Current Affairs Date: 14 December 2020

The Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government has announced the ‘Sharad Pawar Rural Prosperity Scheme’ named after NCP president Sharad Pawar.
Under this scheme, target is to double the farmer income, and ensure prosperity in gram panchayats and villages.

BSNL announced on December 10, 2020, it will introduce worlds’ first, satellite-based NB-IoT (Narrow Band-Internet of Things) network in India in partnership with Skylotech India. This new “Made in India” solution has been indigenously developed by Skylo.
According to the company, under the Digital India vision of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, this service will begin with fishermen, farmers, construction, mining and logistics enterprises.
Its coverage will be vast. It will be available from Kashmir & Ladakh to Kanyakumari, and from Gujarat to the North East, including the Indian seas.

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has approved for the proposal of DoT for setting up of Public Wi-Fi Networks by Public Data Office Aggregators (PDOAs).
This aims to provide public Wi-Fi service through Public Data Offices (PDOs), & to accelerate proliferation of Broadband Internet services through Public Wi-Fi network in the country.
There shall be no license fee for providing Broadband Internet through these public Wi-Fi networks.
This Public Wi-Fi Access Network Interface will be known as PM-WANI.

A cyclonic storm “BUREVI” hits over the Bay of Bengal during 30th November – 05th December 2020.

International:

Academy Award President David Rubin announced on December 8, 2020, the producers of the 2021 Oscars. They included Stacey Sher, Jesse Collins, & Steven Soderbergh as the producers of the 93rd Oscars ceremony. 2021 Oscars ceremony will be slated to air on April 25, 2021 through ABC network.

Defense Minister Shri Rajnath Singh participated in the 14th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus held online at Hanoi, Vietnam on December 10, 2020, on the 10th anniversary of ADMM Plus.
The ADMM Plus is an annual meeting of defence ministers of 10 ASEAN countries and eight partner countries. The Defence Minister also addressed thematic discussions during the ADMM Plus meeting on regional and international security environment.
Brunei Darussalam will be the new Chair for 2021 events.

According to 2020 search trends data released by Google, cricket tournament Indian Premier League (IPL) has been topped in search trends, searched by Indians.
In overall category, top five 2020 search trends data, searched by Indians:

Former Uttar Pradesh minister Laxman Singh has died in Muzaffarnagar on December 9, 2020. He was 86.