DAILY GK: 18 DEC 2020

 DAILY GK: 18 DEC 2020

1. INDIA’S 1ST MARITIME THEATRE COMMAND

•      As per a plan prepared by a group headed by Navy Vice Chief Vice Admiral G Ashok Kumar, India’s 1st Maritime Theatre Command (MTC) will get its final shape in 2021.

•      It will be the first new “Geographical” Theatre command to be created as part of military restructuring plans.

•      MTC will be responsible for the security of India’s 7,516 km coastline, 1, 382 islands  and Indian Ocean Region (IOR).

 

2. 1ST INDIAN ZOO TO RECEIVE ISO CERTIFICATION 9001:2015

•      The Nehru Zoological Park (NZP) in Hyderabad, Telangana has become the first in India to acquire ISO (International Organization for Standardization) 9001:2015 Quality Management Standards Certification from Accreditation Service for Certifying Bodies (ASCB) United Kingdom (UK) as the zoo passed the extensive documentation of every activity.

 

3. INDIA TO HAVE 350MN 5G CONNECTIONS BY 2026

•      Swedien based networking and communication company Ericsson released a report “The Ericsson Mobility Report 2020” which estimated India’s 5 connection to surpass 350 million, with 27% of all mobile subscriptions by 2026.

•      The report also notified India’s first 5G connection to be rolled out by 2021.

•      More than 15% of the world’s population (1 billion people) will live in areas under 5G coverage.

 

4. ADB LAUNCHES A $9 BILLION VACCINE INITIATIVE

•      The Asian Development Bank (ADB) launched a $9 billion vaccine initiative, the Asia Pacific Vaccine Access Facility (APVAX).

•      This facility willhelp its developing member economies to procure and deliver an effective and safe coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine.

 

5. NDB INKED $1BN LOAN AGREEMENT

•      A loan agreement was inked between Government of India (GoI) and New Development Bank (NDB) under which the latter will lend $1,000 million ($1 billion) for supporting the former’s economic recovery from COVID-19.

•      The loan has a tenor of 30 years, including a 5-year grace period.

 

6. “YOUNG CHAMPIONS OF THE EARTH” 2020 PRIZE

•      United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) announced 7 recipients for the “Young Champions of the Earth” 2020 Prize, Indian Entrepreneur Vidyut Mohan featured in the list for his Social Enterprise “Takachar”.

•      The prize is given to global change-makers who use innovative ideas and ambitious action to solve the world’s most important environmental challenges.

 

7. VICE PRESIDENT OF ASIA-PACIFIC BROADCASTING UNION

•      Shashi Shekhar Vempati, CEO of Prasar Bharati was elected as the Vice President of Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union(ABU), one of the World’s largest broadcasting associations.

•      He will be serving for a three-year term, which starts on 1st January 2021.

•      Ibrahim Eren, Chairman and Director General of Turkish Radio Television Corporation(TRT) has been elected as the President of ABU.

•      He is the first Turk to become the president of ABU.

 

8. ISRO SETS UP  ‘NETRA’

•      Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has set up ‘NETRA’ (NEtwork for space object TRacking and Analysis) – an dedicated Space Situational Awareness (SSA) Control Centre at ISTRAC (ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network) Campus at Peenya, Bengaluru.

•      The main objective of NETRA is to protect Indian Space Assets from Space debris close approaches and collisions.

•      Only America, Russia and Europe have similar SSA capabilities to track space objects and share collision warnings.

 

9. CHINA’S CHANG’E-5 SPACECRAFT BRINGS HOME FIRST MOON SAMPLES IN 40 YEARS

•      China’s Chang’e-5 spacecraft successfully landed in Siziwang Banner, China bringing home the first samples of the moon in 40 years.

•      It was China’s 1st attempt to get materials from an extraterrestrial body.

•      The mission marks the successful conclusion of China’s 3 step lunar exploration programme which began in 2004.

 

10. ASIAN GAMES 2030 AND 2034 EDITION

•      Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) general assembly selected the countries to host 2030 and 2034 editions of Asian Games through virtual voting.

•      Qatar’s Doha city will be host of 2030’s edition, while the runner-up in voting, Saudi Arabia will host 2034 edition of Asian games at Riyadh city.

Note: Qatar will also be hosting the 2022 Edition of FIFA Football World Cup.

Year       Host

2018       Jakarta, Indonesia

2022       Hangzhou, China

2026       Nagoya, Japan

2030       Doha, Qatar

2034       Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

 

11. FATHER OF FIBRE OPTICS PASSES AWAY

•      Narinder Singh Kapany, known as the “Father of Fiber Optics”, who coined the term Fiber optics in 1956, passed away at the age of 94.

•      He was an India born American physicist who was named as one of the seven “Unsung Heroes” in Fortune’s “Businessmen of the Century” issue of November 1999. He was born in 1927 in Moga, Punjab.

•      He has more than 100 patents to his name for his research in the field of fiber optic communication, lasers, biomedical instrumentation, solar energy and pollution monitoring.

 

12. INTERNATIONAL DAY TO END VIOLENCE AGAINST SEX WORKERS

•      Internatioanl Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers(IDEVASW) is annually observed across the globe on 17th December to remember the people who lost their lives due to violence, marginalisation and stigma faced by the sex workers across the globe.

•      The 17th December 2020 marks the 17th annual observance of the International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers.