DAILY UPDATED CURRENT AFFAIRS: 27.12.2020 TO 28.12.2020 .12.2018
NATIONAL Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways extends validity of Vehicular documents like DLs, RCs, Permits etc till 31 March 2021 The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has further extended the validity of vehicular documents like DLs, RCs, Permits, etc. till March 31, 2021, keeping in mind the COVID-19 pandemic. Earlier, the ministry had extended the validity of documents, related to Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 and Central Motor Vehicle Rules, 1989, like Fitness Permit (all types), License, Registration or any other concerned document(s), till 31st December 2020. Taking into consideration the need to prevent the spread of COVID-19, these documents would now be valid till 31 March 2021. It would cover all documents whose validity has expired since February 01, 2020 or would expire by March 31, 2021.
PM Modi launches Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY SEHAT to extend coverage to all residents of Jammu & Kashmir Prime Minister ShriNarendraModi has launched a scheme ‘Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY SEHAT’ via video-conferencing to extend health insurance coverage to all the residents of Jammu & Kashmir. Under this scheme, the coverage of AyushmanYojna will be extended to all the residents of Jammu & Kashmir. Currently about 6 lakh families of the state are getting the benefit of Ayushman Bharat Scheme. With the SEHAT Scheme, all 21 lakh families will get the benefit of free treatment up to Rs 5 lakh medical expense, on the basis of Socio-Economic and Caste Census (SECC) 2011. Apart from this, the treatment under the new scheme will not be limited to government and private hospitals in Jammu and Kashmir only, rather, the treatment can be availed from thousands of hospitals empanelled under this scheme in the country.
India’s first tiger reserve hot air balloon safari launched in Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve of Madhya Pradesh India’s first ‘Hot Air Balloon Wildlife Safari’ in a tiger reserve has been launched in the Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh. It is the first of its type service in any tiger reserve of India. The service is being operated by Jaipur- based Sky Waltz. Tourists can watch tigers, leopards, Indian sloth bear and other wild animals from a height, and this activity will be restricted to the buffer area.
Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri launches E-Sampada web portal Housing and Urban Affairs Minister, Hardeep Singh Puri has launched E-Sampada, a new web portal and mobile app on Good Governance Day. The new application provides a single-window for all the services including an allotment for over one lakh government residential accommodations, office space allotment to government organisations in 45 office complexes in 28 cities and booking of 1,176-holiday homerooms. About E-Sampada Portal: The portal provides online facility to users across India to lodge complaints, submit documents and appear for the virtual hearing. This is a significant step towards the promotion of e-governance to enhance transparency and accountability in providing various estate services like allotment, retention, regularisation and no dues certificate. The real-time information on utilisation of assets and delivery of service will facilitate optimum utilisation of resources. The automated processes will minimize human intervention and will lead to greater transparency.
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DAILY UPDATED CURRENT AFFAIRS: 27.12.2020 TO 28.12.2020 .12.2018
INTERNATIONAL Navy formally commissions INS Sindhuvir submarine, handed over by Indian Navy The Myanmar Navy has officially inducted the submarine INS Sindhuvir, which was handed over by the Indian Navy to the country in October 2020. INS Sindhuvir was commissioned on 25th December 2020, which marked the 73rd anniversary of the Myanmar Navy. INS Sindhuvir has been renamed as UMS MinyeTheinkhathu by the Myanmar Navy. This is the first submarine in the Myanmar Navy’s arsenal. It is a diesel-electric Kilo-class submarine, which was in operation in the Indian Navy since 1988. The submarine has been refurbished for the Myanmar Navy by state-run defense shipbuilder, Hindustan Shipyard Limited (HSL) in Visakhapatnam.
ADB launches $9 bn “APVAX” for Developing Countries The Manila-based Asian Development Bank (ADB) has launched an initiative called, the Asia Pacific Vaccine Access Facility (APVAX), for its developing member countries. The bank has allocated USD 9 billion for APVAX. About Asia Pacific Vaccine Access Facility: APVAX will play a critical role in helping our developing members meet these challenges, overcome the pandemic, and focus on economic recovery. Through APVAX, the ADB will offer rapid and equitable support to its developing members, who need financing to procure vaccines as well as offer appropriate plans and knowledge to be able to safely, equitably and efficiently manage and deliver the COVID-19 vaccine.
