Daily Current Affairs and GK | 5 December 2020

Topic: Personality in News

1. Gitanjali Rao has been named as first-ever TIME ‘Kid of the Year’.

• Indian-American young scientist and inventor Gitanjali Rao has been named by the TIME magazine as the first-ever Kid of the Year for her exceptional work.
• She has used technology to solve various problems such as contaminated drinking water, cyberbullying, opioid addiction, etc.
• She wants to create a global community of young innovators for solving problems of the World.
• She had won the Discovery Education 3M Scientist Challenge in 2016 and was also named in Forbes’s list of “30 Under 30” for her innovations.
• Her latest discovery is an app called Kindly for the detection of cyberbullying. She has developed an application named Tethys for the detection of lead contamination in water.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Miscellaneous

2. Directorate of Revenue Intelligence celebrated its 63rd Foundation Day.

• Directorate of Revenue Intelligence has celebrated its 63^rd Foundation Day on 4 December.
• On this occasion, a panel discussion was organized on Trade-Based Money Laundering.
• Directorate of Revenue Intelligence:
  • It was constituted on 4 December 1957.
  • It is an apex body for anti-smuggling intelligence and investigation.
  • It works under the Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs in the Ministry of Finance.
  • It solves the cases related to the smuggling of arms, ammunition and explosives, narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, gold and diamonds, counterfeit currency notes and wildlife items.
  • It is headed by a Director-General rank Secretary of the Government of India.

(Source: Wikipedia)

Topic: Defence

3. PASSEX Naval Exercise conducted between India and Russia.

• Indian Navy and Russian Federation Navy have conducted the PASSEX Naval Exercise in the Eastern Indian Ocean from 4-5 December.
• In this Naval Exercise guided-missile cruiser Varyag, Admiral Panteleyev, ocean tanker Pechenga, guided-missile frigate Shivalik and anti-submarine Kadmatt have participated.
• It aims for enhancing interoperability, improving understanding and imbibing best practices from each other.
• Indian Navy and Russian Federation Navy had conducted the INDRA exercise on 4-5 September 2020.
• Indian Navy had also conducted Passage Exercise with the Australian Navy in September 2020.
• PASSEX NAVAL Exercise: It is conducted by the Indian Navy with the navies of friendly countries in the Eastern Indian Ocean Region. It aims for improving the Defence cooperation between the countries.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Important Days

4. World Soil Day: 5 December

• World Soil Day (WSD) is held annually on 5th December to raise awareness regarding the importance of healthy soil and the sustainable management of soil resources.
• In December 2013 the UN General Assembly designated 5 December 2014 as the first official World Soil Day.
• It is celebrated on 5 December to mark the birth anniversary of Bhumibol Adulyadej.
• 2020 World Soil Day Theme-"Keep soil alive, protect soil biodiversity"
• Soil constitutes about one-fourth bio diversity of the earth so protection of soil is important for the environment. Sustainable soil management is important for achieving many Sustainable Development Goals.
• Soil Pollution can be prevent by the following methods:
  • Plantation of trees
  • Avoid single-use plastic
  • Disposal of hazardous waste
  • Composting of food waste

(Source: Twitter)

Topic: Personality in News

5. Administrator of Lakshadweep, Dineshwar Sharma passed away.

• Dineshwar Sharma, Administrator of Lakshadweep, has died at the age of 66.
• He will be remembered for his valuable contribution to India’s policing and security apparatus.
• He joined the Indian Police service in 1979. He had served on various important post in the Government of India.
• He worked in Intelligence Bureau for a long haul of time and became its chief in 2014.
• He had played a critical role in the formulation of government policy for tackling the Islamic State (IS) and radicalization of young Muslims in India.
• He was also appointed as an interlocutor for Jammu and Kashmir in 2017 for the dialogue.
• He was rewarded with President’s Police Medal and Indian Police Medal for his exceptional work.

(Source: Indian Express)

Topic: Personality in News

6. Vice President released commemorative postage stamp in honour of I.K. Gujral.

• The Vice President of India, M Venkaiah Naidu, has released a postage commemorative stamp in memory of former Prime Minister I.K. Gujral.
• I.K. Gujral’s 101^st birth anniversary has been celebrated on 4 December.
• I.K. Gujral:
  • He was a politician who served as the 12^th Prime Minister of India from 21 April 1997-19 March 1998.
  • He had taken part in the Quit India Movement and after Independence, he joined the Indian National Congress in 1964.
  • He served on various posts, including the Minister of External Affairs and Minister of Information and Broadcasting.
  • He is well known for his Gujral Doctrine’ and his contribution to India’s foreign policy.
• Gujral Doctrine: It is a set of five guiding principles for India’s relation with its immediate neighbours.

