Daily GK Updates – 26th Dec, 2020

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Dharmendra Pradhan dedicates Bengal’s 1st oil and gas reserve ‘Bengal Basin’: Union Petroleum & Natural Gas Minister, Dharmendra Pradhan has dedicated West Bengal’s first oil and gas reserve, ‘Bengal Basin’, to the nation. The Bengal Basin is explored and owned by Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC). It is the eight producing basins of India by ONGC. The others are Krishna-Godavari (KG), Mumbai Offshore, Assam Shelf, Rajasthan, Cauvery, Assam-Arakan Fold Belt and Cambay. Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) Limited commenced the production of crude oil from the Asokenagar-1 well, Bengal Basin in 24 Paragana district of the state on 20 December 2020.

Note: Chief Minister of West Bengal: Mamata Banerjee; Governor: Jagdeep Dhankhar.

 

2. 12th GRIHA Summit of TERI Concludes: The 12th GRIHA (Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment) Summit was held virtually. It was inaugurated by Vice President of India Venkaiah Naidu virtually. The Summit provides a platform to deliberate on innovative technologies and solutions to help in creating robust mechanisms for developing sustainable and resilient solutions for the benefit of the entire community. The theme of the Summit was “Rejuvenating Resilient Habitats”. It is the annual flagship event organized by GRIHA Council in association with ‘key stakeholders in the construction industry’ to discuss and deliberate on the furtherance of Sustainable Habitat Development in India.

GRIHA Council: It is an independent, not-for-profit society jointly setup by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) and the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), Government of India to promote and administer green buildings in India. Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment (GRIHA) is the national rating system of India for any completed building construction. It has been being recognised as India’s own green building rating system in India’s Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDC) submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

 

3. ADB announces Rs 2100 crore loan to Tripura: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has announced to provide Rs 2,100 crore loan to the Tripura government for the development of urban areas and tourism in the northeastern state. From the total fund of Rs 2,100 crore, Rs 1600 crore will be for urban development and Rs 500 crore for the tourism sector.

About the Project: Under this, all 20 urban local bodies in Tripura would be covered and in the tourism sector, all tourism destinations, roads leading to them and tourist facilities would be covered. Under the loan arrangement, initially ADB would provide Rs 40 crore for engagement of project design and management consultants for urban and tourism sectors. Once the projects are prepared, ADB would provide Rs 1,600 crore for development works in urban areas and Rs 500 crore in the tourism sector over the next three years.

Note: President of ADB: Masatsugu Asakawa; Headquarters: Manila, Philippines; ADB Established: 9 December 1966.

 

4. UN Women and Kerala govt tie-up for India’s 1st Gender Data Hub: The UN Women and Kerala government have collaborated to establish India’s first Gender Data Hub. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed in this regard in the presence of Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. Three key areas of co-operation, as specified in the MoU, will be setting up the Gender Data Centre at The Gender Park, launching the second edition of the International Conference on Gender Equality, and increasing engagement on the global normative frameworks on gender equality and empowerment of women.

About Gender Data Hub: The Gender Hub builds on the goals established through the International Conference on Gender Equality held in November 2015, to collect, analyse and use more nuanced data and inform policy formulation in a manner that centre-stage women’s rights. This collaboration will broaden and deepen various pioneering initiatives for gender equality and women empowerment launched by the Social Justice Department of Kerala through The Gender Park.

Note: Chief Minister of Kerala: Pinarayi Vijayan; Governor: Arif Mohammad Khan.

 

5. Vineet Agarwal takes over as new Assocham President: Managing Director of logistics major Transport Corporation of India Limited, Vineet Agarwal has taken over as the new President of The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham). He replaces Niranjan Hiranandani, Co-Founder and MD, Hiranandani Group of Companies. Sumant Sinha, Chairman and Managing Director of ReNew Power, is the new Senior Vice-President of Assocham.

Note: Assocham Headquarters: New Delhi; Assocham Founded: 1920.

 

6. Satyendra Garg assumes Andaman and Nicobar DGP charge: Senior IPS officer, Satyendra Garg has assumed Andaman and Nicobar DGP charge. Garg, a 1987-batch IPS officer was posted as joint secretary in the Union home ministry. He was handing the North East division in the home ministry as a joint secretary before being repatriated to his cadre. Among other top-level reshuffle IPS officer, Ranvir Singh Krishna is named the police chief of Puducherry. He will replace 1988-batch IPS officer Balaji Srivastava who will assume charge in Delhi. Srivastav has been transferred to the Delhi Police.

Note: Andaman and Nicobar Island (Lieutenant Governor): D K Joshi.

 

7. Amit Shah to lead panel on Netaji’s 125th birth anniversary event: The Union Government has decided to constitute a High-Level Committee (HLC) to commemorate the 125th Birth Anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. The High-Level Committee will be headed by the Union Home Minister,  Amit Shah. This HLC will decide on the activities for a one-year-long commemoration beginning 23 January 2021, as a tribute and mark of gratitude to the contribution made by Netaji in India’s freedom struggle. The other members of the High-Level Commemoration Committee will include experts, historians, authors, family members of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, as well as eminent persons associated with Azad Hind Fauj/INA.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

 

SPORTS

 

1. Yo Mahesh, former Tamil Nadu and Chennai Super Kings pacer, retires from all forms of cricket: Former Tamil Nadu and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) seamer Vijaykumar Yo Mahesh has announced his retirement from all forms of cricket. Vijay, now 36 and a veteran of 61 Tests, 17 ODIs and nine T20Is, played three matches for the Chennai Super Kings in the latest edition of the IPL, but without a noteworthy performance. He is vastly experienced in the format, having turned out in 169 T20 matches over the years, scoring 4223 runs at an average of 26.22 and strike rate of 122.19, with three centuries. The right-arm medium-fast bowler ends his career with 108 wickets in 50 first-class matches. He also scalped 93 wickets.

