Current Affairs - December 2020

Month Dec 2020 Type All

381 Current Affairs were found in Month - Dec 2020 for Type - All

Appointments 1. Aditya Nath Das has been Appointed as New Chief Secretary of Andhra Pradesh. 2. Rajeev Chaudhary has been appointed as Director General of Border Roads Organisation (BRO). 3. Siddharth Chatterjee of has been appointed as United Nations resident coordinator in China, a role which is representative of United Nations Secretary General for development at country level. 4. Zena Wooldridge (England) has been elected as World Squash Federation President. 5. Amitabh Jain has been Appointed as Chief Secretary of Chhattisgarh. 6. Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) named Vineet Aggarwal (MD of Transport Corporation of India) as its new President. He will replace Co-founder Niranjan Hiranandani. 7. Banks Board Bureau (BBB) recommended S Ramann as chairman of Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) and Shivendra Tomar as MD of IFCI Ltd. 8. Indian-American Vivek Murthy has been appointed as US Surgeon general under New President Joe Biden's administration. Earlier, he had served as US Surgeon general under former President Barack Obama. Also, US President Elect Joe Biden nominated Lloyd J. Austin III as 28th US Secretary of Defense. If confirmed, he would be first African American to lead US Department of Defense. 9. Indian-origin global health expert Anil Soni has been appointed as first Chief Executive Officer of newly launched WHO Foundation, which works alongside the World Health Organization to address most pressing health challenges across world. 10. International Golf Federation (IGF) elected Annika Sorenstam (Sweden) as its new president. 11. Misc. Appointments (December 2020) - Government appointed Varsha Joshi as Chairperson of National Dairy Development Board (NDDB). IOCL Chairman Shrikant Madhav Vaidya has been appointed WLPGA (World Liquified Petroleum Gas Association)'s First Vice-President. Nana Addo Dankwa has been Re elected as president of Ghana for his 2nd term. Indian-American Raja Chari has been selected as Commander of SpaceX Crew-3 mission to International Space Station (ISS) by NASA and European Space Agency. Satyendra Garg has been appointed as Director-General of Andaman and Nicobar Police. NHAI Chairman Sukhbir Singh Sandhu got 2nd Extension of 6 Months for his post. Health Minister Harsh Vardhan has been nominated to Board of GAVI (Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation) Vaccine Alliance. BCCI named Chetan Sharma as chairman of selection committee, while Abey Kuruvilla and Debasish Mohanty named other members in selection panel. Arya Rajendran became Youngest Mayor of any Indian city at age 21, after she was elected mayor of Thiruvananthapuram. 12. Nana Akufo-Addo has been re-appointed as President of Ghana (West Africa), for his 2nd Term. 13. Noted Indian Music composer AR Rahman has been named as ambassador of BAFTA Breakthrough initiative in India. 14. Prasar Bharati CEO Shashi Shekhar has been elected as Vice President of Asia Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU). 15. President appointed New Chief Justices in 4 High Courts - Odisha, Telangana, Madras and J& K. S. Muralidhar - Orissa Hima Kohli - Telangana Sanjib Banerjee - Madras Pankaj Mithal - Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh Earlier, former Chief Justices of These high courts were transferred elsewhere - Raghvendra Singh Chauhan - From Telengana to Uttarakhand Jitendra Kumar Maheshwari- From Andhra Pradesh to Sikkim Arup Kumar Goswami - From Sikkim to Andhra Pradesh Mohammad Rafiq- From Odisha to Madhya Pradesh 16. RBI Appointed 3 New Executive Directors - R. Subramanian, Rohit Jain and Radha Shyam Ratho. As of now, RBI Board has 1 Governor (Shaktikanta Das), 4 Deputy Governors (B.P. Kanungo, M. K. Jain, M. D. Patra and M. Rajeshwar Rao) and 13 Executive Directors. 17. Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, has been re-appointed as Prime Minister of Kuwait. 18. Themba N. Masuku has been appointed as Acting Prime Minister of Eswatini (Southern Africa), after demise of earlier serving PM Ambrose Mandvulo Dlamini. 19. Uday Shankar has been named President of FICCI (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry) for 2020-21. He is Outgoing President of Walt Disney Company for Asia Pacific and the Chairman of Star and Disney India. 20. Utpal Kumar Singh is appointed as as Secretary-General of Lok Sabha and Lok Sabha Secretariat. 21. Wushu coach and Dronacharya Awardee Kuldeep Handoo is appointed as Ambassador of Govt's Fit India movement. Top

Awards 1. 6 grassroots environmental activists have been named winners of Goldman Environmental Prize 2020, Dubbed Green Nobel Prize. This award is given annually to environmental heroes from each of the world’s six geographic regions - Africa, Asia, Europe, Islands and Island Nations, North America, and South and Central America. Chibeze Ezekiel (Ghana) Kristal Ambrose (The Bahamas) Leydy Pech (Mexico) Lucie Pinson (France) Nemonte Nenquimo (Ecuador) Paul Sein Twa (Myanmar) 2. ATP Awards 2020 - Player of the Year - Novak Djokovic (Serbia) (6th title) Doubles Team of the Year - Mate Pavić (Croatia), Bruno Soares (Brazil) Coach of the Year - Fernando Vicente (Spain) (Coached Andrey Rublev (Russia)) Tim Gullikson Career Coach Award - Bob Brett (Australia) Most Improved Player - Andrey Rublev (Russia) Newcomer of the Year - Carlos Alcaraz (Spain) Comeback Player of the Year - Vasek Pospisil (Canada) Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award - Rafael Nadal (Spain) 3. Ramanujan Prize for Young Mathematicians 2020 has been awarded to Carolina Araujo, Mathematician from Institute for Pure and Applied Mathematics (IMPA), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), for her outstanding work in algebraic geometry. This Prize is awarded annually since 2005, to a researcher (Under 45 years) from a developing country. It is funded by India's Department of Science and Technology, in collaboration with ICTP (International Centre for Theoretical Physics) and International Mathematical Union. Carolina Araujo is first non-Indian to receive this prize. Prize is in memory of Srinivasa Ramanujan, a self-taught Indian mathematical genius who made spectacular contributions to elliptic functions, continued fractions, infinite series, and analytical theory of numbers. 4. Ashraf Patel, founder and Board member of Pravah and ComMutiny - The Youth Collective (CYC), has been named winner of Social Entrepreneur of the Year (SEOY) Award - India 2020. It is 11th edition of this annual award, instituted by the Schwab Foundation and Jubilant Bhartia Foundation in 2010. 5. British Indian author Anita Anand's book Patient Assassin: A True Tale of Massacre, Revenge and the Raj won PEN Hessell- Tiltman Prize for History 2020. The Book tells story of a young man caught up in 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre in Amritsar. 6. Communications and IT Minister Ravi ShankarPrasad conferred Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Telecom Skill Excellence Awards, including cash award of 50000 and 30000 respectively to both awardees. Sreenivas Karanam (Bangalore) won FIRST prize, for developing cost-effective solution under brand ‘C mobile’, for deep sea communication, operating along Kerala coast, facilitating communication among fishermen. Subrat Kar () won SECOND prize, for his innovative solution on development & deployment of a large scale sensor network and devices to avoid train-animal collision. 7. Globe Soccer Awards 2020 (also known as Dubai d'Ors) - Player of the Century 2001–2020 - Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) Player of the Year - Robert Lewandowski (Poland) Club of the Century 2001–2020 - Real Madrid (Spain) Club of the Year - Bayern Munich (Germany) 8. ICC Announced T20I, ODI and Test Teams of Decade - ODI - It includes India's Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni (Captain). T20I - It includes India's Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni (Captain) and Jasprit Bumrah. Test - It includes India's Virat Kohli (Captain), R Ashwin. Women's ODI Team has India's Mithali Raj and Jhulan Goswami. Awards - Men's Player of the Decade (Garfield Sobers Trophy) - Virat Kohli (India). Also named Men’s ODI Cricketer of the Decade. Women's Player of the Decade (Rachael Heyhoe-Flint Award) - Elysse Parry (Australia). Also named Women’s ODI Cricketer of the Decade and Women’s T20I Cricketer of the Decade. Test Player of the Decade - Steve Smith (Australia). Men’s T20I Cricketer of the Decade - Rashid Khan (Afghanistan) Men’s Associate Cricketer of the Decade - Kyle Coetzer (Scotland) Women’s Associate Cricketer of the Decade - Kathryn Bryce (Scotland) ICC Spirit of Cricket Award of the Decade - M S Dhoni (India) 9. Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) won International King Bhumibol World Soil Day Award for 2020, presented by Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). It was announced on World Soil Day (Dec 5). 10. Indian Cricketer Ajinkya Rahane became first recipient of The Mullagh Medal, given by Cricket Australia to player of the match in Boxing Day Test match held annually at Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne (Australia). It is named in honour of Australian cricketer Johnny Mullagh. 11. Indian Teacher Ranjitsinh Disale, from Solapur (Maharashtra) won US $1 million Global Teacher Prize 2020, founded by Varkey Foundation in partnership with UNESCO. It is being conferred since 2015. He has been recognized for his efforts at promoting girls' education and triggering a quick-response coded textbook revolution in India. He is First Indian recepient of this prize. He intends to share half of prize money with remaining nine teachers from Global Teacher Prize 2020 finalists. 12. Industrial Awards (December 2020) - Adar Poonawalla, CEO of vaccine manufacturer Serum Institute of India, is among six people named Asians of the Year by Singapore's leading daily The Straits Times. Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) has been awarded with Golden Peacock Environment Management Award for 2020 in Steel Sector, by Institute of Directors. This is 2nd successive year of SAIL Receiving this award. Postal Department conferred Meghdoot awards to its employees, which are given every year for excellence in postal service. NTPC has been conferred Excellence in noted CII-ITC Sustainability Awards 2020, in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Domain. 13. Journalist-author Raj Kamal Jha has been honoured with Rabindranath Tagore Literary Prize 2020 for his novel The City and The Sea. It is based on is based on December 2012 Nirbhaya rape and murder case. Given by US-based non-profit publishing house Maitreya Publishing Foundation (MPF) since 2018, This Literary award carries cash prize of $5000 (decreased from $10000 earlier). It Honors works of indian authors, which is originally written in any of Indian official languages and dialects, but translated to English. 14. Mumbai Based Harmony Foundation announced Mother Teresa Memorial Awards for Social Justice 2020, with theme Celebrating Compassion In Times of Covid. Anthony Fauci (USA) - Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Father Fabio Stevenazzi (Milan, Italy) - Decided to return to medical practice in order to help those infected with COVID 19. Sanjay Pandey (DG Home Guards, Maharashtra) - Went beyond call of duty to open first relief camp in the Mumbai city suburbs for migrant workers. Pradeep Kumar (Chennai) Vikas Khanna (Manhattan, USA) KK Shailaja (Minister of Health, Kerala 15. Narendra Dabholkar Memorial Award 2020 has been conferred upon Dravidar Kazhagam president K. Veeramani, instituted in memory of Maharashtra-based rationalist Dabholkar. It includes cash 1 lakh as prize. 16. Noted industrialist Ratan Tata has been honoured with Global Visionary of Sustainable Business and Peace award by Indo- Israel Chambers of Commerce, for promoting innovation that supports sustainability and peace in region. Also, PM Narendra Modi presented ASSOCHAM Enterprise of Century Award to Ratan Tata, on behalf of the Tata Group, during ASSOCHAM Foundation Week 2020. 17. Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban Awards 2019 - Best Performing States - Uttar Pradesh (1), Madhya Pradesh (2), Andhra Pradesh (3) Best Performing Municipal Corporation - Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh), Chhindwara (Madhya Pradesh), Salem (Tamil Nadu) Best Performing Municipal Council - Mirzapur (Uttar Pradesh) Best Performing Nagar Panchayat - Malihabad (Uttar Pradesh) 18. President Ram Nath Kovind confered Digital India Awards 2020 - These awards have been held for 5 seasons earlier (2009, 2012, 2014, 2016 & 2018), initially known as Web Ratna Awards until 2014 and re-named Digital India Awards from 2016. 6th Digital India Awards 2020 announced under six categories - Innovation in Pandemic - Platinum - eSanjeevani - National Telemedicine Services Gold - COVID-19 Sample Collection Management System Silver - Aapda Sampoorti Portal (iBhar) Silver - Pravasi Shramik and Rojgar Setu Portal (MP) Excellence in Digital Governance - MINISTRY/DEPARTMENT (CENTRAL) - Platinum - eCommittee Supreme Court of India Gold - Department of Posts STATE / UT - Platinum - Haryana Gold - Tamil Nadu DISTRICT - Platinum - Khargone (Madhya Pradesh) Gold - Changlang (Arunachal Pradesh) Open Data Champion - Platinum - Department of Health and Family Welfare Gold - Research Data Management in ICAR Exemplary Product Platinum - Port Community System PCS1x - National Maritime Single Window Gold - ServicePlus In addition, Jury Choice Award was conferred to honour excellence in design and implementation of National Public Digital Platform. AarogyaSetu, eOffice 19. Railway Board Chairman & CEO V.K. Yadav has been conferred with Eminent Engineer Award for the Year 2020 by Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET). Every year, Institution of Engineering and Technology, Delhi Local Network celebrates Engineers’ Day on 15th September to commemorate birth anniversary of M Visvesvaraya. On this occasion, It presents Eminent Engineer’s Award. Institution of Electrical Engineers (IEE) was a British professional organisation of engineers (especially electrical). It began in 1871 as Society of Telegraph Engineers. In 2006, IEE ceased to exist independently, becoming part of Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) with worldwide membership of over 168000, in 150 Nations. 20. Scientist Hemant Kumar Pandey has been awarded DRDO's Scientist of the Year Award, for his contribution in developing several herbal medicines, including popular drug Lukoskin. He has been undertaking research at DRDO lab and Defence Institute of Bio-Energy Research (DIBER) at Pithoragarh in Uttarakhand. Lukoskin is a formulation of around eight herbs found in the Himalayan region, which helps in treating of white patches. 21. Seven-time Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton (UK) has been named BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2020. Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson came second, while Sky Sports Racing ambassador Hollie Doyle came third. Lewis Hamilton was also awarded knighthood in United Kingdom New Year Honours list. 22. Tansen Music Festival held in Gwalior (Madhya Pradesh), with noted santoor player Pt Satish Vyas conferred upon prestigious Tansen Samman. Also, Bhopal-based institution Abhinav Kala Parishad was honoured with Raja Mansingh Tomar award. 23. The Best FIFA Football Awards 2020 - The Best FIFA Men's Player - Robert Lewandowski (Poland) The Best FIFA Men's Goalkeeper - Manuel Neuer (Germany) The Best FIFA Women's Player - Lucy Bronze (England) The Best FIFA Women's Goalkeeper - Sarah Bouhaddi (France) 24. UNESCO will launch an international prize in creative economy domain, in name of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. 2021 has been declared as ‘International Year of Creative Economy for Sustainable Development’ by UNESCO. 25. US President elect Joe Biden and Vice president-elect Kamala Harris have been named as 2020 person of the year by Times magazine. 26. USA conferred The Legion of Merit decoration to Indian PM Narendra Modi, in recognition of his role in India's emergence as a global power, and his contribution for advancement of India-US relations. 27. United Nations (UNCTAD) announced Invest India (National Investment Promotion Agency of India), as a winner of 2020 United Nations Investment Promotion Award. It recognizes outstanding achievements and best practices ofInvestment Promotion Agencies (IPAs) across globe. 28. United Nations Environment Programme named seven Environmentalists its Young Champions of Earth 2020. Nzambi Matee (Kenya) - For producing low-cost construction materials from recycled plastic waste and sand. Xiaoyuan Ren (China) - For developing application to educate communities in rural areas about sources of clean water. Vidyut Mohan (India) - He is co-founder of Takachar, and built affordable and portable biomass upgrading equipment. Lefteris Arapakis (Greece) - He founded Enaleia, that trains local fishing community to collect plastic from sea. Niria Alicia Garcia (USA) - For bringing life to historical journey of Sacramento chinook salmon along largest water shed of California. Fatehmah Alzelzela (Kuwait) - Established Eco Star, which exchanges trees and plants for wastes from schools, homes and businesses. Max Hidalgo Quinto (Peru) - He founded Yawa, which built portable wind turbines that can harvest 300 litres of water per day from atmospheric humidity and mist. 29. Winners of Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay New India Foundation Book Prize 2020 for best non-fiction book on contemporary/ modern India have been announced, given jointly to - Amit Ahuja (Mobilizing the Marginalized: Ethnic Parties without Ethnic Movements) AND Former Union minister Jairam Ramesh (A Chequered Brilliance: The Many Lives of VK Krishna Menon) 30. Winners of Prize 2020 announced by Infosys Science Foundation (ISF) - Engineering & Computer Sciences - Hari Balakrishnan, for his contribution to mobile telematics. Humanities - Historian Prachi Deshpande, well-known for her sophisticated treatment of South Asian historiography. Life Sciences - Rajan Sankaranarayanan, for his contribution in understanding a fundamental mechanism in biology - error-free translation of the genetic code that makes proteins. Mathematical Sciences - Sourav Chatterjee, for his work in probability and statistical physics. Physical Sciences - Arindam Ghosh, for his contribution in field of two-dimensional materials for next-generation electronics. Social Science - Raj Chetty. Infosys Prize is an annual award given by the Infosys Science Foundation, being conferred since 2008. Prize includes prize money of $100,000 (around 70 lakh Indian Rupees) and prize purse is given tax free. Top

