Today Current Affairs for Competitive Exams - Current Affairs 2020-2021 Online - Testbook.com
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
Today Current Affairs for Competitive
Exams - Current Affairs 2020-2021
Online
Blackstone set to buy Piramal Glass The Finance Ministry informed that banks have
sanctioned loans worth ₹2,05,563 crore to about
Blackstone has agreed to acquire Piramal Glass,
81 lakh accounts under the ₹3-lakh crore
the glass packaging business of the diversified
Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS)
Piramal Group, at an enterprise value of $1
for the MSME sector.
billion.
40 lakh MSME accounts have received ₹1,58,626
Blackstone will execute the deal in two tranches,
crore till Dec 4, 2020.
as part of the agreement signed between the two
The loans provided under ECLGS 2.0 will have a
parties.
five-year tenor, with a 12-month moratorium on
It will first pay $850 million and assume
repayment of principal.
ownership and management control of Piramal
Glass. Canara Bank raises ₹2,000 crore via QIP
PSLV-C50 to launch satellite CMS-01 Canara Bank has successfully raised ₹2,000 cr
equity capital by issuing over 19 cr shares to
The launch of communication satellite CMS-01
eligible investors.
onboard the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-
LIC emerged as the largest investor in the bank's
C50), is scheduled on 17 Dec'20 from the Satish
qualified institutional placement (QIP) issue.
Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota.
The subcommittee of the board has approved
CMS-01 is a communication satellite envisaged for
allotment of 19,32,36,714 equity shares to eligible
providing services in Extended-C Band of the
qualified institutional buyers (QIBs) at an issue
frequency spectrum.
price of ₹103.50 per equity share
The Extended-C Band coverage will include Indian
mainland, Andaman-Nicobar and Lakshadweep UGC, AICTE will be merged in 2021
Islands.
The union government will merge all the higher
AstraZeneca partners with RDIF education regulators including the University
Grants Commission (UGC) and All Indian Council
AstraZeneca plc has partnered with Russia’s
for Technical Education (AICTE) to create a single
Gamaleya Research Institute, Russian Direct
education commission in 2021.
Investment Fund (RDIF) and R-Pharm.
Structural reform in the education sector will
It will conduct a clinical trial to assess the safety
happen in 2021.
and immunogenicity of a combination of their
Several reforms including the introduction of a
respective adenovirus-vector vaccines AZD1222
single entrance test for admission will be
and Sputnik V.
executed.
The trial will begin enrolling adults aged 18 and
older. ICICI Prudential's AUM cross ₹2 lakh crore
Banks sanction ₹2.05 lakh cr to MSMEs
1|Page ICICI Prudential Life Insurance company’s Assets temple in Ayodhya as well as the culture, tradition
under Management (AUM) have crossed ₹2 lakh and art related to the temple town.
crore in its 20th year. The tableaux theme for 2021 is titled 'Ayodhya:
The company started operations 20 years ago Cultural Heritage Uttar Pradesh'.
with the issuance of policies to seven It will also exhibit a glimpse of the 'Deepotsav' in
underprivileged children. Ayodhya.
It had an AUM of approximately ₹100 crore in FY The proposal sent from the UP government has
2001, which grew to about ₹50,000 crore in also been approved.
FY2010.
Sustainable Mountain Development Summit
Julien Geffard to head Ola's EV business
The ninth edition of the Sustainable Mountain
Ola has appointed Julien Geffard to lead Development Summit (SMDS) in Dehradun began
Ola's electric vehicle (EV) business in Europe. on 11 December 2020.
Geffard has been appointed as the Director of the The theme for the year 2020 is Emerging
go-to-market strategy for its electric business in Pathways for Building a Resilient Post COVID-19
Europe to leverage the company's plans to enter Mountain Economy, Adaptation, Innovation and
new markets with its soon-to-be-launched two- Acceleration.
wheeler EVs. The summit will focus on the overall objective of
The company plans to roll out its EV scooters in building pathways toward a resilient and
the first quarter of 2021. sustainable mountain economy.
Multiples Private Equity sells 2.17% stake Rs 25 crore for Dajipur Sanctuary
Multiples Private Equity has sold 12 lakh shares or Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray has
2.17% of PVR Ltd for ₹176 crore in an open announced that 25 crore rupees will be provided
market transaction. in the first phase for the development of Dajipur
Multiples Private Equity Fund and Multiples Sanctuary.
Private Equity Fund I Ltd sold 3.07 lakh shares and The sanctuary is part of the Radhanagari Wildlife
8.93 lakh shares respectively at an average price Sanctuary in Kolhapur district.
of ₹1470 aggregating to ₹176.41 crore. He also directed that a plan regarding
On the other hand, Ishana Capital bought 8.41 development of this sanctuary should be
lakh shares of PVR Ltd for ₹124 crore. submitted immediately.
