Central Zoo Authority grants recognition to 2 New Zoos - one each in Bihar & Uttar Pradesh

• The 37th General Body meeting of Central Zoo Authority (CZA) chaired by Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), Prakash Javadekar granted recognition to 2 New Rajgir Zoo Safari in Nalanda, Bihar & Shaheed Ashfaque Ullah Khan Prani Udyaan in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh.

About Central Zoo Authority:

• It is an Statutory Body under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC)

• Chairperson - Union Minister for MoEFCC (Prakash Javadekar)

• Headquarters - New Delhi

Bank of Baroda Launches Atmanirbhar Women Scheme

• Sanjiv Chadha, Managing Director(MD) and Chief Executive Officer(CEO) of Bank of Baroda (BOB) launched 'Atmanirbhar Women Scheme virtually at BOB's Ramamurthy Nagar branch, Bengaluru, Karnataka.

• This launch is part of the bank's Baroda Gold Loan.

• The launch was also made simultaneously in 18 branches coming under 18 zones in India.

• Women can get loans at 0.50% concession, under this scheme.

• In addition to this, the bank also offers agri-gold loan at 0.25% concession and retail loan at 0.50% concession, under this scheme.

About Bank of Baroda(BoB):

• Head Office- Vadodara(earlier known Baroda), Gujarat
• Managing Director(MD) and Chief Executive Officer(CEO)- Sanjiv Chadha Established-20 July 1908
• Tagline- India's International Bank

Fitch revised India GDP forecast for FY21 to -9.4% from -10.5%

• Fitch Ratings in its recent Global Economic Outlook-December 2020 upgraded the India's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) forecast to - 9.4% in FY21 from a previously projected contraction of 10.5%(-10.5%).

• The Fitch projections regarding GDP for FY22 and FY23 remained unchanged at 11% and 6.3% respectively. In FY20, there was a GDP growth of 4.2%.

MP's Gwalior & Orchha named in UNESCO World Heritage Cities List

• The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has inscribed the fort cities of Gwalior and Orchha in Madhya Pradesh (MP) in its world heritage cities under urban landscape city programme. This was informed by the state government of MP. With this Inclusion the total number of UNESCO World Heritage Cities of India will increase to 40.

• The inclusion will led to the beautification of both cities by the MP Tourism Department in collaboration with UNESCO.

• In this regard, UNESCO team will visit the state in 2021 and will prepare a master plan for their development and conservation under the Historic Urban Landscape recommendation.

About Gwalior:

• Gwalior was established in 9th century and ruled by Gurjar Pratihar Rajvansh, Tomar, Baghel Kachvaho and Scindias. It occupies a sandstone plateau and consists of memorials, forts and palaces

About Orchha:

• Orchha means 'hidden palace', as it name suggests it is popular for its temples and palaces and was the capital of the Bundela kingdom in the 16th century.

• On global front there are 1121 world heritage sites. While in India there are 38 world heritage sites consisting of two cities viz. Jaipur (Rajasthan) and Ahmadabad (Gujarat).

• The Indian sites include 30 cultural sites, 7 Natural sites, and 1 Mixed site.

• In June 2019, Jaipur was declared as World Heritage site UNESCO following the number of India heritage sites under UNESCO was increased to 38.

About UNESCO World Heritage Centre:

• Director- Mechtild Rossler

• Headquarter-Paris, France

WHO Foundation Appoints Indian-origin Anil Soni as its 1st CEO

• WHO Foundation appointed Anil Soni, Indian-origin global health expert as its 1st Chief Executive Officer(CEO) or inaugural CEO. He will take charge on January 1, 2021.

• Prior to his appointment as CEO of WHO Foundation, he served as the Head of Global Infectious Diseases at Vitaris.

About WHO Foundation:

• Launched- May 2020

• Headquarters, Geneva, Switzerland
• Founder and Chairman of the Board of the WHO Foundation, Professor Thomas Zeltner

Romanian PM Ludovic Orban Resigned After Losing 2020 Parliamentary Election

• Ludovic Orban, center-right Prime Minister(PM) of Romania, leader of National Liberal Party (PNL) resigned from his post after the ruling party lost the 2020 parliamentary election.

• Klaus Iohannis, President of Romania appointed Nicolae-lonel Ciucă, Defence Minister as the Interim Prime Minister

About Romania:

• Currency- Romanian leu Capital, Bucharest

International Tennis Hall of Fame, Dennis Ralston dies

• Five-time Grand Slam doubles champion Dennis Ralston died. He was the highest ranked American Tennis player for three years and got inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame 10 years after his retirement.

