Important Weekly Current Affairs PDF Download (22nd to 31st December 2019)

By Priyanka Priya - Jan 31 2020

Weekly Current Affairs PDF 22nd to 31st December

Dear Readers, Here we have given the list of Important Weekly Current Affairs of 4th week  December 2019. Candidates those who are preparing for Upcoming SBI Clerk 2020 and other competitive exams can make use of it.

National Mathematics Day

  • The Indian government declared 22 December to be National Mathematics Day.
  • This was announced by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on 26 February 2012 at Madras University, during the inaugural ceremony of the celebrations to mark the 125th anniversary of the birth of the Indian mathematical genius Srinivasa Ramanujan.

Kisan Diwas

  • Kisan Divas or Farmer’s Day in India or National Farmer’s Day is celebrated on 23 December across the country to commemorate the birth anniversary of the former Prime Minister Chaudhary Charan Singh.

National Consumer Rights Day

  • National Consumers Right Dayis observed on 24 December to raise awareness about the rights of consumers and responsibilities
  • The theme for World Consumer Rights Day 2019 will be ‘Trusted Smart Products’

Good Governance Day (India)

  • Good Governance Day in India is observed on 25 December to commemorate the birth anniversary of Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
  • His Samadhi namely ‘SadiavAtal’ was dedicated to the nation and reflects his personality as a poet, humanist, statesman, and a great leader.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL

IIT Hyderabad CfHE Fellow launches India’s first ‘Vaccination Clinic’ in Pune in collaboration with Gates Foundation.

  • Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad’s Center for Healthcare Entrepreneurship (CfHE) Fellow Mr. Jignesh Patel has launched in Pune a Vaccination on Wheels Clinic, a first-of-its-kind service in India
  • Called ‘com’ as they have adopted VOW (Vaccination On Wheels) concept, this clinic will go to schools, colleges and corporates to conduct vaccination camps at their doorsteps. It will offer only vaccination services.

Skill Development Ministry to set up 500 skill hubs and labs in govt schools

  • Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Ministry has finalized a plan for setting up 500 skill hubs and labs in government schools. It has taken several initiatives to impart skill training to the youth of the country.
  • The Ministry aims to Skill on a large scale with high Standards in order to achieve its vision of a Skilled India

Government proposes to invest 50 lakh crore rupees for modernisation of Railways

  • Railway Minister Piyush Goyal has stated that Railways is looking at a 50 lakh crore rupees investment over the next 12 years.
  • It is coming out of joint ventures so that it can modernize the railways, bring down the logistics cost and improve the share of freight in railway network and make the journey world-class

PM Modi addresses ASSOCHAM Annual Conference

  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the annual general meeting of Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India in New Delhi.
  • The theme of the event was ‘New India Aspiring for a USD 5 trillion economy’. The event was organised on the completion of 100 years of ASSOCHAM.

‘Oxygen Parlour’ at Nashik Railway Station to combat air pollution

  • In a unique initiative to battle rising air pollution in cities, an ‘Oxygen Parlour’ has been opened at Nashik railwaystation to provide an experience of breathing clean air to the commuters.
  • The initiative comes with the efforts of Airo Guard in collaboration with the Indian Railways

Integral Coach Factory produces 3000 Coaches in record 215 days

  • Integral Coach Factory (ICF) of Indian Railways has produced its 3000th coach of the year in less than nine months.
  • This would help in meeting the growing demand for coaches. The number of working days to achieve the above figure has been reduced from 289 days in the last year to 215 days in the current year.

Regional Conference on ‘Improving Public Services Delivery – Role of Governments’ inaugurated in Nagpur

  • The inauguration function of two-day Regional Conference on ‘Improving Public Service Delivery – Role of Governments’, in Nagpur, Maharashtra
  • The 2-day conference is being organised by the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG) in collaboration with the Government of Maharashtra and the Maharashtra State Commission for Right to Public Services

S Jaishankar co-chairs 19th Joint Commission meeting with Iran Foreign Minister

  • External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar co-chaired the 19th Joint Commission meeting with Foreign Minister of Iran in Tehran.
  • Mr Jaishankar stated that the meeting was very productive and reviewed the entire gamut of the cooperation.

Central government to organize 100 ‘Hunar Haats’ in next five years

  • Government has decided to organize hundred Hunar Haat across the country in the next five years.
  • These Haat aim to provide market exposure and employment opportunities to artisans, craftsmen and traditional culinary experts
  • The Ministry has also sanctioned 100 Hunar Hubs in different parts of the country wherein training is being provided to master artisans, craftsmen and traditional culinary experts

Indian Railways to modernize its Signalling system

  • Indian Railways has decided to modernize its Signalling system on its entire network by implementing Modern Train Control system
  • Ministry of Railways stated that, this is one of the most ambitious modernization projects which envisages up-gradation of a signaling system for improving safety, Line Capacity and to run trains at a higher speed.

Urban India declared Open defecation free

  • India Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban has achieved its target of creating Urban India Open Defecation Free.
  • This has been achieved by the construction of nearly 81 lakh individual household toilets against Mission target of 59 lakhs and 5.89 lakh seats of public toilets against Mission target of 5.08 lakh seats

Govt notifies rules for fixation of microdots identifiers on vehicles

  • The government has notified rules for fixation of microdots identifiers on motor vehicles and their parts.
  • Road Transport and Highways Ministry stated , microdots will enhance the security of vehicles. The notification was issued after consideration of suggestions and objections on the draft notification issued in July this year

Union HRD Minister Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ inaugurates 65th National School Games of SGFI in New Delhi

  • Union HRD Minister Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ inaugurated Lawn Tennis Event (Under 19, Boys & Girls) of 65th National School Games organised by School Games Federation of India (SGFI) at R.K. Khanna Stadium in New Delhi.

Shri Dharmendra Pradhan unveils India’s First CNG Bus which can run 1000 Kms in one fill

  • Delhi has witnessed a revolution in shift towards cleaner gas based fuels
  • In a major step towards making India a gas-based economy and making CNG as the eco-friendly option for long distance transport in the country, Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of Petroleum& Natural Gas and Steel, unveiled India’s first long distance CNG bus fitted with composite CNG cylinders, which can travel around 1000 kms in a single fill.

CABINET APPROVALS:

Cabinet approves ex-post facto agreement on Security Cooperation between India and Saudi Arabia

  • The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given ex-post facto approval on an Agreement on Security Cooperation between the Government of the Republic of India and the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia that was signed on 29th October, 2019 during the visit of Hon’ble Prime Minister to Saudi Arabia.

Cabinet approves MoU between India and Bangladesh on cooperation in Youth matters

  • The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi was apprised of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between India and Bangladesh on cooperation in Youth matters

Cabinet approves ex-post facto the agreement between India and Uzbekistan on Cooperation in the field of Combating Transnational Organized Crime and International Terrorism

  • The agreement aims to improve the effectiveness of both countries in prevention and suppression of crimes including crime relating to terrorism and its financing, organized crime and to establish a framework for enhancing cooperation between the officials of intelligence and law-enforcement agencies of the two countries, in line with domestic laws and international obligations.

Cabinet grants ex-post facto approval to Agreement between India and Sweden on Recognition of Seafarer Certificates

  • The Agreement will pave the way for recognition of maritime education and training, certificates of competency, endorsements, training and documentary evidence and medical fitness certificates for seafarers issued by the Government of both the countries, in accordance with the provision of regulation 1/10 of the STCW Convention, and cooperation between the two countries in the training certification and management of seafarers.

Cabinet approves MoU between India and Saudi Arabia for cooperation in the field of Renewable Energy

  • The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi was apprised of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy of the Government of India and the Ministry of Energy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for cooperation in the field of Renewable Energy.

Cabinet approves Signing of MoU between India and Brazil on Bioenergy Cooperation

  • The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister ShriNarendraModi, has given its approval for signing of Memorandum of Understanding between the Republic of India and the Federative Republic of Brazil on Bioenergy Cooperation.

Digital Radio to be launched in 2024: Prakash Javadekar

  • Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar has stated that NDA government is bringing Digital Radio in 2024.
  • Addressing the annual Akashvani awards function in New Delhi ,Mr Javadekar stated that the audio of digital radio will be more clear and its reach will be higher.

PM Modi to unveil statue of Atal Bihari Vajpayee in Lucknow

  • Prime Minister NarendraModi will unveil a statue of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in Lucknow.
  • Mr Modi will unveil the 25-feet bronze statue at LokBhawan, the secretariat of Uttar Pradesh government. Prime Minister will also lay the foundation stone of Atal Bihari Medical University

PM Modi to launch Atal Bhujal Yojana

  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch Atal Bhujal Yojana in New Delhi . The Central Government scheme will promote Panchayat led ground water management and behavioural changes with primary focus on demand side management.
  • Union Cabinet approved the 6,000 crore rupees scheme at a meeting. Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar stated that, the scheme will be implemented over a period of 5 years in identified areas in Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.

Good Governance Index launched

  • Minister of State for Public Grievances and Pensions Dr Jitendra Singh launched Good Governance Index in New Delhi on the occasion of Good Governance Day .
  • Tamil Nadu topped the Good Governance Index launched by the Centre. Maharashtra, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh followed among the ‘Big States’
  • Among the ‘Big States’, the poor performers are Odisha, Bihar, Goa, and Uttar Pradesh with Jharkhand coming last.

All villages to have free WiFi services by March 2020: Govt

  • Communication and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has stated that free WiFi services will be provided to all villages across the country through Bharat net till March 2020.

Govt approves updation of National Population Register; says no documentation or bio-metric needed

  • Union Cabinet approves conduct of Census of India 2021 and updation of National Population Register.
  • The House listing and Housing Census will be carried out from April to September, 2020 and Population Enumeration  from  9th February to 28th February, 2021.
  • Union Minister Prakash Javadekar stated that Census exercise will be done by using App based technology to make it more easier. He assured that no proof, document or biometric will be taken during the process of NPR from the people.

Aadhaar made mandatory for PMVVY pension scheme

  • The government has made Aadhaar mandatory for subscribers of the Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojana (PMVVY), a pension scheme for senior citizens.
  • The scheme, which envisages an assured rate of return of 8% annually, is being implemented through Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC). The scheme was announced in Union Budgets of 2017-18 and 2018-19.

KVIC Distributes 1000 Bee Boxes, 100 Pottery Wheels and Leather Kits in Agartala

  • To commemorate 150th Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi and to support the weaker section of the society in Agartala, Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) organized a distribution of 1000 Bee Boxes, 100 Pottery Wheels and 100 Advanced Leather Tool kits 100 Farmers, 100 Potters and 100 Leather Artisans.

Dr. Harsh Vardhan inaugurates 2nd Edition of “Eat Right Mela”

  • The right kind of diet will help to reduce the disease burden in the country”. This was stated by Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister of Health & Family Welfare while inaugurating the second edition of the ‘Eat Right Mela’ at Jawahar Lal Nehru Stadium, New delhi

MoH&UA to Organise consultative workshop with States & UTs on “Shehri Samridhi Utsav 2020”

  • Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM) under Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs will be organising a consultative meeting at New Delhi on December 30, 2019 ; with all States and UTs to set out the framework for Shehri Samrddhi Utsav (SSU) 2020.

