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CURRENT AFFAIRS OF DECEMBER 2024
Awards
The country which has conferred its highest national award The Order of Mubarak Al- Kabeer
upon the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi – Kuwait
The Hindi writer who has been awarded the 2024 Vyas Samman for her novel Kaun Des Ko Vasi:
Venu Ki Diary – Ms. Suryabala
Defence
The 18th edition of Battalion Level Joint Military Exercise of Indian Army and the Nepal Army
conducted in Saljhandi, Nepal from 31st December 2024 to 13th January 2025 is named –
Exercise Surya Kiran
The bilateral naval exercise by the navies of India and Sri Lanka held from 17 to 20 December
2024 at Visakhapatnam was named – SLINEX-2024
The latest multi-role stealth-guided missile frigate (formerly named Admiral Butakov)
commissioned into the Indian Navy at the Yantar Shipyard in Kaliningrad, Russia on December
09, 2024 is named – INS Tushil (F 70)
The 4th edition of India-Malaysia Joint Military Exercise conducted at Bentong camp, Pahang
district, Malaysia from 2nd to 15th December 2024 is named – Exercise HARIMAU SHAKTI
The 1st edition of Joint Table Top Exercise between the Indian Army and the Cambodian Army
conducted at Foreign Training Node, Pune from 1st to 8th December 2024 is named – Exercise
CINBAX
Persons
The former President of USA from 1977 to 1981 who passed away on 29 December 2024 – James
Earl Carter Jr (Jimmy Carter)
The Indian author, screenplay writer and film director, winner of several National Film Awards
and also Jnanpith Award (1995) and Sahitya Akademi Award (1970), who passed away on 25
December 2024 – Shri MT Vasudevan Nair
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The former Prime Minister to mark whose 100th birth anniversary a commemorative stamp and
coin were released by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi – Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee
The former Chief Minister of Haryana (for 5 terms) from Indian National Lok Dal party who passed
away on 20 December 2023 – Shri Om Prakash Chautala
The Indian environmentalist from Honnali village also known as the Encyclopedia of the Forest
who passed away on 16 December 2024 – Smt Tulsi Gowda
The former Chief Minister of Karnataka (1999-2004), Governor of Maharashtra (2004-2008) and
Union External Affairs Minister (2009-2012) who passed away on 10 December 2024 – Shri SM
Krishna
The two-time former Chief Minister who has been chosen to be the new Chief Minister of
Maharashtra – Shri Devendra Fadnavis
Sports
The Indian Chess Grandmaster who has become the second woman to win the World Rapid Chess
Championship by the winning the title in New York in 2024 – Koneru Humpy
The Indian chess Grandmaster who has become the youngest World Chess Champion (at the age
of 18 years) in the history of the game by defeating Chinese player Ding Liren in the last game in
Singapore (former youngest World Chess Champion was held by Garry Kasporov) – Gukesh
Dommaraju
The former Indian squash player, winner of six straight National Squash Championships from
1977 to 1982 who passed away on 01 December 2024 – Shri Raj Manchanda
Places
The country in which Embraer aircraft of Azerbaijan Airlines crashed on its way from Baku
(Azerbaijan) to Grozny (Russia), killing 38 out of 67 people on board – Kazakhstan
The place in Madhya Pradesh at which the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi laid the foundation
stone of Ken-Betwa River Linking National Project – Khajuraho
The place in Rajasthan on Jaipur-Ajmer highway (NH48) where a collision between a LPG tanker
