Current Affairs 30 December 2020

We are here for you to provide the important Recent and Latest Current Affairs 30 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.

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Top 20 Current Affairs of 30 December 2020

NATIONAL AFFAIRS

PM virtually Inaugurates 2 Railway projects – New Bhaupur to New Khurja section, OCCOn December 29, 2020, Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi virtually inaugurated 2 Railway projects for the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (EDFC) namely the 351-Kms long New Bhaupur-New Khurja section in Uttar Pradesh (UP) which has been built at a cost of INR 5, 750 crores and Operational Control Centre (OCC) at Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh. It is expected to be one of the largest control centers in the world.
New Bhaupur-New Khurja section:
i.The inauguration of the section will benefit local industries in Uttar Pradesh as 60% of EDFC falls in the state.
ii.It will decongest the Kanpur-Delhi mainline and enable Indian Railways to deploy faster trains.
PM flags off 100th Kisan Rail:
On December 28, 2020, PM virtually flagged off the 100th ‘Kisan Rail’ from Sangola (Maharashtra) – Shalimar (West Bengal).The 1st Kisan Rail was introduced from Devlali (Maharashtra) – Danapur (Bihar) on August 7, 2020. It was extended up to Muzaffarpur in Uttar Pradesh.
About Ministry of Railways:
Union Minister – Piyush Goyal
Headquarters – New Delhi
<<Read Full News>>

Overview of President Ram Nath Kovind’s Visit to Diu from December 25-28, 2020

President of India Ram Nath Kovind visited Diu Town in the Union Territory (UT) of Dadra and Nagar Haveli & Daman and Diu from December 25-28, 2020.  During the visit, he laid Foundation stone & Inaugurated many developmental projects.
i.Inaugurated the 1st academic session of IIIT (International Institute of Information Technology) Vadodara-International Campus Diu.
ii.He laid Foundation Stone for Development of Integrated municipal solid waste management system for entire urban & rural areas of  Diu district.
iii.President also inaugurated the INS (Indian Navy Ship) Khukri Memorial. INS Khukri is Indian Navy’s only warship to be lost in a war to date.
About UT Administration of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu:
Established on 26th January 2020
Administrator – Praful Khoda Patel
Capital – Daman
Districts – 3 (Daman, Diu, Dadra & Nagar Haveli)
<<Read Full News>>

Gender Park to Host 2^nd International conference on Gender Equality at Kozhikode in February 2021

The Gender Park, an initiative of Kerala Government in partnership with United Nations (UN) Women will organize the 2nd edition of the International Conference on Gender Equality (ICGE-II) at Gender Parks Kozhikode campus in February 2021. The conference will be 3-days long and the theme of the event will be ‘Gender in Sustainable Entrepreneurship and Social Business: The Mediating Role of Empowerment’. The event will take place in a partially-digital format due to the Pandemic. The 1st edition ICGE was hosted by the Gender Park in November, 2015.

India Hoists Blue Flags on its 8 Beaches

On December 28, 2020 India hoisted ‘Blue Flags’ on its 8 beaches. Blue Flag certification is an eco-label given by Foundation for Environment Education, Denmark for beaches that meets its stringent environmental, educational, safety-related and access-related criteria. The label signifies India’s efforts to safeguard its coastal region. In October 2020 India became the First Country to be awarded the Coveted International Blue Flag certification for 8 beaches in one attempt. Click here to read the news.

Indian Railways launches HMIS & Mobile application for UMID 

On December 28, 2020, Indian Railways (IR) launched the Integrated Hospital Management Information System (HMIS) & mobile application for downloading Unique Medical IDentity Card (UMID) in 5 units of South Central Railways & 2 units of Northern Railways. Vinod Kumar Yadav, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Railways Board launched the services.
i.HMIS has been developed by IR in collaboration with RailTel Corporation Limited.
ii.Main Objective of HMIS – To provide single window clearance for hospital administration activities like clinical, diagnostics, pharmacy, examinations & industrial health.
iii.The Mobile app for UMID has been launched to integrate UMID with HMIS to help Railway employees to access their health care services in an easier way.
About Indian Railways:
Chairman & Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Indian Railway Board – Vinod Kumar Yadav
Headquarters – New Delhi
<<Read Full News>>

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

India Accounted for 77% of Total FDI Inflows to South & South-West Asian Subregion in 2019: UN ESCAP ReportAccording to the report ‘Foreign Direct Investment Trends and Outlook in Asia and the Pacific 2020/21’ released by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN ESCAP), India has accounted for 77% of total Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows to South & South-West Asian subregion receiving about USD 51 Billion in 2019.
i.The majority of the FDI in India was in the fields of Information & Communications Technology (ICT) & Construction sector.
ii.Apart from the services sector, India is attracting investments in local digital ecosystems such as e-commerce.
iii.Uneven spread of FDI outflows in the region, only 2 countries – India & Turkey accounted for the majority of outflows in 2019.
iv.The pandemic has caused Global FDI flows to drop by 49% in the first 2 quarters of 2020.
Click Here to Read the Full Report
About   UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN ESCAP):
Executive General – Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana
Headquarters – Bangkok, Thailand
<<Read Full News>>

