Category: Miscellaneous Current Affairs

Lakshadweep to be India’s 1st UT to be declared 100% Organic

December 12, 2020

• The Ministry of Agriculture has announced Lakshadweep as India’s first Union Territory to become 100 percent organic.
• All farming practice in the UT is carried out without using any synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, which provides access to safer food choices and making agriculture a more environment-friendly activity.

Gwalior, Orchha comes in UNESCO world heritage cities list

December 9, 2020

• The historical fort cities of Gwalior and Orchha in Madhya Pradesh have been added to the list of UNESCO’s world heritage cities under its The World Heritage Cities Programme.
• Under the plan, UNESCO will suggest the best measures and resources for the development and beautification of these places as per the UNESCO Historic Urban Landscape recommendations.

Serum Institute’s Adar Poonawalla selected as 1 of 6 “Asians Of The Year”

December 7, 2020

• Adar Poonawalla, the Chief Executive of the Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII), has been selected among six “The Straits Times Asians of the Year” for 2020, by Singapore’s leading daily, The Straits Times, for their work in combating the COVID-19 pandemic.

V. Naidu virtually issues postage stamp in former PM IK Gujral’s honour

December 5, 2020

• Vice President Venkaiah Naidu has virtually released a memorial Postage Stamp in honour of the late Prime Minister of India & Freedom Fighter, I K Gujral (Inder Kumar Gujral).
• I K Gujral was the 12th Prime Minister of India, he worked as the Prime Minister from April 1997-March 1998. He was born in Jhelum (now in Pakistan) in 1919.

IOCL starts India’s first 100 Octane Premium Petrol

December 3, 2020

• Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas and Steel, Dharmendra Pradhan started India’s first indigenously developed ‘100 Octane premium petrol’ via video conferencing.
• Octane ratings are measures of fuel stability that enhances engine efficiency. The high octane premium grade petrol will be marketed under the brand ‘XP-100’. It has been developed by Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) at its Mathura refinery in Uttar Pradesh.

Cyclonic Storm “Burevi” over southwest Bay of Bengal

December 3, 2020

• The Deep Depression developed over the southeast and adjoining the southwest Bay of Bengal has intensified into a Cyclonic Storm ‘Burevi’ over southwest Bay of Bengal.
• It is about 240 km east-southeast of Trincomalee (Sri Lanka), 470 km east-southeast of Pamban (Tamil Nadu) and 650 km nearly east-northeast of Kanniyakumari (Tamil Nadu).

AR Rahman tied in as ‘BAFTA Breakthrough’ India ambassador

December 2, 2020

• Oscar and Grammy-winning Indian composer, AR Rahman has been tied in as ambassador of the BAFTA Breakthrough initiative in India.
• In 2020, BAFTA will recognize and support up to five exceptional talents working in film, games or television in India.

Bengaluru’s Bowring Medical College titled after Atal Bihari Vajpayee

November 28, 2020

• The Bowring and Lady Curzon Medical College and Research Institute in Bengaluru have been identified after former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
• The institute was established up in 2018-19 on the campus of Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital in Shivajinagar in the heart of Bengaluru.

L&T bags Rs 7,000-cr order to construct part of Bullet Train project

November 28, 2020

• Infrastructure major Larsen and Toubro (L&T) has bagged an order worth over Rs 7,000 crore to make a part of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail (MAHSR), also recognized as the Bullet Train Project.

SpiceJet starts dedicated freighter services to Leh in Ladakh

November 28, 2020

• SpiceJet has started dedicated freighter services connecting Leh with the rest of the country.
• This is the first time a civil airliner has commenced freighter services to Leh.