and another vehicle resulted in a devastating fire accident causing death of 14 persons and
burning of over 30 vehicles – Bhankrota
Miscellaneous
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The lake in Ladakh at which a statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was installed by the Indian
Army – Pangong Tso
The bird which has been officially recognized as the National Bird of United States of America
after the US President Joe Biden signed a law to that effect – Bald Eagle
The country which has suspended the Most Favoured Nation clause in its Double Taxation
Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) with India with effect from 01 January 2025 – Switzerland
The strong tropical cyclone which struck the French overseas territory Mayotte near
Mozambique in Africa and cause substantial damage of life and property was named – Cyclone
Chido
The word meaning division into two sharply distinct opposites, which has been chosen to be the
Word of the Year 2024 by Merriam-Webster Dictionary – Polarization
India's first indigenously developed antibiotic with the support of Biotechnology Industry
Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), brought to market under the trade name Miqnaf by pharma
company Wolkardt is named – Nafithromycin
The forest reserve in Madhya Pradesh which has been named as India's 57th Tiger Reserve by
the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change – Ratapani Tiger Reserve
The word meaning the supposed deterioration of a person’s mental or intellectual state which
has been chosen as the 2024 Word of the Year – Brain rot
Dr. Manmohan Singh
Born: 26 September 1932; Death: 26 December 2024
Birth place: Gah village in Chakwal district of Punjab province of Pakistan
Positions held
• Chief Economic Advisor (1972–1976)
• Governor of the Reserve Bank (1982–1985)
• Head of the Planning Commission (1985–1987)
• Finance Minister (1991–1996)
• Prime Minister of India (2004–2014)
Education
• Panjab University (BA, MA)
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• St John's College, Cambridge (BA)
• Nuffield College, Oxford (DPhil)
He was awarded the Padma Vibhushan in 1987.
Sahitya Akademi Awards 2024
# Language Work Author
1. Assamese Pharingbore Bator Katha Jane Sameer Tanti
(Poetry)
2. Bodo Swrni Thakhai (Novel) Aron Raja
3. English Spirit Nights (Novel) Easterine Kire
4. Gujarati Bhagwan-ni Vato (Poetry) Dileep Jhaveri
5. Hindi Main Jab Tak Aai Bahar (Poetry) Gagan Gill
6. Kannada Nudigala Alivu (Literary Criticism) K.V. Narayana
7. Kashmiri Psychiatric Ward (Novel) Sohan Koul
8. Konkani Rangtarang (Essays) Mukesh Thali
9. Maithili Prabandh Sangrah (Essays) Mahendra Malangia
10. Malayalam Pingalakeshini (Poetry) K. Jayakumar
11. Manipuri Mainu Bora Nungshi Sheirol (Poetry) Haobam Satyabati Devi
12. Marathi Vidanche Gadyaroop (Criticism) Sudhir Rasal
13. Nepali Chhichimira (Short Stories) Yuva Baral
14. Odia Bhuti Bhakti Bibhuti (Essays) Baishnab Charan Samal
15. Punjabi Sun Gunvanta Sun Budhivanta: Paul Kaur
Itihaasnama Punjab (Poetry)
16. Rajasthani Gaon Ar Amma (Poetry) Mukut Maniraj
17. Sanskrit Bhaskaracaritam (Poetry) Dipak Kumar Sharma
18. Santhali Seched Sawnta Ren Andha Manmi Maheswar Soren
(Play)
19. Sindhi Purzo (Short Stories) Hundraj Balwani
20. Tamil Tirunelveeli Ezucciyum Vaa Cuu.ci. A.R. Venkatachalapathy
Yum (Research)
21. Telugu Deepika (Criticism) Penugonda
Lakshminarayana
Important Days of December
World AIDS Day: 01 December 2024
Designated by: World Health Organisation
Theme: Take the rights path: My health, my right!
