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.12.2018 NATIONAL NEWS PM Modi delivers inaugural.2018 address at FICCI’s 93rd Annual General Meeting  Prime Minister NarendraModi has delivered the inaugural address at FICCI‟s 93rd Annual General Meeting (AGM) and Annual.11.2018 Convention via video conferencing.  Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) has organised the convention from December 11 to 14, 2020.  The theme for the FICCI 93rd AGM is „Inspired India‟. The Prime Minister also inaugurated the virtual FICCI Annual Expo 2020. It was started from 11 December 2020 and will continue for a period of a whole year.

5th India – Myanmar bilateral meeting on Drug Control Cooperation  The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), India and the Central Committee on Drug Abuse Control, Myanmar conducted the 5th edition of the India- Myanmar Bilateral Meeting on Drug Control Cooperation.  The Indian delegation was led by the Director-General Narcotics Control Bureau, Shri RakeshAsthana. The Myanmar delegation was led by Pol. Brig. Gen. Win Naing. the Commander of the Drug Enforcement Division (DED) cum Joint Secretary of the Central Committee for Drug Abuse Control.  Both countries agreed on the exchange of intelligence information in a timely manner to conduct follow- up investigations in drug seizure cases, new psychotropic substances and their precursors

HGCO19: India’s first indigenous mRNA vaccine candidate receives approval  India‟s first indigenous mRNA vaccine candidate, HGCO19, has received approval from Indian Drug regulators to initiate Phase one and two human clinical trials. Key takeaways  HGCO19 has been developed by Gennova, Pune and supported with seed grant under the Ind-CEPI mission of the Department of Biotechnology.  The mRNA vaccines do not use the conventional model to produce immune response.  Instead, they carry the molecular instructions to make the protein in the body through a synthetic RNA of the virus.  mRNA-based vaccines are scientifically the ideal choice to address a pandemic because of their rapid developmental timeline.  The mRNA vaccine is considered safe as is non-infectious, non-integrating in nature, and degraded by standard cellular mechanisms.

Indian Railways launches Hospital Management Information System (HMIS)  Recently, Indian Railways has launched The Hospital Management Information System (HMIS).  It is another major IT initiative by Railways to prioritise the well-being of its work force. Key takeaways  Developed by: Indian Railways in coordination with RailTel Corporation Limited.  Objective: To provide a single window of clearance of hospital administration activity such as clinical, diagnostics, pharmacy, examinations, industrial health etc.  Other objectives: (1) Effectively manage all the health facilities & its resources; (2) Monitor performance of hospitals across the administrative channel; (3) Impart quality health care services to its beneficiaries; (4) Improve the patient turn-around time; (5) Generate and maintain EMR (electronic medical records) of all patients  Presently, 3 Modules of HMIS – Registration, OPD Doctor Desk & Pharmacy – shall be implemented.  These shall be implemented on trial basis at Central Hospital, Lallaguda and will progressively be implemented across all Health Units over SCR

Draft Indian Ports Bill, 2020  Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways has circulated draft of Indian Ports Bill 2020 for public consultation which will repeal and replace the Indian Ports Act, 1908.

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Key takeaways .12.2018  The Bill seeks to create.2018 an enabling environment for the growth and sustained development of the ports sector in India through the following broad methods: (1) Constitution of Maritime Port Regulatory Authority; (2) Formulation.11.2018 of the National Port policy and National Port plan in consultation with Coastal State Governments, State Maritime Boards and other stakeholders; (3) Formulation of specialised Adjudicatory Tribunals namely Maritime Ports Tribunal and Maritime Ports Appellate Tribunal to curb any anti-competitive practises in the port sector and act as a speedy and affordable grievance redressal mechanism.

Sustainable Mountain Development Summit (SMDS) begins  The 9th edition of the Sustainable Mountain Development Summit (SMDS) in Dehradun has begun. Important value addition  Organised by: Indian Mountain Initiative (IMI)  The summit seeks to deliberate on issues such as migration, water security, climate resilience and innovative solutions for the farm sector, and disaster risk reduction in the Indian Himalayas.  Every year 3-5 salient themes engaging the immediate attention of and relevant to the mountains and hills are taken up for threadbare discussion and debate.  Conclusions and recommendations emerging from this exercise are pursued by IMI subsequently for actionable output.  The theme for 2020: Emerging Pathways for Building a Resilient Post COVID-19 Mountain Economy, Adaptation, Innovation and Acceleration.  The first edition was organized in 2011 in Nainital.

Integrated Mountain Initiative (IMI)  It is a civil society led network platform.  Mission: To mainstream concerns of the Indian Himalayan Region (IHR) and its people in the development dialogue of India.  It functions as a platform to integrate the knowledge and experiences of multiple stakeholders working across the IHR, and uses this to inform and influence policy at the national and state level.

