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.
History of the day:
18 December was declared as the Minorities Rights Day back in 1992 by the United Nations. The UN had adopted the statement on the individual’s Rights belonging to religious or Linguistic National or Ethnic Minorities. In India, it is the responsibility of the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) to carry out the events on this day. The NCM was established by the Union Government under the National Commission for Minorities Act, in 1992.
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.
List of the world’s 20 most admired men:
| Rank | Personality |
| 1 | Barack Obama |
| 2 | Bill Gates |
| 3 | Xi Jinping |
| 4 | Cristiano Ronaldo |
| 5 | Jackie Chan |
| 6 | Elon Musk |
| 7 | Lionel Messi |
| 8 | Narendra Modi |
| 9 | Vladimir Putin |
| 10 | Jack Ma |
| 11 | Warren Buffett |
| 12 | Sachin Tendulkar |
| 13 | Donald Trump |
| 14 | Shah Rukh Khan |
| 15 | Amitabh Bachchan |
| 16 | Pope Francis |
| 17 | Imran Khan |
| 18 | Virat Kohli |
| 19 | Andy Lau |
| 20 | Joe Biden |
List of the world’s 20 most admired women:
| Rank | Personality |
| 1 | Michelle Obama |
| 2 | Angelina Jolie |
| 3 | Queen Elizabeth II |
| 4 | Oprah Winfrey |
| 5 | Scarlett Johansson |
| 6 | Emma Watson |
| 7 | Taylor Swift |
| 8 | Angela Merkel |
| 9 | Malala Yousafzai |
| 10 | Priyanka Chopra |
| 11 | Kamala Harris |
| 12 | Hillary Clinton |
| 13 | Aishwarya Rai Bachchan |
| 14 | Sudha Murty |
| 15 | Greta Thunberg |
| 16 | Melania Trump |
| 17 | Lisa |
| 18 | Liu Yifei |
| 19 | Yang Mi |
| 20 | Jacinda Ardern |
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.
History of the day:
United Nations was decided to celebrate the Arabic language on December 18, being the day on which General Assembly resolution 3190 (XXVIII) of December 18, 1973, concerned the inclusion of the Arabic language among the official and working languages of the United Nations.
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.
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.
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.
About the scheme:
- 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.
Under Semiconductor Scheme:
Under the scheme, the government has lined up incentives for companies engaged in silicon semiconductor fabs, compound semiconductors, display fabs, sensors fabs, silicon photonics, semiconductor packaging and semiconductor design. With the launch of this scheme, the government expects investments of about Rs 1.7 lakh crore and 1.35 lakh jobs in the upcoming four years.
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.
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.
Jharkhand Sahay Yojna Objectives
In order to instil a culture of sports and identify talent in the state, CM Hemant Soren had earlier given directions to sports department officials to work on a special sports scheme named Sahay for youth from Naxalite-affected areas. Officials were asked to work extensively to connect youth below the age of 19 with the Jharkhand Sahay Scheme. Under Sahay Yojana, potential sports talent will be identified from the panchayat level and taken to the block level and district level where they will be prepared for national and international sports events.
Important takeaways for all competitive exams:
- Chief Minister of Jharkhand: Hemant Soren; Governor: Ramesh Bais.
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.
