20th and 21st December 2020 Daily GK Update: Read Daily GK, Current Affairs for Bank Exam

Here is the Daily GK Update of 20th and 21st December 2020 covering the following news headlines: Skill Development in Power Sector, UNESCO, Varasat, PMC Bank, Hypersonic Wind Tunnel, Indian Ocean Rim Association.

Daily GK updates are incorporated with the important news that made the current affairs headlines for banking or other competitive exams. Daily GK Update is the complete bag of the important news that held all day long. One should have complete knowledge about the banking terms, current affairs news, etc. So, here is the GK update of 20th and 21st December 2020 to help you prepare the Current affairs part. After reading this section, you can successfully attempt Current Affairs Quiz.

National News

1. India’s 1st CoE for Skill Development in Power Sector inaugurated in Gurugram

• The Minister of State for Skill Development, Raj Kumar Singh has inaugurated the first Centre of Excellence (CoE) for ‘skill development in the power sector’ in Gurugram.
• The CoE has been established in the campus of National Institute of Solar Energy, Gurugram, Haryana.
• This new centre has been set up by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Government of India, in collaboration with the Ministry of National Education and Youth, Government of France and Schneider Electric.
• It has high-end modern labs designed keeping in mind the future technology, which will further strengthen India and France’s relationship in the energy sector.
• The centre will design and deliver Training for Trainers, Instructors, Training of Assessors and other high-end programmes in the power and solar sector.

International News

2. Singapore’s ‘Hawker’ Culture gets UNESCO recognition

State News

3. “Varasat” campaign launched in Uttar Pradesh

• The Uttar Pradesh government has launched a special campaign ‘Varasat’ (natural succession) to curb property & land-related disputes in rural areas.
• This is a first of its kind campaign in the state which aims to put an end the land-related issues in the rural areas and eradicate the exploitation of the villagers over succession rights by land mafias, who generally target disputed properties. The two-month-long special drive will continue till 15th February 2020.
• Under the arrangements, the villagers will get both online and offline facilities for registering their ‘Varasat’.
• For the people who have landed in the village but they are living at some other place, a special counter will be opened at the Tehsil-level where they can apply for the same.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

Banking News

4. RBI extends restrictions on PMC Bank for 3 months

• Reserve Bank of India has further extended the restrictions on crisis-ridden Punjab and Maharashtra Co-operative (PMC) Bank by three months till 31 March 2021. The bank has also received four Expression of Interest (EoI) for its revival.
• To examine them, the bank would need some more time. These proposals will be examined by the bank with regard to their viability and feasibility taking into account the best interest of the depositors.
• As per the Expression of Interest, the bank wants to identify a suitable equity investor/ group of investors willing to take over management control so as to revive the bank and commence regular day-to-day operations.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

• The administrator of PMC Bank: AK Dixit.
• PMC Bank Founded: 1984.
• PMC Bank Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra.

Defence News

5. Rajnath Singh inaugurates advanced “HWT” test facility in Hyderabad

• Union Minister of Defence, Rajnath Singh has inaugurated the advanced Hypersonic Wind Tunnel (HWT) test facility of the DRDO in Hyderabad, Telangana.
• The state-of-the-art HWT Test facility has made India as the only third country in the world, after the US and Russia, to have such a huge facility in size and capability.
• The indigenously developed HWT Test facility is a pressure vacuum-driven enclosed free jet facility having a nozzle exit diameter of 1 metre. This will simulate Mach No 5 to 12 (Mach represents the multiplication factor to the speed of sound)”.
• The facility has the capability to simulate hypersonic flow over a wide spectrum and will play a major role in the realization of highly complex futuristic aerospace and defence systems.

