DAILY GK: 18 DEC 2020
1.
INDIA’S 1ST MARITIME THEATRE COMMAND
• 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.
• MTC
will be responsible for the security of India’s 7,516 km coastline, 1, 382
islands and Indian Ocean Region (IOR).
2.
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.
3.
INDIA TO HAVE 350MN 5G CONNECTIONS BY 2026
• Swedien
based networking and communication company Ericsson released a report “The
Ericsson Mobility Report 2020” which estimated India’s 5 connection to surpass
350 million, with 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.
4.
ADB LAUNCHES A $9 BILLION VACCINE INITIATIVE
• The
Asian Development Bank (ADB) launched a $9 billion vaccine initiative, the Asia
Pacific Vaccine Access Facility (APVAX).
• This
facility willhelp its developing member economies to procure and deliver an
effective and safe coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine.
5.
NDB INKED $1BN LOAN AGREEMENT
• A
loan agreement was inked between Government of India (GoI) and New Development
Bank (NDB) under which the latter will lend $1,000 million ($1 billion) for
supporting the former’s economic recovery from COVID-19.
• The
loan has a tenor of 30 years, including a 5-year grace period.
6.
“YOUNG CHAMPIONS OF THE EARTH” 2020 PRIZE
• 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.
7.
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(ABU), one of the World’s largest broadcasting
associations.
• He
will be serving for a three-year term, which starts on 1st 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.
8.
ISRO SETS UP ‘NETRA’
• 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.
• The
main objective of NETRA is to protect Indian Space Assets from Space debris
close approaches and collisions.
• Only
America, Russia and Europe have similar SSA capabilities to track space objects
and share collision warnings.
9.
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 1st 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.
10.
ASIAN GAMES 2030 AND 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.
Note: Qatar will also be hosting
the 2022 Edition of FIFA Football World Cup.
Year Host
2018 Jakarta, Indonesia
2022 Hangzhou, China
2026 Nagoya, Japan
2030 Doha, Qatar
2034 Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
11.
FATHER OF FIBRE OPTICS PASSES 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.
• 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
was born in 1927 in Moga, Punjab.
• 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.
12.
INTERNATIONAL DAY TO END VIOLENCE AGAINST SEX WORKERS
• Internatioanl
Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers(IDEVASW) is annually observed across
the globe on 17th December to remember the people who lost their lives due to
violence, marginalisation and stigma faced by the sex workers across the globe.
• The
17th December 2020 marks the 17th annual observance of the International Day to
End Violence Against Sex Workers.
