Current Affairs 15 December 2020

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Top 20 Current Affairs of 15 December 2020

NATIONAL AFFAIRS

CII Signs MoU with Amazon India to Bring Benefits of e-commerce to MSMEs in 10 States across India

i.On December 9, 2020 CII signed a MoU with Amazon India(amazon.in) to enable benefits of Electronic(e)-commerce to Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in 10 states across India at the 17th CII Global SME Business Summit 2020 organized by CII in partnership with the Ministry of MSME, Government of India under the theme: Reboot to Rebound: Stimulating Demand & Supply Side, This will boost MSMEs in domestic & international trade.
ii.CII and Amazon India aims to bring a digital transformation for MSMEs for these states, through this partnership
iii.Amazon India and CII will work together with MSME Ministry to help lakhs of MSMEs in these states to leverage technology to reach customers in India and globally  through the adoption of e-commerce.
About Confederation of Indian Industry(CII):
President– Uday Kotak(Managing Director & CEO, Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited)
Director General– Chandrajit Banerjee
Headquarters– New Delhi, India
<<Read Full News>>

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

Around 1.8bn People Lacks Basic WASH Provisions: Report by WHO, UNICEF

i.In accordance with the World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) report, “Fundamentals first: Universal water, sanitation, and hygiene services in health care facilities for safe, quality care” around 1.8 billion people are at heightened risk of COVID-19 and other diseases because of lack of WASH provision. WASH stands for Water, Sanitation and Hygiene.
ii.WASH is vital to the safety of health workers and patients but no steps are taken for its prioritization.
iii.The report covered statistics for 165 countries from surveys representing 760,000 facilities.
About World Health Organization (WHO):
Director General – Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus
Headquarters – Geneva, Switzerland
About United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF):
Executive Director – Henrietta Holsman Fore
Headquarter – New York, United States (US)
<<Read Full News>>

India Pledges a Commitment of USD 2 Billion to Provide Essential Services For Women, Children, Adolescents Globally

i.At the World Health Organisation(WHO)’s ‘Lives In The Balance’ Summit 2020 held on December 11, 2020, India pledged a commitment of USD 2 billion during 2020-2021 for thte following:

• To strengthen all levels of care in response to COVID-19 pandemic and
• To ensure essential public health functions with focus on Women, newborns, young children and adolescents. The total commitment made by all the countries is USD 20.6 billion.

ii.‘Lives In The Balance’ Summit is organised by CORE Group, WHO’s The Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health (PMNCH) and Universal health coverage (UHC)2030.
About World Health Organization (WHO):
Director General – Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (Ethiopia)
Headquarters – Geneva, Switzerland
<<Read Full News>>

2^nd Bangladesh-India Cotton Fest 2020 held at Dhaka, Bangladesh

i.On December 12, 2020, the 2nd Bangladesh-India Cotton Festival 2020 was held at Hotel Radisson Blu Water Garden in Dhaka, Bangladesh.  It was jointly organized by Bangladesh Cotton Association (BCA), Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA), Indian Cotton Association Ltd. (ICAL), India-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IBCCI).
ii.Bangladesh Prime Minister’s Adviser Salman Fazlur Rahman was the chief guest of the fest.
iii.The festival showcasing the best practices of Bangladesh cotton industry was attended by 30 Indian companies.
iv.Bangladesh is projecting an import of 9 million bales by the year 2021.
About Indian Cotton Association Ltd. (ICAL):
Establishment– 1962
Headquarter– Bathinda, Punjab
<<Read Full News>>

BANKING & FINANCE

Bharti AXA Life Introduced #GotYouCovered Campaign for Frontline Workers; Partners with Primero Skills & Training for this Initiative

i.Bharti AXA Life Insurance Company Limited introduced ‘#GotYouCovered Campaign’, during the observation of Universal Health Coverage Day(December 12).
ii.The campaign is a special initiative to appreciate the frontline healthcare workers who are working to protect people from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
iii.Bharti AXA Life Insurance has partnered with Primero Skills & Training Pvt Ltd
for its #GotYouCovered initiative.
iv.Aim of the Partnership– To support insurer’s healthcare workers during the pandemic times, by providing masks that will protect them against the life and health risks.
About Bharti AXA Life Insurance Company Limited:
Currently, it is a joint venture between  Bharti Group(51%) and AXA(49%)
Formed and commenced business operations– 2006
Managing Director(MD) and Chief Executive Officer(CEO)– Parag Raja
HeadOffice– Mumbai, Maharashtra
About Primero Skills & Training Pvt Ltd:
It is a skill development organisation that imparts free skills and training programmes to youth under the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative of the Government of India.
Founder and Managing Director– Jayanta Das
HeadOffice-Delhi, India
<<Read Full News>>

