Vajra artillery procurement for Rs 7,628 crore:
- The Union Ministry of Defence has signed a contract worth Rs 7,628 crore with Larsen & Toubro (L&T) for the procurement of K9 Vajra artillery for the Indian Army.
- The contract has been signed under the ‘Make in India’ and ‘Self-reliant India’ schemes.
- ‘The Ministry of Defence has signed a contract with L&T for the procurement of 155 mm/ 52 calibre K9 Vajra-T automatic artillery.
- The K9 Vajra artillery will play a significant role in modernising the artillery and in conducting precision strikes on long-range targets in all weather and terrain conditions.
55th GST Council Meeting:
- The 55th GST Council Meeting is to be held in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan.
- The GST Council has constituted a 13-member ministerial committee headed by Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary to thoroughly examine the issues related to GST levied on life and medical insurance.
- Based on the report submitted by this committee to review the GST rate levied on life and medical insurance, a decision will be taken in the next GST Council meeting to reduce the GST on the premium amount for these insurances.
New Bharat Literacy Scheme:
- The UGC has advised higher educational institutions to encourage college students to participate as volunteer teachers in the New Bharat Literacy Scheme being implemented across the country.
- The ‘New Bharat Literacy Scheme’ has been launched by the Central Government in 2022 to provide basic literacy training to out-of-school children above the age of 15 years across the country through volunteers.
- Implemented on the basis of the National Education Policy 2020, this scheme has a target of educating 5 crore people by 2027.
- For this, learning centers have been set up across the country.
- Moreover, a mobile app has been specially developed for this scheme.
SPADEX Exploration Project:
- The SPADEX Exploration Project, which is to be implemented as a pilot effort to send humans to space, has reached the final stage.
- The spacecraft have been designed in Bangalore and sent to Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh for launch.
- For this, two spacecraft, Chaser and Target, weighing 400 kg each, have been designed by a private company under the guidance of ISRO.
- These twin spacecraft are to be launched from the launch pad in Sriharikota using the PSLV C-60 rocket.
- ISRO plans to launch the Bharatiya Antariksha Station, an Indian research station, in space by 2035.
December 20: International Day of Human Solidarity
- The U.N. General Assembly, through a resolution on 22 December 2005, decided to declare 20 December of each year as international.
Important Facts:
- Kuwaiti King Sheikh Al Ahmed Al Jaber Al Sabah.
- Kuwait is the 6th largest crude oil exporter to India.
- The World Bank has approved a loan of 800 million US dollars to build Amaravati, the capital of Andhra Pradesh.
- In 2014, a separate state of Telangana was formed from Andhra Pradesh, and Hyderabad, which was the capital of Andhra Pradesh, is now the capital of Telangana.
- It was decided to build Amaravati as the capital of Andhra Pradesh, and Amaravati is located between Vijayawada and Guntur on the banks of the Krishna River.
- More than 100 people have died in Africa due to Cyclone Sidhu.
- The title of ‘Sir’ was conferred on famous director Christopher Nolan by the King of England, Charles.