Daily updates 23 December 2020

National News

1. Dharmendra Pradhan dedicates Bengal’s 1st oil and gas reserve ‘Bengal Basin’

• Union Petroleum & Natural Gas Minister, Dharmendra Pradhan has dedicated West Bengal’s first oil and gas reserve, ‘Bengal Basin’, to the nation.
• The Bengal Basin is explored and owned by Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC). It is the eight producing basins of India by ONGC.
• The others are Krishna-Godavari (KG), Mumbai Offshore, Assam Shelf, Rajasthan, Cauvery, Assam-Arakan Fold Belt and Cambay.
• Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) Limited commenced the production of crude oil from the Asokenagar-1 well, Bengal Basin in 24 Paragana district of the state on 20 December 2020.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

• Chief Minister of West Bengal: Mamata Banerjee; Governor: Jagdeep Dhankhar.

Summits and Conferences News

2. 12th GRIHA Summit of TERI Concludes

• The 12th GRIHA (Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment) Summit was held virtually. It was inaugurated by Vice President of India Venkaiah Naidu virtually.
• The Summit provides a platform to deliberate on innovative technologies and solutions to help in creating robust mechanisms for developing sustainable and resilient solutions for the benefit of the entire community.
• The theme of the Summit was “Rejuvenating Resilient Habitats”. It is the annual flagship event organized by GRIHA Council in association with ‘key stakeholders in the construction industry’ to discuss and deliberate on the furtherance of Sustainable Habitat Development in India.

Agreements News

3. ADB announces Rs 2100 crore loan to Tripura

• The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has announced to provide Rs 2,100 crore loan to the Tripura government for the development of urban areas and tourism in the northeastern state.
• From the total fund of Rs 2,100 crore, Rs 1600 crore will be for urban development and Rs 500 crore for the tourism sector.
• Under this, all 20 urban local bodies in Tripura would be covered and in the tourism sector, all tourism destinations, roads leading to them and tourist facilities would be covered.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

• President of ADB: Masatsugu Asakawa; Headquarters: Manila, Philippines.
• ADB Established: 9 December 1966.

4. UN Women and Kerala govt tie-up for India's 1st Gender Data Hub

• The UN Women and Kerala government have collaborated to establish India's first Gender Data Hub. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed in this regard in the presence of Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
• Three key areas of co-operation, as specified in the MoU, will be setting up the Gender Data Centre at The Gender Park, launching the second edition of the International Conference on Gender Equality, and increasing engagement on the global normative frameworks on gender equality and empowerment of women.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

• Chief Minister of Kerala: Pinarayi Vijayan; Governor: Arif Mohammad Khan.

Appointments News

5. Vineet Agarwal takes over as new Assocham President

• Managing Director of logistics major Transport Corporation of India Limited, Vineet Agarwal has taken over as the new President of The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham).
• He replaces Niranjan Hiranandani, Co-Founder and MD, Hiranandani Group of Companies. Sumant Sinha, Chairman and Managing Director of ReNew Power, is the new Senior Vice-President of Assocham.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

• Assocham Headquarters: New Delhi;
• Assocham Founded: 1920.

6. Satyendra Garg assumes Andaman and Nicobar DGP charge

• Senior IPS officer, Satyendra Garg has assumed Andaman and Nicobar DGP charge. Garg, a 1987-batch IPS officer was posted as joint secretary in the Union home ministry.
• He was handing the North East division in the home ministry as a joint secretary before being repatriated to his cadre.

Schemes and Committees News

7. Amit Shah to lead the panel on Netaji's 125th birth anniversary event

• The Union Government has decided to constitute a High-Level Committee (HLC) to commemorate the 125th Birth Anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. The High-Level Committee will be headed by the Union Home Minister,  Amit Shah.
• This HLC will decide on the activities for a one-year-long commemoration beginning 23 January 2021, as a tribute and mark of gratitude to the contribution made by Netaji in India’s freedom struggle.
• The other members of the High-Level Commemoration Committee will include experts, historians, authors, family members of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, as well as eminent persons associated with Azad Hind Fauj/INA.

Banking News

8. ICICI Bank launches online portal ‘Infinite India’

• ICICI Bank has launched an online platform ‘Infinite India’ to support foreign companies to establish or expand business in India.
• The one-stop portal will offer banking solutions as well as value-added services such as the incorporation of a business entity, corporate filings, licences and registrations, HR services, compliances and taxation among others.
• Through this initiative, ICICI bank aims to strengthen its position in the multinational corporations (MNC) segment. The initiative is part of our strategy to further strengthen our technology-enabled offerings aimed to partner with foreign companies coming to India.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

• ICICI Bank Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra.
• ICICI Bank MD & CEO: Sandeep Bakhshi.
• ICICI Bank Tagline: Hum Hai Na, Khayal Apka.

9. BoB signs MoU with defence forces named "Baroda Military Salary package"

• Bank of Baroda (BoB) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Indian Navy and Indian Coast Guard under which the bank would offer customised services along with a host of facilities to account holders.
• The bank has also renewed its existing MoU with the Indian Army to offer specially customised banking services through ''Baroda Military Salary Package''.
• Services under ''Baroda Military Salary Package will be offered to serving and retired personnel of Indian Armed Forces through the Bank''s network of over 8,200 domestic branches and around 20,000 business correspondent touchpoints.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

• Bank Of Baroda Headquarters: Vadodara, Gujarat, India.
• Bank Of Baroda Chairman: Hasmukh Adhia.
• Bank Of Baroda MD & CEO: Sanjiv Chadha.

Economy News

10. NCAER projects India’s GDP to contract 7.3% in FY21

• The National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) has projected the Indian economy to contract 7.3 per cent in FY21, compared to -12.6% forecast in September 2020.
• The Delhi based economic think tank released its mid-year review of the Indian economy virtually on 21 December 2020.

Awards News

11. Donald Trump Honours PM Modi With Top US Honour ‘Legion Of Merit’

• US President Donald Trump has presented America’s highest military decoration, ‘The Legion of Merit’, to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
• The prestigious Legion of Merit was given to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his leadership in elevating strategic partnership of the two countries.
• The award was accepted by India’s Ambassador to the US, Taranjit Singh Sandhu on behalf of the prime minister from the US National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien at the White House on 21 December 2020.

Important Days

12. India Observes National Farmer’s Day on December 23

• National Farmer’s Day (Kisan Diwas) is observed every year on 23 December in India to remember the role of Indian farmers in the economy.
• The day is observed to mark the birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Chaudhary Charan Singh. He brought farmer-friendly policies and worked towards the welfare of the farmers. He was the fifth Prime Minister of India and served the country as Prime Minister from 28 July 1979 to 14 January 1980.