Exim Bank Extends $ 448-million Line Of Credit to Uzbekistan

i.On December 12, 2020, Export-Import Bank of India (Exim Bank), on behalf of the Government of India, has extended a Line of Credit (LOC) of $448 million to the Government of Republic of Uzbekistan for financing the latter’s various projects in the Roads & Transport, Water and Technology & Communication sectors.
ii.The agreement for the same was inked by Deputy Prime Minister & Minister of Investments and Foreign Trade, Sardor Umurzakov, Uzbekistan and Nirmit Ved, General Manager, Exim Bank.
About Export-Import Bank of India (Exim Bank):
Establishment– 1982
Managing Director (MD)– David Rasquinha
Headquarter– Mumbai, Maharashtra
Regulated By- Reserve Bank of India
<<Read Full News>>

SEBI forms Corporation Finance Investigation Department (CFID) to check Promoter Frauds

i.Market watchdog Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has set up a specialised department Corporation Finance Investigation Department (CFID) to tackle initial public offering (IPO) proceed fraud, diversion of funds, bank loans and resources by company promoters.
ii.This decision has been taken after the finance ministry had asked SEBI to act on promoters diverting investor funds for personal gains in November 2020 as there are a number of cases on these matters against Cox and Kings, DHFL (Dewan Housing Finance Corporation) and Vijay Mallya.
iii. The new department will be headed by one of SEBI’s executive director. Nagendraa Parakh, who is currently heading Market Intermediaries Regulation and Supervision Department (MIRSD) is named for the same.
About Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI):
Establishment– April 12, 1992
Chairman– Ajay Tyagi
Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra
<<Read Full News>>

RBI to Setup Automated Banknote Processing Centre in Jaipur, Rajasthan for Receipt, Storage & Dispatch of Notes

i.On December 13, 2020, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided to set up an Automated Banknote Processing Centre (ABPC) in Jaipur, Rajasthan for automated receipt, storage of fresh banknotes received from the printing presses, and then retrieval and dispatch of these banknotes to the identified issue offices (IOs)/currency chests (CCs).
ii.The centre will also demolish the destruction of soiled banknotes. The whole process will be done in an automated manner.
iii.This decision has been taken to effectively deal with increasing circulation of banknotes.
iv.Notably, volume of banknotes in circulation and supply of banknotes by the presses have increased three-fold from March 2001 to March 2019.
Static Points:
–RBI is the sole issuer of banknotes and responsible for management of currency.
–RBI is supplied with banknotes from four printing presses at Nasik,Maharashtra (Western India), Dewas, Madhya Pradesh (Central India), Mysore, Karnataka (Southern India) and Salboni, West Bengal (Eastern India).
–The coins are also minted at four mints viz, Mumbai (Maharashtra), Hyderabad (Telangana), Kolkata (West Bengal) and NOIDA (New Okhla Industrial Development Authority), Uttar Pradesh.
–The new banknotes and coins are received at 19 IO’s of the RBI from where these are further distributed to about 3,300 CCs operated by scheduled banks. The CCs act as store houses.
–The unfit notes withdrawn from circulation are verified through a Currency Verification and Processing System (CVPS) and destroyed by shredding.
<<Read Full News>>

Aceware in Association with ICICI Bank Launches ‘AceMoney Micro ATM service’ in Kochi, Kerala

i.On December 14, 2020  Aceware in association with ICICI Bank launched ‘AceMoney Micro ATM(Automated Teller Machine) service’ in Kochi, Kerala.
ii.This service will enable people to withdraw money from their bank account from home.
iii.The customers of all banks can avail this service.
iv.The money will be delivered, within 30 to 40 minutes of placing the order at the doorstep of the customer.
About ICICI Bank:
Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra
Managing Director(MD) and Chief Executive Officer(CEO)-   Sandeep Bakhshi
Tagline– Hum Hai Na, Khayal Apka
Formed– 1955 at the initiative of the World Bank.
Incorporated-1994
About Aceware:
MD– Nimisha Joseph(J) Vadakkan
<<Read Full News>>

AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS        

UNESCO to Launch a USD 50,000 UNESCO-Bangladesh Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman International Prize

i.The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization(UNESCO) in its 210th Executive Board has unanimously adopted the proposal to launch a USD 50,000 ‘UNESCO-Bangladesh Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman  International Prize’ for  the  Creative  Economy.
ii.It is UNESCO’s  1st award  in  the  field  of  the  creative economy.
iii.The prize is named after Bangabandhu(Friend of Bengal) Sheikh Mujibur Rahman(Sheikh Mujib or Mujib), the ‘Father of the Nation of Bangladesh’.
About United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization(UNESCO):
Director General– Audrey Azoulay
Headquarters– Paris, France
Members– 193 member states(including India) and 11 Associate Members
<<Read Full News>>

Ashraf Patel of Pravah & ComMutiny Youth Collective Wins 11th Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award- India 2020

On November 26, 2020 Ashraf Patel of Pravah & ComMutiny Youth Collective (CYC) named as the winner of the 11th edition of Social Entrepreneur of the Year (SEOY)  Award – India 2020 at a virtual ceremony.

