Daily Current Affairs

Around 3,000 rockets fired towardsfor Israel app_20201213 from Gaza: Israel Army

The Israel army has said that the country has seen the highest ever concentration of rocket attacks on its territory during the ongoing conflict with Hamas in Gaza. Major General Ori Gordin has said that Hamas had fired about 3,000 rockets towards Israel since Monday. He claimed that the rocket launches this time has surpassed previous attacks from Gaza and also from the 2006 war with Hezbollah in Lebanon. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to continue to respond forcefully to the rocket attacks by Hamas.

Delay child COVID-19 vaccinations and share jabs with low-income countries, says WHO to wealthier nations

The head of the World Health Organization Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that Wealthier nations should postpone plans to give COVID-19 vaccines to children and teenagers and instead donate supplies to low-income countries. Speaking at a virtual conference in Geneva, Dr Tedros urged countries to supply more vaccines to the global fair-access scheme Covax. The international distribution of COVID vaccines remains vastly uneven. Since the first vaccines were approved in December, wealthier countries have bought up most of the supply. The WHO head added that in low and lower-middle income countries, Covid-19 vaccine supply has not been enough to even immunise healthcare workers, and hospitals are being inundated with people that need lifesaving care urgently. Last week, US President Joe Biden laid out plans to begin coronavirus vaccine shots for 12- to 15-year-olds as soon as possible.

Daily Current Affairs

Miss Universe 2021: Mexico's Andreafor Mezaapp_20201213 Wins the Crown

Miss Mexico Andrea Meza has been crowned the 69th Miss Universe during a three-hour televised competition held at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Hollywood in Florida. Former Miss Universe Zozibini Tunzi of South Africa crowned the Mexican beauty at the event. Miss India Adline Castelino was declared the third runer-up.

Boeing must inspect older 737 jets after Indonesia crash: US aviation regulator

The US aviation regulator is ordering Boeing to inspect older generation 737 jets, after the January crash of an aircraft off Indonesia that killed 62 people. All Boeing 737-300, -400 and -500 planes will need to be examined, a total of 143 aircraft, according to a document from the Federal Aviation Administration. A failure of the "flap synchro wire" missed by the auto throttle computer -- which manages the plane's thrust "could result in loss of control of the airplane," the document said.

Daily Current Affairs

Karen guerillas inflict heavy casualtiesfor onapp_20201213 Myanmar troops

Karen guerillas have inflicted heavy casualties on Myanmar troops. More than 250 Myanmarese troops have been killed in a week of fighting with the Karen ethnic rebels. The fighting has intensified this month after the Myanmar army launched an offensive against the bases of the Karen National Union (KNU).

Bharat Biotech's Covaxin effective against Coronavirus strains found in India and UK

Indigenously developed Bharat Biotech's COVID-19 vaccine - COVAXIN, has been found effective against Coronavirus strains found in India and the UK. A study published in medical journal Clinical Infectious Diseases said that Covaxin has been found to successfully neutralise all key emerging variants tested including- the double mutant strain B.1.617 and B.1.1.7. The study was conducted by National Institute of Virology and Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). COVAXIN is one of the three COVID-19 vaccines that are currently available in India.

Daily Current Affairs

Govt plans to ramp up productionfor of Covaxin app_20201213 to 10 crore doses per month

Centre has said that it plans to ramp up the production of Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin from 1.5 crore doses to about 10 crore doses every month. NITI Aayog member Dr VK Paul said, total production of Covaxin doses will be further scaled up to 13 crore doses a month when three public sector undertakings start manufacturing the vaccine. Haffkine Biopharmaceuticals in Mumbai, Indian Immunologicals in Hyderabad and Bulandshahr-based Bharat Immunologicals and Biologicals are the three public sector units that will manufacture Covaxin vaccine.

Dr Paul said, Bharat Biotech’s vaccine technology is being shared with the three PSUs with a provision of 150-crore rupees funding to scale up production.

Union Education Minister Receives 'International Invincible Gold Medal'

The "International Invincible Gold Medal" of this year has been conferred on Union Education Minister Dr Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank. Dr Tony Nader, president of Maharshi Organisation worldwide, said that Nishank has been recognised for his extraordinary commitment and outstanding service to humanity through his writings, social and illustrious public life.

Daily Current Affairs

Centre directs States to preventfor dumping app_20201213 of dead bodies in Ganga river and ensure dignified cremation

Centre has directed states to prevent dumping of dead bodies in Ganga and focus on their safe disposal and providing support for ensuring dignified cremation. Secretary, Jal Shakti Ministry, Pankaj Kumar said, stopping dumping of bodies as well as their safe disposal and protection of water quality has to be attended to on war footing.

Railways commissions Wi-Fi at 6,000 Railway stations in five years

With the commissioning of Wi-Fi at Hazaribagh Railway station in Jharkhand , Indian Railways commissioned Wi-Fi at six thousand Railway stations in five years. Railway Ministry said, Indian Railways continues to contribute to Digital India initiative and connect different parts of the country with high speed Wi-Fi facility. This will bridge the digital divide between the rural and urban citizens thereby increasing the digital footprint in the rural villages and also enhance the user experience.

