GK Nation

--- France

The last referendum in France was in 2005 when voters were asked to back the creation of a European constitution.

--- Uzbekistan

India, Iran and Uzbekistan on Monday discussed the joint use of Chabahar port to enhance regional connectivity as the three countries held their first trilateral meeting focused on the strategic trade and transit facility in the Gulf of Oman.

--- Sudan

--- Indonesia

The first country in Southeast Asia to receive the vaccine, Indonesia will administer it to those between 18 and 59 years of age. Health workers on the islands of Java and Bali will receive the 1.2 million doses of China?s Sinovac Biotech Ltd vaccine

--- Singapore

Johnson intends to invite the leaders of India, Australia and South Korea to the 2021 summit of the Group of Seven nations, which Britain is hosting. For Johnson, it's an early occasion to show that, even without the umbrella of the European Union, post-Brexit Britain can still be a global player, in this instance, by working with a group of like-minded democracies to advance shared interests and tackle common challenges.

--- Pramila Jayapal

Indian-American Congresswoman, Pramila Jayapal, has been elected as the chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC), making her one of the most powerful US lawmakers in the 117th Congress.

--- Morocco

It is the subject of a dispute between Morocco and the Algeria-backed Polisario Front, which has been seeking to establish an independent state. Morocco is the fourth state to make such a deal with Israel since August. Agreements have also been struck recently with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan. Along with Egypt and Jordan, Morocco becomes the sixth Arab League member to normalise ties with Israel.

--- China

The joint air force exercise began at the operational air base of Pakistan Air Force in Sindh province.

--- Both Joe Biden and Kamala Harris

--- Boeing 737 Max

The Boeing plane was grounded globally in March 2019, shortly after a 737 Max crashed in Ethiopia. A prior crash in Indonesia involving the model occurred in October 2018. In all, 346 people died.

--- USA

The US has blocked some Chinese cotton imports amid allegations of forced labor. The Trump administration has imposed a ban on imports of cotton products manufactured by a Chinese state-controlled firm because of its reliance on the forced labor of detained ethnic minorities.

--- Shanghai

During Covid pandemic Shanghai has replaced London to become the most connected city. The top four most connected cities are from China namely Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Chendu, further followed by Chicago, Shenzen, Los Angeles, London, Dallas, Atlanta

--- Vice president M Venkaiah Naidu

The council of heads of government is the second highest body of SCO and is responsible for handling the grouping?s trade and economic agenda and approving its annual budget. This is the first time India is hosting a meeting of the body since it was admitted to the eight-member grouping in 2017.

--- John Kerry

John Kerry, one of the leading architects of the Paris climate agreement, is getting one more chance to lead the fight against climate change after President-elect Joe Biden named the longtime senator and former secretary of state as climate envoy for national security.

--- Boko Haram

Suspected Boko Haram insurgents reportedly killed at least 70 civilians, many of them farmers working on a rice field. The UN has described the incident as the most violent direct attack against civilians this year, and called for the perpetrators to be brought to justice. Boko Haram and its splinter faction, Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), have continued to attack civilian, humanitarian, and military targets this year, reportedly killing at least 363 civilians between January and September.

--- Neera Tandon

Neera Tanden would make history as the first woman of color to head the Office of Management and Budget, but she's also been an outspoken partisan warrior, and that could complicate her confirmation process, especially if Republicans maintain control of the Senate

--- UAE

Other than Pakistan, visa has been suspended for Iran, Afghanistan, Syria, Turkey, Somalia, Libya, Yemen, Algeria, Iraq, Lebanon, Kenya and Tunisia

--- Venezuela

Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza has ratified his country's formal request to join the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

--- African American

Gregory was one of 13 men -- and the only American -- elevated to the College of Cardinals in this year's ceremony. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, two of the bishops were not in Rome for the ceremony, another first in church history.

--- Quarantine

Quarantine was one of the most searched word. It was followed by Lockdown, Pandemic and others

--- Scotland

The Scottish parliament passed a landmark legislation that has made period products such as sanitary pads and tampons free of cost to those people who need them. The bill is titled, "Period Products (Free Provision) (Scotland) Bill" and was passed unanimously by the Scottish Parliament on November 24, making Scotland the first country to take such a step.

--- Russia

The Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation has announced that Admiral Gorshkov frigate test fired Tsirkon hypersonic cruise missile. The firing was conducted as part of the new weapons testing. It was carried out from the White Sea towards a complex naval target position in the Barents Sea. The anti-ship missile successfully hit the target located at 450km distance away at sea, as per the objective control data. The flight speed of the rocket was over 8 Mach.

--- 25th Nov

International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women celebrated on 25 November. This day is proclaimed by United Nations.

--- USA

The United States has formally withdrawn from the Treaty on Open Skies, an agreement which allowing the 34 participating nations to observe one another's militaries.

--- Chang'e 5

Chang'e 5 will be China's first sample return mission, aiming to return at least 2 kilograms (4.4 pounds) of lunar soil and rock samples back to the Earth. Like its predecessors, the spacecraft is named after the Chinese Moon goddess, Chang'e. This is something that hasn't been done since the Soviet Union's Luna 24 mission in 1976.

--- RBI India

RBI tops the list among all the central banks of the world, it is followed by US Federal Reserve and European Central Bank

--- Japan

--- UK

The UK will become the first nation within the G7 to ban the sale of petrol and diesel vehicles. Target for the UK is to become carbon neutral by 2050.

--- India

India has become the 4th country in the world to have its independent regional navigation satellite system recognized by the International Maritime Organization as a part of the World Wide Radio Navigation System. The other three countries are US, Russia and China.

--- Moldova

This will be the first time that India will be hosting a FIFA women's football tournament.

--- Pentagon chief

Joe Biden is expected to make history by appointing a woman to head the Pentagon for the first time

--- UAE

UAE has approved a "golden visa grant" allowing 10-year residency for certain professions including specialised degree-holders and others. This is an expansion of the scheme that was first brought in 2019

--- Peru

The elected President was impeached, the next one resigned in 5 days due to public protest.

--- Azerbaijan

The 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is a war between Azerbaijan, supported by Turkey, and the self-proclaimed Republic of Artsakh together with Armenia, in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

--- Ethiopia

The Tigray conflict is an ongoing armed conflict that began in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia, between the Tigray Region special forces and the Ethiopian National Defense Force.

--- Kosovo

The president of Kosovo, former commander of the Kosovo Liberation Army, during Kosovo's fight for independence against Serbia, Hashim Thaci, 52, said that he was stepping down to protect the office of the presidency.
Mr. Thaci was indicted in June by the special court in The Hague on 10 counts of war crimes. Prosecutors accused him and other former independence fighters of being criminally responsible for nearly 100 murders.

--- Bengal Basin

This has made the Bengal basin India's eighth producing basin, joining the ranks of Krishna-Godavari (KG), Mumbai Offshore, Assam Shelf, Rajasthan, Cauvery, Assam-Arakan Fold Belt and Cambay.

--- Saksham

The first one was Sujeet followed by Sachet, Sajag, Sarthak and the last one is Saksham

--- DRDO Hyderabad

The state-of-the-art HWT test facility is a pressure vacuum driven enclosed free jet facility having nozzle exit diameter of one metre and will simulate Mach No. 5 to 12 speeds. India is the third country after the United States and Russia to have such a large facility in terms of size and operating capability. It is an indigenous development and the facility has the capability to simulate hypersonic flow over a wide spectrum and will play a major role in the realisation of highly complex futuristic aerospace and defence systems.

--- Ethanol

Ethanol is a biofuel and a common by-product of biomass left by agricultural feedstock such as corn, sugarcane, hemp, potato, etc.?The current permissible level of blending is 10% of ethanol though India reached only 5.6% of blending in 2019.

--- Noida International Airpor

--- 19-Dec

Dec 18, 1961, the Indian government put into action Operation Vijay ? the process to annex Goa into the Indian Republic. A 36-hour battle saw Goa liberated from the yoke of a 450-year-long colonial rule. On Dec 19, Portuguese forces surrendered unconditionally

--- Aligargh Muslim University

AMU became a University in 1920, through an Act of Indian Legislative Council by elevating the Mohammedan Anglo Oriental (MAO) College to the status of a Central University. MAO College was set up in 1877 by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan. The University campus is located in the city of Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh. It also has three off-campus centres in Malappuram (Kerala), Murshidabad-Jangipur (West Bengal) and Kishanganj (Bihar).

--- Brand India

This move is being piloted by the Piyush Goyal-led commerce and industry ministry, and is based on similar policies in other countries, including the US, Switzerland, Germany and France, which regulate claims made to goods produced in their jurisdiction.

--- Red Fort, Delhi

--- Boris Johnson

Johnson becomes the second UK prime minister to attend the event after John Major in 1993

PM WANI (Prime Minister Wi-Fi Access Network Interface) aims to bring large scale deployment of Wi-Fi hotspots through the country to drive up connectivity options and improve digital access.

--- Contributing to Atmanirbhar Bharat

The theme of PBD 2021 is "Contributing to Atmanirbhar Bharat". PravasiBharatiya Divas Convention is the flagship event of the Government of India and provides an important platform to engage and connect with the overseas diaspora.

--- Jehan Daruvala

--- Odisha

--- Tata Projects Limited

For the final round Tata Projects, Shapoorji Pallanji Group and L&T were shortlisted. The cost of the project is close to Rs 900 Cr

--- Tamilnadu

Tamil Nadu performed a whooping 295 transplantations out of which 76 were lung transplants performed mostly on patients who suffered acute forms of COVID.

--- Andaman and Nicobar

India testfired the anti-ship version of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands territory. The test is part of the trials being conducted by the Indian Navy. BrahMos is the fastest cruise missile in its class, BrahMos has a speed of 2.8 Mach or almost three times the speed of sound.

--- TTD (Tirupati Tirumala Devsthanam) Trust

--- Chandigarh

The Museum of Trees was inaugurated to commemorate the 551st birth anniversary celebrations of first Sikh Guru, Guru Nanak Dev, on November 30. Conceived and curated by former IAS officer and author DS Jaspal, the Museum of Trees nessled near the Chandigarh Railway Station comprises a sacred grove created out of genetic clones of 12 sacred trees associated with the Sikh religion. The naming of sacred Sikh shrines after trees is unique to the religion. As many as 59 Sikh shrines are named after 19 such trees.

--- Central Reserve Police force (CPRF)

The paramilitary force has joined hands with the Organ Retrieval Banking Organisation (ORBO) at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi for an organ donation campaign -'e-sanjeevani'. The campaign which started on the eve of this year's Independence Day culminated on the National Organs Donation Day. In a short span of time, the campaign garnered pledges from more than 80,000 personnel and their family members.

--- Prayagraj Express

The Prayagraj Express became the fastest train with 24 coaches operated by the Indian Railways, clocking a speed of 130 kmph.

--- Ministry of Earth Science

The Ministry of Earth Sciences launched ''Deep Ocean Mission'' that envisages exploration of minerals, energy and marine diversity of the underwater world.

--- Indian Railways

The new HRMS system is a high thrust project for the Indian Railways to leverage improved productivity and employee satisfaction. Indian Railway has launched a completely digitised online Human Resource Management System (HRMS). Railway Board Chairman and CEO Vinod Kumar Yadav launched the system for railway employees and pensioners

--- Lucknow

Lucknow University is all set to become the third varsity in the country, to be issued with a commemorative ?100 coin on its centenary year, after Mysore University and Banaras Hindu University. The coin is to be released by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, through a virtual channel to mark the university's Foundation Day celebrations on November 25. The PM will also release a coffee table book and stamp on the occasion.

--- Jallikattu

Malayalam film 'Jallikattu' has been chosen as India's Official Entry film for the Best Foreign Language Film category at the 93rd Academy Awards.

--- Guru Tegh Bahadur

Every year, November 24 is celebrated as Martyrdom Day (Shaheedi Diwas) of Guru Tegh Bahadur, the ninth Guru of Sikhs of Sikh religion.

--- Tripura

Vigyan Prasar in collaboration with Tripura State Council for Science & Technology, Govt. of Tripura announced the 10th National Science Film Festival of India 2020 (online).

--- Honey

Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar launched five Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) for producing honey which will be set up with the help of NAFED in East Champaran (Bihar), Morena (Madhya Pradesh), Bharatpur (Rajasthan), Mathura (Uttar Pradesh) and Sunderbans (West Bengal).

--- Andaman and Nicobar

--- 4th Sunday of November.

