Thursday 24 December 2020
GK Update of twenty fourth December 2020 masking the next information headlines: World Bank, FDI, FRUITS, PayU, Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay-NIF e book prize, Ayodhya.
National News
1. World Bank indicators $500mn mission to develop highways in India
- The Government of India and the World Bank signed a $500 million mission to construct secure and inexperienced nationwide freeway corridors within the states of Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh.
- The mission will even improve the capability of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) in mainstreaming security and inexperienced applied sciences.
- The $500 million loans from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development a lending arm of World Bank Group, has a maturity of 18.5 years together with a grace interval of 5 years.
- The Green National Highways Corridors Project will assist MoRTH assemble 783 km of highways in numerous geographies by integrating secure and inexperienced know-how designs resembling native and marginal supplies, industrial byproducts, and different bioengineering options.
Important takeaways for all aggressive exams:
- World Bank Headquarters: Washington DC, United States.
- World Bank President: David Malpass.
- World Bank Founded: 1944.
- Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways: Nitin Jairam Gadkari.
2. Cabinet approves 100% FDI in DTH providers
- The Union Cabinet authorised revised tips for Direct-to-Home (DTH) broadcasting providers, permitting 100 per cent international direct funding (FDI) in addition to growing the licence interval to 20 years.
- Due to our I&B tips, this discipline was not getting the advantage of 100 per cent FDI. After altering the rules, the rules could have the identical tips because the Commerce Ministry and can come beneath 100 per cent FDI.
- Under the revised tips the licenses can be issued for a interval of 20 years, in comparison with 10 years in the mean time, and can be renewed for a 10-year interval. The license price has been revised from 10 per cent of gross income (GR) to 8 per cent of adjusted gross income (AGR), which can be calculated by deduction of GST from GR.Important takeaways for all aggressive exams:
- Minister of Information and Broadcasting: Prakash Javadekar.
3. Cabinet approves the merger of 4 Govt movie media items
- The Cabinet authorised the merger of 4 government-run movie and media items — the Films Division, the Directorate of Film Festivals, the National Film Archives of India and the autonomous physique Children’s Film Society, with the National Film Development Corporation.
- The merger of Film Media Units beneath one company will result in convergence of actions and assets and higher coordination, thereby making certain synergy and effectivity in reaching the mandate of every media unit. This will result in a discount in duplication of actions and direct financial savings to the exchequer.
State News
4. Karnataka unveils “FRUITS” portal for farmers
- Karnataka authorities has unveiled the Farmer Registration and Unified beneficiary Information System (FRUITS), an e-governance portal, to create a repository of farmland data and farm mortgage particulars on a single platform.
- All farmers can be registered and given an identification quantity on the portal. The FRUITS Portal is built-in into the BHOOMI Package of the Karnataka State for fetching and validating the land particulars.
- One different essential facility of this Portal is on-line creation of cost by which go to of farmers to Sub-Registrar Office is prevented. Canara Bank has agreed to run FRUITS on a pilot foundation.
Important takeaways for all aggressive exams:
- Chief Minister of Karnataka: B.S. Yediyurappa; Governor: Vajubhai Vala.
Business News
5. PayU ties up with Google Pay to introduce tokenised funds
- PayU with Google Pay has launched tokenised funds stream for Indian retailers. With the digital token linked to the telephone and card data tokenised, Google Pay customers could make repeat funds seamlessly and securely.
- Through the choice of one-click cost, one doesn’t must re-enter the cost information, because the OTP is learn mechanically and the cost is processed instantaneously.
- Tokenised funds supply a extremely handy, secure, and friction-free cost expertise, and we’re excited to accomplice with Google Pay to make this out there for our retailers. It will assist them construct lasting belief and loyalty with prospects, cut back dangers of cart abandonment and cost failures, and scale up their companies.
Important takeaways for all aggressive exams:
- CEO of Google: Sundar Pichai; Headquarters: California, United States.
- PayU Founded: 2006.
- PayU CEO: Laurent le Moal.
Awards News
6. Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay-NIF e book prize introduced
- The winners of the Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay New India Foundation Book Prize 2020 for one of the best non-fiction e book on up to date/ trendy India had been introduced.
