men’s Hockey Championship following a 3-1 victory over Chandigarh in the final at Kovilpatti, Tamil Nadu.
• Tournament top scorer Sharda Nand Tiwari opened the scoring for Uttar Pradesh. Uttar Pradesh Hockey maintained its unbeaten record. In the 3rd/4th Place playoff match, the Hockey Association of Odisha edged out Hockey Haryana 3 - 2 in a closely contested affair to clinch 3rd place in the competition.

14. Nitesh Kumar wins double gold at 4th Para-Badminton National Championship

• Nitesh Kumar won doubled gold at the 4th Para-Badminton National Championship, which concluded in Bhubaneswar, Odisha. Haryana's Nitesh along with his partner Tarun Dhillon defeated World No. 1 Paralympic Games gold medallist Pramod Bhagat and Manoj Sarkar in straight sets 21-19, 21-11 in the Men’s doubles finals to win the gold.
• Earlier, Nitesh also won the gold medal in the Men’s singles category. World No 1 SL3 Para-Badminton player Parul Parmar from Gujarat also secured gold while Mandeep Kaur from Uttarakhand won Silver and Mansi won bronze.

Obituaries News

15. Former Greek President Karolos Papoulias passes away

• Veteran Greek politician Karolos Papoulias, who served as president at the height of the economic crisis of the 2010s, died. Papoulias, a longtime socialist lawmaker and minister, was close to Andreas Papandreou, the founder of the Socialist PASOK party.
• He served two terms between 2005 and 2015. Papoulias, who was also foreign minister in 1985-89 and 1993-96, was a high-ranking member of socialist PASOK party and a close associate of its late leader and former prime minister Andreas Papandreou.

16. E.O. Wilson, Known as 'Father of Biodiversity,' passes away

• E.O. Wilson, the former Harvard University biologist and Pulitzer Prize winner whose study of ants and human behaviour made him one of the world’s most influential scientists and prompted his calls for action to protect millions of species on the planet, has passed away. He was 92. To protect Earth earned him the nickname “Darwin’s natural heir”.
• He was the author of hundreds of scientific papers and more than 30 books, two of which won him Pulitzer Prizes for nonfiction: 1978’s On Human Nature, and The Ants in 1990.

17. ‘He-Man’ artist and toy designer Mark Taylor passes away

• Mark Taylor, artist and toy designer for the He-Man and the Masters of the Universe franchise as well as the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, passed away. Taylor began his career with Mattel in 1976 as a packaging designer.
• He-man was the muscled frontman for toy manufacturer Mattel’s Masters of the Universe franchise. He-Man was the epitome of a hulking superhero warrior but also became an icon within the LGBTQ+ community.

25th, 26th and 27th December Daily Current Affairs 2021: Today GK Updates for Bank Exam

27 December 2021
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25th, 26th and 27th December Daily Current Affairs 2021: Today GK Updates for Bank Exam

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 25th, 26th and 27th December 2021 to help you prepare the Current affairs part. After reading this section, you can successfully attempt Current Affairs Quiz.

Top 23 Daily GK Updates: National & International News

Here is providing below the top 23 important Daily General Knowledge GK 2021 updates with national & international news.

National News

1. 3 big announcements by PM Modi for Covid-19 vaccine

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced the Covid-19 vaccine for children and booster doses for Health workers and senior citizens, amid the Omicron scare.
• During his address to nation, the Prime Minister urged the people to be cautious while celebrating as coronavirus cases are rising in the country due to highly infectious variant, Omicron.
• Therefore, from the point of view of precaution, the government has decided that precaution dose of vaccine will also be started for healthcare and frontline workers. It will be started from January 10.

2. Docprime tech launched India’s first ABDM integrated Health Locker

• Docprime tech has launched India’s first health locker integrated with Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM). ABDM was launched in August 2020 for developing an integrated digital health infrastructure in the country.
• ABDM integrated Health Locker will provide users a digital and self-consented health data management system without any charges. It will store and manage health records electronically.
• Users can create digital Health IDs for themselves and for their family members on ABDM integrated Health Locker.
• Health Locker received the ABDM Sandbox approval for activating their ABDM integrated Health Locker.
• The users can also fetch and store their Cowin vaccination certificates through the ABDM integrated Health Locker.

