Daily Updated Current Affairs: 25.12.2020 .12.2018

DAILY UPDATED CURRENT AFFAIRS: 25.12.2020 .12.2018 .2018 NATIONAL Cabinet approves 100% FDI & 20-Year License in DTH broadcasting services sector Cabinet approves 100% FDI.11.2018 & 20-Year License in DTH broadcasting services sector The Union Cabinet has approved revised guidelines for Direct-to-Home (DTH) broadcasting services on 23rd December 2020. Key Features of new guidelines  Allowed 100 percent foreign direct investment (FDI) in the DTH broadcasting services sector. This FDI cap was limited to 49 percent till now.  From now on, the DTH services will be issued licenses for a period of 20 years, compared to 10 years at the moment. It will also have a renewal provision after every 10 years.  The license fee has also been revised from 10 percent of gross revenue (GR) to 8 percent of adjusted gross revenue (AGR), which will be calculated by deduction of GST from GR.  The license fee will be collected on quarterly basis as against annual basis presently.

India’s largest hockey stadium to be set up at Rourkela in Odisha  A new world-class hockey stadium is being set up in Rourkela city of Odisha, as announced by the Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.  The stadium will be constructed in the BijuPatnaik University of Technology campus, Rourkela.  Once operational, the Rourkela city stadium would be the biggest hockey stadium in India.  It will have a sitting capacity of 20,000 people, spread over 15 acres of land.  The stadium will be developed as a benchmark for other hockey stadiums around the world.  It must be noted that Odisha will be hosting FIH Men‟s Hockey World Cup for a second consecutive time, in 2034, at two venues, Bhubaneswar and Rourkela.

NitiAayog Launches Made-in-India Cloud Storage Service ‘DigiBoxx’  NITI Aayog has launched indigenously developed India‟s first Digital Asset Management and Storage platform, called „DigiBoxx‟.  The home-grown DigiBoxx was launched by NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant on 22 December.  The initiative will give a boost to Prime Minister NarendraModi‟s vision of „Atmanirbhar Bharat‟, as India now has its own cloud storage platform.  This cloud storage and file sharing service will be available for desktop, iOS, and Android users, including both regular users as well as businesses.  Digiboxx offers free 20GB cloud storage space, and 100GB space per month at just Rs 30.

US financial body DFC to invest USD 54 million in India to support critical infrastructure projects  The United States International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) has announced to invest $54 million in India to support the development of critical infrastructure projects in the country in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.  The DFC will invest this $54 million in equity for the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) in India.  NIIF will use this capital to support economic growth and address critical development challenges in the country.  This financing is part of NIIF‟s final round of fund-raising for the fund.  DFC is the development finance institution of the United States federal government, primarily responsible for providing and facilitating the financing of private development projects in lower- and middle-income countries.

Petroleum Minister unveils India’s first long distance CNG bus  Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister unveiled India‟s first long-distance CNG bus fitted with CNG cylinders in New Delhi. It can travel around 1000 kilometres in a single fill.  The first long-range interstate CNG bus will ply from Delhi to Dehradun.  This type of buses will soon ply between Delhi to Jaipur, Chandigarh and Agra.

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DAILY UPDATED CURRENT AFFAIRS: 25.12.2020 .12.2018  The project has been.2018 executed by Indraprastha Gas Limited, the largest CNG distribution company in the country.  Petroleum and Natural.11.2018 Gas Minister: DharmendraPradhan.

Rohtang tunnel in Himachal Pradesh named as Atal tunnel  Prime Minister NarendraModi named Rohtang passageway in Himachal Pradesh as Atal Tunnel to mark the 95th birth anniversary of former Prime Minister AtalBihari Vajpayee.  The tunnel has been named as a tribute to the former Prime Minister who took the historic decision of constructing this strategic tunnel.  It will provide all-weather connectivity to remote areas of Lahaul and Spiti Valley and also reduce the distance between Manali and Leh by 46 Kilometres.  Himachal Pradesh CM: Jai Ram Thakur; Governor: BandaruDattatraya.

INTERNATIONAL Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg steps down  Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg has stepped down as the company is facing tough period following two fatal crashes.  He will be replaced by Chairman David Calhoun effective January 13, 2020.  He became the CEO of the world‟s largest aerospace company in July 2015.  The company‟s best selling commercial jet was grounded worldwide in March 2019 after two fatal crashes killed 346 people.  Headquarters of Boeing: Chicago, United States.

