CONTENT National…………………………………………….…………………….2 International……………………………………………………………..15 Defence………………………………………………………………….19 Appointments or Resign/Retired…………………………….…………..22 Honours/ Awards……………………………………………….……….27 Sports……………………………………………..……………..………31 Obituaries………………………………………………..…….….….….33 Important Days with theme………………………………….…….…...36 www.tarainstitute.com Current Affairs National iii.The bridge will be dedicated to the nation after the confirmation of schedule from the Prime Ministers 96th Edition of Tansen Sangeet Samaroh, Annual (PM) of India and Bangladesh, Narendra Modi and Music Festival Hosted in Gwalior, MP;Pt Satish Sheikh Hassina respectively. Vyas won Tansen Samman 2020 The 5 day Tansen Sangeet Samaroh 2020, 96th edition of the annual music Karnataka’s Hubballi railway station to get World festival organized to pay tribute Longest Railway Platform to the Great Indian Karnataka’s Hubballi Railway Musical Maestro Tansen was station officially Shree held in Behat Siddharoodha Swamiji railway Village, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh(MP) from 26th station is set to get the “world’s December to 30th December 2020. The festival was longest railway platform” of 1500 organised near the tomb of Tansen. plus meters’ length and 10 meters width. The platform The event was jointly organised by Ustad Alauddin will be inaugurated in March 2021. Khan Kala Evam Sangeet Academy and Department Features: of Culture, Government of Madhya Pradesh. i.Earlier the existing 440-meter-long platform number 2020 Awards : 1 was planned to be expanded to a length of 1400 i.Pt Satish Vyas conferred with prestigious Tansen meters. The South-Western Railway (SWR) has later Samman 2020. Tansen award is provided,which decided to expand the length to 1,505 meters.– carries sum Rs. 1,00,000.The award is given for Increasing the length of the platform is a part of Hindustani Music. Rs.80 Lakh Project. ii.Bhopal-based institution Abhinav Kala ii.As a part of this project in addition to the existing 5 Parishad was honoured with Raja Mansingh Tomar platforms, 3 new platforms are being constructed. award 2020 Note: The 1366-meter-long platform of Gorakhpur railway station, Uttar Pradesh, the headquarters of the North- Tripura – Bangladesh ‘Maitre Setu’ will be Open Eastern Railway (NER), is the longest railway Soon platform in the world, it was renovated in 2013. i.The Rs 128.69 crores Maitre Setu, which connects South Tripura with Ramgarh of Bangladesh and provides access to the Chittagong seaport, is all set to India’s April-November Fiscal Deficit is 135.1% of be opened in a few months. Its construction was full-year target started in 2017 but it got delayed due to COVID-19 In accordance with the data released by the Controller pandemic.1.9 Km long Feni Bridge is also known as General of Accounts(CGA), India’s April-November Maitree Setu was built over River Feni. fiscal deficit stood at Rs 10.75 lakh crore at the end of ii.The bridge has been taken over by the National November 2020 which is 135.1% of the Budget Highways and Infrastructure Development Estimate(BE) for FY21, The fiscal deficit at the end of Corporation Limited (NHIDCL), the project November 2019 had stood at 114.8% of 2019-20 BE. execution authority which will recheck the safety Key Points: standard of the work. i.As per CGA data the total expenditure incurred by www.tarainstitute.com Current Affairs the government up to November rose 4.7% to Rs 19.06 nation-wide records commenced in 1901. lakh crore or 63% of BE.(i.e. Rs.16.6 lakh crore was ii.But, this is substantially low than the highest on revenue account, ₹2.41 lakh crore was on Capital warming observed over India during 2016 (+0.71⁰C) Account). iii.Past decade (2001-2010/ 2011-2020) was also the ii.As per BE the government had pegged the fiscal warmest decade on record with exception of 0.23⁰C deficit at ₹7.96 lakh crore or 3.5% of the GDP in the /0.34⁰C. Union Budget. About India Meteorological Department (IMD): iii.The tax revenue collection was 42.1% of BE of Director General of Metrology(DGM)- Dr. 2020-21, compared with 45.5% of BE (2019-20). Non- Mrutyunjay Mohapatra tax revenue was 32.3% of BE compared with 74.3% of Headquarters- New Delhi, Delhi BE 2019-20. iv.Fiscal deficit means the gap between the PM Inaugurates Rewari-Madar Freight Corridor expenditure and revenue, Fiscal deficit had breached Section of WDFC; flags off World’s 1st Double the annual target or BE in July this year. Stack Container Train Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Dharmendra Pradhan Inaugurates India’s 1st of its Modi virtually inaugurated kind Migrant Worker Cell at Surat, Gujarat the 306-Km long New Rewari Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan in Haryana-New Madar in Inaugurated India’s 1st of its kind Migrant Worker Rajasthan section of Western Cell at Surat, Gujarat. An Dedicated Freight Corridor (WDFC) & flagged off initiative of Surat Municipal the World’s 1st Double Stack Long Haul 1.5 Km Corporation (SMC) it aims to Container Train hauled by electric traction help Migrants from Odia & from Atela in Haryana – Kishangarh in Rajasthan. other parts of the country working in different New Rewari-New Madar Section of WDFC: industries of Surat. i.It will ensure interruption free connectivity with The cell will be based at iLab, Udhna, Surat and has the western ports of Kandla, Pipavav, Mundhra, and been created under the ‘National Urban Livelihood Dahej in Gujarat. Mission Scheme’. ii.The section will also ensure the successful Objective: connectivity between the WDFC & EDFC (Eastern To create a database of migrant workers in Surat Dedicated Freight Corridor). City, which will be useful during natural calamities iii.Japan International Cooperation Agency is funding and other situations like Pandemic. WDFC. Double Stack Long Haul Container Train 2020 is 8th Warmest Year in India Since 1901: IMD Operation: i.The ‘Statement on Climate of India during i.It has been designed by the Research Design & 2020’ issued by Climate Research and Services (CRS) Standards Organisation (RDSO) wagon department of India Meteorological Department (IMD), Ministry for the Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of of Earth Sciences, Government of India mentioned India (DFCCIL). that 2020 was the 8th warmest year in India since ii.In terms of container units, the wagons will carry 4 www.tarainstitute.com Current Affairs times more weight compared to the current Bharat Biotech for COVAXIN, Whole Virion capacity. Inactivated Coronavirus Vaccine for restricted use in India in emergency situations. M/s Cadila Healthcare World’s Largest Floating Solar Energy Project at has also been granted approval to conduct Phase III MP set to begin Power Generation by 2022-23 clinical trial of Novel Corona Virus-2019-nCov- The World’s Largest Floating 600 Megawatt (MW) Vaccine. These approvals are given by CDSCO on Solar Energy Project which recommendations of the Subject Expert CDSCO. SII is under construction partners with AstraZeneca to manufacture Covishield, at Omkareshwar while Covaxin has been indigenously developed by dam on Narmada Bharat Biotech in collaboration with the Indian river in Khandwa district of Council of Medical Research (ICMR). Madhya Pradesh is set to begin power generation by the year 2022-23. Ravi Shastri Released a Book , ‘India’s 71-Year Gist of the Project: Test: The Journey to Triumph in Australia’ i.The production of electricity will be in about 2000- Penned by R Kaushik’ hectare water areas and the Floating panels will be installed in the backwaters of Omkareshwar dam. Ravi Shastri, Former Indian all-rounder and current ii.Estimated Investment of the project stands at INR 3, head coach of Indian Cricket team released a book 000 Crore. titled, ‘India’s 71-Year Test: The Journey to iii. International Finance Corporation, World Bank Triumph in Australia’ at the Sydney Cricket Ground, & Power Grid have granted consent to provide Sydney, Australia. The book is a Bradman Museum funds for the development of the project. initiative and is authored by R Kaushik, Senior iv. The primary feasibility study for the project has Cricket Journalist. It is published by Churchill Press. been completed by the State Government in Essence of the Book: collaboration with the World Bank. i.It describes the 1st 12 tours of India to Australia, i.e, v.The project is expected to provide cheap and good from 1947/48, revealing the development of the rivalry quality power in about 2 years. between the two nations which was majorly dominated by the hosts. CDSCO Gives Approval to Vaccines of M/s SII & ii.It features over 200 pictures, many of these were M/s Bharat Biotech purchased by former Australia Test opener Wally The Committee of Central Drugs Standard Control Edwards. He donated them to the Bradman Museum Organisation (CDSCO) gave collection. approval to M/s Serum About R Kaushik Institute of India(SII), Pune, i.He is regarded as one of the respected cricket writers Maharashtra for Covishield, with about 3 decades of experience.. a Recombinant Chimpanzee ii.He has covered all the ICC Cricket World Cups from Adenovirus vector vaccine, it encoded the SARS- 1996 and more than 100 Test matches involving India CoV-2 Spike (S) glycoprotein with technology transfer among others. from AstraZeneca/Oxford University and to M/s iii.He is also the co-author of Indian batting star VVS www.tarainstitute.com Current Affairs Laxman’s award-winning autobiography 281 and battle of Point 5770 in the Kargil War. Beyond, which was released in November 2018. iii.He was the Chairman of Manipur Public Service Commission. Lt. Gen. Konsam Himalay Singh Authored a Book iv.He had earlier written a book titled ‘Romancing the Titled ‘Making of a General – A Himalayan Echo’ LOC’.