DAILY GK : 9, 10 DEC 2020
1. AGRA METRO PROJECT
• Phase-1 of the Agra Metro project in Agra,
Uttar Pradesh (UP) was inaugrated.
• The project was virtually inaugurated by
PM Narendra Modi.The project comprises 2 corridors with a total length of 29.4
km has an approximate outlay of Rs 8,379.62 cr and will be completed in 5
years.
• The project will benefit the 26 lakh
population of Agra with ‘Ease of Living’ as it will reduce pollution and traffic
and also cater to more than 60 lakh annual tourists of the city.
2. CBI TO IMPLEMENT VISVAS YOJANA
• National Backward Classes Finance &
Development Corporation (NBCFDC) & National Scheduled Castes Finance and
Development Corporation (NSFDC) signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoAs) with
Central Bank of India for implementation of ‘Vanchit Ikai Samooh aur Vargon ki
Aarthik Sahayta (VISVAS) Yojana’ – an Interest Subvention Scheme of the
Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, Government of India.
• With the signing of the agreement,
interest subvention for the beneficiaries of the VISVAS Yojana will be provided
through the Central Bank of India.
3. 2 NEW ZOOS – ONE EACH IN BIHAR
& UTTAR PRADESH
• The 37th General Body meeting of Central
Zoo Authority (CZA) chaired by Union Minister for Environment, Forest and
Climate Change (MoEFCC), Prakash Javadekar granted recognition to 2 New Zoos –
Rajgir Zoo Safari in Nalanda, Bihar & Shaheed Ashfaque Ullah Khan Prani
Udyaan in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh.
4. CLIMATE CHANGE PERFORMANCE INDEX
2021
• Germanwatch has released the 16th edition
of Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI) i.e. CCPI 2021 for 57 countries and
European Union (EU) in which India was ranked at 10th spot with a score of
63.98 out of 100.
• The CCPI is assessed under four categories
consisting of 14 indicators.
• Notably, the index has placed no country
on the first three positions.
• Therefore, Sweden got the best ranking
among its competitors but overall it is ranked at 4th with a score of 74.42.
• It topped the ranking in the categories
GHG Emissions, Renewable Energy and Climate Policy.
5. REVISED HEIGHT OF THE WORLD’S
HIGHEST PEAK
• Nepal and China jointly announced that
“8848.86 metres” is the revised height of World’s Highest Peak, Mount Everest.
• The revised height of Mt.Everest is 86
centimetres more than the previous measure done in 1954 by Survey of India (8,
848 metres).
• Sagarmatha” is the Nepali name for Mount
Everest, whereas it is called “Chomolungma” or “Qomolangma”in Tibetian and
“Qomolangma Feng” in Chinese.
6. GWALIOR & ORCHHA NAMED IN UNESCO WHC LIST
• The United Nations Educational, Scientific
and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has inscribed the fort cities of Gwalior and
Orchha in Madhya Pradesh (MP) in its world heritage cities under urban
landscape city programme.
• This was informed by the state government
of MP.
• In this regard, UNESCO team will visit the
state in 2021 and will prepare a master plan for their development and
conservation under the Historic Urban Landscape recommendation.
7. UNCTAD INVESTMENT PROMOTION
AWARD
• “Invest India” won the 2020 UNCTAD
Investment Promotion Award by the United Nations Conference on Trade and
Development (UNCTAD).
• The award was presented at the award
ceremony organised at the headquarters of UNCTAD, Geneva, Switzerland.
• Invest India won the award among 3 winners
in 2020: Rwanda Development Board, Kigali, Rwanda and Estonian Investment
Agency, a part of Enterprise Estonia in Estonia.
8. WHO FOUNDATION 1ST CEO
• WHO Foundation appointed Anil Soni,
Indian-origin global health expert as its 1st Chief Executive Officer(CEO) or
inaugural CEO.
• He will take charge on January 1, 2021.
