Hello and welcome to exampundit. Here are the important Current Affairs Today 8th and 9th December 2019. These are important for the upcoming Exams. Candidates those who were preparing for the examination can use these current affairs and also you can download the same as PDF.
Current Affairs Today – 8th and 9th December 2019
IMPORTANT DAYS AND THEMES
International Anti-Corruption Day observed on 9 December
- The United Nations’ (UN) International Anti-Corruption Day has been observed annually, on 9 December.
- The day aims to raise public awareness of corruption and what people can do to fight it.
- The theme for the year 2019 is United against Corruption.
Extra Shots:
United Nations: It is an International Organization. Its Objective of UN is to not only maintain International Peace and Security but also to develop Friendly relations among nations.
- Founded – 24th October, 1945
- Headquarter- New York,United States
- Secretary General- Antonio Guterres (9th SG OF UN)
- He is from PORTUGAL
- Portugal (Capital/Currency) – Lisbon/ Euro
- United States (Capital/Currency) – Washington, D.C/ US Dollar
FINANCE AND ECONOMY
TCS introduces new insurance benefits that include the LGBT employees
- Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has announced changes in its health insurance policy in order to provide benefits to employees involved in LGBT employees, a same-sex relationship. TCS became the first Tata Group companies to bring the change.
New Health insurance policy of TCS:
♦ The change in health insurance policy will benefit all bisexual, lesbian, gay, and transgender or LGBT employees in the company.
♦ The new health policy of the IT services major redefines spouse as a partner.
♦ The insurance policy will cover up to 50% cost of sex or gender reassignment surgery.
Extra Shots:
TCS: Tata Consultancy Services Limited is an Indian multinational information technology service and consulting company headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. It is a subsidiary of Tata Group and operates in 149 locations across 46 countries. TCS is the second largest Indian company by market capitalization.
- CEO: Rajesh Gopinathan
- Headquarters: Mumbai
- Founders: Faquir Chand Kohli, Tata Sons, J. R. D. Tata
NATIONAL CURRENT AFFAIRS
Anand Kumar invited for India’s Republic Day celebrations in New York
- The Federation of Indian Association (FIA) has invited Super 30 founder Anand Kumar to a function on the eve of India’s Republic Day celebrations in New York.
- The Federation of Indian Association is the oldest organisation of the non-resident Indians.
- Year “2020” also marks the 50th anniversary of FIA.
- Anand Kumar has been invited for his contribution in the field of education through his programme ‘Super 30’.
- ‘Super 30’ is a programme that prepares 30 students from underprivileged sections of society for the prestigious IIT entrance test every year, without any fees.
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FIA: The Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile is an association established on 20 June 1904 to represent the interests of motoring organisations and motor car users. To the general public, the FIA is mostly known as the governing body for many auto racing events. The FIA also promotes road safety around the world.
- President: Jean Todt
- Formation: 20 June 1904; 115 years ago (as AIACR)
- Location: Paris, France
- Headquarters location: Paris, France
- Membership: 240 national organisations
Israeli student’s made satellite “Duchifat-3” to be launched from Sriharikota
- The “Duchifat-3”, Israeli student’s made satellite will be launched from ISRO’s Sriharikota launch site. “Duchifat-3” is a satellite jointly built by Herzliya Science Center and Sha’ar HaNegev High School students of Israel.
- It is a remote sensing satellite through which students from all schools across the country will be able to experiment and carry through Earth observation. “Duchifat-3” is the 3rd in the series of Israeli student-made satellites.
- Duchifat-3 weigheing 2.3 kg is a photo satellite to be used for ecological research of Earth from space.
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ISRO: The Indian Space Research Organisation is the space agency of the Government of India.
- Founded: 15 August 1969
- Headquarters: Bengaluru
- Founder: Vikram Sarabhai
- Director: Kailasavadivoo Sivan
- Subsidiary: Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre
President lays foundation stone for Paika Rebellion memorial in Odisha
- President Ram Nath Kovind laid the foundation stone to the memorial being built in memory of the Paika rebellion, a 200-year-old armed revolt in 1817 against the British East India Company in Odisha.