This facility was provided with the help of RailTel, a Public Sector Undertakings under Ministry of Railways.

Daily Current Affairs

NCMC reviews preparedness offor Central, app_20201213 State Ministries & Agencies to deal with Cyclonic Storm ‘Tauktae’

The National Crisis Management Committee, NCMC under the chairmanship of Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba reviewed the preparedness of Central and State Ministries and Agencies to deal with Cyclonic Storm ‘Tauktae’ in the Arabian Sea. NDRF has deployed 79 teams in these states and 22 additional teams are also kept in readiness. Rescue and relief teams of the Army, Navy and Coast Guard along with ships and aircrafts have also been deployed.

Congress leader dead

Senior Congress leader and member Rajeev Satav died on Sunday following post-COVID- 19 complications after 24 days of hospitalisation.He was elected to the Rajya Sabha in March last year, for what was his first term in the Upper House. He served as a member from 2014 to 2019 from the Lok Sabha constituency in and had been a legislator in the Maharashtra Assembly.

Daily Current Affairs

CBIC launches Special GST Refundfor Disposal app_20201213 Drive from 15th to 31st May

Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has launched a Special GST Refund Disposal Drive from 15th May to 31st May for processing and disposal of all pending GST refund claims on priority. CBIC said that it is expected that all Central Tax formations will take up all the pending GST refund claims for processing and endeavour to dispose them much earlier than the statutory time limits, preferably before a period of 30 days from the date of receipt of the refund application.

PNB raises ₹ 1,800 crore via QIP offering

Punjab National Bank (PNB), the country‘s second largest public sector bank, has raised ₹ 1,799.99 crore through its latest Qualified Institutional Placement (QIP) offering that saw the bank issue 53.33 crore shares at ₹ 33.75 per share, which is about 5 percent discount to the floor price of ₹ 35.51 per share, to institutional investors.

Daily Current Affairs

SBI to sell three NPA accounts nextfor month app_20201213 for recovery of over Rs 235 cr

The State Bank of India (SBI) will sell three bad accounts to asset reconstruction companies or other financial institutions next month to recover dues of over Rs 235 crore. SBI said it has placed Heavy Metal and Tubes Ltd, Khare and Tarkunde Infrastructure Pvt Ltd and Elize International Ltd for sale to recover a total of Rs 235.32 crore. Heavy Metal has outstanding dues of Rs 116.91 crore to the bank, Khare and Tarkunde owes Rs 99.84 crore and Elize International Rs 18.57 crore.

Sitaram and Sarkar to take charge as CFO and Internal Auditor of IDBI Bank

The Board of Directors of IDBI Bank has approved the appointment of P Sitaram, Executive Director (ED), as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Key Managerial Personnel with effect from June 1, 2021. Sitaram will take charge from incumbent ED & CFO Ajay Sharma. Meanwhile, IDBI Bank’s board also approved the appointment of Sunit Sarkar, ED (In-Situ) as Internal Auditor of the Bank with effect from June 1, 2021 in place of MV Phadke, ED & Internal Auditor.

Daily Current Affairs

Covid Kills Over 1,000 Bank Employeesfor app_20201213as Virus Ravages India

Indian banks have lost more than a thousand employees and many more are infected, according to an industry body, underscoring the heavy toll that the virus has taken in the Asian country battling the world’s worst coronavirus crisis. C.H. Venkatachalam, general secretary of the All India Bank Employees Association -- the largest body of bank workers -- told that 1,200 employees had died due to the virus.

Rafael Nadal beat Novak Djokovic to win Italian Open title

Rafael Nadal beat world number one Novak Djokovic to win a 10th Italian Open title. Second seed Spaniard Nadal won through 7-5, 1-6, 6-3 against the defending champion. Nadal also equalled Djokovic’s record of 36 ATP Masters 1000 titles in his 12th Rome final.

Daily Current Affairs

Balachandran Nair passes awayfor app_20201213

Former India badminton coach S. Balachandran Nair (69) passed away on Sunday due to COVID-19. In a coaching career spanning more than three decades, Balachandran trained prominent players like U. Vimal Kumar, Sanave Thomas, V. Diju, Thomas Kurien, Fatima Nazreen, and Ayyappan Krishnan. He was also the coach of the Indian team for more than a decade and had accompanied squads to various tournaments around the world.

Tejaswini Shankar bags men's high jump titles in Big 12 Outdoor Track & Field Championships

India's Tejaswini Shankar has bagged men's high jump titles in the Big 12 Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Manhattan, USA. The 22 year old athlete cleared the bar at 2.28 meter to win high jump gold . However, despite the spectacular performance, Shankar fell short of the Tokyo Olympic Games qualification standard of 2.33 m.