G Kishan Reddy inaugurates first of its kind Establishment, NCDE in Hakimpet, Hyderabad

• Minister of State(Mos) for Home Affairs, G Kishan Reddy inaugurated first of its kind Establishment National Centre for Divyang Empowerment(NCDE) at CRPF(Central Reserve Police Force) Group Centre in Hakimpet, Hyderabad. The Centre has been set up for re-skilling and rehabilitation of Divyang Warriors of the CAPF (Central Armed Police Forces) who sustained life threatening injuries in the line of duty.

• The Centre will impart training to the Divyang Warriors' in Artificial Intelligence, Cyber security or warfare, data analytics.

• Also the focus area of training would be on Machine Language, social media monitoring, audio visual effects, advanced animation & block chain management.

• NCDE will also focus on promotion of para sports and will be developed as a Centre of Excellence.

• They will be skilled in the field of IT and vocational courses by institutions like Indian Institute of Technology (IT) Hyderabad, BITS Pilani (Birla Institute of Technology & Science), Rajasthan.

• According to CRPF, 189 personnel have lost their limbs or undergone amputation during the last decade (2010-20) in the line of duty & According to Census 2011, around 2.68 crores of people are disabled. Of this, 69% of the disabled population reside in rural areas.

About Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF):

• Director General - AP Maheshwari
• Headquarters - New Delhi

India's 1st Maritime Theatre Command to get its final shape in 2021

• As per a plan prepared by a group headed by Navy Vice Chief Vice Admiral G Ashok Kumar, India's 1st Maritime Theatre Command (MTC) will get its final shape in 2021. It will be the first new "Geographical" Theatre command to be created as part of military restructuring plans.

• The Headquarters of the MTC will be set up at Karwar Naval Base, Karnataka and will be headed by a Vice Admiral (3-Star Naval Officer)

• The creation of MTC will boost joint operations and integration and application of force in the maritime domain. It will be responsible for the security of India's 7,516 km coastline, 1,382 islands and Indian Ocean Region (IOR).

• Commands to be subsumed under MTC - Western Naval Command (Mumbai), Eastern Naval Command (Vizag), the tri-service Andaman and Nicobar Command(Port Blair) and the Southern Air Command (Thiruvananthapuram).

• Sukhoi-30 MKI fighter jets armed with BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles at Thanjavur, Maritime-strike Jaguar fighter at Jamnagar will contribute to the air assets of MTC.

• Currently, India has 17 single-service commands (Army 7, IAF 7 & Navy 3).

India, UK to Set Up Joint Task Force for Mutual Recognition of Academic Qualifications

• During the bilateral meeting between Union Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank', Ministry of Education (MoE) and Foreign Secretary of United Kingdom (UK) Dominic Raab, in New Delhi stated that India and the UK agreed to set up a joint task force consisting of designated higher education organisations from both the countries to work towards mutual recognition of academic qualifications over the next year.

• This agreement is aligned with the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for creating a globally mobile workforce and internationalization of Indian higher education, as proposed in the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.

About United Kingdom (UK):

• Capital- London
• Currency- Pound sterling
• Prime Minister- Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson

Telangana's Nehru Zoological Park becomes 1st Indian zoo to receive ISO certification 9001:2015

• The Nehru Zoological Park (NZP) in Hyderabad, Telangana has become the first in India to acquire ISO (International Organization for Standardization) 9001:2015 Quality Management Standards Certification from Accreditation Service for Certifying Bodies (ASCB) United Kingdom (UK) as the zoo passed the extensive documentation of every activity.

• The certificate for the same was presented to State Minister of Forests and Environment, Allola Indrakaran Reddy by Managing Director (MD), Life Time Membership QCI (Quality Council of India), Sivaiah Alapati.

• The ISO certificate helps to ensure maintaining the quality of standards.

• The basis of assessment was sanitisation, food processing, animal breeding, medicare, animal care, hygiene maintenance and establishment.

• In 2004 Africam Safari was the first ever animal park in the world to gain ISO 9001 certification

Ministry of Home Affairs approves Rs 90.6 Crore to Land Ports Authority of India for new ICP in Tripura

• Ministry of Home Affairs approved Rs 90.6 crores to the Land Ports Authority of India (LPAI) for construction of a new Integrated Check Post (ICP) along the India-Bangladesh border at Sabroom in South Tripura. This will be the 6th multi-facilitated ICP in the India-Bangladesh Border.

• The ICP is a milestone project built to expand India Bangladesh bilateral relation and provide economic development in Tripura.

• The estimated cost of the proposed ICP at Sabroom is around Rs 300 crore which will have separate passenger and cargo terminals with state-of-the-art facilities.

• The Other 5 Multi Facilitated ICP's along the India-Bangladesh Borders are, Petrapole-Benapole along West Bengal, Dawki (Meghalaya), Sutarkandi (southern Assam's Karimganj), Sonamura and Agartala (both Tripura)

About Land Ports Authority of India (LPAI):

• LPAI is a statutory body under the Ministry of Home Affairs
• Founded -2012

FADA, ASDC partner with Google India to bridge digital skills gap in India's auto dealerships

• Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) & Automotive Skills Development Council (ASDC) announced partnership with Google India to reduce the digital skill gap in India's auto dealership sector. The Training programme will be conducted under Google India's 'Grow with Google' initiative.

