Weekly Current Affairs
Hemant Soren - In Jharkhand, Grand
Alliance leader Hemant Soren will take oath as
Chief Minister. He was formally elected the Jharkhand
Mukti Morcha (JMM) legislature party leader. He was
projected as the chief ministerial candidate by the JMM,
Congress and RJD Alliance that gained the majority in the
recently concluded Assembly polls.
Niranjan Hiranandani -
Niranjan Hiranandani has taken over as the new president
of The Associated Chambers of Commerce & Industry of India
(ASSOCHAM), the country’s apex organisation
of industry and trade.
Harsh Vardhan Shringla - Senior
diplomat Harsh Vardhan Shringla, India’s
Ambassador to the US, has been appointed as the new
Foreign Secretary.
Sangita Reddy -
Sangita Reddy, Joint Managing Director, Apollo Hospitals Group, has
taken over as the President of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce &
Industry (FICCI) for 2019-20.
Atal Tunnel - Prime
Minister Narendra Modi named Rohtang
passageway in Himachal Pradesh as Atal
Tunnel to mark the 95th birth anniversary of former Prime Minister
Atal Bihari Vajpayee. It will provide all-weather connectivity
to remote areas of Lahaul and Spiti Valley and
also reduce the distance between Manali and Leh by 46 Kilometres.
David Calhoun - Boeing CEO Dennis
Muilenburg has stepped down as the company is facing tough
period following two fatal crashes. He will be replaced by Chairman David
Calhoun effective January 13, 2020.
Atal Bhujal Yojana - Prime Minister
Narendra Modi has launched Atal Bhujal Yojana (ATAL
JAL) which aims to improve groundwater management in seven states.
The 7 states includes Gujarat, Haryana,
Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh,
Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
The Government has outlaid Rs. 6000 crore for the scheme
in next five years.
Ethiopia Launched First 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.
Operation Twist - Reserve Bank of
India announced Operation Twist, its version of
the U.S. Federal Reserve’s unconventional
monetary policy. 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.
Open Market Operation
- Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will simultaneously purchase and sell
government securities worth Rs 10,000 crore under a
special Open Market Operation (OMO).
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.
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.
Women’s T20 World Cup - 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.
Eco Currency - Eight West African countries have agreed to change the
name of their common currency to Eco and severed their earlier
currency CFA Franc’s links to former
colonial ruler France. Benin, Burkina Faso, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast,
Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo currently use the currency.
Manuel Marrero Cruz - In Cuba, President
has appointed Manuel Marrero Cruz as
the country’s first prime minister in more than 40
years. The post of prime minister was scrapped in 1976 by
the then-revolutionary leader Fidel Castro.
ITF World Champions - Ashleigh Barty and
Rafael Nadal were named International Tennis Federation’s (ITF) World Champions
in singles for 2019.
R. Nagaswamy - Noted
archaeologist R. Nagaswamy was honoured at
the Silver Jubilee International Conference of Art in
Dhaka by Bangladesh.
Joint Commission
Meeting - External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar co-chaired
the 19th Joint Commission meeting with
Foreign Minister of Iran. The Joint Commission meeting was held in Tehran,
Iran.
Turbulence and Triumph - The Vice President
of India Venkaiah Naidu released a book
titled ‘Turbulence and Triumph: The Modi Years’ in New
Delhi. The book is jointly authored by Rahul Agarwal and
Bharathi S Pradhan.
National Mathematics
Day - National Mathematics Day is celebrated on 22nd
December every year to mark the birth anniversary of
legendary mathematician, Srinivasa Ramanujan. This year nation celebrates
his 132nd Birth Anniversary.
Swachh Bharat
Mission-Urban - Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban has achieved its
target of creating Urban India Open Defecation Free.
Urban areas of 35 states and Union Territories have
become ODF.
Janta Clinic - Rajasthan Chief Minister
inaugurated its first “Janta clinic” at in the
Malviya Nagar area of Jaipur.
Bank of Baroda Signed MoU - Bank of Baroda signed
an MoU with the Gujarat government to
facilitate the flow of credit in the Micro, Small and Medium
Enterprises (MSMEs) sector.
Swachchh Samundra - 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.
QRSAM - Quick Reaction
Surface to Air Missile (QRSAM) system developed by Defence
Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) was
successfully flight-tested from Integrated Test Range, Chandipur off the Odisha
coast.
Largest Publisher of
Articles - India has emerged as the world’s third-largest
publisher of science and engineering articles, according to a
latest US report.
National Farmers’ Day
- Kisan Diwas or National Farmers’ Day is observed across India on December
23. The day honours Chaudhary Charan Singh, the
5th Prime Minister of India whose was born on this day.
UNICEF Award - Kamareddy district
of Telangana has secured the
United Nations International Children’s and Education Fund (Unicef)
- 2019 Award.
Good Governance Day - Good
Governance Day is observed in India annually on the 25th
of December. In this day nation celebrates the birth
anniversary of Bharat Ratna and former-Prime Minister Atal
Bihari Vajpayee.
Good Governance Index - Central Government has
released the “Good Governance Index” on the
occasion of Good Governance Day. Tamil
Nadu topped in big states category. Himachal Pradesh topped
in North-East and Hill States category. Puducherry topped
the index in Union Territories category.
MS Dhoni - Former India
skipper and wicket-keeper batsman MS Dhoni been named captain
of Cricket Australia’s (CA) ODI team of the decade and the
line-up features three Indian players.
Leander Paes - Indian tennis
ace Leander Paes has announced
that 2020 will be his last year as
a professional tennis player.
National Consumer Day - Every Year 24th
December is observed as National
Consumer Day with a specific theme in India. The theme of
this year is “alternate consumer grievance/dispute redressal”.
India-Japan Maritime
Affairs Dialogue - The 5th Round of India-Japan Maritime Affairs Dialogue was
held in Tokyo, Japan.
Capital Infusion of
Bank - 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. 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.
Peer-to-Peer - 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.
AIIB Loan to India - The Asian
Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has announced a loan of $210
million for irrigation and solar
energy projects in India. The bank will
lend $145 million to improve irrigation
services and strengthen flood risk management in West
Bengal.
Him Darshan Express - Indian
Railways started a glass-enclosed vistadome “Him
Darshan Express” train on the heritage Kalka-Shimla route,
with glass rooftop to have a panoramic view of the hilly region.
Digital Radio - Information and
Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar has announced that the Central
government will launch the “Digital Radio” in 2024.
Dreams of a Billion - A book titled “Dreams
of a Billion: India and the Olympic Games” author by Boria
Majumdar with Nalin Mehta released.