Daily GK Updates - 13th December, 2019

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. ISRO begins preparations for setting up 3rd rocket Launchpad: Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has begun preparatory works for setting up a 3rd rocket launchpad in the small coastal hamlet of Kulashekhrapattinam in the Thuthukudi district of Tamil Nadu. At present, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has two launch pads at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh. The demand for additional launch pads has arisen as a result of the increase in the number of satellite launches from India, both for domestic and international customers.

Note: ISRO Director: K. Sivan; Headquarters: Bengaluru; Established: 1969.

2. National Tribal Dance Festival to be held in Raipur: A three-day National Tribal Dance Festival will be held in Raipur, Chhattisgarh (from 27 to 29 December 2019). Nearly 1,400 artists belonging to 151 art troupes from 23 states and guest artists from six countries including Sri Lanka, Belarus, Uganda and Bangladesh will participate in the three-day programme. There are 4 different categories of dance for the competition: (1) Marriage and other rituals; (2) Traditional Festivals and Rituals; (3) Harvesting and Agriculture; (4) Other different types of dance performed in Chhattisgarh

Note: Chhattisgarh CM: Bhupesh Baghel; Governor: Anusuiya Uikey.

3. Andhra Pradesh Cabinet approves Disha Bill 2019: The Andhra Pradesh Cabinet approves the A.P. Disha Bill, 2019 (A.P. Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2019) paving the way for awarding the death penalty for the offences of rape and gang-rape and expediting the verdict in trials of such cases to 21 days. The Cabinet also gave its nod for introduction of the AP Special Court for Specified Offences against Women and Children Bill, 2019, for dealing with offences against women and children, including rape and gang-rape, acid attacks, stalking, voyeurism, sexual harassment and cases under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. Now, Andhra Pradesh will become the first state in India to give death sentences in rape cases if this bill is passed in the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly. There is no provision in the law of the country to give the death penalty to the rape accused.

Note: Andhra Pradesh CM: YS Jaganmohan Reddy; Governor: BiswaBhusanHarichandan.

4. Puducherry government unveils start-up policy: The Puducherry government unveiled a start-up policy. The policy, launched by Minister for Industries M.O.H.F Shahjahan, aims to create a corpus fund of ₹10 crores to support the setting up of start-up incubators and to develop co-working spaces. The department plans to provide a grant of Rs. 3 lakhs to projects recommended by incubators established by the government/private sector/academic institutions as a start-up grant. The committee of experts constituted by the government under the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development Committee will approve of the projects and monitor their progress.

Note: Lt. Governors Puducherry: Dr Kiran Bedi.

5. Nation pays tributes to martyrs of 2001 Parliament terror attacks: Nation pays rich tributes to the martyrs today who laid down their lives in defence of the Parliament of India during the terrorist attack on this day in 2001. President, Vice President, Prime Minister several other Ministers and Members of Parliament paid floral tributes to the martyrs at the plaque in Parliament House.Blood Donation Camp was also organised in the Parliament premises to commemorate the supreme sacrifice of the martyrs.

Note: On this day (13 December 2001), two persons from the Parliament Security Service of the Rajya Sabha, five Delhi Police Personnel and a woman constable of the Central Reserve Police Force, laid down their lives while preventing the entry of terrorists inside the Parliament House Building. A gardener of CPWD also lost his life in the attack.

6. Inner Line Permit regime extended to Manipur: The Inner Line Permit (ILP) regime has been extended to Manipur. President Ram Nath Kovind signed an order in this regard. Manipur is the fourth state after Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Mizoram where the ILP regime has been made applicable. To visit the ILP-regime states, outsiders, including people from other states of the country, need to take permission.

Note: Inner Line Permit (ILP) is an official travel document issued by the Government of India to allow inward travel of an Indian citizen into a protected area for a limited period. It is obligatory for Indian citizens from outside those states to obtain a permit for entering into the protected state.

7. ShrikantMadhav Vaidya to be new Chairman of IOC: ShrikantMadhav Vaidya (56-years) has been appointed as the chairman of the country’s largest commercial enterprise Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. (IOCL) for just over three years. Mr. Vaidya will replace Sanjiv Singh who retires as Chairman of the company at the end of June next year. Mr. Vaidya is at present the director of Refineries at the IOCL. Mr. Vaidya will be first screened by anti-corruption bodies CVC and CBI before his candidature is put before the Cabinet Committee on Appointments headed by Prime Minister for approval.

Note: Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) is an Indian state government-owned oil and gas company headquartered in New Delhi. IOC (including its group companies) is the country's top refiner with a group refining capacity of 80.7 million tonnes per annum or 161.4 million barrels per day.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. International Seminar on Climate Smart Farming Systems begins in New Delhi: The ‘International Seminar on Climate Smart Farming Systems’ for BIMSTEC countries began in New Delhi. The objective of this International Seminar is to have experience sharing to enable improvement of tropical smallholder farming systems for greater productivity and resilience to climate change through ecological approaches. Some of the success stories shall be shared as case studies for the benefit of the BIMSTEC countries.

Note: The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) member states ‘Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Nepal and Bhutan are among the countries dependent on the Bay of Bengal.  This sub-regional organisation came into being on June 6, 1997, through the Bangkok Declaration.

