WEEKLY

CURRENT
AFFAIRS

DECEMBER, 2021

Useful for
CSE, ESE, PSUs, State Services Exams,
SSC and Banking Exams
2 Week-3 15th Dec - 21st Dec

• Article 124(2) says: “Every Judge of the Supreme

  15th DECEMBER 2021
Court shall be appointed by the President by warrant
under his hand and seal after consultation with such
High Court and Supreme Court Judges Judges of the Supreme Court and of the High Courts
(Salaries and Conditions of Service) in the States as he may deem necessary.
Amendment Bill, 2021 • Article 217: “Every Judge of a High Court shall be
• Rajya Sabha has recently approved The High appointed by the President by warrant under his
Court and Supreme Court Judges (Salaries and hand and seal after consultation with the Chief
Conditions of Service) Amendment Bill, 2021. Justice of India, the Governor of the State, and, in
the case of appointment of a Judge other than the
Key Highlights: Chief Justice, the Chief Justice of the High Court.”
• The Bill seeks to amend “Supreme Court Judges
(Salaries and Conditions of Service) Act, 1958” as Kashi Vishwanath Corridor
well as “High Court Judges (Salaries and Conditions • Recently, the Prime Minister inaugurated the Kashi
of Service) Act, 1954”. These Acts regulate the Vishwanath Corridor connecting the ancient Kashi
conditions of services and salaries of High Courts & Vishwanath Temple in Varanasi to the ghats of the
Supreme court judges in India. Ganga.
• Bill provides for additional quantum of pension or
family pension. Under it, all the retired judges of Key Points:
the Supreme Court and High Courts including their • It is a 400-meter long corridor that will facilitate the
family members are authorized to pension or family pilgrims and devotees of Baba Vishwanath, who had
pension. to encounter congested streets and surroundings
• They are also authorized to an additional quantum with poor upkeep, when they practised the age-old
of pension or family pension, after they attain a custom of taking a dip in the holy river, collecting
certain age in line with a specified scale. Gangajal and offering it at the temple.

• Specified scale comprises five age brackets, with • It will provide easy access for the disabled and old
minimum age of 80, 85, 90, 95, and 100 years. age people with the provision of ramps, escalators,

• The additional quantum increases with increasing and other modern facilities.

age, from 20% to 100% of the pension or family

About Kashi Vishwanath Temple
pension.
• It is situated on the West bank of river Ganga which
• As per bill, a person will be authorized to the
follows Uttar Vahini or north direction in Varanasi, the
additional pension or family pension from the Temple is regarded as 7th amongst 12 Jyotirlingas.
first day of that month in which they complete the • The main deity is known by the name Vishvanatha or
minimum age under the concerned age bracket. Vishveshvara meaning Ruler of The Universe.
• The Temple was renovated in its present form in
Constitutional Provisions for Appointment of 1780 by Maharani Ahilyabai Holkar of Indore and
Judges Maharaja Ranjit Singh donated gold for temple
• Judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts are shikhara in 1835.
appointed by the President under Articles 124(2) • It is constructed following the Nagara style of temple
and 217 of the Constitution. architecture, mostly prevalent in northern India.
 15th Dec - 21st Dec Week-3 3

Jammu and Kashmir Delimitation Panel Co-Lending Model (CML):

• Context: National Conference (NC) leader likely • Under CLM, banks are permitted to co-lend with all
to attend the next meeting of the Delimitation registered NBFCs (including HFCs) based on a prior
Commission scheduled in last week of December. agreement.
• Delimitation exercises in J&K in the past have been • The co-lending banks will take their share of the
slightly different from those in the rest of the country individual loans on a back-to-back basis in their
because of the region’s special status which was books.
scrapped by the Centre in August 2019. • Lending to the priority sector: In 2018, the RBI had
• The commission has also sought feedback regarding announced “co-origination of loans” by banks and
each representation it has received to evaluate its Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) for
implementation. lending to the priority sector.
• Retain a minimum share: The RBI has clearly said
About Delimitation Commission that NBFCs shall be required to retain a minimum
• It is appointed by the President of India and works of 20 percent share of the individual loans on their
books.
in collaboration with the Election Commission of
India. • The lenders have two options to choose to structure
their co-lending products on the bank’s part:
• Its members are a serving or retired Supreme Court
judge, Chief Election Commissioner or an Election  Pre-disbursal contribution: to a loan under a

Commissioner nominated by CEC and Election mechanism for ex-ante due diligence.