A68a, the giant Antarctic iceberg has become a cause for concern for South Georgia Island. The giant iceberg A68, the biggest block of free-floating ice from Antarctica with an area of about 5,800 sq. Km. Since 2017, it has been drifting in the Atlantic Ocean. Due to an ocean current, this year the iceberg was propelled into the South Atlantic Ocean and since then it has been drifting towards the remote sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia. It is a British Overseas Territory (BOT). This has prompted fears about the impact the iceberg could have on the island’s abundant wildlife. What are icebergs? They travel with ocean currents and either get caught up in shallow waters or ground themselves. About Iceberg A68a and where is it headed? An iceberg A68a is a roughly size of the state of Delaware, split off from Antarctica’s Larsen C ice shelf in July 2017. Since then it has been drifting towards the remote island of South Georgia, which is a British Overseas Territory (BOT). The US National Ice Center (USNIC) recently, confirmed that two new icebergs calved from A68a and were large enough to be named and tracked. They are called A68E and A68F. Why did the iceberg calve? As per BAS, the iceberg’s calving is thought to be a natural event and not a result of climate change. However, some models predict that a warming Antarctica in the future could mean more calving events as ice shelves and glaciers retreat. Important Takeaways – In the South Atlantic Ocean, South Georgia is an island that is part of the British Overseas Territory of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (SGSSI). The main settlement is Grytviken. – USNIC is US National Ice Center which is responsible for naming icebergs, which are named according to the Atlantic quadrant in which they are spotted.
SPORTS MS Dhoni named captain of ICC Men’s ODI and T20I Teams of the Decade, Kohli leads Test Team The International Cricket Council (ICC) announced the ICC Teams of the Decade on 27 December 2020, based on the performances, consistency of players over the period of last 10 years.
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Former Indian captain and wicket-keeper batsman Mahendra Singh Dhoni has been named as the captain of the ICC ODI Team of the Decade. He has also been named the skipper of the ICC T20I Team of the Decade. Similarly, ViratKohli has been named the captain of the ICC Test Team of the Decade. Ravi Ashwin is the only other Indian in this list. List of members in the Men’s team 1. ICC Men’s ODI Team of the Decade: Rohit Sharma, David Warner, ViratKohli, AB de Villiers, Shakib Al-Hasan, MS Dhoni (capt, wk), Ben Stokes, Mitchell Starc, Trent Boult, Imran Tahir and LasithMalinga. 2. ICC’s T20I Team of the Decade: Rohit Sharma, Chris Gayle, Aaron Finch, ViratKohli, AB de Villiers, Glenn Maxwell, MS Dhoni (c), Kieron Pollard, Rashid Khan, JaspritBumrah, and LasithMalinga. 3. ICC’s Test Team of the Decade: Alistair Cook, David Warner, Kane Williamson, ViratKohli (c), Steve Smith, Kumar Sangakkara, Ben Stokes, Ravi Ashwin, Dale Steyn, Stuart Broad, James Anderson.
Anshu Malik secures silver at Individual World Cup to win India’s first medal at the event Indian wrestler Anshu Malik has become the first wrestler of the country to finish on the podium position at the Individual Wrestling World Cup in Belgrade, Serbia. The 19-year-old won a silver medal in the women’s 57kg category to claim first international medal of the tournament for the country. She lost to Moldova’s Anastasia Nichita 5-1 in the final.
BWF Bans Russian badminton player Nikita Khakimov for five years over betting, fixing offences The Badminton World Federation (BWF) has imposed a 5-year ban on Russian shuttler Nikita Khakimov for charges of “betting, wagering and irregular match results. The 32-year-old Khakimov was found to breach BWF’s integrity regulations, including approaching a player and offering money to manipulate a match, betting on badminton games and deliberately destroying evidence of a corruption offence to conceal from the BWF. Khakimov was part of the Russian men’s team that won the bronze medal at the 2020 European Team Championships.
