NATIONAL UPDATES:
1. HRD Minister launches five documents developed
by UGC: The Union Human Resource Development Minister
launched the 5 documents developed by UGC covering the 5 verticals of Quality
Mandate in New Delhi. These 5 documents cover evaluation reforms, eco-friendly
and sustainable university campuses, human values & professional ethics,
faculty induction and academic research integrity. These 5 documents help to
improve the quality in Higher Educational Institutions, University Grants
Commission has adopted the Higher Education Quality Improvement Programme
Mandate.
On the
occasion, the HRD Minister also mentioned SATAT and MulyaPravah, both
frameworks of the UGC. MulyaPravah is the Guidelines for Inculcation of
Professional Ethics and Human Values in the higher education institutions While
SATAT is a Sustainable and Eco-Friendly Framework for Campus development in
higher education institutions that encourages universities to adopt sustainable
methods and to practice policies that enhance the environment quality in the
campus of the universities.
Note: Union
Human Resource Development Minister: Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’.
2. Indian Railways unveiled Him Darshan Express: Indian Railways has unveiled ‘Him Darshan Express’ comprising
all-new Vistadome coaches from Kalka railway station to Shimla. This special
train will commute between the Kalka and Shimla station for the next year till
December 24, 2020. Modified in carriage and wagon depot at Kalka, this is a
first-of-its-kind train on the Kalka-Shimla route. The train will have seven
coaches including one first-class sitting cum luggage room coach (FCZLR) and
six first-class AC Vistadom coaches. Him Darshan Express will be the first-ever
train with Vistadome coaches by the Indian Railways that will run on a regular
basis. The train will follow the concept of individual seat charter services
via Passenger Reservation System (PRS) and various other online modes.
Note: Railway
Minister: Piyush Goyal.
3. Dr. Harsh Vardhan inaugurates 2nd Edition of
“Eat Right Mela”: The Union Minister of Health & Family
Welfare, Dr. Harsh Vardhan has launched the second edition of the ‘Eat Right
Mela’ at Jawahar Lal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi. The ‘Eat Right Mela’ is an
effort to encourage citizens on having a healthy diet and reduce the disease
burden in the country. The theme of the event is ‘Healthier Diets’. Organized
by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and National
Association of Street Vendors of India, the Eat Right Mela is a commendable
effort and outreach activity for citizens to nudge them towards eating right.
The Union
Minister launched ‘The PURPLE Book’ a handbook on diets for diseases. The Union
Minister also launched NetSCoFAN (Network for Scientific Co-operation for Food
Safety and Applied Nutrition), a network of research & academic
institutions working in the area of food & nutrition along with the
NetSCoFAN directory, covering detailed information of various heads/Directors
and lead scientists of lead and associated partnering institutions.
Note: Union Health
Minister: Dr Harsh Vardhan; Chairperson of FSSAI: Rita Teaotia; Chief Executive
Officer of FSSAI: Pawan Kumar Agarwal.
The first ‘Eat
Right Mela’ was launched in New Delhi in December 2018.
4. India set to cross 100GW renewable energy
capacity mark in 2020: India is all set to cross
the 100GW renewable energy capacity mark in 2020 and can make rapid strides
towards the ambitious 175GW clean energy target by 2022. The government,
however, needs to promote storage to ensure 24X7 clean energy supply as
coal-fired thermal power still remains the base load in the country. India's
installed renewable energy generation capacity touched around 86GW by
November-end. This includes solar, wind, small hydro, biomass, waste to energy
and others.
5. FM releases stamp to commemorate DRI’s role: Finance minister of India released a postage stamp to commemorate
distinguished service and glorious contribution of Directorate of Revenue
Intelligence (DRI) in protecting the nation. DRI plays an immense role to
counter smuggling and preserve cultural heritage and environment of the
country. It is essential for DRI to keep pace with technologies such as data
analytics to fight against contraband items such as gold and narcotics.
Contraband is good that is against the law to trade or to import or export.
Note: The
Union finance minister of India: Nirmala Sitharaman.