Commissioners of the respective state.  Post disbursal takeover: of banks share in the loan
• Its function is to determine the number and on a back-to-back basis.
boundaries of constituencies, to identify seats
reserved for SC/ST. Supersonic Missile Assisted Release of
Torpedo (SMART)
  16th DECEMBER 2021 • Recently, the DRDO has successfully test-fired a
long-range Supersonic Missile Assisted Torpedo
Bank-NBFC Co-lending (SMART) off the coast of Balasore in Odisha.

• Context: Several banks have recently entered into

About SMART:
co-lending 'master agreements' with the registered
• The system has been designed to enhance anti-
Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) and
submarine warfare capability far beyond the
more are on the way.
conventional range of the torpedo.
• The Reserve Bank of India allowed the co-lending • The system is a next generation missile­based
model in 2020, subject to prior agreement. However, standoff torpedo delivery system.
some criticisms of the co-lending model are present. • It was a textbook launch, where the entire trajectory
• Several banks have entered into co-lending master was monitored by the electro optic telemetry system,
agreements with NBFCs, and more are in the pipeline. various range radars, including the down range
• SBI signed a deal with Adani Capital, a small NBFC instrumentation and down range ships.
of a big corporate house, for co-lending to farmers to • The missile carried a torpedo, parachute delivery
help them buy tractors and farm implements. system and release mechanisms.
4 Week-3 15th Dec - 21st Dec

 This canister based missile system consists • In March 2019, Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose was
of advanced technologies — two-stage solid appointed as India’s first Lokpal and as a body, it is
propulsion, electro­ mechanical actuators and still growing and progressing.
precision inertial navigation.
• The SMART system will help India enhance its anti-
  17th DECEMBER 2021
submarine warfare capability.

Sixth Schedule of the Constitution

LokpalOnline
• Context: The Leh Apex Body and Kargil Democratic
• Recently, Lokpal of India inaugurated’ a Digital
Platform for the Management of Complaints called Alliance seek constitutional safeguards for Ladakh
‘LokpalOnline’. on the lines of the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.
• There is a demand to amend the Ladakh Hill
Key Points: Development Council Act, passed in 1997. Ladakh
• It is an end-to-end digital solution for the management needs safeguards for land, employment and cultural
of complaints against public servants filed under the
identity on the lines under the Sixth Schedule of the
Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013.
Constitution.
• It is a web-based facility, which will quicken the
disposal of complaints in an accountable, transparent • It aims to safeguard the demography, environment
and efficient manner with benefits to all stakeholders. and unique culture of Ladakh.
• It provides a Dashboard for every Complainant,
enabling him to view the status of his Complaints About Sixth Schedule of the Constitution
during its lifecycle. • It provides for the administration of tribal areas
• The Portal, hosted on NIC Cloud, has been developed in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram to
on an Open Source Technology. safeguard the rights of the tribal population in these
• Its security audit has been done by an agency states.
empanelled by the CERT-In (Indian Computer • This special provision is provided under Article
Emergency Response Team), Ministry of Electronics 244(2) and Article 275(1) of the Constitution.
and Information Technology.
• It seeks to safeguard the rights of the tribal population
through the formation of Autonomous District Councils
About Lokpal
(ADC).
• It is the first institution of its kind in independent
• ADCs are bodies representing a district to which the
India, established under the Lokpal and Lokayuktas
Constitution has given varying degrees of autonomy
Act 2013 to inquire and investigate allegations of
within the state legislature.
corruption against public functionaries who fall within
the scope and ambit of the above Act.
Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic
• The Lokpal of India is committed to addressing the
concerns and aspirations of the citizens of India for Substances (Amendment) Bill, 2021
clean governance. • The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances
• It shall make all efforts within its jurisdiction to serve (Amendment) Bill, 2021 was passed by Lok Sabha.
the public interest and shall endeavor to use the • It seeks to replace the Narcotic Drugs and
powers vested in it to eradicate corruption in public Psychotropic Substances (Amendment) Ordinance,
life. 2021.
 15th Dec - 21st Dec Week-3 5

