Daily GK Updates - 15th December, 2019

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. FASTags becomes mandatory for all vehicles from 15th December 2019: FASTags or prepaid rechargeable tags for toll collection have become mandatory for all vehicles from 15th December 2019. The FASTags or prepaid rechargeable tags allows automatic payment of toll. The government launched the National Electronic Toll Collection System which provides for the collection of user fee through FASTag to save fuel and time, curb pollution and ensure seamless movement of traffic. National Highways Authority of India has equipped all fee plazas with Electronic Toll Collection System. With the help of a FASTag, drivers will not have to stop their vehicles at toll plazas to pay tax. A FASTag uses radio frequency identification technology to enable direct toll payments from a moving vehicle.

2. India’s First Pashu Kisan Credit Cards Distributed in Haryana’s Bhiwani: Haryana has become the first state in India to launch Animal Farmers Credit Card Scheme (Pashu Kisan Credit Cards Schme) to promote animal husbandry and agribusiness. As a part of the occasion, the First Pashu Kisan credit cards in India were distributed to 101 animal farmers in Bhiwani. This means that now cow-buffalo and other animals would also be purchased with credit cards and as a result farmers and youth will get employment across the state. The State Government has set a target to issue 10 lakh Pashu Kisan Credit cards by March 2021.

3. Kerala launches two welfare schemes ‘Vijayamritham’ and ‘Sahachari’ to support differently-abled persons: The state government of Kerala has launched two social welfare schemes named ‘Vijayamritham’ and ‘Sahachari’ to honour differently-abled people as well as NSS, NCC and Student Police Cadet (SPC) units who work for their care and welfare.

Vijayamritham scheme: The scheme will provide onetime cash award to meritorious differently abled students who have secured high marks in Degree/ Equivalent courses, Post Graduate & Professional courses.

Amount of Assistance

Sr. No.	Category	Eligibility	Amount	No. of students per district
1	Degree / Equivalent courses	60% marks for Arts subject, 80% marks for Science subject	8000/-	10 students
2	Post-Graduation & Professional courses	60 % and above	10,000/-	5 students

Sahachari Scheme: This scheme will honour NSS, NCC and Student Police Cadet (SPC) units that assist people, with over 40% disability, in their studies and other tasks. The Department of Social Justice has earmarked an amount of Rs. 40,000/- for each district.

4. Transforming Education Conference for Humanity (TECH) 2019 Held in Visakhapatnam: The third edition of the TECH 2019 (Transforming Education Conference for Humanity) was held in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. TECH 2019 was organised by UNESCO Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development (MGIEP) in partnership with the State Government of Andhra Pradesh, India and supported by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India. The conference aimed at showcasing the role of digital technologies in enabling a shift from “transmissive pedagogies” to “transformative pedagogies” to create more peaceful and sustainable societies. It was based on 3 themes: (1) Transformative Pedagogies for SEL (Social and Emotional learning); (2) Reimagining Learning Spaces for Planetary Citizenship; (3) Data, Learning & Education – Role of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

5. 36th International Geological Congress to be Held in India in March 2020: India will host the 36th International Geological Congress (IGC) in New Delhi in March 2020. The theme of the conference will be ‘Geosciences: The Basic Science for a Sustainable Development’. Popularly known as the Olympics of Geosciences, IGCs are a prestigious global geoscientific events held once in four years and participated by around 5000-6000 geoscientists from all across the world.

6. 3rd Edition of Military Literature Festival Held in Chandigarh: The third edition of coveted Military Literature Festival (MLF), was held at Lake Club, Chandigarh from December 13 to 15, 2019. The military literature extravaganza was inaugurated by Punjab Governor and UT Administrator VP Singh Badnore. The event provides a healthy platform of discussions in various aspects of military and share experiences of serving the country in armed forces. It also provides platform for children to acquaint themselves with the war stories besides an opportunity to interact with the veterans and serving officers.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. United States Surpasses Kuwait as India’s 6th biggest oil supplier; Iraq remains on top: According to data furnished by the oil ministry to parliamentary committee, United States has surpassed Kuwait to become India’s sixth largest oil supplier. US supplied 5.4 million tonnes of crude oil to India during the first six months of 2019-20 (April-September). This is 70 percent more as compared to about 3.1 million tonnes of oil sourced from the US in the same period a year back. Iraq continues to be top crude oil supplier of India with 26 million tonnes of crude oil supplied during April to September, meeting India’s one-fourth oil need alone. India bought 111.4 million tonnes of crude oil from overseas during April-September of 2019-20. India is the world’s third largest energy consumer and is 83 percent dependent on imports to meet its oil needs.

