NATIONAL UPDATES:
1. Union government launches National Broadband
Mission: The Union government has launched National
Broadband Mission to provide Broadband access to all villages by 2022. The
mission aims to connect 600,000 villages across India with an investment of Rs
7 lakh crore in the next 4 years from both government and private sector. The
mission is a part of the National Digital Communications Policy, 2018. The
mission will secure universal broadband access for implementation of broadband
initiatives and aims to offer Internet speed upto 50 Mbps in a phased manner.
According to the government, 10% of the funds will come from Universal Service
Obligation (USO) Fund and the remaining will come from industry in the form of
towers and other assets.
2. GEM launches national outreach programme ‘GeM
Samvaad’: Government e-commerce portal (GeM) has launched a
national outreach programme ‘GeM Samvaad’ to bring on-board more local sellers.
The outreach programme will take place with stakeholders across the country and
with local sellers to facilitate on-boarding of local sellers on the
marketplace. The programme will take place from 19th December to 17th February
next year and will cover all the States and Union Territories of the country.
GeM has more than 15 lakh products and around 20,000 services, more than 3 lakh
registered sellers and service providers and more than 40 thousand government
buyer organizations.
Note: Commerce Secretary of India: Anup
Wadhawan.
3. Orange festival begins in Manipur: Chief Minister N. Biren Singh inaugurated the three days State-level
Orange festival at district headquarters Tamenglong in Manipur. The state
government under the sponsorship of North Eastern Council organise the festival
annually to promote the fruit and encourage its growers. ‘On day one, orange
growers’ competition was held and prizes were distributed to top position
holders. As part of the festival, cultural show, traditional games, orange queen
completion, a seminar for growers will be held. Tamenglong district is the
largest producer of orange fruit in Manipur.
Note: Governor
of Manipur: Najma Heptulla.
4. Sridhar Patra appointed CMD of NALCO: Sridhar Patra has been appointed as the chairman-cum-managing director
(CMD) of National Aluminium Company Ltd (NALCO) till 31st October 2024.
Currently, Mr Patra is posted as Director (Finance) in the National Aluminium
Company Limited (NALCO). He replaced Tapan Kumar Chand from the post.
Note: National
Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO) is a Navratna group ‘A’ CPSE having
integrated and diversified operations in mining, metal and power under Ministry
of Mines, Government of India. Presently, the Government of India holds 52%
equity of NALCO.
NALCO Established:
7 January 1981; Headquarters: Bhubaneswar, Odisha.
5. GoI flagship scheme, AMRUT extended by 2
years: The Union Government has extended the deadline of
its flagship scheme AMRUT (Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban
Transformation) by two more years. In 2015, PM Modi has launched AMRUT mission,
promising 139 lakh water connections and 145 lakh sewer connections by March
2020. In the last five years, 2,316 projects have been completed so far at an
expense of Rs 7,195 crore. The expenditure of the mission was estimated as Rs
77,640 crores. According to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affair, 46% of
water connection & 28.3% of sewer connections have been achieved between
June 2015 and December 2019.
INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:
1. Turkey historic mosque moved before dam waters
rise: In Turkey, the main body of the 610-year-old
Er-Rızk mosque was removed from the town of Hasankeyf ahead of its submergence
as part of a Ilisu dam project. The Ilisu Dam will generate 1,200 megawatts of
electricity, making it Turkey’s fourth-largest dam in terms of energy
production.
Note: Capital
of Turkey: Ankara; Currency of Turkey: The Turkish lira.
2. International Migrants Day: 18 December: The International Migrants Day is organized across the world on 18th
December to protect the rights of migrant workers and members of their
families. In Dec 2000, the UN General Assembly proclaimed 18 Dec as
International Migrants Day after considering the large and increasing number of
migrants in the world. The International Organization for Migration salutes
migrants and the communities they join, the communities they remake through
their mutual effort. We salute them and we support them, and pledge to make the
future we believe is arriving for all of us. #WeTogether.
OTHER UPDATES:
SPORTS
1. Deepak Punia is UWW’s best junior wrestler of
2019: World championships silver medallist Deepak Punia
has been named United World Wrestling’s (UWW) Junior Freestyle Wrestler of the
Year. Punia became the first Indian wrestler in 18 years to win a junior world
title since 2001. Japan’s Yui SUSAKI has been named United World Wrestling’s
Junior Women’s Wrestler of the Year. Currently, Punia is number-1 in the UWW
rankings of 86kg category.
2. Smriti Mandhana in ICC's ODI and T20 team of
the year: Indian opener Smriti Mandhana was named in both
the International Cricket Council's ODI and T20 teams of the year. Mandhana has
Jhulan Goswami, Poonam Yadav and Shikha Pandey for the company in the ODI team
of the year and all-rounder Deepti Sharma in the T20 side. Mandhana has played
51 ODIs and 66 T20Is for India (combined tally of 3476 runs), besides a couple
of Test matches. Australia's Alyssa Healy was chosen as the T20 cricketer of
the year following her record-breaking 148 against Sri Lanka earlier this year.
The ODI cricketer of the year honour went to Australia's Ellyse Perry, who
scored 441 runs and took 21 wickets.
