News Flash (16th December 2020): Top 10 Stories Of The Day

1. Education Minister to announce the JEE (Main) 2021 dates by 6 pm today

Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal is soon to announce the dates for the JEE (Main) 2021 entrance exam at 6 pm today. The minister, via his Twitter handle, has thanked the students for their constructive feedback. He said the NTA has examined the suggestions based on which he will soon announce “the schedule and the number of times the exam will be held” today.

2. India celebrates December 16 as Vijay Diwas, marks the start of the 50th Anniversary of Indo-Pak War

Today marks the beginning of the 50th Anniversary of the Indo Pak War of 1971. Vijay Diwas is celebrated annually in India on December 16 to commemorate the victory of Indian armed forces over Pakistan in 1971 Indo-Pak War. It was on this day in the year 1971, that the chief of the Pakistani forces, General AAK Niazi, along with 93,000 troops, bowed down in defeat opposite the Indian Army. As a result of this war, East Pakistan was transformed into a new Bangladesh.

3. SC releases notice to center & states seeking pleas to remove protesting farmers from areas

The Supreme Court of India rolled out notices to the Centre and states seeking pleas over the removal of protest formers in the Delhi-NCR region. The pleas asked for permission from the authorities to remove the farmers protesting at several border points of Delhi against the Centre’s three new farm laws. A three-judge bench has permitted to implead farmer organizations.

4. MSME Minister Nitin Gadkari: MSMEs likely to create 5 crore new jobs in next 5 years

MSME Minister Nitin Gadkari recently informed that the Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in India are going to create five crore jobs in the next five years. He further informed that the MSMEs have created 11 crore jobs till now. He believes the sector to contribute 40% to the GDP, up from 30%, and its contribution to exports to increase to 60% from 48%.

5. Raja Chari, an Indian-American appointed by NASA to fly to ISS on SpaceX mission

Raja Chari, an Indian-American astronaut has been appointed by NASA with two other astronauts to embark to the International Space Station (ISS) on SpaceX Crew-3 mission in the year 2021. This mission is going to be the first one for Raja Chari as well as Matthias Maurer, and the third for NASA astronaut Tom Marshburn. By far, Chari is the only Indian-American among 18 astronauts to be selected for NASA’s Moon mission.

6. PUBG Mobile India sees no sign of launching until March 2021: Reports

Reports have stated that PUBG Mobile India won’t be launching until March 2021, inspite of South Korea’s PUBG Corporation announcing an India-specific game and local investments worth $100 million in November. News has it that there have been a few unsuccessful meetings between PUBG officials and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) too.

7. Bombay HC imposes a stay on Metro car shed project

On Wednesday, the Bombay High Court stayed the Metro car shed project in Mumbai’s Kanjurmarg, It has asked the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) to maintain the status quo. This decision of the Bombay HC was followed after it directed the state government to consider withdrawing an order passed by Mumbai Suburban District Collector to allocate 102-acre salt pan land for constructing the shed

8. Girl from Tamil Nadu successfully cooks 46 dishes in 58 mins, enters UNICO Book of World Records

A girl from Tamil Nadu’s Chennai named SN Lakshmi Sai Sri has entered the UNICO Book of World Records as she prepared 46 dishes in 58 minutes. As said by her mother, Lakshmi started cooking during the lockdown and it was Lakshmi’s father who suggested her to attempt to break the world record. Lakshmi said she was delighted to have achieved this feat. 

9. Same-sex couples banned from adopting children in Hungary

Hungary very recently passed a law banning all same-sex couples from adopting children. The law was presented on the desk by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s government that grants only married couples the permission to adopt children, with some exceptions for single people. Same-sex marriage too, is illegal in Hungary, however, adoption had still been possible until now if one partner applied as a single person.

10. Yemen to face the highest risk of a humanitarian catastrophe in 2021 says IRC

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) has in its warning concern said that Yemen is soon to undergo the highest risk of a humanitarian catastrophe in 2021, for the third consecutive year. Yemen is grasped with widespread hunger, continued conflict and the tumbling of international aid which is adversely worsening the current crisis, IRC informed. About twenty-four million people in the country are in the dire need of humanitarian aid.