Monthly Bee Pedia December 6703

Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
INDEX
Finance and Banking _______________________________________________ 2
Economy _________________________________________________________ 22
National _________________________________________________________ 62
International ______________________________________________________ 84
States ___________________________________________________________ 90
Science and Technology _____________________________________________ 94
Agriculture and Rural Development ___________________________________ 98
Defence __________________________________________________________ 104
Events ___________________________________________________________ 108
Appointments _____________________________________________________ 118
Awards and Rewards _______________________________________________ 119

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Important Days ____________________________________________________ 128
Obituaries ________________________________________________________ 130
Books ___________________________________________________________ 133
Sports ___________________________________________________________ 134
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Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
FINANCE AND BANKING

RBI sets capital, NPA caps for NBFCs to distribute dividends
 The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has released draft guidelines for distribution of dividend by non-
banking financial companies (NBFCs).
 The draft sets thresholds in terms of capital adequacy and non-performing assets (NPAs) for
NBFCs to be eligible to distribute dividends.
o In order to be able to declare dividend, deposit taking NBFCs (NBFC-D) and systemically
important non-deposit taking NBFCs (NBFC-ND-SI) should have a capital to risk-weighted
assets ratio (CRAR) of at least 15% for the last three years, including the accounting year for
which it proposes to declare dividend.
o Non-systemically important non-deposit taking NBFCs (NBFC-ND) should have a leverage
ratio of less than 7 for the last three years, including the accounting year for which it proposes to
declare dividend.
o Core investment companies (CICs) should have an adjusted net worth (ANW) of at least 30%
of its aggregate risk weighted assets on balance sheet and risk adjusted value of off -balance
sheet items for the last three years, including the accounting year for which it proposes to declare
dividend.
o The net NPA ratio should be less than 6% in each of the last three years, including the
accounting year for which the company proposes to declare dividend.
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RBI Headquarters: Mumbai www.i xamBee.c om
Governor: Shaktikanta Das
4 Deputy Governors: B.P. Kanungo,
MK Jain, MD Patra, M Rajeshwar Rao
Capital to Risk (Weighted) Assets Ratio (CRAR) is also known as Capital adequacy Ratio, the ratio of a bank's
capital to its risk. The RBI tracks a bank's CAR to ensure that the bank can absorb a reasonable amount of loss
and complies with statutory Capital requirements.
NBFCs whose asset size is of ₹ 500 crore or more as per last audited balance sheet are considered as
systemically important NBFCs. The rationale for such classification is that the activities of such NBFCs will
have a bearing on the financial stability of the overall economy.
RBI extends curbs on Madgaum Urban Cooperative Bank
 RBI has extended the financial sanctions imposed on Madgaum Urban Cooperative Bank
(TMUCB) till March 2, 2020
Large NBFCs to come under tighter RBI scrutiny
 According to RBI Governor, the first tightening measure is on the regulatory regime NBFCs,
which currently is built on the principle of proportionality.
o Thus, it is felt that a scale-based regulatory approach linked to the systemic risk contribution of
NBFCs could be the way forward
 On the supervisory side measures, RBI said large NBFCs and urban cooperative banks(UCBs)
will have to submit a risk-based internal audit and a harmonised guidelines for appointing

Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
statutory auditors for commercial banks, UCBs and NBFCs with a view to improve the quality of
financial reporting
 RBI said unlike banks, currently there are no guidelines in place with regard to distribution of
dividend by NBFCs.
o RBI, in the wake of COVID-19, has asked banks and co-operative banks not to make any
dividends for the financial year ended March 2020 and conserve their capital to support the
economy and absorb losses
 The new guidelines will enable these entities to appoint the audit firms as per their needs in a
timely, transparent and effective manner. This is expected to improve their quality of financial
reporting.
RBI elevates rural banks while booting risk framework
 The central bank seeks to both broaden and deepen the size and scope of its financial systems
by offering enhanced roles and frameworks to two extreme ends of the complexity spectrum - regional
rural banks and credit default swaps (CDS).
 To facilitate more efficient liquidity management by the rural-focused lenders at competitive rates, the
central bank said it will extend the Liquidity Adjustment Facility (LAF) and Marginal Standing
Facility (MSF) to these lenders.
o They will also be permitted to participate in the call/notice money market, both as
borrowers and lenders.
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 A credit default swap (CDS) is a financial derivative or contract that allows an investor to "swap" or offset his
or her credit risk with that of another investor www.i xamBee.c om
 To swap the risk of default, the lender buys a CDS from another investor who agrees to reimburse the lender in
the case the borrower defaults
No specific plan needed for invoking Resolution Framework, says RBI
 The RBI said that borrowers opting for resolution of COVID-related stressed loans are not required
to submit any specific plans.
 RBI had announced a resolution framework to help the entities facing financial stress on account of
disruption in normal business activity on account of coronavirus pandemic.
RBI to conduct 3rd Open Market Operations purchase of state developments loans
 The Reserve Bank of India will conduct the third auction of state developments loans (SDLs)
aggregating Rs 10,000 crore under the Open Market Operations (OMO) on December 23, 2020
 The central bank will purchase the SDLs through a multi-security auction using the multiple price
method.
Regulatory Sandbox: RBI seeks applications under 2nd cohort
 The RBI announced the second cohort under the Regulatory Sandbox (RS) with the theme of ‘Cross
Border Payments’.
 It also reduced net-worth requirement for entities interested in participating.
 RBI had announced opening of the first cohort under RS with the theme of ‘Retail Payments’.

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December 2020
Learn Along
A regulatory sandbox is a framework that allows for live-testing of new products or services in a controlled
environment. If implemented properly, this could usher in innovations in the industry.
RBI extends CKYCR to legal entities
 The RBI mandated that all regulated entities will upload 'Know Your Customer' data pertaining
to accounts of legal entities opened on or after April 1, 2021, onto the Central KYC Registry
(CKYCR).
PMC Bank restrictions extended by 3 more months
 The RBI has further extended restrictions of Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative Bank (PMC Bank)
by another three months.
 The restrictions will now be imposed till 31 March 2021, instead of 23 December 2020.
 PMC bank was placed under restrictions with effect from 23 September 2019, and the directions
were last extended on 19 June 2020, up to 22 December 2020.
 RBI also mentioned that the PMC Bank has received four investment proposals.
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PMC Bank Headquarters: Mumbai Administrator: AK Dixit
RBI to set up Automated Banknote Processing Centre in Jaipur
 Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided to set up an Automated Banknote Processing Centre
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(ABPC) in Jaipur for 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.
RTGS is available on all days from December 14
 The RBI announced the Real Time Gross Settlement System (RTGS) has been made available
round the clock on all days of the year from 14th December 2020.
 Earlier, RTGS was available for customers from 7.00 am to 6.00 pm on all working days of a week
(except 2nd and 4th Saturdays of the month).
RBI exempts 7 categories of accounts from ambit of aggregate exposure
 RBI has exempted seven types of Current Accounts from the definition of aggregate exposure.
 The accounts are-
1. Accounts for real estate projects
2. Nodal or escrow accounts of payment aggregators or prepaid payment instrument issuers
3. accounts for settlement of dues related to debit card, ATM card and credit card issuers and
acquirers
4. accounts permitted under FEMA, 1999
5. accounts for the purpose of public offers, new fund offers (NFOs), share buybacks, dividend
payments, issuance of commercial papers and allotment of debentures or gratuity
6. Accounts for payment of taxes, duties and statutory dues opened with banks authorised to
collect the same
7. accounts of White Label ATM Operators and their agents

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December 2020
RBI stops HDFC Bank from digital launches, sourcing of new credit card customers
 RBI has asked HDFC Bank to temporarily stop all launches of the digital business generating
activities and sourcing of new credit card customers.
 This comes after HDFC Bank went through multiple outages in its internet banking/mobile
banking/payment utilities over the past two years.
Learn Along
HDFC Bank Headquarters: Mumbai CEO: Sashidhar Jagdishan
RBI cancels licence of Subhadra Local Area Bank, Kolhapur
 RBI has cancelled the licence of Subhadra Local Area Bank, Kolhapur, as its affairs were
conducted in a "manner detrimental" to the interests of its present and future depositors.
 The bank had breached the minimum net worth requirement for two quarters in the financial
year 2019-20
RBI selects four more sandbox entities in first cohort
 RBI has selected four more entities as part of its Regulatory Sandbox, which is currently running in its
first cohort for retail payments.
Banks need Rs one lakh crore for NPAs, growth, says Reserve Bank of India
 RBI has stated that banks will need additional capital of up to one and a half percentage points
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of risk-weighted assets in its assessment of the impact of Covid-19 on lenders.

 Given that total bank loans are around Rs 104 lakh crore, the capital requirement would be more
than Rs 1 lakh crore.
 According to the RBI, gross non-performing assets (NPAs) declined from 9.1% as of March 2019 to
8.2% at end-March 2020 and further down to 7.5% in end-September 2020.
 The RBI has pointed out that in the case of public sector banks (PSBs), while the government has
budgeted Rs 20,000 crore as recapitalisation funds, they need to raise more resources from the
market as an optimal capital-raising strategy.
Profitability of NBFCs may be impacted due to loan impairment, low demand: RBI
 Profitability of non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) may be impacted due to loan

impairment, lower credit demand and a tendency to preserve cash, Reserve Bank of India said in
its report on Trends and Progress of Banking in India.
 The stronger and the deposit-taking NBFCs may however fare better as many have reported
strong revival in disbursements and collections, almost to pre-COVID levels
Private banks’ operating profit share rises to 43.4% at PSBs’ cost
 According to a report by RBI, net profits of scheduled commercial banks (SCBs) turned around in
FY20 after losses in the previous two years. Although PSBs incurred losses for the fifth year in a row,
the quantum of losses shrank. Payment banks (PBs) could not break-even as they incurred high initial
capital expenditure and wage bills.

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December 2020
 In line with the increasing share of private banks (PVBs) in banking assets, their share in operating
profits also increased to 43.4% in FY20 at the cost of PSBs.
 During FY21 so far, deposits with PSBs have grown at a higher pace than usual, partly reflecting their
perception as safe havens
SEBI eases compliance norms for brokers, depository participants
 SEBI has given time till December 31 to brokers to submit half-yearly net worth certificate (as
on September 30), reports on internal audit as well a system audit for half year ended on September
30, 2020.
 Also, brokers have been give time till January 31 to submit report on cybersecurity and cyber
resilience audit for half year ended on September 30.
Learn Along
SEBI Headquarters: Mumbai Chairman: Ajay Tyagi
SEBI proposes discontinuing segregated offering of NCD, warrants
 SEBI proposed discontinuing segregated offering of non-convertible debentures (NCDs) and

warrants to institutional investors under the QIP mechanism.
 Under the current framework, an investor can either subscribe to the combined offering of NCD
instrument with warrants or to the individual securities (that is, either NCD or warrants).
Learn Along
Non-convertible debentures (or NCDs) are the debentures which can't be converted into shares or equities
www.i xamBee.c om
SEBI issues guidelines for transfer, dematerialisation of re-lodged physical shares
 SEBI came out with operational guidelines to credit physical shares in demat account of investors
following re-lodged transfer request.
 Shares in demat form would help in maintaining a transparent record of shareholding of
companies amid rising concerns over beneficial ownership of entities.
SEBI puts in place mechanism to ease e-voting process
 As per SEBI, to increase the efficiency of the voting process, it has been decided to enable e-voting
for all demat account holders by way of a single login credential through their demat accounts and
websites of depositories.
 Demat account holders would be able to cast their votes without having to register again with the e-
voting service providers (ESPs)
5% public float a must post resolution process: SEBI
 SEBI has mandated that the companies emerging from insolvency proceedings must have at
least a 5% upfront public shareholding, if the resolution process has resulted in the public
shareholding falling below 10%.
 The regulator said these companies would be given 12 months to achieve a public shareholding of
10% from the date their shares are admitted for re-trading on the exchanges and 36 months to reach
25%.

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December 2020
SEBI relaxes norms, paves way for fintech startups to enter mutual fund business
 SEBI waived off the profitability requirement, approved doing away with minimum promoter
contribution toward further public offers (FPO), and also eased norms on investing in
insolvent companies.
 As per SEBI’s new rule, sponsors that are not fulfilling profitability criteria at the time of making
application, shall also be considered eligible to sponsor a mutual fund subject to having a net-
worth of not less than Rs 100 crore for the purpose of contribution toward the net-worth of the asset
management company (AMC).
 The net worth of the AMC would have to be maintained until the time it makes profit for five
consecutive years.
SEBI gives relaxations to NRIs on holding depository receipts
 SEBI gave certain relaxations to non-resident Indians (NRIs) in respect of holding of depository
receipts (DRs) issued by India-listed companies.
 NRIs can now hold DRs issued by the company under the employee stock option schemes,
bonus issue and rights issue.
Learn Along
A depository receipt (DR) is a negotiable certificate issued by a bank representing shares in a foreign company
traded on a local stock exchange. The depositary receipt gives investors the opportunity to hold shares in the equity
of foreign countries and gives them an alternative to trading on an international market
SEBI comes out with new stress testing perimeters for commodity derivatives
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 SEBI has issued new stress testing perimeters for commodity derivatives in order to tackle extreme
volatile price events.
 With a view to address the concerns emanating from exceptional and extreme volatile price
events, SEBI said price movements of the last 15 years will be scanned for stress testing.
Cabinet approves SEBI to sign MoU with Luxembourg
 The Union Cabinet has given its approval for the proposal of Securities & Exchange Board of India
(SEBI) to sign a bilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Securities and Exchange
Board of India and Financial and Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF),
Luxembourg.
 The MoU is likely to strengthen cross border cooperation in the area of securities regulations
SEBI proposes relaxing norms for listing start-ups
 SEBI proposed a slew of relaxations to norms for start-ups, including reducing holding period for
pre-issue capital, providing differential voting rights to promoters and allowing discretionary allotment
to all eligible investors.
 Other proposals include retaining superior voting rights for existing institutional investors holding over
10 per cent of the capital, and easing delisting requirements.

Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
SEBI forms new department to check promoter frauds
 The new department will be known as the Corporation Finance Investigation Department (CFID).
SEBI plans to rope in agency to conduct risk assessment of IT infra
 SEBI is looking to rope in an agency for performing in-depth risk assessment of its information
technology (IT) infrastructure.
 The risk assessment needs to include identification of foreseeable threats, assessment of the
likelihood and potential damage of these threats, and the sufficiency of controls to mitigate risks.
IRDAI to ban credit-linked group health insurance
 Insurance regulator IRDAI has proposed a ban on credit-linked group health policies such as
critical illness covers that are bundled with home loans.
 IRDAI has proposed that all existing credit-linked group health policies be withdrawn by
December 31, 2020.
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IRDAI Headquarters: Hyderabad Chairperson: Subhash Chandra Khuntia
IRDAI proposes a cap of ₹1 crore in draft norms on standard accident insurance policies
 IRDAI has issued draft guidelines on standard personal accident insurance policies and said all
general and standalone health insurers will have to offer this product from 1 April 2021.
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 The product, which is proposed to be offered on an individual basis, will have a minimum sum insured
of ₹2.5 lakh and a maximum of ₹1 crore.
IRDAI standardises health policies for Robotic and bariatric surgeries
 IRDAI has standardised all health policies to include robotic and bariatric surgeries as well.
IRDAI proposes standard norms for travel insurance
 IRDAI has proposed standard guidelines for travel insurance under a draft 'Guidelines on
Standard Travel Insurance Policy' with a view to ensuring uniformity and certainty about coverage,
exclusions and terms of coverage for domestic as well as international travel.
 The guidelines will make available a standard travel insurance product with common coverage
and policy wordings across the industry
 The insurance company will pay as compensation to the legal heirs/nominee the amount stated as
sum insured if the insured suffers accidental bodily injury while overseas and this is the sole and direct
cause of his death within the period of 365 days
 In the event of accidental death of a minor below 18 years of age, the maximum liability of the
insurer would be limited to 50 per cent of the sum insured.
 The travel insurance policy also covers events like missed flight, loss of checked-in baggage, trip
delay, loss of passport and repatriation of mortal remains.

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December 2020
NSE launches first agri-commodity futures
 National Stock Exchange of India Ltd (NSE) has launched its first agricultural commodity futures
contract on crude degummed soybean oil (CDSO Futures).
 The CDSO futures contract is a monthly expiry futures contract with a trading lot size of 10 metric
ton (MT) and price basis as Kandla.
Lucknow Municipal Bonds Listed in BSE
 The 200-crore Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC) bonds were listed on Bombay Stock Exchange
(BSE).
 With this listing, Lucknow has become the first city in north India and ninth city in India to have
raised funds by issuing municipal bonds.
 The municipal bonds offer 8.5 per cent interest per annum and have tenure of 10 years.
Learn Along
BSE Headquarters: Mumbai MD & CEO: Ashish Kumar Chauhan
BSE deepens network in bullion trade; signs pact with Bihar’s Patliputra Sarafa Sangh
 BSE has joined hands with a bullion trade association in Bihar to strengthen the commodity
derivatives market in the country.
 The association would enable growth and development of value chain participants and enable
them to face competition and manage price risks better.
 The pact aims to facilitate participation in seminars and various other programmes with mutual
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understanding to educate the people about the commodity derivatives markets and its benefits
and encourage commodity stakeholders to hedge on the exchange.
BSE launches e-agricultural spot market platform
 BSE has launched an electronic spot platform for agricultural commodities through its subsidiary
BSEInvestments Ltd.
 BSE E-Agricultural Markets Ltd (BEAM) will function as a national level, institutionalised, electronic,
transparent commodity spot trading platform in line with the Prime Minister's vision to create a single
market.
MCX launches futures trading in natural rubber
 Commodity bourse MCX has launched futures trading in natural rubber. At present, four contracts of
rubber futures that will expire in January, February, March and April of 2021 are made available for
trading.
 The rubber futures are of compulsory delivery logic contracts. They would finally be settled at
expiry on the last business day of the contract month.
 The tick size (minimum price movement) for the contract is Rupee 1. Pegged at a minimum initial
margin of 10 per cent, the price to be quoted will be for 100 kg as per the ex-warehouse rates,
exclusive of sales/GST with delivery centre at Palakkad, Kerala.
 MCX rubber futures are available for trading from 9 am to 5 pm on weekdays.

Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
Learn Along
Multi Commodity Headquarters: Mumbai CEO & MD: PS Reddy
Exchange
Government trims SUUTI’s stake in Axis Bank

 The government sold some of Specified Undertaking of The Unit Trust of India’s (SUUTI) stake
in private lender Axis Bank.
 In May, the government had decided to sell the remaining stake in companies held under SUUTI.
 It had expected to raise around Rs 22,000 crore by selling the 7.93 per cent and 4.6 per cent stake in
ITC and Axis Bank, respectively.
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Axis Bank Headquarters: Mumbai MD &CEO: Amitabh Chaudhry
Banks need to hire experienced chief risk officers to deal with cyber-attacks: Report
 The banking industry needs to upgrade its IT infrastructure and appoint experienced chief risk
officers to effectively deal with incidence of cybercrimes, says a report by Deloitte India
 According to the report, nearly 22 per cent of cyber security attacks which took place in India in
2018-19 were on the banking industry.
Sambandh Finserve diverted about Rs 100 crore indirectly to promoters: Audit Report
 A forensic audit conducted by EY on the fraud-hit Sambandh Finserve showed that the
company diverted about Rs 100 crore to entities having connection with its promoters.
 The audit report also confirmed the allegations that about 69% of loan assets were inflated and
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done through dummy accounts to secure funding from banks and other lenders.
NPCI allows payment banks and fintechs to be shareholders
 Retail payments body National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has allowed small finance and
payment banks, as well as fintechs to be shareholders in the organisation
 The 19 new shareholders in NPCI will be holding stakes ranging from 0.04-0.44 per cent in the
company
Learn Along
National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) is an umbrella organization for all retail payments in India. It was
set up with the guidance and support of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and Indian Banks Association (IBA).
NPCI Headquarters: Mumbai MD & CEO: Dilip Asbe
Significant Rise witnessed in wilful defaults of 8 large Indian banks
 As per the data from credit bureau TransUnion Cibil, India’s Eight large banks have seen a drastic
spike in wilful defaults in the six months to September 2020, with such loans rising by over ₹37,000
crore to ₹1.5 trillion.
 According to RBI guidelines, a wilful default occurs if the borrower has not met repayment obligations
despite having the capacity to do so.
Learn Along
TransUnion CIBIL Headquarters: Mumbai CEO: Satish Pillai

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December 2020
Google Pay, PhonePe account for 82% of UPI market by volume in November
 According to the data released by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), Google Pay
and PhonePe together have more than 82 per cent of the market by volume and more than 86 per
cent by value.
Public sector banks to raise Rs 25,000 crore in next 3 months: DFS Secretary
 According to Department of Financial Services (DFS) Secretary, public sector banks (PSBs) are
planning to raise about Rs 25,000 crore through a mix of equity and debt in the next three
months to support credit pick up and meet regulatory requirement.
Central bank of Bahamas launched 'Sand Dollar'
 The Central Bank of the Bahamas has officially launched its national digital currency.
 The first of its kind in the world to have been fully deployed, the sand dollar is a digital version of
the Bahamian dollar.
 In terms of mechanics in the Bahamas, the Sand Dollar is issued directly into digital wallets that
are in turn held by a half-dozen money transfer and payment firms. The coins are then spent
through apps
Dept. of Post conducted Meghdoot Award Function 2020 and launched “Dakpay” app
 Department of Posts (DoP) and India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) jointly unveiled a new digital
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payment app “DakPay”.

 This will give a flip to setting a common service centres in more than 10000 Post Offices across the
country for providing various G2C (Government to Citizen) and B2C (Business to Citizens) services to
citizens in rural and remote areas of the country thus enabling the Government’s mandate of a
socially, financially and digitally inclusive society.
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India Post Payments Bank Headquarters: New Delhi MD & CEO: J Venkatramu
Limited
Indian banks pursue UK bankruptcy order against Vijay Mallya
 A consortium of Indian banks led by the State Bank of India (SBI) returned to the High Court in
London for a bankruptcy application hearing against liquor tycoon Vijay Mallya, as they pursue the
recovery of debt from loans paid out to his now-defunct Kingfisher Airline
 While the banks argued a right to waive their security over the Indian assets involved in the
case in order to recover their debt in the UK, lawyers for the 65-year-old businessman argued that
the funds in question involved public money held by state-owned banks in India which precluded them
from such a security waiver.
India's largest crypto exchange CoinDCX raises Rs 100 crore in series B funding round
 Cryptocurrency exchange platform, CoinDCX has raised Rs 100 crore ($13.9 Million) in series B
funding round led by a series B round was led by Block.one and included DG, Jump Capital,
Uncorrelated Ventures, Coinbase Ventures, Polychain Capital, Mehta Ventures and Alex Pack.

Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
Bitcoin now world’s largest financial service; market cap crosses $500 billion
 Cryptocurrency Bitcoin is now the largest financial service in the world with the market cap
surpassing Visa.
 Bitcoin is now valued at $508.97 billion, ahead of the $460.06 billion market cap of Visa, according to
Companiesmarketcap
World’s First Physical Cryptocurrency Bank Opens in India
 Cashaa partnered with United Multistate Credit Cooperative Society to open a physical
cryptocurrency banking branch in Jaipur.
 Unicas is the first crypto bank in the world to open a physical branch. Unicas users will be able
to execute transactions in cryptocurrencies and local currency (INR) through the same account
 Cashaa mentioned that Unicas is planning to expand its services across 14 branches by January
2021. The company is planning to accelerate the expansion of Unicas to open 100 branches by the
end of 2022.
Learn Along
Cashaa Headquarters: London, UK CEO: Kumar Gaurav
Unicas Headquarters: Jaipur, Rajasthan CEO: Dinesh Kukreja
Canara Bank raises Rs 2,000 crore via QIP; LIC largest investor
 Canara Bank has raised Rs 2,000 crore equity capital by issuing over 19 crore shares to eligible
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investors.
 LIC emerged as the largest investor in the bank's qualified institutional placement (QIP) issue.
Learn Along
Canara Bank Headquarters: Bengaluru CEO: Lingam Venkat Prabhakar
IT back-up fix could take up to 3 months: HDFC Bank
 HDFC Bank has informed analysts that improving the architectural efficiency of its IT systems would
take three months while it would take six weeks to automate switchover to disaster recovery system.
Learn Along
HDFC Bank Headquarters: Mumbai CEO: Sashidhar Jagdishan
Bank of India to acquire 49% stake each in BOI AXA Investment Managers, BOI AXA Trustee
 State-owned Bank of India has said that it will acquire 49 per cent stake each in BOI AXA
Investment Managers Pvt Ltd and BOI AXA Trustee Services Pvt Ltd.
Learn Along
Bank of India Headquarters: Mumbai CEO: Atanu Kumar Das
Axis Bank seeks CCI nod to acquire 20% stake in Max Life
 Axis Bank sought the Competition Commission of India’s (CCI) nod for its deal to acquire up to
20% stake in Max Life Insurance Company Ltd (Max Life).
Learn Along
Axis Bank Headquarters: Mumbai MD &CEO: Amitabh Chaudhry

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December 2020
PNB completes IT integration of erstwhile Oriental Bank of Commerce
 Punjab National Bank has completed the IT integration of all branches of erstwhile Oriental Bank of
Commerce (OBC).
 All customers of OBC have now been migrated to the Core Banking System (CBS) of Punjab
National Bank
Learn Along
PNB Headquarters: New Delhi MD &CEO: S. S. Mallikarjuna Rao
HDFC Bank top among 100 BFSI firms; Google Pay No.1 in UPI payments
 According to BFSI Movers and Shakers 2020 report by Wizikey, HDFC Bank has emerged as the
top player among the 100 Banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) companies in the
country. The country's largest private lender topped because of its customer service, monetary
management, and innovative offerings amid the coronavirus pandemic.
 Apart from HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and State Bank of India (SBI) ranked second and third,
respectively, for showing a quick transformation to serve the citizens through the arterial reach
 The ICICI Bank became the most preferred bank in terms of moratorium rules, new loan policy,
as well as discounts, offers on credit cards. It became the first in India to use satellite data to
assess farmer loans.
 In the wallet and UPI segment, Google Pay emerged as the number one mover and shaker,
followed by Phone Pe
 In the payments bank category, the Airtel Payments Bank emerged as the leader, followed by
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Paytm Payments Bank and Jio Payments Bank.

Learn Along
Wizikey Headquarters: Gurugram, Haryana CEO: Anshul Sushil
Suryoday Small Finance Bank gets SEBI’s go ahead to launch IPO
 Suryoday Small Finance Bank has received capital markets watchdog SEBI’s go ahead to float an
initial share-sale.
 The initial public offering (IPO) comprises fresh issuance of 1.15 crore equity shares and an offer for
sale of up to 0.84 crore equity scrips by existing shareholders, according to the draft papers filed with
Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).
 Axis Capital, ICICI Securities, SBI Capital Markets and IIFL Securities are the merchant bankers
for the issue.
SBI, Union Bank, IOB mark RCom account as fraud
 The State Bank of India (SBI), the Union Bank of India (UBI) and the Indian Overseas Bank (IOB)
have marked Reliance Communication Ltd (RCOM) account as fraud
 In addition to that, the SBI and the UBI have also marked Reliance Telecom Ltd (RTL) account as
fraud. RTL is a 100 per cent subsidiary of RCOM.
 The latest move by the banks comes a couple of weeks after the NCLT Mumbai gave its approval to
Reliance Infratel's Resolution Plan.
Learn Along
SBI Headquarters: Mumbai Chairperson: Dinesh Kumar Khara

Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
Union Bank of India Headquarters: Mumbai CEO: Rajkiran Rai G.
Central Bank of India to exit housing finance business
 Central Bank of India will exit housing finance joint venture by selling its entire stake of over 64 per
cent to Centrum Housing Finance for Rs 160 crore.
Learn Along
Central Bank of India Headquarters: Mumbai MD & CEO: Pallav Mohapatra
SBI Life acquires 9% stake in Paisalo Digital for Rs 186 crore
 SBI Life Insurance Company said it has acquired nearly 9 per cent stake in non-banking finance
company Paisalo Digital for about Rs 186.20 crore through the open market.
Learn Along
SBI Life Insurance Headquarters: Mumbai MD & CEO: Mahesh Sharma
IFSCA permits banking units to transfer assets through participation pacts
 The International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) has allowed Banking Units (BUs) to
transfer assets to/from other financial institutions, persons resident in India and persons
resident outside India through any internationally recognised standard risk participation agreement.
 The above dispensation is expected to encourage risk participation of foreign currency assets through
BUs in IFSC instead of banks in foreign jurisdictions
Learn Along
 The first IFSC in the country has been set up at the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT) in
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Gandhinagar.
 In December 2019, Parliament passed a bill to set up a unified authority for regulating all financial activities at
IFSCs in the country.
IFSCA Headquarters: Gandhinagar, Gujarat MD & CEO– Injeti Srinivas
Digital Lenders Association issues guidelines to identify unorganised and unreliable apps
 The Digital Lenders Association Association (DLAI) has urged customers to be aware of 'Too good
to be true' offers by dubious lenders/players. It has laid out pointers to identify a good player from
an unscrupulous.
 The association said customers to check KYC guidelines stating "An app offering loans without KYC
is comparable to an unorganised money lender and cannot be trusted."
 Similarly, a short tenure of loan offered for less than 30 days and a very high interest rate and
equally high late fees is not a standard practice. It used to leverage on vulnerable customers.
 Signing loan agreement only with a RBI registered entity is a must
 Some of the other guidelines include high upfront procedure fees by the illegal entities similar to
old money lenders
Individual shareholders concerned about independence of independent directors: Report
 A significant percentage of individual shareholders believe the constitution of the board of

directors of most Indian companies is tilted towards promoters as many independent directors
are not really independent, says a survey.

Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
 According to the Corporate Governance Survey 2020 by online platform LocalCircles, 79 per cent
individual shareholders have expressed concern about the independence of independent directors.
 Further, the top-3 concerns of individual shareholders of publicly traded companies are
accounting fraud, selling of company assets without shareholder knowledge and insider
trading
Fintech grouping comes out with code of conduct for industry
 After RBI rap, a grouping of five have came out with a code of ethical conduct for digital lending
which will safeguard consumer rights and interests.
o The RBI had earlier cautioned public against dealing with unauthorised mobile apps and financial
technology firms (fintechs) and not to fall prey to their “unscrupulous” activities
 The code speaks on transparency, disclosure of all costs to customers, pricing and cost of
credit, fair treatment, collection, fair treatment, data privacy and resolution of grievances.
 Under collection practices, it says the members must adhere to a debt collection policy to maintain
“highest level of dignity and trust” of customers.
 The FinTech Association for Consumer Empowerment (FACE), which claims to be a non-profit body
formed by five fintech companies, said the code is aimed to prevent the rise of unwanted
practices that could impact the digital lending ecosystem.
Schemes/Facilities launched by various banks/private financial companies
Company Name Service/Scheme Launched Learn Along

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About SBI
SBI RuPay JCB Platinum Contactless Debit Card- State Headquarters: Mumbai
Bank of India (SBI), National Payments Corporation of India Chairperson: Dinesh
(NPCI) and JCB International have announced the launch of Kumar Khara
SBI, NPCI & JCB
‘SBI RuPay JCB Platinum Contactless Debit Card’. This Card
has been launched on the RuPay network by SBI in About NPCI
association with JCB. Headquarters:Mumbai
CEO: Dilip Asbe
Concessional Credit in Karnataka - Aims to provide grant
support, concessional refinance and undertake capacity About NABARD
NABARD & SBI building of the stakeholders of various livelihood interventions Headquarters: Mumbai
promoted by NABARD. SBI, on the other hand, will give Chairman: G. Chintala
priority to extend credit to these beneficiaries.
Global trade finance solutions to Israeli corporates -

Offering trade finance solutions and services to Israeli About SBI
corporates to help them tap business potential arising out of Headquarters: Mumbai
SBI
recent Abraham accords leading to normalisation of ties Chairperson: Dinesh
between Israel and Arab states Kumar Khara
BPCL SBI Card Octane- It will offer maximum savings to About SBI Card
consumers who spend a significant amount on fuel. The
Headquarters: Gurugram
SBI Card, BPCL BPCL SBI Card Octane brings 25X reward points on spends
CEO: Ashwini Kumar
for BPCL fuel and MAK Lubricants, Bharat Gas (LPG)
Tewari
spends (website and app only) and BPCL's 'In & Out'
convenience store spends.

Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
SBI General
Insurance and Sajhedaari programme - To increase insurance penetration
Mahindra in tier 2 and 3 cities. About SBI General
Insurance Insurance:
Domestic Travel Insurance for Bus Travellers- It offers Headquarters:Mumbai
SBI General General Insurance to the bus travellers of IntrCityRailYatri. MD & CEO: Prakash
Insurance & The travellers can get compensatory travel cover of Rs. 5 Chandra Kandpal
IntrCityRailYatri lakhs.
CREDAI-MCHI First virtual edition of real-estate expo – Will be held from About Google
partners with SBI, December 4th to 13th in an effort to bring credible developers Headquarters: California,
Google and and genuine homebuyers at one platform US
BookMyShow CEO: Sundar Pichai
Tokenized Payments- It would allow the payment providers’ About PayU
PayU and Google 4.5 lakh merchants to use debit cards, credit cards or Google Headquarters:
Pay Pay UPI to make recurring payments without sharing card Netherlands
details. CEO: Laurent Moal
Smart Banking Platform- SBM Bank India and Finin, a
neobank, has collaborated to launch smart banking About SBM Bank India
SBM Bank India platform.The App is available on iOS Appstore and Play Headquarters: Mumbai
&Finin Store. The customers will get instant personalised savings CEO: Sidharth Rath
account with a VISA debit card.
Business Integration- By integrating PayPal into Razorpay’s About Razorpay

payment platform, freelancers and MSMEs will now be able Headquarters: Bengaluru
Razorpay & PayPal to accept international payments without having to write a Co-Founder and CEO:
single line of code. www.i xamBee.c om
Harshil Mathur
Instant Digital Loans- This will make the entire process of
availing loans completely digital and hassle-free so that About Paytm
Paytm partners merchants can transact with the bank and take loans with just Headquarters: Noida, UP
Suryoday Small a tap on the phone. Merchants will not have to visit the bank Founder: Vijay Shekhar
Finance Bank branch as the entire journey from application to approval will Sharma
be completed on the Paytm app itself.
Cashless payments facility for bulk recharge - Mobile About Vodafone Idea (Vi)
Paytm in
phone and DTH top-up retailers to make cashless payments, Headquarters: Mumbai
partnership with
for bulk recharge buys from telecom and satellite television MD & CEO: Ravinder
Vodafone Idea (Vi)
service distributors Takkar
Promote Startups- AFC has recently entered into a
collaborative partnership with HexGn aimed at promoting About AFC India
HexGn and AFC
agriculture-related entrepreneurship in India leading to over Headquarters: Mumbai
India
1000 AgritechStartups in the next 5 years. MD: B.Ganeshan
Asset Restructuring Web Module for MSMEs- SIDBI and

India SME Asset Reconstruction Company (ISARC) have About SIDBI
launched Asset Restructuring Web Module for MSMEs. This Headquarters: Lucknow
SIDBI & ISARC
portal will help MSMEs to get benefit of the RBI’s one-time Chairperson: Mohammad
debt restructuring. Mustafa
SIDBI & Indian MoU for MSMEs - SIDBI and Indian Bank have signed MoU
enabling MSME borrowers of the bank to use the product. About Indian Bank
Bank
Headquarters: Chennai
Setting up of mid corporate vertical – The Bank has set up MD & CEO: Padmaja
Indian Bank a separate vertical to cater to mid-corporates. The loans Chunduru
above Rs 250 crore will be part of this segment

Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
Small Business Day 2020 – It will be hosted on December

12, 2020. It will enable the sale of “unique and hard-to-find”
products from startups, women entrepreneurs, artisans and
About Amazon
weavers, and local shops.
Headquarters:
Amazon
Further, Amazon would also celebrate All India Handicrafts Washington, USA
Week 2020 from December 8, 2020, till December 14, 2020, Founder: Jeff Bezos
towards increasing awareness about indigenously produced
Indian handicrafts.
About PNB
PNB LenS (The Lending Solution) - A tech-based loan
Headquarters: New Delhi
PNB management solution to speed up and maintain accuracy in
MD & CEO: S. S.
online loan processing and sanctioning of credit proposals.
Mallikarjuna Rao
Yes Premia Program - A premium banking program that
offers personalized solutions focused on the particular needs About Yes Bank
Yes Bank
of key consumer segments - from small business owners to Headquarters: Mumbai
salaried professionals and senior citizens. MD & CEO: Prashant
EwireSofttech&YES EWIRE-YES Bank Prepaid Card- It is based on Ru-Pay card Kumar
Bank platform and it will help YES Bank to grow its presence.
E-series debit cards- Yes Bank has announced its

partnership with VISA as a payment processor. It also
introduced a new line of vertical Debit cards under the E- About Visa
series across Mastercard and VISA cards. With the new Headquarters: California,
YES Bank & Visa design, the card number and CVV details have been United States
discreetly placed at the back, thereby improving security by Chairman & CEO: Alfred
making it less easy to capture these details while using it at F. Kelly, Jr
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ATMs or POS terminals.
PayNearby Shopping Card - Aims to enable PayNearby

PayNearby in retailers to seamlessly consume a range of digital services, About PayNearby
partnership with like e-commerce, e-learning, online gaming, online music and Headquarters: Mumbai
Yes Bank and NPCI videos, monthly recharges and utility payments in a secure, MD & CEO: Anand Bajaj
risk-free mode.
Yes Private Prime Credit Card- YES BANK has launched
‘Yes Private Prime Credit Card’ for India’s affluent and ultra
HNIs. The product is thoughtfully curated to provide a
Yes Bank differentiated offering with global privileges and experiences About Yes Bank
across Travel, Lifestyle, Hospitality, Dining, Entertainment Headquarters: Mumbai
and Wellness, among others. MD & CEO: Prashant
Kumar
Yes Bank in Technology platform to power the retail lending business
partnership with - Aims to engage customers with a unified experience and
Salesforce drive aggressive retail led growth for the Bank
About Universal Sompo

USGI PULZ Mobile Application - Offers a one stop shop for
General Insurance
Universal Sompo all post sales insurance needs, online claims intimation, GPS
Headquarters: Mumbai
General Insurance based nearby service providers, marketplace for various
MD & CEO: Sharad
value-added services, AI based health risk assessment
Mathur
Axis Bank Rupifi Business Credit Card - Co-Branded About Axis Bank
Axis Bank in credit card, powered by Visa, will enable the small and Headquarters: Mumbai
partnership with medium sized enterprises to transact on the aggregator MD & CEO: Amitabh
Rupifi and Visa platforms partnering with Rupifi for their business purchases Chaudhry
and will offer tailored credit solutions to such micro- About Visa

Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
enterprises having existing trade relationships with these Headquarters: California,

platforms. United States
Chairman & CEO: Alfred
F. Kelly, Jr
About Karnataka Vikas
OD facility for Farmers - The limit is capped to a maximum Grameen Bank
Karnataka Vikas
of Rs 1.5 lakh per acre to irrigated lands and Rs 1 lakh per Headquarters: Karnataka
Grameen Bank
acre to dry land Chairman:
P Gopi Krishna
FX 4 U- It will help users to manage and handle their forex

About Canara Bank
transactions seamlessly through net banking. Transactions
Headquarters: Bengaluru,
Canara Bank which are submitted through internet banking will flow
Karnataka
seamlessly to CPCFT (Centralised Process Centre - Forex
CEO: LV Prabhakar
Transactions) where compliance and accounting is done and
transmitted through SWIFT.
About Canara HSBC
Canara HSBC
OBC Life Insurance
Oriental Bank of #heroesofmycity- It is a 2 months long digital campaign to
Headquarters: Bengaluru
Commerce Life recognise the heroes of everyday life.
Co-Founder & CEO: Lizzie
Insurance
Chapman
Bancassurance partnership- The bancassurance About RBL bank

RBL Bank & ICICI partnership between RBL Bank and ICICI Prudential Life Headquarters: Mumbai
Prudential Life Insurance gives access to ICICI Prudential Life across 398 MD & CEO: Vishwavir
branches in 28 states to distribute the insurer’s protection
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Ahuja
and saving products.
Micro ATM Services- Aceware and ICICI Bank partnered to

Aceware & ICICI launch Micro-ATM services. The customers can place the
Bank order for money on the Ace Money app and the money will
be delivered at the doorstep within 30-40 minutes after the
order is placed.
Online platform for foreign firms expanding business -

To enable foreign companies to establish or expand business About ICICI bank
ICICI Bank in India. The platform termed as ‘Infinite India’ will provide Headquarters: Mumbai
banking solutions, as well as value-added facilities to CEO: Sandeep Bakhshi
customers
ICICI Bank in Issuance of FASTag through UPI - This partnership

enables Google Pay users to order, track as well as recharge
partnership with
ICICI Bank FASTag easily that too fully digitally through UPI
Google Pay
on the payments app itself. ICICI bank becomes the 1 st bank
to enter into a partnership with Google Pay for FASTag
Platform for foreign businesses in India - Launch of an About IIFL Homes

ICICI Bank online platform for foreign companies that want to set-up or Headquarters: Gurugram,
expand their businesses in India, providing them various Haryana
banking solutions and value-added services. Chairman: S. Sridhar

Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
Affordable housing, MSME loans – Both have entered into

a sourcing and servicing arrangement to partner in extending
credit to the affordable housing loans & MSME loans (loan
ICICI Bank in against property). Under the tie-up, IFL Home will originate
partnership with and service customers through the entire loan life-cycle
IIFL Homes including sourcing, documentation, collection and loan
servicing and in turn, ICICI Bank will provide funding to these
customers
ICICI Lombard and Technologically backed group health insurance

Plum Benefits products- It will offer employers and employees flexibility,
About ICICI Lombard
Private Ltd. transparent pricing, and exceptional healthcare experience.
Launching of online business platform for SMEs - Small
MD & CEO: Bhargav
businesses can avail various insurance related solutions at
ICICI Lombard Dasgupta
the click of a button, thereby ensuring that they are covered
against any risks to their business operations.
Term Insurance products- BSE Ebix Insurance Broking with
BSE Ebix ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Co. have partnered to beta About ICICI Prudential
Insurance Broking launch term insurance products on its platform. With this Life Insurance
& ICICI Prudential launch, BSE Ebix now has the ability to handle insurance Headquarters: Mumbai
Life Insurance Co. sales across both term and endowment policy in the life MD & CEO: NS Kannan
insurance segment.
Launching of Business Cycle Fund – An open-ended About ICICI Prudential

ICICI Prudential scheme which aims to provide long term wealth creation by Mutual Fund
Mutual Fund investing in equity and equity related securities Headquarters: Mumbai
MD & CEO: Nimesh Shah
ICICIdirect Neo- It offers unlimited trading with zero
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brokerage on all futures trades and flat Rs. 20 per order for
intraday and options trades. ICICIdirect Neo customers will About ICICI Securities
also get features like instant liquidity, where customers get Headquarters: Mumbai
ICICI Securities
cash within 30 minutes of selling stocks, access to research CEO: Vijay Chandok
reports and margin trading funding at an interest rate of 8.9%
per annum.
Offering of need and goal-based life insurance solutions

ICICI Prudential in - Through this corporate agency arrangement, over 18 lakh About ICICI Prudential
partnership with customers of AU Bank will have an access to the entire suite Headquarters: Mumbai
AU Bank of protection and long-term savings products of ICICI MD & CEO: NS Kannan
Prudential Life.
Atmanirbhar Women- The purpose is to help women to be

Bank of Baroda self- reliant. It is a part of the Bank’s Gold Loan.
Baroda Military Salary Package - Banking services would

be provided by Bank of Baroda to serving and retired
Bank of Baroda in personnel of Indian Army. About Bank of Baroda
MoU with Indian Services will be offered to serving and retired personnel of Headquarters: Vadodara,
Army Indian Army through the Bank's network of over 8,200 Gujarat
domestic branches and around 20,000 business MD & CEO: Sanjiv
correspondent touchpoints. Chadha
Launch of Digital Lending Platform – The bank will offer
‘Online Loan against Fixed Deposits’ through Digital Lending
Bank of Baroda Platform, which enables the Fixed Deposit customers to avail
loan against their Online FD instantly through mobile banking
and net banking facility.

Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
DBS Bank India Partnership- To help MSMEs to recover from COVID-19

and Haqdarshak Pandemic.
Launching of travel marketplace in digibank app - About DBS India

Launched a travel marketplace within its digibank application,
called ‘Travel Now’. Allowing DBS Bank customers to browse
DBS Bank MD & CEO: Surjit Shome
and book flights, bus tickets and hotels across destinations
within and outside India, the feature also allows customers to
opt for travel Insurance through Bharti AXA Insurance.
About Federal Bank

Max Life Critical Illness and Disability Rider- It is a health Headquarters: Aluva,
Federal Bank and insurance rider that offers customers protection from up to 64 Kerala
OrbitRemit Ltd. critical illnesses MD and CEO: Shyam
Srinivasan
Max Fit App- It will address health coverage needs of the
customers. About CII
Mastercard, ni-
Digital Saksham- It is a capacity building initiative to drive Headquarters: New Delhi
msme, and CII
awareness about digitization of MSMEs. CEO: Uday Kotak
B2B digital payment automation platform- Mastercard and
Enkash joined hands to expand the usage and acceptance of About Mastercard
Mastercard and commercial cards in India. The platform is embedded with Headquarters: New York
Enkash supplier enablement services designed to help businesses to CEO: Ajay Banga
pay using Mastercard payment network and to accept card
payments, especially for small & medium enterprises.
About IndusInd Bank

PIONEER Heritage- It is metal credit card for the Bank’s
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Headquarters: Pune
ultra-high net worth segment of customers. Equipped with MD & CEO:
IndusInd Bank & best-in-class features & privileges across an array of SumantKathpaliai
Mastercard categories like travel, wellness, lifestyle among others, the
all-new credit card has been specially curated to match the About Mastercard
requirements of affluent segment.
Headquarters: New York
CEO: Ajay Banga
HDFC in About HDFC Bank
partnership with Promotion of green buildings – To create awareness and Headquarters: Mumbai
Indian Green promote financing of green buildings in India CEO: Sashidhar
Building Council Jagdishan
PNB e-Credit Card - It will allow PNB customers to use PNB About PNB
e-credit card at any e-commerce platform or merchant Headquarters: New Delhi
PNB
website, without the need of carrying the physical card MD & CEO: S. S.
Mallikarjuna Rao
Launching of a payment solution for Indian merchants – About RBL bank
RuPay, RBL Bank Merchants will be able to accept contactless payments of Headquarters: Mumbai
in partnership with upto Rs. 5000 through tap and pay mechanism on NFC- MD & CEO: Vishwavir
PayNearby enabled mobile phones Ahuja
Sonu Sood Association- Spice Money has partnered with actor Sonu About Spice Money
partners Spice Sood to digitally and financially empower 1 crore rural Headquarters: Noida
Money entrepreneurs. CEO: Saket Agarwal
About Bharti AXA
#GotYouCovered- The campaign is to appreciate the
Headquarters:Mumbai
Bharati AXA Life frontline workers who are working to protect the people
MD & CEO: Sanjeev
during the pandemic.
Srinivasan

Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
About NSDC
Headquarters:New Delhi
MD & CEO: Manish
MoU- NSDC (National Skill Development Corporation) and Kumar
NSDC and Byju’s Byju’s have signed MoU to support the skilling of teachers
and trainers. This is part of Skill India Mission. About Byju’s
Headquarters:Bengaluru
MD & CEO: Byju
Raveendran
Partnership- The India Energy Storage Alliance (IESA) and
About UNIDO
United Nations Industrial Development Organization have
IESA and UNIDO Headquarters:Vienna
joined hands to promote innovations in energy storage in
Director-General: Li Yong
India.
MoU for credit linked subsidy - To facilitate the credit
linked subsidy for eligible borrowers for Pradhan Mantri Awas About NHB
Yojana (PMAY) Scheme. With this scheme, FSFB is aiming Headquarters: New Delhi
Fincare SFB & NHB
to empower the underbanked and unbanked sections of the Managing Director: Sriram
country with smart banking choices and help them turn their Kalyanaraman
dream of having their first home into a reality.
Fincare Small Extend Insurance services to its digital customers - Cater About Fincare SFB
Finance Bank in to the critical financial protection need of customers and Headquarters: Bengaluru
partnership with make insurance services accessible to its target customer MD & CEO: Rajeev Yadav
Go Digit segments
India’s 1st Open API Gateway- This will allow authorized About Edelweiss
Edelweiss General partners can easily integrate their systems with the General Insurance
Insurance company’s robust technology platform, which will help further
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reinforce EGI’s linkages with both customers and partners. CEO: Shanai Ghosh
Citi- NCPA Scholarships for Young Musicians 2020-21- About CitiBank India
Citi Bank and Citi Bank and National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA)
NCPA have partnered to offer scholarship. This is aimed at
CEO: Ashu Khullar
providing scholarships to students seeking advanced training
in Hindustani Music.
Five-city outdoor campaign- It has announced five-city

Kotak Mahindra outdoor campaign to increase awareness about its recently About Kotak Mahindra
Life Insurance launched health insurance product – Kotak Health Shield. Life Insurance
Company Limited The campaign is spread across five major metros namely Headquarters: Mumbai
(Kotak Life) Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad and Pune. Chairperson: Uday Kotak
Facility of life certificate submission through Whatsapp

calls - Allowing policyholders to submit their Certificate of
About Bajaj Allianz Life
Existence (COE) or Life Certificate through a Whatsapp Call.
Insurance
Bajaj Allianz Life The move would ease the annuity pension claim process for
Headquarters: Pune
senior citizens, who could digitally complete formalities
MD & CEO: Tarun Chugh
through the Insurers i-SERV video calling facility on
Whatsapp.
About Bajaj Allianz
Launches Ayushman Bharat-PMJAY-SEHAT in Jammu & General Insurance
Bajaj Allianz
Kashmir - The scheme will cover the entire population of Headquarters: Pune
General Insurance
J&K irrespective of their economic strata. MD & CEO: Tapan
Singhel

Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
About Central Bank of

Central Bank of Contactless debit card – Launched ‘RuPay Select’ Debit India Headquarters:
India in partnership Card in association with National Payments Corporation of Mumbai
with NPCI India (NPCI) MD & CEO: Pallav
Mohapatra
About Snapdeal
Doorstep QR Code payments for orders - Allow shoppers
Headquarters: Delhi
to make QR-based digital payments at the time of accepting
Snapdeal in Co-Founder: Kunal Bahl
delivery of their orders. The facility will work with all UPI-
partnership with
payment options, including Bhim, Google Pay, Whatsapp
NPCI About NPCI
Pay, PhonePe, Paytm and UPI apps from leading private and
public sector banks like HDFC, SBI, ICICI and others
CEO: Dilip Asbe
ECONOMY
RBI holds repo rate to boost growth, ignores inflation
 Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its sixth bi-monthly monetary policy committee (MPC) meeting
held in December 2020, has left key rates unchanged and stayed with its accommodative stance
despite forecasting much higher inflation in the months ahead
 Repo rate has been unchanged at 4% while Reverse repo rate was kept unchanged at 3.35%
and MSF rate remains at 4.25%
 The RBI revised its growth forecast to a negative 7.5% for FY21 from a negative 9.5% earlier
with growth at 0.1% in Q3FY21 and 0.7% in Q4FY21. www.i xamBee.c om
 Inflation is now expected to rise to 6.8% for Q3FY21, 5.8% for Q4FY21 and 4.6-5.2% in H1FY22
 RBI has raised limit for contactless card transaction and e-mandates for recurring transactions
through card and UPI from Rs 2,000 to Rs 5,000 per transaction from January 2021
Competition Commission of India scraps certain disclosure requirements for merger reviews
 The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has done away with certain disclosure requirements
related to non-compete restrictions at the time of entities seeking approval for merger deals.
Learn Along
Competition Commission Headquarters: New Delhi Chairman: Ashok Gupta
of India
Export decline steepens in November at 9.07%
 Trade deficit was $9.96 billion in November 2020, as per the preliminary data released by the
commerce and industry ministry
 India’s exports fell 9.07% on year in November 2020 to $23.43 billion.
India extends anti-dumping duty on methylene chloride imports from China till Jan 31
 India has extended anti-dumping duty on imports of methylene chloride from China till January 31,
2021.

Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
Indian economy witnessing V-shaped recovery: FinMin report
 The Indian economy is witnessing a V-shaped recovery as the Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
has recorded a quarter-on-quarter growth of 23 per cent in the July-September quarter of this
fiscal, according to the Finance Ministry’s latest Monthly Economic Review
 The decline in the GDP narrowed to 7.5 per cent in the second quarter of this financial year,
over 23.9 per cent in April-June quarter
 The growth drivers have obtained the largest support from agriculture followed by construction
and manufacturing
 Talking about the downside risk, the report said, the spread of a second wave of COVID-19 is a
challenge
Economy to reach pre-COVID-levels by end of FY 2022: NITI Aayog
 India's economic growth is likely to reach pre-COVID-19 levels by the end of the 2021-22 fiscal
as the GDP contraction in this financial year is expected to be less than 8 per cent
Learn Along
NITI Aayog Headquarters: New Delhi Chairman: Narendra Modi
Indian economy is gradually recovering: IMF
 India’s economy, severely affected by the coronavirus pandemic, is gradually recovering, as

per the International Monetary Fund
 India’s economy recovered faster than expected in the September quarter as a pick-up in
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manufacturing helped GDP clock a lower contraction of 7.5 per cent and held out hopes for
further improvement on better consumer demand.
Learn Along
IMF Headquarters: Washington, United States MD: Kristalina Georgieva
IL&FS Group gets approval to sell JorabatShillong Expressway
 Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services (IL&FS) has received approval of Justice (retd) D K Jain
- who is overseeing the debt-laden group's resolution process - for sale of JorabatShillong
Expressway to Sekura Roads Ltd.
ADB, India sign $132.8 million loan to strengthen Meghalaya’s power distribution Sector
 The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of India has signed a $132.8 million loan to
strengthen and modernize the distribution network and improve the quality of power supplied
to households, industries, and businesses in India’s north-eastern state of Meghalaya.
Learn Along
The Asian Development Bank is a regional development bank. It was established in 1966, it is owned by 68
members—49 from the region.
ADB Headquarters: Philippines President: Masatsugu Asakawa

Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
ADB approves $430 million financing facility to improve power supply in Uttar Pradesh
 The project will finance the conversion of 65,000 kilometres (km) of rural low-voltage distribution
lines from bare conductors to aerial bundle conductors to benefit an estimated 70 million people in
46,000 rural villages
ADB approves $190 million loan for upgradation of Bengaluru power distribution system
 ADB has approved a combined sovereign and non-sovereign loan of USD 190 million to modernize
and upgrade the power distribution system in Bengaluru city in the state of Karnataka
ADB launches $9 billion COVID-19 vaccine initiative for developing economies
 The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has launched a USD 9-billion initiative that will offer support to
its developing member economies to procure and deliver COVID-19 vaccines.
 The initiative will be known as the Asia-Pacific Vaccine Access Facility (APVAX).
ADB approved $ 300 million loan for primary health care in urban areas
 The Asian Development Bank has approved USD 300 million (about Rs 2,200 crore) loan to
strengthen and improve access to comprehensive primary health care in urban areas in India.
 The program will benefit an estimated 256 million urban residents.
Indian consumer confidence to improve next year: Report

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 Indian consumer confidence will improve significantly next year January and will peak by July
and continue till September ahead of next year’s festive season, says a latest report by Dun &
Bradstreet.
 The improvement will be across parameters such as income, employment and spending, including
both essential and non-essential
ADB cuts contraction projection to 8% for FY21
 The Asian Development Bank (ADB) upgraded its forecast for the Indian economy, projecting 8 per
cent contraction in 2020-21 as compared to 9 per cent degrowth estimated earlier, on the back of
faster than expected recovery.
Indians top the list of educated migrants in rich countries
 OECD data reveals that India had sent 3.12 million migrants who are highly educated, meaning
they have received vocational or academic training.
 The OECD data of 2015-16 placed India at top in the list of Most Common birth countries of
highly educated migrants.
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OECD Headquarters: Paris (France) Secretary-General: Angel Gurria

Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
OECD cuts India's FY21 GDP contraction rate to 9.9% from 10.2% earlier
 OECD has raised prospects of India’s economy by pegging contraction at 9.9 per cent, against 10.2
per cent it projected in September 2020
 It forecast that the economy would rebound to 8 per cent in the next fiscal year and 5 per cent a
year later, but gross domestic product (GDP) loss would be substantial.
 It has also cut the contraction rate of the global economy to 4.2 per cent in 2020. It now projected
the world economy to grow 4.2 per cent in 2021
FAO releases SOFA 2020 Report
 More than three billion people live in agricultural areas with high levels of water shortages and
scarcity, said The State of Food and Agriculture (SOFA) 2020 Report by the Food and
Agriculture Organization's (FAO).
 It also adds that 1.2 billion people across the globe are currently under water stress.
 Almost 50% of those 1.2 billion live in South Asia.
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FAO Headquarters: Rome, Italy Director General: Qu Dongyu
No quick end to economic damage after Covid-19 vaccine: UNCTAD
 The report was titled “The Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Trade and Development:
Transitioning to a New Normal”.
 Further, as per UNCTAD’s “The Least countries Developed Report 2020: Productive Capacities
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for the new Decade” report, pandemic has pushed 32 million people into extreme poverty
globally
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UNCTAD Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland Secretary-General: Mukhisa Kituyi
Fiscal deficit for Apr-Oct at 119.7% of budget target: Controllor General of Accounts
 The fiscal deficit for April-October touched a massive ₹9.53 trillion, accounting for 119.7% of
the full year’s budgeted target as tax collections remained under pressure because of the covid-
19 crisis, according to data released by the Controller General of Accounts
 The Centre has retained this year’s fiscal deficit target at 3.5% of gross domestic product
(GDP)
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Controllor General Ministry: Ministry of Finance CGA: Soma Burman
of Accounts
India Grid Trust to buy 74% stake in Parbati Koldam Transmission from Reliance Infra
 India Grid Trust, the country's first listed power sector infrastructure investment trust (InvIT),
has signed a share purchase agreement with Reliance Infrastructure where the former will buy 74%
stake in the latter's Parbati Koldam Transmission..
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India Grid Trust Headquarters: New Delhi CEO: Harsh Shah

Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
ADB, India sign $50 million loan to boost West Bengal’s digital platforms
 The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of India signed a $50 million policy-based
loan to improve financial management procedures and operational efficiencies.
IFSCA obtains Membership of International Association of Insurance Supervisors
 The International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) has obtained membership of
International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS).
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 Established in 1994, the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) is headquartered in
Switzerland
 It is the international standard-setting body responsible for developing and assisting in the implementation of
principles, standards and other supporting material for the supervision of the insurance sector.
India, USA sign MoU on Intellectual Property cooperation
 The MoU aims at increasing IP co-operation between the two countries
Ministry of Textiles invites proposals for constitution of a Dedicated Export Promotion Council
 Ministry of Textiles has invited proposals for constitution of a dedicated Export Promotion Council
(EPC) for Technical Textiles
 The Exporter Association and Trade bodies registered under Companies Act or Society
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Registration Act have been asked to submit proposal for constitution of a dedicated EPC
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 Technical textiles are textiles materials and products manufactured primarily for technical performance and
functional properties rather than aesthetic characteristics.
 Technical Textiles products are divided into 12 broad categories (Agrotech, Buildtech, Clothtech, Geotech,
Hometech, Indutech, Mobiltech, Meditech, Protech, Sportstech, Oekotech, Packtech) depending upon their
application areas.
Ministry of Commerce and AYUSH decides to set up an AYUSH Export Promotion Council
 The Ministry of Commerce and Industry and the Ministry of AYUSH have decided to work together to
set up an Export Promotion Council to boost AYUSH exports
 The following are the action points that emerged from the meeting:
o Ministry of AYUSH and Ministry of Commerce and Industry will work together for establishing an
AYUSH Export Promotion Council (AEPC). The proposed AEPC can be housed at Ministry
of AYUSH.
o Ministry of AYUSH will work in collaboration with Bureau of Indian standards to develop
international standards for AYUSH products as well as services.
Swiss developer selects 4-company consortium for Jewar International Airport Project
 A four-company consortium has been selected by Swiss developer Zurich AirportInternational

to design the passenger terminal for the upcoming Greenfield Jewar International Airport in Noida

Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
Railways’ capital expenditure touches 58% mark
 Capital expenditure by the Railways, which was languishing at very low levels in April-July, has since
picked up fast. Around Rs 94,000 crore or 58% of the FY21 target was spent till November 2020-end,
according to official data.
Govt approves submarine OFC between Kochi and Lakshadweep Islands
 The government approved provision of submarine optical fibre cable connectivity between Kochi
and Lakshadweep Islands, entailing a cost of Rs 1,072 crore.
 The project, approved by the Union Cabinet, entails provision of a direct communication link through a
dedicated submarine Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) between Kochi and 11 islands of Lakshadweep.
 The project would be funded by Universal Service Obligation Fund.
 The project is expected to be completed by May 2023.
Cabinet approves setting Wi-Fi across country
 The Union Cabinet approved the proposal for setting up public Wi-Fi networks across the length and
breadth of the country.
 This public Wi-Fi Access Network Interface will be known as PM-WANI.
S&P improves India’s growth forecast for FY21
 S&P has revised India’s real GDP growth estimates of the current fiscal year to a contraction of 7.7
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per cent, from 9 per cent.

 Further, in the year 2021-22, the rating agency has estimated the growth to rebound to 10 per cent.
 Its unit- Crisil has also revised the estimation for the current year’s contraction to 7.7%.
GST compensation: Jharkhand joins GST borrowing scheme
 Jharkhand has chosen Option-1 of the Centre’s borrowing plan to bridge GST revenue shortfall. With
this, all 28 states and three UTs are now on board for the plan.
 The total borrowing under the scheme is fixed at Rs 1.1 lakh crore, which is the shortfall
attributed to GST implementation issues.
 The Option-1 of the scheme also grants states unconditional permission to borrow the final
installment of 0.5% of GSDP of the 2% additional borrowings permitted by the central
government.
India Inc borrowings from foreign markets down 41 per cent to USD 2.03 bn in October 2020
 India Inc’s borrowing from foreign markets fell by nearly 41 per cent to around USD 2.03 billion in
October this year compared to the year-ago period, according to the RBI data.
India has potential to export Rs 8 lakh cr worth motherboards between 2021-26: Report
 India has potential to export motherboards, technically called printed circuit board assembly
(PCBA), worth up to Rs 8 lakh crore between 2021-26, mobile devices industry body India Cellular
& Electronics Association (ICEA) and EY said in a joint report.

Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
 However, in the absence of government incentives and subsidies the export potential will be
around Rs 29,500 crore during the five year period, the report said.
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 The National Policy on Electronics 2019 (NPE) envisages electronic manufacturing turnover of USD 400
billion (Rs 26 lakh crore at the time policy was approved) by 2025, out of which USD 190 billion (Rs 13 lakh
crore) is expected to come from the mobile phone segment.
TRAI seeks details of segmented offers from telcos
 The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has directed all telecom operators to submit
details of the segmented tariffs offered by them to their customers, within 15 days.
 The regulator has sought details from January 2020 to November 2020, while directing the firms
that December 2020 onwards, details of such offers should be submitted within 10 working
days from the last day of the month.
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TRAI Headquarters: New Delhi Secretary: Sunil Gupta
Service activity expands for the second month; employment up for first time in 9 months
 India’s services sector expanded for the second month in a row in November 2020 though at a
slower pace than the previous month and witnessed a rise in employment for the first time in nine
months as per a private survey
 The IHS Markit India Services Business Activity Index was 53.7 in November 2020
FM Nirmala Sitharaman releases the ‘Smuggling in India Report 2019-20’

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 The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence has detected 412 cases of smuggling resulting in the
seizure of contraband worth ₹1,949 crore in 2019-20.
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The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence is the apex intelligence and investigative agency for matters relating to
violation of the Customs Act
Directorate of Headquarters: New Delhi Director-General: Balesh Kumar

Revenue Intelligence
ONGC Videsh strikes commercial oil in Colombia block
 State-run Oil and Natural Gas (ONGC) said its wholly owned overseas subsidiary ONGC Videsh
(OVL) has made a “significant discovery” of oil in one of its onshore wells in Colombia
 The well is in the CPO-5 block in Colombia, where OVL holds 70% stake. This is the fourth
commercial find in the block by OVL.
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ONGC Headquarters: Delhi CEO: Shashi Shanker
Over 50 unicorn startups expected in India by 2022
 According to Software Technology Parks of India (STPI), the number of startup unicorns in India
may surpass 50 by 2022 to 52

Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
 By 2025, Indian software products revenue will be USD 70-80 billion against the existing USD 10
billion.
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 A unicorn is a privately-held startup valued at over USD 1 billion.
 India is home to 21 unicorns at present, collectively valued at USD 73.2 billion, as per the Hurun Global Unicorn
List 2020.
Now MSMEs can submit restructuring proposals to banks on their own with SIDBI’s DIY portal
 MSMEs finding it difficult to prepare their restructuring proposals on their own under the restructuring
scheme by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) would now be able to prepare and submit it to
concerned banks through a Do-It-Yourself (DIY) web module.
 Launched by the MSME-focused Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), the web
portal would allow borrowers to key in only the most essential data of their past financials, future
projections, and restructuring requirement for the proposal.
 The portal is being offered free of cost
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SIDBI Headquarters: Lucknow CMD– Mohammad Mustafa
PM delivers keynote address at IIT-2020 Global Summit
 The Prime Minister said that the Government is fully committed to the principle of "Reform, Perform,
Transform".
 Talking about the 75th Anniversary of India's Independence in 2022, Modi urged the PanIIT
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movement to set an even higher benchmark on "Giving back to India.''
Siemens launches IGnITE to support high-quality training, tech education
 Siemens has launched technical education initiative IGnITE along with the German government in
India.
 IGnITE is planning to develop around 40,000 skilled workforces by 2024
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Siemens Headquarters: Germany MD & CEO: Sunil Mathur
Domestic carriers may post loss of Rs 21,000 crore this fiscal: ICRA
 Domestic carriers are expected to post losses to the tune of Rs 21,000 crore this fiscal as against
a net loss of Rs 12,700 crore reported in the financial year ended March 2020, impacted by lower
revenue and higher costs, according to ratings agency ICRA
 ICRA expects FY2021 to witness a higher decline of 62-64 per cent in domestic passenger
traffic
NCLT gives nod to Reliance Infratel resolution plan; lenders may get around Rs 4,400 cr
 The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has approved a resolution plan of Reliance Infratel
following which lenders may get around Rs 4,400 crore and Reliance Jio may pick up the assets of
the debt-ridden telecom infrastructure company.

Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
India's coal import drops 19% to 117 million tonnes during April-October this fiscal
 India's coal import saw a drop of 18.6 per cent to 116.81 million tonnes (MT) during April-October
2020 as against the same period a year ago.
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mjunction is a joint venture between Tata Steel and SAIL. It is a B2B e-commerce company and also publishes
research reports on coal and steel verticals.
India extends anti-dumping duty on steel products from China, US
 India has extended anti-dumping duty on imports of cold-rolled flat products of stainless steel of width
600-1250 mm and above 1250 mm of non-bonafide usage, from China, Korea, European Union,
South Africa, Taiwan, Thailand and the US, till January 31, 2021.
 However, India has revoked anti-dumping duty on nylon tyre cord fabric imported from China
which was imposed in June 2015
Sequoia India partners NITI Aayog’s WEP to promote women entrepreneurship in India
 Under the partnership related to Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP), Sequoia India will
mentor a select cohort of aspiring women founders to help equip them with domain knowledge
and skills for setting up and scaling their businesses
Covid-19 crisis to inflict massive downward pressure on wages in the near future: ILO
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 Informal workers’ wages have seen steeper cuts than formal workers in recent times, as per a
recent report by the International Labour Organisation
 Recent evidence suggests that formal workers’ wages have been cut by 3.6%, while informal
workers have experienced a much sharper fall in wages of 22.6% as per ILO’s Global Wage
Report 2020-21
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ILO Headquarters:Geneva (Switzerland) Director-General: Guy Ryder
I-T Dept allows revision of declarations filed under 'Vivad Se Vishwas' scheme
 Entities filing declaration under the direct tax dispute resolution scheme 'Vivad Se Vishwas' can
revise them till the time tax authorities issue certificate mentioning details of tax arrear and the
amount payable, the Income Tax Department has said
 The government had in October extended for the third time the deadline for making payment
under the direct tax dispute settlement scheme 'Vivad Se Vishwas' by three months to March
31, 2021, in view of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. However, declarations have to be filed by
December 31, 2020.
QRMP scheme launched for GST payers with turnover up to Rs 5 crore
 The government has launched the Quarterly Return filing & Monthly Payment of Taxes (QRMP)
scheme for small taxpayers under GST system.

Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
 Taxpayers with aggregate annual turnover of up to Rs 5 crore in the preceding financial year
and have filed their October GSTR-3B (sales) return by November 30, 2020, are eligible for scheme.
GST can be levied on lotteries, says Supreme Court; upholds government notice
 The Supreme Court has upheld the validity of government notifications that had levied GST on
lotteries. A bench led by Justice Ashok Bhushan held that the prize money cannot be excluded
while calculating GST.
Govt notifies new rules to curb GST credit fraud, fake invoices
 The government has notified modifications in the GST rules in a bid to prevent fly-by-night firms
from registering under GST and gaming the system by issuing fake invoices.
 Under the new rules, a business will now undergo in-person verification before it is registered
under GST. If an applicant opts for Aadhaar authentication, they will undergo biometric-based
Aadhaar authentication at one of the facilitation centres notified by the commissioner.
 Although the timeline for granting approval for Aadhaar-based registration would now be 7 day,
if the applicant falls under ‘risky’ category the department will seek additional physical verification
before granting registration within 30 days.
 Taxpayers who could claim 10% of ITC for invoices that were not uploaded by their supplier can now
claim only 5% ITC on such invoices.
 Additionally, certain businesses will have to discharge at least 1% of their tax liability through
cash due to restriction on using ITC for the full amount
 This rule will come into effect from January 1 2021
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 The new rules come on the heel of a nationwide campaign to nab fake invoice operators, which
resulted in the arrest of 164 persons including 5 chartered accountants.
India gets first-ever 100 Octane petrol: Indian Oil Corporation launches XP100 in 10 cities
 Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) recently launched the nation’s first 100 Octane petrol, helping India
join a select league of nations globally that have such superior quality fuel. Launching the fuel, Oil
Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said XP100 premium petrol will initially be available at select outlets
of IOC in 10 cities
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 Octane ratings are measures of fuel refinement that helps with improved combustion and avoid engine
knocking, which occurs when fuel is prematurely ignited in the cylinder, which degrades efficiency and can
cause damage to the engine in the long run.
Industrial production growth scales eight-month peak of 3.6% in October
 Industrial production growth scaled an eight-month high of 3.6%, year-on- year, in October, driven
by inventory building to cater for festive demand.

Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
NBFC-MFIs register de-growth of 42.8% in the Q2FY20
 Microfinance industry association MFIN said that the Loan disbursed by non-banking financial
companies-microfinance institutions (NBFC-MFIs) has fell to Rs 10,617 crore in the second
quarter of this fiscal, registering a de-growth of 42.8% year-on-year.
Delhi Govt schools monetise solar power, expect to earn Rs 8.5 crore
 Under the Centre’s scheme for government building solarisation, the Delhi government has
developed over 21 mega-watts (MW) of solar rooftop plants on 150 government schools.
 These are expected to save about Rs 8.8 crore on their electricity bills cumulatively each year
India sees 8.6% rise in percentage of women on boards between 2012 and 2020
 Between 2012 and 2020, India saw 8.6% rise in the percentage of women on boards, with them
holding 17% of board positions in 2020; also, 20% of female directors hold more than one board seat
compared to 8% of men, as per the findings of the Egon Zehnder’s 2020 Global Board Diversity
Tracker..
Japan lifts inspection of ‘Black Tiger’ shrimps; exports to get boost
 Japan has completely lifted inspection of Indian ‘Black Tiger’ shrimps.

 Black Tiger shrimp, commonly known as the giant tiger prawn or Asian Tiger shrimp, is a popular
seafood the world over www.i xamBee.c om
IFSCA notifies bullion exchange regulations
 The International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) has notified bullion exchange
regulations, paving the way for setting up the entire ecosystem for bullion trading, including bullion
exchange, depository, clearing house and vaults.
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IFSCA Headquarters: Gandhinagar, Gujarat MD & CEO– Injeti Srinivas
Banks sanction Rs 2.05 lakh crore to 81 lakh MSMEs under ECLGS
 According to Finance Ministry, banks have sanctioned loans worth Rs 2,05,563 crore to about 81
lakh accounts under the Rs 3-lakh crore Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) for
the MSME sector.
 The loans provided under ECLGS 2.0 will have a five-year tenor, with a 12-month moratorium on
repayment of principal. The entire Scheme (ECLGS 1.0 and ECLGS 2.0) valid till March 31, 2021.
Learn Along
ECLGS was rolled out in May 2020 as part of the Centre’s Aatmanirbhar package in response to the Covid-19
crisis. The objective was to support small businesses struggling to meet their operational liabilities due to the
imposition of a nationwide lockdown.

Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
MoRTH signs MoU with Austria on Road Infrastructure Sector
 The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)
with the Federal Ministry of Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and
Technology of the Republic of Austria on Technology Cooperation in the Road Infrastructure
Sector.
Cabinet approves Memorandum of Understanding between India and Suriname on health
 The Union Cabinet has given its approval for the Memorandum of Understanding between the
Government of the Republic of India and the Ministry of Health of the Government of the
Republic of Suriname on Cooperation in the field of Health and Medicine.
India and Better Than Cash Alliance organized a joint Peer learning exchange
 Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), Ministry of Finance hosted a learning session

“Accelerating Responsible Digital Payments: Unlocking the Role of Fintech in Last Mile
Service Delivery” with leaders from States and Union Territories across India.
 It was co-organized by the UN-based Better Than Cash Alliance.
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United Nations, the Better Than Cash Alliance is a partnership of over 75 governments, companies and
international organizations committed to accelerate the transition from cash to digital payments to advance the
Sustainable Development Goals.
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COVID has exposed inequalities in short time: UNDP report
 The UNDP, in a recently released report said that the COVID-19 pandemic took little time to
expose the inequalities as well as weaknesses in social and economic systems, which has
threatened human development.
 In its 30th anniversary edition of the Human Development Report, titled ‘The Next Frontier: Human
Development and the Anthropocene’, the UNDP has introduced an experimental new lens to its
annual Human Development Index (HDI).
 It has included two more elements: A country’s carbon dioxide emissions and its material
footprint.
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UNDP Headquarters: New York Administrator: Achim Steiner
UNDP and PCMC join hands for ‘first social impact bond’
 Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) has signed an MoU with UNDP India to co-create
India’s ‘first Social Impact Bond (SIB)’. As part of the unique investment tool, the PCMC
administration will bear the cost of a public welfare project associated with the bond, if the pre-defined
project targets are fulfilled.
 According to UNDP, this type of bond lays down outcome-based targets to be achieved at the
start of the contract. This feature allows for tracking the progress of the outcome, thus ensuring
transparency for investors. This mechanism also ensures that funds are used effectively and
efficiently towards the project. This SIB will support the PCMC in improving healthcare services for
local residents, especially with respect to the pandemic, while incurring minimum investment risks

Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
India signs $400 million loan agreement with World Bank for social protection programme
 India has signed a loan agreement with the World Bank (WB) worth $400 million to support the
country’s social assistance programmes for poor and vulnerable households impacted by the
pandemic.
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World Bank Headquarters: Washington, D.C., US President: David. Malpass
World Bank approves 4 India projects worth $800 million
 The World Bank approved four India projects worth over $800 million to support development
initiatives.
 The projects that have been approved are: Chhattisgarh Inclusive Rural and Accelerated Agriculture
Growth Project (CHIRAAG), Nagaland: Enhancing Classroom Teaching and Resources Project, and
Second Dam Improvement and Rehabilitation Project (DRIP-2).
BSNL to introduce worlds' first, satellite-based narrowband-IoT network
 BSNL, in partnership with Skylotech India, announced a breakthrough in satellite-based NB-IoT

(Narrow Band-Internet of Things).
 With this solution, India will now have access to a ubiquitous fabric of connectivity for millions of
yet unconnected machines, sensors and industrial IoT devices.
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BSNL Headquarters: New Delhi www.i xamBee.c om
Chairman & MD: Pravin Purwar
Exports dip 8.74 % in November; trade deficit narrows to $9.87 billion
 Declining for the second straight month, India’s exports dipped 8.74 per cent on a yearly basis in
November 2020 to USD 23.52 billion.
 Trade Deficit has also been narrowed down to USD 9.87 billion.
 Imports declined for the ninth month in a row, slipping 13.32 per cent to USD 33.39 billion in
November 2020.
Farmers’ protest resulting in daily loss of Rs 3,500 crore: Assocham
 A daily loss of Rs 3,000-3,500 crore is resulting in the economies of the region from the value chain
and transport disruption because of the Farmers’ protest, according to Industry body Assocham.
Govt extends deadline for completing GST anti-profiteering probe till March 2021
 The government has extended the deadline till March 31, 2021 for completing GST anti-
profiteering investigations, which were to be completed by November 2020.
 Directorate General of Anti Profiteering (DGAP) investigates profiteering complaints and submits
report to National Anti-Profiteering Authority (NAA), which passes the final order.
P-notes investments touch 27-month high of Rs 83,114 cr in November
 Investments through participatory notes (P-notes) in the Indian capital market surged to a 27-
month high of Rs 83,114 crore in November 2020.

Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
 P-notes are issued by registered foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) to overseas investors who wish
to be part of the Indian stock market without registering themselves directly.
Indian Railways Launches Hospital Management Information System Trial Project
 Indian Railways has launched the Hospital Management Information System.

 Patients waiting time at the hospitals will be minimized and medical records will be available to the
team of doctors at all the times.
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Indian Railways Headquarters: New Delhi Minister: Piyush Goyal
Handicraft and GI Toys exempted from Quality Control Order
 The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has decided to exempt
goods manufactured & sold by artisans and registered as Geographical Indications from quality
control order.
 The order will come into effect from 1st January, 2021..
Learn Along
Geographical Indications of Goods are defined as that aspect of industrial property which refer to the
geographical indication referring to a country or to a place situated therein as being the country or place of
origin of that product. Typically, such a name conveys an assurance of quality and distinctiveness which is
essentially attributable to the fact of its origin in that defined geographical locality, region or country.
NITI Aayog releases ‘Vision 2035: Public Health Surveillance in India’

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 NITI Aayog released a white paper: Vision 2035: Public Health Surveillance in India with the
vision.
 It lays out India’s vision 2035 for public health surveillance through the integration of the three-tiered
public health system into Ayushman Bharat.
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NITI Aayog Headquarters: New Delhi Chairman: Narendra Modi
India plans $60 billion investment in gas infrastructure
 Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan recently said the government has planned a $60-billion
investment for creating gas infrastructure in the country till 2024, and gas’ share in the energy
mix is expected to rise to 15 per cent by 2030.
NDB to lend India $1-billion for economic revival
 The New Development Bank (NDB) will lend India $1 billion for supporting the country’s economic
recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic through expenditure on rural infrastructure related to
natural resource management.
 The loan has a repayment tenor of 30 years, including a five-year grace period.
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New Development Bank (NDB) was set up with an initial authorised capital of $100 billion by BRICS countries in
2014. It was officially opened in Shanghai in 2015.

Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
Cabinet approves Rs 3,500-cr aid for sugar exports in 2020-21
 The Union Cabinet approved an assistance of Rs 3,500 crore for exports of six million tonne of
sugar in the current marketing year through September 2021.
 This subsidy amount, however, will be directly credited into the accounts of cane farmers
against outstanding dues of mills.
Cabinet approves additional Rs 1,700 crore for northeast power project
 The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved the total revised cost estimate of Rs
6,700 crore for the north eastern region power system improvement project (NERPSIP) which aims to
augment power transmission and distribution systems in the area.
 The project was sanctioned by the government in December, 2014, with the initial cost estimate of
Rs 5,111.3 crore, and is funded by the Centre and the World Bank on a 50:50 basis.
 The scheme is being implemented through Power Grid Corporation of India in the six beneficiary
north eastern states of Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Tripura, and is targeted
to be commissioned by December 2021.
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PowerGrid, a public limited company under the administrative control of the Ministry of Power, Government of
India, started its commercial operation in the year 1992-93 and is presently, a Maharatna company, engaged
in the business of power transmission
PowerGrid Headquarters: Gurugram (Haryana) Chairman: K Sreekant
Tax department waives off requirement to record UIN on invoices

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 The tax department issued a waiver from recording UIN on invoices from April 2020 to March 2021.
 UIN is a special GST registration category for foreign diplomatic missions, embassies and
specialized agencies of the United Nations Organization, which enables such entities to claim refund
of the GST paid by them.
Coronavirus pandemic saps 81 million jobs in Asia-Pacific in 2020: ILO
 The economic impact of COVID-19 pandemic has wiped out 81 million jobs across Asia-Pacific this
year, with women and young people disproportionately affected, according to the International
Labour Organization.
 Employment in Asia-Pacific showed a 4.2% decline compared with the pre-crisis trend, with the gap
at 4.6% for women and 4% for men.
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ILO Headquarters: Geneva (Switzerland) Director-General: Guy Ryder
Global CO2 Emissions have dipped by 7% in 2020 due to Pandemic: UNEP
 According to the 11th edition of Emissions Gap Report of 2020, the global CO2 emissions have
decreased by 7% due to pandemic.
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UNEP Headquarters: Nairobi, Kenya Executive Director: Inger Andersen

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December 2020
Technical recession gripping Indian economy expected to end in the last quarter of FY21: ICRA
 As per ICRA’s projections, the technical recession in the country's economy to end in the fourth
quarter of the current fiscal, limiting the contraction in the GDP to 7.8 per cent in the financial year
2021.
 In the second quarter of financial year 2021, GDP contracted 7.5 per cent as against a decline of
23.9 per cent in the April-June quarter.
Indian economy recovering fast, growth to turn positive in Q3: RBI
 The economy is coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic’s deep abyss faster than most of the
predictions, and the growth will enter positive zone in the third quarter of the current financial year,
said an article on the ‘state of economy’ in the RBI Bulletin.
 Quoting reports, the article said, “Real GDP growth is expected to break out into positive territory
in Q3 to a slender 0.1 per cent”
Investment in health, other areas is need of hour; transparency in fiscal reporting: RBI
 Public investment in healthcare, social housing, education, and environmental protection is the
need of the hour to build a more resilient and inclusive economy, RBI said in December’s bulletin.
 However, the governments will have to effectively balance between continued fiscal support for
the fragile recovery process and addressing the medium-term debt-deficit imbalances, while
ensuring good housekeeping and adequate transparency in the fiscal reporting
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Economy to contract at 7.3% in FY21: NCAER
 The National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) has revised upward its gross domestic
product (GDP) projection for FY21 to 7.3% contraction from the 12.6% dip estimated in September
2020 with the expectation that the economy will register marginal growth in the December quarter.
Gross NPAs of banks may rise to 10.1-10.6% by March 2021: ICRA
 Banks’ gross non-performing assets (NPAs) and net NPAs are expected to rise to 10.1-10.6 per
cent and 3.1-3.2 per cent, respectively by March 2021
 The rating agency also expects net NPA to decline to 2.4-2.6 per cent by March 2022.
Ind-Ra revises FY21 GDP contraction to 7.8% on easing pandemic headwinds
 Citing the better-than-expected recovery in second quarter and the faster than anticipated easing of
the pandemic headwinds, India Ratings (Ind-Ra) has projected 7.8 per cent contraction for the
economy for 2020-21
 It now expects third quarter to see contraction at 0.8 per cent and fourth quarter to print in 0.3 per
cent growth as against the earlier expectation of positive numbers only in July-September 2021-22.

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December 2020
Cabinet approves MoU between India and USA in electricity sector
 The Union Cabinet has given its approval for Central Electricity Regulatory Commission’s proposal for
entering into a Memorandum of Understanding 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.
PLI scheme may add USD 520 billion to GDP in 5 years: Report
 The production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme launched to boost local manufacturing may add USD
520 billion to the gross domestic product in the next five years, according to a report by stock
broking firm Sharekhan.
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 Production Linked Incentive Scheme (PLI) offers a production linked incentive to boost domestic manufacturing
and attract large investments in mobile phone manufacturing and specified electronic components
 The scheme shall extend an incentive of 4% to 6% on incremental sales (over base year) of goods
manufactured in India and covered under target segments, to eligible companies, for a period of 5 years
PLI Ministry: Ministry of Electronics & IT Launch Year: 2020
Curbing stubble burning menace: Punjab gives nod to IOCL biogas plant
 In a bid to help manage paddy stubble, the Cabinet of Punjab gave in-principle approval to Indian Oil
Corporation Limited (IOCL) for setting up a compressed biogas (CBG) plant at Rakhra in Patiala.
 The CBG plant will be developed in collaboration with Sugarfed.
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 This is likely to check the menace of the burning of paddy stubble.
Karnataka Government unveils Bengaluru Mission 2022
 The Bengaluru Mission 2022 aims at making Bengaluru a world-class city in all aspects.
 The mission’s objectives include enabling faster commute, re-establishing the Garden City’s
reputation under Green Bengaluru, connecting with the people with unified digital platform, ensuring
efficient and scientific waste management, and creating spaces to showcase culture, heritage as well
as other specialties of the city.
Skill India Establishes First Centre of Excellence for Skill Development in Power Sector
 The Centre will be in the campus of National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE) located at Gwal
Pahari, Gurugram (Haryana).
ADB, India sign facility to support preparation of infrastructure projects in Tripura
 The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of India has signed a $4.21 million
project readiness financing (PRF) facility for the preparation of infrastructure development
projects in Tripura.
 This is ADB’s first PRF facility for a state in the north-eastern region of India.

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December 2020
ADB approves $231 Million Loan for a Hydropower Project in Assam
 The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $231 million loan to develop the Lower Kopili
Hydroelectric Power (LKHEP) facility in Assam.
 The funding is the third and largest tranche of the $300 million allocated under the Assam
Power Sector Investment Program approved by ADB in 2014
Asian Water Development Outlook 2020 released by ADB
 Despite considerable achievements in the asian region since the Asian Water Development Outlook
(AWDO) 2013 edition, 1.5 billion people in rural areas and 0.6 billion in urban areas still lack
adequate water supply and sanitation.
 Sound water management and access to reliable service delivery remain vital to inclusive
economic growth and social well-being, especially after the coronavirus disease (COVID-19)
pandemic.
 AWDO assesses national water security across the Asia and the Pacific, with a focus on five
key dimensions: rural, economic, urban, environmental, and water-related disaster
China and India Poised to Lead Global Electricity Demand in 2021: IEA Report
 The IEA’s ‘Electricity Market Report’ states that the COVID-19 crisis will reduce global electricity
demand in 2020 by 2%.
 Two-thirds of the additional demand in 2021 is expected in the Asia Pacific region. Most of the
demand will be from China and India, which are expected to grow by 5.2% (350 TWh) and 3.6% (40
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TWh), respectively, compared to 2020.

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International Energy Headquarters: Paris, France Chairman: FatihBirol
Agency (IEA)
Human Freedom Index 2020
 The Human Freedom Index 2020, a worldwide ranking of civil, economic and personal freedom,
has placed India at the 111th spot out of 162 countries. India ranked 94 on the index in 2019.
 New Zealand, Switzerland and Hong Kong bagged the first three spots. War-torn Syria ranked
the last on the list.
 India’s scored 6.30 out of 10 in personal freedom and 6.56 in economic freedom. The country’s
overall human freedom score was 6.43.
 The index was published by American think tank Cato Institute and Fraser Institute in Canada.
It takes into account 76 indicators of personal, civil, and economic freedoms to rank 162 countries
from 2008 to 2018. The institutes noted that the world has seen a notable decline in personal freedom
since 2008.
At $8.1 billion in November, FPI inflows highest in 12 years: Report
 Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs), which own more than 24 per cent of the domestic market, pumped
in a record USD 8.1 billion in November 2020, highest in 12 years, as per Bank of America
Securities report

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December 2020
QCI Launches Recognition Scheme for Hygiene Rating Audit Agencies
 On the behest of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), the Quality Council of
India (QCI) has come out with a recognition scheme for approval of hygiene rating audit agencies to
scale up the hygiene rating.
 Under the FSSAI's initiative of 'Food Hygiene Rating Scheme' the food establishments are
rated based on food hygiene and safety conditions observed at the time of audit.
 The hygiene rating will be in the form of smileys (1 up to 5) and the certificate should be displayed
prominently in the consumer-facing area.
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FSSAI Headquarters: New Delhi Chairperson: Rita Teaotia
Human Development Index 2019
 India ranked 131 among 189 countries on the Human Development Index (HDI) for 2019,
slipping two places from the previous year, according to the Human Development Report (HDR)
2020 released by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).
 Norway topped the index, followed by Ireland and Switzerland.
 HDI measures average achievement on three basic aspects of human development, life expectancy,
education, and per capita income.
 India’s gross national income (GNI) per capita on the basis of purchasing power parity (PPP),
too, fell from $6,829 in 2018 to $6,681 in 2019.
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 The Human Development Index (HDI) is a summary measure of average achievement in key dimensions of
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human development: a long and healthy life, being knowledgeable and have a decent standard of living. The
HDI is the geometric mean of normalized indices for each of the three dimensions. It is released by UNDP
 Pakistani economist Mahbub ul Haq created HDI in 1990 which was further used to measure the country's
development by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).
Ease of Doing Business survey 2020
 After China and three other countries submitted data that was inappropriately altered with regard to
the Ease of Doing Business Report, the World Bank has now corrected the data. In the updated
report, China has slipped seven positions below to 85.
 Besides China, the ranking of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Azerbaijan has also gone
down in the corrected list.
 India had jumped 14 positions to be ranked 63rd among 190 countries in the World Bank's
ease of doing business 2020 survey, and its position remain unchanged in the updated list
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 Ease of doing business is an index published by the World Bank. It is an aggregate figure that includes
different parameters which define the ease of doing business in a country.
 It is computed by aggregating the distance to frontier scores of different economies. The distance to frontier
score uses the ‘regulatory best practices’ for doing business as the parameter and benchmark economies
according to that parameter.

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December 2020
World Bank Signs $500 Million Project to Develop Green, Resilient and Safe Highways in India
 The Government of India and the World Bank have signed a $500 million project to build safe and
green national highway corridors in the states of Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh
and Andhra Pradesh.
 The project will also enhance the capacity of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways
(MoRTH) in mainstreaming safety and green technologies.
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World Bank Headquarters: Washington, D.C., US President: David. Malpass
CO2 emissions from building sector highest in 2019: UNEP Report
 According to the 2020 Global Status Report for Building and Construction by United Nations
Environment Programme (UNEP), the building sector emitted more than a third of global energy-
related carbon dioxide (CO2) — a record 10 gigatonnes (Gt).
 The CO2 emissions increased due to a high proportion of fossil fuels used for power
generation
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UNEP Headquarters: Nairobi, Kenya Executive Director: Inger Andersen
India will have 350 million 5G users by end of 2026, says Ericsson Mobility Report
 According to Ericsson Mobility Report, four out of every ten mobile subscriptions in 2026 will be
5G.
 The report estimates that by the end of 2020, over one billion people all over the world will have
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access to 5G coverage
 According to the report, 5G will represent around 27 per cent of mobile subscriptions in India at
the end of 2026, that is estimated at 350 million subscriptions.
BHEL extends support to indigenous suppliers to develop self-reliance in manufacturing
 State-run engineering firm BHEL has said that it is interested in indigenisation of more than 300
items across nine categories with an intent to getting imported items manufactured in India.
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BHEL Headquarters:New Delhi Chairman & MD: Atul Sobti
ADB grants $40-million loan to Northern Arc Capital to help small borrowers
 The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has signed a $40-million loan (in rupee equivalent) to
Northern Arc Capital (NACL) to support the livelihoods of microfinance borrowers and micro,
small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in India.
Pillai panel begins verification of benefit rates under RoDTEP
 A three-member committee under former home and commerce secretary GK Pillai has sought
evidence and data from the industry to justify their claim of the benefit needed to be given under the
proposed tax neutralisation.

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December 2020
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Remission of Duties or Taxes on Export Products (RoDTEP) is a new scheme to replace the existing MEIS
scheme for exports of goods from India,which aims to reimburse the taxes and duties incurred by exporters such as
local taxes, coal cess, mandi tax, electricity duties and fuel used for transportation, which are not exempted or
refunded under any other existing scheme. It is a scheme for exporters to make Indian products cost-competitive
and create a level playing field for them in the global market.
RoDTEP Ministry: Ministry of Commerce & Industry Effective From: January 2021
Centre bats for special courts to settle disputes related to infra project contracts
 The Law Ministry has asked states to set up special courts to settle disputes related to
infrastructure project contracts under a law which was amended two years ago, saying it is very
important in improving the 'Ease of Doing Business' ranking of both India and states
 Section 20 B of the Specific Relief (Amendment) Act, 2018, provides for designated courts. But
the Law Ministry wants a designated court to function as a dedicated court on special days.
PE, M&A deals in India during November 2020 highest in last 5 years
 According to Grant Thornton Bharat’s monthly deal tracker report, a total of 149 private equity (PE)
and merger and acquisitions (M&As) transactions in India happened in November 2020 —
highest in terms of volume since November 2015.
SIDBI’s state-wise MSME programme partners with Assam
 Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) will be deploying a ‘project management unit’
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(PMU) in the northeastern state of Assam to develop the local MSME ecosystem
 The partnership with Assam is part of SIDBI’s initiative to set-up such PMU in 11 states including
Gujarat, Odisha, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, New Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh,
Uttarakhand, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka to strengthen MSMEs in respective states.
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SIDBI Headquarters: Lucknow CMD– Mohammad Mustafa
FADA, ASDC join hands with Google India to bridge digital skills gap in auto dealerships
 The Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) and Automotive Skills Development
Council (ASDC) have tied up with Google India to bridge the digital skills gap in the country’s auto
dealerships and build their capacity in this critical growth driver.
 They aim to prepare over 20,000 auto dealerships
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Google Headquarters: California, United States CEO: Sundar Pichai
Gold imports dip 40% in Apr-Nov 2020 to USD 12.3 bn
 Gold imports, which have a bearing on the current account deficit, fell 40 per cent to USD 12.3
billion during April-November2020 due to fall in demand in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic,
according to data from the commerce ministry.

Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
MCA provides additional relaxations to independent directors for Online Proficiency Test
 In further relief to independent directors, the ministry of corporate affairs (MCA) relaxed both the
requirements and timelines for the online self-assessment proficiency test such directors must
take under the amended Companies (Appointment and Qualification of Directors) Rules, 2014.
o Where earlier, individuals had to take the test within a year from the inclusion of their name in
the MCA’s databank of independent directors, the amended rules extended this time frame to
two years.
o Further, the passing criteria for the test has been reduced to 50% from 60% before
Corporate Affairs Ministry defers implementation of CARO order
 The government has deferred implementation of the strict disclosure requirements for auditor
reports of companies by one year, a move that comes amid the disruptions caused by the
coronavirus pandemic.
 Now, the Companies (Auditor's Report) Order (CARO), 2020 would come into effect from
financial years commencing on or after April 1, 2021
 The CARO requires companies to comply with stricter disclosure requirements on various issues,
including whistleblower complaints and default in repayment of borrowings.
Pensioners can submit life certificates till February 28 2021: Minister of State for Personnel
 In a major relief to central government pensioners amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the date for
submission of life certificate has been extended up to February 28 next year
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 This decision has been taken considering all the sensitivities to avoid pandemic risk emanating
from gathering of crowds at the pension disbursing banks
Reliance, BP start gas production from deep-water KG-D6 field
 Reliance Industries (RIL) and BP have started gas production from the ultra-deep water gas field
in the KG-D6 Block of the Krishna Godavari basin on the east coast of India.
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Reliance Industries Headquarters:Mumbai CEO: Mukesh Ambani
Covid crisis: Women likely to have even less bargaining power in labour market post pandemic
 A recent study released by LinkedIn, based on internal data for India, found women’s
participation in the labor force actually increased by 7% between April and July2020. But this
only applies to jobs in the formal, white-collar, urban economy — a tiny fraction of the labor market
Ministry of Ports identifies new routes for RO-RO, RO-PAX & Ferry Services
 Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW) has identified domestic locations namely
Hazira, Okha, Somnath Temple, DIU, PIPAVAV, Dahej, Mumbai/JNPT, Jamnagar, Kochi, Ghogha,
Goa, Mundra and Mandvi and 6 International routes, connecting 4 international destinations namely
Chattogram (Bangladesh), Seychelles (East Africa) Madagascar (East Africa) and Jaffna (Sri Lanka)

Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
from Indian major coastal port towns for the commencement of ferry services through inland
waterways.
Restructuring of networks amid pandemic made India vulnerable to ransomware attacks
 The sudden rush to provide remote access to employees by restructuring network and
security systems during the lockdown made India vulnerable to ransomware attacks in the third
quarter of current year, according to cyber security firm Check Point Software Technologies.
 According to the company’s research, India was ranked second after the US among the top 5
countries most affected by ransomware attacks in the third quarterof 2020.
Skill India undertakes Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) for workers
 Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) is conducting a Special Recognition of

Prior Learning (RPL) program for workers, with Department of Panchayati Raj (DoPR) in Chandauli
and Varanasi.
 The implementing agency for the programme is National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC)
Government for the first time lays down Rights to the Electricity Consumers
 Union Ministry of Power has promulgated rules laying down the rights of power consumers in the
country through Electricity (Rights of Consumers) Rules, 2020
 Rules shall ensure that new electricity connections, refunds and other services are given in a
time bound manner. Wilful disregard to consumer rights will result in levying penalties on
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service providers
 Consumers to have the option to apply for new electricity connection and pay bills online
 Consumers to get electricity connection in prescribed timeline which is 7 days in Metro cities,
15 days in other cities and 30 days in rural areas; Violations to result in penalties
 If the consumers receive electric bills with a delay of more than 60-days, they will be eligible for
a rebate of up to 5%.
Canada's PSP, US' DFC, Axis Bank invest USD 107 million in NIIF's master fund
 The National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) has announced a USD 107 million
investment into its 'master fund' from Canada's PSP Investments, US International Development
Finance Corporation (DFC) and domestic private sector lender Axis Bank
 After the new commitment from the three investors, the overall size of the 'master fund' has
touched USD 2.34 billion and NIIF also announced the final close of the master fund.
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 National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF), which is a collaborative investment platform for
international and Indian investors anchored by the Government of India,
 Presebtly, it manages over USD 4.4 billion of equity capital commitments across its three funds.
India to witness double-digit growth in next fiscal: Report
 The Indian economy is expected to record a double-digit growth at 10 per cent in 2021-22,
according to the report titled ‘Voice of Asia’ prepared by Deloitte

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December 2020
 According to the report, three drivers — inclusive job growth, a robust services sector rebound
and a sustained recovery in private demand — will ensure a sustained economic revival and
rehabilitation.
Govt to set up advisory board to determine national minimum wage
 The labour ministry has notified setting up the central advisory board for determining national floor
level minimum wage, thus implementing a part of the Code on Wages even as the entire code is
expected to come into force from April 2021
 The states can also form their respective advisory boards to kick-start the process of wage
determination.
India lines up fresh plan to break into top 50 nations in Ease of doing business index
 The country’s rank has leaped from 142nd in the 2015 report to 63rd in the • World Bank’s
ease of doing business index released in 2019. But its lacklustre performance in six of the 10
indicators delayed the achievement of its target of being in top 50.
 In registering property, the government intends to ensure that the number of days taken for it is
brought down to less than 38 from 58
 In “paying taxes” (India was ranked 115th in it), the government intends to reduce the average
time taken from 252 hours a year to 152 hours
US Treasury Department adds India to the monitoring list of currency manipulators

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 The US has asked India to allow the exchange rate to move to reflect economic fundamentals
and limit foreign exchange intervention.
 The US Treasury Department added India to the monitoring list countries which are branded as
currency manipulators
ESG in financial services sector will become extremely crucial post pandemic: EY research
 Financial services companies will have to increase their focus on Environmental, Social, and
Corporate Governance (ESG) and will also have to share data around it with all its stakeholders in
the post Covid pandemic time, according to an EY research
 ESG disclosures are yet not mandatory in India, though some large companies do so. India
mandates companies to invest at least 2% of the annual profits towards CSR or corporate social
responsibility. ESG is over and above CSR.
India's quarterly GDP contraction to end in December quarter: NCAER
 The quarterly contraction in India’s growth in the ongoing fiscal is set to end in the third quarter with a
marginally positive 0.1% growth, according to the National Council for Applied Economic Research
(NCAER)
 While the think tank saw headline inflation declining to 6.6% in December2020, it projected
inflation to stay elevated at 6.7% for the fiscal, over the Reserve Bank of India’s target band.
 The NCAER projected the combined fiscal deficit of the Centre and states at 14.2% of GDP

Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
First P2P Solar Power Trading In South Asia Launched By UPPCL
 Uttar Pradesh has become the first state to launch blockchain-enabled solar power trading in
India and South Asia in a project led by India Smart Grid Forum (ISGF) with Australian technology
company Power Ledger.
 The project is implemented by ISGF and Power Ledger’s energy trading software.
JSA II: “Catch the Rain” Awareness Generation Campaign launched
 National Water Mission(NWM) has launched a campaign Catch the rain” with tag line “catch the
rain, where it falls, when it falls” in order to nudge all stake-holders to create Rain Water Harvesting
Structures (RWHS) suitable to the climatic conditions and sub-soil strata to store rain water
India suspends all flights to and from United Kingdom
 As per Ministry of Civil Aviation, all flights originating from U.K into India will be suspended temporarily
from 22nd December to 31st December 2020. The Government of India has decided to take all
necessary precautions as a result of the situation arising out of the spread of a new strain of
coronavirus in some countries.
IndiGrid Collaborates with IBM for Digital Transformation of Critical Power Infrastructure
 India’s infrastructure investment trust has announced a multi-year collaboration agreement to build
an artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled asset management platform.
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 India Grid Trust(IndiGrid) will deploy a hybrid cloud solution with IBM Maximo Application Suite
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IndiGrid Headquarters: Delhi CEO: Harsh Shah
8th Instalment of Rs. 6,000 crore released to the States to meet the GST compensation shortfall
 The Ministry of Finance has released the 8th weekly instalment of Rs. 6,000 crore to the States to
meet the GST compensation shortfall.
 The Government of India had set up a special borrowing window in October, 2020 to meet the
estimated shortfall of Rs.1.10 lakh crore in revenue arising on account of implementation of
GST.
Air Quality Commission directs for 100 percent switching over of industries in Delhi to PNG.
 Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) and Government of NCT of Delhi were asked to work in
close coordination with the industrial units so as to target completion of infrastructure works and
complete switch over to PNG, by all the identified industrial units in Delhi, by 31st January,
2021.
Karnataka govt launches affidavit-based approval system for ease of doing business
 In an effort to enhance the ease of doing business in Karnataka; Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa has
launched the affidavit-based approval system (ABAS)

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December 2020
 ABAS is launched as a part of the amended Karnataka Industrial (Facilitation) Act and will
enable investors to establish a business without multiple clearances for the first 3 years.
Piyush Goyal unveils India-Australia Economic Strategy Report 2020
 The report was prepared by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in collaboration with
KPMG
 The Minister of Commerce & Industry mentioned that with 3B objectives: Bigger trade basket -
Better trade basket – Balanced trade relationship, both countries can see huge & exponential
growth in our trade relationship.
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CII Headquarters: New Delhi President: Uday Kotak
PM to launch Global Housing Technology challenge in January 2021
 PM to launch Global Housing Technology challenge in January to build bank of new construction
technologies which would include six cities, six technologies and six construction companies
and would provide India a basket of new technologies to build cost effective houses in less time.
Insolvency and bankruptcy code (IBC) suspension extended till March 31
 The government has decided to extend the suspension of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code
(IBC) till March 31, 2021, to help businesses cope with the lingering difficulties posed by the COVID-
19 pandemic
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Dharmendra Pradhan dedicates the 8th producing Basin of India - Bengal Basin, to the nation
 Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) Limited has begun crude oil production from the
Asokenagar-1 well, Bengal Basin in 24 Paragana district.
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ONGC Headquarters: Delhi Chairman: Shashi Shanker
Vice President inaugurates the IndUS Entrepreneurs (TiE) Global Summit-2020 virtually
 The Vice President, M. Venkaiah Naidu inaugurates the IndUS Entrepreneurs (TiE) Global
Summit-2020 (TGS 2020) virtually.
 The theme of TGS 2020 is “Entrepreneurship 360”.
PwC, UNICEF and YuWaah partner to redefine education
 PwC India has collaborated with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and YuWaah
(Generation Unlimited in India) to upskill 300 million young Indians over the next 10 years.
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UNICEF Headquarters: New York Executive Director: Henrietta H. Fore
West Bengal cabinet approves construction of 'state's first deep sea port in Tajpur'
 It will be constructed at a cost of Rs 15,000crore and it may generate employment for 25000
people.

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December 2020
UP to promote river tourism, signs MoU with IWAI
 The Uttar Pradesh Tourism Department has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)
with Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) to promote and encourage tourism industry by
developing river tourism in the state.
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Inland Waterways Authority Headquarters: Noida
of Chairman: Amita Prasad
India (IWAI)
Maharashtra Govt signs MoU with Cornell University to train entrepreneurs
 Maharashtra government signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Cornell

University in New York to set up a world-class incubation centre in Maharashtra
 60 entrepreneurs will receive training, guidance and financial and administrative support
every year at the incubation centre from the university.
Govt launches socio-economic profiling program for PM SVANidhi scheme
 The Central government has launched a programme for socio-economic profiling of the
beneficiaries of the PM Street Vendor’s Atmanirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) and their families.
 Quality Council of India (QCI) has been appointed as the implementing partner for the
programme.
Learn Along
PM SVANidhi Scheme aims at providing affordable working capital loan to street vendors to resume their
livelihoods that have been adversely affected due to Covid-19 lockdown. This scheme targets to benefit over 50
lakh Street Vendors www.i xamBee.c om
PM-SVANidhi Ministry: Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs) Launch Year: 2020
PM SVANidhi: Modi govt’s loan to street vendors up 700% in 3 months; SBI remains top lender
 PM SVANidhi has enabled disbursement of 11,80,589 loan applications involving Rs 1,160 crore
as of December 22, 2020, according to the data available on the scheme’s website
 While 10.86 lakh applications were disbursed by public banks, 57,664 applications were
disbursed by the regional rural banks. MFIs disbursed 17,214 applications and private banks
disbursed 13,082 applications so far.
 Moreover, among the top 10 lending institutions were SBI with 3.26 Lakh disbursed applications
followed by 1.58 lakh by Union Bank of India
WHO, IFRC sign MoU on emergency medical teams
 The World Health Organization and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red
Crescent Societies (IFRC) launched a new collaboration to strengthen the delivery of
emergency medical and health services during humanitarian crises.
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WHO Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland Director general: Tedros Adhanom
Amazon and CII join hands to bring e-commerce gains to MSMEs in 10 states
 Amazon and CII have teamed to train and educate MSMEs on building and scaling their
business in India and globally through technology and e-commerce adoption.
Learn Along
Amazon Headquarters: Washington, US CEO: Jeff Bezos

Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
Exim Bank extends $448-mn line of credit to Uzbekistan
 Export-Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) has extended a $448-million line of credit (LOC)
for various infrastructure projects in Uzbekistan.
Learn Along
Exim Bank is a specialized financial institution wholly owned by the Government of India with presence in Indian
and foreign cities around the world. It was set up in 1982, for the purpose of financing, facilitating and promoting
India’s international trade
Exim Bank Headquarters: Mumbai MD: David Rasquinha
HCL Tech’s Roshini Nadar India’s richest women in 2020
 HCL Technologies’ Chairperson Roshini Nadar Malhotra topped the Kotak Wealth Hurun
Wealthy Women 2020 list, with total wealth of Rs 54,850 crore
 According to the report, the most affected segments by COVID-19 pandemic were India’s s
entrepreneurs who faced liquidity issues, demand erosion, manpower constraints, etc.
Flipkart partially spins off PhonePe, Binny Bansal to join board of fintech company
 E-commerce major Flipkart has announced a partial spin-off of PhonePe as the digital payment
firm raises USD 700 million in funding, valuing it at USD 5.5 billion.
Learn Along
Flipkart Headquarters: Bengaluru CEO: Kalyan Krishnamurthy
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Shantanu Narayen, Ajay Banga named among Fortune Businessperson of the Year 2020
 Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen (ranked 8th) and Mastercard CEO Ajay Banga (ranked 9th) have
been named by Fortune among the Businessperson of the Year 2020, a list topped by Tesla CEO
Elon Musk
India to become 5th largest economy in 2025, 3rd largest by 2030
 India, which appears to have been pushed back to being the world's sixth biggest economy in 2020,
will again overtake the UK to become the fifth largest in 2025 and race to the third spot by
2030, as per Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR)
 India had overtaken the UK in 2019 to become the fifth largest economy in the world but has
been relegated to 6th spot in 2020.
Government extends deadline for use of FASTag till February 15
 The road transport ministry has extended the deadline for 100% collection of toll charges on the
National Highway (NH) network through FASTag till February 15, 2021
 Earlier, Union Minister for Road Transport, Highways and MSMEs Nitin Gadkari announced that
FASTag is being made mandatory for all vehicles in the country from new year.
o The FASTags were launched in 2016
 As per Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, since 1st December 2017, the FASTag had been made
mandatory for all registration of new four wheeled Vehicles and is being supplied by the Vehicle
Manuracturer or their dealers. It had further been mandated that the renewal of fitness certificate will

Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
be done only after the fitment of FASTag for the Transport Vehicles. For National Permit Vehicles, the
fitment of FASTag was mandated since 1st October 2019.
 It has also been mandated that a valid FASTag is mandatory while getting a new 3rd Party
Insurance wherein the details of FASTag ID shall be captured.
Cabinet approves Revision in guidelines for providing Direct to Home (DTH) Services in India
 The Union Cabinet has approved the proposal for revision of the guidelines for obtaining license for
providing Direct-To-Home (DTH) broadcasting service in India. The salient features of the decision
are:
o License for the DTH will be issued for a period of 20 years in place of present 10 years.
Further the period of License may be renewed by 10 years at a time.
o License fee has been revised from 10% of GR to 8% of Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR).
AGR will be calculated by deduction of GST from GR.
o License Fee will be collected on quarterly basis in lieu of presently annual basis.
o DTH operators shall be permitted to operate to a maximum of 5% of its total
channel carrying capacity as permitted platform channels.
o Sharing of Infrastructure between DTH operators. DTH operators, willing to share DTH
platform and transport stream of TV channels, on voluntary basis, will be allowed.
o The cap of 49% FDl in the existing DTH guidelines will be aligned with the extant
Government (DPIIT's) policy on FDl as amended from time to time.
o The decision will come into effect as per revised DTH guidelines are issued by the Ministry of
Information and Broadcasting.
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Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh take the lead in undertaking Urban Local Bodies reforms
 The two States have successfully completed the set of reforms in functioning of Urban Local Bodies
(ULBs), as specified by the Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance.
 To motivate the States to undertake reforms in various citizen centric sectors, the Ministry of Finance
has linked a part of additional borrowing permission granted to the States to completion of reforms.
 The States get permission to raise additional funds equivalent to 0.25 percent of Gross State
Domestic Product (GSDP) on completion of reforms in each sector. The four citizen centric areas
identified for reforms were
o Implementation of One Nation One Ration Card System,
o Ease of doing business reform
o Urban Local body/ utility reforms and
o Power Sector reforms.
Nitin Gadkari inaugurates and lays foundation stone for 18 highway projects in Rajasthan
 These projects carry a road length of nearly 1127 kilometers, involving construction value of Rs. 8,341
crore. These projects will ease the transportation of commercial goods within and across the
State, will improve connectivity at the borders, enhance employment opportunities, save time
and fuel, improve tourism and infra development, and will result in providing connectivity for
agricultural produce up to larger markets.
 All districts of the State are now connected with National Highways

Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
Cabinet approves Deepening and Optimization of Inner Harbour Facilities at Paradip Port
 The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by Prime Minister has approved the project
'Deepening and Optimization of Inner Harbour Facilities including Development of Western
Dock on Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) basis under Public-Private Partnership (PPP) mode
to handle cape size vessels at Paradip Port
 The concession period shall be 30 years from the date of award of concession
Learn Along
Paradip Port Trust (PPT), a Major Port under Government of India and administered under the Major Port Trusts
Act, 1963, was commissioned in 1966 as a mono commodity port for export of iron ore
Cabinet approves Industrial Corridor nodes at Krishnapatnam and Tumakuru under CBIC
 The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved proposals of Department of Promotion of
Industry & Internal Trade (DPIIT) for construction of various trunk infrastructure components for:
o Krishnapatnam Industrial Area in Andhra Pradesh with an estimated cost of the project of Rs.
2,139.44 crore;
o Tumakuru Industrial Area in Karnataka with an estimated cost of Rs. 1,701.81 crore;
o Multi Modal Logistics Hub (MMLH) and Multi Modal Transport Hub (MMTH) at Greater Noida in
Uttar Pradesh with an estimated cost of Rs. 3,883.80 crore.
 These projects have been planned on the backbone of multi modal connectivity infrastructure
 These projects will generate ample employment opportunities through industrialisation
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Envisioned on the backbone of major transportation corridors like Eastern & Western Dedicated Freight Corridors,
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Expressways and National Highways, proximity to ports, airports, etc., the objective of Industrial Corridor
Programme is the creation of greenfield industrial cities with sustainable, ‘plug n play’, ICT enabled utilities to
facilitate the manufacturing investments into the country by providing quality, reliable, sustainable and resilient
infrastructure to industries
Cabinet approves modified scheme to enhance ethanol distillation capacity in the country
 This will increase income of farmers as other feed stocks such as cereals (rice, wheat, barley, corn
& sorghum), sugarcane and sugar beet to be used for production of ethanol
 For benefiting a large population of farmers, Government is encouraging distilleries to produce
ethanol from maize & rice available with FCI
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 Government has fixed a target of 10% blending of fuel grade ethanol with petrol by 2022, 15% blending by 2026
& 20% blending by 2030.
 Government also planning to prepone achievement of 20% blending target by year 2025
DGT - MSDE inks pact with MICROSOFT and NASSCOM FOUNDATION for digital skilling
 The Directorate General of Training (DGT) has joined hands with Microsoft and NASSCOM
Foundation to provide a digital content for ITI students and also future-ready employability
skilling program for upskilling and reskilling.
 Nearly 1,20,000 students in around 3000 ITIs across India can be benefited by this digitized e-
learning module via the Bharatskills portal.

Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
Learn Along
 Directorate General of Training (DGT) has launched an online learning platform called the Bharatskills in Oct
2019, a Central Repository for skills providing easy access for the trainees and trainers of the ITI ecosystem, to
access updated curriculums and course content of all courses under the Craftsmen Training Scheme (CTS),
Question Banks, mock/practice papers, learning videos, etc., hence enabling anytime, anywhere learning
outside the classrooms.
 This platform also presents a unique access to a centralized, scalable and a thriving support ecosystem through
its industrial partners for the students and teachers who can now learn the newer IR 4.0 skills to meet the
demands of the industry.
Thaawarchand Gehlot Launches Mobile Application “Swachhata Abhiyan”
 Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Thaawarchand Gehlot has launched a Mobile
Application “Swachhata Abhiyan”
 “Swachhata Abhiyan” mobile app has been developed to identify and geotag the data of insanitary
latrines and manual scavengers
Skill Ministry and Tata launch first batch of Indian Institute of Skills, Mumbai
 With the vision of propelling India to the forefront of skill development and job creation under
Skill India Mission and to provide an impetus to Skill India programme through private sector
participation, the first batch of trainings at the Tata-Indian Institute of Skills, Mumbai was launched
 The institute is a joint initiative between Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship
(MSDE), Government of India and Tata Indian Institute of Skills
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Five-member NCLAT bench declines to reconsider decision on insolvency filing time frame
 A five-member bench of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) has turned down a
reference made by a three-member bench seeking reconsideration of an earlier decision
related to deciding the time frame for initiating insolvency proceedings against a company.
 The five-member bench headed by Acting Chairperson Justice Bansi Lal Bhat upheld that
acceptability of debt entered in the balance sheet of a company will not amount to
acknowledgment of debt for deciding the time frame for initiating insolvency proceedings.
 The five-member bench’s ruling in March 2020 held that the balance sheet/ annual return of a
corporate debtor cannot be treated to be an acknowledgement under Section 18 of the
Limitation Act. It was related to the matter of V Padmakumar Vs Stressed Assets Stabilisation Fund.
 As per Section 18, a fresh period of limitation shall be computed from the time when the
acknowledgement was signed before the expiration of the prescribed period. The Limitation Act
is also applicable for proceedings under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code.
Lenders extend ICA for Reliance Home Finance resolution till March 31
 Lenders to troubled mortgage firm Reliance Home Finance have extended the inter-creditor
agreement (ICA) for another three months.
o Reliance Home Finance, part of Anil Ambani-promoted Reliance Group, recently got bids from six
suitors as part of the debt resolution process.
 Lenders have decided to further extend the bidding timeline till January 31, 2021, in order to
accommodate the four non-compliant bidders

Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
 As per June 7 circular of the RBI, lenders can extend the time period of the pact if an account
has not been resolved within 180 days of signing ICA.
Fund raising via equity issues jumps 116% to Rs 1.78 lakh cr in 2020
 Despite the entire 2020 being overshadowed by the pandemic, an all-time high fund raising
through public equity markets at Rs 1,77,468 crore. This was 116 per cent higher than Rs 82,241
crore was raised in 2019, according to a report by Prime Database.
 The largest IPO in 2020 was from SBI Cards for Rs 10,341 crore
India & Japan boost partnership in manufacturing sector
 India and Japan has taken a key step towards widening their economic partnership in the steel
sector and steel industry which will boost India’s manufacturing industry.
Bangladesh reduces import duty on rice to 25%
 Bangladesh has reduced import duty on rice to 25% from 62.5%.

 This will pave the way for Indian rice exporters, particularly from West Bengal, to export non-
basmati rice to the country and fetch better prices for the grain.
35 lakh jobs gone in November, unemployment shoots up
 The employment condition in India fell from the growth trajectory since the beginning of the fiscal’s
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third quarter. After the employment fell 20.3 per cent on-year in Q1 amid the nationwide
lockdown, it recovered to a contraction of 3.5 per cent in Q2 as the economy started to
recover.
 However, this improvement lost momentum in Q3, even as the economy showed more signs of
recovery. While 50,000 jobs were lost in October 2020, November witnessed a much higher
shedding of jobs at 35 lakhs, according to CMIE’s Consumer Pyramids Household Survey.
 While the employment rate rose marginally from 37.4 per cent in November 2020 to a three-week
average of 37.5 per cent, the unemployment rate shot up from 6.5 per cent to 9.5 per cent in the
same duration.
India-Australia ties become comprehensive strategic partnership in pandemic-riddled 2020
 India-Australia relations touched a new level with both the countries elevating their ties to a
“comprehensive strategic partnership”, signing key agreements including a landmark pact for
reciprocal access to military bases against the backdrop of their frosty relations with China.
 India and Australia, during the virtual bilateral summit between Modi and Morrison in June 2020,
decided to upgrade their 2+2 dialogue featuring their foreign and defence secretaries to the ministerial
level, sign the Mutual Logistics Support Agreement (MLSA) and another pact on cooperation in the
field of mining and rare earth minerals.

Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
India’s economy could prove to be ‘most resilient’ in subregion over long term: UN
 India’s economy could prove to be the “most resilient” in the subregion of South and South-West
Asia over the long term, according to a report titled ‘Foreign Direct Investment Trends And
Outlook In Asia And The Pacific 2020/2021’ by the United Nations Economic and Social
Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP)
o India’s positive but lower economic growth post COVID-19 pandemic and the country’s
large market will continue to attract investments.
 As per the report, inward FDI flows to South and South-West Asia slightly decreased by 2 per
cent in 2019, from USD 67 billion in 2018 to USD 66 billion in 2019.
o The growth, however, was mainly driven by India, which accounted for 77 per cent of the
total inflows to the subregion and received USD 51 billion in 2019, up 20 per cent from the
previous year
 The report said that Asia-Pacific’s share in global FDI inflows dropped from 45 per cent in 2018
to 35 per cent in 2019, and its share in global FDI outflows decelerated from 52 per cent to 41 per
cent.
 The report said that as in previous years, inflows of greenfield investments have been unevenly
distributed across the Asia-Pacific region. In 2019, Vietnam received the second largest share of
inward greenfield investment (11 per cent), followed by India (10 per cent), and Sri Lanka (8 per cent).
Borrowing 43% more in first 9 months, states fall deeper into debt trap
 At Rs 5.55 lakh crore, the states whose finances have been ravaged by the pandemic, have
snapped up as much as 43.5 per cent more debt from the market during the first nine months of
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the current fiscal

 According to an analysis by rating agency ICRA, states had borrowed Rs 3.87 lakh crore in the
first nine months of FY20.
4% inflation target is ideal as it matches average trend since 2014, says RBI paper
 A 4% inflation target for the Indian Monetary Policy Committee is just ideal as it matches with
the average trend inflation measured since 2014, a Reserve Bank of India research paper said.
 The real time estimate of trend inflation was around 5% till the end of 2013, while it fell steadily to
4.1% in the first quarter of 2019, before rising to breach the 6% upper tolerance limit during the last
nine months due to the Covid-led disruptions.
Current account surplus moderates to $15.5 billion in Q2: RBI
 According to RBI, India’s current account surplus moderated to USD 15.5 billion or 2.4 per cent
of the GDP in the July-September quarter of 2020-21.
 The same was at USD 19.2 billion or 3.8 per cent of the GDP in the preceding three months on
account of a rise in the merchandise trade deficit
 A current account deficit of USD 7.6 billion or 1.1 per cent of the GDP was recorded in the second
quarter of 2019-20.
 India recorded a current account surplus of 3.1 per cent of the GDP in the first half of the fiscal
as against a deficit of 1.6 per cent in the corresponding period of 2019-20. This was mainly on
account of a sharp contraction in the trade deficit.

Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
Government outstanding debt swells 5.6% to Rs 107.04 lakh crore in Q2 2020-21
 Total liabilities of the government increased by 5.6 per cent to Rs 107.04 lakh crore at end-
September 2020, according to official data on public debt.
 At the end of the first quarter of 2020-21, the outstanding total debt of the government stood at
Rs 101.3 lakh crore.
 The 5.6 per cent quarter-on-quarter increase reflects pressure on revenue collection and rising
expenditure due to the COVID-19 crisis.
 Public debt accounted for 91.1 per cent of total outstanding liabilities at end-September 2020
 Further as per the latest data released by the Controller General of Accounts (CGA), the Union
government's fiscal deficit has soared to Rs 10.75 lakh crore, or 135.1 per cent of the 2020-21
Budget Estimates (BE), at the end of November 2020, mainly on account of low realisation of
revenue due to disruption in business activities amid the coronavirus pandemic.
o The fiscal deficit at the end of November 2019 had stood at 114.8 per cent of 2019-20 BE.
From pushing electric mobility to boosting textile sector, Niti Aayog charts 2021 reforms map
 Accelerating electric mobility, enhancing the competitiveness of textiles industry, improving

credit access for small and medium enterprises, and pushing water conservation measures will
dominate Niti Aayog's to-do list in 2021 as it seeks to further the government's reforms agenda for
sustained economic growth.
 The government think tank will also look at the possibility of mainstreaming the use of traditional
medicine and promoting integrated medicine practices as has been done in several other countries.
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Record-keeping of cash deals in gems & jewellery trade now a must under PMLA
 Cash transactions in gold, silver, diamonds and other precious stones have come under the
Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) ambit.
 The finance ministry has notified dealers in precious metals and precious stones as "persons carrying
on designated businesses or professions", if they engage in any cash transactions with a customer
"equal to or above Rupees ten lakhs, carried out in a single operation or in several operations that
appear to be linked.
National Consumer Day, 2020 observed
 The Department of Consumer Affairs, Ministry of Consumer Affairs Food and Public Distribution
virtually celebrated the National Consumer Day 2020 on 24th December 2020, with the theme “New
Features of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019” in association with the Centre for Consumer
Studies, Indian Institute of Public Administration
Over 4.15 crore ITRs filed for the 2019-2020 fiscal, as of December 26
 Over 4.15 crore taxpayers have already filed their income tax returns (ITR) for assessment year 2020-
21 (FY2019-20) till December 26, 2020 as per the Income Tax Department
 The deadline to file ITR by individual taxpayers for FY2019-20 ends on December 31, 2020,
while the same for taxpayers whose accounts require to be audited is January 31, 2021.

Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
442 infrastructure projects show cost overruns of Rs 4.34 lakh crore: MoSPI Report
 As many as 442 infrastructure projects, each worth Rs 150 crore or more, have been hit by cost
overruns of over Rs 4.34 lakh crore, according to a report by Ministry of Statistics and Programme
Implementation (MoSPI
 MoSPI monitors infrastructure projects worth Rs 150 crore and above.
 Total original cost of implementation of the 1,671 projects was Rs 21.21 lakh crore and their
anticipated completion cost is likely to be Rs 25.55 lakh crore, which reflects overall cost overruns
of Rs 4.34 lakh crore (20.49 per cent of original cost)
Finance Ministry gives nod to 8.5% on PF deposits for 2019-20
 The finance ministry has accepted the labour ministry’s proposal for crediting 8.5% interest on
provident fund deposits for 2019-20, a move that will benefit nearly 60 million subscribers of the
Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO).
 EPFO’s Central Board of Trustees, the apex decision-making body under the labour minister,
had in March 2020 approved 8.5% interest rate on EPF for 2019-20. In September, the retirement
fund body had decided to split payment of 8.5% interest into two tranches of 8.15% and 0.35%.
Learn Along
EPFO is a statutory body established by the Employees' Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952
and is under the administrative control of the Ministry of Labour and Employment
EPFO Headquarters: New Delhi Central PF Commissioner: Sunil Barthwal
New Year calendars, pens, bags, diaries gifted or given for brand promotion now under GST
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 Any goods – including even a carry bag-- that are given as brand promotion or on which a company’s
brand is embossed will come under the purview of GST.
FinMin allows Rajasthan to borrow Rs 2,731 crore more post ease of doing business reform
 The Finance Ministry has permitted Rajasthan to borrow an additional Rs 2,731 crore after the state
successfully undertook ease of doing business reforms.
 Rajasthan has now joined the five other states namely, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya
Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Telangana, which have completed the reform facilitating ease of doing
business to be eligible for additional borrowing. These six states have been granted additional
borrowing permission of Rs 19,459 crore.
NTPC declares Dulanga coal mine commercially operational
 State-owned NTPC has said that its Dulanga coal mine is commercially operational from October
1, 2020.
 The central government has allocated nine coal blocks — Pakri-Barwadih, Chatti-Bariatu & Chatti-
Bariatu (South), Kerandari, Dulanga, Talaipalli, Banai, Bhalumuda, Mandakini-B and Badam —
directly to NTPC.

Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
NBCFDC & Apollo Medskills sign an MoU for Deliverance of Vaccine Administration Training
 National Backward Classes Finance and Development Corporation (NBCFDC) under Ministry of
Social Justice and Empowerment & Apollo Medskills have signed a Memorandum of Understanding
(MoU) for deliverance of Vaccine Administration Training to Nurses, Pharmacists belonging to
the Other Backward Classes Communities and Economically Backward Classes persons using
the co-funding of NBCFDC.
Union Ministry of Road Transport extends validity of Vehicular documents till 31st March 2021
 The Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has extended the validity of vehicular
documents like DLs, RCs, Permits etc till 31st Mach 2021 in the light of need to prevent spread of
Covid -19
Centralised investment clearance cell by April 15, 2021
 The Centralised ‘Investment Clearance Cell’, under the proposed single window system, aimed at
facilitating businesses through a one-stop digital platform, is planned to be launched with relevant
Ministries and Departments and select States by April 15, 2021
 The Investment Clearance Cell, which is an integral part of the single window system being worked
out by the Commerce and Industry Ministry, was announced by Finance Minister in Union Budget
of 2020-21.
Telecom industry’s active subscriber tally up by 2.5 mn in October: Report

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 The telecom industry’s ‘active’ subscriber base rose by nearly 2.5 million in October 2020 to touch
about 961 million, and user additions benefited from vanishing impact of SIM consolidation triggered
from tariff hike, according to a latest report by ICICI Securities
US financial body to invest USD 54 mn in India to support critical infrastructure projects
 US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) has announced to invest USD 54 million
in India to support the development of critical infrastructure projects in the country in the wake
of the COVID-19 pandemic.
 It will invest USD 54 million in equity for the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) in
India to support the development of critical infrastructure projects. The financing is part of NIIF's final
round of fund-raising for the fund.
NIIF completes fund raise for $2.3 bn Master Fund in fifth and final round
 National Investment and Infrastructure Fund Ltd (NIIF) has completed fund raising for its NIIF
Master Fund, achieving a rupee equivalent size $2.34 billion.
 The NIIF Master fund primarily invests in operating assets in core infrastructure sectors,
primarily transportation and energy.
Learn Along
National Investment and Infrastructure Fund Limited (NIIFL) is a collaborative investment platform for
international and Indian investors, anchored by the Government of India.

Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
India becomes sixth country to manufacture high power electric locos indigenously
 India has become the sixth country in the world to join the club of countries producing high
horsepower locomotives indigenously
 Indian Railways will deploy these high speed locomotives for operations on major freight
routes, including the Dedicated Freight Corridors (DFCs)
AMP Capital, Sterlite Power tie up for energy transmission projects in India
 Global investment manager AMP Capital and Sterlite Power have entered into a partnership to
develop energy transmission projects in the country with a total equity investment of $300 million.
 They will provide the critical infrastructure required for evacuating power from multiple
renewable energy generation projects and will strengthen the power delivery infrastructure in the
country.
Basmati not registered as local product but Pakistan challenges India claim at EU
 While Pakistan is fighting a case in the European Union against the Indian move to get Basmati
rice registered as its product, the commodity is still not registered as a local product in the
country, according to a media report.
 Laws require that before applying for registration of any product in the international market it has to be
protected under the geographical indication (GI) laws of that country.
 The issue of protecting Basmati rice as a product of Pakistan came to the forefront after India
submitted an application to the European Union claiming sole ownership of the commodity in
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September 2020.
Govt lifts ban on onion exports from January 1, 2021
 The government has decided to lift a ban on onion exports from January 1, 2021 as domestic
supplies improved with fresh crop arrivals and prices remained steady.
 The move comes as a new year gift for farmers, who had called the ban “arbitrary”. It also comes at a
time when protests against the Centre’s farm bills continue unabated
 The government had banned onion exports in September 2020 to contain a spike in domestic
prices. The surge in prices was caused by a massive destruction of crops in states, including
Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat, following heavy monsoon downpours.
India defers certificate requirement for rice export to European countries till July 2021
 India has deferred the requirement of obtaining a certificate of inspection from a government
agency to ship both basmati and non-basmati rice to European countries to July 1, 2021.
 Earlier the date was January 1, 2021
Exports may reach $290 billion by fiscal-end: FIEO
 The country’s exports may reach USD 290 billion by the end of this fiscal as the outbound
shipments were hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic during the first half of the year, as per Federation
of Indian Exports Organisations (FIEO)

Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
 During April-November 2020-21, exports dipped by 17.8 per cent to USD 173.66 billlion. India’s
exports dipped by 4.78 per cent to USD 314.31 billion in 2019-20.
Gujarat to host India’s first Lithium refinery
 India’s first Lithium refinery which will process Lithium ore to produce battery-grade material will be
set up in Gujarat
 Manikaran Power Limited, one of the country’s largest power trading and renewable energy company
will be investing over Rs 1,000 crore to set up this refinery
Haryana cabinet approves new enterprises and employment policy
 The policy aims to establish the state as a competitive and favoured investment destination.
 The Haryana Enterprises and Employment Policy 2020 aims to achieve regional development
and provide livelihood opportunities to its people through resilient economic development
 The objective of the policy is to attract investment of over Rs 1 lakh crore and generate 5 lakh
jobs in the state.
 The cabinet has approved the new policy which will come into effect from January 2021
Kerela government announces Rs 10,000 crore worth development projects in next 100 days
 Kerala has announced Rs 10,000 crore worth development projects would either be completed
or launched in the next 100 days in the state.
 It also enhanced welfare pension and extended the distribution of the free provision kit for ration card
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holders, a hit among the commoners, for another four months from January.
Chhattisgarh signs MoU to set up India's 1st ethanol plant under PPP model
 Chhattisgarh government has signed a contract execution (MoU) for the country's first ethanol plant
to be set up in the state under the public-private partnership (PPP) model.
 The contract was signed by Bhoramdev Cooperative Sugar Factory Kawardha and Chhattisgarh
Distillery Limited's subsidiary NKJ Biofuel for a period of 30 years.
 The establishment of the ethanol plant will generate direct and indirect employment opportunities
and will form the basis for economic prosperity in the region.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah launched several development projects in Manipur
 Amit Shah inaugurated the e-office and Thoubal Multipurpose Project (Thoubal Dam) in Imphal
through virtual mode.
 He also laid the foundation stone of seven major development projects, including the
Churachandpur Medical College, IT-SEZ at Mantripukhri, Manipur Bhawan in Dwarka, New Delhi and
the Integrated Command and Control Center at Imphal

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December 2020
Extension of time limits for income tax returns
 The due date for furnishing of Income Tax Returns for the Assessment Year 2020-21 for the
taxpayers (including their partners) who are required to get their accounts audited and
companies has been further extended to 15th February, 2021.
 The due date for furnishing of Income Tax Returns for the Assessment Year 2020-21 for the
taxpayers who are required to furnish report in respect of international/specified domestic
transactions has been further extended to 15th February, 2021.
 The due date for furnishing of Income Tax Returns for the Assessment Year 2020-21 for the other
taxpayers has been further extended to 10th January, 2021.
Labour Bureau to complete 4 surveys, including one on migrant workers, by October 2021
 According to Labour Ministry, the government will soon launch four pan-India level employment
surveys — on migrant workers, domestic workers, employment generated by professionals
and transport sector — in March and complete these surveys by October, 2021.
 Moreover, the Labour Bureau would also launch an ‘All India Quarterly Survey on Employment
of Enterprises’ that will provide comprehensive data on the employment numbers in both the
organised and unorganised sectors.
E-committee of Supreme court conferred with award for Excellence in Digital Governance
 E-committee of Supreme court of India was conferred with the Platinum award for Excellence in
Digital Governance by the President of India www.i xamBee.c om
Learn Along
E-Courts project visioned and implemented by the eCommittee, Supreme court of India along with Department of
Justice and NIC ( National Information Centre) is a Mission Mode Project of Government of India.
Indian Railway completes successful speed trials of Vistadome Tourist Coaches made by ICF
 In furtherance to the objective of providing world class modern travelling experience for the
passengers, Indian Railways successfully completed the speed trials of the newly designed
Vistadome tourist coach manufactured by Integral Coach Factory (ICF).
 The Vistadom tourist coach is provided with larger viewing area including roof top glasses with
44 seats for passengers with rotation up to180 degree to face the direction of train movement
Indian Railway launches upgraded e-Ticketing Website & Mobile App
 Indian Railways has revamped & upgraded its e-ticketing website and IRCTC Rail Connect Mobile
App, which are used for booking of Railway tickets online
 The booking of meals, retiring rooms and hotels has been integrated and can be directly along with
the tickets
Nashik Valley wines now part of Centre’s ‘One District One Product’ scheme
 Wine from the Nashik valley has been selected by the Department of Promotion of Industry and
Internal Trade (DPIIT) of the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry for its ‘One District, One

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December 2020
Product’ scheme. This is a part of the Union government’s push to promote each district into a
global manufacturing hub and a leading exporter.
 Under this scheme, Nashik’s Valley Wine, which had earlier received the Geographical
Indication (GI) tag, will now come under the PM’s Atmanirbhar Bharat scheme.
Learn Along
To encourage indigenous and specialized products, the UP government was the first state to launch the One
District One Product (ODOP) programme which aims to create product-specific traditional industrial hubs across 75
districts of UP.
PM lays Foundation Stone of AIIMS at Rajkot
 AIIMS Rajkot will boost health infrastructure, medical education and provide employment
opportunities in Gujarat.
 According to Prime Minister, work on 10 New AIIMS and construction of super speciality hospitals are
underway
India commences exports of Moringa powder, keeping in mind the rising global demand
 In a bid to promote Moringa (botanical name Moringa oleifera) products exports from India,
Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) has been
supporting private entities in creating necessary infrastructure
4th Meeting of the India-Sri Lanka Joint Working Group on Fisheries

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 The Fourth Meeting of the India-Sri Lanka Joint Working Group on Fisheries was held through virtual
mode.
 The meeting covered the entire gamut of issues related to fishermen and fishing boats which
have been on the agenda of bilateral discussions between India and Sri Lanka for many years.
Learn Along
The First Meeting of the Joint Working Group was held on 31 December 2016 in New Delhi. The Second Joint
Working Group was held in Colombo on 7 April 2017 while the Third Meeting was held in New Delhi on 13 October
2017.
RIL chairman Mukesh Ambani out from world’s top 10 richest billionaires list
 According to the Bloomberg Billionaire Index, Mukesh Ambani’s current net worth stands at $76.5
billion (Rs 5.63 lakh crore). The RIL chief is at 11th position in the list of richest people in the
world.
 The top five people in the list are Jeff Bezos with a total net worth of $186 billion, Elon Musk with
$160 billion, Bill Gates with $131 billion, Bernard Arnault with $110 billion and Mark Zukerberg with
$101 billion net worth.

Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
NATIONAL
5-member panel formed to oversee construction of new Parliament building
 The Centre has formed a five-member committee to oversee construction of the new Parliament
house and to ensure heritage and aesthetics of the complex are maintained.
 The presentation facilitated by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs saw design elements,
construction work, transplantation of trees, shifting of statues and other issues discussed.
Representatives from design consultant for the project HCP and Tata Projects, which has been
awarded the contract for building the new Parliament, attended the presentation.
 The committee would act as the bridge between the Lok Sabha Secretariat and private
contractor. The construction of the new building is expected to be completed by November 2022.
Foreign Secretary inaugurates 3 schools built under Indian assistance in Nepal’s Gorkha district
 Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla inaugurated three schools built under Indian
assistance in Nepal’s Gorkha district, the epicentre of the 2015 earthquake.
 In April 2015, a devastating earthquake of 7.8 magnitude rocked Nepal.
 The outlay of Indian earthquake-related assistance is USD 1 billion but its true value is not in
monetary terms. It lies in how it has helped communities on the ground.
Learn Along
Nepal Capital: Katmandu Prime minister: K. P. Sharma Oli
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India records largest reductions in malaria cases in South-East Asia: WHO
 According to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) World Malaria Report 2020, India accounted
for the largest absolute reduction in malaria cases in South-East Asia, from approximately 20
million cases in 2000 to 5.6 million in 2019.
 Despite the reduction, India, however, accounted for 88% of malaria cases and 86% of related death
in the region.
 The report said WHO South-East Asia Region accounted for about 3% of the burden of malaria cases
globally. Malaria cases reduced by 73% in the region, from 23 million in 2000 to about 6.3 million in
2019.
Learn Along
WHO Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland Heads: Tedros Adhanom
Govt. announces Rs 900 crore package for COVID-19 Vaccine Development Mission
 The Centre has announced the third stimulus package of Rs 900 crore for the Mission COVID
Suraksha- The Indian COVID-19 Vaccine Development Mission.
 This grant will be provided to the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) for Research and
Development of Indian COVID-19 vaccines with end-to-end focus from preclinical development
through clinical development and manufacturing and regulatory facilitation for deployment. It would
consolidate all available and funded resources towards an accelerated product development.

Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
Lahore Tops List Of World's Most Polluted Cities, Delhi Ranks Second
 According to air pollution data released by US Air Quality Index, Pakistan's cultural capital Lahore
has once again topped the list of world's most polluted cities.
 The United States Environmental Protection Agency regards air quality satisfactory if the AQI is
under 50. Lahore's AQI fell in the range of 301 and higher, which has been classified as "hazardous".
 Lahore reported a particulate matter (PM) rating of 423. Pakistan's financial capital Karachi ranked
at 7 on the AQI.
 New Delhi came in second with a PM of 229, while Nepal's capital Kathmandu ranked the third-
worst city with a PM of 178.
India sets up committee for implementation of climate change targets
 The Centre has set up a committee which will oversee the implementation of climate change
targets that India has committed to under the 2015 Paris Agreement.
 The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) issued a Gazette notification on
forming a high-level inter-ministerial Apex Committee for Implementation of Paris Agreement
(AIPA).
 The AIPA will have members from 14 ministries and will be chaired by the MOEFCC secretary.
 The purpose of the AIPA is to generate a coordinated response on climate change matters which
ensures that India is on track to meet its obligations under the Paris Agreement, including its
Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC).
Railway minister Piyush Goyal inaugurates electrified Dighwada-Bandikui section

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 Rail minister Piyush Goyal flagged off the first train on the newly electrified Dhigawara-Bandikui
section of North Western Railway (NWR).
 The section is on Delhi-Ajmer route via Jaipur where electrification work has recently been
completed.
A booklet ‘PM Modi and his Government’s special relationship with Sikhs’ released
 Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Prakash Javadekar released a booklet ‘PM Modi
and his Government’s special relationship with Sikhs’ along with Union Minister for Civil Aviation
and Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri.
 The book was release in three languages Hindi, Punjabi and English.
India invites UK PM Boris Johnson as Chief Guest for 2021 Republic Day parade
 India has invited UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson to be the chief guest for the Republic Day
parade 2021 celebrations in New Delhi.
 India will be celebrating its 72nd Republic Day at the Red Fort on 26th January 2021.

Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
DRDO merges 2 labs to create new one for focused research along borders with China, Pakistan
 The Defence Research and Development Organisation [DRDO] has created a new laboratory named
Defence Geo Informatics Research Establishment by merging two exiting labs to do focused
research on terrain and avalanches along the borders with China and Pakistan.
 The merger would help in bringing together the capabilities and resources of the two labs which will
now be working with the same mission statement.
 The two new labs merged by the government are the Manali-headquartered Snow and Avalanche
Studies Establishment (SASE) and the Delhi-based Defence Terrain Research Establishment.
Learn Along
DRDO Headquarters: New Delhi Chairman: G. Satheesh Reddy
AR Rahman appointed BAFTA Breakthrough India ambassador
 Academy Award-winning music composer AR Rahman was announced as the ambassador for the
British Academy of Film and Television Arts’ (BAFTA) ‘Breakthrough Initiative’.
 The initiative, supported by Netflix, aims to identify, celebrate, and support up to five talents
working in film, games, or TV in India.
Union Education Minister sets up a task force for preparing a roadmap on imparting technical
education in Mother Tongue
 Union Education Minister Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ has set up a task force for preparing
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a roadmap on imparting technical education in Mother Tongue.

 The task force set up under the chairmanship of Secretary, Higher Education Amit Khare will
take into consideration the suggestions made by various stakeholders and will submit a report in a
month.
Dronacharya Awardee Kuldeep Handoo from J&K appointed ‘Fit India’ Movement Ambassador
 First Dronacharya Awardee from the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, Kuldeep Handoo has
been appointed ‘Fit India’ Ambassador.
 Mr Handoo, who is Wushu Coach of Team India is serving as Inspector in Jammu and Kashmir
Police Department.
About Fit India Movement: Fit India Movement is a nation-wide movement in India to encourage people to remain
healthy and fit by including physical activities and sports in their daily lives. It was launched by Prime Minister of
India Narendra Modi at Indira Gandhi Stadium in New Delhi on 29 August 2019.
Agency executive: Narendra Modi
Headquarters: New Delhi
Government announces list of 10 best performing police stations in India
 The government released a list of the top 10 police stations in India for the year 2020.
 The 2020’s survey for the best police station was done by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).

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December 2020
 The top 10 police stations were selected from a total of 16,671 police stations on certain
parameters. From these, 75 police stations were selected for the next stage, out of which 10 were
selected as the country’s best police stations.
 Nongpok Sekmai (Thoubal, Manipur) is India’s best police stations for the year 2020.
First mobile CNG dispensing unit launched
 The country’s first mobile Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) dispensing unit was launched. The
unit was launched by Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan.
 The Mobile Refuelling Unit will be operated by Mahanagar Gas Ltd (MNGL) in Pune.
 The unit will focus on meeting requirements of regions where CNG pumps have not been set up.
Commemorative postage stamp in honour of late Prime Minister, I K Gujral, released
 The Vice President of India, M Venkaiah Naidu paid rich tributes to the late Prime Minister, I K
Gujral while releasing through virtual mode a commemorative postage stamp in his honor.
Government approves creation of new post of deputy chief for military ops & strategic planning
in Army
 The Defence ministry has approved the creation of a new post of deputy chief for military
operations and strategic planning in the Army as part of mega reforms in the Army headquarters.
 The ministry has also completed formalities for creation of another new post of director general of
information warfare. www.i xamBee.c om
 The post of deputy chief of the Army staff (strategy) has been created to deal with military
operations, military intelligence, strategic planning and operational logistics. It will be the third
post of deputy chief in the Army.
 Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) Lt Gen Paramjit Singh is set to become the first
deputy chief of Army staff (strategy).
 The new post of director general of information warfare has been created in keeping with the
needs of the future battlefield, hybrid warfare and social media realities.
Horlicks Protein Plus ropes in Akshay Kumar as its new brand ambassador
 Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) has onboarded Akshay Kumar as the brand ambassador of its
adult nutrition brand, Horlicks Protein Plus.
 Akshay Kumar, will represent the core values of the brand and encourage urban Indian adults to fight
protein deficiency everyday by making ‘Protein ka routine’ (make protein a routine).
Amar Chitra Katha releases comic on India's Navy
 A comic book series chronicling India’s maritime heritage was launched by Navy Vice Chief Vice
Admiral G Ashok Kumar on the occasion of Navy Day (December 4).
 First of the three-book comic series chronicling India’s maritime heritage launched. The series, being
published in collaboration with Amar Chitra Katha celebrates the glorious naval and maritime
heritage of India.

Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
Western Ghats need more attention: IUCN
 Western Ghats and Manas Wildlife Sanctuary face ‘significant concern,’ according to the IUCN
World Heritage Outlook 2 report, putting them in the second highest risk category in the global
assessment.
 The IUCN considered the status of 241 natural world heritage sites. The two Indian areas were so
classified based on their values being “threatened” or showing signs of deterioration.
 Grazing, massive pilgrimage tourism and mining are among the identified threats. The report
noted that about 50 million people live in the Western Ghats Region, resulting in greater
pressures than many protected areas around the world. Forest loss, encroachment and conversion
affected the ghats.
 In Manas, the threat, although low, came from unsustainable and illegal logging. Monitoring
operations by staff was being done. In recent years the level of poaching here had again increased.
Recent cases of rhino poaching were linked to the activity of insurgent groups. These groups also
reportedly poached deer and buffalo.
Learn Along
International Union Headquarters: Gland, Switzerland CEO: Grethel Aguilar
for Conservation of Nature
Education Minister presents first copy of his book on Maharishi Arvind to President
 Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank presented the first copy of his book
“Pioneer of Humanity: Maharishi Arvind” to President Ram Nath Kovind at the Rashtrapati
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Bhavan.
 The book is in Hindi with the title ‘Manavta ke Praneta Maharishi Arvind’.
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 lays out India’s vision for public health surveillance through the integration of the
three-tiered public health system into Ayushman Bharat.
 The white paper was released by NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Dr Rajiv Kumar, Member (Health) Dr
Vinod K Paul and CEO Amitabh Kant.
 The vision of this white paper is to make India’s public health surveillance system more
responsive and predictive to enhance preparedness for action at all levels. Citizen-friendly public
health surveillance system will ensure individual privacy and confidentiality, enabled with a client
feedback mechanism.
Kiren Rijiju launches 2nd edition of Fit India Cyclothon
 Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju has launched the second edition of Fit India Cyclothon via social
media. The mega cycling event will run till 31st December.
 The event will be held across the country in each district and citizens can participate by registering
on Fit India website, cycle daily a distance of their choice, and share their images and videos on
social media.

Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
Nitin Gadkari Inaugurates Three-Lane Koilwar Bridge on Sone River
 Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari inaugurated the three-lane Koilwar
Bridge on the Sone River in Bihar through video conferencing.
 The bridge costing Rs 266 crore would make commuting easier in South Bihar. People will be able to
commute between Patna and Bhojpur and Chapra to Bhojpur easily.
 The new bridge will replace the 138-year-old rail-cum-road bridge called Abdul Bari Bridge.
 The new bridge will be known as 'Vashishtha Narayan Singh Bridge'. With this, the old Abdul Bari
Bridge will now be used only for rail traffic.
Public Wi-Fi Access Network Interface or PM-WANI
 The Union cabinet approved a new policy to allow businesses to offer wireless internet hotspot
services by setting up calling office-like facilities, paving the way for the expansion of high-speed
internet into remote areas and regions with patchy 4G mobile network coverage.
 The project -- Public Wi-Fi Access Network Interface or PM-WANI -- will have several components
with public data offices (PDOs) being the point where wireless internet will be offered.
 The initiative aims to elevate wireless internet connectivity in the country. This would entail a complete
framework involving multiple elements -- Public Data Office (PDO), Public Data Office Aggregators
and app providers.
Mount Everest is now 86 cms taller
 Nepal and China jointly announced that the revised height of the world’s highest peak Mount
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Everest was 8,848.86 metres, about 86 centimetres more than the previous measurement done by
India in 1954.
National Centre for Divyang Empowerment inaugurated at CRPF Group Centre in Hakimpet
 Union Minister of State for Home G Kishan Reddy has inaugurated the National Centre for Divyang
Empowerment at the CRPF Group Centre in Hakimpet near Hyderabad.
 This is first of its kind establishment to re-skill and rehabilitate the Divyang Warriors of the Central
Armed Police Forces (CAPF) who suffered life threatening injuries in line of duty.
IAF, CSIR-NML sign MoU for research in material science, engineering
 The CSIR-National Metallurgical Laboratory, Jamshedpur signed an MoU with the Indian Air
Force on research and development in material science and engineering.
UNESCO launches 2020 State of the Education Report for India
 The ‘State of the Education Report for India 2020: Technical and Vocational Education and
Training (TVET), was launched virtually by UNESCO New Delhi.
 The second edition of the State of Education Report focuses on technical and vocational
education and training (TVET).
 The Report aims to support the Government of India which has already announced skills
development as a key national priority under the Skill India Mission.

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December 2020
 The Report identifies TVET as a key tool for recovery and rehabilitation through a rapid response
system of skilling, upskilling and re-skilling. Despite the challenges, the global COVID 19 pandemic
has provided an opportunity to expand the digitalization of vocational education and training ensuring
the use of distance learning and digital tools.
 The substance of the Report has been developed by an experienced team of researchers from the
Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, under the guidance of UNESCO New Delhi. The
technical and financial partner -- American India Foundation (AIF), is a leading not-for-profit
organization committed to improving the lives of India’s underprivileged, with a special focus on
women, children, and youth.
About State of the Education Report: The State of the Education Report for India, is one of UNESCO New
Delhi’s flagship reports to be published annually. Its main objective will be to monitor progress towards the
education targets in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
About UNESCO: UNESCO is the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. It seeks to build
peace through international cooperation in Education, the Sciences and Culture. UNESCO's programmes
contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals defined in Agenda 2030, adopted by the UN
General Assembly in 2015.
Centre Develops 'Co-WIN' App to Self-Register For COVID-19 Vaccine
 Union Health Ministry had developed a digital platform 'Co-WIN' for real-time monitoring of
COVID-19 vaccine. It will enable people to get themselves registered for vaccination.
 The platform includes a free downloadable mobile application which can help record vaccine data.
One can register themselves on it if they want the vaccine.
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 The mobile application will also send real-time data of temperature of the cold-storage facilities to the
main server.
Northeast states managing COVID best, followed by Bihar and UP: SBI study
 According to a study conducted by SBI Research, the North-eastern states have topped the list of
states in managing Covid-19 followed by Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.
 Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Himachal Pradesh, on the other hand, are at the bottom of the list.
 Author of the report was SBI group chief economic advisor Soumya Kanti Ghosh.
 The study also ranked states on two more parameters -- macro including fiscal deficit and
consumer price inflation and performance of states on the central government schemes.
 The northeast topped the list in the macroeconomic parameters as well, followed by Himachal
Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. Bihar, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal were at the bottom.
 Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra were at the top on performance in the Centre's
schemes, while Goa, West Bengal and Chhattisgarh were the most laggard.
 Five schemes were taken into account for this yardstick --one nation one ration card, PM
Svanidhi, PM Samman, emergency credit linked guarantee scheme and PM Awas Yojana.
 Combining all the schemes, the Northeast topped the list followed by Uttar Pradesh and Madhya
Pradesh. Chhattisgarh, West Bengal and Himachal Pradesh came at the bottom. While Chhattisgarh
and West Bengal fared consistently poorly in all 3 parameters, Himachal Pradesh did quite well in
macro management but lagged in implementation of the Central schemes and COVID Management.

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December 2020
Byju’s joins hands with NSDC to support skilling of teachers, trainers
 Edtech major Byju’s has inked an agreement with the National Skill Development Corporation
(NSDC) to support the skilling of teachers and trainers.
 The partners aim at empowering teachers and trainers with key skills and digital tools to make
learning engaging, effective and personalised for children and youth.
First indigenous mRNA COVID vaccine gets regulator nod for human trials
 The country's first indigenous mRNA vaccine candidate has received approval from Indian drug
regulators to initiate Phase I/II human clinical trials.
 The mRNA vaccine candidate - HGCO19 - is being developed by Pune-based company Gennova,
and is supported with seed grant under the Ind-CEPI mission, run by Department of Biotechnology of
Ministry of Science and Technology.
WCF Partners with NITI Aayog to Empower Children and Youth on CyberSafety Education
 WNS Cares Foundation (WCF), the CSR arm of WNS announced that it has partnered with Atal
Tinkering Labs (ATL), an initiative under the Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) by NITI Aayog, to
empower children and youth with knowledge on relevant topics around cybersafety and digital
education through its platform, CyberSmart.
 ATL will use CyberSmart and other WCF’s digital-led programs in more than 6,500 schools across
India that are part of its network to introduce students to pertinent themes related to cybersecurity,
and other relevant content. www.i xamBee.c om
 WCF volunteers have already begun conducting capacity building workshops for ATL’s Regional
Teachers of Change (RTOC) and will continue to support ATL in charge to deliver modules
effectively.
About WNS Cares Foundation: WNS Cares Foundation (WCF) is a group company of WNS (Holdings) Limited,
with a vision to serve the society and create a strong foundation for corporate social responsibility at WNS. WCF
offers a platform for employees and clients to make valuable contributions to the society since January 2011.
India at 9th spot in global spam call tally: Truecaller
 According to a report by Truecaller, Indian mobile users saw a 34% decline in spam calls
received in 2020, helping the country move lower to the ninth position in the tally of most spammed
countries.
 Within India, Gujarat emerged as the state that received the most spam calls in 2020, followed by
Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh.
 Brazil continues to stay on top in this list of most spammed countries.
About Truecaller: The Swedish company - which is known for helping users find out caller identity - has over 250
million users globally, of which over 180 million users are in India.

Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
NHPC Lays Foundation Stone of Head Regulator Works of Indo-Nepal Link Canal
 AK Singh, CMD of NHPC, has laid the foundation stone of head regulator works of Indo-Nepal
Link Canal at Barrage of 94.2 MW Tanakpur Power Station of NHPC located in Banbasa town of
Champawat district in Uttarakhand.
 This 1.2 km long Indo-Nepal canal is being constructed under ‘Mahakali Treaty’ signed between
India and Nepal.
India’s 1st LGBT+ workplace equality index launched
 The ‘India Workplace Equality Index’, touted as the country’s first comprehensive
benchmarking tool for employers to measure their progress on LGBT+ inclusion at the workplace,
was launched with its first report virtually announcing winners from among 65 companies which
shared data on their diversity and inclusion practices.
 Activist Keshav Suri through his non-profit Keshav Suri Foundation, partnered with Pride Circle,
Stonewall UK and FICCI, to bring the IWEI to India Inc.
 The index measures nine areas: policies and benefits, employee lifecycle, employee network group,
allies and role models, senior leadership, monitoring, procurement, community engagement and
additional work.
 Twenty-one firms won under the gold category, while 18 were placed under silver and 13 got
bronze.
Govt launches program for socio-economic profiling of PM SWANidhi beneficiaries

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 The Centre launched a programme for socio-economic profiling of beneficiaries of PM Street

Vendors’ Aatmanirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) scheme to extend benefits of other government
plans to them.
 A complete profile of PM SVANidhi beneficiaries and their family members will be prepared and
based on the data, benefits of the various central schemes would be extended to them.
 Before a complete rollout, the housing and urban affairs ministry will run a pilot in six cities --Gaya,
Indore, Kakching, Nizamabad, Rajkot, and Varanasi.
About PM SVANidhi scheme: Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs launched a scheme PM Street Vendor's
AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) to empower Street Vendors by not only extending loans to them, but also for
their holistic development and economic upliftment. The scheme intends to facilitate collateral free working capital
loans of up to INR10,000/- of one-year tenure, to approximately 50 lakh street vendors, to help resume their
businesses in the urban areas, including surrounding peri-urban/rural areas.
PM addresses International Bharathi Festival 2020
 Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed International Bharathi Festival 2020 through video
conferencing and paid tributes to the Bharathiyar on his Jayanti.
 The festival is being organised by Vanavil Cultural Centre to celebrate the 138th birth anniversary
of Mahakavi Subramanya Bharathi.
 Scholar Seeni Viswanathan, received the Bharathi Award for this year.

Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
India, Uzbekistan sign nine pacts at virtual summit
 Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev agreed to widen
their counter-terror partnership.
 New Delhi and Tashkent at a virtual summit also decided to explore connectivity routes via
International North–South Transport Corridor (INSTC) – a 7,200-km multi-mode ship, rail, and
road freight route connecting India, Iran, Azerbaijan and Russia – and Chabahar port in Iran.
 The two countries agreed to strengthen cooperation between the law enforcement agencies and
special services, including under the framework of the Uzbekistan-India Joint Working Group on
Counterterrorism.
 The countries signed nine pacts across development and economic sectors at the summit.
 India also confirmed approval of $448 million line of credit for four developmental projects in
Uzbekistan in the fields of road construction, sewerage treatment and information technology.
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About Uzbekistan Capital: Tashkent Currency: Uzbekistani soʻm
India contributes USD 2 million to UNRWA
 India has contributed US $2 million to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine
Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), in support of the Agency’s programmes and services,
including education, health care, relief, and social services for Palestine refugees.
 With this contribution, India provided a total of US$ 5 million to the Agency in 2020.
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About UNRWA: The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East is a UN
agency that supports the relief and human development of Palestinian refugees.
Headquarters: Amman, Jordan
India pledges USD 2 billion to strengthen care for women, children, adolescents
 India pledged a commitment of USD 2 billion at the World Health Organisation's 'Lives in the
Balance' summit to provide essential services to women, newborns, young children and
adolescents across the world.
 The summit organised by WHO's The Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health
(PMNCH), a global alliance of more than 1,000 organisations, registered a total commitment of USD
20.6 billion from a group of high income, low- and middle-income countries and charitable
foundations across the world.
Learn Along
About WHO: The World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for
international public health.
Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland Heads: Tedros Adhanom
I&B Ministry releases booklet to highlight govt's agricultural reforms
 The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has come out with a booklet titled 'Putting
Farmers First', highlighting the reforms introduced by the government in the agriculture sector
through the new farm laws.

Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
Bangladesh-India cotton festival held
 The second Bangladesh-India Cotton Festival was held in Dhaka. The event was organised by
Bangladesh Cotton Association.
 The festival focuses on the development of trade relations between the two countries.
First CoE inaugurated for skill development in power sector
 The first Centre of Excellence for skill development in the power sector was inaugurated which
will focus on creating a pool of highly skilled trainers and assessors for further training to increase
employability of candidates in the field of Electricity, Automation and Solar Energy Sectors.
 The Centre of Excellence located in Gurugram is an outcome of collaboration between the Ministry
of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Government of India, along with the Ministry of
National Education and Youth, Government of France and Schneider Electric.
 The centre will design and deliver Training for Trainers, Instructors, Training of Assessors and other
high-end programme in the power and solar sector.
Centre approves health data management policy of NDHM
 The Central Government approved the health data management policy of the National Digital
Health Mission (NDHM).
 It sets out the minimum standard for data privacy protection that should be followed across the
board in order to ensure compliance with relevant and applicable laws, rules and regulations.
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Seven MoUs signed during the India-Bangladesh Virtual Summit
 Seven MoUs have been signed between India and Bangladesh during the recently concluded
Virtual Summit.
 The list of the MoUs are-
1. Framework of Understanding on Cooperation in the Hydrocarbon Sector
2. MoU regarding Indian Grant Assistance for Implementation of High Impact Community
Development Projects through Local Bodies and other Public Sector Institutions
3. Protocol on Transboundary Elephant Conservation
4. MoU for Supply of Equipment & Improvement of Garbage/Solid Waste Disposal Ground at
Lamchori Area for Barishal City Corporation
5. MoU on Cooperation in the field of Agriculture
6. MoU between Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Memorial Museum,
Dhaka, Bangladesh and the National Museum, New Delhi, India
7. Terms of Reference of India-Bangladesh CEO’s Forum
Nitin Gadkari inaugurates and lays foundation stone of NH projects in Karnataka and Telangana
 Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari has inaugurated and laid foundation
of 33 NH projects in Karnataka.
 These projects include 1197 kms long roads worth Rs 10,904 crore
 Further, Nitin Gadkari has also inaugurated and laid foundation stone of over 765 kms long 14 NH
projects worth over Rs 13,000 crore in Telangana

Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
First flight operations flagged off on Belgaum – Surat – Kishangarh route under UDAN
 The first flight operations from Belgaum (Karnataka) to Surat (Gujarat) to Kishangarh (Ajmer)
were flagged off under the RCS-UDAN (Regional Connectivity Scheme – Ude Desh Ka Aam
Nagrik) of the Government of India
 The launch of the flight operations on the Surat-Kishangarh-Belgaum route aligns with the
government’s objective to provide air connectivity with metros to the Tier-2 & Tier-3 cities of
the country under UDAN. More than 300 routes have been operationalised under the UDAN
scheme, and the flag off marks the inauguration of the 303rd route under the ambit of the scheme.
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 UDAN is a regional airport development scheme aimed at enhancing connectivity to remote and regional
areas of the country and making air travel affordable
 Under the scheme, nearly half of the seats in Udan flights are offered at subsidised fares, and the participating
carriers are provided a certain amount of viability gap funding (VGF) - an amount shared between the Centre
and the concerned states.
 The Centre has approved 78 new additional routes to be awarded under the fourth round of the Regional
Connectivity Scheme (RCS)- ‘Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik’ (UDAN) focusing on boosting connectivity in the
North East, hilly states and islands
UDAN Ministry: Ministry of Civil Aviation Launch Year: 2017
Air Taxi India becomes nation's newest airline
 The civil aviation regulator, Directorate General of Civil Aviation has granted operation permit to Air
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Taxi India, making the company the newest airline in the country. The airline is set to launch
regional operations.
Learn Along
Air Taxi Headquarters: Delhi Co-Founder: Varun Suhag
Union Education Minister lays the Foundation stone of permanent campus of IIIT Bhagalpur
 The MoU has been signed between IIIT Bhagalpur and CPWD for construction of all the above
mentioned buildings of IIIT Bhagalpur.
 The institute is engaged in research work which can help in combating COVID 19 outbreak.
Ministry of Food Processing Industries signs a Joint Communique and 5 MoUs
 Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) signed a Joint Communique with Ministry of
Tribal Affairs and 5 MoUs with TRIFED (Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of
India), ICAR (Indian Council of Agricultural Research), NSFDC (National Scheduled Castes Finance
and Development Corporation), NAFED (National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of
India Ltd. ) and NCDC (National Cooperative Development Corporation) defining convergence
mechanism in implementation of PM Formalisation of Micro food processing Enterprises
Scheme (PM FME scheme).
 Further, the MoFPI signed an agreement with Union Bank of India as nodal bank for PM FME
scheme.

Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
 These MoUs would help in providing employment and improving quality of life through schemes
of the Government in priority areas
Learn Along
PM Formalization of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PM FME) scheme was launched as a part of
“Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan”, in the presence of MoS, FPI Sh. Rameswar Teli. Union Minister said that the
Scheme would generate total investment of Rs 35,000 crore and generate 9 lakh skilled and semi-skilled
employment and benefit 8 lakh units through access to information, training, better exposure and formalization
PM-FME Ministry: Ministry of Food Processing Industries Launch Year: June 2020
Defence Minister inaugurates Hypersonic wind tunnel test facility at DRDO
 Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated the advanced Hypersonic Wind Tunnel
(HWT) test facility during his visit to Defence Research and Development Organisation’s (DRDO’s) Dr
APJ Abdul Kalam Missile Complex in Hyderabad.
 The state-of-the-art HWT Test facility is pressure vacuum driven enclosed free jet facility having
nozzle exit diameter of 1 meter and will simulate Mach No 5 to 12 (Mach represents the multiplication
factor to the speed of sound).
Haldibari-Chilahati railway line inaugurated
 A railway link has been inaugurated between Haldibari and Chilahati.

 At present, there are four rail links that are operational between India and Bangladesh- Petrapole –
Benapole, Gede – Darshana, Singhabad -Rohanpur, Radhikapur – Birol.
 The newly inaugurated Haldibari – Chilahati rail link is the fifth rail link between the two
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countries.
Norwegian Institute Signs Agreement With cGanga For Development of Sludge Management
Framework in India
 Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research (NIBIO) has signed an agreement with cGanga, a
think-tank of the National Mission for Clean Ganga, for development of sludge management
framework in India.
 In the 5th India Water Impact Summit held virtually, which is a five-day long summit, hosting experts
and academicians from all over the world to discuss and debate issues related to water conservation,
water security and river rejuvenation.
 The event is co-organised by National Mission for Clean Ganga and Centre for Ganga River
Basin Management and Studies.
PM Modi laid the foundation stone of World’s largest Renewable Energy Park
 PM Modi has laid the foundation stone of 1st of its kind World’s largest Renewable Energy Park in
Dhordo near the Indo-Pak border in Kutch, Gujarat.
 This 30,000 megawatt capacity hybrid renewable energy park will be built along the Indo-Pak border
at Khavda using both wind and solar energy.
 This park will be spanned over 72,000 hectares and it will be of 30,000 MW capacity.

Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
India contributes USD 1 million to WADA to support clean sport
 India has pledged a sum of USD 1 million to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) towards the
global agency's scientific research budget, which will allow WADA to develop innovative anti-doping
testing and detection methods.
 The money will also be used to further strengthen WADA's independent Investigations and
Intelligence Department.
Learn Along
About WADA: The World Anti-Doping Agency is a foundation initiated by the International Olympic Committee
based in Canada to promote, coordinate and monitor the fight against drugs in sports.
Headquarters: Montreal, Canada
Boris Johnson invites PM Modi to UK-led G-7 Summit
 UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to join the UK-
hosted G-7 summit next year.
 PM Johnson will attend India’s annual Republic Day parade 2021 in New Delhi.
Nehru Zoological Park has become the first zoo in the country to receive the ISO Certification
 The Nehru Zoological Park in Hyderabad has become the first zoo in the country to receive the
ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management Standards Certification from the Accreditation Services for
Certification Bodies (ASCB), UK. www.i xamBee.c om
 HYM International Certifications Pvt Ltd, an agency accredited by the ASCB, recently conducted an
assessment of the zoo in a phased manner. The assessment committee expressed their satisfaction
in the standards being followed by the zoo, particularly in sanitisation, food processing, animal
breeding, animal care, etc.
Justice Muralidhar elevated as CJ of Orissa High Court
 Justice S Muralidhar was elevated as the Chief Justice of the Orissa High Court.
 The senior-most Judge of the court, Justice Rajesh Bindal, was transferred to the Calcutta High
Court.
 Justice Hima Kohli of the Delhi High Court will take over as the new Chief Justice of the
Telangana HC.
India, U.K. to set up joint task force for mutual recognition of academic qualifications
 India and the U.K. have agreed to set up a joint task force consisting of designated higher
education organisations from both the countries to work towards mutual recognition of academic
qualifications.
 A decision in this regard was taken in a bilateral meeting between Indian Minsiter of Education
Ramesh Pokhriyal and U.K. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab.

Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
Indian Embassy in Beijing launches Bollywood 'cinemaSCOpe' series for SCO diplomats
 Secretary General of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Vladimir Norov and diplomats
from the member states of the bloc attended the inaugural session of a movie series -
'cinemaSCOpe' - organised by the Indian Embassy.
 'CinemaSCOpe' series, being exclusively screened for the diplomats and their families of the SCO
countries, commenced at the Indian Embassy premises.
 More than two dozen Indian movies, dubbed in Russian language, will be screened on a monthly
basis till India's chairmanship of the eight-member SCO 'Council of Heads of State' meeting in 2023.
 The event was jointly inaugurated by Indian Ambassador to China Vikram Misri along with Norov.
Learn Along
About SCO: The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), or Shanghai Pact, is a Eurasian political, economic,
and security alliance, the creation of which was announced on 15 June 2001 in Shanghai, China by the leaders of
China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan; the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation
Charter, formally establishing the organisation, was signed in June 2002 and entered into force on 19 September
2003.
Secretary General: Vladimir Norov Headquarters: Beijing, China
Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s museum in Kolkata planned
 As a part of the commemoration of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s 125th birth anniversary in
2022, the Union Culture Ministry was planning a museum in Kolkata, an exhibition at the Victoria
Memorial and cultural performances in West Bengal.
 The programme would start from January 23, 2021, a year ahead of the 125th birth anniversary.
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EAM S Jaishankar launches economic diplomacy website
 External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has launched economic diplomacy website which will
showcase India's economic, sectoral, and state-wise strengths.
 The website positions a multidimensional and dynamic Brand India to the global business community
through a specific focus on government's ease of doing business initiatives, policy reforms and
incentives aimed at attracting foreign investment.
Health ministry approves data management policy to digitise healthcare ecosystem
 Union health and family welfare minister, Dr. Harsh Vardhan, approved the health data
management policy of the National Digital Health Mission (NDHM) that intends to digitise the
entire healthcare ecosystem of India by creating digital health records and creating and maintaining
registries for healthcare professionals and health facilities.
 The National Health Authority (NHA), is the implementing agency.
 The policy acts as a guidance document across the National Digital Health Ecosystem (NDHE) and
sets out the minimum standard for data privacy protection that should be followed across the board to
ensure compliance with relevant and applicable laws, rules and regulations.

Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
Defence Minister hands over 3 important DRDO developed systems to Army, Navy and Air Force
 Defence Minister Rajnath Singh handed over three indigenously developed systems to Army,
Navy and Air Force.
 Rajnath Singh handed over the Indian Maritime Situational Awareness System (IMSAS) to the
Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Karambir Singh, ASTRA Mk-I Missile to Air Chief Marshal Rakesh
Kumar Singh Bhadauria and Border Surveillance System (BOSS) to the Chief of Army Staff
General M M Naravane.
 An all-weather electronic surveillance system successfully designed and developed by Instruments
Research & Development Establishment (IRDE), Dehradun.
 The system is being produced by Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), Machlipatnam.
India, Qatar set up task force to identify projects for investment
 India and its biggest LNG supplier Qatar agreed to set up a task force to identify projects in India
for investment by the gas-rich Gulf nation.
 India imports 8.5 million tonnes per annum of gas in its liquid form (LNG) from Qatar under a long-
term contract. It also buys LPG to meet the fast-expanding cooking gas requirements in the country.
 Qatar Petroleum, the national oil company of the Gulf nation, will be represented by the vice president
(VP) in the task force, while the Indian side would be represented by a senior official from the Ministry
of Petroleum and Natural Gas.
Air pollution rising faster in south than in Gangetic India

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 A study commissioned by the Central Pollution Control Board has found that the Indo-Gangetic
Plain continues to be the most polluted region in the country – in fact in the whole world – in terms
of PM 2.5 levels, the rate of increase in pollution levels in southern and eastern India is far greater
than the Gangetic plain between 2000 and 2019.
 The study, jointly carried out by IIT-Delhi and CPCB, has also found that air pollution in rural areas
has increased at par with urban India, a phenomenon that is rarely discussed with air pollution
policies continuing to focus on urban centres.
CGWB and CSIR-NGRI sign MoA for High-Resolution Aquifer Mapping & Management
 A Memorandum of Agreement, MoA was signed between Central Ground Water Board, Ministry
of Jal Shakti and CSIR-NGRI, Hyderabad for use of advanced heliborne geophysical survey and
other scientific studies in parts of the States of Rajasthan, Gujarat and Haryana under the Aquifer
Mapping Programme.
 Under phase- I of the project, an area of nearly 1 lakh sq km spreading over nearly 65,500 sq km of
western arid Rajasthan covering parts of Bikaner, Churu, Ganaga Nagar, Jalor, Pali, Jaisalmer,
Jodhpur and Sikar districts, 32 thousand Sq. Km arid parts of Gujarat covering Rajkot, Jamnagar,
Morbi, Surendranagar and Devbhumi Dwarka districts and nearly 2500 sq km of Haryana covering
Kurukshetra and Yamuna Nagar districts would be covered at an estimated cost of Rs 54 Crore.
 This is the first time the Ministry of Jal Shakti has decided to use the State of the art technology for
identification of aquifers in such a large arid or semi-arid area of the country.

Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
IMD releases the ‘End of the Season—Southwest Monsoon 2020’ report
 National Weather Forecasting Centre of the India Meteorological Department (IMD), has come
out with the ‘End of the Season—Southwest Monsoon 2020’ report.
ADB gives $1.5 billion loan to India to support covid-19 response
 The Government of India and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) signed a $1.5 billion loan that
will support the government’s response to the covid-19 pandemic, focusing on immediate
priorities such as disease containment and prevention, as well as social protection for the poor and
economically vulnerable sections of the society, especially women and disadvantaged groups.
Learn Along
The Asian Development Bank is a regional development bank. It was established in 1966, it is owned by 68
members—49 from the region.
ADB Headquarters: Philippines President: Masatsugu Asakawa
PM Modi flags off India’s first driverless train on Delhi Metro’s Magenta Line
 Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated via video conferencing India's first driverless
train operations on the Delhi Metro's Magenta Line, connecting Janakpuri West and Botanical
Garden along with the fully operational National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) services on
the Airport Express Line.
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Railways Launches Hospital Management Information System
 Indian Railways has launched the recently integrated Hospital Management Information System
(HMIS) and a mobile application for downloading Unique Medical Identity Card (UMID) over five
units in South Central Railways and two Units over Northern Railway.
 The HMIS in Railways has been developed by Indian Railways in coordination with RailTel
Corporation Limited. The objective of the HMIS is to provide a single-window of clearance of
hospital administration activity such as clinical, diagnostics, pharmacy, examinations, industrial
health among other things
Thaawarchand Gehlot Launches Mobile Application “Swachhata Abhiyan”
 Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Thaawarchand Gehlot has launched a Mobile
Application “Swachhata Abhiyan”.
 “Swachhata Abhiyan” mobile app has been developed to identify and geotag the data of insanitary
latrines and manual scavengers.
India-Australia ties become comprehensive strategic partnership in pandemic-riddled 2020
 India-Australia relations touched a new level with both the countries elevating their ties to a
“comprehensive strategic partnership”, signing key agreements including a landmark pact for
reciprocal access to military bases against the backdrop of their frosty relations with China.
 India and Australia, during the virtual bilateral summit between Modi and Morrison in June 2020,
decided to upgrade their 2+2 dialogue featuring their foreign and defence secretaries to the ministerial

Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
level, sign the Mutual Logistics Support Agreement (MLSA) and another pact on cooperation in the
field of mining and rare earth minerals.
Learn Along
Australia Capital: Canberra Prime minister: Scott Morrison
PM Modi inaugurates New Bhaupur-New Khurja stretch of Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor
 Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the 351-km ‘New Bhaupur- New Khurja section’ in
Uttar Pradesh of the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (EDFC) via video conferencing.
 He also inaugurated the EDFC’s Operation Control Centre (OCC) at Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh.
 The Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor is a 1875-km stretch that connects Punjab’s Ludhiana to
Dankuni in West Bengal.
 The project is aimed at decongesting the railway lines and to make the transportation of goods
smoother without any delays.
Amit Shah to lead panel on Netaji's 125th birth anniversary event
 The Centre appointed a panel headed by home minister Amit Shah to celebrate Netaji Subhash
Chandra Bose's 125th birth anniversary.
 23 January 2022 will mark the 125th birth anniversary of Indian freedom fighter Subhas Chandra
Bose.
Cabinet gives approval to merge four govt film media units with NFDC
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 The Union Cabinet approved the merger of four government film media units with the NFDC with
an aim of converging activities and resources and better coordination to ensure synergy and
efficiency in achieving the mandate of the bodies.
 The Films Division, the Directorate of Film Festivals, the National Film Archives of India and the
Children's Film Society, India will be merged with the National Film Development Corporation
Limited by expanding the memorandum of articles of association of the NFDC, which will then carry
out all the activities performed by the four organisations.
Learn Along
About National Film Development Corporation Limited: The NFDC is a Central Public Sector Undertaking
(CPSU), incorporated in 1975 with the primary object of planning and promoting an organised, efficient and
integrated development of the Indian film industry.
Dharmendra Pradhan dedicates Bengal's first oil and gas reserve to nation
 Union petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan dedicated the eighth oil and gas producing
basin to the nation in Ashok Nagar, around 47 km from Kolkata.
 The first proven reserve of oil and gas in the state was discovered in 2018.
 The Ashok Nagar field, which falls under the Mahanadi-Bengal-Andaman (MBA) basin, has
proved to be commercially viable.

Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri launches E-Sampada web portal and mobile app
 Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri launched E-Sampada, a new web portal
and mobile app.
 The new application provides a single window for all the services including allotment for over one
lakh government residential accommodations, office space allotment to government organisations in
45 office complexes in 28 cities and booking of 1,176 holiday home rooms.
 The portal provides online facility to users across India to lodge complaints, submit documents and
appear for virtual hearing.
Firefly bird diverters installed to save the Great Indian Bustard
 The Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) along with the Wildlife
Conservation Society (WCS) India has come up with a unique initiative — a “firefly bird diverter”
for overhead power lines in areas where Great Indian Bustard (GIB) populations are found in
the wild.
 GIB is one of the most critically threatened species in India, with less than 150 birds left in the wild.
 Firefly bird diverters are flaps installed on power lines. They work as reflectors for bird species
like the GIB. Birds can spot them from a distance of about 50 meters and change their path of flight to
avoid collision with power lines.
Himachal Pradesh CM Unveils 18-feet Statue of Atal Bihari Vajpayee in Shimla
 Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur unveiled an 18-feet statue of late former Prime
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Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on his 96th birth anniversary at the historic Ridge in Shimla.
 The statue was constructed by spending Rs 1.08 crore.
Learn Along
About Himachal Pradesh
Capital: Shimla CM: Jai Ram Thakur Governor: Bandaru Dattatreya
Health Ministry and MeitY launch Grand Challenge for strengthening COVID Vaccine Intelligence
Network
 Health Ministry along with Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, MeitY has
launched a Grand Challenge for strengthening the COVID Vaccine Intelligence Network, CoWIN
system, a digitalised platform to be used to effectively roll out and scale up the mechanism for
COVID Vaccine Distribution System, nationally.
 To be launched on the MeitY Startup Hub MSH portal, the challenge invites participation from
talented and innovative startups and emerging technology specialists to augment and scale the
CoWIN platform.
Ladakh’s Tso Kar wetland complex added to list of Ramsar sites
 Tso Kar Wetland Complex in Ladakh, is added in list of Ramsar sites under an international
convention, meant for preserving ecological character of selected wetlands across the globe.
 Tso Kar wetland is India 42nd Ramsar site and the second in the UT of Ladakh.

Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
 It is called Tso Kar, meaning white lake, because of the white salt efflorescence found on the
margins due to the evaporation of highly saline water.
Learn Along
About Ramsar Convention- Ramsar Convention on Wetlands is an intergovernmental treaty adopted on February
2, 1971 in the Iranian city of Ramsar, on the southern shore of the Caspian Sea. The name of the Convention is
usually written “Convention on Wetlands’’. The Convention on Wetlands came into force for India on February 1,
1982. Those wetlands which are of international importance are declared as Ramsar sites. The aim of the Ramsar
list is to develop and maintain an international network of wetlands which are important for the conservation of
global biological diversity and for sustaining human life through the maintenance of their ecosystem components,
processes and benefits.
Learn Along
About Ladakh
Capital: Leh and Kargil Lieutenant Governor: Radha Krishna
Mathur
Government extends validity of driving licence and vehicle documents till March 2021
 The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) extended the validity of motor vehicle
documents like driving licence (DL), registration certificate (RC) and permits till March 31, 2021, in
view of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
 The extension applies to documents whose validity expired since Feb 1, 2020, or would expire by
March 31, 2021.
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Tata-Indian Institute of Skills' first batch of trainings started
 The first batch of trainings at the Tata-Indian Institute of Skills, Mumbai was launched to provide
an impetus to Skill India programme through private sector participation.
 The institute is a joint initiative between the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship
(MSDE), Government of India and Tata-Indian Institute of Skills (Tata-IIS).
Home Secretary and Secretary DoPT, A K Bhalla releases progress report of e-HRMS
 Home Secretary and Secretary DoPT, A K Bhalla released the progress report of e-HRMS
(Electronic-Human Resource Management System).
 E-HRMS was launched by Minister for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions Dr Jitendra Singh
on 25th December, 2017 and it had 25 applications of 5 modules of the system.
Delhi airport’s Terminal 3 installs new passenger tracking system
 Delhi airport’s Terminal 3 has installed Xovis passenger tracking system (PTS), that would help
manage the flow of people, reduce waiting time and ensure social distancing.
 The Xovis passenger tracking system (PTS), a queue management system, displays live waiting time,
taken at various processes like check-in, security check etc., on screens put up at various places.
 The PTS receives data streams from the sensors and provides the airport operator with valuable key
performance indicators (KPIs) such as waiting times, process times and passenger throughput.

Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
Rajya Sabha MP RCP Singh unanimously elected as National President of JD (U)
 Rajya Sabha MP RCP Singh was unanimously elected as the National President of the Janata
Dal (United).
Health Minister inaugurates India's first pneumococcal conjugate vaccine
 Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan inaugurated India's first pneumococcal conjugate
vaccine "Pneumosil", which has been developed by the Serum Institute of India Private Limited
(SIIPL) in collaboration with partners like the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
 SIIPL developed and got the license of the first indigenous Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine (PCV)
from the Government of India during COVID-19 pandemic lock-down.
Centre sets up panel to work out common entrance test for Universities
 The UGC set up a seven-member committee, headed by Vice-Chancellor of Central University of

Punjab R P Tiwari, to consider the issue (of) holding common entrance test at undergraduate
level only from the next academic year in central universities to provide a single platform for
admission.
Kerala: 21-year old Arya Rajendran becomes India’s youngest mayor from Thiruvananthapuram
 Kerala's Arya Rajendran has become the youngest mayor of the country after her election to the
Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation at age 21. www.i xamBee.c om
 The Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI (M)] had officially declared Rajendran as the party-led
Left Democratic Front's mayoral candidate in the election to the post.
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About Kerala
Capital: Thiruvananthapuram CM: Pinarayi Vijayan Governor: Arif Mohammad Khan
INCOIS launches web based Digital Ocean app for information sharing
 INCOIS, an autonomous body under the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), has launched a web
based application Digital Ocean to share information on marine data and forecast services.
 The Digital Ocean platform includes a set of applications developed to organise and present
heterogeneous oceanographic data by adopting rapid advancements in geospatial technology.
 The platform will serve as a one stop-solution for all the data related needs of a wide range of
users including research institutions, operational agencies, strategic users, academic community,
maritime industry, policy makers and the public.
Learn Along
About INCOIS: Indian National Center for Ocean Information Services is an autonomous organization of the
Government of India, under the Ministry of Earth Sciences, located in Pragathi Nagar, Hyderabad. Indian National
Centre for Ocean Information provides ocean information and advisory services to various stakeholders including
data based on oceanographic research, advisory services such as fishing zone advisories, ocean state forecast,
high wave alerts, tsunami early warnings, storm surge and oil-spill.

Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
Union Minister Nitin Gadkari Announces Multi-Model Logistics Park in Assam's Silchar
 Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari has announced that a multi-model
logistics park will be constructed in Silchar and the Balacherra-Harengajao section of the Silchar-
Saurashtra Highway will be completed in March 2022.
 The logistics park will be constructed in Silchar and construction works of East-West Corridor would
be expedited and two new bridges would come up over the Barak River.
 The Union Minister for Road Transport laid the foundation stone of 20 projects and inaugurated
seven projects worth ₹ 2,366 crore for Assam with a total length of 439 km.
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About Assam
Capital: Dispur CM: Sarbananda Sonowal Governor: Jagdish Mukhi
Union health minister Harsh Vardhan nominated to board of vaccine alliance GAVI
 Union minister for health and family welfare Dr Harsh Vardhan was nominated by the Global
Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI) as a board member from 1st January 2021 until
31st December 2023.
 Dr Harsh Vardhan will be representing the South East Area Regional Office (SEARO)/Western
Pacific Regional Office (WPRO) constituency on the GAVI Board.
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About GAVI: GAVI is an international organisation that was created in the year 2000 to improve access to new and
underused vaccines for numerous vaccine-preventable diseases for children who live in the world’s poorest
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countries. The GAVI Board normally meets twice a year in June and November or December and holds an annual
retreat, normally in March or April. All these meetings are normally attended in person. The GAVI board is
responsible for strategic direction and policy-making oversees the operations of the Vaccine Alliance and monitors
programme implementation.
GAVI Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland Chair of the GAVI Alliance Board: Dr
NgoziOkonjo-lweala
Maritime Theatre Command to take shape by 2021
 The country’s first Maritime Theatre Command (MTC) is set to take concrete shape by 2021.
 The MTC will be the first new geographical theatre command to be created as part of the biggest-ever
military restructuring plan to build an integrated land-air-sea war-fighting machinery for greater
combat punch in a more cost-effective manner.
 To be headed by a senior three-star naval officer (vice admiral), the MTC will have its
headquarters at the Karwar naval base in coastal Karnataka.

Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
INTERNATIONAL
Global Terrorism Index 2020
 The Institute for Economics & Peace (IEP) in collaboration with the National Consortium for the
Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START) led by the University of Maryland has
released its Global Terrorism Index 2020 report.
 The index provides a comprehensive summary of the key global trends and patterns in terrorism since
2000. It is an attempt to systematically rank the nations of the world according to terrorist activity. It
produces a composite score in order to provide an ordinal ranking of countries on the impact of
terrorism. The GTI score for a country in a given year is based on a unique scoring system to account
for the relative impact of incidents in the year.
 Afghanistan ranks first in Global Terrorism Index [GTI] 2020 with a score of 9.592 and Iraq second
with 8.682. India ranked 8th in the world on a list of countries most affected by terrorism in 2019, on
the basis of its score on the GTI 7.353.
 Further, the report marks South Asia as region worst affected by terrorism for the second year in a
row.
Production Gap Report 2020
 Production Gap Report 2020 highlights the discrepancy between countries’ planned fossil fuel
production levels and the global levels necessary to limit warming to 1.5°C or 2°C. This gap is
large, with countries aiming to produce 120% more fossil fuels by 2030 than would be consistent with
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limiting global warming to 1.5°C.

 To limit warming to 1.5°C or well below 2°C, as required by the 2015 Paris Agreement, the world
needs to wind down fossil fuel production. Instead, governments continue to plan to produce coal, oil,
and gas far in excess of the levels consistent with the Paris Agreement temperature limits.
About the Production Gap Report: Modelled after the UNEP’s Emissions Gap Report series — and conceived as
a complementary analysis — this report conveys the large discrepancy between countries' planned fossil fuel
production and the global production levels necessary to limit warming to 1.5°C and 2°C.
WMO: 2020 set to be one of 3 warmest years on record
 The year 2020 is on track to be one of three warmest years on record while the atmospheric
concentrations of greenhouse gases (GHG) continued to rise despite the Covid-19 lockdown, leading
to further warming of the planet, said the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) in its annual
‘State of the Global Climate’ report.
 The report, released and based on data from January-October, noted that the average global
temperature in 2020 is set to be about 1.2°C above the pre-industrial (1850-1900) level and there
is at least one in five chance of it temporarily exceeding 1.5°C by 2024 — the warming average
considered quite disastrous for the globe.
 As on date, 2016 is the warmest year on record. The global temperature datasets, used by WMO,
place 2020 as second warmest to date.
 The report observed that 2011-2020 will be the warmest decade on record, with the warmest six
years all being since 2015.

Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
About World Meteorological Organization: The World Meteorological Organization is a specialized agency of the
United Nations responsible for promoting international cooperation on atmospheric science, climatology, hydrology
and geophysics.
Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland Heads: Gerhard Adrian, Petteri Taalas
2021 QS World University Rankings
 QS Quacquarelli Symonds, global higher education think-tank and compilers of the world's most-
consulted university rankings portfolio, have released the latest edition of their annual list of Asia's
best higher education institutions.
 The National University of Singapore is named as the continent's best university for the third
consecutive year. China's Tsinghua University rises to 2nd. Singapore’s Nanyang Technological
University is third.
Low-paid workers, women hit most by COVID-19 wage gaps: ILO report
 The average wages in two-third countries — for which official data was available — fell or grew
more slowly in the first six months of 2020 due to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19)
pandemic. Low-paid workers, disproportionately women, were the most affected by loss of
working hours, according to a report published by the International Labour Organization named
“The Global Wage Report 2020 / 21”.
 In the remaining one-third countries — including Brazil, Canada, France, Italy and the United States
— an increase in average wages was the result of a large numbers of low-paid workers losing their
jobs or leaving the labour market. www.i xamBee.c om
 The report found that not all workers were equally affected by the crisis. Those in lower-skilled
occupations lost more working hours than higher-paying managerial and professional jobs.
 The impact on women was worse than that on men.
 The report stated that globally, 266 million people (15 per cent of all wage earners) were earning
less than the hourly minimum wage even before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
 The report also looked at wage trends in 136 countries in the four years (2016-19) preceding the
pandemic. It found that global wage growth fluctuated between 1.6 and 2.2 per cent.
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About ILO
Headquarters: Geneva, Founded: 1919 Head: Director-General; Guy Ryder
Switzerland
Pandemic pushed 32 million people into extreme poverty: UN
 The coronavirus pandemic has had a devastating impact on the world’s poorest countries,
pushing millions into extreme poverty, according to United Nations report.
 More than 32 million additional people in the poorest countries in the world now live on less than
$1.90 a day -- a direct result of the outbreak.
 The economic impact in the Least Developed Countries has been far more devastating than the
health crisis, with growth prospects cut from 5% to -0.4% this year.
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About UN
Headquarters: New York Founded: 1945 Secretary general: António Guterres

Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
Every 6th person under water stress: FAO
 About 1.2 billion people globally experienced very high levels of water stress means every 6th
person under water stress, according to a flagship report published by the Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO).
 Some 520 million of the 1.2 billion people lived in rural areas while 660 million lived in small urban
centres surrounded by agricultural areas.
 Nearly half of the 1.2 billion people lived in south Asia, while 460 million lived in east and southeast
Asia.
 The report also noted that the annual amount of available freshwater resources per person had
declined by more than 20 per cent in the past two decades.
 The UN called for better management of water, especially in agriculture, to keep resources in
check and boost agricultural yields. Agriculture accounts for 70 per cent of the world’s freshwater
withdrawals.
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About FAO
Headquarters: Rome, Italy Head: Qu Dongyu
Bloomberg New Energy Finance’s 2020 Climatescope ranking
 India is at the second position in Bloomberg New Energy Finance’s (BNEF) 2020 Climatescope
survey ranking. www.i xamBee.c om
 The report is an annual survey of the energy transition in developing countries and represents 123
detailed data indicators on 108 emerging markets globally.
 Chile has bagged the top spot in the survey while, Brazil remained at the third position.
Climate Change Performance Index 2021
 Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI) is developed by not-for-profit organisations

Germanwatch and NewClimate Institute (Germany) together with the Climate Action Network
(CAN International).
 The list is prepared by assessing performances of 57 countries and European Union (as a whole) in
four categories - GHG emissions, renewable energy, energy use and climate policy.
 No country is ranked at 1st, 2nd and 3rd position. Sweden is at 4th position.
 India is at 10th position whole USA, Saudi Arabia and Iran are the worst performers.
World carbon dioxide emissions drop 7% in pandemic-hit 2020
 According a study published in the journal Earth System Science Data, a locked-down pandemic-
struck world cut its carbon dioxide emissions this year by 7%, the biggest drop ever.
 The Global Carbon Project, an authoritative group of dozens of international scientists who track
emissions, calculated that the world will have put 37 billion US tons (34 billion metric tons) of carbon
dioxide in the air in 2020. That’s down from 40.1 billion US tons (36.4 billion metric tons) in 2019.

Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
WHO reveals leading causes of death and disability worldwide for 2000-2019
 Non-communicable diseases now make up 7 of the world’s top 10 causes of death, according to
WHO’s 2019 Global Health Estimates.
 This is an increase from 4 of the 10 leading causes in 2000. The new data cover the period from 2000
to 2019 inclusive.
 Heart disease has remained the leading cause of death at the global level for the last 20 years.
Learn Along
About WHO: The World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for
international public health.
Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland Heads: Tedros Adhanom
China Becomes Second Country in History to Plant a Flag on the Moon
 Over 50 years after the United States planted the first human flag on the moon, China has become
the second country to leave a flag on the lunar surface. The flag, representing China, is 2 m wide
and 90 cm tall.
 China's lunar mission Chang’e 5 successfully landed on the Moon, marking the third time that the
country has placed a robotic spacecraft on the lunar surface.
 The Chinese lunar mission is a complex one as it consists of four main spacecraft that will work
together to bring between 2 to 4 kilograms of lunar dirt back to Earth. After the United States and
Russia, China would be the third nation to bring rocks back from the Moon.
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Learn Along
About China
Capital: Beijing Currency: Renminbi President: Xi Jinping
China Hydropower Company plans first downstream dam on Brahmaputra
 China’s authorities have planned for a Chinese hydropower company to construct the first
downstream dam on the lower reaches of the Brahmaputra River, or Yarlung Zangbo as it is
known in Tibet.
 Chinese hydropower company POWERCHINA had signed “a strategic cooperation agreement”
with the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) government to implement hydropower exploitation in the
downstream of the Yarlung Zangbo River as part of the new Five-Year Plan (2021-2025).
New Zealand declares climate emergency
 New Zealand promised its public sector would become carbon neutral by 2025 as it declared a
climate emergency.
 Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern passed a Zero Carbon Bill, which sets the framework for net zero
emissions by 2050 with an exemption for farming, and banned new offshore oil and gas exploration.
 The programme will be backed by a NZ$200 million ($141 million) fund to finance replacing coal
boilers and help purchase electric or hybrid vehicles.
 New Zealand joins 32 other countries including Japan, Canada, France and Britain that have
declared a climate emergency.

Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
Learn Along
About New Zealand
Capital: Wellington Currency: New Zealand dollar Prime minister: Jacinda Ardern
Bangladesh signs first Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) since its independence
 Bangladesh signed its first Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) with Bhutan allowing duty free
access to a range of goods between the two countries. This is the first PTA Bangladesh has
signed with any country in the world.
 Under the PTA 100 Bangladeshi products will get duty free access to Bhutan. At the same time,
34 items from Bhutan will get duty free access into Bangladesh. Further items can be added in
the list later on the basis of discussion between the two countries.
 The trade volume between the two countries is approximately 50 million dollars with 7.56 million of
export and 42.09 million import into Bangladesh.
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About Bangladesh
Capital: Dhaka Currency: Bangladeshi taka Prime minister: Sheikh Hasina
Learn Along
About Bhutan
Capital: Thimphu Currency: Ngultrum Prime minister: Lotay Tshering
UN drug agency votes to remove cannabis from list of most dangerous drugs
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 The UN drug policy body voted to remove cannabis from the mostly tightly controlled drugs.
 Member nations of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs voted 27-25 to remove it from Schedule
IV of the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, which allows national bans for drugs with
“particularly dangerous properties.”
In world first, U.K. approves Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use
 Britain approved Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine, and become the West's first country to formally
endorse a jab which would reach the most vulnerable people.
 Britain's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) granted emergency use
approval to the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which they say is 95% effective in preventing illness, in
record time - just 23 days since Pfizer published the first data from its final stage clinical trial.
Romania's PM Orban resigns after his party lost parliamentary election
 Romanian Prime Minister Ludovic Orban announced his resignation, after the ruling National
Liberal Party (PNL) he leads failed to achieve its goal of scoring the best in parliamentary election.
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About Romania Capital: Bucharest Currency: Romanian leu

Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
Kuwait emir reappoints Sheikh Sabah al-Khalid as PM
 Kuwait's Emir Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Sabah reappointed Sheikh Sabah al-Khalid al-Sabah as
prime minister.
 He has been named as the successor to Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah, who died
earlier at age 91.
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About Kuwait Capital: Kuwait City Currency: Kuwaiti dinar
2 Dictionary companies choose same word of the year: Pandemic
 For the first time, two dictionary companies— Merriam-Webster and Dictionary.com — declared the
same word as their tops: Pandemic.
 Earlier, Cambridge Dictionary named ‘Quarantine’ as Word of the Year 2020.
WHO joins hands with IFRC to strengthen delivery of emergency medical supplies
 The World Health Organization and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red
Crescent Societies (IFRC) came together for a collaborative effort to strengthen the delivery of
emergency medical and health services during humanitarian crises.
 They signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate on implementing the Emergency
Medical Team (EMT) initiative.
 The MoU signed between two multilateral organizations is called the Red Channel Agreement. It is
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the culmination of years of collaboration between IFRC and the WHO Emergency Medical Team
Initiative.
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About IFRC: The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies is a worldwide humanitarian
aid organization that reaches 160 million people each year through its 192 member National Societies .
Headquarters location: Geneva, Switzerland President: Francesco Rocca
Singapore’s hawkers gets recognised by UNESCO
 Singapore’s hawker food culture gets recognised by UNESCO. The hawker culture got inducted
to the UNESCO List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
 UNESCO recognises the hawker culture of the country, mentioning that community dining and
culinary practices are prevalent throughout the country.
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About Singapore Capital: Singapore Currency: Singapore dollar
Forbes 2020 list for highest-paid celebrities
 American media personality and reality TV star Kylie Jenner has been crowned the highest-paid
celebrity of 2020 by Forbes.
 Ranked at No. 2, on the list was American rapper and record producer Kanye West.

Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
Ghana polls: President Akufo-Addo wins second term
 The incumbent Ghanaian President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has won the presidential
election and secured his second term.
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About Ghana Capital: Accra Currency: Ghanaian cedi
US to set up a nuclear reactor on the surface of the moon by 2026
 US President Donald Trump has issued a new Space Policy Directive (SPD) which will allow
NASA to set up a nuclear reactor on the surface of the moon by 2026 in collaboration with US
Department of Energy.
 The top priority of NASA is to mature and then demonstrate a fission surface power system on the
Moon. A 10-kilowatt class fission surface power system will be developed by NASA and the
Department of Energy and it will be tested on the surface of the moon. NASA is planning to
demonstrate the system on the Moon in the late 2020s.
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About US Capital: Washington, D.C. Currency: US Dollar
STATES
Schemes/Facilities/Initiatives launched by various States governments
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State Scheme/Facilities/Initiatives launched

The Andhra Pradesh government signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)
Andhra Pradesh with the Survey of India kick-starting one of the largest land and house ownership
surveys in the state christened ‘YSR Jagananna Saswath Bhoo Hakku-Bhoo
Raksha Pathakam’. The programme will be launched on December 21. Around
Capital: Amaravati
14,000 surveyors have been appointed by the Andhra Pradesh government and
Governor: Biswabhushan
9,400 surveyors were given training by Survey of India for the survey which will be
Harichandan conducted over 1.26 lakh sq km except for forest lands, in three phases.
CM: Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy
Union Home Minister Amit Shah laid foundation stone of a medical college and
nine law institutes, besides launching two other projects in Assam during his
Assam visit to the state.
The 8th edition of the North East Festival started with a colourful inaugural
function in Guwahati. The North East Festival is an attempt to showcase and
create awareness about the northeast and to promote entrepreneurship and
Capital: Dispur
tourism. One of the major aims of the festival is to attract tourism and investments
Governor: Jagdish Mukhi
CM: Sarbananda Sonowal and create positive vibes during these trying times.
The Assam government is going to launch a massive beneficiary scheme --
covering almost 22 lakh families across the state from December 1. Under the
Orunodoi scheme, an amount of Rs 830 per month will be given to the qualified
22 lakh families to purchase fundamental items like medicines, pulses, sugar, etc
and the state government will spend Rs 2,400 crore annually.
The Assam government has proposed setting up a Raimona National Park in a
militancy ravaged reserve forest, which, if approved, would make it the state’s
sixth national park.