Books 1. Book In Pursuit Of Justice: An Autobiography, written by Late Justice Rajindar Sachar has been released. 2. Amish Tripathi's 2nd Non-fiction Book Dharma: Decoding the Epics for a Meaningful Life has been released, Co-authored by Bhavna Roy. 3. Asian Development Bank (ADB) released book Future of Regional Cooperation in Asia and the Pacific. 4. Book Indian Icon: A Cult Called Royal Enfield Authored By Journalist Amrit Raj has been released. 5. Book Ayodhya written by Madhav Bhandari has been released. 6. Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank presented first copy of his inspirational book Pioneer of Humanity: Maharishi Arvind (Manavta ke Praneta), to President Ram Nath Kovind. 7. External Affairs Minister S Jai Shankar released Reporting India book, written by Asian News International (ANI) Chairman Prem Prakash. 8. Former Union Minister Jairam Ramesh's New book The Light of Asia: The Poem that Defined the Buddha, will be released in 2021. 9. Italian Writer Alfredo Covelli Launched his First Kids Book Vahana Masterclass in India. 10. Konkani book Sutranivednachi sutra- ek anbav by Roopa Chari has been released. 11. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla released book on occasion of 19th anniversary of attack on Indian Parliament (Dec 13), titled The Shaurya Unbound (Samundar Samawe Boond Mein). CRPF' DIGs Neetu and BM Dinakaran are authors of book. 12. New Book Romancing Targets: Get Closer to Selling in 7 Steps, Authored by Nidhi Vadhera has been releaed. 13. Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi’s new book Covid-19: Sabhyata ka Sankat Aur Samadhan has been releaded. 14. Telugu Book on former PM P V Narasimha Rao, titled Viplava Tapasvi: PV, and written by A Krishna Rao, has been released. 15. Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu released book 40 Years with Abdul Kalam- Untold Stories, authored by A.Sivathanu Pillai. 16. Vice president Venkaiah Naidu released book Oh Mizoram written by Mizoram Governor P S Sreedharan Pillai. Top

Committees 1. Education Ministry has set up a task force for preparing roadmap on imparting technical education in Mother Tongue, under chairmanship of Secretary of Higher Education (Amit Khare Currently). 2. Government constituted a High Level Committee to commemorate 125th Birth Anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, which falls on Jan 23, 2021. Committee will decide on activities for 1 year long commemoration starting 23rd January, 2021. It will be headed by Home Minister Amit Shah. 3. Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) constituted high-level inter-ministerial Committee for Implementation of Paris Agreement (AIPA) under chairmanship of Secretary in MoEFCC (C.K. Mishra Currently). It aims to generate coordinated response on climate change matters that ensures India is on track towards meeting its obligations under Paris Agreement including its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC). Top

Days 1. 1st International Day of Epidemic Preparedness observed by United Nations on December 27, 2020. 2. Dec 06 is Mahaparinirvan Diwas (Death anniversary) of Babasaheb Ambedkar, Chairman of the Constitution Drafting Committee. He was also 1st Minister of Law and Justice. 3. Dec 09 is observed as International Anti-Corruption Day, marked by United Nations in 2003. 2020 Theme is Recover with integrity. Ending corruption is important to achieve Sustainable Development Goals 16 and 17. Dec 09 is also marked as Day of Commemoration and Dignity of Victims of Crime of Genocide and of Prevention of this Crime. 4. Dec 1 - Statehood day of Nagaland, formed on Dec 1, 1963. Hornbill Festival, called the ‘Festivals of Festivals’, is a 10-day annual cultural fest of Nagaland that showcases diverse Naga ethnicity. It begins Dec 1 each year, on Nagaland's Statehood day. Dec 1 is also formation day of Border Security Force (BSF), border defence organisation of India. It is one of the seven Central Armed Police Forces of India, and was formed on 1 December 1965. Dec 1 is also obbserved as ‘Indigenous Faith Day’ in Arunachal Pradesh. Dec 1 is observed as World AIDS Day, to raise public awareness about Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), caused due to infection of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). 5. Dec 10 is observed as International Human Rights Day. 2020 theme is Recover Better - Stand Up for Human Rights. On this day in 1948, Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was proclaimed by UN. Later in December 1993, UNGA announced to celebrate Human Rights Day annually. Also, Dec 10 is marked as Swahid Diwas in Assam, commemorating martyrs of Assam Movement, which was an uprising in Assam during 1979-1985, demanding Government to detect and deport outsiders from state. 6. Dec 11 is observed as UN International Mountain Day, being observed since 2003. 2020 Theme is Mountain biodiversity. Dec 11 is also formation day of United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), established on this day in 1946. Dec 11 is also birth anniversary of 13th Indian President Pranab Mukherjee. 7. Dec 12 is observed as UN Universal Health Coverage Day, designated by UN in 2017. 2020 theme is Health for All: Protect Everyone. The day marks anniversary of UN’ unanimous endorsement of universal health coverage (UHC) and providing affordable, quality health care in 2012. On 12 December 2017, UN proclaimed 12 December as International Universal Health Coverage Day (UHC Day). Dec 12 is also observed as UN International Day of Neutrality, proclaimed by UN in 2017. The resolution was put up by Turkmenistan. 8. Dec 14 is observed as National Energy Conservation Day in India, observed by Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) under Ministry of Power, since 1991. BEE also observed National Energy Conservation Week from 9-14 December. 9. Dec 15 is observed as International Tea Day, observed in tea producing countries like India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Vietnam, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Kenya, Malawi, Malaysia, Uganda and Tanzania. Update - In October 2015, India moved a proposal at UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), on expanding observance of International Tea Day through UN FAO. Thereby, UNGA accepted India’s proposal and designated May 21 as International Tea Day. 10. Dec 16 is observed as Vijay Diwas, commemorating Indian victory over Pakistan in war of 1971. India fought against Pakistan helping Bangladesh obtain its freedom and won the war. It also resulted in largest Military Surrender after World War – II, when 93000 Pakistani Soldiers surrendered. On the same day, Bangladesh celebrates its independence. 2021 marks 49th anniversary of Indo-Pak War of 1971, also called Swarnim Vijay Varsh. PM Narendra Modi lighten up Swarnim Vijay Mashaal on this occasion. 11. Dec 19 is Goa Liberation Day, which was liberated on December 19 in 1961, after around 450 years of Portuguese rule, under operation Vijay. 12. Dec 2 is observed as International Day for the Abolition of Slavery, being observed since 1986. Dec 2 is also observed as National Pollution Control Day in India, to commemorate people who lost their lives in unfortunate incident of Bhopal Gas Tragedy that occurred on this day in 1984. Dec 2 is also observed as World Computer Literacy Day, launched by Indian IT Firm NIIT in 2001. 13. Dec 20 is observed as International Human Solidarity Day, proclaimed by UN in 2005. 14. Dec 22 is observed as National Mathematics Day in India, to commemorate birth anniversary of Legendary Mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan. He contributed greatly to mathematics and is also known for Hardy-Ramanujan number- ‘1729’, which is smallest number which can be represented as sum of two different cubes in two different ways. 15. Dec 23 is observed as National Farmers Day in India, to commemorate birth anniversary of 5th Prime Minister of India, Choudhary Charan Singh. He was a farmer’s leader and he introduced many policies to improve lives of farmers. The day is observed since 2001. 16. Dec 24 is observed as National Consumer Day in India. 2019 Theme is - New Features of Consumer Protection Act 2019. It was on this day, the Consumer Protection Act 1986 and was enacted. 17. Dec 25 - Birth Anniversary of Former PM and Bharat Ratna Atal Bihari Vajpayee. It is observed as Good Governance Day in India, since 2014. On this occasion, Railways PSU Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL) commissioned Marathwada Rail Coach Factory in Latur (Maharashtra), aimed at contributing in development of this aspirational region of Maharashtra. It has initial capacity of manufacturing 250 MEMU / EMU / LHB / trainset type advanced coaches per annum. Dec 25 is also Birth anniversary of Mahamana Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya, the noted educationist and independence activist. 18. Dec 3 is observed as International Day of Persons with Disabilities, being observed by UN since 1992. 2020 Theme is Building back better: towards an inclusive, accessible and sustainable post COVID-19 world by, for and with persons with disabilities. Dec 3 is also Birth anniversary of Dr. Rajendra Prasad, first President of India. 19. Dec 4 is observed as Indian Navy Day, being observed in commemoration of Operation Trident which celebrates bravery of Indian Navy that forced Pakistan to admit defeat during Indo-Pak war of 1971. Pakistani army attacked India on December 03, 1971. India launched 'Operation Trident' in retaliation as the result 1971 war began. India targeted Pakistani Navy headquarters in Karachi with a tremendous attack, resulting port of Karachi being completely destroyed. On this occasion, Indian Navy held Passage Exercise (PASSEX) with Russian Navy in Eastern Indian Ocean Region (IOR). Indian Navy was established in 1612, when East India Company formed an army in form of the East India Company's Marine to protect its ships. It was renamed Bombay Marine in 1686. Later in 1892, it was renamed as Royal Indian Marin. Dec 04 is also Birth anniversary of Former (8th) President of India, R. Venkataraman. Dec 04 is also Birth anniversary of Former (12th) PM of India, Inder Kumar Gujral. Vice President Venkaiah Naidu released commemorative postage stamp in honour of I K Gujral on this occasion. 20. Dec 4, 2020 is observed as First Ever International Day of Banks, which was proclaimed by UN in 2019. 21. Dec 5 is observed as UN International Volunteer Day, to show gratitude towards people who help others without monetary benefits. 2020 theme is Together We Can Through Volunteering. It was proclaimed by United Nations in 1985. Dec 5 is also observed as World Soil Day, proclaimed by Food and Agriculture Organization of UN in 2013. Dec 5 is also observed as Honey Bee Day in Nagaland, observed since 2018. 22. Dec 7 is observed as Armed Forces Flag Day, being observed annually since 1949. This day marks responsibility of every citizen to take care of families and dependents of armed forces personnel. 23. Dec 7 is observed as International Civil Aviation Day, ezstablished in 1994 and officially recognised by UN in 1996. On this day in 1944, participants from 54 nations gathered in Chicago (US), had signed Convention on International Civil Aviation, known as ‘Chicago Convention’. 24. Dec 8 is observed as SAARC Charter Day, commemorating establishment of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) by Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka at First Summit meeting in Dhaka (Bangladessh). Afghanistan later joined as 8th SAARC member in 2007. Dec 8 is also observed by Indian Army as 260th Corps Day of the Army Service Corps. Indian Army Service Corps handles Army's logistic support function, set up on Dec 08, 1760. Dec 8 is also observed by Indian Navy as Submarine Day. 25. December 18 is observed as International Migrants Day, marked by UN in December. 2020 theme of Reimagining Human Mobility. Day marks adoption of International Convention on Protection of Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, adopted by UN on 18 December, 1990. Dec 18 is also observed as Minorities Rights Day in India. Dec 18 is also observed as UN Arabic Language Day. Top Defence 1. Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) headed by Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh approved Capital Acquisition proposals worth approx 28000 crores, by Army, Navy and Air Force. Approx 27000 Crores worth of proposals are to be sourced from Indian industry, to boost Make in India initiative. Acquisitions approved DRDO designed and developed Airborne Early Warning & Control (AEW&C) Systems for Air Force, Next Generation Offshore Patrol Vessels for Navy and Modular Bridges forArmy. 2. 1st Maritime Theatre Command (MTC) of India is to be launched in 2021, to look after 7516 km long coastline over entire Indian Ocean Region and 1382 islands. MTC will subsume Western Naval Command (Mumbai), tri-service Andaman and Nicobar Command (Port Blair), Eastern Naval Command (Vizag) and southern Air Command (Thiruvananthapuram). 3. 35th India-Indonesia Coordinated Patrol (CORPAT) between Indian and Indonesian Navy has been conducted. 4. DRDO launched a new laboratory Defence Geo Informatics Research Establishment, merging 2 existing labs - Manali-based Snow and Avalanche Studies Establishment (SASE) and Delhi-based Defence Terrain Research Establishment. New lab will focus on researching terrain and avalanches along the borders with China and Pakistan. 5. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh handed over 3 DRDO systems to Armed Forces - Indian maritime situational awareness system (IMSAS) handed over to Navy, which will provide global maritime situational picture, marine planning tools and analytical capabilities. Astra Mk-1 missile system handed over to Air Force, as first indigenously developed beyond visual range (BVR) missile that can be launched from Sukhoi-30 and other fighter aircraft. BOSS (Border Surveillance System) handed over to Army. 6. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh visited inaugurated advanced Hypersonic Wind Tunnel (HWT) test facility at DRO Hyderabad lab. This pressure vacuum driven enclosed free jet facility will simulate Mach No 5 to 12 (Mach represents speed of sound). After USA and Russia, India is the third country to have such a large facility in terms of size and operating capability. 7. Defence Ministry approved creation of a new post in Army, Titled Deputy Chief for Military Operations and Strategic Planning, as 3rd post of deputy chief in Army. It will deal with strategic planning, military operations, intelligence and operational logistics. Paramjit Singh is to be appointed first Deputy Chief of Army of Staff (Strategy). Another new post, Director General of Information Warfare, is also being created. 8. Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) achieved maiden launch of Army Version of Medium Range Surface to Air Missile (MRSAM), from Chandipur (Odisha). Army version of MRSAM is a surface to Air Missile developed jointly by DRDO and IAI Israel. 9. First of Indian Navy's three Project 17A ships being built at Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Limited Kolkata (GRSE), named Himgiri, has been launched. Nilgiri-class frigate or Project 17A is a follow-on of Project 17 Shivalik-class frigate for Indian Navy. 7 ships will be built at Mazagon Dock and GRSE. Project is expected to cost over 45000 crores. INS Himgiri is 2nd ship under Project 17A, and first to be built by GRSE. First ship under Project 17A is INS Nilgiri, Built by Mazagon Dock Limited. 10. Indian Coast Guard Offshore Patrol vessel Sujeet has been commissioned into service, second in series of five Offshore Patrol Vessel built by Goa Shipyard. Also, ICGS Saksham, 5th and last of five Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPV) for Indian Coast Guard (ICG), has been launched. It has been built by Goa Shipyard Limited. Also, Indigenously-built Coast Guard interceptor boat C-454 has been commissioned, built by Larsen and Toubro. Background - PM Narendra Modi inaugurated GSL’s indigenous shipbuilding project in November 2016. Since then - 2 Ships have been commissioned - ICGS Sachet and ICGS Sujeet. All 5 Ships have been launched - ICGS Sachet, ICGS Sujeet, ICGS Sajag, ICGS Sarthak, ICGS Saksham. 11. Indian and Vietnam Navies concluded two-day passage exercise in South China Sea, to boost maritime cooperation. Indian Navy also recently held similar Passage Exercise (PASSEX) with Russian Navy in Eastern Indian Ocean Region (IOR). 12. Misc. Defence News (December 2020) - Indian Navy test-fired anti-ship version of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile. BrahMos is world’s fastest cruise missile in operation. After India signed MTCR (Missile Technology Control Regime), Russia is planning to develop new generation BrahMos with India with range over 800 kilometres. DRDO's Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) technology has been tested sucessfully, with communication trials between two DRDO labs - DRDL and RCI. QKD, developed by CAIR Bengaluru and DYSL-QT Mumbai, aims at establishing secure communication between DRDO Labs. Indian Navy finalised procurement of SMASH 2000 Israeli fire control systems, capable of bringing down high-speed enemy drones. Joint Air force exercise of Pakistan and China, named Shaheen, has been held. Russia successfully test launched its heavy lift space rocket Angara A5, 6 years after first test-launch in 2014. It is capable of carrying payloads bigger than 20 tonnes into orbit. DRDO and Indian Navy conducted successful maiden test trial of ‘SAHAYAK-NG’, India’s first indigenously designed and developed Air Dropped Container. 13. Myanmar Navy inducted submarine INS Sindhuvir, which was handed over by India, as first submarine in Myanmar Navy. It was built by Hindustan Shipyard Limited. 14. To tighten security of communications network, Cabinet Committee on Security announced National Security Directive on Telecommunication Sector, which will mandate service providers to purchase equipment from trusted sources. Top

