Daily Current Affairs - 03 Dec 2020

Daily Current Affairs Capsule

3rd December 2020

International

International Day of Persons with Disabilities: 03 December

The International Day of Persons with Disabilities is observed annually on December 3.

1. The IDPWD day was proclaimed in 1992 by the United Nations General Assembly.
2. The day aims to promote the rights and well-being of persons with disabilities in all spheres of society and development, and to increase awareness of the situation of persons with disabilities in every aspect of political, social, economic and cultural life.
3. 2020 theme: ‘Not all Disabilities are Visible’

Global Terrorism Index 2020

In the Global Terrorism Index (GTI) 2020, India has been ranked at 8th spot globally in the list of countries most affected by terrorism in 2019.

1. The GTI score of India is 7.353 out of 10.
2. With a score of 9.592, Afghanistan has topped the index as the worst terror impacted nation among the 163 countries.
3. It is followed by Iraq (8.682) and Nigeria (8.314) at second and third place respectively.
4. Regionally, South Asia was the most impacted region by terrorism in 2019, recording more deaths than any other region.

Singapore becomes first country to approve sale of lab-created meat

Singapore has given US start-up Eat Just the greenlight to sell its lab-grown chicken meat, in what the firm says is the world's first regulatory approval for so-called clean meat that does not come from slaughtered animals.

1. Demand for alternatives to regular meat is surging due to consumer concerns about health, animal welfare and the environment.
2. But so-called clean or cultured meat, which is grown from animal muscle cells in a lab, is still at a beginning stage given high production costs.

UK becomes first country to approve Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine for use

Britain became the first country in the world to approve the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine for use and said that it will be rolled out from early next week.

1. The British regulator Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) declared that the vaccine offers protection of up to 95 per cent and is safe to be used for immunisation against COVID-19.
2. The Government has accepted the recommendation from the independent Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to approve Pfizer-BioNTechs COVID-19 vaccine for use.
3. The vaccine will be made available across the UK from next week.
4. The American pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech last month concluded phase 3 study of their mRNA-based Covid-19 vaccine candidate BNT162b2.
5. The company expects to produce globally up to 50 million vaccine doses in 2020 and up to 1.3 billion doses by the end of 2021.

National

PM pay tributes to India’s first President Dr Rajendra Prasad on his birth anniversary

PM Modi paid tributes to first President of India Dr Rajendra Prasad on his birth anniversary.

1. A brilliant scholar, Dr Rajendra Prasad was a teacher, lawyer, freedom fighter and finally the president.
2. He was deeply influenced by Mahatma Gandhi and went to jail during the 'Salt Satyagraha' of 1931 and the 'Quit India Movement' of 1942.
3. He played a big role in making of the Indian Constitution.
4. Dr Rajendra Prasad was the President of India from 1950 to 1962.
5. After being the president for two terms, stepped away from the highest post in 1962.
6. Dr Rajendra Prasad was awarded the highest civilian award - Bharat Ratna - in 1962.

Rajnath Singh urges countrymen to voluntarily contribute to Armed Forces Flag Day Fund

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has urged countrymen to voluntarily contribute to Armed Forces Flag Day Fund.

1. The Flag Day provides us an opportunity to fulfill this responsibility by contributing to the AFFD fund.
2. Noting that over 47 crore rupees were raised during 2019-20 through voluntary contributions of people.
3. Armed Forces Flag Day will be observed all over the country on 7th December like previous years.
4. Since 1949, the day is observed to honour the martyrs as well as men and women in uniform, who valiantly fight on borders to safeguard the country’s honour.

Odisha approves unified emergency helpline number 112

The Odisha Government approved the unified emergency helpline number 112 to provide all forms of police assistance to people in distress.

1. The consolidated helpline number would enable police to rush services to people in an efficient manner.
2. The helpline number 112 subsumes the earlier segregated helpline numbers like 100,101,108 and other for emergency services like police, fire and ambulance.
3. These multiple helplines have been clubbed together into the single toll free number under a centre- sponsored scheme that is already functional in several States.
4. The 112 single Pan India helpline number had been launched by the centre in February last year to trigger emergency response to distress calls.

ADB, India sign 50 million loan to boost West Bengal’s digital platforms for public finance reforms

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of India signed a $50 million policy-based loan to improve financial management procedures and operational efficiencies aimed at achieving more fiscal savings, promote informed decision making, and improve service delivery in the state of West Bengal.

1. The loan builds up on past ADB policy-based programmes in 2012 and 2017, supporting the Government of West Bengal on sustainable public financial management reforms.
2. The loan is proposed to be supplemented by a $350,000 technical assistance grant for capacity building, monitoring of IFMS reforms, and strengthening the integration of social and gender aspects in reform areas.

Uttar Pradesh CM rings bell at BSE for listing Lucknow Municipal Corporation bonds

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath rings the bell at the Bombay Stock Exchange morning before listing the Lucknow Municipal Corporation bonds.

1. Lucknow now becomes the ninth city in the country to have adopted this route for fundraising and raised money at a coupon of 8.5 percent for 10 years.
2. The Lucknow Municipal Corporation had raised 200 crore rupees in the bond issued last month, and the state government felt the same route can be adopted by other cities like Ghaziabad, Varanasi, Agra and Kanpur.

Business

Lt Gen Rajeev Chaudhry assumes the charge as Director General Border Roads

Lt Gen Rajeev Chaudhry assumed the charge as 27th Director General Border Roads (DGBR).

1. Lt Gen Chaudhry was commissioned into the Corps of Engineers from Indian Military Academy, Dehradun in 1983 and has attended all prestigious courses of the Indian Army including staff Course at Defence Service Staff College, Wellington, Higher Command Course at Army War College, Mhow and the National Defence College, New Delhi.
2. Before taking over as Director General Border Roads, he was holding the appointment of ADG LW&E in QMG’s Branch at Integrated Headquarters of Ministry of Defence (Army).
3. Lt Gen. Chaudhry was responsible for conceptualising and conducting the first-ever and only Engineer Brigade Exercise with the US Engineer Brigade as part of EX YUDH ABHYAS.

Deaths

MDH owner ‘Mahashay’ Dharampal Gulati passes away

'Mahashay' Dharampal Gulati, the owner of Mahashian Di Hatti (popularly known as MDH), passed away at the age of 98.

1. He was born in 1923 in Sialkot, Pakistan. He was fondly called ‘dalaji’ and ‘Mahashayji’.
2. A school dropout, Dharampal Gulati joined his father’s spice business in the early days.
3. Back in 2019, the government honoured him with Padma Bhushan, the third-highest civilian award in the country.
4. Gulati was India's highest-paid consumer products CEO for the year 2017. That year, he had taken home over Rs 21 crore as salary.