VP Venkaiah Naidu to inaugurate an LPG bottling plant of BPCL in Bolangir, Odisha

  • Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu is scheduled to visit Balangir district of Odisha to inaugurate an LPG bottling plant of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited and to attend the platinum jubilee function of Rajendra College in
  • The bottling plant has been established at an expenditure of 103 crore rupees and has capacity of manufacturing 42 lakh cylinders

More than 1 cr houses sanctioned under PM Awas Yojana (Urban)

  • Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Puri informed that one crore houses have already been sanctioned out of a validated demand of 1.12 crore houses in urban areas.
  • A total of 57 lakh houses are in various stages of construction of which, nearly 30 Lakh houses have been completed. PMAY (U) is one of the largest affordable housing programmes in the world.

Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh launches DefExpo 2020 mobile app

  • Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh launched the mobile app of the forthcoming DefExpo 2020 . The app is available on Apple App Store and Android Play Store.
  • The main features of the app are ‘inform, engage and feedback’. It provides detailed information about the day-to-day events; participating exhibitors; Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs), guest speakers of seminars,webinars; publications i.e., electronic brochures and e-books; maps and directions of the venues and city weather.

Finance Minister launches eBkray for online auction of assets attached by banks

  • PSBs have attached assets worth over 2.3 lakh crore over the last three financial years and to enable online auction by banks of attached assets transparently and cleanly for improved realisation of value, eBkray, a common e-auction platform was launchedby the Finance Minister.

Function organized to commemorate 76th Anniversary of First Flag Hoisting at Port Blair

  • A function was organized to commemorate the 76th Anniversary of First Flag Hoisting by NetajiSubhas Chandra Bose at Port Blair .
  • Lt Governor Admiral DK Joshi and Minister of State for Health & Family Welfare Ashwini Kumar Choubey hoisted the National Flag at Flag Point, Port Blair.

Amit Shah unveils new insignia for CRPF’s VIP security wing

  • Union Home Minister Amit Shah unveiled a new insignia for the CRPF’s VIP security wing that protects 59 high-risk dignitaries, including members of the Gandhi family and a host of Union ministers
  • The logo — with a “Garuda”, sword and shield — will give a distinct identity to the unit, Shah said. The insignia will bear the motto of the force — “Always, Aware, Alert”.

Central, state pollution control bodies to meet in Patna conference next month

  • Union Minister for Environment PrakashJavadekar will inaugurate the two-day long 64th conference of central and state pollution control boards and pollution committees, which is scheduled to start from January 16 to 17 in Patna.

Indian Railways introduces New Passenger friendly Information System at Anakapalle Station in Vijayawada Division

  • Indian Railways introduced a new Passenger Information System at Anakapalle Railway Station of Vijayawada Division in South Central Railway.
  • The Passenger Information system comprises both “At a Glance Display Board” (which gives a glance of the status of various train timings at the Station) and “Coach Guidance Display Board” (which provides the Coach Composition position of a train)

Indian Railways to Launch Tejas Express on Ahmedabad-Mumbai Route

  • Tejas is second Premium Train to be run by IRCTC
  • After the successful run of Lucknow-Delhi Tejas Express, the second premium Tejas train is ready to run between Ahmedabad and Mumbai.

CCTV in all railway stations and coaches by March 2022: Railway Board Chairman

  • The Indian Railways has floated tenders for installing CCTV cameras at all the stations and in all the coaches by March 2022.
  • By December this year, the railways has installed CCTVs at 503 railway stations across the country.”

Date of linking Aadhaar and PAN extended till March 2020

  • The date of linking Permanent Account Number (PAN) with Aadhaar has been extended from December 31, 2019, to March 31, 2020.

Be updated with Daily Current affairs News

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About PMVVY

  • PMVVY is a pension scheme for senior citizens implemented through LIC of India.
  • The scheme was announced in two versions in Union Budget 2017-18 and 2018-19.
  • It offers assured rate of return in the range of 8-8.3 per cent depending on the mode of pension that the individual chooses.

About KVIC

  • The Khadi and Village Industries Commission is a statutory body formed by the Government of India, under the Act of Parliament, ‘Khadi and Village Industries Commission Act of 1956’.
  • Headquarters: Mumbai
  • Vinai Kumar Saxena (Chairperson)

About PMAY:

  • Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) is an initiative by Government of India in which affordable housing will be provided to the urban poor with a target of building 20 million affordable houses by 31 March 2022.
  • Ministry: Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty
  • Prime Minister(s): Narendra Modi
  • Launched: 25 June 2015; 4 years ago
  • Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs: Hardeep Singh Puri.

About Andaman and Nicobar islands:

  • Capital city: Port Blair
  • Governor: Admiral (ret.) Devendra Kumar Joshi
  • National parks: Campbell Bay National Park, Galathea National Park,  Mahatma Gandhi Marine National Park,  Middle Button Island National Park,  Mount Harriet National Park,  North Button Island National Park,  Rani Jhansi Marine National Park,  Saddle Peak National Park, South Button Island National Park

About ministry of railways:

  • Union Minister of railways: Piyush Goyal
  • Minister of State: Suresh Angadi
  • Vinod Kumar Yadav, Chairman, Railway Board

About AADHAAR

  • Aadhaar is a 12-digit unique identity number that can be obtained voluntarily by residents or passport holders of India, based on their biometric and demographic data. The data is collected by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), a statutory authority established in  28th January 2009
  • Ministry: Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, India
  • Chairman: J. Satyanarayana UIDAI
  • Pankaj Kumar CEO, UIDAI

CURRENT AFFAIRS: INTERNATIONAL

Ethiopia launches its first satellite

  • Ethiopia launched its first satellite, a landmark achievement for the country’s space program that caps a banner year for the African space industry.
  • The launch of the Ethiopian Remote Sensing Satellite (ETRSS) took place at a space station in China

India, Afghanistan, Iran meet to monitor implementation of Chabahar pact

  • The second meeting between officials of India, Afghanistan and Iran took place to monitor implementation of the 2016 agreement regarding development and management of the Chabahar port in Iran.

Eight West African nations rename common currency to Eco

  • Eight West African countries have agreed to change the name of their common currency to Eco and severed their earlier currency CFA Franc’s links to former colonial ruler France.
  • The CFA Franc was initially pegged to the French franc and has been linked to the euro for about two decades. Benin, Burkina Faso, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo currently use the currency. All the countries are former French colonies with the exception of Guinea-Bissau.

Ecuador declares emergency after fuel spill in Galapagos Islands

  • Ecuador has declared emergency to contain the environmental impact of a fuel spill in the Galapagos Islands, after a barge carrying 600 gallons of diesel fuel sank. The Islands are located 1,000 kilometers east of mainland Ecuador.

China, Japan, South Korea meet on North Korea, free trade

  • Leaders from China, Japan and South Korea reiterated their commitment to ending North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs at a trilateral summit that comes against the backdrop of increasing demands by Pyongyang for sanctions relief.
  • Free trade and economic cooperation were also at the forefront of the meetings between Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and South Korean President Moon Jae-in in the southwestern Chinese city of Chengdu

Typhoon Phanfone Misery for Central Philippines on Christmas Day

  • Typhoon Phanfone pummelled the central Philippines on Christmas Day, bringing a wet and miserable holiday season to millions in the mainly Catholic nation
  • The Philippines is the first major landmass facing the Pacific cyclone belt.

Italy Approves 3% Digital Tax On Large Tech Companies From Next Year

  • Italy has recently decided to implement a new tax on technology giants that will put a three per cent digital tax on companies like Google and Amazon.
  • According to global figures, technology companies make over $831 million in global revenue and approximately $6 million from transactions and operation in Italy alone

UN gives green light to draft treaty to combat cybercrime

  • The UN General Assembly approved a resolution that will start the process of drafting a new international treaty to combat cybercrime over objections from the European Union, the United States and other countries
  • The resolution establishes an expert committee representing all regions of the world “to elaborate a comprehensive international convention on countering the use of information and communications technologies for criminal purposes”.

UN ups 2020 budget, includes funds for war crimes probes

  • The United Nations General Assembly adopted a USD 07-billion operating budget which for the first time includes funding for the investigation of war crimes in Syria and Myanmar.
  • The budget represents a slight increase from 2019’s figure of USD 2.9 billion.

UAE extends 300 million US dollars of development aid to Jordan

  • The Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD) announced that it is providing 300 million US dollars as development aid to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.
  • The UAE leadership’s decision reaffirms the commitment to standing alongside the brotherly leadership and people of Jordan, reflecting the nation’s foreign policy that carries the legacy of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan and continues under the leadership of President Sheikh Khalifa.

China to issue revised local GDP figures under new mechanism from 2020

  • China will revise its historical regional GDP data under a unified accounting mechanism from early next year.
  • The Chinese economy grew at an annual pace of 0 per cent in the July-September quarter, the slowest growth since 1992.

ISA to deepen industry collaboration between India, US

  • The signing of the Industrial Security Annex between India and the US will deepen industry collaboration, enable the release of more advanced technology and information to India and help make it part of the global supply chain in the defence sector.
  • During the 2nd edition of the 2+2 dialogue held, India and the US agreed to further expand their defence ties and concluded the crucial Industrial Security Annex (ISA).

Brazil fines Facebook $1.6 mn for improper sharing of user data

  • Brazil’s Ministry of Justice had found that data from 4,43,000 Facebook users was improperly made available to developers of an App called ‘this is your digital life’
  • Brazil’s Ministry of Justice stated that it fined U.S. tech giant Facebook Inc 6 million reais ($1.6 million) for improperly sharing user data.

The Netherlands drops ‘Holland’ as a Nickname

  • The Netherlandsis gearing up to drop the moniker “Holland” as it rebrands itself in 2020.
  • Holland is a region of the Netherlands, but the two names are often used interchangeably to describe the northern European country.

Sri Lankan govt says Batticaloa airport to be developed as an international airport

  • Sri Lankan government has stated that it will develop Batticaloa airport in eastern province as an international airport with Indian assistance.
  • The Indian government has extended its fullest cooperation to develop the domestic airport and it has been discussed with the Indian High Commissioner in Sri Lanka Taranjit Singh Sandhu recently.