Overview of EAM Jaishankar’s 2-Day Visit to Qatar

External Affairs Minister (EAM) Jaishankar paid a 2-day visit to Qatar from December 27-28, 2020. This is Jaishankar’s 1st Visit to  Qatar as EAM.
During the meeting, Jaishankar called on Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al Thani, Interior Minister of the State of Qatar;Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, Deputy Prime Minister & Foreign Minister & Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani, Amir of the state of Qatar.
i.India-Qatar Business Roundtable – EAM held discussions with Qatari Business leaders.
ii.Jaishankar called on Amir of the State of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and handed him a personal message from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which invited Tamim to visit India and thanked him for taking care of Indian Community in Qatar.
iii.Both Countries agreed to implement the process of setting up Task Forces on investment & energy.
iv.EAM invited the Deputy PM & Foreign Minister of Qatar to visit India for the 1st Joint Commission Meeting in 2021.
About Qatar: 
Capital- Doha
Currency – Qatari Riyal
Prime Minister- Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al Thani
<<Read Full News>>

BANKING & FINANCE

ICICI Bank Becomes 1st Bank to Collaborate with Google Pay to Issue FASTag

i.On December 28, 2020 ICICI Bank collaborated with Google Pay to issue FASTag through Unified Payments Interface (UPI) on the payments app.
ii.This allows Google Pay users to order, track and recharge ICICI Bank FASTag digitally on the payments platform.
iii.With this partnership, ICICI Bank FASTag is now available on Google Pay.
iv.ICICI Bank, with this collaboration, becomes the 1st bank to partner with  Google Pay to issue FASTag.
About ICICI Bank:
It was formed in 1955 at the initiative of the World Bank, the Government of India and representatives of Indian industry.
It’s consolidated total assets stood at ₹14,76,014 crore at September 30, 2020.
Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra
Incorporated-1994
Managing Director(MD) and Chief Executive Officer(CEO)–   Sandeep Bakhshi
Tagline– Hum Hai Na, Khayal Apka
<<Read Full News>>

IRDAI Issues Exposure Draft on Standard Travel Insurance Policies to be Offered from April 1, 2021

i.On December 28, 2020 The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India(IRDAI) issued an exposure draft on guidelines for standard travel insurance policies that is to be offered from April 1, 2021 by every general insurer and stand-alone health insurer.
ii.IRDAI has asked all the stakeholders to comment/suggest on this exposure draft by 6th January, 2021.
About Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India(IRDAI):
It is a statutory body formed under an Act of Parliament, i.e., Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Act, 1999 (IRDAI Act 1999).
Chairman – Subhash Chandra(C) Khuntia
Headquarters – Hyderabad, Telangana
Constituted– 1999(incorporated- April 2000)
<<Read Full News>>

AU Small Finance Bank Partners with ICICI Prudential Life Insurance to Offer Need & Goal-Based Life Insurance Solutions

i.On December 28, 2020 AU Small Finance Bank Ltd has partnered with ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Ltd to offer customised need and goal-based life insurance solutions of ICICI Prudential Life to its customers.
ii.Purpose of Partnership:

• To enhance the customer experience.
• To help the customers to plan for better financial security.

About AU Small Finance Bank:
It is a scheduled commercial bank.
MD & CEO– Sanjay Agarwal
Tagline– ‘Chalo Aage Badhein’
HeadOffice– Jaipur, Rajasthan
Founded– 1996 (converted into Small Finance Bank in 2017).
About ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Ltd:
It is promoted by ICICI Bank Limited and Prudential Corporation Holdings Limited.
Commenced Operations– 2001
HeadOffice– Mumbai, Maharashtra
MD & CEO– N. S. Kannan
<<Read Full News>>

