Answer: A

• Kolkata’s Durga Puja has been included in UNESCO’s list of ‘Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity’. PM Modi in a tweet hailed the development as a matter of pride and joy for every Indian.

About Durga Puja getting world heritage tag

• The decision to include Durga Puja in the list was taken during the sixteenth session of the annual convention of UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage.
• An annual festival, Durga Puja is celebrated in different parts of the country, but most notably in Kolkata. It marks the ten-day worship of goddess Durga which involves artisanal sculptures of the goddess sculpted from clay pulled from the Ganga.
• Durga Puja is seen as the best instance of the public performance of religion and art, and as a thriving ground for collaborative artists and designers.

Answer: B

• Vijay Diwas on December 16, 2021, marks the 50th-anniversary celebrations of India’s glorified victory over Pakistan in the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation war.

About Vijay Diwas, 2021

• India on Vijay Diwas 2021 pays homage to the soldiers who fought bravely during the war which ultimately helped the Indian Armed Forces in establishing their prowess.
• Vijay Diwas in India is celebrated annually on December 16 to commemorate the country’s victory over Pakistan in the 1971 war leading to the creation of Bangladesh.
• India on Vijay Diwas 2021 pays homage to the soldiers who fought bravely during the war which ultimately helped the Indian Armed Forces in establishing their prowess.
• Vijay Diwas in India is not only a day of India’s victory over Pakistan during the 1971 Indo-Pak war but is also a day that played a crucial role in establishing strong relations between India and Bangladesh.

Answer: C

• Maharashtra has topped the list of states with maximum number of beneficiaries under the Atmanirbhar Bharat Rojgar Yojana (ABRY), followed by Tamil Nadu and Gujarat.
• As on December 4, 2021, as many as 6,49,560 beneficiaries were recorded in Maharashtra, followed by Tamil Nadu (5,35,615), Gujarat (4,44,741) and Karnataka (3,07,164), Minister of State for Labour & Employment Rameswar Teli said in written reply to Lok Sabha.

About Atmanirbhar Bharat Rojgar Yojana

• Atmanirbhar Bharat Rojgar Yojana (ABRY) was announced to increase the employment generation in post-COVID-19 recovery phase and to incentivise creation of new employment along with social security benefits and restoration of loss of employment during COVID-19 pandemic.
• This scheme, being implemented through the Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), reduces the financial burden of the employers of various sectors/industries and encourages them to hire more workers.
• Under the scheme, the government will provide subsidies for two years for new employees engaged on or after October 1, 2020, and up to March 31, 2022.
• The government will pay both 12 per cent employees’ contribution and 12 per cent employers’ contribution, which means 24 per cent of basic wages, towards EPF (employees provident fund), for new employees in establishments employing up to 1,000 employees for two years.
• However, the government will pay only employees’ share of EPF contribution — 12 per cent of wages — for new employees in establishments employing more than 1,000 employees for two years.
• An employee drawing a monthly wage of less than Rs 15,000, who was not working in any establishment registered with the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) before October 1, 2020, and did not have a Universal Account Number or EPFO member account number prior to October 1, 2020, will be eligible for the benefit.
• The Cabinet had approved extension of scope of the scheme from June 30, 2021 to March 31, 2022. Approximately 71.8 lakh employees are likely to get benefited during the scheme period.
• The beneficiaries registered upto March 31, 2022 will continue to receive the benefits for two years from the date of registration under the scheme.

Answer: C

• Elon Musk, who is also the founder and CEO space exploration company SpaceX, recently passed Amazon founder Jeff Bezos as the world’s wealthiest person.

About “Person of the Year” Elon Musk

• Calling him a “clown, genius, edgelord, visionary, industrialist, showman,” Time magazine has named Tesla CEO Elon Musk as its Person of the Year for 2021.
• Musk, who is also the founder and CEO space exploration company SpaceX, recently passed Amazon founder Jeff Bezos as the world’s wealthiest person as the rising price of Tesla pushed his net worth to around $300 billion.

Answer: C

• The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the Indian Air Force (IAF) recently successfully flight-tested the indigenously designed and developed helicopter launched Stand-off Anti-Tank (SANT) missile from Pokhran range.

About Stand-Off Anti-Tank missile

• The SANT missile’s flight test is the third in the series of indigenous stand-off weapons to be tested in recent times after the Long-Range Bomb and Smart Anti-Airfield Weapon (SAAW).
• The missile is equipped with a state-of-the-art millimetre wave (MMW) seeker which provides high precision strike capability from a safe distance. The weapon can neutralise targets at a range up to 10 kilometres.
• The SANT missile has been designed and developed by Research Centre Imarat (RCI), Hyderabad in coordination with other DRDO labs and participation from industries.
• This is the third in the series of indigenous stand-off weapons to be tested in recent times, after the Long-Range Bomb and Smart Anti-Airfield Weapon (SAAW), further strengthening the arsenal of the Indian Air Force.

Answer: B

• The Life Insurance Corporation of India has recently launched a new non-linked, non-participating, individual savings life insurance plan called Dhan Rekha, it offers special premium rates for female lives.

About Dhan Rekha plan

• The minimum sum assured under this plan is ₹2 lakh
• The plan is also allowed for the third gender.
• The minimum sum assured under this plan is ₹2 lakh and there is no limit for maximum sum assured.
• The minimum age at entry ranges from 90 days to eight years and the maximum age at entry ranges from 35 years to 55 years depending upon the chosen policy term.
• This plan also takes care of liquidity needs through loan facility. Optional riders are available under this plan on payment of additional premium subject to conditions.

Answer: D

• China successfully launched a new group of satellites Shijian-6 05 into space from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China for space exploration and new technology tests.

About Shijian-6 05” satellites

• The satellites, Shijian-6 05, were launched by a Long March-4B rocket and have entered their planned orbit.
• China stated the satellites will be used for ‘space exploration and new technology tests.’
• The launch marked the 400th mission of Long March series carrier rocket.
• The information about the number of satellites has not been specified. As the message reads, they will be used for space exploration and new technology tests.