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Current Affairs Today – 22nd December 2020
NEWS AT A GLANCE
CURRENT AFFAIRS: DAYS
National Mathematics Day 2020: Observed on December 22
- National Mathematics Day is celebrated every year on December 22 across the nation to recognise and celebrate the works of Srinivasa Ramanujan.
- The former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, on February 26, 2012, declared December 22 as the National Mathematics Day to mark the mathematician’s birth anniversary.
- 2020 ensures 133rd birth anniversary of Ramanujan.
Achievements :
- In 1916 he was awarded the Bachelor of Science degree.
- In 1917 he was elected to the London Mathematical Society.
- In 1918 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society for his research on Elliptic Functions and theory of numbers.
- The same year in October he became the first Indian to be elected a Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge.
CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL NEWS
New electricity rules give consumers across India the right to 24×7 supply
- Government Notifies New Electricity Rights of Consumers Rules, 2020 to give consumers the right to 24×7 supply.
- Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Power and New and Renewable Energy R K Singh on 21 December 2020 stated, Power distribution companies (discoms) across the country are monopolies whether government or private and the consumer has no alternative.
- These rules provide for rights of consumers and obligations of distribution licensees, release of new connection and modification in existing connection, metering arrangement, billing and payment.
- The distribution licensee shall supply 24×7 power to all consumers. However, the commission may specify lower hours of supply for some categories of consumers like agriculture.
- According to Union Power Secretary Sanjiv N Sahai, this relaxation has been allowed since pumps do need to be run 24×7 for supplying water to fields.
Union environment Minister releases Status of Leopards in India 2018 report
- The Union environment minister Shri Prakash Javadekar released a report of the Status of Leopard in India 2018.
- The population of leopards in India has increased by 60 percent, according to a report released by the government.
- As per report,India now has 12,852 leopards.
- More than 60 per cent increase in population has been recorded over the previous estimate which was conducted in 2014.
- To the States of Madhya Pradesh (3,421), Karnataka(1783) and Maharashtra(1690) who have recorded the highest leopard
About Leopards :
- Leopards are among the most adaptable carnivores, and are known to exist very close to human habitations.
- This year had found four distinct sub-populations of leopards in India with high genetic variations – leopards of the Western Ghats, the Deccan Plateau semi-arid region, the Shivalik mountains, and the Terai region in North India.
8th North East Festival 2020 Held in Guwahati
- On Dec 19 to 20, 2020, The 8th North East Festival (NEF) was held at Radisson Blu Hotel in Guwahati, Assam.
- This is the first time that Guwahati hosted this annual two day event.
- Due to COVID-19, this year the festival will be organized with minimum human presence and broadcasted on all over the globe through digital platforms.
- The Inaugural Session on Development Agenda for North East will be about highlighting the positive works done by the various Chief Ministers of the region in the presence of Union DoNER Minister, Dr. Jitendra Singh.
- This festival mainly focuses on the Growth Agenda for North East Post COVID-19.
About Assam :
- Capital : Dispur
- Chief Minister : Sarbananda Sonowal
UP launches P2P trading platform for rooftop solar power in Lucknow
- Uttar Pradesh has become the first in India and South Asia to launch the block chain-enabled peer to peer (P2P) trading platform for rooftop solar power producers.
- The Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (UPPCL) and Uttar Pradesh New and Renewable Energy Development Agency (UPNEDA) are hosting the first-of-its-kind pilot project involving energy generated from solar rooftop systems installed on buildings in Lucknow.
- The Project is being implemented by Indian Smart Grid Forum (ISGF)
- This pilot project will demonstrate the feasibility of rooftop solar energy trading through smart contracts on the blockchain platform between prosumers with their neighbouring households.
About India Smart Grid Forum (ISGF) :
- ISGF is a public private partnership initiative of Govt. of India with the mandate of accelerating smart grid deployments across the country.
- President : Reji Kumar Pillai
- Headquarters : New Delhi
About Uttar Pradesh :
- Chief Minister : Yogi Adityanath
- Governor : Anandiben Patel
CURRENT AFFAIRS : STATE NEWS
SIDBI inks MoU with Assam government to develop MSME ecosystem
- Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) has inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Assam government to develop the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) ecosystem in the State.