- The Prize was given collectively to Amit Ahuja for his Mobilizing the Marginalized: Ethnic Parties with out Ethnic Movements (Oxford University Press) and to former Union minister Jairam Ramesh for his A Chequered Brilliance: The Many Lives of VK Krishna Menon (Penguin Random House), a biography of politician and diplomat VK Krishna Menon.
- The award carries a quotation and a money prize of Rs 15 lakh, that can be shared by the 2 authors.
7. Srinagar’s Amar Singh College recognised with UNESCO Award
- Srinagar primarily based Amar Singh College has been acknowledged with the ‘Award of Merit’ within the 2020 UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation.
- The restoration of the Amar Singh College introduced again probably the most distinguished institutional buildings in Kashmir to its former glory.
- The faculty constructing is 80 years outdated and INTACH (Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage) chapter within the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir had carried out the conservation work on the Amar Singh College.
8. NTPC wins the distinguished CII-ITC Sustainability Awards 2020
- Country’s largest energy producer, National Thermal Power Corporation Limited (NTPC) has been conferred “Excellence” within the prestigious CII-ITC Sustainability Awards 2020 in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Domain.
- NTPC has been honoured within the Corporate Excellence Category, Commendation for Significant Achievement.
- This is the very best award conferred by CII-ITC in CSR area. NTPC is the one PSU to obtain the award within the Corporate Excellence class. NTPC wins the distinguished CII-ITC Sustainability Awards in Corporate Excellence class second time in a row i.e. within the 12 months 2019 and 2020.
Important takeaways for all aggressive exams:
- NTPC MD & CEO: Gurdeep Singh.
- NTPC Founded: 1975.
- NTPC Headquarters: New Delhi, India.
Books and Authors News
9. Devendra Fadnavis releases e book ‘Ayodhya’ written by Madhav Bhandari
- Maharashtra former Chief Minister and current chief of Opposition within the Legislative Assembly, Devendra Fadnavis has launched the e book ‘Ayodhya’ written by Madhav Bhandari.
- The e book will function a key reference doc summarising the protests held for the reason for a Ram temple in Ayodhya.
- The e book brings collectively numerous references which are associated to Ayodhya city in Uttar Pradesh.
- The invaders had destroyed the Ram temple there and a defeatist mentality was thrust upon Hindus for years to come back. The (temple) marketing campaign was undertaken to counter this mentality and awaken the group.
10. VP Venkaiah Naidu just about launched the e book ‘Oh Mizoram’
- VP Venkaiah Naidu just about launched the e book ‘Oh Mizoram’, written by Governor of Mizoram, Shri P S Sreedharan Pillai.
- Pillai is a lawyer, an orator, a prolific author, a philanthropist, and a thinker. He has written 125 books in Malayalam & English. Oh, Mizoram is his first poetry assortment in English.
Important Days
11. National Consumer Rights Day 2020
- National Consumer Rights Day is noticed yearly on December 24. On at the present time in 1986, the Consumer Protection Act 1986 acquired the Presidential assent and thus got here into pressure. The Act goals to offer shoppers with efficient safeguards towards various kinds of exploitation, resembling faulty items, deficiency in providers and unfair commerce practices.
- This day gives a chance for individuals to focus on the significance of the buyer rights motion and the necessity to make each client extra conscious of their rights and duties.
- ‘Jago Grahak Jago’, which implies ‘Be aware consumer’, is a client consciousness program launched by the Department of Consumer Affairs.
- As a part of this initiative, the federal government has used channels to create client consciousness by way of print, media ads, audio campaigns and video campaigns for client data and training.
Important takeaways for all aggressive exams:
- Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution: Piyush Goyal.
Obituaries
12. Renowned Malayalam poet Sugathakumari passes away
- Renowned poet and activist, Sugathakumari handed away, after testing constructive for the coronavirus. She was probably the most lively campaigners of the Save Silent Valley Movement when it took form within the Seventies.
- She wrote a poem Marathinu Sthuti (Hymn to a Tree), which was recited at each different protest to save lots of the Silent Valley. Sugathakumari was awarded India’s fourth-highest civilian award, Padma Shri, in 2006.