State News

3. World Sangeet Tansen festival organized in Madhya Pradesh

• In Madhya Pradesh, the 97th edition of the World Sangeet Tansen festival started in Gwalior. A five-day World Sangeet Tansen festival starts from December 25 to December 30 in the city.
• The stage of the program has been constructed on the theme of the Siddhanath temple situated in Omkareshwar. Many artists not only from India but also from abroad will participate in the music festival.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams: 

• Madhya Pradesh Capital: Bhopal;
• Madhya Pradesh Governor: Mangubhai C. Patel;
• Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister: Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

4. Tamil Nadu Govt launched monitoring system “CM Dashboard Tamil Nadu 360”

• Tamil Nadu government has launched the Chief Minister (CM) Dashboard monitoring system, “CM Dashboard Tamil Nadu 360” in Chennai. It will enable CM to track all welfare schemes, including the status of their implementation, fund allocation, and the number of beneficiaries along with updates on the storage of water in dams and rainfall patterns.
• This dashboard will provide real-time information on all State government departments, storage levels of key reservoirs, rainfall patterns, price mesh, which monitors the price stability over 25 foodgrains/vegetables/fruits, and it will provide projections on possible increases in price, enabling government intervention.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

• Tamil Nadu Capital: Chennai;
• Tamil Nadu Chief minister: K. Stalin;
• Tamil Nadu Governor: R. N. Ravi.

Appointments News

5. RBL Bank: Rajeev Ahuja appointed new MD

• The RBL Bank board has appointed Rajeev Ahuja, who's currently working as the Executive Director at the bank, as interim Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer of the bank with immediate effect, subject to the regulatory and other approvals.
• The board of directors at its meeting has accepted the request of Vishwavir Ahuja, Managing Director and CEO of the bank, to proceed on leave with immediate effect.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

• RBL Bank Founded: 1943;
• RBL Bank Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra;
• RBL Bank CEO & MD: Vishwavir Ahuja;
• RBL Bank Tagline: Apno Ka Bank.

6. Mohammed Ben Sulayem elected FIA president

• Mohammed Ben Sulayem of the United Arab Emirates has been elected successor to Jean Todt as the first non-European president of motorsport's world governing body, the International Automobile Federation (FIA).
• The FIA is the governing body for Formula One, the World Rally Championship, World Endurance and Formula E among other series. The 60-year-old Dubai-born former rally driver was standing against British lawyer Graham Stoker, who has been Todt's deputy president for the sport since 2009.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

• International Automobile Federation Headquarters location: Paris, France;
• International Automobile Federation Founded: 20 June 1904.

7. Kamlesh Gandhi named new Co-Chairman of FIDC

• Finance Industry Development Council (FIDC) has announced fresh appointments to its board of directors. Kamlesh Gandhi, CMD of MAS Financial Services has been appointed as Co-Chairman, FIDC in addition to Umesh Revankar, CEO and MD of Shriram Transport Finance Group. Sanjay Chamria has resigned as the Co-Chairman and Director, FIDC.
• Finance Industry Development Council (FIDC), which is a representative body of asset and loan financing NBFCs, has announced fresh appointments to its board of directors. Dinanath Dubhashi, MD and CEO, L&T Finance Holdings has been appointed as an additional Director of FIDC. The appointments were approved at a board meeting of FIDC on December 21.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

• FIDC was formed in 2004;
• FIDC is Headquartered in Mumbai.

Defence News

8. ASIGMA: Indian Army launched in-house messaging app

• Indian Army has launched a contemporary messaging application named ‘ASIGMA’ (Army Secure IndiGeneous Messaging Application). It is a new generation web-based application developed entirely in-house by a team of officers of the Corps of Signals of the Army.
• It works as an alternative to Army Wide Area Network (AWAN) messaging application which has been in service for the past 15 years. The application has been sent out on Army-owned hardware and will cater to the army from this time forward, lending itself to lifetime support with future upgrades.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

• Chief of the Army Staff: Manoj Mukund Naravane.