 

BANKING AND FINANCE

 

1. ICICI Bank launches online portal ‘Infinite India’: ICICI Bank has launched an online platform ‘Infinite India’ to support foreign companies to establish or expand business in India. The one-stop portal will offer banking solutions as well as value-added services such as the incorporation of a business entity, corporate filings, licences and registrations, HR services, compliances and taxation among others. Through this initiative, ICICI bank aims to strengthen its position in the multinational corporations (MNC) segment. The initiative is part of our strategy to further strengthen our technology-enabled offerings aimed to partner with foreign companies coming to India.

Note: ICICI Bank Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra; ICICI Bank MD & CEO: Sandeep Bakhshi; ICICI Bank Tagline: Hum Hai Na, Khayal Apka.

 

2. BoB signs MoU with defence forces named “Baroda Military Salary package”: Bank of Baroda (BoB) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Indian Navy and Indian Coast Guard under which the bank would offer customised services along with a host of facilities to account holders. The bank has also renewed its existing MoU with the Indian Army to offer specially customised banking services through ”Baroda Military Salary Package”.

About “Baroda Military Salary Package”: Services under ”Baroda Military Salary Package will be offered to serving and retired personnel of Indian Armed Forces through the Bank”s network of over 8,200 domestic branches and around 20,000 business correspondent touchpoints. The package offers very attractive benefits including free Personal Accidental Insurance cover, Permanent Total Disability cover, Partial disability Cover and Air Accident Insurance Cover of sizable amounts, as well as Higher Education Cover and Girl Child Marriage Cover on death in case of serving personnel. Other offerings under the package include unlimited free ATM transactions at all bank ATMs, waivers or concessions on various service charges in retail loans, free remittance facility through RTGS/NEFT, free Demand Draft/Banker”s Cheque, substantial discount in locker rentals, and various additional benefits in the usage of Cards.

Note: Bank Of Baroda Headquarters: Vadodara, Gujarat, India; Bank Of Baroda Chairman: Hasmukh Adhia; Bank Of Baroda MD & CEO: Sanjiv Chadha.

 

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

 

1. NCAER projects India’s GDP to contract 7.3% in FY21: The National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) has projected the Indian economy to contract 7.3 per cent in FY21, compared to -12.6% forecast in September 2020. The Delhi based economic think tank released its mid-year review of the Indian economy virtually on 21 December 2020.

 

AWARDS AND HONOURS

 

1. Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay-NIF book prize announced: The winners of the Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay New India Foundation Book Prize 2020 for the best non-fiction book on contemporary/ modern India were announced. The Prize was given jointly to Amit Ahuja for his Mobilizing the Marginalized: Ethnic Parties without Ethnic Movements (Oxford University Press) and to former Union minister Jairam Ramesh for his A Chequered Brilliance: The Many Lives of VK Krishna Menon (Penguin Random House), a biography of politician and diplomat VK Krishna Menon. The award carries a citation and a cash prize of Rs 15 lakh, that will be shared by the two authors.

 

2. Srinagar’s Amar Singh College recognised with UNESCO Award: Srinagar based Amar Singh College has been recognized with the ‘Award of Merit’ in the 2020 UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation. The restoration of the Amar Singh College brought back one of the most prominent institutional buildings in Kashmir to its former glory. The college building is 80 years old and INTACH (Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage) chapter in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir had carried out the conservation work at the Amar Singh College.

 

OBITUARIES

 

1. Veteran politician Radhika Ranjan Pramanik passes away: Veteran politician and five-time MP Radhika Ranjan Pramanik died of age-related ailments. He was 88. He was elected to Lok Sabha five times from Mathurapur on a CPI(M) ticket, beginning 1989. Before that he represented Magrahat (East) assembly constituency. Pramanik left the CPI(M) to join the TMC during the later phase of his political career.

 

2. Noted Marathi musician Narendra Bhide passes away: Marathi music composer Narendra Bhide who is known for his passion for music passed away due to heart attack. He was 47. He is known for giving music to many Marathi films, dramas, and serials. He also worked as an actor in the 2018 film Mulshi Pattern. He was also the director at the Pune-based studio Dawn Infotainment. Some of his noteworthy work is included in films such as A Paying Ghost, Deool Band, Bioscope, Harishchandrachi Factory, Sane Guruji, and Pushpak Vimaan. Bhide contributed to the entertainment industry through his music in films, serials, plays and jingles. Bhide bagged many prestigious awards such as the State Drama Award and Zee Gaurav Puraskar for his plethora of work.He has also been honored with the Sahyadri Cine Award, V Shantaram Award, Shrikant Thackeray Award, M.A. Ta. Honors, State Film Awards, among others.