Economy 1. India signed $400 million Loan agreement with World Bank, to support India’s efforts at providing social assistance to the poor and vulnerable households, severely impacted by COVID-19 pandemic. This is second operation in a programmatic series of two. The first operation of $750 million was approved in May 2020. 2. ICICI Bank launched online platform for foreign companies looking to establish or expand business in India called Infinite India, offering banking solutions and value-added services. 3. All 28 States and 3 UTs with legislature have decided to go for Option-1 to meet revenue shortfall arising out of GST implementation. Jharkhand became last state to communicate its acceptance of Option-1. Under Option-1, besides getting facility a special window for borrowings to meet shortfall arising out of GST implementation, States are also entitled to get unconditional permission to borrow final instalment of 0.50% of Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) out of 2% additional borrowings permitted by Government, under Atma Nirbhar Abhiyaan. This is over and above Special Window of 1.1 lakh crores. 4. As per RBI Trend and Progress report 2020 - Commercial banks' gross non-performing assets ratio declined from 9.1% in March 2019 to 7.5% in September 2020. Capital to risk weighted assets ratio of commercial banks strengthened from 14.3% in March 2019 to 15.8% in September 2020. 5. Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved $430 million multitranche financing facility (MFF) for Uttar Pradesh Power Distribution Network Rehabilitation Project, aimed at improving quality of electricity supply in Uttar Pradesh. Project will finance conversion of 65000 kilometers of rural low-voltage distribution lines from bare conductors to aerial bundle conductors to benefit 7 crore rural population. It will also finance construction of a parallel network of 11-kilovolt feeders with length 17000 km, to separate distribution of electricity between residential and agriculture consumers. 6. Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved $231 million loan to construct Lower Kopili Hydroelectric Power (LKHEP) plant in Assam. This is third and largest tranche of $300 million Assam Power Sector Investment Program approved by ADB in 2014. 7. Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved $300 million loan to strengthen and improve access to comprehensive primary health care in urban areas in India. $2mn Additional Grant has been approved for its Implementation. 8. Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved $300 million loan to upgrade rural power distribution networks to provide reliable electricity supply to consumers in Uttar Pradesh. This is tranche 1 loan for Uttar Pradesh Power Distribution Network Rehabilitation Project, which was approved recently by ADB fpor total $430 Million. 9. Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved $4.21 million project readiness financing (PRF) facility for preparation of infrastructure development projects, to improve urban amenities and develop tourism infrastructure in Tripura. This is ADB’s first PRF facility for a state in the northeastern India. Note that many sites have reported ADB approving 2100 Crores loan to tripura. The news is not correct. ADB is likely to approve such bigger amount later in future after PRF loan of $4.21 Million succeeds in its objectives, under Tripura Urban and Tourism Development Project. 10. Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved USD 2.5 million technical assistance to support advanced biofuel development in India, to be funded from Asia Clean Energy Fund, financed by Japan and South Korea. 11. Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved USD 190 million loan for upgradation of power distribution system in Karnataka capital Bengaluru. It includes USD 100 million sovereign loan and USD 90 million without sovereign guarantee loan to Bangalore Electricity Supply Company Limited (BESCOM). 12. Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved a $500 million loan to construct new metro rail lines in Bengaluru (Karnataka). 13. Asian Development Bank (ADB) signed $40 million loan to Northern Arc Capital Limited (NACL), to support livelihoods of microfinance borrowers and micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in India. 14. Axis Bank in partnership with Rupifi and Visa launched Rupifi Business Credit Card, for MSMEs (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises). 15. Bank of Baroda (BoB) launched Atmanirbhar Women Scheme as part of its Baroda Gold Loan, to target self-reliant female customers by offering loans at 0.50 % concession. 16. Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) launched an electronic spot platform BSE E-Agricultural Markets Limited (BEAM), for agricultural commodities through its subsidiary BSE Investments Limited. 17. Canara Bank launched FX 4 U, enabling its internet banking users to handle forex transactions hasslefree. Once letter of credit (LC) module is activated, corporate customers can make and submit LC applications with documents through internet banking. 18. Central Bank of India launched unique variant of a contactless debit card under name RuPay Select, in association with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). NPCI also recently rolled out RuPay Contactless (Offline) feature, as a reloadable wallet feature where the customers can store money to ensure quick and seamless transactions. 19. Competition Commission of India Approvals (December 2020) - Approved amalgamation of Srikalahasthi Pipes into Electrosteel Castings Limited. Approved acquisition of Rivigo Services Private Limited by Mauritius based Spring Canter Investment Ltd. Approved acquisition by TPG Growth VSF Markets of 8% of equity shareholding of API Holdings. Approved acquisition by Jamnalal Sons of 51% of equity share capital of Mukand Sumi Special Steel. 20. Finance Ministry asked Businesses with monthly turnover of over 50 lakh to mandatorily pay at least 1 % of their GST liability in cash, to curb evasion by fake invoicing. 21. Government made it mandatory to mention 8-digit HSN or tariff code for 49 chemical based products while issuing Goods and Services Tax (GST) invoice, aimed at curbing tax evasion. Currently, businesses mention up to 4-digit tariff code while issuing invoices. In trade parlance, every product is categorised under an HSN (Harmonised System of Nomenclature) Code. It helps in systematic classification of goods across globe. 22. Government will form Central Investment Clearance Cell by April 2021, as an integral part of single window system. It will ensure that an investor gets all required information and clearances under one platform. 23. Gross GST revenue collected in November 2020 stayed 1.05 Lakh crores (CGST - 19189 crores, SGST 25540 crores, IGST 51992 crores, Cess 8242 crores). 24. Gujarat Based International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) obtained membership of International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS). Established in 1994, Switzerland based IAIS is a voluntary membership organization of insurance supervisors and regulators. It is international standard-setting body responsible for developing and assisting in implementation of principles and standards for supervision of insurance sector. 25. HDFC Bank is named at top among 100 Banking, Financial Services and Insurance (BFSI) companies in India, as per BFSI Movers and Shakers 2020 report by Wizikey. ICICI Bank and State Bank of India (SBI) are ranked second and third respectively. 26. IRDAI issued draft guidelines on standard personal accident insurance policies, to be offered by all insurers from April 2021. It will have sum insured in range 2.5 lakh to 1 crore. 100% of sum insured would be paid in case of death or permanent total disablement. For partial disablement, payout percentage will vary according to type of disablement. 27. India signed $500 million loan agreement with World Bank, to build safe and green national highway corridors in Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh. 28. India signed loan agreement of $1,000 million with New Development Bank (NDB), for supporting India’s economic recovery from COVID-19’ by supporting expenditures on rural infrastructure related to natural resource management (NRM) and rural employment generation under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS). 29. Indian GDP Growth Forecasts (December 2020) - FY 21 (2020-21) Contractions in Indian GDP expected by Various agencies - Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) - 9.9% RBI Monetary Policy - 7.5 % Asian Development Bank's Asian Development Outlook - 8% Japanese Firm Nomura - 7.1 % It also projects that India will be be fastest-growing Asian economy in FY 22 (2021-22), with GDP growth of 9.9% S&P Global Ratings - 7.7 %. It is expected to rebound to 10 % in next fiscal FY 22 (2021-22) CRISIL - 7.7%. For FY 2021-22 (FY22), CRISIL expects growth to bounce back to 10% State Bank of India Ecowrap Report - 7.4 % FY 2022 (2021-22) growth to 11 % National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) - 7.3 % ICRA Ratings - 7.8 % 30. Indian government lost taxation case against Cairn Energy Plc, with Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague ruling in favour of Cairn Energy. Court stated that Indian government failed to uphold its obligations under India-UK bilateral investment treaty and international laws, in seeking tax payments worth 10250 crores from company for its business reorganisation. Arbitration tribunal awarded Cairn damages worth $1.2 billion plus interest and costs. Earlier, India had lost similar taxation case against Vodafone Group. 31. Jharkhand Govt approved loan waiver up to 50000 for 9.07 lakh farmers, marking 2000 crores for the same. Jharkhand Cabinet also approved the replacement of Pradhan Mantri Kisan Bima Yojana with its own Fasal Rahat Yojana, with 100 crores budget. 32. Market regulator SEBI has set up a specialised department to tackle cases of diversion of funds, bank loans and resources by company promoters. New department will be known as the Corporation Finance Investigation Department (CFID). 33. Ministry of Commerce and Industry and Ministry of AYUSH will Jointly set up an Export Promotion Council to boost AYUSH exports. Also, Ministry of Textiles invited proposals for constitution of a dedicated Export Promotion Council (EPC) for Technical Textiles. It is under Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs' February 2020 decision to set up a National Technical Textiles Mission with a total outlay of 1480 Crores, by 2023-24. 34. Ministry of Commerce and Industry's Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) signed MoU in field of Intellectual Property Cooperation with US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). 35. Misc. Corporate News /Events (December 2020) - RBI asked HDFC bank to temporarily stop all its launches under its Digital 2.0 programme, amid persisting outrages complaints against the bank. SBI, National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and Japan's JCB International launched SBI RuPay JCB Platinum Contactless Debit Card', to enable customers to perform contactless domestic and overseas transactions. China started importing Indian rice for first time in 3 decades. India is biggest exporter of rice and China is biggest importer. Karnataka Vikas Grameen Bank Launched Overdraft facility for Farmers, with limit upto 1.5 lakh per acre to irrigated lands and 1 lakh per acre for dry land. PayNearby in partnership with NPCI & YES Bank Launched PayNearby shopping card for Retailers. India Grid Trust acquired 74 % in Parbati Koldam Transmission Company (PKTCL) from Reliance Infrastructure. Bengaluru-based Finin launched a neobanking platform in partnership with SBM Bank India. NABARD signed MoU with State Bank of India, for taking up joint intervention projects and capacity building in NABARD’s livelihood projects. Industry body CII and Amazon signed pact to increase export potential of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in 10 states, under Project Digital Saksham. It was signed during 17th CII Global SME Business Summit. Government launched Quarterly Return filing & Monthly Payment of Taxes (QRMP) scheme for small taxpayers under GST system, with annual turnover up to 5 crores. Kotak Mahindra Asset Management Company launched Kotak International REIT Fund of Funds, as India’s first diversified REIT (Real Estate Investment Trust) Fund. RBL Bank and ICICI Prudential have Signed bancassurance partnership, to promote Insurer's Products through RBL Bank branches. India Energy Storage Alliance (IESA) and United Nations Industrial Development Organization parnered, to promote innovations in energy storage in India. Equitas Small Finance Bank has launched a 3-in-1 account (savings +trading+ demat), which allows its customers to invest in wide variety of financial products. Memorandum of Agreement Signed between National Backward Classes Finance & Development Corporation (NBCFDC), National Scheduled Castes Finance and Development Corporation (NSFDC) and Central Bank of India, for Implementation of Interest subvention Scheme of Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment - Vanchit Ikai Samooh aur Vargon ki Aarthik Sahayta (VISVAS) Yojana. Ujjivan Small Finance Bank Introduced Money Mitra Neighbourhood Banking Channel For its Customers. Bharti Infratel received approval from Registrar of Companies, for changing its name to Indus Towers, after recent merger of Bharti Infratel and Indus Towers, to create a mega tower entity. DBS Bank India partnered with social enterprise Haqdarshak, to enable recovery of Indian businesses through its new platform that offers access to MSME-focused government-assisted schemes. Edelweiss General Insurance (EGI) launched first of its kind, Open API (Application Programming Interface) Gateway, to facilitate complete digital collaboration with its partners. SBI Card and BPCL Jointly Launched OCTANE card, for Consumers with Significant Fuel spends. Indian Army and Bank of Baroda signed MoU for Baroda Military Salary Package, under which banking services would be provided by Bank of Baroda to personnel of Indian Army. American payments firm PayPal has been imposed INR 96 lakh penalty by Financial Intelligence Unit for contravention of anti money laundering law. Suspension of insolvency and bankruptcy code (IBC) has been extended by Govt till March 31, 2021, as a relief to industries that are stressed because of the pandemic. In partnership with Mastercard, IndusInd Bank launched metal credit card PIONEER Heritage, for its ultra-high net worth customers. AU Small Finance Bank signed bancassurance partnership with ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, to offer life insurance solutions. 36. National Investment and Infrastructure Fund Limited (NIIFL) completed fund raising for its NIIF Master Fund, with fifth and Final Close. Fund has achieved size of INR equivalent of USD 2.34 billion, exceeding target of USD 2.1 billion. 37. PM Narendra Modi released 7th instalment of financial benefit under PM Kisan Samman Nidhi, releasing 18000 crores into bank accounts of 9 crore farmer families. Under this scheme, support of 6000 per year is provided to farmers, in 3 installments of 2000 each. 38. Punjab National Bank launched tech-based loan management solution LenS (Lending Solution), to speed up and maintain accuracy in online loan processing and sanctioning of credit proposals. 39. RBI Monetary Policy Committee meet Kept Key rates Unchanged. Key Rates - Repo Rate - 4.00 % Reverse Repo - 3.35 % Bank Rate - 4.25 % CRR (Cash Reserve Ratio) - 3 % SLR(Statutory Liquidity ratio) - 18.00 % Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) Rate - 4.25 % Growth Outlooks - Real GDP growth is projected at - 7.5 % in FY 21 (2020-21), with 0.1 % Growth in Q3 of FY 21 (2020-21) and 0.7 % Growth. 40. RBI announced 2nd cohort under Regulatory Sandbox, under theme Cross Border Payments. Regulatory Sandbox enables live testing of new products and services in a controlled environment. In 2nd cohort, RBI has reduced minimum net worth requirement to use the facility from 25 lakhs to 10 lakh rupees. RBI has also allowed partnership firms and Limited Liability Partnerships to participate in the sandbox. 1st cohort under Regulatory Sandbox was released in 2019, including companies in retail payment space. 3rd cohort, which is yet to be announced, will focus on Micro Small Medium Enterprises lending solutions. 41. RBI cancelled licence of Maharashtra Based Karad Janata Sahakari Bank, amid its consistent operational failures. Depositors will get their deposits up to 5 Lakh, from Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (DICGC). RBI also cancelled banking licence of Subhadra Local Area Bank Ltd (Kolhapur, Maharashtra). 42. RBI decided to facilitate a more efficient liquidity management in Regional Rural Banks (RRBs), by extending Liquidity Adjustment Facility (LAF) and Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) to RRBs. It also decided to permit RRBs to participate in Call/Notice money market, both as borrowers and lenders. 43. RBI will set up its first Automated Banknote Processing Centre (ABPC) in Jaipur (Rajasthan), for storage, receipt and dispatch of currency notes, to effectively deal with increasing circulation of banknotes. 44. Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) payments system has been made available round the clock on all days, which was earlier available between 7:00 AM and 6:00 PM. 45. Recently, CAROTAR Customs (Administration of Rules of Origin under Trade Agreements) Rules 2020 came into force, as set of guidelines that enforce the “rules of origin” for the rate on imports under Free Trade Agreements. 46. Reliance Industries topped 2020 Fortune 500 list of Indian companies, with Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) 2nd and Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) 2rd position. 47. Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) launched portal (arm-msme.in), to help Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), to take benefit of RBI's MSME restructuring guidelines. MSMEs will be able to prepare restructuring proposals by keying in only most essential data of their past financials, future projections and restructuring requirements. 48. U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) announced to invest $54 million in equity for National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF), to support development of critical infrastructure projects in India, in wake of COVID-19 pandemic. 49. Viability Gap Funding (VGF) scheme has been notified by Finance Ministry, under which infrastructure projects would be selected for financial support. Empowered Committee (EC) headed by economic affairs secretary will sanction funding up to 200 crores, while projects requiring over 200 crores will be approved by Empowered Committee with Finance Minister’s approval. Recently, CCEA approved Continuation and Revamping of Scheme for Financial Support to Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) in Infrastructure Viability Gap Funding (VGF) Scheme, till 2024-25 with a total outlay of 8100 Crores. Revamped Scheme notably introduced 2 sub-schemes. 50. World Bank approved Loans for 4 projects in India, worth $818 million - Chhattisgarh Inclusive Rural and Accelerated Agriculture Growth Project (CHIRAAG) - $100 million project will develop sustainable production systems that allow tribal households in remote areas to practice production of diversified and nutritious food. It will benefit over 180,000 households from about 1,000 villages in eight districts of Chhattisgarh. Nagaland - Enhancing Classroom Teaching and Resources Project - The $68 million project will improve classroom instruction. Second Accelerating India's COVID-19 Social Protection Response Program - $400 million project will support India’s efforts at providing social assistance to the poor and vulnerable households, severely impacted by COVID-19 pandemic. This is second operation in a programmatic series of two. The first operation of $750 million was approved in May 2020 Second Dam Improvement and Rehabilitation Project (DRIP-2) - $250 million project will improve the safety and performance of existing dams across various states of India. Top International 1. 1st India - Uzbekistan Virtual Summit attended by PM Narendra Modi, as first such virtual summit with a Central Asian country. It Included signing of 9 Co-operation Agreements in areas like Solar Energy, Digital Technologies, Cybersecurity, Internal Security, Exchange of information on pre-arrival of goods, Journalism. It also included $448 USD Credit Line Agreement From Export-Import Bank of India to Government of Uzbekistan. 2. 3RF (Reform, Recovery and Reconstruction) Framework launched to revitalise Beirut, jointly prepared by United Nations, World Bank and European Union. In August 2020, a deadly blast rocked Lebanon capital Beirut. 3. United Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020 has been passed, which aims to make trade arrangements for all four countries of UK (England, Scotland, and Wales and Northern Ireland), after Brexit transition period ends on December 31, 2020. Internal Market Bill has been very controversial as it is said to violate provisions of Withdrawal Agreement signed between UK and European Union. 4. Bhutan and Israel established formal diplomatic relations, mediated by India. Israel is 54th country with which Bhutan has established ties. 5. Argentina Govt imposed millionaire tax on about 12000 of country’s richest people, to fund coronavirus countermeasures. Under this, people with declared assets worth more than 200 million pesos will pay a progressive rate of up to 3.5% on wealth in Argentina and up to 5.25% on wealth outside country. 6. As per Global Climate Change Performance Index released by New Climate Institute, Germanwatch and CAN (Climate Action Network) - Index has been rating 57 seven greenhouse emitter countries since 2005, account to 90% of global emissions. India is ranked 10th, compared to 9th last year. India was at 31st rank in 2014, depicting continuous improvement. China ranks 33rd. No Country is in top three ranks, as no country is on path to meet Paris Agreement commitments. Sweden ranked 4th, followed by UK, Denmark, Morocco, Norway, Chile. 7. As per Foreign Direct Investment Trends And Outlook In Asia And The Pacific 2020/2021 by United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) - FDI flows to South and South-West Asia decreased by 2% in 2019, from $67 billion in 2018 to $66 billion in 2019. India accounted for 77% of total inflows to the subregion ($51 billion in 2019), up 20% from previous year. Report stated that India’s economy could be most resilient in subregion of South and South-West Asia over long term. 8. As per Global Carbon Project report - Global carbon dioxide emissions in 2020 came down by 7%, mainly due to Pandemic triggred lockdowns. Global CO2 emissions remained 34 billion metric tons in 2020, down from 36.4 billion metric tons in 2019. Ground transportation makes up about one-fifth of CO2 emissions. 9. As per Ericsson Mobility Report 2020, India will have over 35 Crore million 5G subscriptions by 2026, accounting for 27% of all mobile subscriptions in country. Global 5G Subscriptions will be 3.5 billion by 2026. 10. As per Global Terrorism Index (GTI) 2020 - India has been ranked 8th, among countries most affected by terrorism in 2019. South Asia was most impacted region by terrorism in 2019. Top 3 - Afghanistan (1), Iraq (2), Nigeria (3). 11. As per UK Based Think Tank Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR), India will overtake UK to become 5th largest economy in 2025, and will become 3rd largest by 2030. India had overtaken UK in 2019 to become 5th largest economy, but has been relegated to 6th spot in 2020. 12. As per US Air Quality Index, Lahore (Pakistan) has been named as world’s most polluted city, with particulate matter rating of 423. Lahore was followed by New Delhi and Nepal Capital Kathmandu. 13. As per WHO World Malaria Report (WMR) 2020 - India has made considerable progress in reducing its malaria burden. India is only high endemic country which has reported a decline of 17.6% in 2019 as compared to 2018. Annual Parasitic Incidence (API) reduced by 27.6% in 2018 compared to 2017 and by 18.4% in 2019 as compared to 2018. 14. Asian Development Bank launched Asia Pacific Vaccine Access Facility (APVAX) as a 9 billion dollar initiative, to ensure rapid and equitable support to vaccines for its developing members. 15. Australia’s parliament approved law giving federal government powers to void foreign agreements entered into by state governments, local councils and universities. Law establishes a public register of foreign agreements and empowers foreign minister to review and Modify them. 16. Bangladesh signed its First ever Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA), as a PTA with Bhutan, which will allow duty-free access to a range of goods between two countries and boost bilateral trade between. This is first PTA signed by Bangladesh with any country, since its independence in 1971. 17. China and Nepal certified elevation of Mount Everest at 8848.86 metres above sea level, which is 86 centimetres higher than previously understood height of 8848 Metres, recognised since 1954. 18. China declared end to its 8 years long drive to eradicate extreme poverty. In 2015, China had set a deadline of 2020 to eradicate poverty. This led to decline of national poverty rating from 10.2 to 3.1 %. 19. China launched 2 satellites composing Gravitational Wave High-energy Electromagnetic Counterpart All-sky Monitor (GECAM) mission, which will work for detection of gravitational waves and other high-energy celestial phenomenon. China also launched Gaofen-14 Earth observation satellite. 20. China openned Five Hundred Meter Aperture Spherical Telescope for international scientists, which is world's largest Radio Telescope. Recently, US Territory Puerto Rico’s 1963 Built Arecibo Telescope had collapsed. It was second-largest single-dish radio telescope in world, The Chinese telescope was built in 2016, in Dawodang depression, a natural basin in Guizhou. It is largest filled-aperture Radio Telescope and second largest single dish aperture. RATA-600 in Russia is world's largest Single-dish aperture telescope. 21. China powered up its HL-2M Tokamak nuclear fusion reactor for the first time, also called artificial sun. It is China's largest and most advanced nuclear fusion experimental research device. 22. Covid-19 Pandemic Updates (December 2020) - National - Health Ministry launched CoWIN, a Grand Challenge for strengthening COVID Vaccine Intelligence Network (CoWIN) system, a digitalised platform to be used to effectively roll out and scale up mechanism for COVID Vaccine Distribution System. UP CM Yogi Adityanath Launched Mera Covid Kendra App to Locate Free COVID-19 Test Centres across state. Tamil Nadu CM Edapadi K Palaniswami inaugurated 2000 Amma Mini covid-19 clinics in Tamil Nadu, named after late CM J Jayalalitha. Government launched Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomic Consortia (INSACOG), comprising 10 lab, to monitor genomic variations in SARS-CoV-2 on a regular basis. Labs are DBT-NIBMG Kalyani, DBT-ILS Bhubaneswar, ICMR-NIV Pune, DBT-NCCS Pune, CSIR-CCMB Hyderabad, DBT-CDFD Hyderabad, DBT-InSTEM/ NCBS Bengaluru, NIMHANS Bengaluru, CSIR-IGIB Delhi, and NCDC Delhi. International - Australia Adopted Go for Zero Policy, to bring down its Covid Cases to Zero, through tightening of spread-control measures. United Kingdom became first country to roll out covid-19 vaccine (developed by Pfizer and BioNTech). Vaccine is to be provided as two injections within a time gap of 21 days. As designated COVAX procurement coordinator and procurement agent, UNICEF launched COVID-19 Vaccine Market Dashboard – an interactive tool for countries, partners and industry to follow developments of rapidly evolving COVID-19 vaccine market. US President Donald Trump signed USD 900 billion pandemic relief package that will deliver long-sought cash to businesses and individuals, affected by Pandemic. World Health Organization (WHO) launched a mobile app to provide latest COVID-19 guidance and updates, Titled WHO COVID-19 Updates. 23. European Commission published its digital regulation proposals called Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act, proposing significant overhauls in European digital space. These New rules will impact legal framework for all digital services, including social media, online market places, and other platforms. Digital Services Act aims to create uniform framework throughout European Union in handling potentially harmful content online, protection of users’ fundamental rights, liability of online intermediaries for third party content and bridging information asymmetries. Digital Markets Act addresses digital market imbalances in European Union, applicable only to provider of core platform services including social networking, search engines, operating systems and online intermediation services. 24. European Union Leaders reached an agreement to cut bloc's greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55 % by end of 2030. It has been set as a medium-term target as part of EU's long-term goal to achieve climate neutrality by 2050. 25. European Union and China signed a New Investment Treaty, after long negotiations, called EU-China Comprehensive Agreement in Investment. The treaty will ensure that EU investors achieve better access to the fast-growing consumer market. It binds liberalisation of Chinese investments and prevents backsliding. 26. European Union banned exports of unsorted plastic to less industrialised nations outside OECD, amending 2006 Waste Shipment Regulation. 27. Facebook-backed cryptocurrency Libra has been rebranded as Diem, to gain regulatory approval by emphasising that project has organisational independence. Libra Association, which runs Libra project, will also be renamed as the Diem Association. Diem is a Latin term meaning “day”. 28. German chancellor Angela Merkel topped Forbes' List of world’s 100 most powerful women, followed by Christine Lagrade (European Central Bank President) and Kamala Harris (Indian Origin US Vice President-Elect). Indian women on List - Angela Merkel has been on top of this list since last 10 years. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman (41st), HCL Chairman Roshni Nadar Malhotra (55th), Biocon Founder Kiran Mazumdar Shaw (68th). 29. Global electricity demand is set to decline 2% in 2020 due to COVID-19 pandemic, as per International Energy Agency's (IEA's) first ever Electricity Market Report. Pandemic is expected to reduce global GDP by 4.4% in 2020, significantly more than 0.1% reduction in 2009, during global financial crisis. 30. Hawker Culture of street food in Singapore has been inducted by UNESCO in its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Also, Couscous, the Berber dish beloved across northern Africa's Maghreb region and beyond, joined UN list of world's intangible cultural heritage. 31. Human Freedom Index Report 2020 by Cato Institute and Fraser Institute - India ranked 111th, down from 94th in 2019. Top 3 - New Zealand (1), Switzerland (2), Hong Kong (3) Bottom 3 - Syria (162), Sudan (161), Venezuela (160) Neighbors - China (129), Pakistan (140), Bangladesh (139), Sri Lanka (94) 32. In QS Asia University Rankings 2021 - National University of Singapore (NUS) Topped the List, Followed by Tsingua University (China) and Nanyang Technological University (Singapore). Total 107 Indian Universities in List. IIT Bombay is Top ranked Indian University (Ranked 37th). IIT Delhi Ranked 47th and IIT Madras (50th). 33. India - Vietnam Summit held Virtually, attended by PM Narendra Modi and Vietnam PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc. Agreements / MOUs signed - A Joint Vision for Peace, Prosperity and People document was adopted, along with Plan of Action for 2021-2023, for further implementation of Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. Implementing Arrangement on Defence Industry Cooperation. Agreement for US$ 5 million Indian Assistance for Army Software Park at National Telecommunications University, Nha Trang (Vietnam). Implementing Arrangement between Centre for United Nations Peacekeeping Operations. MOUs for co-operation in regulatory bodies in fields of radiation protection and nuclear safety, petroleum research and training, healthcare, solar power. 34. India contributed US$ 2 million to United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in Near East (UNRWA). With this, India has provided total US$ 5 million to Agency in 2020. 35. India dropped to 2nd position in Bloomberg New Energy Finance’s (BNEF) 2020 Climatescope survey ranking from first last year, due to decline in clean energy investment, which fell 12 % in 2018-19 to $8.5 billion. Chile bagged top spot, reflecting its strong clean energy policies while, Brazil remained at third position. 36. India pledged USD 1 million to World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), towards global agency’s scientific research budget, which was created in 2019. 37. India pledged USD 2 billion, to provide essential services to women, newborns, young children and adolescents across world. It was announced during World Health Organisation's Lives in the Balance summit. 38. Indian Dairy Brand Amul, run by Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation, is named 8th in list of top 20 global dairy processors, released by International Farm Comparison Network (IFCN). 39. Indian Embassy in China launched a movie series cinemaSCOpe, exclusively for Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), in which over 25 Indian films dubbed in Russian, will be screened on a monthly basis, till India's chairmanship of eight-member SCO Council of Heads of State meeting in 2023. 40. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani rejected bill called Strategic Measures for the Removal of Sanctions, which was recently passed by Parliament passed to boost nuclear activity of Iran in wake of killing of Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh. Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action had capped enrichment level of Uranium at 3.67%, which bill aimed to enhance to 20 %. Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action between Iran and P5+1 and EU was announced in July 2015, to limit Iran's Nuclear Activities. 41. Israeli government collapsed after nation's Parliament failed to meet a deadline for passage of budgets, now headed towards its fourth elections in 2 years. Nepal Parliament also dissolved after PM K.P. Sharma Oli recommended to dissolve House of Representatives and hold mid- term elections in April 2021. 42. Japan will join Five Eyes network, which comprises of Australia, Canada, Britain, US and New Zealand. It aims to respond against increasing threats by China and North Korea. Five Eyes countries are parties to multilateral UK-USA Agreement, a treaty of joint cooperation in signals intelligence. 43. Morocco became 4th Arab League country to normalise relations with Israel, in a deal brokered with US. Earlier, UAE, Bahrain and Sudan signed Abraham Accords, first Arab-Israeli peace deal in 26 years, mediated by US. 44. NASA and Canadian Space Agency signed agreement called Gateway Treaty, under which Canada is to be a part of Lunar Gateway Space Station. Canada will contribute a new robotic arm called “Canadarm3”. Also, a Canadian is to be a part of the Artemis II mission in 2023, the first crewed mission to the moon by NASA since 1972. 45. NITI Aayog's Atal Innovation Mission partnered with Innovation Center Denmark (ICDK), Denmark Embassy in India and Denmark Technical University (DTU), to launch AIM-ICDK Water innovation challenge, aimed at identifying innovative next-gen solutions to solve challenges related to water. Winners shall be a part of Indian delegation for Next Generation Water Action at IWA Water Congress, in May 2021 in Copenhagen. 46. New Zealand declared climate emergency, promisoing its public sector would become carbon neutral by 2025. 47. Oman announced to establish Friendship Association with india, as first such initiative by India in West Asia, to strengthen bilateral ties. 48. Outgoing US President Donald Trump issued National Strategy for Space Nuclear Power and Propulsion, asking NASA to initiate fission surface power project for Moon surface demonstration by 2027, with scalability to a power range of 40 kilowatt- electric. This boosts USA’s plan to have first nuclear reactor on moon by end of 2026. 49. Red Channel Agreement signed between World Health Organization and IFRC (International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies), to implement Emergency Medical Team Initiative. It will strengthen delivery of health and emergency medical services during humanitarian crisis. 50. UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs removed Cannabis from Schedule IV category of 1961 Single convention on Narcotics, to recognise its medicinal values. Though cannabis has been removed from Schedule IV, non-medicinal Cannabis is still under Schedule I. 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs Schedules - Schedule I - Limited only to scientific and medicinal purposes. They require medicinal prescription for supply. Schedule II - Medical Prescription of these drugs are not obligatory. Schedule III - They are subjected to lesser restrictions. Schedule IV - Drugs under this category such as Heroin are considered to have dangerous properties. 51. US House of Representatives passed a legislation that would establish an exchange initiative between US and India, to study work and legacies of M K Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. 52. US Included Taiwan, Thailand and India Currencies into its monitoring list, which has countries it suspects of taking measures to devalue their currencies against US dollar. Other Currencies in monitoring list are from China, Japan, Korea, Germany, Italy, Singapore and Malaysia. Also, US Treasury labeled Switzerland and Vietnam as currency manipulators. 53. US Space Force announced a new name for its members, to now be known as Guardians. 54. US Territory Puerto Rico’s 1963 Built Arecibo Telescope collapsed. It is second-largest single-dish radio telescope in world, known for its finding that Mercury rotates in 59 days and not 88 days. It discovered first exoplanets, prebiotic molecules in distant galaxies and first millisecond Pulsar. 55. US formally removed Sudan's status as a state sponsor of terrorism, removing barrier to Sudan's access to international lending institutions and economic development. 56. US imposed sanctions on Turkey under Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), for buying Russian made S400 anti-Missile system. Section 231 of CAATSA says that at least 12 sanctions described in section 235 be imposed on a person / country who is engaged or operates for or on behalf of Russian defence or intelligence sectors. 57. United Nations (KN) Launched Human Development Report 2020 (189 Nations) - India ranked 131st, down by 2 places as compared to 121 in 2019. Top 3 - Norway (1), Ireland (2), Switzerland (3) Bottom 3 - Niger (189), Central African Republic (188), Chad (187) Neighbors - China (85), Pakistan (154), Bangladesh (133), Sri Lanka (72) 58. Virtual Bilateral Summit held Between India and Bangladesh, attended by Indian PM Narendra Modi and Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina. It included inauguration og a a railway link between Haldibari in India and Chilahati in Bangladesh. This is 5th operational rail link between India and Bangladesh, after Petrapole (India) - Benapole (Bangladesh), Gede (India) – Darshana (Bangladesh), Singhabad (India) - Rohanpur (Bangladesh) and Radhikapur (India) - Birol (Bangladesh). Also, Swadhinta Sarak will be opened between India and Bangladesh, on March 26, 2021. Road remains functional in India while it will be connecting through Meherpur, Mujibnagar district in Bangladesh. 7 MOUs signed - Cooperation in Hydrocarbon Sector Cooperation in Agriculture Indian Assistance for Implementation of High Impact Community Development Projects through Local Bodies Protocol on Transboundary Elephant Conservation Supply of Equipment & Improvement of Garbage/Solid Waste Disposal Ground at Lamchori Area for Barishal City Corporation MoU between Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Memorial Museum Dhaka and National Museum New Delhi Terms of Reference of India-Bangladesh CEO’s Forum 59. World bank issued corrected Doing Business rankings following review of data irregularities. China's ranking has been lower by seven notches to 85, in index for 2018. Other than China, Azerbaijan's ranking improved to 28 from 34, Saudi Arabia fell from 63 to 62. UAE's rank remained unchanged at 16. It is notable that as per Doing Business 2020 report, India ranked 63rd. India has improved by 79 positions in five years (2014-19). 60. ‘Pandemic’ has been chosen as word of 2020 by Merriam-Webster dictionary. Earlier - Collins Dictionary picked lockdown as its Word of The Year in 2020. Quarantine has been named Word of the Year 2020 by Cambridge Dictionary. Top Meetings 1. 20th edition of Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) Council of Ministers (COM) Meeting held virtually, under Chairmanship of United Arab Emirates (UAE), with theme Promoting a Shared Destiny and Path to Prosperity in Indian Ocean. India was represented by V. Muraleedharan(MoS in Ministry of External Affairs). 2. 26th DST-CII Tech Summit 2020 held Virtually, with Portugal as Partner Country. 3. 5th annual Global Technology Summit (GTS) organised virtually by Ministry of External Affairs, in collaboration with Carnegie India. GTS is one of four flagship annual conferences organised by MEA. Other 3 - Raisina Dialogue, Geo-economic dialogue, and Indian Ocean Conference. 2020 Theme of GTS was The Geopolitics of Technology. 4. PM Narendra Modi inaugurated India Mobile Congress (IMC) 2020, to be held with theme Inclusive Innovation - Smart, Secure, Sustainable. Held since 2017, IMC is largest digital technologies forum in India and South Asia, consisting of 3 day international conference and technology exhibition. 5. To commemorate occasion of 5 year completion of Paris Climate Agreement, International Climate Ambition Summit co-hosted by UN, UK and France, in partnership with Chile and Italy. It is a predecessor to 26th COP scheduled to be held at Glasgow (Scotland) in 2021. 6. World Economic Forum (WEF 2021) will be moved from Davos in Switzerland to Singapore, due to COVID-19 concerns. This will be Asia's First hosting of WEF. WEF, the annual gathering of political and business leaders, will be hosted outside Switzerland only for the second time since its inception in 1971. 7. World Press Freedom Conference 2020 (WPFC 2020) hosted virtually by UNESCO and the Netherlands, jointly celebrating World Press Freedom Day (3 May) and International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists (2 November). Conference was planned in April 2020, before being pushed by COVID-19 pandemic. Top