This year it was on 22nd November.The National Cadet Corps is the youth wing of Armed Forces with its headquarters at New Delhi, Delhi, India. It is open to school and college students on voluntary basis. National Cadet Corps is a Tri-Services Organisation, comprising the Army, Navy and Air Wing, engaged in grooming the youth of the country into disciplined and patriotic citizens.

--- Anti Submarine Torpedo

The first Varunastra was flagged off by by Dr G Satheesh Reddy, Sec Dept of Def R&D at BDL The Varunastra is an Indian advanced heavyweight anti-submarine torpedo, developed by Naval Science and Technological Laboratory (NSTL) of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) for the Indian Navy. It is named after a legendary weapon created by the Hindu god of the oceans, Varuna.

--- Maharashtra

Maharashtra topped with 28%, followed by Karnataka (19%), Delhi (16%) and Gujrat(10%)

--- Karnataka

Mahadevappa Mailara was from Haveri and Ministry of Home Affairs have given no objection to State Government's request to rename the station.

--- Textile

The campaign has been launched to promote Indian handicrafts which is not just cultural heritage of India but also to enhance the source of livelihood of a vast section of population

--- Nivar

Cyclone Nivar is expected to intensify into a cyclonic storm and very likely to move northwestwards and cross Tamil Nadu and Puducherry coasts between Karaikal and Mamallapuram around Puducherry during November 25 evening as a severe cyclonic storm with a wind speed of 100-110 kmph gusting to 120 kmph.

--- Arunachal Pradesh.

Arunachal Pradesh with sex-ratio of 1084 is followed by Nagaland, Mizoram, Kerala. The worst is Manipur (757) followed by Lakshdweep, Daman and Diu and Punjab

--- Sonu Sood

Sonu Sood was born in Moga district of Punjab and was in spotlight for his yeoman?s work in helping migrants reach their homes during the coronavirus-triggered lockdown. He arranged transport for migrant labourers stuck in different corners of the country to their homes and his humanitarian work has been widely appreciated by everyone.

--- Supreme Court

--- Odisha

The Portal and the Online Services will be helpful in Ease of Doing Business and contribute significantly to industrial development of the State.

--- Tamilnadu

The clinics, which would store medicine and minor surgical equipment, are located in areas where poor people live in large numbers and those without Primary Health Centres (PHCs).

--- Andhra Pradesh

With the launch Rs 1,252 crore was credited into the bank accounts of 9.48 lakh farmers who have lost their crops during 2019.

--- UP

The complex, located in Ghaziabad district's Indirapuram area, has facilities to accommodate 280 pilgrims and will provide them information related to the pilgrimage. It?has been made for pilgrims who wish to travel to Kailash Mansarovar, Sindhu darshan, Kedarnath, Badrinath, Gangotri and Yamnotri darshan in Uttarakhand.

--- Telengana

Justice Hima Kohli, who is currently working as a judge in Delhi High Court has been recommended as the CJ for Telangana HC by the Supreme Court collegium. She has also been instrumental in passing directions to increase labs to conduct more COVID-19 tests in Delhi and to decrease the wait period for test results from three days to one day.

--- Assam

All government-run madrasas would be converted to high schools and new admissions would be held for existing students as regular ones. The infrastructure of Sanskrit tols would be used to convert them to centres of learning and research where Indian culture, civilisation and nationalism would be studied.

--- Jammu and Kashmir

The floating boats which serve as ambulances are equipped with all the necessary health care facilities and will start their operations on Dal Lake soon.

--- Uttar Pradesh

Uttar Pradesh government will launch a special program to double the income of farmers. The program named as Kisan Kalyan Mission will cover all assembly constituencies of the state.

--- Bihar

--- Assam

Anthrax is a highly infectious and fatal disease that primarily infects herbivorous animals and causes high fever, shivering, ulcers and swellings. Fearing an outbreak of the disease in the region, the forest department had started a vaccination drive last week, covering a 5-km radius at Namsang in Joypur reserve forest. The forest department has also prohibited fishing in the forest as a precautionary measure.

--- Shakti Act

The bill contains provisions of severe punishments including the death penalty, life sentence, and fine up to Rs 10 lakh on perpetrators of violence, faster investigations and quicker disposal of cases.

The project, targeted to be completed by December 2022, envisages providing mobile coverage to 2,374 uncovered villages (1,683 in Arunachal Pradesh and 691 in Karbi Anglong and Dima Hasao districts of Assam) at an estimated cost of implementation about Rs 2,029 crore including operational expenses for five years.

--- Odisha

Odisha has topped the Urban Governance Index in the country as per a report released by the Praja Foundation. Odisha with 56.86% score ranked first the list followed by Maharashtra (55.15%), Chhattisgarh (49.68%), Kerala (48.77%) and Madhya Pradesh (45.94%).

--- Lakshwadeep

After Sikkim, Lakshadweep is the first Union Territory to become 100 per cent organic as all farming is carried out without the use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, providing access to safer food choices and making agriculture a more environment-friendly activity. The ministry of agriculture has declared the island as organic. In January 2016, Sikkim became India's first "100 percent organic" State.

--- Andhra Pradesh

Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Thursday launched "Jagananna Jeeva Kranthi" scheme to distribute 2,49,151 sheep and goat units to the beneficiaries of YSR Cheyutha and YSR Aasara. A total 1,869 crore is being spent for the purpose.

--- West Bengal

West Bengal cabinet has approved construction of state's first deep sea port in Tajpur costing 15000 crores generating emplyment to 25000 people.

--- Eluru

Andhra Pradesh Health Department officials investigating the mystery illness that has affected more than 550 people in Eluru have said that excessive use of bleaching powder and chlorine, as part of Covid-19 sanitation measures, may have caused the water contamination that made people take ill.

--- All of the them.

The conference, organised by Unicef aims to facilitate knowledge exchange and action on WASH-related issues, particularly in context of Covid-19 pandemic.

--- Uttar Pradesh

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday launched a mobile application that gives users the locations of free COVID test centres within a radius of five kilometres in the state.

--- West Bengal

The West Bengal government, in order to make wearing helmets mandatory and followed by commuters strictly, has introduced 'No helmet, no fuel' rule for two-wheeler drivers. The 'no helmet no petrol' rule will continue for 60 days.

--- Goa

The Goa government will install the life-size statue of late Argentine football legend Diego Maradona in the coastal belt of North district by early next year.

--- Haridwar-Allahabad

The Uttar Pradesh government approved an ambitious 594-km Ganga Expressway project running along the river from Haridwar to Allahabad.

--- Assam

India's first cow hospital is inaugurated in Assam, on the occasion of Gopashtami. The hospital, Surbhi Aarogyashala, is set up by Shree Gopal Gaushala.

--- Tamilnadu

--- Thee

This mobile app called Thee (Fire), developed by the State Fire and Rescue Services Department, to help the public approach the department during fire accidents, floods, mishaps due to borewells, rescuing wild animals, leakage of chemical and poisonous gas and other emergency needs. This is a first-of-its-kind initiative in the country.

--- Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh government launched "Abhayam" mobile application which helps women and children travelling in taxis and auto rickshaws to raise an alarm in case of any emergency.

--- Karnataka

The Vijayanagara district will be carved out of Bellary district, including Hampi which was capital of Vijayanagara kingdom. Of the 11 taluks of Bellari 6 will go to Vijayanagara and Hospet will be the HQ

--- "Duare Duare Paschim Banga Sarkar" (West Bengal government at every doorstep)

Under the "Duare Duare Paschim Banga Sarkar" (West Bengal government at every doorstep) scheme, the administration will set up camps in blocks, from which officials will redress grievances of people

--- Himachal Pradesh

To provide complete range of health care services for people living in remote and inaccessible areas of Himachal Pradesh, the state government flagged off Medical Mobile Unit Jeevan Dhara, from the Ridge in Shimla.

--- Kerala

The Kerala government on November 23, 2020 decided to put on hold an ordinance that seeks to make abusive or defamatory content punishable with imprisonment up to 3 years.

--- UP

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched 'Har Ghar Nal Yojna' (tap water to every household), for Sonbhadra and Mirzapur in Vindhya region of Uttar Pradesh via video conference.

--- Harayana

Har Ghar Lakshmi' is an awareness campaign of Haryana Police launched on the occasion of Diwali, aiming that the women in our homes symbolize goddess lakshmi and taking proper care of women can bring happiness and prosperity in our lives.

--- West Bengal

The West Bengal Forest Department set up anti-electrocution cells that will identify sagging high-tension electrical lines and monitor illegal electric fences to prevent deaths of elephants in the north districts.

--- Karnataka

The Coastal Security Police conceptualized the app and developed it for the Department of Fisheries. It was launched by the Karnataka's Minister for Fisheries, Inland Transport Department.

--- Tarkishore Prasad and Renu Devi

Nitish Kumar is back as Bihar chief minister for a record seventh.The BJP has dropped as Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi, a veteran leader. The party has handpicked two of its MLAs Tarkishore Prasad and Renu Devi for the Deputy CM's post.

--- Maharastra

In Maharashtra, the first solar power-enabled Textile Mill in Asia is coming up in Parbhani district

--- Manipur

Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh launched the Oil Palm Project. This initiative is to provide an alternative to replace Jhum and poppy cultivations in the state.

--- Madhya Pradesh

BJP-led government in the state plans to table a legislation in the forthcoming winter session of the Assembly making love jihad, a cognizable and non-bailable offence.

--- Nagaland

The blockade has been jointly called by the unions based in Nagaland's Dimapur and Assam's Karbi Anglong. Their demand is safety of transporters and ex-gratia for the family of an Assam-based trucker who was shot dead by miscreants in Sept 2020

--- Haryana

The Haryana Assembly passed a Bill Thursday to reserve 75 per cent of private sector jobs in the state for residents of Haryana amid objections from the Opposition
Once it becomes law, the Haryana State Employment of Local Candidates Bill, 2020 - it was a promise made by the JJP before the 2019 state elections - will apply to companies, societies, trusts, limited liability partnership firms, partnership firms etc. located across the state.

--- MP

--- India-Bangladesh

The road remains functional on the Indian side while it will be connected through Mujibnagar, Meherpur district in Bangladesh.

--- cinemaSCOpe

The Embassy of India in Beijing on launched the movie series "cinemaSCOpe" exclusive for the SCO family in which the embassy will be screening more than two dozen Indian movies dubbed in Russian language, on a monthly basis beginning with the movie 'Three Idiots' till India's chairmanship of the SCO 'Council of Heads of State' meeting in 2023.

--- Uzbekistan

As part of India's efforts to further expand the coastal radar chain network meant to enable real-time monitoring of the high seas for threats, in addition to Mauritius, Seychelles and Sri Lanka, plans are in pipeline for?Maldives and Myanmar to be integrated into the country?s coastal radar chain network and discussions are ongoing with Bangladesh and Thailand.

--- Uzbekistan

India, Iran and Uzbekistan on Monday discussed the joint use of Chabahar port to enhance regional connectivity as the three countries held their first trilateral meeting focused on the strategic trade and transit facility in the Gulf of Oman.

--- Singapore

Johnson intends to invite the leaders of India, Australia and South Korea to the 2021 summit of the Group of Seven nations, which Britain is hosting. For Johnson, it's an early occasion to show that, even without the umbrella of the European Union, post-Brexit Britain can still be a global player, in this instance, by working with a group of like-minded democracies to advance shared interests and tackle common challenges.

--- Bangladesh

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina? launched the fifth rail link connecting both nations during a virtual bilateral summit.?The 10.5 km long rail link connecting Haldibari in West Bengal to Chilahati in Bangladesh is expected to further strengthen people to people contact and boost trade between the two neighbours.

--- USA

The helicopters, with anti-surface anti-submarine warfare and search and rescue missions capabilities, will prove to be a very potent weapon against the rising Chinese presence in the Indian Ocean region. The choppers ???will be armed with Hellfire missiles, precision kill weapon system and MK 54 torpedoes. India will buy 24 MH-60 Romeo helicopters from Lockheed Martin for the Indian Navy for USD 2.6 billion. The deal was signed between India and USA during Donald Trump's maiden visit to India.

Oman, India's oldest strategic partner in West Asia, has announced to establish Oman-India Friendship Association, in what would be the first such initiative in West Asia led by the Foreign Ministry.

--- Russia

The Indian Navy (IN) has undertaken a Passage Exercise (PASSEX) with Russian Federation Navy (RuFN) in the Eastern Indian Ocean Region (IOR) from 4 to 5 December 2020. The exercise involves participation of RuFN guided missile cruiser Varyag, large anti-submarine ship Admiral Panteleyev and medium ocean tanker Pechenga. IN is being represented by indigenously constructed guided missile frigate Shivalik and anti-submarine corvette Kadmatt along with integral helicopters.

