Daily GK Updates – 23rd Dec, 2020

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. India’s 1st CoE for Skill Development in Power Sector inaugurated in Gurugram: The Minister of State for Skill Development, Raj Kumar Singh has inaugurated the first Centre of Excellence (CoE) for ‘skill development in the power sector’ in Gurugram. The CoE has been established in the campus of National Institute of Solar Energy, Gurugram, Haryana.

About Centre of Excellence: This new centre has been set up by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Government of India, in collaboration with the Ministry of National Education and Youth, Government of France and Schneider Electric. It has high-end modern labs designed keeping in mind the future technology, which will further strengthen India and France’s relationship in the energy sector. The centre will design and deliver Training for Trainers, Instructors, Training of Assessors and other high-end programmes in the power and solar sector.

 

2. “Varasat” campaign launched in Uttar Pradesh: The Uttar Pradesh government has launched a special campaign ‘Varasat’ (natural succession) to curb property & land-related disputes in rural areas. This is a first of its kind campaign in the state which aims to put an end the land-related issues in the rural areas and eradicate the exploitation of the villagers over succession rights by land mafias, who generally target disputed properties. The two-month-long special drive will continue till 15th February 2020.

Key Feature of Varasat scheme: Under the arrangements, the villagers will get both online and offline facilities for registering their ‘Varasat’. For the people who have landed in the village but they are living at some other place, a special counter will be opened at the Tehsil-level where they can apply for the same.

Benefits of the scheme:  People will get proper paper documents for their land property. They can even avail loans from banks. It would be helpful in minimising disputes and animosity within families and relatives. Villagers would also get rid of facing lawsuits, that sometimes trail for generations. All the information related to such land will be uploaded on the website of the revenue board based on which the progress of the scheme will be reviewed.

Note: Uttar Pradesh Capital: Lucknow; Uttar Pradesh Governor: Anandiben Patel; Uttar Pradesh Chief minister: Yogi Adityanath.

 

3. Cabinet approves assistance of Rs 3,500 crore for sugarcane farmers: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved assistance of three thousand 500 crore rupees for sugarcane farmers. The Cabinet has taken the decision to help farmers directly by depositing money of subsidy into their accounts. It will benefit five crore farmers and five lakh workers. CCEA also approved revised cost estimate of North Eastern Region Power System Improvement Project for six States for strengthening of the Intra-State Transmission and Distribution Systems.

 

4. Govt provides tap water connections under Jal Jeevan Mission to 278 lakh households: Government said that 278 lakh households have been provided tap water connections under Jal Jeevan Mission. At present more than six crore rural households in the country are getting potable water in their households through taps.The mission was announced on 15 August last year. Jal Shakti Ministry said, 18 districts across the country have provided tap connections to all households and States are competing with each other to ensure tap water supply to every home.

 

5. UP govt to launch ‘Kisan Kalyan Mission’ to double the income of farmers: Uttar Pradesh government will launch a special program to double the income of farmers. The program named as Kisan Kalyan Mission will cover all assembly constituencies of the state. Under the Kisan Kalyan mission various programs will be organised across the state. Exhibitions of agriculture and Associate sectors will be organised which will include the products of MSME sector units and livelihood missions. Farmers will be given benefit under the various schemes of agriculture department during these events.

 

6. India Observes National Farmer’s Day on December 23: National Farmer’s Day (Kisan Diwas) is observed every year on 23 December in India to remember the role of Indian farmers in the economy. The day is observed to mark the birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Chaudhary Charan Singh. He brought farmer-friendly policies and worked towards the welfare of the farmers. He was the fifth Prime Minister of India and served the country as Prime Minister from 28 July 1979 to 14 January 1980.

 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Singapore’s ‘Hawker’ Culture gets UNESCO recognition: The Hawker Culture of street food in Singapore has been inducted by UNESCO in its prestigious ‘Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity’. The Hawker Culture is a popular Singaporean style of street dining and culinary practices in a multicultural urban environment.

About Hawker: Hawker centres are naturally-ventilated premises with stalls selling food from various cultures like Chinese, Malay, Indian, among others. The Hawkers of Singapore are known to master a variety of cuisines which they serve at the ‘community dining rooms’ where people from across all walks of life gather and share their unique experiences.

Note: UNESCO headquarters: Paris, France; UNESCO Head: Audrey Azoulay; UNESCO Founded: 16 November 1945.

 

2. 20th IORA Council of Ministers Meeting Held in UAE: The 20th edition of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) Council of Ministers (COM) Meeting via video conferencing under the Chairmanship of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The theme of the meeting was “Promoting a Shared Destiny and Path to Prosperity in the Indian Ocean”. The Indian delegation was led by V. Muraleedharan, MoS, Ministry of External Affairs. Sri Lanka has assumed the charge of Vice-Chair of IORA for the period 2021-23. About Meeting:

(1) The COM-20 was inaugurated by Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the UAE.

(2) The UAE assumed the position of the IORA Chair in November 2019 during the 19th COM, for the period 2019-2021.

(3) All 22 Member States and 10 Dialogue Partners participated in the virtual meeting to discuss ways in coordinating efforts to achieve IORA’s vision for a peaceful, stable, and prosperous Indian Ocean region as outlined in the Jakarta Concord and IORA Action Plan.

