NATIONAL UPDATES:
1.
Majerhat Bridge named “Jai Hind” to Mark Netaji’s 125th Birth Anniversary: West Bengal Chief
Minister, Mamata Banerjee named the newly built “Majerhat bridge” in Kolkata as
‘Jai Hind’ bridge to commemorate the 125th Birth Anniversary of Subash Chandra
Bose. The new bridge has been built in the place of an old one which collapsed
in September 2018. It is 650-metres long and connects the Central part of
Kolkata to the Southwestern suburbs of Behala and others.
Note: Chief Minister of West Bengal: Mamata
Banerjee; Governor: Jagdeep Dhankhar.
2.
ADB approves $430 million financing facility to improve power supply in Uttar
Pradesh: The
Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a USD 430 million multi-tranche
financing facility (MFF) to improve the quality and reliability of electricity
supply in Uttar Pradesh in India. The Uttar Pradesh Power Distribution Network
Rehabilitation Project will improve efficiency and sustainability of power
supply in the state. The project will finance the conversion of 65,000 km rural
low-voltage distribution lines from bare conductors to aerial bundle conductors
to benefit an estimated 70 million people in 46,000 rural villages. It will also
finance construction of a parallel network of 11 kV feeders with a total length
of 17,000 km to separate distribution of electricity between residential
consumers and agriculture consumers.
3.
Kuldeep Handoo appointed as “Fit India” movement ambassador: Srinagar born Wushu
coach and the first Dronacharya Awardee from the Union Territory of Jammu and
Kashmir, Kuldeep Handoo is appointed as the Ambassador of Fit India movement.
He won 11 gold medals in National and 6 in International stage, is the Wushu coach
of Team India. Under his guidance Athletes have won two gold medals at the
world championship and one at the World Cup. He also serves as Inspector of
police in Jammu and Kashmir.
Other Awards: Jammu and Kashmir Police
medal award, for meritorious service; The Parshuram Award, an honour of sports
in the state of Himachal Pradesh
About Fit India movement: Fit India
movement was launched in August 2019, to encourage Indians to include fitness
activities and sports in their daily lives to pave the way for a healthy and
fit lifestyle.
Note: Founder of FIT India: Suparno
Satpathy.
4.
Assam govt launches ‘Orunodoi’ scheme: Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowalon
launched the biggest-ever Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) scheme called
‘Orunodoi’, aiming to cover 22 lakh families in the state. The scheme has been
rolled out with 17 lakh families as beneficiaries at present. The government
said that it will transfer Rs 830 per month to the account of one of the female
members of the family under the ‘Orunodoi’ scheme. The number of beneficiaries
will increase to about 22 lakh once the BTC districts are also included.
5.
Assam set to get its sixth national park: An Assam reserve forest, ravaged by
militancy, is set to become the state’s sixth national park. The state
government has proposed to upgrade the 422-sq km Ripu Reserve Forest in
Kokrajhar district. The area of proposed Raimona National Park lies within the
Ripu Reserve Forest that has a history of one of the best
scientifically-managed forests in the country during the late 19th century. The
area comprises the highest biodiverse floristic composition of the state
wherein as many as 11 different forest types and sub-types could be classified.
6.
Armed Forces Flag Day: 7th December: In India, the Armed Forces Flag Day (also
known as the Flag Day of India) is observed annually on December 7 since 1949
as an honour to the soldiers, sailors and airmen of India who fought on the
borders to keep the country safe. The three branches of the Armed Forces of
India, namely, the Indian Army, the Indian Air Force and the Indian Navy are
remembered on this day. The ‘Armed forces Flag Day Fund’ (AFFDF) has been
constituted by the Government of India for the welfare and rehabilitation of
the Ex-Servicemen (ESM) community.
INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:
1.
Bangladesh signs maiden Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA): Bangladesh has
signed its first Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) with Bhutan, which will
allow duty-free access to a range of goods between the two countries and hence
boost bilateral trade between them. Under the PTA, 100 Bangladeshi products
will get duty free access to Bhutan, while 34 items from Bhutan will get duty
free access into Bangladesh. Further items can be added in the list later on
the basis of discussion between the two countries. This is the first PTA signed
by Bangladesh with any country in the world since its independence in 1971. The
PTA was signed on 6th December 2020, to mark 50th anniversary of diplomatic
relations between Bangladesh and Bhutan. In 1971, Bhutan was the first country
in the world to recognise Bangladesh as an independent country.
Note: Prime Minister of Bangladesh: Sheikh
Hasina; Capital: Dhaka; Currency: Taka.
Bhutan Capital: Thimphu; Bhutan Currency:
Bhutanese ngultrum; Bhutan Prime Minister: Lotay Tshering.
2.
Singapore becomes first country to approve lab-grown meat: Singapore has
granted San Francisco start-up Eat Just regulatory approval to sell its
laboratory-grown chicken in the city-state, the world’s first government to
allow the sale of cultured meat. Singapore Food Agency (SFA), Singapore’s
regulatory authority entrusted with ensuring a safe food supply, granted the
approval after an iterative and extensive safety review process. The
cell-cultured chicken will be produced under Eat Just’s new GOOD Meat brand
through partnerships with local manufacturers. The lab meat will go on sale to
restaurants before it is available to consumers.
3.
International Civil Aviation Day: 7th December: The International
Civil Aviation Day is celebrated every year on December 7 to recognize the
importance of aviation to the social and economic development of the world. The
purpose of International Civil Aviation Day is to help generate and reinforce
worldwide awareness of the importance of international civil aviation to the
social and economic development of States, and of the unique role of ICAO in
helping States to cooperate and realize a truly global rapid transit network at
the service of all mankind. The Council has decided that from now until 2023,
the theme will be: “Advancing Innovation for Global Aviation Development”. The
Day was established in 1994 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the
establishment of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). The
United Nations General Assembly proclaimed the day in 1996.