Monthly BeePedia
December 2020

Bihar The city of Bhagalpur on the banks of Ganga is all set to host a three-day ‘Bird
Festival’, which will showcase hundreds of species of migratory birds. The festival
Capital: Patna is being jointly organised by the state forest department, the Bombay Natural
History Society (BNHS) and the Mandar Nature Club, a Bhagalpur-based
Governor: Phagu Chauhan
conservation organization.
CM: Nitish Kumar
Goa Liberation Day is observed on December 19 every year in India and it
Goa marks the day Indian armed forces freed Goa in 1961 following 450 years of
Portuguese rule.
Capital: Panaji Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant launched a one-time settlement scheme 2020
Governor: Bhagat Singh of the Department of Electricity for power consumers. The payment of electricity
Koshyari bills has been held up due to various reasons, providing the people ease of
CM: Pramod Sawant access to a one-time settlement scheme through which the consumers can pay
bills in installments.
A new mechanism for approval and renewal of fire safety certifications for
Gujarat buildings has been put in place in Gujarat by bringing the process online through
a portal called Fire Safety COP, or Fire Safety Compliance Portal. As part of the
new system, the government has approved the process of training and
Capital: Gandhinagar
empaneling private ‘fire safety officers (FSOs)’ to carry out periodic inspection,
CM: Vijay Rupani
testing and maintenance of fire safety systems in buildings and renewal of
Governor: Acharya Devvrat
certificates.
Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh government has decided to frame an integrated Drug
Prevention Policy including Drug Prevention, Treatment, Management and
Capital: Shimla
Rehabilitation Programme. State Government has decided to open six drug de-
Governor: Bandaru Dattatreya addiction centers in the State.
CM: Jai Ram Thakur
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan
Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) SEHAT scheme for the residents of Jammu and
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Kashmir, via video conferencing. About 6 lakh families of the state are getting the
Jammu & Kashmir
benefit of Ayushman Bharat Scheme. All 21 lakh families will now get the same
benefits after the SEHAT scheme.
Capital: Srinagar (Summer)
Jammu (Winter) Justice Rajesh Bindal was appointed as the acting chief justice of the
Lt. Gov: Manoj Sinha common high court for the union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and
Ladakh.
Karnataka Karnataka CM laid the foundation, remotely, for a waste-to-energy (WtE) plant at
Bidadi, being developed by Karnataka Power Corporation Ltd (KPCL). The plant is
expected to be operational by the end of 2022 and is set to be the first WtE plant
Capital: Bengaluru
in the State. The Bidadi plant is being developed by KPCL and BBMP, each
CM: B.S. Yediyurappa agency putting in ₹130 crore.
Governor: Vajubhai
The government of Kerala and the UN women has decided to collaborate to
Kerala establish the country’s first gender data hub. A memorandum of understanding
was signed for this purpose. The Gender Hub builds on the goals that were
established through an international conference on Gender Equality which was
Capital: Thiruvananthapuram
held in November 2015. The goals were to collect, analyse, and use more
Governor: Arif Mohammad
Khan nuanced data and to inform policy formulation in the manner that will center-stage
CM: Pinarayi Vijayan women's rights.
Ladakh A meteorological centre was inaugurated in the Union Territory of Ladakh which
would provide localised weather forecasts thus strengthening weather-related
Capital: Leh, Kargil early warning system for the region. At 3,500 metres, this meteorological centre is
the highest such facility in India.
Lt. Gov: Radha Krishna Mathur
Lakshadweep Lakshadweep has become the first Union Territory to become 100% organic as
all the farming in the region is carried out without the use of pesticides and

Monthly BeePedia
December 2020

Capital: Kavaratti synthetic fertilizers. The step to opt for organic farming was taken to provide
Administrator: Dineshwar access to safer food choices as well as for making agriculture a more
Sharma environment-friendly activity.
India's first hot air balloon wildlife safari in a tiger reserve was launched in the
world famous Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve by Madhya Pradesh forest minister
Vijay Shah.
Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh cabinet approved the Dharma Swatantrya (Religious
Freedom) Bill 2020. The controversial ordinance outlaws marriages with an aim
Capital: Bhopal of religious conversions.
Governor: Anandiben Patel Gwalior and Orchha in Madhya Pradesh have been included in the list of
CM: Shivraj Singh Chouhan UNESCO’s world heritage cities under its urban landscape city programme.
Arjun Munda, Union Minister for Tribal Affairs, launched the virtual edition of Aadi
Mahotsav- Madhya Pradesh. The 10-day long festival, commencing on
December 1, 2020, is being hosted on the Tribes India website. The main focus is
on the tribal craft and culture of Madhya Pradesh.
Maharashtra government has now unveiled Unified Development Control and
Promotion Regulations (UDCPR) across the state which is expected to boost real
estate activity across the state.
In Maharashtra, the State Wildlife Board has accepted suggestions to declare
eight areas in the western part of the state and two in Vidarbha as
Maharashtra conservation reserves and upgrade Kanhalgaon in Chandrapur to the level of a
sanctuary. The new conservation reserves are Amboli - Dodamarg, Chandgad,
Aajra- Bhudargad, Gaganbawda, Panhalgad, Vishalgad, Jor Jambhli, Maini in
Capital: Mumbai
western Maharashtra, and Mahendri and Munia in Vidarbha.
Governor: Bhagat Singh
Maharashtra government announced that all the residential colonies having
Koshyari
Caste-based names will be renamed. The decision to rename these localities
CM: Uddhav Thackeray was taken to maintain social harmony and national unity.
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To commemorate the 80th birthday of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief
Sharad Pawar, the Maharashtra state government has decided to name a rural
development scheme after him. ‘Sharad Pawar Gram Samruddhi Yojana’ will be
implemented under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee
Scheme (MGNRES).
Mizoram The Mizoram government has launched a project to assist the migrant workers,
who lost their jobs due to the Covid-19 pandemic, find suitable employment. The
Capital: Aizawl Rs 3.3 project under the Mizoram Youth Commission (MZC) christened as
‘Livelihood Generation for Returned Migrant Workers’ was launched by Chief
Governor: P S Sreedharan
Minister Zoramathnga.
CM: Zoramthanga
In its bid to attract more tourists to Odisha, the Tourism Department launched the
second edition of its flagship "Eco-Retreat" programme at five locations. The five
locations, namely Konark, Bhitarkanika, Daringibadi, Hirakud and Satkosia, under
Odisha the scheme, are open to visitors till February 28, 2021.
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik launched PAReSHRAM portal along with
22 online services of Labour and Employees’ State Insurance (ESI) department.
The portal and online services will be helpful in ease of doing business and
Capital: Bhubaneswar
contribute significantly to industrial development of the State.
Governor: Ganeshi Lal
The ninth edition of the International Sand Art Festival has begun at the
CM: Naveen Patnaikha Chandrabhaga Beach of Konark in Odisha's Puri district with adherence to
government prescribed COVID-19 protocols. Sudarsan Pattnaik, world-renowned
sand artist and Padmashree Awardee, has been appointed as Chief Curator of
the festival.
Punjab CM launched a mobile application and web portal ‘PR Insight’ to
Punjab monitor the feedback and subsequently improve the delivery of citizen-centric
services to ensure responsive and transparent administration in the State. PR
Insight application has been developed by the State Information and Public
Capital: Chandigarh
Relations Department to provide single repository and dashboard of all the news

Monthly BeePedia
December 2020

Governor: V P Singh Badnore articles and social media posts of the State.
CM: Captain Amarinder Singh
Rajasthan
On the occasion of Indian Organ Donation Day (November 27), Rajasthan CM
inaugurated the 'Organ Donor Memorial' in Jaipur. The establishment of the
Capital: Jaipur
memorial will inspire people to come forward to donate organs.
Governor: Kalraj Mishra
CM: Ashok Gehlot
Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu government signed 18 Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs)
worth 19,955 crore, with corporate houses and industrial groups, which will create
jobs for 26,509 people. Ola has proposed to set up an electric two-wheeler
Capital: Chennai
manufacturing unit at Hosur, Krishnagiri district with an investment of Rs 2,354
Governor: Banwarilal Purohit crore with an employment potential for about 2,182 persons.
CM: E.K. Palaniswami
The Dandupur railway station situated between Pratapgarh and Badshahpur on
Lucknow-Varanasi rail section will now be named Maa Barahi Devi Dham.
First-ever luxury Cruise service Ramayan Cruise Tour’ on the holy Saryu river
in Ayodhya will be launched soon. It will be the first-ever luxury Cruise service on
Uttar Pradesh the Saryu river (Ghagra/National Waterways-40) in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh.
Uttar Pradesh CM launched COVID-19 testing centre detection app named the
Mera Covid Kendra app which will help people get information about nearby
Capital: Lucknow testing labs available within 5 km of their location.
Governor: Anandiben Patel Uttar Pradesh government has recently launched a scheme to take the unique
CM: Yogi Adityanath culture of the Tharu tribes all over the world. The intention of the scheme is to put
these tribal villages on tourism map. This will create jobs and bring economic
Independence to the tribal population in the region.
In Uttar Pradesh, the government has launched special campaign to curb

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property & land-related disputes in rural areas. This is a first of its kind
campaign to end the nagging land-related issues in the rural areas. It is aimed at
eradicating the exploitation of the villagers in the name of 'Varasat' of land and
property.
Uttar Pradesh is ready to set up its first leather park as part of its mega leather
cluster in Ramaipur village of Kanpur. The project is expected to bring in
investments to the tune of Rs 5,850 crore.
Uttarakhand
Uttrakhand CM inaugurated the Suryadhar Lake in Doiwala, Dehradun. Built at a
cost of Rs 50.25 crore, the lake has a holding capacity of 77,000 cubic metres.
Capital: Gairsain (Summer),
The lake is 550-metre long, 28-metre wide and 10-metre deep. The lake, which
Dehradun (Winter) has been named after social worker Gajendra Dutt Naithani, would provide
Governor: Baby Rani Maurya drinking water to 18 villages and irrigation to 19 villages in the area.
CM: Trivendra Singh Rawat
West Bengal government launched its massive outreach programme "Duare
Sarkar" (government at doorsteps) to ensure that people avail the benefits of 11
state-run welfare schemes.The outreach programme begin from 1 December
West Bengal 2020 and will continue till January 30.
West Bengal CM named the newly-built Majerhat Bridge in Kolkata as "Jai Hind"
Capital: Kolkata bridge to commemorate the 125th birth anniversary of Subhas Chandra Bose.
Governor: Jagdeep Dhankar The bridge is 650-metre-long.
CM: Mamata Banerjee West Bengal CM announced that the “Swasthya Sathi” health scheme of the
government would cover the entire population of the State. The government
planned to extend the cashless scheme where ₹5 lakh insurance is provided to
every family to the entire State.

Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Pixxel to launch remote-sensing satellite on ISRO rocket in early 2021
 Pixxel, a private satellite-imaging company, will launch its first remote-sensing satellite on the
Indian Space Research Organisation workhorse rocket Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) in
early 2021.
 For this, the Bengaluru-based firm has entered into an agreement with NewSpace India Limited
(NSIL), a Government of India company under the Department of Space.
 The DoS and Pixxel will work in collaboration to enhance utilisation and maximise the benefits of
space assets for India.
 This first-of-a-kind private earth-observation mission will help provide solutions to many pressing
environmental and agricultural issues, among other things.
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About Pixxel
Headquarters: Bengaluru Founders: Kshitij Khandelwal, Awais Ahmed Founded: February 2019
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About ISRO
Headquarters: Bengaluru Founder: Vikram Sarabhai Director: Kailasavadivoo Sivan
IIT Kanpur Researchers develop ‘Damaru’ Inspired Lattice that finds applications in stealth
submarines, high speed trains
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 IIT Kanpur researchers have demonstrated how with the use of a micro-structured hour-glass
shaped metastructure in the lattice unit, one can get a wider variation of propagation and stop
bands.
 The hour-glasses are developed in the Smart Materials Laboratory of IIT Kanpur using additive
manufacturing.
Burrowing frog species named after Bengaluru
 A group of researchers from multiple Indian institutions and one from France has found a new
species of burrowing frog and named it Sphaerotheca bengaluru, honouring India’s Silicon City.
Department of Space enters into pact with Agnikul Cosmos for launch vehicle development
program
 Department of Space entered into a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) with Agnikul Cosmos Pvt.
Ltd, a Chennai based start-up located in the National Centre for combustion R&D, IIT Madras, which
builds small private satellite launch vehicle.
 Under the NDA, the company will be enabled for accessing the facilities and technical expertise
available in Indian Space Research Organisations (ISRO) centers to proceed with their launch
vehicle development program.

Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
About DoS: The Department of Space is an Indian government department responsible for administration of the
Indian space program. It manages several agencies and institutes related to space exploration and space
technologies.
Headquarters: Bengaluru Current executive: Kailasavadivoo Sivan
SpaceX launches next-generation Dragon cargo ship to space station
 SpaceX's next-generation, uncrewed Dragon 2 cargo ship has docked on the International Space
Station for the aerospace company's 21st contracted commercial resupply mission.
 The Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket launched from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy
Space Center in Florida.
 The spacecraft which carried over 6,400 pounds of equipment and supplies, was orbiting about 268
miles (431 kilometers) above the southern Indian Ocean.
Indian-American Raja Chari among 3 astronauts selected by NASA for SpaceX Crew-3 mission
 Indian-American US Air Force Colonel Raja Chari has been selected as the Commander of the
SpaceX Crew-3 mission to the International Space Station (ISS) by NASA and the European
Space Agency.
 Chari, 43, will serve as the commander while NASA’s Tom Marshburn will be pilot and ESA’s Matthias
Maurer will serve as a mission specialist for the SpaceX Crew-3 mission to the ISS, which is expected
to launched in 2021.
 The goal of the programme is to provide safe, reliable, and cost-effective crew access to the
space station and low-Earth orbit in partnership with American aerospace industry.
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Japanese Space Capsule Carrying Pristine Asteroid Samples Lands in Australia
 A small capsule bearing pristine pieces of the near-Earth asteroid Ryugu touched down about 310
miles (500 kilometers) northwest of the South Australian capital of Adelaide.
 The samples were snagged millions of miles from Earth by Japan’s Hayabusa2 mission, which
studied the 3,000-foot-wide (900 meters) Ryugu up close from June 2018 to November 2019.
 For the second time ever, humanity has brought asteroid samples down to Earth.
China launches another high-resolution Earth observation satellite
 The Gaofen-14 Earth observation satellite was successfully sent into orbit by a Long March 3B
from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in the hills of Sichuan province.
 Gaofen-14 (meaning "high resolution 14") will join other optical and radar remote sensing satellites
as part of the China High-resolution Earth Observation System (CHEOS). The first, Gaofen-1, was
launched in 2013 and has a suite of advanced, high-resolution, panchromatic and multispectral
cameras.
China successfully launches two satellites for gravitational wave detection
 China successfully launched two satellites for the detection of gravitational waves into planned
orbit from the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre in Sichuan Province.

Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
 The two satellites, which compose the Gravitational Wave High-energy Electromagnetic
Counterpart All-sky Monitor (GECAM) mission, were launched by a Long March-11 carrier rocket.
 The GECAM satellites will be used to monitor high-energy celestial phenomena such as
gravitational wave gamma-ray bursts, high-energy radiation of fast radio bursts, special gamma-ray
bursts and magnetar bursts, and to study neutron stars, black holes and other compact objects and
their merger processes.
World’s oldest nanostructures found in 6th-century BCE pottery from Tamil Nadu
 Five years ago, in a nondescript village some 450km from Chennai, were found the remains of a
city that went back to the 3rd-6th century BCE. Now, in broken pieces of pottery from the
excavation site, Keeladi, scientists have stumbled upon the world's first known use of
nanotechnology, over 2,600 years ago.
PSLV-C50 Mission: ISRO to Launch Communication Satellite CMS-01
 The Indian Space Research Organisation will launch communication satellite CMS-01 on board
the launch vehicle PSLV-C50.
 The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle or PSLV's 52nd mission is scheduled for lift-off from the second
launch pad at the spaceport of Sriharikota.
 CMS-01 is the 42nd communication satellite of the space agency and it is envisaged for providing
services in Extended-C Band of the frequency spectrum covering India, Andaman and Nicobar and
Lakshadweep islands.
 PSLV-C50 is the 22nd flight of PSLV in 'XL' configuration (equipped with six strap-on motors). It
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follows the successful launch of PSLV-C49 (EOS-01) earth observation satellite and nine customer
spacecraft.
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About ISRO
ISRO sets up dedicated control centre for Space Situational Awareness
 A dedicated control centre for Space Situational Awareness (SSA) activities in the country, aimed
at monitoring, tracking and protecting India’s space assets, has been set up.
 ISRO SSA Control Centre, 'NETRA', is set up within the ISTRAC campus at Peenya, Bengaluru.
 The control centre is envisaged to function as a hub of all SSA activities within India.
 The Network for space object Tracking and Analysis (NETRA) project is initiated as a first step
towards meeting this goal, its main elements being a radar, an optical telescope facility, and a control
centre.
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About ISRO

Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
Russia launches UK telecom satellites into space
 A Soyuz rocket blasted off from the Vostochny cosmodrome in Russia's Far East carrying 36 UK
telecommunications and internet satellites.
 The rocket took off carrying satellites made by the British-based company OneWeb.
 The London-headquartered company is working to complete the construction of a constellation of low
earth orbit satellites providing enhanced broadband and other services to countries around the
world.
 OneWeb's first six satellites were launched by a Russian-made Soyuz rocket from the space centre in
Kourou in French Guiana in February 2019.
 OneWeb plans for its global commercial internet service to be operational by 2022, supported by
some 650 satellites.
Russia test-launches Angara A5 heavy lift space rocket
 Russia successfully test-launched its heavy lift Angara A5 space rocket for the second time. The
rocket lifted off from the Plesetsk cosmodrome in northwest Russia.
 Angara A5 is designed to replace the Proton M heavy lift rocket, but its development and
manufacturing has been plagued by delays and technical problems.
China's Chang'e-5 mission spacecraft brings home first moon samples in 40 years
 China’s Chang’e-5 probe, which successfully returned to earth, has retrieved about 1,731 grams of
samples from the moon. www.i xamBee.c om
 Scientists will carry out the storage, analysis and research of the country’s first samples collected
from the extra-terrestrial object.
Skyroot Aerospace becomes first Indian company to test-fire solid-fueled rocket engine
 Indian Space startup, Skyroot Aerospace, has proven the crucial propulsion technology of their
maiden rocket Vikram-1, with the latest test-firing of an engine.
 Vikram-1 rocket is powered by four engines - three solid-fuel stages and one Liquid-fuel stage that
the firm has designed and developed.
 Solid motors or solid-fueled engines are high thrust, low-cost rocket engines with propellant in solid
form. They are highly reliable as they have very few moving parts.
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About Skyroot Aerospace Private Limited: Skyroot Aerospace Private Limited is an Indian private aerospace
manufacturer and commercial launch service provider located in Hyderabad, Telangana.
IIT-H sets up testbed on autonomous navigation (TiHAN) for unmanned aerial vehicles
 Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad (IIT-H) got a new technology innovation hub on
autonomous navigation (TiHAN) for unmanned aerial vehicles and remotely operated vehicles.
 The foundation stone of ‘TiHAN-IIT’ Hyderabad testbed for autonomous navigation systems
(terrestrial and aerial) was laid virtually.

Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
 The new hub will facilitate research grounds to investigate the functioning of unmanned and
connected vehicles in a controlled environment by replicating different scenarios, ranging from
frequently occurring to extreme cases that may ensue in real-life traffic operations.
AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT

“Sahakar Pragya” initiative of NCDC launched
 Sahakar Pragya is an initiative of National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC), to

help in capacity development of the cooperative sector in India, through the training
programme.
 Under this initiative, 45 new training modules have been developed for the farmers and would be
imparted to primary cooperative societies in rural areas of the country by NCDC.
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NationalCooperative Headquarters: New Delhi Managing Director: Sundeep Nayak
Development Corporation
Ministry of AYUSH to develop Nisarg Gram campus at Pune as the abode of Naturopathy
 AYUSH ministry will develop Nisarg Gram campus at Pune as the 21st Century abode of
Naturopathy
ICAR bags global award from FAO for creating awareness about soil health
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 India's agri-research body Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has bagged the
prestigious 'International King Bhumibol World Soil Day Award' from the United Nation's Food and
Agriculture Organization (FAO) for raising awareness about importance of soil health among all
stakeholders.
 The award was conferred to ICAR on the occasion of World Soil Day, celebrated on December 5
Learn Along
The ICAR is an autonomous organisation under the Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE),
Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare
ICAR Headquarters: New Delhi President: Narendra Singh Tomar
APEDA strategizes Action Plan for the promotion of Millets and Millet products with IIMR
 APEDA is formulating a strategy with Indian Institute of Millet Research (IIMR) and other
stakeholders for perspective planning of five years for promotion of Millets and Millet products.
 APEDA is preparing a perspective Action Plan for increasing export of Millet and Millet Products for a
period five years i.e. 2021-2026 to enable all concerned stakeholders for taking necessary action in
a time bound manner for achieving the target.
APEDA and NABARD sign MoU to work together in the interest of agriculture and allied sectors
 APEDA and NABARD have signed MoU at their respective Head offices through online virtual mode
to utilise their expertise by mutually working together to synergize the activities in the interest
of agriculture and allied sectors for bringing better value to the stakeholders.

Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
MNRE issues Guidelines for Implementation of Feeder Level Solarisation under PM-KUSUM
 Ministry of New and Renewable (MNRE), after consultation with state governments, has issued
guidelines for Implementation of Feeder Level Solarisation under Component-C of PM-KUSUM
Scheme.
 As per provisions of the PM-KUSUM Scheme, the grid connected agriculture pumps can be
solarised with central and state subsidy of 30% each and farmer’s contribution of 40%. The
solar capacity allowed is upto two times of the pump capacity in kW and surplus power will be
purchased by DISCOM
o The Distribution Company (DISCOM)/Power Department will be the implementing agency
for feeder level solarisation in their respective areas.
o Where agriculture feeders have already been separated the feeders may be solarised
under the scheme.
o Where agriculture feeders are not separated, loan for feeder separation will be available
from NABARD etc.
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 Pradhan Mantri KisanUrja Suraksha evem Utthan Mahabhiyan (PM KUSUM) has 3 components
 The Component-A includes installation of Decentralized Ground Mounted Grid Connected Renewable Power
Plants, Component-B includes installation of standalone Solar Powered Agriculture Pumps and Component-C
includes Solarisation of Grid-connected Agriculture Pumps.
PM-KUSUM Ministry: Ministry ofNew and Renewable Energy Launch Year: 2019
Cotton exports likely to jump 40% in 2020-21

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 According to South India Mills Association (SIMA) Cotton exports are likely to jump 40% in 2020-21
to 7 million bales, the highest in seven years, as depreciation of the rupee and a rally in global
prices have allowed exporters to clinch contracts.
India considers changing new farm laws after mass protests
 Tens of thousands of farmers were rallying against three laws that the government says are
meant to overhaul antiquated procurement procedures and give growers more options to sell their
produce.
 Farmers fear the legislation, passed in September 2020, will eventually dismantle India's
regulated markets and stop the government from buying wheat and rice at guaranteed prices,
leaving them at the mercy of private buyers.
 Farmer leaders have demanded the government repeal the laws and retain mandatory
government purchases, and said that buyers at private markets should pay the same tax as at state-
run markets
 Under the Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, one of the
new laws, private players are allowed to set up wholesale markets where transactions will not
attract any kind of tax.

Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
Rabi sowing likely to be 2 pc higher than last season: Report
 Sowing for the rabi crop season had already covered 348 lakh hectare (ha) by November 27, 2020
which is 4 per cent more than in the whole of the previous season, and 2 per cent above the average
of the past five years, Crisil Ratings said in a report.
Sugar output jumps over two-fold at 42.9 lakh ton in October - November 2020
 India's sugar production jumped over two fold at 42.9 lakh tonnes during October-November
owing to early start of mills this season, according to industry body ISMA
Andhra Pradesh farmers receive crop insurance

 Andhra Pradesh government paid Rs 1,252 crore as crop insurance to 9.48 lakh farmers across
the state.
 The payment was made under Dr YSR Free Crop Insurance scheme.
Jagananna Jeeva Kranthi launched in Andhra Pradesh
 ‘Jagananna Jeeva Kranthi’ scheme has been launched by the Andhra Pradesh Government.
 This scheme will provide 2.49 lakh units of sheep and goats will be distributed to women in a
phased manner at a cost of ₹1,869 crore.
 Under the scheme, women belonging to the Backward Classes, the Scheduled Castes (SCs),
and the Scheduled Tribes (STs) in the age group of 45-60 years would get 2.49 lakh sheep
and goat units.
 Each unit consists of 15 sheep or goats (with one ram or billy) in each unit.
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Swayampurna Goem – Initiative by NABARD in times of COVID-19
 NABARD initiated a low-cost polyhouses project that came handy as it ensured livelihood
opportunities for jobless youth and SHG members in Goa.
 10 such nurseries were sanctioned by NABARD to Agricultural Technology Management Agency
(ATMA) covering five blocks of the State.
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NABARD Headquarters: Mumbai Chairperson: Govinda Rajulu Chintala
MPEDA launches multilingual call centre for aqua farmers
 Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) has launched a multilingual call centre for
aqua farmers at Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh.
Govt launches e-booklet highlighting success stories of farmers
 In the 100-page e-booklet 'Putting Farmers First', the government said it has made clear the "truth"
about the farm reforms and has mentioned "what will happen" and "what will not happen" for farmers.
Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
Government aims to double farm mechanisation in next 10 years
 Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar remarked that the government’s target is to double
farm mechanization per hectare in 10 years and which can be only possible with the support from
industry
APEDA organises workshop on Export of Organic Basmati Rice
 APEDA organized a Workshop on Opportunities in Export of Organic Basmati Rice, Value

Addition and Product Diversification’ in New Delhi to discuss and deliberate on the promotion of
Basmati Rice, Organic Basmati rice, product diversification and value addition in Basmati Rice.
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Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority(APEDA) is an apex body under the
Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India, responsible for the export promotion of agricultural
products.
APEDA organizes virtual Buyer Seller Meeting with Thailand for expanding exports
 In a bid to boost exports potential of India’s agricultural and processed food products exports,
Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) organized a
Virtual Buyer Seller Meet (BSM), in association with Indian Embassy in Thailand for expanding
exports of agricultural and processed food products exports to South-East Asian country
 The Virtual BSM was followed by a ‘Taste of India’ Campaign in Bangkok
Climate change ravages Kashmir's 'red gold' saffron crop

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 Dry conditions blamed on climate change have seen yields of the world's most expensive spice
halved in the past two decades, threatening the future of a cash crop that has brought wealth to the
region for 2,500 years.
 Warming temperatures caused by climate change have made rainfall erratic, depleting the thirsty
saffron fields of water. Shrinking glaciers across the Himalayan region have also cut water flows to the
foothills downstream.
UAE's Lulu group to set up food processing centre in Jammu and Kashmir
 The UAE-based Lulu Group International has announced a plan to set up a food processing
centre in Srinagar for sourcing a wide range of agriculture products from Jammu and Kashmir.
Powered by GI tag, J&K launches Kashmiri saffron in UAE market
 The Jammu and Kashmir government for the first time launched Kashmiri saffron in in the UAE
market.
 Kashmiri saffron recently received the geographical indication tag.
NTPC launches Green Charcoal Hackathon
 To fast-track the technology development, NTPC VidyutVyapar Nigam (NVVN), in partnership with
EESL organises technology challenge aptly named as Green Charcoal Hackathon.
Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
 The purpose of the event is to leverage the innovative Indian mind to bridge the technology gap, with
the prime objective to clean the air by eliminating farm fire, producing renewable energy out of
the agro residue, to promote local entrepreneurship, and to increase the income of the
farmers.
Amul has become world’s 8th largest milk processor
 Home grown dairy giant Anand Milk Union Limited (Amul) has emerged as the 8th largest milk
processor globally in the list of top 20 released by International Farm Comparison Network
(IFCN), a global dairy research network
 The list is topped by Dairy Farmers of America
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AMUL Headquarters: Anand, Gujarat MD: RS Sodhi
TRIFED Signs MoU with MoFPI for upliftment of tribal lives through PM- FME Scheme
 TriFood range of tribal food products would be developed, branded, and packaged by TRIFED
with the necessary funding under the Prime Minister Formalisation of Micro food processing
Enterprises (PM-FME) Scheme of Minister of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI)
 It has also been agreed that the SHGs working under the Van DhanYojana would be provided
support under the PM-FME Scheme including for handholding, training, capital investment, and
working capital
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PM Formalization of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PM FME) scheme was launched as a part of
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“Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan”, in the presence of MoS, FPI Sh. Rameswar Teli. Union Minister said that the
Scheme would generate total investment of Rs 35,000 crore and generate 9 lakh skilled and semi-skilled
employment and benefit 8 lakh units through access to information, training, better exposure and formalization
PM-FME Ministry: Ministry of Food Processing Industries Launch Year: June 2020
KVIC brings alive 1000-yrs old Monpa handmade paper industry in Tawang
 The 1000-year old heritage art – the Monpa Handmade Paper of Arunachal Pradesh – which was
driven to the extinction, has come to with the efforts of Khadi and Village Industries Commission
(KVIC).
 The art of making Monpa handmade paper originated over 1000 years ago. Gradually the art became
an integral part of local custom and culture in Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh. Once produced in every
household in Tawang, this handmade paper was a major source of livelihood for the locals
NAFED to set up farmer facilitation centre in Maharashtra
 The national agricultural cooperative marketing federation of India (NAFED) is all set to roll out its first
farmer facilitation centre (FFC) for farmer producer companies (FPCs) in Maharashtra in the first
week of January 2021.
 The facility is part of the initiative of NAFED to establish e-Kisan Mandis that would use the online
model to attract buyers and the offline model for physical delivery of commodities
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NAFED Headquarters: New Delhi MD: Sanjeev Chadha
Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
PM releases over Rs 18,000 crore to more than nine crore farmers under PM-KISAN scheme
 Under the PM-KISAN scheme, a financial benefit of Rs 6,000 per year is provided to small and
marginal farmers, payable in three equal instalments of Rs 2,000 each. The fund is transferred
directly to the bank accounts of the beneficiaries.
 The programme comes amid protests by various farmer unions against three farm laws recently
enacted by the Modi government.
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 Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) is a Central Sector scheme with 100% funding from
Government of India. The fund is directly transferred to the bank accounts of the beneficiaries. The Scheme is
effective from December 2018
 Under the Scheme an income support of Rs.6000/- per year is provided to all farmer families across the country
in three equal installments of Rs.2000/- each every four months
PM-KISAN Ministry: Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare Launch Year: 2019
PM flags off 100th Kisan Rail
 The Prime Minister has flagged off the 100th Kisan Rail from Sangola in Maharashtra to Shalimar
in West Bengal
 As per the Prime Minister, kisan rail service will bring a major change in the economy related to
farming and will also increase the strength of the country's cold supply chain. He added no
minimum quantity has been fixed to transport through Kisan Rail so that, even the smallest
produce will be able to reach the big market properly at a low price.
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TRIFED signs MoU with Diviniti to create an up-market niche brand of products
 Tribal Co-operative Marketing Federation of India (TRIFED) and Shree Swarnam Divine Products
Private Limited (DIVINITI) have agreed to partner with each other to create an up-market niche brand
of products to be named as “TRIFED-DIVINITI Premium Range from the existing range of tribal
products.
 All the products of “TRIFED – DIVINITI Premium Range” will be marketed in all Tribes India
Outlets, e-marketplace, Corporates, Government, and PSUs.
Karnataka unveils portal for farmers
 The Karnataka government has unveiled the Farmer Registration and Unified beneficiary
Information System (FRUITS), an e-governance portal, to create a repository of farmland
information and farm loan details on a single platform.
 All farmers will be registered and given an identification number on the portal. Using this
number, banks and other lending institutions can access the land details of farmers as well as details
of their existing borrowings and take a quick decision on lending.
 Canara Bank has agreed to run FRUITS on a pilot basis
Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
Container shortage and high freight likely to affect India’s agricultural exports
 Ocean freight has doubled and trebled because of a severe shortage of containers and delays
have started affecting India’s export of major agricultural products like rice, grapes, cotton as also
engineering goods.
 A decline in containers coming from China due to fall in imports from that country has boosted
container shortages.
North East’s first-ever specialized "Ginger" Processing Plant in Meghalaya is being revived
 North East’s first-ever specialised Ginger Processing Plant at district Ri-Bhoui in Meghalaya is
being revived and is likely to become functional in the beginning of 2021
 The ginger products being prepared from this plant will not only be available for domestic consumption
but will also have a wider demand and this will also be in keeping with Prime Minister Modi’s calls for
“Vocal for Local”
India’s first pollinator park opens in Uttarakhand’s Haldwani
 The Uttarakhand forest department has dedicated the newly built Pollinator Park to the public,
claiming it to be the country’s first such park, spread over 4 acres in Haldwani in Nainital district.
 The park aims to conserve various pollinator species, create awareness among general public
about their importance and to promote further research on various aspects of pollination.
DEFENCE www.i xamBee.c om
India test-fires anti-ship version of BrahMos supersonic cruise missile in Andaman & Nicobar
 India successfully test-fired anti-ship version of BrahMos supersonic cruise missile in Andaman
and Nicobar Islands. The fastest cruise missile in its class, BrahMos has a speed of 2.8 Mach or
almost three times the speed of sound.
 Jointly developed by Russia and India, successful integration of BrahMos with air, land and sea
platforms is also being viewed as a major leap towards indigenisation.
IAF carries out firing of Akash and Igla missiles in Suryalanka
 The Indian Air Force has carried out firing of the indigenously developed Akash missile system
along with Russian short-range Igla missiles as part of a drill at air force station Suryalanka in
Andhra Pradesh.
PASSEX conducted by Indian Navy and Russian Navy
 The Indian Navy (IN) is undertaking a Passage Exercise (PASSEX) with Russian Federation Navy
(RuFN) in the Eastern Indian Ocean Region (IOR) from 4 to 5 December 2020.
 The exercise is aimed at enhancing interoperability, improving understanding and imbibing best
practices between both the friendly navies.
Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
Learn Along
About PASSEX: A passing exercise (a PASSEX in U.S. Navy terminology) is an exercise done between two
navies to ensure that the navies are able to communicate and cooperate in times of war or humanitarian relief.
PASSEXs are conducted regularly by IN with units of friendly foreign navies, whilst visiting each other’s ports or
during a rendezvous at sea.
DRDO-developed howitzer undergoes trial in Maharashtra
 The indigenous howitzer Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System underwent trials at Ahmednagar
in Maharashtra.It has been developed by the Defence Research Development Organisation
(DRDO).
 The howitzer is being readied for the Indian Army requirements and has a striking range of around
50 kms.
 The DRDO laboratory Armament Research and Development Establishment (ARDE) partnered with
private players Bharat Forge Limited, Mahindra Defence Naval System, Tata Power Strategic
Engineering Division and public sector unit Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) for this purpose.
Learn Along
About DRDO: The Defence Research and Development Organisation is an agency under the Department of
Defence Research and Development in Ministry of Defence of the Government of India, charged with the military's
research and development, headquartered in Delhi, India.
DRDO Headquarters: New Delhi Chairman: G. Satheesh Reddy
DRDO successfully demonstrates quantum communication between two labs

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 The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully demonstrated

communication between its two labs using Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) technology.
 The Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL) and The Research Centre Imarat
(RCI) were the two labs that participated in this demonstration.
 In the QKD technology, encryption keys are sent as qubits in a fibre optic cable. Quantum computing
uses qubits as basic resources, similar to how bits are used as basic resources in classical
computing.
Navy, DRDO conduct maiden trial of 1st indigenous air-droppable container 'SAHAYAK-NG'
 Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) along with the Indian Navy conducted
the successful maiden test trial of 'SAHAYAK-NG' India's first indigenously designed and
developed Air Dropped Container from IL 38SD aircraft (Indian Navy) off the coast of Goa.
 The trial was conducted by the Indian Navy to enhance its operational logistics capabilities and
provide critical engineering stores to ships that are deployed more than 2000 kilometers from the
coast. It reduces the requirement of ships to come close to the coast to collect spares and stores.
 Two DRDO laboratories--Naval Science and Technological Laboratory, Visakhapatnam and
Aerial Delivery Research and Development Establishment, Agra-- were involved in the
development of the SAHAYAK-NG container along with the industry partner M/s Avantel for GPS
integration.
Indigenous Aircraft Carrier to be commissioned by next year end or by early 2022
Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
 The Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC), which has entered final phase of its construction at Cochin
Shipyard Limited, will be commissioned by next year end or by early 2022.
 Basin Trials (testing of the ship machinery and equipment in floating conditions before the sea trials)
of the aircraft carrier were successfully conducted at CSL.
Indian Navy finalises procurement of anti-drone systems
 The Indian Navy has finalised a contract for procurement of a batch of Israeli weapon systems,
SMASH 2000 fire control systems, which are capable of bringing down high-speed enemy
drones.
 The fire control system, manufactured by Israeli firm Smart Shooter can track and bring down high-
speed drones.
Launch of 2nd Project 17A Ship ‘HIMGIRI’
 ‘Himgiri’, the first of the three Project 17A ships being built at M/s Garden Reach Shipbuilders
and Engineers Limited (GRSE), Kolkata was launched.
 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.
 P17A ships are the first gas turbine propulsion and largest combat platforms ever built at GRSE.
Indian Navy, INCOIS sign MoU to share ocean services data
 Indian Navy has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Indian National Centre for
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Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) for sharing ocean services data, expertise in operational
oceanography.
 This MoU is focused on sharing of ocean services, data, and expertise in the field of operational
oceanography and the same will benefit both Indian Navy and INCOIS in furthering meaningful
interactions and professional exchanges in future.
Learn Along
About INCOIS & Indian Navy: While INCOIS, a unit under the administrative control of the Union Ministry of
Earth Sciences, provides information and advisory services to society, industry, government agencies and the
scientific community, the Indian Navy deals with the multifaceted and specialised aspects of Oceanography and
Meteorology in support of naval operations in all its three dimensions.
Defence Ministry approves acquisition of military hardware worth Rs 28,000 crore
 The Defence ministry approved procurement of weapons and military equipment worth Rs
28,000 crore including six airborne warning and control system aircraft for the Indian Air Force.
 The procurement proposals were cleared by the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) headed by
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.
 The proposals approved by the DAC also include procurement of 11 next-generation offshore patrol
vessels for the Indian Navy at a cost of Rs 9,000.
 Under the proposal approved by the DAC, six AWACS will be acquired at a cost of Rs 10,990 crore
and the project will be implemented by the DRDO.
Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
India test-fires two Prithvi-2 ballistic missiles off Odisha's coast
 India successfully testfired two Prithvi-2 ballistic missiles off the eastern coast of Odisha in
Balasore.
 The trials of the DRDO-developed nuclear-capable surface to surface missiles were successful.
35th edition of India Indonesia Coordinated Patrol
 The 35th edition of India-Indonesia Coordinated Patrol (IND-INDO CORPAT) between the Indian
Navy and the Indonesian Navy was conducted.
 To reinforce maritime links, the two navies have been carrying out CORPAT along their
International Maritime Boundary Line since 2002, with the aim of ensuring safety and security of
shipping and international trade in the region.
 CORPATs build up understanding and interoperability between navies and facilitate institution of
measures to prevent and suppress Illegal Unreported Unregulated (IUU) fishing, drug trafficking,
maritime terrorism, armed robbery and piracy.
Offshore Patrol Vessel 'Sujeet' to be commissioned
 Indian Coast Guard (ICG) ship 'Sujeet', the second in the series of five Offshore Patrol Vessel
(OPV) built by Goa Shipyard Limited was commissioned at Goa.
 The 105 metres OPV (off-shore patrol vessel) has been designed and built indigenously by the
Goa Shipyard Limited, and is fitted with advanced technology, navigation and communication
equipment, sensors and machinery. www.i xamBee.c om
Coast Guard commissions interceptor boat in Surat
 An indigenously built interceptor boat C-454 was handed over to the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) at
an event at Hazira in Surat district. The vessel will operate from Gujarat under the control of the
Commander Coast Guard Region (North-West) of the ICG.
 It is built by Larsen and Toubro at its Hazira plant. The interceptor boat will ensure maritime security
of Gujarat’s 1,600-km coastline.
Union Cabinet approves export of Akash missile system
 The Union Cabinet cleared the proposal to export indigenously-developed Akash Missile
System. The Cabinet has also approved the setting up of a committee for faster approvals.
 The export version of Akash Missile System will be different from the system that has been deployed
with Indian armed forces.
Learn Along
About Akash Missile: Akash is country’s important missile with over 96 percent indigenisation. Akash is a Surface
to Air Missile with a range of 25 Kms. It is a short-range surface-to-air missile system to protect vulnerable areas
and vulnerable points from air attacks. Akash Weapon System can simultaneously engage multiple targets in group
mode or autonomous mode. It has built-in Electronic Counter-Counter Measures (ECCM) features.
Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
Goa Shipyard Ltd launched the fifth and final Offshore Patrol Vessel
 Goa Shipyard Ltd (GSL) launched the fifth and final Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV) out of an order
of five such vessels it is constructing for the Indian Coast Guard (ICG).
 The vessel has been named ICGS Saksham.
 GSL’s OPVs are 2,350-tonne vessels, armed with 30-millimetre guns and equipped with quick
response boats to handle emergencies along the coast, piracy and anti-terrorism missions.
Myanmar Navy Commissions UMS Minye Theinkhathu, The Erstwhile INS Sindhuvir
 Myanmar formally commissioned Erstwhile INS Sindhuvir as UMS Minye Theinkhathu into its
navy. The Submarine was handed over by India to the country in October 2020.
 UMS Minye Theinkhathu is the Kilo-class Submarine named after the ancient warrior of Myanmar.
Indian naval ship conducts 'passage exercise' with Vietnamese Navy
 An Indian Navy warship undertook a "passage exercise" with the Vietnamese Navy in the South
China Sea as part of efforts to boost maritime cooperation between the two countries.
 Indian naval ship INS Kiltan had arrived at the Nha Rhang port of Ho Chi Minh City with 15 tonnes of
relief materials for the flood-affected people of central Vietnam and it participated in the exercise on
its return journey.
India successfully test fires medium range surface to air missile off Odisha coast
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 India successfully test fired a medium range surface-to-air missile (MRSAM) from Odisha coast.
 The missile was fired from a ground mobile launcher at launch pad number-1 of the Integrated Test
Range (ITR), and it hit the target with accuracy.
 An unmanned air vehicle (UAV), 'Banshee', was first flown into the air, which was hit by the MRSAM.
 The DRDO has jointly developed the missile in collaboration with Israel Aerospace Industries.
 The MRSAM has been manufactured by Bharat Dynamics Ltd.
EVENTS
IIT 2020 Global Summit
 Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be delivering a keynote address at the IIT-2020 Global Summit,
organised by PanIIT USA.
 The theme of this year's summit is 'The Future is Now'.
 The Summit will focus on issues like the global economy, technology, innovation, health, habitat
conservation and universal education, according to an official release.
About PanIIT USA: PanIIT USA is an organization that is more than 20 years old. Since 2003 PanIIT USA has
organised this conference and invited speakers from different sectors including industry, academia, and
government. PanIIT USA is run by an all-volunteer team of IIT alumni.
India Mobile Congress 2020
Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
 PM Modi addressed the virtual India Mobile Congress (IMC) 2020 through video conference.
 The theme for IMC 2020 is "Inclusive Innovation - Smart, Secure, Sustainable”.
 It aims to align to the Prime Minister’s vision to promote ‘AatmaNirbhar Bharat’, ‘Digital Inclusivity’,
and ‘Sustainable development, entrepreneurship & innovation’.
 It also aims to drive foreign and local investments, encourage R&D in the telecom and emerging
technology sectors.
Trilateral maritime meeting
 National Security Advisor Ajit Doval took part in the high-level Trilateral maritime dialogue among
India, Sri Lanka and the Maldives which was held after a gap of six years.
 Sri Lanka is hosting the fourth trilateral meeting on maritime security cooperation with India and
the Maldives. The meeting will be attended by observers from Bangladesh, Mauritius and
Seychelles.
 The high-level trilateral meeting is designed to initiate collective action on maritime security including
maritime domain awareness, legal regimes, train in search and rescue, maritime pollution response,
information sharing, curbing piracy drugs arms and contraband trafficking in the Indian Ocean region.
7th India Suriname Joint Commission Meeting
 India and Suriname held their virtual 7th India Suriname Joint Commission Meeting (JCM).
 The meeting was Co-Chaired by the Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan and the
Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Business and International Cooperation of the Republic of
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Suriname Ambassador Albert R Ramdin.