--- Vietnam

--- Venezuela

Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza has ratified his country's formal request to join the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

--- Israel

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu committed partnership with India for lowering carbon and pollution level in future.

--- Afghanistan

India has signed an agreement with Afghanistan for the construction of the Shatoot dam, which would provide safe drinking water to two million residents of Kabul city.

--- Thailand-Singapore

The second edition of SITMEX-20 trilateral Naval exercise was held between the India, Thailand and Singapore in Andaman Sea.

--- India

PM Modi Announced $1 Million Aid For Covid-19 ASEAN Response Fund to 10 ASEAN countries while adressing at 17th ASEAN-India Summit.

--- 3 Gold Medals

India won 3 gold medals (by Manisha Moun, Amit Panghal, and Simranjit Kaur), 2 Silver and 4 Bronze medals in the Boxing World Cup held in Cologne, Germany

Lewis Hamilton, who last month equalled Michael Schumacher's record of seven F1 titles, overcame Jordan Henderson and Hollie Doyle and other three members of the six-person shortlist namely boxer Tyson Fury, snooker player Ronnie O'Sullivan, and cricketer Stuart Broad.

--- Mohammad Amir

Alleging mental torture from Pakistan Cricket Board, fast bowler Mohammad Amir has announced he will not be playing international cricket anymore.

A pilot championship of traditional yogasana by the name of "National Individual Yogasana Sports Championship" (virtual mode) is proposed to be organised in February 2021.

She is the first defender to win the award

--- Anshu Malik

--- Robert Lewandowski

Poland and FC Bayern M?nchen striker Lewandowski was named The Best FIFA Men's Player for the first time in his career.

--- Mallakhamba

Kalaripayattu?has its origin from Kerala and has practitioners all over the world;? Mallakhamba,?meanwhile, has been well-known across India and Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra;?Gatka?originates from the State of Punjab and this traditional fighting style of the Nihang Sikh Warriors is used both as self-defense as well as a sport;?Thang-Ta,?a Manipur marital art has passed into oblivion in the recent decades, but the sport will get national recognition again with the help of the Khelo India Youth Games 2021.

--- Rourkela

The 2023 Men's Hockey World Cup will be held in Bhubaneswar and steel city of Rourkela, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik announced here on Wednesday. India will host the Men's Hockey World Cup for the second consecutive time after the country was picked to stage the game's showpiece event in 2023 by the International Hockey Federation (FIH).

--- New Zealand

--- Max Verstappen

Max Verstappen is part of Red Bull F1 team

--- Break Dance

Break dancing will make its debut in the Olympics at the Paris games in 2024 after the International Olympic Committee made the move official.

--- Madagascar

Madagascar replaces Maldives to host the Indian Ocean Island Games 2023. Maldives requested the organisers to push back the tournament from 2023 to 2025; however, the organizers decided to prevent the gap of 6 years between the editions of the games.

--- Yulimar Rojas

Yulimar Rojas who broke the world indoor triple jump record with a leap of 15.43m, finished the shortened 2020 season undefeated in four triple jump competitions indoors and outdoors. She was delighted and surprised by the award that saw her picked ahead of Letesenbet Gidey of Ethiopia, Peres Jepchirchir of Kenya, Jamaica's Olympic champion sprinter Elaine Thompson-Herah, and Dutch long-distance star Sifan Hassan.

--- Mondo Duplantis

At 20, the Swedish Pole-vaulter Duplantis is the youngest ever winner of the Male Athlete of the Year Award after twice breaking the absolute world record (6.17m and 6.18m) in February 2020 before producing the highest outdoor vault in history (6.15m) in September 2020 The other male finalists included distance world record holder Joshua Cheptegei of Uganda, Norway's Karsten Warholm, Germany's Johannes Vetter and Ryan Crouser of the USA.

--- Anju Bobby George

Anju Bobby George the revealed that she reached the pinnacle of her career with just one kidney. She is India's first and only World Champion in Athletics IAAF World Athletics Final

--- Parthiv Patel

Parthiv Ajay Patel was wicketkeeper batsman (left handed). He played last test match for India in 2018.

--- Jehan Daruvala

--- Golden Baby League

--- France

--- Belgium

Belgium is followed by France, Brazil, England, Portugal, Spain, Argentina and Uruguay

--- Goa

The Goa government will install the life-size statue of late Argentine football legend Diego Maradona in the coastal belt of North district by early next year.

--- Surech Raina

Former Indian cricketer Suresh Raina is planning to set up a cricket academy soon in Jammu and Kashmir. The Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha of the union territory signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Jammu and Kashmir Sports Council with cricketer Suresh Raina to set up the Academy.

--- Greg Barclay

New Zealand's Greg Barclay was elected as the new independent chairman of the International Cricket Council (ICC) after a second round of voting. He succeeds India's Shashank Manohar who stepped down earlier this year.

--- Virat Kohli

India skipper Virat Kohli and spinner Ravichandran Ashwin have been nominated for the ICC Player of the Decade Award.

--- Erling Haaland

Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland has won the2020 Golden Boy award?after an impressive start at the Bundesliga club

--- India

This will be the first time that India will be hosting a FIFA women's football tournament.

--- Rafael Nadal

Nadal's Paris Masters opening-match win over compatriot Feliciano Lopez makes him the fourth man in the Open Era (since 1968) with at least 1,000 ATP tour-level victories, after Jimmy Connors (1,274), Federer (1,242) and Ivan Lendl (1,068).

--- N501Y

There are fears that the new strain in the UK is spreading much faster after almost two-third of the infections found in UK were of the new strain. Earlier, from September to November, only half the new cases in the areas belonged to the new strain.

--- DRDO Hyderabad

The state-of-the-art HWT test facility is a pressure vacuum driven enclosed free jet facility having nozzle exit diameter of one metre and will simulate Mach No. 5 to 12 speeds. India is the third country after the United States and Russia to have such a large facility in terms of size and operating capability. It is an indigenous development and the facility has the capability to simulate hypersonic flow over a wide spectrum and will play a major role in the realisation of highly complex futuristic aerospace and defence systems.

--- Jupiter and Venus

The planets regularly?align in the sky about once every 20 years. However, this year the conjunction is special as it's been nearly 400 years since the planets passed this close to each other in the sky, and nearly 800 years since it?occurred at night.

--- Ramanujan

--- Russia

The Angara A5 is the most powerful new Russian launcher since the 1980s, and is designed to replace the Proton M rocket to carry the country?s heaviest payloads into orbit. But the program is years behind schedule, and despite a successful inaugural test flight in 2014, it took six years to launch a second Angara A5 rocket.

--- Carolina Araujo

The Ramanujan Prize for Young Mathematicians 2020 has been awarded to Carolina Araujo, Mathematician from the Institute for Pure and Applied Mathematics (IMPA), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in a virtual ceremony on December 9, 2020

--- India

The novel mRNA vaccine candidate, HGCO19 has been developed by Gennova, Pune and supported with seed grant under the Ind-CEPI mission of Department of Biotechnology of Ministry of Science & Technology.

--- Asteroid

Japan's Hayabusa2 mission has brought back rock samples from Asteroid Ryugu, a dark, carbon-rich rock a bit more than half a mile wide. Japan?s space agency concluded a six-year, 3.25 billion-mile journey of discovery that aims to shed light on the earliest eons of the solar system and possibly provide clues about the origins of life on Earth.

--- SpaceX

A SpaceX Dragon cargo ship arrived at the International Space Station on 7 Dec 2020 to deliver vital supplies for NASA and try autonomous docking with ISS -parking itself without the help of astronauts.

--- Pixxel

India's first private satellite-imaging company, Pixxel has entered into an agreement with NewSpace India Limited (NSIL), a Central Public Sector Enterprise of Government of India and the commercial arm of ISRO, to launch Pixxel’s first remote-sensing satellite on an ISRO PSLV rocket in early 2021. This first-of-a-kind private earth-observation mission will help provide solutions to many pressing environmental and agricultural issues

--- China

Chinese scientists claim to have created the world's first light-based quantum computer which can solve problems far faster than a classical supercomputer, an advance hailed by experts as a "major achievement" that provides a fundamentally different approach to designing such powerful machines.

--- Blue Origin

Jeff Bezos' space company Blue Origin will take the first woman to the moon's surface, the billionaire said as NASA nears a decision to pick its first privately built lunar landers capable of sending astronauts to the moon by 2024. "This (BE-7) is the engine that will take the first woman to the surface of the Moon," Bezos said in a post on Instagram with a video of the engine test.

--- IIT Delhi

IIT Delhi startup named Nanosafe Solutions come up with patented active copper (AqCureTM) infused zero alcohol sanitizer.

--- Meghalaya

This mysterious new bioluminescent mushroom glows in the forests of Meghalaya.

--- Chang'e 5

Chang'e 5 will be China's first sample return mission, aiming to return at least 2 kilograms (4.4 pounds) of lunar soil and rock samples back to the Earth. Like its predecessors, the spacecraft is named after the Chinese Moon goddess, Chang'e. This is something that hasn't been done since the Soviet Union's Luna 24 mission in 1976.

--- IIT Kharagpur

Eco-friendly food packaging developed by researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur. According to the team of researchers, cucumber peels have greater cellulose content than other peel waste. Cellulose nanocrystals derived from these peels can be used for making food packaging material which is biodegradable and has low oxygen permeability.

--- NDB (New Development Bank)

This will be done by supporting expenditures on rural infrastructure related to natural resource management (NRM) and rural employment generation under the government of India's Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS).

S&P Global Ratings has raised India's GDP growth projection for the FY21 to -7.7 percent from - 9 percent estimated earlier.

--- BSE

The platform functions as a national level, institutionalised, electronic, transparent commodity spot trading platform facilitating?spot agricultural commodities transactions across value chain consisting of producers, intermediaries, ancillary services and consumers. The platform has commence dbeta operations effective from December 11, 2020.

--- Jaipur

The functions of the ABPC will also include processing of banknotes received from currency chests (CCs) and bank branches, and destruction of soiled banknotes in an automated manner.?ABPC is also expected to provide for storage and dispatch of fresh banknotes and storage and processing of soiled banknotes to/from the identified CCs/bank branches covering the jurisdiction of the states being catered.

--- HDFC Bank

Subsidiary General Ledger (SGL) contains details of all transactions happening in a bank, and a certain threshold of balance should be always present there. According to the notifications issued by RBI, this penalty was imposed on HDFC Bank as they failed to maintain minimum capital required in SGL, which resulted in bouncing of SGL.

--- ICICI Bank

--- Karad Janata Sahakari Bank

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has cancelled the licence of the Karad Janata Sahakari Bank Ltd, Karad, Maharashtra. The reason cited the absence of adequate capital and earning prospects as the reason behind the cancellation

--- TTD (Tirupati Tirumala Devsthanam) Trust

--- Maharashtra

Maharashtra topped with 28%, followed by Karnataka (19%), Delhi (16%) and Gujrat(10%)

--- RBI India

RBI tops the list among all the central banks of the world, it is followed by US Federal Reserve and European Central Bank

--- DBS Bank

The Reserve Bank has proposed merging Lakshmi Vilas Bank (LVB) with DBS Bank India Ltd (DBIL). DBIL will inject Rs 2,500 crore into the merged entity to support its financial position.

--- -10.30%

Goldman Sachs revised upwards its FY21 growth forecast for India to a 10.3% contraction, from -14.8% it had projected in September, according to a report.

--- IMF

--- Saksham

The first one was Sujeet followed by Sachet, Sajag, Sarthak and the last one is Saksham

The FICs delivered to the Coast Guard are 90-tonne vessels that can patrol the coastline at a scorching speed of 45 knots (83 kilometres per hour). L&T has built the 54 vessels for just under Rs 1,500 crore.

--- Uzbekistan

As part of India's efforts to further expand the coastal radar chain network meant to enable real-time monitoring of the high seas for threats, in addition to Mauritius, Seychelles and Sri Lanka, plans are in pipeline for?Maldives and Myanmar to be integrated into the country?s coastal radar chain network and discussions are ongoing with Bangladesh and Thailand.

The Nilgiri-class stealth frigate was launched into the waters of Hoogly River in the Indian state of West Bengal. The Project 17A programme will deliver a total of seven advanced frigates. It was approved by the Indian Government in February 2015 to enhance the Indian Navy?s combat capability. Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) will construct four Nilgiri-class frigates while GRSE will build the remaining three. The project is worth approximately Rs500bn ($7bn).

--- 1971 Victory over Pakistan

Vijay Diwas is observed annually on December 16, to commemorate India's historic victory over Pakistan in the 1971 war, which led to the liberation of East Pakistan and creation of Bangladesh.?

