December 2020
WEeb.in Team Current Affairs Total Views: 608 Posted: Jan 6, 2021 Updated: Apr 24, 2026
December 2020, Current Affairs
Federation of Indian Commerce and Industry (FICCI) Awards 2020
- Bajrang Punia & Elavenil Valarivan bags FICCI 2020 Sportsperson of the Year awards
- The Federation of Indian Commerce and Industry (FICCI) presented the India Sports Awards 2020, virtually due to the coronavirus pandemic.
- Wrestler Bajrang Punia has won the 2020 Male Sportsperson of the Year award.
- Shooter Elavenil Valarivan has bagged the 2020 Male Sportsperson of the Year award.
Other awards
- Lifetime achievement award – Manjusha Kanwar
- Best male para-athlete award – Sundar Singh Gurjar
- Best male para-athlete award – Simran Sharma
- Coach of the year award – Radhakrishnan Nair
- Best Company Promoting Sports (Private Sector) – Anil Kumble, on behalf of his enterprise, Tenvic Sports.
- Best Company Promoting Sports (Public Sector) – Indian Airforce
- Breakthrough Sports Person of the Year – Annu Rani
- Best Sports Journalist of the Year – Mona Parthsarthi
- Best State Promoting Sports – Madhya Pradesh and Assam
- Best Organisation Contributing in Sports Through CSR – Tata Steel
- Best National Sports Federation – jointly won by the Wrestling Federation of India and Paralympic Committee of India
Human Development Index 2020
According to the report released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), India has been dropped two spots to 131 among 189 countries in the 2020 Human Development Index.
Top 5 Ranking
| Rank | Country |
|---|---|
| 1. | Norway |
| 2. | Ireland |
| 2. | Switzerland |
| 4. | Hong Kong |
| 4. | Iceland |
| 6. | Germany |
India and its neighbours ranks
| Rank | Country |
|---|---|
| 85. | China |
| 129. | Bhutan |
| 131. | India |
| 133. | Bangladesh |
| 142. | Nepal |
| 154. | Pakistan |
Important takeaways for all competitive exams:
- UNDP Headquarters: New York, New York, United States.
- UNDP Head: Achim Steiner.
- UNDP Founded: 22 November 1965.
Human Freedom Index 2020
India (111) ranks above neighbours Pakistan (140), Bangladesh (139) and China (129) but below Bhutan (108), Sri Lanka (94) and Nepal (92) out of 162 countries.
Top Five Countries/ Territories
1- New Zealand - 8.87
2- Switzerland - 8.82
3- Hong Kong SAR, China - 8.74
4- Denmark - 8.73
5- Australia - 8.68
Bottom Five Countries/ Territories
158- Iran, Islamic Rep. - 4.53
159- Yemen, Rep. - 4.17
160- Venezuela, RB - 4.08
161- Sudan - 4.01
162- Syrian Arab Republic - 3.97
ICC Awards of Decade 2011-2020
The International Cricket Council (ICC) Awards of the Decade 2011-2020 were announced. Here is the list of winners in each category
- Sir Garfield Sobers Award for ICC Male Cricketer of the Decade: Virat Kohli (India)
- Rachael Heyhoe-Flint Award for ICC Female Cricketer of the Decade: Ellyse Perry (Australia)
- ICC Men’s Test Cricketer of the Decade: Steve Smith (Australia)
- ICC Men’s ODI Cricketer of the Decade: Virat Kohli
- ICC Women’s ODI Cricketer of the Decade: Ellyse Perry
- ICC Men’s T20I Cricketer of the Decade: Rashid Khan (Afghanistan)
- ICC Women’s T20I Cricketer of the Decade: Ellyse Perry
- ICC Men’s Associate Cricketer of the Decade: Kyle Coetzer (Scotland)
- ICC Women’s Associate Cricketer of the Decade: Kathryn Bryce (Scotland)
- ICC Spirit of Cricket Award of the Decade: MS Dhoni
PSLV C-50 Launch
Launched Date: 17-12-2020
Launched from: Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota
Satellite launched: Communication satellite CMS-01
Forbes 100 most powerful women in the world
Here is the list of top 5 personality in the Forbes 100 most powerful women in the world:
| Rank | Personality | Profession |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Angela Merkel | Chancellor, Germany |
| 2 | Christine Lagarde | President, European Central Bank |
| 3 | Kamala Harris | Vice President-elect, United States |
| 4 | Ursula von der Leyen | President, European Commission, European Union |
| 5 | Melinda Gates | Co-Chair, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation |
| 41 | Nirmala Sitharaman | Finance Minister of India |
| 68 | Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw | Founder, Chair and Managing Director, Biocon Ltd. |
Time's Person of the Year 2020
The TIME magazine releases the annual list since 1927, to recognise a person or organisation who affected the news or impacted the country and world the most, for better or worse, during the calendar year. US President-elect, Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris have been jointly named Time magazine’s 2020 “Person of the Year”.
Time magazine has named the Korean pop group BTS as its Entertainer of the Year. Basketball star LeBron James as Athlete of the Year. Zoom founder Eric Yuan was aptly named Business person Of The Year as the video communications company has come to define the way millions have connected with each other during the pandemic.
Atmanirbhar Bharat Rozgar Yojana
This Yojana is being launched to boost employment in formal sector and incentivize creation of new employment opportunities during the Covid recovery phase under Atmanirbhar Bharat Package 3.0..
The scheme is to be operational for the period 2020-2023.
Beneficiaries
Beneficiaries (new employees) under Scheme
- An employee drawing monthly wage of less than Rs. 15000/- who was not working in any establishment registered with the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) before 1st October, 2020 and did not have a Universal Account Number or EPF Member account number prior to 1st October 2020
- Any EPF member possessing Universal Account Number (UAN) drawing monthly wage of less than Rs. 15000/- who made exit from employment during Covid pandemic from 01.03.2020 to 30.09.2020 and did not join employment in any EPF covered establishment up to 30.09.2020.
Eligibility criteria for Establishments
Establishments registered with EPFO if they add new employees compared to reference base of employees as in September, 2020 as under:
- minimum of two new employees if reference base is 50 employees or less.
- minimum of five new employees if reference base is more than 50 employees.
Benefits
Government of India will provide subsidy for two years in respect of new employees engaged on or after 1st October, 2020 and upto 30th June, 2021 at following scale
- Establishments employing up to 1000 employees: Employee’s contributions (12% of Wages) & Employer’s contributions (12% of wages) totalling 24% of wages
- Establishments employing more than 1000 employees: Only Employee’s EPF contributions (12% of EPF wages)
The subsidy support to get credited upfront in Aadhaar seeded EPFO Account (UAN) of eligible new employee.
Important Days and Dates of December 2020
- December 1: World AIDS Day
- December 2: National Pollution Control
- December 3: World Day of the Handicapped
- December 4: Indian Navy Day
- December 7: Indian Armed Forces Flag Day
- December 10: Human Rights Day;
- December 11: International Mountain Day
- December 14: World Energy Conservation Day
- December 16: Vijay Diwas
- December 18: Minorities Rights Day (India)
- December 22: National Mathematics Day
- December 23: Kisan Divas (Farmer’s Day) (India)
- December 24: National Consumers Day
- December 25: Christmas Day
Download PDF of December 2020