Daily GK Updates – 30th Dec, 2020

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. PM Modi flagged off India’s first driverless train on Delhi Metro: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has flagged off the country’s first-ever fully-automated driverless train service on the Magenta Line of the Delhi Metro. Apart from this, PM also launched fully operational National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) on the Airport Express Line of Delhi Metro, to connect DMRC with the NCMC service.

About National Common Mobility Card: NCMC, also known as ‘One Nation One Card’, is an inter-operable transport card that allows the holders all in one service to pay for their travel, toll taxes, parking charges, retail shopping and even withdraw money.

 

2. Prime Minister Narendra Modi flags off 100th ‘Kisan Rail’: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has flagged off the 100th ‘Kisan Rail’ on 28th December 2020. The 100th run of the Kisan Rail was flagged off from Sangola in Maharashtra to Shalimar in West Bengal virtually. Kisan Rail is a mobile cold storage to move perishable things like fruits, vegetables, milk, fish, etc., with complete security. The first Kisan Rail was introduced from Devlali in Maharashtra to Danapur in Bihar on August 7, 2020, which was further extended up to Muzaffarpur. Currently, of only a handful of trains plying across the India connecting states like Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar and Nagpur, there are nine Kisan Rail running on nine routes.

 

3. PM to inaugurate ‘New Bhaupur- New Khurja section’ of Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (EDFC): ‘New Bhaupur- New Khurja section’ of Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (EDFC) inaugurated by the PM Narendra Modi on 29th December, 2020 at 11 AM through video conferencing. During the event, Prime Minister also inaugurate EDFC’s Operation Control Centre (OCC) at Prayagraj. On the occasion, Governor of Uttar Pradesh Shrimati Anandiben Patel, Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Shri Yogi Adityanath and Union Minister Shri Piyush Goyal are present.

About New Bhaupur- New Khurja section of EDFC: New Bhaupur- New Khurja section of EDFC is 351 km and situated in Uttar Pradesh. It is built at a cost of Rs 5,750 crores. The section will open new vistas of opportunity for the local industries such as aluminium industry (Pukhrayan region of Kanpur Dehat district), dairy sector (Auraiya district), textile production/block printing (Etawah district), glassware industry (Firozabad district), pottery products (Khurja of Bulandshahr district), asafoetida or ‘hing’ production (Hathras district) and locks and hardware (Aligarh district).

About Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (EDFC): The EDFC is 1856 route km and starts from Sahnewal near Ludhiana (Punjab). It will pass through the states of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand to terminate at Dankuni in West Bengal. It is being constructed by Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Limited (DFCCIL) that has been set up as a special purpose vehicle to build and operate Dedicated Freight Corridors. DFCCIL is also constructing the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (1504 route km) that connects Dadri in Uttar Pradesh to Jawaharlal Nehru Port in Mumbai and will traverse through the states of UP, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra.

 

4. Skyroot Aerospace successfully test fire solid-fueled rocket engine: Indian Space startup, Skyroot Aerospace has successfully test-fired a solid propulsion rocket engine, named Kalam-5. With this, it has become the first private company of India to successfully design, develop and test a full solid-fueled rocket stage. This crucial propulsion technology will be used for their maiden rocket Vikram-1, which is under active manufacturing and is targeted to be launched in December 2021 with the help of ISRO.

About Kalam: Kalam is a series of five solid-fueled rocket engines with a thrust ranging from 5kN to 1000kN (approx 100Tons).  The remaining four motors are in various stages of manufacturing and will be tested in 2021.

Note: Founder and CEO of Skyroot Aerospace: Pawan Kumar Chandana; Skyroot Aerospace Founded: 12 June 2018; Skyroot Aerospace Headquarters location: Hyderabad.

 

5. Union Minister Shripad Naik Releases book “Sutranivednachi sutra- ek anbav”: Union Minister of State (I/C) for AYUSH and Minister of State for Defence Shripad Naik released a Konkani book “Sutranivednachi sutra- ek anbav”, by Dr Roopa Chari on 26 December, 2020. It is published by Sanjana Publications. Dr. Roopa Chari is a well-known personality in the field of Compering in Goa. Essence of the book: This book will help aspiring youngsters, who wish to make a career in this field. This is the spontaneous art; you don’t nurture it by having any classes. With proper study, you always have to be vigilant, as compere is the link between the audience and the speaker.

 

6. Firefly bird diverters launched to protect Great Indian Bustard: The Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) along with the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) India has come up with a unique initiative- a “firefly bird diverter” for overhead power lines in areas where Great Indian Bustard (GIB) populations are found in the wild. GIB is one of the most critically threatened species in India, with less than 150 birds left in the wild. Firefly bird diverters are flaps installed on power lines. They work as reflectors for bird species like the GIB. Birds can spot them from a distance of about 50 meters and change their path of flight to avoid collision with power lines. Smaller birds can change their direction [swiftly] but for larger bird species, it is difficult because their body weight and other factors.

 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. US plan to set up a Nuclear Reactor on Moon: USA’s plan to set up the first nuclear reactor on the moon by the end of 2026. In early 2021, the US Department of Energy in collaboration with NASA intends to solicit industry design proposals. It also got an impetus with a recent White House directive. The outgoing President Donald Trump issued the “National Strategy for Space Nuclear Power and Propulsion” on 16 December. Under it, he asked Nasa to “initiate fission surface power project for lunar surface demonstration by 2027 with scalability to a power range of 40 kilowatt-electric and higher to support a sustained lunar presence and exploration of Mars”.