2. Mongla and Chattogram declared as Ports of Call under the “Coastal Shipping Agreement’: The Ministry of Shipping (MoS) announced that Mongla and Chattogram (Both in Bangladesh) have been declared as Ports of Call under “Coastal Shipping Agreement” between India & Bangladesh.The Port of Mongla is declared as Port of Call under PIWT&T (Protocol on Inland Water Transit and Trade ) and Chattogram port is not part of PIWT&T.An MoU (Memorandum of Understanding), agreement and Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) on the use of Chattogram Port &Mongla Ports for goods movement between India and Bangladesh has been signed between both the nations.The Ports of Call in India are Kolkata (West Bengal), Haldia (West Bengal), Pandu, Karimganj (Assam), Silghat (Assam), Dhubri (Assam).

Note: Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Shipping: Mansukh L. Mandaviya.

3. Saudi Aramco becomes most valuable listed company in history: Saudi Aramco has secured its position as the most valuable listed company in history after investor appetite for the world’s biggest fossil fuel producer pushed its market value to USD 1.9tn on its first day of trade. The world’s biggest contributor to the climate crisis had been valued at more than Apple and Facebook – previously the world’s most valuable and fifth-most valuable companies respectively – combined. It is also twice the size of Amazon and Google's parent company, and bigger than the next five listed oil companies put together.

4. Nirmala Sitharaman 34th among world’s 100 most powerful women: Forbes: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has been ranked 34th by Forbes in ‘The World’s 100 Most Powerful Women’. HCL Corporation CEO and Executive Director RoshniNadar Malhotra and Biocon Founder Kiran Mazumdar Shaw are two other Indians who also featured in the above list. The Forbes 2019 list of ‘The World’s 100 Most Powerful Women’ has been topped by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, followed by President of the European Central Bank Christine Lagarde in the 2nd spot and Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, ranked 3rd. Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina also featured on the list on the 29th position.

Sr. No.	Name	Country
1	Angela Merkel	Germany
2	Christine Lagarde	France
3	Nancy Pelosi	United States
4	Ursula von der Leyen	Belgium
5	Mary Barra	United States
6	Melinda Gates	United States
7	Abigail Johnson	United States
8	Ana Patricia Botín	Spain
9	Ginni Rometty	United States
10	Marillyn Hewson	United States
34	Nirmala Sitharaman	India
54	RoshniNadar Malhotra	India
65	Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw	India
100	Greta Thunberg	Sweden

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS

1. Rohit Sharma becomes brand ambassador of La Liga in India: Indian cricketer Rohit Sharma has been named as the Brand Ambassador of La Liga in India. With this, star cricketer Rohit Sharma has become the first non-footballer in the world to be named one of La Liga’s global ambassadors. La Liga is the top professional football division of the Spanish football league system. The top tier of Spanish club football has been ramping up its fan base in India through a series of initiatives. These initiatives includes grassroot development programme like La Liga Football Schools and a digital broadcast deal with Facebook.

Note: A brand ambassador is a person who is hired by an organization or company to represent a brand in a positive light and by doing so help to increase brand awareness and sales.

AWARDS AND HONOURS

1. Gurgaon-based startup won ‘Space Oscar’ award: The Gurugram-based startup blue Sky Analytics has created an application called ‘Zuri’ that won the Copernicus Masters Award also called Space Oscars, under the Social Entrepreneurship category.The award was given by the Earth observation program managed by the European Commission (EU) in partnership with the European Space Agency (ESA).The application uses satellite data to provide improved monitoring, supply chain and pricing analysis as well as the allocation of crop waste to be used as raw materials in other industries.The application includes an AI (Artificial Intelligence) based tool to measure and monitor farm fires and stubble burning across India, million tons of crops are being burnt in India on farms to clear the field for new crops every winter, as a result releasing massive amounts of greenhouse gases which have led to increased level of pollution in New Delhi and other parts of the country.

2. Rani Rampal, Saurabh Chaudhary Win Top Honours at FICCI India Sports Awards: Indian women’s hockey team captain Rani Rampal and Asian Games gold medalist shooter Saurabh Chaudhary won the Sports Person of the Year awards at the FICCI India Sports Awards 2019. The FICCI India Sports Awards are an attempt by FICCI to acknowledge and recognise the contribution of sportspersons and various stakeholders who deliver excellent results throughout the year. The awards ceremony was held at the FICCI Federation House, in New Delhi.

Rani played a crucial role in India’s qualification for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, scoring the winning goal in the two-legged qualifier against the US in November.   Saurabh, on the other hand, is touted as India’s biggest hope for a medal in shooting in Tokyo. He won gold at the 2018 Asian Games and has since won a number of individual and team honours at shooting World Cups.

Note: FICCI stands for Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry. Headquarters of FICCI: New Delhi; FICCI established: 1927.

DEFENCE

1. INDRA 2019: India, Russia conducts a joint military exercise: The bilateral military exercise between India and Russia ‘INDRA 2019’ started at Babina (near Jhansi), Pune and Goa.This military exercise is being held under the aegis of the United Nations (UN) aimed at combating terrorism and insurgency.The objective of this exercise is to enhance the coordination of the two armies in maintaining peace and security under the aegis of the United Nations.