--- Indian Coast Guards

Two ships have been deployed at the major nesting sites of the turtles at Gahirmatha marine sanctuary, Rushikulya beach and Devi river mouth to prevent entry of fishing vessels into the prohibited zone. Besides, an aircraft has also been pressed into service to protect the turtles as part of the operation.?The ICG is working in coordination with the Forest department, fishery officials and marine police to keep watch on illegal fishing in the restricted zone.

--- China

The joint air force exercise began at the operational air base of Pakistan Air Force in Sindh province.

--- USA

The helicopters, with anti-surface anti-submarine warfare and search and rescue missions capabilities, will prove to be a very potent weapon against the rising Chinese presence in the Indian Ocean region. The choppers ???will be armed with Hellfire missiles, precision kill weapon system and MK 54 torpedoes. India will buy 24 MH-60 Romeo helicopters from Lockheed Martin for the Indian Navy for USD 2.6 billion. The deal was signed between India and USA during Donald Trump's maiden visit to India.

--- Russia

The Indian Navy (IN) has undertaken a Passage Exercise (PASSEX) with Russian Federation Navy (RuFN) in the Eastern Indian Ocean Region (IOR) from 4 to 5 December 2020. The exercise involves participation of RuFN guided missile cruiser Varyag, large anti-submarine ship Admiral Panteleyev and medium ocean tanker Pechenga. IN is being represented by indigenously constructed guided missile frigate Shivalik and anti-submarine corvette Kadmatt along with integral helicopters.

--- Vietnam

--- Andaman and Nicobar

India testfired the anti-ship version of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands territory. The test is part of the trials being conducted by the Indian Navy. BrahMos is the fastest cruise missile in its class, BrahMos has a speed of 2.8 Mach or almost three times the speed of sound.

--- Russia

The Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation has announced that Admiral Gorshkov frigate test fired Tsirkon hypersonic cruise missile. The firing was conducted as part of the new weapons testing. It was carried out from the White Sea towards a complex naval target position in the Barents Sea. The anti-ship missile successfully hit the target located at 450km distance away at sea, as per the objective control data. The flight speed of the rocket was over 8 Mach.

--- Thailand-Singapore

The second edition of SITMEX-20 trilateral Naval exercise was held between the India, Thailand and Singapore in Andaman Sea.

--- Andaman and Nicobar

--- USA

The United States has formally withdrawn from the Treaty on Open Skies, an agreement which allowing the 34 participating nations to observe one another's militaries.

--- Anti Submarine Torpedo

The first Varunastra was flagged off by by Dr G Satheesh Reddy, Sec Dept of Def R&D at BDL The Varunastra is an Indian advanced heavyweight anti-submarine torpedo, developed by Naval Science and Technological Laboratory (NSTL) of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) for the Indian Navy. It is named after a legendary weapon created by the Hindu god of the oceans, Varuna.

--- Thailand

The 30th edition of India-Thailand Coordinated Patrol (CORPAT) concluded in the Andaman Sea close to the strategic Strait of Malacca.

--- France

The second phase of the Malabar exercise is being conducted in the Northern Arabian Sea with the participation of Indian Navy aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya, the American aircraft carrier USS Nimitz along with other Indian, US, Australian warship HMAS Ballarat and Japanese destroyer JS Murasame.

--- USA

--- NDB (New Development Bank)

This will be done by supporting expenditures on rural infrastructure related to natural resource management (NRM) and rural employment generation under the government of India's Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS).

--- GPS

--- Andhra Pradesh

With the launch Rs 1,252 crore was credited into the bank accounts of 9.48 lakh farmers who have lost their crops during 2019.

--- Telengana

Monkeys that venture into human habitations would be caught in a phased manner, brought to the centre where they would be operated on for birth control and would be released into the forests again after the rehabilitation period.

--- Brand India

This move is being piloted by the Piyush Goyal-led commerce and industry ministry, and is based on similar policies in other countries, including the US, Switzerland, Germany and France, which regulate claims made to goods produced in their jurisdiction.

--- Uttar Pradesh

Uttar Pradesh government will launch a special program to double the income of farmers. The program named as Kisan Kalyan Mission will cover all assembly constituencies of the state.

--- Red Fort, Delhi

--- Bangladesh

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina? launched the fifth rail link connecting both nations during a virtual bilateral summit.?The 10.5 km long rail link connecting Haldibari in West Bengal to Chilahati in Bangladesh is expected to further strengthen people to people contact and boost trade between the two neighbours.

--- Gujrat

It will lead to the generation of renewable energy to the tune of 30 GW. Spread over 72,600 hectares of land, the park will have a dedicated hybrid park zone for wind and solar energy storage, as well as an exclusive zone for wind park activities.

PM WANI (Prime Minister Wi-Fi Access Network Interface) aims to bring large scale deployment of Wi-Fi hotspots through the country to drive up connectivity options and improve digital access.

--- Viability Gap Funding (VGF) scheme

As part of the Atmanirbhar Bharat Package, the Ministry of Finance notified a revamped or updated viability gap funding (VGF) scheme on December 11, with an outlay of???8,100 crore, under which, various?infrastructure projects will be selected for financial support. The move is aimed at driving private sector investment in social infrastructure. The Finance Ministry will administer the revamped central scheme,?and the outlay is up to the financial year 2024-25 to boost the public-private partnerships (PPPs) in?economic and social infrastructure.

The project, targeted to be completed by December 2022, envisages providing mobile coverage to 2,374 uncovered villages (1,683 in Arunachal Pradesh and 691 in Karbi Anglong and Dima Hasao districts of Assam) at an estimated cost of implementation about Rs 2,029 crore including operational expenses for five years.

--- Andhra Pradesh

Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Thursday launched "Jagananna Jeeva Kranthi" scheme to distribute 2,49,151 sheep and goat units to the beneficiaries of YSR Cheyutha and YSR Aasara. A total 1,869 crore is being spent for the purpose.

--- West Bengal

The West Bengal government, in order to make wearing helmets mandatory and followed by commuters strictly, has introduced 'No helmet, no fuel' rule for two-wheeler drivers. The 'no helmet no petrol' rule will continue for 60 days.

--- Ministry of Earth Science

The Ministry of Earth Sciences launched ''Deep Ocean Mission'' that envisages exploration of minerals, energy and marine diversity of the underwater world.

--- Haridwar-Allahabad

The Uttar Pradesh government approved an ambitious 594-km Ganga Expressway project running along the river from Haridwar to Allahabad.

--- Honey

Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar launched five Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) for producing honey which will be set up with the help of NAFED in East Champaran (Bihar), Morena (Madhya Pradesh), Bharatpur (Rajasthan), Mathura (Uttar Pradesh) and Sunderbans (West Bengal).

--- "Duare Duare Paschim Banga Sarkar" (West Bengal government at every doorstep)

Under the "Duare Duare Paschim Banga Sarkar" (West Bengal government at every doorstep) scheme, the administration will set up camps in blocks, from which officials will redress grievances of people

--- Himachal Pradesh

To provide complete range of health care services for people living in remote and inaccessible areas of Himachal Pradesh, the state government flagged off Medical Mobile Unit Jeevan Dhara, from the Ridge in Shimla.

--- Mastercard

MasterCard and USAID have collaborated under Women's Global Development and Prosperity Initiative (W-GDP) to launch 'Project Kirana' in India, to help women entrepreneurs grow and thrive.

--- Sewer tank cleaner

Hardeep Singh Puri launched SafaimitraSuraksha Challenge to ensure that no life of any sewer or septic tank cleaner is ever lost again owing to the issue of 'hazardous cleaning'.

--- UP

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched 'Har Ghar Nal Yojna' (tap water to every household), for Sonbhadra and Mirzapur in Vindhya region of Uttar Pradesh via video conference.

--- Harayana

Har Ghar Lakshmi' is an awareness campaign of Haryana Police launched on the occasion of Diwali, aiming that the women in our homes symbolize goddess lakshmi and taking proper care of women can bring happiness and prosperity in our lives.

--- Food Processing

Union Minister for Food Processing Industries Shri Narendra Singh Tomar virtually inaugurated the (PM-FME Scheme) and launched the GIS One District One Product (ODOP) digital map of India. Under the PM-FME scheme, states have identified the food products of districts, keeping in view the availability of existing clusters and raw materials. The GIS ODOP digital map of India provides details of ODOP products of all the states and facilitates the stakeholders. The digital map also has indicators for tribal, SC, ST, and aspirational districts. It will enable stakeholders to make concerted efforts for its value chain development.

--- NABARD

--- Madhya Pradesh

There are four distinct sub-populations of leopards in India with high genetic variations - leopards of the Western Ghats, the Deccan Plateau semi-arid region, the Shivalik mountains, and the Terai region in North India.

--- Western Distubance

--- Ethanol

Ethanol is a biofuel and a common by-product of biomass left by agricultural feedstock such as corn, sugarcane, hemp, potato, etc.?The current permissible level of blending is 10% of ethanol though India reached only 5.6% of blending in 2019.

--- France

The last referendum in France was in 2005 when voters were asked to back the creation of a European constitution.

--- Vidyut Mohan

Vidyut Mohan, an engineer, is the co-founder of "Takachar", a social enterprise enabling farmers to prevent open burning of their waste farm residues and earn extra income by converting them into value-added chemicals like activated carbon on-site.

--- Bhagalpur, Bihar

A 3-day Birds Festival was organised in Bihar's Bhagalpur for the first time by the Forest department in association with the Bombay Natural Historical Society and the Mandar Nature Club. The objectives behind holding the festival was to attract the people towards bird watching, making them aware about the importance of migratory and preserving the winged guests.

--- Ugliest

This orchid is found in a forest in Madagascar, it feeds on fungi. and has no leaves. Although assessed as a threatened species, the plants have some protection because they are located in a national park.

--- Telengana

Monkeys that venture into human habitations would be caught in a phased manner, brought to the centre where they would be operated on for birth control and would be released into the forests again after the rehabilitation period.

The park has acquired ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management Standards Certification? from ASCB, UK. HYM International Certifications Pvt Ltd Accredited by ASCB (UK) which recently conducted assessment of ISO 9001:2015 Certifications. The team conducted the audit in a phased manner and expressed satisfaction and happiness over the standards being followed in the park, particularly in the fields of sanitisation, food processing, animal breeding, zoo hospital, animal care, hygiene maintenance and establishment.

--- Gujrat

It will lead to the generation of renewable energy to the tune of 30 GW. Spread over 72,600 hectares of land, the park will have a dedicated hybrid park zone for wind and solar energy storage, as well as an exclusive zone for wind park activities.

--- Indian Coast Guards

Two ships have been deployed at the major nesting sites of the turtles at Gahirmatha marine sanctuary, Rushikulya beach and Devi river mouth to prevent entry of fishing vessels into the prohibited zone. Besides, an aircraft has also been pressed into service to protect the turtles as part of the operation.?The ICG is working in coordination with the Forest department, fishery officials and marine police to keep watch on illegal fishing in the restricted zone.

--- Assam

Anthrax is a highly infectious and fatal disease that primarily infects herbivorous animals and causes high fever, shivering, ulcers and swellings. Fearing an outbreak of the disease in the region, the forest department had started a vaccination drive last week, covering a 5-km radius at Namsang in Joypur reserve forest. The forest department has also prohibited fishing in the forest as a precautionary measure.

--- Lakshwadeep

After Sikkim, Lakshadweep is the first Union Territory to become 100 per cent organic as all farming is carried out without the use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, providing access to safer food choices and making agriculture a more environment-friendly activity. The ministry of agriculture has declared the island as organic. In January 2016, Sikkim became India's first "100 percent organic" State.

--- John Abraham

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India has named John Abraham as its Person of the Year for 2020. The actor has been using his voice to advocate for animals

--- Venice

The UNESCO heritage city Venice has gone under water during high tide because of the failure of the newly installed dam system. The new dam system was installed in Oct 2020. It failed to get activated.

--- Lahore

Lahore ranks the most polluted city in the world," according to air pollution data released by the US Air Quality Index on Monday. According to the index, Lahore reported a particulate matter (PM) rating of 423. New Delhi came in second with a PM of 229, while Nepal's capital Kathmandu ranked the third-worst city with a PM of 178. Pakistan's financial capital Karachi ranked at 7 on the AQI.

--- Shillong

The cherry blossom, also known as Prunus cerasoides, is a gift from the Himalayas and cover the whole of east and west Khasi hills. These gorgeous and vibrant flowers grow in the wild but can be spotted across the state during this time of the year. The cherry blossoms have bloomed in the city and while the annual India International Cherry Blossom Festival held in Shillong stands cancelled this year. Similar Cherry blossom is famous in Japan and Paris.

