Current Affairs 30th December 2020| Current Affairs News

 

CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL NEWS

PM Modi dedicates to nation section of Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor in UP

• On December 29, 2020, Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated to the nation the ambitious New Bhaupur-New Khurja section of Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor in Uttar Pradesh through video conference.
• Governor of Uttar Pradesh Anandiben Patel also attended the function through video conferencing.
• The 351-kilometre New Bhaupur- New Khurja section of EDFC is built at a cost of 5,750 crore and most of its part passes through Uttar Pradesh.
• The section will decongest the existing Kanpur-Delhi main line and will enable Indian Railways to run faster trains.
• The Prime Minister also inaugurated Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor’s Operation Control Centre at Prayagraj.
• This will act as the command centre for the entire route length of the EDFC.

About UP:

• Capital : Lucknow
• Governor : Anandiben Patel
• Chief Minister : Barasingha

Dr Harsh Vardhan issue a report – Action Agenda

• Science and Technology Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan releases report – Action Agenda for an Atma Nirbhar Bharat prepared by Technology Information, Forecasting and Assessment Council, TIFAC in New Delhi.
• TIFAC’s White Paper on Focused Interventions for Make in India: post COVID -19 which was released earlier in July this year.
• The Minister said, a roadmap should be drawn for implementing the key suggestions in the report by 15th August, 2022 when India turns 75 years old.

National commission for welfare of scheduled caste students: Thawarchand Gehlot

• Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Thawarchand Gehlot announced, the Central government is committed for the welfare of scheduled caste students as it has made a historic change in the scholarship available to students of this community pursuing higher education.
• He explains about the commission in a meeting which is held in Newdelhi, the government has approved 59,048 Crore post matric scholarship scheme for over four crore SC students for the next five years.
• Gehlot said, Central Government will spend 60 per cent of the scholarship amount and  remaining 40 per cent will be spent by the State governments.
• Mr Gehlot said, it is estimated that 1.36 Crore SC students, who are currently not continuing their education beyond 10th standards would be brought into the higher education system through this initiative.
• The Minister said the money will be released through DBT(Direct Benefit Transfer) mode into the bank accounts of the students.
• Gehlot added that the list with the account number of the students will be sought from the state governments.

Make sure all last mile connectivity in DFC- Shri Piyush Goyal

• Union Minister for Railways and Commerce & Industry and Consumer Affairs, Food &  Public Distribution Shri Piyush Goyal reviews the progress of upcoming DFC.
• It may be noted that Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi is going to inaugurate the 351 km long ‘New Bhaupur- New Khurja section’ of Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (EDFC) in Uttar Pradesh.
• During the event, Prime Minister will also inaugurate EDFC’s Operation Control Centre (OCC) at Prayagraj as well.
• Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India is constructing the Western DFC, 1504 Route kilometer and Eastern DFC, 1856 route kilometer including  Sonnagar-Dankuni PPP Section.

Union Minister Harsh Vardhan launches Ocean Data Management ‘Digital Ocean’ developed by INCOIS

• Union Minister for Science and Technology Harshvardhan launched the ‘Digital Ocean’ platform on December 29, 2020.
• It is developed by Indian National Centre for Oceanic Information Services (INCOIS).

About Digital Ocean App :

• Digital Ocean is the one stop-solution for all data related needs of a wide range of users, including research institutions, operational agencies, strategic users, academic community, maritime industry, and the public.
• It can be accessed at do.incois.gov.in. website.
• It will play a central role in sustainable management of our oceans.
• This first of its kind platform for ocean data management has a set of applications that present heterogeneous oceanographic data with geospatial technology.
• It will facilitate an online interactive web based environment for data integration, 3D and 4D data visualization, data analysis to assess the evolution of oceanographic features obtained from multiple sources like on site monitoring devices, remote sensing and model data.

About INCOIS:

• Founded : 1998
• Director : T. Srinivasa Kumar
• Headquarters : Pragathi Nagar, Hyderabad
• INCOIS provides ocean information and advisory services to various stakeholders in the country, including Potential Fishing Zone (PFZ) advisories, Ocean State Forecast (OSF), high wave alerts, tsunami early warnings, storm surge and oil-spill advisories, among others., using state-of-the-art technologies and tools to get real time information on oceanographic and marine meteorological data.
• The institute has been serving as the National Argo Data Centre and Regional Argo Data Centre of the International Argo Programme.

