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Daily Current Affairs 26th Dec 2020

To prepare for any competitive exam, one of the important sections to read and learn is current affairs. Exams like UPSC, Bank, SSC, RRB or any Government

Indian Navy, INCOIS sign MoU to Share Ocean Services Data

  • A virtual Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between Indian Navy and Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) under the administrative control of the Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India on sharing of ocean services, data, and expertise in the field of operational oceanography.
  • The MoU was signed by Dr T.Srinivasa Kumar, Director INCOIS and Commodore AA Abhyankar, who heads Indian Navy's Oceanology and Meteorology Directorate.

About Indian Navy:

  • Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS), Admiral Karambir Singh

About Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS):

  • Establishment- 1999
  • Director- T.Srinivasa Kumar
  • Headquarter- Telangana, Hyderabad
  • Parent Ministry, Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES)

ASSOCHAM Foundation Week 2020 observed on Dec 15-19, 2020

  • The Associated Chambers of Commerce & Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) chamber organized a 5-day virtual event "ASSOCHAM Foundation Week 2020" from 15th to 19th December 2020 on the theme "India's resilience: Aatmanirbhar roadmap towards a US$5 trillion economy".
  • During the occasion, Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi delivered the keynote address via video conferencing and also presented "ASSOCHAM Enterprise of the Century Award" to Ratan Tata, who received the award on behalf of the TATA Group.
  • The award recognized the role played by Tata Group in India's development.
  • It should be noted that Ratan Tata will also be conferred with "Global Visionary of Sustainable Business and Peace" by The Indo-Israel Chambers Of Commerce during a virtual ceremony between the United Arab Emirates (UAE), India and Israel.
  • The "Greens Zoological Rescue and Rehabilitation Kingdom", one of the biggest zoos in the world in terms of number and species of animals at one place will be set up in Jamnagar, Gujarat by Reliance Industries.

About Associated Chambers of Commerce & Industry of India (ASSOCHAM):

  • Establishment- 1920
  • President- Vineet Agarwal
  • Secretary General- Deepak Sood
  • Headquarter-New Delhi

8th edition of North East Festival (NEF) 2020 Held in Guwahati, Assam for first time

  • 8th edition of the North East Festival (NEF) 2020 was held at Guwahati, Assam by adhering to all Covid related protocols and guidelines. It was for the first time that Guwahati hosted this annual two-day event. The festival was open for the public to attend virtually.
  • The focus of this year was on 'Growth Agenda for North East Post COVID-19'.
  • The events showcase and create awareness about the northeast and promote entrepreneurship, investment and tourism.

UP Launches India, South-Asia's 1st of its kind Project on P2P Trading of Rooftop Solar Power in Lucknow

  • Uttar Pradesh launched India, South Asia's fist blockchain-enabled Peer to Peer (P2P) Trading Platform for Rooftop Solar Power Producers in Lucknow, UP. The Pilot project will be implemented by India Smart Grid Forum (ISGF), Power Ledger (Australia based Blockchain technology partner) & Abajyon Consulting.
  • The project will be hosted by Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (UPPCL), Madhyanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited (MVVNL) & Uttar Pradesh New & Renewable Energy Development Agency (UPNEDA).
  • The platform will facilitate the trading (buying and selling) of Energy generated from Rooftop Solar powers installed on Buildings in Lucknow.
  • The platform will also be used to set prices, track energy trading in real time & enable settlement of surplus solar energy transactions.