- The proposed project will come up at the foothills of Barunei hills in Khurda district, Odisha.
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Odisha:
- Capital: Bhubaneswar
- Chief Minister: Naveen Patnaik
- Governor: Ganeshi Lal
- National Park: Bhitarkanika NP, Simlipal NP
Rajnath Singh flagged off massive campaign against single-use plastic
- Ministry of Defence (MoD) organized a special plogging awareness drive rally in Delhi Cantt as part of Swachhta Pakhwada.
- The massive campaign against single-use plastic was flagged off by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on 7 December 2019.
- The campaign was conducted to spread awareness against the ill-effect of plastic on the environment, bring about behavioural change with respect to sanitation
Extra Shots:
Delhi:
- Chief Minister: Arvind Kejriwal
- Governor: Anil Baijal
STATE CURRENT AFFAIRS
Human Library event in Mysuru
- Human Library event, a concept which seeks to replace books with humans, will be held in the City of Palaces, Mysuru, Karnataka.
- The first event of the Human Library aims to break past long-standing prejudices and stereotypes by creating a safe framework for conservation by using a library analogy of lending people rather than books.
Extra Shots:
The notion of Human Library was initially launched in the year 2000 and currently exists in more than 85 countries, known as The Human Library Organization. In India, Human Library is spread across various metropolitan cities including Hyderabad, Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru.
Haryana CM inaugurates Integrated Command and Control Centre
- Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has inaugurated Gurgaon’s ambitious Integrated Command and Control Centre (ICCC).
- It has been developed as the nerve centre to provide multifaceted online smart services to people.
- The ICCC has been designed to serve as the nodal point for all online data related to the Smart City applications.
- The Integrated Command and Control Centre was built at the cost of 38 crore rupees.
Extra Shots:
Haryana:
- Capital: Chandigarh
- Chief Minister: Manohar Lal Khattar
- Governor: Satyadev Narayan Arya
- National Park: Sultanpur National Park, Kalesar National Park
Delhi govt launched booklet for student on Ambedkars teachings
- The Delhi government launched a booklet on the life and teachings of Dr. BR Ambedkar for students of class 6-8 in government schools.
- The booklet was launched on Ambedkar’s 63rd death anniversary.
- It is a three-part booklet. It explores the life and education of Ambedkar, his social reforms initiatives, contribution to women empowerment.
- It also ponders on his roles and efforts on writing the Constitution of India and his contributions to social and gender justice.
- The third part of the booklet talks about the contribution of Ambedkar in parliamentary democracy and government.
Extra Shots:
Delhi:
- Chief Minister: Arvind Kejriwal
- Governor: Anil Baijal
INTERNATIONAL CURRENT AFFAIRS
Bangabandhu BPL inaugurated by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina
- Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the special edition of Bangabandhu Bangladesh Premier League (BBPL) T20 cricket championship to mark Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s birth centenary in 2020.
- A total of 7 teams are participating in the BBPL event.
- They will play 46 matches including the 4 playoff matches.
- The BBPL final will be held on January 17, 2020.
- This is the first time that the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) is organizing the Premier League matches without involving any franchise.
Extra Shots:
Bangladesh (Capital/Currency): Dhaka/Taka
- Prime Minister: Sheikh Hasina
Finland elects Sanna Marin, the youngest-ever Prime Minister
- Sanna Marin has been elected as the Prime Minister of Finland.
- She became the world’s youngest Prime Minister ever.
- She also became the third female government leader of the country.
- Marin was a lawmaker since 2015. She was the Social Democratic Party’s vice chairwoman.
- She served as the minister for transport and communications.
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Finland (Capital/Currency): Helsinki, Euro
- President: Sauli Niinisto
SUMMITS AND CONFERENCES
54th DGsP/IGsP Conference held in Pune
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi took part in the 54th DGsP/IGsP Conference held in Pune.