--- Israel

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu committed partnership with India for lowering carbon and pollution level in future.

--- 25th Nov

The Manas National Park of Assam and the Royal Manas National Park of Bhutan have received the TX2 Conservation Excellence Award this year.

--- Pilibhit Tiger Reserve

Pilibhit Tiger Reserve received the global TX2 award in recognition of its consistent conservation efforts and more than doubling the tiger population.

--- Textile

The campaign has been launched to promote Indian handicrafts which is not just cultural heritage of India but also to enhance the source of livelihood of a vast section of population

--- Japan

--- Nivar

Cyclone Nivar is expected to intensify into a cyclonic storm and very likely to move northwestwards and cross Tamil Nadu and Puducherry coasts between Karaikal and Mamallapuram around Puducherry during November 25 evening as a severe cyclonic storm with a wind speed of 100-110 kmph gusting to 120 kmph.

--- UK

The UK will become the first nation within the G7 to ban the sale of petrol and diesel vehicles. Target for the UK is to become carbon neutral by 2050.

--- IIT Kharagpur

Eco-friendly food packaging developed by researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur. According to the team of researchers, cucumber peels have greater cellulose content than other peel waste. Cellulose nanocrystals derived from these peels can be used for making food packaging material which is biodegradable and has low oxygen permeability.

--- Bhuvaneshwar

City of Bhubaneswar, capital of Odisha, became the 1st city in the country to receive the ISO-9001:2015 certification for effective Faecal Sludge & Septage Management (FSSM) services.

--- Visakhapatnam

A pilot championship of traditional yogasana by the name of "National Individual Yogasana Sports Championship" (virtual mode) is proposed to be organised in February 2021.

--- Sri Guru Teg Bahadurji

The ninth of the 10?gurus?of the Sikh religion,?Guru Tegh Bahadur?is famously?known?for the protection he provided to the Sikhs and the Hindus against a 17th century law that forced them to convert to Islam.

--- Hindustan Lever

Te companies were judged on the basis of certain specific factors including policies and benefits, employee life cycle, allies and role models, community engagement etc. After gold for Godrej and Hindustan Lever, DDB Mundra and VIP Industries received silver and bronze.

--- Gwalior and Orcha

Gwalior was established in the 9th century and ruled by Gurjar Pratihar Rajvansh, Tomar, Baghel Kachvaho and Scindias. Orchha is popular for its temples and palaces and was the capital of the Bundela kingdom in the 16th century.

--- Tripura

Vigyan Prasar in collaboration with Tripura State Council for Science & Technology, Govt. of Tripura announced the 10th National Science Film Festival of India 2020 (online).

--- Telengana

Justice Hima Kohli, who is currently working as a judge in Delhi High Court has been recommended as the CJ for Telangana HC by the Supreme Court collegium. She has also been instrumental in passing directions to increase labs to conduct more COVID-19 tests in Delhi and to decrease the wait period for test results from three days to one day.

--- Raj Chauhan

Raj Chouhan, an Indian-origin legislator in Canada, has been elected as the Speaker of the British Columbia Legislative Assembly, becoming first from the community to occupy the post.

--- Anil Soni

Indian-origin health expert Anil Soni has been appointed as the first CEO of the newly launched The WHO Foundation, which works alongside the WHO to address pressing health challenges across the world

--- Hina Rangarajan

Hina Nagarajan, an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, will succeed Anand Kripalu, who joined the company that sells Bagpiper and McDowell's liquor brands

--- Uday Shankar

Uday Shankar has been named as the President of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) for the year 2020-21. Shankar is the first-ever media and entertainment executive in India to lead a national industry chamber such as Ficci, which is India's oldest industry body

--- Bata

Kataria becomes the first Indian to be elevated to the global role of the of Bata. He takes over from Alexis Nasard, who is stepping down after almost five years in the role.

--- John Kerry

John Kerry, one of the leading architects of the Paris climate agreement, is getting one more chance to lead the fight against climate change after President-elect Joe Biden named the longtime senator and former secretary of state as climate envoy for national security.

--- Neera Tandon

Neera Tanden would make history as the first woman of color to head the Office of Management and Budget, but she's also been an outspoken partisan warrior, and that could complicate her confirmation process, especially if Republicans maintain control of the Senate

--- V K Saraswat

The committee has appointed NITI Aayog member VK Saraswat as its Chairman and Advisor (Infrastructure Connectivity, NITI Aayog) Sudhendu Jyoti Sinha as its convener.

--- Greg Barclay

New Zealand's Greg Barclay was elected as the new independent chairman of the International Cricket Council (ICC) after a second round of voting. He succeeds India's Shashank Manohar who stepped down earlier this year.

--- Girish Chandra Murmu

The Comptroller and Auditor General of India, Girish Chandra Murmu, has been elected External Auditor of Inter Parliamentary Union, Geneva, for a three-year term.

--- S N Rajeswari

S N Rajeswarihas been appointed a whole-time member of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India(IRDAI). Her appointment to the post is for a period of three years or till attaining the age of 62 years.

--- Kris Gopalakrishnan

Kris Gopalakrishnan, co-founder of Infosys Ltd, will chair the Reserve Bank of India?s (RBI) new innovation hub, which aims to promote advancement in the financial sector using technology. The Reserve Bank Innovation Hub (RBIH) will be guided and managed by a governing council (GC), led by the chairperson.

--- Navneet Munot

--- Charanjit Attra

--- Shekhar Kapur

--- P D Baghela

--- UK

In 2020, the G7 Summit was due to take place in the United States but was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic and was instead held remotely over video-conferencing. The 47th summit is due to take place in 2021 and be hosted by the United Kingdom.

--- Sri Guru Teg Bahadurji

The ninth of the 10?gurus?of the Sikh religion,?Guru Tegh Bahadur?is famously?known?for the protection he provided to the Sikhs and the Hindus against a 17th century law that forced them to convert to Islam.

--- Bhagalpur, Bihar

A 3-day Birds Festival was organised in Bihar's Bhagalpur for the first time by the Forest department in association with the Bombay Natural Historical Society and the Mandar Nature Club. The objectives behind holding the festival was to attract the people towards bird watching, making them aware about the importance of migratory and preserving the winged guests.

--- Ramanujan

--- Contributing to Atmanirbhar Bharat

The theme of PBD 2021 is "Contributing to Atmanirbhar Bharat". PravasiBharatiya Divas Convention is the flagship event of the Government of India and provides an important platform to engage and connect with the overseas diaspora.

--- Vice president M Venkaiah Naidu

The council of heads of government is the second highest body of SCO and is responsible for handling the grouping?s trade and economic agenda and approving its annual budget. This is the first time India is hosting a meeting of the body since it was admitted to the eight-member grouping in 2017.

--- Next is Now

--- Assam

All government-run madrasas would be converted to high schools and new admissions would be held for existing students as regular ones. The infrastructure of Sanskrit tols would be used to convert them to centres of learning and research where Indian culture, civilisation and nationalism would be studied.

--- Gujrat

The?Gujarat government decided to bring a strict law, with provision of up to 14-year jail term, to curb land grabbing activity in the state. Under the proposed legislation, special courts will be set up to ensure that such cases are disposed of within six months, adding the burden of proof will be on the accused.?Those found guilty of land grabbing will be liable for 10 years to 14 years of imprisonment and penalty equivalent to the jantri (government) rate of the land in question.

--- Shakti Act

The bill contains provisions of severe punishments including the death penalty, life sentence, and fine up to Rs 10 lakh on perpetrators of violence, faster investigations and quicker disposal of cases.

--- 1908

The draft Indian Ports Bill, 2020, is aimed at enabling the structured growth and sustainable development of ports to attract investments in the port sector.

--- Tamilnadu

--- Kerala

The Kerala government on November 23, 2020 decided to put on hold an ordinance that seeks to make abusive or defamatory content punishable with imprisonment up to 3 years.

--- Madhya Pradesh

The BJP government in Madhya Pradesh has decided to set up a separate cabinet for the protection and promotion of the cow, and its members will be drawn from multiple departments.

--- V K Saraswat

The committee has appointed NITI Aayog member VK Saraswat as its Chairman and Advisor (Infrastructure Connectivity, NITI Aayog) Sudhendu Jyoti Sinha as its convener.

--- USA

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was awarded the "Legion of Merit?"by U.S. President Donald Trump for his role in advancing the India-U.S. relationship. The award was also presented to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison. India, the U.S., Japan and Australia constitute the "Quad" group of countries - seen as an alternative to Chinese dominance in the Indo-Pacific region.

--- Mohammad Amir

Alleging mental torture from Pakistan Cricket Board, fast bowler Mohammad Amir has announced he will not be playing international cricket anymore.

--- Madhya Pradesh

A former chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, Vora was a Rajya Sabha member from Chhattisgarh. He has also served as the All India Congress Committee (AICC) treasurer for 16 years till 2018.

--- Sonu Sood

--- Ashraf Patel

The award was presented to Ashraf Patel representing Pravah and ComMutiny by Smriti Irani, minister of women and child development and textiles, at a virtual event.?The other finalists were Sujoy Santra of Kolkata-based iKure, which works on primary healthcare, wellness and prevention services through innovative technology, and Sandeep Patel of NEPRA, an Ahmedabad-based waste management solutions company.

--- Pramila Jayapal

Indian-American Congresswoman, Pramila Jayapal, has been elected as the chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC), making her one of the most powerful US lawmakers in the 117th Congress.

--- Raj Chauhan

Raj Chouhan, an Indian-origin legislator in Canada, has been elected as the Speaker of the British Columbia Legislative Assembly, becoming first from the community to occupy the post.

--- F C Kohli

Mrs FC Kohli received the award Lifetime Achievement Service to Indian IT Industry Award on Mr. Kohli's behalf. Late FC Kohli was the founder and first CEO of Tata Consultancy Services, India's largest Software Services Company. He is regarded as the father of Indian IT Industry.

--- Dance

He was pioneer in the field of contemporary dance. A brilliant dancer, his unique vision, marrying the classical dance forms of Kathak and Kathakali led to the creation of original yet deeply Indian performances, he took to the world stage.

--- Adar Poonawala

Adar Poonawalla, the chief executive of the world's largest vaccine manufacturer Serum Institute of India, is among six people named "Asians of the Year" by Singapore's leading daily, The Straits Times for their work in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.

--- Tata Group

The Tata group has initiated final talks to acquire 80 per cent stake in online grocery platform Big Basket.

--- Uday Shankar

Uday Shankar has been named as the President of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) for the year 2020-21. Shankar is the first-ever media and entertainment executive in India to lead a national industry chamber such as Ficci, which is India's oldest industry body

--- Break the sound barrier

Retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Charles "Chuck" Yeager, the World War II fighter pilot ace and quintessential test pilot became the first person to fly faster than sound in 1947.

--- Sudha Murthy

Nirmala Seetharaman is ranked 41 and Roshni Nadar at 55th position. German president Angela Merkel is at number 1 and Kamala Harris has debuted at number 3.

--- Anju Bobby George

Anju Bobby George the revealed that she reached the pinnacle of her career with just one kidney. She is India's first and only World Champion in Athletics IAAF World Athletics Final

--- Parthiv Patel

Parthiv Ajay Patel was wicketkeeper batsman (left handed). He played last test match for India in 2018.

--- Bata

Kataria becomes the first Indian to be elevated to the global role of the of Bata. He takes over from Alexis Nasard, who is stepping down after almost five years in the role.

--- Elon Musk

Tech entrepreneur Elon Musk has topped Microsoft founder Bill Gates to become the world's second richest man after a meteoric rise in his personal fortune. Mr Musk's net worth jumped by $7.2bn (?5.4bn) to $128bn after shares in his car firm Tesla surged. Only Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is richer, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

--- Nuclear scientist

Fakhrizadeh was instrumental in Iran's nuclear programme. The physics professor is said to have led "Project Amad", a covert programme that Iran allegedly established in 1989 to carry out research on a potential nuclear bomb.

--- African American

Gregory was one of 13 men -- and the only American -- elevated to the College of Cardinals in this year's ceremony. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, two of the bishops were not in Rome for the ceremony, another first in church history.

--- Israel

The Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu have been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize 2021.

--- 10th

--- Surech Raina

Former Indian cricketer Suresh Raina is planning to set up a cricket academy soon in Jammu and Kashmir. The Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha of the union territory signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Jammu and Kashmir Sports Council with cricketer Suresh Raina to set up the Academy.

