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CURRENT AFFAIRS: DAYS
World Computer Literacy Day
- World Computer Literacy Day is being Observed on 2nd December every year.
- The day is observed to mark the significance of computers and to promote awareness about computers and other electronic devices.
- World Computer Literacy Day was first observed in the year 2001 by the National Institute of Information Technology (NIIT).
International Day for the Abolition of Slavery
- The International Day for the Abolition of Slavery is observed annually by the United Nations(UN) on December 2nd.
- The day was adopted by the UN General Assembly(UNGA) in the year 1949 based on the convention of suppression of the trafficking in persons and of the exploitation of the prostitution of others.
- The day aims to eradicate slavery like human trafficking, sexual exploitation, child labour, forced marriage etc.
Pension Week (30th Nov-6th Dec 2019)
- Pension week is being celebrated from November 30 to December 6, the central function of the event was inaugurated by Minister of State(I/C) for Labour and Employment, Santhosh Gangwar.
- The Pension week aims at enrolling 1 crore recipients under the Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maan-dhan (PM-SYM) and 50 lakh recipients under National Pension Scheme for traders and self-employees (NPS-Traders) by March 2020.
International Day of Persons with Disabilities
- International Day of Persons with Disabilities is being observed on the 3rd of December every year to promote the rights and well-being of persons with disabilities in all spheres of society and development and to increase awareness.
- The theme this year is – Promoting the Participation of Persons with Disabilities and their leadership: Taking Action on the 2030 Development Agenda.
CURRENT AFFAIRS: INTERNATIONAL
Putin, Xi oversee launch of gas pipeline
- Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping have overseen the launch of a pipeline to take natural gas from Siberia to northeast China, an economic and political boost to ties between Moscow and Beijing.
- The move cements China’s spot as Russia’s top export market and gives Russia a potentially enormous new market outside Europe.
- It also comes as Moscow is hoping to launch two other major energy projects — the Nord Steam 2 undersea Baltic gas pipeline to Germany and the TurkStream pipeline to Turkey and southern Europe.
- The 3000-km-long Power of Siberia pipeline will transport gas from the Chayandinskoye and Kovytka fields in eastern Siberia, a project expected to last for three decades and to generate $US400 billion ($A591 billion) for Russian state coffers.
CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL
Electronic Toll Collection (FASTag) Deadline Extended To December 15
- Center extended FASTag rollout deadline from December 1 to December 15 so that citizens get more time to obtain FASTags before they become mandatory for crossing tolls on highways.
- FASTags are prepaid rechargeable tags developed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) under the National Electronic Toll Collection (NETC) program to meet the electronic tolling requirements in India.
- It needs to be affixed on the windscreen of the vehicle for toll collection. The RFID-powered technology enables automatic toll payments when the vehicle passes through a NETC-supported gate or ETC lane on a toll plaza.
Intensified Mission Indradhanush (IMI) 2.0
- The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has launched Intensified Mission Indradhanush (IMI) 2.0 from December 2019 to March 2020.
- The IMI 2.0 portal was launched that has been designed to capture information on the block wise target of children and pregnant women to be vaccinated during the IMI drive and also the coverage data during the rounds of activity.
- The data will be entered at the district level. This will help the Programme officers and administrators at the block, district, state and national level to have real time information on the progress of the campaign and also take timely action on slow progress in any particular area
| USEFUL INFO |
| Ministry of Health and Family Welfare |
| Union Minister | Harsh Vardhan |
| Constituency | ChandniChowk, Delhi |
CURRENT AFFAIRS: STATES
Konark Festival, International Sand Art Festival kick-start in Odisha’s Konark
- Konark Festival and International Sand Art Festival began in Odisha’s Konark. The 30th edition of Konark Festival was held at backdrop of the Sun Temple.
- The cultural program added charm to the event as well. Meanwhile, International Sand Art Festival was held at Chandrabhaga beach.123 artists from India and artists from USA, Ireland, Denmark, Russia, Canada, Togo and Sri Lanka participated in the Sand Art Festival.
| USEFUL INFO |
| Odisha Capital | Bhubaneswar |
| Odisha CM | Naveen Patnaik |
| Odisha Governor | GaneshiLal |
Punjab to create land banks in rural areas to boost industrial development
- The Punjab Cabinet gave in-principle approval to amend the Punjab Village Common Land (Regulation) Rules, 1964, to create land banks in rural areas to boost industrial development.
- The new rule would pave the way for transfer of ‘Shamlat’ land for industrial projects to the industry department and state-owned Punjab Small Industries & Export Corporation (PSIEC)
- Shamlat land is one that does not come under habitation and cultivation and is considered as consolidated land holdings for common use
| USEFUL INFO |
| Punjab Capital | Chandigarh |
| Punjab CM | Amarinder Singh |
| Punjab Governor | V P Singh Badnore |
CURRENT AFFAIRS: BANKING AND FINANCE
DHFL becomes first financial services firm to be taken to NCLT
- The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) referred Dewan Housing Finance Corp. Ltd (DHFL), which has a debt of Rs. 83,873 crore, to the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) for insolvency proceedings.
