India's Top 10 Police Stations List 2020 released

• The Ministry of Home Affairs(MHA) released the annual list of India's Top 10 Police Stations for 2020 during the virtual 55th annual DGPs(Director Generals of Police) and IGPs(Inspector Generals of Police) conference 2020

• The list was topped by Manipur's Nongpok Sekmai police station in Thoubal district as the best performing police station in India. It was followed by AWPS-Suramangalam in Tamil Nadu's Salem city and Kharsang in Arunachal Pradesh's Changlang district.

• The top 10 police stations were ranked out of 16,671 Police Stations in the country through data analysis, direct observation and public feedback

APEDA and NABARD signed MoU to Cooperate in Agriculture Activities & Implementing Agriculture Export Policy

• Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) and National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) signed a Memorandum of Understanding to address the key interests of Agriculture and allied sectors for bringing better value to the stakeholders and Implementing Agriculture Export Policy (AEP).

About National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD):

• Established in 1982

• Chairman- Govinda Rajulu Chintala
• Headquarters - Mumbai, Maharashtra

About Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA):

• Formed in 1986 under the Ministry of Commerce and Industries replaced the Processed Food Export Promotion Council(PFEPC).

• Chairman- Dr. M. Angamuthu
• Headquarters - New Delhi, Delhi

DoS Signed first of its kind NDA with Agnikul Cosmos for Launch Vehicle Development Programm

• The Department of Space has signed first one of its kind Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) with Agnikul Cosmos Pvt. Ltd under which the latter can access the facilities and technical expertise of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for its launch vehicle development programme.

• As a part of MoU, ISRO will provide full support to Agnikul for testing and qualifying its launch vehicle programme small rocket that can launch 100 kg satellites into low earth orbit.

About Agnikul Cosmos Pvt. Ltd

• It is a Chennai (Tamil Nadu) based start-up located in the National Centre for combustion R&D (Research & Development) at Indian Institute of Technology (IT) Madras. It builds small private satellite launch vehicles.

About Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO):

• Headquarters, Bangalore, Karnataka

• ISRO Chairman & Secretary Department of Space (DoS), Kailasavadivoo (K) Sivan

About Agnikul:

• Co-Founder - Srinath Ravichandran, Moin SPM

• Headquarters - Chennai, Tamil Nadu

Sequoia India launched 'Sequoia Spark' in association with WEP to Promote Women Entrepreneurs

• Equity financing firm Sequoia India partnered with NITI Aayog's Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP), to promote women entrepreneurship in India.In line with this partnership, Sequoia India, launched a year long Programme, 'Sequoia Spark', in association with WEP for women entrepreneurs in India and Southeast Asia.

• Under this Programme, Sequoia India will mentor a group of women founders to equip them with domain knowledge and skills through mentorship sessions with investors and business leaders.

• Will help women founders on their enterprise building journeys by launching a new capacity-building program to impart sound financial knowledge and develop fundraising skills.

About WEP:

• Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP), established during the 8th Annual Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) in Hyderabad, by NITI Aayog in partnership with the Government of USA.

• Launched in March 2018, has signed a Statement of Intent (SOI) with more than 30 companies.

About Sequoia India:

• Sequoia Capital is an American Venture Capital firm, which invests in both public and private companies. Established in India in 2000, has branches at Bangalore, Mumbai, New Delhi :

• Managing Director- Rajan Anandan

Vice President Venkaiah Naidu virtually releases Postage Stamp in honour of late Prime Minister of India, IK Gujral(Inder Kumar Gujral)

• Vice President Venkaiah Naidu virtually released a commemorative Postage Stamp in honour of the Late Prime Minister of India & Freedom Fighter, IK Gujral (Inder Kumar Gujral).

• IK Gujral was the 12th Prime Minister of India, he served as the Prime Minister from April 1997-March 1998.

• He was born in Jhelum, Punjab (now in Pakistan) in 1919.

• During his tenure as India's External Affairs Minister, IK Gujral laid a set of five principles - 'Gujral Doctrine' to guide the conduct of foreign relations with India's immediate neighbours.

• He passed away in 2012 due to a lung infection.

5th Presidium Meeting of the BRICS Media Forum 2020 Conducted Virtually to Combat Disinformation

• Executive chairman of the BRICS Media Forum He Ping, also president and editor-in-chief of Xinhua News Agency, presides over the "5th Presidium Meeting of the BRICS Media Forum 2020" was held virtually. The countries exchanged information from the economic issues to public health issues during the COVID-19 pandemic

• The focus point of discussion was "virus of disinformation in the era of pandemic.

