ADB approved Multitranche Financing Facility for UP Power Distribution Network Rehabilitation Project

• The Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved a $430 million(about Rs 4,143 crore) Multitranche Financing Facility(MFF) for Uttar Pradesh(UP) Power Distribution Network Rehabilitation Project.

• The project finances the conversion of 65,000 kilometers of rural low-voltage distribution lines from bare conductors to aerial bundle conductors.

• It also finances the construction of a parallel network of 11-kilovolt feeders with a total length of 17,000 km.

• ADB, on November 3, 2020 has approved a USD 132.8 million loan to Modernize Power Distribution Network in Meghalaya.

• About Asian Development Bank (ADB):

• Headquarters, Mandaluyong, Manila, Philippines

• President- Masatsugu Asakawa
• Membership- 68 countries(Including India)
• Formed- 1966

PNB Launched Loan Management Solution, "PNB LenS-The Lending Solution"

• Punjab National Bank (PNB) developed and launched 'PNB LenS-The Lending Solution', an IT(Information Technology) based lending solution for loan management

• To increase the speed and maintain accuracy in online processing of loans and sanctioning of credit proposals.

• This is effective from December 1, 2020.

• PNB launched OTP(One Time Password) based cash withdrawals, effective from 1st December 2020.

• The PNB account holders if withdraws Rs 10,000 and above from PNB ATMs(Automated Teller Machines), at a time between 8 pm and 8 am, will require a OTP.

• At the process of withdrawal at ATMs, an OTP will be sent to the account holders registered mobile number

About Punjab National Bank (PNB):

• Managing Director(MD) and Chief Executive Officer(CEO)-CH S.S. Mallikarjuna Rao

• Headquarters-New Delhi, India

• Commenced Operations- April 12,1895

• Tagline- The name you can bank upon

SBI along with NPCI & Japan's JCB launched "SBI RuPay JCB Platinum Contactless Debit Card"

• State Bank of India (SBI) in collaboration with National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and Japan's JCB (formerly Japan Credit Bureau) International Co. Ltd. unveiled "SBI RuPay JCB Platinum Contactless Debit Card" with a unique dual interface feature.

• It enables the customers to use it for both contact and contactless transactions as well as for domestic and overseas transactions

• The card has been launched on the RuPay network by SBI in partnership with JCB.

• This card will be used to transact on ATMs (Automatic Teller Machines) & PoS (Point of Sale) terminals across the globe under JCB network

About JCB International Co. Ltd:

• JCB is a major global payment brand and a leading credit card issuer and acquirer in Japan.

• Chairman & Chief Executive Officer (CEO)- Ichiro Hamakawa

• Headquarter- Tokyo, Japan

• About National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI):

• Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dilip Asbe

• Headquarter-Mumbai, Maharashtra

• Established by - RBI & IBA (under Section 8 of the Companies Act 2013)

• Regulator - RBI

YES Bank Relaunches 'YES Premia' with Premium Banking Services to Customers

• YES Bank relaunched YES Premia with a premium banking program. It offers personalized solutions focusing on particular needs of key consumer segments, i.e., from small business owners to salaried professionals and senior citizens.

• During Truly Yours' Week, from December 1 7, 2020 Yes Bank celebrated the launch of the program, across India with several customer centric programs and partnered activations through dealer, OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) and bancassurance partners.

• YES Premia has been designed to provide customized banking solutions that fits the lifestyle and expectations of different consumer groups.

• Salaried individuals

• Complimentary Emerge Debit Card is given with benefits of over Rs 50,000,Complimentary Times Prime annual membership is also given with benefits worth over Rs 60,000, etc.,

• Self Employed

• An automated sweep facility from Current Account to Savings Account or Fixed Deposit Easy payment solution for vendors and staff of MSME clients with YES MSME Group Payments, etc.

• Senior Citizens:

• Broad range of Fixed Deposits(FD) with high interest rate and overdraft facility.

• Recently, YES Bank in partnership with Worldline launched SMS Pay functionality on PoS(Point of Sale) Terminals.