Central Bank of India to raise up to ₹500 cr 30th Annual Global Conclave of IISSM
Central Bank of India will raise up to ₹500 crores Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari
by issuing Basel III compliant bonds. inaugurated the 30th Annual Global Conclave of
Central Bank of India reported over 20% rise in its the International Institute of Security and Safety
net profit at ₹161 crore for the second quarter Management (IISSM) on 11 December 2020.
that ended on 30 September 2020. The theme of the 2-day Conclave is ‘Covid -19 –
The bank had posted a net profit of ₹134 crores in From Survival to Revival: Emerging Paradigms in
the corresponding quarter of the previous Security and Safety Services.’
financial year.
5th round of FOCs between India and Cyprus
UP's tableaux to showcase Ayodhya Mandir
The fifth round of Foreign Office Consultations
At the Republic Day Parade in Delhi, the tableau (FOCs) between India and Cyprus was held on 10
of Uttar Pradesh will showcase the upcoming Ram Dec 2020 through virtual mode.
2|Page Both sides reviewed the status of agreements and The Paris Agreement is a landmark deal in the
MoUs including those on defence and military multilateral climate change process.
cooperation, sports, culture including ayurveda It is a legally binding international treaty on
and agreed to work towards early finalisation of climate change which was adopted by 196
these agreements. Parties in Paris, on 12 Dec 2015 and came into
force on 4 November 2016.
2927 Court complexes connected by WAN
Andhra Pradesh signs MoU with Survey of India
Around 2,927 Court complexes have been
connected so far by a high-speed Wide Area The Andhra Pradesh government exchanged an
Network, WAN under e-Courts Project. MoU with the Survey of India (SoI) for taking up
It has led to the completion of 97.86% sites out of the land resurvey christened ‘YSR Jagananna
2,992 sites conceived to be connected with high- Saswath Bhoo Hakku-Bhoo Raksha Pathakam’,
speed WAN under the project. The programme will be launched on December
Many courts under the e-Courts project are 21, 2020.
located in far-flung areas where the terrestrial State-of-the-art facilities such as CARS
cable cannot be used for providing connectivity. technology, drones, and rovers will be used for
the survey.
Durga Shanker Mishra launches a programme
International Day of Neutrality
Housing and Urban Affairs Secretary Durga
Shanker Mishra has launched a programme of Every year on December 12th, the International
Socio-Economic Profiling of PM SVANidhi Day of Neutrality is celebrated.
beneficiaries and their families, as an additional On February 2, 2017, the UN General Assembly
component of PM SVANidhi Scheme. declared December 12th as the International Day
A complete profile of each beneficiary and their of Neutrality.
family members will be prepared. The resolution was introduced by the country of
Based on the profiled data, benefits of the various Turkmenistan.
eligible Central Schemes would be extended to This country had been recognized as a
them. permanently neutral state since December 12th,
5th India-Myanmar Bilateral Meeting 1995.
India's first mRNA vaccine for Covid-19
The 5th India-Myanmar Bilateral Meeting on Drug
Control Cooperation between the Narcotics India's first indigenous mRNA vaccine candidate
Control Bureau, India and the Central Committee has received approval from the Drug Controller
on Drug Abuse Control, Myanmar was held General of India to initiate Phase I/II human
virtually on 10 Dec 2020. clinical trial.
Both countries agreed on the exchange of mRNA-based vaccines are scientifically the ideal
intelligence information in a timely manner to choice to address a pandemic because of their
conduct follow-up investigations in drug seizure rapid developmental timeline
cases. The novel mRNA vaccine candidate, HGCO19 has
The 6th meeting will be held in India in 2021. been developed by Genova, a company based in
PM addresses Global Climate Summit Pune.
Hyundai Motor buys 80% stake in a robot firm
PM Narendra Modi addressed the Global Climate
Summit on 12 Dec 2020 on the occasion of the Hyundai Motor Group agreed to buy a controlling
fifth anniversary of the landmark Paris Climate stake in Boston Dynamics Inc. in a deal that values
Agreement. the mobile robot firm at $1.1 billion.
3|Page Hyundai Motor Group, along with some Three frog and one shark species have vanished,
associated companies and Chairman Euisun and Amazonian dolphin and oak trees are
Chung, will acquire an 80% interest in the U.S. threatened with extinction.
robotics company from SoftBank Group Corp.,
EU agrees on tougher climate goals for 2030
leaving the Japanese firm with a 20% share.
EU leaders agreed to set an ambitious target to
Eric Yuan Time's Businessperson of year 2020
cut greenhouse gas emissions by 55% compared
CEO of Zoom, video conferencing platform, Eric to 1990 levels by 2030.
Yuan has been named 'Businessperson of the Europe will reduce emissions by at least 55% by
Year' by TIME for the growth of Zoom in a 2030.
pandemic. It puts Europe on a clear path towards climate
He began at WebEx as a coder and soon became neutrality in 2050.
integral to the creation of his video-conferencing Poland, backed by some other coal-dependent
platform. central European countries had been holding out
Zoom’s software was released in 2013, promoting for guarantees on funding to pay for a clean
a free basic service for different-size organisations energy transition.
along with many paid levels.
