Govt decides to constitute HLC headed by Amit Shah to Commemorate 125th birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose

• The Government has decided to constitute a High Level Committee (HLC), to be headed by Union Minister Amit Shah, Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), for commemoration of 125th Birth Anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.

• The Committee will decide on year long activities starting 23rd January, 2021.

• A permanent exhibition and a 'Light and Sound show' on Netaji has been planned to be set up at Kolkata at the historic Victoria Memorial building.

• In 2019, a museum has been set up on Netaji at the Red Fort in New Delhi.

"JSA II: Catch the Rain" Awareness Generation Campaign Launched by NWM & NYKS

• National Water Mission (NWM), Ministry of Jal Shakti (MOJS) in collaboration with Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS). Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports (MoYAS) launched the "JSA II: Catch the Rain" Awareness Generation Campaign in New Delhi. JSA stands for Jal Shakti Abhiyan.

• The awareness generation phase of the campaign will run from mid-December 2020 to March 2021 with the tagline "catch the rain, where it falls, when it falls".

• The campaign focuses towards water conservation and rainwater harvesting with the involvement of youngsters.

• As a preparatory phase of JSA-II, NYKS will cover 623 districts.

About Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS):

• Chairperson- Kiren Rijiju
• Headquarter- New Delhi

MPEDA launches India's 1st Aquafarmers Call Centre at Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh

• Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) has launched India's first Call Centre for Aquafarmers at Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh.

• he call centre will handle calls in English & Hindi. Through the Call Centre, MPEDA will address the technical issues, and impart knowledge about efficient farming methods. The call centre will primarily cater to the needs of aqua farmers in Andhra Pradesh, as it is responsible for 60% of India's marine products export basket.

Ministry of Road Transport & Highways proposes adoption of E20 Fuel

• Ministry of Road Transport & Highways has proposed the adoption of E20 - a blend of 20% of Ethanol & Gasoline as automobile fuel to reduce vehicular emissions & also to cut India's oil import bill. Ethanol is a biofuel, it is a common by-product of biomass left by Agricultural feedstock like Corn, Sugarcane, Hemp, Potato.

• At present, only 10% of ethanol blend is permissible in India, but India has reached only 5.6%.

International Gita Mahotsav 2020 begins in Haryana's Kurukshetra

• The International Gita Mahotsav 2020 commenced in Kurukshetra, haryana.

• The highlight of the day is when 55,000 school students will collectively recite 19 verses from the Bhagavad Gita on the concluding day.

• The international festival is held every year, where about 9,000 students will be from Kurukshetra and the remain will be from the rest of 21 districts in the state.

Central Bank of India in association with NPCI Launches 'RuPay Select Contactless Debit Card

• On occasion of Central Bank of India's 110th foundation day, the bank in association with National Payments Corporation of India(NPCI) launched "RuPay Select, a unique variant of contactless debit card. It is the bank's one-of-its-kind health & wellness focused card.

• On this occasion, the Central Bank of India also launched FASTAG (for electronic toll collection) in association with OSTA.

• It offers Accidental and permanent disability Cover of Rs 10 lakh at no extra cost to customers

About National Payments Corporation of India(NPCI):

• It is an initiative of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and Indian Banks' Association (IBA) under the provisions of the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007

Incorporated - Under the provisions of Section 25 of Companies Act 1956 (now Section 8 of Companies Act 2013)

• Established- 2008
• MD & CEO Mr. Dilip Asbe
• Head Office- Mumbai, Maharashtra

About Central Bank of India:

• It is the first first Indian commercial bank which was wholly owned and managed by Indians
• Established- 1911
• Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer- Shri Pallav Mohapatra
• Headquarters - Mumbai, Maharashtra
• Tagline - Central to You Since 1911, Build a better life around us

BoB Signs MoU with Defence Forces for its Newly Launched 'Baroda Military Salary Package'

• Bank of Baroda(BOB) to offer special customized banking services through 'Baroda Military Salary Package has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Indian Navy and Indian Coast Guard and renewed its existing MoU with the Indian Army. This package was also presented to the Indian Air Force.

• The bank has covered all 4 Armed Forces under the Ministry of Defence.

• A similar package was also introduced to Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) by the bank.

• The retired and serving personnel of Indian Armed forces will be offered services under the package

About Bank of Baroda(BOB):

• BoB was founded by Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III of Baroda
• Head Office -Vadodara(earlier known as Baroda), Gujarat
• Managing Director(MD) and Chief Executive Officer(CEO)- Sanjiv Chadha
• Established-20 July 1908
• Tagline- India's International Bank

India's GDP to Contract by 7.3% in FY21: NCAER

• The '2020-21 Mid-Year Review of the Indian Economy' of National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) has forecasted that India's Gross Domestic Product(GDP) in FY21 will contract by 7.3%(-7.3%) from -12.6% estimated in September 2020 with anticipation that the economy will register marginal growth in the December quarter.

