Today’s top news: 10 December, 2020 (GPN):

NATIONAL NEWS:

1. Protesting farmers have unanimously rejected the Centre’s written offer of amendments in farm laws, and announced a series of plans to escalate their protest. The plans involve closure of the Delhi-Jaipur Highway, boycott of Reliance malls and capture of toll plazas. By December 14, there will be a full-scale protest across the country, they said.
2. Farmer Unions have rejected government’s proposal to amend the new farm laws, and have called for a nationwide sit-in protest on December 14. Farmers also said that the Delhi-Jaipur highway will be blocked by December 12.
3. DRDO’s new Arjun tank demonstrates advanced capability to Army : The Mark1A are the advanced version of the two regiments of the Arjun tanks in the Army and the force is looking to place orders for 118 more of these.
4. The Central Bureau of Investigation has on Wednesday organized an ‘Investiture ceremony’ in New Delhi, coinciding with the occasion of ‘International Anti Corruption Day’. Ajit Doval, National Security Advisor presided over the event and was also graced by Ajay Kumar Bhalla, Union Home Secretary.
5. The Union Cabinet, has given its approval for Atmanirbhar Bharat Rojgar Yojana (ABRY) to boost employment in formal sector and incentivize creation of new employment opportunities during the Covid recovery phase under Atmanirbhar Bharat Package 3.0.
6. The Union Territory of Lakshadweep has been declared as Organic Agricultural Area by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmer’s welfare. The UT is second after Sikkim to achieve the status of 100% organic region . It is first in the Union Territories of India to achieve the status.
7. The entire 32 sq km area of the UT has been certified as organic under the Union Government’s Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (organic farming improvement programme). Lakshadweep has been separated from the main stream India geographically. There has been no shipment of chemicals and fertilizers to the island group for the last 15 years. The UT administration has been practicing farming only using inputs like compost, poultry manure, green leaf manure.
8. What is Organic Farming?
   It is technique that involves cultivation of plants and rearing animals in natural ways. It avoids use of synthetic substances to prevent soil fertility and ecological balances. By this, organic farming aims to minimize wastages and pollution. It involves biological methods. Scheme of Central Government to promote Organic Farming, The Paramparaghat Krishi Vikas Yojana was launched to promote organic farming with participatory guarantee system certification. It involves training, cluster formation, marketing and certification
9. The Union Cabinet approved PM-WANI a key scheme in the telecom sector to expand internet coverage across the length and breadth of the country. Through the scheme, WiFi would be easily accessible to small shopkeepers, youth, and others which would further ‘Ease of Doing Business’ and ‘Ease of Living’.
10. The Karnataka Assembly passed the ‘ Prevention of slaughter and preservation of cattle bill, 2020’ on Wednesday, amid a massive ruckus. The Bill which was tabled earlier in the day, bans slaughtering of cattle or intentionally kill cattle throughout Karnataka. Opposition parties – Congress and JDS have alleged that they were not allowed to peruse the bill and that the Bill was passed in a hurry.
11. As per the Bill, ‘cattle’ is defined as cow, calf of a cow/bull, bullock and he/she buffalo aged below 13 years. Slaughter of cows will be a cognisable offence and attract three to seven years of imprisonment. This apart, the penalty has also been increased. For the first offence, the penalty will be not less than Rs 50,000, and may extend up to Rs 5 lakh. For the second and subsequent offence, it is not less than Rs 1 lakh and can go up to Rs 10 lakh.
12. Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Wednesday wrote a letter to PM Modi stating that he will join the latter with a sense of pride on the occasion of laying of the foundation stone for the grand project of Central Vista. This comes as PM Modi is slated to lay the foundation stone and perform ‘Bhumi Pujan’ for the construction of the new Parliament building on December 10.
13. Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said that “tough” reforms are “very difficult in the Indian context,” as “we are too much of a democracy”. He added, “Agriculture must get reforms. It’s very important to understand this, that the present reforms, nobody is saying that we do away with the mandis, the mandis will exist, the MSP will be there. But (a) farmer gets alternate choices (to sell his crop). Somebody gives you more than the MSP, ( Minimum Support Price) why should the farmer not get it? That is the objective of the reforms.”
14. West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday asserted that her government will not allow implementation of National Register of Citizens (NRC) or National Population Register (NPR) in the state.
15. Bollywood actor Anil Kapoor Apologises After Air Force Objects To Netflix Trailer : “AK vs AK” is a Vikramaditya Motwane movie, starring Anurag Kashyap and Anil Kapoor, “as themselves”. The Air Force demanded “withdrawal” of a few scenes from a soon-to-be released Netflix movie – “AK vs AK” – after a teaser was shared on Twitter by Bollywood actor Anil Kapoor. “The IAF uniform in this video is inaccurately donned & the language used is inappropriate (sic),” the Indian Air Force tweeted.
16. Rajasthan Panchayat Election Results 2020: BJP wins 1835 panchayat samiti wards, Congress 1718
17. The Ministry of Defence has stopped the practice of deducting one-third salary of the jawans and junior commissioned officers in case there was “no reporting” about any “occurrence” about the career or life of troops within 10 months. Thousands of troops in the 13 lakh Army faced this every year and it took months to be rectified and the salary to be restored.
18. Cannot disclose details of PM’s flights as it relates to his security apparatus: IAF plea in High court The Indian Air Force (IAF) moved a plea in the Delhi high court on Wednesday challenging a Central Information Commission (CIC) direction to provide information regarding Special Flight Returns (SRF)-II, saying it relates to details of the Prime Minister’s security apparatus and cannot be provided.
19. The petition, filed through central government senior panel counsel Rahul Sharma and advocate C K Bhatt, is in appeal against the CIC’s July 8 direction to IAF to provide certified copies of available and relevant Special Flight Returns-ll to RTI applicant Commodore (retd) Lokesh K Batra. Batra had sought certified copies of SRF-I and SRF-II with regard to each foreign visit of former PM Manmohan Singh as also Prime Minister Narendera Modi from April 2013 onwards.
20. Coronavirus Cases:9,762,245
    Deaths: 141,735
    Recovered: 9,244,457