Topic: Defense

7. Government gave its nod for creation of Deputy Chief of Army post for military operation and planning.

• Government has approved a major reform in the Army. It has given its approval for the creation of the post of the Deputy Chief for military operations and strategic planning in the Army.
• It will be the third post of Deputy Chief in the Army.
• Deputy Chief will be the “single-point advice” person to the Vice Chief of Army on operational issues and he will head operations, intelligence, and perspective and information warfare.
• It is recommended by the studies instituted by Army headquarter for enhancing operational and functional efficiency of the Army.
• The Directorate General of Military Operations and the Directorate General of Military Intelligence will report to the Deputy Chief of Army.
• The Deputy Chief will also head the offices of Perspective Planning and Strategic Communications.
• Lt Gen Paramjit Singh is set to be appointed as the first Deputy Chief Army staff (Strategy).

Topic: Awards and Prizes

8. Indian Origin Author Anita Anand’s book on Jallianwala Bagh massacre wins history prize.

• British-India author Anita Anand’s book on “The Patient Assassin: A True Tale of Massacre, Revenge and the Raj” has been awarded the prestigious history prize in the United Kingdom.
• Her book “The Patient Assassin” is about the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in 1919 in Amritsar.
• In her book, she has written a story about the assassination of a British official by an Indian after the Jallianwala Bagh massacre.
• Some shortlisted books for PEN Hessell-Tiltman Prize for History 2020 are
  • Time Song: Searching for Doggerland
  • Imperial Intimacies: A Tale of Two Islands
  • The Brothers York: An English Tragedy
• PEN Hessell-Tiltman Prize for History:
  • It is awarded annually to a non-fiction book for specifically historical content.
  • It was started in the memory of Marjorie Hessell-Tiltman.
  • Two thousand pounds is the Prize money for this award.
  • It is organized by the English PEN.

(Source: Indian Express)

Topic: Indian Economy

9. RBI kept both repo rate and reverse repo rate unchanged at 4% and 3.35%, respectively.

• RBI has kept both repo rate and reverse repo rate unchanged at 4% and 3.35%, respectively.
• RBI has kept rates unchanged due to concerns of rising inflation. As per the RBI forecast, inflation is likely to be at 6.8% in the third quarter and 5.8% in the fourth quarter of the current fiscal year.
• The forecast of 6.8% and 5.8% is above the government’s inflation target of 4% within range of plus/minus 2%. 
• RBI earlier forecasted inflation at 5.4%-5.5% for the second half of the current financial year. In October 2020, consumer price inflation reached a six-year high of 7.6%.
• RBI’s decision to keep policy rates unchanged may continue to benefit borrowers.
• Fixed deposit rates have declined by 175-200 basis points since March 2020.  Further cut in deposit rates by banks will be negative for depositors.
• Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) will continue with the accommodative stance till necessary. 
• RBI’s measures and their impact over the last two years:
  • Since January 2019, RBI has lowered repo rate by 250 bps. This includes a cumulative cut of 135 bps in 2019 and 115 in 2020.
  • In October 2019, RBI ordered linking of loans by banks with external benchmark rates like repo rate. This lowered lending rates. 
  • Weighted average lending rates on fresh loans have shown a decline by 98 bps from January to October 2020. This happened after repo rate reduction of 115 bps in 2020.
  • In the case of private banks, weighted average lending rates on fresh loans have however increased by 36 bps to 9.02% in October 2020 from 8.66% in September 2020. This is as per RBI’s latest data on banks.

10. Combined sovereign and non-sovereign loan of $190 million approved by Asian Development Bank (ADB).

• Combined sovereign and non-sovereign loan of $190 million has been approved by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
• The loan is for the modernisation of the power distribution system in Bengaluru and Bengaluru Smart Energy Efficient Power Distribution Project.
• ADB has approved combined sovereign ($100 million) and non-sovereign ($90 million) loan on a pilot basis for the first time.
• The loan is approved to Bangalore Electricity Supply Company Limited (BESCOM), which is the largest of all state-owned distribution utilities in Karnataka.
• Asian Development Bank (ADB):
  • It is a regional development bank. It was established on 19 December 1966.
  • Its headquarters are located in Mandaluyong, Philippines. Its President is Masatsugu Asakawa.

Topic: Reports and Indices

11. Smuggling in India Report 2019-20 released by Finance Minister.

• Smuggling in India Report 2019-20 has been released by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
• The report was released during 63^rd Founding Day Celebrations of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI).
• The report is an analysis of trends of organized smuggling on Gold and Foreign Currency, Narcotic Drugs, Security, Environment and Commercial Frauds.
• The awards given during 63^rd Founding Day Celebrations are Bravery awards DRI Utkrisht Seva Samman, 2020.
• The winners of Bravery awards are Najimudheen T S and Sumer Sen (an independent witness).
• B. Sankaran, an Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer has won the DRI Utkrisht Seva Samman, 2020.

(Source: News on AIR)