National 1. International Bharathi Festival 2020 Held Virtually, by Vanavil Cultural Centre in Chennai, to celebrate 138th birth anniversary of Mahakavi Subramanya Bharathi, an eminent writer, poet and journalist from Tamil Nadu. PM Narendra Modi conferred 2020 Bharathi Award to noted writer Seeni Viswanathan, who is credited with compiling voluminous works of Bharathi in chronological order. 2. Uttar Pradesh government launched Varasat Campaign in state, to curb property and land-related disputes in rural areas. Varasat will continue till February 15, 2021. 3. 107 Year old Billimora Waghai narrow gauge railway line, is among 11 narrow-gauge lines in Gujarat, which are to be scrapped by Western Railway due to viability and economic constraints. It was started by Gaekwad dynasty rulers of princely state of Baroda in 1913. It was among 5 routes proposed by Railways for preservation as ‘industrial heritage’, in 2018. 4. 5th India Water Impact Summit (IWIS) organised virtually by National Mission for Clean Ganga and Center for Ganga River Basin Management and Studies (cGanga). Notably, Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research signed MOU with cGanga (think-tank of NMCG) for development of sludge management framework in India. 5. 6th India International Science Festival (IISF) 2020 held Virtually, with theme Science for Aatmanirbhar Bharat and Global Welfare. 20 films won awards during 6th IISF (6 for international and 14 for national categories). International Science Literature Festival VIGYANIKA was organized as part of IISF, to mark birth anniversary of Noted Mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan (Dec 22). About - IISF is an annual event organised jointly by science & technology- related Ministries and Departments and Vijnana Bharati (Vibha). 1st and 2nd IISF were held in New Delhi, 3rd in Chennai, 4th in Lucknow, and 5th in Kolkata. 6. 80 year old Srinagar based Amar Singh College has been recognized with Award of Merit in 2020 UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation. 7. 8th North East Festival held in Guwahati (Assam), aimed at showcasing North East region and promoting entrepreneurship and tourism. 8. Andhra CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy launched Jagananna Jeeva Kranthi scheme aimed at women empowerment, whch will include distributing approx 2.5 lakh sheep and goat units to beneficiaries of YSR Cheyutha and YSR Aasara. 9. Andhra Pradesh CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy Launched free of cost crop insurance scheme for farmers, with over 1250 crores credited into bank accounts of over 9.5 lacs farmers as crop insurance. 10. Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly passed Gaming (Amendment) Bill 2020, banning online gaming in state. 11. As per Status of Leopards report released by Govt - India now has 12852 leopards, compared to 7910 in 2014. This shows 60% increase in population of leopards. States of Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra recorded highest leopard estimates at 3421, 1783 and 1690 respectively. 12. As per Finance Ministry, 9 states have completed reforms in Public Distribution System and have successfully implemented One Nation One Ration Card System, enabling buyers to buy subsidized foodgrains from any Fair Price Shops all over country. States are Goa, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, Tripura, and Gujarat. 13. As per IIT Bombay's Urban Quality of Life Index, Mumbai topped the list, followed by Delhi, Kolkata and Chennai. 14. As per Praja Foundation's Urban Governance Index - Odisha topped the list, followed by Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh. Manipur and Nagaland are at bottom. Ranks have been awarded to states based on their local self-Government and grassroot democracy. 15. Assam Government launched its flagship scheme Orunodoi Scheme, with Food security as a primary objective. It seeks to provide 830 per month to over 18 lakh families with under 2 Lakh as annual income, to enable them to purchase basics including medicines, lentils, sugar and fruits. Scheme has annual budget of 2800 crores. 16. Assam cabinet approved a new bill to accord Bodo the status of associate official language of state. Earlier in October, state government had announced to bring in an ordinance to accord Bodo the status of associate official language. Cabinet also approved setting up of the Bodo Kachari Welfare Autonomous Council. 17. Assam government proposed a bill to abolish all state-run madrassas and convert those into general schools with effect from April 1, 2021. Bill proposes to abolish two existing acts - The Assam Madrassa Education (Provincialisation) Act 1995 and Assam Madrassa Education (Provincialisation of Services of Employees and Re-Organisation of Madrassa Educational Institutions) Act 2018. 18. Assam's 6th national park will be developed by upgrading 422-sq km Ripu reserve forest, named Raimona National Park. 19. Bihar's first Migratory Bird festival held in Bhagalpur, as part of initiatives to save migratory birds that arrive in state in large numbers every year. 20. CM Edappadi K Palaniswami inaugurated 38th district of Tamil Nadu, named Mayiladuthurai. It was Carved out from Nagapattinam. 21. Cab Aggregator Ola signed agreement with Tamil Nadu government, to set up its first electric scooter factory with investment of 2400 crores. It will manufacture 2 million scooters at a greenfield facility in Hosur. It will be world's largest scooter manufacturing plant. It will also displace Vithalpur facility of Honda in Gujarat, which manufactures 1.2 million units of petrol-powered scooters in a year. 22. Cabinet Approvals (Dec 09, 2020) - MOUs - Suriname - Health and Medicine. Approved proposal of Securities & Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to sign bilateral MOU with Financial and Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF), Luxembourg. General - Approved Atmanirbhar Bharat RojgarYojana (ABRY), to boost employment in formal sector and incentivize creation of new employment opportunities, under Atmanirbhar Bharat Package 3.0. Cabinet approved expenditure of 1584 crore for FY 21 and 22810 crores for entire Scheme period (2020-2023). Under it - Government will provide subsidy for 2 years in respect of new employees engaged after October 2020 and upto June 2021. For Firms with Employee Count under 1000, Government will pay both 12% employees' and 12% employers' contribution, for 2 years. For Firms with Employee Count Over 1000, Government will pay both only employees' contribution (12%), for 2 years. Wage ceiling for benefit, for employees will be 15000. Approved provision of a Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) Scheme for providing Mobile Coverage in Arunachal Pradesh and two Districts of Assam - Karbi Anglong and Dima Hasao, under Comprehensive Telecom Development Plan (CTDP) for North Eastern Region (NER). It envisages to provide mobile coverage to 2374 uncovered villages at estimated cost 2029 crores, funded by Universal Service Obligation Fund. It is to be completed by December 2022. Approved Provision of Submarine Optical Fibre Cable Connectivity between Mainland (Kochi) and Lakshadweep Islands (KLI Project), for direct communication link through a dedicated submarine Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) between Kochi and 11 Islands of Lakshadweep. Estimated cost is 1072 crores, to be funded by Universal Service Obligation Fund. Approved proposal of Department of Telecom for setting up of Public Wi-Fi Networks by Public Data Office Aggregators (PDOAs) to provide public Wi-Fi service through Public Data Offices (PDOs) spread across country, to accelerate proliferation of Broadband Internet services through Public Wi-Fi network. There shall be no license fee for providing Broadband Internet through these public Wi-Fi networks. This Public Wi-Fi Access Network Interface will be known as PM-WANI (Prime Minister Wi-Fi Access Network Interface). PM-WANI eco-system will be operated by different players - Public Data Office (PDO) will maintain only WANI compliant Wi-Fi Access Points and deliver broadband services to subscribers. Public Data Office Aggregator (PDOA) will aggregate PDOs and perform functions relating to Authorization and Accounting. App Provider will develop an App to register users and discover WANI compliant Wi-Fi hotspots in nearby area. Central Registry will maintain details of App Providers, PDOAs, and PDOs. 23. Cabinet Approvals (Dec 16, 2020) - MOUs - USA - Exchange of information in areas of mutual interest in electricity sector. General - Cabinet approved proposal of Department of Telecommunications to conduct spectrum auction through which spectrum will be assigned to successful bidders for providing mobile services. Auction will be for spectrum in 700, 800, 900, 1800, 2100, 2300 and 2500 MHz frequency bands. Spectrum will be offered for validity period of 20 years. Total 2251.25 MHz is being offered, with valuation 392333 crores. With right to use spectrum through auction, telecom service providers will be able to augment their network capacity, whereas new players will be able to start their services. CCEA - Approved Revised Cost Estimate (RCE) of North Eastern Region Power System Improvement Project (NERPSIP), at estimated cost of 6,700 crores. It aims at economic development of North Eastern Region through strengthening of Intra - State Transmission and Distribution systems, in Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Tripura. It is targeted to be commissioned by December 2021. Approved assistance of 3500 crores for approx 5 crore sugarcane farmers. To address issue of Farmers not getting their dues from Sugar mills in Timely manner due to surplus sugar stock, Government is facilitating evacuation of surplus sugar stock. 24. Cabinet Approvals (Dec 23, 2020) - MOUs - Approved signing revised Air Services Agreements of India with Afghanistan and Philippines. General - To support films sector, Cabinet approved to merge 4 of its film media units (Films Division, Directorate of Film Festivals, National Film Archives of India and Children's Film Society) with National Film Development Corporation (NFDC). This will lead to convergence of activities and resources and better coordination, ensuring synergy and efficiency in achieving mandate of each media unit. Approved revision of guidelines for obtaining license for providing Direct-To-Home (DTH) broadcasting service in India. Features - License for DTH will be issued for 20 years, in place of present 10 years. License may be renewed by 10 years at a time. License fee has been revised from 10% of GR to 8% of AGR. AGR will be calculated by deduction of GST from GR. License Fee will be collected on quarterly basis in lieu of presently annual basis. DTH operators shall be permitted to operate to a maximum of 5% of its total channel carrying capacity as permitted platform channels. One-time non-refundable registration fee of 10,000 per PS channel shall be charged from a DTH operator. DTH operators, willing to share DTH platform and transport stream of TV channels, on voluntary basis, will be allowed. Cap of 49% FDl in existing DTH guidelines will be aligned with extant Government (DPIIT's) policy on FDl. This change in I&B guidelines will bring them in sync with existing Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) policy that allows 100 % FDI in direct-to-home (DTH) broadcasting services sector. CCEA - Approved major and transformatory changes in Centrally Sponsored Scheme ‘Post Matric Scholarship to students belonging to Scheduled Castes (PMS-SC)’, to benefit more than 4 Crore SC students in next 5 years. Cabinet approved investment of 59048 Crores, of which Central Government would spend 60% and balance would be spent by State Govts. This replaces existing 'committed liability' system and brings greater involvement of Central Govt. 25. Cabinet Approvals (Dec 30, 2020) - General - Cabinet approves modified scheme to enhance ethanol distillation capacity in country. Background and Need - Annual sugar surplus of 60 LMT in India (320 LMT production - 260 LMT consumption) affects liquidity position of sugar mills and results in accumulation of cane price arrears of farmers. To deal with this, sugar mills have been exporting sugar, for which Government extends assistance. However, India being a developing country, can export sugar by extending financial assistance only up to 2023, as per WTO. So, diversion of excess sugarcane & sugar to ethanol is a correct way forward to deal with surplus stocks. Government targets 10% blending of fuel grade ethanol with petrol by 2022, 15% blending by 2026 & 20% by 2030. However, ethanol distillation capacity in country is not sufficient to divert surplus stocks of sugar & to produce ethanol to supply to Oil Marketing Companies for blending with petrol as per blending targets. Hence, Government has taken some decisions - To bring modified scheme for extending interest subvention to augment ethanol production capacity for given categories. Government would bear interest subvention for 5 years including 1 year moratorium against loan availed by project proponents from banks @ 6% per annum or 50% of rate of interest charged by banks, whichever is lower. Interest subvention would be available to only those distilleries which will supply at least 75% of ethanol produced from added distillation capacity to OMCs for blending with petrol. Proposed intervention would enhance production of 1G ethanol from various feed stocks and facilitate in achieving blending targets and promote ethanol as a clean indigenous fuel. Approved opening 3 Indian Missions in Estonia (Northern Europe), Paraguay (South America) and Dominican Republic (Caribbean), to help expand India’s diplomatic footprint and deepen political relations. Approved Export of Akash Missile System and Created a Committee for faster Approval of Exports. Akash is a Surface to Air Missile with a range of 25 Kms, inducted in 2014 in IAF and in 2015 in Army. Government targets 5 billion USD of Akash missile export, to help achieve target of 25 billion USD turnover in defence manufacturing by 2025. MOUs - Bhutan - Cooperation in peaceful users of outer space. CCEA - Approved construction of various trunk infrastructure components for - Krishnapatnam Industrial Area in Andhra Pradesh with cost 2,139 crores. Tumakuru Industrial Area in Karnataka with cost of 1702 crores. Multi Modal Logistics Hub (MMLH) and Multi Modal Transport Hub (MMTH) at Greater Noida (UP) with cost 3883 crores. Approved proposals with estimated 7725 crores will result in employment generation of over 2.8 lakh persons. Approved project Deepening and Optimization of Inner Harbour Facilities including Development of Western Dock on Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) basis under PPP mode to handle cape size vessels at Paradip Port'. Estimated cost is 3004 Crores. It envisages Construction of Western Dock Basin with facilities to handle cape size vessels by selected BOT Concessionaire with an ultimate capacity of 25 MTPA in two phases of 12.50 MTPA each. Concession period shall be 30 years from the date of Award of Concession. 26. Central Govt renamed second campus of Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology in Kerala after Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh idealogue M S Golwalkar. 27. Consulting firm PwC India collaborated with United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and YuWaah, to upskill Indian Youth over next 10 years. 28. Cyclonic Storm Burevi struck Sri Lanka and Indian states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu, with speeds upto 85 KMPH. 29. Dec 30, 2020 Marks 75th Anniversary of tricolor hoisting at Port Blair (Andaman and Nicobar), by Shri Netaji Subhas Bose. 30. Department of Posts and India Post Payments Bankunveiled new digital payment app DakPay, to boost Digital Financial inclusion across India. 31. Directorate General of Training (DGT) partnered with Microsoft and NASSCOM Foundation, to provide a digital content for ITI students and also future-ready employability skilling program for upskilling and reskilling. Nearly 1.2 Lakh students in around 3000 ITIs across India can be benefited by this digitized e-learning module via Bharatskills portal. 32. Directorate General of Training (DGT) partnered with Microsoft and NASSCOM Foundation, to provide digital content for ITI students and also future-ready employability skilling program for upskilling and reskilling. 33. Earth Sciences Minister Harsh Vardhan inaugurated a Meteorological centre in UT of Ladakh, at a height of 3500 metres. It aims to strengthen early warning systems. 34. Earth Sciences Minister Harsh Vardhan inaugurated web-based application Digital Ocean, developed by Hyderabad-based Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), for Ocean Data Management. 35. Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar virutally hoisted Blue Flag certification on eight Indian beaches, which were approved in Oct 2020. Blue Flag certification is a globally recognised eco-label accorded by Foundation for Environment Education, Denmark, based on 33 stringent criteria. Beaches - Shivrajpur in Gujarat, Ghoghla in Diu, Kasarkod and Padubidri in Karnataka, Kappad in Kerala, Rushikonda in Andhra Pradesh, Golden in Odisha and Radhanagar in Andaman and Nicobar Islands. 36. Environment Mnistry granted recognition to 2 new zoos - Rajgir Zoo Safari in Nalanda (Bihar) and Shaheed Ashfaque Ullah Khan Prani Udyaan in Gorakhpur (Uttar Pradesh). 37. First phase results of National Family Health Survey 5 (NFHS 5) released by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, covering 17 States and 5 UTs. 38. General Conferences (Dec 1 -10, 2020) Inaugural session of annual conference of India Sweden Healthcare Innovation Centre Held Virtually. First eco-bridge in Uttarakhand has been made across Kaladhungi - Nainital Highway, by Ramnagar Forest Division, to save reptiles and other small animals from vehicular accidents while crossing road. 6th BRICS Youth Summit 2020 held in Ulyanovsk (Russia), attended Virtually by Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju on India's Behalf. 9th International Sand Art festival and 31st Konark Dance festival hosted by Orissa. 6th India-CLMV (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam) Business Conclave 2020 held Virtually, with theme Building Bridges for Constructive Development. An ancient statue of Goddess Annapurna, which was stolen from India in 2013, will return from Canada to Varanasi (India). INR 200 crore municipal bonds issue of Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC) listed at Bombay Stock Exchange, making Lucknow 9th city in country to have raised municipal bonds, incentivized by Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs under mission AMRUT (Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation). Invoking recollections of M K Gandhi’s famous Nature Cure campaign of 1946 at Nisarg Upchar Ashram in Pune, upcoming new campus of National Institute of Naturopathy Pune (NIN) will be called Nisarg Gram. India and Qatar agreed to set up a Task Force on Energy, to increase co-operation. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh attended 14th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus organized Virtually at Hanoi (Vietnam). ADMM Plus is annual meet of Defence Ministers of 10 ASEAN Countries and eight partner countries. 2020 marks 10th year of inception of ADMM Plus. NTPC Subsidiary NVVN (NTPC VidyutVyapar Nigam) launched Green Charcoal Hackathon, aimed at creating a conducive environment by reducing carbon emissions and nurture technology solutions. UP Govt will soon launch Ramayan Cruise Tour in Holy Saryu river in Ayodhya. 1st Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Young Scientist Conclave Held Virtually. Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda launched 1st edition of Aadi Mahotsav- Madhya Pradesh, held Virtually. Theremin musical instrument Completed 100 years in 2020, which revolutionised music industry by being predecessor of modern synthesizer. It was developed by Leon Theremin. India and France on Friday launched a bilateral fast track mechanism in investments. Ministry of AYUSH and AIIMS will jointly set up a Department of Integrative Medicine at AIIMS. 39. General Conferences (Dec 11-20, 2020) - 9th edition of Sustainable Mountain Development Summit (SMDS) held in Dehradun (Uttarakhand), organised by Indian Mountain Initiative (IMI). Indian PM will attend UK-hosted G-7 summit 2021, on invitation by UK PM Boris Johnson. UK PM has also accepted to attend India’s Republic Day celebrations in January 2021. G7 consists of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, UK and US. Government released hundred page e-booklet called Putting Farmers First, amid widespread ongoing farmer protests. Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) organized Bharat Darshan–Dakshin Bharat Yatra, with theme Show India to Indians. San Isidro Movement, a movement by artists and activists demanding greater freedom of expression, has been gaining momentum in Cuba, which has been communist regime for over six decades. PM Narendra Modi attended 6th India-Japan SAMVAD conference 2020, held virtually. UP Govt Renameed Dandupur Railway Station in Pratapgarh District as Maa Barahi Devi Dham. Government will soon launch Brand India mission, focused on promotion of quality products that are manufactured in India. NITI Aayog released white paper Vision 2035: Public Health Surveillance in India, with vision To make India’s public health surveillance system more responsive and predictive to enhance preparedness for action at all levels. For first time, a Himalayan Serow has been sighted in Himalayan cold desert, which was earlier thought to be extinct in Himalayas. Himalayan serow is resembling cross between a goat, cow, donkey and a pig. Ten universities from across country announced to set up Kamdhenu Chairs, to promote cow-based entrepreneurship and sensitizing students about economic, environmental and spiritual importance and impact of cows. Nehru Zoological Park Hyderabad acquired ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management Standards Certification from ASCB (UK), becoming first zoo in India to receive this Certificate. National Water Mission(NWM) in collaboration with Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS) launched JSA II: Catch the Rain Awareness Generation Campaign. 40. General Conferences (Dec 21-31, 2020) - Annual International Gita Mahotsav 2020 held in Kurukshetra (Haryana). PM Narendra Modi laid foundation stone of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Rajkot in Gujarat. He also laid Foundation for IIM Sirmaur (Himachal Pradesh). Health Minister Harsh Vardhan launched India’s first indigenously developed vaccine against pneumonia, called Pneumosil and developed by Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII) in collaboration with Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and seattle baed PATH. Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari announced to set up a multi-model logistics park in Silchar (Assam). India's first pollinator park with over 40 species of butterflies, honeybees, birds and insects has been developed at Haldwani (Uttarakhand). India began export of Moringa (Moringa oleifera), amid rising demand for its medicinal properties, with export of 2 tonne of organic certified Moringa powder to US. Agri Minister inaugurated Virtual Agri-hackathon 2020 organised in association with IARI, as largest virtual gathering to create dialogues and accelerate innovations. Kochi based Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) launched a multilingual call centre for aquafarmers at Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh, to address their issues and impart knowledge. India’s first hot air balloon wildlife safari in a tiger reserve has been launched in Madhya Pradesh’s Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve. Northeast's first-ever specialised ginger processing plant at district Ri-Bhoui in Meghalaya will become functional in 2021, which was established around 2004 but has remained non-functional. South Asia’s first blockchain enabled Peer to Peer (P2P) Trading of Rooftop Solar Power has been launched in Uttar Pradesh, hosted by UPPCL, MVVNL and UPNEDA. Project is being implemented by India Smart Grid Forum (ISGF). 12th GRIHA (Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment) Summit held virtually, with theme Rejuvenating Resilient Habitats. Government launched Global Pravasi Rishta Portal and Mobile app, to connect Indian Diaspora spread all over the world. Railways successfully completed trial run of new Vistadome luxurious tourist coaches (180 KMPH), manufactured by Integral Coach Factory (Chennai). United Kingdom and Vietnam signed a trade agreement, aimed at eliminating 99% of tariffs within 7 years. Ministry of Home Affairs declared Nagaland as Disturbed Area 6 months under Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act 1958. Chennai Mathematical Institute will establish Dr FC Kohli Centre of Excellence for Advanced Research in Mathematical and Computing Sciences. Mr Kohli is founder and first CEO of Tata Consultancy Services and considered the father of Indian IT Industry. PM Narendra Modi released a special postal stamp to mark the centenary celebrations of the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU). Uttar Pradesh government included history of Sikh gurus in school curriculum in state. 41. Global machine connectivity solutions Firm Skylotech partnered with BSNL, to launch a satellite-based narrowband IoT network in India. It will connect with BSNL’s satellite ground infrastructure and provide pan-India coverage, including Indian seas. It will also be world's first satellite-based NB-IoT network. 42. Goa CM Pramod Sawant launched One-Time Settlement (OTS) scheme 2020 of electricity department for consumers who have defaulted on bill payments, to recover over 400 crores. 43. Government announced best performing Police Stations across country (for 2020). Top 5 - Nongpok Sekmai in Thoubal (Manipur) AWPS-Suramangalam in Salem (Tamil Nadu) Kharsang in Changlang (Arunachal Pradesh) Jhilmili (Bhaiya Thana) in Surajpur (Chhattisgarh) Sanguem in South Goa 44. Government for the first time laid down Rights of Electricity Consumers, through Electricity (Rights of Consumers) Rules 2020. Consumers will have option to apply for new electricity connection and pay bills online. Consumers to get electricity connection within 7 days in Metro cities, 15 days in other cities and 30 days in rural areas. Key areas covered in Rules - Rights of consumers and Obligations of Distribution licensees, Release of new connection and modification, Metering arrangement, Billing and Payment, Disconnection and Reconnection, Reliability of supply, Standards of Performance of licensee, Call Centre for Consumer Services and Grievance redressal mechanism. 45. Government proposed introduction of E20 fuel, to promote green fuel such as ethanol. E20 means blending of 20% of Ethanol with gasoline. Currently, permissible level of blending is 10% of Ethanol in India. Still, India has reached only 5.6 % of ethanol blending. 46. Government will invite bids for Green Ammonia Projects, to reduce import dependency. Green ammonia is produced through 100% renewable and carbon-free processs. One way of making Green Ammonia is by using hydrogen from water electrolysis and nitrogen separated from air. Currently, ammonia making is not a green process. It is now made from methane. 47. Greenfield airport being developed at Jewar in Uttar Pradesh's Gautam Buddha Nagar, will now be officially known as Noida International Airport. It is being developed with assistance from Swiss developer Zurich Airport International AG. Noida International Greenfield Airport logo will have a picture of Sarus Crane - the state bird of UP. 48. Gujarat government announced new solar power policy 2021, which aims to reduce power cost of industrial units by around 50%. It will enable any developer / person / industry to set up a solar project in Gujarat. Security deposit provided to power companies has been reduced to five lakh rupees per megawatt, from 25 lakh earlier. State government scrapped the condition that installed capacity of a solar project needs to be 50 % of sanction load or contract demand. 49. Gwalior and Orchha Cities of Madhya Pradesh have been Included in list of UNESCO World Heritage Cities,under an urban planning project. 50. Himachal Pradesh Government announced to frame State Policy of Drug Prevention, Treatment, Management and Rehabilitation Programme, to curb menace of drug abuse in state. 51. Home Minister (State) G Kishan Reddy inaugurated National Centre for Divyang Empowerment at CRPF Group Centre in Hakimpet near Hyderabad (Telangana), as first of its kind establishment to re-skill and rehabilitate the Divyang Warriors of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF). 52. Home Minister Amit Shah inaugurated 7 development projects in Manipur, notably including Thoubal Multipurpose Project in Imphal, Churachandpur Medical College and IT-SEZ at Mantripukhri. Mr Shah also launched several development projects in Assam,including laying stone for New Medical College in Guwahati, 9 law colleges across Assam. 53. IBM and Telangana government collaborated to provide curated online courses for state’s students that will enhance their technical and professional skills. Under this, IBM will work with Telangana Academy for Skill and Knowledge (TASK) to offer Open P-TECH free digital education platform. 54. Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL) launched world-class premium grade Petrol (Octane 100) in India, Branded as XP100. IndianOil plans to roll-out XP100 premium grade petrol in 15 identified cities, in two phases. Worldwide, 100 Octane petrol has a niche market for luxury vehicles that demand high performance, and is available only in six countries - USA, Germany, Greece, Indonesia, Malaysia and Israel. 55. Indian Railways issued Draft National Rail Plan, which aill act as template of planning for future development of Indian Railways. Objectives - To create capacity ahead of demand by 2030, which would cater to growth in demand right up to 2050 and also increase modal share of Railways from 27% currently to 45% in freight by 2030. Railways aims at Net Zero Carbon emission by 2030. Reduce transit time of freight substantially by increasing average speed of freight trains from present 22Kmph to 50Kmph. Reduce cost of Rail transportation by nearly 30% and pass on the benefits to customers. As part of National Rail Plan, Vision 2024 has been launched for accelerated implementation of certain critical projects by 2024. These Include 100% electrification, multitracking of congested routes, upgradation of speed to 160 kmph on Delhi- Howrah and Delhi-Mumbai routes, upgradation of speed to 130kmph and elimination of all Level Crossings on all other Golden Quadrilateral-Golden Diagonal (GQ/GD) routes. 56. India’s first Lithium refinery will be set up in Gujarat, with 1000 crores investment by Manikaran Power Limited. It will process Lithium ore to produce battery-grade material. 57. Japanese embassy released first look of E5 Series Shinkansen, also known as Japan's Bullet Train, which will be modified for use as rolling stock of Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail project (MAHSR). MAHSR is to be launched by December 2024, with length 508-kilometres to be travelled with average speed of 320 KMPH. It is being executed by National High-Speed Rail Corporation Limited, with financial and technical assistance from Japan. Total cost of this project is 1.08 Lakh Crores. 58. Karnataka CM B S Yediyurappa launched Bengaluru Mission 2022 – Revitalising Bengaluru, aimed at resolving day-to-day challenges faced by expanding Digital City Bengaluru. Mission also includes reducing traffic congestion, which has increased by four folds in 20 years. 59. Karnataka CM BS Yediyurappa laid foundation for 11.5 megawatt power plant based on municipal waste in Bidadi (Bengaluru), as first of its kind power plant in state. It will help convert 600 tonnes of municipal waste into energy. 60. Karnataka cabinet promulgated an ordinance to give effect to anti-cow slaughter bill that is yet to be approved by legislative council. It aims to put blanket prohibition of slaughter of cows in state. 61. Karnataka government unveiled Farmer Registration and Unified beneficiary Information System (FRUITS) portal, to create a repository of farmland information and farm loan details on a single platform. FRUITS Portal is integrated into the BHOOMI Package of the Karnataka State for fetching and validating land details. 62. Kerala government and UN women collaborated to establish India’s first gender data hub, on goals that were established through an international conference on Gender Equality held in November 2015. 63. Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC)-Sponsored Monpa Handmade Paper unit has been commissioned in Tawang (Arunachal Pradesh), which aims at reviving 1000-year old heritage art and engage local youths with this art. Art of making Monpa handmade paper originated over 1000 years ago, whicj became integral part of local custom and culture in Tawang. But soon, local industry gradually declined and was taken over by inferior Chinese paper. Now, KVIC has made effort towards reviving it. 64. Land Grabbing (Prohibition) Act 2020 came into force in Gujarat, which seeks to protect small farmers and citizens against land- grabbing, through establishment of committees and special courts in each district . It has provisions of up to 14 years of imprisonment for land grabbers. 65. Learning Management System (LMS) launched by Karnataka government, to be implemented in state government colleges. It is said to be first of its kind initiative in country, aimed at encouraging digital learning and improving Gross Enrolment Ration in higher education. 66. Madhya Pradesh cabinet approved Religious Freedom Bill 2020, which makes forced religious conversions punishable will fine of 25000 and 1 - 5 years of imprisonment. Fine / Imprisonment will double if victim is a woman, minor or belongs to SC / ST community. Bill will replace Religious Freedom Act 1968. 67. Maharashtra Government approved Unified Development Control and Promotion Regulations (UDCPR), to strengthen and bring uniformity in real estate construction laws of state. 68. Maharashtra Government launched Shakti Criminal Law (Maharashtra Amendment) Act 2020 and Special Court and Machinery for the implementation of Maharashtra Shakti Criminal Law 2020. Maharashtra Shakti Bill has been framed in lines with Andhra Pradesh Disha Act that was passed in 2019. It seeks to add third explanation in Section 375 of Indian Penal Code, which deals with rape. It talks about “Presumption of Consent”. Acid attack victims shall be provided with a compensation of ten lakhs of rupees for plastic surgery and facial reconstruction. Bill seeks to complete the trial process within 30 days, which is Currently 60 days. Bill suggests creation of Women and Children Offenders Registry, linked to National Registry of Sexual Offenders. Persons threatening women on social media are to punished with 2 year of imprisonment and 1 lakh rupees fine. 69. Maharashtra Govt Signs 1st of its kind MoU with Cornell University (US) to Set up World-Class Incubation Centre in Maharashtra to Train Entrepreneurs. 70. Maharashtra Govt named a new rural development scheme in state after Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) President Sharad Pawar, called 'Sharad Pawar Rural Prosperity Scheme. Scheme's target is to double the farmer income and ensure prosperity in gram panchayats. 71. Maharashtra State Wildlife Board declared 10 areas as conservation reserves and upgrade Kanhalgaon in Chandrapur to level of a sanctuary. New conservation reserves are Amboli - Dodamarg, Chandgad, Aajra- Bhudargad, Gaganbawda, Panhalgad, Vishalgad, Jor Jambhli, Maini in western Maharashtra, and Mahendri and Munia in Vidarbha. 72. Maharashtra police acquired Crawler software from INTERPOL, to help track down child pornography. Team called TRACE (Tactical Response Against Cyber Child Exploitation), has been formed to implement a mission called Blackface, involving the software. 73. Ministry of Road Transport and Highways signed MoU with Federal Ministry of Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology of Austria, on Technology Cooperation in Road Infrastructure Sector. 74. Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, along with French Ministry of National Education and Youth, inaugurated first Center of Excellence(CoE) for skill development in power sector, in campus of National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE) at Gurugram (Haryana). 75. Misc. MOUs (December 2020) - Agricultural & Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) and NABARD signed MoU to work together to synergize the activities in interest of agriculture and allied sectors for bringing better value to stakeholders. Punjab Government signed MoU with International Digital Health and Artificial Intelligence Research Collaborative (I- DAIR), for development of digital technologies in state’s health sector. PSU SJVN Limited signed MoU with Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA), which will provide its services to SJVN for Green Energy projects. Andhra government signed MoU with Survey of India, for taking up the land re-survey named YSR Jagananna Saswath Bhoo Hakku-Bhoo Raksha Pathakam. IIT Hyderabad incubated start up Pure EV signed MOU with CSIR-Central Electro Chemical Research Institute (CECRI), to undertake joint research to develop Lithium-Ion Battery technology for electric vehicles. Ministry of Tribal Affairs' TRIFED signed MOU with Minister of Food Processing (MoFPI), for implementing Prime Minister Formalisation of Micro food processing Enterprises (PM-FME) Scheme, to support micro-level food entreprenuers, FPOs, SHGs and co-operatives. Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) signed between Central Ground Water Board and CSIR-NGRI Hyderabad, for use of advanced heliborne geophysical survey and other scientific studies in States of Rajasthan, Gujarat and Haryana under Aquifer Mapping Programme. Indian Navy signed MoU with Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), for sharing ocean services data. SIDBI Signed MoU with Assam Govt, to Develop MSME Ecosystem in State. TRIFED under Ministry of Tribal Affairs has tied up with Deen Dayal Antyodaya- National Rural Livelihood Mission (DAY- NRLM) to undertake support programmes to boost livelihoods of SHG women, including those from tribal populations. 76. NHPC will commission 2000 MW Subansiri hydropower project (Assam) by March 2022, which has been stalled for over 8 years due to intense protests. 77. NITI Aayog 's Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) and SAP Labs strengthened their partnership to promote digital literacy, innovation and entrepreneurship in India. SAP will conduct Training of Trainers (ToT) under UnBox Tinkering for around 500 teachers in next three years. 78. NITI Aayog launched indigenously developed India’s first Digital Asset Management and Cloud Storage platform called DigiBoxx. DigiBoxx deploys strong files encryption with all data being stored within India. 79. NTPC signed MOU with Indian Institute of Forest Management Bhopal (IIFM), to implement Narmada Landscape Restoration Project. Program has grant in aid from NTPC and United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in equal proportions. IIFM Bhopal will jointly implement this project with Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI). 80. Nagaland govt Observed Hornbill Festival virtually this year, amid surge in COVID-19. It is held every year from December 1 to 10, to showcase culture and heritage of Naga tribes. 81. Nokia began production of next generation of 5G Equipment in India, as first in India to manufacture 5G NR (5G New Radio). 5G New Radio (NR) has been designed to become benchmark for air interface of 5G networks. 82. Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik launched Pareshram Portal, to boost Ease of Doing Business and contribute to industrial development of State. 83. PM Narendra Modi launched Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY SEHAT Health Insurance Scheme for UT of Jammu and Kashmir, to cover remaining approx 1 crore population which was not covered under Ayushman Bharat Scheme of central Govt. It will provide free cashless treatment for inhabitants of Jammu and Kashmir, up to Rs 5 lakhs per family. 84. PM Narendra Modi Inaugurated Several Key Developmental Projects - Inaugurated 351 km long Bhaupur- New Khurja section of Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (EDFC), built at 5750 crores. 1856 km long Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor EDFC starts from Sahnewal near Ludhiana (Punjab) and will pass through states of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand to terminate at Dankuni in West Bengal. DFCCIL is also constructing Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (1504 route km) that connects Dadri in Uttar Pradesh to Jawaharlal Nehru Port in Mumbai, through UP, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra. inaugurated India’s first-ever driverless train operations on Delhi Metro’s Magenta Line. He also Launched National Common Mobility Card's expansion to Airport Express Line of Delhi Metro, which was started in Ahmedabad last year. He launched 100th Kisan Rail of India, to run between Sangola in Maharashtra and Shalimar in West Bengal. First multi-commodity service of Kisan Rail was launched in August 2020, between Devlali in Maharashtra and Danapur in Bihar. Government had extended a subsidy of 50% on the transportation of fruits and vegetables through Kisan Rail. 85. PM Narendra Modi Laid Foundation stone for New Parliament building in New Delhi, Central Vista redevelopment project. Earlier, Tata Group had won contract for construction of India’s new Parliament building with bid of Rs 861.90 crores, as part of Central Vista redevelopment project. It envisages construction of new Parliament building, near existing one, by 2022. Central Vista Redevelopment Project refers to redevelopment to revamp Central Vista, India's central administrative area in Raisina hills (New Delhi). It seeks to reconstruct and repurpose various buildings in Lutyens' Delhi which have been rendered as unfit for further use. It also envisages a common secretariat to house all 51 ministries in 10 administrative buildings. Cost is approx 20000 Crores. 86. PM Narendra Modi inaugurated construction of Agra Metro Rail Project, which comprises 2 corridors with length 29.4 KM and 27 Stations. Estimated cost is 8380 crores, to be completed in 5 years. 87. PM Narendra Modi unveiled various developmental projects in Kutch (Gujarat), including a desalination plant, a hybrid renewable energy park, and a fully automated milk processing and packing plant. Desalination plant in Mandvi, with 10 crore lpd capacity (100 MLD), will strengthen water security in state. The hybrid renewable energy park to be developed in Kharera (Kutch), will be world’s largest hybrid renewable energy park, spreading through 73000 hectares of area. It will generate 30 GW Reneweable energy and will employ approx 1 Lakh People. In area, it will be slightly bigger than countries like Bahrain and Singapore. 3rd project is a milk processing and packaging plant at Anjar’s Sarhad Dairy, with 2 lakh litres processing capacity per day. 88. Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan India's 8th producing basin and West Bengal's first oil and gas reserve, the Bengal Basin, in Ashoknagar. 89. Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) in Maharashtra's Pune district signed MoU with United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), to co-create India's first" Social Impact Bond (SIB). This type of bond lays down outcome-based targets to be achieved at the start of the contract. As a first, a government body will act as 'outcome funder' in a bond contrary to convention. 90. Punjab CM Amarinder Singh launched Mobile Application and portal PR Insight, to improve delivery of citizen-centric services. It aims to re-orient existing schemes and programmes of state government to people’s satisfaction. 91. Quality Council of India (QCI) launched Scheme for approval of Hygiene Rating Audit Agencies to scale up Hygiene Rating by increasing number of recognised Hygiene Rating Audit Agencies in India. FSSAI initiative Food Hygiene Rating Scheme is a certification system for food businesses supplying food directly to consumers (1 to 5). Recognised Hygiene Rating Audit Agencies will be responsible for verifying compliance with food hygiene and safety procedures laid by FSSAI and get Hygiene Rating. 92. Railways used LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging technique) technique to conduct ground survey for Delhi Varanasi High Speed Rail corridor. Technique uses a combination of GPS data, laser data, flight parameters to give an accurate survey. Length of Delhi Varanasi corridor is about 800 kilometres. It will connect Delhi with major cities such as Agra, Lucknow, Mathura, Prayagraj, Raebareli, Etawah, Bhadohi, Ayodhya and Varanasi. 93. Reliance Industries and British Petroleum started gas production from the R cluster, the deepest Off-shore gas field in Asia. It is first of 3 deepwater gas projects jointly developed by Reliance and British Petroleum in Krishna-Godavari basin block D6 (KG D6), named R Cluster, Satellites Cluster and MJ. These 3 projects are expected to meet 15 % of India’s gas demand by 2023. 94. Road Transport & Highways Ministry has finalised GPS-based (Global Positioning System) technology toll collection to ensure seamless movement of vehicles across country. It aims to make Highways toll booth free, by automating toll collection. This is also aims to boost Toll collection from 34000 crores presently, to 134000 crores. 95. Roads and Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari inaugurated 1.44 KM Long Koilwar Bridge over Sone river in Bihar, built at cost of 256 crores. It will replace 138 years old fragile bridge. Between 1862 -1900, Koilwar bridge was longest bridge in India, also called Abdul Bari Bridge. 96. Shipping Ministry circulated draft of Indian Ports Bill 2020, which will repeal and replace Indian Ports Act 1908. It seeks to enable structured growth and sustainable development of ports to attract investments in the Port sector for optimum utilisation of Indian Coastline. 97. To Promote skill development under Skill India Mission, first batch of trainings at Tata-Indian Institute of Skills Mumbai has been launched. The institute is a joint initiative between Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE) and Tata. 98. UNESCO released 2nd edition of State of the Education Report for India 2020, with special focus on Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET). 99. UT of Lakshadweep has been declared as Organic Agricultural Area by Ministry of Agriculture and Farmer’s welfare, as second after Sikkim to achieve status of 100% organic region. It has been certified organic under Government’s Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (organic farming improvement programme). There has been no shipment of chemicals and fertilizers to Lakshadweep, for last 15 years. 100. Urban Affairs Ministry launched mobile application and portal called E-Sampadam as a single window for services such as allotment for Government residential accommodations and office space allotment to Government organisations. 101. Uttar Pradesh Govt approved setting up Mega leather park in Ramaipur village of Kanpur, with investment of 5850 crores. It will create 50,000 direct jobs & indirect employment for 1.5 lakh people. 102. Uttar Pradesh government launched a scheme to globalize unique culture of Tharu tribes, as a Homestay scheme under which Forest Department will offer tourists an experience of living in natural habitat of Tharu tribals. 103. West Bengal Govt approved construction of state's First deep sea port in Tajpur, to be built at cost 15000 crores. 104. West Bengal Govt's Swasthya Sathi health insurance scheme, which was launched in 2016, is now been expanded to cover state’s entire population. It provides basic health cover for secondary and tertiary care up to 5 lakh INR per annum per family. Top

