CURRENT AFFAIRES- RISE INSTITUTE-NELLORE

1. The US Congress has passed the important Gandhi-King Scholarly Exchange Initiative Act, part of the whopping USD 2.3 trillion year-end spending bill, that among other things paves the way for establishing an educational forum between America and India to study the work and legacies of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. Written by legendary civil rights activists and Congressmen John Lewis, who died early this year, and co-sponsored by Ami Bera, the Act authorises USD 1 million a year to fiscal 2025 for the Gandhi-King Scholarly Exchange Initiative. It authorises USD 2 million for just FY 2021 for the Gandhi-King Global Academy, and USD 30 million for 2021 for the US-India Gandhi-King Development Foundation. The initiative is part of a bill that runs into more than 5,000 packages. The entire bill of a mammoth USD 2.3 trillion that includes the coronavirus relief package of USD 900 billion and government funding bill (USD 1.4 trillion) is now headed to the White House for President Donald Trump to sign it into law. The legislation also authorises the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to establish a US-India development foundation that would leverage the Indian private sector to address development priorities in India. The development foundation would also be authorised at USD 15 million per year from 2022 to 2025 — but only if India's private sector commits to match the US government's contributions. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that the bill would cost USD 51 million over five years 

2. Needling China, the US Congress has passed a bill that reaffirms the right of Tibetans to choose a successor to their spiritual leader and expands the role of a special diplomat on Tibetan issues to pursue international coalitions to ensure that the next Dalai Lama is appointed solely by the Tibetan Buddhist community. The Tibetan Policy and Support Act of 2020, which was passed on late on Monday as part of a massive USD 2.3 trillion package for the year-end bill to provide long-delayed coronavirus relief and fund the federal government, modifies and reauthorises various programmes and provisions related to Tibet.

3. senior IAS officer Aditya Nath Das has been appointed Chief Secretary to the Government of Andhra Pradesh.

• Incumbent Nilam Sawhney, who is due to retire from service on December. 31, has been appointed Principal Advisor to the Chief Minister in the rank of a Cabinet Minister, after her superannuation.

• Another IAS officer Y Srilakshmi, who was transferred to the AP Cadre recently, has been posted as Secretary of Municipal Administration and Urban Development. 

4. Vehicles regardless of year of manufacture and age should have it. To ensure payment of user fee via electronic means and seamless movement of vehicles through toll plazas, FASTag has been made mandatory for four-wheelers from January 1, 2021 

5. Maharashtra releases the single emergency helpline number 112, to connect people in distress with the police. This number is operational in five cities ofMaharashtra officials said. ... The official added, the work of connecting remaining cities of the state with this service is also going on.

6. SC says farmers have right to protest, suggests Centre put farm laws on hold • SC on farm laws: The CJI further said the court is thinking of setting up an impartial and independent panel comprising of agriculture experts and farmers unions to resolve impasse on farm laws