Current Affairs 02 December 2020

Daily Current Affairs 02 December 2020: This post contains the latest current affairs for 02 December 2020 that are important for all competitive exams like Bank, SSC, IBPS, SBI exams. You can also attempt our Current Affairs Quiz after reading our daily current affairs.

National

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Union Minister Arjun Munda e-launches first-ever Virtual Aadi Mahotsav with focus on Madhya Pradesh

• The Union Minister for Tribal Affairs, Shri Arjun Munda, launched the first-ever virtual edition of Aadi Mahotsav – Madhya Pradesh on 01 December 2020.
• The 10-day long festival, will begin from December 1, 2020.
• It is being hosted on the Tribes India website – www.tribesindia.com.
• The main focus of the first virtual Aadi Mahotsav is on the tribal craft and culture of Madhya Pradesh.
• The next focus state of the programme would be Gujarat ( from 11^th December 2020), followed by West Bengal from the 21^st December, 2020.

About Aadi Mahotsav 

• Aadi Mahotsav is a national tribal festival and a joint initiative of Ministry of Tribal Affairs, and Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED).
• The festival showcases traditional art and handicrafts and cultural heritage of the country.
• The objective of TRIFED is socio-economic development of tribal people in the country by way of marketing development of the tribal products.

Uttarakhand CM Trivendra Singh Rawat Inaugurates Suryadhar Lake in Dehradun

• Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat inaugurated the Suryadhar lake at Doiwala in Dehradun on 29 November 2020.
• The Suryadhar lake is located at the trijunction of Haridwar, Rishikesh and Dehradun, and has been built at a cost of Rs 50.25 crore.
• It is 550 metres long, 28 metres wide and 10 metres deep with a capacity of 77,000 cubic metres.

Benefits of Suryadhar lake

• The lake will address the drinking water and irrigational needs of nearly 20 villages around it.
• It would also become a major tourist and water sports destination.
• Farmers of the area will get water from the lake to irrigate their lands for twelve months in a year.
• The lake will recharge the water resources in the area and help build a healthy eco-system which will attract migratory birds.

West Bengal launches massive ‘Duare Sarkar’ outreach campaign ahead of 2021 assembly polls

• The West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has launched a massive campaign titled ‘Duare Sarkar’ (government at doorsteps) to aware people about the 11 state-run welfare schemes and help them avail its benefits.
• The two month-long outreach programme has been launched keeping in view the 2021 state assembly elections which are due in April-May.
• The campaign will continue from December 1, 2020 to January 30, 2020, in four phases, with slogan ‘jar jekhane darkar, asche apnar duare sarkar’ (government will be at your doorsteps whenever you need it).
• The 11 schemes will be made available to the beneficiaries through camps set up for the purpose.

Indian Army Successfully Testfires Anti-Ship version of BrahMos supersonic cruise missile from Andaman and Nicobar Islands 

• India successfully test-fired the anti-ship version of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands territory on 01 December 2020.
• The test was conducted as part of the ongoing trials being conducted by the Indian Navy.
• Recently the land-attack version of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile was also successfully test-fired from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands territory on 24 November. Read Here
• The BrahMos supersonic cruise missile is the world’s fastest operational system in its class.

Committee

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Centre constitutes Apex Committee for the Implementation of the Paris Agreement (AIPA) headed by Environment Secretary

• The Central Government has set up an Apex Committee for the Implementation of the Paris Agreement (AIPA) for achieving its goals under the global deal.
• The 17-member Committee comprise of members from 13 key ministries of the Union Government.
• The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) secretary R P Gupta will be the head of this committee and the additional secretary, MoEFCC, Ravi Shankar Prasad will be the vice chairperson.
• The Environment ministry has enlisted as many as 16 functions for the APIA.
• Key features of AIPA

Banking & Economy

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OECD Projects India’s FY21 GDP at -9.9%, & Forecasts Global GDP at -4.2% in 2020 

• In its latest economic outlook report, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has marginally raised its GDP forecast for India to a contraction of 9.9% in 2020-21 (FY21) from its earlier projection of (-)10.2% in September 2020.
• OECD expects the GDP to rebound to 8% in 2021-22 (FY22) and 5% in 2022-23 (FY23).
• In terms of global economy, OECD expects the world GDP to contract 4.2% in 2020. This estimate was (-)4.5 percent in September forecast.
• OECD has also projected the world economy to grow by 4.2 percent in 2021 from earlier forecast of 5 percent.
• For 2022, Global GDP is projected at 3.7%.

Agreement

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ADB & India sign $132.8 million loan agreement to strengthen power distribution sector in Meghalaya

• The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of India have signed a USD 132.8 million loan agreement for Meghalaya Power Distribution Sector Improvement Project.
• The project aims to strengthen and modernize the distribution network and improve the quality of power supplied to households, industries, and businesses in the northeastern state of Meghalaya.

Index

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Lahore is world’s most polluted city, followed by New Delhi: US Air Quality Index

• Lahore, the cultural capital Pakistan, has been ranked as the world’s most polluted city, according to air pollution data released by the US Air Quality Index (AQI) on 30 November 2020.
• Lahore reported a particulate matter (PM) rating of 423.
• New Delhi stood second with a PM of 229, while Nepal’s capital Kathmandu ranked the third with a PM of 178.

About AQI

• The Air Quality Index (AQI) is released by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to give people an idea of whether it’s safe to breathe the air.
• AQI is based on the levels of five major pollutants regulated by the EPA: ground-level ozone, particulate matter (PM2.5), carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide.
• AQI measures air quality by placing it on a scale of 0-500, where air quality is regarded satisfactory if the AQI is under 50.

Appointment

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Sandeep Kataria becomes first Indian to be appointed as global CEO of Bata

• Footwear major Bata Shoe Organization has appointed Sandeep Kataria as the new global Chief Executive Officer (CEO) on 30 November 2020, with immediate effect.
• Kataria is the first Indian to be appointed to the global role of Bata (Headquarter-Lausanne, Switzerland).
• He takes over from Alexis Nasard, who has stepped down after almost five years in the role.
• Before this, Kataria was the CEO of Bata India since 2017.
• Under Kataria, Bata India managed to transform into the largest footwear retailer in India within a relatively short span.

Senior IAS officer Varsha Joshi Appointed as Interim Chairperson of NDDB