Centre sets up panel to work out common entrance test for UG Admission

• The UGC set up a seven-member committee , headed by Vice-Chancellor of Central University of Punjab R P Tiwari, to consider the issue holding common entrance tests at undergraduate level only from the next academic year in central universities to provide a single platform for admission.
• This is the first attempt, after the introduction of the new National Education Policy,
• The new NEP, released in July this year, advocates reducing the number of entrance tests to eliminate the need for taking coaching for these exams
• The National Testing Agency will be tasked to conduct a common aptitude test as well as specialised common exams for different disciplines at least twice a year.

About UGC :

• Objective : It provides recognition to universities in India, and disburses funds to such recognized universities and colleges.
• Founded : 1956
• Headquarters : New Delhi
• First Executive : Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar

Union Health Minister Launched India’s first indigenous pneumonia vaccine, developed by SII

• On 28th December 2020, Harsh Vardhan, Union health minister, launched Pneumosil, India’s first Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine (PCV).
• The Pneumosil’ has been developed by Serum Institute of India in collaboration with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
• Pneumosil has been extensively evaluated in 5 randomized controlled clinical trials and has demonstrated comparable safety and immunogenicity
• Pneumosil was found to be safe and effective in preventing Pneumonia disease during the clinical trials and it is available at an affordable price in single dose and Multidose.

About Vaccine :

• The Vaccine Will Provide Protection against 10 Variants of pneumococcus bacteria that causes pneumonia, meningitis, ear and blood infections in Children.
• Pneumococcal disease is the largest contributor to under-five mortality rate worldwide.

About SII :

• Chairman : Dr. Cyrus Poonawalla
• Chief Executive Officer : Adar Poonawalla
• Founded : 1996
• Headquarters : Pune

President Ram Nath Kovind to be on a four days visit to Diu 

• President Ram Nath Kovind will be on a four days visit to Diu in the UT of Dadra and Nagar Haveli & Daman and Diu starting from December 25 to 28, 2020 .
• In this Visit, He will inaugurate the Jalandhar Circuit House in Diu.
• The President will inaugurate and lay the foundation stone for various developmental projects in Diu such as inauguration of first academic session of IIIT Vadodara-International Campus Diu, improvement of 1.3 kilometre heritage walk-way on Diu City Wall and upgradation of fruits and vegetable market at Fort Road.
• Mr Kovind will also inaugurate the INS Khukhri Memorial.

Indian Railways launches HMIS for UMID 

• The Indian Railways has launched the recently integrated Hospital Management Information System (HMIS) and a mobile application for downloading Unique Medical Identity Card (UMID).
• The HMIS project has accordingly been launched with four modules in five units at Central Hospital, Lallaguda and health units located at Chilkalguda, Moulali, Kacheguda and Nampally and 2 units at Northern Railways.
• The HMIS in Railways has been developed by Indian Railways in coordination with RailTel Corporation Limited. 
• The objective of the HMIS is to provide a single window of clearance of hospital administration activity such as clinical, diagnostics, pharmacy, examinations and industrial health.
• A mobile application has also been launched for downloading UMID cards through mobile phone for enhancing the integration of UMID with HMIS and also to facilitate the railway employees for conveniently using UMID cards while accessing their health care services.

About Indian Railways :

• Chairman & CEO : Vinod Kumar Yadav
• Headquarters : New Delhi

CURRENT AFFAIRS : INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Jaishankar 2 Day visit to Qatar

• External Affairs Minister (EAM) Dr S Jaishankar,  two-day  visit to Qatar from 27 to 28 December.
• During the visit, he called on The Amir and Father Amir as well as the Prime Minister and Interior Minister of the State of Qatar and held detailed discussions with the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister.
• EAM held detailed discussions with Deputy PM and Foreign Minister H.E. Sheikh Mohammad bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani on bilateral as well as regional and international issues of mutual interest.
• Both Ministers discussed ways to strengthen the multifaceted bilateral relationship in areas such as energy, trade, investment, food processing, healthcare, education, culture, defence and security. They agreed to maintain regular consultations and coordination on all issues of mutual interest at multilateral fora.
• EAM also extended an invitation to Deputy PM and Foreign Minister of Qatar to visit India for the first Joint Commission Meeting in 2021.