• Anil Soni as a CEO will expedite the work
of WHO Foundation to invest in innovative, evidence-based initiatives that
support WHO to deliver on its mission to ensure healthy lives and improve
well-being for everyone.
9. DEEP SEA PORT AT TAJPUR
• West Bengal Cabinet approved the
Construction of the State’s 1st Deep Sea Port at Tajpur, Purba Medinipur, West
Bengal.
• The Port is expected to attract investment
of about INR 15, 000 Crores and generate employment for 25, 000 people.
• West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee
stated that the port will be built entirely by the West Bengal Government.
• The Tajpur Deep Sea Port under West Bengal
Maritime Board & West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC)
will boost the seafood exports industry in East Midnapore and also benefits
lakhs of fishermen.
10. TRAINING ON CYBERSAFETY
• WCF (WNS Cares Foundation) has partnered with Atal Tinkering Labs (ATL),
an initiative under Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), NITI Aayog for providing
training to India’s children and youth on cybersafety.
• WCF will provide digital education through
its platform CyberSmart.
• ATL will use CyberSmart platform and
digital programs of WCF in its network of around 6, 500 schools to educate
students on cybersecurity and other relevant areas.
11. ‘SMASH 2000’ ANTI-DRONE SYSTEMS
• Indian Navy has finalised the contract for
procurement of a batch of Israeli ‘SMASH 2000 Plus fire Control Systems’
Anti-Drone Systems which is capable of destroying high-speed enemy drones.
• It is manufactured by Israel Firm ‘Smart
Shooter’. It will be used in border security, bases and strategic facilities
protection.
• The Smash Fire Control Systems Are
Electro-optical rifle sights which will be mounted on Assault rifles such as
AK-47/103 rifles.
• They are expected to be delivered by 2021.
12. INSIGHTS REPORT BY TRUECALLER
• According to the 4th Edition of Global
Insights Report for 2020 released by Truecaller, a Swedish Caller ID and Spam
Blocking app, India ranked 9th in the list of countries affected by spam calls
in 2020. In India, Gujarat received the most spam calls.
• The list was topped by Brazil, United
States & Hungary.
• The report also stated that 8 out of 10
women in India receive sexual harassment, inappropriate calls and SMS
regularly.
13. RBI CANCELLED LICENCE OF KARAD
JANATA SAHAKARI BANK
• Reserve Bank of India (RBI) cancelled the
licence of The Karad Janata Sahakari Bank Ltd., Karad, Maharashtra to carry on
banking business, which includes acceptance of deposits and repayment of
deposits as defined in Section 5(b) read with Section 56 of the Banking Regulation
Act, 1949 with effect from the close of business on December 7, 2020.
• On liquidation, every depositor is
entitled to repayment of deposits up to a monetary ceiling of Rs 5,00,000 from
the Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (DICGC), as per the
DICGC Act, 1961.
• More than 99% of the depositors of the
bank will get full payment of their deposits from DICGC.
14. 100 MOST POWERFUL WOMEN BY
FROBES
• Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman made
it to the 100 most powerful women list announced in the 17th annual Forbes
power list.
• This is the second time she features in
the list, in 2019 ranked at 34 and ranked 41st in 2020.
• India’s leading Business women, kiran
mazumdar-shaw, Chairman of Biocon Limited also featured in the list at 68th position.
Rank Personality Profession
1 Angela Merkel Chancellor, Germany
2 Christine Lagarde President, European Central Bank
3 Kamala Harris Vice President-elect, United States
15. CJ OF COMMON HIGH COURT FOR THE
UT OF J&K AND LADAKH
• Ram Nath Kovind, President of India
appointed Justice Rajesh Bindal as the Chief Justice of the Common High
Court(HC) for the Union Territory(UT) of Jammu and Kashmir(J&K) and Union
Territory of Ladakh.
• He will take charge on December 9, 2020.
• He succeeds Justice Gita Mittal, the 1st
female Chief Justice of this court.