Persons 1. American Actor Kylie Jenner topped Forbes' list of highest-paid celebrities of 2020, followed by Kanye West, Roger Federer, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Lionel Messi. 2. HCL Technologies Chairperson Roshni Nadar Malhotra topped list of wealthiest women in India, as per 2nd Kotak Wealth Hurun–Leading Wealthy Women report. Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw of Biocon and Leena Gandhi Tewari of USV are at second and third ranked respectively. 3. Indian Origin Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen and Mastercard CEO Ajay Banga are named by Fortune among Businessperson of Year 2020. List is topped by Tesla CEO Elon Musk. 4. Indian actor Sonu Sood topped first-of-its-kind 50 Asian Celebrities In The World 2020 list, published by UK based Eastern Eye. He has been honored for his inspiring philanthropic work throughout Covid-19 pandemic. 5. Indian-American Teenager Gitanjali Rao has been named by TIME magazine as first-ever Kid of the Year, for her astonishing work using technology to tackle issues ranging from contaminated drinking water to opioid addiction and cyberbullying. 6. Obituaries (December 2020) - Dineshwar Sharma - Serving Administrator of Lakshadweep. Mahashay Dharampal - Noted Industrialist and Owner of MDH Spices. Valéry Giscard d'Estaing - Former French President. Papa Bouba Diop - Noted Former Senegal footballer. Rafer Johnson - American Noted decathlete and film Actor. He won gold in 1960 Olympics. Zafarullah Jamali - Former PM of Neighboring Nation Pakistan. Ravi Patwardhan - Noted Marathi Actor. Manu Mukherjee - Noted Bengali Actor. Narinder Singh Kapany - Noted physicist, also known as father of fibre optics. He founded Optics Technology and Kaptron Incorporation in 1960 and 1973 respectively. S Ramakrishnan - Noted Space Scientist, and Padma Shri Awardee. Ravi Patwardhan - Noted Hindi and Marathi Actor. Madhukar Gangadhar - Noted Hindi writer. Astad Deboo - Noted Indian contemporary dancer and Sangeet Natak Academy, Padmashree Awardee. Manglesh Dabral - Noted Hindi poet. Paolo Rossi - Noted Italian Footballer. He is only male player in history to win World Cup, Golden Boot, Golden Ball and Ballon d’Or in same year. Dennis Ralston - Noted American tennis player and Hall of famer. - Noted Indian Sanskrit scholar and Padma Shri, Sahitya Akademi Awardee. Roddam Narasimha - Noted aerospace scientist, fluid dynamicist and Padma Vibhushan Awardee. John le Carré - Noted British Spy author. Charley Pride - Noted American singer, guitarist, and professional baseball player. U.A. Khader - Noted Malayalam writer. D. Ethiraj - Former India footballer. Shripati Khanchanale - Noted wrestler, who won Hind Kesari Title in 1959. Eric Freeman - Former Australian Cricketer. Charles Yeager - US Air Force officer who in 1947 became first pilot confirmed to have exceeded speed of sound in level flight. Motilal Vora - Former Chief minister of Madhya pradesh. He also served as Governor of Uttar Pradesh. - Malayalam poet and activist. MG Vaidya - Noted veteran journalist, Sanskrit scholar and first official spokesperson of RSS. Gérard Houllier - Former French footballer and manager. John Edrich - Former English cricketer. Robin Jackman - Former English cricketer. Sunil Kothari - Noted Indian dance historian, scholar and critic. Pierre Cardin - Noted French-Italian fashion designer. Shamsur Rahman Faruqi - Noted Urdu Poet and Critic. Indira Joseph Venniyoor - Noted broadcaster and first English news announcer of Travancore Radio when its English service began in 1949. 7. Persons Resigned / Retired (December 2020) - New Zealand Cricketer Corey Anderson announced retirement from international cricket. Cricketer Parthiv Patel announced his retirement from all forms of cricket. Prime Minister of Romania, Ludovic Orban Resigned from his post. Pakistani Cricketer Mohammad Amir announced his retirement from International cricket. Former Tamil Nadu and CSK Cricketer Vijaykumar Yo Mahesh Announced Retirement from All Forms of Cricket. 8. Visits From India (December 2020) - Army Chief MM Naravane visited United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia and South Korea. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar visited Qatar. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar Visited Bahrain, UAE & Seychelles. 9. Visits to India (December 2020) - UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab Visited India. During his meet with Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’, India and UK announced to set up a joint task force, to work towards mutual recognition of academic qualification. General Izutsu Shunji, Chief of Japan Air Force visited India. Top

