Daily GK Updates - 22nd December, 2019

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Jagan launches ‘Nethanna Nestham’ scheme for handloom weavers: Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy launched ‘Nethanna Nestham’ at Dharmavaram of Anantapur district. Chief Minister said the scheme will benefit 85,000 handloom weaver families in the State. Under the scheme, Rs 24,000 will be credited directly into the bank accounts of the weavers having own looms every year.

Note: Andhra Pradesh Governor: Biswabhusan Harichandan; Capital: Amaravati

2. Secunderabad Railway Station Gets India’s First ‘Water From Air’ System: The Indian Railways has announced that it has installed a first-of-its-kind ‘atmospheric water generator’ (AWG) system named ‘Meghdoot,’ which converts humid air into potable drinking water, at Secunderabad railway station in Telangana. The minister of railways and commerce, Piyush Goyal informed about the installation of ‘Meghdoot’, which will produce water that complies with the World Health Organisation (WHO) standards. The price of the potable drinking water ranges from INR 2 to INR 8. It costs less if the passengers carry their own bottles and containers.

3. EChO Network launched to catalyze cross-disciplinary leadership in India: Prof. K VijayRaghavan, Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India has launched EChO Network, a national program to provide a template for cross-disciplinary leadership in India was launched in New Delhi. It focuses on increasing research, knowledge, and awareness of Indian ecology and the environment. EChO Network would develop a national network to catalyze a new generation of Indians who can synthesize interdisciplinary concepts and tackle real-world problems in medicine, agriculture, ecology, and technology. With no precedent for such a network anywhere in the world, EChO Network establishes a new platform to change how science is embedded in our modern society.

4. Govt relaxes guidelines for reissue of OCI cards: India has relaxed certain Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) guidelines for reissue of passport for those below 20 years of age and those above 50 years. Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has granted this “temporary relaxation” till June 30, 2020.

For OCI cardholder below the age of 20 years: In case an OCI cardholder below the age of 20 years has not got OCI card re-issued on change of passport, he/she may travel on the strength of his/her existing OCI card bearing old passport number subject to the condition that along with the new passport, the OCI cardholder carries old passport mentioned in the OCI card

For OCI cardholder above the age of 50 years: In case an OCI cardholder who has attained the age of 50 years and got his/her passport renewed subsequently but has not got his/her OCI card re-issued on renewal of passport, he/she may travel till June 30, 2020, on the strength of existing OCI card along with the new and old passports.

5. National Mathematics Day: 22nd December: National Mathematics Day is celebrated on 22nd December every year to mark the birth anniversary of legendary mathematician, Srinivasa Ramanujan and his contributions in the development of modern mathematics. This year nation celebrates his 132nd Birth Anniversary. The main objective behind the celebration of National Mathematics Day is to make people aware of the development of mathematics and its importance in the growth of humanity. He passed away on 6th April 1920.

Note: In 2011, the National Mathematics Day was instituted by the Union Government to celebrate Ramanujan’s 125th birth anniversary.

6. Indian Coast Guard conducts ‘Swachchh Samundra NW-2019’: The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) conducted a two-day regional level pollution response exercise named ‘Swachchh Samundra NW-2019’ at sea off Vadinar in Gulf of Kutch. The exercise was conducted to validate and reinforce the response mechanism for oil pollution incidents and enable the Indian Coast Guard to fine-tune the actions required in such eventualities. The exercise was conducted in two phases. The Gulf of Kutch (GoK) region handles 70 per cent of the oil imported by India and 11 Single Point Moorings (SPMs) out of total 27 SPM.

Note: Indian Coast Guard founded: 18 August 1978; Headquarters: New Delhi.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Manuel Marrero Cruz appointed as Prime Minister of Cuba: Manuel Marrero Cruz was named the first prime minister of Cuba by President Miguel Díaz-Canel in more than 40 years. In Cuba, the post of PM was abolished in 1976 when Fidel Castro became president. It was reinstated under the rules of a new constitution for the communist-run island passed earlier this year. Marrero, who has served as tourism minister for 16 years and is an architect by trade, helped boost Cuba's economy by making tourism one of the engines of growth.

Note: Cuba Capital: Havana ; Currencies: Cuban peso.

2. Donald Trump officially launches US “space force”: Donald Trump has launched space force, the first new US military service in more than 70 years. Trump signed the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act that includes the space force. It is part of a $1.4tn (£1.1tn) government spending package – including the Pentagon’s budget – that provides a steady stream of financing for Trump’s US-Mexico border fence and reverses unpopular and unworkable automatic spending cuts to defence and domestic programmes. It is not intended to put troops into orbit, but will protect US assets – such as the hundreds of satellites used for communication and surveillance. Space Force will build on the work of the existing US Space Command (SpaceCom), which was created in August to handle the US military’s space operations.

