current affairs 11 December 2021

India ranked 4th most powerful country in Asia.

India has emerged as the fourth most powerful country in Asia.
It is ranked 4th among 26 countries with an overall score of 37.7 out of 100 for comprehensive power and regions in the Indo-Pacific according to the Lowy Institute Asia Power Index 2021.
India's overall score has declined by 2 points as compared to 2020.
India falls short of the key power limit again in 2021.
India is one of the 18 countries in Asia that are trending downwards in their overall score in 2021.
The top 10 countries for overall power in the Asia-Pacific are the United States, China, Japan, India, Russia, Australia, South Korea, Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand.

Ropesh Goyal of IIT Kanpur won the Young Geospatial Scientist award for his unparalleled contribution to the development of Indian geoid models and computation software.
AS Kiran Kumar, member of the Government of India's Space Commission and former chairman of ISRO, presented the award to Goyal during the inaugural ceremony of DigiSmart India 2021 conference organized by Geospatial World.
The Young Geospatial Scientist award and a gold medal are presented every year since 2011 to promising scientists below the age of 35 years in memory of Rachapudi Kamakshi, a strategic analyst with a strong inclination for geography and geospatial studies.

Bal Krishna Madhur's autobiography titled At Home in the Universe released by R.C. Sinha, IAS (Retd.), Advisor to the Ministry of Road Development, Mumbai, Maharashtra.
The book is the autobiography of Bala Krishna Madhur, former Chief Executive Officer of DHFL Property Services Ltd, and one of the key figures in the founding of Dewan Housing.
The book offers an inside look into the policy environment in the housing finance sector in the 1980s and 1990s.
The book covers the difficulties, experiences and life lessons of the author's early life.

Paytm Payments Bank has been accorded Scheduled Bank status by the Reserve Bank of India.
The bank has been included in the 2nd Schedule of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 and the approval will help it bring more financial services and products.
The bank supports 333 million Paytm wallets and enables consumers to make payments at over 87,000 online merchants and 21.11 million in-store merchants.

The Uttar Pradesh cabinet has approved the Atma Nirbhar Krishak development scheme to boost the agriculture sector.
Atma Nirbhar Krishak development scheme will be implemented from the current financial year.
Under this scheme, 1,475 Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) will be formed in each development block in the next three years.
The scheme will provide a long-term debt financing facility for investment in viable projects for postharvest management infrastructure and community.
Rs 1 lakh crore will be provided by banks and financial institutions as loans to Primary Agricultural Credit Societies, Marketing Cooperative Societies, Self Help Groups, farmers, and joint liability groups.
All loans will be provided with an interest subvention of 3 per cent per annum up to a limit of Rs 2 crore.