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Italy:

  • Capital: Rome
  • Currency: Euro
  • Prime Minister: Giuseppe Conte

Philippines:

  • Capital: Manila
  • Currency: Philippine peso

Ecuador

  • Capital: Quito
  • Currency: United States Dollar
  • President: Lenín Moreno
  • Vice President: Otto Sonnenholzner

UAE:

  • Capital: Abu Dhabi
  • Currency: United Arab Emirates dirham
  • President: Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan

Jordan:

  • Capital: Amman
  • Currency: Jordanian dinar
  • Prime minister: Omar Razzaz

Brazil:

  • Capital: Brasilia
  • Currency: Brazilian real
  • President: Jair Bolsonaro

 Netherlands:

  • Capital– Amsterdam
  • Currency– Euro
  • Prime Minister– Mark Rutte

Sri Lanka:

  • Capitals: Colombo, Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte
  • Currency: Sri Lankan rupee
  • President: Gotabaya Rajapaksa
  • Prime minister: Mahinda Rajapaks

CURRENT AFFAIRS: STATES

YSR Neetanna Nestham scheme launched in Krishna district’s Pedana town

  • The YSR Neetanna Nestham scheme was launched in Krishna district’s Pedana town by Andhra Pradesh Panchayati Raj Minister P Ramachandra Reddy.
  • Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy had seen the problems of handloom weavers in his foot march and he introduced the scheme for about 75,000 weavers under which they would be given Rs 24,000 annually

Secunderabad Railway Station Gets India’s First ‘Water From Air’ System

  • The Indian Railways announced that it has installed a first-of-its-kind ‘atmospheric water generator’ (AWG) system called ‘Meghdoot,’ which converts humid air into potable drinking water, at Secunderabad railway station in Telangana.
  • The AWG device is developed by Telangana-based watertech company Maithri Aquatech

Hyderabad – New Delhi Telangana Express adorned with “Singareni Colours” starts its run from Hyderabad to New Delhi

  • In first of its kind initiative by South Central Railway, Hyderabad-New Delhi- Hyderabad Telangana Express, the iconic train that connects the State and the Nation’s Capital, has been wrapped with the colors of Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL), the Government owned Coal producing giant of India and also a premier freight customer of the Railways

Harshest winter phase ‘Chillai-Kalan’ begins in Kashmir

  • Chillai-Kalan, a 40-day long period of extreme cold in Kashmir, began on December 21 and will continue till January 31 followed by Chillai-Khurd and Chillai-Bachha.
  • A 20-day long Chillai-Khurd (small cold) starts from January 31 to February 19 and a 10-day long Chillai-Bachha (baby cold) occurs between February 20 and March 2.

Arunachal to mark schools as ‘hard’ and ‘soft’

  • Arunachal Pradesh will soon have schools marked ‘hard’, ‘soft’ and ‘medium’. Geography, lack of infrastructure and reluctance of teachers to work beyond their comfort zones are the reasons for this categorisation.

Rohtang tunnel named after Vajpayee

  • On the eve of the birth anniversary(25TH Dec) of former Prime Minister late Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the Central government announced to name the Rohtang tunnel, a road link between Kullu and landlocked Lahaul Valley in Himachal Pradesh, after Vajpayee.

Delhi Launches Housing Scheme For Residents Of Unauthorised Colonies

  • Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal launched the ”Mukhyamantri Aawas Yojana” for the residents of Jhuggi-Jhopri (JJ) clusters would provide a pucca house to every citizen of Delhi.
  • 65,000 families residing in slum areas were distributed ownership certificates and they would soon be provided pucca houses

Delhi cabinet approves policy on electric vehicles to curb pollution

  • By 2024, the 25% of the vehicles to be electric vehicles. The aim is to reduce air pollution and create large scale jobs. The emphasis is on two-wheelers and public transport because they operate more.
  • Electric two-wheelers are less than 0.2% (of annual sales) and three-wheelers are close to zero.

11th National Street Food Festival in New Delhi

  • The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) in collaboration with the National Association of Street Vendors of India (NVSVI) is organizing the 11th edition of the National Street Food Festival.
  • The festival with a vibrant representation of tastes from across the country is organized at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi

Telangana govt raises retirement age of RTC staff

  • Telangana government has decided to raise the retirement age of employees of the Road Transport Corporation, RTC to 60 from the current 58 years

Rahul Gandhi to launch tribal dance fest in Chhattisgarh

  • Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is scheduled to visit Chhattisgarh capital Raipur on December 27 to take part in the opening ceremony of the national tribal dance festival.
  • The state is going to hold a three-day ‘National Tribal Dance Festival 2019’ at the Science College ground, wherein over 1,350 artistes from 25 states in India and six other countries are expected to take part.

India’s first university for transgender community to come up in UP’s Kushinagar dist

  • The first university for the transgender community in India will be opened in Uttar Pradesh’s Kushinagar district.
  • In the university, the transgender community will be able to study right from class one to PG and even do research and get PhD degree.

Earliest Sanskrit inscription in South India found in A.P.

  • In a significant find, the Epigraphy Branch of the Archaeological Survey of India has discovered the earliest epigraphic evidence so far for the Saptamatrika cult.
  • It is also the earliest Sanskrit inscription to have been discovered in South India as on date

Massive locust invasion threatens Gujarat farmers

  • Sharing borders with neighbouring Pakistan, Gujarat is under attack from hoppers — new-born locusts — that have flown in across the international border.
  • As the swarms mature, they have ravaged farms in North Gujarat, devastating farmers in the three border districts Banaskantha, Patan and Kutch.

Delhi restaurants will now have menus in Braille

  • The Delhi State Commissioner of Person with Disabilities (PWD) has recently passed an order to almost 400 hotel and restaurants stating that they should print menus in Braille for the benefit of the visually impaired.

Bhubaneswar-New Delhi Rajdhani Express featuring Odisha’s heritage flagged off

  • Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on flagged off Bhubaneswar-New Delhi Rajdhani Express showcasing Odisha’s heritage and culture on the exteriors of the train.
  • The coaches were draped with vinyl wrapping sheets having high-quality art related prints on the dance forms, archaeological monuments and flora and fauna of the state.

Assam Government Launches ‘Abhinandan’ scheme to benefit students

  • Assam State Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma attended the ceremonial launch of ‘Abhinandan’, an education loan subsidy scheme that will provide a one-time subsidy of 50,000 in loan to 1546 students.
  • 5,000 students in Assam are currently pursuing higher studies in the state. The loan will benefit 1500 students in the first batch and 3000 students will earn benefit in the second batch

Losar Festival: Ladakhi New Year being celebrated

  • The Losar celebration denotes the start of the New year and is thought to be the most critical celebration of the locale Ladakh and Tibet.
  • Amid this celebration, the Ladakhi Buddhists make a religious offering before their divinities in the local holy places or in the Gompas.

Mandu Festival to begin in MP

  • The first edition of Mandu Festival will begin at Mandu, picturesque fort city of Madhya Pradesh.
  • The five-day event organized by Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board will witness a celebration of the historic heritage blended with the modern vibrancy of the city culture

After Kerala, Uttarakhand schools introduce ‘water bell’ to have students consume more water

  • In an effort to tackle dehydration in children of government schools, Uttarakhand education department will be introducing a ‘Water Bell’.
  • The bell will ring thrice a day to remind students of class 1-8 to drink water

North Eastern Council with J&K admin to organise Bamboo workshop-cum-exhibition in Jammu

  • MoS in PMO and Minister for North Eastern Region DrJitender Singh has stated that the North Eastern Council in collaboration with J&K UT administration will organise a workshop-cum-exhibition on ‘Bamboo – A wonder grass: Opportunity for Sustainable Development in Jobs‘ in Jammu in January.

Haryana CM Khattarunveils five e-initiatives, including Lokayukta portal

  • Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar launched five new e-initiatives, including Lokayukta portal and addition of 42 new schemes and services on the Saral portal, at the State-level Good Governance programme.
  • The other three initiatives were websites of all 22 districts, integration of 91 Tehsils to Web Helris and digital map of village Sirsi (district Karnal) to make the village free from Lal Dora.

Maharashtra cabinet approves farm loan waiver, meal scheme

  • Maharashtra approved the farm loan waiver scheme and also gave its nod to a subsidised meal scheme for the poor.
  • The state cabinet approved the Mahatma Jyotirao Phule Farmer Loan Waiver Scheme, under which crop arrears pending till September 30, 2019, will be waived.

Nitish Kumar Unveils Statue of ArunJaitley in Patna on Late BJP Leader’s Birth Anniversary

  • Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar unveiled a statue of former Union Minister Arun Jaitley in Patna on his birth anniversary and paid floral tributes.
  • Earlier this year in August, Nitish Kumar had announced that a statue of the former Finance Minister will be installed in the State. He had also said that Jaitley’s birth anniversary will be celebrated as a State function every year.

New policy for population control to be ready soon in Bihar

  • Bihar, one of the most populous states in the country, will have a new population-control policy soon.
  • The new policy will be aimed at increasing the use of injectable contraceptives, creating more awareness among men and women — particularly young women in high schools and colleges — on population control and the use of contraceptives, expanding existing medical festivals and, most likely, offering a package of incentives and disincentives.

Uttarakhand all set for survey on snow leopards

  • Uttarakhand is all geared up to conduct its maiden survey on snow leopards for which the Indo-Tibetan Border Police will be roped in for the nearly two-year exercise.
  • The census will be conducted on the basis of camera trap pictures, pugmark, excreta and other evidence. Work will start after winters areover for the project ‘Secure Himalaya’.

First elephant colony in Madhya Pradesh

  • Elephants have tayed back in Madhya Pradesh for the first time over seasons and even bred two new calves, choosing not to return to the withering forests of north Chhattisgarh.
  • Last November,elephants in herds, 38 of them, wandered into the forests of Bandhavgarh looking for food and water, like each year.

Annual Flamingo Festival at Pulicat Lake

  • The annual Flamingo Festival is to be held in January at Pulicat lake in Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh.
  • The Pulicat lake supports rich biodiversity and high biomass of fishes and planktons which is utilised as food resources by visiting birds. Thus about 75 aquatic and terrestrial bird species visit the sanctuary every year.

Kerala startup mission to organise second Scalathon for start-ups

  • After holding an accelerator programme for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) this month, the Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) is all set to conduct a similar Scalathon on January 7, 2020.
  • The programme is for entrepreneurs with an annual business turnover between `5 crore and `350 crore. Led by experienced consultants such as strategic advisers, coaches, and investors from across the country

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Uttarakhand

  • Governor: Baby Rani Maurya
  • Chief Minister: Trivendra Singh Rawat (BJP)
  • Chief Justice: Ramesh Ranganathan
  • National park : Corbett National Park,Govind National Park,Nanda Devi National Park,Valley of flowers

Madhya Pradesh

  • Capital: Bhopal
  • CM: Kamal Nath
  • Governor: Anandhiben Patel

 Delhi

  • CM: Arvind Kejrival
  • Governor: Anil Baijal
  • Deputy Chief: Minister:Manish Sisodia
  • Stadiums: Arun Jaitley Stadium , Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium , Dhyan Chand National Stadium .
  • World Heritage Sites: Humayun’s Tomb, Qutb Minar and its Monuments, Red Fort Complex.

