Daily Current Affairs for BIhar State Exams: 31.12.2020

The Cabinet approved the merger of Films Division, Directorate of Film Festivals, National Film Archives of India, and Children's Film Society, India with National Film Development Corporation (NFDC).
The merger of Film Media Units under one corporation will lead to convergence of activities and resources and better coordination.
Note: NFDC is a Central Public Sector Undertaking, incorporated in the year 1975 with the primary object of planning and promoting an organized, efficient and integrated development of the Indian Film Industry.

Madhya Pradesh: India's 1st tiger reserve hot air balloon wildlife safari launched

India's first hot air balloon wildlife safari in a tiger reserve was launched in the world-famous Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve by Madhya Pradesh.
The state was planning to introduce this service in Pench, Kanha and Panna tiger reserves as well.
The service is being operated by Jaipur-based Sky Waltz.

KVIC brings alive 1000-yrs old ‘Monpa’ Handmade Paper Industry in Tawang to revive the Heritage Art

The 1000-year old heritage art – the Monpa Handmade Paper of Arunachal Pradesh – which was driven to extinction, has come to life once again, with the committed efforts of Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC).
The fine-textured handmade paper, which is called Mon Shugu in the local dialect, is integral to the vibrant culture of the local tribes in Tawang.
The Monpa handmade paper will be made from the bark of a local tree called Shugu Sheng, which has medicinal values too.

The first and only indigenous Pneumonia vaccine launched by Serum Institute of India (SII)

The product of the company is named the Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine (PCV).
This vaccine is used for active immunisation against invasive disease and pneumonia caused by Streptococcus pneumonia in infants and has been developed by SII in collaboration with other partners like the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Note: Serum Institute of India is also the pharma company that is testing and producing the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine candidate in India.

Srinagar based Amar Singh College has been recognized with the 'Award of Merit' in the 2020 UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation.
The college building is 80 years old and INTACH (Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage) chapter in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir had carried out the conservation work at the Amar Singh College.

Scientists discovered a new species of wild Sun Rose from the Eastern Ghats in India

The name of the new species is Portulaca laljii which has been discovered from Prakasam district of Andhra Pradesh.
It has unique features such as a tuberous root, no hair in its leaf axils, a reddish-pink flower, prolate-shaped fruits, and copper brown seeds without luster.
It is named after Lal Ji Singh. He was a well-known botanist from the Botanical Survey of India.
This species has been included in the “Data Deficient” category of the IUCN Endangered Species List.

Bihar wins Digital India award 2020 for transferring money to beneficiaries’ accounts during COVID-19

More than 21 lakh stranded workers outside Bihar were provided financial assistance through the "Bihar Sahayata Mobile App".
The Chief Minister Secretariat, the Disaster Management Department besides the National Informatics Centre (NIC) of the state have jointly been chosen as winners in the "pandemic category" Digital India Awards 2020.

Arya Rajendran, a 21-year-old CPI (M) leader, was sworn-in as the youngest mayor of Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, the largest urban body in Kerala.
She is a second-year BSc. Maths student of the All Saints College.

Air Force Sports Control Board (AFSCB)has been annotated as the winner in the category of “Best Company Promoting Sports (Public Sector) 2020” at FICCI India Sports Awards 2020.
Note: Earlier the AFSCB was also conferred with ‘Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar’ on28 Aug 2020 for ‘Employment of Sports Persons and Sports Welfare measures’.