Key Amendments: • The problem impacts Log4j 2 versions which is a very

• Drafting error common logging library used by applications across
the world. Logging lets developers see all the activity
 The Bill amends the Narcotic Drugs and
Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 to correct a of an application.
drafting error.
 In 2014, the Act was amended and the clause   18th DECEMBER 2021
number of the definition for such illicit activities was
changed. Solar Hamam
 However, the section on penalty for financing these • Context: ‘Solar Hamam’ takes care of heating in
illicit activities was not amended and continued to cold Himalayan regions especially in the villages of
refer to the earlier clause number. Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
 The Act regulates certain operations (such as • The Solar Hamam had won the “Himachal Pradesh
manufacture, transport, and consumption) related State Innovation Award for 2016-17”.
to narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances.
• Punishment for financing illicit activities or harbouring About Solar Hamam:
persons engaged in them
• The Solar Hamam provides an anti-freezing outlet. It
 Under the Act, financing certain illicit activities
provides 15-18 liters of boiling hot water, within the
(such as cultivating cannabis or manufacturing
first solar illumination of 30-35 minutes, at a maximum
narcotic drugs) or harbouring persons engaged in
them is an offence. temperature of 90°C in the morning.
 Persons found guilty of this offence will be punished • It aimed at providing clean energy solutions to
with rigorous imprisonment of at least ten years households across mountainous regions. It seeks
(extendable up to 20 years) and a fine of at least to conserve forests, free women from collecting fuel
one lakh rupees. wood and mitigate carbon emission.
• Significance: In the higher Himalayan region, 50% of
Log4j Vulnerability fuelwood is consumed for the purpose of heating and
• A new vulnerability named Log4 Shell is being touted is one of the major reasons for forest degradation and
as one of the worst cybersecurity flaws to have been also the main cause of drudgery of women.
discovered.

Minimum Age of Marriage for Women

Key Points:
• Context: The Union Cabinet took the decision to raise the
• The vulnerability is dubbed Log4 Shell and is officially
legal age of marriage for women from 18 to 21 years.
CVE-2021-44228. CVE number is the unique number
• At present, the legal age of marriage for girls is 18
given to each vulnerability discovered across the
and the legal age of marriage for men is 21 years.
world).
• It is based on an open-source logging library
Jaya Jaitly committee and its recommendations:
used in most applications by enterprises and even
• The Ministry for Women and Child Development set
government agencies.
up a task force to look into the correlation between
• The exploits for this vulnerability are already being
the age of marriage with issues of women’s nutrition,
tested by hackers and it grants them access to
prevalence of anemia, IMR, MMR and other social
an application, and could potentially let them run
indices.
malicious software on a device or servers.
6 Week-3 15th Dec - 21st Dec

• The committee was to look at the feasibility of About Durga Puja:

increasing the age of marriage and its implication on • It is a five-day festival that begins on the fifth night of
women and child health, as well as how to increase the nine-day Navratri festival and ends on the tenth
access to education for women. day, which is Dashami.
• Recommendations Made: • During this time, people collectively worship and invoke
 Age of marriage to be increased: The committee has Goddess Durga, who is regarded as the feminine
recommended the age of marriage be increased energy of the cosmos, also known as ‘Shakti’.
to 21 years, on the basis of feedback they received
NOTE:
from young adults from 16 universities across the
Intangible Cultural Heritage elements from India:
country.
Buddhist Chanting, Kalbelia, Chhau Dance,
 Increasing access to schools and colleges for girls: Koodiyattam (Kerala), Kumbh Mela, Mudiyett
The committee also asked the government to look (Kerala), Nawruz, Ramlila, Ramman (Uttrakhand),
into increasing access to schools and colleges Sankirtana (Manipur), Traditional Brass & Copper
for girls, including their transportation to these Craft (Punjab), Vedic Chanting and Yoga.
institutes from far-flung areas.
 Sex education: Skill and business training has also
  19th DECEMBER 2021
been recommended, as has sex education in
schools.
Rustom-2 Indigenous UAV
 An awareness campaign: Undertaken on a massive
• Context: India's indigenous Medium Altitude Long
scale on the increase in age of marriage, and
to encourage social acceptance of the new Endurance (MALE)Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)
legislation, which they have said would be far more development programme (Rustom-II ) achieved an
effective than coercive measures. important milestone by reaching an altitude of 25,000
feet and an endurance of 10 hours.
Intangible Cultural Heritage of • Medium-Altitude Long-Endurance (MALE) refers to
Humanity an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) that flies at an
• Context: The Intergovernmental Committee for the altitude window of 10,000 to 30,000 feet for extended
Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage durations of time, typically 24 to 48 hours.
has inscribed ‘Durga Puja in Kolkata’ on the
Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Key Points:
of Humanity. • Rustom-2 has been designed and developed by
the Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE),
Key Points: Bengaluru with production partners being Hindustan
• In total, 14 Intangible Cultural Heritage elements from Aeronautics Ltd and Bharat Electronics Limited.
the country have now been inscribed on UNESCO’s • It is also known as Tapas-BH (Tactical Airborne
Representative List. Platform for Aerial Surveillance-Beyond Horizon 201).
• Earlier, UNESCO announced the Harappan city of  It is being developed to carry out surveillance
Dholavira in Gujarat as India’s 40th world heritage and reconnaissance (ISR) roles and is capable
site. of carrying different combinations of advanced
• The Representative List of the Intangible Cultural payload and capable of auto-landing among
others.
Heritage of Humanity has 492 elements currently.
 15th Dec - 21st Dec Week-3 7

 It is being designed to acquire real-time, high- Key Points

quality pictures and signal intelligence from fields • FDI inflows in the last seven financial years are over
of concern at medium to long ranges. 440 billion dollars, which is nearly 58 per cent of the
total FDI inflow in the last 21 financial years.
Algo Trading • The top five countries from where FDI Equity Inflows
• Context: Recently, the Securities and Exchange Board were received during 2014 to 2021 are Singapore,
of India (SEBI) proposed that all orders emanating Mauritius, the USA, Netherlands and Japan.
from the Application Programming Interface (API) • The computer software and hardware sector attracted
of stockbrokers should be treated as Algorithmic the largest share of FDI inflows, followed by Service,
Trading or Algo. Trading and Telecommunications.

Major highlights: About Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)

• All orders emanating from an API should be treated • It refers to the conditions when a company or investor
as an Algo order and be subject to control by the
takes ownership and controls operation in a business
stockbroker.
entity in another country.
• The APIs to carry out Algo trading should be tagged
• With FDI, foreign companies are directly involved
with the unique Algo ID provided by the stock with day-to-day operations in the other country.
exchange granting approval for the Algo .  This means they aren’t just bringing money with
• Stockbrokers need to take the approval of all Algos them, but also knowledge, skills and technology.
from the exchange.
• It is an important non-debt monetary source for
 Each Algo strategy, whether used by broker or
India’s economic development.
client, has to be approved by exchange and as is
 Economic liberalization started in India in the wake
the current practice
of the 1991 crisis and since then, FDI has steadily
 Each Algo strategy has to be certified by Certified increased in the country.
Information Systems Auditor (CISA)/ Diploma in
Information System Audit (DISA) auditors.
  20th DECEMBER 2021
About Algo Trading:
Samudrayaan Project
• It refers to orders generated at superfast speed
• Context: Under the Deep Ocean Mission, a manned
by the use of advanced mathematical models that
scientific submersible has been proposed to be
involve the automated execution of the trade.
developed for deep ocean exploration. The project
• It automatically monitors live stock prices and
is named Samudrayaan.
executes a trade upon fulfilment of specific criteria.
This frees the trader from having to monitor live stock
Key Points:
prices and initiate manual order placement.
• Samudrayaan Project is a part of the Ministry of Earth
• It provides profit opportunities for the trader.
Sciences' pilot project for deep ocean mining for rare
minerals.
FDI inflow in India • National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) had
• Context: India has registered the highest ever annual developed and tested a 'personnel sphere’ for a
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflow of 81.97 billion manned submersible system for a 500-meter water
dollars in 2020-21. depth rating. One Titanium alloy personnel sphere for
8 Week-3 15th Dec - 21st Dec

