Hello and welcome to exampundit. Here are the important Current Affairs Today 21st December 2019. These are important for the upcoming Exams. Candidates who were preparing for the examination can use these current affairs and also you can download the same as PDF.
Current Affairs Today – 21st December 2019
IMPORTANT DAYS AND THEMES
National Mathematics Day 2019 observed on December 22
- National Mathematics Day is observed on 22 December every year to mark the birth anniversary of legendary Indian mathematician, Srinivasa Ramanujan and his contributions in the field of mathematics.
- The 125th birth anniversary of the great mathematician Srinivasa Iyengar Ramanujan declared as National Mathematics Day.
BANKING CURRENT AFFAIRS
Google searches for ‘Operation Twist’ surge in India
- Google searches for “Operation Twist” surged in India after the central bank announced its version of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s unconventional monetary policy.
- Most searches for the term came from Delhi followed by Maharashtra.
- The central bank will buy long-term bonds, while simultaneously selling short-term government securities in an effort to cheapen long-term borrowing and boost bank lending.
- The Reserve Bank of India will buy longer-tenor bonds while selling shorter debt.
- The concept is similar to Operation Twist used by the Fed in 2011-2012 in an effort to cheapen long-term borrowing and spur bank lending.
Extra Shots:
Google LLC is an American multinational technology company that specializes in Internet-related services and products, which include online advertising technologies, search engine, cloud computing, software, and hardware. It is considered one of the Big Four technology companies, alongside Amazon, Apple, and Facebook.
- CEO: Sundar Pichai
- Founded: 4 September 1998, Menlo Park, California, United States
- Parent organization: Alphabet Inc.
- Headquarters: Mountain View, California, United States
- Founders: Larry Page, Sergey Brin
RBI to buy and sell govt bonds worth Rs 10,000 crore
- The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will simultaneously purchase and sell government securities worth Rs 10,000 crore under a special Open Market Operation (OMO).
- On a review of the current liquidity and market situation and an assessment of the evolving financial conditions, the Reserve Bank has decided to conduct simultaneous purchase and sale of government securities on December 23, 2019.
- The purchase will be for government securities worth Rs 10,000 crore for the instrument ‘6.45 per cent GS 2029’.
Extra Shots:
RBI: The Reserve Bank of India is India’s central banking institution, which controls the issuance and supply of the Indian rupee.
- Founded: 1 April 1935, Kolkata
- Headquarters: Mumbai
- Governor: Shaktikanta Das
- Deputy Governors: B P Kanungo, M K Jain, N S Vishwanathan
HDFC Bank becomes third Indian company to cross $100 billion-mark
- HDFC Bank crossed the $100 billion market capitalization became the third firm in the country to achieve this milestone.
- HDFC Bank has a market cap of $140.74 billion, and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) a market cap of $114.60 billion.
- HDFC Bank ranks 110th in the list of world’s most valued companies.
- There are 109 companies on the list with a market cap of over $100 billion.
- The world’s most valued banks and financial companies which have a market cap of over $100 billion, HDFC Bank ranked at 26.
Extra Shots:
HDFC Bank Ltd. is an Indian banking and financial services company headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra. It has a base of 111,208 permanent employees as of 30 September 2019. HDFC Bank is India’s largest private sector lender by assets. It is the largest bank in India by market capitalisation as of February 2016.
- CEO: Aditya Puri
- Headquarters: Mumbai
- Founded: August 1994, India
NATIONAL CURRENT AFFAIRS
First vegetable shipment from Varanasi flagged off to Dubai via sea route
- First trial shipment of fresh vegetables sourced from the Varanasi region flagged off from Mumbai to Dubai via sea route.
- The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) as part of its efforts to promote exports from India’s agriculture produce rich regions sent the first trial shipment of vegetables by sea route from Varanasi to Dubai, Commerce and Industry Ministry. The potential of the production of fruits and vegetables in Varanasi region comprising of 5 districts — Ghazipur, Jaunpur, Chandauli, Mirzapur and SantRavidas Nagar.
Extra Shots:
UAE (Capital/Currency): Abu Dhabi/Dirham
- President: Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan
INTERNATIONAL CURRENT AFFAIRS
Ethiopia launched its first space satellite
- Ethiopia launched its first satellite, a landmark achievement for the country’s space program that caps a banner year for the African space industry.
- The launch of the Ethiopian Remote Sensing Satellite (ETRSS) took place at a space station in China.
- The launch makes Ethiopia the 11th African country to put a satellite into space. Egypt was the first in 1998.
Extra Shots:
Ethiopia (Capital/Currency): Addis Ababa/ Ethiopian birr
- President: Sahle-Work Zewde
Indian-American computer scientist to lead National Science Foundation in USA
- US President Donald Trump has picked Indian-American computer scientist Sethuraman Panchanathan to lead the prestigious National Science Foundation (NSF) in USA.
- The NSF is a US government agency that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering.
- Panchanathan would succeed France Cordova when her six-year term as the NSF Director ends in 2020.
Extra Shots:
USA (Capital/Currency): Washington, D.C./ United States Dollar
- President: Donald Trump
Russia and Ukraine Sign Preliminary Gas Transit Deal
- Moscow and Kiev have signed a preliminary deal on the transit of Russian gas to Europe via Ukraine, after months of difficult talks but ahead of the looming New Year deadline.
- Russian and Ukrainian sides signed a memorandum of understanding cited as saying by Russian agencies while giving no details of the deal.
