DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS

DECEMBER 15 AND 16, 2020

BY- ANUJ JINDAL

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 NATIONAL NEWS
1. According to a ChildLine India’s report, child marriages in rural Madhya Pradesh have
increased due to pandemic and the subsequent lockdown.
• Madhya Pradesh recorded 46 child marriages between November 2019 and March 2020, a
figure that jumped to 117 in just three months of the lockdown from April to June 2020.
• Across India, 5,214 child marriages were reported in the first four months of lockdown
between March to June.

2. Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of the world's largest renewable
energy park along the Indo-Pak border at Khavda, Kutch, Gujarat.
• Capacity - 30,000 megawatt capacity
• Orientation - hybrid park à having solar and wind energy
• Area - 72,600 hectares of waste land
• Purpose - to fulfil India's vision of generating 450 GW of power by 2030.
• Zones - The first zone of this park will be a hybrid park on 49,600 hectares of land. The
second zone will be wind power based only at over 23,000 hectares.

3. 2nd Bangladesh-India Cotton Fest 2020 was held in Dhaka.

• India is one of the top cotton exporting countries in the world and Bangladesh is the second
largest Ready Made Garments (RMG) exporter in the world.
• Bangladesh intends to double its export of RMG over the next 5 years for which a secure
and quality cotton supply from countries like India was its top priority.

4. CII and Amazon India have signed an MoU at 17th CII SME Global Business Summit to train
MSMEs in 10 states in building and scaling their business in India.
• Amazon India will help the enterprises to leverage technology to reach out to customers in
India through the adoption of e – commerce.
• Amazon and CII will conduct trainings and workshops to enable MSMEs to sell online.

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5. Tamil Nadu has signed 18 MoU with different companies for investments worth Rs 19,955
crore.
• Guidance is Tamil Nadu's nodal agency for investment promotion and single window
facilitation under the Government of Tamil Nadu.
• Ola has signed an MoU with the state govt to set up the ‘world’s largest’ electric scooter
(e-scooter) manufacturing plant in Hosur, Tamil Nadu.

6. Telangana Academy for Skill and Knowledge (TASK) has partnered with IBM to provide
skill training in emerging technologies to nearly 30,000 engineering, degree and polytechnic
students of the state.
• The skill training will be provided through IBM’s Open P-TECH (a free digital education
platform focused on emerging technologies and professional development skills).
• IBM HQ - New York; Chairperson - Virginia M. (Ginni) Rometty

7. Indian Railways, in coordination with the RailTel Corporation Ltd, has developed the
Hospital Management Information System (HMIS).
• HMIS is implemented as a pilot project at the Central Hospital, Lallaguda, of the South
Central Railway zone.

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 • Functions of HMIS:

Manage all healthcare facilities and their resources

Monitor the performance of hospitals across the administrative

channels

Impart quality health care services to its beneficiaries

Improve the patient turn-around time

Generate and maintain the EMR (electronic medical records) of all

patients

8. Indian Coast Guard ship 'Sujeet', manufactured by Goa Shipyard Limited, was
commissioned in Goa.
• This is the second in the series of 105 metres off-shore patrol vessels, being built by GSL.

9. First GRSE-built Project 17A stealth frigate 'Himgiri' has been developed for the Indian
Navy by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE).
• It is the first of the three Project 17A warships.
• In 2015, Ministry of Defence and the GRSE signed contract for building three highly
advanced stealth frigates under Project 17A at a cost of Rs 19,294 crore. It is the largest
ever order won by GRSE.
• The first ship is expected to be handed over to the Navy in 2023 and the next two ships in
2024 and 2025 respectively.
• Under the Project 17A program, a total of seven ships, four at Mazagon Dock
Shipbuilders Ltd (MDL) and three ships at GRSE are being built with enhanced stealth
features, advanced indigenous weapon and sensor fit along with several other
improvements.

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 • P17A ships are the first gas turbine propulsion and largest combat platforms ever built
at GRSE.

10. ReNew Power (India's largest renewable energy company) and the UN Environment
Programme (UNEP) have signed a partnership agreement to promote increased access to
renewable energy and improved energy efficiency.

11. First Trilateral Working Group meeting between Iran, India and Uzbekistan will be held
virtually to discuss the joint use of Chabahar Port (in Iran).
• India proposed to hold "Chabahar Day” on the sidelines of the International Maritime
Summit scheduled to be hosted by India in January 2021.
• World Maritime Port Summit 2021 will be held in Rotterdam, The Netherlands from 20-21
January 2021.

12. FICCI’s 93rd Annual General Meeting and Annual Convention was held on the theme of
“Inspired India”.
• The Prime Minister will also inaugurate the virtual FICCI Annual Expo 2020 to provide an
opportunity to exhibitors from across the globe to showcase their products and advance
their business prospects.
• President of FICCI – Uday Shankar (also the President of Walt Disney Company)

13. 10th edition of Sustainable Mountain Development Summit will be hosted in Darjeeling-
Kalimpong Hills of West Bengal in 2021.
• 2020 R S Tolia Memorial Award was presented to Ajay Rawat, an eminent scholar and
environmental activist, for preventing destruction of lakes and forests in the Indian
Himalayan Region.