 Reiterating their commitment to provide mutual support in international fora, India and Suriname have
resolved to continue to work closely together on various issues in order to further strengthen and
expand their bilateral relations.
7th IEF-IGU Ministerial Gas Forum
 In collaboration with the International Energy Forum (IEF) and the International Gas Union (IGU),
H.E. Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, Prime Minister of Malaysia inaugurated the 7th IEF-IGU Ministerial
Gas Forum hosted by the government of Malaysia from Kuala Lumpur.
 The theme was "Towards Recovery and Shared Prosperity: Natural Gas Opportunities for a
Sustainable World."
 As part of the discussions, delegates deepened collective understanding of evolving energy policies
and business strategies to accelerate a secure, sustainable, and inclusive recovery and shared
prosperity.
 Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Dharmendra Pradhan represented the Indian side.
Sixth India-CLMV business conclave
 The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), in partnership with the Ministry of Commerce and
Industry, Government of India, held the 6th India-CLMV business conclave: Building Bridges for
Constructive Development virtually with Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Vietnam (CLMV).
Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
 The two-day event created a platform to strengthen India’s cooperation with the CLMV countries. It
had sectoral sessions, country-focus sessions and participation from government and industry from
the CLMV region including India.
 India’s Minister of State for External Affairs V. Muraleedharan highlighted India’s cooperation with the
CLMV region right through the COVID-19 crisis, including the provision of medicines and medical
supplies to the region and the training of medical personnel from the region.
Virtual conclave on Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH)
 A three-day Virtual conclave on Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) kicked off in Hyderabad,
with the participation of officials from the State governments, experts and development partners of
Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.
 Organised by UNICEF in collaboration with the three State governments and the National
Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (NIRD&PR), it aims to facilitate knowledge
exchange and action on WASH-related issues particularly in the current pandemic context.
 The theme of this year’s conclave was “Hygiene Matters” and it brought diverse players, including
government, civil society, private sector and academia, under one platform to deliberate on WASH
strategies with special emphasis on hygiene in the COVID-19 context.
7th meeting of India-Mongolia Joint Committee on Cooperation
 The seventh meeting of the India-Mongolia Joint Committee on Cooperation was held virtually
between External Affairs Minister (EAM) Dr S Jaishankar and Chief Cabinet Secretary of Mongolia L
Oyun-Erdene, wherein the two ministers held comprehensive discussions on the range of issues
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covering bilateral cooperation.

 The two sides agreed to establish AYUSH Information Cell in Ulaanbaatar at an early date.
 The Ministers also reviewed the progress of ongoing developmental partnership projects including the
USD 1.236 billion Line of Credit Oil Refinery Project and the USD 20 million Atal Bihari
Vajpayee Centre of Excellence in ICT and Outsourcing.
India Hosts 19th SCO Council Meeting
 Vice President of India Venkaiah Naidu chaired the 19th meeting of the SCO Council of Heads of
Government to be hosted by India in virtual format.
 This Summit is held annually at the level of Prime Ministers of SCO and deals primarily with the trade
and economic agenda of the organization.
 The prime ministers of Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan
attended the meeting while Pakistan will be represented by its parliamentary secretary for foreign
affairs.
 The focus of the annual event is on trade and economic cooperation. India took over the yearlong
chairmanship of the Council of Heads of Government in November last year.
About SCO: The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, or Shanghai Pact, is a Eurasian political, economic, and
security alliance, the creation of which was announced on 15 June 2001 in Shanghai, China.
Secretary General: Vladimir Norov Headquarters: Beijing, China
Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
First ever SCO Online International Exhibition on Shared Buddhist Heritage
 M. Venkaiah Naidu, Vice President of India & Chair of the SCO Council of Heads of Government in
2020, launched the first ever SCO Online Exhibition on Shared Buddhist Heritage, during the 19th
Meeting of the SCO Council of Heads of Government (SCO CHG), in New Delhi, in videoconference
format.
 This SCO online International exhibition, first ever of its kind, is developed and curated by National
Museum, New Delhi, in active collaboration with SCO member countries.
 The exhibition deploys state of the art technologies like 3D scanning, webGL platform, virtual space
utilization, innovative curation and narration methodology etc.
6th BRICS Youth Summit
 Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Kiren Rijiju attended the VIth BRICS Youth Summit and
Meeting of BRICS Ministers through a virtual programme.
About BRICS: BRICS is the acronym coined to associate five major emerging national economies: Brazil, Russia,
India, China, and South Africa. The BRICS members are known for their significant influence on regional affairs.
5th India - Myanmar bilateral meeting on Drug Control Cooperation
 The 5th India- Myanmar Bilateral Meeting on Drug Control Cooperation between the Narcotics
Control Bureau (NCB), India and the Central Committee on Drug Abuse Control, Myanmar was
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held virtually.
 The Indian delegation was led by the Director General Narcotics Control Bureau, Rakesh Asthana,
and the Myanmar delegation was led by the Commander of the Drug Enforcement Division (DED)
cum Joint Secretary of the Central Committee for Drug Abuse Control, Pol. Brig. Gen. Win Naing.
 Both countries agreed upon exchange of intelligence information in timely manner to conduct follow-
up investigation in drug seizure cases, new psychotropic substances and their precursors
5th round of FOCs between India and Cyprus
 The fifth round of Foreign Office Consultations (FOCs) between India and Cyprus were held
through virtual mode.
 Indian side was led by Neeta Bhushan, Joint Secretary (Central Europe) and Cypriot side by
Thessalia Salina Shambos, Political Director, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Cyprus.
 Both sides reviewed the cooperation in various fields including political, economic, consular and
cultural areas. Both sides also reviewed the status of agreements and MoUs including those on
Defence and Military Cooperation, Sports, Culture including Ayurveda and agreed to work towards
early finalisation of these agreements.
Webinar held with Brazil on Indian defence industry outreach for collaborative partnership
 A webinar was held between India and Brazil on the theme 'Indian Defence Industry Global
Outreach for Collaborative Partnership'.
Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
 It was organized under the aegis of Department of Defence Production, Ministry of Defence
through The Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers (SIDM).
 Envoys of both the countries participated in the webinar and spoke about the multifaceted relationship
and strategic partnership between two countries.
 Anurag Bajpai, Joint Secretary in the Defence Industries Production wing of Defence Ministry, said
that broad-based bilateral defence cooperation is important in enhancing the strategic partnership.
Singapore to host World Economic Forum's annual meeting in May 2021
 The World Economic Forum will convene the Special Annual Meeting 2021 in Singapore from 13-
16 May.
 It will return to Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, for the Annual Meeting 2022.
About WEF: The World Economic Forum, based in Cologny, Geneva Canton, Switzerland, is an international
NGO, founded on 24 January 1971.
Headquarters: Cologny, Switzerland Founder: Klaus Schwab
World Bank inter-ministerial meet on vaccination of South Asia against COVID-19
 Union health minister, Dr. Harsh Vardhan, digitally addressed the inter-ministerial meeting on
vaccination of South Asia against COVID-19 by the World Bank, through Video Conference.
 Dr. Vardhan presenting a detailed summary of the proactive, preemptive, graded, whole of
government and society approach to the COVID-19 pandemic undertaken by India.
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South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation on its 36th Charter Day anniversary
 The 36th South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Charter Day was observed in
Thimphu on 8th December.
 The day was observed with the offering of thousands of butter lamps at Dechenphodrang Lhakhang.
 The SAARC Charter was adopted on 8th December 1985 by the SAARC Heads of
State/Government during their first-ever Summit in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
 The Charter recognises the region’s shared history and the determination of the Member States –
Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka – to foster
mutual understanding, friendship and cooperation for peace and prosperity. The objective of SAARC
is to accelerate the process of social, economic and cultural development in the region.
About SAARC: The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation is the regional intergovernmental
organization and geopolitical union of states in South Asia. Its member states are Afghanistan, Bangladesh,
Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
6th India-Japan ICT Joint Working Group meet
 The 6th India-Japan ICT Joint Working Group meeting was held to discuss cooperation in 5G
technologies and medical applications of Artificial Intelligence.
 The Japanese side to the talks was led by Vice Minister Yoshida Mabito while the Indian side
comprised of a team that included K Ramchand from the Department of Telecom and Anshu Prakash
from India’s Ministry of Communication.
Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
14th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus
 Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, attended the 14th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus
organized online at Hanoi, Vietnam that marked the 10th anniversary of ADMM Plus.
 ADMM Plus is an annual meeting of Defence Ministers of 10 ASEAN Countries and eight partner
countries.
Learn Along
About ASEAN: The Association of Southeast Asian Nations is a regional intergovernmental organization
comprising ten countries in Southeast Asia, which promotes intergovernmental cooperation and facilitates
economic, political, security, military, educational, and sociocultural integration among its members and other
countries in Asia.
Headquarters: Jakarta, Indonesia Founded: 1967
International Inter-Ministerial Conference on South-South Cooperation in Population and

Development
 The 17th International Inter-Ministerial Conference on South-South Cooperation in Population and

Development titled “Nairobi Commitments and the 2030 Agenda: Taking stock and looking
ahead to post COVID-19 Crisis” was concluded with the Ministerial Session on “Promoting South-
South Cooperation for Attaining Nairobi Commitments and the Agenda 2030”.
 It was organized jointly by PPD, UNFPA and National Health Commission (NHC) of China.
 The Ministerial Session was addressed by a range of internationally acclaimed and outstanding
leaders in health, population and development. www.i xamBee.c om
TiE Global Summit 2020
 The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE) announced to confer ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ to renowned
philanthropist and Microsoft founder Bill Gates.
 The Bill and Melinda Gates founder will be presented the award on the third day of the TiE Global
Summit 2020.
 Along with him, six ‘Outstanding Entrepreneurs’ and six ecosystem players will also be recognised at
the valedictory function.
DST-CII Tech Summit 2020
 Union Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan addressed 26th edition of DST-CII Technology Summit.
 The DST-CII Technology Summit 2020 was organised by the Department of Science & technology
(DST), Government of India and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).
 During his addresses, the Union Health Minister said that over 100 startups have provided innovative
products and solutions to overcome challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Fifth BRICS Media Forum
 At the fifth BRICS Media Forum, held virtually, media organisations discussed ways in which
journalists from the grouping could collaborate more closely to tell stories, with the countries facing
many similar challenges, from economic issues to public health, as they grapple with COVID-19.
Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
 Representatives of media organisations from BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South
Africa) called for the five nations to work together to jointly combat the “virus of disinformation” in the
pandemic era.
About BRICS: BRICS is the acronym coined to associate five major emerging national economies: Brazil, Russia,
India, China, and South Africa. The BRICS members are known for their significant influence on regional affairs.
Since 2009, the BRICS nations have met annually at formal summits.
India, US Counternarcotics Working Group (CNWG) Meet
 India and the US have agreed to enhance their collaboration on counternarcotics regulation and law
enforcement, and identified areas for joint action and coordination in the inaugural meeting of the
Counternarcotics Working Group (CNWG), held virtually.
 India and the US also agreed to enhance their data sharing operations to combat the production,
distribution, diversion, and export/import of drugs and precursor chemicals.
 The Indian delegation was led by Sachin Jain, Deputy Director General, Narcotics Control Board,
Ministry of Home Affairs, while the US side was headed by White House Office of National Drug
Control Policy Assistant Director Kemp Chester.
Fourth South Asia Forum on SDGs
 In the backdrop of the 4th South Asian Forum of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG), UNESCAP
South Asia and Pacific virtually organised a special dialogue on disaster and climate resilience
in South Asia. www.i xamBee.c om
 The key objectives of the High Level meeting were to identify the opportunities and imperatives to
overcome the challenges in implementing the systemic approach to disaster and public health risk
management.
India Sweden Healthcare Innovation Centre - Annual Conference
 Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister of Health & Family Welfare chaired the inaugural session of the
annual conference of the India Sweden Healthcare Innovation Centre – ‘health talks,’ under Sweden
India Nobel memorial week.
 The India Sweden Healthcare Innovation Centre is also in the process of setting up a Centre of
Excellence at AIIMS Jodhpur on Cancer Care. This will help patients to better understand and
manage their disease, the treatment plan and the prognosis.
9th edition of Sustainable Mountain Development Summit
 The ninth edition of the Sustainable Mountain Development Summit (SMDS) in Dehradun has
begun.
 The theme for this year is Emerging Pathways for Building a Resilient Post COVID-19 Mountain
Economy, Adaptation, Innovation and Acceleration.
 The summit will focus on the overall objective of building pathways toward a resilient and sustainable
mountain economy in the context of a post COVID-19 scenario and Climate Change.
Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
5th India Water Impact Summit
 The 5th India Water Impact Summit (IWIS) began with the theme of comprehensive analysis and
holistic management of rivers and water bodies with a focus on Arth Ganga - river conservation
synchronised development.
 It is being organised virtually by the NMCG and the Centre for Ganga River Basin Management
and Studies (cGanga).
 The summit is aimed at discussing and disseminating the needs for the modalities of embracing Arth
Ganga and the vision of the prime minister in sectors that closely interweave with river conservation.
PM Modi Inaugurates FICCI’s Annual Convention and 93rd AGM
 PM Modi virtually inaugurated the 93rd Annual General Meeting and Annual Convention of (Federation
of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry) FICCI.
 The Theme was “Inspired India”.
Climate Ambition Summit 2020
 The Climate Ambition Summit 2020 will mark the fifth anniversary of the Paris Agreement, and will
provide a platform for government and non-governmental leaders to demonstrate their commitment to
the Paris Agreement and the multilateral process.
 The United Nations (UN), United Kingdom (UK) and France co-hosted the summit, in partnership
with Chile and Italy.
 The Summit was a major step on the road to the next UN Climate Change Conference of the
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Parties (COP26), which will be hosted by the UK next November in Glasgow.

 The Summit provided leaders with a global platform to showcase commitments to tackle climate
change which were under the three pillars of the Paris Agreement: mitigation, adaptation and finance
commitments.
12th GRIHA Summit
 The 12th edition of India's Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment (GRIHA) Council's annual
flagship event was held. The theme was 'Rejuvenating Resilient Habitats'.
 The 2020 GRIHA Summit, was held virtually and bought together key stakeholders to discuss and
deliberate on furthering the sustainable habitat agenda in India.
Learn Along
About GRIHA Council: Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment (GRIHA) Council is an independent, not-
for -profit society jointly setup by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) and the Ministry of New and
Renewable Energy (MNRE), Government of India to promote and administer green buildings in India. GRIHA has
been acknowledged as a tool to evaluate reduction in emission intensity through habitats, as part of mitigation
strategy for combating climate change in INDIA's "Nationally Determined Contributions" (NDCs) submitted to
UNFCCC.
51st International Film Festival of India (IFFI)
 The 51st edition of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) will be held from January 16 to
January 24.
Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
 The nine-day film gala, which was previously scheduled to take place in Goa from November 20-28,
was postponed in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
4th Bilateral Joint Working Group meeting NCB India and BNN Indonesia
 Fourth Bilateral Joint Working Group Meeting between the Narcotics Control Bureau NCB India
and the National Narcotics Board BNN, Indonesia was held.
 The Indian delegation was led by Director General, Narcotics Control Bureau, Rakesh Asthana and
the Indonesian delegation was led by Deputy of Legal Affairs and Cooperation, National Narcotic
Board of Indonesia, PujiSarwono.
 Both the countries agreed on exchange of intelligence information in a timely manner to conduct
follow-up investigation in drug seizure cases, New Psychoactive Substances and their precursors. It
was decided to exchange information on illegal entry and exit points of illicit drug trafficking on the
Indonesia-India borders and information on technology being used to interdict drug trafficking.
3rd meeting of the Joint Working Group (JWG) on shipping between India and Denmark
 The third meeting of the Joint Working Group (JWG) on shipping between India and Denmark was
held virtually.
 The JWG discussions focused on identifying areas of cooperation between the two countries.
 Both parties also agreed on cooperation on matters of mutual interest in the International Maritime
Organisation (IMO), by holding a series of web-meeting of the experts from both sides in
negotiations concerning greenhouses gas emissions.
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India-Maldives Defence Cooperation Webinar and Expo
 A webinar and Expo between India and Maldives were held. The Theme of webinar was ‘Joint
Indo Maldives High Level Defence Engagement’.
 It was organised under the aegis of Department of Defence Production (DDP), Ministry of Defence
(MoD) through Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).
 This webinar is the part of Aero India 21 series of webinars which is being organised to boost
defence cooperation and engagements with friendly foreign countries.
20th Council of Ministers Meeting of IORA Member States
 The UAE will host the 20th Council of Ministers Meeting of Member States of the Indian Ocean Rim
Association (IORA), chaired by His Excellency Ahmed Ali Al Sayegh, UAE Minister of State.
 The UAE will also host the 22nd meeting of the Committee of Senior Officials of IORA Member
States, chaired by H.E. Abdul Nasser Al Shaali, Assistant Minister for Economic and Trade Affairs at
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, via video conference.
 The meeting will address a number of priority topics within the UAE’s plan as Chair of the Association.
 Furthermore, senior officials of member states will discuss proposals to enhance cooperation and
dialogue within the IORA framework, focusing on joint action in line with best practices to reduce the
impact of natural disasters.
 The UAE holds the 2019-2021 IORA presidency.
Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
Learn Along
About IORA: IORA was established in 1997 with the aim of promoting regional cooperation, prosperity, and growth
in the Indian Ocean region through joint action according to key themes, namely maritime security and safety, the
facilitation of trade and investment, fisheries management, disaster risk management, tourism and cultural
exchange, academic, scientific and technological cooperation, the economic empowerment of women, and the Blue
Economy.
Global Technology Summit 2020
 Carnegie India in collaboration with the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India is hosting
‘The Global Technology Summit’.
 Theme for this year summit is “Geopolitics of Technology”.
 The five day conference will highlight the following subjects:
a. Technology in shaping geopolitics
b. Future of data
c. Digital inclusion and innovation
d. Technology in tackling pandemics
6th India-Japan Samwad Conference
 Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the 6th India-Japan Samvad conference, through video
conferencing.
 The Prime Minister proposed the creation of a library of all Buddhist literature and scriptures.
 Key Objectives of the 6th India-Japan Samwad: www.i xamBee.c om
1. To encourage dialogue and debate

2. To highlight shared values between India-Japan
3. To carry forward our ancient tradition of spiritual and scholarly exchanges.
Learn Along
About India-Japan Samwad Conference: The first India-Japan Samwad Conference was held in 2015 at Bodh
Gaya, India. The conference witnessed participation from leading religious leaders, scholars, academicians and
political personalities, who exchanged views on conflict avoidance and environmental consciousness .
India International Science Festival-2020
 The Prime Minister delivered the inaugural address at the India International Science Festival (IISF)
2020 through video conferencing.
 The central theme of this year’s festival is “Science for Self-reliant India and Global Welfare”.
 The festival begins on 22nd December, the birthday of Srinivas Ramanujam, and culminates on 25th
December, the birthday of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
 IISF is an annual event organized jointly among others by DST, DBT, MoEF, MoHWF and CSIR
from the Government of India and VijnanaBharati (VIBHA) as well as with support of a large number
of other organisations.
Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
Global Indian Scientists & Technocrats (GIST) meet
 Union Minister Health and Welfare Dr Harsh Vardhan inaugurated the Global Indian Scientists &
Technocrats (GIST) meet which is being organized as a part of the Indian International Science
Festival (IISF) 2020.
 GIST Meet has participants from several countries including USA, UK, Qatar, Angola, Anguilla,
Australia, Switzerland and India.
 The meeting involves Students, Teachers, Professors, Engineers, Physicians, Researchers,
Scientists, Doctors and many others. Deliberations and presentations in the area of Agriculture,
Water, AI applications, Healthcare, Education and Skilling for better employability are some of the key
topics that would be deliberated upon.
Learn Along
About Global Indian Scientists & Technocrats: GIST is an autonomous platform created by Vijnana Bharati to
link global Indians with the under privileged (40 crore) masses in the country, mostly residing in more than three
lakh villages. GIST was officially launched by Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam on 26 December 2010 at Pune.
APPOINTMENTS
Organization
News Learn Along
Name
Headquarters:
Bata Shoe Bata names Sandeep Kataria as its global CEO. He takes over from
Lausanne,
Organization Alexis Nasard.
Switzerland
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Senior IAS officer Utpal Kumar Singh appointed as Secretary- General of

Lok Sabha -
Lok Sabha. He will succeed incumbent Snehlata Shrivastava.
National Dairy
The Government of India appointed Varsha Joshi as the new Chairperson Headquarters:
Development
of NDDB. Joshi's appointment is made effective from December 1, 2020. Anand
Board
Lt Gen Rajeev Chaudhary took charge as the director general of BRO.
Border Roads Headquarters:
He succeeds Lt Gen Harpal Singh who has been appointed as the new
Organisation New Delhi
Engineer-in-Chief of the Indian Army.
World LPG Indian oil Chairman SM Vaidya taken charge as Vice President of the
-
Association World LPG Association.
Federation of
Uday Shankar elected as president of FICCI for 2020-21. Shankar will
Indian Chambers Headquarters:
succeed Sangita Reddy, president, FICCI, and joint managing director,
of Commerce and New Delhi
Apollo Hospitals Group.
Industry
Indian-origin global health expert Anil Soni has been appointed as the first Headquarters:
WHO Foundation
Chief Executive Officer of the newly launched the WHO Foundation. Geneva
The Reserve Bank of India has approved the re-appointments of Uday
Kotak Mahindra Kotak as MD & CEO of Kotak Mahindra Bank for three years. Headquarters:
Bank Prakash Apte has been appointed as part-time chairman and Dipak Mumbai
Gupta as joint MD for 3 years, with effect from January 1, 2021
Asia-Pacific Prasar Bharati CEO Shashi Shekhar Vempati elected vice president of Headquarters:
Broadcasting Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union. Vempati has been elected to the office Kuala Lumpur,
Union of the Vice President, ABU for three years with immediate effect. Malaysia
National
Sukhbir Singh Sandhu was given six months extension, till mid-January Headquarters:
Highways
next year, as the chairman of National Highways Authority of India. New Delhi
Authority of India
Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
Former US Ambassador to India Richard Verma has joined leading Headquarters:

Mastercard financial services company Mastercard as its executive vice-president
New York
for global public policy and regulatory affairs.
The Banks Board Bureau (BBB) recommended S Ramann for the posts of Headquarters:
SIDBI
CMD of SIDBI. Lucknow
Industrial Finance
Corporation of The Banks Board Bureau (BBB) recommended Shivendra Tomar for the
-
posts MD of IFCI.
India
Associated
Chambers of Vineet Agarwal has taken over as the new President of ASSOCHAM. He Headquarters:
Commerce and replaces Niranjan Hiranandani. New Delhi
Industry of India
Indian Govt. Senior IPS officer Satyendra Garg assumes Andaman and Nicobar DGP -
charge.
Dhanlaxmi Bank has proposed Shivan JK as its new Managing Director Headquarters:
Dhanlaxmi Bank
and Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Thrissur
AWARDS AND REWARDS

PEN Hessell-Tiltman Prize for History 2020
 British Indian journalist and author Anita Anand's book 'The Patient Assassin: A True Tale of
Massacre, Revenge and the Raj' has won prestigious PEN Hessell-Tiltman Prize for History 2020 in
the UK.
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About Hessell-Tiltman History Prize: Hessell-Tiltman History Prize is awarded to the best work of non-fiction of
historical content covering a period up to and including World War II, and published in the year of the award. The
books are to be of high literary merit but not primarily academic. The prize is organized by the English PEN.
Marjorie Hessell-Tiltman was a member of PEN during the 1960s and 1970s. On her death in 1999 she
bequeathed £100,000 to the PEN Literary Foundation to found a prize in her name. Each year's winner receives
£2,000. The award is one of many PEN awards sponsored by PEN International affiliates in over 145 PEN centres
around the world.
Adar Poonawalla, CEO of Serum Institute, named 'Asian of the Year'
 Adar Poonawalla, the chief executive of the world's largest vaccine manufacturer Serum Institute
of India, is among six people named "Asians of the Year" by Singapore's leading daily, The Straits
Times for their work in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.
 Serum Institute of India (SII) has collaborated with the University of Oxford and the British-Swedish
pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca for making the COVID-19 vaccine, ''Covidshield'', and is
conducting trials in India.
 The other five named in the list are Chinese researcher Zhang Yongzhen, China's Major-General
Chen Wei, Japan's Dr Ryuichi Morishita and Singapore's Professor Ooi Eng Eong and South
Korean businessman Seo Jung-jin. They are collectively referred to as "the virus busters".
Learn Along
About Serum Institute of India: Serum Institute of India is a manufacturer of immunobiological drugs including
vaccines in the city of Pune, India. It was founded by Cyrus Poonawalla in 1966. The company is a subsidiary of
the holding company Poonawalla Investment and Industries.
Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
Fortune Businessperson of the Year 2020
 Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen and Mastercard CEO Ajay Banga have been named by Fortune
among the Businessperson of the Year 2020, a list topped by Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
 Narayen, ranked 8th on the list while Banga, ranked 9th on the list.
Rabindranath Tagore Literary Prize 2020
 Writer and chief editor of The Indian Express, Raj Kamal Jha, has won the Rabindranath Tagore
Literary Prize 2020 for his book, The City and the Sea.
 Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al Said, the late Sultan of Oman and The People of Oman, and
choreographer Sandip Soparrkar from India received the Tagore Prize for Social Achievement.
About Rabindranath Tagore Literary Prize: The Rabindranath Tagore Literary Prize is a literary honour in India
conferred annually to published works of Indian authors (residing in India or abroad) in novel, short stories, poetry
and drama, originally written in any of Indian official languages and dialects, but translated to English. It was
founded in 2018 by US-based independent and non-profit publishing house Maitreya Publishing Foundation (MPF)
as a platform for world peace, literature, art, education and human rights. The winners receive USD 10,000 as the
prize money along with a Rabindranath Tagore statuette while the shortlisted authors each receive USD 500.
International King Bhumibol World Soil Day Award
 India's agri-research body Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has bagged the
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prestigious 'International King Bhumibol World Soil Day Award' from the United Nation's Food and
Agriculture Organization (FAO) for raising awareness about importance of soil health among all
stakeholders.
About ICAR: The Indian Council of Agricultural Research is an autonomous body responsible for co-ordinating
agricultural education and research in India. It reports to the Department of Agricultural Research and Education,
Ministry of Agriculture. The Union Minister of Agriculture serves as its president.
Founded: 1929 President: Narendra Singh Tomar Director: Trilochan Mohapatra
Global Teacher Prize 2020
 Ranjith Disale, a 32-year-old Indian primary school teacher from Maharashtra awarded the title of
Global Teacher Prize 2020 along with USD 1 million.
 He emerged winner from the ten finalists for his efforts to promote girls' education and for
encouraging a quick-response (QR) coded textbook revolution in India
About Global Teacher Prize: The Global Teacher Prize is an annual US $1 million award by the Varkey
Foundation to a teacher who has made an outstanding contribution to the profession. Nominations of teachers who
meet specific criteria are open to the worldwide public, and teachers can also nominate themselves.
Indian-American Gitanjali Rao becomes TIME's first-ever kid of the year
 The fifteen-year-old Indian-American Gitanjali Rao has been selected as first-ever Kid of the year
by the TIME magazine for her work using technology to combat issues ranging from
contaminated drinking water to opioid addiction and cyberbullying.
Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
 Ms. Rao, 15, was selected from a field of more than 5,000 nominees as TIME’s first-ever Kid of the
Year. She was interviewed by actor and activist Angelina Jolie for the TIME special.
Time’s Person Of The Year 2020
 US President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris have been jointly named
Time magazine’s Person Of The Year.
 Dr Anthony Fauci, a key member of the Coronavirus Task Force, and frontline health workers
Guardians of the Year.
 Time named basketball superstar LeBron James Athlete of the Year for his achievements on and
off the court.
 Zoom's founder and CEO Eric S. Yuan was awarded Businessperson of the Year.
 K-Pop sensation BTS was named Entertainer of the Year.
About Time magazine award: Time magazine's award - handed out annually since 1927 - honors the person or
people who most impacted the news, for better or worse, during the calendar year.
Forbes’ World's 100 Most Powerful Women
 Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has made it to the list of the world's 100 most powerful
women by Forbes, for the second year in a row. Sitharaman is ranked 41st on the list this year.
 The list has been topped by German Chancellor Angela Merkel for the 10th year in a row.
 The women on the 17th annual Forbes Power List hail from 30 countries and were born across four
generations. www.i xamBee.c om
 Nadar Malhotra has been ranked at 55th spot, Mazumdar-Shaw is ranked 68th and chairwoman of
Landmark Group Renuka Jagtiani is ranked 98th.
 Kamala Harris, who became the first woman, first Black American and first Asian American to be
elected vice president is ranked third on the list.
Ashraf Patel named Social Entrepreneur of the year
 Ashraf Patel won the Social Entrepreneur of the Year award instituted by the Schwab Foundation
and Jubilant Bhartia Foundation.
 Ashraf Patel is the co-founder of Pravah and ComMutiny Youth Collective. In partnership with
UNICEF ROSA, they developed an appreciative enquiry tool to assess the impact of COVID 19 on the
lives of adolescents in 8 South Asian countries. ComMutiny members across 17 states reached 30
thousand vulnerable households with relief supplies in the times of COVID 19 crisis.
50 Asian Celebrities in The World list
 Indian actor Sonu Sood has been the top ‘50 Asian Celebrities in The World’ list, which is published
by UK-based weekly newspaper Eastern Eye.
 Canadian YouTuber, social media star, comedian and TV personality Lilly Singh came in second.
Half-Indian British pop superstar, Charli XCX, was third.
 The list celebrates artists who made a positive impact with their actions or were inspiring in their own
unique way and involved public input.
Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
Goldman Environmental Prize 2020
 The Goldman Environmental Foundation announced six recipients of the 2020 Goldman
Environmental Prize, the world’s foremost award for grassroots environmental activists.
 This year’s winners are:
1. Chibeze Ezekiel, Ghana
2. Kristal Ambrose, The Bahamas
3. Leydy Pech, Mexico
4. Lucie Pinson, France
5. Nemonte Nenquimo, Ecuador
6. Paul Sein Twa, India (Myanmar)
 Paul Sein Twa is the co-founder of the Karen Environmental and Social Action Network
(KESAN), established in 2001. Paul and his team at KESAN supported Karen indigenous
communities in establishing the Salween Peace Park in Myanmar and on the border of Thailand. The
Peace Park represents a unique community-based approach to conservation in one of Asia’s
biodiversity hotspots.
About the Goldman Environmental Prize: The Goldman Environmental Prize was established in 1989 by late
San Francisco civic leaders and philanthropists Richard and Rhoda Goldman. Prize winners are selected by an
international jury from confidential nominations submitted by a worldwide network of environmental organizations
and individuals.
Ramanujan Prize for Young Mathematicians

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 The Ramanujan Prize for Young Mathematicians 2020 has been awarded to Carolina Araujo,
Mathematician from the Institute for Pure and Applied Mathematics (IMPA), Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil, in a virtual ceremony.
 Ms Araujo, who is Vice President of the Committee for Women in Mathematics at the International
Mathematical Union, is the first non-Indian to receive this prize.
 Ms Araujo work area focuses on birational geometry, which aims to classify and describe the
structure of algebraic varieties.
 The prize awarded annually to a researcher from a developing country funded by the Department of
Science and Technology of the Government of India in collaboration with ICTP (International
Centre for Theoretical Physics), and the International Mathematical Union was given for her work
in algebraic geometry.
About Ramanujan Prize: The Ramanujan Prize is given every year to young mathematicians less than 45 years of
age who have conducted outstanding research in a developing country. The Prize has been instituted by DST in
the memory of Srinivasa Ramanujan, a genius in pure mathematics who was essentially self-taught and made
spectacular contributions to elliptic functions, continued fractions, infinite series, and analytical theory of numbers.
International Judo Federation Climate Ambassadors
 Austria's Sabrina Filzmoser and Brazil's Flavio Canto have been appointed as International Judo
Federation (IJF) climate ambassadors, in a bid to spread the message of environmentalism.
 The pair are now expected to talk about global warming and use judo as a positive influence in
delivering this message.
Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Telecom Skill Excellence Award 2018
 Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Telecom Skill Excellence Award 2018 has been awarded to Subrat Kar,
Professor at Bharti School of Telecommunication Technology and Management and Department of
Electrical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi.
 Mr. Kar has been awarded for his innovative solution on development and deployment of a large
scale sensor network and devices to avoid train-animal collision, which works without interfering
with natural movements/ behaviour of animals, thereby helping in wildlife conservation.
 The system under the pilot phase is installed in Rajaji National Park, Uttarakhand to prevent
elephant deaths by train-elephant collision. He shall receive a cash award of Rs 30,000.
Learn Along
About Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Telecom Skill Excellence Award: Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Telecom
Skill Excellence Award 2018 was instituted by the Department of Telecommunications (Ministry of
Communications) in 2017 to motivate the Telecom Skill ecosystem. The objective of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay
Telecom Skill Excellence Award is to felicitate the successful telecom skilled people for their special contributions in
the areas of Telecom Skilling, Telecom Services, Telecom Manufacturing, Telecom Applications in deploying
telecom dependent sectoral solutions for different fields such as agriculture, commerce, health, education etc.
Srinagar’s Amar Singh College conservation project recognised with UNESCO award
 The Srinagar-based Amar Singh College’s building, built nearly 80 years ago, is one of the seven
conservation projects to be recognised with the 2020 UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural
Heritage Conservation.
 The Amar Singh College was recognised with the ‘Award of Merit’ in the 2020 UNESCO Asia-
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Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation.
Champions of the Earth Award 2020
 The UN Environment Program (UNEP) announced six winners of the 2020 Champions of the Earth
Award.
 The 2020 Champions of the Earth are:
i. Frank Bainimarama, the Prime Minister of Fiji, in the policy leadership category
ii. Yacouba Sawadogo, a farmer from Burkina Faso in the inspiration and action category
iii. Nemonte Nenquimo, an Ecuadorian female green campaigner
iv. Fabian Leendertz, a German scientist in the science and innovation category
v. Mindy Lubber, an American social entrepreneur
vi. The Champion of the Earth Lifetime Achievement Award went to Robert D. Bullard, an
American scholar
Learn Along
About Champions of the Earth: The United Nations Environment Programme established Champions of the
Earth in 2005 as an annual awards programme to recognize outstanding environmental leaders from the public and
private sectors, and from civil society.
About the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP): UNEP is the leading global voice on the
environment. It provides leadership and encourages partnership in caring for the environment by inspiring,
informing, and enabling nations and peoples to improve their quality of life without compromising that of future
generations.
Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
Young Champions of the Earth 2020
 The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) named seven young scientists, engineers,

entrepreneurs and activists from across the globe as its 2020 Young Champions of the Earth.
 The 2020 Young Champions of the Earth are:
i. Africa: Nzambi Matee (Kenya, 29)
ii. Asia and the Pacific: Xiaoyuan Ren (China, 29)
iii. Asia and The Pacific: Vidyut Mohan (India, 29 years)
iv. Europe: Lefteris Arapakis (Greece, 26 years)
v. Latin America and the Caribbean: Max Hidalgo Quinto (Peru, 30)
vi. North America: Niria Alicia Garcia (USA, 28)
vii. West Asia: Fatemah Alzelzela (Kuwait, 24)
Learn Along
About Young Champions of the Earth: The Young Champions of the Earth prize is the United Nations
Environment Programme's leading initiative to engage youth in tackling the world's most pressing environmental
challenges. Seven winners were announced in December 2020. The winners are given funding and mentorship to
support their environmental initiative. Since its inception in 2017, 28 environmental trailblazers have been
recognised from every corner of the globe.
ASSOCHAM Enterprise of the Century Award
 Prime Minister Narendra Modi Narendra Modi presented 'ASSOCHAM Enterprise of the Century
Award' to Ratan Tata, who received the award on behalf of the TATA Group.
 Ratan Tata has been honoured for his distinguished contributions to the country.
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Learn Along
About ASSOCHAM: The Associated Chambers of Commerce of India or ASSOCHAM was established in 1920 by
promoter chambers representing all regions of India. It has over 400 chambers and trade associations in its fold
and serves over 4.5 lakh members across India. ASSOCHAM represents the interests of trade and commerce in
India and acts as an interface between issues and initiatives with a goal to promote both domestic and international
trade and reduce trade barriers.
Global Visionary of Sustainable Business and Peace award
 Veteran industrialist Ratan Tata will be honoured with Global Visionary of Sustainable Business and
Peace award by the Indo-Israel Chambers of Commerce for promoting innovation that supports
sustainability and peace in the region, including with the Palestinians.
Golden Peacock Environment Management Award 2020
 Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) has been awarded with the prestigious Golden Peacock
Environment Management Award for the year 2020 in the Steel Sector by the Institute of Directors.
 The award was conferred on SAIL in a virtual award presentation ceremony.
 SAIL has been the winner of this award for successive two years.
Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
DRDO's Scientist of the Year Award
 Senior scientist Hemant Kumar Pandey has been honoured with DRDO''s ''Scientist of the Year
Award'' 2018 for his contribution in developing several herbal medicines, including the popular drug
Lukoskin meant for treatment of leucoderma.
 A recipient of several prestigious awards for his contribution in the field of herbal medicine, Pandey
has been undertaking research at the Defence Research and Development Organisation''s
(DRDO) lab Defence Institute of Bio-Energy Research (DIBER) at Pithoragarh in Uttarakhand for
the past 25 years.
 He was facilitated at an event with the prestigious award that comprises a certificate and cash prize
of Rs 2 lakh.
Learn Along
About Leucoderma: Leucoderma is an auto-immune disorder and over 5 crore people are under its grip in India. It
is neither contagious nor life-threatening. The incidence of leucoderma is 1-2 per cent of the population worldwide.
About Lukoskin: A formulation of around eight herbs found in Himalayan region, Lukoskin helps in treating white
patches and is marketed by Delhi-based Aimil Pharmaceuticals.
Eminent Engineer Award 2020
 V.K. Yadav, Chairman & CEO, Railway Board, Ministry of Railways has been conferred with the
prestigious “Eminent Engineer Award for the Year 2020’ by the Institution of Engineering and
Technology (IET) for his outstanding contribution towards modernization and reforms over Indian
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Railways.
Learn Along
About Eminent Engineer Award: Every year Institution of Engineering and Technology, Delhi Local Network
celebrates Engineers’ Day on the 15th of September to commemorate the birth anniversary of Bharat Ratna Sir M
Visvesvaraya. On this occasion, besides technical activities, the Institution also presents the Eminent Engineer’s
Award to distinguished Engineering personalities for their outstanding services in the field of Engineering and
technology.
Mother Teresa Memorial Awardees for Social Justice
 Harmony Foundation hosted the Mother Teresa Memorial Awards for Social Justice. The
Awards, is in its 16th year.
 The theme for this year’s awards was, ‘Celebrating Compassion In Times Of Covid’.
 Among the awardees this year are:
1. Dr.Anthony Fauci (US)
2. Fr. Fabio Stevenazzi (Milan, Italy)
3. Dr.Pradeep Kumar (Chennai)
4. Cristian Fracassi and Alessandro Romaioli (Italy)
5. Sanjay Pandey, IPS (DG Home Guards, Maharashtra)
6. Vikas Khanna (Manhattan, US)
7. KK Shailaja (Minister of Health, Kerala)
Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
Learn Along
About Harmony Foundation: Harmony Foundation is an international NGO which works in the realm of Social
Justice. It was founded in October of 2005, with its raison d’être, being the establishment, and strengthening, of
social cohesion among various communities, and to work towards the benefit of all, without discriminating against
any religion, creed, sex, or their origins.
About Mother Teresa Memorial Awards for Social Justice: Instituted in 2005, these Awards, celebrate and
commemorate the memory and legacy of Mother Teresa, canonized a Saint by Pope Francis in the Vatican.
Tansen Samman
 In Madhya Pradesh, the Tansen Music Festival began in Gwalior. In the inaugural ceremony
renowned santoor player Pt Satish Vyas was conferred upon the Tansen Samman.
 Bhopal-based institution Abhinav Kala Parishad was honoured with Raja Mansingh Tomar award.
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About National Tansen Samman: The prestigious 'National Tansen Samman' is a musical award conferred to the
exponents of Hindustani music. The Tansen Samman including the cash component of Rs 2 lakh.
Dabholkar Memorial Award
 The Dr. Narendra Dabholkar Memorial Award for this year has been conferred upon Dravidar
Kazhagam president K. Veeramani.
 Mr. Veeramani has dedicated his whole life to propagate rationalism and served for the cause of
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social justice in society.
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About Dr. Narendra Dabholkar Memorial Award: The award was instituted in the memory of the Maharashtra-
based rationalist Dabholkar, who was killed some years ago. The award includes ₹1 lakh and a citation.
About Dravidar Kazhagam: Dravidar Kazhagam is a social movement that was founded by E. V. Ramasamy also
called Thanthai Periyar. Its original goals were to eradicate the ills of the existing caste system including
untouchability and on a grander scale to obtain a "Dravida Nadu" from the Madras Presidency.
UN Population Award 2020
 HelpAge India has been presented the UN Population Award for 2020 (institutional category).
 HelpAge India, which has been working for the cause and care of disadvantaged older persons to
improve their quality of life’ for over four decades, is the first Indian institution to receive this award.
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About UN Population Award: Established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1981, the United Nations
Population Award recognises contributions in the fields of population and reproductive health. The Committee for
the United Nations Population Award, which made the selections, is chaired by Ion Jinga, Permanent
Representative of Romania to the United Nations, and is composed of representatives of nine other UN Member
States.
Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
Digital India Awards 2020
 President Ram Nath Kovind virtually conferred the Digital India Award 2020 to digital warriors who
helped in reducing digital divide, and improvised services with technological advancement.
 The National Informatics Centre (NIC), under Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY), has been
conducting the biennial Digital India Awards to promote innovation in eGovernance and digital
transformation of government service delivery mechanism.
 The Digital India Award was given under six categories as following:
1. Innovation in Pandemic: Winner: eSanjeevani - National Telemedicine Services

