Persons

The Hindi film actress who has been named the PETA Person of the Year 2022 – Sonakshi Sinha

The Indian contestant who was crowned Mrs. World at a beauty pageant in Las Vegas, USA – Mrs. Sargam Koushal

The new Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh who was sworn in on 11 December 2022 – Shri Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu

The veteran singer of lavani folk style (recipient of 2022 Padma Shri) who passed away on 10 Dec 2022 – Sulochana Chavan

The President of Ukraine who has been named the Person of the Year by TIME magazine – Volodymyr Zelensky

The French author well-known for books like Freedom at Midnight, City of Joy, The Fifth Horseman, who passed away on 04 December 2022 – Dominique Lapierre

The contestant from South Korea who has been crowned Miss Earth 2022 at a beauty pageant held in Manila, Philippines – Ms. Mina Sue Choi

Places

The state which has become the first in the country to pass the Lokayukta Bill, bringing the Chief Minister and other ministers under the ambit of Lokayukta – Maharashtra

The country which has reported death of 18 children after consuming cough syrup made by Indian company Marion Biotech – Uzbekistan

The place at which Indian Army has inaugurated the first ever 3-D Printed House Dwelling Unit (with Ground plus One configuration) for soldiers – Ahmedabad

The place in Madhya Pradesh where India's first Infantry Museum was opened to the public – Mhow, Indore

The city in which the opening ceremony of International Year of Millets 2023 was held by Food and Agricultural Organisation – Rome, Italy

The venue of 9th World Ayurveda Congress and Arogya Expo organised from 08 to 11 December 2022 – Panaji, Goa

The state in which International Lusophone Festival was organised from 3 to 6 December by the Ministry of External Affairs in partnership with Indian Council of Cultural Relations – Goa

The state in which the 23rd edition of Hornbill Festival was inaugurated by the Vice-President Shri Jagdeep Dhankar – Nagaland

The country which has been expelled from the UN Commission on the Status of Women UN by the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) – Iran

Sports

The team which has ranked at No. 1 position in the 2022 FIFA Men's World Ranking – Brazil

The team which has won the 2022 Pro Kabaddi League defeating Puneri Paltan in the finals – Jaipur Pink Panthers

The tennis stars who have been named the ITF World Champions of 2022 by ITF – Rafael Nadal and Iga Swiatek

The team India defeated to win the T20 World Cup for the Blind for the 3rd consecutive time at Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru – Bangladesh

The Indian batsman who has broken the record of Chris Gayle for fastest double century in ODI, by scoring a double century in 131 balls against Bangladesh – Ishan Kishan

The American born Swedish pole vaulter who has been named the 2022 World Athlete of the Year (Male) – Armand duplantis

The American hurdler and sprinter who has been named the 2022 World Athlete of the Year (Female) – McLaughlin-Levrone

The Indian shooter who has won the gold medal in men's 10 m air rifle at the ISSF President's Cup 2022 in Cairo Egypt – Rudrankksh Patil

The team which has won the 2022-23 Vijay Hazare Trophy defeating Maharashtra in the finals at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad – Saurashtra

Defence

The 16th Edition of Indo-Nepal joint training Exercise to be conducted at Nepal Army Battle School, Saljhandi (Nepal), from 16 - 29 December 2022 – SURYA KIRAN-XVI

The 12th edition of bilateral exercise between the Singapore & Indian Army, held from 13 November 2022 to 30 November 2022 at Field Firing Ranges, Devlali (Maharashtra) was named – Ex Agni Warrior

Miscellaneous

The intranasal vaccine for COVID-19 developed by Bharat Biotech, American company Precision Virologics and the Washington University School of Medicine is named – iNCOVACC

The initiative by Govt of India which has been recognised by the United Nations (UN) as one of the Top 10 World Restoration Flagships programmes aimed at reviving the natural world, at the 15th Conference of Parties (COP15) to the Convention on Biodiversity (CBD) in Montreal, Canada – Namami Gange

The Indian film directed by SS Rajamouli which has won nominations for the Golden Globe Awards 2023 in the Best Non-English Language Film category and for the Best Original Song – RRR

The rank of India in the Global Passport Power Rank 2022 released by Canada based organisation Arton Capital (UAE ranked at No. 1 position) – 69

The slang term meaning a type of behavior which is unapologetically self-indulgent, lazy, slovenly, or greedy, which has been chosen to tbe the Oxford word of the year 2022 – Goblin Mode

The metro which has entered the Guinness Book of World Records for creating the longest double-decker viaduct metro measuring 3.14 km – Nagpur Metro

