UTTARAKHAND
Kumbh Mela to be held in its divine form at Haridwar in 2021
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat has asserted that Kumbh Mela will be held in its divine form at Haridwar in 2021 despite the practical problems arising out of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Kumbh Mela works are being reviewed periodically and efforts of the state government will be to ensure that the devotees do not face any inconvenience.
35 to 50 lakh people are expected to take the holy dip in Ganga daily during the Kumbh Mela 2021.
Kumbh Mela is a major pilgrimage and festival in Hinduism.
It is celebrated in a cycle of approximately 12 years at four river-bank pilgrimage sites: the Prayagraj (Ganges-Yamuna Saraswati rivers confluence), Haridwar (Ganges), Nashik (Godavari), and Ujjain (Shipra).
INTERNATIONAL
International Day of Neutrality: 12 December
International Day of Neutrality is observed on 12 December.
The day aimed to promote the use of preventive diplomacy, which is the core objective of the UN.
The UN conducts aimed to enhance public awareness of the value of neutrality in international relations.
Any sovereign state that restrains from all participation in a war between other states and maintains an attitude of impartiality toward the belligerents is referred to as a neutral country.
ADB launches $9bn Covid-19 vaccine initiative for APAC members
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has launched a $9-billion initiative that will offer support to its developing member economies to procure and deliver Covid-19 vaccines.
ADB has launched a $9-billion vaccine initiative, the Asia-Pacific Vaccine Access Facility (APVAX), offering support to its developing members as they procure and deliver vaccines for Covid-19.
It will support developing countries in Asia and will put in efforts to procure vaccines against deadly virus.
The financing of vaccines by ADB will also be in close coordination with other development partners including World Health Organisation, World Bank Group, GAVI, COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access Facility- COVAX and bilateral and multilateral partners.
NATIONAL
MoRTH signs MoU with Austria on Technology Cooperation in Road Infrastructure Sector
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Republic of Austria on Technology Cooperation in the Road Infrastructure Sector.
The MoU aims to create an effective framework for bilateral cooperation in the field of Road Transportation, Road/Highways infrastructure development, management and administration, Road safety and Intelligent Transport Systems between both countries.
It will further strengthen ties, promote long standing bilateral relations and enhance trade and regional integration between the two countries.
India has had good diplomatic relations with Austria since the establishment of bilateral ties between the two countries in 1949.
EXIM Bank and SIDBI plan to set up an Alternative Investment Fund (AIF).
EXIM Bank and SIDBI plan to set up an Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) in partnership.
The fund will be set up to support small and medium enterprises (SMEs) by providing equity and loans.
In the Budget for Financial Year 2020-21, the government announced that a fund would be set up by SIDBI and EXIM Bank to support SMEs in pharmaceuticals, auto components and other sectors.
The aim of the scheme is to find Indian enterprises currently underperforming but having the potential to grow.
2020 Ramanujan Prize for Young Mathematicians awarded to Dr Carolina Araujo
The 2020 Ramanujan Prize for Young Mathematicians was awarded to Dr. Carolina Araujo.
She is an mathematician from the Institute for Pure and Applied Mathematics (IMPA), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The prize is awarded annually to a researcher from a developing country funded by the Department of Science and Technology of the Government of India.
Dr. Araujo is the first non-Indian women mathematician to receive this prize and will be a role model for all women around the world.
RTGS to be available 24×7 from December 14
Just within a year of operationalising NEFT 24×7, the Reserve Bank has announced that the Real Time Gross Settlement System or the RTGS facility will now be available for round the clock transactions, with effect from 12:30 AM on 14 December.
The system can also be leveraged to enhance operations of Indian financial markets and cross-border payments.
RTGS, which began its operations on 26th March, 2004 with a soft launch involving four banks, presently handles 6.35 lakh transactions daily for a value of 4.17 lakh crore rupees across 237 participant banks.
RBI introduces Liquidity Adjustment Facility (LAF) and Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) for Regional Rural Banks (RRBs)
The Reserve Bank of India has allowed the Scheduled Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) to take part in the Liquidity Adjustment Facility (LAF) and Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) of RBI for better for liquidity management.
The following Scheduled RRBs will be eligible for the scheme
- Implemented Core Banking Solution (CBS)
- There is a minimum CRAR of nine per cent and
- Fully compliant with the terms and conditions for availing LAF and MSF issued by Financial Markets Operations Department (FMOD), Reserve Bank of India.
RBI increases limit for Processing of e-mandates for recurring transactions on card transactions
The Reserve Bank of India has increased the limit for processing e-mandates / standing instructions on cards and Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPIs) and UPI for recurring transactions without the need of Additional Factor of Authentication (AFA) from Rs 2,000 to Rs 5,000.
The new limit of Rs 5,000/- per transaction will come into effect from January 1, 2021.
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