3. India Emerges as World’s 3rd Largest Producer of Scientific Articles: Based on the statistics compiled by the US-based National Science Foundation (NSF), India has emerged as the world’s third largest publisher of science and engineering articles. China is on top of the list with the number of global scientific publications increased from 2,49,049 in 2008 to 5,28,263 in 2018 (growth rate of 7.81 percent per annum). United States stands second with the total global publications in science and engineering articles grew at a rate of 0.71 percent from 3,93,979 in 2008 to 4,22,808 in 2018. The other countries in the top 10 list are Germany (1,04,396), Japan (98,793), UK (97,681), Russia (81,579), Italy (71,240), South Korea (66,376) and France (66,352).

4. First Global Refugee Forum held in Geneva, Switzerland: The first-ever Global Refugee Forum was held at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland to strengthen the collective response to refugee situations as well as achieve the objectives of Global Compact on Refugees, affirmed on 17 December 2018 by the United Nations General Assembly. The forum focused on the following areas: arrangements for responsibility-sharing, education, jobs and livelihoods, energy and infrastructure, solutions and protection capacity. Global Refugee Forums will henceforth take place every four years, meaning the next is scheduled for late 2023.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS

1. Liverpool wins FIFA Club World Cup champions: Liverpool beat Brazil's Flamengo 1-0 to win the FIFA Club World Cup. The final was held in Khalifa International Stadium in Qatar’s capital city of Doha. It is the first time Liverpool have won the competition, which features each continent's champions, and they became only the second English team to lift the trophy after Manchester United in 2008. Brazilian Firmino drilled home the winner in the ninth minute of extra time to secure victory for Jurgen Klopp's European champions and Premier League leaders.

Note: FIFA President: Gianni Infantino; Headquarters: Zürich, Switzerland; Founded at: Paris, France; Founded: 21 May 1904

2. Ashleigh Barty and Rafael Nadal named ITF World Champions for 2019: Ashleigh Barty (Australia) and Rafael Nadal (Spain) have been named International Tennis Federation’s (ITF) World Champions for 2019. They will be rewarded for stellar seasons in which they finished at the top of women's and men's rankings respectively. These awards will be given at the 2020 ITF world champions 2nd June, in Paris. Nadal, who’s currently the world number one, this year, won his 12th French Open and a fourth US Open. Barty, who’s also on top in women’s rankings, won her maiden Grand Slam title this year after defeating Marketa Vondrousova in French Open.

Other winners:

Category	Winner
Women Doubles	Timea Babos (Hungary) and Kristina Mladenovic (France)
Men Doubles	Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah (Colombia)
Men’s Wheelchair	Gustavo Fernandez (Argentina)
Women’s Wheelchair	Diede de Groot (Netherland)
Quad	Dylan Alcott (Australia)

Note: ITF Headquarters: London, United Kingdom; President of ITF: David Haggerty.

BANKING AND FINANCE

1. Fitch reduces India’s GDP growth forecast to 4.6% in FY20: Fitch Ratings has cut its GDP growth forecast for India to 4.6% for the 2019-20 fiscal from its earlier prediction of 5.6%.  Fitch has reaffirmed India’s rating at ‘BBB-‘with a Stable Outlook. In FY2020-21 the growth rate is predicted at 5.6 per cent and 6.5 per cent in FY2021-22 as per Fitch.

2. Harsh Kumar Bhanwala’s tenure as Chairman of NABARD: The tenure of NABARD chairman Harsh Kumar Bhanwala has been extended by six months as per an order issued the Personnel Ministry. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved a six-month extension to the tenure of Bhanwala, with effect from December 18, 2019. He was appointed as the Chairman of NABARD in December 2013.

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

1. Wipro partners Nasscom to train students on emerging technologies: IT giant Wipro has partnered with industry body NASSCOM to start a training platform on emerging technologies. The Platform will train students on artificial intelligence, data science, the internet of things, cybersecurity etc. Through this platform, Wipro will train 10,000 students from more than 20 engineering colleges in India. This is a part of Wipro’s corporate social responsibility programme, TalentNext, which aims to enhance the quality of engineering education by preparing faculty and academic leaders to train students. The programme has now been extended to students directly through Future Skills, a new age Nasscom platform built to bridge the industry-academia skill gap and help students learn new-age technologies.