Daily Current Affairs: December 14 & 15, 2020

Daily Current Affairs (December 14 & 15, 2020) like many other sections is inevitable and this also helps to score in the Banking awareness, Static GK, and Financial Awareness sections. Remember, Banking Awareness, and Static Awareness Questions are asked from the General Awareness section. This will also help you to ride your preparations for the forthcoming exams.

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Important Days

National Energy Conservation Day- December 14

• National Energy Conservation Day is observed every year on December 14 by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), under the Ministry of Power. The day is to raise awareness among the public about the importance of energy conversation and energy efficiency. The Energy Conservation Act in India was executed by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) in 2001.

International Tea Day- December 15:

• The International Tea Day is celebrated annually on December 15 since 2005 in tea producing countries like India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Vietnam, Indonesia, Kenya, Malawi, Malaysia, Tanzania, and Uganda. United Nations recognised International Tea Day is observed on May 21.

National News

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari laid the foundation stone for NAEC Pvt Ltd in the Hingna industrial area of Nagpur:

• Union Minister Nitin Gadkari laid the foundation stone for Nagpur Auto & Engineering Cluster Pvt Ltd (NAEC) in Hingna Industrial Area of Nagpur, Maharashtra. The cluster approved under the Cluster Development Plan of MSME comprises Micro Small Enterprises in the Auto & Engineering Sector.
• Electric vehicles and LNG are the automobile’s future, and this cluster should play a pivotal role in making Nagpur an automobile hub and reduce the oil import burden.

Maharashtra:                   

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

Prime Minister Modi Laid Foundation Stones of Mega Desalination & Renewables Projects at Mandvi in Kutch, Gujarat:

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of several development projects in Kutch, Gujarat. These projects include a desalination plant, a hybrid renewable energy park, and a fully automated milk processing and packaging plant.
• The Desalination Plant at Mandvi will have a capacity of 100 MLD. It will complement the Narmada Grid, Sauni network & treatment of wastewater. The water will provide to approximately 8 lakh people in Abdasa, Mundra, Lakhpat & Nakhatrana talukas.

Gujarat:                   

• Capital: Gandhinagar
• Chief Minister: Vijay Rupani
• Governor: Acharya Devvrat
• National Park: Blackbuck NP, Vansda NP, Gir Forest NP, Marine NP, Gulf of Kutch.

NITI Aayog releases’ Vision 2035: Public Health Surveillance in India’:

• NITI Aayog released a white paper, ‘Vision 2035 – Public Health Surveillance in India.’ The white paper laid out India’s vision for public health surveillance by integrating the three-tiered public health system into Ayushman Bharat.
• NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman Rajiv Kumar released the white paper along with Member (Health) Vinod K Paul, and CEO Amitabh Kant. The Indian government aims to provide regional and global leadership in managing events that constitute a public health emergency of international concern.

Ola to set up Rs.2,400 crore world’s largest scooter factory in Hosur, Tamil Nadu:

• Cab aggregator Ola Inks an MoU with the government of Tamil Nadu to be set up its first factory in Hosur with an investment of Rs 2,400 crore. It will be the largest scooter manufacturing facility in the world.
• The development is part of the company’s plan to foray into electric scooter manufacturing and expand its services to smaller cities and towns across the country.

Tamil Nadu:                     

• Capital: Chennai
• Chief Minister: Edappadi K. Palaniswami
• Governor: Banwarilal Purohit.
• National Park: Mukurthi NP, Guindy NP, Gulf of Mannar Marine NP, Indira Gandhi (Annamalai) NP, Mudumalai NP.

International News

Indian Embassy in Beijing launched Bollywood ‘cinemaSCOpe’ series for SCO diplomats:

• Vladimir Norov, Secretary-General of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), and diplomats from the member states attended the inaugural session of a movie series ‘cinemaSCOope’ was organised by the Indian Embassy.
• ‘CinemaSCOpe’ series is being exclusively screened for the diplomats and their families of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) countries, commenced at the Indian Embassy premises with the screening of Aamir Khan’s ‘3 Idiots’.

EXIM Bank extends USD 448 million line of credit to Uzbekistan:

• EXIM (Export-Import Bank of India) behalf of the Indian government has extended a USD 448-million LoC (Line of Credit) for various infrastructure projects in the roads and transport, water and technology, communication sectors in Uzbekistan.
• Exim Bank now has 266 LOCs, covering 62 countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Commonwealth of Independent States, and Oceania.

India, Iran, Uzbekistan hold a first trilateral meeting on jointly use of Chabahar port:

• India, Iran, and Uzbekistan discussed the joint use of Chabahar port to enhance regional connectivity as the three countries held their first trilateral meeting focused on the strategic trade and transit facility in the Gulf of Oman.
• The first virtual meeting of the trilateral working group was a follow-up to Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev during a summit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi that the three countries should jointly promote Chabahar port.

The ninth edition of Sustainable Mountain Development Summit held in Dehradun, Uttarakhand:

• The ninth edition of Sustainable Mountain Development Summit commenced in virtual mode on International Mountain Day (December 11), hosted by Sustainable Development Forum Uttaranchal (SDFU), Dehradun.
• The four-day-long summit was organised by Indian Mountain Initiative (IMI). The theme was ‘Emerging Pathways for Building a Resilient Post COVID-19 Mountain Economy, Adaptation, Innovation and Acceleration’.

UNESCO to launch an international prize in the name of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Rahman:

• The UNESCO has decided to launch an international prize in the field of ‘Creative Economy’ in the name of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. 50,000 USD dollar will be given away once in two years for global economic initiatives of the youth.
• The international award will create a knowledge-sharing mechanism by capturing, celebrating, and communicating best practices in creative entrepreneurship

United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO):

• Headquarters: Paris, France
• Head: Audrey Azoulay
• Founded: November 16, 1945.