First Observed in: 1988
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International Day of Persons with Disabilities: 03 December 2024
Designated by: United Nations General Assembly
Theme: Amplifying the leadership of persons with disabilities for an inclusive and
sustainable future
First Observed in: 1992
International Volunteer Day: 05 December 2024
Designated by: United Nations General Assembly
First Observed in: 1986
World Soil Day: 05 December 2024
First launched by: International Union of Soil Sciences (2002)
Endorsed by: Food and Agricultural Organisation (Jun 2013)
Accepted by: United Nations General Assembly (Dec 2013)
Theme: Caring for soils: measure, monitor, manage
International Civil Aviation Day: 07 December 2024
Established by: International Civil Aviation Organisation (1994)
Adopted by: United Nations General Assembly (1996)
Theme: Safe Skies. Sustainable Future: Together for the next 80 years
International Anti-Corruption Day: 09 December 2024
Designated by: United Nations General Assembly
First Observed in: 2003
Theme: Uniting with Youth Against Corruption: Shaping Tomorrow's Integrity
United Nations Human Rights Day: 10 December 2024
Designated by: United Nations General Assembly
Theme: Our Rights, Our Future, Right Now
First Observed in: 1948
International Mountains Day: 11 December 2024
Designated by: United Nations General Assembly
First Observed in: 2003
International Universal Health Coverage Day: 12 December 2024
Designated by: United Nations General Assembly
Theme: Health: It's on Government
First Observed in: 2017
International Migrants Day: 18 December 2024
Designated by: United Nations General Assembly
First Observed in: 2000
International Human Solidarity Day: 20 December 2024
Designated by: United Nations General Assembly
First Observed in: 2006
World Meditation Day: 21 December 2024
Designated by: United Nations General Assembly
First Observed in: 2024
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SpaDeX Mission
Launched on: 30.12.2024
Launched from: Satish Dhawan Space Centre
Launch vehicle: PSLV-CA C60
SpaDeX mission is a cost-effective technology demonstrator mission for the demonstration of
in-space docking using two small spacecraft launched by PSLV.
In-space docking technology is essential when multiple rocket launches are required to achieve
common mission objectives.
Through this mission, India is on its way to becoming the fourth country in the world to have
space docking technology.
Consists of: Two modified IMS-1 class (220 kg) satellites, named Chaser and Target.
Shyam Benegal
Born: 14 December 1934; Death: 23 December 2024
Specialization: Film director, screenwriter and documentary filmmaker.
Awards:
• Padma Shri (1976)
• Padma Bhushan (1991)
• Dadasaheb Phalke Award (2005)
Awards for films
• National Film Award for Best Feature Film: Samar (1999)
• National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi: Nishant (1976), Manthan (1977),
Junoon (1979), Arohan (1982), Sooraj ka Satvan Ghoda (1993), Mammo (1995), Zubeida
(2001)
• National Film Award for Best Feature Film in English: The Making of the Mahatma (1995)
• National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Urdu: Sardari Begum (1996)
• National Film Award for Second Best Feature Film: Ankur (1975)
• National Film Award for Best Screenplay: Bhumika, The Role (1978)
• Nargis Dutt Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration: Netaji Subhas Chandra
Bose: The Forgotten Hero (2005)
• National Film Award for Best Film on Other Social Issues: Well Done Abba (2009)
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The Best FIFA Football Awards 2024
Awarded by: FIFA
The Best FIFA Men's Player: Vinicius Junior (Brazil) (Club: Real Madrid)
The Best FIFA Men's Goalkeeper: Emiliano Martínez (Argentina) (Club: Aston Villa)
The Best FIFA Women's Player: Aitana Bonmatí (Spain) (Club: Barcelona)
The Best FIFA Women's Goalkeeper: Alyssa Naeher (USA) (Club: Chicago Red Stars)
FIFA Puskas Award: Alejandro Garnacho (Argentina)
FIFA Marta Award: Marta Vieira de Silva (Brazil)
Zakir Hussain
Full name: Zakir Hussain Allarakha Qureshi
Born: 09 March 1951; Death: 15 December 2024
Specialization: Tabla player, composer, percussionist and music producer
Awards:
• Sangeet Natak Akademi Award: 1990
• Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship, Ratna Sadasya: 2018
• Grammy Awards: 1 in 2009 and 3 in 2024
• Padma Shri (1988), Padma Bhushan (2002) and Padma Vibhushan (2023)
2024 Men's Hockey Junior Asia Cup
Held from: 26 November to 04 December 2024
Venue: Muscat (Oman)
Winners: India (5th title)
Runners-up: Pakistan
Top scorer: Sufyan Khan (12 goals) (Pakistan)
Best player: Araijeet Singh Hundal (India)
Best young player: Yamato Kawahara (Japan)
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Best goalkeeper: Rafaizul Saini (Malaysia)
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