6. Book to chronicle India’s Olympic journey: The book titled “Dreams of a Billion: India and the Olympic Games”
author by Boria Majumdar with Nalin Mehta released. The book will be published
by HarperCollins India in January 2020. The book comprises of all the wins, the
misses, the star sportspersons, their stories, and the challenges and
possibilities that lie ahead of India to make its mark in the 2020 Tokyo
Olympics. The book provides an inside view of what goes on backstage in the
Indian Olympics world alongside a quick history of how India has fared at the
Olympics over the past century and a look at how the Indian Olympics world has
changed in the last decade.
INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:
1. 5th round of India-Japan Maritime Affairs
Dialogue: The 5th Round of India-Japan Maritime Affairs
Dialogue was held in Tokyo, Japan. The two sides exchanged views on various
topics of mutual interest in the maritime domain and identified the means for
further strengthening their maritime cooperation. Both sides reiterated the
importance of the Dialogue as an important mechanism between the two countries
for consultations on issues of mutual interest in maritime affairs and agreed
to hold the next round of the Dialogue on a mutually convenient date in India.
The first round of India-Japan Maritime dialogue was held in New Delhi in 2013.
Note: Japan
Capital: Tokyo, Currency: Japanese yen, PM: Shinzo Abe.
2. China, Iran, Russia to hold joint naval drills
in the Gulf of Oman: China, Russia, and Iran will hold trilateral
naval exercises in the Gulf of Oman from 27th December to 30th December 2019.
This will be
the first such move by the three countries in the volatile Middle East. The
Chinese Navy has sent a guided-missile destroyer to participate in the drills. The
exercise aims to deepen the exchanges and cooperation between the navies of the
three countries and demonstrating the goodwill and ability of the three parties
to jointly maintain world peace and maritime security.
Note: The Gulf
of Oman borders Iran and Pakistan on the north, Oman on the south, the United
Arab Emirates on the west and faces the Gujarat coast.
OTHER UPDATES:
SPORTS
1. Abhinav Lohan wins Bengaluru Open Golf
Championship: Abhinav Lohan has won the Bengaluru Open Golf
Championship 2019 powered by Karnataka Tourism. This was Lohan’s first title on
the TATA Steel PGTI. Chandigarh’s Karandeep Kochhar with 71 finished runner-up
at 12-under-276. Bengaluru duo of M Dharma and Rahil Gangjee 71 won third and
fourth places with totals of 11-under-277 and 10-under-278. Lohan became the
fourth Indian golfer to register his maiden title on the TATA Steel PGTI this
season following the likes of Kshitij Naveed Kaul, Priyanshu Singh, and Veer
Ahlawat.
BANKING AND FINANCE
1. Federal Bank ties up with Magicbricks: Private sector lender Federal Bank has tied up with online real
estate platform Magicbricks for listing and e-auctioning of immovable
properties repossessed by it in recovery proceedings. The move is aimed at
speedy recovery of the bank’s impaired assets while helping customers get the
best rate in the market for their properties. The bank has got into a pan-India
arrangement with the housing portal in order to recover dues in 30 major
accounts amounting to Rs 50 crore in the fourth quarter of this year. Under the
deal, Federal Bank will leverage on Magicbrick’s reach across demographic
profiles and consumer categories, removing any geographical restrictions for
buyers.
Federal Bank
Establishment: 1939 (as Travancore Federal Bank); December 1949 (Federal Bank);
Headquarter: Kochi, Kerala; Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer:
Shyam Srinivasan.
2. Kotak Mahindra Bank partners with Pine Labs to
enable EMIs on debit cards: Kotak Mahindra
Bank has tied up with Pine Labs to enable debit card facility for their debit
cardholders across point-of-sale terminals by Pine Labs. This arrangement
enables over 10 million eligible Kotak debit card customers to pay for their
purchases in easy installments through the Pine Labs POS terminals. Banks
customers can avail EMI facility with a minimum purchase of Rs 8,000 and repay over
3 months to 12 months. Its aim is to provide affordable, flexible and easy EMI
options on a range of products so that bank’s customers can break their
high-value purchases into affordable instalments at no extra cost.
Note: Kotak
Mahindra Bank Establishment: 2003; Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra; Managing
Director & Chief Executive Officer: Uday Kotak.