About Qatar :

• Prime Minister : Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz AI Thani
• Currency : Qatari Riyal
• Capital : Doha

Cambodia’s first commercial extraction of oil begun in Gulf of Thailand

• Cambodia’s first commercial extraction of oil begins in Gulf of Thailand.
• Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, the country’s long-awaited first commercial extraction of oil has finally begun.
• The first drop of oil was extracted by KrisEnergy, a Singapore-based oil and gas company, from a well in offshore Block A in the Gulf of Thailand, west of the coastal Cambodian province of Preah Sihanouk.
• “The start of production is a blessing for our Cambodia,” Hun Sen stated.
• The 3,000-square-kilometer (1,158-square-mile) Block A concession is estimated to hold as much as 30 million barrels of oil reserves.

About Cambodia :

• Capital: Phnom Penh
• Currency: Cambodian riel
• Prime minister : Hun Sen

About Thailand :

• Capital: Bangkok
• Currency: Thai baht
• King: Maha Vajiralongkorn
• Prime Minister: Prayut Chan-o-cha

Bill for citizenship of 11 million undocumented Migrants: Kamala Harris

• US Vice President-elect Kamala Harris promised to bring a bill to Congress with a roadmap to citizenship for 11 million undocumented people.
• Her first priority after assuming office would be to save American lives from coronavirus, and along with Biden.
• She also vowed to join the Paris climate agreement from which the Trump administration had withdrawn earlier.

About USA

• Capital : Washington D.C
• President : Donald Trump

CURRENT AFFAIRS: STATE NEWS

Kerala’s 21-yr-old Arya Rajendran elected as Thiruvananthapuram Mayor

• Arya Rajendran, the 21-year-old college student, has been elected as the new mayor of Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation, of Kerala.
• The Communist Party of India (CPI)Marxist leader, Arya is the youngest person in India to occupy the post of mayor anywhere in the country.
• She won 54 votes out of 99 votes cast in the civic body polls in Kerala.
• Arya is also the state president of Balasangam, the children’s wing of the CPI(M).
• Arya is a second-year student of Bachelor of Science (B.Sc) in Mathematics at the All Saints College

About Kerala :

• Chief Minister : Pinarayi Vijayan
• Capital : Thiruvananthapuram

Ladakh UT to get its own Meteorological Centre 

• On December 29, 2020, Union Earth Sciences Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan, will virtually inaugurate the newly established  Indian Meteorological Department for Ladakh.
• The IMD will have four Automatic Weather Stations (AWS) operating in Leh, Kargil, Drass and Stakna.
• It will Provide :
• Real time weather information from these stations will be available online for every fifteen minutes and hourly basis through the IMD website.
• The new Met centre will provide all information relating to weather and climate  for the entire Ladakh region including far-off places like Changthag, Nubra, Zanskar, Zojila and Drass.

About Ladak :

• Governor : RK Mathur
• Capital : Leh

Gujarat govt announces its new Solar Power Policy-2021

• The Gujarat government announced a new solar power policy comprising provisions to encourage small and medium scale solar projects on residential, commercial and industrial premises.
• Under the new policy, the state government has scrapped the condition that the installed capacity of a solar project needs to be 50 per cent of the sanction load or contract demand.
• Now, an individual or industry can produce solar power in their premises as per their requirements and without any limit on the capacity, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani said, while unveiling the “Gujarat Solar Power Policy 2021”.
• According to the policy, the power consumers will be able to set up solar projects on their rooftop or vacant place. 
• They can also offer their space to third party for power generation and utilization.
• This policy will bring down power cost to industry from 8 per unit to around Rs. 4.50.
• It will reduce the production cost, which will help the state manufacturers to be globally competitive.
• Security deposit given to power companies has been cut from 25 lakh per MW to Rs. 5 lakh per MW. New solar power policy will remain effective for the next five years.

About Gujarat:

• Capital : Gandhinagar
• Chief Minister: Vijay Rupani
• Governor: Acharya Devvrat

PM Modi lay foundation stone of AIIMS at Rajkot, Gujarat 

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation stone of AIIMS at Rajkot, Gujarat through video conferencing on Dec 31.
• For the project, 201 acres of land has been allotted.
• It will be built at an estimated cost 1195 crores, and is expected to be completed by mid of 2022.
• The state-of-the-art 750 bed hospital will also have a 30 bed AAYUSH block.
• It will have 125 MBBS seats and 60 nursing seats.

Odisha Govt school students to get quota for admission into medical & engineering colleges

• Students who studied in government schools in Odisha will now get the quota in admission into MBBS and BTECH in colleges of the state.
• A decision to this effect was taken by the state cabinet.
• According to the decision, a high level committee under the chairmanship of a retired judge of the Odisha High Court will be constituted to establish the modalities to implement the policy.
• The decision is consequent upon the realisation by the government that even meritorious students from government schools are not adequately represented in the medical and engineering colleges of the state.
• The government felt that these students, particularly those of rural hinterland, fail to prove their talent in All India Entrance Tests like JEE and NEET, for lack of exposure to specialised coaching due to both geographical and economic constraints.
• The decision is an effort towards addressing such unequal competition thereby instilling a sense of self- confidence in such deserving students to realise their dream of becoming a doctor or an engineer.

About Odisha

• Capital: Bhubaneshwar
• Chief Minister: Naveen Ptnaik
• Governor: Ganeshi Lal

Karnataka govt setup new building of Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute in PPP mode

• Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa inaugurated the new building of Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Centre in Bengaluru. 
• The 13 storey tall building will house 13 departments of medicine and a research centre for the medical college students.
• The state health and medical education minister K Sudhakar informed that the Government is planning to establish medical colleges in PPP mode.
• The minister said that the Gujarat model will be adopted to set up medical colleges with private participation to reduce the financial burden on the government.
• Saying that the Central Government has a vision to set up 22 AIIMS across the country.
• Sudhakar said that efforts are on to get one for the state of Karnataka.
• He also added that a new health and medical education policy will be introduced in the state based on the national health policy introduced in 2017.

About Karnataka

• Capital : Bengaluru
• Chief Minister :B S Yediyurappa
• Governor : Vajubhai Vala

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BANKING

ICICI Bank acquires 9.09% stake in ed-tech platform Myclassboard Educational Solutions

• Private sector lender ICICI Bank will acquire 9.09 percent stake in educational technology platform Myclassboard Educational Solutions Pvt Ltd for cash consideration of Rs 4.5 crore.
• The transaction is expected to be completed by the end of February 2021.

About MESPL :

• MESPL is an educational technology company set up in December 2009.
• MESPL offers an online school management platform and reported turnover of Rs 12 crore in FY 2020.

About ICICI Bank :

• CEO : Sandeep Bakhshi
• Headquarters : Mumbai
• Founded : June 1994, Vadodara

AU Small Finance, ICICI Pru Life tie up to offer life insurance solutions

• AU Small Finance Bank announced a strategic partnership with ICICI Prudential Life Insurance to offer life insurance solutions.
• The tie-up aims to deliver paperless, secure, and hassle-free life insurance.
• Through this agency arrangement, to over 1.8 million customers through digital platforms across 700 banking touchpoints in 13 states and 2 Union territories.
• AU Bank even claimed that these products will enable customers to provide financial security to themselves and their families and help them achieve their financial goals.

