Daily Current Affairs December 21

Dear Champions, as you all know that a lot of competitive exams have been notified consequently. Candidates have to prepare themselves according to the level of competition and expectation of the Recruitment board. Regarding that one of the most important topic is Daily Current Affairs December 21. Current Affairs in the form of contemporary events of national & international play a crucial role in almost every competitive exams like Banking, Insurance, SSC, UPSC, TNPSC, Railway etc.

Current affairs are the most dynamic yet scoring among all sections and need to be prepared from the right source. Here, we cafunsta team, providing  Daily GK Updates, Current Affairs Questions, and Monthly  current affairs pdf.

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December 21 | Daily Current Affairs 2023

Important Days – Daily Current Affairs December 21

1. What is the theme of the first ‘World Basketball Day’?
A) ‘Celebrating Sportsmanship’
B) ‘Unity in Diversity’
C) ‘Basketball for All Ages’
D) ‘Basketball: Creating a lasting legacy for a better future’
E) ‘Global Basketball Harmony’
Answer: D) ‘Basketball: Creating a lasting legacy for a better future’

• 21 December 2023 is being celebrated as the first ‘World Basketball Day’.
• Theme: ‘Basketball: Creating a lasting legacy for a better future’.
• The United Nations declared World Basketball Day on August 25, 2023.
• It aims to celebrate the universal appeal of basketball and encourage global participation in the game.

History:

• Basketball was invented by Dr. James Naismith in 1891.
• Basketball became part of the Olympics in 1936.
• Women began playing basketball in 1892, and women’s basketball was included in the Olympics in 1976.
• The Basketball Africa League (BAL) was established in 2019.

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Sports – Daily Current Affairs December 21

2. Which state won the women’s team event in the 75th Inter State-Inter Zonal Badminton Championship 2023?
A) Karnataka
B) Maharashtra
C) Assam
D) AAI
E) Gujarat
Answer: B) Maharashtra

• In team events of the 75th Inter State-Inter Zonal Badminton Championship 2023, Maharashtra bagged women’s and Airport Authority of India (AAI) won the men’s title events in Guwahati.
• The dominant AAI team appeared in both the men’s and women’s team finals and managed to win the title in the men’s category as they outclassed Karnataka 3-0.
• In the women’s team event final, Maharashtra dominated AAI 3-0 with impressive displays from Shruti Mundada, Alisha Naik and the doubles pair of Simran Singhi and Ritika Thaker

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Ranking – Daily Current Affairs December 21

3. Which cities have emerged as premier employment destinations for the youth according to the India Skills Report 2024?
A) Delhi and Mumbai
B) Bengaluru and Hyderabad
C) Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram
D) Kolkata and Chennai
E) Jaipur and Ahmedabad
Answer: C) Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram

• According to the India Skills Report 2024, Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram have emerged as premier employment destinations for the youth in the country.
• The report by Wheebox in collaboration with AICTE, CII, AIU, Google, and Taggd, underscores the State’s significant standing as the second-most sought-after state in terms of employable resources among the 18 to 21 age group.
• Kochi secures the second position among cities with balanced employment preferences between men and women, while Thiruvananthapuram claims the fourth spot nationwide.
• Kochi as the top choice for female employment seekers.
• Thiruvananthapuram showcases exceptional proficiency in employability among the 18-21 age cohort, securing the third position nationally in this aspect.
• The state’s remarkable second position in overall employability among the 18-21 age bracket underscores its dedication to nurturing a skilled workforce.

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Banking and Finance – Daily Current Affairs December 21

4. Under which regulatory act does the final authorization from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for Payment Aggregators come?
A) Payment Aggregator Act, 2020
B) RBI Act, 1934
C) Payment Settlements Act, 2007
D) Digital Payments Authorization Act, 2015
E) Financial Services Regulation Act, 1992
Answer: C) Payment Settlements Act, 2007

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) granted its final approval for at least six payment aggregator licences thus lifting the ban on entities such as RazorPay and Cashfree Payments for acquiring new merchants.
• The final nod for the payment aggregator licence has come for Razorpay, Cashfree Payments, Open Financial, EnKash, Google Pay and Paymate India.
• Paytm and PayU India are still awaiting their final approvals.
• As of December 16, the central bank had granted in-principle authorisation to 37 existing payment aggregators, including names such as Zomato, Amazon Pay, NSDL and PhonePe, among others.
• In addition, six applications–including for Freecharge–are ‘under process’.