About Indian Smart Grid Forum (ISGF):

  • ISGF is a public private partnership initiative of the Ministry of Power (MOP), Government of India.
  • President - Reji Kumar Pillai Headquarters - New Delhi

About Uttar Pradesh:

  • Chief Minister - Yogi Adityanath
  • Governor - Anandiben Patel

About Power Ledger:

  • Executive Chairman - Jemma Green
  • Location - Perth, Australia

India Jumps to 63rd Rank in EODB 2020: World Bank

  • The World Bank (WB) has released the updated the Ease of Doing Business(EODB) 2018 & EODB 2020 reports after correcting the data irregularities submitted by 4 countries - China, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia & Azerbaijan. India Ranked 63 in the 17th edition of WB report 'Ease of Doing Business 2020- Comparing Business Regulation in 190 Economies' report remains unchanged.
  • UAE's ranking of 16 in the EODB 2020 report remains unchanged, while Azerbaijan has improved to 28 from 34 in the EODB 2020 report
  • According to the corrected list, China has slipped 7 places to 85th Rank in the 2018 report from 78th Rank before correction.

About World Bank (WB):

  • President - David R. Malpass
  • Headquarters - Washington D.C., United States of America

IIFL Home, ICICI Bank Joined Hands for Affordable Housing, MSME loans

  • IIFL (formerly India Infoline Limited) Home Finance Ltd, the subsidiary of IIFL Finance has joined hands with ICICI (Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India) Bank for sourcing and servicing arrangement to provide affordable housing and MSME (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) loans.
  • As a part of tie-up. IIFL Home will hunt and then provide services to customers through the entire loan life cycle including sourcing, documentation, collection and loan servicing while ICICI Bank will provide funding to these customers.

About ICICI Bank:

  • Managing Director (MD) & Chief Executive Officer (CEO)- Sandeep Bakhshi
  • Headquarters-Mumbai, Maharashtra
  • Tagline- Hum Hai Na, Khayal Apka

About IIFL Home Finance Ltd:

  • Chairman-S. Sridhar
  • Headquarter- Gurugram,Haryana

ADB Approves a $231 Million Loan to Construct Lower Kopili Hydroelectric Power Plant

  • The Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved a $231 million(Rs 1,701 core) loan to construct the Lower Kopili Hydroelectric Power (LKHEP) plant in Central Assam, India. This loan is the 3rd and largest tranche of the $300 million(about Rs 2,200 crore) Assam Power Sector Investment Program that was approved by ADB in 2014.
  • ADB approved a $300 Million Loan to Continue Power Upgrades in Assam on July 3, 2014.
  • The multi tranche loan facility is a part of a broader 10-year, $3.5 billion state investment program.
  • The funds were planned to disbursed in 3 tranches:
  • 1st installment- $50 million; 2nd installment $50 million; 3rd installment- $200 million

About Asian Development Bank (ADB):

  • Headquarters, Mandaluyong, Manila, Philippines
  • President- Masatsugu Asakawa
  • Membership-68 countries(Including India)
  • Formed- 1966

Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Telecom Skill Excellence Awards 2018

  • Ravi ShankarPrasad, Union minister and Sanjay Shamrao Dhotre, Minister of State of Ministry of Communications presented the Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Telecom Skill Excellence Awards 2018
  • 1st Prize- Sreenivas Karanam, Bangalore, Karnataka(Cash award-Rs 50,000)
  • 2nd Prize- Subrat Kar, Professor at Bharti School of Telecommunication Technology and Management and Department of Electrical Engineering, IIT Delhi (Cash award- Rs 30,000)

Sreenivas Karanam:

  • He was recognised with the award for his contribution to develop a customised technical solution that is cost effective under brand 'C mobile', for deep sea communication etc... to facilitate communication among fisherman who are out of the GSM coverage area and about weather alerts etc.,
  • It operates along Kerala coast(Thiruvananthapuram to Calicut) with devices installed in about 900 motor boats.

Subrat Kar:

  • He was recognised with the second prize for his innovative solution to develop and deploy a large scale sensor network and devices to avoid train-animal collision.
  • It works without interfering with the natural movements/behaviour of animals thus aiding in wildlife conservation
  • The system is installed in Rajaji National Park in Uttarakhand under pilot phase to prevent elephant deaths by train-elephant collision

Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Telecom Skill Excellence Award

  • The award was instituted by the Department of Telecommunications in 2017 to encourage the Telecom Skill ecosystem.
  • It is named after Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay, an Indian politician to commemorate his birth centenary.
  • The nominations were called for the 1st time for 2018.