About ICICI Prudential Life Insurance :

• CEO : N.S.Kannan
• Chief distribution officer : Amit Palta
• Headquarters : Mumbai
• Founded : 2000

About AU Small Finance Bank :

• Headquarters : Jaipur
• Founder : Sanjay Agarwal
• Founded : 1996
• Executive director : Uttam Tibrewal

ICICI Bank and Google Pay collaborate to bring digital registration of FASTag

• ICICI Bank has announced that it is collaborating with Google to issue FASTag.
• It has become the first bank to join hands with Google Pay for the issuance of FASTag.
• Customers will now be able to order, track and recharge ICICI Bank FASTag via the Google Pay app.
• The main aim of this initiative is to ensure the safety of applicants during the COVID-19 pandemic since they can complete procedures digitally.

About the agreement :

• The new partnership will now allow users to conveniently order, track, and recharge ICICI Bank FASTags from the app itself. The government has made January 1, 2021 as the new date for mandatorily adding FASTags to vehicles.
• The announcement makes ICICI Bank the first bank to join hands with Google Pay for the issuance of FASTag. This will also add competition for Paytm, which currently issues FASTags from the app as well and is quite a popular choice for many customers.
• The association gains prominence during the widespread pandemic as this allows any Google Pay user to order and receive FASTag in a seamless and contact-less manner.

About Fastag :

• FASTag is an electronic toll collection system, operated by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI).
• FASTag allows people to drive through the FASTag lanes without having to stop to pay the toll taxes as charges are deducted from the prepaid or bank account.
• Users can simply recharge their FASTag and pass through toll plazas without worrying about change or stopping.

About Google Pay :

• Head : Sajith Sivanandan

About Google :

• CEO : Sundar Pichai
• Headquarters : California, United States

Bank of Baroda starts digital lending platform

• Bank of Baroda (BoB) has launched its Digital Lending Platform (DLP), which will allow prospective retail loan seekers to get loans digitally through a paperless process.
• The bank will also offer ‘Online Loan against Fixed Deposits’ via DLP.
• BoB also launches Atmanirbhar Women Gold Scheme.
• The platform provides ‘in-principle approval’ for home, car and personal loans in 30 minutes without human intervention
• With the launch of DLP, BoB said personal loan disbursements will be completely digitised first, followed by MSME (micro, small and medium enterprises) and agriculture disbursements.
• The bank envisages that the digital share of disbursement in retail lending will grow to 74 per cent over five years.

About Bank of Baroda

• Headquarters:Vadodara
• Founder:Sayajirao Gaekwad III
• Founded:20 July 1908, Vadodara
• Managing Director & CEO: Shri Sanjiv Chadha
• Tagline : India’s International Bank

CURRENT AFFAIRS: APPOINTMENT

Former Economic Affair Secretary Atanu Chakraborty Probably next HDFC Bank chairperson

• Former Economic Affairs Secretary Atanu Chakraborty is likely to be the next Chairperson of the country’s largest private sector lender HDFC Bank..
• He would replace Shyamala Gopinath, who is set to complete her term in January.
• The bank has recommended the name of Chakraborty for appointment as the part-time Chairperson, subject to the Reserve Bank of India’s approval.
• Chakraborty, a 1985 batch IAS officer of Gujarat cadre, retired as Secretary of Department of Economic Affairs in April 2020.
• Prior to that, he was Secretary of Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM).
• Both departments come under the finance ministry.
• The tenure of Gopinath, a former RBI Deputy Governor, is ending on January 1, 2021.

About HDFC :

• CEO:Sashidhar Jagdishan
• Headquarters: Mumbai
• Founded:August 1994, India
• Tagline : We Understand Your World

West Bengal IPS officer Rajeev Mishra promoted 

• The West Bengal government has  promoted Rajeev Mishra IPS WB:1996 as Additional DG.
• Mishra IG of South Bengal is one of the three IPS officers who are summoned by the Centre after BJP President Jagat Prakash Nadda’s convoy was attacked earlier this month.

About West Bengal:

• Capital:Kolkata
• Chief minister: Mamata Banerjee
• Governor: Jagdeep Dhankhar

CURRENT AFFAIRS : BOOKS & AUTHORS

Madhya Pradesh CM Chouhan releases Element of Quantitative Genetics

• Chief Minister Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan released a book titled “Element of Quantitative Genetics” by Prof. Dr. Stuti Sharma of Jawaharlal Nehru Agricultural University, Jabalpur.
• On this occasion, Agriculture Minister Shri Kamal Patel, MP and State BJP President Shri V.D. Sharma, Shri Lokendra Parashar and co-author of the book Shri Manoranjan Vishwas were present.
• This book, a complex subject like Plant Breeding Genetics is presented in a simple manner. B.Sc., M.Sc. and Ph.D. students and researchers of Agriculture faculty will get special help from this book. Candidates appearing in competitive examinations will also be able to benefit from the book. This is the first book of its kind on Quantitative Genetics.

