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17th December 2020 Current Affairs in English

 



Seventeenth December 2020 overlaying the next information headlines: New Development Bank, World Bank, Canara Bank, SBI Ecowrap, Asia Pacific Broadcasting Union.


National News

1. PM Modi inaugurates world’s largest renewable vitality park in Gujarat

  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the muse stone of the 30,000 megawatts (MW) capability hybrid renewable vitality park in Kutch district of Gujarat.
  • It would be the largest renewable vitality park of its form on this planet. It is anticipated to play a significant function in fulfilling India’s imaginative and prescient of producing 450 GW (4,50,000 MW) of energy by 2030.
  • The park is being constructed between Khawda and Vighakhot villages close to India-Pakistan border
  • The renewable park could have two devoted zones, one every for the wind vitality and photo voltaic vitality.
  • It might be unfold over 72,600 hectares of wasteland, together with 49,600 hectares for the photo voltaic undertaking and 23,000 hectares of land for wind energy.

Agreements News

2. GoI inks $1-bn mortgage pact with NDB to help Indian Economy

  • The Government of India and the New Development Bank (NDB) have signed a mortgage settlement value $1,000 million for ‘supporting India’s financial restoration from COVID-19’. The mortgage has a tenor of 30 years, together with a 5-year grace interval.
  • The programme will help Indian Government in mitigating the opposed financial affect of COVID-19 pandemic and allow financial restoration within the rural areas.
  • The mortgage will help expenditures on rural infrastructure associated to pure useful resource administration (NRM) and rural employment era below Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS).
  • The programme will help the federal government in mitigating the opposed financial affect of Covid-19 pandemic and allow financial restoration within the rural areas by way of pure useful resource administration works which can facilitate financial exercise and employment era to stimulate rural demand.
  • The programme will enhance the livelihood of rural poor together with offering earnings alternatives to migrant staff who returned house because of job loss brought on by Covid-19 pandemic.

Important takeaways for all aggressive exams:

  • New Development Bank Headquarters location: Shanghai, China.
  • New Development Bank President: Marcos Prado Troyjo.
  • New Development Bank Founder: BRICS.
  • New Development Bank Founded: 15 July 2014.

3. India and World Bank signal $400 million undertaking to guard India’s poor

  • The Government of India and the World Bank have signed a $400 million undertaking to guard weak teams in city and peri-urban areas throughout the nation impacted by COVID-19.
  • This is the second such help within the sequence of two ‘Accelerating India’s COVID-19 Social Protection Response Programme’. Under the primary operation, $750 million was accepted by World Bank in May 2020.
  • World Bank will help India in its efforts at offering social help to the poor and weak households, severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • The programme will strengthen the potential of state and central governments in India to supply coordinated and satisfactory social safety to the poor and weak from the shocks triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Important takeaways for all aggressive exams:

  • Headquarters of World Bank: Washington, D.C., United States.
  • President of World Bank: David Malpass.
  • World Bank Founded: July 1944.

Banking News

4. Canara Bank unveils “FX 4 U” for foreign exchange remittance through Internet Banking

  • Canara Bank has launched FX 4 U that allows its complete web banking customers to deal with foreign exchange transactions hasslefree.
  • FX 4 U is used for foreign exchange remittance by way of web banking. With this growth, eligible clients will be capable of undertake a remittance facility in adherence to the FEMA laws 1999.
  • Once the letter of credit score (LC) module is activated, the company clients could make and submit LC functions with paperwork by way of web banking.

Important takeaways for all aggressive exams:

  • Syndicate Bank was amalgamated into Canara Bank on April 2020.
  • Canara Bank Founded: July 1906 by Shri Ammembal Subba Rao Pai.
  • Canara Bank Tagline: Together We Can.
  • Canara Bank MD & CEO: L V Prabhakar.
  • Canara Bank Headquarters: Bangalore, Karnataka.

Economy News

5. SBI Ecowrap Report Projects India GDP to contract 7.4% in FY21

  • The State Bank of India, in its analysis report ‘Ecowrap’ has revised the GDP development of India at (-) 7.4 per cent in FY21.
  • Earlier this forecast was (-) 10.9 per cent. The SBI analysis report has additionally forecast India’s GDP development in FY22 at 11 per cent.
  • The report additionally believes that it might take seven quarters from the fourth quarter of FY21 for GDP to succeed in the pre-pandemic stage in nominal phrases.

Important takeaways for all aggressive exams:

  • Chairman of State Bank of India: Dinesh Kumar Khara.
  • SBI Founded: 1 July 1955
  • SBI Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra.

Appointments News

6. Prasar Bharati CEO Shashi Shekhar Vempati elected as Vice President of ABU

  • The CEO of Prasar Bharati, Shashi Shekhar Vempati has been elected because the Vice President of Asia Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) for a interval of three years. Prasar Bharati is India’s largest public broadcasting company.
  • The Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia–primarily based Asia Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU), is without doubt one of the largest broadcasting associations on this planet.

Important takeaways for all aggressive exams:

  • Prasar Bharati Founded: 23 November 1997.
  • Prasar Bharati Headquarters: New Delhi.
  • Asia Pacific Broadcasting Union Headquarters: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
  • Asia Pacific Broadcasting Union President: İbrahim Eren.
  • Asia Pacific Broadcasting Union Formation: 1 July 1964.