• At the age of 17, Ralston attained the greatest success in doubles when he paired with Rafael Osuna of Mexico, to win Wimbledon in 1960.

• He Won the 3 Grand Slam finalist in mixed doubles, French championship in 1966 teaming with Clark Graebner, In 1971, he won the mixed doubles Wimbledon Championships along with Arthur Ashe.

• Pairing with Chuck McKinley, won titles at the US national championship in 1961, 63 and 64.

36th SAARC Charter Day - December 8

• SAARC Charter Day is annually observed across the member countries of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) - Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka on 8th December to mark the adoption of SAARC Charter by the member countries in 1985 to establish South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).

• The 8th December 2020 marks the 36th SAARC Charter Day.

• The SAARC Charter was signed on 8th December 1985 by the Heads of State or Government of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka at the 1st SAARC Summit held in Dhaka, Bangladesh

• SAARC was established to promote economic and cultural ties amongst SAARC member countries.

• Afghanistan was admitted as the 8th member of SAARC at the 14th SAARC Summit held in New Delhi, India in April 2007

• As a part of the SAARC Charter day celebration Afghanistan hosts the SAARC Youth platform's webinar on "Youth and Human Rights, Peace Resilience and Economic Situation of Afghanistan"

• Youth Advocacy Network of Pakistan along with SAARC Youth Platform organised a webinar on "The New Possible, A New South Asia for a New Reality Building Resilient Recovery" on 7th December 2020 to celebrate the SAARC Charter Day 2020.

About SAARC:

• Secretary General-Esala Ruwan Weerakoon (Sri Lanka)

• Secretariat Kathmandu, Nepal

• Established on-8th December 1985 Members- Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka

International Civil Aviation Day 2020: December 7

• The United Nations(UN) International Civil Aviation Day is annually celebrated across the globe on December 7 to help create and strengthen worldwide awareness about the importance of international civil aviation to the social and economic development of countries. The day also aims to create awareness about the role of International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in promoting the safety, efficiency and regularity of international air transport.

• International Civil Aviation Day theme for 2020-2023 is "Advancing Innovation for Global Aviation Development".

• The theme 2020 is valid till 2023.

• About International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO):

• It is a specialized agency of the United Nations.

• Secretary General Dr. Fang Liu (China)

• HeadQuarters- Montreal, Canada

• President of ICAO Council- Mr. Salvatore Sciacchitano

• Member States, 193(including India, which also the Council Member State)

Armed Forces Flag Day 2020 - December 7

• The Armed Forces Flag Day is annually observed across India on 7th December to honour the martyrs and the men and women in uniform who protects the honour of the country.

• The first Armed Forces Flag Day was observed on 7th December 1949.

• The Government of India has decided that December 2020 will be celebrated as the "Gaurav Maah" (Pride Month) to honour the contributions of armed forces and its veterans.

• To collect welfare funds for the security personnels who were disabled and for the family of the personnels who lost their life in the line of duty.

• The fund is collected from the citizens through the distribution of small flags in return of donation.

International Volunteer Day 2020 - December 5

• The United Nations(UN)'s International Volunteer Day for Economic and Social Development, commonly referred as International Volunteer Day (IVD) is annually celebrated across the globe on 5th December to create awareness about the important contributions of the volunteer services and encourage people to offer their service as volunteers.

• The theme of the International Volunteers Day 2020(IVD2020) is "Together We Can Through

• Volunteering". The day is observed and supported by the United Nations Volunteers (UNV)

• The day is celebrated by various non-governmental organizations, civil society, and the private sector.

• To promote volunteerism, encourage governments to support volunteer efforts and recognize volunteer contributions to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at local, national and international levels.

• The "blue heart emoji" will be associated with the IVD2020 tagline and support to build the image of the campaign that promotes positivity, solidarity and compassion towards volunteers.

• UNV India along with the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, United Nations Development Programme(UNDP) and other UN Agencies celebrated the IVD2020.

• Kiren Rijiju, Union Minister of Youth Affairs & Sports virtually addressed the IVD2020 ceremony to promote volunteerism and recognized volunteer contributions to the achievement of the SDGs.

• The IVD2020 ceremony commenced with the launch of IVD anthem jointly produced by UNV India and UNHCR.

• Union Minister Kiren Rijiju announced the list of V-Awardees 2020. The V-awards 2020 was presented to recognise the community outreach efforts of the volunteers.

V-Awardees 2020:

• Chetan Pardeshi, Vijayambigai Thulashidos, Nupur Agarwal, Rohan Modi, Yashoda Pandey, Harshit Gupta, Chaitanya Prabhu. Pradeep Sharma, Akriti Gupta, Poorvaprabha Patil received the V-Awards 2020.

