www.toprankers.com Table of Contents 01. INTERNATIONAL NEWS 02. NATIONAL NEWS 03. SPORTS 04. SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 05. OBITUARY 06. APPOINTMENTS AND RESIGNATIONS 07. IMPORTANT DAYS 08. SUMMITS AND MOU’S 09. AWARDS AND RECOGNITION 10. RANKING 11. BOOKS AND AUTHORS 12. BANKING AND ECONOMY www.toprankers.com INTERNATIONAL NEWS India-Vietnamese Navy conducts PASSEX-2020 in South China Sea The Indian Navy and Vietnamese Navy undertook the naval passage exercise PASSEX in the South China Sea. The two-day exercise was conducted s part of efforts to boost maritime cooperation between the two countries. The Indian Naval Ship (INS) Kiltan took part in the exercise. INS Kiltan, reached Vietnam’s Nha Rong Port in Ho Chi Minh City, carrying humanitarian assistance to deliver 15 tonnes of relief material for flood-affected people under Mission Sagar-III. This mission of INS Kiltan is part of India’s Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) assistance to Friendly Foreign Countries during the ongoing pandemic. Myanmar commissions submarine gifted by India Myanmar on Saturday inducted into its navy a submarine it received from India, which of late stepped up its maritime security cooperation with its neighbours as well as other nations in the Indo-Pacific region amid growing belligerence of China. The INS Sindhuvir, a Kilo-class submarine of the Indian Navy, has been renamed as the UMS Minye Theinkhathu. It was commissioned by the Myanmar Navy on the occasion of its 73rd anniversary. It is the first submarine to be acquired by the Myanmar Navy. India handed over the INS Sindhuvir to Myanmar three years after China provided two submarines to Bangladesh in 2017. The INS Sindhuvir was in service of the Indian Navy since 1988. It was refitted by Hindustan Shipyard before being handed over to the Myanmar Navy earlier this year. The Indian Navy also made arrangements for the personnel of the Myanmar Navy to operate the submarine. 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 C-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. Donald Trump Honours PM Modi With Top US Honour ‘Legion Of Merit’ US President Donald Trump has presented America’s highest military decoration, ‘The Legion of Merit’, to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The prestigious Legion of Merit was given to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his leadership in elevating strategic partnership of the two countries. www.toprankers.com The award was accepted by India’s Ambassador to the US, Taranjit Singh Sandhu on behalf of the prime minister from the US National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien at the White House on 21 December 2020. PM Narendra Modi addresses 6th Indo-Japan SAMVAD Conference Prime Minister Narendra Modi has addressed the sixth edition of the India-Japan SAMVAD conference 2020, via virtual conferencing. The purpose of this Samvad Conference is to discuss the need to build the future of Asia on the positive influence of traditions of non- violence and democracy in Asia. During the conference, the PM proposed to create a library of traditional Buddhist literature and scriptures in India. This library will collect digital copies of Buddhist literature from across different parts of the world. The library will then translate these works and make them available for all scholars and monks of Buddhism. 20th IORA Council of Ministers Meeting Held in UAE The 20th edition of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) Council of Ministers (COM) Meeting via video conferencing under the Chairmanship of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The theme of the meeting was “Promoting a Shared Destiny and Path to Prosperity in the Indian Ocean”. The Indian delegation was led by V. Muraleedharan, MoS, Ministry of External Affairs. Sri Lanka has assumed the charge of Vice-Chair of IORA for the period 2021-23. The COM-20 was inaugurated by Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the UAE. The UAE assumed the position of the IORA Chair in November 2019 during the 19th COM, for the period 2019-2021. All 22 Member States and 10 Dialogue Partners participated in the virtual meeting to discuss ways in coordinating efforts to achieve IORA’s vision for a peaceful, stable, and prosperous Indian Ocean region as outlined in the Jakarta Concord and IORA Action Plan. During the 2020 COM, France was inducted as the 23rd member state of IORA. Singapore’s 'Hawker' Culture gets UNESCO recognition The Hawker Culture of street food in Singapore has been inducted by UNESCO in its prestigious ‘Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity’. The Hawker Culture is a popular Singaporean style of street dining and culinary practices in a multicultural urban environment. Hawker centres are naturally-ventilated premises with stalls selling food from various cultures like Chinese, Malay, Indian, among others. The Hawkers of Singapore are known to master a variety of cuisines which they serve at the ‘community dining rooms’ where people from across all walks of life gather and share their unique experiences. Boris Johnson invites PM Modi to UK-Led G-7 Summit United Kingdom Prime Minister, Boris Johnson has invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to www.toprankers.com join the UK-hosted G-7 summit 2021. UK Prime Minister Johnson has also accepted the very generous invitation to attend India’s Republic Day celebrations in January. PM Johnson will attend India’s annual Republic Day parade in New Delhi. 35th Edition Of India-Indonesia CORPATs The 35th edition of India-Indonesia Coordinated Patrol (IND-INDO CORPAT) between the Indian Navy and the Indonesian Navy is being conducted from 17 to 18 December 2020. The 35th IND – INDO CORPAT will contribute towards the Indian Navy’s efforts to consolidate inter-operability and forge strong bonds of friendship across the Indo Pacific. Indian Naval Ship (INS) Kulish, an indigenously built missile corvette along with P8I Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) will undertake coordinated patrol with Indonesian Naval Ship KRI Cut Nyak Dien, a Kapitan Pattimura (Parchim I) class corvette and an MPA of the Indonesian Navy. To reinforce maritime links, the two navies have been carrying out CORPAT along their International Maritime Boundary Line since 2002, with the aim of ensuring safety and security of shipping and international trade in the region. CORPATs build up understanding and interoperability between navies and facilitate the institution of measures to prevent and suppress Illegal Unreported Unregulated (IUU) fishing, drug trafficking, maritime terrorism, armed robbery and piracy. NASA selects Raja Chari as commander of SpaceX Crew-3 mission NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) have selected Indian-American Raja Chari to be the Commander of the SpaceX Crew-3 mission to the International Space Station. Presently Raja Chari, is a colonel in the US Air Force. He will be the commander of SpaceX Crew-3 mission, while Nasa’s Tom Marshburn will be pilot and ESA’s Matthias Maurer will serve as a mission specialist. This mission is expected to be launched next year. When Chari, Marshburn, and Maurer arrive at the orbiting laboratory, they will become expedition crew members for the duration of their six-month stay. The crew will have a slight overlap with the Crew-2 astronauts, who are expected to launch in the spring of 2021. Chari was born in Milwaukee, but considers Cedar Falls, Iowa, his hometown. Raja Chari’s father Srinivas Chari left for the US from Hyderabad at a young age for an engineering degree. He is a colonel in the US Air Force and joins the mission with extensive experience as a test pilot. For Raja Chari, this will be the first spaceflight. He became a Nasa astronaut in 2017. India, Iran and Uzbekistan to hold talks today on joint use of Chabahar port India, Iran and Uzbekistan will hold the First Trilateral Working Group Meeting today on the joint use of the strategically located Chabahar port. The announcement regarding the meeting was made by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). The Meeting will be jointly chaired at Secretary Level by India and at Deputy Minister level www.toprankers.com by Iran and Uzbekistan. Joe Biden, Kamala Harris jointly named Time’s ‘Person of the Year’ 2020 US President-elect, Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris have been jointly named Time magazine’s 2020 “Person of the Year”. The TIME magazine releases the annual list since 1927, to recognise a person or organisation who affected the news or impacted the country and world the most, for better or worse, during the calendar year. Apart from this, Time magazine has named the Korean pop group BTS as its Entertainer of the Year, and basketball star LeBron James as Athlete of the Year. Zoom founder Eric Yuan was aptly named Businessperson Of The Year, as the video communications company has come to define the way millions have connected with each other during the pandemic. Sonu Sood tops 50 Asian Celebrities in The World list 2020 Indian actor, Sonu Sood has topped the first-of-its-kind ’50 Asian Celebrities In The World’ 2020 list, published by UK based Eastern Eye newspaper.