- The MoU was signed by the commissioner and secretary of industries and commerce department, K K Dwivedi and SIDBI general manager RK Singh in the presence of minister Chandra Mohan Patowary.
- As per the MoU, a Project Management Unit will be set up by SIDBI in Assam.
- The PMU will support the state government in making necessary interventions for enhancing efficacy of MSMEs in the state.
About SIDBI:
- Headquarters : Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh
- Founded : 2nd April, 1990
- Deputy Managing Director : Manoj Mittai
CURRENT AFFAIRS : SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
India’s first hypersonic wind tunnel test facility inaugurated in Hyderabad
- Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated the advanced Hypersonic Wind Tunnel (HWT) test facility in Hyderabad.
- HWT Test facility is pressure vacuum driven enclosed free jet facility having nozzle exit diameter of 1 metre.
- That will simulate Mach No 5 to 12 (Mach represents the multiplication factor to the speed of sound).
- After America and Russia, India is the third country to have such a large facility.
- In that test Defence Minister also visited two anti-drone technologies which were demonstrated by DRDO labs on the occasion.
About DRDO:
- Founder of DRDO : Avinash Chander
- Founded : 1958
- Headquarters : New Delhi
CURRENT AFFAIRS: SUMMITS & CONFERENCE
20th IORA Council of Ministers meeting held in UAE, Virtually
- The United Arab Emirates (UAE) hosted the 20th IORA Council of Ministers (COM) Meeting on 17 December 2020, virtually.
- The theme of the meeting was Promoting a Shared Destiny and Path to Prosperity in the Indian Ocean.
- The Indian delegation was led by Shri V. Muraleedharan, MoS, Ministry of External Affairs.
- The 20th Council of Ministers was inaugurated by Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the United Arab Emirates.
- All 22 Member States and 10 Dialogue Partners, 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.
About About Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) :
- The Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) is an inter-governmental organisation formed in 1997 to foster regional economic cooperation.
- Headquarters : Ebene, Mauritius
- Founded : 7th March 1997
- Secretary-General : Nomvuyo Nokwe
India, Vietnam sign seven agreements during virtual summit
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Prime Minister of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Nguyen Xuan Phuc, jointly addressed the India-Vietnam Virtual Summit, held on 21 December 2020, through video conferencing.
- India and Vietnam have signed agreements in varied areas such as defence, scientific research, renewable energy, nuclear energy, petro-chemicals, and cancer treatment demonstrating the expanding ties and existing potential for increased cooperation between the two nations.
- This Joint Vision for peace, prosperity and people will send a strong message of our deepened ties to the world.
- Both leaders agreed to support each other’s national development and work together towards the shared objective of a peaceful, stable, secure, free, open, inclusive and then rules-based Indo-Pacific region.
Seven agreements :
- Implementing Arrangement on Defence Industry Cooperation between Dept. of Defence Production, Ministry of Defence, India and General Dept. of Defence Industry, Ministry of National Defence, Vietnam.
- Agreement for US$ 5 million Indian Grant Assistance for Army Software Park at National Telecommunications University, Nha Trang, Vietnam between Embassy of India, Hanoi and Telecommunications University, Ministry of National Defence, Vietnam.
- Implementing Arrangement between Centre for United Nations Peacekeeping Operations, India and Vietnam Dept. of Peacekeeping Operations for Cooperation in United Nation Peacekeeping.
- MOU between India’s Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) and Vietnam Agency for Radiation and Nuclear Safety (VARANS).
- MOU between CSIR-Indian Institute of Petroleum and Vietnam Petroleum Institute.
- MOU between Tata Memorial Centre of India and Vietnam National Cancer Hospital.
- MOU between National Solar Federation of India and Vietnam Clean Energy Association.
About Vietnam :
- Capital : Hanoi
- Currency : Vietnamese dong
CURRENT AFFAIRS : BANKING NEWS
Central Bank of India ties up with NPCI to launch RuPay Select
- The Central Bank of India has launched a unique variant of a contactless debit card under the name RuPay Select, in association with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).
About RuPay Select Card :
- This RuPay Debit Select Card will focus on customers’ lifestyle, fitness, rejuvenation, nutrition and personal care.
- Central Bank RuPay Select Debit cardholders will be able to avail complimentary membership and concessional access to golf courses, gyms, spas and restaurants.