STATES NEWS PM Modi unveiled AtalBihari Vajpayee statue in Lucknow  Prime Minister NarendraModi unveiled a statue of former Prime Minister AtalBihari Vajpayee at LokBhawan in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh.  He also laid the foundation stone for the AtalBihari Vajpayee Medical University in the Uttar Pradesh capital.  The state government has given 50 acres of land for the varsity. Important takeaways for all competitive exams:  CM of UP: Yogi Adityanath; Governor of UP: Anandiben Patel.

HemantSoren to take oath as Jharkhand CM on Dec 29  In Jharkhand, Grand Alliance leader HemantSoren will take oath as Chief Minister on the 29th of this month.  He was formally elected the Jharkhand MuktiMorcha (JMM) legislature party leader.  He was projected as the chief ministerial candidate by the JMM, Congress and RJD Alliance that gained the majority in the recently concluded Assembly polls. Important takeaways for all competitive exams:  Governor of Jharkhand: DroupadiMurmu.  Jharkhand was founded on 15 November 2000.

BANKING & ECONOMY RBI cancels the Licence of the Subhadra Local Area Bank, Maharashtra  The Reserve Bank of India has cancelled the banking licence issued to Subhadra Local Area Bank Ltd., Kolhapur, Maharashtra to carry on banking business in India w.e.f December 24, 2020.  The Reserve Bank cancelled the licence of the Subhadra Local Area Bank Ltd as it had breached the minimum net worth requirement for two quarters in the financial year 2019-20. The affairs of the Subhadra Local Area Bank Ltd. were conducted in a manner detrimental to the interests of its present and future depositors.  After this, there are only two Local Area Banks operational in India, i,e.– Coastal Local Area Bank Ltd and Krishna BhimaSamruddhi LAB Ltd.

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DAILY UPDATED CURRENT AFFAIRS: 25.12.2020 .12.2018 Ind-Ra revises India’s FY21.2018 GDP contraction to 7.8% from 11.8% earlier  India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) has revised India‟s GDP estimate for the current financial year 2020-21 (FY21).11.2018 to -7.8 percent from -11.8 percent estimated earlier.

AWARDS. Kamareddy wins Unicef-2019 Award for Swachh Bharat implementation  Kamareddy district of Telangana has secured the United Nations International Children‟s and Education Fund (Unicef)-2019 Award.  The district has won the award for effective implementation of Swachh Bharat Mission in water sanitation and hygiene sectors.  Kamareddy district was on top in the country among other districts in construction of individual sanitary lavatories, swachhdarpan wall paintings, swachhsurvekshan, swachhsundarshouchalay and many other activities. Important takeaways for all competitive exams:  Chief Minister of Telangana: K Chandrasekhar Rao; Governor: Tamilisai  This lower contraction rate is mainly due to the easing of COVID-19 curbs and better-than-expected recovery in the second quarter.  Ind-Ra has also estimated the GDP to grow by 9.6% in 2021-22 (FY22).

RANKING HDFC Bank Ranks Top among 100 BFSI Firms in India  HDFC Bank is the top ranked company among the 100 Banking, Financial Services and Insurance (BFSI) companies in the country, as per the BFSI Movers and Shakers 2020 report by Wizikey.  HDFC Bank has topped because of its customer service, monetary management, and innovative offerings amid the coronavirus pandemic.  ICICI Bank and State Bank of India (SBI) are ranked second and third, respectively.  Other top 10 banks in 2020 Wizikey‟s BFSI Movers and Shakers report are Yes Bank, PNB, HSBC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Bank of Baroda, Deutsche Bank, and IDBI.  Wallet and UPI segment – Google Pay  Neo Banks segment – YONO  Payments bank category – Airtel Payments Bank

Tamil Nadu tops ‘Good Governance Index’ launched by GoI  The Central Government has released the “Good Governance Index” on the occasion of Good Governance Day.  The “Good Governance Index” was launched to assess the state of governance in Indian States and Union Territories.  The prime objective of the GGI is to provide quantifiable data to compare the state of governance in all states and Union Territories, enable them to formulate and implement suitable strategies for improving governance and shift to result oriented approaches and administration.  The Index was launched by the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances, and the Centre for Good Governance. The GGI takes into consideration ten sectors. These ten Governance Sectors are measured on total 50 indicators. The 10 sectors are:  Agriculture and Allied Sectors  Commerce & Industries  Human Resource Development  Public Health  Public Infrastructure & Utilities  Economic Governance  Social Welfare & Development  Judicial & Public Security  Environment

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DAILY UPDATED CURRENT AFFAIRS: 25.12.2020 .12.2018  Citizen-Centric Governance.2018 The states and UTs are divided into three groups:  Big States .11.2018  North-East & Hill States  Union Territories Some key results of the day:  Among the “Big States“, Tamil Nadu topped the Good Governance Index. The poor performers are Odisha, Bihar, Goa, and Uttar Pradesh with Jharkhand finishing last in the group.  Among the “North-East and Hill States“, Himachal Pradesh topped the index, followed by Uttarakhand, Tripura, Mizoram and Sikkim.  The worst performers in this group are Jammu and Kashmir, Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland, with Arunachal Pradesh finishing last in the group.  Among the “Union Territories“, Puducherry topped the index followed by Chandigarh and Delhi. Lakshwadeep is the worst performing UT.