NITI Aayog releases ‘Vision 2035: Public Health Surveillance in India’  NITI Aayog has released a white paper titled „Vision 2035: Public Health Surveillance in India‟ on 14 December 2020.  The „Vision 2035: Public Health Surveillance in India‟ is a continuation of the work on Health Systems Strengthening. The building blocks for this vision are an interdependent federated system of governance between the Centre and states.  The vision of this white paper is to make India‟s public health surveillance system more responsive and predictive to enhance preparedness for action at all levels.  The citizen-friendly public health surveillance system will ensure individual privacy and confidentiality, enabled with a client feedback mechanism. Important takeaways for all competitive exams:  Chief Executive Officer of NITI Aayog: Amitabh Kant.  Chairperson of NITI Aayog: PM NarendraModi.

STATE NEWS to host 2023 FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup  The International Hockey Federation (FIH) had announced that the 2023 FIH Men‟s Hockey World Cup will be hosted in Odisha, for a second consecutive time.  The tournament will be held at two venues, Bhubaneswar and . The Men‟s Hockey World Cup 2018 was also hosted by Odisha.  The 2023 tournament will be 15th edition of the Men‟s FIH Hockey World Cup. It will be held at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar and at the BijuPatnaik Hockey Stadium in Rourkela. FIH Hockey World Cup is held after every four years.

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 Chief Minister of Odisha:.12.2018 Naveen Patnaik.  Odisha Capital: Bhubaneswar..2018  Odisha Governor: GaneshiLal.  Airports in Orissa: .11.2018 BijuPatnaik International Airport, , Rourkela Airport, Jeypore Airport and Savitri Jindal Airport.

DEFENCE NEWS GRSE Kolkata launches ‘Himgiri’, its 1st Ship of Project 17A  Himgiri, which is the first of the three Project 17A ships being built at Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Limited (GRSE), Kolkata was launched.  The launch of „Himgiri‟ has showcased GRSE‟s commitment towards the building of three state-of-the- art warships of P17A for Indian Navy.  Under the Project 17A program, a total of seven ships, four at Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) and three ships at GRSE are being built with enhanced stealth features, advanced indigenous weapon and sensor fit along with several other improvements.  P17A ships are the first gas turbine propulsion and largest combat platforms ever built at GRSE. Since its inception, Project 17A has upheld India‟s vision for Atmanirbhar Bharat.

ECONOMY NEWS

BSE launches e-agricultural spot market platform ‘BEAM’  Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Ltd. has launched an electronic spot platform, “BSE E-Agricultural Markets Ltd (BEAM)”, for agricultural commodities through its subsidiary BSE Investments Ltd.  The platform aims to boost the competitiveness of the Indian agricultural market by enhancing the strength of the BSE in financial markets, market technology and its vibrant ecosystem. Important takeaways for all competitive exams:  BSE is Asia‟s first & world‟s fastest Stock Exchange with a speed of 6 microseconds. It is one of India‟s leading exchange groups  BSE Established: 1875.  BSE Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra.  MD and CEO of BSE: Ashish Kumar Chauhan.

RBI to set up Automated Banknote Processing Centre in Jaipur  The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided to set up an Automated Banknote Processing Centre (ABPC) in Jaipur for the receipt, storage and dispatch of currency notes.  The functions of the ABPC will also include processing of banknotes received from currency chests (CCs) and bank branches and destruction of soiled banknotes in an automated manner  The volume of banknotes in circulation has increased three-fold from March 2001 to March 2019 and is expected to rise further in the years to come.  RBI 25th Governor: Shaktikant Das; Headquarters: Mumbai; Founded: 1 April 1935, Kolkata. CRISIL slows contraction rate for India at -7.7% in FY21  Rating agency CRISIL has lowered the contraction rate of India‟s GDP and now expects the growth rate of the Indian economy to contract 7.7% in the ongoing fiscal 2020-21, compared to the 9% forecast in September 2020, due to “faster-than-expected” recovery in the second quarter.  For the fiscal 2021-22 (FY22), CRISIL expects the growth to bounce back to 10%.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY NEWS ISRO to launch communication satellite CMS-01  Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will launch a communication satellite CMS-01, formerly named GSAT-12R, on December 17, using its Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) rocket‟s XL variant numbered as PSLV-C50.  The CMS-01 will be a replacement for GSAT-12 that weighed 1,410 kg and was launched on July 11, 2011, with a mission life of eight years.

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 CMS-01 is a communication.12.2018 satellite envisaged for providing services in Extended-C Band of the frequency spectrum,.2018 which will include the Indian mainland, Andaman and Nicobar and Lakshadweep Islands.  The 42nd communication.11.2018 satellite of India, it will have a mission life of seven years.  ISRO Chairman: K.Sivan.  ISRO Headquarters: Bengaluru, Karnataka.

IMPORTANT DAYS National Energy Conservation Day: 14 December  The National Energy Conservation Day is celebrated every year on 14 December by Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), under Ministry of Power.  The day is celebrated to raise awareness among the general public about the importance of energy conversation and energy efficiency, as well as holistic development for overall effort towards climate change mitigation.  Bureau of Energy Efficiency is a constitutional body that comes under the Government of India and helps in the development of policies and strategies in order to reduce energy use.  The Energy Conservation Act in India was executed by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) in the year 2001.  Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Power: Raj Kumar Singh.