--- Assam

Tarun Gogoi (1 April 1936 ? 23 November 2020) was an Indian politician who served as the Chief Minister of Assam from 2001 to 2016. He was a member of the Indian National Congress and led the party to a record three consecutive electoral victories and was the longest serving Chief Minister of the state. During his tenure as the chief minister, he is credited with ending militant insurgency and mitigating violence in addition to improving the state's fiscal condition. He had also served six terms as a Member of parliament, Lok Sabha and had also served as an Union Minister of State in the Ministry of Food and Ministry of Food Processing Industries.

--- Karnataka

Mahadevappa Mailara was from Haveri and Ministry of Home Affairs have given no objection to State Government's request to rename the station.

--- Ramesh Pokhriyal

Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal will be conferred with the Vatayan Lifetime Achievement Award. The award is being conferred to the union education minister for poetry and other literary works.

--- Girish Chandra Murmu

The Comptroller and Auditor General of India, Girish Chandra Murmu, has been elected External Auditor of Inter Parliamentary Union, Geneva, for a three-year term.

--- Shakib-ul-Hassan

Bangladesh police arrested the man who issued death threats to cricket all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan for inaugurating a Kali puja pandal in Kolkata. The cricketer had issued an apology and said he only joined the function briefly.

--- Statue of Peace

The "Statue of Peace" has been installed to mark the 151st birth anniversary celebrations of Jain monk Acharya Shree Vijay Vallabh Surishwer Ji Maharaj. The 151-inch-tall statue is made of "ashtadhatu". The saint lived during 1870-1954, and was known for leading an austere life, working selflessly and dedicatedly to spread the message of Lord Mahavira.

--- Abhijita Gupta

This 7 year-old prodigy became the world's youngest author. Asia Book of Records has conferred on her the title of the "Grandmaster in Writing." According to the India Book of Records, she is the youngest author to write poetry and prose. Her book titled "Happiness All Around" is an anthology of short stories and poems with illustrations.

--- Sadat Rahman

17-year-old Sadat Rahman from Bangladesh was presented by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai on 13 November 2020, in the Netherlands. The International Children's Peace Prize is given annually since 2005 by the International children's rights organization KidsRights based out of Amsterdam. This is awarded to a child for making special effort to promote children's rights and better the situation of vulnerable children.

--- Social Activist

--- New Zealand

As per Human Freedom Index 2020 is the?sixth annual report by the Cato Institute in the United States and Fraser Institute in Canada New Zealand has?topped the list followed by Switzerland, Hongkong, Denmark and Australia.?76 indicators of personal, civil, and economic freedoms were taken into consideration?before ranking 162 countries from 2008 to 2018.

--- UP

The complex, located in Ghaziabad district's Indirapuram area, has facilities to accommodate 280 pilgrims and will provide them information related to the pilgrimage. It?has been made for pilgrims who wish to travel to Kailash Mansarovar, Sindhu darshan, Kedarnath, Badrinath, Gangotri and Yamnotri darshan in Uttarakhand.

--- Aligargh Muslim University

AMU became a University in 1920, through an Act of Indian Legislative Council by elevating the Mohammedan Anglo Oriental (MAO) College to the status of a Central University. MAO College was set up in 1877 by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan. The University campus is located in the city of Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh. It also has three off-campus centres in Malappuram (Kerala), Murshidabad-Jangipur (West Bengal) and Kishanganj (Bihar).

--- Rourkela

The 2023 Men's Hockey World Cup will be held in Bhubaneswar and steel city of Rourkela, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik announced here on Wednesday. India will host the Men's Hockey World Cup for the second consecutive time after the country was picked to stage the game's showpiece event in 2023 by the International Hockey Federation (FIH).

--- London

Global Power City Index (GPCI) 2020 report published by The Mori Memorial Foundation?s Institute for Urban Strategies, lists the world's most comprehensively attractive cities. The list goes as below: London, New York, Tokyo, Paris, Singapore, Amsterdam, Berlin, Seoul, Hongkong, Shanghai

--- Meghalaya

As per World Malaria Report 2020, Meghalaya?state has topped the list in reducing malaria cases in India, followed by Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand.

--- Eluru

Andhra Pradesh Health Department officials investigating the mystery illness that has affected more than 550 people in Eluru have said that excessive use of bleaching powder and chlorine, as part of Covid-19 sanitation measures, may have caused the water contamination that made people take ill.

--- Saudi Arabia

The recent meeting between Israeli PM Netanyahu and Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was conducted in this city.

--- Venice

The UNESCO heritage city Venice has gone under water during high tide because of the failure of the newly installed dam system. The new dam system was installed in Oct 2020. It failed to get activated.

--- 3 feet

As per the latest survey and jointly announced by Nepal and China the height of Mount Everest has increased by 3 feet to 29031 feet. The height as accepted in 1954 was 29028 feet or 8848 m.

--- Shillong

The cherry blossom, also known as Prunus cerasoides, is a gift from the Himalayas and cover the whole of east and west Khasi hills. These gorgeous and vibrant flowers grow in the wild but can be spotted across the state during this time of the year. The cherry blossoms have bloomed in the city and while the annual India International Cherry Blossom Festival held in Shillong stands cancelled this year. Similar Cherry blossom is famous in Japan and Paris.

--- Chandigarh

The Museum of Trees was inaugurated to commemorate the 551st birth anniversary celebrations of first Sikh Guru, Guru Nanak Dev, on November 30. Conceived and curated by former IAS officer and author DS Jaspal, the Museum of Trees nessled near the Chandigarh Railway Station comprises a sacred grove created out of genetic clones of 12 sacred trees associated with the Sikh religion. The naming of sacred Sikh shrines after trees is unique to the religion. As many as 59 Sikh shrines are named after 19 such trees.

--- Lucknow

Lucknow University is all set to become the third varsity in the country, to be issued with a commemorative ?100 coin on its centenary year, after Mysore University and Banaras Hindu University. The coin is to be released by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, through a virtual channel to mark the university's Foundation Day celebrations on November 25. The PM will also release a coffee table book and stamp on the occasion.

--- Karnataka

The Vijayanagara district will be carved out of Bellary district, including Hampi which was capital of Vijayanagara kingdom. Of the 11 taluks of Bellari 6 will go to Vijayanagara and Hospet will be the HQ

--- 6 lakhs

--- Bhuvaneshwar

City of Bhubaneswar, capital of Odisha, became the 1st city in the country to receive the ISO-9001:2015 certification for effective Faecal Sludge & Septage Management (FSSM) services.

--- USA

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was awarded the "Legion of Merit?"by U.S. President Donald Trump for his role in advancing the India-U.S. relationship. The award was also presented to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison. India, the U.S., Japan and Australia constitute the "Quad" group of countries - seen as an alternative to Chinese dominance in the Indo-Pacific region.

Lewis Hamilton, who last month equalled Michael Schumacher's record of seven F1 titles, overcame Jordan Henderson and Hollie Doyle and other three members of the six-person shortlist namely boxer Tyson Fury, snooker player Ronnie O'Sullivan, and cricketer Stuart Broad.

--- Tata Group

PM presented 'ASSOCHAM Enterprise of the Century Award' to Ratan Tata, who received the award on behalf of the TATA Group.

She is the first defender to win the award

--- Anshu Malik

--- Robert Lewandowski

Poland and FC Bayern M?nchen striker Lewandowski was named The Best FIFA Men's Player for the first time in his career.

--- Vidyut Mohan

Vidyut Mohan, an engineer, is the co-founder of "Takachar", a social enterprise enabling farmers to prevent open burning of their waste farm residues and earn extra income by converting them into value-added chemicals like activated carbon on-site.

The park has acquired ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management Standards Certification? from ASCB, UK. HYM International Certifications Pvt Ltd Accredited by ASCB (UK) which recently conducted assessment of ISO 9001:2015 Certifications. The team conducted the audit in a phased manner and expressed satisfaction and happiness over the standards being followed in the park, particularly in the fields of sanitisation, food processing, animal breeding, zoo hospital, animal care, hygiene maintenance and establishment.

--- Hindustan Lever

Te companies were judged on the basis of certain specific factors including policies and benefits, employee life cycle, allies and role models, community engagement etc. After gold for Godrej and Hindustan Lever, DDB Mundra and VIP Industries received silver and bronze.

--- Ashraf Patel

The award was presented to Ashraf Patel representing Pravah and ComMutiny by Smriti Irani, minister of women and child development and textiles, at a virtual event.?The other finalists were Sujoy Santra of Kolkata-based iKure, which works on primary healthcare, wellness and prevention services through innovative technology, and Sandeep Patel of NEPRA, an Ahmedabad-based waste management solutions company.

--- Carolina Araujo

The Ramanujan Prize for Young Mathematicians 2020 has been awarded to Carolina Araujo, Mathematician from the Institute for Pure and Applied Mathematics (IMPA), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in a virtual ceremony on December 9, 2020

--- Eric Yuan

Zoom app has been the most popular video call app during the Covid-19 pandemic.

--- F C Kohli

Mrs FC Kohli received the award Lifetime Achievement Service to Indian IT Industry Award on Mr. Kohli's behalf. Late FC Kohli was the founder and first CEO of Tata Consultancy Services, India's largest Software Services Company. He is regarded as the father of Indian IT Industry.

--- Gwalior and Orcha

Gwalior was established in the 9th century and ruled by Gurjar Pratihar Rajvansh, Tomar, Baghel Kachvaho and Scindias. Orchha is popular for its temples and palaces and was the capital of the Bundela kingdom in the 16th century.

--- Both Joe Biden and Kamala Harris

--- Yulimar Rojas

Yulimar Rojas who broke the world indoor triple jump record with a leap of 15.43m, finished the shortened 2020 season undefeated in four triple jump competitions indoors and outdoors. She was delighted and surprised by the award that saw her picked ahead of Letesenbet Gidey of Ethiopia, Peres Jepchirchir of Kenya, Jamaica's Olympic champion sprinter Elaine Thompson-Herah, and Dutch long-distance star Sifan Hassan.

--- Mondo Duplantis

At 20, the Swedish Pole-vaulter Duplantis is the youngest ever winner of the Male Athlete of the Year Award after twice breaking the absolute world record (6.17m and 6.18m) in February 2020 before producing the highest outdoor vault in history (6.15m) in September 2020 The other male finalists included distance world record holder Joshua Cheptegei of Uganda, Norway's Karsten Warholm, Germany's Johannes Vetter and Ryan Crouser of the USA.

--- John Abraham

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India has named John Abraham as its Person of the Year for 2020. The actor has been using his voice to advocate for animals

--- Adar Poonawala

Adar Poonawalla, the chief executive of the world's largest vaccine manufacturer Serum Institute of India, is among six people named "Asians of the Year" by Singapore's leading daily, The Straits Times for their work in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.

--- Israel

The Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu have been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize 2021.

The Manas National Park of Assam and the Royal Manas National Park of Bhutan have received the TX2 Conservation Excellence Award this year.

--- Pilibhit Tiger Reserve

Pilibhit Tiger Reserve received the global TX2 award in recognition of its consistent conservation efforts and more than doubling the tiger population.

--- 6 lakhs

--- Shuggie Bain

Douglas Stuart has won the Booker Prize 2020 for Shuggie Bain novel, His debut novel about a boy in 1980s Glasgow trying to support his mother as she struggles with addiction and poverty.

--- Ramesh Pokhriyal

Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal will be conferred with the Vatayan Lifetime Achievement Award. The award is being conferred to the union education minister for poetry and other literary works.

--- Virat Kohli

India skipper Virat Kohli and spinner Ravichandran Ashwin have been nominated for the ICC Player of the Decade Award.

--- Delhi Crime

--- Erling Haaland

Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland has won the2020 Golden Boy award?after an impressive start at the Bundesliga club

--- Richa Chadda

--- 19-Dec

Dec 18, 1961, the Indian government put into action Operation Vijay ? the process to annex Goa into the Indian Republic. A 36-hour battle saw Goa liberated from the yoke of a 450-year-long colonial rule. On Dec 19, Portuguese forces surrendered unconditionally

--- 18-Dec

On 4 December, 2000, the United Nations General Assembly, taking into account the ever-increasing number of migrants in the world, proclaimed 18 December as International Migrants' Day

--- 18-Dec

December 18 was declared as The Minorities Rights Day in 1992 by the United Nations after the agency adopted the Statement on the individual's Rights belonging to religious or Linguistic National or Ethnic Minorities. It is observed in India by the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) which was established by The Union Government under the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992.

--- 1971 Victory over Pakistan

Vijay Diwas is observed annually on December 16, to commemorate India's historic victory over Pakistan in the 1971 war, which led to the liberation of East Pakistan and creation of Bangladesh.?