Science 1. Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) signed MoU with IIT-BHU in Uttar Pradesh to set up a Regional Academic Centre for Space (RAC-S). 2. A Consortium of Indian and German Scientists found that aerosols like black carbon and dust, which makes Indo-Gangetic Plain one of the most polluted regions of world, have led to increased incidents of high rainfall events in foothills of Himalayan Region. Researchers showed that particulate emissions can alter physical and dynamical properties of cloud systems, and amplify rainfall events over orographic regions downwind of highly polluted urban areas. Study indicate that aerosols can play a vital role in exciting high precipitation (HP) events over Himalayas during monsoon season. 3. A new species of pygmy grasshopper discovered by researchers from Eravikulam National Park (Kerala), has been named Tettilobus trishula for its trident-shaped protrusion in pronotum, resembling Lord Shiva’s three-pronged spear. 4. Agharkar Research Institute Pune (ARI) researchers found new species of Indian Muraingrasses (known for ecological and economic importance), in Goa. New species has been named Ischaemum janarthanamii in honour of Prof. M. K. Janarthanam, Goa University Professor known for his contribution to Indian grass taxonomy. Globally 85 species are known from Ischaemum, of which 61 species are exclusively found in India. 5. Amid need for dedicated efforts to tackle emerging challenges of operating in competitive space domain, Directorate of Space Situational Awareness and Management (DSSAM) has been established at ISRO. ISRO SSA Control Centre NEtwork for space object TRacking and Analysis (NETRA), is now set up within ISTRAC campus at Bangalore. This control centre is envisaged to function as a hub of all Space Situational Awareness (SSA) activities in India. 6. Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP), a developed by Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) has helped map around 300 million galaxies in just 300 hours, to create a ‘new atlas of the universe’. Array consists of 36 identical parabolic Antennas, that work together as a single astronomical Inferometer. 7. Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) Mumbai developed Eye Cancer therapy in form of first indigenous Ruthenium 106 Plaque for treatment of Ocular Tumours, at par with international standards. 8. China landed its spacecraft Chang'e-5 on Moon, which was launched on Nov 24, to bring back lunar rocks to Earth for first time since 1970s. China also became 2nd country to unfurl its national flag on moon surface. Earlier, it was achieved by USA when it planted flag on Moon during Apollo mission in 1969. 9. DRDO Young Scientist Laboratory for Quantum Technologies (DYSL-QT) has developed a fiber-optic branch path based Quantum Random Number Generator (QRNG), which detects random quantum events and converts those into stream of binary digits. 10. Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank laid foundation stone of TiHAN-IIT Hyderabad, India’s first Test bed for Autonomous Navigation Systems (Terrestrial and Aerial). Department of Science and Technology (DST) had sanctioned 135 crores to IIT Hyderabad under National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical Systems (NM-ICPS), to set up a Technology Innovation Hub on Autonomous Navigation and Data Acquisition Systems. 11. Hindustan Aeronautics Limited delivered its biggest cryogenic propellant tank (C32 LH2), to ISRO. C32-LH2 aluminium alloy cryogenic propellant tank is designed for improving payload capability of GSLV MK-III launching vehicle. 12. IIT Guwahati Researchers developed a new methodology to harvest water from the air by using concept of hydrophobicity. Researchers used concept of chemically patterned SLIPS for first time, to effectively harvest water from moist air. 13. IIT Kanpur Researchers developed Damaru Inspired Lattice, with applications in stealth submarines, high speed trains. Lattice based meta-structures have shown application in electro-magnetic and sonic wave absorption, which could create ‘invisibility’ of an object in optical / acoustic domain. 14. ISRO announced to asssist Chennai based rocket startup Agnikul Cosmos to test its small rocket that can launch 100 kg satellites into low earth orbit. It is first such assistance by ISRO to promote private sector. 15. ISRO launched Communication Satellite CMS-01, onboard Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle PSLV-C50, from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Siharikota (Andhra Pradesh). CMS-01 (formerly known as GSAT-12R) is replacement of aging GSAT-12. It is India's 42nd Communication satellite. 16. Indian private aerospace manufacturer Skyroot Aerospace successfully test fired a solid propulsion rocket stage (Kalam-5), as first time in India that a private company has successfully designed, developed and tested a full solid propulsion rocket stage. 17. Japanese Hayabusa2 spacecraft successfully returned back to earth after collecting over 5 grams of pristine black as coal soil and rock samples gathered from ancient near-earth asteroid Ryugu. 18. On December 21, 2020, World witnessed rare celestial event called great conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter. As this conjunction occurs after 400 years, it is called as ‘Great Conjunction’. Closest Distance remained 735 million kilometres. 19. Researchers discovered world's first known use of nanotechnology, used over 2600 years ago, in broken pieces of pottery from excavation site belonging to a city dating back to 3rd-6th century BCE. Site is approx 450km from Chennai, found 5 years ago. Before this, oldest known carbon nanostructures were found in Damascus blades from 16th-18th century CE. 20. Researchers found a new species of burrowing frog, naming it Sphaerotheca bengaluru, honouring Bengaluru City. 21. Scientists at International Advanced Research Center for Powder Metallurgy and New Materials (ARCI) and IIT Hyderabad have developed a scalable and cost-effective electrochemical route to synthesize electrodes made of Nickel cobaltite, for hybrid supercapacitors. It can pave way for next generation high power-high energy storage devices. 22. Scientists collected first possible radio signal from an exoplanet, located 51 light years away located in Tau Bootes star-system. Signals were received by a Low Frequency Array radio telescope located in Netherlands. 23. Scientists discovered new species a wild Sun Rose called Portulaca laljii, in Prakasam district of Andhra Pradesh (Eastern Ghats). It has been named after Lal Ji Singh, an eminent botanist of Botanical Survey of India. 24. Space start-up Pixxel signed agreement with New Space India Limited (NSIL), to launch India's first private remote-sensing satellite onboard an ISRO PSLV rocket. Earlie, IN-SPACe (Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Center) was created for enabling private players to undertake space activities in India. 25. University of Texas (US) Researchers created smallest memory device yet, called atomristor, which may lead to faster and more energy-efficient electronic chips. New device has capacity of 25 terabits per square centimeter, which is about 100 times higher memory density per layer compared with commercially available flash memory devices. Top

