·       The Union Cabinet has  approved an incentive scheme worth Rs 1,300 crore to promote RuPay debit cards and low-value BHIM-UPI transactions ((up to Rs 2,000).

·       Under the scheme, the acquiring banks will be incentivised by the government, by way of paying percentage of value of transactions (person to merchants-P2M) done through RuPay debit cards and low-value BHIM-UPI modes of payments.  

·       As per the scheme, the government will reimburse transaction charges levied on digital payments made by persons to the merchant as part of the merchant discount rate (MDR).

·       Legendary Sachin Tendulkar has been adjudged as the world's 12th 'Most Admired Man', as per a survey conducted by YouGov, an internet-based market research and data analytics firm.

·       This year's study surveyed more than 42,000 people in 38 countries and territories to compile the list.

·       Among sporting heroes, Tendulkar is third in the list behind Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

·       In the list, the iconic batter is ahead of former US president Donald Trump, Bollywood superstars Shah Rukh Khan, Amitabh Bachchan and also present India captain Virat Kohli.

·       Tendulkar has been associated with UNICEF for more than a decade and was appointed the South Asian ambassador in 2013.

·       Over the years, Tendulkar has supported several initiatives in health, education, and the sports sector in rural and urban areas across various states in India.

·       The Supreme Court on Dec 16 allowed the resumption of bullock cart race in Maharashtra, which has been prohibited in the state since 2017.

·       The apex court observed that validity of the amended provisions of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 and the rules framed by Maharashtra, which provided for bullock cart race in the state, would operate during the pendency of the petitions as the entire matter has been referred to a constitution bench.

·    The apex court was hearing an application filed by the Maharashtra government which had sought that ban on bullock cart race in the state should be lifted as the same is going on in states like Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.

·       The RBI  has  permitted Indians as well as OCI card holders going on pilgrimage to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur, Pakistan through the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor to carry up to Rs 11,000 in rupees or US dollars, lower than the usual limit of Rs 25,000.

·       As per the Foreign Exchange Management (Export and Import of Currency) Regulations, 2015, any Indian resident may carry outside currency notes of up to Rs 25,000, other than to Nepal and Bhutan.

·       The Kartarpur corridor links Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan, the final resting place of Sikhism founder Guru Nanak Dev, with the Dera Baba Nanak shrine in Gurdaspur district in India's Punjab state.

·       The 4 km-long corridor provides visa free access to Indian Sikh pilgrims to visit the Darbar Sahib.

·       The UNESCO  has accorded heritage status to Kolkata's Durga puja festival, bringing glory to the country, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee lauding the move.

·       Modi has hailed UNESCO's decision as a "matter of great pride and joy for every Indian".

·       The chief minister underlined that Durga puja was not just a festival, but an emotion.

·       The 16th Committee of UNESCO for safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) in its meeting held on 15th December 2021 in Paris has inscribed Durga puja in Kolkata on the representative list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity

·       This was the "first festival in Asia" to get such recognition.

●      Most states are way behind the target in the implementation of PM SVANidhi scheme, the micro credit scheme for street vendors.

●      Despite a special drive to improve the scheme in terms of applications, sanctions and disbursements, several states/UTs have less than 50% sanction and disbursement rate.

●      Government data discloses that nine states/UTs — Telangana, Kerala, Ladakh, Jammu & Kashmir, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Puducherry, Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Mizoram — have sanction rate of more than 70%. Sixteen states/UTs — Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Gujarat, Odisha, Jharkhand, Delhi, Daman & Diu, Chandigarh, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Nagaland, Tripura, Meghalaya — have sanction rate between 50-69%. Ten states — Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Bihar, Punjab, Haryana, West Bengal, Assam, Sikkim — have sanction rate of under 50%.

●      In terms of disbursement with respect to the total number of loan applications received, seven states/UTs — Telangana, Ladakh, Jammu & Kashmir, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Mizoram — have a rate of more than 70%.

●      Fourteen states/UTs viz Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Odisha, Jharkhand, Delhi, Puducherry, Chandigarh, Uttarakhand, Nagaland, Tripura and Meghalaya have a disbursement rate between 50-69% and 10 states /UTs viz Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Bihar, Punjab, Haryana, West Bengal, Daman & Diu, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Sikkim have a disbursement rate of less than 50%.

●      As many as 8,81,254 Indians have given up citizenship since 2015, according to official data shared by the government in Parliament.

●      In response to a question in Lok Sabha on renouncing of citizenship by Indian nationals, Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, Nityanand Rai provided latest statistics. It shows that most of those who gave up Indian citizenship did  that in 2019.

●      According to the data, 1,31,489 Indians renounced citizenship in 2015. In 2016, the number increased to 1,41,603 and it was 1,33,049 and 1,34,561 in 2017 and 2018, respectively. In 2019, the number rose to 1,44,017. In 2020, this was 85,242. In 2021 until September 30, this figure was 1,11,287.

●      India does not offer dual citizenship. People seeking citizenship in other countries must give up their Indian passport. They can apply for an Overseas Citizen of India card.

●      Passengers arriving from at-risk countries at six major airports will have to pre-book RT-PCR tests from December 30. These airports are Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Mumbai, Bangalore and Hyderabad.

●      The civil aviation ministry said the Air-Suvidha portal is being modified to facilitate mandatory pre-booking for RT-PCR tests for those arriving from these countries and those who have visited these countries in the last 14 days. Many countries including India have recorded a gradual rise in Omicron cases of late.