--- Epidemic Preparedness Day

--- 9th Dec

Anti-Corruption Day is observed On December 9, to raise awareness of corruption and of the role of the Convention in combating and preventing it.

--- 10th December

Human Rights Day is celebrated on 10 December annually across the world. The 2020 theme is "Recover Better – Stand Up For Human Rights"

--- 26th Nov

National Milk Day is celebrated on 26 November to commemorate the birth anniversary of Dr. Verghese Kurien, the father of India's White Revolution.

--- 25th Nov

--- Guru Tegh Bahadur

Every year, November 24 is celebrated as Martyrdom Day (Shaheedi Diwas) of Guru Tegh Bahadur, the ninth Guru of Sikhs of Sikh religion.

--- 26th November

Constitution Day, also celebrated as National Law Day (or Samvidhan Diwas) in India, is observed on 26th November every year to commemorate the adoption of the Constitution of India.

--- 25th Nov

International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women celebrated on 25 November. This day is proclaimed by United Nations.

--- 4th Sunday of November.

This year it was on 22nd November.The National Cadet Corps is the youth wing of Armed Forces with its headquarters at New Delhi, Delhi, India. It is open to school and college students on voluntary basis. National Cadet Corps is a Tri-Services Organisation, comprising the Army, Navy and Air Wing, engaged in grooming the youth of the country into disciplined and patriotic citizens.

--- 21st November

The United Nations World Television Day is annually observed around the world on November 21. The day recognizes that television plays a major role in presenting different issue that affect people.

--- 19th Nov

Women's Entrepreneurship Day (WED) is observed on November 19 every year to empower, celebrate, and support women in business worldwide.

--- 20th Nov

World Children?s Day was first established in 1954 as Universal Children's Day and is celebrated on 20 November each year to promote international togetherness, awareness among children worldwide, and improving children's welfare. November 20th is an important date as it is the date in 1959 when the UN General Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child. It is also the date in 1989 when the UN General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

--- 19th November

--- Men's

--- Frederick Banting

Sir Frederick Banting co-discovered insulin along with Charles Best in 1922 in Toronto University.

--- Birsa Munda

Jharkhand was carved out of Bihar in the year 2000. And the foundation day of the state is celebrated on Birsa Munda's birth anniversary. Birsa Munda was an Indian tribal freedom fighter and religious leader. He belonged to the Munda tribe and is considered a God by them.

--- 13th November

World Kindness Day is observed globally on 13th November every year. It started in 1998 by The World Kindness Movement. This is to promote good deeds in the kindness in our community. The theme for the 2020 World Kindness day is Kindness: The World We Make - Inspire Kindness.

--- 5th October

World Teachers Day is celebrated across the globe on October 5, 2020. The day marks the efforts of the educators across the planet and celebrates them. International Teachers Day is celebrated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation along with United Nations Childrens Fund, UNICEF, International Labour Organisation, ILO and Education International. This year’s theme is Teachers: Leading in Crisis, Reimagining the Future. The celebrations would be virtual this year due to pandemic and would begin today and end on October 12.

--- West Bengal

West Bengal cabinet has approved construction of state's first deep sea port in Tajpur costing 15000 crores generating emplyment to 25000 people.

--- Amazon India

As per the pact Amazon India will help to increase export potential of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in 10 states and help them leverage e-commerce to boost domestic trade.?They will also help the enterprises leverage technology to reach out to customers in India through the adoption of e-commerce. Also Amazon and CII will conduct trainings, workshops and masterclasses to enable MSMEs to sell online.

--- BYJU's

BYJU's, India's largest EdTech company, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), to support the skilling of teachers and trainers. Sharing a vision to accelerate Skill India Mission, the partners aim at empowering teachers and trainers with the key skills and digital tools to make learning engaging, effective and personalized for children and youth.

--- New Zealand

As per Human Freedom Index 2020 is the?sixth annual report by the Cato Institute in the United States and Fraser Institute in Canada New Zealand has?topped the list followed by Switzerland, Hongkong, Denmark and Australia.?76 indicators of personal, civil, and economic freedoms were taken into consideration?before ranking 162 countries from 2008 to 2018.

--- Norway

As per the UNDP's report,?Norway topped the index, followed by Ireland, Switzerland, Hong Kong and Iceland.?Germany, Sweden, Australia, Netherlands and Denmark are the other top 10 countries ranked in the Human Development Index.?Human Development Index is the measure of a nation's health, education, and standards of living.

--- 131

India dropped two spots to 131 out of 189 nations on the Human Development Index (HDI) this year, according to the Human Development Report (HDR) by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).Norway topped the index, followed by Ireland, Switzerland, Hong Kong, and Iceland, the report showed. The HDI is the measure of a country's health, education, and standard of living and ascertains a nations' average achievement in three basic scales of human development - education, life expectancy, and per capita income.

--- Kylie Jenner

Kylie Jenner topped with US $ 540 million followed by Kanye West with Kanye West - US $ 170 million and Roger Federer - US $ 106.3 millions. Kylie is half-sister of Kim Kardashian.

--- London

Global Power City Index (GPCI) 2020 report published by The Mori Memorial Foundation?s Institute for Urban Strategies, lists the world's most comprehensively attractive cities. The list goes as below: London, New York, Tokyo, Paris, Singapore, Amsterdam, Berlin, Seoul, Hongkong, Shanghai

--- Odisha

Odisha has topped the Urban Governance Index in the country as per a report released by the Praja Foundation. Odisha with 56.86% score ranked first the list followed by Maharashtra (55.15%), Chhattisgarh (49.68%), Kerala (48.77%) and Madhya Pradesh (45.94%).

--- Sudha Murthy

Nirmala Seetharaman is ranked 41 and Roshni Nadar at 55th position. German president Angela Merkel is at number 1 and Kamala Harris has debuted at number 3.

--- Shanghai

During Covid pandemic Shanghai has replaced London to become the most connected city. The top four most connected cities are from China namely Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Chendu, further followed by Chicago, Shenzen, Los Angeles, London, Dallas, Atlanta

--- Lahore

Lahore ranks the most polluted city in the world," according to air pollution data released by the US Air Quality Index on Monday. According to the index, Lahore reported a particulate matter (PM) rating of 423. New Delhi came in second with a PM of 229, while Nepal's capital Kathmandu ranked the third-worst city with a PM of 178. Pakistan's financial capital Karachi ranked at 7 on the AQI.

--- Elon Musk

Tech entrepreneur Elon Musk has topped Microsoft founder Bill Gates to become the world's second richest man after a meteoric rise in his personal fortune. Mr Musk's net worth jumped by $7.2bn (?5.4bn) to $128bn after shares in his car firm Tesla surged. Only Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is richer, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

--- Belgium

Belgium is followed by France, Brazil, England, Portugal, Spain, Argentina and Uruguay

--- Prayagraj Express

The Prayagraj Express became the fastest train with 24 coaches operated by the Indian Railways, clocking a speed of 130 kmph.

--- 10th

--- 63rd

Indian supercomputer Param Siddhi has achieved 63rd rank in the list of 500 most powerful supercomputers in the world, as reported by Department of Science and Technology (DST) Param Siddhi is the high-performance computing-artificial intelligence (HPC-AI) supercomputer established under National Supercomputing Mission (NSM) at C-DAC.

--- Switzerland

This list is released annually by International Institute for Management Development (IMD), Switzerland based business school. It assesses the status and the development of competencies necessary for enterprises and the economy to achieve long term value creation. India is ranked 59.

Written and published by Sir Edwin Arnold in 1879, "The Light of Asia", subtitled The Great Renunciation, is in the form of a narrative poem. The book endeavours to describe the life and time of Prince Gautama Siddhartha, who after attaining enlightenment became the Buddha. It presents his life, character, and philosophy, in a series of verses.

--- Pranab Mukherjee

Its a compilation of Pranab Mukherjee's memoirs.

--- Rajkamal Jha

Rajkamal Jha has won the Rabindranath Tagore Literary Prize 2020 for his book, "The City and the Sea".

--- Praveen Kumar Teotia

--- Phoolsunghi

Delhi-based scholar Gautam Choubey breathes life into his elegant translation of the 1977 classic, published recently by Penguin Random House India. Its a story of checkered lives of Mahendar Misir (1866-1946), one of Bhojpuri's beloved poets, and the tawaif Dhelabai (died in 1931), the story spans roughly a century, from the 1840s to the 1930s.

--- Shuggie Bain

Douglas Stuart has won the Booker Prize 2020 for Shuggie Bain novel, His debut novel about a boy in 1980s Glasgow trying to support his mother as she struggles with addiction and poverty.

--- Speeches given by President

95 speeches given by President Kovind Ram

--- Francesca Marino

The foreword of the book has been written by Hussain Haqqani, a former Pakistan Ambassador to USA. And the photographs were taken by Roshaan Khattak.

--- Ramachandra Guha

Ramachandra Guha is the author of book "The commonwealth of cricket". He is an Indian historian and economist. His other books are "Gandhi before India", "India After Gandhi: The History of the World's Largest Democracy",

--- Madhya Pradesh

A former chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, Vora was a Rajya Sabha member from Chhattisgarh. He has also served as the All India Congress Committee (AICC) treasurer for 16 years till 2018.

--- Dance

He was pioneer in the field of contemporary dance. A brilliant dancer, his unique vision, marrying the classical dance forms of Kathak and Kathakali led to the creation of original yet deeply Indian performances, he took to the world stage.

--- Break the sound barrier

Retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Charles "Chuck" Yeager, the World War II fighter pilot ace and quintessential test pilot became the first person to fly faster than sound in 1947.

--- Nuclear scientist

Fakhrizadeh was instrumental in Iran's nuclear programme. The physics professor is said to have led "Project Amad", a covert programme that Iran allegedly established in 1989 to carry out research on a potential nuclear bomb.

--- Assam

Tarun Gogoi (1 April 1936 ? 23 November 2020) was an Indian politician who served as the Chief Minister of Assam from 2001 to 2016. He was a member of the Indian National Congress and led the party to a record three consecutive electoral victories and was the longest serving Chief Minister of the state. During his tenure as the chief minister, he is credited with ending militant insurgency and mitigating violence in addition to improving the state's fiscal condition. He had also served six terms as a Member of parliament, Lok Sabha and had also served as an Union Minister of State in the Ministry of Food and Ministry of Food Processing Industries.

--- Software hack

The hacked company, SolarWinds, sells software that lets an organization see what's happening on its computer networks. Hackers inserted malicious code into an updated version of the software, called Orion. Around 18,000 SolarWinds customers installed the tainted updates onto their systems.

--- Jupiter and Venus

The planets regularly?align in the sky about once every 20 years. However, this year the conjunction is special as it's been nearly 400 years since the planets passed this close to each other in the sky, and nearly 800 years since it?occurred at night.

--- Noida International Airpor

--- 131

India dropped two spots to 131 out of 189 nations on the Human Development Index (HDI) this year, according to the Human Development Report (HDR) by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).Norway topped the index, followed by Ireland, Switzerland, Hong Kong, and Iceland, the report showed. The HDI is the measure of a country's health, education, and standard of living and ascertains a nations' average achievement in three basic scales of human development - education, life expectancy, and per capita income.

--- Kylie Jenner

Kylie Jenner topped with US $ 540 million followed by Kanye West with Kanye West - US $ 170 million and Roger Federer - US $ 106.3 millions. Kylie is half-sister of Kim Kardashian.

--- Sonu Sood

--- Break Dance

Break dancing will make its debut in the Olympics at the Paris games in 2024 after the International Olympic Committee made the move official.

--- Software hack

The hacked company, SolarWinds, sells software that lets an organization see what's happening on its computer networks. Hackers inserted malicious code into an updated version of the software, called Orion. Around 18,000 SolarWinds customers installed the tainted updates onto their systems.

--- GPS

--- Snapdeal

The facility will work with all UPI-payment options, including Bhim, Google Pay, Whatsapp Pay, PhonePe, Paytm, and UPI apps from leading private & public sector banks like HDFC, SBI, ICICI.

--- Russia

The Angara A5 is the most powerful new Russian launcher since the 1980s, and is designed to replace the Proton M rocket to carry the country?s heaviest payloads into orbit. But the program is years behind schedule, and despite a successful inaugural test flight in 2014, it took six years to launch a second Angara A5 rocket.

--- DakPay

DakPay is not just a digital payment app but a suite of digital financial and assisted banking services provided by India Post & IPPB through the trusted Postal ("Dak") network across the nation to cater to the financial needs ("Pay") of various sections of the society ? be it sending money (Domestic Money Transfers ? DMT), Scan QR code and make payment for services/merchants digitally (Virtual debit card & with UPI), enabling cashless ecosystem through biometrics, providing interoperable banking services to the customers of ANY BANK (AePS) and Utility Bill Payment services.

