Daily Current Affairs: December 17, 2020

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National News

Andhra Pradesh CM Jagan Mohan Reddy launched ‘YSR Free Crop Insurance scheme’ for farmers:

• Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy launched the ‘YSR Free Crop Insurance’ scheme which directly credited 1,252 crores into the bank accounts of 9.48 lakh farmers who have lost their crops in 2019.
• The insurance is expected to cover a crop area of approximately 14 crore hectares. The crop insurance for 2020 will be paid in March/April 2021.

Andhra Pradesh:

• Capital: Amaravati
• Chief Minister: S. Jaganmohan Reddy
• Governor: Biswa Bhushan Harichandan
• Folk dances: Kuchipudi, Vilasini Natyam, Bhamakalpam, Veeranatyam.
• National Park: Sri Venkateswara National Park, Rajiv Gandhi National Park, Papikonda National Park.

Ladakh Buddhist Association celebrates ‘Losar’ festival in Leh:

• ‘Losar’ is a festival celebrated to mark the beginning of the new year of the Buddhist community. It is celebrated in the 11^th month of the Tibetan calendar, which can mean November, December, January, or February. Tibetans in Himachal Pradesh celebrate this as well.
• This festival started as a tradition during the ninth king of Tibet’s supremacy in the early 17^th century when King Jamyang Namgyal decided to lead a war against the Baltistan forces in winter and ended up celebrating the festival in advance due to the war.

Ladakh:

• Capital: Ladakh
• Lieutenant Governor: Radha Krishna Mathur.

Three day-long Migratory Birds Festival conducted in Bhagalpur, Bihar:

• Bihar is set to become North India’s first “BIRD RINGING STATION” to observe, research and monitor migratory birds. It is the fourth state in the country after Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, and Orissa.
• Bihar’s 1^st Migratory Birds Festival was organized for 3 days in Bhagalpur, Bihar. The event will showcase hundreds of migratory birds that visit the Bhagalpur region during the winter season every year.

Bihar:      

• Capital: Patna.
• Chief Minister: Nitish Kumar.
• Deputy CM: Tarkishore Prasad and Renu Devi.
• Governor: Fagu Chauhan.

Nehru Zoological Park becomes the first zoo in India to get ISO Quality Management Standards certification:

• The Nehru Zoological Park in Hyderabad has become the first zoo in the country to receive ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management Standards (QMS) Certification from the ASCB (Accreditation Service for Certifying Bodies), United Kingdom.
• It was assessed on the basis of sanitisation, food processing, animal breeding, medicare, animal care, hygiene maintenance, and establishment.

Telangana:                      

• Capital: Hyderabad
• Chief Minister: Chandrashekar Rao
• Governor: Tamilisai Soundararajan
• National Parks (NP): KasuBrahmananda Reddy NP, Mahaveer Harina NP, Mrugavani NP.

Quality Council of India launches Recognition Scheme for Hygiene Rating Audit Agencies:

• Quality Council of India (QCI), at the behest of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), has launched a scheme for the approval of Hygiene Rating Audit Agencies.
• The scheme aims to scale up Hygiene Rating by increasing the number of recognised Hygiene Rating Audit Agencies in the country.

International News

India and the World Bank sign $400 million projects to protect the poor from COVID impact:

• India & the World Bank have signed a $400 million project to support India’s efforts at providing social assistance to the poor and vulnerable households which are severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
• It enabled immediate cash transfers to about 320 million individual bank accounts identified through pre-existing national social protection schemes under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY) and additional food rations to about 800 million

Prime Minister Modi to hold a virtual summit with Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina:

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bangladesh counterpart Sheikh Hasina hold a virtual summit and had comprehensive discussions on the entire spectrum of the bilateral relationship, including further strengthening cooperation in the post-COVID era between the two countries.
• The Chilahati-Haldibari rail link is expected to enhance connectivity to Assam and West Bengal from Bangladesh.

Bangladesh:

• Capital: Dhaka
• Currency: Taka
• Prime minister: Sheikh Hasina
• President: Abdul Hamid.

Government of India and NDB sign agreement for $1 billion to support Aatma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan through MGNREGS:

• The Indian government and the New Development Bank (NDB) signed a loan agreement for lending $1 billion for ‘supporting India’s economic recovery from COVID-19’ by supporting the expenditures on rural infrastructure related to Natural Resource Management (NRM) and rural employment generation under the Government of India’s Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS).

Banking and Economy

SBI lowers FY21 GDP contraction forecast to 7.4 percent from 10.9 percent:

• State Bank of India’s economic research department has lowered India’s FY21 GDP contraction forecast to 4 percent against an earlier forecast of 10.9 percent contraction, based on better-than-expected recovery. SBI has also forecasted India’s GDP growth in FY22 at 11 percent.
• SBI’s revised GDP estimates are based on the ‘Nowcasting Model’ with 41 high-frequency indicators associated with industry activity, service activity, and the global economy showing recovery.

RBI announces 2^nd cohort under regulatory sandbox with a theme of ‘cross border payments’:

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced the second cohort under the Regulatory Sandbox (RS) with the theme of ‘Cross Border Payments’ and a reduced net-worth requirement for entities interested in participating from 25 lakhs to Rs. 10 lakhs.
• India is the largest recipient of inbound remittances, accounting for 15% of the global share. Regulatory sandbox refers to live testing of new products or services in a controlled/test regulatory environment for which regulators may permit certain relaxations for the testing’s limited purpose.

