Daily GK Updates - 16th December, 2019

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Prime Minister chairs 1st meeting of National Ganga Council: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has chaired the first meeting of the National Ganga Council. The meeting was held in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. The first meeting of the Council aimed at reinforcing the importance of a ‘Ganga-centric’ approach in all departments of the concerned states as well as relevant Central Ministries. The Council has been given overall responsibility for superintendence of pollution prevention and rejuvenation of River Ganga Basin, including Ganga and its tributaries. Prime Minister urged for a holistic thinking process where ‘Namami Gange’ evolves to ‘Arth Ganga’ or a sustainable development model with a focus on economic activities related to Ganga.

2. Haryana Police Introduces Unique Barcoding Software ‘Trakea’ to make forensic reports tamper-proof: The Haryana Police has adopted a unique barcoding software dubbed as ‘Trakea’ that would help to ensure that the forensic reports are not tampered with as they form the backbone of the criminal investigation system and subsequent trials in the courts of law. As per the Haryana Police it is the country’s first police force to have introduced this unique barcoding for forensic reports.

3. Ministry of Coal to establish “Sustainable Development Cell” to promote clean mining: The Coal Ministry will establish ‘Sustainable Development Cell’ (SDC) for promoting sustainable coal mining in the country. It will address environmental concerns during the decommissioning or closure of mines. The Cell will advise, mentor, plan and monitor the mitigation measures taken by the coal companies for maximizing the utilization of available resources in a sustainable way, minimizing the adverse impact of mining and mitigating it for further eco-system services. The Sustainable Development Cell envisages to address the environmental mitigation measures in a systemic manner and to provide a better environment to people working and residing in the vicinity of Mines.

Mote: Minister of Coal and Minister of Mines: Pralhad Joshi.

4. World Design Organization to Launch its Global 5 Year Programme ‘World Design Protopolis’ in Bengaluru: The World Design Organization (WDO) has planned to launch its new global programme World Design Protopolis in Bengaluru, Karnataka. This announcement was made during the India’s largest design conclave ‘Kochi Design Week (KDW)’ held at Bolgatty Island in Kerala. The World Design Protopolis will be five-year project aimed at implementing holistic progress in mega cities across the world and making them sustainable. The project aims to measure the progress of the city, attract investments and solve the problems so that the city becomes a better place for the citizens.

5. Viswanathan Anand launches his autobiography ‘Mind Master’: Viswanathan Anand has launched his autobiography ‘Mind Master’. Anand’s autobiography is co-authored by sports journalist Susan Ninann. It has been published by THG Publishing Private Limited. The book covers wonderful memories of Viswanathan Anand’s journey.

6. India celebrates Vijay Diwas: 16 December: The nation celebrates 16 December as Vijay Diwas to commemorate India’s victory over Pakistan in 1971 war. 2019 marks 48th Vijay Diwas and was celebrated at the National War Memorial. The Indo-Pakistan war of 1971 which began on December 3 lasted for 13 days and officially ended on December 16, after which Pakistan surrendered to India. It was on this day in 1971, the chief of the Pakistani forces, General AA Khan Niazi, along with 93 thousand troops, had surrendered unconditionally to the allied forces consisting of Indian Army and Mukti Bahini. The end of the war also resulted in subsequent secession of East Pakistan into Bangladesh.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Nuad Thai, Traditional massage included in UNESCO heritage list: Thailand’s famous 2000-year-old massage, Nuad Thai was added to UNESCO’s (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) prestigious heritage list. Nuad Thai is an intense form of massage in which the body is pulled and rotated well with the help of the thumb, elbow, knees and feet. Thai massage originated in India and brought it to Thailand about 2,500 years ago by doctors and monks who carried its secrets for generations. The UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list includes 13 items from India till date. The most recent addition was made in 2017 when Kumbh Mela was added to the list. The first three entries in the list were made in 2008, when Vedic chanting, Ramlila and Sanskrit theatre Kutiyattam were added.

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

2. Former PM Abdelmadjid Tebboune elected as the President of Algeria: Abdelmadjid Tebboune, former Prime Minister (PM) of Algeria was elected as the President of Algeria succeeding Abdelkader Bensalah. He served as the PM from May 2017 to August 2017, under the governance of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika. . The 74-year-old Tebboune won maximum vote, 58.15 percent, in the five-men presidential race.