Cashaa in Partnership with United Multistate Credit Co-Op Society Launches World’s 1st Crypto Bank, ‘Unicas’ in India

i.On December 28, 2020 ‘Unicas’, world’s first crypto bank was launched in India as a Joint Venture(JV) between Cashaa of UK and United Multistate Credit Co-operative society of India.The world’s first ‘Crypto-Friendly’ branch was initiated in Jaipur, India.
ii.This bank allows users to transact in cryptocurrency and fiat from one account to another.
iii.It will provide banking services for both fiat and crypto-assets. This JV allows Cashaa to access regulatory licenses, physical branches, and overall banking Infrastructure of United Multistate Co-Op Society.
iv.It is to be noted that for the 1st time in the world a financial institution has enabled cryptocurrency trade through physical branches.
About Cashaa:
CEO and Founder– Kumar Gaurav
Headquarters– London, England
About Unicas:
CEO- Dinesh Kukreja
Headquarters- Jaipur, Rajasthan
About United Multi State Credit Co-Operative Society Ltd.:
It is a Multistate Credit Cooperative Society Registered with Central Registrar, New Delhi under Multistate Cooperative Society Act-2002 .
Headquarters– Jaipur,  Rajasthan
Chairman– B.S Rajawat
<<Read Full News>>

SEBI Gives Approval for Suryoday Small Finance Bank to Float its IPO

On December 28, 2020 Suryoday Small Finance Bank(SFB) received approval from Securities and Exchanges Board of India (SEBI) to float its Initial Public Offering (IPO).  The shares of the SFB is expected to be listed on BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty. The IPO will consist of a fresh issue of 1,15,95,000 shares and also offers a sale of up to 84,66,796 shares by the existing shareholders. The International Financial Corporation (IFC), Gaja Capital, HDFC Holdings, IDFC First Bank, Kotak Mahindra Life Insurance Company, DWM (International) Mauritius and Americorp Ventures will offer shares through the Offer for sale(OFS) route.

AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS     

Rajya Sabha MP Jairam Ramesh & Associate Prof Amit Ahuja Jointly Wins Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay NIF Book Prize 2020 

On December 10, 2020 Jairam Ramesh, Rajya Sabha MP & Former Union Minister for his book  ‘A Chequered Brilliance: The Many Lives of V.K. Krishna Menon’ and Associate Prof Amit Ahuja, for his book ‘Mobilizing the Marginalized: Ethnic Parties without Ethnic Movements’ jointly won Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay New India Foundation(NIF) Book Prize 2020.
Prize Money & Trophy
The winners will share the  prize money of 15 lacs and each of them will receive the Book Prize trophy.
Gist about the Books
A Chequered Brilliance: The Many Lives of V.K. Krishna Menon
The book was  published by Penguin Random House.
It is a biography of V.K. Krishna Menon, an Indian politician, non-career diplomat and nationalist who wrote the first draft of the Preamble to the Constitution of India and initiated the idea of the Constituent Assembly of India.
‘Mobilizing the Marginalized: Ethnic Parties without Ethnic Movements’ 
The book was published by Oxford University Press.
It is the 1st book by the scholar. The book portrays the reason why Dalit ethnic parties perform poorly in states where their social mobilization has historically been strong, and perform well in states where such mobilization has historically been weak.
About Jairam Ramesh
He served as the union minister between 2006 and 2014 in different ministries.
He has authored several books including Indira Gandhi: A Life in Nature and Intertwined Lives: P.N. Haksar and Indira Gandhi among others.
About Amit Ahuja
He is an Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
About the NIF Book Prize:
The annual prize was established in 2018. It builds on the NIF’s mission to support high-quality research and writing on all aspects of Independent India.
It is given to the best non-fiction book on modern/contemporary India by emerging writers from all nationalities, published in the previous calendar year.
It was named after Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay, Indian social reformer and freedom activist.
About New India Foundation:
Headquarters– Bangalore(Bengaluru), Karnataka
Managing Trustee– Manish Sabharwal   

Harmony Foundation Felicitated the 16th Mother Teresa Memorial Awards for Social Justice 2020 

i.On 28th December 2020, the Harmony Foundation hosted the 16th annual Mother Teresa Memorial Awards(MTMA) for Social Justice, to felicitate the acts of compassion of the people during the times of global pandemic.
ii.The theme of the MTMA for Social Justice 2020 is “Celebrating Compassion in Times of Covid”.
iii.This is the only award endorsed by Sister Mary Prema Pierick, the Superior General of the Missionaries of Charity, Kolkata, West Bengal.
About Harmony Foundation:
Harmony Foundation is an international NGO that focuses on the field of Social Justice.
Founder- Dr. Abraham Mathai
Founded in– October 2005
Headquarter – Mumbai, Maharashtra.
<<Read Full News>>

 ACQUISITIONS & MERGERS        

ICICI Bank to Acquire 9.09% Stake in Myclassboard Educational Solutions Pvt Ltd for Rs 4.5 Crore

