NATIONAL NEWS

2^nd Cancer Genome Atlas inaugurated by CSIR

• The 2^nd Cancer Genome Atlas (TGCA) was inaugurated virtually by Union Minister for Science and Technology and Vice President of Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Dr HarshVardhan.
• The Cancer Genome Atlas is a project, begun in 2005, to catalogue genetic mutations responsible for cancer, using genome sequencing and bioinformatics.
• TCGA is a landmark cancer genomics program that molecularly characterized over 20,000 primary cancer and matched normal samples spanning 33 cancer types.

63^rd Foundation Day of Directorate of Revenue Intelligence

• Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) is the apex body in India for anti-smuggling and investigation under Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC).
• Union Minister of Finance & Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman observed the 63rd Founding Day of DRI on 4^th December 2020.
• The minister released the “Smuggling in India Report 2019-20” which analyses organised smuggling trends on Gold & Foreign Currency, Narcotic Drugs, Security, Environment, Commercial Frauds.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

International Volunteers Day Awards 2020

• The International Volunteers Day (IVD) was mandated by UN in 1985 to promote volunteerism in Economic and Social Development
• The theme of IVD 2020 is “Together We Can Through Volunteering”.
• V-Awards, an initiative by the UN Volunteers India, will recognise extraordinary young people, who are changing their lives and of the communities around them.
• The V-Awards is together organised by UN Volunteers India, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports and UNDP.

Facts:

• Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports: Shri Kiren Rijiju

Fourth South Asia Forum on SDGs

• The 4^th South Asia Forum on SDGs was organised by UNESCAP South Asia and Pacific virtually on disaster and climate resilience in South Asia.
• The forum was attended by ministers of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Maldives, India, Pakistan and UN Under Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of ESCAP.
• The key objectives of the High-Level meeting were to identify the opportunities and imperatives to overcome the challenges in implementing the systemic approach to disaster and public health risk management.

BANKING NEWS

RBI’s MPC maintains rates

• The Monetary Policy Committee of RBI has maintained the existing interest rates as an accommodative stance to manage the current inflation condition.
• The benchmark repo rate at which RBI lends to banks is 4% and the reverse repo rate is 3.35%.
• The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is a committee constituted by the Reserve Bank of India and led by the Governor of RBI. MPC was formed with the mission of fixing the benchmark policy interest rate (repo rate) to restrain inflation within the particular target level.
• The targeted inflation rate in India is 4% ± 2%

IMPORTANT DAYS

Indian Navy Day

• Navy Day in India is celebrated on 4 December every year to recognize the achievements and role of the Indian Navy to the country.
• The Indian Navy Day 2020 theme is “Indian Navy Combat Ready, Credible & Cohesive”.

World Soil Day

• World Soil Day (WSD) is held annually on 5 December as a means to focus attention on the importance of healthy soil and to advocate for the sustainable management of soil resources.
• The 2020 theme of WSD is to “Keep soil alive, protect soil biodiversity”.
• This day is observed by Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), a specialized agency of United Nations.