Note: Algeria Capital: Algiers; Prime Minister (PM): Noureddine Bedouia; Currency: Dinar.

3. World’s First Liquid Hydrogen Carrier Ship ‘Suiso Frontier’ launched in Japan: Japan’s Kawasaki Heavy Industries has launched the first of its kind, world’s first marine carrier that transports liquefied hydrogen, in a bid to establish green energy supply chain. The 116 meters long ship, named as Suiso Frontier, will carry up to 1,250 cubic meters of compressed, supercooled liquid hydrogen between the south coast of Australia and an unloading terminal under construction in Kobe, Japan.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS

1. Kento Momota & Chen Yufei Lifts 2019 BWF World Tour Finals: The 2019 BWF World Tour Finals (HSBC BWF World Tour Finals 2019) was the final badminton tournament of the 2019 BWF World Tour. It was held from 11 to 15 December 2019 in Guangzhou, China. List of Winners:

Men’s Single – Kento Momota (Japan)

Women’s Single – Chen Yufei (China)

Men’s Double – Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan (Indonesia)

Women’s Double – Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan (China)

Mixed Double – Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong (China)

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

1. Edelweiss AMC Launches India’s 1st corporate bond “Bharat Bond ETF”: Edelweiss Asset Management Company (AMC), a subsidiary of Edelweiss Capital Limited (ECL) has launched India’s 1st Corporate Bond ETF (exchange trade fund) called the Bharat Bond ETF. The ETF is a government initiative and Edelweiss AMC was given the mandate to design and manage the product. Edelweiss aims to raise an initial amount of Rs 3,000 crore through this bond from institutional players with a greenshoe option of Rs 2,000 crore in the 3-year maturity period (2023) and Rs 4,000 crore with a greenshoe option of Rs 6,000 crore in the 10-year maturity bucket (2030). Small retail investors will have to invest at least Rs 1,000 in this fund.

Note: Edelweiss Capital Limited Headquarters: Mumbai; Founder: Rashesh Shah; Edelweiss Capital Limited founded: 1995.

AWARDS AND HONOURS

1. England cricketer Ben Stokes wins BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2019: The 28-year-old, England cricketer Ben Stokes has been named BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2019. He became the first cricketer to win the prize after Andrew Flintoff, who won in 2005. The BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2019 was held on 15 December 2019 in Aberdeen, United Kingdom.

2. Projects from Karnataka and Odisha Wins 2019 World Habitat Awards: World Habitat Awards are presented every year by World Habitat, a UK-based organization, in partnership with United Nation (UN)-Habitat. The award recognises innovative, outstanding and sometimes revolutionary housing ideas, projects and programmes for the homeless and disadvantaged. For the first time, in 2019, the awards were presented as Gold, Silver and Bronze Awards. Earlier, two winners were selected each year. Altogether, there are nine winning projects and programmes for 2019 World Habitat Awards. Two projects from India have won 2019 World Habitat Awards including a Gold and Bronze.

Gold Award: Restoration of Dignity and Human Rights of Indigenous Tribal Community in Karnataka (transformative initiative supporting the Koraga people and nine other tribal communities in Karnataka to access land)

Bronze Award: Odisha Liveable Habitat Mission (JAGA Mission), (transforming the slums into liveable habitat with all necessary civic infrastructure and services at par with the better off areas within the same urban local body (ULB) and to continuously improve the standard of the infrastructure and services and access to livelihood opportunities.)

Other Winners:

Category	Winner
Gold:	Viviendas para las Entidades Sociales, Spain
Silver:	Discus Housing First, Netherlands
Bronze:	Building with EARTH, China
	Healthy Homes for Humanity, Guatemala
	La Borda housing co-operative, Spain
	#GreenNFit Neighbourhood Rebuild, USA
	Dzivarasekwa Slum Upgrading Project, Zimbabwe

OBITUARIES

1. Veteran Actress Gita Siddharth Passes Away: The legendary Bollywood actress and a social worker Gita Siddharth has passed away. Gita made her debut in Gulzar’s 1972 film, Parichay. She was best known for her role in M.S. Sathyu’s 1973 classic ‘Garm Hava’. Sholay, Trishul, Disco Dancer, are some of the major films done by Gita.