Current Affairs 22 December 2020

We are here for you to provide the important Recent and Latest Current Affairs 22 December 2020, which have unique updates of Latest Current Affairs 2020 events from all newspapers such as The Hindu, The Economic Times, PIB, Times of India, PTI, Indian Express, Business Standard and all Government official websites.

Our Current Affairs December 2020 events will help you to get more marks in Banking, Insurance, SSC, Railways, UPSC, CLAT and all State Government Exams. Also, try our Latest Current Affairs Quiz and Monthly Current Affairs 2020 PDF which will be a pedestrian to crack your exams.

We are Hiring – Subject Matter Expert | CA Video Creator | Content Developers(Pondicherry)

Date-Wise Current Affairs December 2020 PDF for Paid Users – Click Here to Know More

Top 15 Current Affairs of 22 December 2020

NATIONAL AFFAIRS

Indian Navy, INCOIS sign MoU to Share Ocean Services Data

i.On December 18, 2020, a virtual Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between Indian Navy (IN) and Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) on sharing of ocean services, data, and expertise in the field of operational oceanography.
ii.The MoU was signed by Dr T.Srinivasa Kumar, Director INCOIS and Commodore AA Abhyankar, who heads Indian Navy’s Oceanology and Meteorology Directorate.
iii.This MoU will benefit both Indian Navy and INCOIS in future interactions and professional exchanges.
About Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS):
Establishment– 1999
Director– T.Srinivasa Kumar
Headquarter– Telangana, Hyderabad
Parent Ministry– Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES)
<<Read Full News>>

ASSOCHAM Foundation Week 2020 observed on Dec 15-19, 2020; PM conferred “ASSOCHAM Enterprise of the Century Award” to Ratan Tata

i.The Associated Chambers of Commerce & Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) Foundation Day 2020 was commemorated on December 12, 2020. To mark this occasion, the chamber organized a 5-day virtual event “ASSOCHAM Foundation Week 2020” from 15th to 19th December 2020 on the theme “India’s resilience: Aatmanirbhar roadmap towards a US$5 trillion economy”.
ii.During the occasion, Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi delivered the keynote address via video conferencing and also presented “ASSOCHAM Enterprise of the Century Award” to Ratan Tata, who received the award on behalf of the TATA Group.
iii.The award recognized the role played by Tata Group in India’s development.

• Dharmendra Pradhan invites India Inc. to join the Atmanirbhar Bharat Urja initiatives
• Mega zoo set to come up on 250.1 acres in Gujarat’s Jamnagar

About Associated Chambers of Commerce & Industry of India (ASSOCHAM):
Establishment– 1920
President– Vineet Agarwal
Secretary General– Deepak Sood
Headquarter– New Delhi
<<Read Full News>>

8^th edition of North East Festival (NEF) 2020 Held in Guwahati, Assam for 1^st time

On December 19-20, 2020, the 8th edition of the North East Festival (NEF) 2020 was held at Radisson Blu Hotel in Guwahati, Assam by adhering to all Covid related protocols and guidelines. It was for the first time that Guwahati hosted this annual two-day event. The festival was open for the public to attend virtually.

• The inaugural ceremony was graced by Union Minister Jitendra Singh, Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) as the Chief Guest of the festival, Assam Chief Minister (CM) Sarbananda Sonowal, and Tripura CM Biplab Deb among other dignitaries.
• The focus of this year was on ‘Growth Agenda for North East Post COVID-19’.

The events showcase and create awareness about the northeast and promote entrepreneurship, investment and tourism.

UP Launches India, South-Asia’s 1st of its Kind Project on P2P Trading of Rooftop Solar Power in Lucknow