Ladakh

  • Capital: Leh
  • Governor: RK Mathur

Jammu & Kashmir

  • Capital : Jammu (Winter) and Srinagar (Summer)
  • Lieutenant Governor: Girish      Chandra Murmu

Arunachal Pradesh

  • Capital: Itanagar
  • CM: Pema Khandu
  • Governor: B D Mishra

Telangana

  • Capital: Hyderabad
  • Chief Minister: Chandrasekar Rao
  • Governor: Tamilisai Soundarajan

Gujarat

  • Capital: Gandhinagar
  • CM: Vijay Rupani
  • Governor: Acharya Dev Vrat

Haryana

  • Capital: Chandigarh
  • CM: Manohar Lal khattar
  • Governor: Satyadev Narayan Arya

Maharashtra

  • Capital: Mumbai
  • CM: Uddhav Thackeray
  • Governor: Bhagat Singh Koshyari

Bihar

  • Capital: Patna
  • CM: Nitish Kumar
  • Governor: PhaguChauhan

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BANKING AND FINANCE

Wipro and Nasscom to upskill 10,000 engineering students in India

  • Bengaluru-based Wipro Ltd has partnered with the National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom) to train 10,000 students from over 20 engineering colleges in India as part of the ‘Future Skills’ platform

Fitch cuts India’s GDP growth forecast to 4.6% in FY20

  • Fitch Ratings cut India’s GDP growth forecast for 2019-20 fiscal year to 6 per cent on deterioration in business and consumer confidence.
  • It affirmed India’s Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at ‘BBB-‘ with a Stable Outlook

Debt-ridden Air India receives Rs 500-crore guarantee from Centre

  • The debt-ridden Air India received a guarantee worth Rs 500 crore from the government to secure fresh funds for operational requirements.
  • Faced with an acute financial crunch, the national carrier had sought Rs 2,400-crore guarantee from the government to raise fresh funds to mainly meet its operational requirements

AIIB announces USD 210 million loan for irrigation & solar energy projects in India

  • The Beijing-based Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) announced a total loan of USD 210 million for irrigation and solar energy projects in India

RBI to buy, sell govt bonds worth Rs 10,000 crore

  • The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will simultaneously purchase and sell government securities worth 10,000 crore rupees under a special Open Market Operation (OMO).
  • Such exercises are done by the central bank when the proceeds from the sale of short-term securities are used to buy long-term government securities or bonds in a bid to bring down interest rates on long-term securities

FPIs flock to Indian capital market despite decline in GDP growth rate in 2019

  • In spite of a decline in the GDP growth rate, Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) seem to have flocked to the Indian capital market in a big way in 2019 with a net inflow of over 1.3 lakh crore rupees, including 97,250 crore rupees in equities, the highest in last six years

Reliance Infrastructure wins Rs 1,250 cr arbitration award against DVC

  • Reliance Infrastructure has won an arbitration award of Rs 1,250 crore against Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC).
  • The proceeds will be used to pay lenders and reduce the debt of the company, the infrastructure firm in a filing to BSE.

Number of active GST taxpayers crosses 1 crore

  • A range of measures to go after tax defaulters and simplifying the GST filing process was discussed by the Group of Ministers headed by Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi in Bengaluru.
  • Briefing media persons in Bengaluru, Sushil Modi informed that the number of active GST taxpayers has gone up to one crore twenty-one lakh of which 66.79 lakh are new registrations, since the launch of GST.

IMF retains India’s FY20 GDP growth rate forecast at 6.1%

  • IMF’s projection is much higher than those by most agencies.
  • The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has retained India’s economic growth forecast at 1 per cent for FY20, but stated risks to the outlook are tilted to downward side

RBI caps lending on P2P platforms at Rs 50 lakh

  • To protect consumers interest, the Reserve Bank on December 23 stated that on a peer-to-peer lending (P2P) platform the permissible exposure of a lender to all borrowers should not exceed Rs 50 lakh at any given point of time. “On a review, it has been decided that the aggregate exposure of a lender to all borrowers at any point of time, across all P2P platforms, shall be subject to a cap of Rs 50,00,000 provided that such investments of the lenders on P2P platforms are consistent with their net-worth.
  • The lender investing more than Rs 10 lakh across P2P platforms will produce a certificate to P2P platforms from a practising Chartered Accountant certifying minimum net-worth of Rs 50 lakh

Amazon to open first farm collection centre in Pune

  • Amazon Retail India Pvt Ltd, the retail arm of e-commerce giant Amazon, will soon open its first farm collection center in Pune. Under its farm-to-fork initiative, Amazon will directly purchase vegetables from farmers, who would be paid within 24 hours.

SEBI inks pact with Kazakhstan-based AFSA for mutual, technical cooperation

  • Markets regulator SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India) has signed a bilateral memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Kazakhstan-based Astana Financial Services Authority (AFSA) for mutual co-operation and technical assistance

GST Council sets up GRC at zonal, state level

  • The GST Council on announced setting up the Grievance Redressal Committees (GRC) at zonal and state levels to resolve issues related to the Goods and Services Tax (GST).
  • Approved by the council in its 38th meeting, the committee will consist of both central tax and state tax officers, representatives of trade and industry and other GST stakeholders

RBI introduces new prepaid payment instrument

  • The Reserve Bank has introduced a new type of prepaid payment instrument (PPI) which could be used only for purchase of goods and services up to a limit of Rs 10,000 per month.
  • The amount loaded in such PPIs during any month shall not exceed Rs 10,000 and the total amount loaded during the financial year shall not exceed Rs 1,20,000

NTPC may add 10GW of solar energy capacity

  • State -owned power giant NTPC is planning to add 10GW of solar energy generation capacity by 2022, which entails an investment of around Rs 50,000 crore, to be funded mainly by green bonds

Allahabad Bank gets fresh capital of Rs 2,153 crore from government

  • State-owned Allahabad Bank stated it will get a fresh capital infusion of Rs 2,153 crore from the government  in the current financial year.
  • In this list, Punjab National Bank was approved to get Rs 16,000 crore, Union Bank of India Rs 11,700 crore, Canara Bank Rs 6,500 crore and Indian Bank Rs 2,500 in the current financial year.

NPCI offers recharge option for FASTag through BHIM UPI

  • National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) stated that customers can recharge NETC FASTags through BHIM UPI.
  • Any BHIM UPI-enabled mobile app would now give vehicle owners the opportunity to recharge their FASTags on the go and avoid queues at toll plazas

India set to cross 100GW renewable energy capacity mark in 2020

  • India is all set to cross the 100GW renewable energy capacity mark in 2020 and can make rapid strides towards the ambitious 175GW clean energy target by 2022 provided the government keeps a close eye on key issues and deals with those well in time

SBI to introduce new way of ATM cash withdrawal from 1st January

  • Country’s largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) will be introducing one time password (OTP) based cash withdrawal system to help protect its customers from unauthorised transactions at ATMs.
  • The OTP-based cash withdrawal system shall be active across all SBI ATMs effective 1 January 2020 between 8 pm to 8 am

Pine Labs partners with Kotak Mahindra Bank to enable EMIs on Kotak debit cards

  • Pine Labs, one of India’s largest merchant-focused companies and Kotak Mahindra Bank (Kotak)  announced a tie-up to enable EMI payments via Kotak Debit Cards.
  • This arrangement enables over 10 million eligible Kotak debit card customers to pay for their purchases in easy instalments via the Pine Labs POS terminals.

Over 125 crore people now have Aadhaar cards: Government

  • The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has announced a milestone of sorts with the total number of Aadhaar cards issued so far crossing the 25 billion mark.
  • With this, 125 crore residents of the country have received their own 12-digit unique identity number since the service was rolled out in 2009.

Karnataka Bank launches TAB Banking

  • Karnataka Bank, as part of its digital initiative, launched ‘KBL Xpress SB Accounts’, a digitised version for opening Savings Bank account through TAB Banking on the spot.
  • Using the TAB banking account opening process, the Bank can on-board the prospective customer and open the Savings Bank Account.

RBI appoints J&K Bank as lead banking convenor for J&K, SBI for Ladakh

  • The Reserve Bank appointedJammu & Kashmir Bank as the lead banker for the newly carved out union territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
  • State Bank of India (SBI) will be the lead convenor bank for union territory of Ladakh.

Swiggy launches own digital wallet, to credit refunds for now

  • The Bengaluru-headquartered company has launched its own wallet – Swiggy Money. According to a notification in its FAQ (frequently asked questions) column, the wallet will initially be used to credit amounts for the cancelled orders.
  • Later, however, Swiggy Money will function as a usual digital wallet to store money and for transactions on the platform. With minimum KYC, a Swiggy Money user can transact up to Rs 10,000 while a full KYC allows the user to load up to Rs 1 lakh at any given time

Ashok Leyland, Citicorp Finance ink MoU for commercial vehicles’ financing

  • Hinduja Group’s flagship firm Ashok Leyland o stated it has partnered with Citicorp Finance India Ltd for financing commercial vehicles
  • Citicorp Finance will work in close coordination with the authorised dealers of Ashok Leyland to provide financial solutions to customers.

India likely to surpass Germany to become the fourth-largest economy in 2026

  • India will overtake Germany to become fourth-largest economy in the world by the year 2026. According to a report by the UK-based Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR), India is all set to overtake Japan to become the third-largest economy by
  • The report titled ‘World Economic League Table 2020’ stated that India is also set to become a 5 trillion dollar economy by 2026, 2 years later than the government’s target of 2024.

Pakistani-owned HBZ Bank sanctioned by South Africa’s central bank

  • South Africa’s central bank has sanctioned Durban-headquartered HBZ Bank, with roots in Pakistan, for violating the country’s Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Control Regulations.

Tamil Nadu to set up four Electronics Manufacturing Clusters

  • The Tamil Nadu government is planning to develop four Electronics Manufacturing Clusters (EMCs) in Chennai, Tiruvallur, Hosur and Kancheepuram, according to sources in the state industries department. The project is likely to come up by

SBI cuts external benchmark-based rate by 25 basis point

  • The country’s largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) announced a reduction in its external benchmark-based rate by 25 basis points to 80 per cent from 8.05 per cent.
  • The new rates will be applicable from January 1, 2020, the bank stated in a statement. SBI has announced the reduction in its external benchmark-based rate (EBR) by 25 basis points to 7.80 per cent p.a from 8.05 per cent per annum with effect from January 1, 2020.

RBI buys Rs. 10,000 crore worth government securities via OMO

  • In its second special open market operation (OMO), the Reserve Bank of India bought Rs. 10,000 crore of long-term government securities and sold Rs. 8,501 crore of three short-term bonds.
  • Last week, the RBI had stated that it would buy and sell government securities under OMO for Rs. 10,000 crore each, simultan

MOSPI constitutes Standing Committee on Economic Statistics headed by Pronab Sen

  • The statistics ministry has constituted a 28 member Standing Committee on Statistics (SCES) chaired by former Chief Statistician Pronab Sen to improve quality of data amid criticism of the government over political interference.

RBI proposes to tighten lending norms for UCBs

  • The RBI proposed reduction in loan amount an urban co-operative bank can lend to a single entity and a group of borrowers to 10 per cent and 25 per cent, respectively, with an aim to prevent PMC Bank like scams caused by large exposure to one group.
  • Currently, primary (urban) co-operative banks (UCBs) are permitted to have exposures up to 15 per cent and 40 per cent of their capital funds to a single borrower and a group of borrowers, respectively.

Indian Bank to revise MCLR from January 3

  • Indian Bank stated  that it would revise lending rates on marginal cost of funds from January 3. “The bank has revised the marginal cost of funds-based lending rate with effect from January 3, 2020.
  • Accordingly, the revised MCLR would be 90 per cent as against the existing 7.95 per cent for overnight tenors. For tenors of one month, the lending rates would be revised to 8.05 per cent from the current 8 per cent

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Ashok Leyland (ALL):

  • Headquarters– Chennai, Tamil Nadu
  • Parent organization- Hinduja Group
  • Founder– Raghunandan Saran

YES Bank:

  • Formation– 2004
  • Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra
  • CEO & MD– Ravneet Gill
  • Tagline– Experience our Expertise

State Bank of India (SBI):

  • Founded- 1 July 1955 as SBI.
  • Headquarters- Mumbai, Maharashtra.
  • Chairperson- Rajnish Kumar.
  • Tagline- Pure Banking Nothing Else, With You All the Way, A Bank Of The Common Man, Banker to Every Indian.

