Daily GK Updates – 6th Dec, 2020

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. ADB and India sign $50 million loan agreement for West Bengal: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of India have inked $50 million policy-based loan agreement to improve financial management procedures and operational efficiencies in West Bengal. Titled as the ‘West Bengal Public Finance Management Investment Programme’, the project will help to achieve more fiscal savings, promote informed decision making, and improve service delivery in the state. A centre for fiscal policy and public finance will be established to deepen the capacity of the state government officials on public finance management while developing a web-based grievance redress system for transport corporations and urban local bodies will provide a credible citizen-government interface.

Note: President of ADB: Masatsugu Asakawa; Headquarters: Manila, Philippines.

 

2. International Sand Art Festival & Konark Festival 2020 begins: The 9th edition of the International Sand Art Festival and the 31st edition of the Konark Festival has kicked-off in Odisha. International Sand Art Festival is being held at the Chandrabhaga Beach of Konark in Puri district of Odisha. About 70 artists from across the country are taking part in the festival. The world-renowned sand artist and Padmashree Awardee, Sudarsan Pattnaik, has been appointed as Chief Curator of the festival.

About the Konark Festival 2020: The festival is organised every year as part of the Konark Dance Festival, to provide a platform for both national and international sand artists to showcase their talent. However, in 2020 international artists are not participating due to the ongoing global Covid-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, the Konark Festival is organised by Odisha Tourism to showcase the best of India’s traditional and classical dance forms, and offer interesting insights into the rich cultural heritage of the country. Leading exponents and dance enthusiasts of almost all classical dance forms of India, including Odissi, Bharatanatyam, Manipuri, Kuchipudi and Kathak, are participating in the five-day classical dance carnival.

 

3. Centre constitutes Apex Committee for the Implementation of the Paris Agreement (AIPA): The Environment Ministry has constituted a high-level inter-ministerial Apex committee for Implementation of Paris Agreement (AIPA) under the chairmanship of the secretary of the ministry. The purpose of AIPA is to generate a coordinated response on climate change matters that ensures India is on track towards meeting its obligations under the Paris Agreement including its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC). Senior officials from fourteen ministries will serve as members to AIPA who will oversee the progress in implementation of India’s NDC and receive periodic information updates to monitor, review and revisit climate goals to fulfil the requirements of the Paris Agreement.

 

4. Lt Gen Rajeev Chaudhary becomes new Director General of BRO: Lt Gen Rajeev Chaudhary has been appointed as the 27th Director General of Border Roads Organisation (BRO). His appointment is effective from 1st December 2020. Lt Gen Chaudhary succeeds Lt Gen Harpal Singh who has been appointed as the new Engineer-in-Chief of the Indian Army. The BRO is responsible for construction and maintenance of all border roads including those along the frontiers with China and Pakistan.

Note: BRO Headquarters: New Delhi; BRO Founder: Jawaharlal Nehru; BRO Founded: 7 May 1960.

 

5. Govt. announces Rs 900 crore package for COVID-19 Vaccine Development Mission: The Centre has announced the third stimulus package of Rs 900 crore for the Mission COVID Suraksha- The Indian COVID-19 Vaccine Development Mission. This grant will be provided to the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) for Research and Development of Indian COVID-19 vaccines with end-to-end focus from preclinical development through clinical development and manufacturing and regulatory facilitation for deployment. It would consolidate all available and funded resources towards an accelerated product development. The Ministry of Science and Technology said that this will help accelerate development of approximately 5 to 6 vaccine candidates.

 

6. Goa Govt launches One-Time Power Bill Settlement Scheme 2020: Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant launched a one-time settlement scheme for power consumers and said that his government accords priority to the interests of the needy and common man. It is the first of its kind scheme introduced in the state, wherein all the category of consumers – active consumers, temporarily disconnected/permanently disconnected – and are sent for revenue recovery cases consumers can avail benefits. There is also no limit on the outstanding dues pending for payments by the consumers to the Electricity Department for availing the scheme. The payment under OTSS 2020 can be made online at the Department’s website www.goaelectricity.gov.in through credit card, debit card, net banking, NEFT/RTGS. All the details to avail the scheme are available at the department’s website.

 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. India & USA signs MoU on Intellectual Property Cooperation: The Government of India and the United States of America (USA) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in the field of Intellectual Property Cooperation. As a part of this MoU, the two sides will develop Biennial Work Plan to implement the MoU which will include the detailed planning for carrying out of the co-operation activities including the scope of action. The Union Cabinet had approved the signing the MoU for the same on 19 February 2020. The MoU was signed between Dr Guruprasad Mohapatra, Secretary, DPIIT and Mr Andrei Iancu, who represented the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry and the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), Department of Commerce of the United States of America respectively.