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14. Indian Association of the Cultivation of Science (IACS), Kolkata has organised the Vigyan
Yatra, a promotional activity of the 6th India International Science Festival (IISF), at 30
location in the country.
• The 6th edition of the IISF will be organized virtually from December 22 to 25.
• CSIR-Central Institute of Mining and Fuel Research (CIMFR), Dhanbad, Jharkhand also
organised Vigyan Yatra on YouTube.

15. Mansa unit of the Punjab police is now growing ‘Miyawaki Forests’ at Mansa Police Lines.
• Miyawaki – it is a Japanese technique of growing plants, which is developed by Akira
Miyawaki (Japanese Botanist). The technique is known for growing dense forests in small
plots of land.

16. Ministry of Defence has allowed the import of 1,580 Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System
(ATAGS) from Israeli company, Elbit Systems.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS
1. WHO and UNICEF have released a report titled – “Fundamentals first: Universal water,
sanitation and hygiene services in health care facilities for safe, quality care”.
• The report covered 165 countries.
• Around 1.8 billion people are at risk of disease due to lack of WASH provisions.
• Globally, 1 in 4 health care services has no water services
• 1 in 3 health care services does not have access to hand hygiene
• 1 in 10 health care services has no sanitation services
• The situation is worst of all in 47 least developed countries.

2. Russia successfully test-launched its heavy lift Angara A5 space rocket for the second time
from the Plesetsk cosmodrome.

3. International Energy Agency has released the first ever electricity market report 2020.

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 • The report assesses the 2020 trends and 2021 forecasts for electricity demand, supply,
capacity, and emissions.
Trends in 2020:

o Global electricity demand is expected to fall by 2% in 2020.

o China will be the only major economy to see higher electricity demand in 2020.
o Renewable electricity generation is expected to grow by 7% in 2020.
o Electricity production from coal is expected to fall by 5%
o CO2 emissions caused by electricity generation is expected to fall by 5%.
o Wholesale electricity prices have declined in 2020.
Forecasts for 2021:

o Global electricity demand is expected to increase by 3%

o Production of renewable energy will grow more in 2021, but coal is expected to
bounce back
o Electricity output from wind and solar PV will expand their market share to 29%.
India specific data:

o India’s electricity demand is also expected to fall by 2%.

o In March 2020, the electricity demand fell by 28% due to lockdown.
o Coal dominated electricity production at 55% in 2020.

4. US Congress has passed the National Defence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 worth
$740 billion.
• Under the act, US will establish a USD 2.2 billion Pacific Deterrence Initiative to enhance
its deterrence in the Indo-Pacific region; and deepen cooperation with countries like India,
Australia and Japan to counter China.
• The PDI will also ensure transparency and oversight in the budgets which are granted for
carrying out regional missions to best assess the implementation of National Defense
Security.

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 • This year’s bipartisan NDAA focuses on priorities like implementing the National Defense
Strategy to confront current and future security challenges from China, Russia,
transnational terrorism, and beyond.

5. U.S. has imposed sanctions on Turkey (a NATO-ally) for its purchase of Russia’s S-400
missile defence system.
• The sanctions have been imposed under Section 231 of the Countering America’s
Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA).
• India is also in the process of buying the S-400 from Russia.

BANKING AND ECONOMY

1. State governments have collectively won the right to borrow ₹1.07 trillion for 2020-21 without
meeting the reform (which were mentioned earlier this year).
• Reform obligations were waived off for states’ borrowings up to 0.5% of gross state
domestic product (GSDP). This means, states can raise debt up to half percentage point of
GSDP.
• This waiver aims to fulfil the GST revenue shortfall with the borrowing scheme, proposed by
the Centre.
• States have so far been given ₹36,000 crores towards GST compensation.
Background:

ª In May 2020, Central govt had increased the borrowing limits for states for FY21 to 5% of
gross state domestic product (GSDP) from 3% to give states an extra ₹4.28 trillion.
To borrow extra, states need to bring certain specified reforms:

ª Of the 200 basis points raise (that means 2% increase), the first 50 basis points will be
unconditional while the next 100 basis points will be divided into four tranches of 25 basis
points each, with each tranche linked to clearly specified, measurable and feasible reform
actions, as per the recommendations of the 15th Finance Commission.
ª These include reforms in four areas such as universalization of “one nation one ration
card", ease of doing business, power distribution and urban local body revenues. The

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 last 50 basis points of the extra borrowing will be allowed if targets are achieved in at
least 3 out of 4 reform areas.

2. Aceware, a fintech company, has launched Ace Money Micro ATM service, in collaboration
with ICICI Bank, in Kochi.
• Purpose: to enable withdrawal of money from a bank account from the comfort of home.
• The company is planning to expand the service to all the municipalities in the State by
January 2021.
• The maximum withdrawal limit is ₹10,000.