2. Excellence in Digital Governance – District: Winner: eCommittee Supreme Court of India,
Department of Justice
3. Excellence in Digital Governance – State/UT: Winner: Haryana
4. Excellence in Digital Governance – District: Winner: Khargone, Madhya Pradesh
5. Open Data Champion: Winner: Department of Health and Family Welfare
6. Exemplary Product: Winner: Port Community System PCS1x - National Maritime Single Window
7. JURY CHOICE: Winner: AarogyaSetu
US President Presents PM Modi with Top US Honour 'Legion Of Merit'
 US President Donald Trump presented the prestigious Legion of Merit to Prime Minister Narendra
Modi.
 He was given the award in recognition of his steadfast leadership and vision that has accelerated
India's emergence as a global power and elevated the strategic partnership between the United
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States and India to address global challenges.
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About Legion of Merit: Legion of Merit, the only US military decoration that has distinct ranks, and the first US
medal to be awarded to citizens of other nations. It is awarded for outstanding service, fidelity, and loyalty in either
combat or non-combat positions. Whereas US military personnel qualify only for the lowest rank of a legionnaire,
any foreign citizen is eligible for the three higher ranks of officer, commander, and chief commander. These
classifications are usually conferred upon foreign officials of high rank or on foreign military advisers. The badge is
a five-rayed white cross, edged with red, resting on a green wreath with a blue centre containing 13 white stars.
Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay NIF Book Prize 2020
 The jury of the Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay New India Foundation (NIF) Book Prize 2020 has for this
year announced two joint winners—Amit Ahuja (for Mobilising the Marginalised: Ethnic Parties
without Ethnic Movements) and Jairam Ramesh (for A Chequered Brilliance: The Many Lives of VK
Krishna Menon).
 Ahuja is associate professor of political science at the University of California, Santa Barbara, while
Ramesh, a Rajya Sabha MP, is the author of several well-known books.
 The 2020 winners will share the prize money of Rs 15 lakh for their respective books and will each
receive the Book Prize trophy.
Learn Along
About Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay NIF Book Prize: The New India Foundation announces annual Book Prize
titled ‘Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay NIF Book Prize’ for the best non-fiction book on modern/contemporary India.
Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
There is no limitation as to the genre — the book can be a work of history, biography, political commentary, travel,
memoir, etc. This prize is named after Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay, the great patriot, and institution-builder who had
contributed significantly to the freedom struggle, to the women’s movement, to refugee rehabilitation and to the
renewal of handicrafts.
There are no restrictions with regards to the writer’s nationality either. Works written originally in English or
translated into English are eligible. The prize is of INR 15 lakhs.
CII-ITC Sustainability Awards 2020
 NTPC ltd has been conferred “Excellence” in the CII-ITC Sustainability Awards 2020 in Corporate
Social Responsibility (CSR) Domain.
 NTPC has been honoured in the Corporate Excellence Category, Commendation for Significant
Achievement.
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About CII-ITC Sustainability Awards: The CII-ITC Sustainability Awards recognise and reward excellence in
businesses that are seeking ways to be more sustainable and inclusive in their activities. Winners of the Awards
are role models that inspire others to follow suit. The Awards are a part of the continued efforts of CESD to create
awareness on sustainability practices and to create capacities in business. More than recognition, the Awards
measure performance and provide detailed feedback for opportunities to excel.
UNESCO to launch international prize in the name of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib
 The UNESCO has decided to launch an international prize in the field of ‘creative economy’ in the
name of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. www.i xamBee.c om
 Starting November 2021, the 50 thousand dollar award will be given away once in two years for
global economic initiatives of the youth.
 The award will recognise exceptional initiatives taken by cultural workers and organizations in the
development of the creative economy.
 UNESCO has declared 2021 as ‘International Year of Creative Economy for Sustainable
Development’.
Learn Along
About UNESCO: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialised agency of the
United Nations aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, the
sciences, and culture.
Headquarters: Paris, France Head: Audrey Azoulay
IMPORTANT DAYS
Day/Week Observance Theme
Ending the HIV/AIDS Epidemic:
World AIDS Day Resilience and Impact
1 December
Border Security Force’s 56th Raising day -
Confronting Slavery's Legacy of

International Day for the Abolition of Slavery Racism Together
2 December
World Computer Literacy Day -
Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
National Pollution Control Day -
Building Back Better: toward a

3 December International Day of Persons with Disabilities disability-inclusive, accessible and
sustainable post COVID-19 World
Indian Navy Combat Ready,

Indian Navy Day Credible & Cohesive
4 December
International Day of Banks -
Together We Can Through

International Volunteer Day Volunteering
5 December
Keep soil alive, protect soil
World Soil Day biodiversity
Armed Forces Flag Day -
7 December Advancing Innovation for Global

International Civil Aviation Day Aviation Development
Submarine Day -
8 December
Indian Army Service Corps Day -
International Anti-Corruption Day Recover With Integrity
9 December International Day of Commemoration and

Dignity of the Victims of the Crime of Genocide -
and of the Prevention of this Crime
www.i xamBee.c om
Recover Better - Stand Up for

10 December Human Rights Day Human Rights
UNICEF Day -
11 December
International Mountain Day Mountain biodiversity
International Day of Neutrality -

12 December
International Universal Health Coverage Day Health for all - Protect everyone
14 December National Energy Conservation Day -
16 December Vijay Diwas -
International Day to End Violence Against Sex -

17 December
Workers
International Migrants Day -
18 December
UN Arabic Language Day -
20 December International Human Solidarity Day -
22 December National Mathematics Day (India) -
23 December National Farmers' Day -
24 December National Consumer Rights Day The Sustainable Consumer
25 December Good Governance Day -
Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
OBITUARIES
Name of
Field Points to Remember
Person
Veteran He was 90. He had also received critical appreciation for his acting prowess
Manu Mukherjee
Bengali Actor in children's fantasy film Patalghar'.
Ravi Character He was 84. He was known for his powerful character roles in over 250
Patwardhan artiste Marathi and Hindi theatre plays, TV shows and films.
Owner of
Mahashay Mahashian Di
He passed away at the age of 98. Gulati was India's highest-paid consumer
Dharampal Hatti (popularly
products CEO for the year 2017.
Gulati known as
MDH)
He was 88 years old. He had worked at Patna Akashwani and later also
Madhukar Veteran Hindi served as the director, AIR Allahabad. He also worked in the capacity of
Gangadhar writer Deputy Director General (DDG), AIR at New Delhi. After serving for 39
years in All India Radio (AIR) he became an independent writer.
He was 94. He championed European integration and helped modernise
Giscard Former French
French society in the 1970s. Giscard was elected president in 1974 at the
d'Estaing President
age of 48 to become France's youngest post war leader.
He was 94. He was called the ‘father of fiber optics’ and had more than 100
patents in his name. Kapany was the first to transmit images through
fiber optics back in 1954 and laid the foundation for high speed internet
Renowned technology.
www.i xamBee.c om
physicist, He founded the Optics Technology Incorporation and Kaptron

Narinder Singh
Father of fiber Incorporation in 1960 and 1973 respectively.
Kapany
optics & Sikh He received ‘The Excellence 2000 Award’ from the USA Pan-Asian
activist American Chamber of Commerce in 1998, a fellow of numerous scientific
societies including the British Royal Academy of Engineering, the
Optical Society of America, and the American Association for the
Advancement of Science.
Former He was 42. He scored the first goal of the 2002 World Cup against reigning
Papa Bouba
Senegal champions France. The versatile defensive midfielder made 63
Diop
midfielder appearances for his country scoring 11 goals.
Rafer Johnson, who was crowned the world's greatest athlete after winning
the decathlon gold medal at the 1960 Olympics, died at the age of 86.
American The achievement earned Johnson the AAU James E. Sullivan Award as
Rafer Johnson Athlete & film the most outstanding amateur athlete in the United States. He was
actor drafted by the NFL's Los Angeles Rams as a running back in 1959 and
played basketball at UCLA. Johnson turned to acting after his athletics
career.
He was 76. During military dictator General (retired) Zia-ul-Haq's regime,
Zafarullah Former Jamali was appointed a state minister. On November 2002, he was elected
Jamali Pakistan PM as the 13th prime minister of Pakistan. He had also served as the
chairman of the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF).
Lakshwadweep
He was 66. Mr. Sharma, a 1979-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer,
Administrator &
Dineshwar served as IB Director from 2014 to 2016. He was then appointed as an
former
Sharma interlocutor for talks with the Assam-based insurgent groups and also
Intelligence
headed a committee to restructure the Home Ministry.
Bureau chief
Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
Former
He was 80. He was president of Uruguay twice in 2005-2010 and 2015-
Tabare Vazquez Uruguay
2020.
President
He was 71. He joined VSSC as a member of the SLV-3 project team
responsible for the development of India’s first satellite launch vehicle under
the leadership of A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. He then moved to the Polar Satellite
Former Launch Vehicle (PSLV) project in 1983 and worked on liquid propulsion
Director of systems. He was also project director for the PSLV continuation
Vikram programme, and later, mission director for the PSLV C1, C2, C3 and C4
S Ramakrishnan
Sarabhai flights. In 2003, he took over as Project Director, GSLV-Mk III. He became
Space Centre Director of the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC) in June 2010,
(VSSC) and three years later, in 2013, he took over as VSSC Director.
Mr. Ramakrishnan is a recipient of the Dr Biren Roy Award conferred by
the Aero Society of India and the Astronautical Society Award and the
Padma Shri in 2003.
Gujarat BJP
Abhay 66-year-old Abhay Bharadwaj was a prominent lawyer and was elected to
Rajya Sabha
Bharadwaj Rajya Sabha in June this year.
MP
Hindi poet and
Manglesh He wrote several poetry collections. He received the Sahitya Akademi
literary
Dabral Award in 2000.
journalist
Deboo, 73, trained in Kathak as well as Kathakali and went on to combine
Indian the two classical dance forms to create a unique fusion dance form, earning
Astad Deboo contemporary the tag of ‘pioneer of modern dance in India’. He receives Sangeet Natak
dancer Akademi award in 1995 for his contribution to contemporary creative
dance. He was also conferred Padma Shri in 2007.
www.i xamBee.c om
Dennis Ralston, a five-time Grand Slam doubles champion who was one of
the initial players signed to the professional World Championship Tennis
tour in the 1960s has passed away. He was 78.
American
Dennis Ralston He was considered the highest-ranked American player for three years in
Tennis player
the 1960s. He helped the U.S. win the Davis Cup title in 1963. He retired in
1977 and was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame 10
years later.
Gujarat High He was 59. He began his law practice in 1987 and was elevated as
G.R Udhwani Court sitting additional judge of the Gujarat High Court in 2012. Prior to that he was
Judge Registrar General in the High Court.
Paolo Rossi, who fired Italy to victory in the 1982 World Cup, has died aged
Italian
Paolo Rossi 64. In the 1982 World Cup he was top scorer with six goals. He was voted
footballer
European Footballer of the Year in 1982.
He was 97. Yeager tested rockets, experimental crafts and rocket-powered
machines. On October 14, 1947, he became the first human to break the
sound barrier when he flew the Glamorous Glennis at Mach 1, and he did it
U.S. Air Force at 45,000-feet altitude over Rogers Dry Lake in the Mojave Desert.
Chuck Yeager
pilot In his career, Yeager was awarded lots of distinguished medals. The top
one are: Air Force Distinguished Service Medal, Distinguished Service
Medal (1954 from the Army), Air Medal (with two silver oak leaf clusters), Air
Force Commendation Medal, Presidential Medal of Freedom
He was 84. He had done extensive research on Madhwa philosophy,
Vidyavachaspati Sanskrit and besides authoring over 100 books and 4,000 pages in Sanskrit on the
Bannanje Kannada subject. He had written commentaries on Vedas, Upanishad, Mahabharata,
Govindacharya scholar Ramayana, Bhagavata and Puranas. He was awarded Padma Shri in
2009.
Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
Ambrose Eswatini Prime He was 52. He was prime minister of Africa’s last absolute monarchy
Dlamini Minister Eswatini, formerly known as Swaziland.
Former India football player and member of the 1962 Asian Games gold
medal-winning team D. Ethiraj passed away. He was 87.
Dharmalingam Ethiraj represented the Services in the Santosh Trophy from 1958 to 1962.
Footballer
Ethiraj From 1962 to 1965 he played for the erstwhile Mysore state, and led the
team in the 1965 edition in Quilon (Kollam), Kerala. Ethiraj later donned the
roles of a State selector and coach.
Noted wrestler Shripati Khanchnale, who had won the prestigious 'Hind
Shripati
Wrestler Kesari' title in 1959, died. He was 86. He was also a recipient of the Shiv
Khanchnale
Chhatrapati award, which is given by the Maharashtra government.
He was 97. Vaidya became a member of the RSS in 1943 while at the
Rashtriya
Morris College in Nagpur. He was the first RSS ‘pracharpramukh’
Madhav Govind Swayamsevak
(spokesperson). Vaidya was also a former Akhil Bhartiya Bauudhik
Vaidya Sangh (RSS)
Pramukh of RSS. He joined the editorial department of Tarun Bharat in
ideologue
1966.
Prof Roddam Aerospace He was 87. A career scientist, Roddam has contributed to some of India's
Narasimha scientists major scientific programmes, including ISRO and the Light Combat Aircraft
(LCA).
Former
Australian Test He passed away at the age of 76. He played 11 Tests for Australia in which
Eric Freeman
cricketer all- he scored 345 runs and scalped 34 wickets. Freeman received the Medal
rounder of the Order of Australia in 2002.
He was 85. Khader won the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award in 1983 and
www.i xamBee.c om
Malayalam
UA Khader the Kendra Sahitya Akademi Award in 2009. Khader worked in the state
writer
health department’s administrative section from 1964 till 1990. He also
worked on deputation at the Kozhikode Akashvani between 1967 and 1972.
Indian Navy's
Vice Admiral Indian Navy's senior most submariner, Vice Admiral Srikant, passed away.
senior most
Srikant Srikant was due to retire on December 31 this year. He was the Director-
submariner
General of Project Seabird.
She was 86. Her poetry resonated with environmental issues and spoke
volumes of her disdain for human interference with nature.
She was a recipient of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi award, Kendra
Malayalam
Sugathakumari Sahitya Akademi award, Odakkuzhal award, Ezhuthachan award
poet-activist
among others. She was awarded the first Indira Priyadarshini
Vrikshamitra. She got the Padmashri honour in 2006. She held the post
of chairperson of the Kerala State women’s commission.
He was 85. The Padma Shree awardee poet is credited to have revived
Shamsur Urdu writer and
"Dastangoi", a 16th-century Urdu oral storytelling art form. Faruqi received
Rahman Faruqi critic
Saraswati the Samman in 1996.
He was 93. He occupied several key positions including being the Chief
Minister of undivided Madhya Pradesh (MP) twice (1985-88 and 1989),
Politician
health minister in Rajiv Gandhi’s cabinet and Governor of Uttar Pradesh
Motilal Vora (Congress
(UP) in mid-90s. Mr Vora served as Congress party’s treasurer for 16 years
veteran)
and represented Chhattisgarh in the Rajya Sabha for four terms, until April
2020.
Madan Lal Veteran He was 68. He was first elected as MLA in 1983 and again in 1987 from
Sharma Congress Chhamb constituency on Congress mandate. He became a minister in the
Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
leader NC-Congress coalition government in 1988. He was again elected from

Akhnoor in 2002 and became a minister in the PDP-Congress government.
He was twice elected to the Lok Sabha from Jammu- Poonch seat in 2004
and 2009.
He was 75. Jackman played in four Tests and 15 one-day internationals for
Ex-England
his country, while he took 1,402 wickets in a 399-game first-class career
Robin Jackman cricketer and
between 1966 and 1982. Following his retirement he became a successful
commentator
commentator in South Africa.
Indira Joseph Veteran She was 94. She was renowned broadcaster, All India Radio veteran, and
Venniyoor broadcaster the first English news announcer of Travancore Radio.
Jon Huber, who was popularly known as Luke Harper in the WWE and as
Brodie Lee in the All Elite Wrestling, passed away aged 41. He won the Tag
Jon Huber WWE Wrestler
Team titles twice while also winning the Intercontinental Championship.
After joining AEW, he won the AEW TNT Championship.
He was 87. He authored more than 20 books on the subject of Indian
dance forms. The dance scholar held the Uday Shankar Chair in Rabindra
Bharati University, and taught in the Dance Department of New York
University as a Fulbright Professor.
Veteran dance Kothari received the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (1995); the Gaurav
Sunil Kothari
historian Puraskar conferred by the Gujarat Sangeet Natak Akademi (2000); the
Padma Shri bestowed by the Government of India (2001); and the Life
Time Achievement Award of the Dance Critics Association, New York,
USA (2011). He was also an elected Fellow of Sangeet Natak Akademi for
his contribution to Indian dance as a scholar.
Former Union He was 89. He was minister of state for personnel, public grievances and
Kadambur R minister and pensions with additional charge of finance in the A B Vajpayee cabinet from
www.i xamBee.c om
Janarthanan senior AIADMK 1998 to 1999. He was elected to the Lok Sabha four times in 1984, 1989,
leader 1991 and 1998.
He was 83. Edrich, a left-handed batsman, scored more than 5,000 runs for
Former
England during 77 Tests spanning 13 years between 1963 and 1976. He
John Edrich England
also captained England in one Test. He was also the Honorary Life
Batsman
Member of Marylebone Cricket Club.
BOOKS
Book Title Author/s Publisher
Vahana Masterclass Alfredo Covelli Scholastic India
40 Years with Abdul Kalam – Dr. A. Sivathanu Pillai Pentagon Press

Untold Stories
Indian Icon: A Cult Called Royal
Amrit Raj -
Enfield
Future of Regional Cooperation in Cyn-Young Park -

Asia and the Pacific
Romancing Targets Nidhi Vadhera -
Amish Tripathi & co-authored by

Dharma: Decoding the Epics for A Westland Publications
Bhavana Roy
Meaningful Life
Oh Mizoram P S Sreedharan Pillai
Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
Reporting India: My Seventy-Year

Prem Prakash Penguin India
Journey as a Journalist
The Shaurya Unbound-Tales of
Valour of the Central Reserve Ms. Nitu, Mr. Amit and Deepak Saxena -
Police Force
Indian Economy’s Greatest Crisis:
Impact Of The Coronavirus And Arun Kumar Penguin Random House India
The Road Ahead
Reporting India: My Seventy-Year Prem Prakash Penguin India

Journey as a Journalist
Ayodhya Madhav Bhandari -
Covid-19: Sabhyata ka Sankat aur
Samadhan’ (Covid-19: Crisis of Kailash Satyarthi Prabhat Prakashan
Civilisation and Solutions)
Sutranivednachi sutra- ek anbav Dr. Roopa Chari Sanjana Publications
SPORTS
Grand Prix and Winners
Grand Prix Winner

Bahrain Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
www.i xamBee.c om
Sakhir Grand Prix Sergio Pérez (Racing Point)

Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
Jehan Daruvala becomes first Indian to win a Formula 2 race
 Jehan Daruvala became the first Indian to win a Formula 2 race during the Sakhir Grand Prix.
Jehan drived for Rayo Racing.
 His Japanese teammate Yuki Tsunoda was second, while Daniel Ticktum of DAMS was third.
World Athletes of the Year 2020
 The World Athlete of the Year award is a prize that can be won by athletes participating in events
within the sport of athletics organised by World Athletics.
Category Winner
2020 Male World Athlete of the Year Mondo Duplantis (Swedish Pole Vaulter)
2020 Female World Athlete of the Year Yulimar Rojas (Venezuelan Triple Jumper)
2020 Coach the year award Helena and Greg Duplantis
Cricket: Virat Kohli fastest to 12,000 ODI runs
 Virat Kohli becomes the fastest player in ODI cricket to score 12,000 runs. The India skipper
achieved the record in the third and final ODI against Australia in Canberra.
Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
 The record was held by Sachin Tendulkar earlier in 309 matches (300 innings) but Kohli reached
the landmark in 251 matches (242 innings). Tendulkar had held the record for 17 years.
Kenya's Kibiwott Kandie smashes half marathon world record in Valencia
 Kenya's Kibiwott Kandie smashed the half marathon world record by 29 seconds, becoming the
first person to break 58 minutes at the Valencia Half Marathon.
 Kandie, finished the Spanish annual race in 57 minutes and 32 seconds, breaking the previous
record of 58:01 set by compatriot Geoffrey Kamworor in September 2019.
 Ethiopia's Genzebe Dibaba won the women's race in 1:05:18, setting the fastest time for a debut
over the distance.
Upcoming Games and Host Countries
Games Host Country

Asia Cup 2021 (Cricket) Sri Lanka
Asia Cup 2022 Pakistan
Club World Cup 2020 (Football) Qatar
Club World Cup 2021 Japan
FIH Men's Hockey World Cup 2023 Odisha, India
Indian Ocean Island Games 2023 Madagascar
Asian Games 2030 Doha, Qatar
Asian Games 2034 Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
www.i xamBee.c om
Zena Wooldridge Elected as World Squash Federation President
 Zena Wooldridge has been elected as the new World Squash Federation (WSF) President.
 Wooldridge, from England, will become the 10th WSF President to serve since the Federation’s
inception in 1967 and the second female. She will serve a minimum four-year term.
Sorenstam Elected President of International Golf Federation
 Annika Sorenstam was elected president of the International Golf Federation, replacing the
outgoing Peter Dawson. She will take up the position on Jan. 1.
FICCI India Sports Awards 2020
 Wrestler Bajrang Punia and shooter Elavenil Valarivan bagged the top honours at the FICCI
India Sports Awards 2020 held virtually.
 The two athletes won the Sportsperson of the Year awards in their respective categories.
 Cricketer Anil Kumble received the ‘Best Company Promoting Sports (Private Sector)’ award on
behalf of his enterprise – Tenvic Sports.
Ankita Raina wins ITF doubles title in Dubai
 Indian tennis player Ankita Raina won her third doubles title of the 2020 season, clinching the Al
Habtoor challenge with Ekaterine Gorgodze.
Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
England's Dawid Malan achieves highest-ever rating points in T20I history
 England’s Dawid Malan has attained the highest-ever rating points for batsmen in the
International Cricket Council (ICC) Men’s T20I Player Rankings.
 With this, the 33-year-old left-hander has reached 915 points to become the first to cross the 900-
point mark.
India's Yash Vardhan wins 10m air rifle event in online meet
 Junior Asian champion Yash Vardhan of India won the 10m air rifle event at the 6th edition of the
International Online Shooting Championship (IOSC).
IND vs AUS 2020: Dettol ODI Series Performance
 The Dettol ODI series comprised of three ODIs took place in Australia. India was the touring team
and took on the Australian team.
 Australia won the series 2-1 and Steve Smith has adjudged the player of the series.
The Best FIFA Awards 2020
 The Best awards began in 2017 after a brief merger with the Ballon D'Or and the FIFA Player of the
Year award, which was created in 1991.
www.i xamBee.c om
Category Winner
Men's Player of the Year Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich striker)
Women's Player of the Year Lucy Bronze (England defender)
Men's goalkeeper Award Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich)
Women's goalkeeper Award Sarah Bouhaddi (France and Lyon)
Men's Coach of the Year Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool manager)
Women's Coach of the Year Sarina Wiegma (Dutch women's national team coach)
Puskas Award for Best Goal Son Heung-min (Tottenham's South Korean striker)
Mauritian Badminton Player Foo Kune Banned For Two Years by CAS
 The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has banned Mauritian badminton player Kate Jessica
Foo Kune for two years for an anti-doping violation.
 Foo Kune tested positive for a banned steroid during the 2019 African Badminton World
Championships in Port Harcourt, Nigeria.
Breakdancing gets Olympic status to debut at Paris in 2024
 Breakdancing became an official Olympic sport. Breakdancing will be called breaking at the
Olympics. It will make Olympic debuts at the 2024 Paris Games.
 Also skateboarding, sport climbing and surfing will make their Olympic debuts at the Tokyo
Games which will open on July 23, 2021.
Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
Yogasana recognised as a competitive sport in India
 Yogasana will be a competitive sport in the country. The Ministries of AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga,
Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, Homoeopathy), and Youth Affairs and Sports, announced that they will
now work at establishing yogasana as a competitive sports globally.
 A pilot championship of traditional yogasana by the name of ‘National Individual Yogasana Sports
Championship’ (virtual mode) is proposed to be organised in February 2021.
 Yogasana as a sports discipline is likely to have 51 medals in four events and seven categories.
The proposed events for both men and women include ‘Traditional Yogasana’, ‘Artistic Yogasana
(Single)’, ‘Artistic Yogasana (Pair)’, ‘Rhythmic Yogasana (Pair)’, ‘Free Flow/Group Yogasana’,
‘Individual All Round - Championship’ and ‘Team Championship’.
Govt approves inclusion of four indigenous sports in Khelo India Youth Games 2021
 The Sports Ministry has approved the inclusion of four indigenous Games to be a part of Khelo
India Youth Games 2021, scheduled to take place in Haryana.
 The games include, Gatka, Kalaripayattu, Thang-Ta and Mallakhamba.
Wrestler Anshu Malik clinches silver, India’s first medal at Individual World Cup
 Young Anshu Malik was the lone Indian woman wrestler to win a medal at the Individual World
Cup, grabbing a silver in the 57kg category in Belgrade, Serbia.
Globe Soccer Awards 2020 www.i xamBee.c om
 The Globe Soccer Awards, also known as the Dubai d'Ors are the annual awards given for
excellence in football.
 The winners of the awards are:
Category Winner
Player of the Century Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus)
Player of the Year Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
Coach of the Year award Hansi Flick (Bayern Munich club's coach)
Club of the Year Bayern Munich
Coach of the Century Pep Guardiola (Manchester City manager)
Club of the Century Real Madrid
Agent of the Century
Jorge Mendes (Portuguese Football agent)
2001–2020
Cologne Boxing World Cup
 Indian boxers bagged nine medals including three golds, two silver and four bronze at the
Cologne Boxing World Cup held in Koln, Germany.
 The three gold medals were bagged by Amit Panghal (52 kg), Manisha Moun (57kg) and Simranjit
Kaur (60kg).
 Sakshi Choudhary (57 kg) and Satish Kumar (+91kg) ended their campaign with a silver.
Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
 Sonia Lather (57kg), Pooja Rani (75kg), Gaurav Solanki (57kg) and Mohamed Hussamudin
(57kg) claimed the bronze medal in their respective categories.
BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2020
 The BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award is the main award of the BBC Sports Personality of
the Year ceremony, which takes place each December. The winner is the sportsperson, judged by a
public vote, to have achieved the most that year.
 The winners of the awards are:
Category Winner
Sports Personality of the Year Lewis Hamilton
Panel Special Award Marcus Rashford
Team of the Year Liverpool
Coach of the Year Jurgen Klopp
Helen Rollason Award Captain Sir Tom Moore
Captain Tom Young Unsung Hero Tobias Weller
Unsung Hero Sergeant Matiu Ratana
ATP Awards for 2020
 The Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Player of the Year award is given to the player
who ends the year as world No. 1 in the ATP Singles Rankings.
www.i xamBee.c om
Category Winner
Player of the Year Novak Djokovic
Doubles Team of the Year Mate Pavić and Bruno Soares
Coach of the Year Fernando Vicente
Tim Gullikson Career Coach Award Bob Brett
Most Improved Player Andrey Rublev
Newcomer of the Year Carlos Alcaraz
Comeback Player of the Year Vasek Pospisil
Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award Rafael Nadal
Arthur Ashe Humanitarian of the Year Frances Tiafoe
Ron Bookman Media Excellence Award Kevin Mitchell
ATPTour.com Fans' Favourite Roger Federer
FIFA cancels U17 and U20 World Cups in 2021
 FIFA has canceled the Under-17 and Under-20 World Cups scheduled for 2021 due to the
pandemic.
 The next editions are now due to be staged in 2023, with Indonesia still hosting the U20s and Peru
the U17s.
Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
India's largest hockey stadium planned in Rourkela, to host 2023 World Cup
 India's biggest hockey stadium will come up at Rourkela and the 20,000-capacity facility will host
matches of FIH men's World Cup in 2023.
 Spread over 15 acres of land, the stadium will be constructed in the Biju Patnaik University of
Technology campus.
 Odisha will host of the prestigious men's hockey World Cup in 2023. The tournament will be
organised both in capital city Bhubaneswar and Rourkela in Sundargarh district.
ICC Awards of the Decade
 The ICC Awards of the Decade is a one-off edition of the ICC Awards annual awards programme,
aimed at celebrating the stand-out performers and moments from the past ten years of international
cricket.
 Virat Kohli wins the Sir Garfield Sobers Award for ICC Male Cricketer of the Decade. Ellyse
Perry won the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Award for ICC Female Cricketer of the Decade.
Category Winner
Male Cricketer of the Decade Virat Kohli
Female Cricketer of the Decade Ellyse Perry
Men's Test Cricketer of the Decade Steve Smith
Men's ODI Cricketer of the Decade Virat Kohli
Women’s ODI Cricketer of the Decade
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Ellyse Perry
Men's T20I Cricketer of the Decade Rashid Khan
Women’s T20I Cricketer of the Decade Ellyse Perry
Men's Associate Cricketer of the Decade Kyle Coetzer
Women's Associate Cricketer of the Decade Kathryn Bryce
Spirit of Cricket Award of the Decade MS Dhoni
ICC Team of the Decade
 The International Cricket Council (ICC) announced the Men’s T20I, ODI and Test teams of the
decade.
 While the T20 side features four players from India, the ODI Team of the Decade has four Indian
cricketers. Current Indian captain Virat Kohli, pacer Jasprit Bumrah and Rohit Sharma are the other
Indians in the T20I team.
 ICC Men's Test Team of the Decade: Virat Kohli was selected as the captain of the Test Team of
the Decade with Kumar Sangakkara selected as the wicket-keeper.
 ICC Men's ODI Team of the Decade: MS Dhoni was selected as both captain and wicket-keeper
of the ODI Team of the Decade.
 ICC Women’s ODI Team of the Decade: Meg Lanning was selected as the captain of the Women's
ODI Team of the Decade, with Sarah Taylor selected as the wicket-keeper.
 ICC Men’s T20I Team of the Decade: MS Dhoni was selected as both captain and wicket-keeper
of the T20I Team of the Decade.
Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
 ICC Women’s T20I Team of the Decade: Meg Lanning was also selected as the captain of the
Women's T20I Team of the Decade, with Alyssa Healy selected as the wicket-keeper.
Russian badminton player Khakimov banned for five years over betting, fixing offences
 The Badminton World Federation (BWF) as banned Russian doubles badminton player Nikita
Khakimov for five-years after being found guilty of offences relating to "betting, wagering and
irregular match results".
 Khakimov, 32, was part of the Russian men's team that won the bronze medal at the 2020 European
Team Championships.
Parthiv Patel Announces Retirement from All Forms of Cricket
 Wicketkeeper-batsman Parthiv Patel announce his retirement from all forms of cricket.
 Patel made his international debut in 2002 at the age of 17 and went on to represent India in 25
matches in the longest format, scoring 934 runs at an average of 31.13. He also played 38 ODIs and
two Twenty20 Internationals.
 He was leading Gujarat in Ranji Trophy for part few seasons and even guided them to their first-ever
title triumph in the 2016-17 season.
Pakistan pacer Mohammad Amir announces retirement from international cricket
 Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Amir has decided to quit international cricket. Amir had
announced retirement from Test cricket earlier. www.i xamBee.c om
 Amir made his debut for Pakistan in a T20I match against England in June 2009 and was part of the
side which won the 2009 T20 World Cup. He played an instrumental role in Pakistan's Champions
Trophy triumph in 2017.
Vijaykumar Yo Mahesh announces retirement from all forms of cricket
 Former Tamil Nadu and Chennai Super Kings pacer Vijaykumar Yo Mahesh, popularly known as
Yomi, announced his retirement from all forms of cricket.
 The 32-year-old played 50 first-class matches, 61 List A and 46 T20 games during his career since
2006. Mahesh, who took 253 wickets across formats and with over 1000 runs in first-class cricket,
made it to India U-19 squad for 2006 World Cup.
 He ends his career with 253 wickets across formats and with over 1000 runs in first-class cricket.
New Zealand all-rounder Corey Anderson retires from International cricket
 New Zealand all-rounder Corey Anderson, who once held the record for fastest ODI hundred,
retired from his international career and signed a three-year deal with USA’s Major League Cricket
(MLC).
 The 29-year-old has played 13 Tests, 49 ODIs and 31 T20Is for New Zealand. In the 93 international
games across formats, he scored 2277 runs with two hundreds and 10 half-centuries. He also picked
up 90 wickets.
Monthly BeePedia
December 2020
Sources of the News:
PIB India, DD News, News on AIR, The Economic Times, Financial Express, liveMint, The Indian Express,
The Times of India, Business Standard, Business World, Business Line, Hindustan Times, The Hindu, Al
Jazeera, BBC, Zee News, Republic World, Times Now News, Money Control, NDTV, Outlook India and
Wikipedia
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Science and Technology _____________________________________________ 94

Agriculture and Rural Development ___________________________________ 98

Defence __________________________________________________________ 104

Events ___________________________________________________________ 108

Appointments _____________________________________________________ 118

Awards and Rewards _______________________________________________ 119

Important Days ____________________________________________________ 128

Obituaries ________________________________________________________ 130

Books ___________________________________________________________ 133

Sports ___________________________________________________________ 134

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FINANCE AND BANKING

RBI extends curbs on Madgaum Urban Cooperative Bank

Large NBFCs to come under tighter RBI scrutiny

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RBI elevates rural banks while booting risk framework

No specific plan needed for invoking Resolution Framework, says RBI

Regulatory Sandbox: RBI seeks applications under 2nd cohort

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RBI extends CKYCR to legal entities

PMC Bank restrictions extended by 3 more months

RBI to set up Automated Banknote Processing Centre in Jaipur

(ABPC) in Jaipur for receipt, storage and dispatch of currency notes.

RTGS is available on all days from December 14

RBI exempts 7 categories of accounts from ambit of aggregate exposure

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RBI cancels licence of Subhadra Local Area Bank, Kolhapur

RBI selects four more sandbox entities in first cohort

of risk-weighted assets in its assessment of the impact of Covid-19 on lenders.

 Profitability of non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) may be impacted due to loan

Private banks’ operating profit share rises to 43.4% at PSBs’ cost

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SEBI eases compliance norms for brokers, depository participants

SEBI proposes discontinuing segregated offering of NCD, warrants

 SEBI proposed discontinuing segregated offering of non-convertible debentures (NCDs) and

SEBI issues guidelines for transfer, dematerialisation of re-lodged physical shares

SEBI puts in place mechanism to ease e-voting process

5% public float a must post resolution process: SEBI

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SEBI gives relaxations to NRIs on holding depository receipts

Cabinet approves SEBI to sign MoU with Luxembourg

SEBI proposes relaxing norms for listing start-ups

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SEBI forms new department to check promoter frauds

SEBI plans to rope in agency to conduct risk assessment of IT infra

IRDAI to ban credit-linked group health insurance

IRDAI standardises health policies for Robotic and bariatric surgeries

IRDAI proposes standard norms for travel insurance

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NSE launches first agri-commodity futures

Lucknow Municipal Bonds Listed in BSE

BSE launches e-agricultural spot market platform

MCX launches futures trading in natural rubber

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Government trims SUUTI’s stake in Axis Bank

NPCI allows payment banks and fintechs to be shareholders

Significant Rise witnessed in wilful defaults of 8 large Indian banks

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Central bank of Bahamas launched 'Sand Dollar'

payment app “DakPay”.

Indian banks pursue UK bankruptcy order against Vijay Mallya

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