Daily GK Updates – 15th Dec, 2020

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. PM Modi delivers inaugural address at FICCI’s 93rd Annual General Meeting: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has delivered the inaugural address at FICCI’s 93rd Annual General Meeting (AGM) and Annual Convention via video conferencing. Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) has organised the convention from December 11 to 14, 2020. The theme for the FICCI 93rd AGM is ‘Inspired India’. The Prime Minister also inaugurated the virtual FICCI Annual Expo 2020. It was started from 11 December 2020 and will continue for a period of a whole year.

About FICCI’s 93rd Annual General Meeting (AGM): FICCI AGM is the annual high-powered flagship event where Cabinet Ministers, Secretaries to Govt of India, Global Industry Captains, Diplomats, Political party leaders, and other thought leaders participate. More than 10000 delegates are virtually participating in this mega event from across the globe.

About FICCI Annual Expo 2020: The Expo is a one-of-its-kind virtual event in the country focused on the manufacturing and services sectors, which will provide an opportunity to exhibitors from across the globe to showcase their products and advance their business prospects.

 

2. ISRO to launch communication satellite CMS-01: Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will launch a communication satellite CMS-01, formerly named GSAT-12R, on December 17, using its Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) rocket’s XL variant numbered as PSLV-C50. The CMS-01 will be a replacement for GSAT-12 that weighed 1,410 kg and was launched on July 11, 2011, with a mission life of eight years.

About CMS-01: CMS-01 is a communication satellite envisaged for providing services in Extended-C Band of the frequency spectrum, which will include the Indian mainland, Andaman and Nicobar and Lakshadweep Islands. The 42nd communication satellite of India, it will have a mission life of seven years.

About PSLV-C50: The 44-metre-high four staged/engine PSLV-C50 is the 22nd flight of PSLV in ‘XL’ configuration (with six strap-on motors hugging the first stage). The PSLV in the normal configuration is a four-stage/engine expendable rocket powered by solid and liquid fuels alternatively with six booster motors strapped on to the first stage to give higher thrust during the initial flight moments. The Indian space agency has PSLV variants with two and four strap-on motors, larger PSLV-XL and the Core Alone variant without any strap-on motors. The choice of the rocket to be used for a mission depends on the weight of the satellite and the orbit where the satellite has to be orbited.

Note: ISRO Chairman: K. Sivan; ISRO Headquarters: Bengaluru, Karnataka.

 

3. West Bengal cabinet approves construction of ‘state’s first deep sea port in Tajpur’: West Bengal Chief Miniter Mamata Banerjee announced that the state cabinet has approved the construction of a deep sea port in Tajpur. Tajpur Deep Sea Port will be built at a cost of Rs 15,000 crore and will generate employment for 25,000 people. It will be the state’s first deep seaport. The concentration of iron and steel industries around Kharagpur will get a boost by having a port at their doorstep for exports.

 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. 5th India – Myanmar bilateral meeting on Drug Control Cooperation: The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), India and the Central Committee on Drug Abuse Control, Myanmar conducted the 5th edition of the India- Myanmar Bilateral Meeting on Drug Control Cooperation. The Indian delegation was led by the Director-General Narcotics Control Bureau, Shri Rakesh Asthana. The Myanmar delegation was led by Pol. Brig. Gen. Win Naing the Commander of the Drug Enforcement Division (DED) cum Joint Secretary of the Central Committee for Drug Abuse Control. About the Meeting:

(1) Both countries agreed on the exchange of intelligence information in a timely manner to conduct follow-up investigations in drug seizure cases, new psychotropic substances and their precursors.

(2) They also agreed to conduct Border Level Officers/Field Level Officers meetings on regular basis between frontline officers to strengthen the existing cooperation on drug law enforcement.

(3) It was decided to exchange information on illegal entry and exit points of illicit drug trafficking on the Myanmar-India borders and information on the technology being used to interdict drug trafficking.

(4) The meeting concluded with an exchange of thanks and greetings for constructive and meaningful discussions and committed to such cooperation in the future, with the decision to hold the 6th India – Myanmar Bilateral Meeting on Drug Control Cooperation in India in 2021.

 

2. India and Austria inks MoU on Technology Cooperation: The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Federal Ministry of Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology of the Republic of Austria on Technology Cooperation in the Road Infrastructure Sector. The MoU will further strengthen ties, promote long-standing bilateral relations and enhance trade and regional integration between the two countries.

About the MoU: The MoU aims to create an effective framework for bilateral cooperation in the field of road transportation, road/highways infrastructure development, management and administration, road safety and intelligent transport systems between both countries. The Indo-Austria bilateral cooperation in the road transport sector would be beneficial both from the perspective of enhanced road safety as well as attractive financing possibilities for the sector, thus fostering and intensifying the already good relations between the two countries, through this MoU in the transport sector.

Note: Austria Capital: Vienna; Austria Currency: Euro; Austria President: Alexander Van der Bellen.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

 

SPORTS

 

1. Max Verstappen wins 2020 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix: Max Verstappen (Red Bull – Netherlands) won the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2020, held in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. This was his second victory of the season and 10th victory of his career. The race was the 17th and final round of the 2020 Formula One World Championship. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes-Finland) stood second, followed by world champion Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-Great Britain) at third place.

