Home » Current Affairs Date: 18 December 2020

Current Affairs Date: 18 December 2020

National:
  • Himgiri is the first of the three ships of Project 17A built at M/s Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Limited (GRSE), Kolkata. The ship was launched on 14 December 2020 in the Hooghly River. P17A ships are the first gas turbine propulsion and largest combat platforms ever built at GRSE.
IPPB new digital payment app:
  • Department of Posts (DoP) and India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) unveiled a new digital payment app ‘DakPay’ on December 15, 2020. The App aims to transform banking experience at the last mile across India.
    DakPay UPI App allows users to create UPI ID and link multiple accounts across banks in a single mobile app. The App facilitates instant money transfers, QR based payments in merchant stores and online shopping on e-commerce websites.
Appointment:
  • The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has appointed three more Executive Directors Shri R Subramanian, Shri Rohit Jain, and Shri R S Ratho with effect from December 11. Now, the central bank has 13 EDs.
Award:
  • Malayalam novelist and short story writer George Onakkoor has been selected for the 14th Malayattoor award. George Onakkoor has been awarded for his biography titled Hridaya raagangal. The award has been instituted by the Malayattoor Smaraka Samithi.
Monuments as Protected Site:
  • The Tamil Nadu State Archaeology Department has declared two monuments as protected site.
  1. Elephant sculpture, at Azhagarmalai village in Ariyalur district
  2. Sipra kulam (Sculpture tank: filled with sculptures on its surroundings), at Keezhravanthavadi village in Tiruvannamalai district

International:

CII Partnership Summit 2020:
  • Union Minister of Railways, Commerce & Industry, Consumer Affairs and Food & Public Distribution Shri Piyush Goyal addressed Ministerial Session at the CII Partnership Summit 2020 on December 16, 2020.
    The theme of the summit was ‘Partnerships for Lives, Livelihood and Growth’.
    While addressing the summit, he said, India has always risen to the occasion in helping other nations.
Important Day:
  • Vijay Diwas 2020” was celebrated on 16 December 2020. This day marks splendid victory achieved by India over Pakistan 49 years ago in 1971 war.
Death:
  • Aerospace scientist Shri Roddam Narasimha died in Bangalore due to brain haemorrhage on December 14, 2020. He was 87.
    He was conferred with the Padma Bhushan in 1987. He was conferred with the Padma Vibhushan, India’s second highest civilian award, in 2013.
    He wrote many books. One of the books written by him along with APJ Abdul Kalam, & Satish Dhawan is “Developments in Fluid Mechanics and Space Technology“.
  • Bengali actress Arya Banerjee was found dead on December 11, 2020 at her residence in south Kolkata. She was 33. She acted in Bollywood films such as The Dirty Picture.

Source: PIB & Other News Reports

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