On December 28, 2020 ICICI Bank entered into an agreement with Myclassboard Educational Solutions Pvt Ltd(MESPL) to acquire 9.09% stake in MESPL through acquisition of 100 equity shares and 104,890 Cumulative Compulsorily Convertible Preference Shares on fully diluted basis.
LIC Sells 2.002% Stake in ICICI Bank Through Open Market Transactions
Life Insurance Corporation  of India (LIC) has sold 13.8 crore shares(2.002% stake) of ICICI Bank from November 27 to December 24, 2020 through open market transactions.
About Myclassboard Educational Solutions Pvt Ltd(MESPL):
Headquarters– Hyderabad, Telangana
Founded– 2008
Founder & CEO– Ajay Sakhamuri
About Life Insurance Corporation  of India (LIC):
Chairman– M R Kumar
Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra
Founded– 1st September, 1956(Parliament of India passed LIC Act, 1956 on the 19th of June 1956)
<<Read Full News>>

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Harsh Vardhan Launched India’s 1st Indigenous Vaccine ‘Pneumosil’ Against Pneumonia

On December 28, 2020, Union Minister for Health & Family Welfare, Dr Harsh Vardhan virtually launched India’s 1st Indigenous Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine (PCV) – ‘Pneumosil’ to treat pneumonia. The vaccine has been developed by Serum Institute of India Private Limited (SIIPL) in collaboration with Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
i.The Vaccine will make SIIPL the world’s 3rd largest supplier of PCV under the pneumococcal Advance Market Commitment (AMC), and the first Developing country vaccine manufacturer to access the global PCV market.
ii.Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) licensed the Vaccine in July 2020 after approval from the Subject Expert Committee (SEC).
Objective – The vaccine will primarily help to fight against pneumococcal pneumonia among children
About Serum Institute of India Private Limited (SIIPL):
Chairman & Managing Director – Cyrus S. Poonawalla
Chief Executive Officer – Adar C. Poonawalla
Headquarters – Pune, Maharashtra
<<Read Full News>>

OBITUARY

Mir Sajjad Ali, Former Indian International Footballer Passed Away at 66

On December 23, 2020 Mir Sajjad Ali,  Former Indian international footballer, passed away at the age of 66. He is a resident of Zeba Bagh in Asif Nagar, Hyderabad, Telangana.
About Mir Sajjad Ali:
i.He played for BDL in the local league. He became the left winger.
ii.He was a member of the Indian team at the Aga Khan Gold Cup in 1977 in Dhaka. He represented Bengal in the Santosh Trophy.
iii.He later played for East Bengal and Mohammedan Sporting.

BOOKS & AUTHORS

MP CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan Released the Book “Elements of Quantitative Genetics: A Conceptual Approach”

On 27th December 2020, Chief Minister(CM) of Madhya Pradesh(MP) Shivraj Singh Chouhan released the book titled “Elements of Quantitative Genetics:A Conceptual Approach” authored by Prof. Dr. Stuti Sharma of Jawaharlal Nehru Agricultural University, Jabalpur, MP. Manoranjan Biswal is the co-author of the book.
Key People:
Kamal Patel, Agriculture Minister of MP,  Vishnu Dutt Sharma, Member of Parliament(MP) from Khajuraho and State BJP President and Lokendra Parashar of BJP were present during the release of the book.
About the book:
i.The book presents complex subjects like Plant Breeding Genetics in a simple manner which will help the students in BSc, MSc , PhD students and other researchers.
ii.This will also assist the candidates preparing for competitive examinations.

STATE NEWS

Madhya Pradesh Cabinet Approves Dharma Swatantrya (Religious Freedom) Bill, 2020

On December 26, 2020, Madhya Pradesh (MP) cabinet headed by Shivraj Singh Chouhan approved the Dharma Swatantrya (Religious Freedom) Bill, 2020.  The aim of the bill is to outlaw marriages which take place with a sole motive of religious conversions.
It will now be placed in the MP state assembly for discussion & passage.
Key Provisions of the Law:
i.Forced religious conversion of minors or women or a person belonging to SC/ST category will invite jail term of 2-10 years & penalty of INR 50, 000.
ii.Mass forced conversions invite 5 to 10 years of jail term & fine of up to INR 1 Lakh.
iii.Forced religion conversion will attract 1-5 years of imprisonment & a minimum fine of INR 25, 000.
iv.The new act will replace the Freedom of Religion Act, 1968 (also known as MP Dharma Swatantrya Adhiniyam, 1968) in Madhya Pradesh.
‘Raag-Bhopali’ Exhibition:
i.Madhya Pradesh Government is organizing an 1st of its kind exhibition called ‘Raag-Bhopali’ to promote the Zari-Zardozi crafts of Bhopal.
ii.The exhibition will help in keeping the traditional art alive & provide employment opportunities to artisans engaged in it.
About Madhya Pradesh:
Festivals – Lokrang Festival, Akhil Bhartiya Kalidas Samaroh, Khajuraho festival, Bhagoria Haat Festival, Malwa Utsav
Dances – Jawara, Tertali, Lehangi, Akiri, Gaur Dance (Gaur Maria Dance).

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