- The Prime Minister addressed the valedictory session of the Conference.
- President’s police medals were also awarded to officers of the Intelligence Bureau for their distinguished services.
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Maharashtra:
- Capital: Mumbai
- Chief Minister: Uddhav Thackeray
- Governor: Bhagat Singh Koshyari
- National Parks: Chandoli National Park, Nawegaon National Park, Gugamal National Park, Pench National Park, Sanjay Gandhi (Borivilli) National Park, Tadoba National Park
- Wildlife Sanctuaries: Amba Barwa WLS, Bor WLS, Great Indian Bustard WLS,
- Lonar WLS, Melghat WLS, Gangewadi New Great Indian Bustard WLS, etc.
8th edition of Embassy’s annual film festival inaugurated at Riyadh
- The 8th edition of the Embassy’s annual film festival titled “Ambassador’s Choice: Screening of Films” was inaugurated at the auditorium of Embassy of India, Riyadh.
- Embassy’s annual film festival titled “Ambassador’s Choice: Screening of Films” saw the popular Hindi film ‘Dangal’ screened at Riyadh, which drew a large number of audience.
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Saudi Arabia (Capital/Currency): Riyadh/ Saudi riyal
- President: Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud
India-Myanmar Foreign Office Consultations was held in New Delhi
- The 18th India-Myanmar Foreign Office Consultations was held in New Delhi on 6 December 2019.
- The Indian delegation was led by Foreign Secretary, Shri Vijay Gokhale, and the Myanmar delegation was led by Permanent Secretary, U Soe Han.
- India and Myanmar reviewed the entire details of bilateral relations
- They discussed the status of India’s ongoing projects in Myanmar, capacity building initiatives, bilateral trade relations, border cooperation.
Extra Shots:
Myanmar (Capital/Currency): Naypyitaw/ Burmese kyat
- President: Win Myint
India and US to a defence technology sharing pact at 2 plus 2 dialogue
- India and the US are planning to sing a defence technology-sharing pact.
- The two countries will sign a deal at the 2+2 dialogue on 19 December in Washington, the US. The Indian side will be led by defence minister Rajnath Singh and external affairs minister S Jaishankar to the dialogue.
- The agreement will lead the participation of aviation majors in the contest to manufacture and supply 114 combat jets to the Indian Air Force (IAF).
- Both the countries say that the $20 billion deal worth procurement can be done only through a government-to-government deal to enable Make in India and technology-sharing.
Extra Shots:
USA (Capital/Currency): Washington, D.C./ United States Dollar
- President: Donald Trump
Annual summit between Modi and Shinzo Abe to be held on 15-17 December
- The annual summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe is to take place between 15-17 December 2019.
- The announcement was made by the External Affairs Ministry.
- The summit is expected to take place in Guwahati, Assam.
Extra Shots:
Japan (Capital/Currency): Tokyo/Yen
- Prime Minister: Shinzo Abe
RANKS AND INDICES
Ganga has become one of 10 cleanest rivers in the world
- Minister of Jalshakti said that Ganga has become one of 10 cleanest rivers in the world among the major rivers category.
- The announcement was made by the Jalshakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat at the 4th India Water Impact Summit, 2019 in New Delhi.
Extra Shots:
- Jalshakti Minister: Gajendra Singh Shekhawat
Worldwide arms sales rise by nearly 5% in 2018
- Worldwide arms sales rose by nearly 5 per cent in 2018.
- According to a new report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), the market is dominated by the United States.
- The turnover of the 100 biggest arms manufacturers came to 420 billion dollars.
- US manufacturers alone accounted for 59 per cent of the market, or a turnover of 246 billion dollars, up 7.2 per cent on the previous year.
- Russia was second in the rankings for arms production, with 8.6 per cent of the market, just ahead of the United Kingdom on 8.4 per cent and France on 5.5 per cent.
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SIPRI: Stockholm International Peace Research Institute is an international institute based in Sweden, dedicated to research into conflict, armaments, arms control and disarmament.