On December 17, 2020, Uttar Pradesh (UP) launched India, South Asia’s 1st blockchain-enabled Peer to Peer (P2P) Trading Platform for Rooftop Solar Power Producers in Lucknow, UP. The Pilot project will be implemented by India Smart Grid Forum (ISGF), Power Ledger (Australia based Blockchain technology partner) & Abajyon Consulting.
The project will be hosted by Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (UPPCL), Madhyanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited (MVVNL) & Uttar Pradesh New & Renewable Energy Development Agency (UPNEDA).
i.The platform will facilitate the trading (buying and selling) of Energy generated from Rooftop Solar powers installed on Buildings in Lucknow.
ii.The platform will also be used to set prices, track energy trading in real time & enable settlement of surplus solar energy transactions.
iii.Results & Recommendations from the implementation of the pilot project will be submitted to UPPCL & Uttar Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (UPERC) for promotion of P2P rooftop solar power among the people of Uttar Pradesh.
About Indian Smart Grid Forum (ISGF):
ISGF is a public private partnership initiative of the Ministry of Power (MoP), Government of India.
President – Reji Kumar Pillai
Headquarters – New Delhi
About Uttar Pradesh:
Chief Minister – Yogi Adityanath
Governor – Anandiben Patel
<<Read Full News>>

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

India Ranked 63rd in EODB 2020: World Bank

The World Bank (WB) has released the updated the Ease of Doing Business(EODB) 2018 & EODB 2020 reports after correcting the data irregularities submitted by 4 countries – China, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia & Azerbaijan. India Ranked 63 in the 17th edition of WB report ‘Ease of Doing Business 2020-Comparing Business Regulation in 190 Economies’ report remains unchanged.
In August, 2020, WB decided to pause the publication of the EODB report due to a number of irregularities, and changes to data in previous reports.
List of Other Corrections:
i.UAE’s ranking of 16 in the EODB 2020 report remains unchanged, while Azerbaijan has improved to 28 from 34 in the EODB 2020 report.
ii.Saudi Arabia, in the 2020 report, the published score including irregularities affecting the Getting Credit and Paying Taxes indicators was 71.6 with a global ranking of 62. After correcting these irregularities, the Doing Business 2020 score is 70.9. However, if irregularities had not occurred, Saudi Arabia’s position would stand at 63.
iii.According to the corrected list, China has slipped 7 places to 85th Rank in the 2018 report from 78th Rank before correction.
Rankings of Ease of Doing Business 2020 Report:

About World Bank (WB):
President – David R. Malpass
Headquarters – Washington D.C., United States of America

Around 2.1 billion people in Asia-Pacific lack water supply, sanitation: ADB report

According to ‘Asian Water Development Outlook 2020: Advancing Water Security across Asia and the Pacific’ released by Asian Development Bank (ADB), 2.1 Billion People (1.5 Billion People in rural areas & 600 Million in urban areas) lack adequate water supply, sanitation in the Asia-Pacific region.
The Asian Water Development Outlook (AWDO) 2020 has been jointly prepared by ADB & Asia-Pacific Water Forum and supported by the Government of Australia.
i.AWDO 2020 is the 4th report in the series.
ii.The AWDO report describes the status of Water security in the Asia-Pacific region.
iii.India remains in Nascent stage in all KDs of the report.
iv.India has recorded vast improvement in sanitation during 2017-19.
v.Compared to 2014, rural Indians have better access to basic sanitation in 2019.
About Asian Development Bank (ADB):
Headquarters– Mandaluyong, Philippines
President– Masatsugu Asakawa
Membership– 68 countries (Including India)
<<Read Full News>>

BANKING & FINANCE

IIFL Home, ICICI Bank Joined Hands for Affordable Housing, MSME loans

i.On December 19, 2020, IIFL (formerly India Infoline Limited) Home Finance Ltd, the subsidiary of IIFL Finance has joined hands with ICICI (Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India) Bank for sourcing and servicing arrangement to provide affordable housing and MSME (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) loans.
ii.As a part of tie-up, IIFL Home will hunt and then provide services to customers through the entire loan life-cycle including sourcing, documentation, collection and loan servicing while ICICI Bank will provide funding to these customers.
About ICICI Bank:
Establishment– 1955 (incorporated in 1994)
Managing Director (MD) & Chief Executive Officer (CEO)– Sandeep Bakhshi
Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra
Tagline– Hum Hai Na, Khayal Apka
About IIFL Home Finance Ltd:
Chairman– S. Sridhar
Headquarter– Gurugram, Haryana
<<Read Full News>>

