Daily GK Updates - 12th December, 2019

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill (CAB) passed by the Rajya Sabha: The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill (CAB) passed by the Rajya Sabha. As many as 125 lawmakers voted in the favour of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill and 99 against it. Now, The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill will go to the President for his assent. Earlier, the citizenship bill passed by the Lok Sabha with a majority of 311 votes against 80.

Know about Citizenship (Amendment) Bill: The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill proposes to grant citizenship to the non-Muslims Hindus, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhist, Jains and Parsis -- from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh who arrived in India before December 31, 2014. Earlier, the duration of the immigrants' residency was 11 years. The amended bill has reduced it to five years. The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill would not apply to tribal areas of Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura as included in Sixth Schedule of the Constitution and the area covered under the Inner Limit notified under the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation, 1873

2. Workshop on Bamboo cultivation to be held in Jammu: In Jammu and Kashmir, a first of its kind workshop on Bamboo cultivation will be held on 19th and 20 of this month in Jammu. Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh will inaugurate the exhibition. The workshop will focus on the promotion of Bamboo cultivation in the potential Kandi areas of Jammu and its value addition as an economic activity and generate entrepreneurship and employment opportunities.

Note: Lieutenant (Lt) Governors of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K): Girish Chandra Murmu.

3. ASI has identified 138 monuments as “Must See” monuments in country: Archaeological Survey of India has identified 138 numbers of monuments as Must-See Monuments and information thereof is made available on “Must See” portal of Archaeological Survey of India. There are 38 World Heritage Sites in India, out of which 22 Cultural Sites including monuments/ buildings and caves are under the protection of Archaeological Survey of India. The ‘Must See’ list of ASI features first-class Indian monuments and archaeological sites including those that feature on UNESCO’s (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization)World Heritage List. Such monuments and sites showcase exceptionality in terms of art and architecture, planning and design.

Note: Archaeological Survey of India founder: Alexander Cunningham; Founded: 1871; Headquarters: New Delhi.

4. Salman Khan appointed as the brand ambassador of Pepsi: Food and beverage company PepsiCo has appointed Bollywood actor Salman Khan as brand ambassador for its flagship Pepsi brand in India. The commercial will be launched in 2020 and will take up the “SWAG” themed campaign which was launched in the summer of 2019. Brand Pepsi will base its summer 2020 campaign on Salman Khan’s upcoming movie “Dabangg-3”. Previously Salman Khan was the brand ambassador of Pepsico’s rival company Coca-Cola’s popular ThumsUp and also as the brand ambassador of Parle Agro-backed soft drink Appy Fizz. Previously, He also endorsed PepsiCo’s Mountain Dew drink.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. World’s First commercial electric plane takes flight in Canada: The world’s first fully-electric commercial aircraft took its inaugural test flight, taking off from the Canadian city of Vancouver and flying for 15 minutes. A 62-year-old six-passenger DHC-2 de Havilland Beaver seaplane re-fitted with a fully electric 750 horsepower motor was piloted by Greg McDougall, founder and chief executive of Harbour Air, a British Columbia-based charter airline that transport passengers between Vancouver. MagniX designed the motor and worked in partnership with Harbour Air which ferries thousands of people a year between Vancouver, Whistler ski resort and nearby islands.

Note: Canada Capital: Ottawa; Currency: Canadian dollar; Prime Minister: Justin Trudeau.

2. US, Mexico, Canada sign USMCA trade deal: The representatives from the United States, Mexico and Canada inked a revamped version of their regional trade pact after months of negotiations. Now, The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) will go to the countries' legislatures for final approval. The accord is meant to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), a deal in place since 1994.

3. Switzerland to be the country partner of BioAsia 2020: Switzerland will be the country partner at the 17th edition of BioAsia2020 scheduled to be held from February 17-19, 2020 with the theme “Today For Tomorrow” in Hyderabad, Telangana. Switzerland is making innovations in the world of medical healthcare and that many pharmaceutical companies have emerged as the center of Switzerland. While the city of Hyderabad has become a hub in the field of health tech and will be introduced to the Switzerland Health Tech Ecosystem through the Bio Asia Summit.