Note:

• RBI had introduced the payment aggregator framework in March 2020, which mandated that payment gateways will need to obtain an aggregator license to acquire merchants and offer digital payment acceptance solutions.
• Payment Aggregators are entities that enable e-commerce sites and merchants to accept various instruments from customers to complete their payment obligations without the need for the merchants to create their systems.
• Payment Aggregators get the payments from customers, pool and transfer them to the merchants.
• The final authorisation from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to operate as a Payment Aggregator (PA) comes under the Payment Settlements Act, 2007.

Criteria for approving an entity as Payment Aggregator:

• Only companies that have been approved by the RBI are able to purchase and provide payment services to merchants under the payment aggregator framework.
• In the first year of application, a company seeking aggregator authorization must have a minimum net value of Rs 15 crore, and by the second year, it must have at least Rs 25 crore.
• Additionally, it needs to adhere to international payment security requirements.

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5. Who owns PhonePe, the fintech major that introduced the new feature?
A) Amazon
B) Google
C) Walmart
D) Facebook
E) Microsoft
Answer: C) Walmart

• Walmart-owned fintech major PhonePe has rolled out a new feature on the platform that will allow its users to manage their credit cards as well as pay bills and loans.
• The ‘credit’ section will enable users to view their credit bureau score without any additional cost.
• PhonePe plans to expand its credit offerings by launching consumer loans within the app.
• Note: In 2023, PhonePe is on an expansion spree and has launched a number of new offerings in recent times, including separate apps for e-commerce (Pincode) and investment tech (Share.Market) and Indus Appstore

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6. How will the generation of CoF tokens for a card be enabled according to the new RBI guidelines?
A) Only through physical branches of banks
B) Exclusively through mobile banking channels
C) At the time of every purchase
D) Through mobile banking and internet banking channels, at customers’ convenience
E) Through third-party tokenisation service providers
Answer: D) Through mobile banking and internet banking channels, at customers’ convenience

• The Reserve Bank of India has allowed card-on-file tokenisation (CoFT) through card issuing banks or institutions to provide cardholders with an additional choice to tokenise their cards for multiple merchant sites through a single process.
• Earlier, card tokenisation services were provided by card issuers and card networks at merchant websites or at the time of purchase.
• Generation of CoF tokens for a card, through the card issuer or card network, will now be enabled through mobile banking and internet banking channels, at customers’ convenience, either on receipt of the new card or later.
• The tokenisation will need to be done only with explicit customer consent, and with AFA (additional factor authentication) validation.
• If the cardholder selects multiple merchants for which the card is to be tokenised, AFA validation may be combined for all the merchants.

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Business and Economy – Daily Current Affairs December 21

7. What is the focus of the partnership between Bharti Airtel and IntelliSmart Infrastructure Pvt Ltd.?
A) Launching new smartphones
B) Expanding 4G network coverage
C) High-end applications for power distribution
D) Developing satellite communication technology
E) Enhancing cybersecurity systems
Answer: C) High-end applications for power distribution

• Bharti Airtel, telecom service provider, has partnered with IntelliSmart Infrastructure Pvt Ltd. to foray into high-end applications such as meter data management systems, along with cloud and analytics.
• The smart metering programme is a significant step to modernise the power distribution sector.

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Appointments – Daily Current Affairs December 21

8. Who has been reappointed as the Executive Director of ICICI Bank by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)?
A) Sandeep Batra
B) Rakesh Sharma
C) Chanda Kochhar
D) Aditya Puri
E) Uday Kotak
Answer: A) Sandeep Batra

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has approved the reappointment of Sandeep Batra as Executive Director of ICICI Bank, effective from December 23, 2023, to December 22, 2025.
• Batra is responsible for the bank’s Credit, Corporate Communications, Data Science, Finance, Human Resources, Legal, Operations and Customer Service, Technology, and secretarial Groups.
• He is also administratively responsible for the Risk function, Internal Audit and Compliance Groups.
• He also serves on the board of ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, ICICI Lombard General Insurance, ICICI Prudential Asset Management and ICICI Venture.

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9. Who has been appointed as the Director General (Investigation) by the Competition Commission of India (CCI)?
A) Ansuman Pattnaik
B) Rakesh Sharma
C) Chanda Kochhar
D) Aditya Puri
E) Uday Kotak
Answer: A) Ansuman Pattnaik

• The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has appointed Ansuman Pattnaik as Director General (Investigation).
• Pattnaik has been appointed as DG for a tenure of three years.
• The DG is the independent investigation arm of the competition watchdog.
• This is the first time CCI is appointing a DG after the enactment of Competition (amendment) Act, 2023, which provided the transfer of power of appointment of DG to CCI from the central government.
• Before the Competition (amendment) Act, 2023, the DG was appointed by the Centre and was accountable directly to the Central Government and not to the CCI.
• Prior to Pattnaik’s appointment, Atul Verma had served as the DG (investigation) and was relieved of his duties in November 2023.
• Earlier, the selection committee was headed by the Secretary, MCA, and now the Panel is headed by Chairperson CCI.