--- OLA

Ola, in a bid to make India a manufacturing hub for electric vehicles, has signed a MoU with the Tamil Nadu government for an?investment of Rs 2,400 crore in setting up its first factory in the state. Once completed, the factory will be the world's largest scooter manufacturing facility, which will initially have an annual capacity of 2 million units.

--- BSNL

BSNL, in partnership with Skylotech India, has launched satellite-based NB-IoT (Narrowband-Internet of Things), starting with fishermen, farmers, construction, mining and logistics enterprises. With this solution, India will now have access to a ubiquitous fabric of connectivity for millions of yet unconnected machines, sensors and industrial IoT devices. The coverage will be so vast that it will not leave any dark patch within the boundary of India, from Kashmir & Ladakh to Kanyakumari, and from Gujarat to the North East, including the Indian seas.

--- Asteroid

Japan's Hayabusa2 mission has brought back rock samples from Asteroid Ryugu, a dark, carbon-rich rock a bit more than half a mile wide. Japan?s space agency concluded a six-year, 3.25 billion-mile journey of discovery that aims to shed light on the earliest eons of the solar system and possibly provide clues about the origins of life on Earth.

--- SpaceX

A SpaceX Dragon cargo ship arrived at the International Space Station on 7 Dec 2020 to deliver vital supplies for NASA and try autonomous docking with ISS -parking itself without the help of astronauts.

--- Pixxel

India's first private satellite-imaging company, Pixxel has entered into an agreement with NewSpace India Limited (NSIL), a Central Public Sector Enterprise of Government of India and the commercial arm of ISRO, to launch Pixxel’s first remote-sensing satellite on an ISRO PSLV rocket in early 2021. This first-of-a-kind private earth-observation mission will help provide solutions to many pressing environmental and agricultural issues

--- SpaceX

SpaceX launched another batch of 60 of its internet-beaming Starlink satellites, growing its constellation even further. That makes 835 Starlink satellites launched thus far, though not all of those are operational (some were test satellites that were intentionally decommissioned). The launch, from Florida's Kennedy Space Center, also included a successful controlled landing and recovery of the first-stage booster, as well as a semi-successful dual catch of the fairing halves used to protect the cargo during launch.

--- Indian Railways

The new HRMS system is a high thrust project for the Indian Railways to leverage improved productivity and employee satisfaction. Indian Railway has launched a completely digitised online Human Resource Management System (HRMS). Railway Board Chairman and CEO Vinod Kumar Yadav launched the system for railway employees and pensioners

--- Facebook

--- Yes Bank

YES Bank in partnership with Worldline introduces SMS Pay on POS terminals YES BANK in partnership with Worldline has announced the launch of SMS Pay functionality on POS terminals, enabling merchants to accept contactless and remote payments from their customers.

--- ICICI Bank

ICICI Bank is the first in the industry to introduce a fully digital, cardless EMI facility at retail stores. ICICI Bank has tied up with Pine Labs to offer this facility across pan-India outlets of leading retailers

--- India

India has become the 4th country in the world to have its independent regional navigation satellite system recognized by the International Maritime Organization as a part of the World Wide Radio Navigation System. The other three countries are US, Russia and China.

--- 63rd

Indian supercomputer Param Siddhi has achieved 63rd rank in the list of 500 most powerful supercomputers in the world, as reported by Department of Science and Technology (DST) Param Siddhi is the high-performance computing-artificial intelligence (HPC-AI) supercomputer established under National Supercomputing Mission (NSM) at C-DAC.

--- Facebook Messenger

Additionally Instagram also has introduced the same feature

Written and published by Sir Edwin Arnold in 1879, "The Light of Asia", subtitled The Great Renunciation, is in the form of a narrative poem. The book endeavours to describe the life and time of Prince Gautama Siddhartha, who after attaining enlightenment became the Buddha. It presents his life, character, and philosophy, in a series of verses.

--- Pranab Mukherjee

Its a compilation of Pranab Mukherjee's memoirs.

--- Rajkamal Jha

Rajkamal Jha has won the Rabindranath Tagore Literary Prize 2020 for his book, "The City and the Sea".

--- Quarantine

Quarantine was one of the most searched word. It was followed by Lockdown, Pandemic and others

--- Praveen Kumar Teotia

--- Phoolsunghi

Delhi-based scholar Gautam Choubey breathes life into his elegant translation of the 1977 classic, published recently by Penguin Random House India. Its a story of checkered lives of Mahendar Misir (1866-1946), one of Bhojpuri's beloved poets, and the tawaif Dhelabai (died in 1931), the story spans roughly a century, from the 1840s to the 1930s.

--- Speeches given by President

95 speeches given by President Kovind Ram

--- Francesca Marino

The foreword of the book has been written by Hussain Haqqani, a former Pakistan Ambassador to USA. And the photographs were taken by Roshaan Khattak.

--- Ramachandra Guha

Ramachandra Guha is the author of book "The commonwealth of cricket". He is an Indian historian and economist. His other books are "Gandhi before India", "India After Gandhi: The History of the World's Largest Democracy",

--- Ruskin Bond

Bond has come out with yet another book How To Be A Writer which gives a glimpse into the writing credo of the man who has had an incredibly successful writing career. The book is peppered with nuggets of practical advice for every person who is aspiring to write and be published ? all told in Bond's characteristic understated, tongue-in-cheek, humorous style.

--- Prem Prakash

--- Facebook

In the app, a "collab" is a selection of three 15-second independent videos, stacked on top of each other, that play in sync.

--- Snapdeal

The facility will work with all UPI-payment options, including Bhim, Google Pay, Whatsapp Pay, PhonePe, Paytm, and UPI apps from leading private & public sector banks like HDFC, SBI, ICICI.

--- ICICI Prudential

With this launch, BSE Ebix now has the ability to handle insurance sales across both term and endowment policy in the life insurance segment using its omni-channel digital presence supplemented by the physical presence of BSE Ebix's thousands of Point of sale Persons (POSPs).

The FICs delivered to the Coast Guard are 90-tonne vessels that can patrol the coastline at a scorching speed of 45 knots (83 kilometres per hour). L&T has built the 54 vessels for just under Rs 1,500 crore.

--- Reddit

--- BSE

The platform functions as a national level, institutionalised, electronic, transparent commodity spot trading platform facilitating?spot agricultural commodities transactions across value chain consisting of producers, intermediaries, ancillary services and consumers. The platform has commence dbeta operations effective from December 11, 2020.

--- Amazon India

As per the pact Amazon India will help to increase export potential of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in 10 states and help them leverage e-commerce to boost domestic trade.?They will also help the enterprises leverage technology to reach out to customers in India through the adoption of e-commerce. Also Amazon and CII will conduct trainings, workshops and masterclasses to enable MSMEs to sell online.

--- OLA

Ola, in a bid to make India a manufacturing hub for electric vehicles, has signed a MoU with the Tamil Nadu government for an?investment of Rs 2,400 crore in setting up its first factory in the state. Once completed, the factory will be the world's largest scooter manufacturing facility, which will initially have an annual capacity of 2 million units.

--- Eric Yuan

Zoom app has been the most popular video call app during the Covid-19 pandemic.

--- BSNL

BSNL, in partnership with Skylotech India, has launched satellite-based NB-IoT (Narrowband-Internet of Things), starting with fishermen, farmers, construction, mining and logistics enterprises. With this solution, India will now have access to a ubiquitous fabric of connectivity for millions of yet unconnected machines, sensors and industrial IoT devices. The coverage will be so vast that it will not leave any dark patch within the boundary of India, from Kashmir & Ladakh to Kanyakumari, and from Gujarat to the North East, including the Indian seas.

--- PhonePe

Google Pay, PhonePe, Paytm, and Amazon Pay account for 96.17 per cent of the UPI market by volume

--- Hina Rangarajan

Hina Nagarajan, an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, will succeed Anand Kripalu, who joined the company that sells Bagpiper and McDowell's liquor brands

--- Boeing 737 Max

The Boeing plane was grounded globally in March 2019, shortly after a 737 Max crashed in Ethiopia. A prior crash in Indonesia involving the model occurred in October 2018. In all, 346 people died.

--- BioNTech

COVID-19 mRNA vaccine (BNT162b2) has been developed by Pfizer and BioNTech

--- Tata Group

The Tata group has initiated final talks to acquire 80 per cent stake in online grocery platform Big Basket.

--- Karad Janata Sahakari Bank

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has cancelled the licence of the Karad Janata Sahakari Bank Ltd, Karad, Maharashtra. The reason cited the absence of adequate capital and earning prospects as the reason behind the cancellation

--- Tata Projects Limited

For the final round Tata Projects, Shapoorji Pallanji Group and L&T were shortlisted. The cost of the project is close to Rs 900 Cr

--- SpaceX

SpaceX launched another batch of 60 of its internet-beaming Starlink satellites, growing its constellation even further. That makes 835 Starlink satellites launched thus far, though not all of those are operational (some were test satellites that were intentionally decommissioned). The launch, from Florida's Kennedy Space Center, also included a successful controlled landing and recovery of the first-stage booster, as well as a semi-successful dual catch of the fairing halves used to protect the cargo during launch.

--- Facebook

--- RazorPay

These bank-issued cards will help provide relief and stabilise the financial operations of severely impacted business owners of startups and SMEs in India. The company aims to target 50,000 entrepreneurs by March 2021 in Bangalore, Karnataka, India.

--- Yes Bank

YES Bank in partnership with Worldline introduces SMS Pay on POS terminals YES BANK in partnership with Worldline has announced the launch of SMS Pay functionality on POS terminals, enabling merchants to accept contactless and remote payments from their customers.

--- Mastercard

MasterCard and USAID have collaborated under Women's Global Development and Prosperity Initiative (W-GDP) to launch 'Project Kirana' in India, to help women entrepreneurs grow and thrive.

--- ICICI Bank

ICICI Bank is the first in the industry to introduce a fully digital, cardless EMI facility at retail stores. ICICI Bank has tied up with Pine Labs to offer this facility across pan-India outlets of leading retailers

--- LIC

Life Insurance Corporation of India launched its first Digital Application, ANANDA, an acronym for Atma Nirbhar Agents New Business Digital Application.

--- L&T

Larsen and Toubro secured contract to build Mumbai-Ahmadabad High Speed Rail (MAHSR) project. 87.569 km project popularly referred as the Bullet Train project.

--- Karnataka Bank

Karnataka Bank has launched CASA (Current aand Savings Account) campaign of FY 2020-21, a nationwide savings and current account mobilization campaign starting from 17th November, 2020 to 04th March 2021. During this campaign Bank intends to mobilize more than 4,10,000 Current & Savings accounts with an accretion of Rs 650 Crores of business by active involvement of its 8000 + work force in all the 859 branches across India.

--- SpaceX USA

SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the company's Crew Dragon spacecraft is launched on NASA's SpaceX Crew-1 mission to the International Space Station with NASA astronauts Mike Hopkins, Victor Glover, Shannon Walker, and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Soichi Noguchi .

--- Naturapathy

The National Naturopathy Day is observed in India on 18 November every year, to promote positive mental and physical health through a drugless system of medicine, called as Naturopathy.

--- MobiKwik

MobiKwik, India?s largest digital credit platform has launched "MobiKwik Blue American Express Card?, a prepaid Card for India, thus by becoming the first non-bank Indian company to become a member of the American Express network.

--- HDFC Bank

HDFC aware people from its Mooh Band Rakho campaign to save money from fraudsters. The Bank will be conducting 1,000 workshops in the next 4 months across the country.

--- Amazon

--- Reliance retail

Online furniture marketplace Urban Ladder has been acquired by Reliance Industries Limited or RIL's subsidiary in a distress sale. RIL has acquired 96% stake in the Bengaluru-based firm through its wholly-owned subsidiary Reliance Retail Ventures Limited (RRVL) for a cash consideration of Rs 182.12 crore.

--- Amazon

As a part of the MoU, Amazon would be introducing an exclusive Silk Mark Store with Silk Mark labeled products through multiple sellers related to the organization. By this Amazon.in would have a major impact on the lives of numerous weavers and craftsmen associated with more than 4,200 Silk Mark authorized users across the country.

--- Whatsapp

The National Payments Corporation of India has given its approval to WhatsApp to "Go Live" on UPI in a graded manner. The instant messaging platform has been testing the payment method for over two years but the expansion was stalled due to privacy concerns.

--- Flipkart

--- Google

--- Amir Khan