6. Rajnath Singh hands over high-tech systems to chiefs of 3 armed forces

• The Defence Minister, Rajnath Singh recently handed over three indigenously developed high technology systems to chiefs of the three armed forces: the Indian Army, the Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force.
• The three systems namely, Border Surveillance System (BOSS), Indian Maritime Situational Awareness System (IMSAS) and ASTRA Mk-I Missile, have been developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

Summits and Conferences

7. 20th IORA Council of Ministers Meeting Held in UAE

• The 20th edition of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) Council of Ministers (COM) Meeting via video conferencing under the Chairmanship of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
• The theme of the meeting was “Promoting a Shared Destiny and Path to Prosperity in the Indian Ocean”.
• The Indian delegation was led by V. Muraleedharan, MoS, Ministry of External Affairs. Sri Lanka has assumed the charge of Vice-Chair of IORA for the period 2021-23.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

Awards News

9. Ratan Tata honoured with “ASSOCHAM Enterprise of the Century Award”

• Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi addressed the ‘ASSOCHAM Foundation Week 2020’ via video conferencing.
• The week-long Associated Chambers of Commerce of India (ASSOCHAM) Foundation Week was organised from 15 to 19 December 2020.
• The theme of the programme was ‘India’s resilience: Atmanirbhar roadmap towards $5 trillion economies.’
• As a part of the celebration, PM Modi also presented the ‘ASSOCHAM Enterprise of the Century Award’ to Shri Ratan Tata, on behalf of the TATA Group, for his distinguished contributions to the country.
• In the last 100 years, ASSOCHAM and the entire Tata group has worked very hard to strengthen India’s economy and help the common Indian.

10. Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Telecom Skill Excellence Awards announced

• Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has presented the Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Telecom Skill Excellence Awards, including a cash award of Rs 50,000 and Rs 30,000 respectively, to both awardees.
• The nominations were called for the first time for the year 2018.
• Sreenivas Karanam, Bengaluru was selected for the FIRST prize for his contribution in developing a cost-effective customized technical solution under the brand ‘C mobile’, for deep-sea communication, operating along the Kerala coast, facilitating communication among fishermen and issue of weather alerts etc.
• Subrat Kar, New Delhi was selected for the SECOND prize for his innovative solution on development & deployment of a large scale sensor network and devices to avoid a train-animal collision, which works without interfering with natural movements/behaviour of animals, thereby helping in wildlife conservation.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

• Minister of Communications and Electronics & IT: Ravi ShankarPrasad.

Important Days

11. International Human Solidarity Day: 20 December

• International Human Solidarity Day is observed globally on 20 December every year to celebrate unity in diversity and raise awareness about the importance of solidarity.
• According to the United Nations Millennium Declaration, solidarity is among the fundamental values that are essential to international relations.
• The General Assembly, on 22 December 2005, by resolution 60/209 identified solidarity as one of the fundamental and universal values that should underlie relations between peoples in the twenty-first century, and in that regard decided to proclaim 20 December of each year International Human Solidarity Day.

Obituaries News

12. Veteran Journalist and first official RSS Spokesperson MG Vaidya passes away

• Senior Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) ideologue, MG Vaidya has passed away.
• He was a veteran journalist, a Sanskrit scholar and the first official spokesperson of the RSS. He became a member of the RSS in 1943.

Miscellaneous News

13. World Bank approves several projects to support development in India

• The World Bank has approved 4 India projects worth over $800 million. The projects will support a range of development initiatives that supports the efforts of India to rebuild itself by creating a sustainable and resilient economy. The projects that have been approved are:
• $400 million Second Accelerating India’s COVID-19 Social Protection Response Program.
• $100 million Chhattisgarh Inclusive Rural and Accelerated Agriculture Growth Project (CHIRAAG).
• $68 million Nagaland: Enhancing Classroom Teaching and Resources Project.
• $250 million Second Dam Improvement and Rehabilitation Project (DRIP-2).

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

• World Bank Headquarters: Washington DC, United States.
• World Bank President: David Malpass.
• World Bank Founded: 1944.

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20-21 December Current Affairs 2020 | Current Affairs Today | Daily Current Affairs 2020

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