a manned submersible system for 6000-metre water • The suggestions/inputs received from the States/
depth rating is under development in association UTs have been considered and incorporated in the
with Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, ISRO, parameters for rankings.
Thiruvananthapuram.
• The Matsya 6000: About RFCTLARR Act, 2013:
 It is the deepwater manned submersible under • Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in
the Samudrayan project. It aims to send humans Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement
underwater for deep-sea exploration; it is a five-
Act, 2013( RFCTLARR Act, 2013) replaces the
year project at an estimated cost of ?350 crores.
colonial Land Acquisition Act, 1894.
NOTE: • The new law gives people a say in land acquisition
With the success of the 'Samudrayaan', India joins and makes the process participative, humane and
the elite club of nations such as the USA, Russia, transparent.
Japan, France and China to have such underwater • It promises to put an end to forcible acquisitions,
vehicles for carrying out subsea activities. enhances compensation to landowners, resettles and
rehabilitates families displaced by land acquisition
Vikas Portal and gives the gram sabha decision-making powers
• Recently, the Union Minister for Rural Development in land acquisition.
and Panchayati Raj launched MIS (Management
• It puts a check on the government from indiscriminately
Information System) Vikas Portal for rankings of
States/UTs in Land Acquisition Projects under acquiring land for uncertain public purposes.
RFCTLARR Act, 2013.
• This portal is a result of the vision of the Prime Minister Right to Be Forgotten
of India to give impetus to the government's Gati • Context: The Centre told Delhi High Court in a
Shakti Mission. response to a plea that the Data protection Bill has
provisions for ‘right to be forgotten’.
Key Points:
• The Department of Land Resources developed Right to Be Forgotten (RTBF) in India:
this MIS portal to capture information on various • RTBF is a fairly new concept. The Ministry of
parameters of land acquisition, required for ranking Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), in an
of the State/UTs, which is a software-driven program affidavit, stated that the international legal concept of
to submit information by respective State/UTs on land ‘right to be forgotten’ is evolving in India.
acquisition for developmental projects. • It is the right to have personal information removed
• The portal is developed in house by the NIC team of from publicly available sources, including the internet
the department with zero cost. and search engines, databases, websites etc. once
• MIS portal will show data and figures and it will show the personal information in question is no longer
the speed of the development in the country. necessary, or relevant

• In the first phase, land acquisition under RFCTLARR • The Right to be Forgotten falls under the purview of
Act, 2013 undertaken from 01.01.2014 onwards will an individual’s right to privacy, which is governed
be covered for ranking purposes and this will be a by the Personal Data Protection Bill that is yet to be
continuous process. passed by Parliament.
 15th Dec - 21st Dec Week-3 9

Biological Diversity Amendment Bill • It provides a framework for access to biological

resources and sharing the benefits arising out of
2021
such access and use.
• Context: The legal experts are concerned about the
• The Act also includes in its ambit the transfer of research
Biological Diversity Amendment Bill 2021.
results and application for intellectual property rights
• The Biological Diversity Amendment Bill 2021,
(IPRs) relating to Indian biological resources.
introduced in the Lok Sabha, exempts Ayush
practitioners from the ambit of the Biological Diversity
Act, 2002.
  21th DECEMBER 2021