• About United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme:

• Executive Coordinator- Olivier Adam (France)

• Administered by- United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

• Headquarters-Bonn, Germany

World Soil Day 2020 - December 5

• United Nations(UN)'s World Soil day is annually observed across the globe on 5th December to focus the global attention on the importance of healthy soil and to promote the sustainable management of soil resources.

• The first world soil day was observed on 5th December 2014.

• The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations has launched a campaign "Keep soil alive, protect soil biodiversity with an aim to raise awareness among the public about the importance of sustaining healthy ecosystems and human well-being.

• The date 5th December was chosen to observe the world soil day, since it coincides with the official birthday of the late H.M. King Bhumibol Adulyadej, King of Thailand who played a major role in the World soil day initiative.

• FAO Awards announced on WSD20:

Glinka World Soil Prize 2020:

• Luca Montanarella, Senior Expert presso European Commission who has a distinguished career in the field of soil science won the Glinka World Soil Prize 2020.

• He was recognised as an active promoter of soil awareness in Europe and across the globe. His works focus on the role of soil in food scarcity,

King Bhumibol World Soil Day Award 2020:

• Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), responsible for coordinating agricultural education and research in India won the King Bhumibol World Soil Day Award 2020 for its commitment to raise awareness on the importance of healthy soil through event of World Soil day 2019 as Soil Health Awareness Week" from 1st to 7th December 2019.

Events 2020:

• As a part of the celebration of World Soil Day 2020, FAO, the International Union of Soil Sciences (IUSS), and the Global Soil Partnership (GSP) announced the winners of the children book contest on Soil Biodiversity with the motto "Keep soil alive, protect soil biodiversity".

• The winners of the children's book contest are:

First prize:

• "The science & spectacle of Soil Life by Roly Poly" by JiaJia Hamner of the United States and Sharada Keats of Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition, United Kingdom.

• The winner will get a cash prize of 1000 USD.

Second Prize:

• "Soil biodiversity. What's most important?" by Katelyn Lutes and Benjamin Ellert of Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada.

• The winner will get a cash prize of 500 USD

Third Prize:

• "The home of life. I am a living soil" by Claudio Lucas Capeche, Julia Franco Stuchi, Milena Pessoa Pagliacci, Fabricio de Martino, Alexandre Abrantes Cotta de Mello, Antonio Augusto Bianchi, Maya Stuchi Tedjini, Kelita Carlos Andrade of Emb, Brazil.

• The winner will get a cash prize of 250 USD.

About Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO):

• Director-General-QU Dongyu HeadQuarters- Rome, Italy

First Ever "International Day of Banks" observed on 4th December 2020

• The United Nations (UN)'s celebrates the first ever International Day of Banks across the globe on 4th December 2020. The day is observed to recognise the important potential of multilateral development banks and other international development banks in financing sustainable development.

• This reaffirms the importance of achieving the targets of Sustainable Development Goals(SDG) by 2030.

• The day recognises the vital role of the banking systems in the member state of UN contributing to improve its standard of living.

Indian Navy Day 2020 - December 4

• Indian Navy Day is annually celebrated on 4th December to celebrate the achievements of Indian Navy and commemorate the launch of Operation Trident during the 1971 Indo-Pak war.

• The theme of Indian Navy Day 2020 is "indian Navy - Combat Ready, Credible & Cohesive"

• The year 2021 will be celebrated as "Swarnim Vijay Varsh" to commemorate the 50th anniversary of India's victory in 1971 Indo-Pak war and the Southern Naval Command (SNC) has planned a series of events which will commence on 4th December 2020 and run through 16th December 2021

• The activities of the 2020 Indian Navy day are collectively termed as "Navy Week 2020" which commenced with an environment and afforestation drive on 30th November 2020

• The theme of the Navy week 2020 is "Navy to Earth-2020

• As a part of the Naval week 2020, the Southern Naval Command organised the "Operations Demonstration" in Ernakulam Channel, Kochi to showcase the skills and armed operations of the Indian Navy. This marks the beginning of the activities for celebration of Swarnim Vijay Varsh

• The Indian navy launched the Operation Trident on the night of December 4, 1971 during the Indo-Pak war following the attack of Pakistan over Indian Air Bases on 3rd December 1971.

• 3 missile boats, Nirghat, Veer and Nipat of the 25th Missile Vessel Squadron was dispatched to carry out the mission

• The operation was carried out in the night since Pakistan did not have an aircraft to perform bombing at night.

International Day of Persons with Disabilities 2020 - December 3

• The United Nations(UN)'s International Day of Persons with Disabilities is annually observed across the globe on 3rd December to promote the participation of people with disabilities and to take action towards the inclusion of them in all aspects of the society and development.

