Today’s top news: 20 December, 2020 (GPN):

NATIONAL NEWS:

1. Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Shri Nitin Gadkari inaugurated and laid foundation of 33 NH projects in Karnataka through virtual mode. These projects include 1197 kms long roads worth Rs 10,904 crore. The event was presided over by Chief Minister Shri Y S Yeddiyurappa, and was attended by former PM H D Devegowda, Union Ministers Shri Prahlad Joshi, Shri Sadanand Gowda, Gen Dr V K Singh, ministers from the State and senior officers.
2. The Union Minister of Culture Shri Prahlad Singh Patel recently reviewed the proposal to set up Indian Institute of Heritage .. It was announced as part of the Budget 2020-21. It is to be set up in accordance with Societies Registration Act, 1860 and the UGC guidelines.
3. The Karnataka State Legislative Council recently passed the Land Reforms (Amendment) Bill 2020 . The 2020 amendment bill seeks to amend the Karnataka Land reforms Act of 1961. The 1961 Act brought in restrictions on ownership of agricultural lands in the state. The amendment removes 3 sections of the Act to allow ownership of farmlands by non-agriculturists.
4. India’s plan to create Gas infrastructure: the share of Natural Gas in the primary energy mix of the country from 6.2% to 15% by 2030. In order to achieve this, 60 billion USD is to be invested over next four years to create rigid gas infrastructure in the country. This includes city gas distribution network, pipelines and LNG terminals.
5. The 8th phase of DDC elections 2020 took across different constituencies spread over Jammu and Kashmir Union Territory on Saturday.
6. BJP registered a landslide victory in Tiwa Autonomous Council winning 33 of 36 seats, the Assam State Election Commission (ASEC) said. BJP’s ally Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) won two seats, while the opposition Congress was decimated with just one.
7. Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday had lunch at the house of a farmer in West Bengal’s Paschim Medinipur district as part of his exercise to strengthen relations with the agriculturists ahead of the Assembly elections in the state.
8. The police probe into the kidnap-and-murder case of a minor girl in Odisha was “severely flawed” with “glaring defects”, top child rights body NCPCR said on Saturday, demanding disciplinary action against the investigating officers. The five-year-old girl went missing while playing in front of her house at Jadupur village of Nayagarh district on July 14 and her skeletal remains were found on July 23.
9. National Conference president Farooq Abdullah Assets Worth Rs 12 Crore Seized In Money Laundering Probe : The Enforcement Directorate, which investigates financial crimes, is looking into money-laundering allegations connected to in connection with the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA) money laundering case,
10. PM Modi To Launch Telemedicine Scheme In J&K On December 26 : PM will roll out the Social Endeavour for Health and Telemedicine (SEHAT) scheme in Jammu and Kashmir on December 26.
11. Rahul Gandhi Aide Quits as Congress Student Body Chief:
    Ruchi Gupta the joint secretary heading the NSUI or National Students Union of India.
    A Congress leader heading the party’s student wing NSUI, resigned yesterday citing “delays in organizational changes”.
12. Rajasthan’s Nagaur MP Hanuman Beniwal on Saturday resigned from three parliamentary committees in support of farmers’ agitation against the Centre’s agriculture-related laws.
13. Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Saturday appointed three All India Congress Committee (AICC) secretaries each for Assam and Kerala where Assembly polls are slated for early next year.
14. BJP’s Bhopal MP Pragya Singh Thakur, an accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, failed to appear before a special NIA court on Saturday for the second time this month. Ms Thakur’s lawyer said that she was admitted to a hospital in Delhi on Friday,
15. Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Saturday tendered an apology to Vivek Doval, the son of National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, before a Delhi court in connection with a criminal defamation case. Vivek Doval had filed a criminal defamation complaint against the Caravan Magazine and Mr Ramesh for allegedly defaming him through an article and a press conference based on it respectively.
16. Delivering a massive blow to Mamata Banerjee, Trinamool heavyweight Suvendu Adhikari on Saturday, joined the BJP in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah at Bengal’s Midnapore College Ground. Along with Adhikari, 23 other grassroots leaders joined the saffron party.
17. Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said that country’s scientists and health experts have worked on the development of an indigenous vaccine and in the upcoming six to seven months India will have the capacity to inoculate about 30 crore people . Addressing the 22nd Group of Ministers (GoM) meeting on COVID-19.
18. Union Minister for Civil Aviation Hardeep Singh Puri on Saturday informed that more than 3.9 million people were facilitated international travel ever since the Vande Bharat Mission was launched.
19. Schools in Karnataka for classes 6th onwards will reopen from January 1, 2021 but the students of class 6th to 9th will need to get a written consent letter from their parents if they want to attend the classes. Schools for students from class 10th to 12th will also remian open and students will have to attend their regular classes.
20. A court in Mumbai on Saturday (December 19) directed the police to probe the defamation complaint filed by Bollywood lyricist Javed Akhtar against actor Kangana Ranaut, and asked them to submit a report on January 16.
21. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has said the new India is capable of giving a fitting reply to anyone who attempts aggression against the country. Addressing the newly commissioned flying officers of the Air Force at the Air Force Academy, Dundigal near Hyderabad.
22. Talks with farmers could be held in next 2-3 days: Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said after meeting Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Saturday.
23. Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) ideologue MG Vaidya passed away after a brief illness in Nagpur on Saturday. He was 97.
24. Coronavirus Cases: 10,025,133
    Deaths: 145,390
    Recovered: 9,573,130

✈INTERNATIONAL NEWS

1. The 35th edition of India-Indonesia Coordinated Patrol (IND-INDO CORPAT) between the Indian Navy and the Indonesian Navy was held from 17 to 18 December 2020. Indian Naval Ship (INS) Kulish, an indigenously built missile corvette and P8I Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) participated with their Indonesian Naval counterparts. The Exercise is focused on preventing issues like Illegal Unreported Unregulated (IUU) fishing, drug trafficking, maritime terrorism, among others.

