Current Affairs in Short: 17 December 2020

Union MSME Minister unveils eco-friendly 'Vedic Paint' 

•The Union Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Nitin Gadkari on December 17, 2020 unveiled an 'Vedic Paint' to boost the rural economy and generate additional income for farmers. 
•The paint made of cow dung will be launched soon through the Khadi and Village Industries Commission. 
•The union minister elaborated by saying that the paint will come in distemper and emulsion forms and will dry in just four hours.
•The eco-friendly paint will be washable, anti-bacterial, non-toxic and anti-fungal. The paint is expected to lead to an additional income of Rs 55,000 a year for livestock farmers.

Australian Open to start from February 8th

•The Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP)confirmed on December 17, 2020 that the Australian Open will be beginning from February 8, 2021.
•Australian Open, the first Grand Slam of the season, will be held between February 8-21, 2021. The Australian Open men's qualifying will take place from January 10-13 in Doha, Qatar. 
•All players and staff will undergo a 14-day quarantine period before the tournament, in accordance with the requirements of Australian public health and immigration authorities. 

In a first, air pollution ruled as cause of death of 9-year-old

•In a landmark judgement, a UK court ruled air pollution as the cause of death of a 9-year-old schoolgirl Ella Kissi-Debrah in London.
•Ella Kissi-Debrah had passed away in a hospital in February 2013 due to acute respiratory failure, severe asthma and air pollution exposure.
•The UK court concluded that Ella had died of asthma contributed to by exposure to excessive air pollution. 

70-80 pc reduction in COVAXIN trial participation:

•The phase III clinical trial of the indigenously-developed Bharat Biotech's vaccine candidate COVAXIN is facing a shortage of volunteer participation, informed senior AIIMS doctor on December 16, 2020. 
•The senior doctor revealed that the last phase trials are facing an almost 70-80 percent reduction in participation. In the first phase of trials, over 4500 applications were received as against the required 100 volunteers and in phase 2, around 4000 applications were received against the required 50. 
•However, under phase 3 trials, they have only been able to recruit 200 participants as of now as against the required 1500-2000 participants. The doctor said that this is happening because people are thinking about why to volunteer when a vaccine is coming soon. 

Delhi holds special assembly session over farmers' agitation 

•Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal addressed a special session of the Delhi Assembly called to discuss farmers' agitation on December 17, 2020. During his address, Kejriwal asked the centre how many sacrifices farmers will have to make, to get their voices heard. 
•He said that every farmer has become Bhagat Singh. He further questioned the Government is saying that they are reaching out to farmers and trying to explain the benefits of Farm Bills but is it a benefit.
•He further asked that what was the hurry to get Farm Laws passed in the Parliament during the pandemic. He highlighted that it was the first time that three laws were passed without voting in Rajya Sabha.
•The Delhi CM then expressed his support to the farmers' agitation by saying, "I hereby tear 3 Farm laws in this assembly and appeal to the Centre not to become worse than Britishers.