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Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 09 December 2020

::NATIONAL::

Union Finance Minister releases the Smuggling in India Report 2019-20 which analyses organised smuggling trends on Gold and Foreign Currency, Narcotic Drugs, Security, Environment and Commercial Frauds.
The report has been compiled by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI).
The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence has detected 412 cases of smuggling resulting in the seizure of contraband worth ₹1,949 crore in 2019-20.
It arrested 837 economic offenders and also unearthed 761 complex cases of Customs duty evasion amounting to ₹2,183 crore.

The Union Government has introduced a new digital platform called 'CO-WIN' for COVID-19 vaccine delivery.
There will be a new mobile app as well with the same name that will allow people to register for the vaccine.

About the platform:

The platform will be used for recording vaccine data and will form a database of healthcare workers too. Presently being all COVID-19 related data necessary for the delivery of the vaccine is uploaded on the CO-WIN platform.
It will have separate modules for administrator, registration, vaccination, beneficiary acknowledgement and reports. Once people start to register for the app, the platform will upload bulk data on co-morbidity provided by local authorities.
The CO-WINapp is not available yet for smartphone users publicly.
The different modules of the platform cater to the entire process of COVID-19 vaccination starting from registration to verification.

Lebanon Reform, Recovery and Reconstruction Frameworkis part of a comprehensive people-centered response to the massive explosion on the Port of Beirut inAugust 2020.
It has been launched by the European Union, UN and the World Bank for a period of 18-month.
The 3RF aims to help Lebanon achieve three central goals in response to the Beirut port explosion.
A people-centered recovery.
Construction of critical assets, services, and infrastructure.
Restore people's trust in governmental institutions by improving governance.

Bangladesh signed its first Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) with Bhutan allowing duty free access to a range of goods between the two countries.
This is the first PTA Bangladesh has signed with any country in the world.
In 1971, Bhutan was the first country in the world, followed by India as the second, to recognise Bangladesh as an independent country.
The trade volume between the two countries is approximately 50 million dollars with 7.56 million of export and 42.09 million import into Bangladesh.
Bangladesh is expected to sign 11 more PTAs and Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with countries like Indonesia and Nepal by June next year.

National High-Speed Rail Corporation Limited will be adopting LiDAR technique to conduct ground survey forthe proposed Delhi-Varanasi High Speed Rail corridor.
Light Detection and Ranging Survey (LiDAR) is a remote sensing technology that uses light in the form of a pulsed laser to measure ranges(distances) to a target.
These light pulses are combined with other data recorded by the airborne system to generate precise,three-dimensional information about the shape of the Earth and its surface characteristics.
It is similar to radar and sonar (that use radio and sound waves, respectively).

Jehan Daruvala became the first Indian to win a Formula 2 race during the Sakhir Grand Prix on Sunday.
A thrilling battle against F2 champion Mick Schumacher and Daniel Ticktum saw the 22-year-old Indian emerge on top in the support race of the season-ending Formula 1 Grand Prix.

FIA Formula 2 Championship:

The FIA Formula 2 Championship is a second-tier single-seater racing championship organised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA).
The championship was introduced in 2017, following the rebranding of the long-term Formula One feeder series GP2.
It is designed to make racing affordable for the teams and to make it an ideal training ground for life in Formula One.