Daily Current Affairs: December 20 & 21, 2020

Daily Current Affairs (December 20 & 21, 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

International Human Solidarity Day – December 20:

• The International Human Solidarity Day is observed on December 20. It is an international annual Unity Day of the United Nations and its member states introduced by the General Assembly during the 2005 World Summit. It was established on December 22, 2005.

National News

 SIDBI joins hands with the Assam government for the development of MSME Ecosystem:

• Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) has inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Assam Government to develop the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) ecosystem in the state.
• The Project Management Unit (PMU) will support the Assam Government in making necessary interventions for enhancing the efficacy of MSMEs in the State.
• The MoU was signed by the Commissioner and Secretary of Industries and Commerce department, KK Dwivedi, and SIDBI General Manager RK Singh in the presence of Assam minister Chandra Mohan Patowary.

Union Minister Piyush Goyal launches India-Australia Economic Strategy Report:

• Addressing CII’s session on Enhancing India Australia Bilateral Economic and Trade Relationship, Piyush Goyal, the Union Minister of Railways, Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food, and Public Distribution has launched the ‘India-Australia Economic Strategy Report.’
• He stated that there is tremendous scope for Australian investment into India as we ease our FDI norms & open different sectors.

Handicrafts exhibition ‘Raag-Bhopali’ held in Gauhar Mahal, Madhya Pradesh:

• Madhya Pradesh government has decided to introduce a new brand named ‘Raag-Bhopali’ to give a new international identity to Bhopal’s handicrafts. The exhibition is being organised in Gauhar Mahal, Bhopal.
• Bhopal is famous for its zari, zardozi, and jute work. Other programs including stalls of local cuisine will also be organised to connect youth and other society sections in the Raag-Bhopali exhibition.

Union Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda inaugurates two TRIBES India outlets in Kolkata and Gwalior:

• The Union Minister for Tribal Affairs Arjun Munda has inaugurated two TRIBES India outlets located in Kolkata, West Bengal, and Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh. The aim is to preserve and promote the art and culture of the tribal population, who form roughly 8% of the population.
• It will connect more than 5 lakh, tribal producers, to markets, both national and international. Thus, the Tribes India E-Mart platform will be an omnichannel

Uttar Pradesh Government launches ‘Varasat’ campaign to curb property & land-related disputes in rural areas:

• Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has launched the special ‘Varasat’ (natural succession) drive. It is aimed at eradicating the exploitation of the villagers in the name of Varasat of land and property.
• This is a first of its kind campaign in the state which aims to put an end to the land-related issues in the rural areas and eradicate the exploitation of the villagers over succession rights by land mafias.

International News

UAE virtually hosts 20^th Council of Ministers Meeting of IORA member states:

• United Arab Emirates will host the 20^th Council of Ministers Meeting of member states of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) chaired by His Excellency Ahmed Ali Al Sayegh, UAE’s Minister of State. Sri Lanka will be the Vice-Chair of IORA for the period 2021-23.
• France joined as the 23^rd member of the Indian Ocean Rim Association. The COM-20 was inaugurated by Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the UAE. The Indian delegation was led by Muraleedharan, MoS, Ministry of External Affairs.

India and Maldives hold discussions on a cordial and multi-dimensional partnership to boost defence cooperation:

• Federation Department of Defence Production (DDP), Ministry of Defence (MoD) through Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) organised a webinar and Expo between India and Maldives to boost defence cooperation with the Maldives.
• The theme of the webinar was ‘Joint Indo Maldives High-Level Defence Engagement.’

Union External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar addressed the 5^th Annual Global Technology Summit virtually:

• The Union Minister of External Affairs S. Jaishankar virtually addressed the 5^th Annual Global Technology Summit 2020. The 5^th edition of the annual Global Technology Summit (GTS) was organised by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Government of India, in collaboration with Carnegie India (CI).
• The summit was held under the theme“The Geopolitics of Technology.”

Banking and Economy

RBI extended Central KYC Registry to legal entities from individual accounts:

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced that all regulated entities would upload ‘Know Your Customer’ data pertaining to accounts of legal entities opened on or after April 1, 2021, onto the Central KYC Registry (CKYCR).
• Regulated entities (REs) have already been uploading the KYC data pertaining to all individual accounts opened on or after January 1, 2017, onto CKYCR in terms of the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering (Maintenance of Records) Rules, 2005.

NPCI launches offline payments feature for contactless RuPay cards:

• The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has launched an offline contactless payment feature for RuPay RuPay cardholders can now make offline payments at Point-Of-Sale (PoS) devices using Near-Field-Communication (NFC) enabled cards in areas with limited network connectivity.
• The RuPay NCMC (National Common Mobility Card) offline wallet can be used to make ticket payments in transit, including metros, bus tickets, cab fares,

PayU becomes the first to offer Google Pay tokenized payment flow for merchants:

• India’s leading online payments solutions provider, PayU has collaborated with Google Pay to introduce tokenized payments flow for merchants. PayU’s 5 lakh merchants can offer Google Pay users the option to use their debit cards, credit cards or Google Pay UPI to make repeated payments without having to physically share their card details.
• It enables merchants to offer greater convenience, speed, and payment mobility to their consumers.

