Daily Important Current Affairs – 17th December 2020 Current Affairs

National Affairs

Brand India Mission launched by Government of India

The Indian Government has launched Brand India Mission to boost high quality of products that are produced in the India and to increase the local production.

• This mission is introduced by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
• The objective of this mission is to help India to demonstrate its leadership position and its commitment to quality.

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Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman 23rd Meeting of FSDC Virtually

Union Minister for Nirmala Sitharaman has chaired 23rd Meeting of Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) Virtually through online mode.

• The Discussions were held on further measures which may be required to be taken to ensure consistent support of the financial sector for achieving faster real economic growth

About Finance Ministry:

• Union Minister: Nirmala Sitharaman
• Minister of State: Anurag Singh Thakur

Current Affairs December 2020 PDF Download

Country’s First Maritime Theatre Command to be launched in 2021

India’s first Maritime Theatre Command (MTC) of India will be launched in 2021 is to integrate the assets of Indian Air Force, Indian Navy and Army and the Coast Guard.

• The MTC will subsume the Western Naval Command (Mumbai), tri-service Andaman and Nicobar Command (Port Blair), Eastern Naval Command (Vizag) and the southern Air Command (Thiruvananthapuram).

Current Affairs November 2020 PDF Download

International Affairs

British PM Boris Johnson to be Republic Day chief guest in 2021

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson will be chief guest at India’s Republic Day parade in 2021. He has accepted an invitation from Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This was announced by the UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab

• India will be celebrating its 72nd Republic Day at the Red Fort on 26 January 2021.
• UK has also invited India to join the UK’s G7 summit next year.

About UK:

• Capital: London
• Prime minister: Boris Johnson

State Affairs

Andhra Pradesh CM launches YSR free Crop Insurance Scheme

Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh launched YSR free Crop Insurance Scheme.

• As per the scheme 1,252 crores of rupees has been deposited into the bank accounts of 9.48 lacs of farmers as crop insurance.
• This scheme will benefit farmers and process their claims in a fast-track mode, besides paying the entire premium on behalf of farmers

About Andhra Pradesh:

• Governor: Biswabhusan Harichandan
• Chief Minister: Y. S. Jaganmohan Reddy

Maharashtra State Government launches Unified Development Control Rules to boost real estate sector

Maharashtra State Government has launched the Unified Development Control Rules to boost real estate in the state

• This uniform set of regulations will provide everything regarding the real estate such as height of buildings to the width of roads etc.
• It will help to increase the stock of affordable housing projects and improve ease of doing business as well as help the developers to improve their resource management.

About Maharashtra:

• Governor: Bhagat Singh Koshyari
• Chief Minister: Uddhav Thackeray
• Capital: Mumbai

Awards

UN Environment Programme Champions of the Earth Award Declared for motivating people to preserve for nature

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) which is the leading environmental authority in the United Nations system has announced the Earth Award. This Award will be given in 6 categories.

• The Main aim for giving this award is to motivate and Inspire people to protect nature.

Policy Leadership	Frank Bainimarama, the Prime Minister of Fiji
Inspiration and Action	Yacouba Sawadogo, a farmer from Burkina Faso
Inspiration and Action	Nemonte Nenquimo, an Ecuadorian female green campaigner
Science and Innovation	Fabian Leendertz, a German scientist
Entrepreneur Vision	Mindy Lubber, an American social entrepreneur
Lifetime Achievement Award	Robert D. Bullard, an American scholar

 

Rankings & Reports

UNDP Human Development Report, 2020 released – India ranked at 131

The United Nations Development Programme recently released the Human Development Report. India secured 131 Spot. Human development index of India was 0.640.

• According to the report, Norway, Ireland and Switzerland occupied the top 3 ranks. China was ranked at 85th position and Pakistan was ranked at 154th position.
• Theme for this report is Human Development and Anthropocene

Second Edition of The ‘State of the Education Report for India 2020 released

The ‘State of the Education Report for India 2020: Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), by UNESCO in New Delhi.

• This was attended by over 400 attendees, including representatives from the government, civil society, academia, partners and youth.
• This report recommends Government to create an appropriate ecosystem for teachers and trainers and support local communities

MoUs & Agreements

Norway inks Agreement with Clean Ganga Mission

Norwegian Institute of Bio economy Research (NIBIO) has signed an agreement with Clean Ganga Mission for development of sludge management framework in India.

• The agreement was signed during the India Water Impact 2020 summit.
• The event is co-organised by National Mission for Clean Ganga and Centre for Ganga River Basin Management and Studies.

Union cabinet approves MoU between India and USA for Information Exchange in Electricity

Union cabinet of India has approved MoU between Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC), India and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), United States of America (USA) for exchange of information and experiences in areas of mutual interest to both in the electricity sectors.

• This MoU helps to boost regulatory and policy framework for developing efficient whole sale power market and enhancing grid reliability.

About USA:

• President: Donald Trump
• Capital: Washington, D.C.

Ratings

S&P revises India’s GDP to 7.7% in FY21

S&P Global Ratings which is an American credit rating agency has contracted India’s GDP to 7.7 per cent in Fiscal Year 2021 from earlier 9 per cent.

For the next financial year 2021-22, S&P projected growth to be at 10%.

About S&P:

• Headquarters: New York, United States
• Parent organization: S&P Global

Appointments

Uday Kotak re-designated as MD of Kotak Mahindra Bank by RBI

Reserve Bank of India has approved the re-appointment of Uday Kotak as managing director for a further period of three years.

• The regulator also approved the appointment of part-time chairman Prakash Apte and Dipak Gupta as Joint MD for a period of three years.

About Kotak Mahindra Bank:

• CEO: Uday Kotak
• Headquarters: Mumbai
• Founder: Uday Kotak

Books & Authors

Noted Writer Amish Tripathi authored book named ‘Dharma: Decoding the Epics for A Meaningful Life’ released

Popular author Amish Tripathi written a book named ‘Dharma: Decoding the Epics for A Meaningful Life’ released by Westland Publications Pvt Ltd on 28 December 2020

• The book is co-authored by Amish’s sister Bhavana Roy. His previous book ‘Immortal India’ was released in 2017.

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