Daily GK Updates – 25th Dec, 2020

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. World Bank approves several projects to support development in India: The World Bank has approved 4 India projects worth over $800 million. The projects will support a range of development initiatives that supports the efforts of India to rebuild itself by creating a sustainable and resilient economy. The projects that have been approved are:

$400 Million Second Accelerating India’s COVID-19 Social Protection Response Program: The Government of India and the World Bank signed a $400 million Second Accelerating India’s COVID-19 Social Protection Response Program. The project supports and protects India’s efforts to provide social assistance to poor and vulnerable households, severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. It is the 2nd operation in a programmatic series of 2. The 1st operation of $750 million was approved in May 2020. The Program builds on the outcomes achieved by the 1st operation.

CHIRAAG project: Amount sanctioned: USD 100 million; CHIRAAG aims at promoting nutrition-supportive agriculture for tribal households in Chhattisgarh; It will develop sustainable production systems that allow tribal households in remote areas of Chhattisgarh to practice round-the-year production of diversified and nutritious food. It will be implemented in the southern tribal-majority region of the state where a large population is undernourished and poor. The project will benefit over 180,000 households from about 1,000 villages in eight districts of Chhattisgarh.

Nagaland: Enhancing Classroom Teaching and Resources Project: Amount approved: USD 68 million. It will improve classroom instruction; create opportunities for the professional development of teachers, and build technology systems to provide students and teachers with more access to blended and online learning as well as allow better monitoring of policies and programs. It will enhance overall quality education in the state

Dam Improvement and Rehabilitation Project (DRIP-2): Financial aid approved: USD 250 million. DRIP-2 will improve the safety and performance of existing dams across various states of India, and strengthen dam safety by building dam safety guidelines; bring in global experience; and introduce newer technologies.

Note: World Bank Headquarters: Washington DC, United States; World Bank President: David Malpass; World Bank Founded: 1944.

 

2. India’s first Maritime Theatre Command to take shape next year: The country’s first Maritime Theatre Command (MTC) is set to take concrete shape by next year, with its commander-in-chief having full operational control over western and eastern naval fleets, maritime strike fighter jets and transport aircraft, two amphibious infantry brigades and coastal patrol vessels.  The MTC will be the first new “geographical” theatre command to be created as part of the biggest-ever military restructuring plan. Maritime theatre command’s HQ to be at Karwar. The Maritime Theatre Command to be created as part of the biggest-ever military restructuring plan to build an integrated land-airsea war-fighting machinery for greater combat punch in a more cost-effective manner.

 

3. UP Chief Minister approves name, design of Noida’s Jewar Airport: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath approved the design, name and logo of the international airport to be constructed in Noida’s Jewar. It will be named Noida International Greenfield Airport while a picture of stork-the state bird will used in its logo. It will be designed on the lines of world-famous airports in London, Moscow and Milan. This airport will become the pride of India and will be one of the best in the world.

 

4. Centre approves Rs 90.60 Cr for new ICP in Tripura’s Sabroom: The Centre has approved of Rs 90.60 crore for land acquisition for the Integrated Check Post (ICP) in Sabroom subdivision of south Tripura. The estimated cost of the proposed ICP at Sabroom is around Rs 300 crore which will have separate passenger and cargo terminals with state-of-the-art facilities. The ICP will have a common boundary with the Sabroom railway goods yard for seamless transportation of goods from both ends.

 

5. AICTE to release Rs 20,000 maintenance grants to students enrolled under PMSSS: An Expert Group was constituted by the Prime Minister for enhancing employment opportunity among youths of J&K and Ladakh and formulate job opportunities in public and private sectors.  Subsequently, Prime Minister’s Special Scholarship Scheme (PMSSS) is being implemented by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), New Delhi. In order to support & empower students for completing online studies, it has been decided to release the installment of Rs. 20,000. The amount shall be released to all the beneficiaries pursuing classes in Odd Semester (July-December 20). The subsequent installment shall be released once the students shall join physically at their respective institutions based on the verification of continuation certificate issued by the Institution.

 

6. Good Governance Day: 25th December: In India, Good Governance Day (Sushasan Divas) is observed annually on 25th December. In this day nation celebrates the birth anniversary of Bharat Ratna and former-Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Good Governance Day was established in 2014 to honour Prime Minister Vajpayee by fostering awareness among the Indian people of accountability in government. In keeping with this principle, the Good Governance Day has been declared to be a working day for the government.

About Atal Bihari Vajpayee: Atal Bihari Vajpayee served as the Prime Minister of India for three times. His first term was for only 13 days in 1996. He served his second term for a period of thirteen months from March 1998 to April 1999 and then a full term from 1999 to 2004. His first entry into parliament was in 1962 through the Rajya Sabha. He was elected to the Lok Sabha seven times. In 2015, Mr Vajpayee was conferred the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian award.