• The prize was presented by Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani, Union Minister of Women & Child Development & Textiles, Government of India.
• Prof Klaus Schwab, Founder & Executive Chairman, World Economic Forum and Co-Founder the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship announced the winner.

Reason for the Prize
Ashraf Patel has been developing a generation of empathetic, sensitive youth change-makers through psycho-social interventions, that helps them to build more inclusive identities and societies that bring about revolutionary changes.
Points to be Noted
i.Ashraf Patel will join the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship Community, the world’s largest and prestigious network of social innovators from around the world.
ii.She will also participate in the  annual and regional meetings of the World Economic Forum (WEF). The meetings will offer opportunities to engage with global decision makers from the public, corporate, media, academic and civil society sectors.
About Ashraf Patel:
i.She is the founder member and board member of Pravah & ComMutiny Youth Collective.
ii.She has worked with SRF and Escorts Financial Services.
iii.She had served on many working groups including,  the Working Group for Youth and Adolescents set up by the Youth Ministry for the Eleventh Five Year Plan and  the Working Group for Adolescent Education set up by the HRD Ministry for the Twelfth Five Year Plan, among others.
About SEOY award:
i.The Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship and Jubilant Bhartia Foundation instituted the SEOY award in 2010 to promote  social innovation in India
ii.It recognises the entrepreneurs who implement the innovative, sustainable and scalable solutions to solve social problems of India.
Additional Info
Pravah was established in 1993 and ComMutiny Youth Collective (CYC) in 2007

SPORTS

Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing Honda wins Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2020

On 13th December, 2020 the Dutchman Max Verstappen won the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2020 in a crucial race, making his second win of the year 2020. He made his first win of the year at the special 70th Anniversary Grand Prix held at the Silverstone Circuit in the United Kingdom.
Valtteri Bottas (Finland) of Mercedes finished second in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2020.He was followed by Lewis Hamilton(Great Britan) of Mercedes.
About Max Verstappen:
i.23-year-old, Belgium born Formula 1 racer representing Red Bull Racing Honda.
ii.At the age of 17 he became the youngest driver to compete in Formula 1 at the 2015 Australian Grand Prix for Scuderia Toro Rosso.
iii.Won 2 races in 2020- Special 70th Anniversary Grand Prix and Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
iv.Currently ranked World Number 3 in Formula 1 racing
About Formula 1:
Formula one or F1 is the highest class of International racing under Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA).
Had the inaugural session in 1950.
Celebrated 70th Anniversary with a special Grand Prix event in the United Kingdom in August 2020.

Yash Vardhan wins Gold in the 10 m Air Rifle event at the 6^th International Online Shooting Championship (IOSC)

On 13^th December, 2020 Junior Asian Champion Yash Vardhan won gold medal in the 10 m air rifle event at the 6^th International Online Shooting Championship (IOSC), the event saw the participation of Olympic bound Martin Strempfl of Austria who won the silver medal and Oleksandr Halkin from Ukraine won the bronze.
About International Online Shooting Championship (IOSC):
i.Aim- To promote Shooting across the globe through online competitions
ii.Started in 2020 amid the pandemic which also saw the active participation of Shooters from various countries.
iii.Organiser- Former Indian shooter Shimon Sharif
iv.6^th Edition is the largest of all conducted so far, which saw the participation of shooters from 20 countries.
About Yash Vardhan:
17-year-old Indian Shooter currently ranked at 25^th position in the world.
He Won Gold Medal at the Junior Asian Championship in 2019.
He Won Silver Medal at the ISSF Junior World Cup in 2019.

OBITUARY

Renowned Sanskrit Scholar Padma Shri Bannanje Govindacharya Passed Away at 84 

On 13th December 2020, Renowned Sanskrit scholar, Padma Shri Bannanje Govindacharya, passed away at the age of 84 due to age related ailments at his residence in Ambalpady in Udupi, Karnataka. He was a great orator and a well-known propagator of Madhwa ideology. He was born on 3rd August 1936 in Udupi, Karnataka.
About Bannanje Govindacharya:
i.Bannanje Govindacharya who was well versed in Veda Bhashya, Upanishad Bhashya, Mahabharata, Ramayana, and Puranas has writer many commentaries on Veda Suktas, Upanishads, Shata Rudriya, Brahma Sutra Bhashya, and Gita Bhashya.
ii.He has translated various literary pieces and text from Sanskrit to Kannada.
iii.He wrote the screenplay of the Sanskrit film “Bhagavadgita” and “Shankaracharya”.
iv.He served as the brand ambassador of India at the 1979 World Conference on Religion and Peace held in Princeton, United States of America (USA).
Awards:
He received the Padma Shri for literature in 2009.
Books:
i.His translation works include, Bana Bhattana Kadambari of Bana Bhatta, Shakuntala of Kalidasa, Mrichakatika of Govindacharya, he had also translated various historical novel to Kannada.
ii.He has more than 4000 pages of Sanskrit Vyakhyana to his name with more than 50 odd books and 150 books, including other language books.