2 The World Bank recently approved 250 million USD to improve performance of existing dams in India and to improve their safety. The funds have been allocated to the DRIP-2, the second Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project. The allocated funds are to be utilised to strengthen 120 dams in the country.

3. The Embassy of Japan in India on Friday shared the first official photos of the E5 Series Shinkansen , also known as the Bullet Train Project, has been sanctioned with a target to be completed by 2023. The MAHSR project Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train 508-kilometer length has been sanctioned by the Government.
4. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday said India’s handling of the border row with China showed that the country was not weak and could give a befitting reply to any kind of transgression, aggression or unilateral acts. With the two countries having held several rounds of talks to resolve the issue.
5. Amid tensions at LAC, China tacitly accepts India’s supremacy in Indian ocean region : The ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has accepted, grudgingly, that India has unique geographical advantages in the Indian ocean. India has expanded its role in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) in the last few years, from Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) to supplying food and medical aid amidst the COVID-19 pandemic to five countries of the Indian Ocean namely Maldives, Mauritius, Madagascar, Comoros, and Seychelles.

🌎WORLD NEWS🌍

1. Moderna Inc’s coronavirus vaccine on Friday became the second to receive emergency use authorization (EUA) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), welcome news to a nation. The FDA announced the authorization the day after the agency’s panel of outside experts endorsed its use and a week after the FDA authorized a vaccine from Pfizer Inc and German partner BioNTech SE.
2. Singapore’s Hawker culture gets UNESCO recognition : The UNESCO (United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization) has recently recognized “Hawker” culture of Singapore and has included it under the list of intangible cultural heritage. The list also includes Chinese Calligraphy, Yoga and Flamenco.
3. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Saturday imposed tighter coronavirus controls on millions of people in England and drastically scaled back plans to ease restrictions over Christmas, seeking to curb a new more infectious strain of the virus.
4. United States President-elect Joe Biden and the incoming First Lady Jill Biden will receive the first dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine on Monday in Delaware.
5. Coronavirus Cases: 76,304,803
   Deaths: 1,686,734
   Recovered: 53,523,361

🚣🚴🏇🏁🏊Sports:

1. India vs Aus

AUS 191 (72.1 OV), 93/2 (21.0 OV)
Australia beat India by 8 wickets
IND 244 (93.1 OV), 36 (21.2 OV)

2. Indian pacer Mohammed Shami is set to miss the remaining three Tests against Australia after suffering a fracture on his bowling wrist during the series opener. The fast bowler was hit on the elbow by a Pat Cummins short ball during India’s second innings on Saturday which ended at a record lowest 36 for nine.

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😀Thought of the day

You are the creator of your own destiny.

Joke of the day

Pappu Ke Truck 🚛K Peechay Likha Tha
” Chota Parivar Sukhi Parivar “
aur Uske Nechay
Tinu, Minu, Chintu, Chinky, Pinky, Guddu, Guddi, Sonu, Monu,🙏🏻
Deya hai Papa ki Gadi! 🚚

😳Why❓❓❓

Why is the mongoose not killed by the cobra during the fight?

Although a Cobra is a dangerous predator, It’s venom is almost ineffective against a mongoose. The active ingredient most commonly found in snake venom, alpha-neurotoxin, works by attaching itself to acetylcholine receptor molecules on the surface of muscle cells.

The mongoose’s acetylcholine receptors render them resistant or immune to snake venom. The snake’s venom fails to react the way it normally does to animals who are not immune to the venom. And so, one of the snake’s main ammunition, its venom is almost useless against a mongoose.

A mongoose thick fur which is also silky and makes it difficult for the snake to grip. Even when a cobra manages to coil around a mongoose, it zips through its grip with ease. The fur also makes it difficult for a cobra to deliver a penetrating bite.
Mongooses are physically stronger than snakes and their razor-sharp fangs and strong jaws can crush a cobra’s hood or sever its spine rendering it paralyzed.

LEARN Sanskrit🙏🏻

बालकः बालिका : Boys Girls

💁🏻‍♂️ GK TODAY

Longest Corridor – Rameswaram Temple
(India)

🤔 HOW it works… 🙄

How a mosquito bite 🦟

Only female mosquitoes bite people. A mosquito uses the sharp tip of its straw-like mouth (proboscis) to pierce a person’s skin. It locates the blood vessel and draws blood up through its mouth. As it does this, it injects saliva that contains an anticoagulant

🛕 VEDIK GYAN

Maricha or Mareech: Who assumed form of suvarna mriga or golden deer and help abduct Sita by Lakeshwar Ravan in Ramayan.

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

Bitter gourd contains polypeptide, an insulin-like compound called and charantin, which has anti-diabetic properties. These components actively help in reducing the blood sugar levels. It also helps to prevent unpredictable spikes and drops in insulin levels by regulating the metabolism and use of sugar the body has consumed. Bitter gourd acts as a hypoglycemic agent. It is rich source of soluble fiber and is low in glycemic index, which helps in lowering the blood sugar level.

Did you know that bitter gourd or karela is not really a vegetable but a fruit? The part of the plant that is used for consumption and for various medicinal purposes is the fruit of the bitter squash.

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