Extra Shots:
Russia (Capital/Currency): Moscow/Ruble
- Prime Minister: Dmitry Medvedev
- President: Vladimir Putin
Ukraine (Capital/Currency): Kyiv/ Ukrainian hryvnia
- President: Volodymyr Zelensky
SUMMITS AND CONFERENCES
PM Modi addresses ASSOCHAM Annual Conference
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) annual conference in Delhi.
- The theme of the event was ‘New India Aspiring for a USD 5 trillion economy’.
- The event was organised on the completion of 100 years of ASSOCHAM.
Extra Shots:
ASSOCHAM: The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India is one of the apex trade associations of India. The organisation represents the interests of trade and commerce in India, and acts as an interface between issues and initiatives.
- Headquarters location: New Delhi
- Founded: 1921
- Members: 4,50,000
- Number of locations: 3 (Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Kolkata)
- President: Balkrishan Goenka
- Type of business: Trade Association
SPORTS CURRENT AFFAIRS
Mirabai Chanu wins Gold in 6th Qatar International Cup
- Indian weightlifter Mirabai Chanu won the women’s 49kg category gold medal to open India’s account at the 6th Qatar International Cup in Doha.
- She bagged gold with an effort of 194kg in the Olympic qualifying event, with the points which will come in handy when the final rankings for Tokyo 2020 cut are done.
- She lifted 83kg in snatch and 111kg in clean and jerk to finish on top of the podium.
Extra Shots:
Qatar (Capital/Currency): Doha/ Qatari riyal
- Emir: Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani
Belgium crowned FIFA Team of the Year
- Belgium has been crowned FIFA ‘Team of the Year’ for the second successive time after a record-breaking year for the global ladder.
- World champions France remains in the second place ahead of Brazil in third.
- Besides accumulating the biggest points haul, Qatar has also jumped a year-high 38 places, followed closely by fellow climbers Algeria (up 32 ranks) and Japan (up 22 places).
Extra Shots:
FIFA: The Fédération Internationale de Football Association is a non-profit organization which describes itself as an international governing body of association football, fútsal, beach soccer, and efootball. It is the highest governing body of football.
- President: Gianni Infantino
- Headquarters: Zürich, Switzerland
- Founded at: Paris, France
- Founded: 21 May 1904, Rue Saint-Honoré, Paris, France
- Senior Vice-President: Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa (AFC)
ICC continues partnership with UNICEF for Women’s World T20
- The International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced that it has extended its partnership with UNICEF through to the Women’s T20 World Cup 2020 with the focus on empowering women and girls through cricket.
- The money raised during the Women’s World T20 will go to similar projects in cricket playing nations, including an innovative program to promote girls” participation in cricket in Sri Lanka and build peace in communities.
- The ICC and UNICEF partnership commenced in 2015, as part of the ICC”s global community outreach program ”Cricket 4 Good”.
- During the Men’s 50-over World Cup held in England and Wales earlier this summer, UNICEF raised $180,000 as part of ‘One Day 4 Children’ and this money will go directly to fund a girls’ cricket project in Afghanistan.
Extra Shots:
ICC: The International Cricket Council is the global governing body of cricket. It was founded as the Imperial Cricket Conference in 1909 by representatives from Australia, England and South Africa. It was renamed as the International Cricket Conference in 1965, and took up its current name in 1989.
- Chairperson: Shashank Manohar
- CEO: Manu Sawhney
- Headquarters: Dubai, United Arab Emirates
- Founded: 15 June 1909
- Membership: 104 members
UNICEF: The United Nations Children’s Fund is a United Nations agency responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to children around the world.
- Headquarters: New York, New York, United States
- Head: Henrietta H. Fore
- Founded: 11 December 1946, New York, New York, United States
- Founders: United Nations General Assembly, Ludwik Rajchman
- Parent organizations: United Nations General Assembly, United Nations Economic and Social Council
DEFENCE CURRENT AFFAIRS
5th Edition of ARTECH to be held in New Delhi
- The 5th edition of ARTECH is being organised by Indian Army on ‘Technologies for Non-Contact Warfare’ which will be organised on 23 December 2019 at Manekshaw Centre, Delhi Cantonment.
- The seminar is the flagship event of the Indian Army which sets the agenda for focus areas of harvesting indigenous capabilities in the Defence sector.
- ARTECH Seminar was launched in 2016 as part of the overall vision of ‘Make in India’ of Hon’ble Prime Minister and is conducted every year as part of events leading to Army Day celebrations.
Extra Shots:
Delhi:
- Chief Minister: Arvind Kejriwal
- Governor: Anil Baijal
OBITUARIES
Former Kerala Minister Thomas Chandy passes away
- Nationalist Congress Party’s Kerala State President and former Minister Thomas Chandy passed away.
- He represented Kuttanad constituency in Alappuzha district in the state Assembly.
Extra Shots:
Kerala:
- Capital: Thiruvananthapuram
- Chief Minister: Pinarayi Vijayan
- Governor: Arif Mohammed Khan
- Festivals: Onam, Vishu, Thrissur Pooram, Nehru Trophy Boat Race
- National Parks: Anamudi Shola National Park, Eravikulam National Park, Mathikettan Shola National Park, Pambadum Shola National Park, Periyar National Park,Silent Valley National Park
- Wildlife Sanctuaries: Aralam WLS, Chimmony WLS, Idukki WLS, Periyar WLS, Wayanad WLS, Peppara WLS, Neyyar WLS, Kurinjimala WLS, Malabar WLS etc
Writer and critic LS Sheshagiri Rao passes away
- Kannada writer and critic L.S. Sheshagiri Rao passed away.
- His first work was Idu Jeevana, an anthology of short stories was released in 1948.
- He is best known for his book “Hosagannada Sahitya Charitre”.
- He was best known for his critical works and an English-Kannada dictionary that he compiled.