Awards News

7. SAIL will get the Golden Peacock Environment Management Award 2020

  • Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) has been awarded the distinguished Golden Peacock Environment Management Award for the 12 months 2020 within the Steel Sector by the Institute of Directors.
  • The firm has been the winner of this award for successive two years and this bears testimony to the efforts made by it for sustainable and environmentally accountable metal making. This award is without doubt one of the most coveted awards within the class.

Important takeaways for all aggressive exams:

  • Chairman of SAIL: Anil Kumar Chaudhary.
  • SAIL Headquarters: New Delhi.
  • SAIL based: 19 January 1954.

Ranks and Reports News

8. India ranks 131 within the Human Development Index 2020

  • According to the report launched by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), India has been dropped two spots to 131 amongst 189 international locations within the 2020 Human Development Index.
  • Norway topped the index, adopted by Ireland, Switzerland, Hong Kong and Iceland, the report confirmed.
  • Niger is the lowest-ranked nation at 189, positioned amongst Low human growth class, with a rating of 0.394.
  • India(131), Bhutan (129), Bangladesh (133), Nepal (142), and Pakistan (154) had been ranked amongst international locations with medium human growth.
  • In the BRICS grouping, Russia was 52 within the human growth index, Brazil 84, and China 85.

Important takeaways for all aggressive exams:

  • UNDP Headquarters: New York, New York, United States.
  • UNDP Head: Achim Steiner.
  • UNDP Founded: 22 November 1965.

9. Kylie Jenner tops Forbes’ checklist of highest-paid celebrities of 2020

  • American media character and actuality TV star, Kylie Jenner has been topped the highest-paid movie star of 2020 by Forbes.
  • The top-earning stars on this planet earned a mixed of $6.1 billion in 2020 with Kylie Jenner. Setting apart Kylie’s historical past with Forbes, the monetary consultants there calculated her incomes this 12 months to be at $590 million after she bought a majority of her magnificence model’s stake to Coty Inc.
  • Ranked at quantity 2 on the checklist by making $170 million was American rapper and file producer Kanye West, who can be coincidentally Kylie’s brother-in-law. In addition to Tyler Perry, Howard Stern, and Dwayne Johnson, A-lister athletes like Roger Federer, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Neymar and LeBron James helped spherical out the highest 10.

Science and Technology News

10. ISRO units up a devoted management centre ‘NETRA’ for SSA

  • The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has arrange a devoted Space Situational Awareness (SSA) Control Centre named “NETRA”, at its ISTRAC campus at Peenya, Bengaluru.
  • The ISRO SSA Control Centre ‘NETRA’ was formally inaugurated by ISRO Chairman K Sivan.
  • The “NEtwork for space object TRacking and Analysis (NETRA)” will monitor, monitor and defend India’s area belongings. It will perform as a hub of all SSA actions inside India.
  • It has been arrange as a ‘Directorate of Space Situational Awareness and Management (DSSAM)’ aiming to guard excessive valued area belongings from area particles shut approaches and collisions.
  • The state-of-the-art facility, devoted to SSA actions, may even assist to coordinate between Indian businesses, their international counterparts and worldwide our bodies.
  • The most important parts of NETRA could be a radar, an optical telescope facility, and a management centre.

Important takeaways for all aggressive exams:

  • ISRO Chairman: K.Sivan.
  • ISRO Headquarters: Bengaluru, Karnataka.

11. NASA selects Raja Chari as commander of SpaceX Crew-3 mission

  • NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) have chosen Indian-American Raja Chari to be the Commander of the SpaceX Crew-3 mission to the International Space Station. Presently Raja Chari is a colonel within the US Air Force.
  • He would be the commander of SpaceX Crew-3 mission, whereas Nasa’s Tom Marshburn might be pilot and ESA’s Matthias Maurer will function a mission specialist. This mission is anticipated to be launched subsequent 12 months.
  • When Chari, Marshburn, and Maurer arrive on the orbiting laboratory, they’ll turn out to be expedition crew members during their six-month keep. The crew could have a slight overlap with the Crew-2 astronauts, who’re anticipated to launch within the spring of 2021.

Important takeaways for all aggressive exams: 

  • The administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration: Jim Bridenstine.
  • Headquarters of NASA: Washington D.C., United States.

Sports News

12. Qatar to host 2030 Asian Games, 2034 version in Saudi Arabia

  • The 2030 Asian Games had been awarded to Doha, Qatar and the 2034 occasion went to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia after a deal was struck between the rival nations.
  • Doha beat Riyadh for the 2030 Games within the vote on the Olympic Council of Asia’s (OCA) common meeting.
  • The vote happened amid a bitter and long-running political dispute between Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Saudi Arabia is certainly one of 4 international locations which has imposed a commerce and journey boycott on Qatar since 2017.
  • The OCA reached a deal to vote on the 2030 host however to provide the opposite candidate the 2034 occasion.

Important takeaways for all aggressive exams:

  • Olympic Council of Asia Headquarters: Kuwait City, Kuwait.
  • Olympic Council of Asia President: Ahmed Al-Fahad Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah.
  • Olympic Council of Asia Founded: 16 November 1982.
  •  Olympic Council of Asia Motto: Ever Onward.
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