SBI Card and BPCL jointly launch credit card offering benefits to high fuel spending customers:

• SBI Card in association with Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) is set to launch “BPCL SBI Card Octane” offering maximum savings to consumers who spend a significant amount on fuel.
• The card offers 25 percent value back on fuel and lubricant spends at BPCL fuel stations and 6.25 percent value back on Bharat Gas spends.

BSE EBIX launches beta version of term insurance for ICICI Prudential Life Insurance:

• BSE Ebix Insurance Broking Private Limited, a joint venture of BSE and Ebix Fincorp Exchange Private Limited, launched the beta version of term insurance of ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Co Ltd’s state-of-the-art hi-tech platform.
• BSE Ebix has the ability to handle insurance sales across both term and endowment lines in the life insurance segment, using its omni-channel digital presence.

Acquisitions and Mergers

SBI General Insurance partners with IntrCity RailYatri to provide domestic travel insurance to bus travelers:

• SBI General Insurance has partnered with IntrCity RailYatri, a multi-modal intercity mobility platform, to provide Domestic Travel Insurance to customers opting to travel/commute through IntrCity RailYatri.
• This partnership will provide a wide variety of coverage, including accidental death, permanent total disability, and medical evacuation.

Science and Technology

ISRO sets up a dedicated control centre ‘NETRA’ for Space Situational Awareness:

• The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has set up a dedicated Space Situational Awareness (SSA) Control Centre “NETRA” (NEtwork for space object TRacking and Analysis), at its ISTRAC campus at Peenya, Bengaluru.
• The control centre was formally inaugurated by Chairman, ISRO and Secretary, Department of Space K Sivan.

Appointments

Prasar Bharati CEO Shashi Sekhar Vempati elected as the Vice President of Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union:

• CEO of Prasar Bharati Shashi Shekhar Vempati was elected as the Vice President of the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union.
• The Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union was formed in 1964 as a professional association of broadcasting organisations with over 286 members in 57 countries and regions, reaching a potential population of about three billion people.

NASA selects Indian-American Raja Chari as the Commander of SpaceX Crew-3 mission:

• National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the European Space Agency (ESA) have selected Indian-American Raja Chari to be the Commander of the SpaceX Crew-3 mission to the International Space Station (ISS).
• Raja Chari would be the Commander of SpaceX Crew-3 mission, while NASA’s Tom Marshburn will be the pilot, and ESA’s Matthias Maurer will serve as the mission specialist. This mission is expected to be launched in 2021.

Nana Akufo-Addo won 2^nd term as the President of Ghana:

• The incumbent Ghanaian President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has won the presidential election and secured his second term.
• Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) won 137 out of 225 parliamentary seats, and NDC won 136

Awards and Recognitions

Postal Department confers Meghdoot awards to postal employees for their achievements in 2019-20:

• The Department of Posts conducted Meghdoot Award Function 2020 in New Delhi. The Meghdoot award is given every year for excellence in postal service. The award is given in 8 categories. A cash award of 21,000, a Gold Medallion, and a citation are presented to the winners.

Kylie Jenner tops Forbes’ list of highest-paid celebrities of 2020:

• American celebrity Kylie Jenner has come out at the top of the Forbes 2020 list of highest-paid celebrities. According to the list, Kylie Jenner earned $590 million, followed by Kanye West with $170 million.
• Roger Federer with $109 million, Cristiano Ronaldo with $105 million, Lionel Messi with $104 million, Tyler Perry, Neymar, Howard Stern, LeBron James, and Dwayne Johnson have also featured in the top 10 list.

SAIL receives Golden Peacock Environment Management Award 2020:

• Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) has been awarded the prestigious Golden Peacock Environment Management Award for the second consecutive year in the steel sector by the Institute of Directors for its Corporate Responsibility for Environment Protection, and continuously focusing on adopting various environmental measures.

Rankings

India ranks 131 in the United Nation’s Human Development Index 2020; Norway Tops:

• According to a report released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), India dropped one spot to 131 among 189 countries in the human development index 2020.
• Norway has topped the index, followed by Ireland, Switzerland, Hong Kong, and Iceland. Niger is the lowest-ranked country at the 189^th

Hong Kong is the most expensive city in the world according to ECA’s International Cost of Living Report 2020:

• Hong Kong is the most expensive location in the world for expatriates, despite rental prices falling over the past 12 months. Tokyo was ranked the second most expensive city, followed by New York and Switzerland’s Geneva and Zurich.
• Mumbai dropped 34 places and was placed as the 94^th most expensive city for expatriates.
• New Delhi – 144, Bengaluru -174, Hyderabad – 177 & Kolkata – 179.

Obituary News

Former Liverpool manager Gerard Houllier passed away at 73:

• Former Liverpool and France coach Gerard Houllier He managed Liverpool from 1998-2004 & led them to 5 major trophies, including the FA Cup, League Cup & UEFA Cup treble in 2000-01. He became France’s manager in 1992.

Sports News

Qatar to host 2030 Asian Games while Saudi Arabia to host it in 2034:

• Olympic Council of Asia announced Doha in Qatar would host the Asian Games 2030, while Riyadh in Saudi Arabia was chosen to host the 2034 Saudi Arabia is one of four countries that has imposed a trade and travel boycott on Qatar since 2017.

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