Saudi Arabia approves Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine
Rahul Dubey named as TIME's 'Heroes of 2020'
Saudi Arabia approved the use of the Pfizer-
Indian-American Rahul Dubey, on 1 June, had BioNTech novel coronavirus vaccine.
opened the doors of his home in Washington, DC, It has become the second Gulf country after
to over 70 protesters who were demonstrating Bahrain to green-light the drug.
against the killing of George Floyd. The Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA)... has
His action made him a local hero, and he has now approved the registration of Pfizer-BioNTech
been hailed among the "Heroes of 2020" by the Covid-19 vaccine in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
TIME Magazine, honouring those who "went Britain and Canada have also approved it.
above and beyond the call of duty".
CII announces partnership with Mastercard
Maintain ₹500 balance in POSB account
Confederation of Indian Industry has announced a
Post office savings account: Non-maintenance of partnership with Mastercard and National
minimum balance will attract charges of ₹100 plus Institute for Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises
GST and it will be deducted from the account. (NI-MSME).
Post office savings accounts currently offer 4% It will launch the Digital Saksham Initiative, which
per annum while the minimum amount required is an expansive program designed to strengthen
for account opening is ₹500. the competitiveness of MSMEs through digital
India Post offers several small savings schemes, knowhow and acceptance.
commonly known as post office saving schemes. This collaboration aims to educate and train
IUCN lists 31 species as 'Extinct' MSME owners and entrepreneurs.
5th India Water Impact Summit
The International Union for Conservation of
Nature's Red List of Threatened Species has The 5th India Water Impact Summit (IWIS) began
declared 31 animal and plant species extinct. on 10 Dec 20 with the theme of comprehensive
That total includes the lost shark, listed as analysis and holistic management of local rivers
critically endangered or possibly extinct, as it was and water bodies, with a focus on Arth Ganga -
last recorded in 1934. river conservation synchronised development.
4|Page It is being organised by the National Mission for A thorough health check-up was carried out by
Clean Ganga and Center for Ganga River Basin microscopic examination of the faecal samples for
Management and Studies (cGanga). probable parasitic load.
It will continue till 15 Dec'20. Blood samples were collected from selected
elephants for routine blood profile and general
CII and Amazon India sign pact
check-up.
Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Amazon
Biden named Time’s ‘Person of the Year’
India have signed a pact to increase the export
potential of MSMEs in 10 states. Time magazine has named US President-elect Joe
As part of the MoU, Amazon India will work with Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris its
the CII to train MSMEs in 10 states into the “Person of the Year.”
building and scaling their business in India and Also, Time named the Korean boy band BTS its
globally. Entertainer of the Year and named Los Angeles
Amazon and CII will conduct training, workshops, Lakers star LeBron James its Athlete of the Year.
and masterclasses to enable MSMEs to sell online. Time’s other Person of the Year candidates were
President Donald Trump, Dr. Anthony Fauci, etc.
Andhra government sets a panel
‘Jagananna Jeeva Kranthi’ launched
Andhra Pradesh govt has constituted a 21-
member multidisciplinary committee headed by Andhra Pradesh CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has
the state chief secretary to investigate the launched ‘Jagananna Jeeva Kranthi’ scheme to
outbreak of a mystery illness in Eluru area of West distribute 2,49,151 sheep and goat units to the
Godavari. beneficiaries of YSR Cheyutha and YSR Aasara.
A mystery illness has affected over 600 people in A total of Rs 1,869 crore is being spent for the
the state. purpose.
Those affected complained of dizziness, fainting Under the scheme, beneficiaries are free to buy
spells, headache and vomiting. local sheep, goat breeds from the region of their
The committee will suggest remedial measures to choice.
prevent it.
International Universal Health Coverage Day
ADB launches $9 bn Covid-19 vaccine scheme
International Universal Health Coverage Day is
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has launched observed every year on 12 December.
a $9 billion initiative. On 12 December 2017, the United Nations
Called the Asia Pacific Vaccine Access Facility proclaimed 12 December as International
(APVAX), it will offer "rapid and equitable Universal Health Coverage Day (UHC Day) by
support" to its developing members as they resolution 72/138.
procure and deliver effective and safe coronavirus The day aims to raise awareness of the need for
vaccines. strong and resilient health systems.
ADB is also making available a Covid-19 vaccine “Health for All: Protect Everyone” is the theme for
import facility to help countries secure safe and the year 2020.
effective vaccines.
India & Uzbekistan held a summit
Elephant health camp organized in Kaziranga
A virtual summit was held between Prime
An elephant health camp was organised by the Minister Narendra Modi and President of
Kaziranga National Park authority for the routine Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev on 11 Dec 2020.
health care of the departmental elephants of the
park, on 11 Dec 2020.
5|Page This was the first bilateral ‘Virtual Summit The leaders discussed the entire spectrum of
meeting between India and a central Asian bilateral relationship, including strengthening of
country. India-Uzbekistan cooperation in the post-COVID
world.
Attempt Daily Current Affairs Quiz
6|PageYou can also read