Jammu and Kashmir Bank (J&K bank):

  • Founded- 1 October 1938.
  • Chief Executive Officer(CEO)- R K Chhibber
  • Headquarters- Srinagar.
  • Tagline- Serving to Empower.

 Aadhaar:

  • The Aadhaar, with a unique identity number, was introduced in 2009. It is the world’s largest biometric identification system.
  • Ministry: Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, India
  • Satyanarayana, IAS, Chairman, UIDAI
  • Pankaj Kumar IAS, CEO, UIDAI
  • Launched:28 January 2009; 10 years ago

Karnataka Bank:

  • Headquarters– Mangaluru
  • MD & CEO– Mahabaleshwara M S
  • Tagline– Your Family Bank Across India

Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI)

  • It is responsible for regulating Securities market in India. It was first established in 1988 as a non-statutory body for regulating securities market and was given Statutory Powers on 30 January 1992 through Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) Act, 1992.

 Astana Financial Services Authority (AFSA):

  • Founded– 2018
  • Headquarters– Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan
  • Governor– Kairat Kelimbetov

 Allahabad Bank:

  • Headquarters: Kolkata
  • CEO: S. Mallikarjuna Rao
  • Tag line: A tradition of trust

Kotak Mahindra Bank

  • Establishment- 2003
  • Headquarters- Mumbai, Maharashtra
  • Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer– Uday Kotak
  • Tagline- Lets make money simple

Pine Lab

  • Headquarter- Noida, Uttar Pradesh
  • Chief Executive Officer- Vicky Bindra

South Africa:

  • Capitals: Cape Town, Pretoria, Bloemfontein
  • Currency: South African rand
  • President: Cyril Ramaphosa

About Indian bank:

  • Headquarters :Chennai, India
  • (MD & CEO) :Ms. Padmaja Chunduru
  • Tagline : your tech- friendly bank

CURRENT AFFAIRS: ACQUISITIONS & MERGERS

Three proposals get automatic nod under CCI green channel

  • The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has received three Green Channel combinations for automatic approval under the competition law.
  • One of the combinations is related to 100 per cent acquisition of both IDBI Asset Management Ltd (IAML) and IDBI MF Trustee Company Ltd (IMTL) by Muthoot Finance Ltd (MFL).
  • The other combination is the acquisition of Adani Electricity Mumbai Ltd (AEML) and Adani Electricity Mumbai Services Ltd (AEMSL) by Qatar Holding LLC (QH).

Bharti  Infratel, Indus Towers extend deadline for merger to February 24

  • Bharti Infratel stated it has extended the deadline for a merger with mobile tower company Indus Towers by two more months to February 24, as it has not received the necessary government approvals so far.
  • The Board of Directors has further extended the long stop date till February 24, 2020

CURRENT AFFAIRS: MOU

UAE and Oman sign MoU to enhance trade & economic cooperation

  • The UAE federal export credit company, Etihad Credit Insurance (ECI) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding ( MoU) with the Export Credit Guarantee Agency of Oman (Credit Oman) to enhance trade and economic cooperation between the two countries

Andhra Pradesh CM Jagan lays foundation stone for Rs 15,000 crore steel plant

  • Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy laid the foundation stone for establishing a high-grade steel plant at Sunnapurallapalli village in his native Kadapa district.
  • The Rs 15,000-crore plant with a three-million-tonne capacity per annum would provide jobs to about 25,000 people, and would be completed in three years.

WE Hub Partners with Startup India DPIIT To Launch WING Program for Women Entrepreneurs in Telangana

  • WE Hub, India’s first state led incubator to foster and promote women entrepreneurship to start-up, scale-up and accelerate with global market access, announced its partnership with Start-up India, DPIIT.
  • The two have joined hands to launch Startup India’s flagship program for women entrepreneurs called WING (Women Rise Together program) in
  • We Hub, will drive the program for women entrepreneurs in Telangana in collaboration with KSUM and provide them with access to incubation, investors and business support.

TN Govt, Dept of Fisheries, NABARD ink agreement under Aquaculture Development Fund (FIDF)

  • The first tripartite Memorandum of Agreement was signed between the Department of Fisheries under the Government of India, NARBARD, and the Government of Tamil Nadu for the implementation of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development Fund (FIDF).
  • A dedicated fund has been created, viz the Fisheries and Aquaculture Infrastructure Development Fund (FIDF), with a total of 7,522.48 crore to address the infrastructure requirement for fisheries sector.

Grameena bank signs MoU on sustainable energy solutions

  • Karnataka Vikas Grameena Bank (KVGB) and SELCO Solar Light Pvt. Ltd., a social enterprise that provides sustainable energy solutions to under-served households and businesses, have signed a memorandum of understanding on solar lighting and livelihood solutions.

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UAE

  • Capital: Abu Dhabi
  • Currency: United Arab Emirates dirham
  • President: Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan

OMAN

  • Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is an Arab country on the south eastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. Its official religion is Islam.
  • Capital: Muscat
  • Currency: Omani rial

ANDHRA PRADESH

  • Governor: Biswabhusan Harichandan
  • Chief minister: Y. S. Jaganmohan Reddy
  • Capitals: Amaravati, Hyderabad

 TELANGANA

  • Capital: Hyderabad
  • Chief Minister: Chandrasekar Rao
  • Governor: Tamilisai Soundarajan

DEPARTMENT FOR PROMOTION OF INDUSTRY AND INTERNAL TRADE (DPIIT)

  • The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) is a central government department under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
  • Headquarters: New Delhi
  • Founded: 1995

MINISTRY FOR FISHERIES, ANIMAL HUSBANDRY AND DAIRYING

  • Union Minister: Shri Giriraj Singh.
  • Constituency: Rajasthan

KARNATAKA VIKAS GRAMEEN BANK (KVGB):

  • Headquarters- Dharwad, Karnataka
  • Chairman- Puttaganti Gopi Krishna

SELCO:

  • It has been providing an alternative and sustainable source of energy through technical interventions like solar-powered potter’s wheel, solar-powered blowers for blacksmiths etc.
  • Headquarters- Bengaluru, Karnataka.
  • Chief Executive Officer (CEO)- Mohan Hegde.
  • Minister of State (MoS): Shri Pratap Chandra Sarangi.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: APPOINTMENTS AND RESIGNATIONS

Retired HC judge CV Ramulu named Telangana Lokayukta

  • Retired high court judge CV Ramulu will be Telangana Lokayukta and V NiranjanRao will be the Upa-Lokayukta. Retired HC judge G Chandraiah will be the State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) chairman.

OYO appoints Ankit Gupta as Chief Operating Officer

  • OYO Hotels & Homes stated that it has appointed Ankit Gupta as chief operating officer and senior vice president for its co living, rental homes and self-operated hotel businesses in Indian and South Asia.
  • Gupta has been appointed as COO & SVP – Frontier Businesses, OYO India & South Asia.

Anand Mahindra to step down as Mahindra Group executive chairman from April 2020

  • Anand Mahindra will step down as Executive Chairman from April 1, 2020.
  • With effect from April 1, 2020, Mahindra will transition to the role of Non-Executive Chairman of the board of Mahindra & Mahindra. This is in accordance with the Sebi guidelines

Cuba names Manuel Marrero Cruz as first prime minister since 1976

  • Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel has appointed the country’s first prime minister in more than 40 years – the tourism minister, Manuel Marrero Cruz.
  • The post of prime minister was scrapped in 1976 by the then revolutionary leader Fidel Castro

Anish Shah to replace Pawan Goenka as Mahindra Group,’s MD and CEO

  • Mahindra and Mahindra has announced that Anish Shah will replace Pawan Goenka as Mahindra’s Managing Director and CEO.

Razorpay appoints former American Express executive Arpit Chug as CFO

  • Razorpay, the payments provider has recently appointed Arpit Chug, the former American Express India CFO as Razorpay’s new CFO.

Indian-American Dr Monisha Ghosh named 1st woman CTO at FCC in US

  • Indian-American Dr Monisha Ghosh has been appointed as the first woman Chief Technology Officer at the US government’s powerful Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

Sangita Reddy takes over as FICCI President

  • Sangita Reddy, joint managing director, Apollo Hospitals Group has taken over as the President of industry chamber FICCI for 2019-20.
  • She succeeds Sandip Somany, vice chairman and managing director, HSIL.

Govt extends tenure of NABARD chief Harsh Kumar Bhanwala by six months

  • The tenure of NABARD chairman Harsh Kumar Bhanwala was extended by six months.
  • The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved a six-month extension to the tenure of Bhanwala, with effect from December 18, 2019.

Ghani Set To Win Second Term As Afghan President

  • Afghan President Ashraf Ghani appears set to win a second term after Afghan election.
  • He had won 50.6 percent of the preliminary vote count

Senior diplomat Harsh Vardhan Shringla appointed new foreign secretary

  • The Narendra Modi government approved the appointment of Indian ambassador to the United States Harsh Vardhan Shringla as the next foreign secretary.
  • He has replaced Vijay Gokhale. The Appointments Committee of the cabinet officially announced Shringla’s appointment , making him the 33rd foreign secretary of the country.

ESAF Small Finance Bank appoints PR Ravi Mohan as its new chairman

  • P R Ravi Mohan has been appointed as the new chairman of Kerala-based ESAF Small Finance Bank.
  • He replaced R Prabha, who completed his tenure as the chairman

Niranjan Hiranandani Takes Over As New Assocham President

  • Niranjan Hiranandani, Co-Founder and Managing Director of the respected and well-diversified Hiranandani Group has taken over as the new President of the Associated Chambers of Commerce & Industry of India (ASSOCHAM), the country’s apex organisation of industry and trade

Hemant Soren set to be sworn in Jharkhand CM

  • Hemant Soren is an Indian politician from Jharkhand, who is the current 11th Chief Minister designate of Jharkhand. He had also served as the 5th Chief Minister of Jharkhand.
  • He is elected as the Chief Minister of Jharkhand second time. He is also the president of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, a political party in Jharkhand.

Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg to step down

  • Boeing’s CEO is resigning amid ongoing problems at the company over the troubled Max 737 aircraft.
  • The board of directors stated that Dennis Muilenburg is stepping down immediately

Justice Deepak Verma appointed DDCA’s new Ombudsman

  • The Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) appointed Justice (Retd) Deepak Verma as its new Ombudsman.

Bipin Rawat appointed India’s first tri-services chief

  • Army Chief Gen Bipin Rawat was appointed India’s first Chief of Defence Staff with a mandate to bring in convergence in functioning of the Army, the Navy and the Indian Air Force and bolster the country’s military prowess.
  • Government has decided to appoint Gen Rawat as the Chief of Defence Staff with effect from December 31.
  • Gen Rawat will be able to serve as CDS for a period of up to three years after the government amended the rules extending the age of retirement to 65 years.

Ajit Pawar Takes Oath as Deputy CM of Maharashtra

  • Ajit Pawar was sworn in as Maharashtra’s deputy chief minister for the second time in two months.
  • Ajit Pawar is Senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader. Aaditya Thackeray, Ashok Chavan, Dhananjay Munde and Amit Vilasrao Deshmukh were also sworn-in as state cabinet ministers.

