Daily Current Affairs for Bihar State Exams: 14.12.2020

Union Minister for Road transport and highways, Nitin Gadkari inaugurated 3 lanes of 1.5 km long 6 lane koilwar bridge on son river in Bihar.
The bridge is aimed at reducing traffic on the NH-922 and NH-30.

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi addresses International Bharathi Festival 2020

This festival was organised by Vanavil Cultural Centre to celebrate the 138th birth anniversary of Tamil poet and writer, Mahakavi Subramanya Bharathi.
Scholar Shri Seeni Viswanathan received the Bharathi Award 2020.
Note: Bharathi Award was instituted in 1994 by Vanavil Cultural Centre. Every year it is being conferred on eminent persons who have done laudable service in any field of social relevance and thus worked towards the fulfilment of Bharathi's dreams.

The Cabinet approved setting up of public Wi-Fi networks under ‘PM-WANI’ (Prime Minister's Wi-Fi Access Network Interface) to provide public Wi-Fi service through Public Data Offices without levy of any License Fee.
"The scheme would enable small shopkeepers to provide Wi-Fi service. This will boost incomes as well as ensure youth gets seamless internet connectivity. It will also strengthen our Digital India mission.

Lakshadweep has been declared as an organic agricultural area under the Participatory Guarantee System (PGS) of India.
Organic farming is the technique of crop and livestock production which involves choosing not to use pesticides, fertilizers, genetically modified organisms, antibiotics and growth hormones to grow crops.
Participatory Guarantee System (PGS): It is a process that certifies organic products. The certification is a documented logo or a statement issued by the authorities implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare.
Note: Sikkim became India’s first 100 percent organic state in 2016.

1^st rank- German Chancellor Angela Merkel
2^nd rank- President, European Central Bank Christine Lagarde
3^rd rank- US Vice President-elect Kamala Harris
41^st rank- Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman
55^th rank- HCL Enterprise CEO Roshni Nadar Malhotra
68^th rank- Biocon Founder Kiran Mazumdar Shaw
Note: Forbes is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. The editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes.

Indian journalist-author Raj Kamal Jha has been honoured with the Rabindranath Tagore Literary Prize 2020 for his novel ‘The City and The Sea’.
Jha’s book is based on the December 2012 Nirbhaya rape and murder case.
Note: Rabindranath Tagore Literary Prize was founded in 2018 by a US-based publisher Bundalo. The prize serves as a platform for world peace, literature, art, education and human rights.

Government to start 1000 Khelo India small centres to encourage sports culture in the country

Addressing the 10th Global Sports Summit, TURF 2020, The Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Kiren Rijiju, announced that the government will be starting 1000 Khelo India centres all over the country to help retired sportspersons get employment and to encourage the sports culture in the country.
Note: FICCI in association with Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (MYAS), Government of India, organized the International Conference on Business of Sports & Fitness 10th TURF 2020, the virtual edition on 8-9 December.

Bajrang Punia (Wrestler) and Elavenil Valarivan (Shooter) awarded “Sportsperson of the year” at FICCI India Sports Awards 2020

The sports awards are an attempt by industry body, FICCI to acknowledge and recognise the contribution of sportspersons and various stakeholders who deliver excellent results throughout the year.
Note: Madhya Pradesh received the Best State Promoting Sports Award and Cricket legend Anil Kumble received the Best Company Promoting Sports (Private Sector).

Karnataka's renowned Sanskrit scholar and Kannada poet Bannanje Govindacharya passes away

Conferred with the Padma Shri in 2009, Govindacharya was widely known for his translation of and commentaries on the complete texts of Sri Madhvacharya, a philosopher and theologian of the 13th century.
Apart from translating several literary works from Sanskrit to Kannada, Bannanje Govindacharya penned nearly 150 books. His works are popular among Tuluvas and Kannadigas across the world.

Energy conservation day is celebrated on December 14 every year since 1991 to focus on making people aware of global warming and climate change and promotes efforts towards saving energy resources.
Note: In India Energy Conservation Act was implemented by the Energy Efficiency Bureau (BEE) under the Ministry of Power in 2001. BEE is a constitutional body which works under the Government of India and helps in the development of policies and strategies to reduce the use of energy.