3. GoI to infuse Rs 8,655 crore into Allahabad
Bank, IOB & UCO Bank: The Government of India
has approved the release of Rs 8,655 crore as fresh capital to three public
sector banks. The list includes Allahabad Bank, Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) and
UCO Bank. The infusion will be done for preferential allotment of shares. Fresh
capital amounting to Rs 2,153 crore will be allocated to Allahabad Bank, Rs 2,142
crore to UCO Bank and Rs 4,630 crore to Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) for
preferential allotment of shares.
Note: MD &
CEO of Indian Overseas Bank: Karnam Sekar; Chairman of UCO Bank: Atul Kumar
Goel.
4. RBI caps lending on P2P platforms at Rs 50
lakh: The Reserve Bank of India has capped the
permissible exposure limit of a lender on a Peer-to-Peer lending (P2P) platform
for all borrowers. The aggregate exposure has been set at Rs 50 lakh at any
given point of time. The step has been taken to protect the consumers interest.
The lender investing more than Rs 10 lakh across P2P platforms has to produce a
certificate to P2P platforms from a practising Chartered Accountant certifying
minimum net-worth of Rs 50 lakh.
Note: RBI 25th
Governor: Shaktikant Das; Headquarters: Mumbai; Founded: 1 April 1935, Kolkata.
5. RBI launches new PPI for small digital
transactions: In order to the digital transaction in India, the
Reserve Bank (RBI) has introduced a new semi-closed Prepaid Payment Instrument
(PPI). The new PPI can be used for the transaction of goods and services up to
a limit of Rs 10,000. This direction was made under Section 18 read with
Section 10(2) of Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007. These PPIs will
enhance the digitization of daily payments at local shops and retail outlets
for the purchase of daily household goods and services. The PPIs may be issued
as cards, wallets, and any such form/instrument which can be used to access the
PPI and to use the amount therein. PPIs in the form of paper vouchers shall no
longer be issued.
6. P R Ravi Mohan Appointed Chairman of ESAF
Small Finance Bank: P R Ravi Mohan has been appointed as the new
chairman of ESAF Small Finance Bank. He succeeds R. Prabha. Earlier, he headed
the Banking Supervision Department of Reserve Bank of India. ESAF Small Finance
Bank was incorporated on May 5, 2016, with its registered office in Thrissur,
Kerala.
7. RBI sets ₹50-lakh lending cap on NBFC-P2P
platforms: In order to protect the consumers' interest, the
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has set a ₹50-lakh cap on the aggregate exposure of
a lender to all borrowers across all Non-Banking Financial Company – Peer to
Peer (NBFC-P2P) lending platforms at any point of time. Further, the RBI has
specified that the investments of the lenders on P2P platforms have to be
consistent with their net-worth. An NBFC-P2P is an intermediary providing the
services of loan facilitation via online medium or otherwise to the
participants, who enter into an arrangement with the intermediary to lend on it
or to get the loan facilitation services provided by it.
AWARDS AND HONOURs
1. AAO bestows Life Achievement honour to Dr
Santosh G Honavar: Dr Santosh G Honavar, India’s ophthalmologist is
conferred with the American Academy of Ophthalmology’s (AAO) highest award Life
Achievement honour that is given to its members. He is the first Indian chosen
for the honour. American Academy of Ophthalmology is the world’s largest
association of eye specialists.
Note: American
Academy of Ophthalmology Headquarters: San Francisco, California, US; American
Academy of Ophthalmology Founded: 1979.
OBITUARIES
1. American songwriter Allee Willis passes away: American Songwriter Allee Willis (72) passed away after a cardiac
arrest. She was best known for composing the “I’ll Be There For You”, the theme
song of the popular sitcom Friends. She has several other hits under her name
like Earth, Wind, and Fire, which was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of
Fame in 2018. She won a Grammy in 1985 for her work on the soundtrack for
“Beverly Hills Cop“.
2. ‘Colours of the Mountain’ author Da Chen
passes away: China’s brilliant storyteller, Da Chen, who
created the critically acclaimed memoir “Colours of the Mountain” passed away
recently. In “Colours of the Mountain” he recounted the abuses he and his
family suffered during the latter years of the country’s Cultural Revolution.
The book was published in seven languages. His last book which was published
recently was “Girl Under a Red Moon”.
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