08th December, 2023

1. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman and 3 other Indians have featured on Forbes list of ‘World’s 100 Most Powerful Women’ of 2023.
2. Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has launched ‘Ama Bank’ scheme to provide banking services through customer service point (CSP) and banking outlets in all unbanked gram panchayat.
3. Zoram People’s Movement (ZPM) leader Lalduhoma has taken oath as the new chief minister of Mizoram.
4. Meghalaya’s Lakadong turmeric has been awarded Geographical Indication (GI) tag.
5. Gujarat’s Garba dance has entered UNESCO’s list of ‘intangible cultural heritage’ (ICH) of Humanity.
6. Italy has withdrawn from China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
7. Google has launched its most capable and flexible Artificial Intelligence (AI) model named ‘Gemini’.
8. University of Delhi has ranked 220th on QS World University Rankings 2024 for Sustainability.
9. India has accounted for 66% of malaria cases in the WHO South-East Asia Region as per 2023 World Malaria Report published by the World Health Organization (WHO).
10. Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has projected India’s GDP to Grow at 8% in Financial Year 2023-24.
11. REX Karmaveer Global Fellowship (RKGF) 2023-24 and Chakra awards presented to Dr Hemachandran Ravikumar.
12. Indian-origin novelist Miera Chand has been awarded Cultural Medallion Singapore’s highest award.
13. Social Innovators from India have won awards at the 4th edition of ASEAN India Grassroots Innovation Forum (AIGIF) in Malaysia.
14. International Civil Aviation Day
15. Armed Forces Flag Day
16. TIME Magazine has named Lionel Messi of Argentina as the ‘Athlete of the Year’ 2023.
17. Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).
18. Airport Authority of India (AAI) has signed MoU with Gujarat government for development of airports in state.
19. Samir Shah has been appointed as the chair of British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).
20. American singer Taylor Swift has been named as the TIME Person of the Year 2023.

National News

1. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman and 3 other Indians have featured on Forbes list of ‘World’s 100 Most Powerful Women’ of 2023.
   • Key details–
     • Other 3 Indians include HCL Corporation Chairperson Roshni Nadar Malhotra, Steel Authority of India Chairperson Soma Mondal and Biocon Executive Chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw.
     • Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, at the number 1 position. She is followed by European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde, US Vice President Kamala Harris and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
   • Rank Table–

Source: Indian Express

State News

1. Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has launched ‘Ama Bank’ scheme to provide banking services through customer service point (CSP) and banking outlets in all unbanked gram panchayat.
   • Key features–
     • It is a low-cost brick and mortar micro-bank branch which sits between a business correspondent (BC) and small bank branch.
     • Scheme will be implemented in phases to cover all 4,373 unbanked gram panchayats.
     • Under scheme government will provide rent-free banking space for 5 years.
     • Provision of ₹500 crore has been made for the scheme.
       Source: TOI

   
   
2. Zoram People’s Movement (ZPM) leader Lalduhoma has taken oath as the new chief minister of Mizoram.
   Source: HT
3. Meghalaya’s Lakadong turmeric has been awarded Geographical Indication (GI) tag.
   • Other products received GI tag from Meghalaya-

4. Gujarat’s Garba dance has entered UNESCO’s list of ‘intangible cultural heritage’ (ICH) of Humanity.
   • About Garba?
     • It is defined as ritualistic and devotional dance that is performed on the occasion of the Hindu festival of Navaratri, which is dedicated to the worship of the feminine energy.

   • More about intangible cultural heritage–
     • UNESCO established its Lists of Intangible Cultural Heritage with the aim of ensuring better protection of important intangible cultural heritages worldwide and the awareness of their significance.

   • List of ICH from India–
     • India has 15 elements from various parts of India have been included in UNESCO’s representative list of ICH.

   
   

Source: Indian Express, PIB

International News

1. Italy has withdrawn from China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
   • Italy has signed the agreement in 2019 and it was the first and only G7 nation to join the programme.
   • What is BRI?
     • It was launched in 2013 and with the objective of linking Southeast Asia, Central Asia, the Gulf region, Africa and Europe with a network of land and sea routes.
     • It includes two principal components: the Silk Road Economic Belt and the Maritime Silk Road.
       Source: livemint

Banking and Economy

1. Google has launched its most capable and flexible Artificial Intelligence (AI) model named ‘Gemini’.
   • Gemini Models–
     • Gemini Ultra: The largest and most capable model designed for highly complex tasks.
     • Gemini Pro: Best at scaling across a wide range of tasks.
     • Gemini Nano: Specifically designed for on-device tasks.
   • Key features of Gemini–
     • Gemini is built to be multimodal which enables it to seamlessly understand and operate across different types of information, including text, code, audio, image, and video.
     • Gemini Ultra’s performance is stated to exceed the current state-of-the-art results on 30 out of 32 widely-used academic benchmarks used in large language model (LLM) research and development.
     • Gemini Ultra has achieved a score of 90.0% on the Massive Multitask Language Understanding (MMLU) test.
     • MMLU involves a combination of 57 subjects, including math, physics, history, law, medicine, and ethics, to assess both world knowledge and problem-solving abilities.
       Source: Indian Express