2. International Tea Day: December 15: The International Tea Day is observed annually on December 15 to draw global attention of governments and citizens towards the impact of the global tea trade on workers and growers and also to request for price supports and fair trade. The day has been celebrated since 2005 in tea producing countries like India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Vietnam, Indonesia,Bangladesh, Kenya, Malawi, Malaysia, Uganda and Tanzania. India is the second largest producer of tea in the World after China.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS

1. Australia’s Ashleigh Barty Wins WTA Player of the Year 2019: The WTA Awards are given by the Women’s Tennis Association to players for outstanding achievements during the season or their career. The winners of 2019 WTA Awards are given below:

Sr. No.	Awards	Name/Country
1	WTA Player of the Year 2019	Ashleigh Barty (Australia)
2	WTA Doubles Team of the Year	Timea Babos (Hungary) / Kristina Mladenovic (France)
3	WTA Most Improved Player of the Year	Sofia Kenin (United States)
4	WTA Newcomer of the Year	Bianca Andreescu (Canada)
5	WTA Comeback Player of the Year	Belinda Bencic (Switzerland)
6	WTA Jerry Diamond ACES Award	Kiki Bertens (Netherlands)

BANKING AND FINANCE

1. Mastercard Joins Hand With Federal Bank to Offer Identity Check Security for Digital Transactions:             Global payments technology major Mastercard has tied up with Private Sector, scheduled commercial bank, Federal Bank, to provide an additional layer of identity check security called ‘Mastercard Identity Check’ for digital transactions by bank’s cardholders. ‘Mastercard Identity Check’ is a global authentication program which makes use of the latest authentication standards of EMV 3-D Secure. It provides banks with a secure and user-friendly way to authenticate cardholders without the use of static passwords, and facilitate higher approval rates, improving the authentication experience for merchants, issuers and cardholders.

AWARDS AND HONOURS

1. Infosys wins 2019 UN Global Climate Action Award: The Indian IT services major Infosys Ltd has been awarded with the United Nations Global Climate Action Award in the ‘Climate Neutral Now’ category at the ongoing 2019 UN Climate Change Conference in Madrid, Spain. The Bengaluru-headquartered company is the first Indian corporate of its kind to receive the honour. Infosys has been honored for its carbon neutral program, which delivers scalable, innovative and practical climate actions that address climate change and help drive progress on many other sustainable development goals

2. Deepika Padukone Wins WEF’s Crystal Award For Raising Mental Health Awareness: Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone has been honoured with the World Economic Forum’s 26th Annual Crystal Award for raising mental health awareness. She is the only Indian actress to feature in Davos 2020 winners list which includes total four winners. The winners will be honoured at the opening session of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2020 on 20 January 2020.       The World Economic Forum Annual Meeting will take place in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland from 21-24 January 2020, under the theme, “Stakeholders for a Cohesive and Sustainable World.”

Other Winners include:

Theaster Gates (US), for his leadership in creating sustainable communities

Jin Xing (China), for her leadership in shaping inclusive cultural norms

Lynette Wallworth (Australia), for her leadership in creating inclusive narratives

3. Jamaica’s Tony-Ann Singh crowned as ‘Miss World 2019’: The Miss World title for the year 2019 has been won by Toni-Ann Singh of Jamaica, at the annual beauty pageant in London, UK. The 23-year-old Toni-Ann Singhis a women’s studies and psychology student at US’ Florida State University. She was crowned by her predecessor Miss World 2018 Vanessa Ponce from Mexico. France’s Ophely Mezino came second. Suman Rao, who represented India in the annual beauty pageant, came in third. Miss World 2019 was the 69th edition of the contest and contestants from 120 countries competed for the title.

OBITUARIES

1. New Zealand three-times Olympic champion Peter Snell passes away: Sir Peter George Snell, New Zealand’s legendary middle distance runner has passed away. He was 80. Snell is the only male athlete since 1920 to have won the 800 metres and 1500 metres double at the same Olympics in 1964 in Tokyo. The former 800m and mile world record holder was voted New Zealand’s athlete of the century in 2000.

Daily GK Updates - 14th December, 2019

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Virtual Police Station inaugurated at Andhra University: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has inaugurated the Virtual Police Station at Andhra University. The Virtual Police Station (as a pilot project) has been set up on the suggestion of Andhra University’s Vice-Chancellor to make it easy for students to report their grievances. Later it will be replicated at other educational institutions. The initiative is expected to help bridge the gap between students and the police department.

Note: Andhra Pradesh CM: YS Jaganmohan Reddy; Governor: Biswa Bhusan Harichandan.

2. National Energy Conservation Day 2019 observed in India: The National energy conservation day is celebrated every year on the 14th of December by Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), under the Ministry of Power. BEE is observing National Energy Conservation Week from 9th to 14th December 2019. The objective of the day to aware people about the importance of energy as well as saving or conserving more energy by using less energy. The Energy Conservation Act in India was executed by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) in the year 2001.

Note: Energy Conservation is a term to use the least amount of energy while avoiding unnecessary use of energy.

3. National Symposium of Heads of Police Training Institutions held in New Delhi: The 37th National Symposium of Heads of Police Training Institutions held in New Delhi. It Symposium was organized by Bureau of Police Research & Development (BPR&D). The theme of the Symposium was ‘Optimal Utilization of Resources-Through Sharing and Networking’. A Directory of Indian Police Training Institutions (DIPTI) which has information on the resources of around 300 Police training institutions all over the country, was also released during the event.

