Weekly Current Affairs 1st December- 8th December 2021

FINANCE AND BANKING

• RBI Monetary Policy remains unchanged
  • The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) headed by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das kept the repo rate unchanged at 4 per cent for the ninth consecutive time while maintaining an ‘accommodative stance’ as long as necessary.

• RBI superseded Reliance Capital board & appoints Nageswar Rao as administrator
  • Reserve Bank of India (RBI) superseded the Board of Directors of Reliance Capital Ltd (RCL), a Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC), by exercising its power conferred under Section 45-IE (1) of the RBI Act, 1934.

• Gujarat became India’s Largest Manufacturing Hub says RBI
  • As per the data from RBI, Gujarat has left behind Maharashtra to become the country’s leading manufacturing hub.

ECONOMY

• Ind-Ra projected India’s GDP 9.4% in FY22
  • India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) expects India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the Second Quarter of Financial Year-2022 (Q2 FY22) at 3 per cent and in FY22 at 9.4 per cent.

• DBS revises India’s FY2023 growth forecast to 7 per cent
  • The Singapore-based DBS Bank’s economic research team has revised India’s FY23 growth forecast upwards to 7 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) (CY2022 6.5 per cent) from 6 per cent earlier.

• ADB approves $500-million loan to improve quality of school education
  • The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $500 million loan to the Government of India to help improve the quality of the country’s school education and mitigate the impact of the Covid-19) pandemic on students’ learning.

NATIONAL

• India and Russia inked 28 agreements and MoUs
  • India and Russia signed 28 agreements and MoUs, during a high-level meeting and a summit meeting between visiting Russian President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
  • Nine of the agreements were government-to-government while the 19 others were commercial pacts in an array of sectors.

• Govt Appoints Committee to Revisit Criteria for EWS Quota
  • The Centre has formed a three-member committee to review the criteria for reservation for the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) category.
  • Former Finance Secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey will head the committee.

• India Joins G20 Troika Along With Indonesia & Italy
  • On December 1, India joined the G20 Troika which consists of Indonesia, Italy, and India - the current, previous and incoming G20 Presidencies respectively.

INTERNATIONAL

• Barbados: The world’s newest republic
  • Nearly 400 years after the country became a British colony, Barbados has become the world’s newest republic. The Caribbean island nation removed Queen Elizabeth II as the head of the state.
  • Dame Sandra Prunella Mason was selected to become the first president of Barbados.

• Sweden's first female PM resigns hours after appointment
  • Sweden's first ever female prime minister, Magdalena Andersson, has resigned just hours after she was appointed.
  • She resigned after her coalition partner, Green Party, quit the government and her budget failed to pass.

• Cambridge Dictionary has announced "perseverance" as its Word of the Year 2021
  • Cambridge Dictionary has announced "perseverance" as its Word of the Year 2021.
  • Perseverance, a word which captures the undaunted will of people across the world to never give up, despite the many challenges of the last 12 months, is Cambridge Dictionary’s Word of the Year 2021.

STATES

• Nagaland Police launches ‘Call Your Cop’ mobile app
  • Nagaland Police launched a mobile application named ‘Call Your Cop’ to enhance communication between the police and citizens.
  • It is developed by Excellogics Tech Solutions Pvt Ltd.

• Nagaland to Host World Famous Hornbill Festival
  • Nagaland is all set to host the world-famous Hornbill festival at Kisama heritage village for 10 days, starting from December 1.
  • Hornbill festival is a state festival of Nagaland that is held from December 1 every year, in conjunction with the celebration of Nagaland Statehood Day on December 1.

• Kerala Tourism launched STREET project for experiential tourism
  • In a pioneering initiative to take tourism deep into the state's interiors and rural hinterland, Kerala Tourism will launch the 'STREET' project in select spots in seven districts, which would help visitors experience the diversity of offerings in these locales.

REPORTS AND INDEXES

• Worldwide Cost of Living Index 2021
  • Economist Intelligence Unit’s (EIU) has come up with the Worldwide Cost of Living Index 2021.
  • According to the Index, Tel Aviv, Israel has become the most expensive city in the world to live in in 2021. Paris and Singapore are jointly at the second spot, followed by Zurich and Hong Kong.

• World Cooperative Monitor report 2021: IFFCO ranks first
  • The 2021 World Cooperative Monitor report is published by the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA) and European Research Institute on Cooperative and Social Enterprises (Euricse).

AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT

• NABARD projects Rs 36,292 crore credit potential for FY22
  • National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has projected a credit potential of Rs 36,292 crore for the state of Assam for the financial year 2022-23.

DEFENCE

• Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) Maritime Exercise
  • Bangladesh Navy (BN) and the US military personnel kicked off the annual Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) maritime exercise.
  • The exercise will be carried out virtually and in the Bay of Bengal.

• Indian Navy launches its new large survey vessel 'Sandhayak'
  • The Indian Navy launched 'Sandhayak', the first of the four large survey vessels, in Kolkata.
  • The primary role of these survey ships would be to conduct full-scale coastal and deep-water hydrographic survey of ports and harbours, and determination of navigational channels and routes.

• 11th edition of Exercise EKUVERIN
  • The 11th edition of Exercise EKUVERIN between India and Maldives will be conducted at Kadhdhoo Island, Maldives.

• Pune to host joint military exercise with BIMSTEC countries
  • Pune will host a multilateral and multi-agency exercise for the member countries of BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) between December 20 and 22, which will focus on Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) operations.

EVENTS

• PM Modi inaugurates InFinity Forum thought leadership Forum on FinTech
  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated InFinity Forum through video conferencing.
  • The event is being hosted by International Financial Services Centres Authority under the aegis of Government of India in collaboration with GIFT City and Bloomberg.

• 5th Indian Ocean Conference
  • External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will attend the 5th Indian Ocean Conference in Abu Dhabi.
  • The theme of the Indian Ocean Conference 2021 is "Indian Ocean: Ecology, Economy, Epidemic".

AWARDS AND REWARDS

• UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation
  • A project on holistic urban revitalisation of the historic Nizamuddin Basti community in Delhi, has won this year's UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation in two categories.
  • The project has won the prestigious Award of Excellence, and another award in the Special Recognition for Sustainable Development category.

• Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay NIF Book Prize 2021
  • The New India Foundation has announced the winner of the fourth edition of the Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay NIF Book Prize 2021.
  • The 2021 winner is Dinyar Patel for ‘Naoroji: Pioneer of Indian Nationalism’ (Harvard University Press), a biography of one of the most significant figures in modern Indian history.

• President’s Colour Award
  • The ‘President’s Colour Award’ ceremony was organised by Himachal Pradesh Police wherein state governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar was the chief guest, accompanied by chief minister Jai Ram Thakur as a special guest.
  • The governor honoured the Himachal Pradesh state police with the ‘President’s Colour Award’.

SPORTS

• Ballon d’Or 2021
  • Lionel Messi won the men's Ballon d'Or award for a record-extending seventh time.
  • He also won in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015 and in 2019.
  • Women's Ballon d'Or was won by Alexia Putellas (ESP/Barcelona).

• Indian Legend Anju Bobby George Crowned 'Woman Of The Year' By World Athletics
  • The World Athletics has awarded the 'Woman of the Year' accolade to former long jump star from India, Anju Bobby George.

• New Zealand’s Ajaz Patel takes 10 wickets in innings
  • New Zealand’s spinner Ajaz Patel has claimed all 10 wickets in the second Test against India, becoming only the third bowler in cricket history to achieve the feat.