9. Indian Navy decommissioned INS Khukri after 32 years

• INS Khukri (Pennant number 49), the first indigenously built Missile Corvette, was decommissioned after 32 years of service at Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh.
• The warship was built by the Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders (MSD) and commissioned on 23rd August 1989 and had been part of both the Western and Eastern Fleets.
• The ship was commissioned in Mumbai by Shri Krishna Chandra Pant, the then Raksha Mantri and Mrs Sudha Mulla, wife of late Capt Mahendra Nath Mulla. Commander (now Retired Vice Admiral) Sanjeev Bhasin was the first Commanding Officer.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

• Chief of Naval Staff: Admiral R Hari Kumar;
• Indian Navy Founded: 26 January 1950.

10. DRDO successfully conducted flight test of HEAT 'Abhyas'

• Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has successfully conducted a flight test of Indigenously developed High-speed Expendable Aerial Target (HEAT) ‘Abhyas’ from Integrated Test Range at Chandipur off Odisha coast.
• During its trial, a high subsonic speed trajectory at a very low altitude with high endurance was demonstrated. It is Developed by Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), DRDO laboratory along with other laboratories.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

• Chairman DRDO: Dr G Satheesh Reddy.
• DRDO Headquarters: New Delhi.
• DRDO Established: 1958.

Banking News

11. RBI extends card tokenisation deadline till June 2022

• Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has extended the card-on-file (CoF) tokenization deadline by 6 months i.e., to June 30, 2022. Earlier the deadline was fixed till December 31, 2021.
• In March 2020, RBI had issued guidelines for the regulation of payment aggregators and payment gateways, prohibiting payment aggregators and merchants to store customer card credentials within their database or server from 30 June 2021.
• In September 2021, RBI extended the scope of tokenization from device-based tokenization to CoF tokenization services and barred merchants from storing actual card data while online transactions. RBI has fixed the deadline for card tokenization to January 1, 2022.

12. Paytm Payments Bank tie-up with MoneyGram to enable international fund transfer

• Paytm Payments Bank has partnered with MoneyGram, a peer-to-peer remittance company to enable international fund transfer directly to Paytm Wallet.
• Under the Partnership, MoneyGram users abroad can now transfer money to any full Know Your Customer (KYC)-compliant Paytm wallet.
• MoneyGram transactions in India received digitally stands at nearly 50 per cent of all transactions received in the country. This is MoneyGram's first mobile wallet partnership in India.
• MoneyGram transactions in India received digitally currently represent nearly 50 per cent of all transactions received in the country. The number of transactions sent directly to bank accounts is up about six times from just under 10 per cent two short years ago.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

• Paytm Payments Bank Founded: 2015;
• Paytm Payments Bank Headquarters: Noida, UP;
• Paytm Payments Bank Founder & CEO:  Vijay Shekhar Sharma.

13. BOB Financial and Indian Navy unveil co-branded credit card

• BOB Financial Solutions Ltd. (BFSL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bank of Baroda (BoB) and the Indian Navy have introduced a co-branded credit card for the personnel of the Indian Navy. The card will be equipped with contactless features and offered on the RuPay platform.
• Indian Navy personnel up to the age of 64 would be eligible to choose from three variants of the card.

Awards News

14. Anukrti Upadhyay’s Kintsugi wins the Sushila Devi Award 2021

• Anukrti Upadhyay has won the Sushila Devi Award 2021 for the Best Book of Fiction for her novel, Kintsugi, which was published by the Fourth Estate imprint.
• The Ratanlal Foundation and the organizing Committee of the Bhopal Literature and Art Festival announced the winner, for this notable award for fiction written by a woman author and published in 2020. This prize has been instituted by the Shri Ratanlal Foundation.

15. Federal Bank & Vayana Network won the ‘Most Effective Bank-Fintech Partnership’ award

• Vayana Network, one of India’s largest trade finance platforms, and Federal Bank, a leading Private Sector Bank have been awarded the ‘Most Effective Bank-Fintech Partnership: Agile and Adaptable’ at the IBSi-Global Fintech Innovation Awards 2021.
• The award was conferred in recognition of Vayana Network’s partnership with Federal Bank, for automating and simplifying Supply Chain Finance. This year, the Innovation Awards attracted global attention with over 190 participants from 48 countries.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

• Federal Bank Headquarters: Aluva, Kerala;
• Federal Bank MD & CEO: Shyam Srinivasan;
• Federal Bank Tagline: Your Perfect Banking Partner.