✈INTERNATIONAL NEWS

1. A Virtual Summit will be held between PM Modi and President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev on 11 December 2020. This will be the first bilateral ‘Virtual Summit’ meeting between India and a Central Asian country. The leaders will discuss the entire spectrum of bilateral relationship, including strengthening of India-Uzbekistan cooperation in the post-COVID world.
2. A team of 70 Ambassadors and High Commissioners from several nations visited the Bharat Biotech facility at Genome Valley, Hyderabad on Wednesday to learn more about their work to establish a safe and efficacious vaccine against COVID-19.
3. China has given ‘five differing explanations’ for troop build-up on LAC, : India-China ties have been “very significantly damaged” and are passing through their most difficult phase ever because of Beijing’s violation of agreements on maintaining peace and tranquillity on the Line of Actual Control (LAC), external affairs minister S Jaishankar said.
4. LAC aggression raises alarm bell in Myanmar over Chinese expansion along country’s Northern border. Myanmar authorities taking a cue from China’s aggression against India along the Line of Actual Control are worried over Beijing’s encroachment along its northern border.
5. Indian Coast Guard rescued 19 Bangladeshi fishermen stranded in the Bay of Bengal due to a mechanical snag in their boat .The Bangladesh fishing boat ‘Rana’ was adrift at sea due to mechanical breakdown. It was towed away by the Indian Coast Guard ship Varad South East of the Paradip port. The boat will be handed over to the Bangladesh authorities.
6. Union Minister of Education Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ virtually held a meeting with Hussain bin Ibrahim Al Hammadi, Minister of Education, the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday. Highlighting National Education Policy, the Minister said it is very forward looking policy which will change the entire education landscape of the country, making it more aligned to global systems.
7. AirAsia India in talks to return 7 planes to Malaysian : AirAsia India is in talks with AirAsia Berhad to return seven Airbus planes leased from the Malaysian parent, several people in the know said. The move is aimed at cutting down the local airline’s exposure to the parent, even as discussions progress for the Malaysian low-fare carrier to exit the joint venture with Tata Sons.
8. National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday, has filed a charge sheet against 16 foreign-based Khalistani supporters for the 2020 referendum by banned outfit – Sikhs For Justice (SFJ). The charge-sheeted accused include – US residents Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, Avtar Singh Pannun, Harpreet Singh, and several UK and Canadian residents – Paramjit Singh, Kulwant Singh Mothada. This comes months after the NIA raided Paramjit Singh Pamma’s home in Punjab’s Mohali.
9. UK PM Boris Johnson confuses India’s farmer protest with Pakistan : UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson was slammed on social media on Wednesday after implying India’s farmers’ protest against new laws was an issue between New Delhi and its neighbouring longtime foe Pakistan.
10. Hyderabad gets its first non-stop flight to US : the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport will start the first non-stop to the US from January 2021. The flight to Chicago — a Boeing 777-200 aircraft — will be operated by Air India, Jan 15 onwards.