- The Reserve Bank has filed an application for initiation of corporate insolvency resolution process against DHFL under Section 227 read with clause (zk) of sub-section (2) of Section 239 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), 2016 read with Rules 5 and 6 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Rules, 2019.
- Subramaniakumar, the RBI-appointed administrator for DHFL, will take over the lender’s affairs once his appointment is approved by the NCLT.
CURRENT AFFAIRS: APPOINTMENTS AND RESIGNATION
Masatsugu Asakawa elected 10th President of ADB
- Masatsugu Asakawa has been unanimously elected President of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) by its Board of Governors.
- Asakawa currently Special Advisor to Japan’s Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, will assume office as ADB’s 10th President on 17 January 2020.
- He will succeed Takehiko Nakao, who will leave office on 16 January 2020. Mr. Asakawa will finish the unexpired term of President Nakao, which ends on 23 November 2021.
| USEFUL INFO |
| Asian Development Bank (ADB) |
| President | Takehiko Nakao (up to 16 January 2020) |
| Headquarters | Mandaluyong, Philippines |
Hari Mohan takes over as Chairman, Ordnance Factory Board
- Mr Hari Mohan has taken over the charge as Chairman, Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) with effect from December 1, 2019 from Mr Saurabh Kumar who superannuated from the services.
- He is a 1982 batch officer of Indian Ordnance Factories’ Service (IOFS).
| USEFUL INFO |
| Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) |
| OFB Headquarters | Kolkata |
CURRENT AFFAIRS: AWARDS AND HONOUR
Tony Joseph wins the Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize 2019
- Author Tony Joseph was declared the winner of the Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize 2019for his book Early Indians: The Story of Our Ancestors and Where We Came From.
- The award, which came into being in 2008, includes a cash prize of Rs 2 lakh and a trophy.
- Early Indianstells the story of the people of South Asia through research in six disciplines, including path-breaking new DNA evidence,” the foundation
CURRENT AFFAIRS: SUMMITS AND CONFERENCE
India, Japan hold first ‘two-plus-two’ dialogue
- India and Japan held their inaugural foreign and defence ministerial dialogue with an aim to give further momentum to their special strategic partnership, particularly in the maritime domain.
- Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar led the Indian delegation while the Japanese side was headed by Foreign Minister Toshi-mitsu Motegi and Minister of Defence Taro Kono.
- The talks under the new framework are taking place following a decision taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe during the 13th India-Japan annual summit last year.
- The 2+2 dialogue reflects the synergy between India’s Act East Policy and Japan’s vision for free, open Indo-Pacific vision.
Regional Conference on Ek Bharat-Shresht Bharat focusing on Jal Shakti, Disaster Management concludes
- The deliberations of two-day Regional Conference on ‘Ek Bharat Shreshta Bharat’ focusing on ‘Jal Shakti’ and ‘Disaster Management’ concluded with adoption of Sahyog-Sankalp resolution.
- This conference will help in sharing technical expertise between the two participating regions which will eventually help in developing the infrastructure regarding disaster response mechanism in the Union Territory of J&K.
- A lot of good practices are being adopted by Tamil Nadu in various fields apart from disaster management which need to be replicated and adopted for overall development of J&K.
- Under ‘Ek Bharat, Shresht Bharat’ program, different states have been integrated with one another and various mutual learning programmes in the field of tourism, culture and education have been held.
CURRENT AFFAIRS: SPORTS
Lionel Messi claims record 6th Ballon d’Or, overtakes Cristiano Ronaldo
- Lionel Messi claimed a record sixth Ballon d’Or award, beating Liverpool’s leading nominees and Cristiano Ronaldo to lift football’s most prestigious individual trophy.
- The Argentine, who won the Liga title with Barcelona but only managed third place in the Copa America with his country, added to his 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2015 trophies.
CURRENT AFFAIRS: OBITUARY
Tukaram Dighole, former Minister of Maharashtra passes away
- Tukaram Dighole former Minister of Maharashtra passed away after following a brief illness.
- He was the Minister of State for Power and Rural Development in the Shiv Sena-BJP government and Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) in Maharashtra from 1995-1999.
Noted Odisha theatre artist Paramananda Sahu passes away
- Prominent theatre artist of Odisha, Paramananda Sahu passed away due to old age-related illness.
- Sahu had directed and acted in more than a hundred dramas, besides being an artist in All India Radio and Doordarshan.
- He had also acted in several Odia and Bengali soaps and received several awards.
Freedom fighter, former MP Laxminarayan Nayak passes away
- Laxminarayan Nayak, centenarian freedom fighter and former MP, passes away due to age-related illness.
- He had represented Khajuraho Lok Sabha seat from 1997 -1980. Before that, he was elected as MLA from Niwari assembly seat in 1957.