UP team to attend World Economic Forum in Davos. The team will underline changes that have taken place in terms of economic and industrial development in the state in the past six and a half years. 

• A delegation of the UP government will travel to Davos, Switzerland, to attend the World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting there from January 15 to 19.
• It will brief delegates about efforts being made to make Uttar Pradesh a trillion-dollar economy and develop metropolitan towns as hubs of different sectors that include efforts to develop Lucknow as India’s first AI city, stated a press release. 
• The team comprises minister for industrial development Nand Gopal Gupta ‘Nandi’, minister for finance Suresh Kumar Khanna, infrastructure and industrial commissioner Manoj Kumar Singh and secretary to chief minister Amit Singh.

Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Shri Anurag Singh Thakur will inaugurate the Khelo India Para Games 2023 in New Delhi .

• More than 1400 players from 32 states and Union Territories and Services Sports Board are participating in these Games between December 10 and 17 at three venues in New Delhi.
• The opening ceremony will  be held at the KD Jadhav Indoor Hall located at Indira Gandhi Sports Complex . The Delhi Police band will showcase a grand performance during the ceremony, followed by a peppy ensemble by dance artists of 'We Are One' group who will perform on 'Mitti Mein Mil Jawa' and 'Vande Mataram.'
• The Games anthem track will set the ball rolling at the opening ceremony while an LED dance performance on the theme ‘Evolution of Para Games’ is set to entice the audience. There will also be a special performance put together by SAI officials for the opening ceremony.
• The cultural program will conclude with the performance of ‘United by Sports’ and there will also be a special message from the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi for all the participants.

Eeach year, December 11 is marked as UNICEF Day to celebrate the founding of one of the world's largest aid organisations. In the last 76 years since its foundation, UNICEF has established its presence in 192 countries and territories around the world.

• It is considered to be one of the most recognizable charities in the world, with several celebrity ambassadors and a staff of over 13,000 people.
• UNICEF was first formed as the United Nations International Children Emergency Fund on December 11, 1946, to meet the needs of children affected by World War II. By the 1950s, UNICEF expanded its mandate and began addressing “the long-term needs of children and women in developing countries everywhere.”
• Theme: This year, the theme for UNICEF Day is “For every child, every right."

The United Nations mission in Mali has officially ended a 10-year deployment in the country, its spokesperson said, in a pullout ordered by Mali’s military government.

• The mission, known as the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), lowered the UN flag in its headquarters in the capital Bamako, its spokesperson Fatoumata Kaba told the AFP news agency on 11-12-2023.
• The symbolic ceremony marks the official end of the mission, she said, even though some of the elements of it are still there.
• A “liquidation phase” will take place after January 1, involving activities such as handing over any remaining equipment to the authorities.

BJP on Tuesday(12 -12 -2023) selected first-time MLA from Jaipur district’s Sanganer seat, Bhajan Lal Sharma, as the next Chief Minister of Rajasthan, ending days of speculation after the party’s victory in the recent State Assembly election.

• Mr. Sharma’s name was announced at a meeting of the BJP legislature party here in the presence of central observer and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.
• Former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, who was herself considered to be in the reckoning for the top post, proposed Mr. Sharma’s name, which was seconded by Sawai Madhopur MLA Kirodi Lal Meena and a few other senior leaders.
• Two other central observers, Rajya Sabha Member Saroj Pandey and BJP national general secretary Vinod Tawde, were also in attendance.

A total of Rs 9,790 crore worth of loans have been disbursed so far to beneficiaries of the PM Street Vendor’s AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) scheme, the government said in the Rajya Sabha on Monday(11-12-2023)

The scheme was launched during the COVID-19 outbreak as a micro-credit scheme for urban street vendors that aims to provide collateral-free working capital loans up to Rs 50,000.

“This scheme is available pan-India in all urban local bodies,” Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said while replying to a supplementary question.

All street vendors in urban areas are eligible for benefits under the PM SVANidhi Scheme, irrespective of the date on which they started vending.

India is set to host the Annual GPAI Summit from December 12-14, 2023. The Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI) aims to bridge the gap between AI theory and practice through research and applied activities.

• The summit will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. The event will bring together senior government delegations, multi-stakeholder experts, and global AI innovators. 
• As part of the summit, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) will organize the AI Gamechangers Award, recognizing and awarding innovative AI solutions in diverse fields.
• The AI Gamechangers Award is a prestigious event highlighting AI entrepreneurs and innovators. The call for applications, spanning from September 12th to November 15th, 2023, witnessed an overwhelming response from startups.
• A Review Committee, comprising government, civil society, academia, and industry members, selected the top 10 startups after evaluating their innovative solutions. These startups showcased advancements in safe and secure AI development across various sectors.

International Mountain Day is celebrated on December 11, 2023, it's a perfect occasion to take a virtual tour around some of the Earth's towering giants.

• Mountains not only shape the physical landscape, but also hold cultural, ecological, and spiritual significance.
• International Mountain Day 2023, with the theme "Restoring Mountain Ecosystems," aims to raise awareness about the importance of these ecosystems.
• It calls for nature-based solutions, best practices, and investments that can enhance resilience, reduce vulnerability, and enable mountains to adapt to daily threats and extreme climate events.

Joe Solomon, the former West Indies and Guyana batter, died on Friday at the age of 93.

