current affairs 15 December 2021

14 December - National Energy Conservation Day 2021

Himachal Govt constitutes "Samanya Varg Aayog".

The Himachal Pradesh government announced the setting up of a commission for upper castes on the lines of Madhya Pradesh.
The commission, to be named as the Samanya Varg Aayog, will be formalized through a legislative act in three months' time.
when the next sitting of the state legislature is for the budget session of the House in February-March 2021.
There is already a Scheduled Caste Commission in Himachal Pradesh and it is headed by former Shimla MP Virendra Kashyap.

According to the Global Health Security (GHS) Index 2021, the world's average overall GHS Index score was reduced to 38.9 (out of 100) in 2021 from a score of 40.2 in the GHS Index, 2019.
The GHS Index has been developed in partnership. Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) at the Bloomberg School of Public Health and the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security.
India is ranked 66th out of 195 countries with a composite index score of 42.8 and a change of -0.8 from 2019.
The United States of America (USA) ranks 1st in the index with a score of 75.9, followed by Australia and Finland.

Saudi Arabia has banned the Tablighi Jamaat, terming it a threat to society and one of the gates of terrorism.
The country's Islamic Affairs minister made an announcement on social media instructing mosques to warn people against joining them.
The government has also warned people against joining the Tablighi Jamaat, which has been banned in Saudi Arabia.
The Saudi government also asked mosques to inform people about the danger that Tablighi Jamaat posed to the society.

The United Arab Emirates has announced to change its existing five-day work week to four-and-a-half days from January 1.
It is becoming the 1st country in the world to make employee-friendly changes as part of its efforts to improve productivity and work Life balance.
As per the new schedule, the working hours will be from 7.30 am to 3.30 pm from Monday to Thursday, followed by half-day hours from 7.30 am to 12.00 noon on Fridays.
Under the new rule Saturday and Sunday are full day holidays.
The government’s move is expected to make it come closer to the timings of the US, the UK, and Europe, boosting commerce.
The Emirati govt of Dubai and Abu Dhabi have already announced the four-and-a-half day workweek.

India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) has tied up with National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) bill payment system Bharat BillPay to facilitate cash-based bill payment service at the doorstep of the customer.
Various utility bills can be paid on the Bharat BillPay platform and this facility will also be made available to non-IPPB customers.