DAILY GK 20-21 DEC
1.
INDIA’S FIRST WINTER EXPEDITION TO
ARCTIC
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Union Minister Kiren Rijiju, Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) has
launched ‘1st Indian Winter Expedition
to Arctic’ to expand the India’s
scientific activities to other critical and core Arctic realms, in New Delhi,
Delhi.
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India’s Arctic research station ‘Himadri’ is located in Ny Alesund at Spitsbergen, Norway.
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India has two operational research stations at Antarctica namely ‘Maitri’
and ‘Bharati’.
2.
18TH SESSION OF THE
INTERGOVERNMENTAL COMMITTEE FOR THE SAFEGUARDING OF THE INTANGIBLE CULTURAL
HERITAGE
●
The 18th session of the
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)’s
Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural
Heritage(ICH) was held in Kasane, Republic of Botswana.
●
The session was chaired by H.E. Mr Mustaq Moorad, Ambassador and
Permanent Delegate of the Republic of Botswana to UNESCO.
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(UNESCO): Director-General– Audrey, Azoulay
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Headquarters– Paris, France
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Established– 1945
3.
INDIA TOPS GLOBAL REMITTANCE CHARTS
●
According to World Bank(WB)’s Migration and Development Brief 39
titled ‘Leveraging Diaspora Finances for
Private Capital Mobilization’, India
is considered a top remittance recipient with an estimated inward remittance
flow of USD 125 Billion.
●
Mexico stands at the second position with an estimated recipient
value of USD 67 billion followed by China as third with USD 50 billion.
4.
BHUTAN’S NATIONAL ORDER OFMERIT
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Bhutan Government honoured Dr
Poonam Khetrapal Singh(India), Regional Director of the World Health
Organisation (WHO) South-East Asia, with
Bhutan’s National Order of Merit (NOM) Gold Medal for her significant
contribution to public healthcare services to Bhutan.
●
Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, the Druk Gyalpo(dragon king) of
Bhutan presented the award during the celebration of 116th National Day of
Bhutan(17th December 2023) in Thimphu, Bhutan.
5.
GAJA CAPITAL BUSINESS BOOK PRIZE
2023
●
The 5th edition of Gaja Capital Business Book Prize 2023 was
jointly awarded to”Against All Odds: The
IT Story of India” written by S. ‘Kris’ Gopalakrishnan, N. Dayasindhu, and
Krishnan Narayanan; and “Winning Middle India: The Story of India’s New-Age
Entrepreneurs” written by T.N. Hari and Bala Srinivasa.
●
Gaja Capital Business Book Prize 2023 is an annual award
established in 2019, which celebrates non-fiction works on contemporary Indian
business.
●
The award offers prize
money of Rs 15 lakhs, the largest book prize in India.
6.
EGYPT PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS
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Incumbent Egyptian President
Abdel Fattah Saeed Hussein Khalil El-Sisi secures 3rd term as Egypt’s president, after winning the 2024 Presidential
Elections with 89.6% of the vote.
●
In 2019, constitutional amendments in Egypt extended the
presidential term from 4 years to 6 and also amended the constitution to raise
the limit on consecutive terms in office from 2 to 3.
●
It added 2 years to El-Sissi’s 2nd term and allowed him to run for
the 3rd term with six-years this is also said to be the final term in office
according to the constitution, starting from April 2024.
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Egypt: Capital– Cairo
7.
KHELO INDIA PARA GAMES 2023:
●
Haryana topped the medal tally with 105 medals (40
gold, 39 silver, and 26 bronze) in the inaugural edition of the Khelo India
Para Games 2023 held in New Delhi.
●
Uttar Pradesh finished second in the medals table with 62 medals
(25 gold, 23 silver, and 14 bronze) while Tamil Nadu finished third with 42
medals (20 gold, 8 silver, and 14 bronze).
●
Mascot: ‘Ujjwala’, a sparrow, reminds strength comes
in many forms and the human spirit is unbreakable.
8.
KOLKATA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
●
Israeli film ‘Children of Nobody’, written and directed by
Erez-Tadmor, won the Golden Royal Bengal
Tiger Award for Best Film in the international competition category at the
29th Kolkata International Film Festival – 2023 (KIFF – 2023) held in
Kolkata(West Bengal).
●
Along with the award, ‘Children of Nobody’(Yeladim Shel Af Ehad in
Hebrew language) was given the prize money of Rs 51 lakh.
●
Venezuelan director Carlos
Daniel Malave was chosen as the Best Director and Rs 21 lakh for
“One Way”.
●
‘Mon Potongo’, directed
by Sarmistha Maiti and Rajdeep Paul, was awarded best film under the Bengali
Panorama category
●
‘Broken Dreams Stories from the Myanmar Coup’ from Myanmar
directed by Ninefold Mosaic won the NETPAC award(Asian Select) for Best Film.
9.
2023 FIH HOCKEY STAR AWARDS
●
Indian men’s hockey team mid fielder Hardik Singh and Indian women’s hockey team captain Savita Punia won the FIH men’s Player of the Year and the FIH Women’s Goalkeeper of the Year award
respectively at the 2023 International Hockey Federation’s (FIH) annual Hockey
Star Awards.
●
Xan de Waard (the Netherlands) Women’s
Player of the Year
●
Pirmin Blaak (the Netherlands) Men’s
Goalkeeper of the Year
●
Gaspard Xavier (France) Men’s
Rising Star of the Year
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Teresa Lima (Spain) Women’s
Rising Star of the Year
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André Henning (Germany) Coach
of the Year (Male)
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Alyson Annan (China) Coach
of the Year (Female)
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Ben Göntgen (Germany) Umpire
of the Year (Male)
●
Ayanna McClean (Trinidad and Tobago) Umpire of the Year (Female)
10.
KKR BIDS MITCHELL STARC FOR RS 24.75
CR
●
Australian cricket player Mitchell
Aaron Starc
becomes the most expensive player in
the history of Indian Premier League (IPL) as he was bought by Kolkata Knight
Riders (KKR) for Rs 24.75 crore to play in the 2024 IPL season.
●
Mitchell Starc breaks Pat Cummins‘s (Australia) record buy of Rs
20.50 crore by the Sunrisers Hyderabad.
11.
INTERNATIONAL HUMAN SOLIDARITY DAY
2023- DECEMBER 20
●
The United Nations (UN)’s
International Human Solidarity Day is annually observed across the globe on
20 December to raise public awareness of the importance of solidarity in
addressing global challenges such as poverty, inequality, and injustice.
●
The Human Rights Council replaced the former United Nations
Commission on Human Rights.
●
Members– 47 member states