- The card comes with features such as airport lounge access to over 20 domestic and more than 500 international lounges.
- The card will also facilitate offline transactions in both transits as well as retail purchases.
- Apart from this, the cardholders would also be entitled to discounted health check-ups with this National Common Mobility Debit Card (NCMC).
- Additionally, it comes up with an accidental and permanent disability insurance cover up to 10 lakh at no extra cost to customers.
About National Payments Corporation of India :
- Headquarters : Mumbai
- Founded : 2008
- MD & CEO : Dillip Asbe
About Central Bank
- Headquarters : Mumbai
- Founded : 21st December 1911
- CEO : Pallav Mohapatra
CURRENT AFFAIRS: MOU
Indian Navy, INCOIS sign MoU to share ocean services data
- Indian Navy has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) for sharing ocean services data.
- This MoU is focused on sharing ocean services, data, and expertise in the field of operational oceanography and the same will benefit both Indian Navy and INCOIS in furthering meaningful interactions and professional exchanges in future.
- T. Srinivasa Kumar, Director INCOIS and Commodore A A Abhyankar, who heads Indian Navy’s Oceanology and Meteorology Directorate, signed the MoU.
About INCOIS :
- INCOIS, a unit under the administrative control of the Union Ministry of Earth Sciences, provides information and advisory services to society, industry, government agencies and the scientific community, the Indian Navy deals with the multifaceted and specialised aspects of Oceanography and Meteorology in support of naval operations in all its three dimensions.
About Indian Navy :
- Headquarters : New Delhi
- Comes Under Ministry of Defence
- Vice Chief of the Naval Staff (VCNS) : Vice Admiral G.Ashok Kumar
- Chief of the Naval Staff (DCNS) : Admiral Karambir Singh
- Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff : Vice Admiral M.S. Pawar
- Commander-in-Chief : Ram Nath Kovind
CURRENT AFFAIRS: AWARDS
Lewis Hamilton wins BBC Sports Personality of the Year award
- Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton has been voted BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2020.
- This is the second time that the 35-year-old Hamilton has been crowned Sports Personality of the Year. Prior to this he won the award in 2014.
Other award winners of BBC Sports Personality 2020
- Helen Rollason Award: Captain Sir Tom Moore
- Expert Special Panel Award: Marcus Rashford
- Coach of the Year: Jurgen Klopp
- Team of the Year: Liverpool FC
- Unsung Hero: Sgt Matt Ratana
- Captain Tom Young Unsung Hero: Tobias Weller
- Young Sports Personality of the Year: Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix
CURRENT AFFAIRS : SPORTS NEWS
Govt approves inclusion of four indigenous sports in Khelo India Youth Games 2021
- The Sports Ministry has approved the inclusion of four indigenous Games to be a part of Khelo India Youth Games 2021, scheduled to be held in Haryana.
- The games include Gatka, Kalaripayattu, Thang-Ta and Mallakhamba.
- The four selected games represent different parts of the country and will get national recognition with the help of the Khelo India Youth Games 2021.
Origin of 4 new games :
- Kalaripayattu has its origin from Kerala
- Mallakhamba is practiced in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.
- Gatka originates from Punjab. It is a traditional fighting style of the Nihang Sikh Warriors, used both as self-defense as well as a sport.
- Thang-Ta is a Manipur marital art.
Boxing World Cup: Indian Boxers Bag 9 Medals, Including 3 Gold
- Indian boxers bagged nine medals including three golds, two silver and four bronze at the Cologne Boxing World Cup held in Koln, Germany.
- The Cologne Boxing World 2020 was hosted by the European Boxing Confederation (EUBC).
List of Medal Winners
- Gold: The three gold medals for India were bagged by Amit Panghal (52kg), Manisha Moun (57kg) and Simranjit Kaur (60kg) in their respective categories.
- Silver: Silver medals were claimed by Sakshi Choudhary (57kg) and Satish Kumar (91kg).
- Bronze: Sonia Lather (57kg), Pooja Rani (75kg) Gaurav Solanki (57kg) and Mohamed Hussamudin (57kg) claimed the bronze medal in their respective categories.