(4) During the 2020 COM, France was inducted as the 23rd member state of IORA.

Note: Secretary-General of Indian Ocean Rim Association: Nomvuyo Nokwe; Indian Ocean Rim Association Founded: 7 March 1997; Indian Ocean Rim Association  Headquarters: Ebene, Mauritius.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

 

SPORTS

 

1. Sports Ministry permits 4 indigenous sports in Khelo India Youth Games 2021: The Sports Ministry has approved the inclusion of four indigenous Games to be a part of Khelo India Youth Games 2021, which is scheduled to be held in Haryana. The four new games are, Gatka, Kalaripayattu, Thang-Ta and Mallakhamba. The four selected games represent different parts of the country and will get national recognition with the help of the Khelo India Youth Games 2021. Place of origin of the newly inducted games:

(1) Kalaripayattu has its origin from Kerala.

(2) Mallakhamba is practised in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.

(3) Gatka originates from Punjab. It is a traditional fighting style of the Nihang Sikh Warriors, used both as self-defence as well as a sport.

(4) Thang-Ta is a Manipur martial art.

 

BANKING AND FINANCE

 

1. RBI extends restrictions on PMC Bank for 3 months: Reserve Bank of India has further extended the restrictions on crisis-ridden Punjab and Maharashtra Co-operative (PMC) Bank by three months till 31 March 2021. The bank has also received four Expression of Interest (EoI) for its revival. To examine them, the bank would need some more time. These proposals will be examined by the bank with regard to their viability and feasibility taking into account the best interest of the depositors.

Why RBI extends restrictions on PMC Bank? As per the Expression of Interest, the bank wants to identify a suitable equity investor/ group of investors willing to take over management control so as to revive the bank and commence regular day-to-day operations.

The PMC bank was placed under Directions by RBI with effect from the close of its business on September 23, 2019, and superseded the bank’s board due to a huge fraud perpetrated by the promoter of a real estate group and some bank officials. The Directions for PMC Bank were last extended for a further period of six months from June 23, 2020, to December 22, 2020.

Note: The Administrator Of PMC Bank: AK Dixit; PMC Bank Founded: 1984; PMC Bank Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra.

 

AWARDS AND HONOURS

 

1. Ratan Tata honoured with “ASSOCHAM Enterprise of the Century Award”: Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi addressed the ‘ASSOCHAM Foundation Week 2020’ via video conferencing. The week-long Associated Chambers of Commerce of India (ASSOCHAM) Foundation Week was organised from 15 to 19 December 2020. The theme of the programme was ‘India’s resilience: Atmanirbhar roadmap towards $5 trillion economies.’

As a part of the celebration, PM Modi also presented the ‘ASSOCHAM Enterprise of the Century Award’ to Shri Ratan Tata, on behalf of the TATA Group, for his distinguished contributions to the country. In the last 100 years, ASSOCHAM and the entire Tata group has worked very hard to strengthen India’s economy and help the common Indian.

 

DEFENCE

 

1. Rajnath Singh hands over high-tech systems to chiefs of 3 armed forces: The Defence Minister, Rajnath Singh recently handed over three indigenously developed high technology systems to chiefs of the three armed forces: the Indian Army, the Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force. The three systems namely, Border Surveillance System (BOSS), Indian Maritime Situational Awareness System (IMSAS) and ASTRA Mk-I Missile, have been developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

1. Border Surveillance System (BOSS): BOSS is an all-weather electronic surveillance system. It was handed over to Army Chief General M M Naravane. BOSS has already been deployed in Ladakh against the Chinese troops for day and night surveillance. It has been designed and developed by Instruments Research & Development Establishment (IRDE), Dehradun and is being produced by Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), Machlipatnam. The system facilitates monitoring and surveillance by automatically detecting the intrusions in harsh high-altitude sub-zero temperature areas with remote operation capability.

2. Indian maritime situational awareness system (IMSAS): It was handed to Navy Chief Admiral Karambir Singh. The IMSAS is a state-of-the-art high-performance intelligent software system that provides Global Maritime Situational Picture, Marine planning tools and Analytical capabilities to Indian Navy. The product is jointly conceptualised and developed by Centre for Artificial Intelligence & Robotics (CAIR), Bengaluru and Indian Navy, while it is being produced by BEL, Bengaluru.

3. Astra Mk-1 missile system: It was handed over to Air Chief Marshal R K S Bhadauria. This missile is the first indigenously developed beyond visual range (BVR) missile that can be launched from Sukhoi-30, Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), Mig-29 and Mig-29K. ASTRA weapon system has been developed by Defence Research & Development Laboratory (DRDL) and production by Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) Hyderabad.

 

OBITUARIES

 

1. Senior-most Congress veteran Motilal Vora passes away: Veteran Congress leader, Motilal Vora has passed away following post-COVID-19 complications. He was born at Jodhpur in Rajasthan and began his career as a journalist. The late Congress leader served as the chief minister of Madhya Pradesh twice, once from 1985 to 1988 and then again in 1989 for 11 months. He also held the office of Governor of Uttar Pradesh between 1993 and 1996. He had served as a Rajya Sabha member four times and as a Lok Sabha member once from Chhattisgarh.