About YES Bank:

• Headquarter- Mumbai, Maharashtra

• Managing Director(MD) and Chief Executive Officer(CEO)- Prashant Kumar

• Tagline- Experience our expertise

OECD Revised India's FY21 GDP Forecast to -9.9% from -10.2%

• The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in its December 2020 Economic Outlook titled "A Brighter Outlook But Recovery Will Be Gradual" has revised the India's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) rate upwards to -9.9% from -10.2% projected in September for FY21.

• : It also projected that the Indian economy will rebound to 8% in FY22 and 5% in FY23 on the condition that GDP loss would be substantial.

• On the global front also OECD decreased the contraction rate to 4.2%(-4.2%) in 2020, from -4.5% earlier.

• Global economy to grow 4.2% in 2021, from the earlier 5%.

• About Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD): Secretary General - Jose Angel Gurria Trevino

• Headquarters - Paris, France

• Member countries - 37. They are Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States.

S&P Global Ratings retains India's growth forecast for FY21 at -9%

• S&P Global Ratings in its report on Asia Pacific stated that it has retained its forecast of 9% contraction(-9%) in the Indian economy for FY21 and projected that it will grow at 10% in FY22.

• About S&P Global:

• President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO)- Douglas L. Peterson

• President of S&P Global Ratings - John Berisford

• Headquarter- New York, United States (US)

Veteran Bollywood Actor Naseeruddin Shah Honoured with Aditya Vikram Birla Kala Shikhar Puraskar 2020

• Veteran Bollywood Actor Naseeruddin Shah was honoured with the Aditya Vikram Birla Kala Shikhar Puraskar 2020 at the Sangit Kala Kendra Awards virtual function. He was awarded in the category theatre.

• The 2 emerging stars of theatrics, Neel Choudhary and Irawati Karnik were awarded the Aditya Vikram Birla Kalakiran Puraskars 2020.

• Rajashree Birla, President of Sangit Kala Kendra mentioned that 'Theatre' is the central theme for 2020 awards.

• Kumar Mangalam Birla, Neerja Birla and the extended Aditya Birla family attended the event.

• Naseeruddin Shah made his debut in Indian film industry, with a small role in the film Aman (1967).

About Aditya Vikram Birla Kala Shikhar Puraska:

• Sangit Kala Kendra instituted this award in 1966, in memory of its Founder President, the Late Shri Aditya Vikram Birla. This award is bestowed upon a distinguished artist for his/her lifetime achievement in the chosen field of the performing and visual arts.

• The award comprises- Cash award of Rs 2.0 lakhs, a memento and a scroll of honour.

About Sangit Kala Kendra:

• Established- 1973 by Aditya Vikram Birla

• Headquarters- Mumbai, Maharashtra

Merriam-Webster and Dictionary.com select "Pandemic" as Word of the Year

• Merriam-Webster and Dictionary.com two of the most popular dictionary companies for the first time have chosen a common word "Pandemic" as Word of the Year. Once the World Health Organisation (WHO) announced COVID-19 as pandemic in early March, 2020 the word continuously peaked in the most searched list.

• Pandemic is a word having roots Latin and Greek, where "pan" denotes "for all" and "demos" indicating "people or population" sometimes roots to "democracy".

• Broadly the word "pandemic" denotes "universal" and more specifically to disease in a medical text in the 1600s.

• Merriam-Webster started announcing word of the year in 2008 and in 2019 the pronoun "they" is selected as word of the year.

• com started announcing Word of the Year in 2010 where "Essential" linking to climate change, gun violence was the Word of the year in 2019.

Govt constituted Apex Committee for Implementation of 2015 Paris Agreement

• The Government of India has constituted a 17 members committee namely "Apex Committee for Implementation of Paris Agreement (AIPA)"

• The committee will be responsible of formulating policies and programmes for the execution of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) prepared by India under Paris Agreement 2015.

• The AIPA will act as a national authority for the regulation of carbon markets in India under Article 6.2,Article 6.4 and Article 6.8 of the Paris Agreement.