About MP :

• Capital : Bhopal
• Chief Minister : Shivraj Singh Chouhan

CURRENT AFFAIRS: AWARDS & HONOURS

K.Veeramani Honoured with Dr. Narendra Dabholkar Memorial Award 

• The Narendra Dabholkar Memorial Award for this year has been conferred  upon Dravidar Kazhagam President K. Veeramani
• The award was instituted in the memory of the Maharashtra based rationalist Dabholkar.
• The U.S based Maharastra Foundation had instituted the award in his memory, a release issued by the Dravidar Kazhagam.
• The award includes 1 lakh and a citation.
• Veeramani has dedicated his whole life to propagate rationalism and served for the cause of social justice in society.

President Kovind Give out Digital India Awards 2020

• President Ram Nath Kovind will virtually confer the Digital India Awards 2020  through video conference.
• The Digital India Awards 2020 have been announced under six categories including `Innovation in Pandemic’.
• In line with Digital India’s vision, this is the first time that the entire process of the Digital India Awards is being conducted online from nominations to screening to the final awards ceremony.
• National Informatics Centre under Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has been conducting the biennial Digital India Awards to promote innovation in eGovernance and digital transformation of government service delivery mechanism.
• Minister for Communications and IT, Ravi Shankar Prasad, and IT secretary Ajay Sawhney and other dignitaries would attend the virtual event.

Daily CA on Dec 29th   

• The first ever International Day of Epidemic Preparedness is being observed on December 27, 2020.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the 100th run of Kisan Rail in Maharashtra On December 28, 2020. The move is a big step toward empowering farmers of the country.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the country’s first ever fully-automated driverless train service on the Magenta Line of the Delhi Metro.
• Skyroot Aerospace, a Hyderabad based start-up in the space sector, has successfully test-fired a solid propulsion rocket engine named Kalam-5
• Home Secretary and Secretary DoPT, A K Bhalla released the progress report of e-HRMS (Electronic-Human Resource Management System).
• Indian and Vietnamese Navy concluded the two-day naval passage exercise PASSEX in the South China Sea from December 26 & 27, 2020.
• The first batch of training at the Tata-Indian Institute of Skills, Mumbai was launched to provide an impetus to Skill India programme through private sector participation.
• Union Home Minister Amit Shah laid the foundation stone of a medical college and nine law institutes, besides launching two other projects in Assam.
• Delhi airport’s Terminal 3 has installed a new passenger tracking system that would help manage the flow of people, reduce waiting time and ensure social distancing.
• China has successfully launched a new remote sensing satellite into space, on December 27, 2020.
• The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has introduced new rule business with monthly turnover Rs 50 lakh will have to mandatorily pay at least 1 percent of their GST liability in cash, instead of using input tax credits.
• The Centralised ‘Investment Clearance Cell’, under the proposed single window system, aimed at facilitating businesses through a one-stop digital platform, is planned to be launched with relevant Ministries and Departments and select States by April 15, 2021.
• Union Minister of state (I/C) for AYUSH and Minister of State for Defence Shripad Naik released a Konkani book Sutranivednachi sutra- ek anbav, by Dr Roopa Chari, which is published by Sanjana Publications
• The winners of the prestigious ICC Awards of the Decade were announced on 28th December 2020.The ICC Awards of The Decade recognise the best players across Cricket over the past 10 years.
• Eminent dance scholar and critic Sunil Kothari, passed away. He was 87.
• On December 26, 2020, Former Union Minister and senior AIADMK leader Kadambur M. R. Janardhanan passed away. He was 91.