🌎WORLD NEWS🌍

1. Oman to give visa-free 10-day entry to 103 countries to boost tourism : Visitors must have a confirmed hotel reservation, health insurance and a return ticket.
2. The solar eclipse on December 14 will not be visible from India : the partial eclipse will begin at 19:04 IST on December 14 whereas the full eclipse will begin at 20:02 IST. The solar eclipse will peak at 21:43 and end at 00:23 IST on December 15. The celestial event will be visible in a select few cities including Temuco, Villarrica, Sierra Colorada situated in Chile and Argentina.
3. US President-elect Joe Biden named retired army general Lloyd Austin to be secretary of defence, who if confirmed will become the first African-American to lead the Pentagon. The four-star general was the US commander in Iraq and then the head of the US Central Command covering over all of the Middle East in 2010 to 2016 when Biden was vice president.
4. US Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom Samuel D Brownback has claimed that Pakistan is marketing Hindu and Christian women as “concubines” and “forced brides” to China. Once the “forced brides” arrive in China, they are usually kept in isolation, ignored, abused and sold into prostitution. : He said that it was happening “because there’s not effective support and there’s discrimination against religious minorities that make them more vulnerable”.
5. Coronavirus Cases:68,904,876
   Deaths: 1,569,577
   Recovered:47,765,665

🚣🚴🏇🏁🏊Sports:

The Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports recently announced that the Government is to start 1000 Khelo India centres all over India. The announcement was made at the tenth Global Sports Summit organized by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry. The centres will help the retired sportspersons to get employment. Also, the centres will aid in encouraging sports culture in the country.

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In Vadodara(Guj)
🥇Gold ₹51,400@10 gm 24 (Krt)
🥈 Silver ₹64,400@ Kg
⛽ Petrol ₹ 81.00
⛽ Diesel ₹ 79.44
₹ 600.00 /14.2 Kg

🇮🇳Facts about India🇮🇳

Today is the Birthday of C. Rajagopalachari, 45th Governor-General of India. ( December 10, 1878) born in Thorapalli village in the Madras. He was an Indian lawyer and politician.

😀Thought of the day

Persistence can change failure into extraordinary achievement.

Joke of the day

Wife : Suno ji, Doctor ne muje ek mahina aaram ke liye switzerland ya paris jaane ko kaha hai.
Hum kaha jayenge?🤪

Husband :😳 Dusre Doctor 🧑🏻‍⚕️ke paas..?

😇GK Today💤

Biggest desert ……. Sahara (Africa)

😳Why..❓❓

Why Do We Blink Eyes? 👁️

Blinking is a protective reflex that cleans and moistens the eyeball. Every time you blink, your eyelids spread a cocktail of oils and mucous secretions across the surface of the eye to keep your globes from drying out. Blinking also keeps eyes safe from potentially damaging stimuli, such as bright lights and foreign bodies like dust.

LEARN SANSKRIT:

rabbit = शश | shsh

🤔 How it works ⁉

How ancient people use to make paints…?

Ancient paints were often made from colored rocks, earth, bone, and minerals, which could be ground into powders, and mixed with egg or animal byproducts to bind the solution and make paint.

Paints were made by using the ground pigment with gums or animal glue, which made them workable and fixed them to the surface being decorated. The encaustic painting technique was used widely in Greece and Rome for easel pictures. In this technique, the binder for the pigment is wax or wax and resin.

💁🏻‍♂️ GK TODAY

While the first ballpoint pen was invented in 1888 by an American leather tanner named John Loud, it would take almost 60 years of attempts for the pens to catch on and become popular

🛕 VEDIC GYAN

यदा यदा हि धर्मस्य ग्लानिर्भवति भारत:।
अभ्युत्थानमधर्मस्य तदात्मानं सृजाम्यहम्॥
(चतुर्थ अध्याय, श्लोक 7)

इस श्लोक का अर्थ है: हे भारत (अर्जुन), जब-जब धर्म ग्लानि यानी उसका लोप होता है और अधर्म में वृद्धि होती है, तब-तब मैं (श्रीकृष्ण) धर्म के अभ्युत्थान के लिए स्वयम् की रचना करता हूं अर्थात अवतार लेता हूं।

🧬 HEALTH CARE: HOME REMEDIES🩺
( Note : These home tips followed in villages/ancient traditions, it is up to you to use it or not🙏🏻)

Jeera is fantastic for digestion
One of the most well-known jeera water uses. The powerful anti-gas chemicals within protect the body against irritable bowel disease and solves flatulence, belching and burps in a flash. It should be first on the list of everyone looking for a simple, quick remedy for their stomach woes.

🙏PLZ FOLLOW GOVT. NORMS, MAINTAIN SOCIAL DISTANCE, KEEP YOURSELF & YOUR FAMILY SAFE🌼 ENDS