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Awards – Daily Current Affairs December 21

10. Which organization has been awarded the 11th Edition of FICCI Water Award 2023 under the “Industrial Water Use Efficiency” category?
A) NTPC Kanti
B) India Industry Water Conclave
C) FICCI Federation House
D) New Delhi Municipality
E) Water Resources Authority of India
Answer: A) NTPC Kanti

• NTPC Kanti has been awarded the 11th Edition of FICCI Water Award 2023 under the “Industrial Water Use Efficiency” category.
• The award was presented to NTPC Kanti during the inaugural event of the 9th Edition of India Industry Water Conclave held at FICCI Federation House in New Delhi.
• The award was presented by the Director General of National Mission for Clean Ganga, Government of India G Asok Kumar and the Chairperson of FICCI Water Mission Naina Lal Kidwai.
• The award recognizes NTPC Kanti’s exceptional efforts in water conservation and efficient use of water resources in its operations.
• The FICCI Water Awards are presented annually to recognize exemplary efforts in water conservation and management by organisations across different sectors.

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11. Who has been awarded Bhutan’s prestigious National Order of Merit Gold Medal for distinguished services to the country?
A) Dr. Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuk
B) Dr. Poonam Khetrapal Singh
C) Dr. K. Srinath Reddy
D) Dr. Soumya Swaminathan
E) Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus
Answer: B) Dr. Poonam Khetrapal Singh

• Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, Regional Director WHO South-East Asia, has been awarded Bhutan’s prestigious National Order of Merit Gold Medal for her distinguished services to the country.
• The King of Bhutan Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuk honored Dr Khetrapal Singh, an Indian national, at Bhutan’s 116th National Day.
• “Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, the first woman Regional Director of WHO South-East Asia Region, played a pivotal role in supporting transformative healthcare leadership in Bhutan from 2014 to 2024. Her tenure witnessed remarkable strides, including Bhutan becoming one of the first countries to eliminate measles and rubella ahead of schedule.
• She made significant contributions to help Bhutan excel in COVID-19 vaccination.
• The Region eradicated polio and eliminated maternal and neonatal tetanus.
• Bhutan and four other countries eliminated measles and rubella.
• The Region’s share in global measles deaths dropped from 40% in 2014 to 8% by the end of 2021.

About Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh:

• Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh became the first Indian to be elected as the Regional Director of WHO South-East Asia.
• After a five-year term beginning February 2014, she was unanimously re-elected by the 11 Member countries of the Region, for another five-year term from February 2019.
• Note: The Kingdom of Bhutan celebrated its 116th National Day on December 17, 2023, with a grand celebration held in the vibrant Changlimithang Stadium in Thimphu.

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12. Which prestigious award did TATA Projects win for the construction of the New Parliament Building?
A) Nobel Prize in Engineering
B) ENR’s Global Best Projects Award
C) Pritzker Architecture Prize
D) International Construction Excellence Award
E) Global Engineering Achievement Award
Answer: B) ENR’s Global Best Projects Award

• TATA Projects, a leading EPC company in India, has won the prestigious Engineering News Record 2023 – Global Best Projects Awards for the construction of the New Parliament Building.
• ENR’s Global Best Projects Awards are renowned for highlighting the world’s most remarkable engineering feats, celebrating projects that showcase outstanding achievements in innovation, collaboration, and technical complexity.
• The building has been meticulously designed earning a Platinum Green Building Certification and achieving 29 million safe workhours, further underscores our values and dedication to responsible construction.

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National Affairs – Daily Current Affairs December 21

13. Ami Organics Ltd has signed a non-binding MoU with a global manufacturer for the production of what specific components in Gujarat?
A) Solar panels
B) Battery cells and allied materials
C) Electric vehicles
D) Pharmaceuticals
E) Agricultural fertilizers
Answer: B) Battery cells and allied materials

• Ami Organics Ltd has signed a non-binding MoU with a global manufacturer of electrolytes for production of battery cells and allied materials in Gujarat.
• The company will also sign an MoU with the Gujarat government at the upcoming Vibrant Gujarat Summit 2024 for Rs 300-crore investment to set up a manufacturing facility for electrolytes in the State.
• Naresh Patel, Executive Chairman and Managing Director, Ami Organics Limited.

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Over All Review

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