NATIONAL UPDATES:
1.
Saffron Production in India being extended to the North East Region: Saffron production,
which was till now restricted to a limited geographical area in the Union territory
of Jammu & Kashmir, is now being extended to the North East of India. The
Pampore region of Jammu & Kashmir, which is commonly known as Saffron bowl
of Kashmir, is the main contributor to saffron production in India. It is
followed by Budgam, Srinagar, and Kishtiwar districts. However the government
is now looking to explore the feasibility of growing saffron in North East
region of India, with the same quality and higher quantity. North East Centre
For Technology Application and Reach (NECTAR), an autonomous body under the
Department of Science & Technology, Government of India conducted a pilot
project, under which, the Botany and Horticulture department of Sikkim Central
University carried out tests to understand the soil and actual pH conditions of
Yangyang of Sikkim. The soil was found comparable to saffron growing places of
Kashmir. As a result, Saffron seed/corms were purchased and air transported
from Kashmir to Yangyang site by the department. The initiative will expand the
geographical boundary for production of saffron as well as improve its farming,
under the National Mission on Saffron of Central government.
2.
Ministry of Textiles launches “Local4Diwali” campaign: The Union Ministry
of Textiles has launched a campaign for Diwali- “Local4Diwali”. The campaign
has been launched to promote the Indian handicraft which is the cultural
heritage of the country and also a source of livelihood for many. As per the
available data, the handicrafts sector is a major sector of women empowerment
as almost 55% of the workers and artisans are women.
Aim of the Local4Diwali Campaign: The main
aim of the #Local4Diwali campaign is to urge people to buy and gift Indian
handicraft products on this Diwali. The basic aim of the campaign is to give a
boost to Indian handicrafts and artisans. This campaign will help the
handicraft artisans and workers in increasing their sales and promoting their
business. After the promotion of the idea of “Vocal for Local” by PM Modi,
every sector is working towards promoting local businesses and strengthening
Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan.
Note: Minister of Textiles: Smriti Zubin
Irani.
3.
World’s first Tram library for children launched in West Bengal: On the occasion of
Children’s Day, a first-of-its-kind in the world, library on the tram for
children was launched in Kolkata, West Bengal. A tram is a rail vehicle that
runs on tramway tracks along public streets. The tram would run on
Shyambazar-Esplanade and Esplanade-Gariahat routes, spanning across north and
south Kolkata, every day from morning to evening. It has been jointly developed
by the West Bengal Transport Corporation (WBTC) and Apeejay Anand Children’s
Library and will have around 1,000 books.
Note: Chief Minister of West Bengal: Mamata
Banerjee; Governor: Jagdeep Dhankhar.
4.
NPCI imposes 30% cap on transaction volumes via UPI for third party apps: The National
Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has imposed a cap of 30 percent of the
total volume of transactions processed in UPI, on all the Third Party App
Provider (TPAP). It means that each of the Third Party App Providers (TPAPs),
which provide payments services via UPI, will be allowed to process a maximum
of 30% of the total volume of UPI transactions. This will be with effect from
January 1, 2021 The existing TPAPs whose limit exceeds the specified cap will
get a period of two years from January 2021 to comply with the same in a phased
manner. However, for the new entrants such as WhatsApp Pay, the 30% cap will be
applicable from January 2021. As per data available on the NPCI website, there
are 21 third party applications live on the UPI platform, such as Amazon,
Whatsapp, Samsung and Google.
5. A
New Book on Gulzar “Boskiyana” by Radhakrishna Prakashan: ‘Boskiyana’, a new
Hindi book on Gulzar, veteran Indian poet-lyricist has been published by
Radhakrishna Prakashan. The book portrays the life of Gulzar through his films,
poetry, philosophies, lifestyle, likes and dislikes. The 228- page book is
edited and compiled by Yashwant Vyas. ‘Boskiyana’ is the name of the house of
Gulzar in Mumbai.
About the Book: The book expresses the
personality of Gulzar through detailed conversations and reveals his thoughts
and vision of the world. It is a compilation of some of the most defining
interviews and conversations of Gulzar from the last 30 years. Yashwant Vyas
took 6 years to compile.
INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:
1.
Aung San Sui Kyi Party claims to win Myanmar Elections: Myanmar’s ruling
party led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi claimed a resounding victory.
National League for Democracy (NLD) party has won close to 400 seats while the
opposition Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) has secured only 21
seats. Around 38 million voted to select the National League of Democracy (NLD)
Party for a second term. NLD was required to win at least 2/3rd of the elected
seats to win.
Note: Myanmar Capital: Naypyitaw; Myanmar
Currency: Kyat.
2. Dr
Harsh Vardhan attends 8th BRICS STI Ministerial Meet: The 8th BRICS
Science, Technology and Innovation Ministerial Meeting was held through a
virtual platform for Science and Technology cooperation among the member
countries, which are Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. The meeting
was held under the Chairmanship of the Russian Federation. (Russia is the Chair
for 12th BRICS Summit).
About the meeting: The Union Minister of
Science and Technology, Dr Harsh Vardhan represented the Indian delegation at
the meeting. The meeting concluded with the adoption of BRICS STI Declaration
2020. During the meeting, Dr Harsh Vardhan highlighted that “The COVID 19
pandemic has been a test, demonstrating that multilateral cooperation is the
key to overcoming such global challenges”. He reiterated that “India will actively
contribute in the implementation of BRICS STI Calendar of Activities 2020-21
and supports continuation scientific activities under BRICS MOU on Science,
Technology and Innovation”.