• Solomon played 27 Tests for West Indies between 1958 and 1965, scoring 1326 runs at an average of 34.
• Though he was a late starter in first-class cricket, debuting at 26, he proved his credentials quickly, as his first three innings in first-class cricket were centuries: 114 not out against Jamaica, 108 against Barbados, and 121 against the touring Pakistanis.
• From there, he was drafted straight into the West Indies squad to tour India; in his fourth Test, he scored an unbeaten 100 in Delhi, and averaged 117 in the series.

As a part of on-going long-range deployment to Africa, Indian Naval Ship Sumedha arrived at Port Lamu, Kenya on 09 December 2023. The visit marks the maiden port call by any Indian Naval Ship at the recently developed Port in Kenya.

• During the port call, personnel from both navies will engage in a wide range of professional interactions, deck visits and sporting exchanges, aimed at enhancing cooperation and exchanging best practices.
• A joint Yoga session, deck reception, medical camp and a Maritime Partnership Exercise have been planned as part of the visit.
• INS Sumedha is the third of indigenously developed Saryu-class of Indian Navy. Commissioned on 07 March 2014, the ship is deployed for multiple roles independently and in support of fleet operations.
• The ship is equipped with an array of weapons and sensors and can carry multi-role helicopters. She is part of the Indian Navy’s Eastern Fleet based at Visakhapatnam and functions under the operational command of the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Naval Command.
• Indian Naval ships are regularly deployed overseas as part of Indian Navy’s mission of building ‘bridges of friendship’ and strengthening international cooperation with friendly countries. The visit is in consonance with the Prime Minister’s vision of Security And Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR) and seeks to further Indo-African ties.

The Indian Navy, along with other defence state and civil agencies completed a two-phased exercise ‘Prasthan’ in the Offshore Development Area, off the Mumbai coast, officials said .

• The exercise, which is conducted every six months, was held on the R12A (Ratna) Platform of Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) around 83 km away from Mumbai harbour.
• The ‘Prasthan’ is conducted to validate measures and procedures to address various contingencies that may arise in the oil production platforms and was held in two phases on Friday.
• The first phase saw security emergencies such as attack by terrorists and bomb threat from IEDs, and upon receiving the ‘threat’, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Naval Command, Mumbai, who is also the Commander-in-Chief (Coastal Defence), West activated the requisite contingency plan.
• The Crisis Management Committee (CMC), comprising senior officials from various defence, State and civilian agencies, assembled at the Indian Navy’s Operation Centre to facilitate a coordinated response to all emergencies involved.

The Indian Armed Forces contingent comprising 45 personnel reached Hanoi, Vietnam to take part in the fourth edition of Joint Military Exercise VINBAX-2023. The exercise will be conducted at Hanoi, Vietnam from 11th to 21st December 2023. The Indian contingent comprises 39 personnel from an Engineer Regiment of Bengal Engineer Group and six personnel of Army Medical Corps. The Vietnam People’s Army contingent will also be represented by 45 personnel.

Exercise VINBAX was instituted in 2018 and the first edition was conducted at Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh. It is an annual training event conducted alternatively in India and Vietnam. Last edition was conducted at Chandimandir Military Station in August 2022.

• Aim of the exercise is to foster collaborative partnership, promote inter- operability and share best practices between the two sides under Chapter VII of United Nations Charter on Peace Keeping Operations.
• The exercise will be conducted as a Command Post Exercise cum Field Training Exercise with focus on deployment and employment of an Engineer Company and a Medical Team.
• The joint exercise will encourage exchange of ideas and both contingents will jointly rehearse tactics, technique and procedures. Ideas will be exchanged on modern methods to construct roads, culverts, helipads, ammunition shelter and observation posts in operational areas. In addition, rehearsals will be carried out for drills related to combat engineering and combat medical tasks.

The nail-biting final clashes of men's and women's teams of the 73rd National Basketball Championship 2023 took place at Guru Nanak Dev Indoor Stadium . 

With the courtesy of palpable efforts, Tamil Nadu became the tournament's champions in the men's category. They defeated Railways with a final scoreline of 72-67. Talented player Baladhaneswar kept everyone on the edge of their seats and played a pivotal role in Tamil Nadu's success. 

Baladhaneswar was the top-scorer with 17 points and also had the support of teammates Pranav Prince (11), Jeevanathan (11), and Aravind Kumar (10). The trio played a crucial role in Tamil Nadu's success against the Railways. Baladhaneswar was recognized as the 'Most Valuable Player' in the men's category.

As far as the women's final is concerned, Railway women were able to retain their National Basketball Championship title successfully.

The team gave a tough time to Kerala women with a notable and dominant 80-50 victory. Poonam Chaturvedi was the main force behind the team's success. She topped the points charts with an impressive tally of 23. Pushpa Senthilkumar, Gulabsha Ali, and Sruthi Aravind formed a cohesion with scores of 15, 11, and 10 respectively.

It is pertinent to mention that Poonam was named the 'Most Valuable Player' of the match in the women's category for her efforts.

Iran has unveiled advanced Karrar combat drones armed with air-to-air missiles, enhancing its air defence capabilities, according to state media.

Argentina's libertarian economist Javier Milei took office and warned in his maiden speech that he had no alternative to a sharp, painful fiscal shock to fix the country's worst economic crisis in decades, with inflation heading towards 200 per cent.

Milei, 53, a former TV pundit who shot to fame with expletive-ridden tirades against rivals, China, and the pope, is taking over from Peronist leader Alberto Fernandez, whose government was dogged by failures to rein in soaring prices.

Javier Milei warned there was no alternative to a fiscal "shock" in his maiden speech after being sworn into office on Sunday, saying his predecessors had left the country without funds and on a path to hyperinflation.