 

2. Indian Tennis player Ankita Raina wins ITF doubles title in Dubai: Indian Tennis player, Ankita Raina clinched her third doubles title of the season after she won the 2020 Al Habtoor Tennis Challenge jointly with her Georgian partner Ekaterine Gorgodze in Dubai. The unseeded Indo-Georgian pair defeated the pair of Spain’s Aliona Bolsova Zadoinov and Slovakian Kaja Juvan by 6-4 3-6 10-6 to win the final of the USD 1,00,000 event.

About Al Habtoor Tennis Challenge: Al Habtoor Tennis Challenge is a professional female tennis tournament and part of the ITF Women’s World Tennis Tour, held annually in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, since 1998.

 

BANKING AND FINANCE

 

1. RBI to set up Automated Banknote Processing Centre in Jaipur: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided to set up an Automated Banknote Processing Centre (ABPC) in Jaipur for the receipt, storage and dispatch of currency notes. The functions of the ABPC will also include processing of banknotes received from currency chests (CCs) and bank branches and destruction of soiled banknotes in an automated manner. The volume of banknotes in circulation has increased three-fold from March 2001 to March 2019 and is expected to rise further in the years to come. About RBI Banknotes:

(1) RBI is the sole issuer of banknotes of the country and responsible for the management of currency and all its aspects.

(2) RBI is supplied with banknotes from four printing presses and coins from four mints.

(3) The new banknotes and coins are received at 19 issue offices of the bank located across the country from where these are further distributed to about 3,300 CCs operated by scheduled banks under an agency agreement with the RBI.

(4) The CCs act as storehouses and the currency stored there is distributed to various bank branches/ATM network for distribution to the public.

(5) The unfit notes withdrawn from circulation are verified through a Currency Verification and Processing System (CVPS) and destroyed by shredding.

Note: RBI 25th Governor: Shaktikant Das; Headquarters: Mumbai; Founded: 1 April 1935, Kolkata.

 

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

 

1. BSE launches e-agricultural spot market platform ‘BEAM’: Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Ltd. has launched an electronic spot platform, “BSE E-Agricultural Markets Ltd (BEAM)”, for agricultural commodities through its subsidiary BSE Investments Ltd. The platform aims to boost the competitiveness of the Indian agricultural market by enhancing the strength of the BSE in financial markets, market technology and its vibrant ecosystem. About BEAM:

(1) BEAM will function as a national level, institutionalised, electronic, transparent commodity spot trading platform in line with the Prime Minister’s vision to create a single market.

(2) With the help of BEAM, farmers in one state will be able to reach out to markets in other states and auction their produce.

(3) The farmers will be able to discover the best prices for their products based on the quality, as well as build capacity to help intermediaries, processors and exporters procure from states.

(4) It helps to reduce the cost of intermediation, to improve procurement efficiency, to enhance producers’ realization and more competitive consumer prices.

(5) It helps to eliminate the obstructions related to procurement and trading.

Note: BSE is Asia’s first & world’s fastest Stock Exchange with a speed of 6 microseconds. It is one of India’s leading exchange groups

BSE Established: 1875; BSE Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra; MD and CEO of BSE: Ashish Kumar Chauhan.

 

AWARDS AND HONOURS

 

1. Ashraf Patel wins Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award – India 2020: Ashraf Patel, the founder member and Board member of Pravah and ComMutiny – The Youth Collective (CYC) has been declared as the winner of the Social Entrepreneur of the Year (SEOY) Award – India 2020. The award was presented by the Union Minister of Women & Child Development & Textiles, Smriti Zubin Irani.

The SEOY award “recognizes entrepreneurs who implement innovative, sustainable and scalable solutions to solve India’s social problems. It is the 11th edition of the annual award, instituted by the Schwab Foundation and Jubilant Bhartia Foundation in 2010.

 

OBITUARIES

 

1. 1st man to fly faster than speed of sound Chuck Yeager passes away: US Air Force officer and test pilot Chuck Yeager, who in 1947 became the first pilot in history to have exceeded the speed of sound in level flight, has passed away. As a test pilot, on October 14, 1947, Yeager became the first human to officially break the sound barrier, when he flew the experimental Bell X-1 aircraft at Mach 1 (speed of sound) at an altitude of 45,000 ft (13,700 m). Level flight means flying at a constant altitude, not going up and down.

About Chuck Yeager: Yeager had been associated with World War II, Korean War, and Vietnam War and his three-war active-duty flying career spanned more than 30 years. Throughout his life, he flew more than 360 different types of aircraft and went on to break several other speed and altitude records in the following years.

 

2. Renowned Sanskrit Scholar Vidyavachaspati Govindacharya passes away: Renowned Sanskrit scholar, Vidyavachaspati Bannanje Govindacharya has passed away. He was well versed in Veda Bhashya, Upanishad Bhashya, Mahabharata, Ramayana and Puranas and had written commentaries on Veda Suktas, Upanishads, Shata Rudriya, Brahma Sutra Bhashya, and Gita Bhashya. Govindacharya was conferred the Padma Shri in 2009. He had authored around 150 books and translated several texts from Sanskrit to Kannada.