National
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.
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.
The BrahMos supersonic cruise missile is the world’s fastest operational system in its class.
A booklet titled ‘PM Modi and his Government’s special relationship with Sikhs’ was released on 30 November 2020, on the occasion of birth anniversary of Shri Guru Nanak Dev Ji.
The booklet was jointly inaugurated by the Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Shri Prakash Javadekar and Union Minister for Civil Aviation and Housing and Urban Affairs Shri Hardeep Singh Puri.
It has been produced by Bureau of Outreach Communication under Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and is released in three languages Hindi, Punjabi and English.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
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.
BUSINESS & ECONOMY
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%.
APPOINTMENTS
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.
The Government of India has appointed Varsha Joshi as the interim Chairperson of National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), (NDDB Headquarter: Anand, Gujarat).
Her appointment will be effective from December 1, 2020.
She replaces incumbent Dilip Rath, whose tenure as Chairman of NDDB ended on November 30, 2020.
Prior to this, Joshi, (an IAS officer of 1995 batch, AGMUT cadre), was the Joint Secretary (CDD), Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying.
DAYS
The International Day for the Abolition of Slavery is observed annually on 2nd December since 1986 by the United Nations General Assembly.
Objective: Eradicating contemporary forms of slavery, such as trafficking in persons, sexual exploitation, the worst forms of child labour, forced marriage, and the forced recruitment of children for use in armed conflict.
In India, the National Pollution Control Day is observed every year on December 2 to commemorate the life of people lost in the unfortunate incident of Bhopal Gas Tragedy that occurred in the year 1984 on the night of 2–3 December.
The year 2020 marks the 36th anniversary of the Bhopal Gas Tragedy.
Through this day, awareness is created about the rising pollution of air, water, and soil, as well as shifts the attention of people with regards to the pollution control acts.
GET YOUR EXAM STUDY MATERIALS