Note: Switzerland Capital: Bern; Currency: Swiss franc.

4. International Day of Neutrality: 12 December: International Day of Neutrality is a United Nations observance held on December 12 each year. In international law, a neutral country is a sovereign state that abstains from all participation in a war between other states and maintains an attitude of impartiality toward the belligerents. The belligerents, in their turn, recognize this abstention and impartiality. A permanently neutral power is bound to be neutral in all future wars.

Note: It was officially declared by a UN General Assembly resolution adopted in February 2017 and first observed on December 12 of the same year. The rights and duties of a neutral country are defined in the Hague Convention of 1907.

5. International Universal Health Coverage Day: 12 December: International Universal Health Coverage Day (UHC Day) is celebrated globally on 12 December. It aims to raise awareness of the need for strong and resilient health systems and universal health coverage with multi-stakeholder partners. The theme for the 2019 UHC Day is “Keep the promise”. Each year on 12 December, UHC advocates raise their voices to share the stories of the millions of people still waiting for health, champion what we have achieved so far, call on leaders to make bigger and smarter investments in health, and encourage diverse groups to make commitments to help move the world closer to UHC by 2030.

Note: In 2017 the United Nations proclaimed 12 December as International Universal Health Coverage Day by resolution 72/138.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS

1. PUMA signs Sunil Chhetri as brand ambassador: German multinational brand PUMA has announced Sunil Chhetri as its new brand ambassador for three -years. With this deal, Chhetri has joined the brand’s roster of global players like Antoine Griezmann, Romelu Lukaku, Luis Suarez and Sergio Aguero among others. Sunil Chhetri is the captain of the Indian national football team and Bengaluru Football Club. Currently, Chhetri is the second-highest goal-scorer in international football after Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo. Sunil Chhetri was also conferred with the Arjuna award in 2011 and Padma Shri in 2019.

2. G S Lakshmi becomes first woman Referee in Men’s ODI match: Former Indian Cricketer Gandikota Sarva Lakshmi (51-years) has become the first woman referee in the Men’s ODI (One Day International) match held in Sharjah Cricket Stadium, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). She will oversee the third series of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup League 2. The opening match of the competition will take place between the United Arab Emirates and the United States of America at Sharjah Cricket Stadium. Lakshmi was appointed as the first woman in the ICC (International Cricket Council) International Panel of Match Referees in May 2019. Gandikota Sarva Lakshmi has overseen three women’s ODI matches, 16 men’s T20 Internationals and seven women’s T20 Internationals.

Note: A match referee's responsibility is to ensure that the ICC Cricket Code of Conduct is upheld during the game, to assess any breaches of the Code, and to hand out penalties for any breaches.

3. Sports Minister announces cash awards to SAG medalists: Union Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju has announced a cash reward of 1.5 lakh rupees each for the 174 gold medallists of the South Asian Games held in Nepal. The silver winners will receive one lakh rupees and bronze winners 50,000 rupees each. The South Asian Games concluded with India topping the table winning 312 medals (174 gold, 93 silver and 45 bronze) medals. The Union government will have a structured cash reward policy for medallists in South Asian Games, like other multi-sporting events like the Olympics, Asian Games and Commonwealth Games.

BANKING AND FINANCE

1. Dhanlaxmi Bank's Board appoints V Viswanathan as additional director: V Viswanathan has been appointed as an Additional Director on the Board of Dhanlaxmi Bank. Viswanathan retired as Chief General Manager of State Bank of Hyderabad in 2017. Dhanlaxmi Bank Ltd is an old private sector bank headquartered in Thrissur City, Kerala, India.

2. ADB lowers India’s GDP growth forecast to 5.1% in FY20: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has lowered its forecast for India’s economic growth in fiscal year 2019-20 to 5.1%. ADB has stated that the consumption was affected by slow job growth and rural distress was aggravated by poor harvest.