   
   

Reports and Indices

1. University of Delhi has ranked 220th on QS World University Rankings 2024 for Sustainability.
   • What is QS World University Rankings for Sustainability?
     • It provides students with a unique lens on which institutions are demonstrating a commitment to a more sustainable existence.
     • It ranks universities on three parameters- Environmental Impact, Social Impact and Governance.
   • Top Indian Universities in the ranking–

• Global Rankings-

2. India has accounted for 66% of malaria cases in the WHO South-East Asia Region as per 2023 World Malaria Report published by the World Health Organization (WHO).
   • Key observations–
     • Almost 46% of all cases in the region were due to Plasmodium vivax, which is a protozoal parasite and a human pathogen.
     • The WHO South-East Asia Region has accounted for about 2% of malaria cases globally while malaria cases have declined by 76%, from 23 million in 2000 to about 5 million in 2022.
     • Malaria case incidence in this region decreased by 83%, from about 18 cases per 1,000 population at risk in 2000 to about 3 cases per 1,000 population at risk in 2022.
     • There were estimated 249 million cases globally, exceeding the pre-pandemic level of 233 million in 2019 by 16 million cases.

   
   
   
   

Source: The Hindu

GDP Forecasts

1. Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has projected India’s GDP to Grow at 6.8% in Financial Year 2023-24.
   • GDP Projection for FY 2024-25– 7%
   • Reason for growth–
     • Economic growth is supported by infrastructure development and ease of doing business.

Source: ET

Awards

1. REX Karmaveer Global Fellowship (RKGF) 2023-24 and Chakra awards presented to Dr Hemachandran Ravikumar.
   • About Rex Karmaveer Fellowship and Chakra award–
     • Rex Karmaveer Global Fellowship (RKGF) 2023-24 and Karmaveer Chakra Medal awards were presented to individuals with innovative ideas that could make a difference in the world.
     • Awards are instituted by the International Confederation of Non-Governmental Organisations (ICONGO) in association with the United Nations (UN).
     • Rex Karmaveer Chakra Medal is a global civilian honour designed to recognize individuals who have made outstanding contributions to humanity.
     • Karmaveer Chakra is awarded in three tiers: Gold, Silver, and Bronze, recognizing outstanding contributions in activism, education, volunteering, and healthcare.
   • Karmaveer award winners–
     • Gold Awardee:
       Rumana Sinha Sehgal, the founder of Serendipity and Mentor at T-Hub has received the RKGF 2023-24 and Chakra (Gold) medal.

   • Silver Awardees:
     • Maihursa Boro, a first-generation social entrepreneur, and education entrepreneur from Assam has received the RKGF 2023-24 and Chakra Award (Silver) Medal.
     • Kalyan Srinivas Raygalla of Hyderabad (Telangana) and Deepak Sharma have also received the RKGF 2023-24 and Chakra Award (Silver) Medal.

   • Bronze Awardee:
     • Narayanappa, a marginal farmer of the Andhra Pradesh Community-Managed Natural Farming (APCNF) program from Andhra Pradesh has received the RKGF 2023-24 and Chakra Award (Bronze) Medal.
       Source: ANI

2. Indian-origin novelist Miera Chand has been awarded Cultural Medallion Singapore’s highest award.
   • Why She is awarded?
     • She is awarded in recognition of artistic excellence and contribution to enriching the country’s arts and culture scene.
       Source: TOI

3. Social Innovators from India have won awards at the 4th edition of ASEAN India Grassroots Innovation Forum (AIGIF) in Malaysia.
   • List of winners from India-

Source: PIB

Important Days

1. December 7– International Civil Aviation Day; Theme– Advancing Innovation for Global Aviation Development
   Source: UN
2. December 7– Armed Forces Flag Day
   Source: mygov.in

Sports

1. TIME Magazine has named Lionel Messi of Argentina as the ‘Athlete of the Year’ 2023.
   Source: TIME

Memorandum of Understanding

1. Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).
   • Objective–
     • To strengthen collaboration in promoting sustainable infrastructure development and address development challenges in Asia and beyond.
   • More about MoU–
     • AIIB and UNDP plan to co-invest and leverage multilateral funding and private financing in developing countries.
     • Collaborate on measuring the impact of investments for climate goals and the SDGs.
     • Pursue joint technical assistance and exploration of innovative de-risking instruments, knowledge sharing, joint advocacy and policy support work.

2. Airport Authority of India (AAI) has signed MoU with Gujarat government for development of airports in state.
   • Objective–
     • To facilitate the expansion of tourism and business opportunities in state under ‘The Vibrant Gujarat 2024’ initiative.
   • More about MoU-
     • Gujarat government will provide land for development and expansion of the airports and AAI will undertake development of the unidentified airports based on the techno-economic feasibility in phase wise.
       Source: ANI

Appointments

1. Samir Shah has been appointed as the chair of British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).
   Source: Business Standard

Miscellaneous

1. American singer Taylor Swift has been named as the TIME Person of the Year 2023.
   Source: TIME

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