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Jharkhand

  • Capital: Ranchi
  • Governor: Draupadi Murmu

FICCI

  • The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry is an association of business organisations in India.
  • It is the largest, oldest and the apex business organization in India.
  • Headquarters: New Delhi
  • Founded: 1927

National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development

  • National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development is an Apex Development Financial Institution in India.
  • Operations in the field of credit for Agriculture and other Economic activities in Rural areas in India.
  • Founded: 12 July 1982
  • Headquarters: Mumbai

Afghanistan

  • Capital: Kabul
  • Currency: Afghan afghani
  • President: Ashraf Ghani

 ESAF SFB

  • ESAF Small Finance Bank is an Indian small finance bank providing banking services and small loans to the underbanked. ESAF started its operations as an NGO in 1992 as Evangelical Social Action Forum.
  • Headquarters: Thrissur
  • Founded: 2017

 ASSOCHAM

  • The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India is one of the apex trade associations of India. The organisation represents the interests of trade and commerce in India, and acts as an interface between issues and initiatives.
  • Headquarters: New Delhi
  • Founded: 1921

CURRENT AFFAIRS: SUMMITS AND CONFERRENCE

Union ministers, CMs to join over 100 CEOs at World Economic Forum’s 50th Annual Meeting In davos

  • Union ministers Piyush Goyal and Mansukh Mandaviya, as well as three chief ministers — Amarinder Singh, Kamal Nath and B S Yeddyurappa –, will join over 100 Indian CEOs in the Swiss ski resort town of Davos next month for the World Economic Forum’s 50th annual meeting, which will be attended by thousands of rich and powerful from across the globe.
  • The Geneva-based WEF has selected ‘Stakeholders for a Cohesive and Sustainable World’ as the theme for its 2020 annual meeting, which will bring together 3,000 global leaders

Army Tech Seminar ‘ARTECH 2019’ for ‘Make in India’ Defence industry begins in Delhi

  • ARTECH Seminar was launched in 2016 as part of overall vision of ‘Make in India’ and is conducted every year as a part of events leading up to Army Day celebrations
  • The 5th edition of ARTECH is being organised by Indian Army on ‘Technologies for Non Contact Warfare’ which will be organised, at Manekshaw Centre, Delhi Cantonment

PM Modi to inaugurate Science Congress in Bengaluru

  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the 107th Indian Science Congress, organised by the University of Agricultural Sciences.
  • More than 15,000 participants, including Nobel laureates, scientists, intellectuals, academicians, policymakers, students and delegates from various institutions of 24 countries are expected to participate in the six-day event whose focal theme is ‘Science and Technology: Rural Development’.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: AWARDS AND HONOURS

Indian-American scientist Dr. Sethuraman Panchanathan to lead National Science Foundation in US

  • S. President Donald Trump has picked Indian-American computer scientist SethuramanPanchanathan to lead the prestigious National Science Foundation.
  • The National Science Foundation (NSF) is a U.S. government agency that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Belgium crowned FIFA Team of the Year, Qatar biggest climber

  • Belgium have been crowned FIFA ‘Team of the Year’ for the second successive time after a record-breaking year for the global ladder.
  • World champions France remains in the second place ahead of Brazil in third, the positions they held in December 2018, but the make-up of the year-end top five has changed, said FIFA in a statement

Archaeologist R. Nagaswamy honoured in Bangladesh

  • Renowned archaeologist Nagaswamy was honoured at the Silver Jubilee International Conference of Art held in Dhaka by Bangladesh Culture Minister K.M. Khalid.
  • He was honoured for the contribution of Nagaswamy to art, archaeology, history, and culture

Kozhikode boy Aditya bags top bravery award

  • Aditya K. of Ramanattukara, Kozhikode, has become the first child from the State to bag the Bharat Award for bravery.
  • The Prime Minister will give away the awards at the Republic Day Parade in New Delhi.

Army officer awarded for developing bulletproof jacket

  • Anoop Mishra was felicitated by Army chief Gen. Bipin Rawat with the Army Design Bureau (ADB) excellence award for indigenously developing Sarvatra bulletproof jacket that can provide protection against various ammunition including that of sniper rifles.

UNICEF award to Kamareddy dist. for Swachh Bharat implementation

  • Kamareddy district in Telangana secured the United Nations International Children’s and Education Fund (Unicef)-2019 Award for effective implementation of Swachh Bharat Mission in water sanitation and hygiene sectors.

Hubballi gets certificate of merit for healthcare project under Smart City

  • Chitaguppi Hospital is short-listed for the recognition under Smart City-Empowering India Awards.
  • A project under the Smart City Scheme pertaining to the development of Chitaguppi Hospital in Hubballi, Karnataka has been chosen for the award of certificate of merit under the Smart City-Empowering India Awards of the Union government.

CSMT gets ‘Eat Right’ station certificate

  • Iconic Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) railway station in Mumbai has been conferred with ‘Eat Right Station’ certification with the five-star rating by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) for food safety and hygiene.
  • The CSMT is the first station on the Central Railway to get this certification

Vice President Venkaiah Naidu honours winners at 66th National Film Awards

  • Vice President Venkaiah Naidu honoured the winners of the 66th National Film Awards at a ceremony held in New Delhi’s Vigyan Bhavan.
  • Traditionally, the winners are conferred the honour by the President of India.
  • Best Feature Film: Hellaro
  • Best Direction: Aditya Dhar, Uri The Surgical Strike
  • Best Actor (Male): Ayushmann Khurrana (Andhadhun), Vicky Kaushal (Uri The Surgical Strike)
  • Best Actor (Female):Keerthy Suresh (Mahanati)
  • Best Supporting Actor (Male):Swanand Kirkire (Chumbak)
  • Best Supporting Actor (Female):Surekha Sikri (Badhaai Ho)

Actor Sharad Ponkshe gets Janakavi P Sawlaram Memorial Award

  • Noted Marathi actor Sharad Ponkshe has got the Janakavi P Sawlaram Memorial Award for his contribution in the field of cinema and theatre.
  • Thane Mayor Naresh Mhaske presented the award to Ponkshe.

Aayushi crowned Miss Teen International 2019

  • Vadodra’s Aayushi Dholakia has bagged the title of Miss Teen International 2019, vying with the girls from 22 countries, becoming the first Asian to do so in the last 27 years.
  • Yessenia Garcia from Paraguay and Anicia Gaothusi from Botswana became the First and second Runners-Up respectively. The event was held at Kingdom of Dreams, Gurugram.

Pakistan’s MalalaYousafzai declared ‘most famous teenager’ of decade by UN

  • The United Nations (UN) has declared Pakistani education activist and Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai as “the most famous teenager in the world” in its Decade.

Ratan Tata, Anand Mahindra, GautamAdani among India’s top 10 most Googled business tycoons

  • Tata Sons’ chairman emeritus Ratan Tata has emerged as India’s most searched business tycoon on Google in 2019
  • Ratan Tata: The Tata Group patriarch was Google’s most searched Indian business personality in 2019.
  • AzimPremji, Lakshmi Mittal, Anand Mahindra, Shiv Nadar,GautamAdani are among the top 10 most google business tycoons

Amitabh Bachchan honoured with Dadasaheb Phalke Award

  • Veteran actor Amitabh Bachchan was presented the Dadasaheb Phalke award by President Ram NathKovind at Rashtrapati Bhawan.

Biopic on MalalaYousafzai to hit the screens on January 31

  • GulMakai, a biopic on Nobel Peace Prize winner MalalaYousafzai, is slated to be released on January 31, 2020.
  • The film has been directed by HE Amjad Khan and produced by Sanjay Singla. It is presented by Jayantilal Gada and Tekno Films.

Ilaiyaraja selected for Harivarasanam award for 2020

  • Renowned musician and composer Ilaiyaraja has been selected for this year’s Harivarasanam award.
  • The award, comprising a cash prize of₹1 lakh, citation and a plaque, will be presented at a function at Sabarimala Sannidhanam next month in Kerala.

Noted writers Nemade, Gynanranjan get Akashdeep Sanman awards 

  • Noted Marathi litterateur Bhalchandra Nemade and Hindi writer Gynanranjan were conferred the ‘Akashdeep Sanman’ awards.
  • The award, instituted by media house Amar Ujala and comprising a cash prize of Rs 5 lakh, was given to Nemade and Gynanranjan by noted lyricist-filmmaker Gulzar.

Astronaut Christina Koch sets new record for longest single space flight by a woman

  • Astronaut Christina Koch, launched to the International Space Station, marks her 289th day in space, breaking retired astronaut Peggy Whitson’s world record for the longest single space flight by a woman.
  • Along the way, Koch has participated in four spacewalks, joining astronaut Jessica Meir for history’s first all-female excursion in October.

Cristiano Ronaldo bags best men’s player at Dubai Globe Soccer Awards

  • Star footballer Cristiano Ronaldo ended the year by winning the best men’s player at the Dubai Globe Soccer Awards.
  • England international Lucy Bronze was awarded the best women’s player of the year, while Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp was named the best manager.

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United Nations

  • Headquarters: New York,United States
  • Founded: 24 October 1945, San Francisco, California, United States
  • Official languages: Arabic; Chinese; English; French; Russian; Spanish;
  • Secretary general: António Guterres

UNICEF

  • The United Nations Children’s Fund is a United Nations agency responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to children around the world.
  • Headquarters: New York, United States.
  • Founded: 1946

World Economic Forum

  • The World Economic Forum, based in Cologny-Geneva, Switzerland, is an NGO, founded in 1971. The WEF’s mission is cited as “committed to improving the state of the world by engaging business, political, academic, and other leaders of society to shape global, regional, and industry agendas”.
  • Headquarters: Cologny, Switzerland
  • Founder: Klaus Schwab
  • Founded: January 1971

CURRENT AFFAIRS: RANKING

India in 7th position on World Anti-Doping Agency list for violations

  • The World Anti-Doping Agency consisting of dope infractions recorded in 2017 across the world has revealed that India was fifth-highest when it came to total number of positive dope tests in Adverse Analytical Findings (AAF), while it was seventh-highest in the list of Anti-Doping Rule Violations (ADRV) .

Virat Kohli, Akshay, Salman Khan top Forbes India’s 2019 Celebrity 100 list.

  • Bollywood superstars Akshay Kumar and Salman Khan are among the top paid celebrities of India, Forbes India has announced.
  • The magazine has published its list of Celebrity 100 for the year 2019 which has been topped by Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli with the earning of Rs 252.72 crore.

Bengaluru Has Maximum Number Of Young Billionaires In India

  • Bengaluru, India’s start-up capital, now also holds the distinction of being home to the most number of billionaires aged under 40. Hurun India Rich List 2019 has released a list of top 17 self-made entrepreneurs out of which a majority of 10 are from Bengaluru alone

Tamil Nadu tops in coverage under micro-irrigation

  • Tamil Nadu has emerged as the topper in coverage of area under micro-irrigation (MI) this year.
  • Of about 3.64 lakh hectares brought under MI, Tamil Nadu accounts for around 1.39 lakh hectares, accounting for 38% of the total coverage in the country, according to the website of the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana a scheme aimed at improving on-farm water use efficiency through a number of measures such as MI.