• Training will be provided under the topics of Digital Marketing, Hyper Local Marketing & Full Funnel Strategy

• The initiative will provide digital skill training to 20,000 auto dealerships & 1, 00,000 auto dealers across the marketing and sales divisions. It will also train the entire ecosystem to monitor their efficiency.

• The program will be conducted through Google India's YouTube channel.

About Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA):

• President - Vinkesh Gulati
• Headquarters - New Delhi

About Automotive Skills Development Council (ASDC):

• Chairman - Nikunj Sanghi
• Headquarters - New Delhi

About Google:

• Chief Executive Officer (CEO) - Sundar Pichai
• Headquarters - California, USA
• Manager & Vice President (sales & operations) of Google India - Sanjay Gupta

India to have 350mn 5G connections by 2026: "The Ericsson Mobility Report 2020"

• Sweden based networking and communication company Ericsson released a report "The Ericsson Mobility Report 2020" which estimated India's 5G connection to surpass 350 million, accounting 27% of all mobile subscriptions by 2026. The report also notified India's first 5G connection to be rolled out by 2021.

• More than 15% of the world's population (1 billion people) will live in areas under 5G coverage.

• 60% of the global population (3.5 billion) will use 5G connections with 5G subscriptions by 2026.

• According to an annual report, the number of smartphone subscriptions has increased to 760 million in 2020 in the country

• In the India region, LTE subscriptions are forecast to increase from 710 million in 2020 to 820 million in 2026

• India's average mobile traffic is 15.7 GB per month in 2020 which will be reaching 35EB (exabyte) by 2026.

• LTE (4G) remains the dominant technology in India in 2020, accounting for 63 per cent of mobile subscriptions and 3G is expected to be phased out by 2026.

About Ericsson:

• Headquarter-Stockholm, Sweden
• President - Börje Ekholm

51st International Film Festival of India will be held in Goa in Hybrid format

• Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting Prakash Javadekar announced that the 51st edition of International Film Festival of India (IFFI) will be held in Goa from January 16 to January 24, 2021.

• The event will be held in hybrid format i.e., in both Physical and Virtual format featuring a total of 224 films.

• The festival will showcase 47 films in the Indian panorama section, 26 in feature & 21 in Non feature section. A total of 224 films will be screened under different sections

CinemaSCOpe - India's exclusive movie series for members of SCO Organisation

• Indian Embassy in Beijing, China has launched "cinemaScope" exclusively for the members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), more than a 2 dozen Indian films will be dubbed in Russian. Screenings will continue till India's Chairmanship of the SCO 'Council of Heads of State meeting in 2023. The movie series will coincide with "SCO Year of Culture" in 2021.

2020 Global Status Report for Buildings & Construction

• According to the 2020 Global Status Report for Buildings and Construction released by Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction (GlobalABC), the Building & Construction sector accounted for 38% of CO2 emissions, and the CO2 emission increased to 9.95 GtCO2 (gigatonnes of carbon dioxide) in 2019.

This is the 5th Edition of the Annual Report.

• GlobalABC was launched at COP21 (2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference) and is hosted by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

• The increase in emissions from the buildings sector is due to usage of coal, oil and natural gas for heating and cooking.

• The report has stated that in order to achieve net Zero Carbon Building stock by 2050 Direct Building CO2 emissions need to halve by 2030.

GlobalABC:

• It is a voluntary partnership of national & local governments, inter-governmental organisations, businesses and networks.

• The common aim of the organization is zero-emission, efficient and resilient buildings and construction sector.

• Members - 130 members including 29 Countries.

About Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction (GlobalABC):

• Head - Martina Otto
• Headquarters (HQ) - Since it is hosted by UNEP, the HQ is situated in Paris, France

ADB Launches a $9 billion Vaccine Initiative, APVAX to its Developing Members

• The Asian Development Bank (ADB) launched a $9 billion vaccine initiative, the Asia Pacific Vaccine Access Facility (APVAX). This facility will help its developing member economies to procure and deliver an effective and safe coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine.

• To Help Members to access and distribute COVID-19 Vaccines

• ADB, in order to support the efforts of its developing members to secure safe and effective vaccines and the goods that support distributions also provides a $ 500 million vaccine import facility

NDB inked $1billion Loan Agreement with Gol for Economic Revival

• A loan agreement was inked between Government of India and New Development Bank under which the latter will lend $1,000 million for supporting the former's economic recovery from COVID-19. The loan has a tenor of 30 years, including a 5-year grace period.

• The funding is a part of NDB's fast-track emergency response to COVID-19.

• As a part of agreement, NDB will support the creation of rural infrastructure related to natural resource management (NRM) and rural employment generation under Government of India's Mahatma Gandhi

• National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) particularly for migrant population.