Sports 1. Ahead of 2023 Hockey World Cup, India's largest hockey stadium will be built in Rourkela (Odisha), With seating capacity of 20000. 2. Athletes Bajrang Punia (Freestyle-Wrestling) and Elavenil Valarivan (Shooting) won top honours at virtual FICCI India Sports Awards 2020. Also, Best State Promoting Sports Award went to Madhya Pradesh. Air Force Sports Control Board (AFSCB) is named as winner in category of Best Company Promoting Sports (Public Sector). 3. Due to Pandemic, FIFA canceled 2021 editions of men's U-20 World Cup and U-17 World Cup, giving hosting rights to Indonesia and Peru respectively for 2023 editions (who were to host canceled 2021 editions). 4. ICC Announced that 2022 ICC Women's Cricket World Cup will be hosted by New Zealand. 5. Indian Boxers won 9 medals (3 gold, 2 silver and 4 bronze) at Cologne Boxing World Cup in Cologne (Germany). Gold - Amit Panghal (Flyweight 52kg M), Manisha Moun (57kg W) and Simranjit Kaur (60kg W). Silver - Sakshi (57kg W) , Satish Kumar (91kg M). Bronze - Sonia Lather (57kg W), Pooja Rani (75kg W), Gaurav Solanki (57kg M) , and Mohamed Hussamudin (57kg M). 6. Indian tennis player Ankita Raina won her third doubles title by claiming ITF Doubles Title in Dubai, along with Ekaterine Gorgodze (Georgia). 7. International Olympic Committee (IOC) registered Breakdancing as newest entry into Olympics, to be known as Breaking in Olympics. Breaking will make its Olympic Games debut at the 2024 Paris Games (2024 Summer Olympics). Also, 3 new sports -skateboarding, sport climbing, and surfing, will make their Olympic debuts at Tokyo Games 2021 (earlier 2020 Summer Olympics). 8. Mercedes F1 Racing Driver Lewis Hamilton (UK) won Bahrain Grand Prix. 2020 F1 Season - Round Grand Prix Winner Race date