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Tamil Nadu

  • Capital: Chennai
  • Governor: Banwarilal Purohit
  • Chief Minister: Edappadi K. Palaniswami

CURRENT AFFAIRS: DEFENCE

Indian Air Force planning ‘swift trials’ in ₹1.5 lakh crore 114 fighter jet deal

  • In the over ₹5 lakh crore deal for manufacturing 114 multirole fighter aircraft, the Indian Air Force (IAF) is planning to compress the time taken for carrying out trials of all the participants to less than a year to ensure that the force gets its new combat aircraft at a faster rate.

Army to sign deal for six Apache attack helicopters

  • The deal for six AH-64E Apache attack helicopters for the Indian Army, estimated to cost around $930 million, is likely to be signed early next year. These are in addition to 22 Apaches being inducted by the Indian Air Force (IAF).

Trump officially launches US Space Force

  • United States President Donald Trump has signed the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act, authorising the establishment of Space Force which would become the sixth branch of the armed forces
  • The Space Force would be part of the Department of the Air Force.

India successfully test-fires Quick Reaction Surface to Air Missile system

  • India successfully test-fired its Quick Reaction Surface to Air Missile (QRSAM) system, likely to be inducted into the armed forces by 2021, from a base off Odisha coast.
  • The missile, developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), was flight-tested from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur

Army fully capable of protecting country’s borders asserts Defence Minister Rajnath Singh

  • Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has assured the nation that Army is fully capable of protecting India’s border.
  • Indian Army is taking every step required to deal with the situation.
  • The Defence Minister gave away the Raksha Mantri Awards for Excellence 2019.

China, Russia, Iran to hold joint naval drills

  • China, Russia and Iran will hold joint naval drills starting on in the Gulf of Oman, Beijing stated, at a time of heightened tensions since the United States (US) withdrew from a landmark nuclear deal with Tehran.

Indian Air Force to decommission last MiG-27 squadron

  • The MiG-27 ground strike aircraft, named ‘Bahadur’ in India, has had an impeccable track record in its more than three decades of glorious service to the nation.
  • Procured in the 1980s from the then Soviet Union, the fighter jet has proved its worth in various operations, including Kargil, and earned rich accolades in numerous international exercises held in India.

Indian Navy plans to build 24 submarines, six of them nuclear powered

  • To strengthen its underwater fleet, the Indian Navy plans to build 24 submarines, including six nuclear attack submarines.
  • The Navy also told the panel that Medium Refit Life Certification (MRLC) of submarine Sindhuraj has been held up since the Russian side has not been able to submit bank guarantees and integrity pact due to sanctions imposed by the US.

Defence India Startup Challenge gets under way

  • The third edition of the Defence India Startup Challenge (DISC 3), which aims at facilitating the development of innovative technology for the defence and aerospace sectors, got under way.
  • DISC 3, along with the Defence India Open Challenge, gives innovators the opportunity to explore the use of a product or technology in defence.

49th border coordination conference between BSF, BGB in Delhi

  • Border guarding forces of India and Bangladesh is holding Directors General level talks from December 25 to 30.
  • The Indian delegation was headed by DG BSF Vivek Johri and the Bangladesh delegation was headed by DG of Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB) Md Shafeenul Islam.

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Indian Air Force (IAF)

  • Founded- 8 October 1932.
  • Headquarters- New Delhi.
  • Motto- Glory that touches the sky
  • Chief-Admiral Karambir Singh

Defence

  • Union Cabinet Minister of Defence: Rajnath Singh
  • Constituency: Lucknow, UP

 DRDO

  • The Defence Research and Development Organisation is an agency of the Government of India, charged with the military’s research and development, headquartered in New Delhi, India.
  • Founded in
  • Chairman of DRDO: Dr G. Satheesh Reddy
  • Headquarters:New Delhi

Indian Army

  • Army Chief: Bipin Rawat
  • Next Army Chief M M Naravane (From Dec 31 2019)
  • Founded in 1895 ,HQ in New Delhi

CURRENT AFFAIRS: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

World’s oldest fossil trees uncovered in New York

  • Fossilized trees dating back 386 million years have been discovered at an abandoned quarry in New York.
  • Scientists believe they’ve found a forest so gigantic that it once stretched beyond Pennsylvania from the quarry in Cairo, New York ,nestled in the foothills of the Catskill Mountains

Infosys launched 3 blockchain-powered distributed applications

  • The launch of three blockchain-powered distributed applications for government services, insurance, and supply chain management domains.
  • These comprehensive applications designed as ready-to-subscribe business networks ensure quick deployment, interoperability across disparate systems of value chain stakeholders and a wide variety of use cases involving other digital technologies like IoT, Analytics as well

CBERS-4A: New China-Brazil earth resource satellite launched into space

  • The China-Brazil Earth Resource Satellite-4A (CBERS-4A), a new satellite jointly developed by China and Brazil as part of a bilateral programme, was recently sent into space, thus further pushes forward the aerospace cooperation between two countries.
  • It was launched on a Long March-4B carrier from Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in Shanxi Province of China. The same rocket also put into orbits another 8 satellites, including a wide-range multispectral remote-sensing microsatellite donated to Ethiopia (which is also Ethiopia’s first satellite

President Kovind releases mobile app of Red Cross Society of India in Hyderabad

  • President Ram Nath Kovind released the mobile app of the Red Cross Society of India in Hyderabad. The President is in Hyderabad on his Southern Sojourn.
  • He inaugurated the mobile app formally at a dinner hosted by Telangana governor Tamilisai Sounderarajan at Rajbhavan in his honour

Scientists develop new ink formulation for security printing   

  • Researchers from Council of Scientific and Industrial Research- National Physical Laboratory (CSIR-NPL) have developed an ink that may help in combating the problem of counterfeiting of currency notes, fake printing of passports and pharmaceuticals.
  • The ink is based on a single excitable dual emissive luminescent pigment. This new security feature of the ink is suitable for printing of valuable products for protection against duplicity.

Last solar eclipse of decade to be observed in parts of country

  • This will be an annular solar eclipse that happens when the Moon covers the sun’s centre, leaving the sun’s visible outer edges to form a ‘ring of fire’ or annulus – around the moon.
  • In Delhi, the partial eclipse will begin at 8.17 am and will end at 10.56 am while the greatest eclipse will start at 9.30. The total duration of the eclipse will be 2 hours and 39 minutes.

IIT Madras researchers find link between a tissue-remodelling enzyme and hypertension risk

  • Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras have found an association between a particular tissue-remodelling enzyme called ‘MMP7’ and risk of hypertension, the premier science institute.
  • Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) play a crucial role in hypertension-induced heart tissue remodelling, which results in alterations in the structural and mechanical support to blood vessels. This directly results in increased risk for cardiovascular diseases

IIT-Hyderabad researchers unravel protein that repairs DNA

  • In the evolution of life forms, what determines the formation of a bacteria? It’s the Deoxyribonucleaci Acid (DNA), which is the blueprint of the life form
  • Nature has evolved techniques to not only protect the DNA but also repair it to an extent. In humans, one such repair mechanism involves activation of a special class of proteins called ‘DNA repair proteins’

Healthcare start-up Qure.ai develops software to provide fast and accurate diagnosis of Tuberculosis

  • Tuberculosis kills around 5 million people every year in India and one of the reasons behind this is a late diagnosis of the infectious disease, reports reveal.
  • To deal with this scenario, healthcare start-up ai has developed software qXR  using a database of 2.5 million X-rays, which provides fast and accurate diagnosis of Tuberculosis (TB).

China to launch Beidou-3 satellites in 2020

  • Beijing, China will launch in 2020 the last two satellites of its Beidou-3 mapping system, an alternative to the US GPS, authorities have announced.
  • China has launched 10 Beidou satellites into space during 2019. Ren added that by 2035 a new navigation system and schedule of Beidou more ubiquitous, integrated and intelligent will be established.

China successfully launches largest carrier rocket

  • China has successfully launched the largest carrier rocket of the country, Long March-5, from Wenchang Space Launch Center in south China’s Hainan Province carried by Shijian-20 satellite.
  • The rocket, also known as CZ-5.

Russia inducts firstAvangard hypersonic missiles into service

  • Russia inducted first Avangard hypersonic missiles into service.
  • The nuclear-capable missiles can travel more than 20 times the speed of sound and put Russia ahead of other nations.

CESSI team accurately predicts shape of Sun’s corona 43 days ahead of eclipse

  • Solar physicists from the Centre for Excellence in Space Sciences (CESSI), IISER Kolkata, have succeeded in predicting the shape of the sun’s atmosphere — known as the corona — at the time of the annular eclipse of Dec 25.

Mars 2020 rover to seek ancient life, prepare for human missions: NASA

  • The Mars 2020 rover, which sets off for the Red Planet next year, will not only search for traces of ancient life, but pave the way for future human missions.
  • The rover has been constructed in a large, sterile room at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, near LosAngeles, where its driving equipment was given its first successful test

Long March-5: China successfully launches largest carrier rocket

  • China has successfully launched its largest carrier rocket, Long March-5, carrying the Shijian-20 satellite, from Wenchang Space Launch Center (WSLC)
  • China’s biggest rocket, the Long March 5, returned to flight for the first time since a 2017 failure Friday (Dec. 27) in a dazzling nighttime launch for the Chinese space program.

100th Consecutively Successful Launch of Sounding Rocket RH-200 from TERLS

  • ISRO has developed a series of sounding rockets called Rohini series, important among them being RH-200, RH-300 and RH-560, number in the name indicating the diameter of the rock .1545 RH-200 rockets have been launched so far.
  • July 15, 2015 became a prestigious and memorable day in the history of sounding rocket programme of India as the RH-200 rocket had its 100th consecutively successful launch from TERLS in mm.

THE INDIA STATE OF FOREST REPORT 2019

  • Total tree and forest cover in the country increased by 5,188 square kilometer in the last two years.
  • There is an increase of 6 million tonnes in the carbon stock of the country as compared to the last assessment of 2017.
  • There is a decrease of forest cover to the extent of 765 sq km (0.45 per cent) in northeast India region. Except Assam and Tripura, all states in the region show decrease in forest cover.

Kerala tops SDG index; Bihar at last rank

  • Kerala tops states in progress towards UN Sustainable Development Goals, while Bihar is at the bottom of Niti Aayog’s SDG Index, released.
  • Himachal Pradesh and Sikkim have joined all the southern states in the top tier of front runners who scored more than 65 points, out of a possible 100.

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NASA

  • Headquarters: Washington, D.C., United States
  • Founder: Dwight D. Eisenhower
  • Founded: 29 July 1958, United States
  • Administrator: Jim Bridenstine
  • Deputy Administrator: James Morhard

 CHINA

  • Currency: Renminbi
  • Capital: Beijing
  • President: Xi Jinping

RUSSIA

  • President of Russia: Vladimir Putin; Capital: Moscow;
  • Currency: Russian Ruble.

KERALA

  • Governor: Arif Mohammad Khan Trending
  • Capital: Thiruvananthapuram
  • Chief minister: Pinarayi Vijayan
  • National parks: Anamudi Shola National Park,  Eravikulam National Park, Karimpuzha National Park, Mathikettan Shola National Park, Pampadum Shola National Park, Periyar National Park, Silent Valley National Park

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BOOKS AND AUTHOR

“Dreams of a Billion: India and the Olympic Games” written by Boria Majumdar with Nalin Mehta

  • “Dreams of a Billion: India and the Olympic Games” written by Boria Majumdar with Nalin Mehta will be brought out by Harper Collins India in January 2020.