• The committee will have additional secretary, MoEFCC as the vice chairperson along with 15 members.

• The Paris Agreement (Article 4, paragraph 2) mandated each of its countries to prepare, communicate and maintain post 2020 climate actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate the impacts of anthropogenic climate change These are known as nationally determined contributions (NDCs).

• There are 8 goals in the Indian NDCs, three of which are quantitative goals while the five others are non-quantitative. The quantitative goals are as follows:

• A 33-35% reduction in the gross domestic product emissions intensity by 2030 from 2005 levels

• A 40% share of non-fossil fuel based electricity by 2030

• Creating a carbon sink of 2.5-3 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide through afforestation programmes

• The non-quantitative goals are healthy and sustainable lifestyle, climate friendly and clean path to economic development building capacities on climate technology and mobilise domestic and new additional funds.

About Paris Agreement:

• Signed in 2016, it is an agreement within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). It was negotiated in 2015 by representatives of 196 state parties at the 21st Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC in Le Bourget, near Paris, France.

• CCI Approves Acquisition of Rivigo by Spring Canter Investment Ltd & Amalgamation of Srikalahasthi Pipes with Electrosteel Castings Ltd

• The Competition Commission of India (CCI) approved acquisition and amalgamation under Section 31(1) of the Competition Act, 2002.

• CCI gave approval to the acquisition of Rivigo Services Private Limited (Rivigo) by Spring Canter Investment Ltd (SCIL)

• CCI gave approval for the proposed amalgamation of Srikalahasthi Pipes Limited (SPL) with and into Electrosteel Castings Limited (ECL).

About Competition Commission of India (CCI):

• Headquarters, New Delhi, India Chairman- Ashok Kumar Gupta

• Established by- The Central Government with effect from 14th October 2003

World's Oldest Nanostructures Found In 6th-Century BC Pottery from Keeladi, Tamil Nadu

• Scientists have discovered the oldest known human-made nano-materials in the "unique black coatings" of ancient pottery shards dated to 600 BC that were unearthed from an archeological site in Keeladi, Tamil Nadu. The research was published in the journal Scientific Reports and the findings have been documented in a paper published in "Nature".

• In accordance with the research these coatings are made of carbon nanotubes (CNTS) which have enabled the layer to last more than 2600 years.

• It should be noted that this discovery has succeeded the old known carbon nanostructure that was found in the Damascus blades from the 16th-18th century. Notably the technique used in the Damascus blades was also made in India.

Abhay Bharadwaj Rajya Sabha MP from Gujarat Passed away at 66

• Abhay Bharadwaj, member of BJP and Rajya Sabha MP passed away in a hospital in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. He passed away due to post COVID-19 complications. He hails from Rajkot, Gujarat.

• He is the 2nd Rajya Sabha MP from Gujarat to die due to COVID-19 complications after Ahmed Patel, Rajya Sabha MP of Indian National Congress.

• Abhay Bharadwaj was a prominent lawyer who was elected to the Rajya Sabha from Gujarat in June 2020.

Italian Writer Alfredo Covelli Launched his First Kids Book "Vahana Masterclass" in India

• Alfredo Covelli, Italian Writer launched his new kids book titled "Vahana Masterclass" illustrating the Indian Mythology and Culture. The illustration of the book was done by Indian artist Zainab Tambawalla and the book is published by Scholastic India.

• Vahana Masterclass is Alfredo's first book in English, the first book for the Indian market and his first book for kids.

• Vahana Masterclass is a book about the adventures of four mice Anand, Karthika, Anjali and Kanu and their journey towards becoming the next vahana of lord Ganesha under the guidance of Mooshika, the present vahana of Ganesha.

• Alfredo describes the book as the Indian version of Harry Potter with mice.

Assam CM Sarbananda Sonowal launches "Orunodoi" Scheme

• Chief Minister of Assam Sarbananda Sonowal launched "Orunodoi" Scheme in the state. The scheme is allocated with an annual budget of Rs 2400 crore to provide financial assistance to socio- economically weaker sections for a period of 5 years.