BOOKS & AUTHOR Vice President Venkaiah Naidu inaugurates book titled ‘Oh Mizoram’ authored by Mizoram Governor SreedharanPillai  The Vice-President of India, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu released a book titled „Oh Mizoram‟ through video conferencing recently during an event organised at the India International Centre, New Delhi.  The book „Oh Mizoram‟ has been written by the Governor of Mizoram, P S SreedharanPillai.  The book is a collection of several English poems and has been published by the Indus Scrolls Press, Hyderabad.  Oh Mizora, is the 125th book written by Governor Pillai.

SPORTS South African seamer Vernon Philander announces retirement  South African all-rounder Vernon Philander announced international retirement from all forms of cricket after the conclusion of the upcoming Test series against England.  He has played 97 matches across all three formats, taking a combined 261 wickets with 1784 runs in his international career.  He also took 51 wickets in his first seven Test matches which earned him the 2012 SA Cricketer of the Year award. MS Dhoni named captain of CA’s ODI team of the decade  Former India skipper and wicket-keeper batsman MS Dhoni been named captain of Cricket Australia‟s (CA) ODI team of the decade and the line-up features three Indian players.  Apart from Dhoni, ViratKohli and Rohit Sharma have made the cut in CA‟s team.  CA‟s ODI team of the decade: Rohit Sharma, HashimAmla, ViratKohli, AB de Villiers, Shakib Al Hasan, Jos Buttler, MS Dhoni (c), Mitchell Starc, Trent Boult, LasithMalinga, Rashid Khan.

Leander Paes to retire from Tennis in 2020  Indian tennis ace Leander Paes has announced that 2020 will be his last year as a professional tennis player.  Leander, who made his Olympic debut in 1992, will look for one final flourish at Tokyo Olympics next year.  He has won eight doubles and ten mixed doubles Grand Slam titles.

DAYS Good Governance Day: 25 December  In India, Good Governance Day (Sushasan Divas) is observed annually on December 25 to commemorate the birth anniversary of former Prime Minister AtalBihari Vajpayee (25 December 1924 – 16 August 2018).

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DAILY UPDATED CURRENT AFFAIRS: 25.12.2020 .12.2018  Good Governance Day.2018 was established in 2014 by the newly elected administration of Prime Minister NarendraModi, to foster awareness among the Indian people of accountability in government. .11.2018 England World Cup winner Martin Peters passes away  Former West Ham and Tottenham midfielder Martin Peters, who scored England‟s second goal in the 1966 World Cup final against West Germany, passed away.  He joined West Ham in 1959 as a 15-year-old, made his debut in 1962 and was a key player in the side who won the 1965 Cup Winners Cup final at Wembley.

Renowned Hindi author Ganga Prasad passes away  Renowned Hindi author Ganga Prasad Vimal passed away in a road accident in Sri Lanka.  He was born in 1939 in Uttarkashi, Uttarakhand. He wrote more than a dozen poetry collections, short story collections and novels.  His last novel, Manushkhor, was published in 2013. He received several Hindi literary awards.

OBITUARY Veteran Malayalam poet-activist Sugathakumari passes away at 86  Renowned Malayalam poet and environmental activist Sugathakumari has passed away following Covid-19 complications. She was 86.  Sugathakumari was awarded the first Indira PriyadarshiniVrikshamitra by the Centre, for her contribution to conservation of nature.  She was honored with the Padmashri award in 2006.  For her contributions to Malayalam literature, Sugathakumari won the Kerala SahityaAkademi award in 1968 for „Pathirapookal‟, and the Kendra SahityaAkademi award in 1978 for „Rathrimazha.

England World Cup winner Martin Peters passes away  Former West Ham and Tottenham midfielder Martin Peters, who scored England‟s second goal in the 1966 World Cup final against West Germany, passed away.  He joined West Ham in 1959 as a 15-year-old, made his debut in 1962 and was a key player in the side who won the 1965 Cup Winners Cup final at Wembley.

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