Rajnath Singh Inaugurated India's First Hypersonic Wind Tunnel Test Facility at Hyderabad, Telangana

  • Union Minister Rajnath Singh, Ministry of Defence (Mod) visited Defence Research and Development Organisation's (DRDO's) Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Missile Complex in Hyderabad, Telangana. He was accompanied by Union Minister of State (MoS) Gangapuram Kishan Reddy, Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and G Satheesh Reddy, DRDO Chairman.
  • In the missile complex, Rajnath Singh inaugurated India's first advanced Hypersonic Wind Tunnel (HWT) test facility.
  • With this, India becomes the 3rd country to have such a large facility in terms of size and operating capability after the USA (United States of America) and Russia.
  • Two anti-drone technologies by DRDO labs, DRDO Young Scientists Laboratory- Asymmetric Technologies (DYSL- AT) and drone and innovative anti-drone technologies by RCI (Research Centre Imarat) were also demonstrated.
  • During the visit Gangapuram Kishan Reddy also laid the foundation stone of the Explosive Test Facility for Propellant and Explosive Systems at the missile complex. This facility will be used for design validation and evaluation of missile sub-systems under different environmental conditions.

Sports Ministry approves inclusion of 4 Indigenous Games to be part of Khelo India Youth Games 2021

  • Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports has approved the inclusion of 4 Indigenous Games - Gatka, Kalaripayattu, Thang-Ta and Mallakhamba as part of 4th Edition Khelo India Youth Games (KIYG) in 2021 set to take place at Panchkula, Haryana.
  • The inclusion will help in preservation, promotion and popularization of these games.
  • Along with the 4 games, Yogasana will also be a part of the Khelo India Youth Games 2021.
  • Kalaripayattu - Also known as 'Kalari' is a martial art having its origin in Kerala. It is one of the oldest surviving martial arts in India.
  • Mallakhamba – 'Malla' means wrestler & 'Kamba' means pole, athletes perform gymnastics on a wooden pole or a rope. It is practiced majorly in Madhya Pradesh & Maharashtra.
  • Gatka - A traditional fighting style having its origin in Punjab and is practiced by Nihang Sikh Warriors as self defense, sports. The Theory and Techniques of Gatka were taught by the Sikh gurus.
  • Thang-Ta (armed combat) - A martial art which has its origin in Manipur. Thang-ta is one of the 2 components of the martial art-'Huyen Langlon', the other being Sarit Sarak (unarmed fighting), Thang-ta – Thang (Sword) & ta (Spear).

Indian Boxers bag 9 medals at the Cologne Boxing World Cup 2020; Finish 2nd in the Overall Medal List

  • Indian Boxers bagged 9 Medals - 3 Gold, 2 Silver & 4 Bronze at the Cologne Boxing World Cup 2020 held from December 16-20 at Cologne, Germany, India finished 2nd in the overall Medals List, Germany topped the list with medals. The Cologne Boxing World Cup 2020 was hosted by the European Boxing Confederation (EUBC).
  • SIDBI Signs MoU with Assam Govt to Develop MSME Ecosystem in the State
  • The Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI)signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government of Assam to develop the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) ecosystem in the State. As per the MoU, a Project Management Unit (PMU) will be set up by SIDBI in Assam.
  • SIDBI's partnership with Assam is part of SIDBI's initiative to set-up PMU to strengthen the MSME ecosystem in 11 states namely Gujarat, Odisha, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, New Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka.
  • Vijaykumar Yo Mahesh Announced Retirement from All Forms of Cricket
  • Vijaykumar Yo Mahesh, who played for TamilNadu and Chennai Super Kings(CSK) announced retirement from all forms of cricket. The right-arm medium-fast bowler(seamer) has also played for Delhi Daredevils.
  • He also played in 2006 Under-19 Cricket World Cup.
  • His last match for Tamil Nadu was a List A fixture against Assam in Chennai in September 2018