• Heads of five leading news organisations from BRICS countries addressed virtually as the co-chairpersons of

the forum, they are

• Ram, Director of The Hindu group,India

• He Ping, President of Xinhua news agency, China

• Jose Juan Sanchez, President of CMA Group, Brazil

• Sergey Kochetkov, Deputy Editor-in-chief of Rossiya Segodnya, Russia

• Iqbal Surve, Executive Chairman of Independent Media, South Africa

• Started in 2015, on the proposal made by Xinhua News Agency of China and jointly initiated with mainstream media from Brazil, Russia, India and South Africa.

2020 set to be among one of the Three Warmest Year Ever Recorded:

• According to the "State of the Global Climate 2020" Interim report released by the United Nations World Meteorological Organization (UN-WMO) based on the temperature data from January-October (of 2020), the year 2020 is set to be among one of the Three Warmest Years Ever recorded.2020 becomes the 2nd warmest year followed by 2016.

• The report also states that the past six years (2015-2020) are set to make up all six of the hottest years since modern records began in 1850.

• WMO assessment is based on five global temperature datasets.

• All five of those datasets currently place 2020 as the 2nd warmest for the year to date, following 2016 and ahead of 2019. The difference between the warmest three years is small.

• The report is prepared by various organizations including Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), International Monetary Fund (IMF), Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO (UNESCO-IOC), International Organization for Migration (IOM)etc.

• The most notable warmth was observed across northern Asia, particularly the Siberian Arctic, where temperatures were more than 5°C above average.

MOPNG Minister, Dharmendra Pradhan virtually represents India at 7th IEF-IGU Ministerial Gas Forum 2020

• Union Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas, Dharmendra Pradhan represented India at the Virtual Ministerial Roundtable of 7th IEF-IGU (International Energy Forum-International Gas Union)

• Ministerial Gas Forum held from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The Forum was hosted by the Government of Malaysia.

• It is a Biennial event and is being held Online for the First Time,

• The Theme of the Forum - "Towards Recovery and Shared Prosperity: Natural Gas Opportunities for a Sustainable World".

• It was inaugurated by Muhyiddin Yassin, Prime Minister of Malaysia.

About International Energy Forum (IEF):

• There are 70 members in IEF
• Secretary General - Joseph McMonigle
• Headquarters - Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

About International Gas Union (GU):

• President - Joe M. Kang
• Headquarters - Barcelona, Spain

India hosts the first SCO-YSC 2020;Minister of Science & Technology, Harsh Vardhan inaugurated the conclave

• Union Minister for Science & Technology, Harsh Vardhan inaugurated the 5 day 1st SCO-YSC 2020 (Shanghai Cooperation Organisation - Young Scientists Conclave) held virtually as an integral part of SCO Young Scientists Forum (SCO YSF). India is the Host and Organizer of the Forum.

• The Theme of the conclave was "Shaping SCO-STI (Science, Technology and Innovation) Partnership: Young Scientists Perspectives".

• The Main aim of the forum was to provide opportunity to the youth in SCO member states to interact, network and collaborate with their counterparts to address challenges in Science & Technology

• The conclave was attended by 200 participants which included 67 Young scientists & Students from SCO member states. Indian Participants will participate in the forum from CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, Hyderabad

About Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO):

• Secretary-General - Vladimir Norov
• Headquarters - Beijing, China

• Member Countries-8 Countries - India, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyz Republic, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan & Uzbekistan. Observer Countries - 4 Countries - Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran and Mongolia.

Pandemic has pushed 32 Million People into Extreme Poverty in LDCs : UNCTAD Report 2020

• According to "The Least Developed Countries Report 2020: Productive Capacities for the New Decade" released by UNCTAD (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development), Pandemic has pushed around 32 Million People into Extreme Poverty in the Least Developed Countries (LDCs).

• Due to the Pandemic 32 million people live on less than USD 1.90 per day.

• According to the report, this is the worst economic performance of 47 countries in LDCs since the Third-World debt crisis of 1980s.

• The combined merchandise trade deficit of the LDCs is expected to exceed 2019's value of USD 91 Billion.

About United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD):

• Secretary General - Mukhisa Kituyi

• Headquarters - Geneva, Switzerland

PayNearby in partnership with NPCI & YES Bank Launched "PayNearby shopping card” for Retailers

• India's largest Hyperlocal fintech startup, PayNearby Technologies Pvt. Ltd., in collaboration with YES Bank and National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) launched the "PayNearby shopping card" powered by RuPay for its retail partners to provide maximum benefits of e-commerce in a risk-free mode over mass market category.

• The maximum wallet balance of the card is upto 1 Lakh and can be used for transactions upto Rs 5 lakh monthly and Rs 25 lakhs annually.

• The user can lock/unlock the card digitally and can also get a summary of the transaction statement to keep their spending under check.