About European Boxing Confederation (EUBC) :
- Headquarters : Assisi, Italy
- President : Franco Falcinelli
- Founded : 2009
CURRENT AFFAIRS: OBITUARY
Congress veteran Motilal Vora dies at 93
- Veteran Congress leader Motilal Vora died at the age of 93 from post-Covid complications.
- Motilal Vora, a former two-time chief minister of undivided Madhya Pradesh and also a former Governor of Uttar Pradesh, had served as a Rajya Sabha member four times and as a Lok Sabha member once.
- Motilal Vora was a long-time Congress leader and was considered to be very close to the Gandhi family.
Daily CA on Dec 20th and 21st
- International Human Solidarity Day is observed on December 20 to celebrate the unity in diversity and raise awareness about the importance of solidarity.
- Skill India has established the first Centre of Excellence for Skill Development in the Power Sector in the campus of National Institute of Solar Energy, Gurugram Haryana.
- In Uttar Pradesh, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be the chief guest at the virtual centenary celebrations of Aligarh Muslim University.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to address the India-Japan Samvad Conference on December 21.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi will deliver the inaugural address at the India International Science Festival (IISF) 2020through video conferencing.
- In Uttar Pradesh,the government has launched a special campaign to curb property & land-related disputes in rural areas.
- A mega leather park will come up in Ramaipur village of Kanpur with an investment of Rs 5,850 crores. The park which is part of the mega leather cluster project is likely to create 50,000 jobs, for 5 lakh people.
- India was ranked 111th out of 162 countries in the Human Freedom Index 2020 report released by the Cato Institute, plummeting 17 spots from its position in the last index.
- In 2019, India was ranked 94 on the index.
- The World Bank has approved 4 india projects worth $800 million to support development initiatives.
- The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed a monetary penalty of ₹50.00 lakh on The Urban Co-operative Bank Ltd in Kerala.
- Prime Minister, Narendra Modi addressed the ‘ASSOCHAM Foundation Week 2020’ via video conferencing on 19th December 2020.
- Ravi Shankar Prasad, Minister of Communications and Electronics &IT and Sanjay Shamrao Dhotre, Minister of State for Communications and Electronics & IT, presented the Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Telecom Skill Excellence Awards including cash award.
- In Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Telecom Skill Excellence Awards First Prize – Sreenivas Karanam of Bangalore – Rs 50,000 Second Prize – Prof. Subrat Kar of New Delhi – Rs 30,000
- Vidyut Mohan was one of the Young Champions of the Earth winners by United Nations Environment Programme.
- Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Amir has decided to quit international cricket alleging ‘mental torture’ from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).
- Senior Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) ideologue and first spokesperson of the organization, Madhav Govind Vaidya passed away. He was 97.
Daily CA on Dec 22nd
- National Mathematics Day is celebrated every year on December 22 across the nation to recognise and celebrate the works of Srinivasa Ramanujan.
- Government Notifies New Electricity Rights of Consumers Rules, 2020 to give consumers the right to 24×7 supply.
- The Union environment minister Shri Prakash Javadekar released a report of the Status of Leopard in India 2018.
- Uttar Pradesh has become the first in India and South Asia to launch the block chain-enabled peer to peer (P2P) trading platform for rooftop solar power producers.
- Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) has inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Assam government to develop the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) ecosystem in the State.
- Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated the advanced Hypersonic Wind Tunnel (HWT) test facility in Hyderabad.
- The United Arab Emirates (UAE) hosted the 20th IORA Council of Ministers (COM) Meeting on 17 December 2020, virtually.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Prime Minister of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Nguyen Xuan Phuc, jointly addressed the India-Vietnam Virtual Summit, held on 21 December 2020, through video conferencing.
- The Central Bank of India has launched a unique variant of a contactless debit card under the name RuPay Select, in association with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).
- Indian Navy has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) for sharing ocean services data.
- Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton has been voted BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2020.
- The Sports Ministry has approved the inclusion of four indigenous Games to be a part of Khelo India Youth Games 2021, scheduled to be held in Haryana and The games include Gatka, Kalaripayattu, Thang-Ta and Mallakhamba.
- Indian boxers bagged nine medals including three golds, two silver and four bronze at the Cologne Boxing World Cup held in Koln, Germany.
- Veteran Congress leader Motilal Vora died at the age of 93 from post-Covid complications.