- Headquarters location: Stockholm, Sweden
- Founder: Government of Sweden
- Founded: 6 May 1966
AGREEMENTS AND MOU SIGNED
NTPC signs pact for Rs. 5,000 crores with SBI
- National Thermal Power Corporation Limited has signed a term loan agreement for Rs. 5,000 crore with State Bank of India.
- The loan facility has been extended at an interest rate linked to 3 Months MCLR of the bank and has a door to door tenure of 15 years.
- The loan will be utilised to part finance the capital expenditure of NTPC.
Extra Shots:
NTPC Limited, formerly known as National Thermal Power Corporation Limited, is an Indian Public Sector Undertaking, engaged in the business of generation of electricity and allied activities. It is a company incorporated under the Companies Act 1956 and is promoted by the Government of India.
- Founded: 1975
- Headquarters: New Delhi, India
- Owner: Government of India
India provided USD 500 million Line of Credit to Bangladesh
- India provided a $500 million Line of Credit (LoC) to Bangladesh on 5 December.
- The funding is for defenCe-related procurement in Bangladesh.
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Bangladesh (Capital/Currency): Dhaka/Taka
- Prime Minister: Sheikh Hasina
APPOINTMENT
Girish Chandra Chaturvedi appointed as new chairman of NSE
- The National Stock Exchange of India Ltd (NSE) has appointed Girish Chandra Chaturvedi as its new chairman.
- The appointment was approved by Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi).
- He is a retired IAS officer and former Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.
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NSE: The National Stock Exchange of India Limited is the leading stock exchange of India, located in Mumbai. The NSE was established in 1992 as the first dematerialized electronic exchange in the country.
- Location: Mumbai, India
- Owner: National Stock Exchange of India Limited
- Founded: 1992
Anuranjita Kumar to exit from RBS Bank
- Anuranjita Kumar, MD & Head of HR, at the Royal Bank Of Scotland has announced her exit from the UK bank.
- Her exit comes almost two years after she joined the bank in September 2017. It is after a 22-year stint at Citibank.
- Anuranjita Kumar joined the bank in September 2017.
Extra Shots:
The Royal Bank Of Scotland: RBS was founded in 1727. It is headquartered in Edinburgh, Scotland, UK. It is owned by NatWest Holdings.
- CEO: Alison Rose
- Chairman: Howard Davies
AWARDS
Miss South Africa crowned 2019 Miss Universe
- Miss South Africa Zozibini Tunzi was crowned Miss Universe 2019 in Atlanta, US.
- Ms Tunzi beat over 90 contestants from around the globe in the 68th instalment of Miss Universe.
- Miss Universe Puerto Rico Madison Anderson was the runner-up in this contest.
- The Philippines’ Catriona Gray, who presented Ms Tunzi the crown, was the Miss Universe winner in 2018.
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USA (Capital/Currency): Washington, D.C./ United States Dollar
- President: Donald Trump
Dr. Padmeswar Gogoi was awarded the Siu-Ka-Pha Award
- The Siu-Ka-Pha Award was presented to noted educationist, Botanist and folklore researcher Dr. Padmeswar Gogoi.
- It was presented at a programme held at Siu-Ka-Pha Samannay Kshetra in Golaghat.
- The award recognized his effort and contribution in the field of botany and science.
8th National Photography Awards
- The Photo Division, under the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, has invited entries for the 8th National Photography Awards.
- The Division confers these Awards every year, to promote various facets of the country such as art, culture, development, heritage, history, life, people, society, and tradition through the medium of photography, and to encourage professional and amateur photographers across the country.
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Diabetic population is close to hitting alarming mark of 69.9 million by 2025 in India
- Ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, Sowa Rigpa and Homoeopathy (AYUSH) reported that the diabetic population in the country is close to hitting the alarming marks of 69.9 million by 2025.
- It is expected to witness an increase of 266%.
- It was stated by Minister of State for Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy Shripad Naik.