About PayNearby Technologies Pvt. Ltd:

• Establishment- 2016
• Managing Director (MD) & Chief Executive Officer (CEO)- Anand Kumar Bajaj
• Headquarter- Mumbai, Maharashtra

Yes Bank:

• Managing Director (MD) & Chief Executive Officer (CEO)- Prashant Kumar
• Headquarter- Mumbai, Maharashtra
• Tagline- Experience our expertise

CREDAI-MCHI Partners with SBI, Google & BookMyShow for India's Biggest Real-Estate Expo

• CREDAI-MCHI partnered with State Bank of India, Google and BookMyShow for the first virtual edition of India's largest real-estate expo. This collaboration between CREDAI-MCHI, SBI Google & BookMyShow is the first of its kind in the Real Estate sector.

• As a part of the collaboration, SBI will ease the transaction between the developers and homebuyers and offer competitive home loan rates and quick processing of loan applications.

Ranjitsinh Disale, Maharashtra Primary School Teacher Wins $1 million Global Teacher Prize 2020

• Ranjitsinh Disale, a teacher from Zilla Parishad Primary School, Paritewadi, Solapur district in Maharashtra, India won US $1 million annual Global Teacher Prize 2020.

• The Prize was founded by Varkey Foundation and organised in partnership with UNESCO(United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation).

• Stephen Fry, English comedian, actor, writer and presenter made the announcement of the winner at a virtual ceremony broadcast from the Natural History Museum in London. This is the first time the announcement was made virtually.

• He won this award as he transformed the life of young girls at the Zilla Parishad Primary School and has ignited the Quick-Response (QR) coded textbook revolution in India.

• Ranjitsinh Disale announced that he will share half the prize money with his fellow Top 10 finalists, where each will receive over US$55,000.

• In the ceremony, US$45,000 COVID Hero Award, supported by CVC Capital Partner was given to UK(United Kingdom)Maths teacher Jamie Frost, whose free DrFrostMaths helped students during the COVID-19 pandemic.

About Global Teacher Prize:

• The Global Teacher Prize was founded in 2014 by the Varkey Foundation,

• It is presented annually to an exceptional teacher who has made an outstanding contribution to their profession.

• About Varkey Foundation:

• Founder- Sunny Varkey

• Head Office-- UK(United Kingdom), London

Shrikant Madhav Vaidya Appointed as the First Vice President of WLPGA

• Shrikant Madhav Vaidya, Chairman of Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) was appointed as the first Vice President of the World Liquefied Petroleum Gas Association (WLPGA), an authoritative voice of the LPG industry across the globe which represents the complete LPG value chain.

• Shrikant Madhav Vaidya prior to his appointment as the chairman of IOC in July 2020 he served as the director(Refineries) of IOC since 2019.

About World LPG Association:

• President- Henry Cubbon

• Headquarters, Paris, France

Akshay Kumar Becomes Brand Ambassador of the Relaunched Horlicks Protein Plus

• Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) appointed Bollywood actor, Akshay Kumar as the brand ambassador of its relaunched adult nutrition brand, Horlicks Protein Plus, through a new TVC(Television Commercial).

Kolkata's Majerhat Bridge named "Jai Hind" to Mark Netaji's 125th Birth Anniversary

• West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee named the newly-built Majerhat bridge in Kolkata as Jai Hind' bridge to commemorate the 125th Birth Anniversary of Subash Chandra Bose. The new bridge has been built in the place of an old one which collapsed in September 2018. It is 650-metres long and connects the Central part of Kolkata to the South western suburbs of Behala and others.

Gitanjali Rao 15 year old Indian-American Scientist & Inventor named First Ever Times"Kid of the Year"

• Gitanjali Rao, 15-year-old Indian-American Scientist and Inventor has been named as the first ever "Kid of the Year” by TIME Magazine.

• She was selected from a field of more than 5000 nominees for her work "to tackle issues ranging from contaminated drinking water to opioid addiction and cyberbullying using technology".

Lt Gen Rajeev Chaudhry Assumes Charge as 27th Director General of Border Roads Organisation; Succeeds Lt Gen Harpal Singh

• Lieutenant General(Lt Gen) Rajeev Chaudhry assumed charge as 27th Director General(DG) of Border Roads Organisation(BRO).

• He succeeds Lt Gen Harpal Singh. BRO is headquartered in New Delhi, India.

Britain became the First Country to recognise Pfizer-BioNTech's coronavirus vaccine

• The Government of Britain has become the first country to recognise Pfizer-bioNTech's coronavirus vaccine, after recommendations by Independent Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) for its use.

• Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine has been proven to have 95% effectiveness against COVID-19 in the final phase trials.

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.

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)