Sports News

16. Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh announced retirement from cricket

• Senior Indian off-spinner, Harbhajan Singh has announced retirement from all forms of cricket. He was the 1st Indian Cricketer to take Hat-trick wickets in Test Cricket. He took 417 wickets in 103 Tests and is the 4th highest wicket-taker for India in Test cricket.
• He made his debut to the national cricket team, during an ODI (One Day International) against New Zealand at Sharjah in 1998 and lastly represented India in 2016 during a T20 against the UAE at Dhaka, Bangladesh.

17. Aanchal Thakur won bronze medal at FIS Alpine Skiing Competition 2021

• Indian skier Aanchal Thakur has bagged a bronze medal at the International Ski Federation (FIS) Alpine Skiing Competition in Montenegro. She finished 3rd with an overall timing of 1:54:30. With this, Aanchal has become the first Indian Ski athlete to win two medals at the international level.
• She has previously won the bronze medal in the 2018 FIS Alpine 3200 Cup held in Turkey Georgia Epiphaniouwon silver medal and was just 2 seconds ahead of Anchal. Croatia’s Dora Ljutic (1:50.61) won the gold medal while Cyprus skier Georgia Epiphaniou (1:52.71) clinched silver.

Science and Technology News

18. NASA's launched world’s largest telescope named James Webb Space

• NASA’s $10 billion telescopes James Webb Space Telescope designed to capture the first glimpse of the universe just shortly after the Big Bang is targeted for blastoff from the European Space Agency's Kourou, French Guiana.
• The revolutionary world’s first-of-its-kind space-science observatory of the next decade will capture the earliest galaxies believed to have formed during the early universe’s formation. The new telescope will help scientists to probe the structures and origins of our universe and our place in it.
• The telescope is unequalled in size and complexity. Its mirror measures 6.5 metres (21 feet) in diameter — three times the size of the Hubble's mirror — and is made of 18 hexagonal sections. It is so large that it had to be folded to fit into the rocket.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

• NASA administrator: Bill Nelson;
• Headquarters of NASA: Washington D.C., United States;
• NASA Founded: 1 October 1958.

19. Former Chief of Army Staff, Gen. Nirmal Chander Vij releases his new book

• A new book by former Indian Army Chief of Staff Gen. Nirmal Chander Vij (ret) claims to offer a “full picture” of the conflicts in Jammu and Kashmir and the way forward.
• The book published by HarperCollins India, the book of General Vij, The riddle of "Kashmir: the quest for peace in a troubled land".

20. M Venkaiah Naidu released a book titled “The Turnover Wizard – Saviour of thousands”

• Vice-President of India M Venkaiah Naidu has released the book titled “The Turnover Wizard – Saviour Of Thousands”, an autobiography of Arup Roy Choudhury, the former Chairman and Managing Director of NTPC Limited and NBCC (India) Limited.
• The book consolidates Arup Roy Choudhury’s learnings from life and brings out the management lesson from his life. The book is also endorsed by E Sreedharan, The Metro Man of India.

Important Days

21. International Day of Epidemic Preparedness: 27 December

• The United Nations and World Health Organization marked December 27 as the International day for Epidemic Preparedness. Battered by the Covid-19 pandemic, humans have learned about epidemic preparedness the hard way.
• In a bid to prepare for future outbreaks and sensitise people about epidemics on all levels. The day was first observed last December when the United Nations General Assembly had emphasised on the need to advocate the importance of the preparedness for, prevention of and partnership against epidemics.

22. Good Governance Day observed on 25 December

• In India, Good Governance Day (Sushasan Divas) is observed annually on 25th December. On this day nation celebrates the birth anniversary of Bharat Ratna and former-Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
• In keeping with this principle, Good Governance Day has been declared to be a working day for the government. On 23rd December 2014, former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, and Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya were announced to receive the highest civilian award of the nation, Bharat Ratna.
• After the announcement, the newly elected prime minister Narendra Modi has announced 25th December to be celebrated and observed as the Good Governance Day.

Obituaries News

23. Malayalam Director KS Sethumadhavan passes away

• Legendary Malayalam filmmaker KS Sethumadhavan has passed away at the age of 90 years. He directed over 60 movies in five languages including Tamil, Telugu, and Hindi during his career.
• He directed popular movies such as Odayil Ninnu, Anubhavangal Palichakal, Oppol, Aranazhikaneeram, Achanum Bappayum, etc. He has won 10 National Film Awards, 9 Kerala State Awards among others.