13 december 2021 current affairs

1. CURRENT AFFAIRS
13 DECEMBER 2021
Dr. A. PRABAHARAN
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2. National helpline against atrocities on SCs,
STs launched
 The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment launched
a National Helpline against atrocities on December 13,
2021.
 The complaint helpline number will help in preventing the
abomination of the members belonging to Scheduled
Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs).
 The National helpline against atrocities on SCs, STs will
ensure the execution of the Scheduled Castes and
Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.
 National Helpline number for SCs, STs- 14566
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3. Miss Universe 2021 Winner: India’s Harnaaz
Sandhu crowned Miss Universe 2021 after 21
years
 Harnaaz Sandhu from India has made the country proud
by bringing home the Miss Universe crown after a gap of
21 years after Lara Dutta had won the prestigious beauty
pageant in 2000.
 Harnzaaz Sandhu, the 21-years old from Punjab, was
representing India at the 70th Miss Universe 2021 taking
place in Israel. Miss Universe 2021 edged out the
contestants from South Africa and Paraguay to claim the
Miss Universe Crown.
 Miss Universe 2021 Harnaaz Sandhu was presented the
crown by Andrea Meza, former Miss Universe 2000 from
Mexico.
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4. SANT Missile: DRDO successfully flight tests
indigenously developed Stand-Off Anti-Tank
Missile
 The Defence Research and Development Organisation and Indian
Air Force on December 11, 2021, flight tested the indigenously
developed and designed Stand-Off Anti-tank (SANT) Missile from
Pokhran Range.
 According to Defence Ministry, the Sant missile test was successful
in meeting all its objectives.
 The Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh congratulated the team
associated with SANT Missile test. DRDO’s Chairman Dr G
Satheesh Reddy also said that the successful test of SANT missile
will give a further boost to the indigenous defence capabilities of
the Indian Armed Forces.
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5. Kashi Vishwanath Dham: PM Narendra Modi
inaugurates Kashi Vishwanath Corridor
 Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the phase 1 of Kashi Vishwanath
Dham in Varanasi on December 13, 2021.
 The Dham has been constructed at a cost of around Rs 339 crores. The Prime
Minister earlier offered prayers to Lord Shiva at Kashi Vishwanath temple.
 PM Modi said after inaugurating the project, "Today, a new chapter is being
written in the history of Kashi Vishwanath. Kashi Vishwanath Dham premises is
not just a grand 'bhavan' but a symbol of India's 'Sanatan' culture & traditions.
 Here you'll see how inspirations of the ancient are giving direction to the future."
 The Prime Minister continued by saying that the Kashi Vishwanath temple
premises which was only around 3000 square feet, has now become about 5 lakh
square feet.
 "Now, 50,000 to 75,000 devotees can come visit the temple and its premises,"
PM Modi added.
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6. Republic Day 2022 Chief Guest: India may
host five Central Asian leaders as Republic
Day Guests
 India is planning to invite the leaders of five Central Asian countries as
Republic Day 2022 Chief Guests. The five central Asian nations include
Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan. Out of the
five nations, three share a border with Afghanistan.
 As per reports, India has made an informal outreach to these nations
through diplomatic channels. Union External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is
likely to hold a dialogue with the foreign ministers of these five countries
between December 18-19. The outreach will lay the groundwork for the
leaders' level summit.
 This comes against the backdrop of the country’s focus on the strategic
region for connectivity, trade and security.
 Leaders of 5 Central Asian Nations
 Kazakhstan- Kassym-Jomart Tokayev
 Uzbekistan- Shavkat Mirziyoyev
 Tajikistan- Emomali Rahmon
 Turkmenistan- Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow
 Kyrgyzstan-Sadyr Japarov
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7. Max Verstappen crowned Formula One
world champion
 Max Verstappen was crowned Formula One world champion after a
dramatic season-ending at Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on December 12, 2021.
Verstappen overtook Lewis Hamilton who was heading for his 8th title, to
win his first-ever Formula One title.
 He has become the first Dutch world champion. Hamilton's Mercedes
team protested against Verstappen's win.
 Max Verstappen took advantage of a crash by Nicholas Latifi to make a
dash for the title in the last lap.
 Both Hamilton and Verstappen had both gone into the Abu Dhabi GP with
369.5 points.
 They started the final lap also wheel to wheel but the 24-year-old Red Bull
F1 driver dashed the finish line to pick up the chequered flag.
 Hamilton and Verstappen had both gone into the Abu Dhabi GP on 369.5
points, the first time the F1 world championship contenders had been level
heading into the final round since Emerson Fittipaldi and Clay Regazzoni
in 1974.
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8. Dubai becomes first in the world to go 100%
paperless; What is Dubai paperless strategy?
 In the first, Dubai has become the very first government in the world to
turn 100% paperless. The Crown Prince of Emirates, Sheikh Hamdan bin
Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum shared the news while also pointing at
the savings of 1.3 million Dirham (USD 350 Million) and 14-million-man-
hours.
 All the external and internal transactions and the procedures in Dubai
Government are now 100% digital. They are now managed from a
comprehensive digital government service platform.
 The Crown Prince in a statement said that achievement of going paperless
marks the beginning of a new stage in Dubai’s journey to digitize life in all
its aspects- a journey that is rooted in innovation with a focus on creativity.
 Dubai’s Crown Prince also said that the government plans on implementing
advanced strategies to create as well as enhance digital life in Dubai in the
next 5 decades.
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9. New ICMR testing kit to detect Omicron in 2
hours
 Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) in Dibrugarh, Assam has designed
a new testing kit that will be able to detect Omicron COVID variant in two
hours.
 The development comes at a time when several states across the country are
reporting the Omicron variant. At least 33 cases have been detected in the
country so far.
 Till now, it used to take at least 3-4 days to detect the new Omicron variant of
COVID-19 using the kits currently available in the market.
 The authorities have been working towards detecting the cases quickly in order
to speedily enforce containment measures and do contact tracing.
 The latest kit that can detect Omicron in just 2 hours has been developed by a
team of scientists of Regional Medical Research Centre (RMRC) for the Northeast
region.
 The testing kit will enable detection of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 in real-
time.
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