• The theme of the 2020 International Day of Persons with Disabilities is "Building Back Better: toward a disability- inclusive, accessible and sustainable post COVID-19 World".

• To promote the rights and well-being of persons with disabilities in all spheres of society and development

• To increase awareness about the situation of persons with disabilities in every aspect of political, social, economic and cultural life.

• As a part of the celebration of International Day of Persons with disabilities, The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization(UNESCO) have organised a week long programme from 25th November 2020 to 3th December 2020 under the theme "Building back better: towards an inclusive, accessible and sustainable post COVID-19 world by, for and with persons with disabilities".

• The UNESCO will also organise a global awareness raising campaign "Tell our stories, enable our rights" on its social media platform. The campaign focuses on the impacts of COVID-19 on people with disabilities.

International Day for the Abolition of Slavery 2020 – December 2

• The United Nations(UN)'s International Day for the Abolition of Slavery is annually celebrated across the globe on 2nd December with an aim to eradicate the modern form of slavery like human trafficking, sexual exploitation, child labour, forced marriage and forced recruitment of children for armed conflicts.

• The slavery has evolved in many forms and even today various traditional forms of slavery still persisit in their earlier forms.

National Pollution Control Day 2020 - December 2

• National Pollution Control Day is annually observed across India on 2nd December to honour the people who lost their lives in the Bhopal Gas Tragedy in 1984. The day is observed to create awareness among the general public about the pollution level of India and the rate on which the harmful substance level in the environment has been increased every year.

• 2nd December 2020 marks the 36th anniversary of the Bhopal Gas Tragedy.

• The theme of the 2020 National Pollution Control Day is "raise awareness about the importance of pollution control and educate people on how to prevent pollution".

• In December 1984, the accidental gas leak at the Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL), a pesticide plant in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh released methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas.

• The methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas, a toxic gas spread across Bhopal and more than 5 lakh people were exposed to the gas and around 3700 people died due to the exposure.

World Computer Literacy Day 2020 – December 2

• The World Computer Literacy Day is annually observed on 2nd December to increase the awareness about the advanced gap and increase the access to computer and information technology. The day promotes the enhancement of the technology skills of women and children.

• To ensure the awareness about computers and technologies among the general public.

• To promote the use of technology and computers among women and make them more informed on the functions of computers.

• NIIT(National Institute of Information Technology) Indian Computer Company, launched the World Computer Literacy Day in 2001, to mark its 20th Anniversary.

• The day was first observed on 2nd December 2001, the 20th anniversary of NIIT.

About National Institute of Information Technology (NIT):

• NIIT(National Institute of Information Technology) was established by Rajendra Singh Pawar and Vijay K. Thadani in 1981in Delhi.

• Chairman & Co-Founder- Rajendra S Pawar

• Director-vijay k. dhadani

• Vice Chairman & Managing CEO- Sapnesh Lalla

• Headquarters- Gurgaon, Haryana

World AIDS Day 2020 - December 1

• The World AIDS (Acquired ImmunoDeficiency syndrome) Day is annually observed across the globe on 1st December to show support to the people infected with HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) and to remember the people who passed away due to AIDS and other related diseases. The first World AIDS Day was observed in 1988, which was the first international day for global health.

• The World AIDS Day is one of the 9 days and 2 weeks that the member states of the World Health Organization (WHO) have mandated as "Official Global Public Health Days".

• WHO & United Nations(UN) theme for World AIDS Day 2020 is "Global solidarity, resilient HIV services". According to the hiv.gov, the theme of 2020 World AIDS Day is "Ending the HIV/AIDS Epidemic: Resilience and Impact"

• The idea of the World AIDS Day was initiated in 1987 by Thomas Netter and James W. Bann, public information officers for the AIDS Global Program of the World Health Organization Geneva, Switzerland.

• Johnathan Mann, Director of AIDS Global Program, approved the idea to annually celebrate the World AIDS Day on 1st December from 1988.

56th Raising Day of Border Security Force 2020 – December 1

• The Border Security Force(BSF) of India annually celebrates its Raising Day on 1st December. The 1st December 2020 marks the 56th Raising Day of BSF. The Border Security Force(BSF), India's first line of Defence was raised in accordance with an Act of the Parliament on 1st December, 1965, following the India-Pakistan War of 1965.

• The BSF has been guarding India's borders with Pakistan and Bangladesh since 1965.

About Border Security Force(BSF):

• Director General- Rakesh Asthana, IPS

• Headquarters, Delhi

• Formed on- 1st December, 1965

• Motto- Duty for Life' (Jeevan Paryant Kartavya)