Note: Asian Development Bank Headquarters: Manila, Philippines; President: Takehiko Nakao.

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

1. Dell Technologies, UNESCO tie up to boost quality of education:

Dell Technologies announced a new partnership with UNESCO MGIEP (Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace) to enable school teachers to adopt technology in classrooms by using ICT tools. The information and communication technology (ICT) tools have been developed by Dell Aarambh and FramerSpace platform. The partnership would enable achieving the UN Sustainable Goal 4.7 towards education for building peaceful and sustainable societies and also UNESCO MGIEP in its mission of building social and emotional learning, innovative digital pedagogies and empowering youth.

Note: UNESCO formation: 4 November 1946; Headquarters: Paris, France; Director-General: Audrey Azoulay.

2. Xiaomi launches service “Mi Credit” in India for Android phones: Xiaomi has formally launched its lending platform “Mi Credit” in India for Android phones. According to platform “Mi Credit” individuals can avail up to Rs 1 lakh loan. The company is planning to introduce more financial products in India. The company has been operating Mi Credit platform on a pilot basis. Xiaomi has roped in Aditya Birla Finance Ltd, Money View, EarlySalary, Zestmoney and CreditVidya as the current lending partners for Mi Credit service. Mi Credit app will come pre-loaded on all MIUI phones, and can be downloaded from Google Play Store.

AWARDS AND HONOURS

1. Climate activist ‘Greta Thunberg’ wins Time Person of the Year 2019: Swedish climate crisis activist Greta Thunberg (16-years) has been named Time Magazine's youngest ever Person of the Year. Greta Thunberg is known for her blunt addresses to world leaders. She is the youngest individual ever named Time Person of the Year. Earlier this year, Thunberg had been nominated for a Nobel peace prize 2019, recognised for her mobilisation of students in her "Fridays for Future" weekly school strikes.

Note: Times Person of the Year (called Man of the Year or Woman of the Year until 1999) is an annual issue of the United States news magazine Time. It features and profiles a person, a group, an idea, or an object that ‘for better or for worse’ has done the most to influence the events of the year".

2. Odisha wins ‘World Habitat Award’ for OLHM- Jaga Mission: Odisha won the ‘World Habitat Award’ for Jaga Mission (Odisha Livable Habitat Mission (OLHM) a slum land titling project executed for the benefit of millions of urban-poor people living in slums. The Jaga is a society under Housing and Urban Development Department (HUDD), Government of Odisha. The OLHM-JAGA aims at transforming the slums into livable habitats and under which 52,682 urban poor families living in the slums have been granted land rights certificate. The Jaga mission (started on 7th May 2018) is being executed by the State Government in association with Tata Trusts and Norman Foster Foundation.

Note: The award was given by the World Habitat, a UK (United Kingdom) based organization which gives the award annually to recognize innovative housing projects around the world. The award is conferred to any two projects around the world.

Capital of Odisha: Bhubaneswar; Governor: Ganeshi Lal; Chief Minister : Naveen Patnaik.

DEFENCE

1. International Seminar cum Exhibition on Naval weapon Systems ‘NAVARMS-19’: The 4th edition of International Seminar cum Exhibition on Naval Weapon Systems ‘NAVARMS-19’ started at Institute for Defence Studies and Analysis, Development Enclave, New Delhi (12-13 Dec 2019). The two-day event will provide an opportunity for the exchange of ideas, create awareness and identify emerging prospects for Indian/International defence industry in the domain of Naval Weapon Systems. The theme of this day is to “Make in India - Fight Category: Opportunities and Imperatives”.

Note: NAVARMS is the only international seminar and exhibition on Naval Weapon Systems conducted in the country to invite all the stakeholders in life cycle management of Naval Weapons.

Chief of the Naval Staff: Karambir Singh.

OBITUARIES

1. Former US Federal Reserve chief Paul Volcker passes away: The former US Federal Reserve chief Paul Volcker passed away. He was appointed as the chief of the US Federal Reserve in 1979. He was popularly known for fighting inflation by raising interest rates. He was a legendary figure in American finance.