Banking and Economy

Reserve Bank of India to set up ABPC (Automated Banknote Processing Centre) in Jaipur:

• Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided to set up an Automated Banknote Processing Centre (ABPC) in Jaipur for a receipt, storage, and dispatch of currency notes.
• The functions of the ABPC will also include processing of banknotes received from Currency Chests (CCs) and bank branches and destruction of soiled banknotes in an automated manner.

Canara Bank launches “FX 4 U” for forex remittance via Internet Banking:

• Canara Bank has launched “FX 4 U” through internet banking, helping users manage and handle their forex transactions All the Eligible customers will be able to undertake remittance facilities in adherence to the FEMA (Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999) regulations.

Canara Bank:

• Headquarters: Bengaluru, Karnataka.
• MD & CEO: Lingam Venkat Prabhakar.
• Tagline: “Together We Can.”

CRISIL revises India’s GDP forecast to -7.7% for fiscal 2021:

• Credit Rating Information Services of India Limited (CRISIL) has revised the growth rate of the Indian economy to contract 7% in the ongoing fiscal 2020-21, compared to the 9% forecast in September 2020, due to “Faster-Than-Expected” recovery in the second quarter.
• For the fiscal 2021-22 (FY22), CRISIL expects the growth to bounce back to 10%.

Acquisitions and Mergers

DBS Bank India partners with Haqdarshak to boost MSME recovery:

• DBS Bank India has collaborated with Haqdarshak to assist Indian Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises via Haqdarshak’s newly unveiled platform, which provides access to MSME-focused government-assisted schemes across the country.
• DBS Foundation’s BTI grant of Rs 2.7 million helped Haqdarshak to ensure expansion into this segment. The new platform provides information about government schemes such as SIDBI Loan Scheme for MSMEs, Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme, Prime Minister Street vendor’s AtmaNirbhar Nidhi Yojana, etc.

DBS Bank India:

• Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra
• MD and CEO: Surojit Shome.

Science and Technology

Indian-origin researcher Anshumali Shrivastava discovers a new machine-learning method to filter fake news on social media:

• A team of US researchers led by Indian American computer scientist Anshumali Shrivastava at Rice University has discovered an efficient way for social media companies to keep misinformation from spreading online by using Machine Learning (ML).
• This method applies machine learning in a smarter way to improve the performance of Bloom filters, a widely used technique devised a half-century ago.

Indian Navy’s indigenous advance Project 17A Frigate ‘Himgiri’ Launched By GRSE:

• India’s shipbuilder Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Limited (GRSE) launched the second Project 17A ship “Himgiri” for the Indian Navy at its shipyard in Kolkata.
• Himgiri is the first of the three Project 17A ships built at GRSE. The ship has taken its name and crest of the second Frigate of the Leander Class of ships, which incidentally was launched 50 years ago in 1970.

Appointments

Private lender HDFC Bank appoints Sanmoy Chakrabarti as Chief Risk Officer (CRO):

• Private sector lender HDFC Bank has appointed Sanmoy Chakrabarti as the Chief Risk Officer (CRO) for three years. He will replace Jimmy Tata, who will take on Chief Credit Officer.
• He has previously been in-charge of market risk, treasury mid-office, operational risk management, and Basel credit risk functions.

RBI re-appointed Uday Kotak as MD of Kotak Mahindra Bank for 3 years:

• The Reserve Bank of India has approved the re-appointment of Uday Kotak as managing director of Kotak Mahindra Bank (KMB) for a further period of three years. The banking sector regulator also approved the appointment of part-time chairman Prakash Apte for three years.

Kotak Mahindra Bank:

• CEO: Uday Kotak.
• Headquarters: Mumbai.

Obituary News

Renowned Sanskrit scholar and Padma Shree Vidyavachaspati Govindacharya died at 85:

• Renowned Sanskrit scholar Vidyavachaspati Bannanje Govindacharya He is well versed in Veda Bhashya, Upanishad Bhashya, Mahabharata, Ramayana, and Puranas. A propagator of ‘Madhwa’ ideology Govindacharya, had been conferred the Padma Shree in 2009.

Noted Marathi Music Composer Narendra Bhide Passes Away at 47:

• Noted music composer Narendra Bhide, who has mainly composed songs for Marathi films, dramas, and TV shows, passed away. Narendra Bhide was the music director in several popular films such as A Paying Ghost (2015), Deool Band (2015), Bioscope (2015), and Chi Va Chi Sau Ka (2017).

Eswatini PM Ambrose Dlamini passed away at 52:

• Eswatini Prime Minister Ambrose Dlamini, who was undergoing treatment for coronavirus in neighboring South Africa, has died. Dlamini was appointed as the 10^th prime minister of the country in October 2018.

Eswatini:

• Capitals: Mbabane, Lobamba.
• Currency: Swazi lilangeni.

Sports News

Max Verstappen of Netherland wins Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2020:

• Red Bull driver Max Verstappen (Netherland) won the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2020 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. It was Max’s second victory of the season and career’s tenth victory.
• Valtteri Bottas (Finland) at second place, followed by world champion Lewis Hamilton (Great Britain).

Indian Tennis player Ankita Raina and Ekaterine Gorgodze of Georgia won the ITF $100k doubles title held in Dubai:

• Indian Tennis player Ankita Raina, who clinched her third doubles title of the season after she won the Al Habtoor Tennis Challenge 2020 along with Georgia’s Ekaterine Gorgodze in Dubai.
• The Indo-Georgian pair defeated Spain’s Aliona Bolsova Zadoinov and Slovakian Kaja Juvan by 6-4 3-6 10-6 to win the final of the event.

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Daily Current Affairs Quiz – December 14 & 15, 2020

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