About New Development Bank (NDB):

• Establishment- 2014
• President - Marcos Prado Troyjo
• Headquarters - Shanghai
• China Former Name- BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China & South Africa) Development Bank

YES Bank Partners with Visa to Enhance Payments Efficiency

• YES bank partnered with Visa as a payment processor to enhance salaried and YES FIRST account holders' payment experience. The bank has also introduced a new line of vertical Debit cards under the E- series across Mastercard and VISA cards.

• New line of vertical Debit cards under the E-series General Info

• The E-series debit cards provide more seamless and a consistent experience to consumers with its enhanced features.

• The new designed card's number and Card Verification Value(CVV) details are placed cautiously at the back. This improves the security of the card, where these details cannot be easily captured while using it at the ATMs or PoS terminals.

About YES Bank:

• Headquarters- Mumbai, Maharashtra

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

About Visa:

• Headquarters- California, United States
• Chairman and CEO- Alfred F. Kelly, Jr.

UNEP announces 7 recipients for "Young Champions of the Earth" 2020 Prize

• The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) announced 7 recipients for the "Young Champions of the Earth" 2020 Prize, Indian Entrepreneur Vidyut Mohan featured in the list for his Social Enterprise "Takachar". The prize is given to global change-makers who use innovative ideas and ambitious action to solve the world's most important environmental challenges.

• The prizes are awarded annually to 7 Entrepreneurs below the age of 30 who have bold ideas for sustainable environmental change. Winners will be selected from each global region: Africa, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, North America, West Asia and two from Asia and the Pacific.

"Takachar":

• Takachar - a social enterprise was launched in 2018 by Vidyut Mohan and Kevin Kung.

• It enables farmers to earn extra income by converting waste farm residues into value-added chemicals such as activated carbon on-site.

• Takachar has worked with 4, 500 farmers and has processed 3,000 Tonnes of Crops till now.

• By 2030, Takachar will impact 300 million farmers, and create USD 4 Billion per year equivalent in additional rural income and jobs, besides reducing 1 Gigaton of CO2 per year.

• The conversion of waste farm residue reduces air pollution and ensures a pollution free environment.

About United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP):

• Headquarter- Nairobi, Kenya

• Executive Director - Inger Andersen

Vice President of Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union

• Shashi Shekhar Vempati, CEO of Prasar Bharati was elected as the Vice President of Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union, one of the World's largest broadcasting associations. He will be serving for a three-year term, which starts on 1 January 2021.

• Ibrahim Eren, Chairman and Director General of Turkish Radio Television Corporation(TRT) has been elected as the President of ABU. He is the first Turk to become the president of ABU.

• Along with Shashi Shekhar Vampati, Masagaki Satoru, Executive Vice President of NHK, Japan was also elected as the Vice president of ABU.

Shashi Shekhar Vempati is the youngest and the first non-bureaucrat CEO of India's public broadcaster.

• Prior to his posting in public broadcasting, he managed the digital news media startup - Niti Digital.

About Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union(ABU):

• President- Ibrahim Eren,
• Formed in 1964
• Member- 256 members in 69 countries and regions Secretariat- Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

ISRO sets up 'NETRA' – Dedicated Control Centre for Space Situational Awareness

• Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has set up 'NETRA' (NEtwork for space object TRacking and Analysis) - an dedicated Space Situational Awareness(SSA) Control Centre at ISTRAC(ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network) Campus at Peenya, Bengaluru, Karnataka. The main objective of NETRA is to protect Indian Space Assets from Space debris close approaches and collisions.

• NETRA will act as the hub for all SSA activities in India and has been set up as a 'Directorate of Space Situational Awareness and Management (DSSAM)'.

• Only America, Russia and Europe have similar SSA capabilities to track space objects and share collision warnings.

• The main components of NETRA would be a radar, an optical telescope facility and a control centre. It will assist Foreign countries and International bodies.

China's Chang'e-5 spacecraft brings home first moon samples in 40 years

• China's Chang'e-5 spacecraft successfully landed in Siziwang Banner, China bringing home the first samples of the moon in 40 years.

• It was China's first attempt to get materials from an extraterrestrial body. The mission marks the successful conclusion of China's 3 step lunar exploration programme which began in 2004.

Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) selects Qatar to host Asian games 2030 and Saudi Arabia as host for 2034 Edition

• Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) general assembly selected the countries to host 2030 and 2034 editions of Asian Games through virtual voting. Qatar's Doha city will be host of 2030's edition, while the runner-up in voting, Saudi Arabia will host 2034 edition of Asian games at Riyadh city. The OCA General Assembly meeting held in Muscat, Oman.

• Qatar will also be hosting the 2022 Edition of FIFA Football World Cup,

About Qatar:

• Capital- Doha
• Prime Minister- Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al Thani

Father of Fiber Optics Narinder Singh Kapany India born American Physicist Passed Away

• Narinder Singh Kapany, known as the "Father of Fiber Optics", who coined the term Fiber optics in 1956, passed away at the age of 94 in California, United States. He was an India born American physicist who was named as one of the seven "Unsung Heroes" in Fortune's "Businessmen of the Century" issue of November 1999.

• He has more than 100 patents to his name for his research in the field of fiber optic communication, lasers, biomedical instrumentation, solar energy and pollution monitoring.