1 Austrian Grand Prix Valtteri Bottas (Finland) 5 July

2 Styrian Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton (UK) 12 July

3 Hungarian Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton (UK) 19 July

4 British Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton (UK) 2 August

5 70th Anniversary Grand Prix Max Verstappen (Belgian-Dutch) 9 August

6 Spanish Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton (UK) 16 August

7 Belgian Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton (UK) 30 August

8 Italian Grand Prix Pierre Gasly (France) 6 September

9 Tuscan Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton (UK) 13 September

10 Russian Grand Prix Valtteri Bottas (Finland) 27 September

11 Eifel Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton (UK) 11 October

12 Portuguese Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton (UK) 25 October

13 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton (UK) 1 November

14 Turkish Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton (UK) 15 November

15 Bahrain Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton (UK) 29 November

16 Sakhir Grand Prix 6 December

17 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 13 December 9. Ministry of AYUSH and Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports announced formal recognition of Yogasana as a competitive sport. 10. Misc. Sports Events (December 2020) - FIFA named Japan as host of 7 Team 2021 Club World Cup. Kenya’s Kibiwott Kandie has set new half marathon world record at Valencia Half Marathon (Spain), by finishing in 57:32 Minutes. Sports Ministry Announced to start 1000 Khelo India centres across country, to help retired sportspersons get employment and to encourage sports culture. Maldives has been replaced by Madagascar to host Indian Ocean Island Games which will be held in 2023, amid pandemic. Sri Lanka will host Asia Cup Cricket in June 2021, while Pakistan will host in 2022. Sabrina Filzmoser of Austria and Flavio Canto of Brazil are appointed as 'IJF Climate Ambassadors by IJF (International Judo Federation). Geneva based Court of arbitration for sports banned Russia from using its flag, name and national anthem at next two Olympics or at any world championships, due to Doping charges. Qatar has been given rights to host 2030 Asian Games, while 2034 Asian games will be hosted by Saudi Arabia. Odisha's Rourkela has been selected as 2nd venue for FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup 2023, besides capital Bhubaneswar. India's Yash Vardhan wo Gold in 10 m Air Rifle event at 6th International Online Shooting Championship (IOSC). Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) banned Mauritian badminton player Kate Jessica Foo Kune for two years for anti- doping violation. Russian badminton player Nikita Khakimov has also been banned for 5 years. 11. Red Bull F1 Racing Driver Max Verstappen (Belgian-Dutch) won Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (UAE), last race of F1 Season 2020. 2020 F1 Season - Round Grand Prix Winner Race date

1 Austrian Grand Prix Valtteri Bottas (Finland) 5 July

2 Styrian Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton (UK) 12 July 3 Hungarian Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton (UK) 19 July

4 British Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton (UK) 2 August

5 70th Anniversary Grand Prix Max Verstappen (Belgian-Dutch) 9 August

6 Spanish Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton (UK) 16 August

7 Belgian Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton (UK) 30 August

8 Italian Grand Prix Pierre Gasly (France) 6 September

9 Tuscan Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton (UK) 13 September

10 Russian Grand Prix Valtteri Bottas (Finland) 27 September

11 Eifel Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton (UK) 11 October

12 Portuguese Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton (UK) 25 October

13 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton (UK) 1 November

14 Turkish Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton (UK) 15 November

15 Bahrain Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton (UK) 29 November

16 Sakhir Grand Prix Sergio Pérez (Mexico) 6 December

17 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix` Max Verstappen (Belgian-Dutch) 13 December 12. Red Bull F1 Racing Driver Sergio Pérez (Mexico) won Sakhir Grand Prix (Bahrain). Also, Jehan Daruvala became first Indian to win a Formula 2 race, during Sakhir Grand Prix in Bahrain. Formula 2 Championship is a second-tier racing championship. 2020 F1 Season - Round Grand Prix Winner Race date

1 Austrian Grand Prix Valtteri Bottas (Finland) 5 July

2 Styrian Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton (UK) 12 July

3 Hungarian Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton (UK) 19 July

4 British Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton (UK) 2 August

5 70th Anniversary Grand Prix Max Verstappen (Belgian-Dutch) 9 August

6 Spanish Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton (UK) 16 August

7 Belgian Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton (UK) 30 August

8 Italian Grand Prix Pierre Gasly (France) 6 September

9 Tuscan Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton (UK) 13 September

10 Russian Grand Prix Valtteri Bottas (Finland) 27 September

11 Eifel Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton (UK) 11 October

12 Portuguese Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton (UK) 25 October

13 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton (UK) 1 November

14 Turkish Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton (UK) 15 November

15 Bahrain Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton (UK) 29 November

16 Sakhir Grand Prix Sergio Pérez (Mexico) 6 December

17 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 13 December 13. Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju flagged off 917 km long Brahmaputra Aamantran Abhiyaan, a river rafting expedition and public outreach programme in Arunachal Pradesh and Assam. 14. Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju inaugurated 8 Khelo India State Centres of Excellence (KISCEs) in States - Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Kerala, Telangana, Nagaland, Karnataka and Odisha. Aim is to promote Sporting culture across India, with a vision is to see India in top 10 in Los Angeles Olympics 2028. Earlier in Nov 2020, Sports Ministry had upgraded centres from 9 States / UTs to Khelo India State Centre of Excellence (KISCE). Overall number now stands at 32 KISCEs. 15. Sports Ministry approved inclusion of four Indigenous Games to be part of Khelo India Youth Games 2021, scheduled to take place in Haryana. The games include Gatka, Kalaripayattu, Thang-Ta and Mallakhamba. 16. Swedish pole vaulter Mondo Duplantis and Venezuelan triple jumper Yulimar Rojas are 2020 Male and Female World Athletes of the Year, announced by World Athletics. 17. Wrestler Anshu Malik won India’s only medal at Individual Wrestling World Cup in Belgrade (Serbia), by winning Silver in 57kg women’s freestyle. Russia remained at top with 24 Medals (17 Gold, 2 Silver, 5 Bronze). Top

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