3. Bharti AXA Life Insurance has introduced #GotYouCovered campaign to appreciate

frontline healthcare workers.
• The company will encourage people to acknowledge the efforts of frontline healthcare
workers.
• Bharti AXA Life Insurance has joined hands with Primero Skills & Training to support its
healthcare workers by covering them against life and health risks during the ongoing
COVID-19 pandemic.

4. S&P Global Ratings has increased India's GDP growth rate of (-) 7.7% for FY21.
• India's GDP growth rate for FY22: 10%.
• In its Global Economic Outlook, Fitch had revised its growth forecast for India to (-) 9.4%
for FY21.
• Fitch’s FY22 India’s growth rate – 11% and FY23 - 6.3%
• It also revised up its annual world GDP growth forecast for 2021, to 5.3%. For 2021-22, the
GDP growth is 4% for the world.

5. CRISIL has forecasted a GDP growth rate of -7.7% for India in FY21.
• GDP will grow by 10% in FY22.

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6. Ewire Softtech (startup incubated under Kerala Startup Mission) has launched a prepaid card
in association with YES Bank.

7. Canara Bank has launched "FX 4 U" through internet banking helping users to manage and
handle their forex transactions seamlessly.

8. Edelweiss General Insurance (EGI) has launched a first of its kind, Open API (Application
Programming Interface) Gateway, to facilitate complete digital collaboration with its business
partners.

9. US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has filed a lawsuit against Facebook under the US
Sherman Antitrust Act, 1890 for its acquisition of Instagram and WhatsApp.
• Reason – It is alleged that Facebook acquired these two apps to annihilate the competition
in the market.
• Sherman Antitrust Act, 1890 was brought out to maintain healthy competition in the US
market.

10. RBI has announced to extend On Tap TLTRO Scheme to 26 stressed sectors identified by
KV Kamath panel (formed by RBI for resolution of stressed sectors).
• RBI had announced five sectors under the On Tap TLTRO Scheme on October 21, 2020.
Now, these 26 stressed sectors have also been brought under the On Tap TLTRO scheme.
• These 26 sectors are the same as the sectors in ECLGS 2.0.
• The limit of sector to become eligible for ECLGS 2.0 i.e., outstanding credit of above Rs.50
Crore and up to Rs.500 crore as on 29th Feb 2020, would not apply to funds availed under
On Tap TLTRO Scheme.
• All other terms and conditions of the scheme remain the same.

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 APPOINTMENTS
1. RBI has approved the re-appointment of Kotak Mahindra Bank's founder Uday Kotak as MD
and CEO of the bank for a period of three years with effect from January 1, 2021.
• Re-appointment of Prakash Apte as part -time chairman and Dipak Gupta as joint
managing director was also approved.

IMPORTANT DAYS
1. International Tea Day is observed on December 15 in many countries like India, Bangladesh,
Nepal, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Indonesia, Uganda, Malaysia, and Tanzania, among others.
• UN celebrates the International Tea Day on May 21. First edition of the day was observed
in 2020.

AWARDS
1. UNEP has also announced the winners of Champions of the Earth 2020 award (UN’s highest
environmental honour).
• The award is given in 5 categories. Winners:
Category Winner

Lifetime Achievement Award Robert Bullard (USA)

Policy Leadership Award Frank Bainimarama (Prime Minister Of Fiji)

Inspiration And Action Award Yacouba Sawadogo (Burkina Faso)

&

Nemonte Nenquimo (Ecuador)

Science And Innovation Award Dr. Fabian Leendertz

Entrepreneurial Vision Award Mindy Lubber

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2. Vidyut Mohan has won United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP) YOUNG
Champions of the Earth for 2020, along with six other winners from different regions of the
world.
• Reason – for developing a portable machine which burns agricultural waste without
releasing GHG into the atmosphere, turning it into charcoal and fertilizer which can be used
by farmers in India.

3. Teenager Khushi Chindaliya (from Surat) was appointed as the Regional Ambassador for
India by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) – Tunza Eco-Generation
(TEG).

SPORTS
1. Sorana Cirstea (Romanian tennis player) has won the 23rd Al Habtoor Tennis Challenge
2020 held in Dubai.
• Ankita Raina (from India), along with Ekaterine Gorgodze (from Georgia), has won the
double’s title.

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 MISCELLANEOUS
1. South Korean Director Kim Ki Duk has passed away.

2. Noted Sanskrit scholar and eminent discourser Bannanje Govindacharya passed away.

3. Indian aerospace scientist Roddam Narasimha has passed away.

• He authored “Developments in Fluid Mechanics and Space Technology” book with APJ
Abdul Kalam.
• Last year, he received lifetime achievement award from Nature magazine in 2019 for
‘Mentoring in Science’.

4. The Movimiento San Isidro or the San Isidro Movement (MSI) started two years ago in Cuba
against the authoritarian regime of the nation to protest state censorship of artistic works.
• President of Cuba - Miguel Díaz-Canel

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