FIFA postpones 2021 Under-17 and Under-20 World Cups till 2023 due to coronavirus pandemic The World football governing body FIFA has cancelled Under-17 and Under-20 football World Cups for the year 2021, due to a coronavirus pandemic. These World Cups will now be played in 2023. Indonesia will host the Under-20s World Cup and Peru will host the Under-17s World Cup as scheduled earlier.
BCCI approves 10-team IPL from 2022 The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) held its 89th Annual General Meeting in Ahmedabad. In the meeting it was decided that 10 teams will compete in Indian Premier League (IPL) from 2022 against present 8 teams. The 2021 season of IPL will be played with the regular 8 teams and bids will be invited for the addition of two new teams from the 2022 season. Apart from this, former cricketer Chetan Sharma has been appointed as the new chairman of selectors for national men’s cricket team by the Cricket Advisory Committee headed by MadanLal.
OBITUARY Former WWE Wrestler Jon Huber, best known by his ring name ‘Luke Harper’, passes away at 41 Former professional wrestler Jon Huber, who was popularly known by his ring name ‘Luke Harper’ in the WWE has passed away, due to a non-COVID-19 related lung issue. He was 41. Apart from this, Jon Huber was known by his ring name Brodie Lee in the All Elite Wrestling (AEW).
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Former England Bowler And Cricket Commentator, Robin Jackman, Passes away at 75 The former England cricketer and commentator, Robin Jackman has passed away. He was 75. Jackman was born in Simla, Punjab, of British India in 1945. He had represented England in four Tests and 15 ODIs in his international career between 1974 to 1983, picking 33 wickets His domestic career began in 1966 and was spread across 16 seasons, during which he took 1402 first- class wickets in 399 matches at an average of 22.80 and also scored 5681 runs. Post retirement, he served as a broadcaster and gave voice to South African cricket for many years.
APPS & SERVICES Housing & Urban Affairs Ministry launches ‘E-Sampada’ mobile app and portal for management of all GoI Estate services The Minister of State(I/C) for Housing & Urban Affairs Hardeep S Puri has launched a new web portal and mobile app, ‘e-Sampada’ on 25 December 2020. The website and mobile app has been introduced by the Directorate of Estates, under the MoHUA, to boost transparency and accountability in providing various Estate Services, while ensuring ease of living for the citizens. The ‘e-Sampada’ has been launched by integrating four websites (gpra.nic.in, eawas.nic.in, estates.gov.in, holidayhomes.nic.in), and two Mobile Apps (m-Awas& m-Ashoka5) of the Directorate of Estates, to bring all the services on the same platform throughout the country. The new application will provide a single-window for all the services like allotment, retention, regularisation, no dues certificate etc.
DGT inks pact with MICROSOFT and NASSCOM FOUNDATION for digital skilling of ITI Students through Bharatskills Portal The Directorate General of Training (DGT) under the aegis of Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) has collaborated with Microsoft and NASSCOM Foundation to provide a digital content for ITI students. Around 1,20,000 students in around 3000 ITIs across India would be benefited by this digitized e- learning module. The service will be made available through the Bharatskills portal. It would also include future-ready employability skilling program for upskilling and reskilling. These new learning initiatives will empower young learners with technical and market-oriented skills.
BOOKS & AUTHOR KailashSatyarthi pens new book ‘Covid-19 :SabhyataKaSankatAurSamadhan’ Nobel laureate KailashSatyarthi has come out with his new book titled ‘Covid-19: SabhyatakaSankataurSamadhan’ (Covid-19: Crisis of Civilisation and Solutions). The book was launched by former Chief Justice of India DipakMisra and RajyaSabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh Narayan Singh on 24th December 2020, virtually. The book is written in Hindi and is published by PrabhatPrakashan. ‘Covid-19: SabhyatakaSankataurSamadhan’ discusses how the Covid-19 pandemic has impacted the common way of life including the education system, business, politics, public safety, foreign policy, law, medicine, economy and development of countries. It also suggests solution to deal with the ongoing crisis triggered by the disease.
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