• The scheme will provide financial assistance of Rs 830/month as Directly Benefit Transfer(DBT) to the bank accounts of Women under the Jan Dhan Yojana.

• Provides Subsidies in medicines worth Rs 400, Pulses worth Rs 200, Sugar worth Rs 80 and essential vegetables & fruits worth Rs

• Women with family income less than 2 lakhs per annum can avail the benefits of this scheme.

• 4 districts in the Bodoland Territorial Region are not included due to the schedule of council elections.

DoT mandates '0' Prefix for Landline-to-Mobile calls from 15 January, 2021

• The Department of Telecom (DoT) announced that from January 15, 2021, Consumers need to prefix '0' for Landline- to-Mobile calls. The decision has been taken in line with the recommendations by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India.

• The process is set to generate around 2539 Million Numbering Series, freeing up adequate numbering resources for Future use.

PowerChina, Hydropower Company China Plans the First Downstream Dam on River Brahmaputra

• China is set to construct the first downstream dam on Yarlung Zangbo River (known as river Brahmaputra in India) in Tibet.

• The authorities approved the proposal of PowerChina, a state owned hydropower company to construct the dam.

• Powerchina signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Tibet Autonomous Region government to implement hydropower exploitation in the downstream of Yarlung Zangbo River as a part of its 14th 5-year plan (2021-2025).

• This will generate an income of 20 billion Yuan (around Rs 2.24 lakh crore) per year for TAR.

Ramayan Cruise Service,' Becomes India's first Luxury Cruise Service on Saryu River in Ayodhya, UP

• The 'Ramayan Cruise Service' is to be launched on Saryu river (Ghagra/National Waterways-40) in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh.

• It is India's first luxury Cruise service on the Saryu river. It aims to give an attractive experience to devotees with one-of-its-kind spiritual journeys while cruising through the famous ghats of the holy river Saryu.

• On the basis of the theme of Ramcharitmanas, the interiors of the cruise and the boarding point is designed.

Indian Men's Football team rises Four Spots to 104th Rank in FIFA 's November Rankings

• As per the FIFA (Federation Internationale de Football Association) updated in November, 2020,

• Indian Men's Football Team rose 4 spots to 104 (1187 Points) from 108 in October, 2020 Rankings.

DRDO creates New Laboratory 'Defence Geo Informatics Research Establishment' by Merging 2 DRDO Labs - SASE, DTRL

• Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) created a New Laboratory named Defence Geo Informatics Research Establishment' for focused research on terrain and avalanches along the borders with China and Pakistan by merging 2 DRDO labs - Manali based Centre for Snow and Avalanche Studies Establishment (SASE) & Delhi based Defence Terrain Research Laboratory (DTRL).

Defence Terrain Research Laboratory (DTRL):

• DTRL is a Delhi-based laboratory of the DRDO established in 1964.

• The main aim of DTRL is to provide real time data for terrain evaluation to Indian Army.

• Snow and Avalanche Studies Establishment (SASE): SASE is a Manali, Himachal Pradesh based laboratory of DRDO established in 1969.

• The main aim of the lab is to do research in the field of snow and avalanches to provide avalanche control measures and forecasting support to Indian Armed Forces.

• It has prepared an avalanche atlas of around 3,000 on-road locations in different parts of India where Indian Armed Forces are deployed.

• DRDO Chairman, Dr. G. Satheesh Reddy constituted a 5-member committee headed by Professor V. Ramagopal Rao, Director of Indian Institute of Technology (IT), Delhi to review the charter of duties for laboratories of DRDO. The committee was constituted with the aim of making DRDO a lean and result-oriented organization.

• About Snow and Avalanche Studies Establishment (SASE):

• Director - Lokesh Kumar Sinha

• Location - Manali, Himachal Pradesh

• About Defence Terrain Research Laboratory (DTRL):

• Director - Lokesh Kumar Sinha
• Location - New Delhi

• About Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO):

• Chairman - Dr. G. Satheesh Reddy

• Headquarters - New Delhi