Daily CA on Dec 30th   

• On December 29, 2020, Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated to the nation the ambitious New Bhaupur-New Khurja section of Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor in Uttar Pradesh through video conference.
• Science and Technology Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan releases report – Action Agenda for an Atma Nirbhar Bharat prepared by Technology Information, Forecasting and Assessment Council, TIFAC in New Delhi.
• Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Thawarchand Gehlot announced, the Central government is committed for the welfare of scheduled caste students as it has made a historic change in the scholarship available to students of this community pursuing higher education.
• Union Minister for Railways and Commerce & Industry and Consumer Affairs, Food &  Public Distribution Shri Piyush Goyal reviews the progress of upcoming DFC.
• Union Minister for Science and Technology Harshvardhan launched the ‘Digital Ocean’ platform on December 29, 2020.It is developed by Indian National Centre for Oceanic Information Services (INCOIS).
• The UGC set up a seven-member committee , headed by Vice-Chancellor of Central University of Punjab R P Tiwari, to consider the issue holding common entrance tests at undergraduate level only from the next academic year in central universities to provide a single platform for admission.
• On 28th December 2020, Harsh Vardhan, Union health minister, launched Pneumosil, India’s first Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine (PCV).The Pneumosil’ has been developed by Serum Institute of India in collaboration with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
• President Ram Nath Kovind will be on a four days visit to Diu in the UT of Dadra and Nagar Haveli & Daman and Diu starting from December 25 to 28, 2020 . In this Visit, He will inaugurate the Jalandhar Circuit House in Diu.
• The Indian Railways has launched the recently integrated Hospital Management Information System (HMIS) and a mobile application for downloading Unique Medical Identity Card (UMID).
• External Affairs Minister (EAM) Dr S Jaishankar,  two-day  visit to Qatar from 27 to 28 December.
• Cambodia’s first commercial extraction of oil begins in Gulf of Thailand. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, the country’s long-awaited first commercial extraction of oil has finally begun.
• US Vice President-elect Kamala Harris promised to bring a bill to Congress with a roadmap to citizenship for 11 million undocumented people.
• Arya Rajendran, the 21-year-old college student, has been elected as the new mayor of Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation, of Kerala.
• On December 29, 2020, Union Earth Sciences Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan, will virtually inaugurate the newly established  Indian Meteorological Department for Ladakh.
• The Gujarat government announced a new solar power policy comprising provisions to encourage small and medium scale solar projects on residential, commercial and industrial premises.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation stone of AIIMS at Rajkot, Gujarat through video conferencing on Dec 31.
• Students who studied in government schools in Odisha will now get the quota in admission into MBBS and BTECH in colleges of the state.A decision to this effect was taken by the state cabinet.
• Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa inaugurated the new building of Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Centre in Bengaluru. 
• Private sector lender ICICI Bank will acquire 9.09 percent stake in educational technology platform Myclassboard Educational Solutions Pvt Ltd for cash consideration of Rs 4.5 crore.
• AU Small Finance Bank announced a strategic partnership with ICICI Prudential Life Insurance to offer life insurance solutions.
• ICICI Bank has announced that it is collaborating with Google to issue FASTag. It has become the first bank to join hands with Google Pay for the issuance of FASTag.
• Bank of Baroda (BoB) has launched its Digital Lending Platform (DLP), which will allow prospective retail loan seekers to get loans digitally through a paperless process.
• Former Economic Affairs Secretary Atanu Chakraborty is likely to be the next Chairperson of the country’s largest private sector lender HDFC Bank..
• The West Bengal government has  promoted Rajeev Mishra IPS WB:1996 as Additional DG.
• Chief Minister Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan released a book titled “Element of Quantitative Genetics” by Prof. Dr. Stuti Sharma of Jawaharlal Nehru Agricultural University, Jabalpur.
• The Narendra Dabholkar Memorial Award for this year has been conferred  upon Dravidar Kazhagam President K. VeeramaniThe award was instituted in the memory of the Maharashtra based rationalist Dabholkar.
• President Ram Nath Kovind will virtually confer the Digital India Awards 2020  through video conference. The Digital India Awards 2020 have been announced under six categories including `Innovation in Pandemic’.