The rank of India among the countries that are at high risk of mass killings as per report released by U.S. based Early Warning Project – 8th

The letter writing carnival organised by Ministry of Culture in association with Department of Post and supported by Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti on 04 Dec 2022 at Raj Ghat was named – Daakroom

2022 Jamnalal Bajaj Awards

Awarded by: Jamnalal Bajaj Foundation

Category: Constructive Work

Nilesh Desai (Madhya Pradesh): Founder of the Sampark Samaj Sevi Sansthan

Category: Application of Science & Technology for Rural Development

Mansukhbhai Prajapati (Gujarat) : Founder of the Mitticool, which manufactures clay products

Category: Development & Welfare of Women & Children

Sophia Saik (Odisha) : Activist for women beedi workers in Odisha

Category: International Award for Promoting Gandhian Values outside India

Dr Ogirat Younan and Dr Walid Slyabi of Lebanon : Academic University College for Non-Violence and Human Rights

Sahitya Akademi Awards 2022

Important Days of December 2022

World AIDS Day: 01 December 2022

Designated by: World Health Organisation

Theme: Equalize

First Observed in: 1988

International Day of Persons with Disabilities: 03 December 2022

Designated by: United Nations General Assembly

First Observed in: 1992

International Volunteer Day: 05 December 2022

Designated by: United Nations General Assembly

Theme: Solidarity through volunteering

First Observed in: 1986

World Soil Day: 05 December 2022

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: Soils, Where Food Begins

International Civil Aviation Day: 07 December 2022

Established by: International Civil Aviation Organisation (1994)

Adopted by: United Nations General Assembly (1996)

Theme (upto 2023): Advancing Innovation for Global Aviation Development

International Anti-Corruption Day: 09 December 2022

Designated by: United Nations General Assembly

First Observed in: 2003

Theme: Uniting the World Against Corruption

United Nations Human Rights Day: 10 December 2022

Designated by: United Nations General Assembly

Theme: Dignity, Freedom, and Justice for All

First Observed in: 1948

International Mountains Day: 11 December 2022

Designated by: United Nations General Assembly

Theme: Women move mountains

First Observed in: 2003

International Universal Health Coverage Day: 12 December 2022

Designated by: United Nations General Assembly

Theme: Build the world we want: A healthy future for all

First Observed in: 2017

International Migrants Day: 18 December 2022

Designated by: United Nations General Assembly

First Observed in: 2000

International Human Solidarity Day: 20 December 2022

Designated by: United Nations General Assembly

First Observed in: 2006

International Day of Epidemic Preparedness: 27 December 2022

Designated by: United Nations General Assembly

First Observed in: 2021

Rabindranath Tagore Literary Prize 2021-22

1. Sudeep Sen for Anthropocene: Climate Change, Contagion, Consolation

2. Shobhana Kumar for A Sky Full of Bucket Lists

Football legend Pele

• Original name: Edson Arantes do Nascimento
• Born: 23 Oct 1940
• Expired: 29 Dec 2022
• Nationality: Brazil
• FIFA World Cups won by Brazil during his career: 1958, 1962 & 1970
• Goals in international matches: 77 in 92 matches
• Club teams played for: Santo and New York Cosmos
• Autobiography is titled: Pele: The Autobiography

New Prime Ministers

Ireland: Mr. Leo Eric Varadkar since 17 Dec 2022

Peru: Mr. Alberto Otarola since 21 Dec 2022

Fiji: Mr. Sitiveni Rabuka since 24 Dec 2022

Nepal: Mr. Pushpa Kamal Dahal since 26 Dec 2022

2022 FIFA World Cup

Held from 20.11.2022 to 18.12.2022

Host: Qatar

No of teams: 32

Opening ceremony and first match: Al Bayt Stadium

Final match and closing ceremony: Lusail Stadium

Trophy unveiled by Deepika Padukone and Iker Casillas (former Spanish footballer)

Prize money: $42 million for winners

Mascot: La'eeb (meaning skilled player)

Official match ball named: Al Rihla

Official match ball for final: Adidas Al Hilm

Winners: Argentina (3rd title - 1978, 1986 and 2022)

Runners-up: France

Final score in the final match: 3 - 3 (4 - 2 penalty shoot-out)

3rd and 4th Position: Croatia and Morocco

Awards

Golden Boot: Kylian Mbappe

Golden Ball: Lionel Messi

Golden Glove: Emiliano Martinez

Young Player Award: Enzo Fernandez

Fair Play Award: England

Global Food Security Index 2022

Released by: The Economist

Books in News

The Chipko Movement - A People's History by Shekhar Pathak (Won the Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay NIF Book Prize 2022)