Why in news?

• The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment recently announced the formation of a three-member committee to review the criteria for Economically Weaker Section (EWS) reservations.

About committee to review criteria for Economically Weaker Section quota

• The committee members are former finance secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey, member secretary of Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) V K Malhotra and principal economic advisor to the government Sanjay Sanyal. The committee has been asked to complete its work within three weeks.
• Former Finance Secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey will head the committee.
• The committee will examine various approaches followed in the country so far for identifying the economically weaker sections.
• It will also send its recommendations to the Centre.

Why in news?

• Sanjay Dutt has been roped in as brand ambassador of ’50 Years Of Arunachal Pradesh’
• The celebrations would start from January 20 to February 20, 2022, commemorating the birth of Arunachal Pradesh as a state.

About ’50 Years of Arunachal Pradesh’ Celebrations

• The month-long state-wide celebration is scheduled to start from January 20, 2022 at Ziro in Lower Subansiri district.
• It will cover all the five river basins of the state after which the first districts were named – Kameng, Subansiri, Siang, Lohit and Tirap.
• The month-long event will culminate on February 20, 2022 during the 36th Statehood Day celebrations.
• As part of the media campaign, Sanjay Dutt will feature in a series of promotional videos on tourism in the state.
• Sanjay Dutt will also engage with local youths on a series of initiatives on substance and drug abuse, and issues that have emerged as a serious concern for the state in recent years.

Why in news?

• Worldwide Cost of Living Index 2021 has released the list of cheapest and the most expensive cities in the world.

About Cost-of-Living Index 2021

• A survey is conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit, EIU every year. This year it was conducted in September-October 2021.
• This Worldwide Cost of Living Index explores 173 cities of the world which are ranked based on “Impactful Global Events”.
• It stated that prices for goods and services have risen by 3.5 per cent year-on-year, the highest inflation rate seen in the last five years.

Key findings

• Tel Aviv is the world’s most expensive cities. It was followed by Paris in second place and Singapore in third
• In 2020, Paris was the most expensive city according to the index.
• In 2021, Zurich and Hong Kong were at fourth and fifth places respectively.
• Overall, the upper rankings were dominated by developed Asian cities and European cities.
• The lowest rankings were occupied by cities in Africa, Middle East and less wealthier parts of Asia.

Why In news?

• Recently, India joined the G20 ‘Troika’ and with this India has started the procedure for taking over the G20 presidency next year.

About G20 ‘Troika’:

• Troika refers to the top grouping within the G20 that consists of the current, previous and the incoming presidencies — Indonesia, Italy and India.
• As a Troika member, India will work closely with Indonesia and Italy to ensure consistency and continuity of the G20’s agenda.
• India will assume the G20 presidency on 1st December 2022 from Indonesia, and will convene the G20 Leaders’ Summit for the first time in India in 2023.
• Italy hosted the G20 summit during October 30-31.
• Indonesia took over the G20 presidency from 1st December, 2021.

About G20:

• It is an informal group of 19 countries and the European Union (EU), with representatives of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
• It does not have a permanent secretariat or Headquarters.
• Member countries are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States and the EU.

Why in news?

• World Athletics awarded sprinter Anju Bobby George as ‘Woman of the Year’ in 2021 after her efforts in advancing the sport in India as well as inspiring more women to follow her footsteps.

About Anju Bobby and World Athletics’ Woman of Year Award

• Anju, is the only Indian to win a world championship medal -bronze at the 2003 edition in Paris.
• She also clinched a gold medal at the World Athletics Final in Monte Carlo in 2005.
• Anju said their aim was not only to create champions in the sporting field but to also make them responsible citizens.

Why in news?

• Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur, inaugurated a state-level artificial limb transplant camp in Shimla.

About the camp

• The Chief Minsiter said that steps would be taken to start this facility at the Indira Gandhi Medical College and Hospital, Shimla, for which training would be provided to doctors and the staff.
• The camp was organised by the State Social Justice and Empowerment Department with the help of the Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Sahayata Samiti.

Why in news?

• Kerala tourism recently launched a project by the name STREET

About STREET Project

• The STREET is an acronym for Sustainable, Tangible, Responsible, Experiential, Ethnic, Tourism hubs.

Launched by

• In a pioneering initiative to take tourism deep into the state’s interiors and rural hinterland, Kerala Tourism will launch the ‘STREET’ project in select spots in seven districts, which would help visitors experience the diversity of offerings in these locales.

First phase of the project

• In the first phase, the project would be implemented in Kadalundi in Kozhikode, Thrithala and Pattithara in Palakkad, Pinarayi and Ancharakkandi in Kannur, Maravanthuruthu and Manchira in Kottayam, Valiyaparamba in Kasaragod, Kanthalloor in Idukki and Chekadi in Wayanad.

Project inspired from

• The project, conceived by the Responsible Tourism Mission, is inspired by the ‘Tourism for Inclusive Growth’ slogan of The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).

Themes under the project

• Green Street, cultural street, village life experience street, experiential tourism street, agri-tourism street, water street and art street are the themes that have been planned as part of the project.

Why in news?

• Recently, Lionel Messi won the men’s Ballon d’Or award for a record seventh time.

About the Ballon d’Or Award

• The Ballon d’Or is one of the oldest and most prestigious individual awards in football that is presented annually by the French news magazine France Football.
• The prize has been awarded every year since 1956. Between 2010 and 2015, the award was temporarily merged with the FIFA World Player of the Year after an agreement with FIFA and was known as FIFA Ballon d’Or.
• The award reverted to Ballon d’Or in 2016 and FIFA also went back to its own separate award. The recipients of FIFA Ballon d’Or are considered as winners of both awards.

Which player has won the Ballon d’Or award most number times?

• Lionel Messi has now won the Ballon d’Or award a record seven times, six while he was playing for Barcelona and first time while playing for Paris Saint-Germain.
• Cristiano Ronaldo follows closely with five Ballon d’Or awards, one while he was playing for Manchester United and four with Real Madrid.
• Besides them, three footballers have won the award three times each- Michel Platini of Juventus, Johan Cruyff of Barcelona and Ajax and Marco van Basten of Milan.
• Two Spanish football clubs, Barcelona and Real Madrid lead the ranking for employing the greatest number of Ballon d’Or award winners, with 12 and 11 wins respectively.

Why in news?

• Border Security Force celebrated its 57th Raising Day on December 1, 2021.

About BSF

• The Border Security Force (BSF) is India’s border guarding organisation on its border with Pakistan and Bangladesh.
• It is one of the five Central Armed Police Forces of India, and was raised in the wake of the 1965 War on 1 December 1965, “for ensuring the security of the borders of India and for matters connected there with”.
• The moto of BSF is ‘Duty unto Death’.

Why in news?

• Recently, the Department of Telecommunications operating under the Ministry of Communications and International Telecommunication Union ITU commenced the India-ITU Joint Cyber-drill 2021.This Cyber-drill is intended for Indian entities especially Critical Network Infrastructure operators.

About India-ITU Joint Cyber-drill 2021

• The cyber drill was conducted for the Critical Network Infrastructure operators of India.
• The Critical Network Infrastructure are the systems, assets and networks that are essential to ensure the security of a country.

Aim of the drill

• It aims to improve the cyber security readiness of India. Also, it aims to improve the protection and incident response capability of the country.
• During the cyber drill, the cyber-attacks and information security incidents were simulated. And the participants were trained to defend and respond against such incidents. Thus, the drill helped to test the cyber capabilities of an organization.