Daily Current Affairs Italian Prime Minister Giuseppefor Conte app_20201213resigns Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte stepped down following disputes within the governing alliance over the post-pandemic economic recovery package. Conte handed in his resignation to President Sergio Mattarella following a Cabinet meeting, bringing the 16-month-old government to an end. His resignation plunges Italy into political uncertainty in the middle of a pandemic that has killed more than 80,000 people and with the highest annual death toll since World War II. Portugal’s president re-elected in pandemic-hit election Portugal’s centre-right president Marcelo Rebelo de Sousawas has been re-elected by a comfortable majority to a second five-year term after a campaign fought during one of the world’s worst outbreaks of coronavirus. Rebelo de Sousa secured 60.70% of the ballot, easily clearing the 51% threshold needed to avoid a run-off. Ana Gomes, from the governing Socialist Party, came in second with 12.97%, just one percentage point higher than the candidate from the far-right populist Chega party, André Ventura. Daily Current Affairs U.S. announces restoration of relationsfor app_20201213 with Palestinians U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration announced that it was restoring relations with the Palestinians and renewing aid to Palestinian refugees, a reversal of the Donald Trump administration’s cutoff and a key element of its new support for a two-state solution to the decades-old conflict agreed to by Israelis and Palestinians. President Donald Trump’s administration provided unprecedented support to Israel, recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, moving the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv, slashing financial assistance for the Palestinians and reversing course on the illegitimacy of Israeli settlements on land claimed by the Palestinians. UK becomes first European nation to surpass over one lakh Covid-19 deaths In United Kingdom, more than one lakh people have died with COVID-19. The toll has risen by an average of over 1,000 per day for the past seven days. A total of 100,162 deaths have been recorded in the UK, the first European nation to pass the landmark. The UK is the fifth country to pass 100,000 deaths, coming after the US, Brazil, India and Mexico. Daily Current Affairs SpaceX Launches Falcon 9 Rocketfor With app_20201213 Record 143 Satellites Elon Musk's SpaceX has managed to break the world record of the most number of satellites carried by a single rocket as Falcon 9 carried as many as 143 payloads into space. The launch was part of SpaceX's SmallSat Rideshare Program mission. Falcon 9 which has taken part in numerous SpaceX missions in the past flew from Florida to take the 143 satellites of different shapes and sizes to their orbits. Previously, the record was 104 satellites being deployed on a single mission, achieved by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) way back in 2017. President approves conferment of Jeevan Raksha Padak Series of Awards to 40 persons The President Ram Nath Kovind has approved the conferment of Jeevan Raksha Padak Series of Awards - 2020 on 40 persons. The awards include Sarvottam Jeevan Raksha Padak to one person, Uttam Jeevan Raksha Padak to eight persons and Jeevan Raksha Padak to 31 persons. One award is posthumous. Muhammed Muhsin of Kerala has been awarded with Sarvottam Jeevan Raksha Padak posthumously. Jeevan Raksha Padak series of awards are given to a person for meritorious act of human nature in saving the life of a person. Daily Current Affairs Bharat Parv begins on virtual platformfor app_20201213showcasing glory of nation Bharat Parv 2021, a festival to celebrate the spirit of India has begun. The festival is being organised on a virtual platform www.bharatparv2021.com this year from January 26th to till 31st of January. The mega event envisages generating patriotic fervour and showcases the rich and varied cultural diversity of the country. Ministry of Tourism organizes Bharat Parv every year since 2016 in front of the ramparts of the Red Fort on the occasion of Republic Day Celebrations. Themed pavilions of multiple States and Union Territories have showcased their tourism destinations, cuisine, handicraft and other features. Govt announces 455 Gallantry Awards and Defence Decorations; Galwan valley hero Col Santosh Babu gets Maha Vir Chakra posthumously President has approved awards of 455 Gallantry and other Defence decorations to Armed Forces personnel and others. These include one Mahavir Chakra, 5 Kirti Chakras, 5 Vir Chakras, 7 Shaurya Chakras, 4 Bar to Sena Medal (Gallantry), 130 Sena Medal (Gallantry), one Nao Sena Medal (Gallantry), 4 Vayu Sena Medal (Gallantry), 30 Param Vishisht Seva Medal, 4 Uttam Yudh Seva Medal, 51 Ati Vishisht Seva Medal, 11 Yudh Seva Medal, 3 Bar to Sena Medal (Devotion to Duty), 43 Sena Medal (Devotion to Duty) including 2 COVID Warriors, 8 Nao Sena Medal (Devotion to Duty), 14 Vayu Sena Medal (Devotion to Duty), 3 Bar to Vishisht Seva Medal (VSM) including one COVID Warrior and 131 Vishisht Seva Medal including 12 COVID Warriors. Colonel B Santosh Babu, the Commanding Officer of 16 Bihar Regiment, who lost his life during the Galwan Valley clash last year, will be posthumously awarded with Maha Vir Chakra. Daily Current Affairs 946 police personnel selected forfor Medals app_20201213 on Republic Day A total of 946 Police personnel have been awarded Medals on the occasion of the Republic Day, 2021. The total awardees include 207 Gallantry and 739 Service Medal awardees. Among the Gallantry Awards, two President’s Police Medals for Gallantry have been awarded posthumously both to ASI Banua Oraon of Jharkhand and ASI Mohan Lal of CRPF. One hundred and thirty seven personnel are being awarded for their gallant action in Jammu and Kashmir, 24 personnel for their gallant action in Left Wing Extremism-affected areas and one personnel for their gallant action in North-East Region. Among the personnel receiving Gallantry Awards, 68 are from CRPF, 52 are from J&K Police, 20 from BSF, 17 from Delhi Police, 13 from Maharashtra, eight each are from Chhattisgarh and Uttar Pradesh while the remaining are from the other States, UTs and Central Armed Police Forces. India set to grow 11.5% in 2021: IMF The IMF in its latest World Economic Outlook Update projected an 11.5% growth rate for India in 2021, making the country the only major economy to register double-digit growth this year amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. This projection has also reflected a strong rebound in the economy, which is estimated to have contracted by eight per cent in 2020 due to the pandemic. China is next with 8.1 per cent growth in 2021 followed by Spain (5.9 per cent) and France (5.5 per cent). Revising its figures, the IMF said that in 2020, the Indian economy is estimated to have contracted by eight per cent. China is the only major country which registered a positive growth rate of 2.3 per cent in 2020. India’s economy, the IMF said, is projected to grow by 6.8 per cent in 2022 and that of China by 5.6 per cent. Daily Current Affairs Overseas investment by Indian forfirms dipped app_20201213 to $1.45 bn in Dec. Overseas investment by domestic firms fell by over 42% to $1.45 billion in December 2020, according to Reserve Bank data. In the year earlier period, companies in India had invested $2.51 billion in their foreign firms (joint ventures / wholly owned units). In November 2020, the total outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) was of $1.06 billion, down by 27% from a month earlier. Of the total FDI investment by the Indian companies during the month under review, $775.41 million was in the form of equity infusion and $382.91 million was in the form of loan. Among major investors, ONGC Videsh Ltd. invested a total of $131.85 million in joint ventures and wholly owned subsidiaries in Myanmar, Russia, Vietnam, Colombia, British Virgin Islands among others. GAIL to unveil pipeline InvIT before split State-owned gas utility GAIL (India) Ltd. plans to unveil an InvIT of its two gas pipelines between Dahej and Bengaluru ahead of a proposed splitting of the pipeline business from the gas marketing function. The firm plans to monetise Dahej-Uran-Panvel-Dabhol pipeline and Dabhol-Bengaluru pipeline by setting up an Infrastructure Investment Trust (InvIT ). GAIL will retain majority stake in the pipelines that run from Dahej in Gujarat to Dabhol in Maharashtra and from there to Bengaluru in Karnataka. The InvIT may involve selling 10-20% stake initially. Daily Current Affairs Cairn threatens Indian asset seizuresfor abroad app_20201213 in tax case A month after it won an international tribunal award of $1.2 billion in damages against India in the retrospective taxation case, U.K.-based Cairn Energy Plc has threatened that it may be forced to begin attaching Indian assets including bank accounts in different world capitals, unless the government resolves the issue. Cricket: Syed Mustaq Ali Trophy 2020-21 to be played in Ahmedabad from 26-31 January Syed Mustaq Ali Trophy 2020-21 will be played from 26-31 January, at Sardar Patel Stadium, Ahmedabad. As per schedule, four quarter finals will be played from 26-27 January, two semi finals on January 29, with the final scheduled on January 31. Daily Current Affairs Former India football goalkeeperfor Prasanta app_20201213 passes away Former India goalkeeper Prasanta Dora, who also played for the big three clubs of Kolkata football, passed away. Prasanta made his national debut in 1999 against Thailand in the Olympic qualifiers. He donned the national colours again in tournaments like SAFF Cup and SAF Games and earned a total of five international caps.