4. FSSAI & Nasscom Foundation partner to develop an app to prevent food wastage: Food regulator, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and Nasscom Foundation have signed an MoU to develop a technology platform to prevent food wastage and encouraging food donation by developing an app for the purpose. They will develop a common 24×7 helpline number and a mobile application ‘Food Donation in India’ to donate food to the needy. It will help in facilitating the registration of surplus food distribution organisations.

5. Amazon’s Audible launches app “Audible Suno” in India: Amazon’s audiobook company Audible has launched a new app “Audible Suno” in India. This app features original audio series which aims to expand Audible’s reach in India’s highly competitive digital entertainment and streaming space. The platform features hundreds of hours of Audible’s original audio series across a plethora of genres, steered by entertainers such as Amitabh Bachchan, Nawaazuddin Siddiqui, Anurag Kashyap, Tabu, Neena Gupta and Vir Das.

Note: CEO and Founder of Audible: Don Katz.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. US & China reach trade agreement calling for structural reforms & tariff concessions: The US and China have announced phase one trade agreement to roil the global economy. The phase one of the deal requires structural reforms and other changes to China's economic and trade regime in the areas of intellectual property, technology transfer, agriculture, financial services, and currency and foreign exchange. The deal says if China breaks any part of the agreement, the Trump administration has the ability to re-implement tariffs. US negotiators are offering to significantly reduce existing tariffs on Chinese imports worth about 360 billion dollars. In return, China has promised to buy large quantities of US soybeans, poultry and other agricultural products.

2. British PM Boris Jhonson wins General Elections in the UK: In Britain, the ruling Conservative party led by Prime Minister Boris Johnson is all set to win an overall majority in the snap elections. Conservative Party gets 365 out of 650 seats in the lower House of Commons. Labour Party get 203, the Liberal Democrats 11 and the Brexit Party none. In the United Kingdom, 15 Indian-origin politicians have entered the House of Commons in the historic general election. Johnson had campaigned on a promise to get Brexit done vowing to end years of political turmoil over Britain's future that has weighed on the economy and divided the nation.

3. Maldives signs contract with JV of Indian companies for development of Addu: Maldives government has signed a contract with a joint venture of Indian companies. The contract aims to prepare project report and the development of Addu, which is the second biggest city in the island nation. The contract was signed L & T engineering limited and Lea associates south asia for the Addu Road and Reclamation Project. The project includes land reclamation, construction of roads and storm water drainage system in Addu. This will upgrade existing infrastructure and mitigate the flood situation in Addu. Financing of the project will be done by EXIM bank of India through line of credit of USD 800 million.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS

1. FIH unveils new world ranking system for 2020: The International Hockey Federation (FIH) unveiled a new world ranking system for 2020 in Lausanne, Switzerland. The new method will come into effect from the 1st January 2020. The new ranking will be match-based instead of tournament-based calculation. For a better reflection of current performances, the new ranking will be match-based instead of tournament-based calculation. The new model is expected to remove the subjectivity surrounding continental weighing by creating a system which is fair to all. The outgoing world ranking system was in existence since 2003. It was originally devised to allocate teams into pools at tournaments.

BANKING AND FINANCE

1. November retail inflation reaches 5.54%, at 3-year high: India's retail inflation in November rose to 5.54% (from 4.62% in October) and over RBI's medium-term target of 4%. Higher food prices contributed to the spike. Food price inflation (Rural and urban) climbed 10.01% in November. During the month, inflation in vegetables shot up to 35.99 per cent, as against 26.10 per cent in October. Inflation based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) was 4.62 per cent in October (2.33% in November 2018).

2. Moody’s reduces India’s GDP rate for FY20 to 5.6%: Global rating agency Moody’s Investors Service ("Moody's") has lowered its 2019 GDP growth forecast for India to 5.6 percent based on slow employment growth weighs on consumption. GDP is the final value of the goods and services produced within the geographic boundaries of a country during a specified period of time (normally a year). ‘GDP growth rate is an important indicator of the economic performance of a country.

Note: Major credit rating agencies of the world:

Moody's Investors Service was established in 1909, headquarters in New York, USA.

Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC: was founded in 1860, headquarters in New York, USA, subsidiary of S&P Global.

Fitch Ratings: was founded in 1914, headquarters in New York City and London.

OBITUARIES

1. Veteran Telugu actor and writer Gollapudi Maruti Rao passes away: Former Nandi Award winner and renowned Telugu actor and writer Gollapudi Maruti Rao passed away recently. He enthralled people with his writings and acting for several decades and also acted in around 250 films in about four decades. He was a multi-faceted personality as he was a journalist, playwright, writer, actor and television personality. Some of his memorable films as an actor include ‘Intlo Ramayya, Veedhilo Krishnayya’, ‘Challenge’, ‘Samsaram oka Chadarangam’, ‘Aditya 369’ and ‘Leader’.

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.