The objective of NASA behind this was to establish a flight hardware system that is ready for integrating with the lunar lander by 2026 end. The nuclear reactor is known as the fission power system that will benefit future robotic and human expedition missions to the moon as well as Mars. The availability of safe, efficient, and readily available power is critical to these missions and a fission surface power system meets those requirements. The fission surface power system will be fully manufactured and assembled on earth and integrated on a lander as a payload. The system consists of four major subsystems including a nuclear reactor which is an electric power conversion unit, heat rejection array, and power management and distribution subsystem and will be designed to operate for up to 10 years.

 

2. International Day of Epidemic Preparedness: 27th December: The first-ever International Day of Epidemic Preparedness was held on 27 December 2020. The day has been officially set up by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to highlight the importance of the prevention of, preparedness for and partnership against epidemics. Various education and awareness-raising activities will be undertaken by member States, organizations of the United Nations system and other global organizations in order to prevent, detect and respond to infectious disease outbreaks.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

 

SPORTS

 

1. Anshu Malik wins silver at Individual Wrestling World Cup in Serbia: Indian wrestler, Anshu Malik has become the first wrestler of the country to finish on the podium position at the Individual Wrestling World Cup in Belgrade, Serbia. The 19-year-old won a silver medal in the women’s 57kg category to claim first international medal of the tournament for the country. She lost to Moldova’s Anastasia Nichita 5-1 in the final.

 

2. BWF bans Russian badminton player Nikita Khakimov for 5 years: The Badminton World Federation (BWF) has imposed a 5-year ban on Russian shuttler Nikita Khakimov for charges of “betting, wagering and irregular match results. Khakimov was part of the Russian men’s team that won the bronze medal at the 2020 European Team Championships. The 32-year-old Khakimov was found to breach BWF’s integrity regulations, including approaching a player and offering money to manipulate a match, betting on badminton games and deliberately destroying evidence of a corruption offence to conceal from the BWF.

Note: Badminton World Federation Headquarters: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Badminton World Federation Founded: 5 July 1934; Badminton World Federation President: Poul-Erik Hoyer Larsen.

 

BANKING AND FINANCE

 

1. Govt Shells out Rs 22,087 Crore as Interest towards Recapitalisation Bonds for Banks: The government has spent Rs 22,086.54 crore as interest payment towards the recapitalisation bonds for the public sector banks (PSB) in the last two financial years. During 2018-19, the government paid Rs 5,800.55 crore as interest on such bonds issued to public sector banks for pumping in capital so that they could meet the regulatory norms under the Basel-III guidelines. In the subsequent year, according to official document, the interest payment by the government surged three times to Rs 16,285.99 crore to PSBs as they have been holding these papers.

 

2. Punjab National Bank introduces PNB e-Credit Card: Nation’s leading public sector bank, Punjab National Bank (PNB), introduced PNB e-Credit Card, a digital replica of a physical Credit Card. It will allow PNB customers to use PNB e-credit card at any e-commerce platform or merchant website, without the need of carrying the physical card. Customers can view PNB e-Credit Cards details by clicking on e-Credit Card facility in PNB Genie Mobile app. Existing PNB customers will need to update their PNB Genie with the latest app available on Google play store and Apple’s app store to use the new feature.

 

DEFENCE

 

1. India-Vietnamese Navy conducts PASSEX-2020 in South China Sea: The Indian Navy and Vietnamese Navy undertook the naval passage exercise PASSEX in the South China Sea. The two-day exercise was conducted s part of efforts to boost maritime cooperation between the two countries. The Indian Naval Ship (INS) Kiltan took part in the exercise. INS Kiltan, reached Vietnam’s Nha Rong Port in Ho Chi Minh City, carrying humanitarian assistance to deliver 15 tonnes of relief material for flood-affected people under Mission Sagar-III. This mission of INS Kiltan is part of India’s Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) assistance to Friendly Foreign Countries during the ongoing pandemic.

Note: Prime Minister of Vietnam: Nguyen Xuan Phuc; Vietnam Capital: Hanoi; Vietnam Currency: Vietnamese dong.

 

OBITUARIES

 

1. Veteran Dance Historian Sunil Kothari passes away: Padma Shri awardee dance historian and critic, Sunil Kothari has passed away. He was qualified as a Chartered Accountant, before turning to the study of Indian dance forms. He authored more than 20 books on the subject of Indian dance forms. The noted dance scholar Kothari received numerous titles and awards for his contribution to Indian dance forms. Some of them include the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (1995); the Padma Shri bestowed by the Government of India (2001); and the Life Time Achievement Award of the Dance Critics Association, New York, USA (2011).

 

2. Former WWE Wrestler ‘Luke Harper’ passes away: Former professional wrestler Jon Huber, who was popularly known by his ring name ‘Luke Harper’ in the WWE has passed away, due to a non-COVID-19 related lung illness. He wrestled under the names Luke Harper and Brodie Lee and performed for World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) as well as All Elite Wrestling (AEW).