 

2. Merriam-Webster and Dictionary.com choose same word of the year: ‘Pandemic’: Two major dictionary publishers Merriam-Webster and Dictionary.com have chosen pandemic as the 2020 word of the year. Merriam-Webster said its decision was based on the “extremely high numbers” of people who had looked up pandemic in its online dictionary in 2020. The word showed a major year-over-year increase in internet traffic. Dictionary.com research editor John Kelly told the AP that searches for the word have remained high throughout the year. For about half of the year, the company said pandemic was in the top 10 percent of all search requests.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

 

SPORTS

 

1. England’s Dawid Malan achieves highest-ever rating points in T20I: Dawid Malan of England has attained the highest-ever rating points for batsmen in the MRF Tyres ICC Men’s T20I Player Rankings. The 33-year-old Malan has reached 915 points, and thus became the first player to cross the 900-point mark in the format. Before him, Australia’s Aaron Finch reached exactly 900 points in July 2018. Babar Azam (871) of Pakistan and Aaron Finch (835) of Australia is second and third in the list. India’s KL Rahul is at fourth position, while Virat Kolhi’s rank has dropped to 9th in the list.

 

BANKING AND FINANCE

 

1. RBI Monetary Policy: Policy Rate unchanged: The six-member Monetary Policy Committee of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), headed by Governor Shaktikanta Das, has decided to maintain the status quo on policy rate amid sticky rate of inflation. The MPC committee members voted unanimously in favour of the decision.

The key decisions taken in the Monetary Policy Committee meeting are:

(1) The repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) has been kept unchanged at 4.00%.

(2) The reverse repo rate under the LAF has been kept unchanged at 3.35%.

(3) The marginal standing facility (MSF) rate and the Bank Rate have been kept unchanged at 4.25%.

RBI Monetary Policy Highlights & Key Decisions:

(1) Governor Shaktikanta Das proposes to put in place criteria for NBFC dividend distribution, introduces risk-based audit in large NBFCs & co-op banks.

(2) RTGS will soon be made 24X7 in the next few days.

(3) CPI inflation is seen at 6.8% for Q3 and 5.8% for Q4.

(4) Real GDP growth for FY21 is projected at -7.5%. Q3 FY-21 GDP is seen at +0.1% while Q4 FY-21 GDP is seen at +0.7%.

(5) RBI proposes to enhance limits for contactless card payments from ₹2000 to ₹5000 from Jan 2021.

(6) On-tap Targeted Long Term Repo Operations (TLTRO) will be expanded to cover other stressed sectors in tandem with Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) scheme.

Note: About Monetary policy: Monetary Policy is the central bank’s policy which uses the monetary instruments like Repo rate, Reverse repo rate, Liquidity Adjustment Facility and many others, to achieve the goals stated in the Act. In India, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has been given the responsibility of conducting monetary policy as mandated under the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934. The composition of the Monetary Policy Committee is as follows:

(a) Governor of the Reserve Bank of India – Chairperson, ex officio: Shri Shaktikanta Das.

(b) Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, in charge of Monetary Policy– Member, ex officio: Dr Michael Debabrata Patra.

(c)One officer of the Reserve Bank of India to be nominated by the Central Board – Member, ex officio: Dr Mridul K. Saggar.

(d) A professor at the Mumbai-based Indira Gandhi Institute of Developmental Research: Prof. Ashima Goyal.

(e) A professor of finance at the Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad: Prof. Jayanth R Varma.

(f) An agricultural economist and a senior adviser with the National Council of Applied Economic Research in New Delhi: Dr Shashanka Bhide.

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

 

2. Yes Bank launches tailor-made premium banking services to customers: Yes Bank has re-energised YES Premia, unveiling a premium banking program that offers personalized solutions focused on the particular needs of key consumer segments – from small business owners to salaried professionals and senior citizens. Yes Bank will celebrate the launch of this enhanced program during ‘Truly Yours’ Week, from December 1 – 7, 2020 throughout the bank’s network of branches across India, with several customercentric programs and partnered activations through dealer, OEM and bancassurance partners. YES Premia with its advanced technology and innovation capabilities as a basis to drive a significant role in the Retail Banking business, demonstrates the bank’s determination towards creating a truly differentiated bank.

 

AWARDS AND HONOURS

 

1. RIL Tops Fortune 500 List of Indian Companies, IOC at Second Spot: Oil-to-telecom conglomerate Reliance Industries Ltd topped the Fortune 500 list of Indian companies, Fortune India announced. The list was published by Fortune India, which is part of the Kolkata-based RP Sanjiv Goenka Group. Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOC), the nation’s biggest oil firm, bagged the second spot, followed by Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) at the third. The country’s largest lender State Bank of India was in the fourth position, while India’s second-biggest fuel retailer Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) took the fifth spot. Tata Motors was ranked sixth, followed by gold refiner Rajesh Exports at the seventh spot. India’s largest IT services firm Tata Consultancy Services took the eighth spot, while ICICI Bank was at ninth, and Larsen and Toubro at tenth.

 

OBITUARIES

 

1. Former French President Valéry Giscard d’Estaing passes away: The former President of France, Valery Giscard d’Estaing has passed away at the age of 94, from the complications of coronavirus. He had served as the third president of the Republic of France from 1974 to 1981. He was born on 2nd February 1926 in Koblenz, French-occupied Germany (now Germany). Giscard founded the Union for French Democracy, a centre-right political party in 1978 to counter the Gaullist preponderance over the political right in France. He lowered the voting age from 21 to 18 and he also liberalised the laws on divorce, abortion and contraception during his tenure as the President.