current affairs 14 December 2021

Indian mathematician Neena Gupta receives the 2021 Ramanujan Prize.

Indian mathematician Neena Gupta has received the 2021 DST-ICTP-IMU Ramanujan Prize for Young Mathematicians from Developing Countries for her outstanding work in affine algebraic geometry and commutative algebra.
Professor Neena Gupta, Mathematician at the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) in Kolkata.
She is the 3rd woman to receive the Ramanujan Prize, which was 1st awarded in 2005.
It is administered jointly by the Abdus Salam International Center for Theoretical Physics with the Department of Science and Technology and the International Mathematical Union.

The International Institute for Management Development (IMD) World Competitiveness Center published its World Talent Ranking Report.
Europe continues to dominate the rankings in 2021, the report said.
Global top 10 countries are from this region. Switzerland has retained its top position.
India is ranked 56th.
In the Middle East and North Africa, the United Arab Emirates maintained its second position behind Israel (the first in the region).
Israel is ranked 22nd.
In the Arab world, UAE maintained its top position.
The UAE has improved its global talent ranking by one position to 23rd.
Taiwan has been ranked at third place in Asia while at 16th place In Asia, Taiwan has been ranked behind Hong Kong (11) and Singapore (12) but ahead of South Korea (34), China (36), and Japan (39).

NITI Aayog plans to set up 1000 Atal Tinkering Laboratories in J&K.
By the end of the financial year 2021-22, 187 out of 1000 Atal Tinkering Laboratories will be established.
Out of 187 ATLs, 31 are being set up in government schools in J&K, while 50 will be set up in various educational institutions like KVs, JNVs and private schools.
Atal Tinkering Labs (ATL) is a sub-mission under the Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) of the Central Government in India.
It is the flagship initiative of AIM, that seeks to nurture an innovative mindset amongst high school students across India.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has appointed Katherine Russell as the head of the United Nations children's agency UNICEF, also known as the United Nations Children's Fund.
Katherine Russell is an assistant to US President Joe Biden.
She also heads the White House Office of Presidential Personnel.
Russell will replace Henrietta Fore, who resigned in July 2021 due to a family health problem.

The current world chess champion Magnus Carlsen of Norway defended his title and won the FIDE World Championship in Dubai.
He defeated Ian Nepomniachtchi of Russia, securing the one point needed to cross the seven-point limit to win the global tournament held at the Expo 2020 in Dubai this month in the United Arab Emirates.
Carlsen won his 5th World Championship title.
Carlsen won 60% of the 2-million-euro prize offered by the championship.