Note: International Civil Aviation
Organization Headquarter: Montreal, Canada; International Civil Aviation
Organization Council President: Salvatore Sciacchitano; International Civil
Aviation Organization Founded: 7 December 1944.
OTHER UPDATES:
BANKING AND FINANCE
1.
Axis Bank launches ‘Axis Bank Rupi Business Credit Card’ for MSMEs: Axis Bank Ltd in
partnership with Rupifi and Visa launched ‘Axis Bank Rupifi Business Credit
Card’ for MSMEs (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises). This Contactless
Co-Branded credit card, powered by Visa is applicable only to the MSMEs
businesses that transact on the aggregator platforms partnered with Rupifi PAN
(Permanent Account Number) India for their business purchases. The card offers
credit solutions to such MSMEs. It is only for domestic transactions. About
Axis Bank Rupifi Business Credit Card:
Average Credit Limit: The average credit
limit offered by the card will be between the range of Rs 1 Lakh and Rs 2 lakh
per month. This will be decided on the basis of the business data of the
transaction of the MSME with the aggregator platforms, GMV (Gross Monthly
Volume) of the last 6 months and overall revenue among other factors.
Joining and Annual Fees: The joining fee
is Rs 1000 and the annual fee is not required for this card.
Revolve feature & Interest-free
Credit Period:
The card comes with a 51 days interest-free credit period. The revolving
feature of the card provides the customers with an option to pay the full
balance at the end of each billing cycle or to carry over the balance from one
month to the next by paying a minimum amount.
Note: Axis Bank Headquarters: Mumbai,
Maharashtra; Axis Bank MD and CEO: Amitabh Chaudhry; Axis Bank Tagline: Badhti Ka naam Zindagi
Rupifi Co-Founder and CEO: Anubhav Jain;
Rupifi Headquarters: Bengaluru(Bangalore), Karnataka; Rupifi Founded: 2019.
2.
SIDBI launches asset restructuring web module, signs MoU with Indian Bank: The Small
Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) has launched an asset
restructuring web module, https://arm-msme.in, to help MSMEs (micro, small and
medium enterprises) get benefit from the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) MSME
restructuring guideline. With the help of this Do-It-Yourself (DIY) asset
restructuring web module, MSMEs will be able to prepare restructuring proposals
by keying in only the most essential data of their past financials, future
projections and restructuring requirements. The proposal prepared can be
submitted online to the banks and reports can also be generated for submission
to banks through email or in hard copies. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)
to this effect was signed on Monday between SIDBI and Indian Bank in the
presence of Padmaja Chunduru, MD & CEO, Indian Bank.
3.
NPCI allows payment banks and fintechs to be shareholders: Retail payments
body National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) said that it has completed
private placement of 4.63% of its equity shares worth ₹81.64 crores, allowing
small finance and payment banks, as well as fintechs to be shareholders in the
organisation. With this small finance and payment banks such as AU Small
Finance Bank Ltd., India Post Payments Bank Ltd., and digital payment fintechs
including BillDesk, Amazon Pay, PayU India, PhonePe, Pine Labs and MobiKwik
have joined NPCI’s shareholding and hold up to 0.44% each in the retail
payments entity. The total shareholder entities for NPCI now stands at 67.
AWARDS AND HONOURS
1.
HCL’s Roshni Nadar tops Kotak Wealth-Hurun wealthy women list 2020: Chairperson of HCL
Technologies, Roshni Nadar Malhotra has topped the list of wealthiest women in
India, according to the second edition of ‘Kotak Wealth Hurun–Leading Wealthy
Women’ report. The report is compiled by Kotak Wealth Management, a division of
Kotak Mahindra Bank, and Hurun India. Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw of Biocon and Leena
Gandhi Tewari of USV are at the second and third rank respectively in the Kotak
Wealth Hurun wealthy women list 2020. Shaw is also the wealthiest self-made
woman on the list. 19 women from this list also feature in the Hurun India Rich
List 2020, and 6 women have made it to the Hurun Global Rich List 2020.
About the Ranking: The ranking is based on
the net worth of women as on September 30, 2020, and focuses exclusively on
women who play an active role in their family business, entrepreneurs and
professionals.
2.
Manipur’s Nongpok Sekmai Police Station best in India: The Nongpok Sekmai
Police Station in Manipur topped the list of best police stations in India,
while Sooramangalam All Women Police Station at Salem, Tamil Nadu was adjudged
the second best police station in the country. The Kharsang PS, Arunachal
Pradesh‘s Changlang district was adjudged the country’s third-best police
station. Here is the list of Top 5 Police Stations for 2020:
|
State |
District |
Police Station |
|
Manipur |
Thoubal |
Nongpok Sekmai |
|
Tamil Nadu |
Salem City |
AWPS-Suramangalam |
|
Arunachal Pradesh |
Changlang |
Kharsang |
|
Chhattisgarh |
Surajpur |
Jhilmili (Bhaiya
Thana) |
|
Goa |
South Goa |
Sanguem |
The top 10 Police Stations were selected
from among the 16,671 Police Stations in the country through data analysis,
direct observation and public feedback. The parameters used were: Property
offence; Crime against women; Crime against weaker sections; Missing persons,
unidentified found person and unidentified dead bodies.
OBITUARIES
1. World’s greatest athlete-turned actor Rafer Johnson passes away: American decathlete and film actor, Rafer Johnson, who was 1960 Olympic gold medalist in the decathlon, has passed away. After he retired from athletics, Johnson turned to act and appeared in a number of films, including the James Bond film Licence to Kill in 1989.
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