ADB Approves $231 Million Loan to Construct Lower Kopili Hydroelectric Power Plant in  Central Assam, India

i.On December 19, 2020 The Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved a $231 million(Around Rs 1,705 crore) loan to construct the Lower Kopili Hydroelectric Power (LKHEP) plant in Central Assam, India.
ii.This loan is the 3rd and largest tranche of the $300 million(about Rs 2,200 crore) Assam Power Sector Investment Program that was approved by ADB in 2014.
About Asian Development Bank (ADB):
Headquarters– Mandaluyong, Manila, Philippines
President– Masatsugu Asakawa
Membership– 68 countries(Including India)
Formed– 1966
<<Read Full News>>

ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund Launched ‘ICICI Prudential Business Cycle Fund’, an Open-Ended Equity Scheme

On December 21, 2020 ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund launched ‘ICICI Prudential Business Cycle Fund’, an open-ended equity scheme following business cycles based investing theme. The New Fund Offer (NFO) opens on December 29, 2020 and closes on January 12, 2021.
Highlights of the Scheme:
i.The scheme will invest in equity and equity-related securities in Indian markets with a focus to ride business cycles through dynamic allocation between various sectors and stocks at different stages of business cycles.
ii.It will create long term wealth.
iii.It will follow a top-down approach from monitoring macro indicators (global and domestic), identifying business cycles followed by determining suitable sectors, and selecting the stocks within these sectors.
iv.The benchmark of the scheme is Nifty 500 TRI(Total Return variant of Index).
Note
As per the Securities and Exchange Board of India-SEBI (Mutual Funds) Regulations 1996, the particulars of the ICICI Prudential Business Cycle Fund have been prepared.
SEBI (Mutual Funds) Regulations 1996– Last amended on October 29, 2020
About ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund:
It was founded in 1993 as ICICI Asset Management Company, the joint venture between ICICI Bank and Prudential Plc, established ICICI Prudential Asset Management Company in 1998.
MD & CEO– Nimesh Shah
Headquarters- Mumbai, Maharashtra

AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS        

Union Minister & MoS of Ministry of Communications Presents Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Telecom Skill Excellence Awards 2018

On December 18, 2020 Ravi ShankarPrasad, Union Minister of Communications and Sanjay Shamrao Dhotre, Minister of State of Ministry of Communications presented the Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Telecom Skill Excellence Awards 2018 in Electronics Niketan, CGO Complex, New Delhi, India.
1st Prize– Sreenivas Karanam, Bangalore, Karnataka(Cash award- Rs 50,000)
2nd Prize– Subrat Kar, Professor at Bharti School of Telecommunication Technology and Management and Department of Electrical Engineering, IIT Delhi (Cash award- Rs 30,000)
<<Read Full News>>

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Rajnath Singh Inaugurated India’s First Hypersonic Wind Tunnel Test Facility at Hyderabad, Telangana

i.On December 19-20, 2020, Union Defence Minister, Rajnath Singh inaugurated India’s first advanced Hypersonic Wind Tunnel (HWT) test facility in Hyderabad, Telangana during his visit Defence Research and Development Organisation’s (DRDO’s) Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Missile Complex.
ii.He was accompanied by Union Minister of State (MoS) Gangapuram Kishan Reddy, Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and G Satheesh Reddy, DRDO Chairman.
iii.It is an enclosed free jet facility with a pressure vacuum and having nozzle exit diameter of 1 meter which will simulate Mach No 5 to 12.
iv.During the visit Gangapuram Kishan Reddy also laid the foundation stone of Explosive Test Facility for Propellant and Explosive Systems at missile complex.
About Ministry of Defence (MoD):
Rajnath Singh Constituency– Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh (UP)
Minister of State (MoS)– Shripad Yesso Naik
<<Read Full News>>

SPORTS

Sports Ministry approves inclusion of 4 Indigenous Games to be part of Khelo India Youth Games 2021

Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports has approved the inclusion of 4 Indigenous Games – Gatka, Kalaripayattu, Thang-Ta and Mallakhamba as part of the 4th Edition Khelo India Youth Games (KIYG) in 2021 set to take place at Panchkula, Haryana.
i.The inclusion will help in preservation, promotion and popularization of these games.
ii.Along with the 4 games, Yogasana will also be a part of the Khelo India Youth Games 2021.
Key points:
i.Kalaripayattu – A martial art having its origin in Kerala.
ii.Mallakhamba – ‘Malla’ means wrestler & ‘Kamba’ means pole, athletes perform gymnastics on a wooden pole or a rope. It is practiced majorly in Madhya Pradesh & Maharashtra.
iii.Gatka – A traditional fighting style having its origin in Punjab and is practiced by Nihang Sikh Warriors as self-defense, sports.
iv.Thang-Ta – A martial art which has its origin in Manipur.
About Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports:
Minister of State, Independent Charge – Kiren Rijiju
Headquarters –  New Delhi
<<Read Full News>>