S Gurumurthy releases book titled Politics of Opportunism

  • Noted Economist and Political Analyst S Gurumurthy released a book titled Politics of Opportunism written by R P N Singh in New Delhi.
  • It talks about the relation between the centre and states & the growth of regional parties in India

Venkaiah Naidu releases book on Arun Jaitley on his birth anniversary

  • Venkaiah Naidu released a book on former Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on his birth Anniversary, titled- ‘The Renaissance Man-The Many Facets of Arun Jaitley in New Delhi.
  • Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh and Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad were among those who were present on the occasion.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: SPORTS

ICC extends partnership with UNICEF for 2020 Women’s T20 World Cup

  • The International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced it has extended its partnership with UNICEF through to the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2020 with the focus on empowering women and girls through cricket
  • During the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup, UNICEF raised USD 180,000 as part of One Day 4 Children and this money will go directly to fund a girls’ cricket project in Afghanistan

Mirabai Chanu bags Gold in 6th Qatar International Cup in Doha

  • Former world champion, weight lifter Saikhom Mirabai Chanu won the women’s 49kg category gold medal to open India’s account at the 6th Qatar International Cup in Doha.

Abhinav Lohan wins Bengaluru Open Golf Championship

  • AbhinavLohan lifted PGTI title securing a narrow one-shot triumph at the Bengaluru Open golf championship

Pat Cummins becomes most expensive overseas IPL player

  • Pat Cummins (Australian cricketer), with a base price of two crore rupees, became the most expensive overseasbuy as he was sold to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) for a whopping 15.50 crore rupees

Sierra Leone pro football league gets first female coach

  • One of Sierra Leone’s top football clubs has picked a woman to coach its main squad, in a first for the West African country’s professional league.
  • The East End Tigers named police officer Victoria Conteh, who formerly coached the country’s female football team, as its head coach.

Maisnam Meiraba Luwang wins Bangladesh Junior International Badminton Series

  • India’s shuttler Maisnam Meiraba Luwang has won the Men’s singles Bangladesh Junior International Badminton Series 2019 in Dhaka. Top-seeded Meiraba, who hails from Manipur, beat Ken Yong Ong 21, 14, 21-18 in the final lasting 38 minutes

ICC T20I rankings: Radha retains 2nd position in bowlers’ list as Deepti, Poonam slip

  • Indian spinner Radha Yadav remained at the second spot but compatriots Deepti Sharma and Poonam Yadav slipped a place each to the fifth and sixth positions in the latest ICC Women’s T20I players rankings.
  • Among the batters, Jemimah Rodrigues continued to occupy the fourth spot, while Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur too remained static at the seventh and ninth positions

Indian weightlifter Rakhi creates two new national records

  • Indian weightlifter Rakhi Halder with creating two new national records clinched a bronze medal in the women’s 64kg weight category at the Qatar International Cup in Doha.
  • India ended the Olympic qualifying silver level event with three medals. Former world champion Mirabai Chanu had won the gold on the opening day while teenager Jeremy Lalrinnunga had claimed silver in a power-packed performance

Ahmedabad Gets Provisional Clearance to Host FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup India 2020 Games

  • Ahmedabad has been cleared as a provisional venue for FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup India 2020 by the Local Organising Committee (LOC) . The World Cup is set to take place in the country next year from November 2-21.

Vernon Philander announces international retirement

  • Seasoned South Africa pacer Vernon Philander will retire from international cricket following the upcoming Test series against England.
  • Philander was an important part of the Proteas pace troika, comprising Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel, both of whom have retired from Tests.

ICC Test rankings: Kohli finishes 2019 as top ranked batsman; Rahane slips to seventh

  • Virat Kohli will end the year as the top ranked batsman in the latest ICC Test rankings issued . With 928 points, Kohli is 17 points ahead of Australia’s Steve Smith who occupies the second
  • New Zealand skipper Kane Willamson ends the year at number three with 864 points. Cheteshwar Pujara retained his fourth place but Rahane slipped to seventh.

Manu Bhaker, Anish Bhanwala clinch five gold medals at National C’ships

  • Commonwealth Games champions Manu Bhaker and Anish Bhanwala clinched gold medals at the 63rd National Shooting Championships in Bhopal . The 17-year-old Bhaker, representing Haryana, clinched four gold medals (individual and team events in senior and junior) in the women’s 10 meter air pistol.
  • Her state-mate Anish, also 17, won individual gold medal in the senior men’s 25 meter rapid fire pistol event to stamp his dominance.

Kohli among five Wisden cricketers of the decade

  • Kohli Indian skipper Virat Kohli is one of the five players named in the Wisden Cricketers of the Decade.
  • Kohli joins Australian batsman Steve Smith, and South Africans, Dale Steyn, and AB de Villiers.
  • Australian all-rounder Ellyse Perry is the only female cricketer in the list.

Leander Paes to retire from Tennis in 2020

  • Indian tennis ace Leander Paes has announced that 2020 will be his last year as a professional tennis player.
  • The 46-year old will bid adieu to the sport after next season

James Anderson becomes first fast bowler to play 150 Tests

  • England’s leading pacer James Anderson became the first fast bowler in the history of Test cricket to make 150 appearances.
  • He achieved the rare feat while making a return from injury during the first Test against South Africa at the Super Sport Park.

Five Indian women boxers book their place for Olympic Qualifiers

  • Five Indian women boxers booked their place for the Olympic Qualifiers at the Indira Gandhi Stadium in New Delhi.
  • Mary Kom defeated Nikhat Zareen 9-1 in the final bout of the 51kg category while in 57kg Sakshi Chaudhary outclassed her opponent Sonia Lather 9-1.

Udayan Mane sets new PGTI record; bags TATA Steel Tour C’ship title

  • In Golf, Udayan Mane produced a flawless seven-under 65 on the final day to claim a thrilling one-shot win at the season-ending TATA Steel Tour Championship in Jamshedpur

Koneru Humpy becomes Women’s World Rapid Chess Champion

  • Indian grandmaster Koneru Humpy has become the 2019 Women’s World Rapid Champion. She defeated China’s Lei Tingjie in a dramatic final in Moscow, Russia.
  • After losing the opening game, Humpy made an impressive comeback and collected nine points each in 12 rounds to be tied with Tingjie

New Zealand win MCC’s Spirit of Cricket award

  • The award recognises the team’s exemplary show of sportsmanship during the epic final of the ICC World Cup at Lord’s in July, which it lost under controversial circumstances
  • The New Zealand cricket team has been bestowed with the Christopher Martin-Jenkins Spirit of Cricket award for its exemplary show of sportsmanship during the epic final of the ICC World Cup at Lord’s in July

Shadab Jakati quits all forms of cricket

  • Jakati made his first-class debut in the 1998/99 season and played his last first-class game against Punjab in October 2017.
  • Goa spinner Shadab Jakati, who also played in the cash-rich Indian Premier League, retired from all forms of cricket.

Weightlifter Seema banned for four years for doping

  • India’s Commonwealth Championship silver medallist weightlifter Seema has been slapped with a four-year suspension for a doping violation.
  • In a statement, the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) stated Seema’s dope sample was collected this year during the 34th Women National Weightlifting Championship in Vishakhapatnam.

IOA withdraws boycott call for 2022 Commonwealth Games

  • Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has withdrawn its threat to boycott the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham over Shooting’s exclusion. It also announced that the country will bid to host either the 2026 or the 2030

STATIC GK

FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup 2020:

  • Edition– 7th 2020 – INDIA,  6TH edition 2018- URUGUAY
  • Teams– 16 (from 6 confederations)

FIFA

  • Founded– 21 May 1904.
  • Headquarters– Zürich, Switzerland.
  • Motto– For the Game,For the World.
  • President– Gianni Infantino

New Zealand

  • Capital: Wellington
  • Currency : New Zealand dollar
  • Prime minister: JacindaArdern

CURRENT AFFAIRS: OBITUARY

Former Kerala Minister Thomas Chandy passes away

  • Nationalist Congress Party’s Kerala State President and former Minister Thomas Chandy passed away in Kochi
  • The Kuttanad MLA was undergoing treatment for cancer past few years. He was 72.

Former SGPC chief Avtar Singh Makkar passes away at 78

  • Former president of Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) Avtar Singh Makkar died at a private hospital in Gurugram .
  • The 78-year old Makkar was admitted to the hospital in critical condition

Bengaluru: Kannada writer, lexicographer Prof LS Sheshagiri Rao dies at 94

  • Kannada writer, critic and lexicographer L S SheshagiriRao breathed his last at his residence in the city
  • An English professor at Bangalore University, most of his literary output was in Kannada

Veteran cinematographer Ramchandra Babu passes away

  • Cinematographer Ramchandra Babu has passed away at 72 due to cardiac arrest.
  • He mostly worked in Malayalam films, though he handled the camera for other regional movies as well.

Renowned Hindustani classical vocalist Vidushi Savita Devi passes away

  • Renowned Hindustani classical vocalist Vidushi Savita Devi has passed away at the age of 80.
  • Apart from performing at a number of concerts in India and abroad, Devi performed regularly for the All India Radio and the national television

Sahitya Akademi Winner Dr G Nanjundan passed away

  • Eminent translator and Sahitya Akademi award winner Dr G Nanjundan passed away.
  • Dr Nanjundan earned recognition for translating more than a dozen books from Kannada to Tamil. They included Jnanpith award winner UR Ananthamurthy’s ‘Bhava’ and ‘Avasthe’

Renowned Hindi author Ganga Prasad Vimal passes away

  • Renowned Hindi author Ganga Prasad Vimal and his two family members were passed away in a road accident in southern Sri Lanka.

Veteran Political cartoonist VikasSabnis passes away

  • Veteran Political cartoonist Vikas Sabnis passed away due to cardiac arrest
  • He made caricatures and political cartoons on various subjects and issues. These ranges from local to international levels

Veerashaiva community leader B.V. Katti passes away

  • V. Katti, former president of the district unit of All-India Veerashaiva Mahasabha passed away. He was 86.
  • He was an IAS officer who retired as Divisional Commissioner in Belagavi.

Pejavara Mutt chief’s Vishwesha Teertha Swamiji passes away

  • Pejavar Mutt chief’s Vishwesha Theertha Swamiji passed away due to multiple organ failure.
  • The Pejavara mutt is one among the ‘Ashta’ Mutts of

Former DG of Doordarshan Shiv Sharma passes away

  • Former Director-General of Doordarshan Shiv Sharma passed away in Gurugram in Haryana. He was 85.
  • He has also supervised coverage of various national and international events. Earlier, He has also served in All India Radio.

Noted Indian social worker Nazar Nandi dies in UAE

  • Prominent Indian social worker Nazar Nandi, who touched hundreds of lives in the UAE and India through his community activities, died of a heart attack
  • The prominent social worker from Kerala was known for offering his voluntary service for the repatriation of the human remains and bedridden patients, and helped people seeking visa amnesty or in distress.
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