• The GDP for Q3(October-December 2020) of FY21 is expected to be 0.1% and 2% for Q4(January-March 2021) of FY21.

• It forecast the annual CPI(Consumer Price Index) inflation at 6.7% for FY21. It forecast the CPI headline inflation at 7% in Q3 and 6.3% in Q4.

About National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER):

• Headquarters- New Delhi, India
• Director General- Shekhar Shah

Singapore's Foodie "Hawker" Culture Given UNESCO Recognition

• Singapore's tradition of communal dining at hawker centres has been included in the UNESCO's (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) "Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity" for its cultural significance. Singapore hawker culture got this recognition two years after Singapore submitted a bid to be included in the list.

• Hawker culture refers to the community of vendors who cook and sell meals in the 114 hawker centres across Singapore.

• These centres serve as 'community dining rooms' where people from diverse backgrounds gather and share the experience of dining over breakfast, lunch and dinner

About United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO):

• Director General- Audrey Azoulay
• Headquarters, Paris, France

US President Donald Trump confers 'Legion of Merit' to PM Modi & other leaders of QUAD forum

• United States (US) President, Donald Trump conferred the 'Legion of Merit' (Degree: Chief Commander) to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for Advancement of India-US strategic partnership & steadfast leadership and vision for India's Emergence as a Global power. The Honor was also bestowed upon Scott Morrison, Prime Minister of Australia & Former Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe.

• Legion of Merit is conferred to members of the US Military, as well as Military & Political figures of foreign government for meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements.

• The award was presented by US National Security Advisor (NSA), Robert O'Brien to Taranjit Singh Sandhu, Ambassador of India to the United States who received the award on behalf of Narendra Modi.

• It is to be noted that India, Japan & Australia all belong to the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QUAD), an informal strategic forum which also includes the US.

• The other Indian who was awarded the 'Legion of Merit' (Degree - Chief Commander) was Field Marshal K.M. Cariappa.

• Legion of Merit is presented to foreign recipients in 4 categories - Chief Commander, Commander, Officer & Legionnaire.

• Chief Commander - Awarded to a head of state or government

• Commander - a person who is the equivalent of a U.S. military chief of staff or higher

• Officer - awarded to those who are at the rank of colonel (for army and air force) or captain for the navy or coast guard

• Legionnaire - any recipient that does not meet the requirements above

• The Legion of Merit was instituted in 1942 by the former US President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

• The First Recipient of the Legion of Merit Medal was British Army Officer Kenneth Anderson (Lieutenant General at the time of conferring) in 1943.

Other Indians:

• Other Indians who have been awarded the Legion of Merit are General Satyawant Mallana Srinagesh, Navy Admiral Jal Cursetji. General Bikram Singh, General Dalbir Singh, General Rajendrasinhji Jadeja.

About United States:

• Capital - Washington, D.C.
• Currency- United States Dollar (USD)
• President- Donald John Trump

Warburg Pincus Sells 4.47% stake in AU Small Finance Bank for Rs 1,247.69 crore

• Redwood Investment Ltd, an entity owned by Warburg Pincus sold a 4.47% stake(13.7 million shares )in AU Small Finance Bank for Rs 1,247.69 crore through open market transactions.

• As per the latest shareholding data, Warburg Pincus held 4.58% of AU Small Finance Bank.

UN Women Signs MoU with Kerala Govt's Gender Park for India's first Gender Data Hub

• UN Women signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Kerala Govt's Gender Park to establish India's first Gender Data Hub at the Gender Park at 24-acre Kozhikode campus, where International Institute for Gender and Development is also present.

• Gender Park will function as the South Asian hub for gender equality that aims to share knowledge and experiences from the region.

• This partnership furthers the cause of a just and equal society and of women empowerment.

• As per the MoU, the UN Women will offer project development and capacity-building to the Gender Park for the empowerment of women empowerment in South Asia.

About Gender Park:

• Gender Park, an initiative of the Department of women and child development, Govt of Kerala was established in 2013. It is the first space of its kind in the world.

• Headquarters-Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala
• Chairperson- KK Shailaja, Minister for Health, Social Justice and Women & Child Development, Govt of Kerala

Veteran Congress Leader & Former CM of MP Motilal Vora Passed Away at 93

• Motilal Vora, a veteran congress leader who twice served the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, passed away. He died due to post COVID-19 complications.

• Motilal Vora became the 13th Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh in 1985 and held the office till 8th December 1989.

• He served as the member of Rajya Sabha from Chhattisgarh for 4 terms from 10th April 2002 to 9th April 2020.

• He has also served as the Lok Sabha MP for 1 term.

• He has also served as the Governor of Uttar Pradesh between 1993 and 1996 in the post 1992 Babri Masjid demolition era.