Top ICC Awards
2019
|
Award
|
Name
|
|
ICC Women’s ODI Cricketer of the Year
|
Ellyse Perry (Australia)
|
|
ICC Women’s T20I Cricketer of the Year
|
Alyssa Healy (Australia)
|
|
ICC Women’s Emerging Player of the Year
|
Chanida Sutthiruang (Thailand)
|
|
Rachael Heyhoe Flint Award for ICC Women’s Cricketer of the Year
|
Ellyse Perry (Australia)
|
|
ICC Captain of Women’s ODI Team of the Year
|
Meg Lanning (Australia)
|
|
ICC Captain of Women’s T20I Team of the Year
|
Meg Lanning (Australia)
|
3. England Cricketer Laura Marsh announces
retirement: The Laura Alexandra Marsh, England cricketer
announced her retirement. Laura has won three World Cups in her 13-year career,
she made her debut in 2006 as a seamer, later on, she switched to spin. She has
represented England in 103 ODI’s (One Day International), 67 T20’s and 9 Tests
and has taken 217 wickets in her career. She is also England’s 3rd highest
wicket-taker in ODI cricket. Laura Marsh was awarded a full central contract by
the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in February 2019. She played in her
100th women’s One Day International (WODI) match against West Indies in June
2019.
Note: England
Capital: London; Currency: Pound sterling.
BANKING AND FINANCE
1. SBI inks $277 million pact with Germany based
KfW bank: State Bank of India (SBI) has signed a loan
agreement worth of $277 million (about Rs 1,958 crore) with Kreditanstalt für
Wiederaufbau (KfW) German development bank for establishing an energy-efficient
housing programme in India. The programme shall be part of the Indo-German
Development Co-operation, guided by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable
Development. Under the programme, both builders and homebuyers shall be
financed for developing/purchasing energy-efficient residential projects that
achieve at least 25 per cent energy savings in comparison to standard reference
buildings. The arrangement of the loan and the grant facilities was facilitated
by SBI’s investment banking subsidiary SBI Capital Markets Ltd.
Note: SBI
Chairperson: Rajnish Kumar; Headquarters: Mumbai; Founded: 1 July 1955.
2. RBI waives NEFT, RTGS transfer charges for
savings account holders: The Reserve Bank of India
(RBI) has waived NEFT, RTGS transfer charges for savings account holders. In an
order, RBI instructed banks to make all online payments done through RTGS and
NEFT free of cost for savings account holders. The new rule will be effective
from January 1, 2020.
BUSINESS AND ECONOMY
1. GoI signs $250 Mn loan with ADB to expand
energy efficiency investments: The Government
of India and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) have signed a $250 million loan
for Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL). The loan aims to expand energy efficiency
investments in India that will benefit agricultural, residential and
institutional consumers. Additionally, $46 million financing will be provided
from the Clean Technology Fund (CTF), to be administered by ADB. The project is
expected to contribute to the mission of Government of India to promote energy
efficiency and meet Government’s commitments to reduce energy intensity of the
economy. Introduction of energy-efficient technologies in eligible states
including smart meters, distributed solar photovoltaic systems and electric
vehicles will help reduce electricity network losses and reduce greenhouse gas
emissions.
AWARDS AND HONOURS
1. Gujarat police became 7th state police to get
‘President’s Colours’: The state police of
Gujarat were honoured with ‘President’s colours’. The Gujarat police were
presented with the President’s colours by Vice President of India Muppavarapu
Venkaiah Naidu in Gandhinagar, Gujarat. They were presented the president’s
colours for their outstanding services. It is the highest honour given to a
police force in India. The previously awarded states were Madhya Pradesh, Uttar
Pradesh, Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, Tripura and Assam.
Note: The
president’s colours is also known as ‘Nishaan’ which is an emblem that will be
worn by all police officers on the left-hand sleeve of their uniform.
Gujarat CM:
Vijay Rupani; Governor: Acharya Dev Vrat.
2. B P Raju wins India Cyber Cop of the Year 2019
award: B P Raju (CBI- officer) has been awarded the
‘India Cyber Cop of the Year 2019’ during the Annual Information Security
Summit held at Gurgaon, Haryana. He won the award for investigating and
cracking a fraud case in an online entrance exam conducted by an engineering
college in Rajasthan. Raju arrested nine accused persons and collected
incriminating evidence from digital devices, which revealed the modus operandi
adopted by the accuse. The award was conferred by NASSCOM-DSCI (Data Security
Council of India).
DEFENCE
1. Land-attack version of BrahMos missile
successfully test-fired from Odisha’s Chandipur: India successfully conducted a developmental trial of the land-attack
version of BrahMos supersonic cruise missile from Chandipur Integrated Test
Range, off Odisha coast. The 9-meter long missile can travel at thrice the
speed of sound and carry a conventional warhead weighing up to 300 kg. The
BrahMos missile is a medium-range ramjet supersonic cruise missile capable of
being launched from submarines, ships, fighter jets or land.
Note: DRDO
Chairman:G Satheesh Reddy, in: 1958, Headquarters in: New Delhi.
OBITUARIES
1. Veteran actor Shriram Lagoo passes away: Veteran actor & ENT Surgeon Dr Shriram Lagoo (92-years) passed
away at his Pune residence. Mr. Lagoo acted in more than 100 Hindi and Marathi
films in his career and directed twenty plays in Marathi. His roles in Marathi
plays such as “Natsamrat” and “Himalayachi Saoli”, and films such as “Pinjra”
made him popular. In Hindi, he essayed memorable roles in films such as “Ek Din
Achanak”, “Gharonda” and “Lawaris”, to name a few. Dr Lagoo also wrote a book,
an autobiography titled ‘Lamaan’ (means ‘the carrier of goods’).
2. Former Union Minister ID Swami passes away: Former Union Minister & Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader I D
Swami (90 years) passed away in Faridabad. He served as the Union Minister of
State for Home Affairs in 1999 in former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s
government. He was also two times Lok Sabha member from Karnal (Haryana) in
1966 and 1999.
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