PayU:

• Headquarters: Hoofddorp, Netherlands
• CEO, India: Anirban Mukherjee
• CEO: Laurent le Moal.

Retail inflation of India declines to 6.93% in November:

• According to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) data report, India’s retail inflation declined from 61% in October 2020 to 6.93% in November 2020. The prices of vegetables, however, saw an increase of 15.63% in November as compared to the same time last year. In October, the prices of vegetables had jumped by 22.51%.

Acquisitions and Mergers

IIFL Home join hands with ICICI Bank for affordable housing and MSME loans:

• IIFL Home Finance Ltd and ICICI Bank have entered into a sourcing and servicing arrangement to partner in extending credit to the affordable housing loans & MSME loans (loan against property).
• Under the tie-up, IIFL Home will originate and service customers through the entire loan life-cycle, including sourcing, documentation, collection, and loan servicing, and in turn, ICICI Bank will provide funding to these customers.

Science and Technology

Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurates India’s first hypersonic wind tunnel test facility in Hyderabad:

• The Union Minister of Defence Rajnath Singh inaugurated the advanced Hypersonic Wind Tunnel (HWT) test facility of the DRDO in Hyderabad, Telangana.
• The state-of-the-art HWT Test facility has made India the third country after the US and Russia to have such a huge facility. It is a pressure vacuum-driven enclosed free jet facility having a nozzle exit diameter of 1 metre.

Awards and Recognitions

Ravi Shankar Prasad and Sanjay Dhotre present Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Telecom Skill Excellence Awards:

• The Union Minister of Communications and Electronics & IT, Ravi Shankar Prasad and the Minister of State for Communications and Electronics & IT, Sanjay Shamrao Dhotre, presented the Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Telecom Skill Excellence Awards in a presentation ceremony organised in Electronics Niketan, CGO Complex, New Delhi.
• Sreenivas Karanam from Bangalorewas selected for the FIRST prize for his contribution in developing a cost-effective, customised technical solution under the brand ‘C mobile’, for deep-sea communication.
• Subrat Kar from New Delhi was selected for the SECOND prize for his innovative solution on development & deployment of a large-scale sensor network and devices to avoid the train-animal collision.

Delhi’s Sunder Nursery chosen for two UNESCO Asia-Pacific awards for conservation:

• Delhi’s iconic Sunder Nursery, a 90-acre garden which was transformed into a horticultural paradise after decade-long conservation work, is among the winners in ‘Special Recognition for Sustainable Development’ and Award of Excellence in the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for “Cultural Heritage Conservation 2020″.
• Also, Koothambalam at Guruvayoor Temple in Kerala’s Thrissur has been chosen in the Award of Distinction category.
• In the Award of Merit category, Amar Singh College, Srinagar and Malabari Hall Building, Mumbai, besides Pingyao Diesel Engine Factory in, China, have been chosen.

UNESCO recognise Singapore’s ‘Hawker’ Culture serving as ‘community Dining Room’:

• The ‘Hawker’ Culture in Singapore, a popular Singaporean style of street dining and culinary practices in a multicultural urban environment has been recognised by the UNESCO at the National Day Rally.
• The culture has made it to the UN’s prestigious ‘Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity’ along with French cuisine, Thai massage, and yoga.

Books and Authors

Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu releases the book ‘Oh Mizoram’, a collection of English poems written by the Governor of Mizoram, P S Sreedharan Pillai:

• Vice President of India M Venkaiah Naidu has virtually released a book titled “Oh, Mizoram”. It is a collection of poems written by P S Sreedharan Pillai, the Governor of Mizoram. The book is published by Indus Scrolls Press.
• This book presents a huge opportunity for North-Eastern states to promote their tourism sector to a domestic audience.

Obituary News

Veteran journalist Madhav Govind Vaidya passed away at 97:

• Veteran journalist, ex-legislator, senior Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) ideologue and its first spokesperson Madhav Govind Vaidya passed away in Nagpur, Maharashtra. He became a member of the RSS in 1943.

Sports News

Wrestler Anshu Malik clinches India’s first medal at Individual World Cup 2020 held in Serbia, Belgrade:

• The 19-year-old Indian wrestler Anshu Malik bagged India’s first medal at the Individual World Cup in Belgrade, Serbia, as she finished second in the women’s 57 kg category.
• She lost in the final of the women’s 57 kg category against European champion Anastasia Nichita of Moldova (5-1).

Amit Panghal, Simranjit Kaur, and Manisha won gold medals in Cologne Boxing World Cup held in Germany:

• Indian boxers Amit Panghal (men’s 52 kg), Simranjit Kaur (women’s 60 kg), and Manisha Moun (women’s 57 kg) won gold medals at the Cologne Boxing World Cup in Germany.
• Indian boxers bagged nine medals including three golds, two silver, and four bronze.

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Daily Current Affairs Quiz – December 20 & 21, 2020

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