SUMMITS AND CONFERENCES NEWS 9th Sustainable Mountain Development Summit held in Dehradun  The 9th edition of Sustainable Mountain Development Summit (SMDS) held in Dehradun, Uttarakhand.  The four-day-long summit was organised by Indian Mountain Initiative (IMI) and hosted by Sustainable Development Forum Uttaranchal (SDFU), Dehradun.  The theme for 2020 SMDS was „Emerging Pathways for Building a Resilient Post COVID-19 Mountain Economy, Adaptation, Innovation and Acceleration‟.  The Summit deliberated on issues such as migration, water security, climate resilience and innovative solutions for the farm sector, and disaster risk reduction in the Indian Himalayas.  The focus of the summit was on building pathways toward a resilient and sustainable mountain economy in the context of a post-COVID-19 scenario and Climate Change.

AWARDS NEWS Myanmar’s Paul SeinTwa receives Goldman Environmental Prize 2020  International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Asia Regional Office awarded Paul SeinTwa, for Goldman Environmental Prize 2020 for Asia.  This award is given to him for his efforts in promoting the self-determination of the Karen people in managing their natural resources.  Paul is the co-founder of the Karen Environmental and Social Action Network (KESAN), established in 2001.  Director-General of International Union for Conservation of Nature: Dr Bruno Oberle.  International Union for Conservation of Nature Headquarters: Gland, Switzerland.  International Union for Conservation of Nature Founder: Julian Huxley.  International Union for Conservation of Nature Founded: 5 October 1948.

BOOKS AND AUTHORS NEWS A book titled ‘Dharma’ authored by Amish Tripathi  The 2nd non-fiction book by author Amish Tripathi is titled “Dharma: Decoding the Epics for A Meaningful Life”.  The book offers practical, philosophical lessons drawn from ancient Hindu epics. It is co-authored by his sister Bhavana Roy. It is to be published by Westland. His last non-fiction book „Immortals India‟ was launched in 2017.

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.12.2018 OBITUARY Renowned Sanskrit Scholar.2018 VidyavachaspatiGovindacharya passes away at 85  Renowned Sanskrit scholar VidyavachaspatiBannanjeGovindacharya has passed away due to age- related illness. He was.11.2018 85.  Govindacharya was conferred the Padma Shri in 2009.  He was well versed in Veda Bhashya, Upanishad Bhashya, Mahabharata, Ramayana and Puranas and had written commentaries on Veda Suktas, Upanishads, ShataRudriya, Brahma Sutra Bhashya, and Gita Bhashya.  He had authored around 150 books and translated several texts from Sanskrit to Kannada.

US Pilot Chuck Yeager, first man to fly faster than speed of sound, passes away at 97  US Air Force officer and test pilot Chuck Yeager, who in 1947 became the first pilot in history to have exceeded the speed of sound in level flight, has passed away. He was 97.  (Level flight means flying at a constant altitude, not going up and down.)  As a test pilot, on October 14, 1947, Yeager became the first human to officially break the sound barrier, when he flew the experimental Bell X-1 aircraft at Mach 1 (speed of sound) at an altitude of 45,000 ft (13,700 m).  Throughout his life, he flew more than 360 different types of aircraft and went on to break several other speed and altitude records in the following years.  Yeager had been associated with World War II, Korean War, and Vietnam War and his three-war active- duty flying career spanned more than 30 years.

Marathi Music Composer NarendraBhide passes away at 47  Veteran Marathi music composer NarendraBhide has passed away in Pune due to heart attack. He was 47.  Bhide was popularly known among his friend circle as Babdya.  Bhide had composed music for several award winning Marathi films as well as TV shows.  Some of the films include A Paying Ghost, Bioscope, Harishchandrachi Factory, Sane Guruji, Sarivar Sari and Chi Va Chi SauKa among others.

‘Hind Kesari’-winning wrestler SripatiKhanchanale passes away  Noted Indian wrestler, SripatiKhanchanale, who had won the prestigious „Hind Kesari‟ title in 1959, passed away.  In 1959, Khanchanale won the „Hind Kesari‟ title by defeating wrestler Rustam-e-Punjab Battasingh at the New Railway Stadium in Delhi.  The prestigious „Hind Kesari‟ title commands the highest respect in the Indian wrestling world.  He was also a recipient of the Shiv Chhatrapati award, which is given by the Maharashtra government.

Eswatini’s Prime Minister, Ambrose Dlamini passes away  Ambrose Dlamini, the Prime Minister of Eswatini, a country in Southern Africa, has passed away after contracting coronavirus.  He was appointed as the tenth prime minister of the country in October 2018.  Eswatini Capitals: Mbabane, Lobamba; Currency: Swazi lilangeni.

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