Top 5 Current Affairs: 14 December 2021

Widening of Char Dham road permitted by Supreme Court

The Supreme Court of India has given approval to the Central Government for double lane widening of the roads for the Char Dham Project in light of the National security concerns. Char dham project in Uttarakhand aims at providing all weather-connectivity to four holy towns in the state- Gangotri, Yamunotri, Badrinath, and Kedarnath.

TOPS athletes list for Para Olympics 2024

The very first list of TOPS athletes for the Paris Olympics in 2024 was finalized during a meeting of the Mission Olympic Cell. The list by the Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports includes 148 athletes including 20 new names from seven Olympic disciplines and six Paralympic disciplines. The meeting of the Mission Olympic Cell also marked the formal beginning of planning for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

Priyank Panchal replaces injured Rohit Sharma in India squad for SA series

Vice-captain Rohit Sharma has been replaced by Priyank Panchal in India's Test squad for the South Africa tour. The replacement came in the light of Rohit Sharma’s left hamstring injury during his training session in Mumbai. Panchal is known as one of the best opening batsmen in domestic cricket and has played over 100 First-class cricket matches. He scored over 7000 runs, which includes 24 centuries and 25 fifties. 

Earthquake in Indonesia

Indonesia was struck by an earthquake of magnitude 7.6 on the Richter scale. The country issued a Tsunami warning after the Earthquake. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center also gave the warning that hazardous waves are possible for the coasts located within 1000 km of the Earthquake epicenter.

Launch of second edition of water innovation challenge

The second edition of water innovation challenges has been jointly launched by NITI Aayog, Atal Innovation Mission, and Denmark Royal Embassy in India. The initiative aims to identify innovative and next-gen solutions to solve proposed challenges in collaboration with corporate and public partners. It will also engage young talents from leading universities across the nation and will support them in building their skills.