INTERNATIONAL

Boris Johnson invites PM Modi to UK-Led G-7 Summit

• United Kingdom Prime Minister, Boris Johnson has invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to join the UK-hosted G-7 summit 2021. UK Prime Minister Johnson has also accepted the very generous invitation to attend India’s Republic Day celebrations in January.

• PM Johnson will attend India’s annual Republic Day parade in New Delhi.

35th Edition Of India-Indonesia CORPATs

• The 35th edition of India-Indonesia Coordinated Patrol (IND-INDO CORPAT) between the Indian Navy and the Indonesian Navy is being conducted from 17 to 18 December 2020. The 35th IND – INDO CORPAT will contribute towards the Indian Navy’s efforts to consolidate inter-operability and forge strong bonds of friendship across the Indo Pacific.

• Indian Naval Ship (INS) Kulish, an indigenously built missile corvette along with P8I Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) will undertake coordinated patrol with Indonesian Naval Ship KRI Cut Nyak Dien, a Kapitan Pattimura (Parchim I) class corvette and an MPA of the Indonesian Navy.

• To reinforce maritime links, the two navies have been carrying out CORPAT along their International Maritime Boundary Line since 2002, with the aim of ensuring safety and security of shipping and international trade in the region. CORPATs build up understanding and interoperability between navies and facilitate the institution of measures to prevent and suppress Illegal Unreported Unregulated (IUU) fishing, drug trafficking, maritime terrorism, armed robbery and piracy.

NATIONAL

Nehru Zoological Park Hyderabad gets ISO certifications

• Nehru Zoological Park, Hyderabad, with its standard working procedures, has acquired ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management Standards Certification from ASCB, UK. The Hyderabad Zoo has become the first zoo in the country to receive ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management Standards Certificate. This was presented to Telangana Forests Minister A. Indra Karan Reddy.

• HYM International Certifications, Accredited by ASCB(UK) recently conducted an assessment of the Zoo for ISO 9001:2015 Certifications and expressed satisfaction and happiness in the standards being followed in Nehru Zoological Park in the area of sanitation, food processing, animal breeding, Zoo Hospital, animal care, hygiene maintenance and establishment.

Uttar Pradesh govt to launch ‘Kisan Kalyan Mission’

• Uttar Pradesh government will launch a special program to double the income of farmers. The program named as “Kisan Kalyan Mission” will cover all assembly constituencies of the state. Under the Kisan Kalyan mission, various programs will be organised across the state.

• Exhibitions of agriculture and Associate sectors will be organised which will include the products of MSME sector units and livelihood missions.

• Farmer meetings will also be organised in which progressive farmers, scientist and workers associated with Agriculture Department will explain the scientific farming and provide information about the schemes of the government.

• Farmers will be given benefit under the various schemes of the agriculture department during these events.

• Under the Kisan Kalyan mission, many departments of state government like agriculture marketing Mandi Parishad, Horticulture, animal husbandry, fisheries, sugarcane food and supply and Panchayati Raj will work together.

Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik launched ‘Pareshram’ Portal

• Chief Minister of Odisha, Naveen Patnaik through a video conference, launched ‘Pareshram’ Portal along with 22 online services of Labour and Employees State Insurance Department. The Portal and the Online Services shall be helpful in “Ease of Doing Business” and contribute significantly to the industrial development of the State.

• The Portal will provide 52 types of services in the coming days. This technology is the foundation of 5-T initiative and this will help in transformation, hoped that information regarding different Labour Laws will be available and industries, commercial organisations, small entrepreneurs and public will be benefited through this Portal.

SPORTS

Robert Lewandowski and Lucy Bronze win best of 2020 FIFA awards

• The Bayern Munich striker, Robert Lewandowski has been named The Best FIFA Men’s Player 2020, beating off competition from last year’s winner Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. The 32-year-old Lewandowski, top scorer in Europe and winner of the Champions League with Bayern.

• Manchester City full-back, Lucy Bronze won the women’s best player award, becoming the first female English player to take the prize. It is the first occasion for both Lewandowski and Bronze to win the award, with the Pole only the second player after Luka Modric in 2018 to break a 13-year Messi-Ronaldo hegemony.

APPOINTMENTS AND RESIGNATIONS

NHAI chairman Sukhbir Singh Sandhu gets six months extension

• Sukhbir Singh Sandhu has been given six months extension as the chairman of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).

• The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the extension in central deputation tenure of Sandhu, chairman, NHAI, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, for a period of six months beyond January 21, 2021, i.e. up to July 21, 2021. Sandhu is a 1988-batch IAS officer of Uttarakhand cadre.

SUMMITS AND MOU’S

ADB and India sign $300 million loan to upgrade power projects in UP

• The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has signed $300 million loan agreement with the Government of India to upgrade rural power distribution networks in Uttar Pradesh. This upgradation helps to provide reliable electricity supply to consumers in the state. This is the first tranche of the loan for the Uttar Pradesh Power Distribution Network Rehabilitation Project.

• Overall, the $430 million multi-tranche financing facility (MFF) has been approved for the project constituting two tranches.

• The project envisages conversion of 65,000 kilometres (km) of rural low-voltage distribution lines from bare conductors to aerial bundled conductors (ABC) to create a robust distribution network that will benefit an estimated 70 million people in 46,000 villages.

GoI and ADB sign 4.21 million dollar PRF facility for Tripura

• The Government of India and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) have signed a US $4.21 million project readiness financing (PRF) facility for the preparation of infrastructure development projects to improve urban amenities and develop tourism infrastructure in Tripura. This is ADB’s first PRF facility for a state in the northeastern region of India.

• The facility will support the Tripura Government’s priorities of improving urban services and tourism infrastructure that will help boost economic development.

• The facility aims to ensure high readiness of ensuing infrastructure projects through feasibility studies, preparing detailed engineering designs, and capacity building of state-level agencies while ensuring climate and disaster resilience and sustainability of sub-projects.

AWARDS AND RECOGNITION

India’s Vidyut Mohan named among ‘Young Champions of the Earth’ by UNEP

• Vidyut Mohan was one of the “Young Champions of the Earth” winners by United Nations Environment Programme. A 29-year-old Indian entrepreneur is among the seven winners of the prestigious “Young Champions of the Earth” 2020 prize given by the UN environment agency to global change-makers using innovative ideas and ambitious action to help solve some of the world’s most pressing environmental challenges. The prize is annually awarded to 7 entrepreneurs under age 30.

• Vidyut Mohan, an engineer, is the co-founder of “Takachar”, a social enterprise enabling farmers to prevent open burning of their waste farm residues and earn extra income by converting them into value-added chemicals like activated carbon on-site.

RANKING

India ranks 111 in Human Freedom Index 2020

• A worldwide ranking of civil, economic and personal freedom, the Human Freedom Index 2020 was released. India was placed at the 111th spot out of 162 countries. In 2019, India ranked 94 on the index.

• The first three spots have been bagged by New Zealand, Switzerland and Hong Kong. The United States and the United Kingdom are tied at the 17th spot on the index. War-torn Syria ranked the last on the list.

• India’s scored 6.30 out of 10 in personal freedom and 6.56 in economic freedom. The country’s overall human freedom score was 6.43.

• However, India has been ranked ahead of China and Bangladesh, which ranked 129 and 139 on the 2020 index respectively.

• Human Freedom Index was published by American think tank Cato Institute and Fraser Institute in Canada. The index takes into account 76 indicators of personal, civil, and economic freedoms to rank 162 countries from 2008 to 2018. The institutes noted that the world has seen a notable decline in personal freedom since 2008.

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