About Biological Diversity Amendment Bill Kalibari Temple

2021 • Recently, the President inaugurated the reconstructed
• The Biological Diversity Act, 2002 was enacted for Ramna Kali temple in Ramna, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
the conservation of biological diversity and fair,
equitable sharing of the monetary benefits from About the Temple
the commercial use of biological resources and • It is a Hindu Temple located in Bangladesh’s capital
traditional knowledge. Dhaka where the landmark Suhrawardy Udyan (the
• Wild medicinal plants: It seeks to reduce the pressure former Ramna Race Course) is located.
on wild medicinal plants by encouraging the
• The temple was destroyed by Pakistani forces during
cultivation of medicinal plants:
their Operation Searchlight in March 1971, the
• Ayush practitioners: It exempts Ayush practitioners brutal crackdown that led to the genocide and the
from intimidating biodiversity boards for accessing Bangladesh War of Liberation.
biological resources or knowledge. It is a huge move
• The temple is dedicated to the Goddess Kali, and is
because the Ayush industry benefits greatly from
believed to have been built during the Mughal period.
biological resources in India.
• It is the second oldest Hindu temple in Bangladesh
• Research and offences: It facilitates fast-tracking of
after the Dhakeshwari Temple.
research, simplify the patent application process,
• Brief History:
decriminalises certain offences.
 The history of the area called Ramna (‘lawn’ in
• Investments: To bring more foreign investments
Persian) can be traced back to the early 1600s,
in biological resources, research, patent and when it was occupied by high officials of the
commercial utilisation, without compromising the Mughals.
national interest.  There was a Mughal garden, open green spaces,
and garden houses. After Dhaka passed under
Biological Diversity Act, 2002: British rule in 1858, the “jungle of Ramna” was
• The Act was introduced to achieve the objectives of cleared, and a race course and boulevard were
United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity built for the pleasure of the Raj elite.
(CBD), 1992.
• The Act covers conservation, use of biological Parvovirus
resources and associated knowledge occurring in • Context: Nearly 2,000 pets and stray dogs in
India for commercial or research purposes or for the Amravati city of Maharashtra were affected by canine
purposes of bio-survey and bio-utilisation. parvovirus virus.
10 Week-3 15th Dec - 21st Dec

About Parvovirus • It translates to “The Land of Thunder Dragon”. Kings

• It is a highly contagious viral disease that can also be of Bhutan are called Druk Gyalpo (Dragon King)
life-threatening in puppies and dogs. while, Bhutanese people call themselves Drukpa
• Parvovirus affects the intestinal tract of canines with
(people of Druk).
puppies being more susceptible.
• Symptoms:
Agni Prime Missile
 Bloody diarrhoea, vomiting, drastic weight
loss, dehydration and lethargy are some of the • Context: New generation nuclear-capable ballistic
symptoms. The virus has reported a 90 per cent missile Agni-P was successfully tested from Dr APJ
mortality rate. Abdul Kalam island off the coast of Odisha.
 The virus has reported a 90 per cent mortality rate. • This is the second test of the missile. The first test
• The highly contagious virus spreads through direct took place in June last.
contact with an infected dog or by indirect contact
with a contaminated object, including the hands and About Agni Prime Missile
clothing of people who handle infected dogs.
• Agni-P is a two-stage canisterised solid propellant
• It has no cure and inoculating a puppy or a dog gives
missile with dual redundant navigation and guidance
them a fighting chance against the infection.
system.
• It has a range of up to 2000 km.
Order of the Druk Gyalpo
• Context: Prime Minister Narendra Modi was honored • It is a canisterised surface-to-surface ballistic missile.
with Bhutan’s highest civilian award “Order of the • Canisterisation lessens the time required for launch &
Druk Gyalpo”. improves storage and mobility.
• Improved parameters: It is a new generation
Key Points:
advanced variant of the Agni class of missiles with
• It was conferred with the award on the occasion of
improved parameters, including manoeuvring and
Bhutan’s National Day (December 17).
accuracy.
• It marks the crowning of Ugyen Wangchuck as the
first Druk Gyalpo of modern Bhutan. • Fully made up of composite material.
• Significance: Strengthen India's credible deterrence
About Druk Gyalpo capabilities, improved manoeuvring and accuracy,
• He is the head of state of Bhutan. Bhutan is also unlike earlier Agni missiles.
known as Drukyul, in the Dzongkha language.