Award-winning South Korean director Kim Ki-duk dies at 59

On 11^th December, 2020 South Korean director Kim Ki-duk died at Lativa after getting infected by Corona virus. He was well known worldwide by receiving the top prize “The Golden Lion Award” at Venice Film Festival for his 2012 film “Pieta”.
The 59-year-old has won multiple awards in his career including the Best director at festivals in Venice and Berlin.He was born on 20 December 1960 in Bonghwa, South Korea.
International Awards received by Kim:

Former Indian Football Player Dharmalingam Ethiraj Passed Away at 87

On 11th December 2020, the former Indian Football player Dharmalingam Ethiraj passed away at the age of 87 at his residence in Bengaluru, Karnataka. He was a part of the Indian football team led by Chuni Goswami, which won the gold at 1962 Asian Games, Jakarta, Indonesia. He was born in 1934 in Ulsoor, Bengaluru, Karnataka.
About Dharmalingam Ethiraj:
i.He worked for MEG (Madras Engineering Group) and represented the Football team of MEG from 1957 to 1963.
ii.He played a crucial part for his team in reaching the final of the Delhi Cloth Mills (D.C.M.) Trophy in 1959.
iii.He represented the Services in the Santosh Trophy from 1958 to 1962 and he scored 5 goals for his team winning their first Santhosh trophy title against Bengal, the defending champions in 1960 – 1961.
iv.He represented the Mysore State from 1962 to 1965 and led the team in the 1965 Santosh Trophy held in Quilon(Kollam), Kerala.
v.He retired from the military services as Subedar in 1971 and served as a Junior Sports Officer from 1972 to 1981.
vi.He was made a life member of the Karnataka State Football Association and he also served as the state coach and a member of the selection panel.
Honours:
MEG named a stadium (within its premises) after Dharmalingam Ethiraj to honour his achievements.

IMPORTANT DAYS

National Energy Conservation Day 2020 – December 14

i.The National Energy Conservation day is annually celebrated across India on 14th December to create awareness among the general public about the importance of energy conservation for the present and the future.
ii.Every year the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), an agency of the Government of India, under the Ministry of Power organises the National Energy Conservation day with an aim to showcase the achievements of India in energy efficiency and conservation.
iii.The National Energy Conservation Awards were instituted for the first time on 14th December 1991, the National Energy Conservation Day.
About Ministry of Power:
Minister of State (IC)– R. K Singh
About  Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE):
Director General- Abhay Bakre
Headquarters- New Delhi
<<Read Full News>>

STATE NEWS

Gujarat Becomes 1^st Indian state to have Modernise Fire Safety Certification Process

i.On December 13, 2020, Gujarat became the first state in the country that has approved a system to modernize fire safety certification process.
ii.In this regard, the approval and renewal of fire safety certification will be done entirely on the portal called Fire Safety COP, or Fire Safety Compliance Portal covering facilitation and empanelment of fire safety officers (FSOs) and approval and renewal of fire safety certificate (FSC) along with provision of online payment.
iii.The system has been designed by Gujarat Institute of Disaster Management (GIDM) under its director general PK Taneja.
About Gujarat:
Chief Minister (CM)– Vijay Rupani
Capital– Gandhinagar
National Parks– Gir National Park, Velavadar Blackbuck National Park, Vansda National Park, Marine National Park.
<<Read Full News>>

Tamil Nadu CM signs 18 MoU’s for 24 Projects worth Rs. 24,248 Crores

On 14th December, 2020 Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu Edapaddi K Palaniswami signed 18 Memorandum of Understandings (MoU) for 24 projects with multiple companies attracting investment in the state, which has the potential to create 54,218 jobs in the state.
i.On 14th December, 2020 Ola has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Tamil Nadu state government to set up a Rs. 2400 crore Electric vehicle manufacturing hub in the state, this turns out to be the world’s largest scooter factory.
ii.Electronic Vehicles has unique removable Banana battery, removable, light weight and capable of charging anywhere with its intelligent software.
About Tamil Nadu:
Capital- Chennai
Chief Minister- Edappadi K. Palaniswami
Governor- Banwarilal Purohit
<<Read Full News>>

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