3.
RCEP: 15 Asia-Pacific countries form world’s largest trading bloc: 15 Asia Pacific
countries have signed the world’s biggest free trade deal, led by China, on the
sidelines of the 37th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit.
The deal called as ‘Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP)’, is the
world’s largest trading bloc, comprising of 10 Southeast Asian countries, as
well as South Korea, China, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. Members of the
RCEP accounts for nearly a third of the world’s population and around 30% of
global gross domestic product (GDP).
OTHER UPDATES:
SPORTS
1.
Lewis Hamilton wins F1 Turkish Grand Prix 2020: Lewis Hamilton
(Mercedes-Great Britain) has won the Turkish Grand Prix 2020 at Istanbul Park,
Turkey. Sergio Perez (Racing Point-BWT- Mexico) secured the second position and
Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari finished third. This was Hamilton 10th victory of
the season and 94th F1 win of his career. With this win, he claimed the seventh
Formula One championships title of his career to equal the record of Michael
Schumacher.
BANKING AND FINANCE
1.
SEBI introduces flexi cap category in mutual funds: The markets
regulator, SEBI has introduced a ‘flexi-cap category’ for mutual funds (MFs),
which will be required to invest at least 65% of the corpus in equity but will
have no restrictions on investing in large-, mid- or small-cap company
stocks.Unlike the new multi cap funds, there is no restriction in terms of
allocation to any market cap. According to the new rule, multi cap funds will
now have to invest at least 25% of their corpus in large-, mid- and small-cap
stocks. Many fund houses raised concerns about the risk in investing 25% in mid
and small cap stocks and had demanded the formation of a flexi cap category.
The move comes after new guidelines theissued in September required asset
managers to more evenly spread their ‘multi-cap’ fund schemes across small, mid
and large-cap stocks, or else convert their multi-cap schemes into other scheme
categories, by 31 January 2021.
2.
German Bank KfW extends 545 million Euro funding to MMRDA infra projects: The German
state-owned development bank KfW has extended two loans totalling over €545
million (Rs 4,767 crore) to the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development
Authority (MMRDA) for infrastructure projects in Mumbai. The funds will be
disbursed through an agreement with India’s Ministry of Finance and will be
utilised to support two key mass transit projects in Mumbai. These projects are
Metro line 4 from Wadala in central Mumbai to Kasarvadavli in Thane, and Metro
line 4A that extends to the connectivity from Kasarvadavli to Gaimukh in Thane.
This is part of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority’s plan to
build a 337-km metro rail network. The credit package consists of a development
loan of €345 million and a promotional loan of €200 million.
BUSINESS AND ECONOMY
1.
TCS to acquire Deutsche’s Postbank Systems AG: Tata Consultancy
Services (TCS) announced an agreement under which the company will acquire 100%
of the shares of Postbank Systems AG (PBS), the technology services unit of
Frankfurt-based Deutsche Bank AG. PBS has close to 1,500 employees and post the
acquisition, they will become a part of TCS. Postbank Systems provides project
management, application management and infrastructure support services to Deutsche
Bank. The acquisition is expected to finalise by year end. The transaction is
subject to customary regulatory and governmental approvals.
AWARDS AND HONOURS
1.
Sadat Rahman wins International Children’s Peace Prize 2020: Sadat Rahman from
Bangladesh has been awarded the prestigious International Children’s Peace
Prize 2020. He was awarded the prize for his involvement in setting up his
social organization and mobile app ‘Cyber Teens’ to stop cyberbullying. The
award was presented to 17-year-old Sadat by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala
Yousafzai, during a ceremony in the Netherlands. He was selected out of 142
applicants from 42 countries.
About International Children’s Peace Prize:
The International Children’s Peace Prize is given annually since 2005 by the
International children’s rights organization KidsRights based in Amsterdam, the
Netherlands. The prestigious Prize is annually awarded to a child who has made
a special effort to promote children’s rights and better the situation of
vulnerable children.
DEFENCE
1.
India Successfully test fires QRSAM system off Odisha Coast: India successfully
test-fired the Quick Reaction Surface to Air Missile (QRSAM) system off the
coast of Balasore in Odisha. The system achieved a major milestone by a direct
hit on to a Banshee Pilotless target aircraft at medium range and medium
altitude. Indian forces have carried out at least seven tests earlier of the
missile system.
About QRSAM system: The QRSAM system has
been developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in
association with Bharat Electronics Limited and Bharat Dynamics Limited for the
Indian Army. The system is capable of detecting and tracking targets on the
move and engaging target with short halts. The system is designed to give air
defence coverage against strike columns of the Indian Army.
OBITUARIES
1. Veteran Bengali Actor Soumitra Chatterjee passes away: The legendary Bengali actor and Dadasaheb Phalke award recipient Soumitra Chatterjee passed away. He became famously known after his collaborations with Oscar-winning film director Satyajit Ray, with whom he worked in fourteen films. He had won a number of awards in home and abroad. Soumitra Chatterjee was awarded the Padma Bhushan by the Government of India in 2004, Dadasaheb Phalke Award, India’s highest award for cinema, in 2012. In 1999 Soumitra Chattopadhyay became the first Indian film personality to be conferred with the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, France’s highest award for artists.
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