 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Russia launches 36 UK telecom satellites into space: Bharti Global and UK government said their joint venture OneWeb, a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite communications operator launched 36 satellites from the Vostochny cosmodrome in Russia. The launch was the first and only one to take place from the cosmodrome this year. This takes the total in-orbit constellation to 110 satellites, part of OneWeb’s 648 LEO satellite fleet that will deliver high-speed, low-latency global connectivity. OneWeb plans for its global commercial internet service to be operational by 2022, supported by some 650 satellites.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

 

SPORTS

 

1. Novak Djokovic clinches 2020 ATP Player of the Year 2020 Award for record equalling 6th time: The Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) 2020 Awards were announced to felicitate the players and others for their performance during 2019-20 season. Novak Djokovic (Serbia) has been awarded with the ATP Player of the Year 2020 award, as he finished the year as No. 1 in the ATP Singles Rankings. This is the record sixth time for Djokovic to win the title. This record was till now achieved only by Pete Sampras, who won the title continuously from 1993-98. Complete list of Winners:

Player of the Year – Novak Djokovic

Doubles Team of the Year – Mate Pavic and Bruno Soares

Coach of the Year – Fernando Vicente (coached Andrey Rublev)

Tim Gullikson Career Coach Award – Bob Brett (Australia)

Most Improved Player – Andrey Rublev (Russia)

Newcomer of the Year – Carlos Alcaraz (Spain)

Comeback Player of the Year – Vasek Pospisil (Canada)

ATPTour.com Fans’ Favourite – Roger Federer (Switzerland)

ATPTour.com Fans’ Favourite Team – Jamie Murray and Neal Skupski

Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award – Rafael Nadal (Spain)

Arthur Ashe Humanitarian of the Year – Frances Tiafoe (US)

Ron Bookman Media Excellence Award – Kevin Mitchell (A sportswriter for The Guardian)

 

BANKING AND FINANCE

 

1. Yes Bank partners VISA, introduces new line of E-series debit cards: In partnership with VISA as a payment processor, YES BANK has launched a new line of debit cards – E-series. It will enhance payments efficiency for salaried and YES FIRST account holders. The Bank has also introduced a new line of vertical Debit cards under the E-series across Mastercard and VISA cards. With the new design, the card number and CVV details have been discreetly placed at the back, thereby improving security by making it less easy to capture these details while using it at ATMs or POS terminals. The E-series also offers a measure of choice to consumers to become eligible for a higher card variant, for a fee.

 

2. PayU ties up with Google Pay to introduce tokenised payments: PayU with Google Pay has introduced tokenised payments flow for Indian merchants. With the digital token linked to the phone and card information tokenised, Google Pay users can make repeat payments seamlessly and securely. Through the option of one-click payment, one doesn’t need to re-enter the payment data, as the OTP is read automatically and the payment is processed instantaneously.

What are tokenised payments? Tokenised payments offer a highly convenient, safe, and friction-free payment experience, and we are excited to partner with Google Pay to make this available for our merchants. It will help them build lasting trust and loyalty with customers, reduce risks of cart abandonment and payment failures, and scale up their businesses.

Note: CEO of Google: Sundar Pichai; Headquarters: California, United States.

PayU Founded: 2006; PayU CEO: Laurent le Moal.

 

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

 

1. FADA, ASDC join hands with Google India to bridge digital skills gap in auto dealerships: The Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) said it along with Automotive Skills Development Council (ASDC) has tied up with Google India to bridge the digital skills gap in the country’s auto dealerships and build their capacity in this critical growth driver. ASDC and FADA in partnership Google India aims to prepare over 20,000 auto dealerships to engage with customers in the ongoing and post pandemic era.

 

AWARDS AND HONOURS

 

1. Donald Trump Honours PM Modi with Top US Honour ‘Legion Of Merit’: US President Donald Trump has presented America’s highest military decoration, ‘The Legion of Merit’, to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The prestigious Legion of Merit was given to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his leadership in elevating strategic partnership of the two countries. The award was accepted by India’s Ambassador to the US, Taranjit Singh Sandhu on behalf of the prime minister from the US National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien at the White House on 21 December 2020.

 

2. Musician Shankar Mahadevan, Designer Raghavendra Rathore Winners Of UK’s Icon Awards: Musician Shankar Mahadevan and fashion designer Raghavendra Rathore have been named among 15 winners of the annual 21st Century Icon Awards, unveiled virtually from London. Mahadevan, awarded the 2020 Magnificent Performing Arts Award and Rathore, the recipient of the Exquisite Art & Fashion Award. Among some of the other 2020 winners included the Dedicated Stalwart Award for Mohit Burman, Vice-Chairman of Dabur India Ltd, and Competitive Sports Awards for Jamaican cricketer Chris Gayle and Argentinian polo player Adolfo Cambiaso.

 

OBITUARIES

 

1. Renowned Malayalam poet Sugathakumari passes away: Renowned poet and activist, Sugathakumari passed away, after testing positive for the coronavirus. She was one of the most active campaigners of the Save Silent Valley Movement when it took shape in the 1970s. She wrote a poem Marathinu Sthuti (Hymn to a Tree), which was recited at every other protest to save the Silent Valley. Sugathakumari was awarded India’s fourth-highest civilian award, Padma Shri, in 2006.