Indian Boxers bag 9 medals at the Cologne Boxing World Cup 2020; India Ranked 2nd in Overall Medal Tally, Germany topped

Indian Boxers bagged 9 Medals – 3 Gold, 2 Silver & 4 Bronze at the Cologne Boxing World Cup 2020 held from December 16-20 at Cologne, Germany. India finished 2nd in the overall Medals List, Germany topped the list with 16 medals. The Cologne Boxing World Cup 2020 was hosted by the European Boxing Confederation (EUBC).
List of Indian Winners:

About Boxing Federation of India (BFI):
President – Ajay Singh
Headquarters – New Delhi
<<Read Full News>>

Vijaykumar Yo Mahesh, Former TamilNadu and CSK Bowler Announced Retirement from All Forms of CricketOn December 20, 2020 Vijaykumar Yo Mahesh, who played for TamilNadu and Chennai Super Kings(CSK) announced retirement from all forms of cricket. The right-arm medium-fast bowler(seamer) has also played for Delhi Daredevils.
About Vijaykumar Yo Mahesh:
i.He is among the 1st Indian domestic players to be a part of IPL success, where he was Delhi Daredevils’ highest wicket-taker in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2008 with 16 strikes at an economy rate of 8.77.
ii.He took 108 wickets in 50 first-class games and 93 wickets in List A cricket at an average of 24.67.
iii.He also played in 2006 Under-19 Cricket World Cup.
iv.His last competitive match was in August 2019, when he switched to the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL).
v.His last match for Tamil Nadu was a List A fixture against Assam in Chennai in September 2018.

IMPORTANT DAYS

International Human Solidarity Day 2020 – December 20

i.United Nations(UN)’s International Human Solidarity Day is annually observed across the globe on 20th December to celebrate the unity in diversity across the world.
ii.The day creates public awareness and reminds the governments to honour their commitment to international agreements.
iii.The International Human solidarity Day has been observed since 2006.
iv.The UN Women marks the International Human Solidarity day highlights the day with a focus on gender equality.
About United Nations Development Programme (UNDP):
Administrator– Achim Steiner
Headquarter– New York, United States of America
<<Read Full News>>

STATE NEWS

SIDBI Signs MoU with Assam Govt to Develop MSME Ecosystem in the State

i.On December 19, 2020 The Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI)signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government of Assam to develop the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) ecosystem in the State. As per the MoU, a Project Management Unit (PMU) will be set up by SIDBI in Assam.
ii.SIDBI’s partnership with Assam is part of SIDBI’s initiative to set-up PMU to strengthen the MSME ecosystem in 11 states namely Gujarat, Odisha, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, New Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka .
About Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI):
Set up– 2nd April 1990 under an Act of Indian Parliament
HeadOffice– Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh
Deputy MD– Manoj Mittal,  V Satya Venkata Rao
<<Read Full News>>

UP CM launches 1st of its kind Campaign, ‘Varasat’& will Launch Kisan Kalyan Mission

i.On December 15, 2020 Yogi Adityanath, Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh launched a first of its kind campaign, ‘Varasat’(natural succession) drive to end property and related disputes in rural areas of the state. This 2 month campaign will continue till February 15, 2021.
ii.UP govt to double the farmers’ income will launch ‘Kisan Kalyan Mission’.
About Uttar Pradesh:
Zoological Park/Garden– Nawab Wajid Ali Shah Zoological Garden, Kanpur Zoological Park, Shaheed Ashfaq Ullah Khan Prani Udyan
Wildlife Sanctuary– Katarniya Ghat Wildlife Sanctuary, Hastinapur Wildlife Sanctuary, Kishanpur Wildlife Sanctuary, Sohelwa Wildlife Sanctuary, Sohagibarwa Wildlife Sanctuary
<<Read Full News>>

*******

Click Here View – AC Excluded News 2020

Current Affairs Today (AffairsCloud Today)